Arn Anderson's Darb

The guy in the article in the red shirt is long-time All Star  hand Ringo Ryan. He'd be a cracking addition to NXT.

Must say, I was really underwhelmed with how he was used the last run he had. Might just be my perception that he is THE icon off WWE but he seemed to be presented as more of a Mick Foley or Ric Flair level "legend" punting the Network and doing the charity presentations. It felt like he was overexposed and became miss-able. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him coming in and making the top guys look like mugs but it should have been more of a big deal when he was on screen.

While we're on job guy stories, does anyone know the story of that lad from the tag against the Sky Scrapers who wouldn't stay down or sell anything until Spivey absolutely lost his shit and battered him? It's the guy wasn't smartened up and was bouncing right up from powerbombs and whatnot. I remember Spivey twatting him outside the ring after the match because he was still selling nothing.

I just saw on the Botchamania Facebook page what I believe to be New Day dressed up as three different Charles Wright gimmicks, which is probably the best thing they've ever done.

Doesn't get much more minor than that buddy!

 

 

Like most people, I generally keep a selection of fresh seafood dishes there. Lobsters in clam volute, sea bass with cabbage, the occasional red snapper. Otherwise I keep an ornate 19th century dining table in one pocket and a life sized marble bust of Zippy from Rainbow in the other.

 Never been a fan of sea bass. Not tried red snapper though.

 

 

 

It's a bit shit in all honesty (snapper). Although dissing the sea bass is sacrilegious, I'm all about that bass.

 

 Nicely done

Like most people, I generally keep a selection of fresh seafood dishes there. Lobsters in clam volute, sea bass with cabbage, the occasional red snapper. Otherwise I keep an ornate 19th century dining table in one pocket and a life sized marble bust of Zippy from Rainbow in the other.

 Never been a fan of sea bass. Not tried red snapper though.

Just been in a deeply enthralling conversation in the office about the little pocket on a pair of jeans. Turns out it was actually put there as a watch pocket back in the day but noone generally carries a pocket watch now (hipsters), so the question is what do YOU keep in there?? Is this pocket obsolete? Handy place for a lighter? Narcotics?

I keep a Vick's inhaler stick in mine. Especially handy around this time of year. 

If I might compliment this show for a moment, I absolutely love Strowman vs Zayn as a feud. Zayn will almost certainly bring out the best of the big man it's been played well so far. Strowman came across really well on Austin's podcast recently and I really want to see him do well.

Kendrick's booking has been ropey but the backstage skits have been pretty good. Cracking bit of business with him looking desperate and asking TJ to let him win. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not sure I've ever seen that done in WWE before?

Both angles feel like real basic stuff but have kept at least me invested in how they play out. Why the hell are they incapable of doing this with the rest of the roster??

 

Are today's fans the worst ever or what? Ruin a guy's last match in the only time his kid ever sees him? Wow. I really hope not.

Why should fans care about any of that?

 

Because they're so belligerently desperate to pull back the curtain and make sure everyone knows they "get it" these days that they will shout "YOU DESERVE IT" when the biggest onscreen prick in the company who abuses them every week wins the title. They all care infinitely more about making sure they recognise the skill of the actor rather than the actions of his character. It's going to be a struggle, not because they disapprove of one wrestler's actions towards another, but because they probably can't figure out if Goldberg gave enough of his heart and soul to them to deserve a good send off or if he was pushed too hard and took from the business more than Brock did.

I really wish I could put my finger on why that promo was so good and why noone on the current roster seems capable of it. Such incredible intensity. Just looks absolutely hard as nails. Even the current main eventers sound like they're bickering in the comments section on YouTube.

There was a story in an autobiography I read where someone ran down his opponent for being old and slow or something and the guy pointed out to him after that when he lost to him, he's going to look like shit losing to this slow, old man. It feels that way now. Noone ever puts over their opponent and adds a "But I'm better" claim to it. They just bitch at each other. Maybe that's it.

That aside, I absolutely love the idea of Strowman vs Zayn and it was the last thing I expected to see. Still find Jericho a riot on this run. I am half in love with Dana Brooke.

Conrad is still on the ones I'm listening to. He's really good at steering it back to the interviewee rather than letting Ric waffle on about how much whiskey him and Piper got through at the Atlanta Marriott. 

I've been listening to Flair's podcasts the last few days. I really love Ric but the podcasts are getting a little bit cringey because it always seems to come back to "We were so shitfaced that night! I didn't sleep for a week! We were doing an hour every night and then sitting in the bar until sun up. I spent four grand that night teeheehee!"

Obviously that pretty much IS Ric Flair but I can't imagine sticking with it too long at this rate.

What happened to Elix skipper anyway? There's a name I haven't thought about in years.

Does Steph's presence on TV advance or add to anything at all?

Big Tasty is seasonal. Probably for the best. Once there was a balls up and I bit into a Tasty with Big Mac sauce on it. Ruined my day. Mac sauce is foul.

I only go to McDonalds for the couple of months a year that the Big Tasty is around. That sauce is like crack to me. A large Tasty meal and chicken selects and Creme Egg McFlurry is my vote for the Rolls Royce of McDonalds meals.

Brilliant thread name. Tragic that it is absolutely necessary. I'll be skipping through this tonight. Great that Harper is back. I've seen him filling that Kane role of a upper mid-card serious threat that always loses and the brand split is a perfect time for that to happen.

I've just discovered the Goldbergs which is utterly utterly brilliant. Genuinely funny and warm...oh and Erica Goldberg... And watched the 1st series and first episodes of series 2 of Josh, which I've really enjoyed as well. Some of it is very very funny, and Jack Dee is excellent as always.

I've been massively into this lately. Erica is amazing and Jeff Garlin is great as always. Only negative is the lad that plays Barry is incredibly grating sometimes. 

I'm still on the fence with National Treasure with one episode left. The acting has been top notch and there's a horrible bleak aura to the whole thing. The colouration has been less than subtle but contributes to the mood massively. I feel like next week is going to be incredibly uncomfortable viewing with a big a reveal in the flashbacks. If it doesn't it's going to feel like a bit of a waste of time.

Rubin is nearly always at WWE events in LA. Normally sat behind the announcers and is there so often they don't even seem to mention it often these days.

There's a couple of photos floating about claiming to be damage from a knife attack on Del Rio explaining his no show from the weekend. Sources aren't the most reliable, granted.

I watched Who Took Johnny on Netflix over the weekend. Another of those cases I hate not knowing what happened! Really feel for the mother as she's clearly never come to terms with what's happened. I'm not one for conspiracies but it stinks of a cover up for a pedophile ring. I'm highly skeptical that he turned up on her doorstep in the middle of the night. My conclusion is that he's dead in a lake somewhere. Great documentary though. 

The Internet Points thing is a bit redundant at this point. I think it simply comes down to respect for the performer rather than reacting to the way his character is behaving. I liken it to going to a pantomime where the villain is played by a beloved character actor and the hero is played by some mush from Geordie Shore. You know the villain is a better actor, but you wouldn't bloody cheer for him.

It would be simplistic to call it a kid's show and say it's as black and white as that, but it's not these days because they've blurred the lines between performer and character probably a little too much now. People seem to think the problem is that there's no top babyface but really without a unanimously hated villain with some credibility, there's noone to cheer against.

Just saw a photo of this Silas Young chap and he looks brilliant. Like a young Tex Cobb. Anyone able to recommend any matches of his? What's his current status? I'd love to see him on WWE. Great look.