The SmarK Rant for ECW Wrestling on TNN – 10.15.99
Could this be the week where they actually use the taping footage that TNN paid for? Stay tuned to find out!
Read moreThe SmarK Rant for ECW Wrestling on TNN–10.15.99
BoD Daily Update: September 23, 2019
WWE.com RAW Preview
https://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2019-23-09
NJPW Free Match of the Week
You can watch Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA from 5/3/16
WWF Superstars – April 30th, 1994
April 30, 1994
From the Rochester War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester, NY
Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The show starts off with a video package on the leading up today’s Intercontinental Title match between Razor Ramon and Diesel.
Also in action this week are Mabel, Heavenly Bodies, and Sparky Plugg. Plus, an interview with Dink.
Read moreWWF Superstars – April 30th, 1994
Impact Wrestling – September 20, 2019
Impact Wrestling
Date: September 20, 2019
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis
I’m pretty sure this is the final show in Mexico and that might be the best thing for everyone involved. These shows haven’t been the most consistent with a cross between horrible and entertaining enough. Tonight is all about LAX, who are having their farewell match before heading off to AEW. Let’s get to it.
The Book
Your comment about Scott Hall and Raven’s mental acuity for the business (personal demons aside) got me thinking: out of today’s crop of workers, who do you see as having the capability to take over the book for an entire promotion? Guys like Jericho and Cody have demonstrated they can book themselves well, but would they be able to maintain that level of investment when booking an entire roster? And, by design, you can’t tell with the WWE roster.
Exactly. There's no opportunity for anyone to learn this stuff. But good bookers aren't necessarily good wrestlers, so maybe one of the midcard goofs is a secret booking genius that hasn't been tapped yet, who knows?
Most Contrived Wrestling Move?
What do you think is the most contrived wrestling move-setup for a wrestling move, either past or present? I think Bandito in ROH's rebound german suplex setup is currently the worst. He throws the wrestler into the middle rope, then has to wait while the wrestler stands and grabs the middle rope while bending over so Bandito can bounce off the ropes and execute the german suplex. It's beyond hokey looking.
Alberto Del Rio's double footstomp in the corner. How many ways could you devise to have someone hanging upside down in the corner and then do a sit-up so you can jump on their face? Not many, it turns out.
Scott’s Next Book
Hey Scott—
I was flipping through one of your old books and it got me thinking; your last published work, (Dungeon of Death) while good, is damned depressing. I can’t imagine you wanted your book-writing career to end with a litany of men and women who died before their time.
If a Tony Khan-esque publisher showed up with a fat check and the edict “Write about whatever wrestling subject you want” what would Scott Keith’s next book be?
I was actually in the planning stages of co-authoring a book with the Titan Sinking guys last year about the end of Jim Crockett Promotions called "Dusty Finish", but as usual we were all too busy to make it work. I really wouldn't want to do another one by myself at this point anyway, as the Kindle e-books make me a small but steady monthly income and are much easier to produce.
Tv Blackouts and Smackdown
So I saw yesterday that Directv and Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns many FOX stations, are in another one of those tv fee disputes we hear about all the time. My father said there was even a story about it on ESPN. They have until this Friday to come to an agreement or they'll blackout the channel like they did with the ABC/CW dispute this summer. If it continues until next week, alot of people will miss the Fox premiere of SD. How bad would this affect their ratings?
Some? I have no idea what Fox stations that Sinclair owns.
ECW on Syfy 08/04/2009 #165
We’re in Long Island, NY and we’re starting off soft with The Abraham Washington Show. Thankfully they’ve figured out what was missing from the joke and added some 1993 WCW.
Sunday Night Reset: September 22, 2019
Sorry it’s a little late. We were celebrating a trainee’s first outside booking by taking him to dinner.
Your Sunday Night game in football is LA Rams / Cleveland. In baseball, it’s Philly / Cleveland. A good day to be in Ohio for once.
Enjoy the night. Now where’s my Advil…
WWF Monday Night RAW – April 25th, 1994
April 25, 1994
From the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, NY
Your hosts are Vince McMahon and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Kofi winning.
Hey Scott,
Everyone around here seems to agree that Kofi is going to drop the belt to Brock on the first Smackdown, but what if he wins clean 1,2,3 in the middle of the ring? Would that help people get behind him more or would it be a case of too little too late?
They’ve already put Kofi over a bunch of people and it didn’t help make him a bigger star, and they put Seth over Brock TWICE and it didn’t help him either. So I just can’t see the point.
Kevin Nash as booker?
Hey Scott,
I know this is probably an old question but it just popped into my mind because I was reading a book on the Monday Night Wars.
Back in late 1998, a lot of fans, and wrestlers for that matter, were blaming some of the booking issues for WCW on Kevin Nash. I actually kind of get Eric Bischoff’s dilemma when I came to hiring a booker for WCW, because he couldn’t hire outside of Turner at the time and needed someone with some level of experience, so who better than an actual wrestler.
But if you had your choice when looking at WCW‘s roster, would you have picked Kevin Nash for that role or do you think that someone else on WCW‘s roster, at the time, would have been a better pick? My choice honestly would have been DDP for that spot.
I can’t see that working out very well either. I think actually Scott Hall could have been a hell of a booker if he had his life together. Also, Raven, with the same disclaimer.
T.V. Ads for Smackdown on Fox
What do you think of the T.V. ads the WWE is running for Smackdown on Fox that prominently feature several wrestlers who are retired/not full time anymore? Ex-Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Ric Flair, etc. Do you feel these are counterproductive to the talent that is on the shows every week, or do you believe that the commercials aren't a big deal either way?
I think they're certainly setting up expectations for Fox that might be tough to match. Although I haven't watched anything on Fox in ages so I can't speak as to the commercials themselves. Really the only actual TV shows I've watched lately are Big Brother and Live PD and everything else I consume is on streaming services or YouTube.
The Hard Camera
I haven't been to alive show since I was 7 or 8, and never to a tv taping. How awkward is it to have the winner of a match celebrating and grandstanding in the direction of a tarp instead of to the fans?
They do make sure to have fans on the hard camera side. The upper deck is often tarped off but the lower bowl is usually filled for TV tapings, even on the side you don't see.