Whatever became of me...

When Black Friday comes
I’m gonna dig myself a hole
Gonna lay down in it
‘Til I satisfy my soul
Gonna let the world pass by me
The Archbishop gonna sanctify me
And if he don’t come across
I’m gonna let it roll
When Black Friday comes I’m gonna stake my claim
I guess I’ll change my name.

- Steely Dan, “Black Friday”

Well, now that we’re all sated on turkey, football and bargain crazed shopping, let’s give thanks that its once again Friday and time for us to our trip through the tubes.  I’m most thankful that my fellow GonzoGeeks got their links in to me before they disappeared for the holidays.  We’ve got some good stuff here today kids, so hang on.

Of course, before we serve up the links, we have to serve up the cheesecake.  This week, we decided it was time to go retro once again.  Stephe and I decided that we could think of no vintage cheesecake more appropriate for the day after Thanksgiving than Loni Anderson.  Why?  Because of the legendary “Turkey Drop” episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, that’s why.  Loni tweaked the dumb blonde secretary stereotype magnificently on WKRP and in this episode especially.  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  CLICK HERE.

In the meantime, enjoy the links.

1. The early days of some of your favorite websites.
2. Iraqi Metal.
3. The BIG Boom (scroll down).
4. Translation be fun time to me.
5. Ms. Couric, your freak is showing.
6. Rob Schneider vs. radio imbeciles.
7. Stephe’s lone contribution of the week.  Its even in English this time.
8. TEQUILA!
9. The dangers of MMORPGs exposed.
10. Another chimp attack victim goes on Oprah.
11. Cool pictures of vintage girl bands.
12. As the 00’s come to a close the “best of” lists have started to roll in.
13. This week’s gratuitous Twilight post #1.
14. Gotcha?  You betcha.
15. Even when Hulk Hogan is playing air guitar on the title belt?
16. How to pick cereal.
17. This week’s obligatory Twilight post #2.
18. Just in time for Black Friday, what not to buy in 2009.
19. 25 scariest moments in non-horror movies.
20. It’s evolution baby!
21. Rock Band reaches 1001 song catalog.  Take that Creed!
22. This is as close as I will ever come to watching a Lifetime movie.
23. At long last, Angelina Jolie weighs in on POTUS.  America can sleep better tonight.
24. The Most Brutal Martial Arts Training…EVER.
25. I fail to see the problem.
26. But who will correct and/or hack the entries?
27. And finally, David’s Iraq deployment blog.

Warning: The following post contains major spoilers to The Crying Game, The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, The Wizard of Oz, No Holds Barred, My Super Exgirlfriend, Dude Where’s My Car, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and possibly (but not probably) World Trade Center.

I don’t know when we as a society we decided to preface every bit of information about an entertainment product someone else has yet to experience with “spoiler alert!” but what started as a good idea (especially in the internet age) has become a complete conversation barrier, and we’re letting people with unreasonable expectations of what constitutes a spoiler dictate our conversations.

I am friends with a few people who are so ridiculously spoiler averse they basically refuse to hear anything about things they have yet to see, whether specific details or broad generalities. It doesn’t matter that these same people are actually must less likely than most people I know to ever actually see the thing being referenced. I think the *SPOILER ALERT* tags all over the internet have emboldened this people to the point that you can’t even mention things in casual conversation that are readily apparent by viewing a trailer or reading a review.

But more annoying than the (often somewhat) legit concern about newer media are the people, usually found on internet message boards, who complain about spoilers to things that are years old. Guess what, if you don’t know about the big reveal in The Crying Game (she’s a man) or The Usual Suspects (Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze) or The Wizard of Oz (the power was in Dorothy the whole time) or No Holds Barred (Hulk Hogan wins) you really don’t have the right to whine about someone mentioning it in conversation.

This is the essential problem of unwritten rules. There’s too much leeway for personal interpretation of what a “spoiler” is. Whereas I might consider a spoiler something like “Omar gets shot to death by some kid while buying smokes” someone else will get mad at me for saying “The Wire features a character named Omar who likes to rob drug dealers.”

So let’s make it a written rule. Let’s construct a concrete set of guidelines for spoilers to alleviate all the turmoil.

What a spoiler is:
1. A revelation about an important plot or character development in a current movie, television show, or book.

2. A description of a comical scene or retelling of a joke. Telling someone a funny joke from a comedy may not reveal to them what happens per se, but they’re enjoyment of the product will be lessened by your gum flapping.

3. Extra special consideration should be given to any character death. A character’s death is something best experienced when unexpected to maximize the shock and surprise.

What is not a spoiler:
1. Any description of any pop culture phenomena older than 7 years. Once something passes the 7 year date it is now acceptable to talk about without saying or typing a warning about potential spoilers. An important caveat to this rule is the always handy “don’t be a dick” rule. If someone says “I’m watching The Sixth Sense tonight for the first time” you absolutely do not say “Bruce Willis is a ghost” under any circumstances, regardless of the fact that it is past the 7 year date. If you know someone is watching all the episodes of Lost on DVD don’t mention any of the many many character deaths.

2. Any statement that can be gleaned from a review or trailer. If the movie is called “Dude, Where’s My Car?” feel free to tell your friends that the movie concerns the search for the dude’s car. If the trailer shows that Luke Wilson’s ex-girlfriend, Uma Thurman, possesses super powers you can mention this fact freely, even if the opening 20 minutes of this movie only hint at that stunning revelation.

3. A statement general enough that nobody without the context of having actually seen the subject in question would possibly understand. For example, if I was talking to Person C about having seen “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” but Person B hadn’t yet seen it, I can freely say “I hated that fridge part” without incurring the wrath of Person B. Why should Person B be upset? They now know a refrigerator plays a part in the movie at some point? So what? That information is devoid of context enough that it’s essentially meaningless.

4. This is very specific I realize, but if you describe a scene from a movie or tv show, etc, that is a fictional construction of a real life event, you can discuss it freely. Let’s say in the end of Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center the Twin Towers reassembled themselves into a giant robot that then flew to Iraq to get revenge on Saddam Hussein for committing 9/11 (none of which happens in the film, as far as I know) you could describe that scene and mention it as confusing, because this is unfortunately not how real life turned out. Actually, on second thought, if that is how World Trade Center ends, don’t spoil it for me.

This is the first of a series of articles looking at the career, influence and legacy of wrestling’s most influential character, Vince McMahon.

There can surely be no more controversial figure in the history of professional wrestling than Vincent Kennedy McMahon. According to his own company, WWE, Vince is responsible for everything good and successful in professional wrestling or, as they would have it, sports-entertainment, today. On the other hand, many outside the company blame him for more or less everything wrong with the business today. Either way, almost all agree that his mark on this business is truly indelible. Getting to the heart of the real Vince is, however, extremely difficult. He doesn’t give a huge amount of interviews – he probably doesn’t have the time – and he is never unguarded in his public comments. Most, if not all of what we hear said about him is said by someone with a vested interest in attacking or defending him, which makes it hard to be sure what is accurate. Finally, no one in wrestling is harder to distinguish from their on-screen, in-ring persona.

 Being the son of Vincent J McMahon and the grandson of Jesse McMahon, it might have been thought more or less inevitable that Vince would end up promoting wrestling. Yet, in fact he did not even meet his father until he was twelve years old, and it took him much, much longer to persuade Vince senior to let him into the business. It was not until 1971, when Vince was in his mid-twenties that he promoted his first card. It was also in that year that he began the job that would first make him recognisable to the general public, that of play by play announcer. It was not until 1982 that Vince actually bought the company from his father who, by this point, was in poor health.

 The next few years are a key part of one of the most often told stories in wrestling, the collapse of the territories. In a nutshell, wrestling at this time was, and had been for decades, a regional business, with promoters each sticking to their own territory. Vince’s territory was New York and it was perfectly usual for wrestlers to refer simply to “New York” when they meant “World Wrestling Federation”. There were many other promoters with their own territories: Sam Muchnick in St Louis, Verne Gagne’s AWA based in Minneapolis, Jim Crockett in the Carolinas and so on. Many of these promotions were part of a group called the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) which simply meant that, in addition to their own regional champions, they recognized an overall NWA World Champion who moved between the various NWA territories, defending his title against each area’s local favourite. The exceptions were Gagne’s AWA and Vince’s World Wrestling Federation, who recognized their own world champions.

 Almost as soon as he became owner of the then WWF, Vince began attacking this model. The territory system had worked well for years but Vince realised that he could make his federation a national, rather than regional, institution. Vince began sending tapes of his product to TV stations around the country, touring outside his usual regional boundaries and hiring top talent away from other promotions, not just to strengthen his own product but also deliberately to weaken them. Many old-schoolers within the business were appalled at what Vince was doing. He was gambling big, spending money to make money and, if he failed he would face ruin. The prize, however, was that the World Wrestling Federation could become big, so big that it would transcend anyone’s ideas of what a wrestling promotion could, or should, be.

 Vince’s biggest gamble was Wrestlemania and it paid off big-time. His use of mainstream celebrities helped attract a wide audience to the company and the event was broadcast nationally. Vince’s partnership with Dick Ebersol got the WWF on to NBC, and his instant adoption of the new medium of pay per view gave him more nationally broadcast events and a whole new way of making money. One by one, the regional promotions began to disappear. It is arguably only because of the intervention of Ted Turner that Vince did not entirely conquer North American wrestling back then. Even so, by the beginning of the ‘90s, a multitude of regional promotions had been replaced by two credible national promotions, WCW (Turner’s World Championship Wrestling), born out of the old NWA, and the WWF.

 Vince has come under heavy criticism, both at the time and to this day, for “destroying the territories”. It is true that this has had unforeseen negative effects, primarily due to the fact that it is harder for young wrestlers to break into the business and get the experience they need nowadays. Back then, if a rookie wrestler stank in the ring it wasn’t necessarily fatal; he could learn from his mistakes and move on to a new territory, where a new audience would see him as the finished article. These days, if a young wrestler stinks on national TV practically the entire wrestling audience sees him do so and his career can be pretty much over before it has really had a chance to begin. However, the people who blame Vince for this situation need to recognise some other factors.

 The United States was not the only country that ran wrestling in this regional way; through the fifties, sixties and seventies British wrestling was organised in exactly the same way. However, even without Vince McMahon, this model began to break down at more or less the same time. Throughout history, the local gives way to the regional, the regional to the national, the national to the international. This is a natural effect born of improvements in transport, communication and technology, although every generation bemoans what they lose as if it is happening for the first time. Wrestling was no more immune to this than any other facet of society. Sooner or later the change from regional to national was coming; if it hadn’t been Vince, it would have been someone else.

 Secondly, the other promoters did not go out of business because Vince didn’t play fair but simply because they did not fight him effectively. Several of them, initially, had the base and resources to compete with Vince on the new national battlefield he was drawing up, Gagne and Crockett especially. Instead they chose to fight him in their own backyards, on a regional basis. Eventually, Gagne went out of business, Crockett sold up to Turner. Had Vince been ruthless and acquisitive? Of course he had – hardly sins in the business world. When he ran the first Survivor Series he wasn’t just creating a new pay per view to boost his own income, he was deliberately sabotaging the 5th Starrcade, Crockett’s first pay per view offering. That was ruthlessness, plain and simple.

 Vince was also innovative, though. He was making money in ways his rivals hadn’t even thought of. Who else in wrestling had an animated cartoon show? Vince was putting WWF images, and Hulk Hogan’s image in particular, on everything under the sun and this was having a twofold effect. Not only did it make the WWF more and more money, it made the word wrestling almost synonymous with WWF and Hulk Hogan in the minds of the wider public. Everywhere the public turned, they saw Hulk Hogan and the WWF. The WWF became more than just a wrestling company – they were a brand of children’s entertainment competing with He-Man, Superman, the A-Team, Indiana Jones and everyone else in all the same ways: computer games, toys, lunch boxes, t-shirts and anything else one could think of.

 Critics would point out that the wrestling in Vince’s federation was slow, plodding and technically poor compared to many of the old territories. They were missing the point; Vince was no longer competing with other wrestling promotions, he was competing with everyone who wanted a piece of the American family’s dollar. In the long run, Vince may have been creating problems for the wrestling business in the future but at the time, the eighties were a period of unbridled success for him, and the wrestling business had been raised to unimaginable new heights.

 Next: Vince McMahon vs Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff

- The 11/21 Melbourne house show was taped for television in Australia. The event will be in a few weeks in prime time on One HD.

- The show was also taped for DVD release, presumably in both Australia as well as the North American market.

- In addition to the Hulkamania tour, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart and Brutus Beefcake were also in Australia to film a pilot for a Hogan/Flair reality show for North America.

- The only merchandise sold at the shows was for Hogan.

- The former Jethro Holiday/Trevor Murdoch recently opened T Murdoch’s Bar & Grill in Eldon, MO. credit: Wrestling Globe Newsletter

As many of you know, November is a month of many things: American Thanksgiving, cold-weather football, MLB winter meeting and as of late Movember. For those of who don’t know what Movember is; it serves as the month in which many males grow moustaches, of all shapes and sizes, in support of prostate cancer. So to honour all those who have been grooming their moustaches for the month of November I salute you and present the Top Ten moustaches in sports history.  Here’s to you!

10. Dennis Eckersely- One of the greatest closers of all time, also one of the best moustaches of all time!

9. Sal Fasano- This backup catcher has been around the league for years, and his moustache just gets better and better with every year he plays.

8. Mark Spitz- Winning 7 gold medals at the Munich Olympics was impressive, but not as impressive as that stache!

7. Wendel Clark- The former captain of the Maple Leafs is a hero in Toronto, primarily for his hard play and for his amazing handlebars.

6. Hulk Hogan- A legend in the wrestling community, also a legend in the moustache community.

5. George Parros- A boxer on skates, and one heck of a 'stache!

4. Richard Petty- The greatest driver in NASCAR history, and you gotta love that skinny chevron style moustache that he’s been sporting for decades.

3. Al Hrabosky- Most notably known as the “Mad Hungarian,” his burly moustache was just as unusual as his pitching antics.

2. Lanny McDonald- Small objects have been known to get lost in this hall of famer's ridiculous moustache.

1. Rollie Fingers- The real life Captain Hook has had his handlebar moustache for over 30 years. No question, the best moustache in sports.

There you have it folks, an ode to moustaches. If you would like to donate to the Movember campaign visit the following link http://www.movember.com/. Those ’staches need all the support they can get. Long live the stache.

Stylin’ and profilin’ at the Wal-Mart! WOOOOOOO!

Algunas fotos de luchadores encontrados en los pasillos de la conocida tienda Walmart, sugerencia de compañero Dunkler

The Great Khali buscando comprar talento

WTF?

Hulk Hogan fue un invitado al programa de Radio Sport FM en Perth, para promover la función en el Domo Burwood de Australia en la gira Hulkmania. Hogan dijo que odia a los escritores de TNA, y aunque no mencionó nombres, todos sabemos que es Vince Russo el titular, y sabemos que Hogan y Russo han tenido problemas incluso legales

Hogan dijo que hablo con Kurt Angle, Sting y AJ Styles, y dejó en claro que quien no este en el “Equipo Hogan”, TNA lo va enterrar. También  afirmó haber hablado con Steve Austin sobre su regreso y por ultimo menciono  que tiene un “amor-odio” con Vince McMahon

Rick Flair queda ensangrentado en la lona después de ser derrotado por Hulk Hogan durante la segunda función del Tour Hulkamania en el Burswood Dome en Perth, Australia (24 de noviembre de 2009)

Resultados rápidos:

Match 1 – Rikishi & Brian Christopher vencieron a Rock Of Love

Match 2 – Shannon Moore venció a Spartan 3000 Matt Cross

Match 3 – Rosey vencio a Godfather (w/Hos) y Val Venis in a Three Way Dance

Match 4 – Heidenreich & Gangrel & Black Pearl vencieron Nasty Boys & Eugene (w/Jimmy Hart)

Match 5 – Orlando Jordan venció Ken Anderson

Match 6 – Umaga venció Brutus Beefcake (w/Jimmy Hart)

Match 7 – Hulk Hogan vencio a  Ric Flair (w/Lacey Von Erich)

]]> http://universaldork.com/2009/11/24/a-few-more-words-from-the-ultimate-warrior/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:58:15 +0000 petersaturday http://universaldork.com/2009/11/24/a-few-more-words-from-the-ultimate-warrior/

The Ultimate Warrior in song. Nuff said!

En este video vemos los momentos de arranque de una de las funciones del tour “Hulkmania” en Australia, que parece haber sido un éxito para Hulk Hogan, no solo tuvo grandes entradas (como muestra el video), si no que ha recibido muy buenos comentarios de los asistentes:

• Haha great night dude, How awesome was it when Ric Flair came out. We both were yelling WOOOO WOOOOOOOO WOOOOO!
• Once you have pyro, giant video screens, world class talent, and an arena full of blokes… You’re not low budget.
  No part of this low budget. Low budget is not a synonym for “wrestling produced by someone other than WWE”.
  Great stuff man. Keep it coming, one love to AUSTRALIA.

Un nuevo video promocional de la llegada de Hulk Hogan a TNA Wrestling, aunque recordemos que al parecer su debut en persona en el ring de TNA, no ocurrirá si no hasta enero del 2010

Si les gustó el PPV Turning Point 2009, hay que rezar para que la llegada de Hogan no ponga en peligro los encuentros de ese nivel de calidad (El encuentro de llaveo Wolfe vs Angle es algo que hacía años no se veía en las dos principales empresas americanas)
Buen detalle cuando rompe la playera del aficionado al final del video

Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, the famous American actor and retired professional wrestler, has been battling divorce with his wife of 24 years, Linda Marie Bollea, since late 2007.

In early 2009, Hogan had a heated confrontation with Ray Rafool, Linda’s lawyer, after the wrestler overheard Rafool, a high-power Coral Gables attorney who is no stranger to high-profile divorce cases, make comments to reporters alleging Hogan was holding marital assets captive.  Rafool’s accusations suggested Hogan was hiding assets and recklessly spending what is now the remnants of the Hogan $10 million family fortune, partially by providing his new girlfriend with a hefty sum of $4,000 per month.  Hogan’s lawyer, David Houston, told refuted the claims by explaining he felt the Hogans’ assets were being diluted more so by the considerable costs of the divorce than by the Hulk’s allegedly wild spending habits.

During court proceedings in March of 2009, Hogan testified to having only $412,000 in his bank account of which he owed $312,000.  Hogan appeared on the stand in crutches, having recently undergone back surgery.

Rafool, who has a reputation for being aggressive, well-prepared and confident, fervently debated the financial issues at hand with Hogan’s lawyers in ardent defense of his client’s best interest. Hogan’s attorneys then explained the need to unfreeze a monthly sum of $300,000 in marital assets in order to help both Hogan and Linda meet monthly expenses.  These expenses include massive attorney bills that had begun to pile up from the divorce in addition to a lawsuit involving son Nick after he was implicated in a racing crash that brought serious injuries to his friend in 2007, and several messy business involvements.

Shortly after Pinellas Circuit Court Judge George Greer granted Hogan access to  $225,000 per month in previously frozen assets in order to meet his expenses, the confrontation between Rafool and Hogan ensued.   Angry at previous accusations made by Rafool concerning the concealment of marital assets, Hogan stood up to Rafool and threatened to sue him.  Rafool did not stay quiet, asking the wrestler whether he planned to wrestle with him there in the court and come across the cameras at him.

Ironically, Rafool had asked the famous wrestler for an autograph for his son right before court proceedings that same day.

Rafool later told the media the argument had spun more out of control than he had hoped, admitting some of it was nothing more than clever joking between the two about the wrestling, both of them laughing a bit and smiling as the confrontation occurred.

The Hogan divorce finally came to a close in mid 2009 after two long years of feuding.  The divorce was finalized in a short hearing during which Hogan told the court that he and Linda had finally reached an agreement in regards to the terms of the separation.  They further explained their desire to put aside the long, harsh feud and move on.

Hogan is going to need a team to properly clean out TNA's writing staff.

In this story from Prowrestling.net, Hulk Hogan is quoted as saying:

“In TNA, I’m going to listen to those fans and give them what they want. I’m not going to keep shoving a bunch of terrible, horrible, stale programming down their throats. I’m going to take the writers and tell them, ‘Go get another job. Sit in the back. If I need you to write a jingle for a commercial, maybe we’ll use you for that.’ “

What a novel concept, listening to the fans! Gawd forbid a wrestling promoter did that. There could be an upside to Hogan cleaning house but the downside is that it’s Hulk Hogan who will be putting his cronies in place who have their own list of terrible, horrible, stale programming that they’ll shove down our throats.

I do think this statement is made weak by the fact that Hulk was a giant sissy and made the announcement in Perth, Australia. You had plenty of air time to blast them while you were in the States promoting your book including your time on Bubba The Love Sponge show. It makes one wonder how much power he will really have in TNA. Considering that Dixie Carter will get on her knees because of a Twitter campaign, I’m sure Hulk will have her ready to give her a piledriver while her husband watches like the cuckhold he is. - Kevin

Things featured in this video: American flag guitars, head butting the Russian flag, a hilariously phallic shot of a missile.

Yes the Ultimate Warrior totally RULED! I was reminded last night about  how great he was as public speaker too! Check out  what was going through his mind before Wrestlemania 6 where he was preparing to battle Hulk Hogan. Now seriously these are words to live by!!

Still didn’t get enough? check this out too!

ok still want more UW

Ok check him out on Arsenio Hall. He must have really been bummed when Wrestlemania 6 ended and he couldn’t talk about Hulk Hogan every second of his life anymore…

Hulk Hogan es declarado vencedor ante su oponente  Ric Flair durante Hulkamania Hulk Hogan’s Tour en el Rod Laver Arena en Melbourne, Australia. (21 de noviembre de 2009)

Resultados rapidos:

1. Nick Dinsmore (a/k/a Eugene) y Pimp Fatha (a/k/a Godfather) vencen Rock of Love.
2. Spartan3000 Matt Cross venció “Outcast” Shannon Moore.
3. The Nasty Boys venció Black Pearl y Vampire Warrior in an Australian Street Fight.
4. Brutus Beefcake venció Heidenreich.
5. Lacey Von Erich gano el bikini contest.
6. Mr. Anderson venció Sean Morley (a/k/a Val Venis).
7. Brian Lawler y Rikishi vencieron Orlando Jordan y Uso Fatu.
8. Hulk Hogan venció Ric Flair.

Brian Knobbs is the only person on earth who makes me look like Kate Moss.

Oh my god, Dusty and Kevin are back again. Brothers and sisters, everybody sing. This week, Dusty and Kevin are singing about Monday Night Raw, and what an abysmal overall show it really was. Did you know there was a PPV this coming Sunday? Well, you wouldn’t be able to tell it from watching Raw! The fearless duo critique the show, examining some of the mistakes that were made along the way. Kevin laments that in spite of all these errors, Raw seems to at least be more on the right track than they have been in the past. Baby steps. In other news, Hulk Hogan was left battered and bloodied, and the Australia thought it was a shoot, brother! Which one is dumb, which one is dumber, and which one is the dumbest? Dusty and Kevin tell you who, so you need to listen!

Stunt Granny Audio #68

Auf der Pressekonferenz von Hulk Hogan schlug Ric Flair auf ihn ein…

Fake or Real?

Beim ersten Blick ist man geschockt, doch dann fragt man sich doch ob er wirklich so zugerichtet worden sein kann. Ist dies möglicherweiße nur eine fragwürdige Promo-Aktion für seinen nächsten Kampf? Am Vergangenen Dienstag traf Hogan jedenfalls auf seinen Gegner Ric Flair, während einer Pressekonferenz in Australien.

Nach einem kurzen Wortaustausch, soll Hogan von seinem Gegenüber in den Schwitzkasten genommen worden sein und Flair fing an heftig auf seinen Kopf einzuschlagen, bis er blutüberströmt am Boden lag. Ein Sprecher von Hulk Hogan besteht darauf, dass es sich um einen echten Kampf handelte, die Welt aber zweifelt an der Echtheit.

Ich persönlich denke das es eine Promo-Aktion ist, irgendwie wirkt das Bild nicht real auf mich. Sollte es sich tatsächlich um eine Prügelei gehandelt haben, wünsche ich Herrn Hogan gute Genesung.

I’m sure that back in the 80s kids thought Hogan was being sincere when he talked about his Powerful Protein Shake and the Powerful Python Pack vitamins but knowing what we know about Hogan now, this is just funny. I think this is from Tuesday Night Titans.

Also I must say how much I miss Lord Alfred Hayes. Sure he was the butt of everyone’s jokes and he was a terrible announcer, and most of the comedy skits he was in were cringingly awful, but I miss him all the same. Here Hogan calls him Awful Alfred, which I guess is the persona that Hayes used in the AWA when he was one of the top heel managers. Apparently he was as a good as a heel manager as he was as terrible an announcer. Most people I guess just remember him as the Coliseum Video guy.

Take a look at this picture, lifted directly from the TNA website:

For those not gifted with good readin’ skills, it says: Exclusive Interview: STING discussing HULK HOGAN and his future in TNA Wrestling.

Now keep in mind that Sting has been gone for a month, since losing his title shot against AJ Styles at Bound for Glory.  Also keep in mind that no one is sure what Sting will do in regards to his future.  Sting’s return is a big deal.

Now read that again.  What seems more important to TNA?

Hulk Hogan will not be on Impact tonight.  Hell, TNA still only seems to have two pictures of Hogan back from the press conference.  Hogan has done NOTHING on TNA, yet they still bow to him in every possible way.  And this is the problem with Hogan and TNA at this point.  Hogan will not be what is needed to take TNA to the next level.  Sure, over a decade ago, Hogan was a part of the stable that put WCW over the WWF, but also remember that Hogan had been in WCW for two years before that point.  It was really the help of the younger guys that did it.  And when the nWo became too big?  Too full of itself?  It collapsed.  And WCW never could figure out what to do later.

I see TNA walking in WCW’s footsteps more and more with each mention of Hogan on Impact.  The way it’s going, this will not end well.

Tonight on TNA Wrestling Impact, Sting will make his  first Impact appearance since October’s Bound For Glory event and he’ll be sitting down with Mike Tenay for an exclusive interview discussing his future in TNA and the signing of his old friend and foe, Hulk Hogan. Some announced matches have Taylor Wilde battling Hamada, Beer Money teaming with the Motor City Machine Guns to take on World Elite in an 8-man tag match, and the big main-event tag team match with AJ Styles teaming with Kurt Angle to take on Daniels and Desmond Wolfe. All of this and more tonight on TNA Impact on Spike TV at 8pm CST.

I’m actually kind of interested in the Sting interview, just because of the history between him and Hulk Hogan. All of the announced matches seem like fun on paper, we’ll see how the turn out. The tag team main event is something I’m looking forward too, as it could be an excellent bout if TNA allows it too. You have four of the very best in the world, should make for a fun match.

Also, be sure and visit TNAwrestling.com immediately following tonight’s Impact for a LIVE one-hour webshow with Jeremy Borash and Don West. During the live special, Don West is going to have his “most insane deal ever”, and it’s only going to be available for the duration of the one-hour special. You’ll have to tune in tonight to see what the deal is, but TNA has had many sweet “Don West Insane Deals” in the past, and the hype of this one, whatever the product is should be a great buy.