Articles by Scott Keith

Hitman/Stone Cold

25th September 2022 by Scott Keith
Hi Scott,

Just finally watched the Austin vs Rock A&E Rivals episode and I started thinking that, to me, the Bret Hart vs Steve Austin fued was much more memorable. I even think the whole Hart vs Austin angle was better than the Hart/Shawn Michaels rivalry.

Am I crazy or does Hart vs Austin get completely brushed aside by WWE, and if so, why?

Thanks!

It absolutely does get brushed aside and I don't know why.  They carried the promotion on their backs for most of 1997 with the Hart Foundation feud, and it's annoying how little attention is paid to that era in between multiple DVD releases about how great D-X was.  It's like Austin's history jumps from “Austin 3:16” to suddenly winning the World title at WM14 sometimes.  I have no good answer as to why that is, either.  

Rants

Lashley

25th September 2022 by Scott Keith

Everyone's focusing on backstage/real life drama, no one seems to care about what happens in the shows. Lashley became a really good hand over the years, his match with Rollins on RAW was a highlight! He seemed pretty shaky in his first WWE run right? Did he get better during his TNA run?


I think the combination of that and his MMA stuff really helped his confidence in the ring and made him a better worker.  He definitely didn't used to be a guy who could carry a World title, and now he could easily be champion again when needed.  

Rants

More Mario Less Luigi

24th September 2022 by Scott Keith

Well that's a wrap for the Pizza guy's 15 min of fame. Doesn't take long for them get all the dirt on you. 


Pizza theme pro wrestler's AMA gets derailed by accusations that they refused to get vaccinated, fired people who disagreed with it, and protected an abuser.

I guess you could say he….failed to deliver.  
YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 
Rants

Honoring ECW at Wrestlemania 40 in Philly

24th September 2022 by Scott Keith

Surely there should be some sort of tribute to ECW at Wrestlemania 40 in Philadelphia in 2024. How would you do it? 

Oh, good idea!  I'd change every match on the show on the fly via impromptu brawls, have guys cut a bunch of bullshit “shoot” promos about stuff only 2% of the audience understands, bury rival promotions while actually working with them in secret and taking money from them, and then for the big finale, promise all the boys a big payoff and then bounce the cheques.  E-C-Dub!  E-C-Dub!
Rants

Swerve Bro

23rd September 2022 by Scott Keith
So, in a 4-way match for the women's title that involves Athena (coming off a clean loss to the TBS Champion) and Serena Deeb, BRITT BAKER takes the clean loss, even if there's a chance they went home early with her broken nose. Hey, maybe they're getting behind someone else as the top attraction!

Oh, wait… Britt gets her heat back, attacking Toni. HOLD THAT THOUGHT, here's Jamie Hayter, finally fed up with Britt and… oh, wait, it was a swerve and they join up with Deeb to put a beating on Athena and Toni, until the 3-minute entrance and casual approach of Saraya has them running for cover. At the end of the day, Britt's loss is immediately wiped away by treating Toni like a chump, and they keep holding off the split between her and Hayter that should've happened months ago during the Owen Tournament. Smartest lady in the room, now that she's in position to throw shade at Saraya about having a stack-of-dimes neck and made the champion look like a geek.

Breaking news:  Saraya still isn't cleared to wrestle.  Frankly they should just put the belt back on Britt at this point if they're gonna push her as the Queen of the division anyway.  
Rants

Will this ROH crap ever end?

23rd September 2022 by Scott Keith
I feel like I've been very patient, but I'm really getting tired of this bizarre ROH tumor on AEW programming. There isn't even a suggestion of a timeline of ROH splitting off to be its own entity. There's not even a storyline of an invasion. ROH is just there. That's it. As fans, we're supposed to just accept that there's now this dead indy brand that has thrown its ROH world title, TV title, Pure title, and Tag Team titles on AEW TV for no real reason.
It makes every title less meaningful and just screws up the logic of the storytelling. Where is Jericho in the pecking order as ROH World champion compared to the AEW World champion? Where is Samoe Joe as ROH TV champion compared to Wardlow as AEW TNT champion?

This just isn't working. Please end this. Let AEW just be AEW.

It wouldn't be so bad if Tony didn't also add the AEW All Atlantic title and Trios title and secondary women's title on top of recognizing the AAA titles and IWGP titles.  But yes, they need to just make Rampage or Dark into an ROH show and offload the whole thing somewhere else.  Even Meltzer in the new Observer is saying that TK is way overstretched and needs to get someone else to deal with the YouTube shows and Rampage at this point.  

Rants

All Elite Tampering

23rd September 2022 by Scott Keith
With reading more reports of AEW upset that WWE is contacting their contracted performers, I don't understand why one company can't contact the talent. Is there a contract between AEW and WWE that states they won't contact performers? The contracts AEW alleges WWE tampers with are between AEW and the individual performer, so WWE isn't bound by it's terms. Wouldn't the AEW talent be the one who AEW should warn since they're the ones who entered an agreement? And when we're watching AEW pro wrestlers work for every company under the sun, who could blame WWE from seeing if these independent contractors wanted to earn some money with them too?
Contract tampering is a real thing that you can be sued for in a real court for a lot of real money.  I don't even play a lawyer on TV and I even knew that without Googling it.  
Rants

Friend in need

22nd September 2022 by Scott Keith

Hi Scott,


I'm hoping you can post this email to help out an old Blog of Doom poster some might remember posting as The Lovematic Grandpa.  He has some serious health issues and is going through a rough stretch financially.  He's a really great guy and it would be fantastic if you could post this with a link to his gofundme so that he might get some assistance.  It would be really appreciated.  To donate please visit

Thank you for posting this and thank you to anyone who can help out

Comdukakis

Rants

WWE, AEW and the new media landscape

22nd September 2022 by Scott Keith


Don't know how much you've been paying attention to WB Discovery/HBO Max's blood-letting, but it seems to spell a new approach in streaming that could affect pro wrestling (AEW, especially).

The past few years, the focus was on the number of subs and in streamers holding massive amounts of content.

Now it's more about profitability, and having content people are actually watching (shocking, right?)

WWE's relationship seems pretty darn solid with Comcast/Peacock, but what could this mean for AEW, which bought ROH ostensibly to have as much content as possible for a streamer? Is a streamer really going to spend millions to have the rights to old indie wrestling (when it's the old content on WWE Network that people aren't watching)?


Peacock is losing billions of dollars and only exists because Comcast adds it on for cable subscribers for free.  And we still don’t know how much ROH sold for or what Tony’s endgame for it even is.  

Rants

HHH at Mania 200”

22nd September 2022 by Scott Keith

I saw some talk about this on Twitter and figured it’d make some good blog discussion. 


Do you feel that HHH going cover at WrestleMania 2000 was the right call? The buy rate for Backlash, especially compared to the buy rates for the shows in 1999 and 2001, seems to justify it. Or was the WWF on such a hot run at the time that it wouldn’t have mattered if Rock was champion going into the show? 

I think the buyrates and moment at Backlash more than justified it in retrospect.  They had a plan and it paid off.  Doesn’t always but here it did.  

Rants

Terrible Debuts

21st September 2022 by Scott Keith


Reading through the 97 rants has reminded me what a horrible debut Steve Blackman had in the WWF. Just terrible all around, especially him ending up in a Survivor Series match right after. What are some of the terrible debuts that come to your mind? Satnam
Singh's “surprise” debut from this year definitely has to be up there as a recent example.

THE BUTCHER!  And the BLADE!  Those are the all timer for AEW still. Luckily they’re great and mostly overcame it in the long run.  
Rants

The Butterfly Effect in wrestling

21st September 2022 by Scott Keith

Given recent events, I can't help but think: How different would the professional wrestling landscape be today if Dennis Stamp had been booked to win the AWA's Turkey on a Pole match in 1989? 
CM Punk would have woken up on Christmas morning and given Colt Cabana that raise he always wanted!  
Rants

The Gibby Show with John Arezzi

21st September 2022 by Scott Keith

Hi Scott,

Can you believe John Gibbons and John Arezzi were old roommates and now they have a podcast together? Kinda blew my mind and I thought you might get a kick out of it too. Worlds are colliding Jerry!

Thanks,

I don’t know who John Gibbons is but good for them I guess?  

Rants

Unranked

20th September 2022 by Scott Keith

So looks like the ranking system is finally done in AEW, or at least won't be featured much. So wins and losses don't really matter much no matter what you've been told. I guess FTR will have to find another way to shade Tony for not giving them an AEW tag title match that they have been deserving for months now. Curious your thoughts on what wrong and would a ranking system every really work in wrestling?


I think the main problem with AEW's approach was they made every victory the same. So if you beat a bunch of scrubs on youtube it was just as good beating someone on Dynamite. That lead to the rankings being filled with uneven talent. Once ratings started to slide Tony was left with no choice but to bypass the rankings to hot shot some matches and they never recovered. That and his love for tournament and battle Royales that give away title shots like candy really ruined what chance the rankings had. It's a shame, with a consistent approach it could of worked. I know everyone will downplay the rankings as not important, just like the blog was quick to say the elite isn't really needed in AEW like MJF before them. But it was the one thing that could of made them stand out, so it's a shame it was a crash and burn. 

I was fine with them quietly dropping it months ago, but the problem became when they’d randomly being up stuff like FTR being ranked number 1 for weeks on end without ever paying it off.  And yeah, beating scrubs on Dark Elevation to somehow become #1 contender was a huge issue for me.  
So yes, I agree.  It was always silly.  Make the matches you want to make based in what makes sense and draws money.  
Rants

What Could Vince Do Next?

20th September 2022 by Scott Keith

Hello Scott! Darryl Stewart with a quick
question for you and the blog:

 
I know he doesn’t need the money so it wouldn’t actually
happen but hypothetically what would it be like if Vince started his own
podcast? Would he have a cohost and if so, who would it be? Which would be
funnier: him ragging on whatever HHH booked this week or him attempting to make
sense of AEW?
 
Thanks and keep up the great
work!

Honestly Vince removed from the business, just doing a podcast about the business and his experiences, would be amazing.  Steve Austin could host.  
Rants

Roman Reigns vs The Rock

20th September 2022 by Scott Keith

I understand that WWE wouldn't want Roman to lose anytime soon if a match vs The Rock is happening at WM… but Roman vs The Rock doesn't need to be for a title… I feel like it would be a waste. Roman and The Rock have enough back story to wrestle without a Title being involved. They can wrestle solely on who is the true Head Of The Table in their family. If Roman wins… We go on complaining that he still has the title… and if The Rock wins, i doubt he'll stick around to defend the title. If Roman's WM match is vs Cody, then it makes sense for Roman to keep the title until then. I just want a crowd favorite full timer to beat Roman, but there is also the chance that Roman will be over as a face by the time WM comes. This match vs Logan Paul will not help Roman maintain being a heel.

Side Note: Roman should not lose his title until The Usos lose theirs 1st.

How would you book Roman losing The Title(s)?

I would have had Drew beating him at the Castle. The long term benefits to making the market strong outweigh their obsession with keeping Roman champ at this point.  
Rants

2022 Survivor Series War Games Idea

19th September 2022 by Scott Keith

Hey Scott, What if Roman has to defend his title at Survivor Series in a War Games match where Roman, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Sami Zayn face 5 Top Title Contenders? If The Contender Team wins either the Sole Survivor becomes champ or remaining survivors have to have a match versus each other after The War Games match to declare a champion.

Or someone could just beat Roman already since it’s been two years.  

Rants

New Old School Content on the Peacock

19th September 2022 by Scott Keith


In case everyone else is still sleeping on it, the Peacock/Network added a bunch of '88 house shows from the Copps Coliseum and Maple Leaf Gardens. Some of this stuff was used for their package programs like Prime Time, but there's a good chunk of matches that have never been seen before. 
That’s, uh, pretty random.  I was hoping for a continuation of the MSG shows into 86 but I guess I’ll take what I can get.  
Rants