Articles by Scott Keith — page 1084

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/22064-jeff-hardy-pleads-guilty-gets-time
More great timing from TNA.  Tonight should be HILARIOUS

http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/22064-jeff-hardy-pleads-guilty-gets-time
More great timing from TNA.  Tonight should be HILARIOUS

Well since I opinionated on Justice League #1 last week, might as well carry on as I sample all the #1s coming out and see what falls in the “continue past #2” pile.  Action #1:  Despite how much I wanted to dislike it due to the changes in origin and de-powering…it’s a really fucking good comic.  Young Superman having a blast and beating up bad guys because it’s the right thing to do is just FUN, as is Lex Luthor throwing a train at him.  Parts of it feel ripped out of the Spider-Man movie, but that’s an awesome movie, so why not?  Thumbs up! Detective #1:  This is DAAAAAARK stuff.  If you haven’t been spoiled to the ending yet, your reaction will be probably echo mine, where it’s like “Oh, he’s chasing the Joker, that’s cool, who’s this dude, HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL, DUDE?!”  This is not the comic to be giving to young readers to introduce them to Batman.  That being said, shock ending aside, it didn’t hook me very much.  Not like I don’t have a lot of choice to find my perfect Batman fix anyway.  Thumbs in the middle. Justice League International #1:  Since his solo title was cancelled, I’m glad to see Booster at least elevated to main event status with this book, as he’s made leader of the new JLI, even if they’re portrayed as the Smackdown to Justice League’s RAW.  Booster and Guy are two of my favorite characters and if this had Ted Kord, it would be an easy winner.  This does proceed at a much better pace than Justice League #1 did, quickly establishing the team and putting them against what appears to be a giant robot.  Yay.  The downside is that unless you already knew about Fire and Ice and Rocket Red from the Giffen league, there’s not much here to hook you as a new reader.  I’m an old pro, so I didn’t much exposition on that front.  Thumbs up! Animal Man #1:  Kind of trippy and cool, the little mysteries like the bleeding eyes and weird dream sequence left me wanting more.  That’s a good thing.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the character, but there was a good hook here as long as you can tolerate a bit of the weird factor.  Thumbs up! Hawk and Dove #1:  I made it literally 10 pages in and couldn’t take another Rob Liefield action pose with Hawk yelling all his dialogue.  Thumbs WAY down. Batwing #1:  I have no strong feelings on this one way or another.  Neat cliffhanger, but I don’t know the character and the “Batman franchise” thing doesn’t excite me.  Thumbs in the middle, wouldn’t bother with #2.  Batgirl #1:  Hey, she can walk again!  To its credit, this issue doesn’t give away how Babs got healed, and it portrays her as learning again as she goes along.  Pretty fun stuff, I’d stick with it.  Thumbs slightly up. OMAC #1:  I LOOOOOOVE Keith Giffen, even if he’s obviously aping Jack Kirby here and I don’t give a shit about OMAC as a concept.  It’s fun, if a tad single-minded (the whole issue is the main character seemingly randomly rampaging through Cadmus), but interesting enough.  Thumbs in the middle. Men of War #1:  This is a wonderful throwback to Sgt. Rock’s glory years in comics, as his grandson picks up the mantle in present times and you can just feel the Joe Kubert oozing out of it.  I’m a sucker for a good war comic, and this felt right out of the early 70s.  A simple story (Joe Rock is TOUGH and the men respect him, dammit!) and good manly action make this my second-fave of the week.  Big thumbs up! Definitely pick up Action Comics #1, though.  Obviously they’re gonna throw everything in the flagship title, and it showed. 

Well since I opinionated on Justice League #1 last week, might as well carry on as I sample all the #1s coming out and see what falls in the “continue past #2” pile.  Action #1:  Despite how much I wanted to dislike it due to the changes in origin and de-powering…it’s a really fucking good comic.  Young Superman having a blast and beating up bad guys because it’s the right thing to do is just FUN, as is Lex Luthor throwing a train at him.  Parts of it feel ripped out of the Spider-Man movie, but that’s an awesome movie, so why not?  Thumbs up! Detective #1:  This is DAAAAAARK stuff.  If you haven’t been spoiled to the ending yet, your reaction will be probably echo mine, where it’s like “Oh, he’s chasing the Joker, that’s cool, who’s this dude, HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL, DUDE?!”  This is not the comic to be giving to young readers to introduce them to Batman.  That being said, shock ending aside, it didn’t hook me very much.  Not like I don’t have a lot of choice to find my perfect Batman fix anyway.  Thumbs in the middle. Justice League International #1:  Since his solo title was cancelled, I’m glad to see Booster at least elevated to main event status with this book, as he’s made leader of the new JLI, even if they’re portrayed as the Smackdown to Justice League’s RAW.  Booster and Guy are two of my favorite characters and if this had Ted Kord, it would be an easy winner.  This does proceed at a much better pace than Justice League #1 did, quickly establishing the team and putting them against what appears to be a giant robot.  Yay.  The downside is that unless you already knew about Fire and Ice and Rocket Red from the Giffen league, there’s not much here to hook you as a new reader.  I’m an old pro, so I didn’t much exposition on that front.  Thumbs up! Animal Man #1:  Kind of trippy and cool, the little mysteries like the bleeding eyes and weird dream sequence left me wanting more.  That’s a good thing.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the character, but there was a good hook here as long as you can tolerate a bit of the weird factor.  Thumbs up! Hawk and Dove #1:  I made it literally 10 pages in and couldn’t take another Rob Liefield action pose with Hawk yelling all his dialogue.  Thumbs WAY down. Batwing #1:  I have no strong feelings on this one way or another.  Neat cliffhanger, but I don’t know the character and the “Batman franchise” thing doesn’t excite me.  Thumbs in the middle, wouldn’t bother with #2.  Batgirl #1:  Hey, she can walk again!  To its credit, this issue doesn’t give away how Babs got healed, and it portrays her as learning again as she goes along.  Pretty fun stuff, I’d stick with it.  Thumbs slightly up. OMAC #1:  I LOOOOOOVE Keith Giffen, even if he’s obviously aping Jack Kirby here and I don’t give a shit about OMAC as a concept.  It’s fun, if a tad single-minded (the whole issue is the main character seemingly randomly rampaging through Cadmus), but interesting enough.  Thumbs in the middle. Men of War #1:  This is a wonderful throwback to Sgt. Rock’s glory years in comics, as his grandson picks up the mantle in present times and you can just feel the Joe Kubert oozing out of it.  I’m a sucker for a good war comic, and this felt right out of the early 70s.  A simple story (Joe Rock is TOUGH and the men respect him, dammit!) and good manly action make this my second-fave of the week.  Big thumbs up! Definitely pick up Action Comics #1, though.  Obviously they’re gonna throw everything in the flagship title, and it showed. 

http://www.wwe.com/inside/kevin-nash-released They need to be really careful if they’re working this one, because that’s like doing a fake “X” signal when someone isn’t actually injured.  They only have a few things that fans actually buy at face value, and the future endeavour postings are one of them.  If they’re not just crying wolf here, then it REALLY makes the last few weeks of TV some bizarre stuff. 

http://www.wwe.com/inside/kevin-nash-released They need to be really careful if they’re working this one, because that’s like doing a fake “X” signal when someone isn’t actually injured.  They only have a few things that fans actually buy at face value, and the future endeavour postings are one of them.  If they’re not just crying wolf here, then it REALLY makes the last few weeks of TV some bizarre stuff. 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/07/wednesday-morning-backlash-how-wwe-ruined-cm-punk/ Aaron Glazer posits on how Punk got got.  Really, coming back a week after he pledged to leave with the belt forever was the death blow for the character as it stood.  He also should have gotten a new belt instead of carrying around Cena’s toy belt.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/07/wednesday-morning-backlash-how-wwe-ruined-cm-punk/ Aaron Glazer posits on how Punk got got.  Really, coming back a week after he pledged to leave with the belt forever was the death blow for the character as it stood.  He also should have gotten a new belt instead of carrying around Cena’s toy belt.

Hey Scott–
I was watching SummerSlam 1990 tonight, and was struck with a minor epiphany. When I saw this show as a first run ppv, I was 12 years old, and in my memory it was the awesomest show in the history of awesome things happening in awesome town. Babyfaces reigned supreme in all the high profile matches (save Dusty v. Macho) and two titles went to two sets of righteous face champions.
Watching it at a thirty-something, this show is freaking terrible, and I had no idea how deep the horribleness went as a kid. Kerry Von Erich is so messed up in his promo, I’m surprised he didn’t tell Mr. Perfect the blackjack dealer that he had twenty-two. The matches are largely junk, and even the best match on the card (Harts v. Demos) is so overbooked at the end that the whole situation is laughable.
Which got my brain turned in the direction of John Cena. Contrary to most of my fellow adult male wrestling fans, I don’t think that "Cena sucks", and I certainly don’t hold to the opinion that Johnny "can’t wrestle". CM Punk hasn’t been going out and having 4 star matches with the cliched broomstick. Ditto Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. And if you need conclusive proof, it was John Cena who carried The Great Khali to watchable matches. Not "good", but watchable. And while that may seem like a backhanded compliment, consider this: In spite of all his accomplishments and his legacy, The Undertaker could never carry Giant Gonzales to a "watchable" match with a gun to his head. Or Khali for that matter.
So to my point: Much as I despair that my twelve year old self thought a show like SummerSlam 1990 was the greatest thing this side of WrestleMania, what do you think the current generation of 12 year olds will think of their Cena fandom twenty years from now? Will they stand by the guy who carried the company during a down period, and was much better in the ring than he got credit for? Or will they see the horrible writing of the character, the horrible delivery of that writing, and hang their heads in collective shame, just like I did tonight when I realized my parents paid good money so I could watch Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff v. The Orient Express?

Well Summerslam 90 is kind of a shit show overall, so I don’t know that it’s particularly fair to judge Cena having high-level **** matches against it.  I mean, I was only 15 for that show and even I knew that Duggan match was terrible.  I think, much like Hogan, Cena fans will stick with him until ironic detachment kicks in and the merchandise stops selling, and then Cena will revive his career with a monster heel turn where he tells all the kids to shove it up their ass and forms the New New World Order with the corpses of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.  It’ll draw MILLIONS.

Hey Scott–
I was watching SummerSlam 1990 tonight, and was struck with a minor epiphany. When I saw this show as a first run ppv, I was 12 years old, and in my memory it was the awesomest show in the history of awesome things happening in awesome town. Babyfaces reigned supreme in all the high profile matches (save Dusty v. Macho) and two titles went to two sets of righteous face champions.
Watching it at a thirty-something, this show is freaking terrible, and I had no idea how deep the horribleness went as a kid. Kerry Von Erich is so messed up in his promo, I’m surprised he didn’t tell Mr. Perfect the blackjack dealer that he had twenty-two. The matches are largely junk, and even the best match on the card (Harts v. Demos) is so overbooked at the end that the whole situation is laughable.
Which got my brain turned in the direction of John Cena. Contrary to most of my fellow adult male wrestling fans, I don’t think that "Cena sucks", and I certainly don’t hold to the opinion that Johnny "can’t wrestle". CM Punk hasn’t been going out and having 4 star matches with the cliched broomstick. Ditto Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. And if you need conclusive proof, it was John Cena who carried The Great Khali to watchable matches. Not "good", but watchable. And while that may seem like a backhanded compliment, consider this: In spite of all his accomplishments and his legacy, The Undertaker could never carry Giant Gonzales to a "watchable" match with a gun to his head. Or Khali for that matter.
So to my point: Much as I despair that my twelve year old self thought a show like SummerSlam 1990 was the greatest thing this side of WrestleMania, what do you think the current generation of 12 year olds will think of their Cena fandom twenty years from now? Will they stand by the guy who carried the company during a down period, and was much better in the ring than he got credit for? Or will they see the horrible writing of the character, the horrible delivery of that writing, and hang their heads in collective shame, just like I did tonight when I realized my parents paid good money so I could watch Jim Duggan and Nikolai Volkoff v. The Orient Express?

Well Summerslam 90 is kind of a shit show overall, so I don’t know that it’s particularly fair to judge Cena having high-level **** matches against it.  I mean, I was only 15 for that show and even I knew that Duggan match was terrible.  I think, much like Hogan, Cena fans will stick with him until ironic detachment kicks in and the merchandise stops selling, and then Cena will revive his career with a monster heel turn where he tells all the kids to shove it up their ass and forms the New New World Order with the corpses of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.  It’ll draw MILLIONS.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/06/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-29-11/ Don Fargo is one scary dude.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/06/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-29-11/ Don Fargo is one scary dude.

Scott, Have you ever been asked to consult, write or otherwise get involved professionally with any level of pro wrestling? I’m thinking of a "Bill James moving from Baseball Abstract to the Red Sox" situation. If not, have you ever pursued it? If not, why not?

Never had any interest in that area of the business.  The only area I had any interest in was the home video division, as going through the library and picking out rarities for the DVDs and WWE 24/7 would be my dream job.  Otherwise dealing with the politics and assorted bullshit wouldn’t be worth it – it’s much more enjoyable to just watch from the outside and not be accountable for any of it.

Scott, Have you ever been asked to consult, write or otherwise get involved professionally with any level of pro wrestling? I’m thinking of a "Bill James moving from Baseball Abstract to the Red Sox" situation. If not, have you ever pursued it? If not, why not?

Never had any interest in that area of the business.  The only area I had any interest in was the home video division, as going through the library and picking out rarities for the DVDs and WWE 24/7 would be my dream job.  Otherwise dealing with the politics and assorted bullshit wouldn’t be worth it – it’s much more enjoyable to just watch from the outside and not be accountable for any of it.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/06/the-smark-raw-supershow-super-rant-09-05-11/ So yeah, he sent the text message to HIMSELF.  That’s the ticket!

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/06/the-smark-raw-supershow-super-rant-09-05-11/ So yeah, he sent the text message to HIMSELF.  That’s the ticket!

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/05/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-25-11/ Three rosters of stars and this is what we get.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/05/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-25-11/ Three rosters of stars and this is what we get.

Hey, I got a question for your Blog of Doom.
When it comes to live pay per views and Coliseum Home Video releases back in the 80s and 90s, when has there ever been an occasion where the Coliseum release was better than the live edition and vice versa?
Also, when it comes to the 1994 King of the Ring, which edition is better, live or Coliseum?

There was no polishing that turd, regardless of media. There wasn’t a lot of dramatic changes between live and Coliseum that I can remember, although a big one was Wrestlemania V.  The original show was a 4-hour borefest, whereas the Coliseum release cut down almost all the matches to a more manageable length.  Once they got the PPV shows down to a 2:40 constant length, there was no longer a need to edit things down as much any more. 

Hey, I got a question for your Blog of Doom.
When it comes to live pay per views and Coliseum Home Video releases back in the 80s and 90s, when has there ever been an occasion where the Coliseum release was better than the live edition and vice versa?
Also, when it comes to the 1994 King of the Ring, which edition is better, live or Coliseum?

There was no polishing that turd, regardless of media. There wasn’t a lot of dramatic changes between live and Coliseum that I can remember, although a big one was Wrestlemania V.  The original show was a 4-hour borefest, whereas the Coliseum release cut down almost all the matches to a more manageable length.  Once they got the PPV shows down to a 2:40 constant length, there was no longer a need to edit things down as much any more.