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I don’t know if you ever read stuff from the old website you were at on 411mania, but a couple of months back they hired a new writer named Wes Kirk to pen a new column called "The Wrestling Sandwich."  Needless to say, he’s EXTREMELY controversial. I personally just find it hilarious.  I’ve seen columnists disagree with their commenters before, but this guy just plain attacks them. He reminds me of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh,etc.  What’s you opinion?
http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/199335/The-Wrestling-Sandwich-08.27.11.htm

He’s working a schtick, and that’s cool.  Outside of elvy there’s not a lot of hardcore TNA apologists out there, so it’s pretty fertile ground for carving out a niche for yourself.  I find the column itself overly long, but if he’s got the time and inclination to pack all that in there on a regular basis, good on him. 

Scott,
Four quickies for you:
1. If Austin was able to work Wrestlemania 2000, do you think we would have seen Austin vs. Big Show, or a face vs. face Austin-Rock rematch?
2. If Luger won the NWA title in ’88, do you think he would have been a true mega-star?
3. Likewise, if Luger wins the WWF Title at SummerSlam 1993, do you think he could have approached being the Hogan-replacement Vince wanted?
4. Did Scott Steiner really not get the proverbial ‘jesus-push’ in 1994 because he didn’t want to break up the tag team?  Or was there more to that?  He seemed a perfect candidate to run with the title once Luger did not pan out.

1.  No, it was Rock-HHH all the way, I’m still pretty sure.  Austin-Show sounds more realistic, as they wouldn’t need the four-way to draw with both Austin and Rock on the show.  2.  Yup.  No doubt in my mind that Crockett flushed away millions.  3.  Nope.  He was already ruined by Flair constantly cutting him off at the knees, and then was never the same as a worker after the motorcycle accident.  Even if he beats Yokozuna, he’d still flop and they’d have to go back to Bret.  4.  Steiner was almost the recipient of a giant push TWICE and he refused both times because he didn’t want to break up the team, sadly.  WCW tried with him in 92 and then WWF in 94.  By the time Scott DID want a big singles push, what we got was Big Poppa Pump.  To be fair, Japan was paying them shitloads of money and they probably didn’t want to jeopardize that. 

Scott,
Four quickies for you:
1. If Austin was able to work Wrestlemania 2000, do you think we would have seen Austin vs. Big Show, or a face vs. face Austin-Rock rematch?
2. If Luger won the NWA title in ’88, do you think he would have been a true mega-star?
3. Likewise, if Luger wins the WWF Title at SummerSlam 1993, do you think he could have approached being the Hogan-replacement Vince wanted?
4. Did Scott Steiner really not get the proverbial ‘jesus-push’ in 1994 because he didn’t want to break up the tag team?  Or was there more to that?  He seemed a perfect candidate to run with the title once Luger did not pan out.

1.  No, it was Rock-HHH all the way, I’m still pretty sure.  Austin-Show sounds more realistic, as they wouldn’t need the four-way to draw with both Austin and Rock on the show.  2.  Yup.  No doubt in my mind that Crockett flushed away millions.  3.  Nope.  He was already ruined by Flair constantly cutting him off at the knees, and then was never the same as a worker after the motorcycle accident.  Even if he beats Yokozuna, he’d still flop and they’d have to go back to Bret.  4.  Steiner was almost the recipient of a giant push TWICE and he refused both times because he didn’t want to break up the team, sadly.  WCW tried with him in 92 and then WWF in 94.  By the time Scott DID want a big singles push, what we got was Big Poppa Pump.  To be fair, Japan was paying them shitloads of money and they probably didn’t want to jeopardize that. 

Scott, I don’t know if I’ve seen this one knocked around too much so here goes.  What, in your opinion, is the coolest single, pre-match ring entrance that you’ve ever seen? CM Punk’s at MITB was awesome but I have an all-time favorite that is probably not on anyone’s radar.  I loved HHH’s entrance at Royal Rumble 2000 against Cactus Jack.  You had the atmosphere of MSG and the classic short entrance way for WWF events.  His mannerisms and facial expression coming to and getting in the ring conveyed the seriousness and the brutality that was about to take place. It was before the whole "water bottle" routine that defined his entrance in later years, so there was more ad-lib to it.  Plus, it was his first venture into the world of bloody, hardcore-style brawls and I think Paul Levesque’s nervousness was showing as well.  What say you and the readers? What single entrance, before a match, sticks out above the rest?

I always liked Flair and Steamboat at Chi-Town Rumble, as Steamboat was the simple family man coming out with family for one last shot at glory, while Flair was the overblown music, robes and women that ended up coming back to bite him when pride went before the proverbial fall.  Simple yet effective on both sides. Hogan at WM3 was of course one of the defining moments of the modern era, as everyone else took a cart to the ring and Hogan walked down, taking the hard way and getting ready to face down the giant.  I like stuff like that.

Scott, I don’t know if I’ve seen this one knocked around too much so here goes.  What, in your opinion, is the coolest single, pre-match ring entrance that you’ve ever seen? CM Punk’s at MITB was awesome but I have an all-time favorite that is probably not on anyone’s radar.  I loved HHH’s entrance at Royal Rumble 2000 against Cactus Jack.  You had the atmosphere of MSG and the classic short entrance way for WWF events.  His mannerisms and facial expression coming to and getting in the ring conveyed the seriousness and the brutality that was about to take place. It was before the whole "water bottle" routine that defined his entrance in later years, so there was more ad-lib to it.  Plus, it was his first venture into the world of bloody, hardcore-style brawls and I think Paul Levesque’s nervousness was showing as well.  What say you and the readers? What single entrance, before a match, sticks out above the rest?

I always liked Flair and Steamboat at Chi-Town Rumble, as Steamboat was the simple family man coming out with family for one last shot at glory, while Flair was the overblown music, robes and women that ended up coming back to bite him when pride went before the proverbial fall.  Simple yet effective on both sides. Hogan at WM3 was of course one of the defining moments of the modern era, as everyone else took a cart to the ring and Hogan walked down, taking the hard way and getting ready to face down the giant.  I like stuff like that.

Thumbing through your archives, I came across your post saying Cena/Rock is the only "Dream Match" left. I don’t think I quite agree, though it’s close. I’d argue all of the following count, though: 
CM Punk vs. Austin (apparently going to happen) Rock vs. Cena (definitely going to happen)
Sting vs. Taker (not going to happen and would probably suck if it did)
Shawn Michaels vs. Rock (snowball’s chance of it happening, but both guys can still go and both guys still take money from WWE so never say never…)
Did I miss any? I mean, plugging Rock/Shawn/Austin in against your favorite modern superstar doesn’t really count, I think (mayyyyyyyybe Shawn/Bryan just for the whole teacher/student thing), but other than that… I dunno, is there anybody we never got to see Brock or Batista face?

Each other, I’m pretty sure.  I’d also count Brock v. Cena, because the John Cena who got the PPV match in 2004 is not the same guy who was World champion a year later.  That match done today would be EPIC.  I don’t think we ever saw Cena-Flair, although at this point we wouldn’t want to.  You can play all kinds of time travel games as well, but if we’re sticking to matches that could realistically happen TODAY, I can’t think of many more.  Brock v. Joe?  D-Bry v. AJ Styles?  Oh!  Daniel Bryan v. Kurt Angle, that would rock it.  

Thumbing through your archives, I came across your post saying Cena/Rock is the only "Dream Match" left. I don’t think I quite agree, though it’s close. I’d argue all of the following count, though: 
CM Punk vs. Austin (apparently going to happen) Rock vs. Cena (definitely going to happen)
Sting vs. Taker (not going to happen and would probably suck if it did)
Shawn Michaels vs. Rock (snowball’s chance of it happening, but both guys can still go and both guys still take money from WWE so never say never…)
Did I miss any? I mean, plugging Rock/Shawn/Austin in against your favorite modern superstar doesn’t really count, I think (mayyyyyyyybe Shawn/Bryan just for the whole teacher/student thing), but other than that… I dunno, is there anybody we never got to see Brock or Batista face?

Each other, I’m pretty sure.  I’d also count Brock v. Cena, because the John Cena who got the PPV match in 2004 is not the same guy who was World champion a year later.  That match done today would be EPIC.  I don’t think we ever saw Cena-Flair, although at this point we wouldn’t want to.  You can play all kinds of time travel games as well, but if we’re sticking to matches that could realistically happen TODAY, I can’t think of many more.  Brock v. Joe?  D-Bry v. AJ Styles?  Oh!  Daniel Bryan v. Kurt Angle, that would rock it.  

Hey Scott– Something I’ve been turning around in my mind for awhile now: Months ago, the guys that run the Wrestlecrap site asked you for a plug that you graciously supplied (discerning soul that you are :)). Then I noticed in the comments section an awful lot of venom unleashed at these guys accusing them of being hacks, particularly concerning the book The Death of WCW. Some of your readers threw around accusations of inaccuracies and falsehoods in the book, doing their best to damage it’s credibility. Here’s the thing: None of the people who levied accusations of falsehoods in the book came up with a single example of said inaccuracies. They would just drop grand overarching statements about the book being garbage and leave it at that. Last I checked, Alvarez and Reynolds did a great deal of research, particularly culling most of their info from The Wrestling Observer. It isn’t as if Dave Meltzer has credibility issues as a wrestling journalist. The readers of the Observer even dubbed The Death of WCW book of the year in 2004 (though I still contend it is criminal that your works have never been considered for nomination). Do you have any concrete examples of how The Death of WCW is inaccurate? Do some of your other readers? If so, I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Until then, however, I’m going to side with the guys that did research for a book, not blog posters who trade in vague accusations. Making broad proclamations without any facts to back it up doesn’t make you a credible critic; it makes you a Fox News employee.

Don’t look at me, I never even read the book.  The accusations of inaccuracies were news to me, though. 

Hey Scott– Something I’ve been turning around in my mind for awhile now: Months ago, the guys that run the Wrestlecrap site asked you for a plug that you graciously supplied (discerning soul that you are :)). Then I noticed in the comments section an awful lot of venom unleashed at these guys accusing them of being hacks, particularly concerning the book The Death of WCW. Some of your readers threw around accusations of inaccuracies and falsehoods in the book, doing their best to damage it’s credibility. Here’s the thing: None of the people who levied accusations of falsehoods in the book came up with a single example of said inaccuracies. They would just drop grand overarching statements about the book being garbage and leave it at that. Last I checked, Alvarez and Reynolds did a great deal of research, particularly culling most of their info from The Wrestling Observer. It isn’t as if Dave Meltzer has credibility issues as a wrestling journalist. The readers of the Observer even dubbed The Death of WCW book of the year in 2004 (though I still contend it is criminal that your works have never been considered for nomination). Do you have any concrete examples of how The Death of WCW is inaccurate? Do some of your other readers? If so, I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Until then, however, I’m going to side with the guys that did research for a book, not blog posters who trade in vague accusations. Making broad proclamations without any facts to back it up doesn’t make you a credible critic; it makes you a Fox News employee.

Don’t look at me, I never even read the book.  The accusations of inaccuracies were news to me, though. 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/02/the-smark-rant-for-wwe-vintage-collection-09-02-11/ The January 1993 US title tournament from WCW Saturday night! 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/02/the-smark-rant-for-wwe-vintage-collection-09-02-11/ The January 1993 US title tournament from WCW Saturday night! 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/02/the-smark-rant-for-impact-wrestling-09-01-11/ On the bright side, at no point did I feel like shooting myself in the face while watching this episode of Impact, possibly because I was too busy drawing the flowchart of who is in charge of the company at any given time.

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/02/the-smark-rant-for-impact-wrestling-09-01-11/ On the bright side, at no point did I feel like shooting myself in the face while watching this episode of Impact, possibly because I was too busy drawing the flowchart of who is in charge of the company at any given time.

Scott- 
Which 80s or earlier stars do you think would have been much more successful if they’d showed up in the last 10-15 years? 
For my money, there are two top picks, then everybody else. 
1) Bad News Brown, for the reasons you always point out
2) Jake Roberts (heel version). His dark, psychological gold-bricking manipulator routine would have been GREAT played against headstrong faces like Rock/HBK/Austin/Cena, and he had some of the best heel offense ever. He had (was the blueprint?) the best bits of both the HHH "Cerebral Assassin" gimmick, and the Randy Orton "cold blooded viper" routine. And that’s not even getting into his promos and/or willingness to slap around a woman for cheap heat. Guy would have been HUGE, drug concerns aside. 
Other nominees… Dynamite Kid for his offense, maybe DiBiase doing a much better "rich guy we hate because it’s a recession" than JBL can even dream of…
But really, the biggest differences between then and now are threefold; tone (darker, more realistic, get over as a character instead of a gimmick), media (youtube and episodic television make mic work way, way more important), and workrate (nobody cared in the 80s, now you have to at least be passable (or, you know, big) to get a decent push). Snake an Bad News are the guys I can think of who positively killed on those fronts (Bad News’ workrate was meh, but now I’m just picking nits). 
Your thoughts?

Bad News’ workrate was NOT meh, he was just in the WWF well past his prime, when injuries were catching up to him and he didn’t have to haul ass every night.  He could GO.  Dynamite was for sure well before his time, as he was the template for a million guys who came after him.  Definitely those were the main ones.

Scott- 
Which 80s or earlier stars do you think would have been much more successful if they’d showed up in the last 10-15 years? 
For my money, there are two top picks, then everybody else. 
1) Bad News Brown, for the reasons you always point out
2) Jake Roberts (heel version). His dark, psychological gold-bricking manipulator routine would have been GREAT played against headstrong faces like Rock/HBK/Austin/Cena, and he had some of the best heel offense ever. He had (was the blueprint?) the best bits of both the HHH "Cerebral Assassin" gimmick, and the Randy Orton "cold blooded viper" routine. And that’s not even getting into his promos and/or willingness to slap around a woman for cheap heat. Guy would have been HUGE, drug concerns aside. 
Other nominees… Dynamite Kid for his offense, maybe DiBiase doing a much better "rich guy we hate because it’s a recession" than JBL can even dream of…
But really, the biggest differences between then and now are threefold; tone (darker, more realistic, get over as a character instead of a gimmick), media (youtube and episodic television make mic work way, way more important), and workrate (nobody cared in the 80s, now you have to at least be passable (or, you know, big) to get a decent push). Snake an Bad News are the guys I can think of who positively killed on those fronts (Bad News’ workrate was meh, but now I’m just picking nits). 
Your thoughts?

Bad News’ workrate was NOT meh, he was just in the WWF well past his prime, when injuries were catching up to him and he didn’t have to haul ass every night.  He could GO.  Dynamite was for sure well before his time, as he was the template for a million guys who came after him.  Definitely those were the main ones.

Hey Scott, big fan of the rants/books/blog, etc. With Rock vs Cena set in stone for WrestleMania  and Punk vs HHH being a strong possibility (with Punk vs Austin as a very slight possibility). Could this years WrestleMania have a theme of old(er) vs new(er) wrestlers? I’m not saying that it’ll be the old group vs the new group storyline like in TNA and WCW. But the main matches on the card will reflect that theme, I know work rate wise we won’t get great matches but it could be interesting. What do you think of that idea? Also who do you think will face who? Of course Rock/Cena, Punk/HHH(maybe Austin) then you got Undertaker, Kane, Nash, Foley has been rumored coming back and if Austin does return who does HHH wrestle?

Well of course now it’s looking more like Punk v. HHH will already be blown off by then.  Punk v. Austin might be a possibility if they’re desperate enough, but Rock-Cena will do such huge business that it realistically won’t matter what’s on the undercard.  I think probably HHH and Undertaker will have their rematch, Punk might face Austin, and I guess D-Bry is cashing in his briefcase against Randy Orton.  Although I’d be shocked if the briefcase didn’t end up in someone else’s hands well before WM.  The whole “brand extension not ending but kinda ending” thing really screws up future planning. 

Hey Scott, big fan of the rants/books/blog, etc. With Rock vs Cena set in stone for WrestleMania  and Punk vs HHH being a strong possibility (with Punk vs Austin as a very slight possibility). Could this years WrestleMania have a theme of old(er) vs new(er) wrestlers? I’m not saying that it’ll be the old group vs the new group storyline like in TNA and WCW. But the main matches on the card will reflect that theme, I know work rate wise we won’t get great matches but it could be interesting. What do you think of that idea? Also who do you think will face who? Of course Rock/Cena, Punk/HHH(maybe Austin) then you got Undertaker, Kane, Nash, Foley has been rumored coming back and if Austin does return who does HHH wrestle?

Well of course now it’s looking more like Punk v. HHH will already be blown off by then.  Punk v. Austin might be a possibility if they’re desperate enough, but Rock-Cena will do such huge business that it realistically won’t matter what’s on the undercard.  I think probably HHH and Undertaker will have their rematch, Punk might face Austin, and I guess D-Bry is cashing in his briefcase against Randy Orton.  Although I’d be shocked if the briefcase didn’t end up in someone else’s hands well before WM.  The whole “brand extension not ending but kinda ending” thing really screws up future planning. 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/01/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-24-11/ You know when you’re watching a shitty show and suddenly there’s one of the greatest matches of all-time as the main event and you didn’t even know it was coming?  Yeah, that’s this show.  One word:  Bloodbath. 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/01/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-24-11/ You know when you’re watching a shitty show and suddenly there’s one of the greatest matches of all-time as the main event and you didn’t even know it was coming?  Yeah, that’s this show.  One word:  Bloodbath. 

http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/08/31/the-smark-rant-for-awa-championship-wrestling-on-espn-classic-08-23-11/ Yay, Yukon Lumberjacks.