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6.19.01 - 6.26.01 | ||||||
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June 26th, 2001 There were some really good parts and some really disappointing parts to both the Pay-Per-View and Monday's Raw. By far, everyone who saw the show should be in agreement that the Shane McMahon/Kurt Angle match was the highlight of Sunday Night's show. The dumps that Shane took to the top of his head and the bloody spots through the glass without seeing any other matches were worth the price of the show. They totally upstaged the main event, and even though the main event was very good, the crowd energy had already been spent on the previous match. The run-in by Booker T seemed to come off well and was a good surprise. I would also bet that everyone who saw the show would be in agreement that the most disappointing part of the PPV was the DDP/Undertaker match. It sucked ass. It didn't make any sense, and I had really thought going in that those two would put on an incredible match that would threaten to upstage the rest of the night. Instead, lots and lots of absolute ass-sucking including DDP looking like a goofy cartoon character in the way he was selling the Undertaker's shots. The ending was bizarre and made little to no sense in building an enthusiasm for the WCW invasion of for seeing more of DDP. They made up for it a little Monday in continuing the hit-and-run style feud they're now having. I felt having DDP followed was a bad idea as is bring Undertaker's wife in as a regular on-screen character. Try and tell me he didn't meet her at some strip club. That's the only place strippers look attractive...where the lights are so dim that he didn't realize that she has a minor case of the deadly "man-face". At least there's less work for the plastic surgeons to do to fix her ugly mug than there was with Chyna. One of the biggest surprises to me has been how much they have improved the character of Stone Cold Steve Austin. I was sick of him when he went out with an injury and felt no thrill when he returned. But all of a sudden, he's one of my favorites to watch again. The interaction between Angle and Austin was really funny to watch Monday. Yet another "top guy" is on the sidelines with an injury. Chris Benoit is going for surgery to his neck/spine and should be out several months. Its a really great time for young guys to get some of the spotlight. Also, because some of the top draws are out of action right now, it makes perfect sense to do the WCW invasion. Speaking of which, the end of Monday's show was a real disappointment. It was pretty obvious Booker T was going to get Vince in the ring. Also, with the speech the APA gave earlier, you knew WWF guys would be running out there. I really expected them to end the show with a large free for all between the WWF guys and all of the WCW guys I know were backstage but not used. You can see where some of this is leading though. I would suspect Vince is going to get cocky and place either Raw or Smackdown on the line in a match at the next PPV and WCW will end up winning a 2 hour timeslot. They were advertising the next PPV as "Fully Loaded" and the print ads are calling it "Invasion". Double secret probation sale until 6/30/00... The company that makes and handles the sale of my shirts, mugs, and mousepads is offering a special deal until the end of the month. They are discounting all mousepads $5.00 dropping the price from $15.99 to $10.99. A pretty good deal and I do have some good designs that you might want to look at and consider. Especially some of the Mexican wrestling movie poster images and the Andre the Giant image. Go HERE to see the designs available. June 23rd, 2001 Ding-dong, the witch is dead... There's really nothing like rolling out of bed in the morning, getting on the computer, and reading news so good that you find yourself smiling for days. Maybe you've read it too, it looks as though the WWF is done with Chyna. That's right we may actually be lucky enough not to have to see that he-she on TV anymore. According to the newest ROSS REPORT, the WWF has ceased contract negotiations with Chyna, said her contributions to the WWF would be appreciated, and wished her continued success. From what I have been reading online, Chyna was making unreasonable demands and has gotten a big head concerning herself. I personally think she has always had a big ego and I've always said she was a bitch. I can guarantee a more harmonious WWF locker room without her presence. What is she thinking? She's not a draw for ticket sales or pay-per-view buys...who's going to be swayed to spend money because she's there? Also, its not like she sells merchandise like Austin, Rock, or Triple-H. Hell, she doesn't even sell merchandise nearly as well as Trish or Lita. What money is she really worth? You can read more about this on 1WRESTLING.COM...if you can put up with all of their garbage pop-up ads. My feelings are that she was detrimental to the WWF because she was holding back female superstars that do make the WWF money. With an even playing field, expect to see a revitalized women's title division with Lits, Molly Holly, Trish, Tori, Jackie, etc...all of whom I'd personally rather see in Playboy than a he-she. She can join Sunny and Missy Hyatt on that porno pay site. Like Sable, without the WWF promotional machine behind her, the opportunities for her are going to rapidly dry up. I'd rather watch any of these girls from the Tough Enough show as a replacement for Chyna...
Speaking of Tough Enough, they've updated the WEBSITE and you can read a little about each of the people as well as look at a bunch of photos and videos. I didn't get to see the first episode when it aired Thursday night because of a brain-fart where I programmed the vcr to record the wrong channel. But in typical MTV fashion, I got to catch one of many re-broadcasts. If you missed it, you can see it before Sunday's broadcast of Heat or after the re-broadcast of Heat. It really was a good pilot and I think this will be a good series. Tazz comes off as his old ECW-style badass, and I would guess he'll be getting a big push (against Austin I hope). I've also read that there will be some WCW guys at the King of the Ring PPV this weekend. I'm just waiting for RVD to show up somewhere and start kicking asses. I also am holding some hope that the WWF will teach Buff how to wear oufits that don't look like they're from 1984. Those airbrushed tights look so stupid on him. 
I just couldn't resist putting up this picture of the great Beetlejuice with Jeff Jarrett.
I miss Jarrett.
He was one of the few things in WCW that I liked.
Too bad he burned his bridge with the WWF, he would have done well in the new WCW.
Art of the day... 
I wrote about so much ebay related stuff on the 19th but then totally forgot to mention my autograph AUCTIONS.
Included among them is a small watercolor painting I did of Ric Flair.
In an effort to become more productive with the art, I'll be trying to produce something to put on ebay every day or two.
So if you have any interest in seeing future drawings and paintings, I'll include them with the updates to the website.
Backyard wrestling sites... I personally think these kids are stupid. But its their right to be stupid and do stupid things to themselves and each other. I also have no problems watching them hurt themselves and having a good laugh at their expense. This FABER TOWN WRESTLING has a lot of short video clips involving blood, fire, thumbtacks, lightbulbs, etc. BHWF WRESTLING also has pictures and videos worth looking at. Also go to NO FUTURE WRESTLING for more of the same. I got a postcard from Tate's Comics concerning their big summer sale. If you're in South Florida and interested, click HERE for the details. The ego menace... 
Compared to the originals, Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace was just pure garbage.
We all know this is entirely the fault of George Lucas who has grown fat and lazy on his own successes and has surrounded himself with yes-men who lack the balls to tell him when something sucks.
The Phantom Edit is an improved version of the original.
Somebody has re-edited it taking out the worst bits, and making a more straightforward, entertaining, and interesting version.
Its an underground item you won't really be able to buy anywhere, but if you can get your hands on a copy...watch it and see if they really did improve this movie.
However, no matter how much perfume you put on that pig...its still a pig.
If you actually liked this movie, you can buy the original Lucas version on VHS for a dirt-cheap price HERE.
June 19th, 2001 The last 2 weeks of WWF shows have probably been better than the entire last year. I think the only segment of the show that didn't hold my interest was watching the Big Show wrestle. But Austin having a heart-to-heart with Tajiri probably was the highlight for me. 
The WCW invasion angle sure has gone into a higher gear this week with both Stacy Kiebler and DDP making appearances.
I am guessing at this point that they're not using the Miss Hancock name anymore for her.
I hope they don't stick her with Staziak this time around.
You can read the WCW website's update on her appearance HERE.
DDP as the stalker of the Undertaker's wife was a good idea as was the explanation Page gave for it. He ran a little long though and I was confused at first if he was even part of the WCW angle or if they were going to use him as part of the WWF. He never mentioned WCW in his promo and it was only later that Heyman browbeat us every minute saying how DDP represented the next level of the WCW invasion and how his fight with the Undertaker would drag the 2 companies in with them. I am assuming we'll be seeing Page again on Smackdown. I'm glad they're initiating this whole storyline with top guys and not midcarders. Now if only they could give Page a clean win...It would make little sense for the Undertaker to win clean and take all the momentum out before it even gets going. I think though that Page will probably win with help from others so the Undertaker doesn't have to look bad in the loss. I would expect that one to possibly be a bloody match on Sunday. You can read the WCW website's update on his appearance (with video clip of his unmasking) HERE. 
I am wondering if some of the bits between Spike Dudley and his brothers will reflect the reception the winners of the Tough Enough show will receive in the locker room.
I think a lot of wrestlers will feel resentful toward the amazingly huge opportunity these 2 winners are being given.
And I somewhat agree because they haven't paid their dues, struggled, and worked their asses off for 10 years to get to the WWF.
Going through the hardships and lean years not only helps you to learn more about the craft but filters out some of those who really don't have a love and desire for the business.
Could you picture Goldberg struggling for ten years before reaching the success he hit?
From all the things I've read reflecting his attitude, probably not.
I got that clip of Foley falling from the cage HERE where you can find half a dozen short little clips to watch. This WEBSITE has a few interesting pages including theme lyrics, real names, finisher moves, wrestling sounds, and (my favorite) a list of arrested wrestlers. Remember ASYA? Thugs on Film... 
I ran across "Thugs" while browsing around looking for new and different flash animation online.
They're made by Mondo Media and they have a cool WEBSITE you should check out.
They're located out in San Francisco and basically syndicate these shows to a network consisting of many of the more recognized names on the internet.
They also do advertising as well.
Thugs on Film is an ongoing series of short (5 minutes???) animated shows featuring 2 British characters, Cecil and Stubby, who review movies. They're really pretty funny for the most part, and I like the animation on them. Lycos had a whole PAGE featuring the latest review as well as over 50 archived episodes of "Thugs". That page also has some of the other Mondo shows and their archived older episodes available for viewing as well. Netscape also had a PAGE that had some episodes made before the ones found on Lycos. More joy with the ebay community... The best reason not to work in retail is to not have to deal with all of the stupid people out there. I'm not saying the people I deal with are stupid, but a small percentage of them really can irk me to no end sometimes. This guy sent the following email... From: Sting wcw [mailto:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX] Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 3:38 AM To: Ben Subject: Re: your winning ebay bid(s) Hey man, I sent out my payment for the Vampiro pic, and I noticed you relisted it. What's up with that? I will be expecting it in the mail soon. Thanks, Tony Now I'm thinking maybe I relisted the same autograph as I often have multiples of the same signed image, maybe I put up the same picture and he thought I only had one and I was trying to re-sell his. Then, I actually looked up the item he won and the two Vampiro autographs I had up for auction and they weren't even the same image! That kind of pissed me off since this guy obviously had really jumped the gun without even checking the facts. So I sent back the following email: Did you even actually look at the auctions??? If you had, you would have seen it was an entirely different picture and not the one you bid on. I felt like you were sort of reaming me out with this email, and I think it's a little unwarranted. Anyway, your check arrived Thursday and I should be mailing your autograph out Monday or Tuesday. I got a response yesterday from him: Sorry for the mixup. I realized what happened after I sent the email. I apologize for the way I said it. Much Thanks, Tony I feel like I'm working at the food court at the mall sometimes... Maybe I can give someone else the push off a high structure (like the Foley clip). 
What about this guy? Stalker material??? Maybe... Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 09:53:00 -0500 yes thank you i got your address and mailed a check yesterday. i am a collector of norman smileyparaphnalia he won mr florida physiaue contest and mr teen age usa and do you have information where i could get a video on either of these events thank you richard Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 11:07:17 -0500 i do have a pair of his wrestling bikinis yellow and they look great i need one of the liners or jock straps or maybe he didnt use them i dont know anyhow whatever you find let know thank you richard Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2001 14:48:40 -0500 i thought maybe you had come up with some more norman smiley items i did get a pair of his wrestling trunks that he wrestled in several times and they fit me fairly well he has same size waist i do (31..32)but that is all if you find anything let know richard 
I didn't think much of this guy other than he was a steady buyer for my Norman Smiley autographs...
that is until he told me he tried on a pair of Smiley's wrestling trunks that he had bought.
That caught me as a card or two short of a full deck.
But maybe I'm just reading something into this where there's nothing.
The funny thing is I know the person he bought the shorts from, he's a friend of mine (that I've been a stupid prick in forgetting to stay in touch with) who I used to go on trips with to get wrestling autographs. Check out his auctions HERE he always has tons of great things and is one of the few guys I know who actually deals in genuine autographs and not fakes. He'd get a kick out of this guy trying on Norman's wrestling trunks. Like I said, I might have been too suspicious of this guy until I got this most recent email: Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1156449279 Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 08:30:31 PDT is that what we think it is hanging between normans legs or is it a hockey stick thanks richard Ohhhhhhkay. STP out today... 
The Stone Temple Pilots had their new album released today.
You can visit their WEBSITE to listen to a few tracks and some exclusive video clips.
They're one of the better bands out there right now, and a personal favorite of mine. They also put on an awesome live show I've been lucky to have seen twice. Hopefully with the new album we'll see a new tour soon.
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