A View From the Rafters #90: Wrestling Myth Busting Volume II

[Stinger]

"Now you'll never see / What you've done to me / You can take back your memories / They're no good to me / And here's all your lies / You can't look me in the eyes / With the sad, sad look / That you wear so well / When you see my face / Hope it gives you hell / Hope it gives you hell / When you walk my way / Hope it gives you hell / Hope it gives you hell / When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well / Then he's a fool you're just as well / Hope it gives you hell..."
ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS: Gives You Hell from the album When The World Comes Down.

- - Sucks that Dom DeLuise passed away this week. Dude was hilarious in everything he was in.

- - Friday Night Smackdown is officially "the shit" as the saying goes. You would think being "the shit" would be a bad thing, but it isn't. RAW on the other hand, well it was shit. See the difference?

- - More Tyson Kidd vs. Evan Bourne, please WWE?

- - You know what's fun, besides bouncy balls? Watching Ron Paul school Ben Bernanke and then Helicopter Ben speaking out of his ass in response. Good times.

- - We gonna get funky like a monkey, 'cuz I'm Stinger and this is A View From the Rafters #90: Wrestling Myth Busting Volume II!

Welcome wrestling fans and little Stinger's the world over, to the ninetieth edition of A View From the Rafters. I of course am the man known as Stinger, and today we're gonna do some myth busting with some very special guest who you all know and love. This edition will also see the crowning of Miss AVFR, with the third and final round being "Stinger's Decision". Who will it be? I know rounds one and two both ended in ties, so I'm sure a few of you are thinking I'm going to cheat and end the whole thing in a tie (threesomes for the win!), but I guarantee there will be one single winner crowned at the end of this column. So with being said, let's just dive right into the second volume of...

Within the Internet Wrestling Community, there exist a lot of myths or opinions that are rattled off as if they're facts. If there is one thing about the IWC that I do not like, it's the constant repeating of phrases that have little basis in reality, yet is assumed and spoken by many to be fact. You've all encountered some of these sayings or beliefs before. Well back in March 2006, I put together a little panel to study a few myths, to decide what was fact and what was fiction. My panel consisted of J-Man, Dr. Chad Matthews and XtremeGirly789. The results of this study was published on the LOP Forums in March 2006 as the 57th edition of AVFR under the title Wrestling Myth Busting Vol. I. Four myths were examined in that edition of WMB, all four myths busted, and those four were as follows:

- "WWE only pushes untalented big wrestlers"
- "WWE is racist towards non-white wrestlers"
- "The toned down style of WWE hurts the product"
- "Bad gimmicks kill talented wrestlers careers"

What you are about to read is Volume II of Wrestling Myth Busting. Four new myths will be put to the test and they'll end up either confirmed, or busted. I've enlisted the help of four individuals to help study these myths and help me decide which ones to bust. Each individual is examining a different myth, and they will report back to me with their analysis, afterwards, I weigh in with the results of my own study and the final verdict. Before we get started, lets take a moment to meet our panel of experts.

• Johnny Boomerang - He's on a real hot steak here in the CF as the author of The Boomerang Prophecies.
• Dr. Monkey - 3-time COTM winner and current Main Page author of The Eyes of a Monkey.
• Dr. Chad Matthews - Former PPV/RAW/Smackdown Reporter for Lords of Pain, plus former author of Under The Bright Lights.
• lenjr04 - The great and constantly improving author of From the Podium.

Now that you know who is on deck, lets jump right in with our first myth of this volume.

STUDY #1: TNA IS LAST DAYS WCW REINCARNATED
STUDY EXPERT: Dr. Monkey

Originally Posted by Dr. Monkey, Study Expert - Case #1 - Report - Verdict "Busted"

While I'd be lying if I said there weren't some alarming similarities, to go as far as to say that TNA has become "last days" WCW I do think is a bit much. As a diehard WCW fan at the time and one of those guys who kept saying "it'll get better" I tried to stick with them to the end. I couldn't though, no matter how hard I tried WCW just went to complete and total shit before all was said and done. From their inconsistent booking to their obnoxious attempts to outsmart the internet fans. That in itself is a big problem. As much as they'd love to think otherwise, the "IWC mindset" is not the majority in most cases. Sorry to burst your bubble there.

Back to the point at hand though, WCW at it's worst was completely unwatchable. TNA on the other hand even though they've hit a bit of a dry patch, still maintain at least parts of their show that are watchable. In fact, lately they've started slowly turning the ship around. Sure people may point to Foley holding the TNA title as a point to contradict this statement; but you must consider that this is a company that Ken Shamrock was their first champion. Nothing against Shamrock, but I only mean to convey that the main event scene has always been a little off.

That being said, with Joe and Styles slowly starting to get used more again (thank God) and Daniels returning it seems that the core group is taking a more prominent role on the show. Not only that but for the first time in a while I enjoyed an Impact from start to finish. Something that I could never say about the last days of WCW. So while TNA may be bad at times, and may have even been headed for doom; ultimately they haven't gone to the point of no return....at least not yet.

Dr. Monkey is spot on with this assessment. I couldn't stand "last days" WCW, and this coming from a guy who had been a "WCW guy" up until 1998 when they really started to go down hill. WCW, in its dying year, was a chore for me to even begin to watch, so I largely didn't bother with it. TNA on the other hand, while extremely far from being where they could or should be, isn't on the level of suck that "last days" WCW was. In fact, for the past month or two, I've really been enjoying the TNA product, which is something I couldn't say about WCW near its end.

TNA, for whatever reason, doesn't get the credit it deserves. Have their shows sucked in the past? Of course they have, the same can be said of WWE. It's not a perfect entity, what company is? WCW went out of business though, TNA has defied the odds and has been around for coming up on seven years, when most people didn't them two months in the beginning. Weekly pay-per-views were suppose to kill TNA. That didn't happen, so it was getting off FSN that was going to kill TNA, and of course that didn't happen either. Following that TNA was in the red all these years, weren't making any money, and that was going to kill TNA. Yet there they are, continuing on doing their thing. In spite of all the doom and gloom, last days WCW talk, TNA has went from a weekly PPV system to one hour on Spike, to hours on Spike and are currently enjoying their highest ratings ever. That means they're gaining viewers, not losing them as WCW was.

Say what you want about Mick Foley, but he's really freshened up his act on TNA and is more like the Foley of old than he has been in years. The guy is entertaining and has consistently been one of the highlights of Impact, each and every week. The Main Event Mafia is still going strong, and it's far better than say NWO 2000. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are back in important roles and are ascending to the top of the mountain once again, the same can be said for Samoa Joe. Bobby Lashley's arrival as peaked my interest in the product, and I'm not even a Lashley fan. The tag team division is extremely hot in TNA, the knockouts division is still good and the X-Division is still, well it's still there and maybe improving some. While Impact could certainly stand to have more wrestling on the show, TNA is currently firing on all cylinders and I haven't enjoyed TNA this much since mid-to-late 2005.

Last days WCW? Hardly. They may have been close at one time, or indeed even there, but that phrase simply doesn't hold water anymore.

MYTH BUSTED!

STUDY #2: TAG TEAM WRESTLING IS DEAD IN THE UNITED STATES
STUDY EXPERT: Johnny Boomerang

Originally Posted by Johnny Boomerang, Study Expert - Case #2 - Report - Verdict "Busted"

Tag Team wrestling is NOT dead in the United States. It is, however, severely diminished. Gone are the glory days of The Hardys, E&C and The Dudleys. We can but reminisce about such standout acts as Too Cool, Billy & Chuck and Kai Entai, and only dream of recapturing the wonders of such standout teams as The Hart Foundation, The New Age Outlaws and The Rockers. We can even mourn such powerful teams as Demolition, The Road Warriors and (dare I say it?) The Nasty Boys. All of these teams, as entertaining and thrilling as they were, shared a common bond. They combined the strength of singles wrestling with the power of tag-team action, but they did so as an actual team.

Most of the teams we see nowadays are thrown together for the purposes of elevating a feud, or honing the skills of one of the superstars. In fact, it has gotten to the point that whenever an actual team is starting to look strong they are prematurely dismantled in the hopes of creating one (or two, if they're lucky) singles stars. Such dynamic teams to fall foul of this vicious curse are Morrimiz and Londrick. Saddening to see such potential possibly wasted by a lack of patience. My prayers go out to The Colons and Cryme Tyme, hoping they don't get too successful as a tag team, otherwise Vinny and Co. will pull the plug on that team faster than you can say "please don't pull the plug on my awesome tag team".

However, tag team matches are a frequent sight these days. Usually involving non-tag teams thrown together for the sake of fitting all the stars on one show. So, although I can argue that the spirit and power behind the tag team scene is dead, the physical sense of 'tag team wrestling' is very much alive.

Johnny is absolutely correct in everything he says here, for the most part. You might have noticed the myth was "tag team wrestling is dead in the United States". Tag team wrestling in of itself isn't even dead in WWE, although the division is definitely on life support. However, tag team wrestling is alive and well and kicking ass in TNA. TNA has a tremendous tag team division, with numerous great tag teams. Team 3D, easily one of the greatest tag teams in history, are currently the champions in TNA and have been overseeing a tag team tournament to crown their number one contenders. You've also got excellent teams like Beer Money Inc., LAX, the Motor City Machine Guns, Lethal Consequences, No Limit, and people being paired together for the tournament. Really, tag team wrestling is one of the highlights of TNA, so much so that if you enjoy tag team wrestling, you should definitely make an effort to watch Impact every week.

Tag teams certainly aren't dead in WWE either, although WWE definitely doesn't pay much attention to the division. The Colons have all the tools necessary to be a great team, as does Priceless. Like Mr. Boom said though, WWE teams are, for the most part, thrown together teams that ultimately mean nothing. WWE loves the style of tag team wrestling, as evident by the fact that you see numerous tag matches on their shows, usually one big name star teaming with another. They obviously don't care enough to once again have a meaningful division, but that can always change and the potential is definitely there.

This myth is obviously a bust, and that's solely based on TNA. Factoring in WWE, ROH, and NWA, and the case against tag team wrestling only further dissolves. I love tag team wrestling, I want to see it return in WWE to its previous glory, but right now I am more than satisfied with getting my tag team fix from Impact every week. Hell, for that matter, available now from TNA is Second 2 None: Worlds Toughest Tag Teams (2-disc DVD). And coming soon from WWE, Allied Powers: The World's Greatest Tag Teams (3-disc set). Pick up a copy of both, if you like tag team wrestling, especially that WWE one once it comes out, because it is stacked with awesomeness.

MYTH BUSTED!

STUDY #3: JOHN CENA SUCKS AS A WRESTLER
STUDY EXPERT: Dr. Chad Matthews

Originally Posted by Dr. Chad Matthews, Study Expert - Case #3 - Report - Verdict "Busted"

I think that's ridiculous, frankly. I've watched wrestling for over 20 years and I've seen a lot of fluid, brilliant ring generals. John Cena is not one of those guys. However, he far from sucks. Over the last 5 years, I've seen John Cena grow from an awkward worker to a very talented one. Is he routinely going to have MOTY candidates? No he isn't. But what Cena has done is become a guy who understands what it takes to tell a story in the ring. It isn't just all about pulling off fluid, breath taking catch as catch can wrestling sequences. It's about putting on a match that draws the audience in. He uses his personality and he listens to the crowd.

Near falls/false finishes are one of the key elements that make a match entertaining to me. They are what brings up my own personal ratings for matches from good to great. John Cena has this part of the game down to a science. He also is a guy who can do it all. He is athletic. He can brawl. He is amazingly powerful. He can do submission wrestling. He does the crowd heat signature moves. He even has incorporated a top rope move into his repertoire. What he does lack is psychology and the ability to consistently sell an injury, but there are plenty of top tier wrestlers that have done that, too.

The fact of the matter is that while John Cena may not look pretty doing it, he certainly is a good wrestler in the WWE's style. He's proven it the last 4 years. Since he became a main-eventer, he's taken his game up a notch. He even managed to get watchable matches out of the Great Khali. He may never be Kurt Angle or Eddie Guerrero or even Steve Austin, but he's a damn good performer.

Exactly right. People can joke about the so-called "five moves of doom", but the fact of the matter is, John Cena is very good at what he does in WWE. He's been apart of some really great matches, and he's carried lesser workers to a decent to good match, something wrestlers who suck certainly can't do. His matches with Shawn Michaels and Edge are amongst some of the best of the last few years. He's had memorable battles with Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Triple H and Chris Jericho. Hell, during the 2009 Draft, he wrestled a good television match with the young Jack Swagger, and actually let Swagger look strong and impressive. John Cena deserves all the success he has received.

You know, I'm far from the guys biggest fan. I don't dislike him, he's just not amongst my favorite performers. But, I do respect the man, his passion for wrestling and everything he has done in a WWE ring. There is no possible way a wrestler can "suck", yet have been in as many good to great matches as John Cena has been in. It simply isn't going to happen. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior sucked as wrestlers, hence they didn't have nearly as many "good" matches as Cena has had. No one will ever mistake Cena for Curt Hennig, but he is at least as good as The Rock.

Since coming into WWE in 2002, Cena has grown into a well rounded wrestler, who knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, and plays to his strengths. John is said to be extremely passionate about the business, a real student of the game, and I think over the last several years, that has been shown true. Cena is the perfect fit for WWE, he's a great "WWE wrestler" or sports-entertainer. Would he be great in a place like Ring of Honor, of course not, he doesn't possess the pure wrestling ability of half of the ROH roster. But who cares, there's more to professional wrestling than being extremely technical. Cena excels in brawls and matches of that nature. He has a connection with the audience that brings them to life when he's in the ring, either to boo him or cheer him, and that always ups the memorable status of the match. Very few can get the crowd up and hollering the way John Cena can.

He's not Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle or Bret Hart, but John Cena far from sucks.

MYTH BUSTED!

STUDY #4: DAVID ARQUETTE'S REIGN AS WCW CHAMPION KILLED THAT TITLE
STUDY EXPERT: lenjr04

Originally Posted by lenjr04, Study Expert - Case #4 - Report - Verdict "Busted"

Believe me, there are plenty of good reasons why this could be true. For one, bringing in a Hollywood actor to be put over by established wrestlers. But not just be put over, mind you...but to be put over as WORLD CHAMPION! On a second note, they did this to help promote a terrible kayfabe-wrestling movie which featured two moronic fans (one of them Arquette) trying to undo the kayfabe crime that had been committed in the WCW scene. This movie also fueled the stereotype of wrestling fans either being complete idiots or trailer park trash. Back on track…for these two reasons alone, one could certainly argue that David Arquette was a devastating blow to any prestige that the WCW Championship may have had by that point.

I think, though, we need to get to the core of the issue here. Let’s look at some of the stuff that happened before Arquette’s title reign. From 1998 up to the point he won the title, seven vacancies occurred for one reason or another. At least one was due to injury, but the other six were due to poor booking decisions (such as then-Commissioner Kevin Nash stripping Sid Vicious of the title, only to award it to himself). Also, after Bill Goldberg’s 1998 title reign all the way up to Scott Steiner’s late-2000 reign, the title never saw a reign break the 100-day mark. By today’s standards, that seems to be the norm, but even in the late-Attitude Era, this should not have been happening. Also, the fact that the company’s biggest draws were way past their prime, quality wrestling was not being displayed when the title was on the line (not even “quality” by Hogan/Warrior circa 1990 standards).

While one could resolve that Arquette winning the championship put the prestige one foot in the grave, I’ve always been under the belief that Vince Russo pounded the nail in the proverbial coffin, for two reasons. First, at Bash at the Beach 2000, a story arc was to be introduced in which Hogan won the title, took off with it, and never came back. A subsequent tournament would be held (and a new champion crowned), only for Hogan to come back and claim to be the actual champion. This would create a match to determine the real champion. This could have been great; except Russo decided he would “shoot” on Hogan and have a different match take place. There’s also a little note here about Vince booking himself as world champion. I attribute these two things to nothing more than his massive ego. So, to close, I don’t feel that David Arquette’s title victory killed the WCW Championship, but it sure didn’t help.

Once again our study expert, this time lenjr04, is dead on in the report. David Arquette did not kill the WCW Championship or its credibility. It certainly didn't help it, but it was already in the grave and the dirt being thrown on top of it by this point. From cattle prods, finger pokes of doom, and authority figures vacating the title for no reason, WCW's World Championship meant very little come to 2000. It certainly didn't get any better during that disastrous year. Let's examine the previous few months prior to Arquette winning the championship:

Sting - 9-12-99 / Vacant - 10-25-99 / Bret Hart - 11-21-99/ Vacant - 12-20-99 / Bret Hart - 12-20-99 / Vacant - 01-16-00 / Chris Benoit - 01-16-00 / Vacant - 01-17-00 / Sid Vicious - 01-24-00 / Vacant - 01-25-00/ Kevin Nash - 01-25-00 / Sid Vicious - 01-25-00 / Vacant - 04-10-00

What the hell is that? Six vacancies, in less than a year? Look at January alone, laughable. That title meant nothing by this point. Who cares that David Arquette held this title for a week or two, to promote a shitty movie? It meant nothing, no harm done because the title was pointless. But lets look at the championship right prior to Arquette winning it and afterwards to see what we have:

Jeff Jarrett - 04-16-00 / Dallas Page - 04-24-00 / David Arquette - 04-25-00 / Jeff Jarrett - 05-07-00 / Ric Flair - 05-15-00 / Jeff Jarrett - 05-22-00 / Kevin Nash - 05-23-00 / Ric Flair - 05-29-00 / Jeff Jarrett - 05-29-00

Nine title changes in a little over a month. The title really means nothing when it changes hands every week or two and sometimes the next day and same day. Now I’m not saying that someone has to be champion for a year or two for the title to mean anything, but damn at least give the champion time to put the damn belt around his waist. And if the “best” loses the title that often, then the best must really suck. By this point in time in WCW, the title was so severely diminished and a laughing stock, Courtney Cox-Arquette could have won the damn thing and wouldn't have killed the title anymore than the horrendous booking had already done and would continue to do.

While Arquette winning the championship may indeed be laughable to all of us now, the entire promotion was laughable both before and after to the point where his winning the championship had little impact on anything.

MYTH BUSTED!

And that concludes our study for this edition of Wrestling Myth Busting. Speaking of Mythbusters, this one is for you Jimmy. Enjoy!

The moment of truth has arrived, it is now time to end the Battle to Crown Miss AVFR. After two rounds of hot and steamy action, we still have a tie with each of the lovely competitors having 14 points. That makes this round, the third and final round, that much harder on me. There can be no tie in this competition, there must be a single winner. It's time for Stinger's Decision.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL - I've heard people say that you're not a good actress and that every character you play comes off exactly the same, but I have no qualms admitting that you are my favorite actress and that I've loved everything you've played in. Beyond just being a great actress, you're also a wonderful singer. I apologize for not purchasing your CD, but I figure once it's downloaded and burned, no sense wasting money on it, ya dig? Of course you dig, you're cool like that. Whether you're Kit, Kat or Miss Pussy Katz, you fucking rule the screen. I've July 17th marked on my calendar right now and Tin Man in my DVD player. You don't have anything to do with wrestling, and you probably don't even like it, and this is a wrestling column, so maybe you aren't exactly the best person to adorn the coveted AVFR banner each week. That brings us to your opponent.

KATIE LEA - My dear Kat, how I wish you could wrestle every week on television. It's a shame that WWE simply does not recognize your awesomeness, be it on the mic or most definitely in the ring. You can wrestle circles around practically the entire women's division, blindfolded. I write a wrestling column, I obviously like professional wrestling, so to me, any chick that not only likes wrestling, but takes the time to learn to wrestle exceptionally well is pretty close to being the perfect lass in my book (or column as the case may be). You've wrestled in Europe, you've wrestled in SHIMMER, you've competed in Ladder Match's and you deserve to be WWE Women's Champion, or at the very least Diva's Champion. Part of me wishes you were in TNA, for at least then you might actually get to wrestle on TV and not be a valet. As an extremely hot women's wrestler, you're quite perfect for the role of AVFR cover girl.

Stinger's Decision: 'Tis a hard decision to make. My current favorite female wrestler, or my favorite actress? I think I'm going to have to go with...

*Door to the rafters slams open.*

WHOA, fuck no! This kind of thing may be allowed to fly in Miss WrestleMania contest, but it most certainly will not be tolerated here in the rafters. You're not Miss AVFR, Santina, now be gone.

*Stinger pushes Santina, she falls from the rafters and hits the floor below.*

Okay, here's what happened; she was devastated because she wasn't crowned Miss AVFR, so she jumped. Got it? Good. Now then, the real Miss AVFR, winning with a final score of 19 to 18, is none other than...

ZOOEY DESCHANEL - MISS AVFR

Unfortunately, that brings us to the end of this weeks edition of AVFR. I hope that turned out well, I think it did. I want to again thank Dr. Monkey, Johnny Boomerang, Dr. Chad Matthews and lenjr04 for their help with this column by taking the time to provide me with their reports on my "myths". Also, congratulations to Zooey Deschanel, who, albeit unbeknownst to her, was just crowned Miss AVFR. She should be proud of the fact that her likeness will be used to market an Internet wrestling column on a message board. Before we go, be sure and read The BMF's Present: Kings or Bankers, Who Rules The World?, the second edition of the column co-written by Jules and I (and we'd love to know what you think about it). I'll see you all again next week with a brand new column, but until then, this has been Stinger bringing you A View From the Rafters #90. The sting stops here.

- Stinger

[NightofDay]

I haven't read the column yet and I'm just about to but...

Dom DeLuise died?!? Holy shit! That's a big loss right there.

EDIT: OK, I'm back after that mourning. This was excellent as always Stinger. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with some of the statements, I absolutely agree on the John Cena myth. Cena is not a terrible wrestler, far from it as a matter of fact. Yes he's had terrible matches (ones with JBL stick out in my mind) but he's had some really good matches as well with Edge, Shawn Michaels, Umaga and HHH.

Excellent as always, but I still can't get over the death of Dom DeLuise. Guy was awesome at everything he did. Hard not to like him.

[JoeyShinobi]

You're lucky we've just ranked you #1, sir, because the moment I saw those lyrics, I was about to click 'Back'. Horrible song. Horrible.

Smackdown last week was the best WWE show this year by a country mile. By all accounts, this week's one will be pretty good too. Raw, on the other hand, appears to be a platform of self-indulgence for one Shane McMahon right now.

I'm disappointed you didn't bust the myth about PG-13, but you had a nice little range of topics that were well covered by your panel and yourself. It was clear from the off Zooey would win, but still, that was a fun little feature.

You're like the CF's Liquorice Allsorts...never know what you'll get. It's always good though. Great stuff, sir, as if I was expecting anything else.

[Lucas_Nova]

Awesome stuff man. First off, completely agree with you on the whole smackdown is the (good) shit!

Anyways, the whole column was intriguing (I do mean that as a great compliment by the way!) I especially enjoyed the Cena myth busting. I was one who firmly hated Cena in the ring and as a result simply disregarded him. However, I've grown to appreciate what he offers to a WWE audience, If you love him or hate him EVERYONE has formed an opinion on him and that is one objective for a wrestler, no-one needs those Charlie Haas pops. As for his in-ring work, you're obviously right, he's never going to be Bret Hart but I appreciate the fact he cares enough about the business and all the fans that he wants to improve, whether to prove a point to the critics or as a thanks to his fans. I'm never going to be Cena's no.1 fan, but that being said I have a heep of respect for the man, he could easily not bother to put the effort in and carry on main eventing and selling his shirts, so credit where it's due. That being said it can take one salute and I'm back to where I started!

Oh, and I'm happy to see Zooey prevailed!

Great stuff, man! flawless.

Nova.

[Petre Dyche]

Stinger, wow man, reeking of awesomeness, even if 33%ish of the column was written by other guys =P

There's an old saying "They call them clichés because they're true". I suppose that in itself is a cliché and therefore the whole sentence is self-fulfilling, but that's by the by. I'm glad that in each myth that was busted it was acknowledged that there was an element of truth to it, and it was understandable why some fans would feel the way they often do.

Cena has suffered from 2 poor wrestlemanias in a row. His 2007 match with Michaels WAS a MOTY candidate in my opinion...but since then his ring time has waned. Sad, as he even got a great match out of Lashley at the GAB. Granted his matches with Swagger and Edge have been a return to form, so maybe he can carry on from there and be the guy who made a believer out of me.

Ready To Rumble was awesome, end of.

Great column. Always enjoyable, thoroughly readable, and 100% desirable. (my room's 207, key is under the mat...baybee!)

[the ticking clock]

Stinger, this was excellent work as always. I have to agree that these myths are just that - myths, and the analysis that you (and your guests) put forth was great. I wasn't aware that the WCW title scene had become that much of a clusterfuck - it's like the 24/7 hardcore title!

Yay for Zooe winning! If Katie Lea needs consoling, I'd be happy to oblige.

Read ya next time dude.
TTC

[Martin Riggs]

Dammit, how could i so foolishly misrepresent that question??

Apart from my shortsightedness, this was fantastic as per usual, which considering it's your 90th should come as no surprise. Very good stuff.

[Box Car Rocco]

Brilliant man. The arguements were well constructed and the 4 arguements were all interesting as they are hot topics in the IWC. The thing I agreed with the most was the tag team section as like you said, TNA's tag team division is awesome. I'm sure you know of the tag team DVD they are releasing soon called "Second to none" and rightfully so.

This must return again some day.

[Leonard]

This was very enjoyable, and not just because I was a small part of it. You supplemented the "expert" opinions very nicely, and your Miss AVFR stuff was there, too. Stellar work, and I hope to see one of these again soon (I'll be glad to debunk a Mike Adamle myth, if you wish...). I look forward to reading 91, sir.

As an aside, anyone else find it odd that two people from History of the World Part I have died within a few weeks of each other (Bea Arthur and Dom)? Just sayin'.

--Leonard

[The Maz]

Not since Danny Ocean has someone put such a great team together. Well done to the real doc, the fake doc, Lenny and Johnny. Stinger, I loved this column and I hope it is not another 3 years til you decide to bust some more myths. I actually agreed with pretty much everything said here. Well done and your hot form continues.

[Super Chrisss]

I honestly enjoyed the column the instant I discovered another AAR fan. Rok on!

For the rest of the column, considering it's the first time I read one of your works, it was almost flawless. Your myth-busters were really similar to FACT OR FICTION (which I love btw), but different at the same time. Loved it!

An outstanding column top to bottom. 5 *s!

[James_A]

I love you for putting Kari Byron's booty in this column. I was watching a Mythbusters marathon and I instantly thought of you. You are my hero Stinger. But seriously, you deserve all the praise you're getting this month. The crime that was once you not getting a COTM is now rectified.

[Mike]

As everyone else has said this was really well done. The myths picked were good ones and the writing by you (and the others) was great! I'd like to read more of this kind thing in the future. All in all a great column.

Poor Katie Lea, I still love her

[Stinger]

NoD - Dom's death sucked big time, dude was totally awesome for sure. I actually liked Cena/JBL, or more specifically their I Quit Match from JD 2005. Thanks for the feedback.

Joey - Not my favorite song, but I don't mind it. I have a lot of stuff on my computer and the opening lyrics are (9 out of 10 times) whatever is playing as I start to write the intro. I didn't even think about the PG-13 myth, but thanks for pointing it out, if I do a Vol. 3 anytime soon, it'll definitely be in it. Appreciate the feedback man.

Nova - Zooey is happy she prevailed too. Thanks for reading and dropping some feedback.

Pete - I might have to get other folks to write parts of my column for me all the time, it's much easier that way. Nah, but thanks, I'm glad you thought it was awesome. Although you thought Ready To Rumble was awesome as well, so I think your awesome guage may be broken. Actually, I didn't mind Ready To Rumble too much, not my favorite film, but I don't hate it either. I'll print this out and sign it, and slide it under your door, I'm afraid to enter though. No, but thank you kindly good sir, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for feedback.

TTC - A clusterfuck indeed, god how I hated WCW in that time period. I've already consoled Katie, she wasn't taking the loss very well at all. Appreciate the read and feedback.

J-Boom - Simple, most folks just don't think of TNA. Thank you for helping me out.

Box Car - Yep, I know about that TNA tag team DVD (even plugged it in the column), and I plan on getting it this weekend. It likely will return again, when I don't know.

Leo - Thanks for helping me, and maybe the next time I'll do a Adamle myth and acquire your services again. Yeah, not a good month for History of the World. Hopefully no one else drops dead. Thanks for reading.

The Maz - Thank you very much, and I'm quite sure it will not be another 3 years before I do this again. Maybe in another month? Appreciate the feedback.

Super Chrisss - A first time reader, sweet. Five stars is also sweet. Thanks!

Jimmy! - I know, Kari Byron's booty is all kinds of awesome and that was just for you buddy. I'll have to post that to your wall, or whatever the hell it's called. Thanks.

Mike - It'll return sometime relatively soon, another month or two. I appreciate you reading and leaving some feedback. I also still love Katie Lea, it was a hard decision to make.

[Stryder]

As previously mentioned this was a very enjoyable column to read, as I never watched WCW ( I know shock horror) I cannot comment on the WCW title picture or the similarities between the current TNA product and the “ last days” of WCW myths. However, I do feel as though the tag division myth was correctly analysed both by you and your “expert”. If only Vince would go and rape TNA of the Machine Guns, Beer Money, LAX and put Hass and Benjamin together then maybe the WWE would have one hell of a tag division.

As for Cena, pretty much spot on with what was said, although I do feel that you saying he is as good is the rock is maybe giving Cena a little too much credit. I know were are talking strictly from a wrestling standpoint here so I not going to go on about how Rocks charisma, mic skills and ability to draw the crowd in is better than Cenas. However, I do feel the rock was a better wrestler than Cena.

Hustle recently completed his March Madness tournament on the main page and out of the 64 matches that competed only 2 matches involved Cena while 6 matches were competed in by Rocky with his bout against Stone Cold at Wrestlemania 17 actually winning the whole tournament. While I can appreciate that the matches were just based on one mans opinions the voting was done by the readers. I Just feel that while Cena is without a doubt a good wrestler as he has proven many times against the likes of HBK and HHH along with outstanding gimmick matches against Umaga ( I Quit) and Edge (TLC) I just feel to compare him to The Rock is either unfair on Rocky or very generous to Cena.

Oh, and Smackdown is the shit right now!

Your song choice is terrible. C'mon Stinger, that's just shameful.

I've had this idea for a long, long time, but I never had the initiative to follow through on it. You had the right idea incorporating multiple writers, although I would've liked to see more schtick and parody reflecting more than just the show's premise. But that's just me.

And Monkey's right, referring to even your worst enemy as "resembling last days WCW" is just a low blow. Nobody deserves that, not even TNA.

[Andy_Savana]

So fucking boeatyfglyil!!!!!!!


Zooey is so pretty!!!!