http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/06/eddie-guerrero-division-quarterfinals/

OK, one last bracket to go, and then this weekend we’ll merge everything into one big 16-team tournament to crown the winners.

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/06/lou-thesz-division-quarterfinals-results/

These are all pretty decisive, so let’s speed things up and get to the next bracket.

- Kane & Undertaker (59%) take out Beer Money (41%) in the closest match of this bracket, but Beer Money were never in serious contention.  Undertaker no-sells the beer bottle and chokeslams Roode to finish.

- The Hollywood Blondes (79%) destroy Money Inc. (21%) in something of a surprise, as Austin finishes Dibiase with the Million Dollar Dream to advance.

- Owen & Bulldog (65%) finish off the Andersons (35%) as Anderson hits the spinebuster on Davey, but Owen comes off the top with a Slammy Award to finish and advance.

- The Hart Foundation (83%) finish off the Hardy Boyz (17%) in a landslide.  Really?  No love for the Hardy Boyz, or are the Harts just that much of a force?  They’re not actually my pick to win the tournament, but I can see it happening.  Jeff misses the Swanton and the Harts finish him with a Hart Attack. 

So for the semis, we’ve got:

- Kane & Undertaker v. The Hollywood Blondes

- The Hart Foundation v. Owen & Bulldog

Whoa nellie, I wanna buy that PPV!

This is so sad looking.

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/06/lou-thesz-division-quarterfinals/

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/06/eddie-gilbert-division-quarterfinals-results/

OK, these are all pretty decisive, so I’m calling them now so we can move on.

- Edge & Christian (92%) steamroll the Quebecers (8%) in the Battle of Canada, where the promos were probably awesome. 

- The Outsiders (68%) beat the New Age Outlaws (32%) in the battle to win HHH’s love, as Kevin Nash no-sells the belt shot and powerbombs Billy Gunn to win it. 

- The Megapowers (83%) beat the Koloffs (17%) in an 80s dream match that ended up being little more than a squash.  Big boot and legdrop for Uncle Ivan finish this one off, although you have to wonder how much longer Hogan & Savage can work together.

- The Midnight Express (54%) beat Miz & Morrison (46%) in a wonky result because someone was power-voting for M&M, which completely skewed the numbers to the point where I had to turn off the honor system and restrict voting.  More realistically the numbers would have been about 80%-20% in favor of the Midnights, but either way they advance. 

So for our semi-finals (which I think everyone already predicted) we have:

- Edge & Christian v. The Outsiders

- The Megapowers v. The Midnight Express

That’s gonna be some interesting voting right there.

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/06/tna-and-roh/

HDNet is free this month, although I have no desire to drop another $10 a month to get it, no matter how awesome the MMA offerings might be.  Seriously, random K-1 history shows?  AWESOME. 

Anyway, point being, I finally got a chance to sit down and watch an ROH TV show on Monday, and it wasn’t terribly impressive.  I know it’s probably at the end of a taping cycle and the crowd is burned out, but it just didn’t feel like anything special, and what’s with booking a no contest in the Briscoes-Bucks match?  This is supposed to be the land of clean finishes!  Nice to see Nigel putting over Colt Cabana clean on the way out, but it was only like a ** match.  I’ve got another three weeks of shows to catch, though, and it’s something different, so what the heck. 

I also watched a good chunk of TNA Impact this week because I was laid up on the couch with a 100 degree fever tonight and little desire to change the channel before Deadliest Warrior came on, and man, this show is every bit as Russo-riffic as advertised.  They hype up a big Homicide-Red title match at the PPV, then have Bobby Lashley squash Homicide like a bug, and then Red gets his revenge already.  What?  And what’s with giving away a Styles-Daniels match for free, putting Styles over clean, and then expecting us to pay $40 to watch a rematch with Samoa Joe involved as well?  AJ just beat his challenger clean in the middle of the ring, where’s the suspense?  A four year old could book this show better.  Bring on Hulk and his friends, I say, it can’t be any worse.

Last Week:

Toronto v Edmonton - Edmonton won 36 to 10.
Saskatchewan v Hamilton - Hamilton won 24 to 6.
Calgary v B.C. - Calgary won 28 to 26.
Winnipeg v Montreal - Montreal won 48 to 13.

Well folks, when you're right [62%] of the time you're wrong [38%] of the time... In the game of [Calgary] versus [Saskatchewan] I declare [Calgary] to my "Lock of the Week"... I pick [Saskatchewan] to be my "Shoe In of the Week"... So the final week of the season is upon us and with it I do include a slightly personal note. I've decided that while I will continue with my power ranking schemes the predictions I make will be, ultimately be going the way of the Dodo. Three years in I still take away a fair amount of pleasure by formulating and creating the CFL power rankings for myself (and others) whereas here, with predictions, I find it much more of a tedious chore then something I look forward to every week. This coupled with only minor improvement over the seasons, and other sources being noticeably more accurate in predictions percentage then my own, has led me to this conclusion. I still may include a "pick" with my power-rankings next year, I'm not certain yet, but the write-ups, the records and the recaps are going to go. R.I.P. future predictions. May your reincarnation, whatever it may be, be many times more reliable then Nostradamus.

( Onto Week Nineteen Final Predictions )
East

1 Montreal (14-3-0) in the playoffs
2 Hamilton (8-9-0)
3 Winnipeg (7-10-0)
4 Toronto (3-14-0)

West

1 Calgary (10-6-1) in the playoffs
2 Saskatchewan (9-7-1) in the playoffs
3 B.C. (8-9-0)
3 Edmonton (8-9-0)

Current Mood: 39.5 for 64

First, though I am now not doing NaNoWriMo, I decided that I liked my start enough that I'm going to keep going with it, just not at the NaNoWriMo pace. There's not much there and it's not that good, but it has potential.

That's your context for this conversation I just had. Forgive the paraphrasing:

Mika: Write any novel today?
James: Nope.
Mika: Going at your own pace?
James: Yeah, I think so. I'm in no hurry.
Mika: Is it about wrestling?
James: *snort* No, but this is not the first time I've been asked that.
Mika: Who else?
James: Chad was all like "What's your novel about? Is it about Hulk Hogan? Is Hulk Hogan in it? Is it about wrasslin' at all?"
Mika: So he thought you were writing a fanfic then?
James: I guess so, a Hulk Hogan fanfic.
Mika: And what would it be about, Hulk Hogan having sex with the author? Isn't that how fanfic works?
James: Usually, as far as I know.

I don't really remember how the conversation went from there, except it mostly involved me repeating the title and Mika making this "heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" noise because she was laughing so hard that was the only noise that would come out. She also made me promise that I'd use the book's title as the title for my next blog post, so here we are. (The Reader's Digest condensed version only leaves in the dirty words.)

We determined that he'd still say "brother" a lot. And that by using only my first name, I'd be like the Cher of homoerotic Hulk Hogan fan-fiction.

This seems like it's maybe one of those blog posts that will get me in trouble somewhere along the line. People understand wacky inside jokes, right? 

Probably best not to assume that.

The actual topic of the novel will remain a secret until I decide that the manuscript is both relatively finished and also not entirely awful anymore. This means you'll probably never know what it is.

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/05/lightning-round-comics-edition/

Hey Scott,
Long time reader or your rants, books (I own everyone but "Buzz") and your blog. Loving the Tag tourney btw.
Wanted to get your view of comics so I figured to get some questions off my chest. Break up all this 'rasslin talk.
1. Better team: Legion of Super Heroes or Teen Titans?
2. What do you think of the New Justice League line-up?
3. Do you think Green Lantern will ever be an iconic character in the same vein as the Trinity?
4. Do you Blackest Night will be a let down?
5. Do you read any Marvel books? Indies?
6. Do you attend Cons? If not, would you?
7. (If you read Green Lantern) Where do you think Geoff Johns will go with GL Corps after Blackest Night?
8. Best book on the market right now?
9. Last Trade Paperback/Harcover you read.
10. Have you been reading Superman: Secret Origin? If not, stop what you are doing (Excluding the tag tourney) and read the story (#2 just came out) Honestly, the best DC story since Sinestro War. ALREADY.

 

1.  An LSH digest from the 70s was what got me into comics, so that’s my vote. 

2.  The only real Justice League has Booster Gold and Blue Beetle.

3.  Depends on how the movie does, if it happens.  I really don’t consider Wonder Woman an iconic character, though, just because they keep saying she is. 

4.  It’s been pretty great thus far.

5.  I’m reading Dark Avengers, Ultimate Avengers, and trying to get into Deadpool, but other than that not much outside of DC.

6.  I would but there’s never anything in my area.

7.  I haven’t really read Green Lantern much lately. 

8.  Booster Gold.  I’ve always had a soft spot for Dan Jurgans and time travel shenanigans, and it’s just a blast to read.  Adventure Comics is also really fun thus far. 

9.  Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis. 

10.  I read the first one, haven’t gotten to the second issue yet.  Quite enjoyed it, although I don’t really see why they need to reboot Superman yet again when the Byrne stuff had been perfectly definitive for the past 20 years or so. 

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/05/eddie-gilbert-division-quarter-finals/

And away we go…

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/05/jim-crockett-division-quarterfinals-results/

The result you’re all waiting for is after the break, and you’re not gonna believe how close it was!

- The Steiner Brothers (93%) squash the US Express (7%), as Rotundo attempts an airplane spin on Scott, but is left dizzy and gets flattened and pinned after a Steinerline by Rick.  I think that’s about the best Windham & Rotundo could have expected in this thing.

- Doom (79%) knocks off the Smoking Gunns (21%), proving themselves to have more legs than I expected. 

- The Rockers (66%) stun the Rock N Sock Connection (34%) when Mankind takes too long going for Mr. Socko and a frustrated Rock lays him out and leaves him for dead. 

And finally…

- The Road Warriors (50%) beat Demolition (50%) by FOUR VOTES, 888-884.  Wow.  Voting was incredibly close from the moment polls opened, but Demolition never led at any point, so I finally closed it and declared the Warriors the winners. 

So our semi-finals look like this:

- The Steiner Brothers v. Doom in a match that actually did happen several times in 1989-90 and was pretty good each time.  The series was pretty even as well.

- The Road Warriors v. The Rockers in the classic power v. speed matchup.

Someone just bought a professional button maker.

Out: Slamming my hand into metal circles for hours on end.
In : Using a sleek lever.

Out: Wounds on the base of my palm.
In : Carpal Tunnel

Out: Dreading the times I have to make buttons.
In : Getting ready for button 'sessions'

Out: 3 dead buttons a sheet due to frilly backings not catching right.
In : .5 dead buttons a sheet, etc.

Anyone have a band or something that needs buttons. I'M YOUR BITCH!

And on another note:

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/even-better-than-clarence-mason/

http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/10/31/weekend-amigo-mail-mailbag

El Tyrano Magnifico, the world’s foremost luchador lawyer, answers reader mail!  Yes indeed.

Last Power Ranking I'll be posting for the season!

( This is hidden behind text because of images included )
I hope you enjoyed my power rankings this year and should be bringing them back next year for the general amusement of all!

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/jim-crockett-division-quarterfinals/

Not sure why the blog’s being all weird this week, but the tournament must go on!

For the second round, I’ve eliminated the “Draw” option, so now you must pick a winner. 

The US Express v. The Steiner Brothers(online surveys) Doom v. The Smoking Gunns(opinion) The Rock N Sock Connection v. The Rockers(trends) The Road Warriors v. Demolition(opinion)

Good luck to all the teams!

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/eddie-guerrero-division-round-one-results/

My my, you folks just keep surprising me with some of these results.  I was waiting until I had decisive results in as many races as possible before I called it a round, but one race just refused to die.  Finally it became apparent that the losing team just wasn’t going to catch up, so I closed the polls and called it for the surprise winners.  To the results…

- Eddie & Chavo Guerrero (58%) score what I’d consider a bit of an upset over the current tag champs, Chris Jericho & Big Show (38%), as Big Show scores the knockout blow on Chavo, but Eddie manages to give a chair to Jericho as the referee turns around, giving a DQ win to Los Guerreros. 

- In the battle of Rick Martel, Strike Force (74%) destroys the Can-Am Connection (14%), as Tito knocks out Tom Zenk with the flying forearm for the pin to advance.  Luckily the Martels reconcile afterwards.

- In a fairly shocking and major upset, the Fantastics (46%) take out Rude & Fernandez (39%) when Rogers gets a small package on Rude for the win.  I thought Jones’ Army had an easy trip to the second round, but I guess there’s a lot more nostalgia for the Fantastics than I counted on.

- In another one that was more lop-sided than I thought, RVD & Sabu (60%) eliminate the Eliminators (34%).  ECW’s presence in this tournament is rapidly shrinking.

- The Dudley Boyz (75%) knock off Shawn & Diesel (22%) when Shawn superkicks his partner into 3D.  It’s a bad night for Shawn all around, because…

- The British Bulldogs (80%) destroy D-X (18%), when HHH blows out a quad and Davey Boy powerslams Shawn for the win. 

- In the biggest surprise of the tournament for me thus far, Haas & Benjamin (51%) defeat Sting & Luger (49%) in a win by only 30 votes.  Before the match Sting & Luger had been arguing over whether Jesus was more about love and compassion (Sting’s view) or mercy and forgiveness (Luger’s view).  Things got heated between them all through the match, and Luger finally snapped and laid out Sting with the stainless steel forearm at the end, giving TWGTT the win.  So I guess Sting won the argument.

- Blanchard & Anderson (78%) polished off Gordy & Williams (17%) in a match that I would have loved to see.

So for the next round, we have…

- Eddie & Chavo Guerrero v. Strike Force

- The Fantastics v. RVD & Sabu

- The Dudley Boyz v. The British Bulldogs

- Haas & Benjamin v. Blanchard & Anderson

Very interesting…

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/ufc-viii/

The Ultimate Fighting Championship VIII: David v. Goliath!

- Live from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

- Your hosts are Bruce Beck, Don Wilson and Jeff Blatnick.

- Thankfully, time limits have been reduced to 10 minutes for the tournament and 15 for the Superfight this time. And now we have judges in case it goes to the time limit, although thankfully not Cecil Peoples. They hype up Brazilian Joe Moreira as the big thing for this tournament, but the real breakout star is of course someone else entirely…

Open Weight tournament quarterfinals

Don Frye (Judo/Wrestling) v. Tomas Ramirez (Pakua-Chan)

This probably gives away the winner of the tournament right here, but Frye was the guy who really merged the boxing, wrestling and martial arts styles into the modern UFC fighting style. Ramirez is a big fat fuck, which ties into the David & Goliath theme of the show. I'm betting on David here. And yeah, Frye knocks him the fuck out with ONE PUNCH, nearly putting him through the fence in the process. Oh yeah, DON FRYE, baby.

Joe Moreira (Jiu-Jitsu) v. Paul Varelans (Trapfighting)

Is Joe the next Royce Gracie? Um, no. Varelans actually declares himself a "thinker" now, apparently. They do the standup to start and Varelans fights for the takedown, then trades with Moreira instead. Moreira keeps backing off and picking his strikes, probably because Varelans tags him every time he gets within two feet. Moreia tries to shoot in and gets clubbed, not really sure what to do with Varelans. So they keep circling, because Varelans doesn't know how to kick and Moreira can't take him down. Seriously, Varelans has a foot of height on Moreira, why not throw leg kicks to set up the punches? More circling and Moreira won't commit to a takedown attempt, as they ride out the 10:00 time limit and leave it up to the judges. Good luck there. Neither guy did much, but Varelans did less nothing so I'm thinking he gets the decision. And indeed, it's a unanimous decision for him.

Jerry Bohlander (Submission Fighting) v. Scott Ferrozo (Pitfighting)

They really put over Ferrozo in the commentary for some reason. Ferrozo shoots in and takes Bohlander into the fence, then throws him around with nasty suplexes and hooks in a guillotine attempt. Ferrozo leaves his neck exposed on the fence, however, and Bohlander gets his own choke in, but can't sink it. To be fair, Ferrozo has no neck, so it's gotta be tough. Back to the mat as Ferrozo takes him down and into the guard. Ferrozo is bleeding, so Big John stops the fight and gets the doctor to clean up the cut, and we're back on again. Back to the fence, but John breaks them up again. Ferrozo keeps going to the fence but he's got no follow-up. Bohlander gets a nice takedown out of there and hooks the choke, tapping Ferrozo at 9:05. Good fight, although Ferrozo ran out of gas quickly.

Gary Goodridge (Kuk Sool Won) v. Paul Herrera (Wrestling)

Herrera shoots in and gets trapped in a crucifix, and Goodridge DESTROYS him with elbows to win. HOLY SHIT. The doctors swarm in, to make sure Herrera still has a face left. Luckily, he does.

Open Weight tournament semi-finals:

Don Frye v. Sam Atkins (Boxing)

How could Varelans have been injured in that snoozer? Atkins looks like Jesse Ventura, complete with ugly spandex tights. Frye's moustache could take this guy by itself. Atkins wants to box, so Frye takes him down and beats the shit out of him, prompting a fast stoppage. Atkins is unhappy about it, but when you're bleeding all over the mat you've got little cause for complaint.

Jerry Bohlander v. Gary Goodridge

Bohlander shoots in and immediately gets choked, but survives and escapes. Goodridge takes him down with a suplex and gets side control, but it's a stalemate, so Goodridge goes to top mount and that allows Bohlander to elevate him over and get to the top. Bohlander throws from the top, but Goodridge powers him over again to get control. They're on the fence, and Goodridge finishes with strikes from the top. Vicious.

Superfight: Ken Shamrock v. Kimo

Kimo goes for it right away, but Shamrock takes it to the mat and gets top mount. Kimo gives up the neck, but then manages to get top position when Shamrock goes for the choke. He tries to throw bombs, but Shamrock squirms around and grabs the ankle. Kimo taps quickly, of course. Much more entertaining that the last few Shamrock Superfights.

Open Weight tournament finals:

Don Frye v. Gary Goodridge

Goodridge has ditched the gi, and he's ripped like a pro wrestler. Frye comes in with strikes to start, but Goodridge takes him down. Back to the standup and Frye pounds on him against the fence with some good shots, but Goodridge pulls him off the fence in a crazy spot. Frye ends up on top and beats on him until Big John stops it, giving the tournament to Frye. Frye was just awesome in this tournament, as was Goodridge, and they'd both have many years ahead of them.

A great show from the early days, as Don Frye gets unleashed on the world of MMA.

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/eddie-guerrero-division-round-one/

Uh oh, the injury bug bites again, as The Young Stallions were tragically caught in the running of the bulls and trampled to death.  My original subs were Too Cool, but then Brian Christopher got caught at the border and detained, so we had a last minute change to put the current tag champs into the tournament…

http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/11/04/lou-thesz-division-round-one-results/

A couple of more upsets and close races this time, but nothing that went down to the wire.

- Kane & Undertaker (67%) dispatch the Killer Bees (29%) in a match that frankly was closer than I expected.  The Bees try the mask switch, but Undertaker just tombstones them both anyway and pins them.

- Beer Money (50%) score what I consider a big upset over Sheik & Volkoff (42%) when Storm hits Sheik with the beer bottle while Roode is trapped in the camel clutch, and pins him. Sheik’s promo after the match is much better than the match itself.

- The Hollywood Blondes (79%) take care of the Freebirds (17%) without too much trouble.

- In another one that came as a shock to me, Money Inc. (68%) eliminates the Skyscrapers (28%) in the first round.  I had this division pegged as Kane & Undertaker v. Skyscrapers in the semis before we started. 

- Ole & Arn Anderson (79%) make the Heavenly Bodies (18%) submit to an armbar, as Jim Cornette obviously wasn’t there to help.

- Owen & Bulldog (89%) absolutely crush the Headshrinkers (9%), basically squashing them and looking like strong contenders to go all the way in this division.

- Speaking of squashes, the Hart Foundation (96%) finish off Badd Company (3%) before DDP can even finish introducing his team.  Not a lot of 80s AWA fans out there, I guess.

- And finally, the Hardy Boyz (76%) beat the Rougeau Brothers (21%) to show they’re the dominant (real) brother team in this bracket. 

So that’s gonna give us our next round:

Kane & Undertaker v. Beer Money

The Hollywood Blondes v. Money Inc.

Ole & Arn Anderson v. Owen Hart & British Bulldog

The Hart Foundation v. The Hardy Boyz

Glad I don’t have to vote on these, because a couple are gonna be TOUGH.