Latest ITR

Hirin' and Firin'. I enjoyed writing this one, because it has a few inside jokes that only three or four people, tops, will get.

RVD's favorite stock to buy

Amigula Incorporated

"The Board of Directors just wanted to say that, like... Whoa! Did you ever notice those... things your shoes? That's SO awesome, dude!"

Film of the Year

Just got back from seeing the movie 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', and I am proclaiming it the best movie I have seen in years. Seriously; it was THAT good.

It's funny; I had avoided this one for more than a month now, and just decided to see it tonight because there was nothing else interesting at the theater I was at. But then, maybe 30 minutes into it, I was thinking "This is the best movie I've seen since Adaptation", which of course was also by Charlie Kauffman. No coincidence, I guess, that both of them were just so original and thought-provoking (yet, I never really got into 'Being John Malkovich'. Go figure?).

I'll also say that both Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey gave the best performances I've ever seen of them (not that I'm huge fans of either, though Kate impressed me in 'David Gale' last year).

If there's any justice, this BETTER be up for some serious Oscar-age.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery....

A HILARIOUS parody of my work, from the Online Onslaught message boards, courtesy of OO regular borntorun. Just to set the stage, btr was suggesting I contact Hollywood bigshots for doing a movie about wrestling...

Here is the EXCLUSIVE, JAM-PACKED phone interview with the director of such comedic films as Scaredface and Wise Guyz!

BD: This is the Home of Primordial Energy. DePalma speaking.
CB: Oh, is that the name of your new movie with that Ian McKleiland guy? He's in all your flicks!
BD: That guy from Lord of the Rings? I said Primordial, not Mordoor. And I think you have me confused with Bryan Singer....
CB: Thanks for the compliment!!! Enough with the chit-chat, Mr. Ex-Man. How do you feel about working on a movie with an IWC award-winning journalist? It's about wrestling!
BD: Well, I concentrate more on my electrical work involving the Pre-Existent Primordial Field of the Universe - a sea of 'free energy' which permeates all. The N-1 Homopolar Generator - which I invented - is an example of the type of device which is able to "plug in" to this Free Energy and eliminate the "need" for the continued use of fossil fuels and the consequent destruction of our only home - Earth.
CB: Go on.
BD: This device - and many others like it - have been proven to possess "over-unity" characteristics, ie: the power output is more than 100% of the input. It is our hope that in the near future Free Energy will enable mankind to progress from a state of dependence to one of abundance.
CB: Hope? No Sir! That invention WILL save the world. BANK ON IT!
BD: I agree, and the best part is....
CB: Anyway, who do you think should play a young Shane O' Max?
BD: Haley Joel Osmont, or that adorable boy from Johnny McGuire.
CB: I hate those kids! This interview is OVER! (hangs up).
BD: And I didn't even get into the Experiment of Existence. I think he would have enjoyed that one.

Again, GREAT JOB, btr!!!

Dark Days for the Dog

As a few of you who know me well may know, this has not been the best of times for your friendly-neighborhood Bulldog, personal-life-wise.

That said, ANYTHING AT ALL remotely funny that you think may cheer me up would be much appreciated (it will also serve as a test to see if anyone actually READS this thing). Jokes, funny websites, whatever.... give it your best shot!

Child Stars All Grown Up....

This is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time.

Blogspot or LiveJournal?

So a friend recently registered this Live Journal for me. I haven't done anything with it yet, and probably won't, but just wondering if anyone can tell me which style of blog they prefer better? I've had very few problems with this one so far, so I'm not sure there's a ton of reason to change...

The FINAL Inside The Ropes?

Read on....

Just in time for Hallowe'en....

This is just scary....

Fun Pranks

These guys shouldn't be giving me any ideas...

Coffee Lid Prank

McDonald's Prank

OO Battle Of The Brands

I don't think I've linked to this before, so now's as good a time as any:

Battle of the Brands

This is a feature the OO regulars contribute to on a weekly basis. It's fun to notice how close we are in our critiques (a) to each other and (b) to the Nielsen ratings. Worth checking out if you never have.

For those who are EXTREMELY interested in everything wrestling-related I've ever written, I started contributing to this column on my b-day, Sept. 12th.

Backlash Thoughts

Not a bad PPV overall.... this continues the streak (in my opinion, at least) to four very good shows this year. Of my predictions on Online Onslaught, I was right in all but two matches (I picked Flair and Foley), redeeming myself from my awful record at Mania.

Shelton Benjamin Vs. Ric Flair
Probably shouldn't have been the opener, but they didn't have a ton of other decent choices. Flair, as usual, worked his ass off to make someone else look great, and Benjamin held up his end quite nicely. That leap onto the top rope was especially impressive. Would have liked to see the seeds planted for a Benjamin-Batista feud here, but a well-told story nonetheless.

Jonathan Coachman Vs. Tajiri
Garrison Cade? The only possible explanation I can think of is that the road agents had asked Kane to interfere, and Cade misheard, thought they said "Cade" and ran out before they could stop him.

Chris Jericho Vs. Christian/Trish Stratus
Still not the match I thought these three were capable of having, but strong and fast-paced, so it left me nothing to complain about, really.

Victoria Vs. Lita
Bleah. Further evidence Lita shouldn't be anywhere near a ring anymore. I swear, I wouldn't have been surprised to see her take off a wig and her bra and reveal that she's actually Jeff Hardy. And did I hear JR say she invented the Moonsault?

Randy Orton Vs. Mick Foley
I still say that was the wrong decision. Foley should have come out on top, but they painted themselves into a corner putting the title on the line. That said, what a fantastic match! Orton was a real sport, taking all kinds of nasty bumps I never imagined I'd see him take, and of course Foley rocked. Only thing that really bothered me was Bischoff trying to stop Foley from using fire. Why doesn't anyone complain when Kane's entrance has fire?

Hurricane/Rosey Vs. La Resistance
Hey, I predicted THIS match would happen too. Not that I'm proud of that fact, but whatever... was harmless enough, and Eugene's role was actually funny. Go figure. Little high up on the card, though, no?

Edge Vs. Kane
I got what I expected - a so-so match that didn't really show me anything new. Other than Edge is freaking huge now!

Chris Benoit Vs. Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels
This certainly didn't top their 'Mania outing, but it was nothing to sneeze at either. The sequence with Michaels putting Benoit in the sharpshooter and Earl Hebner coming out must have a lot of people very nervous. Of course, that was the whole point, so full points for bringing the drama. HBK will turn shortly, I'm sure of it now. By the way, how come he didn't blade tonight? Did he run out of blood or something? I think Benoit winning was the right decision that helped all three for very different reasons. Solid main event.

Kill Jill, Episode II

... also known as Kill Bill Volume Two. Sorry for the 'Inside The Ropes'ish headline there.

Yes, I just saw the movie last night, and it absolutely rocks. Let me put it this way: if you were a fan of the first one, you will be blown away by part two. Not only does it make sense of Volume One, but adds a lot of realy cool twists as well.

Best movie I've seen since... well, probably Volume One!

More DVD/Tape Reviews?

I had so much fun with that last one, I want to write up some more. I've listen a good chunk of my videotape/DVD collection here on the website. Let me know if there are any particular projects there you'd like me to tackle...

Major WWE Announcement

WWE, Austin's Beer Cooler, Part Ways

After months of negotiations, the WWE and Steve Austin's beer cooler have been unable to come to terms on a new contract and as a result have mutually agreed to part company.

Both parties have left the door open to work together again in the future and the WWE wishes Steve's cooler the very best in his future endeavors.



Oh, okay, okay.... the REAL announcement is right here. But I like mine better...

Latest ITR

The ULTIMATE Roundtable!!!

Special thanks to actor extraordinaire Stuart Stone for this week's opening quote...

Cheaters Never Prosper....

Jayson Blair, served up Canada-style....

Order around a chicken...

This may be the greatest website ever.



(stolen from Dave Barry's blog)

FMW King of the Death Match review

My first DVD review. What do y'all think?

Two slight corrections I should point out:
(1) The very first sentence should say 'Japanese garbage wrestling' instead of just 'Japanese wrestling'. Oops.
(2) As SEVERAL have mentioned to me, Cactus Jack won the King of the Death Match "title" in the IWA. So lord only knows what he was defending here in FMW. That completely slipped my mind.

Other than that, I think it turned out pretty well....

Latest ITR

The Rick Says....?

Special Thanks to all the amateur Total BS's out there!!!

Belt For Sale

This is just wrong.

FMW

Was at a used bookstore yesterday and noticed they had some old FMW DVD's for sale. I saw one with Mick Foley on the cover, and for $14, I said, sure why not?

Let me just say this is some of the sickest, more hardcore wrestling I've ever seen, especially the final two matches.

As soon as my laptop at home is up and running, I'm going to try my hand at doing up a review of the DVD, so I can do the action on this some justice.

Twelve hours after watching this shit, I'm still cringing....

Dumb Product Idea Of The Week

From a Swatch press release:

NEW YORK, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- SWATCH does it again -- with an uncanny knack for timing, the SWATCH brand will debut a new SWATCH watch design sure to raise eyebrows if for no other reason than timing.
Called "Bunnysutra," the dial of the watch features images of toy rabbits doing what rabbits do.
Tap the crystal and the fun really begins as the hands sweep together and around the dial, landing on one of the happy bunny "positions" the rabbits are enjoying, then returning to the proper time after a brief pause.
Only available at SWATCH stores in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, this limited design is part of the SWATCH "Touch" series and will debut on April 9 -- two days before the Easter Bunny hops around the globe.
Bunnysutra is sure to put a spring in anyone's step and a smile on their face
this April.
The SWATCH Bunnysutra will cost $55.


Sorry -- who, exactly, thought this was a great product idea?

New DVD's

This week, I FINALLY found a store that was selling the Monday Night War DVD. For some reason, we are like six years behind the rest of the world here in Toronto, so it took seemingly forever to find it anywhere here. However... I was able to pick up both that one AND The Stone Cold Truth for $30, so not a bad buy at all.

I was quite impressed with the Monday Night War one. Was it biased towards WWE? Obviously it was. Yet they still gave Bischoff (not Ted Turner) a ton of credit for everything they did right with WCW, and allowed A LOT of people to badmouth Easy E. Let me put it this way, it was far more balanced than I figured it would be.

The other thing that caught me is how over Austin was at the height of his popularity. I mean, sure I saw it all as it was happening, but there is SUCH a difference in the crowd reaction then vs. now, that looking back at it puts the whole phenomenon in perspective. Especially his early interactions with Vince McMahon, those were priceless.

Anyways, I'd highly recommend this one.

I also picked up two other DVD's this week, besides the WWE ones -- "Before They Were Famous" (not to be confused with WWE's Before They Were Superstars) and "Night Of The Legends". They're both Jim Cornette/Dave Meltzer compliations of old Smoky Mountain stuff.

I enjoyed both of them immensely. Really interesting to see how guys like Chris Jericho and D-Lo Brown have evolved over the years. The 'insider' commentary is great, with Meltzer and Cornette as they tackle the history of the competitors, match psychology and why certain people succeeded in the business while others didn't. I've seen a bunch more at Toronto's Sam The Record Man and intend to pick a few more up (only $20 a pop, not bad at all).

Still have to see The Stone Cold Truth later on, though I'd seen some of that on television a few months ago. The Hollywood Blonds-Flair/Anderson match that's an extra, I haven't seen in ages and am looking forward to it.

Latest -- and Greatest -- ITR

April Fool's!!!

It's not really the greatest one...

WWN Top 76

A gentleman by the name of 'Killer Canary' has posted his list of the top 76 wrestling writers on the Internet. Guess who placed # 35?

THAT'S RIGHT - ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's the final list, courtesy of Killer Canary's site:

1. Dave Meltzer - www.WrestlingObserver.com
2. Wade Keller - www.ProWrestlingTorch.com
3. Bryan Alvarez - www.WrestlingObserver.com
4. Scott Keith - www. 411Mania.com/wrestling
5. Dave Scherer - www.pwinsider.com
6. Rick Scaia - www.onlineonslaught.com
7. Jonathan Widro and Ashish Pabari - www.411Mania.com/wrestling
8. Matt Boone - www.prowrestlingscoops.com
9. Rajah Kumar - www.rajahwwf.com
10. Bruce Mitchell - www. Pro Wrestling Torch.com
11. Eric Szulczewski - www.411Mania.com/wrestling
12. Sam Jerry - www.theringpost.com
13. Don Callis – www.slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/home.html
14. Bob Magee- www.pwbts.com
15. Tony Cottman - www.smashwrestling.com
16. Barbwire Mike - www.lethalwrestling.com , www.theringpost.com
17. Matt Hocking - www.onlineonslaught.com
18. Doug Graham - www.theddt.com
19 Alex Marvez - www.WrestlingObserver.com
20. Paul Kirkbride - www.moonsault.com
21. Raven - www.theraveneffect.com
22. Buck Woodward - www.1wrestling.com
23. Jim Forzese - www.lordsofpain.net , www.thebalrogslair.com
24. Amish Patel - www.twnpnews.com
25. Dory Funk Jr. - www.prowrestling.com
26. Jeb Tennyson Lund - www.onlineonslaught.com
27. Phantom Lord - www.lordsofpain.net
28. Chris Hyatte - www. 411Mania.com/wrestling
29. Damian Gonzalez - aka The Dames - www.thesmartmarks.com
30. The Cubs Fan - www.thecubsfan.com
31. The Shining Wizard - www.rajahwwf.com
32. Mike Johnson - www.pwinsider.com
33. ROH Locker Room Scoops - www.ringofhonor.com
34. Eric Gargiulo - www.prowrestlingradio.com
35. Canadian Bulldog - www.onlineonslaught.com
36. Mike Tenay - www.nwatna.com
37. Zach Arnold - www.puroresupower.com
38. Dean Rasmussen - www.deathvalleydriver.com
39. Scott Stover - www.wrestlezone.com
40. Droz - www.wwe.com
41. BFP - www.theddt.com
42. Mark Rushford - www.1wrestling.com
43. Jared "JHawk" Hawkins - www.thesmartmarks.com
44. Mike Steele - www.ad4umedia.com/wrestling/
45. Tammy Lynn Sytch - was on www.411Mania.com/wrestling with Hyatte now on www.lethalwrestling.com as ODBJBG
46. The Butcher - www.prowrestlingscoops.com , www.wrestlezone.com
47. WWE Backdoor - www.wwe.com
48. Bob Ryder - www.1wrestling.com
49. Erin Anderson - www.onlineonslaught.com
50. Linda Robin - www.thebalrogslair.com , www.prowrestling.com
51. Lance Storm - www.stormwrestling.com , www.wwe.com
52. Brandon Truitt - www.thesmartmarks.com
53. Jeremy Borash - www.nwatna.com
54. Steven Randle - www.411Mania.com/wrestling
55. Steven Goforth - www.chairshots2cranium.com
56. Scott Newman - www.rajahwwf.com
57. Leo Croft - www.wrestlingunlimited.com
58. Jun Bakon - www.lethalwrestling.com
59. Bradshaw - www.wwe.com
60. Tony Yannuzzi - www.wrestlingdotcom.com
61. Dumass - www.lordsofpain.net
62. Trevor Lane - www.iowrestling.com
63. Cody Webster - www.saltyham.com
64. The Stro - www.moonsault.com, www.wrestlingdotcom.com , www.prowrestling.com
65. April Hunter - prowrestlingdaily.com
66. Mr. Fiendish - www.theringpost.com
67. Scott Christ - www.scottchrist.com
68. Disco Dave - www.lethalwrestling.com
69. The Snipa - www.lethalwrestling.com
70. Jon Waldman - www.slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/home.html
71. Ape Boy - www.theddt.com
72. Joe Deprospero - www.pwinsider.com
73. Rogue - www.theddt.com
74. Dustin Jon - www.twnpnews.com
75. Fat Dick Swayze - www.theddt.com
76. Michael Melchor - www.411Mania.com/wrestling

Good to know that I beat out such luminaries as 'Disco Dave', 'Ape Boy' and 'Fat Dick Swayze' - some stiff competition, indeed (get it? Stiff? Fat Di... aw, never mind).

In any event, big ups to Killer Canary and the two people, tops, who would have voted for me, to get on this list.