CLUB WWI

Just wanted to give an enthusiastic thumbs up to Club WWI, which is a new part of World Wrestling Insanity.

I'll leave it to you to click on the link and see what it's all about, but it IS a really cool concept. Plus you're going to get audio updates from Your Friendly Neighborhood Bulldog, so that should be worth the price of admission alone, no? No?

Just click the damn link, okay?

Latest "Breaking News"

TNA Champion Jeff Jarrett to Feud with Self

Unforgiving Toronto

So I started to think about "Unforgiven", now that the PPV is shaping up nicely, and what kind of crowd reactions there will be, given that Toronto = bizarroland. Now normally, the hometown hero (Edge) would be cheered in a title match against someone the fans don't particularly care for (John Cena), but because this is Toronto? I'm wondering if the roles won't be reversed? Maybe not, but it's interesting food for thought.

Other predictions: The McMahons and Umaga will get face pops in Toronto, DX, Kane and Jeff Hardy will be jeered.

In any event, we apparently have kick-ass seats, so I'm looking forward to it.

It was 20 years ago today.....

I cannot BELIEVE that 20 years ago today, I was freezing my butt off at the Canadian National Exhibitionm watching Hulk Hogan get his revenge against "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff at what has since been dubbed "The Big Event" (it was originally called "Wrestling Hulkamania Night" or somesuch).

But it's true. Check out Greg Oliver's fantastic article at Slam! Wrestling for what went down that night. He really does convey the electricity and just the general atmosphere in the air that night -- particularly impressive considering he wasn't there in person.

But even though it was 20 years old, it was probably one of my favorite live events I've ever attended (and you can throw concerts into that category as well). I remember being at summer camp, and my parents sent me a letter saying they'd scored tickets (and good tickets as well; something like 11th row ringside!) for this. Of course, being at camp the entire summer, I had no idea Orndorff had even turned on Hogan, if one can imagine such a thing.

The show itself was fantastic. Outside of Randy Savage and The British Bulldogs, most of the big WWF stars were in attendance. Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Junkyard Dog, Adrian Adonis, Harley Race, etc. I had a sign proclaiming King Kong Bundy to be my favorite, although I'm sure it didn't even stand out in the sea of 65,000 or so.

It was a VERY cold night for August, and the front rows kept smushing into each other, but it was all good night. Anyways, definitely recommend reading that article on Slam!

Latest "Breaking News"

Carlito to miss up to 9 months because of afro-related injury

DVD Review - McMahon

(Since I apparently don't have a website to write this on, I'll just put this here, I suppose....)


I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. Were they going to paint Vince McMahon as an unappreciated hero, or were they going to let his colleagues paint a more realistic portrait of him? The answer, surprisingly, is "yes".

How "yes"? Because not only do the narrators put a tremendous spin on McMahon -- a "pioneer, loving family man, legitimate tough guy and great American patriot", but they also allow employees to take potshots at him. Personalities ranging from Jim Ross to Matt Hardy to Sgt. Slaughter explain that the Mr. McMahon character has a lot of similarities to the man himself, Shawn Michaels calls him an "idiot" and Linda McMahon even questions some of the business decisions he's made.

Actually, the kayfabe-breaking level here is probably at an all-time high. They acknowledge, for the first time that I'm aware outside of wwe.com and the mainstream media, that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are married. You've probably about the nixed "incest" angle by now involving Vince and Steph, but there was also a second one Vinnie Mac proposed involving Stephanie and Shane. Ewwwww.... In addition, they also talk about plans to show the wedding on PPV. As Triple H says "If Vince could have convinced us to put a webcam in the delivery room, he'd have done it."

So I like the balance. Unfortunately, it's still a PR job to convince us that Vince McMahon isn't the monster he plays on television. But as far as puff pieces go, this one is at least entertaining.

Also worth pointing out is the range of WWE guys they pulled in to comment in this, it's not just the usual collection of WWE Confidential rejects. Off the top of my head, I remember hearing comments by all four McMahons, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Dusty Rhodes, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Eric Bischoff, Sgt. Slaughter, Triple H, Matt Hardy, Greg Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock (using an old clip), Bob Costas, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Trish Stratus, Jimmy Hart and others. It would have been nice to use, even if they were recycled, comments by Bret Hart, Jesse Ventura, Superstar Billy Graham, Rowdy Roddy Piper or others who have criticized him in the past, but its already a fairly big group.

So overall, I'd rank the biography right up there with some of WWE's best (Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, The Road Warriors, etc.). And I haven't even seen the matches and all of the extras yet. Would definitely recommend this one....

Banned Bulldog?

Well, this is a fine "Welcome Back" present.

I just returned from Vegas yesterday, and, well... I'll defer to my comments made here on the OOForums. Apparently, I've been BANNED from the message boards, in addition to everything else!

Now... I'm not going to add anything yet, I just want to sit with this for a couple of days and figure out what the fuck is going on. That's all I can say right now.

Out of Blogffice Alert

So I am heading up for about five days of fun and relaxation in fabulous LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, baby! Yes, I was just there in December, but this one's a family trip (well, not my son, but as in my siblings, their partners and my parents). Gosh, this has to be the first time I have travelled ANYWHERE with my folks since I was a kid - and yet I'm looking forward to it!

Seriously, though, I love Vegas -- Bulldog's home away from home (well, I can dream, can't I?). Everything about it basically guarantees a fun time. Unless I lose too much money, that is. But I think I learned my lesson last time around. Know your limits and stick to them.

Anyways -- the ITR and TWS stories are written for this week already (or will be by tonight, rather), both with a bit of a Vegas theme. Catch you again Friday evening....

Video Of The Week

Latest Round O' Plugs

Inside The Ropes is BACK, bay-bee!

Breaking News: Aurora Rose Levesque Tops wwe.com "Power 25"

Matt Hocking's Raw Satire (in which he discusses a certain sexy young columnist)

A blog entry? The hell???

Yes, I finally have an amusing antecdote to share that doesn't plug one of my many writing projects.

I had my passport photo taken yesterday, updating it for the first time in at least five years. I understand the rules have changed and that you are longer permitted to (a) wear glasses or (b) smile for Canadian passport pics. So my eyes are kind of glassy and I'm almost scowling for the camera.

On top of that, my hair was kind of mussed up, plus I had bags under my eyes, accentuated by the fact that this is a black-and-white photo. I'm also wearing a light beige suit and a striped collared shirt with the top button undone. Now... I realize that only you a few reading this blog have any idea what I look like, so I appreciate that it may be hard to visualize.

But the end result of this passport pic? I look like a celebrity mug shot from The Smokin' Gun, after being pulled over for drunk driving. In other words, this may be the best picture ever taken of me!

Latest Wrestling With Literature

....with a hint of ITR thrown in for good measure, as I update y'all on the future of that particular column.

Wrestling With Literature, Chapter III

Latest "Breaking News"

I will get to updating this blog eventually, I promise. Just been mega-busy, working on articles such as:

WWE Hires Temp Agency to Shore Up SmackDown