Cancelled this week

ITVR is cancelled this week due to some technical difficulties with my recorder, and the fact we won't have a chance to do it later as we have my in-laws visiting this weekend. However be sure and tune in next week! We'll be back and better than ever ... OK, or at least not suck too badly. ;) Peace and have a great weekend all! XO

Hulk Hogan's Signing with TNA, Raw Last Night, and the Unauthorized Story of DX

A few things to go over tonight guys!

1. Today's big news is that Hulk Hogan signed with TNA wrestling! This won't impact his Australian 'Hulkamania' tour planned for November (minus perhaps providing him with some new talent to go along with him), but he's expected to appear on Impact! Thursday night. We'll probably be recording before Impact, so as not to be up too late, but we might do a PS upon its completion tomorrow (at least in writing) in regards to Hogan's appearance. This is huge news in the wrestling world for obvious reasons, but also less obvious reasons. Eric Bischoff is coming along on the Hogan ride, as Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment (the company which produced Celebrity Championship Wrestling, as well as several other successful reality shows, co-owned by Eric Bischoff and former Wonder Years star Jason Hervey) will have a say in TNA. Does this mean in an advisory capacity that Eric Bischoff will be competing with Vince McMahon again? It sure do! It also leaves Vince Russo's future in doubt, as both Hogan and Bischoff have had some less-than-satisfactory dealings with TNA's head writer. LOTS of interesting angles to all this to chew over and to come out in the weeks and months ahead. Should be a heckuva ride. Remember what Hogan's signing, with Eric Bischoff on board, did for WCW 15 years ago ...
2. In a semi-related note, old Hulkster buddy Kevin Nash is suspended for this week due to an outburst on Team 3D (the former Dudleys) for continuing a match with an injured opponent at last week's Bound for Glory. Excellent message to be sending the locker room, pplz, just great. Kudos again to Kevin Nash for sticking up for his young colleague (I believe it was Eric Young?).
   
3. Last night's Raw was incredibly entertaining: they changed several directions, by having Big Show announce he was the next challenger up for Undertaker's World Heavyweight Title on Smackdown for his actions, DX were announced as each other's opponents, as well as John Cena's, in a Triple Threat Match for John Cena's next WWE title defense at Survivor Series, etc. Not a fan of the NASCAR dudes hosting Raw, as I'm not a NASCAR fan and had only vaguely heard of Kyle Busch and not at all of the other dude; but I AM looking forward to the Osbornes hosting Raw next week! I'm reasonably optimistic about the road to Survivor Series in the next month, and hope they keep up the momentum up on both Raw and Smackdown that they began on Sunday and that Raw continued into Monday. We'll have more details on those thoughts Thursday night on In This Very Ring so be sure and tune in then.
4. Lastly, over the last 24 hours I have begun, and completed, the DX Unauthorized Story (oddly enough, authored under the auspices of WWE books, by the two current members of DX, Shawn Michaels and Triple H). Very entertaining read; pretty self-recusing in some ways, especially about how they try to help the young guys elevate their game, after watching at LEAST two weeks of Trips doing complete burial jobs on his young teammates and opponents both from Bragging Rights, but also surprisingly insightful. As a 'smark' who has been along for the entire DX ride, even I learned some things. The book is also hilarious (they have big heads for being funny, but well-earned), and it IS mostly aimed at newer fans unfamiliar with the DX legacy; but any DX fan can still enjoy this book and perhaps learn a thing or two (or at least get the two charter members' perspective on different things). Not a WHOLE lot you can't get from other books, but told in an entertaining way; the ghostwriter got Trips' and Shawn's personalities down perfectly in this book. At 195 or so pages, it is also an incredibly quick and easy, down and dirty read. Recommended.

That's all for tonight folks. Might pop up tomorrow if there's any interesting news to report; otherwise check on in Thursday night for In This Very Ring, as always! :) Peace.

Survivor Series Promo

Here's the official trailer for next month's Survivor Series PPV. Funny enough they have Shawn Michaels promoing this particular event (google Montreal Screw Job if you're a new wrestling fan who is only familiar with 'Born Again' Shawn Michaels). But the video is actually hilarious in itself. :) Check it out and have a good night.

Bragging Rights

Tonight was the big WWE Bragging Rights PPV; it was a solid PPV with good wrestling action, and an enjoyable show for sure, although with the potential it had going in, I felt it could have done that little bit more. Taking things one at a time,

• Starting with promos throughout the show, these were good; from Cody Rhodes becoming more cocky and aggressive than usual, to DX's pep talk to the Raw team with the little comic relief moment of threatening to replace Jack Swagger with the next person they saw, being Hornswoggle, who DX-chopped them for changing their minds, these featured more than they usually do in PPVs, and were basically well-done; the one weak one was Josh Matthews' participation in the Batista-turn-on-Rey Mysterio; 'I don't want to put you on the spot in this circumstance', he says as he attempts to interview an injured Rey. So then, don't! lol In general actually the announcers were weak tonight, and Jim Ross was sorely missed. But everyone else was great on the stick.
• The Miz vs. John Morrison was the opening match and the prime example of what I said above about this PPV; a strong match, great, even, but not necessarily what it could have been. Not a terrible problem though as I suspect these guys are going to have years ahead to fight one another and you don't want to leave it all in the ring on your first go-round. The ending was surprising, and all but guaranteeing that the Smackdown Divas were going to win the next match (they did) given they had a cup to grant the brand that won the most interbrand matches that evening, and they weren't going to have EITHER brand sweep it. So I predicted this one wrong as Miz won, but it wasn't a problem as this wasn't a win that would hurt John Morrison in the long run, and hey even Marty Jannetty beat Shawn Michaels once or twice. ;) Besides as I said, it guaranteed my next prediction would be right ...
• The next match was Raw Divas Gail Kim, Melina and Kelly Kelly vs. Smackdown Divas Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Michelle McCool. The Smackdown girls won, which I expected, given the level of skill and experience on the team (not to put down the Raw team, but the strength and skill on the SD team was just overwhelming and impressive, even for skilled workers like Melina and Gail Kim, who's been underwhelming of late and honestly probably should have stayed at TNA). Not a poor match by any means, it was just completely predictable.
• The Fatal Four-Way between World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker, CM Punk, Batista and his longtime friend Rey Mysterio Jr. was decent, and fast-paced given a couple of bigger guys in the ring in Taker and Tista, but really it was the backdrop for the ending. Rey costs his buddy Batista a fall - which was fair enough given this was an 'every man for himself' scenario. Batista, in a postmatch interview, accuses his friend of stabbing him in the back and proceeds to toss him around like a rag doll. An effective turn, which I think could have been even more effective on Raw which really is lacking besides Randy Orton for main-event level heels at the moment, but it was something that had been foreseen enough to be exciting without having been SO much so as to be predictable. A memorable part of the evening for sure.
• As was Big Show's turn on his Raw teammates in the seven-on-seven Raw (DX, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston and Big Show) vs. Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, the Hart Legacy, R-Truth and Finlay). I will claim to having been a bit optimistic re. Bret Hart's involvement here, but this wasn't bad, and there's a ready-made explanation that in the long run, Big Show's best investment is to keep Chris Jericho healthy and to stay in his good books from the point of view of being permanent tag team partners; that's where HIS gold lies. He recognized what his own partner and the SD brand as a whole didn't; while they celebrated together with hugs and high-fives all around, they'll be back to beating each other up by Friday night, while tag teams such as Show and Jericho, divided by the brand split, will need to continue to coexist. As good a match as such a large exhibition could have been.
• The 60-minute Iron Man Match between John Cena and Randy Orto n was last; it was anything-goes, falls count anywhere, and the man with the most decisions at the end of an hour won; it was their last match regardless, and if Cena lost, he'd be Smackdown-bound. I am going to claim some credit here for one correct prediction, although my prediction of the outcome was wrong. While almost all the pundits I read were skeptical of the ability of this match to entertain for 60 minutes, and the stamina of these two wrestlers, they did a fantastic job. They kept the pace up, and the filler that any 60-minute match is going to need was entertaining; they knew when to up their own pace, and when it would be OK to rely on gimmickry, and just how much/how long to do so. From the use of weapons like mics and garbage cans (which provided for some funny visuals), to Randy Orton's treating the pyro board the way our 11-month-old would have (and creating some fun fireworks around Cena while we were at it), provided the wrestlers some breathing room and US some entertainment, while keeping the pace up. Cena won the match 6 falls to 5, which was a surprise to me but not Ari, so hats off to my hubby and ITVR cohost on that one. Easily the most pleasant surprise of the evening to everyone but me was the quality of this match, and if it weren't for Shawn Michaels and Undertaker's display at WM 25, I'd say this would be a real potenital match of the year candidate.

Overall a decent PPV as I said, even a great one, that I just can't help but think had the potential to be more. As we discussed on ITVR Friday, the problem with strong-on-paper PPVs is that the expectations going in are so high; had this been weak on paper, we'd have been over the moon with this show, and I'm still quite thrilled with it; I just wish the announcers had kept it together, the booking had allowed for some focus on the cool moments of the show (Taker holding up his world title in front of the 'Bragging Rights' logo for example, which is a REAL demonstration of what bragging rights in the WWE are all about), and that EVERYONE had stepped it up the way Randy Orton and John Cena did. But again, no complaints as a PPV for once kept us entertained and interested for 3 solid hours, including a one-hour match which can grow old quickly if done poorly. Good job for the WWE, 8 out of 10 by way of a rating; only knock being it had the potential for a 9/10, probably simply on JR's presence alone lol.

In This Very Ring Podcast

Click the entry heading to listen to this week's podcast including Bragging Rights predictions. :)

ITVR up tomorrow

Including predictions for Bragging Rights, a health update on Jim Ross, and a special request to our fans out there. Pardon as usual it being postponed a night, but LT didn't go to bed until late and we're kerfuffled. We'd say it's just moved to Fridays, but if it's anything like moving it to Thursdays, that means we'll be doing it Saturdays. :) Either way be sure and tune in tomorrow. Until then, Pax.

Raw & Jim Ross

Last night's Raw was entertaining; some excellent matches and definitely a big match feel to the whole event with such features as Triple H facing John Cena in what was perhaps Cena's final match on Raw, etc. They hyped the Bragging Rights PPV better than they have in recent weeks, and I didn't even mind Snoop Dogg (although how marijuana joke makes for PG programming is kind of beyond me). My main complaint was the lameness of his Diva entourage (stupid Bellas), and the fact of DX putting down almost all the young stars on both their own RAW team and the SMACKDOWN team (major sympathy for Drew Macintyre and Eric Escobar and Cody Rhodes), which was unnecessary and gratuitous (no wonder WWE has such a hard time making stars). Of the up and coming stars from either brand, they only put over Kofi Kingston - and while they kind of teased him as well I have to give them props for asking what we've all been wondering; "We thought you were Jamaican. Where's your accent?" (and not by way of being racist, by the way - at least not on my part that I was wondering that - the fact is he delivered promos in a very distinctive Jamaican accent, and suddenly, he didn't; as well as the fact they've finally been announcing him as being from Ghana in recent weeks, which IS true).

We'll have more details on all of that on Thursday night on our podcast, but in the meantime, just wanted to reinforce it was a good show worth catching whatever clips of you can; solidly booked and not bad creative at the end of the day.

Also want to express best wishes and sympathy to Jim Ross who has undergone another attack of Bells Palsy which paralyzes the side of his face; he will be unable to call Smackdown at its tapings tonight, and Sunday's pay per view is a 'play it by ear' situation. Here's being glad Ross is playing it safe, and here's hoping he's back for Sunday's event :) Wishing him (and all of you) the best of health. Be sure and tune in Thursday for our podcast, complete with Bragging Rights predix! Hope to see you there.

RAW is SOUTH PARK!

Check out the South Park season premiere on Wednesday as the boys head out to a WWE Raw event!

BIG NEWS: Shane McMahon resigns from WWE effective January 10, 2010

Big news today as Shane McMahon - son of WWE majority shareholder and chairman Vince McMahon - has resigned from the WWE effective January 10, 2010. No reason was given for his resignation, nor does it sound particularly rancorous as his father has also released a supportive and encouraging statement (both statements can be found at www.wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com).

Jason Powell (http://www.prowrestling.net) guesses that Shane McMahon is resigning either (most likely) to help in his mother Linda's campaign for the Republican Senate nomination in Connecticut, and to have as much time and as few ties as possible to be able to commit to that; or else to launch a vanity project of his own in the vein of MMA, of which he is a big fan.

I for one will miss Shane as he is probably my favourite McMahon, the one who seemed the most sane and who really took the time to learn the wrestling business, and actually learned what to do in the ring. As always, we wish Shane the best in his future endeavours. :)

Jerry Lawler loses his bid for Mayor of Memphis

Jerry Lawler earlier this year launched his second bid to become mayor of his hometown of Memphis, TN. The final results are in and Lawler came in 5th place with 4% of the vote. A.C. Wharton, Jr. won the special election with 64%, 20+% ahead of the second place finisher, thus running away with the mayorship. Congratulations to Mayor Wharton and 'better luck next time' to the King ... although honestly I think he's got a pretty nifty dayjob right now, and as a longtime fan of Lawler's announcing I think I'm kinda glad he's sticking around RAW. He CAN'T leave us alone with Michael Cole!

Wrestlers Rescue

The website for Wrestlers Rescue mentioned in tonight's In This Very Ring is http://www.wrestlersrescue.org/ where you can make donations to the Albanos for Capt. Lou Albano's medical expenses, as well for information on his funeral mass. In general it is a great cause for which to make donations, as they look after wrestlers in retirement from an industry with no health benfits or pension plan, and which tends to encourage a 'spend now, worry later' mentality (and indeed often involves coverage of one's own travel expenses etc.). Definitely worth a peek.

ITVR

Hey all:

1. Click the post heading for the podcast.
2. Check out the two classic Lou Albano videos below. Long Live the Captain.

Ric Flair comments on working with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff

NOTE: We didn't get a chance to catch Raw Monday after all; we'll try to see if we can find highlights tonight other than just recaps, but listen to our thoughts on what went down either way tomorrow night on our In This Very Ring podcast.

Ric Flair appeared on the BUSTED OPEN satellite radio show this Tuesday (airs Tuesday and Fridays 4-5pm ET on Sirius 127 and/or XM 242) to discuss his upcoming appearance on Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's HULKAMANIA tour in Australia. He acknowledges having had issues with both men (he and Eric Bischoff feuded publicly while both worked in WCW 10-15 years ago, and Flair's temper ... well, flared ... again when Bischoff arrived in the WWE a few years later. Flair says:

"What really upset me about Eric in the past ... what I didn't like was being put on the sidelines in lieu of people coming in from New York that I didn't think were at my level ... I understood. I was so loyal to the company. I should have left long before I did. I didn't and I came back and things didn't work out again. We've talked about it and we've agreed to disagree. They're paying me a lot of money to do this and it's through a huge promotion company overseas. I've really gotten along with Eric since the thing initiated. He works with his attorney through my attorney and that's it. We don't have to do a lot together. On the other side of it, at the end of the night we've always been able to drink a beer together, so I feel very comfortable now with Eric."

It's also been widely known that Flair has had past issues with the Hulkster himself, although those were always more professional than personal, which Flair acknowledges:

"Clearly, Hulk and I have disagreed over the years, but it's never affected our personal relationship. Business and pleasure are two different things in my book. As far as my relationship with him goes, he's always been a standup guy... Every time when we've gotten in the ring we've either drawn numbers or put 20,000 people in the building."

BOTTOM LINE? Obviously what these guys can agree on is ego and money, and there's a chance for all 3 to draw again in a significant way. And I don't say that as disparagingly as it might sound. I in fact respect people who can look at the bigger picture - be it giving fans what they want, be it creating a better nest egg for themselves in retirement, be it giving back to an industry they love - and put aside personal issues to achieve that goal. Hogan and Flair have both recently gone through what appear to be messy (or at least expensive) divorces, their children are grown, and they know each other well, having worked together before. Neither has a particularly dangerous or challenging style to work with, and if there are still wrestling fans, which there are (myself included!) interested in seeing these two men (who are 117 years old between them!) go, then the more power to them for keeping their names out there and as attractive as they are after all those years.

Back in town and Raw thoughts tomorrow

Hi all - got in too late to catch tonight's Raw but I will avoid spoilers and watch the replay at 3pm tomorrow here in Canada on The Score; meanwhile wishing all my fellow Canucks a Happy Thanksgiving and a great week ahead. May we all have many blessings for which to be grateful!

Canadian Thanksgiving

When advertising ITVR going up tonight, I forgot that this upcoming is a long weekend in Canada, it's our Thanksgiving. Tomorrow Ari and I are heading out of town and I usually like to leave the night before a trip free for packing, housekeeping and sleep, which in this case turned out to be a wise decision as we do need that time. This also means I'm not sure over the weekend when and to what extent I'll have the opportunity to blog, but I will do my best especially if any particular wrestling news breaks. So stay tuned and see you on the other end of this weekend. Be sure and enjoy your Thanksgiving, Canadian fans, and Columbus Day, Yanks, and peace be with you all.

RAW thoughts as promised

So Raw last night wasn't a bad show; I wouldn't give it 5 stars or anything (although I will also grant it might have played better if I was a football fan, and knew Ben Roethlisberger and his teammates); my main problem with it is its lack of memorability for the most part. The problem with not having cyber-scribbled down my thoughts last night is that it took me a few minutes and some digging around this afternoon to re-assemble them; a problem I didn't have, for example, for better or worse, with the HIAC pay per view, which left me with clear impressions, both very good and less good, that I could write about even half asleep twenty-four hours later. On the hit or miss spectrum I guess I'll give the show 'leaning hit', because the stuff I do remember clearly I remember positively. Examples, admittedly in no particular order:

• Agree or disagree, but I liked the John Cena-Randy Orton promo. I'm not totally enthused that they're going to headline their ... what? Third, fourth? .. pay per view in a row, but a no holds barred Iron Man match, with the promise of blowing off their feud is a good one, and I think these guys could pull it off, as whatever criticisms they face on a day-to-day basis they always rise to the occasion. As to the result, with such a strong and 'final' ruling that Cena will have to leave Raw should he lose, I suspect he'll regain the title at Bragging Rights; however, I wouldn't mind him losing either, as he could add the prospect of some fresh feuds over onto the Smackdown roster, where now really there are two, maybe three main eventers not working on the tag team scene. He and Undertaker getting into it with say Chris Jericho once he loses the tag titles with Big Show, and CM Punk with Batista thrown into that mix as well could be entertaining as all can deliver when need-be.
• OK even for a non-football fan I was entertained when Big Ben brought out his posse as JeriShow was threatening him; having them face DX provided a fun match for free TV, without giving so much away that (since 4 bona fide main eventers were participating) that they couldn't go back to that well in a PPV down the road.
• Michael Cole announced that the Bragging Rights concept wouldn't feature interbrand matches so much as the winners of Raw matches would face the winners of Smackdown matches at the end of the PPV in what I assume would be a 2- or 3-man team tag match (depending how long the other matches go since we know one will go at least an hour plus intros now, and whether or not this would also include the winner of that match, having gone 60 minutes already). I think I prefer this concept; while brand vs. brand throughout the PPV leading to a match that could be even teams, or 5 on one, or what have you, could be entertaining, this is less confusing, and leads to less diluting of the brand divisions in the three-week leadup (also easier to build up feuds towards this pay per view in the three-week window they have within brands, where competitors already have history).
• I was disappointed on the one hand that the Miz finally unseated Kofi Kingston for the US title as opposed to Jack Swagger, who is their real blue chip prospect, until I realized that with his touting his undefeated streak at this point he's moving past that. Here's hoping he's main eventing soon, and that the Cena/Orton/DX quad lets him break into that scene, because I think he could go on to a good showing with any of them. As to Miz and Kingston, they had a very good TV match, and that leaves the only question as why they didn't give the Miz the title Sunday night; don't half-push someone. If he's worthy of a belt, he's worthy of winning it on PPV. Understood the midcard belts (US and Intercontinental) are the ones they like switching on free TV to whet fans' appetites, but 24 hours after a PPV? Kind of a slap in the face. Still, entertaining.
• OK Chavo you've convinced me; I'm still skeptical as to just what's going on next in your bit with Hornswoggle, and unless there's a GREAT payoff I question taking so much time that could be devoted to, y'know, wrestling (yes there's obviously room for entertainment on WWE television, but this ceased to be entertaining a week or three in, and as a strong wrestler you haven't been featured as such in ages). But my curiosity is piqued by Chris Masters' turn on you, and Hornswoggle's rescue last night; depending how this plays off, it could be salvaged yet. OK somewhat. ;)

Those are my thoughts. I'll be sure and share them on the air as well with Ari Thursday night, as well as any other news and happenings in the wrestling world the next couple days (which I will blog about if worthwhile too of course!). Be sure and tune in then, and in the meantime, be well!

Hell in a Cell thoughts (RAW thoughts later or tomorrow)

Hi guys - Raw in Canada being on tape delay is over in about 20-30 mins. depending on the over-run; being an early-bird old lady these days, I may be up to sharing my thoughts afterwards but in case not I figured I should not entirely disappoint, get my HIAC thoughts up here now and that way worst case I can just put up my Raw thoughts sometime tomorrow. :) So without further ado ...

Hell in a Cell from a wrestling perspective was a tremendous pay per view; while Undertaker and CM Punk didn't do *entirely* what I thought them capable of, they still put on a strong match that suffered only from the high expectations placed on them; John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler did not disappoint, although I predicted it incorrectly; even Batista/Rey Mysterio vs. JeriShow was great, and not just from the participants who you'd expect to pull off a fantastic match. Randy Orton vs. John Cena was brutal without resorting to cheap tricks like blood, and even R-Truth vs. Drew Macintyre was good. DX vs. the Legacy was excellent, and all the HIACs had a different feel to them (although none involved blood - which I found kind of interesting - or any stunts atop the structure - which disappointed me as well as most pundits I've read). The match between Mickie James and Alicia Fox was ... well, it was. And the three-way for the US title could have used a bit more time and build, but still involved a great effort and showing from all involved. So to the performers - kudos. No one did a bad job whatsoever, and there were many shining moments.

However, what puzzles me is the booking. Opening with a Hell in a Cell match was confounding when I would more have ended each hour with one (understanding that three HIACs at the end of the show would be too much as well). Particularly the HIAC match they chose, where the Undertaker won the World Title for the first time in about a year, year and a half. How many times is Taker with the belt a great final image to close a PPV on? When they put on the other world championship Hell in a Cell match halfway through the show I figured, OK, there must be some catch involved in the DX-Legacy match; either the other HIAC participants will get involved setting off the Raw vs. Smackdown theme of next month's Bragging Rights PPV, or there would be some run-in per the rumours of Bret Hart's return, or any other number of possibilities. Without that big booking swerve, with two world title changes within the Hell in a Cell structure over the course of the evening, it made no sense to book that particular match last, and I suppose speaks to the influence Triple H has over the WWE creative/booking team (aka his wife Stephanie McMahon-Levesque lol).

That was probably the biggest error in terms of match order; but I do also question putting show-stealing matches like John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler directly after a big match like HIAC; to me, those would be better followed by more filler-esque matches like the Diva match or R-Truth vs. Macintyre to allow the fans a chance to catch their breath between real show highlights. Again though less relevant when the HIAC match Morrison-Ziggler followed was such a letdown, and unfair to both participants (to Taker for not getting to truly celebrate such an important victory, and to Punk for having to lose in such an unceremonious and unimportant way, thus making his world title reigns seem less and less significant, similarly to Edge's).

It's tough to be tough on this show when it included some of the best matches I've seen since Wrestlemania (which may speak to my lack of real watching wrestling over the summer, but honestly ...), but I feel it could have been even stronger for some re-ordering of the matches; it really did take away when the big news - that for the first time world titles changed hands in the HIAC, and it happened TWICE - that the show ended with neither of those big changes, nor with any particular feel-good moment, since DX was expected to win and didn't do so in any particularly memorable or exciting way. WWE continues their trend of batting above their weight on PPVs we expect to underwhelm, while fumbling big-time on PPVs that by all rights should be incredibly strong shows. It will be interesting to see how next month's brand vs. brand "Bragging Rights" concept plays out, and how ECW will fit into the RAW vs. Smackdown format. But we'll talk more about that on Thursday night, as well as of course posting Raw thoughts and any other news and happenings in the world of wrestling as the week goes on. Be sure nad have a good one in the meantime!

Facebook Fanpage!

Hi guys,

So definitely will be up and running later this evening with a post about last night's Hell in a Cell pay per view as well as Raw (my gut reaction to HIAC right now; tremendous performances in-ring by everyone involved, some even surprisingly good; however some definitely questionable booking in terms of match order that I'd have changed around, but again, more later).

Meantime though I want to let y'all know that I've set up a fan page on Facebook! If you enjoy checking out my blog entries here, and/or listen to ITVR whenever we (oh so regularly and like clockwork) manage to post it up, definitely go check it out by typing In This Very Ring into FB's search function; you can also click the box on the sidebar right here on my blog. Once there, you can contribute links to some of your favourite websites, videos, pics ... a whole new way to get interactive with Ari and I here at ITVR. :)

Dontcha dare miss it! - Sarah

ITVR podcast

Click title for podcast. :D

Matthew Moore Hardy and ITVR

OK ... so not as exciting as it sounds - not going to have the Sensai of Mattitude on our show this week. However, The two things I want to hit on in this entry involve (1) Matt Hardy and (2) ITVR. Let's deal with that second one first:

Made the decision today to post ITVR tomorrow night; not because we're lazy or don't feel like it (in fact tonight in many ways would be easier than tomorrow, it being a Friday and a night we enjoy relaxing); but I promised we'd try to catch TNA this week before podcasting, and then tomorrow night is the Smackdown 10th anniversary show; I thought we should probably check out that too, as it should be a big night with guest appearances by The Rock and Vicki Guerrero, instead of leaving it a week, when we'll have the Hell in a Cell to talk about as well as Ben Roethsinger's hosting of Raw.

Secondly Matt Hardy is back up to working us internet smarks. After tweeting the other night that "I am exhausted from being punished because of someone else's sins," leading everyone to believe he was speaking of his brother Jeff Hardy, he later clarified on his MySpace that he meant that he'd been out to dinner with some of the boys, who he felt had tipped cheaply, so he'd covered them; he later bet someone $10 that if he tweeted the above it would raise a hellstorm. Now see me ... I fell for it from the point of view that I figured the issues with Jeff definitely contributed to that tweet; but if you think about it, it was also only a few years ago that he was actually FIRED due to someone else's indiscretion. So I figured that while it was more obvious than it was, it was also more nuanced than many people jumped on the bandwagon to believe. But isn't that always the case?

Be sure and tune in to ITVR tomorrow night, sometime between 11pm and midnight Eastern, as we'll be recording when Smackdown ends. Until then, be well.