WWE Hall of Fame

New entrants in to the WWE hall of fame have been announced on the WWE's website (http://www.wwe.com). The Von Erich family - father Fritz, and his 5 sons, one of whom still survives, will be inducted on Wrestlemania Eve. This tragic family is known for their drug problems, and for the fact that three of the boys overdosed and/or killed themselves at relatively young ages, despite boundless potential and talent.

What do you think? A bad example set to be honoured and lauded, or a family whose contribution to the industry are unquestionable, despite their shady ends?

ITVR

Click heading to listen to this week's episode.

Matt Hardy - time travelling sinner?

Well yesterday was Raw, and we have a PPV coming up, but I thought I'd give Ari and I something to talk about tomorrow, leave that be for now, and - since other than the Chris Jericho situation I mentioned two days ago, there really hasn't been anything new behind the scenes in wrestling, I would simply share this funny tidbit with you - click here.

And be sure to check back here tomorrow for In This Very Ring - our 'go home' podcast for No Way Out, with predictions and thoughts on that, as well as the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 2008 Achievement Awards which were just released this past week! See how close we were in our 'Year End' awards.

Peace.

Chris Jericho in altercation with fans

Yesterday after a house show in Victoria BC, Chris Jericho got into an altercation with some very aggressive fans. A detailed description of the incident can be found by clicking here; you can also watch some partial footage by clicking 'play' below:



Wow. I don't know what to think except this incident is all kinds of wrong, from everyone involved:

FANS: wrong in that they marked for the fact Jericho's a 'bad guy' as portrayed on WWE television and got in his face. Trying to close his car door on him (as described in the article at the link above), hem him into his vehicle, etc. is just wrong. Even if he's just a 'fake' pro wrestler he's still a 6', 200-plus pound guy in whose face I wouldn't want to get. Wrestlers take their personal space and safety very seriously, knowing they can draw strong emotions from their fans; I wouldn't personally ever threaten it.

JERICHO: wrong for hitting a female fan who was with the really aggressive fans who started this in the first place, and got in his face after he shoved her friends. He DID go off on everyone and losing one's temper like that, especially in an already somewhat crazy situation, doesn't help anyone. If no one else could be intelligent and use a cool head, we know Jericho can, and he should have.

SECURITY: wrong for, as Jericho put it, 'not doing your f---ing job' and looking after him. Bottom line, whether it was the fans provoking Jericho, or his response, this got way more out of hand than it ever should have. Whether the arena/parking lot area security should have been more dilligent, or whether WWE should continue to provide some security until all wrestlers have cleared the building (to me, the exit to the parking lot in an uncontrolled situation is more dangerous than in a somewhat organized arena in which wrestlers are separated from fans by barricades and such anyway), there was a definite security breach, and Jericho should never have been left to fend for himself in the first place.

All around an incident showing everyone's best side. Sigh ...

ITVR as promised

As always, click the post heading to check out this week's broadcast. XO

ITVR Tomorrow

Hi guys - didn't want you to think I'd forgotten you. ;) We DID record ITVR tonight (yes a day late but hey it happens, this 'quiet week' snuck up on us really quick); my uploader is being nonfunc at the moment so I will post tomorrow evening sometime; meanwhile it's been a pretty quiet week wrestling wise so know you haven't missed much, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Pax.

Raw last night

Well Ari and I will be talking about Raw tomorrow to be sure, but some thoughts to hold you over until then about the show, in no particular order:

• I liked WWE addressing Mickey Rourke's changing his mind about wrestling at Wrestlemania 25: I'm just afraid that Ric Flair is going to step into that spot against Chris Jericho now that the former Y2J has turned his venom on the Nature Boy for still havin' the itch and not knowing when to back away from the business. Jericho's right that Flair had the fairytale career and sendoff to match at this exact time last year - it would be a real insult to the fans, wrestlers, and the real emotions invested by all involved for him to return, especially that soon when it's still very fresh in all our minds. I hope that really Rourke's backing out is just a swerve, or an image-saver until post Oscars; as much as he isn't a wrestler, I'd much rather see him in a celeb match with Ric Flair in a training/managing type of role.
• There were a lot of things that were not dealt with in a satisfactory manner last week, which they went ahead and attempted to address this week, so kudos to the WWE for trying to address the elepants in the room created last week. However, they didn't do so particularly well; for example, Randy Orton explained that Shane McMahon got one over on them last week because he didn't attack, nor did he encourage Priceless to attack, him in retaliation as there was a whole batallion of wrestlers at the top of the ramp. True; however, they DID try to 'contain him' as Orton put it, and even that was unsuccessful. They could have done more with that I think. I'm also somewhat unsure of Stephanie's place in all this; I'm half-convinced she's involved with the Legacy, but as the weeks go by she seems at least somewhat on the up and up?
• The other thing they tried to deal with was the Shawn Michaels-JBL relationship starting to unravel at the Royal Rumble and then at Raw; they will be having an 'all or nothing' match at No Way Out. If Shawn Michaels wins, he gets JBLs payoff and his freedom; if JBL wins he owns the HBK likeness and image, and by extension Shawn Michaels. I half-expected them to drag this out to Wrestlemania, but I think I'm relieved they won't. These two definitely have a place in the Money in the Bank match, or perhaps as potential replacements for Randy Orton in his Wrestlemania main event slot should he get too sidetracked in his feud with the McMahons.
• What I DID like is that they did a nice little build for the Undertaker appearing on Raw to fight Randy Orton next week - he crosses over from the Smackdown brand very rarely, perhaps once a year, and WWE usually does a good job of making that the event it is. Wonder if he'll continue to build on the teaser of his involvement in the Shawn Michaels-JBL angle ... I'm already more intrigued about Raw next week than the last two weeks merit. And they HAVE successfully corrected the uneven matchup between Shane McMahon and Randy Orton by making it no DQ - Shane can use weapons or backup, Randy Orton has his two cronies Rhodes and Dibiase ... it should be more interesting than just a straight-up match between these two otherwise would be.
  

Bottom line: Raw this week was better than last, and next week, plus no way out, looks to improve on the theme yet again. Hopefully that trend continues for the other two brands, who started slow out the starting gate on the road to Wrestlemania, and for Raw as we head towards the Granddaddy of them All.