Bleacher Report - Articles by Daris Brown

HTR History: Les Thatcher and TNA's Desmond Wolfe

Daris Brown — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:42:05 -0400

(This is a reprint of Demetreus Stokes's article from HTR)

If you missed tonight’s episode of Hit The Ropes Radio, you missed a treat. We had the pleasure of interviewing Les Thatcher.

When people in our generation think of the word legend, they think of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and Ric Flair, among others.

While Les Thatcher may not be a name that most people in this generation know, he is truly a wrestling legend.

Thatcher has had a hand in training some of the biggest stars in WWE, WCW, and TNA.

Les started in the business in 1960 as a wrestler. In a career that spanned 20 years, Thatcher was a multi-time tag team champion on the NWA circuit and also held the NWA Jr. Heavyweight Championship.

After his in-ring career ended, Les ventured into the world of broadcasting. Having honed his skills by working with broadcast legends such as Gordon Solie and Jim Ross, Les eventually ventured into hosting and producing shows for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Southeastern Championship Wrestling.

After being a successful wrestler, broadcaster, and producer, you would think that Les Thatcher had done it all, but Les was only just beginning.

He entered the world of writing and editing. Among his accomplishments was assisting in the production of the World Wide Wrestling Federation’s (WWWF) first color magazine in 1978.

The man behind many of the magazines written for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 70s, Les eventually became a trainer and currently holds training camps all over the country.

It started with the formation of Les Thatcher’s Main Event Pro Wrestling Camp in 1995.

The graduates from Les’ camp is a who’s who among current and former stars of the WWE, TNA, and WCW.

Among them are WWE stars Matt Stryker, Charlie Haas and Jamie Noble, former WCW star Elix Skipper, former WWE stars Umaga and Rosey, and current TNA stars Shark Boy and, the newly-acquired Nigel McGuinness (Desmond Wolfe).

For the remainder of the article and the exclusive interview with Nigel McGuinness (Desmond Wolfe), visit Hit The Ropes.com.

Who Just Signed Jim Cornette After He Was Fired by TNA?

Daris Brown — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:52:11 -0400

Less than a week after Jim Cornette was released from TNA for "not being behind the current direction," Cornette landed in a new home.

No, not the WWE. He's been opposed going there ever since he literally laid the smackdown on Santino Marella. No, the home I'm talking about is Ring of Honor.

It was announced at ROH's show in New York that Jim Cornette is the new Executive Producer of ROH on HDNet. This led to him being immediately called out by ROH world champion Austin Aries.

Read the article in its entirity at Hit The Ropes.com

He Fought the Good Fight: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Quits the UFC

Daris Brown — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:35:27 -0400

After many triumphs and tragedies, MMA Legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has announced his retirement from the UFC.

This comes out of the blue as many were expecting the former UFC champ to return to the octagon after wrapping up filming A-Team.

Rampage Jackson quits the fight game and UFC citing problems such as being rushed into fights, injuries, and lies from UFC President Dana White.

Now that Rampage Jackson has quit the UFC, he's looking forward to pursue additional acting jobs. You can find Rampage Jackson's official statement on Hit The Ropes.

Pro Wrestling Needs a Union

Daris Brown — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:39:37 -0400

Check the Miz’s twitter page and you’ll see comments like “on my way to my second home, the airport,” signifying the nonstop world of professional wrestling. Turn on your television and you’ll see TMZ reporting another professional wrestler arrested. What is it this time? Steroids, weed, drunk driving?

Click on your favorite promotion’s website and you’ll see wrestlers going through the embarrassment of having to kiss promoter’s butt or having promoters break their contracts and screwing the wrestler out of a world title and more importantly their legacy. All of this controversy could be greatly reduced if there was a professional wrestling union.

A wrestling union would benefit so many wrestlers in so many ways, yet it may never happen because all the power lies in the promoter’s hands. There’s no way Vince McMahon is going to answer to anyone but the man in the mirror. And why should he? It’s simple, for the benefit of his employees.

The happier they are, the better they’ll perform. Sadly, the only way that wrestling will get a union is if the top stars demand one. But why would they? When you’re at the top you don’t need it.

When asked by Larry King, John Cena said wrestlers didn’t need a union. When asked about that statement, Bret Hart quickly responded “The truth is only an idiot would say wrestlers don’t need a union, because we do! But it is hard not to take that company position and be a company guy when you’re on the team.”

With a union, wrestlers will be able to get health benefits for putting their bodies on the line. Do you know how hard it is to get insurance when you tell the insurance agent you risk serious injury every time you go to work?

The promoters do pay for some things that happen in the ring, but what about getting sick or things that happen outside the ring? What about when you retire?

Look at Bobby Hennan, Konnan, and Steve Williams. All have been fighting for their lives with cancers and diseases. Other wrestlers put on shows just to help raise money to pay for their surgeries. Insert union here.

Earlier this year Rowdy Roddy Piper called for a union stating "The WWE have done some wonderful things for wrestlers. But we can't keep on dying. The wrestlers give their hearts—they give the best part of their lives. So as the success goes on, why aren't they being taken care of?” As he’s tired of seeing his friends die.

The schedules are too tough and the only break they see is someone’s arm or leg. Wrestlers typically are wrestling with some kind of injury. Some are understandable. Some are completely stupid. And for the most part, no one, including those on top, wants to ask for a break because they might lose their spot.

Look, a union isn’t this rare thing as hundreds of thousands of professions have them. Unions have helped employees of various professions big and small forever, creating a better life for all involved.

And everyone has one. Firemen have the International Association for Fire Fighters, postmen have the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, teachers have the American Federation of Teachers and that’s only a few. (Note, some unions don’t carry nationwide. I know teachers aren’t allowed to have a union in SC.)

And unions are not only for common folk jobs. Millionaire and billionaire owners also have to split power with unions also as there is the Players Union (NFL) and Screen Actors Guild (Acting) to name a few who protect the rights of everyone from the stars to the bench players.

In fact, the director of The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky, “I think the problem starts with the fact that they’re not organized and they’re not unionized. That’s the main problem. I mean, there’s really no reason why these guys are not in SAG. They’re as much screen actors as stuntmen. If not more. They’re in front of a camera performing and doing stunts, and they should have that protection.

"That’s the only thing that for me came out of it. Why doesn’t SAG help get these guys organized? They’re on TV performing. Or, if they’re not even on TV, the ring is a theater. So they’re not just screen actors, they’re theater actors. They’re performers. They should have insurance and they should have health insurance and they should be protected.”

How many lives would be saved if there was a union to step in when someone’s being overworked without a chance to nurse an injury? Kurt Angle was allegedly told to kick his pain killer addiction while on the road because he was an Olympic gold medalist and didn’t need a break. This would never have happened with a union in place.

For those troubled with addictive personalities, they may go ahead and drink too much or take too many pills anyways. Nothing Vince or Dixie Carter can do about it. But the union could step in and reduce the number of days spent on the road without a break, thus helping to reduce some of that stress.

It’s not a guarantee that a union would stop all the incidents and deaths, in fact, we all know it won’t stop it completely. But it definitely will help. You can’t place all the blame on the promoters, but they can’t truly believe their not a part of the problem.

Equal blame could be placed on the top stars as if the Triple H’s, John Cena’s and Undertaker’s joined together they could easily get a union for the wrestlers. But they forget what it’s like to be at the bottom and without the millions of dollars to bail them out of any situation.

Wrestling desperately needs a union to create a better lifestyle for the guys who put their lives on the line every time they step into the ring. Will we ever see one, who knows? But one thing is certain, if they don’t we will continue to see guys who are deemed brothers, fathers, husbands and, oh yeah, professional wrestlers pass away.

Visit HitTheRopes.com and join our BRAND NEW wrestling forum for quick discussions on all things wrestling. Next week's guest is MMA promoter for the UFL.

Forget DiBiase, Morrison Is the Future of the WWE

Daris Brown — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:30:40 -0400

Everyone is talking Ted DiBiase this, DiBiase that. There has even been talk about the Legacy member dethroning the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but all that hype should go to the man actually backing it up—John Morrison.

Since his start in the hit wrestling reality show Tough Enough, John Morrison has been a winner. After coming out on top over thousands of other contestants, Morrison took his newly-won WWE contract to Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he could not be overshadowed by guys like Muhammad Hussan, Spirit Squad’s Johnny and Rob Conway.

OVW pushed all three to be the flagship of the company and the next WWE superstar. All three, for one reason or another, where pushed out of the WWE only a few years later.

As the saying goes, the cream will rise to the top, and eventually Morrison did. He managed to avoid the OVW World Heavyweight title, which recently has been about as good for your career as being named the new poster boy for a Madden cover.

Paul Burchill is stuck in mid-card at best. Jay Bradley moved to Smackdown! and was released, as was Idol Stevens. Chett the Jett also gone. Of course there have been recent exceptions, such as CM Punk, Evan Bourne and Cody Rhodes, but the list is much longer on the down side.

Not knowing quite what to do with Morrison, yet knowing something had to be done, they called up the fiery young talent and assigned him to be Eric Bischoff’s protégé. They even renamed him after Bischoff’s baby, Nitro.

Like his stint in developmental, they were unsure of what to do with the future star and eventually sent him back to OVW, where he truly came into his own. They paired him with indy circuit veteran Joey Mercury and from there his ego, and his talent, was brought to the light. The duo held the Southern tag titles for only a couple of months before being called up to the main brand.

Teaming with Mercury and his real-life girlfriend Melina, who he met during Tough Enough III, he became one half of the WWE World Tag champions in their very first match. And to top off an outstanding year, they were named PWI’s Best Tag Team of 2005.

Morrison and Mercury (MNM) became one of the most dominating tag teams in the WWE, until Mercury went out of action due to a wellness policy infraction. The WWE had no choice but to let Morrison shine. Just like his eventful debut on Raw, Morrison looked to equal the impact by laying the smackdown on then Raw World Heavyweight Champ, John Cena.

Although he didn’t get the win, it was the start of a storyline that got picked up by the national media as he introduced the wrestling world, and Cena, to Britney Spears’ ex, Kevin Federline. It also propelled him to the first of three IC title reigns.

John Morrison was said to be the friend to the stars—truth be told, it was he that was the star. Morrison was later stuck back into MNM when Mercury returned, but he shined too bright for the duo, which finally garnered a split.

This was the start of something special. It was the beginning of a singles superstar.

When the Benoit scandal went down, just a week after Morrison’s ECW debut, it was he that came in with the save. Morrison was crowned the new ECW Heavyweight Champion and we saw his full potential become realized.

With a cocky attitude that hadn’t been seen since the brash young days of HBK, Morrison ruled ECW. Dripping with charisma and filled with talent to match, he displayed classic matches with CM Punk all over the country until the WWE was once again in need of a Morrison bailout.

They had to split the tag champs and bitter rivals MVP and Matt Hardy to keep the juice flowing in a very long feud, so they called on John and his former rival, the Miz, to help them out.

Who knew that pairing with the Miz would lead to such a major success? Anyone who’d ever seen a John Morrison match, of course.

Everything he touches is gold.

The duo went on to be one of the WWE’s most successful tag teams, as they defended the belts on ECW and Smackdown!, and were never pinned to lose the straps.

But Morrison didn’t need gold to shine. He, along with the Miz, was the star of the WWE’s most popular online segment, The Dirt Sheet, and was arguably one of the top heels in the company as part of the most over-heeled tag team.

As great as Morrison and the Miz were, this too had to come to an end.

Morrison was drafted to Smackdown! and the WWE leaned on him to help the Miz gain some extra heat as a singles heel. In turn, Morrison was finally released from paying his dues via the tag team ranks.

John Morrison immediately began to steal the Friday night spotlight with a bout against the always-athletic Shelton Benjamin. And his work with then World Champion Jeff Hardy was equally entertaining. But it was CM Punk, not Morrison, who was given the torch to carry and it wasn’t long before Morrison started battling the new champ.

That is until the WWE was once again stuck in an awkward situation and needed help. IC champion Rey Mysterio was notified that he’d be suspended for 30 days for a wellness policy violation. Who did they call to pick up the ball once again?

Yup, John Morrison.

In what Shane Howard of HitTheRopes.com called a potential match of the year, Morrison walked away with the IC title for the third time.

How is it that Morrison is propelled to greatness and overlooked all in the same breath? He continues to put on stellar matches, making all of his opponents look like gold, all the while bailing out the WWE every time they get into a jam. Yet it is DiBiase who’s said to be the future of the company.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yes, DiBiase could be a potential big time player—nobody’s disputing that—but what have we seen from him? He hasn’t stepped out of Randy Orton’s shadow long enough to shine. Morrison’s work speaks for itself.

It’s only a matter of time before Morrison is given the ball and becomes the flag bearer of the company. He’s bailed out the WWE, can carry any superstar through a five-star match, and has gone from drawing major heat to some major love from the WWE Universe.

His theme lyrics say it all:

Now listen, this ain't no make believe
Come on, open your eyes and see
Now get up, get up, and follow me
And I’m gonna show you what the future will be

And the future of the WWE is definitely John Morrison.

Enter to win a FREE wrestling prize pack by submitting a wrestler look-a-like contest to hittheropes.com.

“The Icon” Sting: The Franchise Closed

Daris Brown — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:15:37 -0400

We are now less than a month and a half away from losing one of the greatest legends to ever lace up a pair of boots. Long before there was ever a face painted, enigmatic, Jeff Hardy there was a “man called Sting.”

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) is teasing that Bound For Glory will be the final match for the “Icon” Sting. If this is true we will truly witness the end of an era?

Sting is the last remaining headliner from the good ol’ days of WCW, I mean NWA’s WCW not Vince Russo’s WCW, and when he calls it quits, we can also finally say our good-byes to the Atlanta-based company.

Never mentioned among greats like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Harley Race, or Bruno Sammartino, it leaves you to question Sting’s legacy.

Sting’s a 13-time world champ, just three shy of Flair and one more than Hogan. Yet he’s forgotten by many fans. Why is that?

Could it be because he chose his religious beliefs and family time over the then raunchy storylines and heavy schedule of Vince McMahon’s WWE? I should hope not, but it’s possible.

As stated on Hit The Ropes Radio, the WWE is quick to put Sting’s face on any WCW related DVD. And they often show his matches on the commercials for WWE 24/7. Sting is clearly the one that got away.

Now only time will tell if he will get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame without ever wrestling a match for them. Odds are in his favor if he chooses to accept.

Dominating the WCW rankings for over 14 years, it’s clear to see why he was labeled the franchise of the company. Handpicked by Ric Flair to receive the world title, Sting clearly had the respect of his peers.

Sting had many moments that redefined pro wrestling as we know it. Scan the crowd of any early 90s WCW tape or DVD and you will see a sea of painted faces, rat-tails and pumped up fans. And some of those were kids.

Among Sting’s many “remember when” moments was the WCW Saturday Night episode (1991) where Sting received a gift from the Dangerous Alliance. Only the gift wasn’t anything good at all, as Cactus Jack busted out of the box and attacked the Stinger.

What about the time when Sting, now black and white and drained of all color, stood in the middle of the ring while JJ Dillon sadly tries to guess what it will get Sting to return to the ring. This 1997 Monday Night Nitro led up to the famous Sting vs. Hulk Hogan battle at Starrcade.

Sting had not spoken in a year and JJ Dillon danced around trying to guess who it was he wanted to square off with.

He had previously offered the NWO’s Curt Hennig and Syxx, both of which resulted in Sting ripping up the contract. When Dillon finally figured out it was Hogan, the roof got blown off, including the one at my house. Sorry, Mom. It was a classic moment.

Fast forward 11 years and countless other classic moments and Sting is ready to bring it all to end at the appropriately named Bound for Glory.

Unlike many of the many prima donnas Sting shared the ring with; no one has ever accused him of being in it for himself. He went to TNA in 2003, and was the deciding factor in Spike TV signing a deal with the company.

Since that time he has steadily worked in creating tomorrow’s stars today. And this is exactly the way he will go out. Sting recently stopped a sobbing AJ Styles from calling it quits. Look for the script to flip and the torch to be passed as AJ Styles will do battle with Sting at Bound For Glory.

And although Sting doesn’t have a title to drop, we will see AJ officially be elevated to the next level as Sting does for AJ what his match with Flair the Great American Bash did for him.

As of right now, Sting is lacking the Ric Flair like send off and will likely quietly walk off into retirement. What a shame that would be.

At the very worst, TNA should give us one more look at yesteryear with a series of “one last time” matches with his most famed opponents who can still go. Heck, even the ones who can’t, just keep it short.

Give me one more battle the likes of the Great Muta, Big Van Vader, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious and Hulk Hogan and I’ll be a happy fan.

It’s the least they can do since we can’t see the Sting vs. Undertaker dream match or battles with Triple H, Shawn Michaels or John Cena.

Either way, it’s been a glorious 22-year career for the Stinger and there’s nothing left for him to do. He’s won world titles, sold out arenas, elevated younger talent and made a definitive spot in history for his name.

Although the doors to “The Franchise” appear to be closing, it has truly been a pleasure.

This Wednesday on HitTheRopes.com Mickey Grant, former WCCW promoter, comes on to talk about his film Gentleman Choice: The Chris Adams' Story.

Organized Chaos: Is TNA Ready for a Run?

Daris Brown — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:20:57 -0400

While the majority of TNA's recent news coverage is concerning the Kurt/Karen/Jarrett love triangle and then Kurt's recent troubles with the law, there is something greater quietly brewing for the number two wrestling program.

TNA is preparing for a war. Although not the Monday Night variety, they are ready to finally state their claim in the wrestling world.

Over the last couple months TNA has been chipping away at their roster and adding the crucial pieces they need to become a real threat to the monster that is the WWE.

They were able to steal away two of the WWE's key storytellers, Mick Foley and Taz. While Mick Foley has received some criticism for winning the world title while younger wrestlers like Styles and Joe have been pushed aside, he is at the least an addition by WWE's subtraction.

Taz will dramatically alter the way viewers see, and more importantly hear, the Impact broadcast. Moving Don West to merchandising for the more likeable and more relatable Taz is a no-brainer.

While so many people have criticizing TNA for adding ex-WWErs, even calling TNA WWE-lite, those screams haven't be heard with the additions of Taz or their newest in-ring talents Bobby Lashley and D'Angelo Dinero (Elijah Burke).

In fact, their acquisitions of Lashley and Dinero have been seen as long overdue and have been praised.

TNA is looking to freshen up their roster, in both the men's and Knockouts' division and it's panning out big time.

TNA continues to beat the WWE in the ratings overseas, mostly due to a slightly less cartoonish style broadcast. And they triumph WWE Superstars and are eyeing Smackdown on a weekly basis.

Another plus is the TNA house-show. Anyone who has ever attended both a WWE and a TNA house-show knows that TNA puts on a better house-show. To be honest, it's not even close.

TNA has better fan interaction and the wrestlers treat each house-show as if it were live on TV. While the WWE continues to try and make their wrestlers larger than life, TNA has FREE autograph signings after the show. It's the little differences that matter.

What's missing for TNA is the PPV bookings. They're just bad. Unfortunately, even for hardcore TNA fans, TNA fails to engage.

It's sad to see them continue to push the Main Event Mafia, when it never got off the ground in the first place. It's time to give the fans what they want, a company led by a younger crew.

If you want Nash, Steiner, and other ex-WCW stars in the mix to attract casual viewers, fine. Just don't have them headlining the shows. Plus, WCW was in its prime 10 years ago. Many of the new fans barely know more than their name. Let's go back to what brought you to the dance in the first place...the X-Division.

With that being said, we do see TNA making an Impact. President Dixie Carter will be making her TV debut tomorrow after several years. The crazy thing is, most TNA fans already know her before they could identify Cody Deaner, Big Rob, Daffney, and other wrestlers who are on TV on a weekly basis.

What does this mean for Mrs. Carter and the future of TNA? Will she continue to appear on future TNA shows or is it a onetime thing to add emphasis on Lashley's signing? Either way, I'm curious.

TNA just signed a 3-year extension with Spike TV. And there are rumors of an X-Division spin-off, much like there were rumors of a Knockouts spinoff months earlier, which has caught the attention of many.

We see that the WWE is stealing TNA's idea for a themed PPV (Breaking Point) and there's no question that they have their eye on TNA.

Impact broadcasts are improving weekly, and if they can stay away from cheap finishes and put an end to the MEM storylines and go for a more unique idea, it won't be long until TNA is contending with Smackdown and making a run at WWE.

TNA's D'Angelio Dinero's first interview since siging, tonight at 6pm.
www.blogtalkradio.com/HitTheRopesRadioShow

The Most Dominant Pro Wrestlers By Decade

Daris Brown — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:25:46 -0400

After seeing a similar list on SportsIllustrated.com, I started thinking about the most dominate pro wrestlers in wrestling history. And after some searching and prodding, I came up with the Most Dominate Pro Wrestlers By Decade, starting with the 1950s. There are a lot of great wrestlers who could have made the list but narrowly missed out. I used popularity, title reigns, impact on wrestling and legacy as determining factors for this list. Read, Discuss, Enjoy.

Begin Slideshow

Note To Vince: Bury The Hatchet Already

Daris Brown — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:21:45 -0400

There is an old saying "time heals all wounds." 14 years have passed and wrestling fans are the ones stuck with the gash.

Vinnie Mac, a kiss and make up session is long overdue between you and the Macho Man Randy Savage. It's up to you and you alone to get this done.

Debuting at No. 1, the Macho Madness DVD was an instant hit. Fans jumped at the release of owning all the great matches of one of the 80s biggest stars, despite the DVD missing one key extra—live commentary from the man himself.

Lanny Poffo, Macho Man's brother, told HitTheRopes.com that Randy wasn't even approached about the deal. How horrible is that?

There are rumors floating about a link between Savage and Vince's princess, Stephanie. However, until the rumors have been confirmed, they will remain just that, much like Ultimate Warrior's 23 deaths and a legit Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle win by Demetrus. They are all false until proven otherwise.

Maybe it's the fact that Savage packed up his Macho Madness and Slim Jim endorsements before snapping his way over to Vince's biggest competitor ever, WCW.

Either way, I'm boycotting the DVD until a deal's worked out. So you only lose $24.98 out of the $1 million dollars. You may not care but my principles will stay intact.

Why don't you pull one out of Dana White and the UFC's playbook? How is it White is able to make amends with former friend turn bitter enemy for Tito Ortiz, while you sit at home counting money from your DVD sales?

The Hall of Fame is coming up and now would be the perfect time to show the respect deserved. Bringing in the former World Champ is a must.

You went as far as making amends with Bret Hart, probably because you had your conscience eating away at you like the grimy teeth of Hornswoggle on Chavo's ankles. Regardless, it got done.

Show Randy, his fans and the entire WWE Universe with the respect we all deserve and give an, "Oh Yeah!" for the Macho Man Randy Savage.

Check out HitTheRopes.com as we have the new interview with ECW star CW Anderson. And this week's show features an interview with Indy Wrestler Mr. 8x10 and Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle. Upcoming interviews: Buff Bagwell and Petey Williams.

Man-Up TNA: Turmoil-Not-Action

Daris Brown — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:22:17 -0400

Right now should be the most exciting time in TNA's young history. Unfortunately for them, and the fans, it's also the most turbulent time as well.

It's almost seems as though this organization is blessed with a curse. But I'm not here to point fingers, I'd much rather help solve the problems. So it's time to Man-Up TNA, let's knock a couple of these out shall we.

Two Many Stars:

I'd never thought I'd say that having too many top superstars come to TNA would be a bad thing, but in this case it is. Two too many to be exact.

TNA got a huge boost from Bobby Lashley a month or so ago, only to find out they might have pulled the trigger too quickly. The two sides couldn't work out a deal, until after Lashley's MMA fight, which left fans wondering what all the pointing was about.

And once the ink was finally dry, TNA picked the worst time to let the world know it was done. Victory Road should've been about two things. The Mafia capturing all the gold, and more importantly, Tazz's TNA debut.

Unfortunately for us, Tazz's debut was played down as he merely did his human urn impersonation as his mere presence gave Samoa Joe instant super powers. [credit Shane for the correlation]

This was just bad, but it quickly went from bad to horrible when moments later they played a clip of Lashley announcing he officially signed with the TNA. It totally eclipsed Tazz's arrival. The announcers were going crazy over Lashey and never said a thing the rest of the night about Tazz. And Tazz reappeared at the end of the night when Lashley never walked through the curtain.

Solution:

All we've been hearing about for the past month or two was this mystery advisor. Who's in the Porsche? Why is he telling Joe this and that? But when Tazz finally does arrive, he get's a nonchalant treatment by the announce team. All that build up was for what?

Now, I know Lashley is a wrestler and has mainstream appeal with MMA while Tazz can't even wrestle. I get all that. But that doesn't mean one should be played down more than the other.

They should have played up Tazz for the pay-per-view and made a big deal out of his arrival. Let him mean mug and then wait for him and say nothing. Maybe get a little physical, even if it only means to jump on the apron in distraction. Then everyone would tune into hear the speech he gave on Impact.

You play Lashley's video on the website, which everyone will jump to for results the following morning after a PPV anyway. That way you don't waste Tazz's arrival and you still get the word out on Lashley in time for Impact.

I'll Take It:

Giving credit where credit's due, they didn't try and swerve us with Tazz's arrival. Everyone knew it was him, which is fine, and they didn't try and throw in Spike Dudley or some other lesser known talent just to swerve us. So congrats on that, I'll take it.

Karen Jarrett:

Everyone's up-in-arms about the whole Karen Angle living with Jeff Jarrett. Yeah, that's as bad as it sounds, but it's not the end of the world.

People are saying that Jarrett's going to be bought out, Angle's quitting to go to the WWE, Dixie Carter is going to fire everyone and we're all going to be forced to watch an Impact of nothing but Mick Foley promos.

But all this turmoil is crazy. History (Chyna-Stephanie-HHH, Edge-Lita-Hardy) shows us that one person will get fired, but that won't happen. But then again TNA follows WCW, not WWE, and we're more likely to see a Women-Bennoit-Sullivan feud. It will be as exciting as Edge vs. Hardy, without the leave of absence and the build up.

Solution:

Everyone knows that the real storylines are the best. Yes TNA is going to make some changes, but they've been doing this constantly over the past couple years. Hence the firing of Petey Williams, Roxxi and Rudy Charles.

Now everyone knows it's bad business to hire your friends and family to run your business. That's what TNA was built on, Jeff's friends. Dixie's merely fixing a problem that Jeff couldn't avoid in the first place.

So yes, bring on the changes. Maybe they should start with creative and work down. But it doesn't have to be as crazy as the media makes it out to be.

Quick Hits:

- Elijah Burke is schedule to come in soon, WAIT! Let us digest the arrival of Tazz and Lashley first before you throw Burke into the mix as well.

- The only way to right the Tazz debacle is to quickly get to the point of his signing. MEM needs to take over the announce team and appoint Tazz as the lead commentator.

- With Don West out and Tazz in, the only thing to do next is to add Mick Foley into the mix. He's played out in the ring but still insightful in the booth.

- And the next logical step is to leave Teney as a special analyse. He was brilliant when he gave us the obscure facts on the wrestlers. ex. Did you know, when AJ Styles was just 2 years of age, he jumped off his mother's ceiling fan onto his teddy and his mom said, "wow, that was phenomenal" thus his nickname was born. Yes, you might be thinking "how WCW of TNA" [also a gem by Shane]but it works. That's Teney's niche, not the lead.

- Concentrate on the storylines. Forget the false finishes and gimmick matches and get back to the basics. Anyone who's ever seen a TNA house show would agree that it's breathtaking. Why? No bad head scratching storylines to follow. Fix these unbelievably bad storylines and you're golden. No brainer, yeah, I know.

- And finally, stop using ex-WWE stars testimonials as sob stories to try and make TNA look like the island oasis. Yes, we get it. Less travel and less stress in TNA, but there's a reason there's not that much pressure. YOU'RE NOT No.1! I'm not saying don't bring ex-WWE guys in, that would be naive. Just don'y try to put yourself over at the WWE's expense (Tara, Foley, Tazz, Angle). You don't have to pull a WWE and ignore the past, just don't force feed how great you are until you're number one. And if you get there, we'll all know you're number one and won't want to hear it then either.

ROH Ignites Monday Night Wars...Kinda

Daris Brown — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:52:31 -0400

Ring of Honor is sent out a press release stating August 17th they will be moving to Monday nights.

This is great news for all 32 people who have HDNet.

Seriously though, this is great news for ROH. The days that families gather around the TV on Saturday nights are far behind us. So even though they were in prime time, nobody was home to watch it.

Moving to Monday nights is about as good as it gets for Ring of Honor right now. Now don't be foolish enough to think that the Monday night wars are back. This is far from the truth so move on peeps.

In fact, ROH will be able to piggy back on Raw's crowd. Right now there isn't a whole lotta things to watch at the eight o'clock hour, at least not in my household, so this is a great stepping stone for those looking for something before Raw starts.

Now that might seem a little insulting, and unfortunately it is, but right now it's the truth. Many wrestling fans still only know ROH by name, but this is slowly changing thanks to HDNet or more accurately YouTube.

Unfortunately we are still years away from the Monday night wars fans long for. First off, ROH wisely doesn't go up against the WWE so the true war of head to head won't exist.

And secondly their numbers won't come close to Raw's, so it would be more like a one punch knockout instead of a Monday night war.

But the war isn't the point of the story. Not yet. Many people have smelt blood in the water with Ric Flair pulling out, ROH cancelling tapings, and other murmurings. But all of this is Internet nonsense.

Bret Hart, or another legend, may soon step into Ric's slot. Hart is already doing appearances for them and ROH has enough tape in the can to last until September. No use in wasting money no?

I'd argue that this announcement is the biggest thing since word got out that ROH is going to be on HDNet. There are more people home on Monday nights and they are now on "THE night for professional wrestling," it doesn't get any better than that.

TNA had to wait like two-three years before they could land a weekday prime time spot, ROH has done it in two-three months. Granted it's on a lesser viewed station, it's a small win none the less.

Look for big things to continue to pop off for the self-proclaimed "pound-for-pound the BEST wrestling program on television today" and make sure you tune in (whether it be in HDNet or YouTube) and support Ring of Honor.

You can read the complete press release below.

For years now in the United States, Monday night has been considered THE night for professional wrestling, and Ring of Honor is now poised to continue that tradition. Together, ROH and HDNet are very happy to announce that effective Monday, August 17th, the acclaimed ‘Ring of Honor on HDNet' will now air each and every Monday night at 8pm EST!

With this transition to a prime time slot, ROH is now in a position to kick off your Monday night wrestling viewing with a humongous bang, as we bring you what we believe is pound-for-pound the BEST wrestling program on television today. This move places ROH on HDNet in a position to gain more viewership, particularly among fans that are already accustomed to watching on that night. And for those fans that are unable to view the program at 8pm EST, HDNet is going to replay all of the action again at 11pm EST!

Please join ROH on August 17th as we make the jump to Monday night, and if you can't watch HDNet in your area, now is the time to contact your local cable provider and let them know that you want your ‘Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet' – COMING TO MONDAY NIGHTS STARTING AUGUST 17th

Check out HitTheRopes.com as we have the new interview with ECW star CW Anderson. And this week's show features an interview with Truth Martini (trainer of Alex Shelly, Jimmy Jacobs and Zach Gowen) and the return of Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle.

The Meaning Behind Randy Orton's Theme Music

Daris Brown — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:43:10 -0400

I was recently privy to some insight on Randy Orton's theme music, Voices by Rev Theory, and how it came about.

For those who think the song wasn't written specifically for Randy, think again as this isn't the first theme song Rev Theory has done (they also did one for Ashley Massaro).

In order to get to know the WWE champ better, lead singer Rich Luzzi traveled with Randy Orton for a week to get inside his head, for a lack of a better term, and here's how he came to write the popular theme song.

After a week with Randy, Luzzi said everything came to him so quickly. He got the mindset of a killer who had no control over his actions or environment. Luzzi began to try and guess what Randy was thinking when he stepped into a WWE. Sorta like WWJD, only in this case Jesus would kick you in the skull instead of pull you up if he saw you down.

And like an epiphany it all became clear. These are his thoughts and notes. The italics are the lyrics, which are followed by Luzzi's thoughts, as Randy's Thoughts. Try and follow along will ya.

I hear voices in my head
The council me
They understand

Hello? Randy, are you there?

Yes? Good. Ok Randy you're going to be a good boy today. No incidents and no accidents.

And remember, like Snitsky, it's not you're fault. Your just misunderstood.

They tell me things that I will do
They show me things I'll do to you
They talk to me, they talk to me

Wait... is Cena looking at you? I think he is. That motha... he think he's better than you doesn't he? You need to handle his goofy, always saluting, corny...

Okay, this what you need to do. Super glue the brim of his hat when he lays it down. That way when he goes to throw it into the crowd, he'll rip half his scalp off. He'll fall down in pain and then you can kick him in the scull.

No, wait that's weak. Sit back until he starts rehearsing his lines in front of the mirror. Then at the 18th minute mark, push him into the mirror shattering it into millions of pieces. And as he's kneeling down and pulling shards from his brain, kick him in the skull.

No, wait that's weak. Wait till he's throwing his bags into his car after the show. Sneak up behind him ...ooh, is that a Debbie Cake?

You got your rules and your religion
All designed to keep you safe
But when rules start getting broken
You start questioning your faith

Mmm that was tasty. Any who. Cena does think he's the man around here. Always preaching to the kids.

He thinks since WWE went PG that he will always be the man.

But what happens when I start kicking people in the face? What happens when I start making out with the bosses daughter as I handcuff her husband to the ropes and beat him down?

Do you still think you will be invincible? How long will you say the champ is here when it is I who holds the belt?

I have a voice that is my savior
Hates to love and loves to hate
I have the voice that has the knowledge
And the power to rule your fate

Yeah, 'cause Vince doesn't rule me. I rule me.
And I rule you too.
I'm smarter than you. Did you know that RKO isn't just a fancy swap of TKO? Oh no. It's my name, Randy Keith Orton. So eat it.
And did I mention I rule you too?

I hear voices crying
I see heroes dying
I taste the blood that's drying
I feel the tension rising

Where's Ted? Where's Cody? I feel so alone. Guys... why are ya'll always leaving? Don't you know you must be at my side at all times? I'm sorry about the whole punting thing. Honest I am.

Fine. That's cool. I'll just go kick someone in the head. John Cena, Ric Flair, Captain Crunch... everyone.

I kinda bit my lip, and I think I'm frickin bleeding. Darn Backyardigans are a lot faster than they look on TV.

They were starting to tick me off. My brain is starting to hurt.

All the lawyers are defenseless
All the doctors are disease
And the preachers all are sinners
And the police just take the grease
All you judges you are guilty
All the bosses I will fire
All you bankers will have losses
And politicians are all liars

But when the throbbing stops, you cannot escape my wrath.

You cannot hide because I will find you and break you.

There's nothing you can say.

Unless you pay me. I'd do anything for another tattoo. Tramp stamp anyone?

Don't judge me. You'd get one too. Dolphins are nice... If they have flaming sculls around it of course.

Oh who cares what you think. I will own you soon anyways.

I will take all you're money and leave you like the homeless bum you are.

No, I'm kidding. I don't care what you do.

I see darkness falling
I hear voices calling
I feel justice crawling
I see faith has fallen

I've got a bad feeling about today.

Is that Triple H calling me? Nope. Just JLB doing another impersonation. Dang he's good.

And wow, there goes Demetrus. He really needs to pick himself up. Daris really did steal that last Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle victory.

Maybe I should tell Shane that everything's gonna be alright. It's all good even though One Night with Shane Contest only attracted three grandmas and the almost hot lady with three arms. Don't look so sad.

I hear voices in my head
The council me
They understand
They tell me things that I will do
They show me things I'll do to you
They talk to me, they talk to me

...Darn ADD.

He Floats like a Butterfly, But Machida Also Swings like You Wouldn't Believe

Daris Brown — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:57:56 -0400

He is 15-0 with notable wins over Stephen Bonner and Thiago Silva as well as former and current UFC champions Tito Ortiz, B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin, and Rashad Evans, yet Lyota "The Dragon" Machida is just now getting, a little, respect.

But, until he nearly broke his fist on Evans's chin, MMA enthusiasts have not appreciated Machida's ability. Why?

Before his amazing win at UFC 98, Machida walked out to boos and chants of "boring," but now, many of his former naysayers are prematurely crowning it the Machida Era. What's with all the flip-flopping?

In contrast to jumping on the bandwagon, folks should have checked his credentials way back when he was pounding Bonner into submission in some obscure jungle.

Was that boring? I think not.

Under the tutelage of professional wresting great and renown hooker (shoot fighter) Antonio Inoki, Machida has brought karate back to the main stage.

Many fans complained about his seemingly dated technique, and they said that a fighter with his evasive style should not receive a title fight.

Since when has fighting smart and coming in with a strategy been a bad thing? How many of those same haters show love to boxing great Muhammad Ali? I'd bet 99 percent of them.

But what is his claim of fame? Besides his mouth and draft dodging, it was the rope-a-dope, where he would allow his opponent to punch himself out while he hung on the ropes, blocked, and threw strategic hooks.

Or like "The Dragon," he would stick, shuffle his feet, and move back; then, he would repeat those steps. And we all loved him for that.

Minus the fancy feet shuffling, Machida performs similarly, but unlike Ali, he is regularly booed out of the building.

To be fair, more times than not Machida doesn't finish the fight, and it goes to the judges' scorecards. But that doesn't mean he's not exciting in between the bell.

Real fans should appreciate the work, technique, and strategy, not the flashy knockout.

But, seeing how Machida has recently beaten two high-quality opponents via vicious knockout, he's managed to get some of the attention he deserves.

Now, I'm not hailing Machida as the next great thing. Futhermore, I am not implying that he is on the same level as Ali.

Rather, I am saying that Machida has beaten as many quality opponents as the fan favorites. You don't have to love him, but you should show him some well-earned respect.

Check out HitTheRopes.com as we have a new interview with Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin coming up. And this week's show features an interview with former ECW star CW Anderson and the return of Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle.

Move Over Hardy Boyz: Introducing the Young Bucks

Daris Brown — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:28:05 -0400

For all of those who love, and hate, the revolutionary tag team the Hardy Boyz, look out because there's a new tag team in town.

Contrary to the thought that tag team wrestling is dead, The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) are traveling across the country putting fans on notice that the art is very much alive.

If you're looking at the pic above and saying to yourself that the duo looks like a cheap rip off of the Hardy's you're absolutely right...and completely wrong all in the same breath.

Growing up in Montebello, CA, the brothers were big wrestling fanatics as they dreamed of a career in professional wrestling. Upon Matt's graduation from the Revolution Pro Wrestling School, the duo received some secondary training from tag team specialist Marty Jannetty.

But before they ever debuted professionally, in 2005, the Young Bucks were wrestling under their own banner High Risk Wrestling.

Along with their good friend Dustin Cutler, the brothers started their own federation as they would run shows up and down Southern California. They even enlisted former trainer Marty Jannetty to wrestle on their cards.

Sound familiar? Yeah, there was a little tag team on the East Coast who had the same dream. The Hardy Brothers, who dreamed of being pro wrestlers, trained themselves and created TWF, Trampoline Wrestling Federation. TWF soon spring boarded to OMEGA which was completely run and managed by the Hardyz.

And like the Hardyz, The Jacksons used their own promotion to get them noticed. Nick and Matt went from running their own shows to being showcased under the NWA and PWA Guerilla banners.

If you're still confused on this tag team, you better get to Googling because they've recently debuted in both Dragon Gate and Ring of Honor and it's only a moment before they'll be launched into your living room. Matt has already appeared on Smackdown vs. Chuck Palumbo in a squash match in 2008.

This tag team is not just a Hardy Boyz rip off. They embody the tag teams of old (The Rockers and Midnight Express) and infuse it with the high-flying chain wrestling style of today.

Getting to Know Young Bucks, Nick and Matt Jackson:

Like the Hardyz, they have a high flying, high impact style.

Like the Hardyz, Matt is the oldest and Nick might be the star.

Like the Hardyz, they use the Swanton Bomb. But they usually immediately follow it up with either a moonsault or 450 splash.

There's no confusion between The Young Bucks of wrestling and the Young Buck of the rap world. Nick and Matt currently have "MMMBop" by Hanson as their music on MySpace.

The duo is also Xtreme... For Christ that is.

Videos You Should See:

Ballards vs. Young Bucks

Cutler Bros. vs. Young Bucks (TLC)

Cutler Bros. vs. Young Bucks

Young Bucks vs. Negro Division

Matt Jackson vs Nick Jackson

Check out HitTheRopes.com as we have the new interview with Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin up. And this week's show features an interview with "The Genius" Lanny Poffo and the return of Turnbuckle 2 Turnbuckle.

ROH, Independents Or Big Leagues

Daris Brown — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:13:23 -0400

I've been going back and forth with this one for a while now, is Ring of Honor still considered an Independent Organization or is it in the big leagues?

I mean, what exactly classifies a wrestling promotion as an independent anyways?

Most fans would agree that ROH is an unchallenged number three, but there's a bigger gap between two and three than there is one and two.

While ROH has steered away from the old school big names for the most part, or vice versa, TNA has used them to catapult the organization to the national spotlight.

But it's strange to me how ROH could even be confused with an independent promotion when they share such a similar start as TNA.

Both organizations got their start back in 2002; TNA on weekly PPVs while ROH focused on live shows and DVD sales.

Similarly TNA and ROH both focused on the talented stars of the Indy scene, but that's where the similarities stop.

TNA brought in big names like Ken Shamrock, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race and the NWA to attract more casual fans. Then they lured in Sting to help them jump from a mid-day broadcast on Fox Sports to Spike TV. From there on they were considered a legit number two.

ROH on the other hand took the slow and steady route.

They had big names like Eddie Guerrero here and there, but there focus till this day remains on making stars out of those on the Indy circuit.

And despite having a roster filled with stars who currently reside in the big two like CM Punk, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Homicide to name a few, they were always the underground promotion.

But things finally changed in their favor when the signed a deal earlier this year to bring ROH into millions of homes by the way of HDNet. ROH now has access to state of the art camera equipment and they are broadcasted all over the country, if not the world.

Unfortunately for ROH, because more homes don't have Dish than do, ROH is still only on the lips of hardcore fans who find themselves savoring the darkest corners on the net looking for the next big thing.

We've just recently seen a surge of ROH related articles on Bleacher Report thanks to JLB (who started months ago), Ray and a few others. But when I did an interview with then ROH Champ Nigel McGuiness back in January, it barely got 200 reads. But what was worse was many folks had never heard of the guy and definitely hadn't seen an ROH show.

Fast forward seven months and nothing much has changed. There was an ROH breakthrough as ROH has its own community, but Ray wrote several informative articles and they barely garnered a buck fifty views. What's up with that?

So back to my original question, is Ring of Honor still an Indy promotion despite being considered a part of the big three? If so, what makes them big leagues?

There are other promotions that have TV deals on the local level with rock solid talent, but you might not even have heard of them. Vanguard Championship Wrestling comes to mind. They've had Flair and Raven on their program and they've got Sid Vicious scheduled next month. They have a 1 a.m. local TV deal, but they are definitely are considered Indy.

So is it the national TV deal, being promitely covered by media outlets (we've got ROH owner on HTR tonight), or does it take big name stars like former ambassador Ric Flair and Bret Hart?

Does anyone know, if so do share. I consider them a big boy despite the gap between them and TNA because of the above mentioned reasons, what about you?

Check out the new site Hit The Ropes.com. And join us today at 6pm when we present the 1st annual Ropey Awards and interview ROH owner Cary Silken.

WWE Invades the Real World

Daris Brown — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:51:54 -0400

Yesterday was the strangest, most-amazingly weird day of my life.

It all started with me waking from a hard sleep. You know, the type of sleep where you kind of just pop up all alert. You feel as if you're hours late for something, in my case work, only to learn that you awoke fifteen fricking minutes earlier. Hey, every minute counts.

Yesterday was one of those days.

Unable to go back to sleep, I dragged myself to the sink to brush my teeth and submerse myself in ice-cold, wake-the-heck-up water. My eyes were halfway shut, but that's progress.

So after catching SportsCenter's Top 10, I was off to work. I only live five minutes from the marketing agency in which I work, so I was moseying along to the sounds of Maroon 5. I was singing terribly, but I don't care because I'm bad.

When all of a sudden, something darts in front of me causing me to slam on breaks. What the heck! Is that what I think it is? I look for the wild bear to my right, and to my surprise, it's the released Umaga. He's looking back at me snarling and blowing what appears to be steam out of his infrared nostrils.

He turns back and darts around the corner.

I'm awakened from my shocked state by sounds of a blaring horn. I quickly shake my head in time to make the light and turn down the adjacent street. "Wow, wake the frick up D." I tried to convince myself I'm awake now, park, and head in.

When I get to my office, the door is shut. My door is never shut. So, I go to open it, and it's locked. I try again, yup, still locked. So, I cautiously knock as I'm curious to see who or what's on the other side. "Come in," the voice inside said.

I reach for the knob this time, and it turns. I slowly walk in, and low and behold, it's Vincent Kennedy McMahon in the flesh sitting with his reading glasses on going over some paper work.

I immediately go back outside, shut the door, and press myself against the wall as a co-worker walks by. "What's up D? You look as if you seen a ghost," she questioned.

Shell-shocked, I manage to point to my office behind me when Claire interrupts me, "New ownership, weird, right? I mean we were all weirded out at first, but now it's kind of nice." I somehow get the strength to nod while she says something about how I needed to stop being so dramatic as she walked off.

I gained my composure and entered my, err, Vince's office. I look around, and he knocked out my wall, so I shared an office with the designer.

"Well, are you going to just stand there all day or tell me your name?" He barked out. I started to reply, this is still really weird, when he interrupts me, "Oh never mind. Get me a coffee will you. Make it black—no scratch that, extra black. It looks like it's gonna be a long day."

Move legs.

"The coffee's not going to make it self," Vince said peering over his reading glasses. And before he could add to his comment, I was out and into the break room.

When I get there, I'm shocked to see a massive being blocking where the coffee machine. The eclipse turned around, and it saluted me. Not sure what to do, I raised my arm to salute, gave him a thumbs up, and the peace sign.

"Howdy. My name's John Cena, and I'm the new copywriter," the eclipse, err, Cena identified himself. "Ah, hello. I'm Daris, and I'm also a copywriter. I think."

"Yeah, about that. They say you were drippin' when you should've dropped, stepped when you should've skipped, and rocked when you should've rolled," Cena said as he switched from a smile to a serious face. I just stared at him blankly.

He then explained, "Basically what I'm trying to say is you're fired. You didn't get the message?" Confused and fuming, I start to respond when he interrupts me, "I'm just kidding. It's cool. They just demoted you. They told me to see Dusty in the print room."

Not even knowing who "they" were, I walked blindly into the print room in search of Dusty. But this can't be all bad, though. Dusty Rhodes was the head of the writing for WCW and what not. Maybe he can explain why the heck WWE is invading the office.

So I get to the print room, and there's nothing. I turned to walk away and bumped straight into a wall—a gold, glittery wall, Goldust.

"How ya whoa, whoa, whoa what's up? My name's Goldust, but the boys call me Dusty. You must be with me," he stated. I nodded in agreement.

Dusty explained, "Alright, I'm not sure if you noticed, but there's been some changes. Vince decided last night that he needed a new challenge, so he's going to start WWENet." Confused I asked, "What like a new website?" Dusty responded, "No, more like a new Internet."

Apparently, Vince thought it would be best if he put WWE.com on it's own browser much like Internet Explorer and Firefox, yet it would only pull in WWE-related content.

Waving me along, we head out of the print room as Dusty continued, "I'm gonna show you around and introduce you to the new crew. Some people, like yourself, were kept, and everyone else was fired. It was crazy. Vince was firing people left and right and giving himself awards for unique f-f-f-f-terminations."

I try to take it all in as we walk. Goldust filled me in, "Ok, this office belongs to the Creative Director, Triple H. His only boss is Vince, and he's running the show."

I peer into the room just in time to see Triple H spit his coffee up in the air and once more at his screen. I keep walking. "Don't worry about him. That's always the first thing he does when entering his office. Still don't know why he bothers to put the thing in his mouth if he knows he's not going to drink it. Oh well, you get used to it."

Nodding, I continue along until we get to the copy room. Kelly Kelly smiles as she pulls her copies off the machine. I politely nod and continue walking.

We turn the corner and head into the VP of Information Technology's room. Pacing back in forth on his cell phone is none other than Chris Jericho. He looks like he's really worked up about something.

He's so mad in fact that he doesn't see Rey Mysterio, who's bending over (or standing up, I'm not sure which) tying his shoe. Jericho trips and falls, which causes him to fling his cell phone into the air.

But before it can hit the ground, out of nowhere, Edge flies in and catches the phone in mid-air. He looks at the two fallen employees, grins, pulls his hair out of his face, and leaves as quickly as he came.

I look at Goldust, and he explains that the phone was the brand new Blackberry Touch the company provided and something about Edge having an obsession with capitalizing on every opportunity, including stealing phones.

Helping Mysterio to his feet, we venture off back into the hall.

We pass by two guys and a girl—all wearing pink suits and shades inside. Weird.

As we turn the corner, I nearly bump into MVP, but with cat-like agility, he moved out the way. "Whoa playa'. You're lucky I'm so smooth, or you would've been picking your teeth out of the carpet. Why? Cause I'm ball-lin!" He takes an imaginary jump shot and walks on.

I shake my head as I continue on while looking back.

But as soon as I turn around, Wham! I bump straight into "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson. His papers go flying everywhere. Goldust tries not to laugh; I try to pick myself off the floor. I quickly pick up his papers and hand them to him all jumbled. He looks me in the eye, shakes his head, and curses under his breath as he walks off.

Goldust looks at me sympathetically and tells me to relax. We pass another office that has Orton, Rhodes, and DiBiase huddled over a computer. They immediately stand up; Orton stares at me intensely as Rhodes shuts the door.

Goldust chuckles, "Don't go worrying your pretty little self over them. That's just my little bro and his friends. They're harmless." I wasn't so sure.

We get to the end of the hall and approach the conference room or what used to be the conference room. Goldust knocks three times and enters. It's still the conference room.

Only this time it's filled with strangely familiar faces. Mark Henry and Tony Atlas are arm wrestling on one end. Evan Bourne is doing shooting star presses off the conference table. Jeff Hardy's painting his face using the reflection in the mirror. Morrison is counting his abs. The Miz keeps winking and nodding at Maryse, while she rolls her eyes in disgust. And Dolph Ziggler is walking around introducing himself.

"There you are," a voice shouts. "Where in the sam-hill is my coffee?" Vince questions as a vein begins to fatten on his forehead.

Oh crap. In the middle of all the crazy mess, I forgot to get Vince his coffee.

"You know what? Forget the coffee. Get your filthy self out of my sight right now. I have half the urge to fire you right now. Lucky for you, I already used my good firings today. Leave the premises immediately. You're banned from the building tonight."

Goldust ushers me out the conference and assures me everything will be much better tomorrow. How could it get any worse? But if I only knew.

-End of Day 1-

Check out the new site Hit The Ropes .com. And join us today when we interview former WWE and ECW Star Elijah Burke.

Rating The Best Wrestlers Ever

Daris Brown — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:11:19 -0400

I'd like to take a look at the best and worst wrestlers to ever grace the ring. I'm doing so by rating the selected wrestlers on three important qualities: in-ring work, charisma, and mic skills.

Each individual will be judged on their qualifications. They will not be judged in relation to other wrestlers. An individual will get rated on a 1-10 scale in each category, with a total score to evaluate their worth; a 30 indicates a perfect score.

Here are some examples:

In-Ring Work:

1 (Giant Gonzalez), 5 (Jeff Hardy), 10 (Shawn Michaels)

Charisma:

1 (Vladimir Kozlov), 5 (Mark Henry), 10 (Ric Flair)

Mic Skills:

1 (Donald Trump), 5 (Batista), 10 (The Rock)

Remember, this is all subjective. Feel free to share what you think your most favorite or hated superstars are worth.

John Cena:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 10

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 25

Ric Flair:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 10

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 26

Sting:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 23

The Miz:

In-Ring: 6

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 6

Total:19

Edge:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 25

Bret Hart:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 24

Triple H:

In-Ring: 10

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 26

AJ Styles:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 6

Mic Skills: 4

Total: 19

Ultimate Warrior:

In-Ring: 4

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 3

Total: 16

Samoa Joe:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 6

Total: 21

The Rock:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 10

Total:27

Big Show:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 7

Total: 21

Stone Cold Steve Austin:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 9

Total: 26

Kurt Angle:

In-Ring: 10

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 27

Batista:

In-Ring: 6

Charisma: 5

Mic Skills: 5

Total: 16

Hulk Hogan:

In-Ring:4

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 9

Total: 22

Shawn Michaels:

In-Ring: 10

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills:7

Total: 25

Abyss:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 22

Undertaker:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills:8

Total: 26

Mick Foley:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 7

Total: 23

Jeff Hardy:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 3

Total: 19

Shelton Benjamin:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 6

Mic Skills: 4

Total: 19

Matt Hardy:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 6

Total: 22

MVP:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 22

Vince McMahon:

In-Ring: 1

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 10

Total: 20

John Morrison:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 24

Rey Mysterio:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 6

Total: 23

Randy Orton:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 7

Mic Skills: 6

Total: 20

Chris Jericho:

In-Ring: 9

Charisma: 9

Mic Skills: 9

Total: 27

Shane McMahon:

In-Ring: 5

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 6

Total: 19

CM Punk:

In-Ring: 7

Charisma: 5

Mic Skills: 5

Total: 17

Christian:

In-Ring: 8

Charisma: 8

Mic Skills: 8

Total: 24

These are my opinions, feel free to post your own below.

Check outthe new site Hit The Ropes .com . And join us Wednesday where we recap TNA Slammiversary (Demetrus attended live). Next week's guest is former WWE and ECW Star Elijah Burke.

HTR Exclusive: Interview with Wrestling's Dr. Fix It

Daris Brown — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:47:41 -0400

If you're not familiar with tonight's guest, you might want to check his background a bit before reading on.

Dr. Fix, Bobby Buttons has been solving problems for wrestling promoters, wrestlers and fans for decades. He took time out of his busy schedule to chat with your boys from Hit The Ropes Radio.

Daris: First of all, I like to thank you for dropping by today. I know you're very busy, espec...

Dr. Fix It: Oh, yes. Very very busy. I'm practically in crisis management mode. Then again, when am I not? I mean that's what I do right? Well I'm just saying.

(Shane burst out laughing)

Daris: Definitely, definitely.

Demetrus: Well, Dr. Fix it, you say you're in crisis management mode. Can you tell us a little bit what you're working with currently? Or is it top secret?

Dr. Fix It: No, no, it's not top secret. I'm not really a doctor, that's just what they call me. No doctor-patient privileges here. I mean, I do respect my client's privacy, so of course I wouldn't disrespect that. So with that being said...what was the question again?

Shane: He asked what are you working on right now.

Dr. Fix It: Ah, yes. Well the whole WWE Universe is imploding right now. Vincent is in pure panic mode, and for what? Nobody really knows why. Here's a story I can share.

So I'm sitting with my feet on my desk one Friday, proud because I just convinced Vincent that putting all the belts on the returning Triple H would be bad for business. So with a smile on I'm relaxing as I relive the process when all of a sudden Shane, McMahon not Howard, burst through my door.

Daris: Dang. No knock, no nothing? What if you were in there with a patient?

Dr. Fix It: I'm not a doctor, I have clients not patients. Stick with me kid. Anyways, Shane burst through the door in complete panic mode. "You got to do something. Pops is in complete panic mode." He whinnied.

So I calmly respond, "What seems to be the problem?"

Shane was beginning to sweat as he was hopping back and forth swinging his arm. "It's Dad man, he lost it...again. He just switched all the titles two months ago, and he did it again last Sunday. We can't control him. He's turning all red, squinting his eyes and has veins popping out all over the place. At this rate the titles will be changing every night. What do we do?"

[Silence]

Shane: Hello? Dr. Fix It? Are you there?

Daris: [mumbling] Yeah, I think I accidentally dropped him.

Uh, Dr. Fix It, we're having technical difficulty right now. If you call right back, we'll put you through.

Demetrus: Man, just when it was getting good. I want to know what happened. I don't know what's up, but I know one thing, Shane needs to calm down with all that hopping and skipping, before he passes out.

Shane: I know, I always thought he might twist an ankle with all that skipping about. It's called Ritalin people.

Daris: Alright guys, we've got Dr. Fix It, Bobby Buttons, back on the line. Doctor, sorry about that.

Dr. Fix It: No problem, I'm sure it's hard not to reach over and click the button that says "hang up." Don't worry, I had this problem all the time when Superfly [Jimmy Snuka] was running the switchboard for Tuesday Night Titans.

Any-who. I finally get Shane to sit down and calmly point out this, "Your problem is no problem at all. All you've got to convince Vincent to do is that he can outsmart the marks by not outsmarting the marks."

[Daris interrupts] What do you mean by that?

Dr. Fix It: As I was saying! You do everything for a couple weeks that they'd expect, but since they're thinking you''re going to try and outsmart them, they won't see the obvious. So here's what you do:

Starting this Monday at the three-hour Raw. Don't go bonkers, keep it simple.

Christian vs. Dreamer, Dreamer retains. Maybe a bump in with Edge where they wish each other luck on their title matches before hand. Fans will expect that, and love that.

[Shane gets up out of his chair.]

With the SmackDown! championship, you put Punk vs. Edge as Edge invokes his rematch clause. Punk goes over when Jeff Hardy runs in and attacks Punk. Fans get excited that the weird guy with the crazy face paint comes out, and Punk comes off all heelish and squirmish when he runs away.

[Shane begins to swing his right arm back and forth.]

As for the Raw title, we've got a doozy here don't we. Ya'll should just call this "when ego's collide." Alright, here's the finish. Cena clotheslines Big Show, both go over the top rope onto the floor. Orton, who was watching them, turns around and gets hit with the pedigree. Half the crowd goes nuts, the other begin leaving the building.

But Cena grabs Hunter's foot just before the three, pulls him up and hits him with the FU/Attitude Adjustment/Please Be Nicer/Go Sit In The Corner/Death Valley driver thing. Fans leaving run back to their seats, while half that stayed jump up and run out the building.

[Shane back to his full skip now with a huge smile on his face.]

And as soon as Cena pops up to throw those weird signs and to salute, Orton pops up and RKOs him for the 1-2-3. Orton becomes the new champ and everyone says I told you so, even though they had money on everyone but the Big Show. [To HTR] I'm not sure what Big Show's even doing in the match, but whatever.

[Shane hopping back and forth so fast he passes out and has to be revived moments later.]

Daris: Wow, that's a whole lot going on. I could barely keep up with it all.

Shane: Coming from the self-proclaimed Mr. Wikipedia, I'm surprised there's something you admit you can't do.

Daris: Hey, Demetrus came up with the name, not me. Just like he named you the Carribean Playboy, our fans Hit the Maniacs and Hit the Ropians, he named me Mr. Wikipedia. He just likes naming things.

Demetrus: Anyway guys. I'm sure Dr. Fix It doesn't have all day to listen to you debate who gave who what name.

Dr. Fix It: Of course not, well not for free anyways. Ha, ha, ha. No seriously. Call me tomorrow and I'll have your fans named in no time. Who do you think came up with WWE Universe and TNA Nation?

Daris: We'll definitely do that, but before we let you go, do you have any advice for any current wrestling superstars?

Dr. Fix It: Uh, I don't usually do pro bono...ah what the heck.

Miz—Throw away the bedazzler.

Cena—Every time someone grabs a mic, they aren't necessarily addressing you, so stop popping in every segment.

Booker T—Quit popping out your eyes. It doesn't make you a great actor, unless you're looking to do bad horror flicks.

Orton—There are babies drying up and turning to dust. Stop stealing all the oil.

Demetrus: I said that exact same thing on this show about a month ago.

Dr. Fix It: Alrighty, good for you.

Rey—Cross the Line. You'll have matches that'll take you from Hall of Famer to legend.

Shane Douglas—Cross the Line the other way. Preferably to Gold's Gym or Omni Fitness.

HTR—Keep up the good work.

Daris: Well Dr. Fix it. We like to thank you for coming on. It's been a pleasure.

Dr. Fix It: Thank you guys, and don't forget to call me about the whole naming thing.

Demetrus: Ooh, what Hit the Ropetopia? Like universe...

Shane: Stop.

Dr. Fix It: Like I said fellas, call me.

Shane: We will, thanks for coming on.

Check out our RELAUNCHED site Hit The Ropes. And join us WED. and call in on our special guest will be a member of Ring of Honor. We'll let you know who sometime over the weekend or early next week.

Debunking The Myth: TNA Is Too Old

Daris Brown — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:51:55 -0400

Whenever wrestling fans talk about TNA Wrestling, they also preface the statement with the fact that their wrestlers are too old. My question is too old for what?

Let's go ahead and state the given:

Sting (50), Kurt Angle (40), Kevin Nash (49), Mick Foley (44), Jeff Jarrett (41) and Booker T (44) respectively.

Yeah, their main event stars are all plus forty... so what.

Let's compare the facts shall we.

The WWE isn't exactly the fountain of youth you know:

Triple H (39), Undertaker (44), HBK (43), Ric Flair (60), Batista (40), Big Show (37), Vince McMahon (63), Fit Finley (51) and Tommy Dreamer (39).

These are the main event players in the WWE. Do the numbers look familiar?

The only difference is that the WWE has younger world champs... that is until Triple H returns.

And? They're still defending their title against "fogeys."

When asked about Ric wrestling at high age and Sid Vicious told HitTHeheRopes.com, "You need all different parts" to make up a wrestling organization. He's absolutely right.

Wrestling fans are crazy. You don't hear movie goers say, "Give it up Harrison Ford, you're too old" or "Man, Morgan Freeman made that movie. But he really should retire."

Baseball fans don't tell Randy Johnson to hang it up despite racking up 70+ wins after the age of forty.

The examples can go on forever. But I should hope you get the point.

TNA doesn't have a problem with putting the older guys in the main event. Booking? maybe. Age? Definitely not.

Don't be the bully in school yard just looking for something to pick on the little guy about.

I'm sure most people who critisize TNA's age don't even watch TNA. They just see that Sting or Mick have the belt and assume it sucks because they're old.

(Not stating they're doing a great job, that's not the topic).

And don't forget, Spike TV never would've given TNA their TV deal if it were not for them signing Sting. So don't go bashing him now.

WWE can be just as old. Yeah they've got a lot of up and comers, that's no different than TNA.

"But WWE creates their own talent." No they don't. Without all the second and third generation superstars, which are trained by their parents initially and not the WWE, they'd have even less than TNA.

So all I'm saying is drop the TNA is full of fogeys talk. There no different from the beloved WWE.

Check out our RELAUNCHED site Hit The Ropes. And join us WED. and call in on our special guest former WWE star turned MMA fighter, Bobby Lashley.

It's Time To Man Up and Be Raw's MVP

Daris Brown — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:32:11 -0400

MVP, if I could look you dead in the eyes, right here and right now, I'd say "man up."

So you lost your U.S. title, and the albatross is finally off your neck. You no longer have an obligation to be the standard of the mid-card, you're free to go after bigger and better goals and you're free to man up.

Remember the pop you got when you interrupted Randy Orton, yeah, world champ Randy Orton? The ovation was defining, and it wasn't even in you're hometown, what's that mean, you guessed it, it's time to man up.

I mean you're already carrying yourself like a champ. You rocked The View, telling everyone how much you're ballin and you can carry a great feud, a la Matt Hardy. All that's left is for you to step up with the big dogs.

1 2, you here the clock ticking? Sound familiar?

Yeah, it's your theme song. But it's also Mother Nature telling you to get a move on. You're already 35, you don't have forever. If you want to be a true ballar you've got to step it up now.

This Sunday should call for an end to the Orton vs. Batista feud.(We can only hope) Which means the door's open for you to step into the title picture.

Right now Raw has been flat and boring and it needs someone to step up and carry a feud. I need a reason to tune in every week. Yeah, this is where you come in.

So just like Shane Howard's calling out Hulk Hogan, I'm calling you out.

No, not in a negative way. I want you to live up to your potential. I need you to live up to the accolades such as, "the highest paid superstar in smackdown! history," "the ballin' superstar," "the franchise playa," and most importantly "M-V-P."

So what are you waiting for MVP? It's time to man up.

Check out Hit The Ropes tomorrow as our special guests include former TNA Knockout Roxxi, Dante from NBC's Last Comic Standing and B/R's very own Mina as the host for T2T and TNAdam Testa.

From Worst to First: The Battle for the NFC South

Daris Brown — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:55:17 -0400

Dating back to 2002, the NFC South has been a roller-coaster ride of emotions. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went from Super Bowl Champs to getting out by the previous year's stepping stone, the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina would be the first to start the trend of going from worst to first as the power in the division shifted annually as the worst team in the division went on to become the best team in the division.

For five straight seasons the results were money in the bank.

And then the bottom of the barrel blessing was destroyed by the only team that could break it, the team that started. The Panthers went on impressive run last year to capture their second division south title.

This is great news for Cats, but not so good for the Saints, who placed last and has only two playoff appearances in the last 16 years.

So what lies in the cards for '09 season? Will the Saints resurrect the bottom of the barrel blessing? Or are they destined to remain the red-headed step child of the NFC South? Here's a brief prediction of the NFC South.

Carolina Panthers

There has never been back to back champions in the NFC South's brief history...until this year. Although the Panthers did not make any major offseason moves, they didn't loose any major players in the offseason either.

Jake Delhomme seems to have heeled from the Tommy John surgery much better than expected and now he has a couple additional months to add to that. And if he has healed mentally over that total collapse in the playoffs, he could lead his team deep into the playoffs.

But not unlike the team that whooped up on them in the playoffs (Arizona Cardinals), the Panthers have their own big time star wanting out of town. So far the Panthers are playing it as a non-issue, as they already drafted Julius Peppers potential replacement.

It probably won't be that bad as Peppers is a professional, but the Panthers want to make a trade or extend his contract before the year's up to ensure they get there money's worth.

With that being said, Peppers will work hard to prove to other teams that he's worth the big offseason money, or the two first round draft picks it would take to trade for him, so look for him to have another outstanding season.

The Panthers are also at year two on their new flash and dash running offense. Which means we should see even more out of Johnathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams.

With that being said, look for the Panthers to hold off all competitors as this will be the closest divisional race in football.

Atlanta Falcons

Like the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons were ousted by Cardinals in deceive fashion. Unlike the Panthers, the Falcons went after a huge free agent in the offseason.

With the arrival of future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez comes hope for the Falcons. Gonzalez with bring a wealth of knowledge to share for second year quarterback Matt Ryan. But more importantly he will draw attention which will allow speedy wide out Roddy White to stretch the field.

If Falcons thought last year's offense was good, wait until they see this year's version. And if their defense can work on not giving up 20 points a game, they'll be in great shape. There defense is definitely what's preventing them from being on top of the NFC South.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A brand new coach won't bode well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not in this division. Although the Buccaneers have a great defense, the were once again in the top 10 for total defense, there offense is what worries me.

After bringing in veteran QB Byron Leftwich, first year coach Raheem Morris and his staff will have to spend their time figuring out who is the rightful starter. Supposedly Luke McCown has been told it's his to lose. If he's not careful he will.

In addition to an okay passing game (ranked 11th in the league) is the Bucs okay running game (ranked 15th in the league). Everything about this team is just okay.

That is until you throw in new owner of skull and cross bones covered jersey is Kellen Winslow. He'll look to return to his pro bowl ways as he joins the Bucs after being traded from the Browns.

New Orleans Saints

Despite leading the league in total offense, the Saints were still at the bottom of the division. This is bad news for Saints fans. Exactly where can the Saints go from here? Nowhere but down.

And with Deuce McAllister gone, the Saints will depend on Reggie Bush more than ever to carry the load of the one-two punch. Although if talks with Edgerrin James are true, this might be a quick fix for their running game.

But the bigger problem for the Saints is their lack of a play maker in key moments. Brees did an excellent job of spreading the ball around last year but with their number one receiver, Marques Colston, out on injury there was definitely a void.

Lance Moore did a great job in Colston's absence, racking up 10 TD catches, but it won't be enough to pull them from the bottom of the NFC South.

10 Questions For Carolina Panthers' WR Steve Smith

Daris Brown — Tue, 19 May 2009 11:48:16 -0400

Not only is speedy wide out one of the Carolina Panthers's top play-makers, but he's also one of the NFL's brightest stars.

If I got the chance to sit down and pick his brain for a bit here 10 questions I would ask the charismatic Steve Smith.

10) Steve, you seemed to play with a swagger and a chip on your shoulder. But you came from a small college and didn't get picked until the 74th selection of the third round. Is there any resentment towards the other teams, maybe even the Panthers who passed you twice, who didn't draft you?

9) What about towards your college teammate Chad Johnson who was picked 38 spots ahead of you?

8) You've managed to become a break out star in the league as a wide receiver after starting off as a Pro Bowl kick returner. What was your mindset when you weren't really getting your chance to shine as a receiver early on?

7) On a couple occasions, you've gotten into trouble after getting into fights with your own teammates. (Anthony Bright 2002 and Ken Lucas 2008) Michael Jordan and other great players are also known for getting into the faces of teammates in practices. What's the deal with that? Are teammates not matching your work ethic and commitment?

6) You've had several amazing seasons thus far. Pro Bowler as a rookie and again in '05, '06, & '08, NFL Triple Crown winner 2005, Led the NFL in receiving yards per game 2008. Would you trade all those accomplishments in for a Super Bowl victory against the Patriots in 2005?

5) Toughest cornerback you've faced?

4) Who's the best reciever in the game today?

3) I hear you have Papa Smurf, Superman and Tasmanian Devil tattoos. What cartoon most resembles your personalities?

2) If you can have anyone in the history of the game throw you a TD pass, who would throw you the ball?

1) If you weren't in the NFL, what would you be doing?

Carolina Panthers Get Defensive on '08's Problems

Daris Brown — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:40:00 -0400

The future for the Carolina Panthers may look meek, but there will be nothing humble about what's about to happen in the 2009 season.

In 2008, the Panthers defense was reduce to a purr as they were statistically in the middle of the pack as far as total defense is concerned. But that will all change with the arrival of former defensive coordinator Ron Meeks.

Although Meeks's resume speaks for itself, Panthers' fans won't mind being reminded of his accomplishments including heading up a defense that led the league in fewest points allowed (2007), learning under the games best minds (Dan Reeves, Jimmy Johnson, and Tony Dungy) and, oh yeah, a Super Bowl ring.

Meeks headed up a defense that ranked six places ahead of the Carolina Panthers last year. He hopes to bring his new defensive schemes into Carolina and return them to their success of the '05 and '06 seasons where they ranked third and seventh respectively.

And if anyone can lead them back to glory, Meeks can. And a lot of their success in 2009 will be based on the 3-4 defense Meeks ran in Indianapolis.

Although Meeks hasn't declared what defense he's going to run this year, all signs point to the 3-4. The Panthers don't have the leagues's best defensive front that they had four years ago. It's time to make the switch and take advantage of their current players's speed.

More importantly, the 3-4 defense may be the eye in the huge storm that is brewing with superstar defensive end Julius Peppers. Peppers has demanded a trade, stating he wants to split time at defensive end and outside linebacker.

Peppers's demands have not changed despite Meeks being brought in, but there's a good chance that this could be resolved once his role is established.

If not, John Fox and team drafted speedy defensive end Everette Brown to complement Peppers—or replace him.

But along with freshening up the front seven, Meeks will breathe new breath into the secondary.

Before he was the defensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champs, he was the cornerbacks coach for his now rival Falcons.

This is key as Beason, the middle linebacker, led the team in picks with four. What is worse, no cornerback had more than three interceptions in a season since Gamble had seven in 2005.

A refocused and repackaged defense will be something for the rest of the NFC South to take note of. The offense was already clicking as Smith led all receivers and the one-two punch of Williams and Stewart is, well, thunder and lightning.

As Meeks comes in with a base built on Tony Dungy's discipline you can be assured you won't see the breakdown that resulted in opponents averaging 30 ppg and 400 ypg over the last five games. Which was definitely carried over into the playoffs as where they were jumped on early and eliminated by the Cardinals.

With these things corrected you can expect a lengthy run in '09 by the new Carolina Panthers.

The Top 10 Signs You Might Be a Closet John Cena Fan

Daris Brown — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:58:29 -0400

As many of you read in my previous article, you know that I feel that John Cena isn't getting the respect that he deserves. Is he in my top 10 favorite wrestlers? No. But as a top draw he's earned my respect. And I know some of you are hating on Cena, but the truth is you probably love the guy. You just think there's something wrong with being his fan. That's where the hating comes in. So before you say you're not one of those fans, take a look and reevaluate the situation.

Begin Slideshow

HitTheRopes.com Interviews Bushwhacker Luke

Daris Brown — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:09:46 -0400

HitTheRopes.com: Guys, I’d like to welcome to the show, former WWE star, Bushwhacker Luke. Bushwhacker Luke, how ya doing?

Bushwhacker Luke: Whooa, Good day maties it’s bloody good to be with ya. You’re looking good but you’re not smelling to right mate.

HitTheRopes.com: (laughing)

Bushwhacker Luke: I’m lookin’ to give ya a good lickin’ I’ll do the kickin’ later.

HitTheRopes.com: Ah man, no licking please.

Bushwhacker Luke: No lickin’? Alright, I just had a big bucket of sardines before I came on the radio so I’m all pumped up and ready with all the energy. So what do you got to say guys? So I hear there are three of yous taking me on tonight. I’ve got you coming from behind, the right and the left. By golly, what am I going to do? I’m going to go right down under.

HitTheRopes.com: Yeah you’re facing the triangle of terror. Well, we were just talking about your time down in Memphis and your take names later attitude. Can you tell us about your time in that territory?

Bushwhacker Luke: Well me and my cousin Butch were in Memphis. Earlier on Butch had to head home due to family problems and that. And I had one of the Royal Kangaroos Jonathan Boyd as my partner. When I first went into that area. The Memphis, Tennessee, Nashville, Kentucky, Tennessee area.

We had a major feud there. Jackie Fargo just put together a new tag team of Stan Lane and Steve Kern, and they were the Fabulous Ones. And Fargo was in there corner. Hence, the battle became between the good ol’ southern boys and the two boys from down under, The Sheepherders. That battle went on for maybe, continuously, for maybe four months or five months every night all over that state. Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and a bit of Indiana.

HitTheRopes.com: Right. Now you were pretty hated during that time. Did any fans take it personal what you were doing to the Fabulous Ones? Because we hear stories of fans attacking wrestlers with knives and throwing stuff, did any of that happen to you?

Bushwhacker Luke: Hey, I came out. In my career in the states when I come here we first came out with the New Zealand flag. Before we became the Bushwhackers we were most hated teams around the country, The Sheepherders. We carried the New Zealand flag and we told the people they had air conditioned homes, air conditioned cars, and their women were even air conditioned. And you know what I mean when I say that. I don’t want to say the word, but women of the night.

Anyhow, many a night we’d come out to the car, especially in the south, the car was down on the rim. All the tires were slashed. A few times we had to drive a hundred, a hundred fifty, miles without a windshield. A windscreen. They had knocked the front windscreen out. In the winter time do you know how cold it is driving without the front windshield?

HitTheRopes.com: I can imagine.

Bushwhacker Luke: We had some real battles with these Fabulous Ones, they were loved by everyone. Jarrett made these two kids the first to have videos. They had music videos. They had the girls and family people around them heavily. They were two good ol’ southern boys; well they were sort of GQ, gentlemanly quarterly, guys at the time.

Good bodies, good looks and a hell of a fan base. Of course we were bloodying them up every night and beating them up, and we were getting beaten up too. But the fans didn’t take that. Many of times we had police come into the arena to get us to our car so we can get out of the town. A lot of those towns, especially those southern towns, they were wild.

HitTheRopes.com: Right, now I heard a story about you and the Fabulous ones in a cage match. Supposedly they tore the cage down to get away from you, is that true?

Bushwhacker Luke: Going back to those matches, I think we had about twelve in a row, cage matches with them all over the place. And one night the cage came down. That might be the night you’re talking about. But I can’t remember the town but the cage came down in the corner. It was wild and woolly matches mate.

And one night Steve Kern had to get about 80 stitches, he nearly bled to death. We hit him in the head so hard with the flag pole that split him right above the brow going towards the ear with one of those major veins. At the time we didn’t mean for that to happen that bad. They couldn’t stop the blood and he had to get external stitching.

HitTheRopes.com: Someone in the chat room asks if you remember the old Sheepherder’s poem, do you remember it?

Bushwhacker Luke: No I don’t mate. I don’t know what she’s talking about. I used to say the 37 countries in 37 titles.

HitTheRopes.com: Okay, well this is Shane. Uh...

Bushwhacker Luke: How the bloody hell are ya Shane? Ya haven’t got a bit of McMahon in ya have ya?

HitTheRopes.com: Uh, I’m gonna have to say no.

Bushwhacker Luke: Oh, ‘cause I was going to hit you up for a loan. (laughing)

HitTheRopes.com: I remember seeing the Bushwhackers on Family Matters a couple years ago. Well a while ago. How was the whole acting experience?

Bushwhacker Luke: Ah it was great mate. What a group those people were. Steve Urkel what a great guy he was. And Darius, one of the guys was named Darius too believe it or not he was a real wrestling fan. He was jumping off the ropes, and wanted to jump off the ropes while we were putting the show together. It was a great show.

And the other night, a week and a half ago it’s still playing late at night when they’re doing the reruns of Family Matters. That was taped in 1994, 15 years ago mate. They’re all grown up now. They’re not kids anymore.

HitTheRopes.com: I remember the Bushwhackers from the old WWF days when ya’ll come down waving the arms and licking the fans, who came up with that gimmick?

Bushwhacker Luke: We came up to Vince McMahon, and he pulled us into his office, he said to us at the time we just finished with the Bulldogs so we’re looking for a British group or down under. Something different again. So we came up there and he said to us, do you mind being the good guys? We said we don’t care. Money is what counts.

Speak of that, Butch said if you can make these faces loved by everyone go to it. And he said well Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Jake are my top good guys and they’re not the greatest to look at. The next minute we got the contract in the mail and we didn’t know the name. And Butch rang me up and said I’ve got a contract here for the Bushwhackers. They put the name together and that and we put the gimmick together. We did the arm swinging.

Originally when we were The Sheepherders we swung our arms around a lot. When we were taping in WTBS, that was Ted Turner’s studio, they started using us as heels. They took as characters then. We used to swing our arms around and saying WHOOA and that just made noise and that in the studio. Hence, Butch said let’s start swinging our arms on the way to the ring. It was Butch’s idea and grabbing people heads. We both sorta got the swinging arms together because we always done that. But not the matches so much.

And then he got the licking together. He said I’m a grab a head and give them a lick. The funny part was people were sticking their heads out to give it a lick. That was the sick part about it. I would grab their head and I would lick the back of my hand. I think Butch got a thrill out of licking the grime off of them.

HitTheRopes.com: Now let me ask you this. A lot of people only know you from the WWE, the happy go lucky deal. They don’t know your hardcore edges. Does that bother you?

Bushwhacker Luke: No, no. A lot of people up north now, see when first came invaded the USA we were up in the north west with Don Owens. And that was jammed up and they didn’t get much cable up there. Our next step was the NWA, Crocketts in the Carolinas. We did a lot of coverage.

Actually we were so...not green, but green to the television industry. We walked out on the Crockett after 3-4 months and went to Puerto Rico for the first time not realizing that we were on WTBS and it was covering most of the country. It was a cable station, a satellite station. And we didn’t later on until we came back the second time we realized about a year after we left, we heard that TBS was all over the country. We realize what a mistake we made.

Getting back to the subject that you just said, when Vince bought out Turner in 2000, he bought the NWA library. On that 24/7 channel of Vince’s, they play a lot of Sheepherders stuff now.

For seven years I never went in the ring. I was in the offices of Puerto Rico six years. And last year, I ventured out and went in the Manhattan Center, the ballroom in New York where Vince used to tape Raw at the start. I went out there and did a little thing for ROH and in the arena all the people started chanting Sheepherders. It was funny. In a New York area where the Bushwhackers were so strong, the people were watching The Sheepherders.

The ROH crowd is like an old ECW crowd. They love that hardcore stuff. I had fans yelling out Sheepherders. I was so surprise and then they told me they see a lot of old stuff from NWA, The Sheepherders. Because we worked for NWA. We worked for Bill Watts’ territory which was bought out by the NWA. We worked there and then we worked there for about 4 years, so they got a lot of Sheepherders footage.

HitTheRopes.com: (Caller) Do you talk to your opponents before or after the matches?

Bushwhacker Luke: No...I’ve been in the ring so many times. I run into my opponents all over the country. I may wrestle on the independents now and I may see them in the next town here and there. So I run into them all over the country.

There’s a lot of people I used to wrestle that I actually tag with now that my partner’s back in New Zealand. Butch is back in New Zealand. So I’ve been working singles and just last week and a half I’ve been on the road with Honky Tonk Man and Al Snow. And Honkey Tonk, going back some time ago, at a PPV Wrestlemaina out of Toronto Honky Tonk hit me over the head with a guitar. Now here I am in the ring with as a tag partner.

HitTheRopes.com: (caller) Right, now do leave that alone even though he hit you in the head with guitar? Is that in the past?

Bushwhacker Luke: Mate that was in the '90s, this is the 2000s. that’s gone, happened and we drew some big money at the time. It was Rhythm and Blues against the Bushwhackers. He had Greg Valentine as his partner. If you remember the Rhythm and Blues? (yea) And I had Greg as my partner. About six months ago I was in a town where they put Greg and me together as a tag team. It’s show biz. You know you move on. You have your grudges at the time, but it’s buried and you move on.

HitTheRopes.com: Now we’re running out of time here, but before we let you go we have to put you in the Hot Seat. Can you handle that?

Bushwhacker Luke: Can handle the hot seat? When you’re hot you’re hot, when you’re not you’re not. And the Bushwhackers hot now mate.

HitTheRopes.com: This is a series of rapid fire questions and you just answer with the first thing that comes to your head...

Bushwhacker Luke: And you know the Bushwhackers are a bit wacky, so there might some whacky answers.

HitTheRopes.com: OK. If you were starting a wrestling promotion tomorrow, who’d be the first person you’d sign?

Bushwhacker Luke: Because of my gimmick I’d have to bring in Eugene. (wow) That’s as a tag partner because we are a bit goofy there.

HitTheRopes.com: Who’s your favorite opponent all-time?

Bushwhacker Luke: All-time? I’d say Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were one of the greatest tag teams we worked with. But we’ve worked with a lot. But that was one of the greatest tag teams we worked with.

HitTheRopes.com: If they made a movie of your life, who’d play you and you’re surrounding cast?

Bushwhacker Luke: Oh I don’t know who would play me mate. I don’t have much time to watch movies today. There are so many people out there I’d have to give that a wink mate. Mickey Rourke did one hell of a job, and I was there for that taping. I can’t think of anyone who can fit my position, my personality right now.

HitTheRopes.com: If you can go one-on-one with any celebrity, who would it be and why?

Bushwhacker Luke: One-on-one? George Steinbrenner. There’s a hard one isn’t it?

HitTheRopes.com: Is that for positive or negative reasons?

Bushwhacker Luke: No, no, he’s a good guy. I know the guy, he’s good. And he likes wrestling too.

HitTheRopes.com: Alright, well, we’ll let you go…

Bushwhacker Luke: All you fans of Hit the Ropes, and you want to hear from the old Bushwhacker go to BushwhackerLuke.net and you’ll hear my podcast. And I’ll have Hit The Ropes there too.

HitTheRopes.com: Alright, well we thank you for coming on…

Bushwhacker Luke: Whooa—good day, maties.

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Debunking the Myth: Cena Sucks

Daris Brown — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:43:38 -0400

Before you read this, I ask you to put down your hatorade and sip on the cool refreshing straw of Factopia. This is an unbiased look at the man known as John Cena.

"Cena Sucks," "If Cena Wins We Riot" and plain old boos reign down every time John Cena enters an arena. But is it justified? The facts say no.

John Cena is hated by a large number of fans that has Jared thinking Cena's in bizarro world. Is he face? Is he heel? His role is undefined, yet not in a tweener Stone Cold kind of way.

His fans are mostly segmented in age group, something wrestling has never seen before. Younger kids are eating him up like Frosted Flakes with extra sugar, while the more mature audience can't seem to stand the man. But why?

97 percent of Cena's hate come because he's jammed down our throat. And that's understandable. But at the same time, who isn't?

Edge has been world champ nine frickin' times in three years. He drops the belt as quickly as he's won it and is in every major SmackDown storyline, yet he's loved.

He should be hated for his short title runs and diminishing the belt's worth, yet they spin him as the ultimate opportunist and he's golden.

Over the last six months, maybe longer, Randy Orton and his Legacy has dominated Raw airwaves. Every backstage segment, match, or interview seems to be centered around him.

They even came up with a disease for his sudden rage, only to have Orton come out months later and say it wasn't the disease, he knew all along what he was doing. And again he's loved.

John Cena, on the other hand, comes out and shows the crowd some love, and he is booed out of the building by a handful of fans. What's up with that?

The fact is John Cena doesn't suck. Actually far from it. He's a wrestling promoter's dream come true and should be the man fans love to cheer.

More importantly, don't let the minority fool you. John Cena is highly popular.

John Cena is one of the most requested Wish Givers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which includes actors, athletes and musicians. These are requests coming from kids with life-threatening diseases.

They have one wish and one chance to meet anyone on the planet and a good number of them are requesting Cena. Not Edge, not Triple H, and not the Undertaker. Cena.

Out of the WWE's roster, Cena does the biggest endorsement deals. He has Gold's Gym, Subway and Gilette all under his belt. Major sponsors obviously are aware of his drawing power.

And speaking of drawing power, Cena has starred in more WWE solely produced films than any other wrestler on the roster. Granted, compared to Hollywood standards they were bombs. But The Champ has out sold the rest of his co-workers.

The Marine destroyed the rest of the WWE DVD flicks, as it raked in $30 million compared to the See No Evil ($16 million), The Condemned ($22 million) and Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia ($4 million).

And if you take a look at Cena's merchandise sales, they are all far higher than anyone else in the ring.

So clearly Cena is more popular than most other Superstars as more people pay to see him and buy his stuff, so where's the problem?

Many people chant "Cena can't wrestle." That might be the biggest crock of them all. "He only has three moves," some might say. Bologna once again.

Cena has just as big of a move list as any other performer in the WWE. The throwback, attitude adjuster, five knuckle shuffle, blue thunder pin/killswitch and STF just to name a few.

What do your favorite superstars that you consider a great worker have? HBK has an atomic drop, sweet chin music, elbow and body slam. That's not a whole lot more than Cena.

Triple H, the cerebral assasin, has the pedigree, running knee, running clothes line, spine buster.

I could keep going on and on, but you get the point. What separates a great worker from a good or even average wrestler is the ability to put their opponent over.

That's why we love HBK, Ric Flair, and Mr. Perfect. They make their opponent look like a million bucks. And although Cena isn't any of the before mentioned, he's still one heck of a worker.

Cena has fans on their feet, whether they're booing or cheering, they're off their butts one way or another. He can tell a story in the ring and sell nicely in the ring. Flat out, he's a solid to above average wrestler.

In fact, Cena's story isn't an unfamiliar one, as it mirrors a young Rocky Miavia.

Rocky debuted at Survivor Series in 1996. Less than three months later he was the Intercontinental champ. And not long after his tremendous push fans were hating him.

Yet he was able to go on to become one of the industry's biggest stars and most recognizable names. He sold T-shirts, main-evented and became a movie star. Not unlike John Cena.

But unlike Cena, Rocky got the chance to vent his frustrations. Instead of keeping him the smiling, autograph signing, t-shirt throwing into the crowd baby face; Rocky flipped and became one of the most disrespectful heels.

And in the same breath he was able to gain respect from the fans as the heavy push was easier to swallow since he was a heel.

Cena hasn't had the opportunity to say screw you to the fans. Why? Because he's still so over with a majority of fans, if Vince turned him heel he could lose a bundle in merchandise and movie sales. It's just not smart business wise to do so.

So although it would help his character's image, it's just not smart to do so.

Sure Vince pushes him to the max, but wouldn't you? Every wrestler has a ticking clock on them, you've got to get what you can when you can.

How is it Cena's fault for going out there whenever his number is called? Would you turn down the money and the exposure if it were granted to you? Absolutely not.

When it's all said and done, and the night before Wrestlemania comes in a decade or so, it's guaranteed John Cena will have a spot at the podium.

Cena will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers ever, not by my generation, but the next. He's their Hulk Hogan. He's their Rock.

The man can wrestle, sell t-shirts and put the butts in the seats. The champ is absolutely here and Cena Sucks is a myth... to the majority.

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How the Carolina Panthers Saved My NFL Soul

Daris Brown — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:58:19 -0400

For the first 13 years of my life I was a lost NFL soul. Living in Charleston, SC, was hard as an NFL fan. I had no team to call home.

My friends were all split between the two closest teams: the Redskins, because their parents liked them, or the Falcons because they had Prime Time. Despite the Atlanta football I had earned due to many box tops saved from Cheez-Its, I could call neither mine.

Instead, I happily settled for the Buffalo Bills as my mother grew up only 40 minutes away from Ralph Wilson Stadium. Boy, little did I know how great and horrible it would be as a Bills fan.

The early nineties were the best of times and the worst of times as a Bills fans. We had greats like Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, and Andre Reed. The triple threat led the Buffalo nation to four straight Superbowls. But you all know how that turned out.

The sour of four straight Superbowls didn't last too long, as two years later I got a fresh start.

Little did I know that for the past seven years, eventual owner, Jerry Richardson, had been lobbying for lost souls like myself. Richardson had been gathering every politician and businessman who would listen, and some that wouldn't, with the hopes of bringing a team to the Carolinas.

And when he finally beat out Baltimore, Memphis, and St. Louis for a spot, I was relieved. I finally had a home.

Not that I didn't love the Bills, I did and still do. They're "my AFC" team. But it's just not the same as having a team you can call your own.

No longer did I have to answer, "why do you like the Bills" questions with the fact that my mom is from there. Now it's obvious why I love the Panthers. Simply put, they're my team.

In just our second year, we became the first team with just one year under their belt to reach the conference playoffs. Yeah, the Jaguars also did it that year, but hey, they can get their own story.

And it doesn't matter that the Panthers went on a six year playoff drought. Why? Because I was there for my boys through the good and the bad.

I was quickly rewarded as they went from 1-15 to a Superbowl team in their return. It was the happiest year in my sports fan life.

We were up against America's (new) team, the New England Patriots, and we were letting them know they were in a fight. No, scratch that, we were beating them.

That is until John Kasey kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds with one minute and eight seconds to go. Who does that?

And in typical Patriot fashion, Brady drove his team down the field, and Vinatieri won the game as time expired.

The Panthers lost on a field goal as I stood shocked infront of my screen. I slowly dropped to my knees with a blank stare on my face. Not again. Not again.

I cried out of disbelief as a kid when the Bills lost the forth one. I just didn't understand how that could possibly happen.

There were no tears left for the Panthers during Superbowl XXXVIII. I was proud despite the loss, days later of course.

My team had reached the Superbowl when just a year before they had lost 15 consecutive games. I soon felt accomplished and couldn't wait for the upcoming draft to see if John Fox could make our team even better.

Seven years later I am still waiting for our return to glory and a chance for redemption. And this year is no different. It starts with the draft and the feeling that this could be the year. And maybe it will be.

Either way, as cheesy as it is, I'm happy knowing there is a team I can call home—the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina Panthers: History in The Making Or Just Plain History?

Daris Brown — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:18:14 -0400

2009 should be a historic year for the Carolina Panthers, but instead we could see history repeating itself. In their 14 years of existence, the Panthers have never recorded back-to-back winning seasons.

Although John Fox and staff are doing everything they can to make sure their season isn't over before it starts, they are already drawing flags from fans for not being able to satisfy the heart of their defense—Julius Peppers.

Coming off one of the best seasons of his career, Julius Peppers has demanded out of Carolina. The playmaker wants to join a 3-4 defense and has yet to report to camp, which will definitely be a distraction during mandatory workouts.

Always prepared, the winningest coach in Panthers history has already planned for the worst, drafting Everette Brown in the hope of complimenting Peppers—if not replacing him.

Despite not making the playoffs in back-to-back years, their top defensive star wanting out, and a pressure to succeed after giving away their first round draft pick for the second year in a row, the Panthers will defeat the odds and put together a memorable season.

With or without Peppers, the Panthers will defend their NFC South title and make a lengthy playoff run.

Their dynamic backfield duo is one year wiser and will look to prove that last year's success was no fluke. Backed by fiery Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith, who will look to repeat last year's league-leading numbers, the offense is set to rule.

An impressive run won't be easy, as everyone else in the NFC South division made key additions to dethrone the champs.

Both Atlanta and Tampa signed huge help for their quarterbacks, as the Falcons signed future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and the Buccaneers picked Kellen Winslow Jr.

And while the Panthers didn't have any major offseason pickups, the beat down by the eventual Super Bowl runners up is still fresh on their mind.

Along with the rest of the South, the Panthers have one of the toughest schedules in the league. It will be all the more tough because their last five games consist of the Bucs, Patriots, Vikings, Giants, and Saints.

Not an easy task to complete when they have an early bye and every game down the stretch will count big in a close division.

Despite a difficult schedule and early season distractions, look for the Panthers to make sure history does not repeat itself as they go on to post a 10-7 record. More importantly, they will make the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time ever.

They have something to prove and John Fox needs to win to stay off the hot seat. Look for the Carolina Panthers to make up for a disappointing ending last season with a year fans won't soon forget.

Debunking the Myth of the Intercontinental Title

Daris Brown — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:57:29 -0400

I'm not sure when or how it started, but for whatever reasons it is believed that the WWE's Intercontinental Title is the spring board for the World Title.

In some degree this is true. The IC title is the WWE's second in command as far as title's are concern, but that's only because there are only two singles belts on Raw.

It would be more accurate to say the IC title is the top spot for mid-carders, not the launching pad for the next world champ.

Don't believe me? Check out the facts.

There have been 122 Intercontinental champions, and of those 122 there have been 63 different wrestlers to put the strap around their waste.

Now out of the 46 year history of the WWE championship, their have been 45 different wrestlers to win either the WWE World Championship and World Heavyweight Championship.

With more IC title winners than there are world champions, it is evident that not everyone who wins the IC title will become the next world champ.

In fact, you are more likely not to win the World Title, as only 24 former IC champs have done so.

This is nothing new. The first champ, Pat Patterson, never won the World Title, and out of the first 10 IC winners, only two won the World Title.

From it's inception, the IC title has been nothing more than a prop.

Maybe it's a great reward for the mid-card man that's busting his chops, yet Vince McMahon doesn't feel that he can carry the company (e.g. Jericho for many years (8x champ), Jeff Jarrett (6x champ) and Rob Van Dam (6x champ)).

When two-thirds of the title holders never go on to win the World Title, it is true that the IC title is not the catapult that it's claimed to be.

In fact, the man who is often proclaimed the greatest IC champ ever, the Honky Tonk Man, never held the World Title.

It's more or less a way to keep borderline superstars happy, used to push new guys and those having difficulty getting over, or to help progress a slowly building storyline.

Now there are exceptions to the rules. The Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle are examples that come to mind.

So the facts are in, and the Intercontinetal title as a catapult to the world title is a myth.

Interesting fact: Only three guys have won the IC title after winning the world heavyweight champion: Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and JBL

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The Best Wrestler in the World: Bryan Danielson Rediscovered

Daris Brown — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:42:30 -0400

Many wonder who is "The Best Wrestler in the World." You can bet your last nickle he doesn't go by Cena, HHH, Edge, or Jericho. His name is Bryan Danielson. And if you don't believe him, just ask him.

Or better yet take 15 minutes to watch one of his matches. I guarantee you that you will be convinced in one, and the other 14 will be pure amazement.

Redefining the way a pro wrestler is described, the 5'9" American Dragon lives ever word of the "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional" his MySpace describes.

You see although Danielson has traveled the globe and accumulated dozens of titles to his credit, he's still missing one thing. Respect. That's why those who know of him need to rediscover him and those who don't need to find what they've been missing.

Whether you know the American Dragon or are discovering him for the first time, you will be relieved that you're not the only one who was missing out on this great talent.

"What? What?" John Cena taunted as he club Danielson in the back during their Velocity matchup that February night in 2003. But like the reversal artist that he is, Danielson turned the tide and hit Cena with a running knee to the gut.

"Ooh," Cena gasped. Bryan quickly went for the pin as a young Josh Matthews casually noted, "Well partner, this could be a huge upset" in between plugging Cena's upcoming match with Brock Lesnar and Rock vs. Hogan II.

In less than a minute later, WWE's up-and-coming rapping superstar scooped up the American Dragon and hit a thunderous blue thunder pin for the one-two-three. And just like that the WWE missed out on a shinning star.

Despite having all the talent on the planet, he was never big enough for the WWE. He was soon released from the WWE, which came to be a blessing in disguise as he rediscovered himself.

This is where is his MySpace slogan becomes clear. It's where he shines. Instead of lingering on the pain of not being accepted, the American Dragon picked himself up, traveled the world, and became a star.

He had already made a name for himself in the grassroots promotion Ring of Honor, where he had classic battles with Lo-Ki and Christopher Daniels. But it wasn't until Sept. 17, when he won his first world title that he finally step into his rightful place.

He put a company on his back and ran with it as he feuded with the likes of Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuiness and his arch rival Austin Aries.

If you want to see what wrestling's all about, check out any one of these matches. Or just watch the closing of this clip from his match on HDNet.

His theme song title says it all: "Self Esteem" as he's never lacking a self appointed pat on the back. But if you think he's not worthy of this praise, simply step to him and let him know. He'll merely smirk as the fans will break out in a "You're gonna get your f'n head kicked off" chant. And moments later you will.

He's got more moves than Malenko and more holds than Jericho. He can turn a simple wrist lock into the deadly Cattle Mutilation. He is everything you want to be, and he does it all with ease.

Bryan Danielson once again made it back to the WWE where he defeated Lance Cade on Raw in 2008. And once again the WWE passed.

For whatever reason Vince has signed his two classmates, Cade and Kendrick, yet passed on the most talented of three.

Maybe it has to do with Danielson not being made a star by the WWE. Or maybe Vince fears what Bryan could become.

Either way, "The Best Wrestler in the World" is about to be a free agent once again. Let's just hope the WWE smartens up and rediscovers the American Dragon Bryan Danielson.