BBB's Notebook: Wrestling Society X

I finished watching the 5 episodes of WSX and I don't know what else to say other then it was fun.

If you go in expecting a half-hour sugar coated spotfest then you will enjoy it. If you want psychology and logic then maybe its not for you.

Some of the explosions and camera-shaking was lame but I appreciate the fact that they tried to offer something different.

I'm looking forward to Big Vision releasing the whole run on dvd. Yossino on my tv makes me giddy.

BBB's Notebook: WWE RAW 03/26/07

-Steve Austin is no longer relevant. There, I said it.

-The 6 diva tag was brutal.

-Pretty sweet pop for CM Punk.

-Punk and Kenny put on a fun little match.

-I love the black mat they used for the Cutting Edge. They should use it permanantly.

-The MITB interview segment started slow but it finished pretty strong and did a good job of adding some hype to the match.

-Orton and Kennedy vs The Hardys was decent.

-I like JR in the Hall.

-Flair vs. Khali made me hate wrestling.

-The Condemned looks kinda lame.

-the boo-birds were out for Cena big time in Chi-town

Quote of the Day

"I'm just playing in the park that I'm in." - Jason Alexander.

Idol

Sanjaya is so fucking bad, I love it!

BBB's Notebook: ECW on Global 03/23/07

-(In Adam Sandler voice) Lashley broke the Master Lock.... WHOOPITY DOO!!!!

-I kinda dig the new opening video.

-Sabu wearing Daivaris gear is too funny.

-Sabu and RVD vs. Cor Von and Thorn was a solid match.

-POOOOOOOOOUNCE!!

-The Sheik in the HoF was a nice touch on the ECW program.

-Punk vs. Holly was good as well. I'm enjoying the New Breed trying to lure Punk angle.

-Burke vs. Dreamer was sloppy and unfun.

-Why would you show the same vingette twice in a fucking one hour show?

-Lashley and Masters was blah.

-A pretty good show and miles above this weeks Impact.

I'm pretty excited about the SmackDown/ECW tapings here in July. I've wanted to go to an ECW show since forever and even though its the new bastardized version, I'll take it. I just hope all the "originals" are still under contract.

BBB's Notebook: TNA Impact 03/22/07

I think the "notebook's" are going to be written a little differently from now on. Less recap and more opinion. After all, its my fuckin' notebook isn't it....

-A "hell froze over match?" Really Vince?

-Man Rhino is chunking up again.

-They better pull the trigger on whatever they are gonna do with Serotonin. I'm losing interest.

-Sting is annoying me.

-LOVED Team 3D bringing out all those belts. Drove the point home. Liked the intense exchange between Buh Buh and Konnan which is big considering how much Konnan blows.

-Enough with fucking Backlund.

-I like the new Chris Daniels.

-I think Jim Cornette plays his part very well and adds a lot to the show.

-Jacqueline has the charisma of wallpaper paste.

-The Best of AJ Styles Volume 2? Sweet.

-The woman (who I assume to be Abyss' mom) was such a lame fucking angle. Terrible.

-Impact is just bad. It needs something, I don't know what it is but its a terrible show.

Quote of the Day

"I was inches away from Crash-Hollying" - Funkmaster Dustapopolous

I almost forgot...

I finally got one. My very own 30 GB iPod. And the best part is that it was clearance so I got a killer deal on it. Can't wait to start loading it up.

Weekend

Had a pretty great weekend with the kids, especially Saturday. We went out for dinner and then took them to see TMNT. It was a pretty fun movie and some of the animation was incredible. Especially the Raphael/Leonardo fight scene in the rain on top of the building.

BBB's Notebook: American Hardcore

Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.

I've been seeing the trailer for this at work and I finally broke down and picked it up and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a great documentry of the hardcore punk scene in the US from 1980 until 1985 or so.

I've read a lot of reviews and a lot of people slag the film for being too vague and for leaving out too many bands but you can only fit so much in in a 2 hour film. I was surprised they left out Bad Religion even though they spoke with Brett Gurewitz, Brian Baker and Greg Hetson. (Baker and Hetson were in other influential bands before they joined BR.)

It's very well done, no narrator as they let those who lived it tell the story. Some of the violence is shocking and the political backlash is very present. I really liked it and look forward to watching it again and maybe checking out some of the more featured bands.

Gene Simmons Family Jewels

Its a pretty fun show but I'm sure its just as contrived as Hogan Knows Best.

But Gene makes me laugh so all I forgiven.

Nevermind

So I was thinking today that it seemed a little early for bands to be releasing Nirvana covers from "Nevermind."

Then I took a look and realized the fucking record came out sixteen years ago! Where does the time go....

There are 15 year old kids that work in my store that weren't born when "Nevermind" was released.

Quote of the Day

"Bond girls give me wood." - Tyler Lewis.

Blog

So I'm thinking of starting a 2nd blog just for videos. Good idea?

BBB's Notebook: WWE Royal Rumble 1988 Thoughts

Its Box Set time kids! I'm too lazy to do a full review, and I want to sit back and enjoy but here's the bullet points.

-Crowd is hot!

-The broad with the megaphone in the front row needs to die.

-Whats with the scar on Steamboats face?

-Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude was an excellent match.

-The Dino Bravo bench press segment is horrible. Mean Gene had to keep reminding the crowd Bravo wanted quiet to get heat.

-The Jumping Bomb Angels vs. The Glamour Girls was surprisingly good. Quite funny that Vince got the Angels names just in time for the third fall.

-Loved the old footage of DiBiase trying to buy the belt from Hogan.

-The Hogan/Andre contract signing was all kinds of old cheesy goodness. DiBiase is hugely underrated.

-Fuck, I really thought Brunzell was gonna win.

-Ventura is GOLD. I hated him so much when I was a kid.

-Duggan wins! Where's his title shot!? Hacksaw vs. Cena WrestleMania 23.

-The Young Stallions and The Islanders as the main event?

-Man, the building cleared out fast!

-Awesome show, a lot of fun.

Sanjaya Malakar Makes Girls Cry

What!?

Word is that Paul McCartney sent Heather Mills flowers for her opening night on Dancing with the Stars. What the fuck is that all about?

I'm Stoked!!

I got a (perfectly legal.....) Copy of Nero from Tyler and I tested it by downloading the episode of Greys Anatomy that Chantal missed and I burned it and it works on the dvd player.

SO.... I downloaded the last 5 episodes of WSX from bit torrent last night and I am now burning them. I'm excited to finally see this shit.

And the calls are coming in from Stern listeners that voted for Sanjaya.... Apparently "dialidol.com" is saying he got solid votes from California, Texas and New Jersey. But there is talk that there is fine print in the Idol rules that they can basically ignore votes and do whatever they want. Tonight will be interesting.

So I have decided....

That the iPod is the second greatest invention ever, behind the Satelite Radio.

I have grown quite fond of my little 4 GB pink mini and I'm looking forward to getting a nice big fat 80 GB that I can load up with all my tunes.

Wow

Baby Quinn is so adorable. Baby and mom are doing fine which is awesome. Logan on the other hand is having a rough stretch but he's going to be good as new (which he is!) In no time.

BBB's Notebook: ECW on Global 03/16/07

I keep forgetting to record the ECW show so I'm a little out of the loop but hey, how hard could it be to catch up. Let's get this shit over with.

Show opens with Randy Orton yelling at Edge because he has to face Lashley tonight.

New opening video.

We are live in Trenton New Jersey. Joey Styles and Tazz have the call.

The New Breed make their way to the ring for....

Over the top rope battle royal. Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von, Kevin Thorn, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer - Everyone pairs off early. Striker eliminates Sandman. Sabu and RVD eliminate Cor Von. Thorn eliminates Sabu. Nice sunset flip powerbomb by RVD on Striker. Van Dam eliminates himself and Kevin Thorn witha cross body. Tommy is alone with Burke and Striker. Dreamer fights his way out of a corner and eliminates Striker. Burke jumps him from behind. Burke dropkicks Tommy off the top rope but Dreamer hangs on to avoid hitting the floor, Burke puts the boots to Tommy but he won't fall and Dreamer eliminates Burke for the win. All the originals celebrate with Dreamer in the ring. Mick Foleys music hits and he heads to the ring. Commercial break.

Back from commercial, Foley has the mic and says people think he's there for a cheap pop and a book plug and they are right. But he's also here to talk about WrestleMania. Foley says he sold out at ONS 2. He says he's proud of his book. He says everyone should buy it including Tommy Dreamer. Foley says his pop isn't like it used to be because of ONS because he shined the spotlight on Dreamer. Foley says he will be at WrestleMania hiding in the upper deck. He says he will chant ECW with all the fans. Awesome promo, I'll try and put it up ASAP. Snitsky video. Commercial break.

Kellys Expose. Dancing broads, but Snitskys (awesome new) music hits and he hits the ring and the Nitro Girls bail.

Snitsky vs. Michael Deacon and Danny Jacks - He dispatches one to the floor, Big boots the other one and its over before it started. He is an ugly motherfucker.

Backstage CM Punk is taping up when Elijah Burke approaches and says he went about it wrong when he asked Punk to join the New Breed. He says he has a better chance of winning Money in the Bank with the New Breed in his corner. Commercial.

Battle of the Billionaires promo video.

Bobby Lashley vs. Randy Orton - Edges music hits and he makes his way to ringside. Orton takes the advantage early, choking him on the middle rope but Lashley fights back and Orton powders. Commercial. Back from commercial, Orton has Lashley in a Boston Crab. Lashley struggles to the ropes and Orton unleashed the Garvin Stomp. Lashley gets up and hits Orton with an ugly backdrop but Orton holds on the the offense. Orton goes for the RKO but Lashley shrugs him off. Edge tries to interfere but gets caught by the ref and banished from ringside. Hmmm a little fishy. Orton is pissed and Edge has a shit eating grin as he walks to the back. Commercial break. Back from the break, they battle on the floor with Orton using the ring steps. Orton hits a vertical suplex on the floor. Back in the ring Orton gets a 2 count. Orton once again stomps all over Lashley and drops a big knee for another 2 count. "Sanjaya Sucks" sign in the crowd, too funny. Orton reapplies the Boston Crab and this match is really starting to suck. Orton uses the top rope for leverage. Lashley grabs to bottome rope to break the hold. Boring chants from the crowd. Lashley avoids a charge from Orton and he hits the ringpost shoulder first. Lashley shoulder blocks Orton in the corner more then once and gets a 2 count. Lashley beats down Orton in the corner and hits a powerslam for the pin and the win. Vinces music hits and out he comes looking pissed. Nice suit though.

Main event was weak but this show beat the shit out of this weeks TNA Impact.

BBB's Notebook: TNA Impact 03/15/07

Show opens with clips of Sundays.... Stellar pay per view. Sure made that piece of shit look good.

To the ring, Jim Cornette is in the 6 sides of steel. He announces a 10 man lethat lockdown as the main event for Lockdown. He introduces the team captains. Out first in Christian Cage. The captain of team two is Kurt Angle. Christian says he doesn't like the sound of this match. Corny basically says tough shit and on with the show.

TNA iMPACT! Opening.

Mike Tenay and Don West are at the desk and they go over tonights program.

AJ Styles music hits and he hobbles to the ring on a crutch wearing a neckbrace. He says the doctors are saying his neck and back will never be the same. Says he can't put food on the table for his kids. He says Rhino is going to come out and call his wife and tell her he won't be bringing home a check. Rhino makes his way to the ring. He says he might have already called her and he may knock the crap out of him again. Styles says he wants this to be over. Rhino yells a lot and says its over. And they shake hands. Styles tries to blindside Rhino with the crutch but he catches him but Styles nails a low blow and beats him down with the crutch. Commercial time, including a Shaw WrestleMania ad.

Lockdown ad.

Back from commercial Rhino is fighting back but Christian shows up and jumps Rhino with another crutch but Angle and Joe hit the ring and its a standoff, but Cage scampers over the cage to safety.

Backstage JB is with LAX and Alex Shelly. Shelly says crackalate and Konnan spouts some confusin shit I didn't understand. He says LAX will whip 3Ds asses tonight. Commercial time again.

Back, Kevin Nash is in the ring with Sonjay Dutt. Backstage Chris Sabin is playing PS2. Sabin says he is the god of wrestling. Bob Backlund interrupts and asks why they are being exclusionary. Backlund freaks out on Borash for interrupting his training.

Back to the ring, Nash serenades Jal Lethal with Macho Mans music and out comes Lethal. He hams it up on his way to the ring.

Kaz vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Jay Lethal - 25 minutes into the fucking show, about time for a match. Lethat gets caught in a neckbreaker for a 2. Lynn slides in and attacks Kaz and hits an inverted ddt. Nice roll up/suplex by Kazarian on both men Lethal hits the "Lethal Combo" on Kaz for the win. Chris Daniels hots the ring and clubs all 3 with a baseball bat. Last rites for Jerry Lynn. Hate the face pain.

JB is backstage with Styles and Cage. Cage says AJ is the first member of his team for Lockdown. Styles says Cage promised him a title shot if he was on his team. Commercial.

LAX and Alex Shelly head to the ring.....

LAX and Alex Shelly vs. Team 3D and Brother Runt - Hernandex clubs down Dvon to start. Dvon hits a Thesz press to retaliate. LAX target Rays taped arm, Homicide stretches it on the top rope but Ray cathes him in a side slam for a 2. Runt tags in and hits a big double stomp from the top. Commercial break. Back from ad break Shelly and Hernandez each hit huge splashes on Runt from the top. Dvon takes out all 3 members of LAX, Shelly trys to escape the ring but Ray stops him. Dvon nails Shelly with a powerslam. Hernandez throws Runt at Jonny Rodz. 3D hit the wassup spot. Get the table! Rodz helps Dvon get the table in the ring. They hit 3D on Shelly. Ref is distracted and Hernandez rolls up Dvon for the win. Konnan takes the mic and says next LAX will take 3Ds legacy, whatever that meand.

Backstage Seotonin and Raven argue. Raven says they are entering an adventure in pain. He wants to inflict psychological damage. Raven tells Shane to hit Kaz but he says no. He tells Devine to do it and he says no. Raven says he will help them whether they like it or not. Commercial.

Back, JB is in the loo with Eric Young who is cleaning the toilets. Young says he needs to get out of the contract. Borash tells Young to call his friend. Robert Roode sends JB away and then berates Young.

Back in the ring, Christian and AJ adress the fans. Cage introduces Abyss as the third member of his team. Abyss is hesitant to enter the ring, Stings music hits. He stands atop the ramp and tells Christian Abyss doesn't want to be on his team. He says Abyss is a new man. Christian says Sting doesn't care about Abyss. Cornette comes out and says next week Styles and Cage will face Sting and Abyss. Sting wants to do it now and all 4 brawl in the ring to end the (shitty) show.

And....

The latest Hot Hot Heat is quite good as well.

It's Official

Silversun Pickups gets the big thumbs up.

Quote of the Day

"There's nothing on my horizon but everything" - Dwight Schrute

Quote of the Day

"Time to play hide and go die." - The Sexy Alien Fiancee Left at the Altar.

BBB's Notebook: Kaiju Big Battel "Shocking Truth"

I've been after a Kaiju dvd for quite some time so when I came across one I was quite excited but it wasn't really what I expected.

The feature explained quickly what Kaiju is and then it launched into a long and sometimes hard to follow storyline that it looks like I came in right in the middle.

I expected less story and more "matches" (or battels as they call them.)

That being said, Dr. Cube and Potato and Hell Monkey etc are all pretty funny and entertaining and if I came across another dvd I'm pretty sure I'd pick it up.

In the dvd extras there are some battels from their live shows so maybe I'll get what I'm looking for there as I haven't watched them yet.

It's Here!

We got in the Royal Rumble Anthology on our truck last night. I put mine aside and touched and fondled it...

Oh shit, did I say that out loud?

3BTV

Sting vs. Abyss
3BTV

The best-worst match ever. That ppv was bad.... Really bad....

Old News

Fuck I hate Goldberg.

Rock your teeth clean

Rock your teeth clean – and encourage better brushing habits! – with this exciting toothbrush that lets you hear one of your favorite songs while you brush! Sound vibrations stream from the bristles through your teeth – so you can actually hear music inside your head! To increase the volume, simply increase your brushing pressure! If you brush well, you get great sound and you’ll actually hear two full minutes of “Rock & Roll All Night” by the rock group Kiss!

I can't decide if this is brilliance or the dumbest thing I have ever seen.... Either way, I want one!

Positive and Negative

I never went to see Sloan last year when they were here because I'm an idiot. Now I get a second chance, but there is a catch.

We are happy to announce that Sloan have been selected to play with The Police at their upcoming tour stop in Edmonton. The June 2nd show at Commonwealth Stadium will be among the first stops on The Police's first tour in 23 years! Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

Thats some serious cash but would probably be an amazing show.

Tee Hee

Its too funny looking at Dustin in his little blue shirt cruising around the computer department.....

What!?

How does this Sanjaya or Sonjayi fuck keep getting through?

And I'm quite looking forward to the "Idol depresses the fuck out of you" segment every week.

Oh yeah, Antonella.... You suck.

And the Flames lost too.... Fuck...

Videos

To the right in the links section there is a link to my section on DailyMotion.com. Check back because I'll be adding videos I make all the time.

April 7

Huh?

Mark McGrath is hosting "The Next Pussycat Doll?"

What a douche.

A Very Special 3BTV

One of the reason I wanted a new computer (other then the fact that the old one is a piece of shit) was that I wanted to start putting some videos on the web from my collection of wrestling (and other stuff.) I have now figired it out and I'm pretty excited. Without any further adieu, I present.... Douchebag.

3BTV

Here we go again

Big Brother 8 is officially a go.. that's right, everyone's favorite guilty pleasure will be back this summer.

This time the show will be produced by Allison Grodner Productions, with Allison and Rich Meehan returning as co-exec producers.. Arnold Shapiro's new title will be executive consultant, so we can ass-ume he'll be less than involved.

Allison said "We consider 'All-Stars' sort of the end of an era".. she can't really come out and say it tanked as a concept, but this gives some hope for the new regime, however she went on to use the dreaded T-word: "We're getting a chance to start once again with a fresh cast and new twists."

Gluttons for punishment can apply now for the 2007 season.. semi-finalist interviews will be held in May or June.. be sure to read the rules, especially the part that says you must be in "excellent mental health."

Julie Chen will be back in place in her boudoir for live show Thursdays.

Thanks to Hamsterwatch for the details.

Breakfast

McDonald's breakfast burritos are actually pretty tasty.

Awesome

PWA 6

Am I happy with what went down at NAIT on Friday? Absolutely not. I listened to Drew Dalby yammer on about his 'client' like he's the hair club for men..... We had enough of his verbal feces and decided to call him on it. And again, we get screwed..... Our opponent cheats and we lose. I'm tired of this. Sick and tired.

On the other hand, I am very happy about the talent that are on their way to the PWA. Wouldn't mind trying to acquire one of them....

The Pod and the PC

So some cool new stuff has arrived. Last week I got a new computer. It's a Compaq, 200 Gig hard drive and a bunch more bells and whistles that I don't understand. It's a bit of a culture shock going from Windows 98 to XP.

Also, I got Chantal a new 30 gig iPod so I have inherited her old one. It's a 4 gig mini... and it's pink. At first I was a little unsettled having a pink iPod but now I think it's kick-ass. And now that I actually have a decent computer I can run itunes so it's all good. I've loaded all the new cd's I've purchased over the past few months and I'm around 1.4 gigs. Now comes the hard part of going through my 500+ cd's and seeing what makes the cut for the remaining space. I want a 30, or an 80 really bad!

This morning

What's on the cover of both Sports sections this morning? A recap of the Oilers loss last night? No.

A recap of the Islanders game. Fucking pathetic. Get over it Edmonton, this is getting sad.

Oh god....

....Please kill Kellie Pickler.

BBB's Notebook: RAW Thoughts 02/26/07

-Loved the Shawn heel turn video package.

-Shelton Benjamin is an amazing athlete, but that fall off the ropes was ugly. Hate to see that.

-"if my aunt grew a set of testicles, she'd be my uncle." Brilliant.

-Lashley with Trump. This will make the next few weeks of ECW tv a little shittier.

-Fuck I hate Khali.

-JR's Skittles shil was awesome!

-Lawler in the HoF? Cool.

-I can't decide if Kenny and Carlito was good or not. They gave it a pretty fair amount of time.

Strike

Damn, Parkland school district talk have broken down. I want my boy back to school!

BBB's Notebook: ECW on Global 02/23/07

Mike Awesome tribute graphic.

Show opens with clips of Lashley vs. Kennedy.

Tonights main event will be Lashley vs. Kennedy vs. Hardcore Holly.

Flooooooooooooor!!!!

We are live from San Diego, Joey and Tazz in the booth.

Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Marcus Cor Von and Kevin Thorn all head to the ring. Burke says pure skills beat the ECW originals last week. Striker says tonight they will teach the originals another lesson and any one of them can beat any original. They choose Kevin Thorn. Out come Tommy, Sandman, RVD and Sabu. They decide RVD will compete.

Rob Van Dam vs. Kevin Thorn - Thorn muscles Van Dam early, but RVD uses kicks to knock him to the floor. Nice plancha. The new breed jump Van Dam on the floor and chaos ensues. Everyone brawls.

Commercial.

Back from commercial Thron has the advantage in the ring. Everyone else has been banished to the back. RVD hits a spinning heel kick and both are down. Back up and trading punches and RVD wins. Arian has huge boobs. More kicks from Van Dam. Cross body for a 2. Van Dam hits the 5 star for the win. Watchable but nothing special.

Snitsky vingette.

Money in the Bank qualifier - CM Punk vs. Johnny Nitro - Melina has her new belt. Headlock takeover by Punk. Nice heel kick by Punk for a 2. Nitro hits a nice sprngboard kick of his own. The advantage changes hands many times. Punk takes over with knee strikes. Double underhook backbreaker for 2. Nitro hits a kick in the ropes after Melina distracts Punk. Nitro misses a corkscrew moonsault off the top and Punk drops Nitro on his knee for the pin. Pretty decent match. Punk is going to WrestleMania.

Rebecca is in the back with Mr. Kennedy. Holly interrupts him and says ECW is Hollys world.

La Resistance vs. Los Luchas (who the fuck??) - They jump the Luchas and take it to them. And after a double team neck breaker it's over. Lame.

After the match Snitsky hits the ring to kick Lucha ass. He is an ugly fucker, and the sad thing is that it isn't his fault.

Lashley sob story vingette.

Kellys expose. 3 broads dance. Yay.

Tazz and Styles plug Hennigs HoF induction.

Lashley vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Hardcore Holly - Kennedy and Lashley brawl early. Lashley fights back and takes it to his 2 opponents, but runs shoulder first into the ringpost. Kennedy takes it to him with nice boot scrapes. Lashley battles back with a belly to belly on Holly. Kennedy pulls Lashley to the floor but gets tossed into the steps. Holly hits the floor and tosses Lashley back into the ring and locks on a chinlock. Lashley backs him into the corner and takes on both men but gets caught in a snake eyes, and then Holly uses a chair. Holly hits the Alabama Slam but Kennedy pulls out the ref and low blows Holly. Kennedy tries to hit Lashley with a chair but hits Holly, Lashley hits Kennedy with the powerslam for the pin and the victory. Not bad but nothing special again.

BBB's Notebook: Beside You in Time - Nine Inch Nails Live

I don't really know what to say about this other then it was incredible. The last live dvd (And All That Could Have Been) was awesome but this one is that much better because I got to see a show on this tour.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge NIN fan and had been waiting to see them live for many many years. Now with this dvd I can relive it. The music of "Right Where it Belongs" coupled with the visuals that were cast on the curtain is something I don't think I will ever forget.

Moks, you pick this up yet? Its fantastic. Also, I need you to email me your cell number again.

Enough already

All this Ryan Smith whining is seriously starting to fucking annoy me.

There are some facts that people are missing in my opinion. All the people who think "we got nothing for him" need to realize that no team is going to cough up too much for a player who is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Its just not logical.

And second of all, Ryan Smyth is just as much of a villain here and Kevin Lowe and the Edmonton Oilers. If the 2 offers were only separated by a few hundred grand, why the fuck can't he sign and play here for the Oilers offer. Does anyone question his loyalty to his team when he could have signed for what off he was given? No, but they should.

Anyway, just my $0.02 but what do I know....

BBB's Notebook: WrestleMania XV

World Hardcore Title Match (Triangle Match): Bob Holly defeated Al Snow and Billy Gunn (7:06) - Standard-issue WWE Hardcore title match which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

World Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett defeated D-Lo Brown and Test (3:58) - Pretty short, not much to say.

Brawl for All Match: Butterbean Knocks Out Bart Gunn (0:35 - 1st Rnd) in a "brawl for all" match - So fucking good I can't even tell you. If you've never seen it, have a look.

Mankind defeated Paul Wight (6:50) by Disqualification - Show's forst WM, he beat down Mick quite well....

Intercontinental Heavyweight Title Match (Four Corners Match): Jesse James defeated Goldust, Ken Shamrock, and Val Venis (9:47) - Not a bad little match.

Kane defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (11:33) by Disqualification - Nothing special, Chyna interferes for the dq and a emotional return to dX. Blah.

World Womens' Title Match: Sable pinned Tori (5:06) to retain the title - Fucking garbge, I know... shocking.

European Heavyweight Title Match: Shane McMahon pinned X-Pac (8:41) to retain the title - HHH turns heel and joins the Coporation. Shane O' Mac is fun.

Hell in a Cell Match: The Undertaker pinned Big Boss Man (9:46) - Pretty shitty match and the hanging at the end was kinda lame.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Steve Austin pinned Rocky Maivia (16:52) - First of 2 really solid matches at WrestleMania for these 2, Well done.

Ryan Smyth

So Ryan Smyth is no longer an Edmonton Oiler. I'm sure there wil be a pretty huge backlash on the way.

He is a free agent, I wonder if there are rules against him re-signing with the Oil in the summer. I could be mistaken but I think there is a rule that a player has to be away for a year before he returns to a previous team.

It will be an emotional night at Rexall tonight.

Oh yeah!

Now I remember what it was. The XWF "lost episodes" or something like that. Its gonna suck, I can't wait!

Update

For those who are concerned about my life (however few there may be...) I am no longer at WCB but back at Best Buy.

They came to me and made me a pretty good offer to return and I decided to take it, so I'm back in the saddle again.

And the blackberry is back so you can expect more long-winded boring dvd and show reviews... Yay.

Watched "the breakup" the other day. It was decent, nothing overly great but I loved the ending. I expected a Hollywood 'they get back together' kind of ending but it never happened which was very refreshing.

Picked up some new dvd's over the past couple of days, excited about the new NIN live dvd and the Tenacious D movie came out today as well.

Yesterday I picked up a Kaiju dvd I've been looking for forever as well as a disc called "WWE unauthorized" which I'm sure will be all kinds of goodness. Also finally snagged the Silversun Pickups record. I bought something else as well but my memory fails me. I'm sure I'll remember later. Anyway, that's the latest.

BBB's Notebook: WrestleMania XIV

Tag Team Battle Royal: LOD 2000 (Hawk and Aniaml) won a "tag team battle royal" (8:19). The other teams in the match were: Savio Vega and Miguel Perez, Recon and Sniper, Chainz and Bradshaw, D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry, The Quebecers (Pierre and Jacques), The Rock-n-Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), Jesus Castillo and Jose Estrada, The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher), Too Much (Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher), Steve Blackman and Flash Funk, The Godwinns (Henry and Phinneaus), DOA (Skull and Eight Ball), Farooq and Kama, and New Midnight Express (Bob Holly and Bart Gunn) - It was a battle royal, what can I say. I hated LOD 2000 and I hated Sunny's outfit.

World Light-Heavyweight Title Match: Taka Michinoku pinned Aguila (5:57) - I totally forgot about this match.... They put together a entertaining little 6 minute bout.

European Heavyweight Title Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Owen Hart (11:29) - Slaughter was handcuffed to Chyna who managed to interfere and cost Owen the match, decent match.

Mixed Tag Team Match: Marc Mero and Sable defeated Goldust and Luna (9:11) - Horrible as I'm sure you can imagine.

Intercontinental Heavyweight Title Match: Rocky Maivia defeated Ken Shamrock (4:49) by Disqualification. - Short but really tried to get Shamrock over as a loose cannon who can snap at a moments notice.

World Tag Team Title Match (Dumpster Match): Terry Funk and Cactus Jack defeated The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Jesse James) (10:01) - This was pretty fun to watch as they brawled all over the building. The legends won after a forklift came into play.

The Undertaker pinned Kane (16:58) - Nothing really special even though this was their first match against each other. As Randy Jackson would say, it was just ok.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Steve Austin pinned Shawn Michaels (20:02) - The drama was fairly compelling. Everyone knew Shawn was leaving and everyone knew he was hurting so it was great to watch him and Austin still put on a tremendous match.

A pretty underrated WM.

Surprise!

Guns N Roses album not ready yet
Axl's release is pushed back yet again

The release date for the new Guns N Roses album 'Chinese Democracy' has been pushed back yet again.Despite announcing March 6 as the release date, the band have are now saying the album is not running on schedule and they have no official date set for its release.

A post on the band's official site said: "After some delays and scheduling difficulties, things appear to be moving along."The message said the album is recorded and is currently in the mixing stages.The LP will be the first release from the band since 1993's covers album 'The Spaghetti Incident?', although the only original member remaining is frontman Axl Rose.

The band are set to play shows in South Africa in April and May. --By our New York staff.

Well I am shocked and dismayed by this new development-I didn't see it coming at all!!

3BTV

3BTV

Wow

Rumor has it Trent Reznor is leaking Year Zero tracks by leaving USB drives in bathrooms at shows. If it's true it's fucking brilliant.

Coyotes down Flames 3-2 in overtime

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -Shane Doan scored 54 seconds into overtime to lift Phoenix past the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Thursday night and snap the Coyotes' six-game losing streak.

Jerome Iginla attempted to bat the puck to a teammate as he exited the Flames' zone, but the puck bounced onto Keith Ballard's stick to start a 3-on-1 break. Ballard fed the puck to Doan, who wound up from the left faceoff circle and tucked the puck inside the far post.

Oleg Saprykin and Steven Reinprecht also scored for the Coyotes, who won for the first time in three games against the Flames.

Alex Tanguay and Stephane Yelle scored for the Flames, who have lost seven straight on the road - and seven of nine overall.

Reinprecht tied it at 2-2 with 4:50 remaining when he tipped a Nick Boynton shot from the blue line past Miikka Kiprusoff's right arm.

Yelle broke a 1-1 tie with 11:46 remaining when he redirected Robyn Regehr's blast from the left point past Mikael Tellqvist for his second goal in three games.

Tellqvist stopped a breakaway attempt by Tanguay minutes earlier, his second save on a Calgary breakaway in the game.

Tanguay gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 14:56 of the first period when he took a pass from Tony Amonte on the left edge of the crease and scored into the open left side of the net.

The Coyotes tied it late in the second period in bizarre fashion. Saprykin, standing on the goal line along the near boards, fired the puck at the crease. The puck deflected off Kiprusoff's right shoulder and into the net, where it became lodged behind the upper support bar at the back of the net.

Players searched for an additional couple of seconds before the referee blew the play dead with 2:11 left in the period. The puck only was located after fans sitting behind the Calgary goal repeatedly shouted its location.

Saprykin wasn't awarded his 14th goal until after a four-minute video review, which also saw 2 seconds added back onto the clock.

OK, this is starting to suck, they make a couple of moves and then go in the tank. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Off with their Heads!!

On the way to work this morning we were listening to The Bear in the car and they played one of Richard Christies prank phone calls from the Howard Stern Show. Now, I seem to remember when I was rebroadcasting the Stern show on Shoutcast I was sent a letter from Sirius' lawyers and had my Shoutcast shut down.

So, I am calling for The Bears broadcast liscence to be revoked. And hey, if all they have to offer is re-broadcasting Stern in lieu of their own ideas then maybe it's for the best.

Join me! (Although I know you won't.)

BBB's Notebook: WrestleMania XIII

Four Corners Tag Team Match: The Headbangers (Mosh and Thrasher) defeated The New Blackjacks (Bradshaw and Windham), The Godwinns (Phinneaus and Henry), and Phil Lafon & Doug Furnas (10:39) - It was kinda... blah.

Intercontinental Heavyweight Title Match: Rocky Maivia pinned the Sultan (9:45) - Rocky was very white-bread. Rocky Johnson made the save after the match during a Sultan/Iron Sheik beatdown.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley pinned Goldust (14:28) - Not a bad match, HHH gets the win after Chyna distracts 'Dust by giving Marlena shaken baby syndrome.

World Tag Team Title Match: Owen Hart and Davey Smith fought to a Double Count Out with Vader and Mankind (16:08) - Slept through it. SleepaMania 13!

Submission Match: Bret Hart defeated Steve Austin (22:05) - This one's a classic in the vein of Shawn and Bret the year before and did the successful double-turn.

Chicago Street Fight Match: The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) and Ahmed Johnson defeated Nation of Domination (Farooq, Crush, and Savio Vega) (10:45) - Pretty fun brawl, LOD were way over in their homwtown.

World Heavyweight Title Match: The Undertaker pinned Sycho Sid (21:19) - fuck, how good could it be??

WrestleMania

I guess this pretty much says it all....

3BTV

3BTV

Little known fact #4352: Baby Corn can be an issue

Mike Awesome dead at 41

Mike Alfonso was born on January 24, 1965 in Tampa, Florida. Mike grew up in Florida being a big fan of the CWF promotion. He was a big fan of Terry Funk and Jack Brisco while growing up. He played high school football but when he went to the University of South Florida he ended up getting into construction work because the college did not have a football team. Both Mike and his cousin Horace decided to get into the wrestling business on December 25, 1987 and began to be trained by Steve Keirn after seeing an advertisement for his wrestling. Mike Alfonso made his debut as Mike Awesome for the PWF promotion on February 26, 1989 teaming with Wayne Sawyer losing to the Star Riders.

Mike Awesome and Steve Keirn together traveled to Memphis to wrestle for Jerry Lawler's CWA promotion. He challenged Jerry Lawler for the promotions main title but never came away with the title.Mike was then contacted by FMW to go to Japan after Al Greene who was originally was suppose to be The Gladiator decided to go to WCW instead. Mike accepted the offer and made his debut for FMW on September 20, 1990. Onita loved The Gladiator and how impressive Mike was and decided to bring him in multiple times for 1991 and became one of the top heels of the promotion. He originally joined Mr. Pogo and Victor Quinones' Puerto Rican Army to feud with Atsushi Onita and the rest of FMW team in many main event barbed wire streets that went all over the building. After Mr. Pogo left FMW in 1991 then The Gladiator would soon join up with the next brand new top heel stable in The Sheik Army that consisted of The Sheik, The Gladiator, Tiger Jeet Singh, Tiger Jeet Singh, Jr. (Tiger Ali Singh), Horace Boulder, Big Titan and Damian.

The Gladiator made his Kawasaki Stadium debut on September 23, 1991 teaming with Big Titan to defeat Ricky Fuji and Sambo Asako after Titan knocked out Ricky Fuji.While going from city to city in Japan on the heel bus Damian would bring in many tapes of Lucha Libre matches to watch on the bus while traveling. Mike would see many of the spectacular moves that the Lucha stars were doing and felt he even at 6'6 could do those same moves using the top rope. The Gladiator began to adapt new moves that set him apart from any other big man in the business for the next 8 years as he was one of the few big men that could come off from the top turnbuckle. After Atsushi Onita defeated The Sheik on January 18, 1993 for The Sheik's old United States Heavyweight Championship title The Sheik and Sabu turned babyface and began teaming with Atsushi Onita. The Gladiator, Big Titan, and Horace Boulder did not stay with The Sheik after that and the three formed a group with Ricky Fuji, Dr. Luther, and Hannibal Lector called "Team Canada".

Team Canada remained the top heel stable for most of 1993 as The Gladiator would team with Big Titan and Ricky Fuji to defeat Tarzan Goto, Katsuji Ueda, and The Great Punk on May 5, 1993 at Kawasaki Stadium in a Barbed wire Street Fight after Ricky would pin Punk. Mr. Pogo would eventually return to FMW in 1993 and take over leadership of the group. The Gladiator and Big Titan would suffer their first loss at a Stadium show on August 22, 1993 at the Osaka Hyago Nishnomiya Stadium after Mr. Gannosuke and Sambo Asako would defeat them after Gannosuke would score the upset pinfall over The Gladiator. Mike would become very good friends with Sabu while touring with him in FMW and after Sabu would begin working for the ECW promotion in the Fall of 1993 between FMW tours he would help get Mike booked for some shows. Mike Awesome made his debut for ECW at the ECW Arena on December 26, 1993 for the Holiday Hell '93 show where he defeated Randy Starr.

He would also make a big impact for the February 5, 1994 ECW Arena show called "The Night the Line was Crossed" after facing J.T. Smith. Awesome would end up doing a suicide dive over the top rope sending the back of J.T. Smith's neck into the guard rail in a gruesome spot. Mike would ended up being quickly rolled up by Smith afterwards, but Mike would not be done attacking J.T. after the match and setting him up for an Awesome Splash that would end up breaking the top rope during the dive. Mike would continue touring for FMW through 1994 and would team with Ricky Fuji and The Big Titan on May 5, 1994 at Kawasaki Stadium against WAR's team of Hiromichi Fuyuki, Jado, and Gedo. A miscommunication between The Gladiator and Big Titan during the match would see a shoving match between the two with Ricky trying to play peacemaker. The Gladiator would have none of it and end up pinning Gedo before walking away from his team mates.

The Gladiator would end up leaving Team Canada along with Mr. Pogo to form a new heel group along with Goro Tsurumi, Hisakatsu Oya, and Hideki Hosaka. The group would eventually become known as W*ING after Mitsuhiro Matsunaga and Yukihiro Kanemura would join the group. The W*ING group would continue to feud with Atsushi Onita and FMW until Atsushi Onita's Retirement on May 5, 1995 at Kawasaki Stadium. Mike would end teaming with Horace Boulder to lose to Katsutoshi Niiyama and Masato Tanaka after Niiyama would pin Boulder in a match that would see all four men all over the stadium in front of over 58,000 fans. Later in the show, Mr. Pogo would seperate himself from the W*ING group and with The Gladiator, Horace Boulder, Ricky Fuji, and Hisakatsu Oya form the "Lethal Weapon" group.After Onita's retirement, the FMW promotion would no longer focus on Death Matches and with Hayabusa as the new ace of the promotion would focus on wrestling ability. Since Mr. Pogo who had always been the number one heel during his time in FMW could not be that type of wrestler that would fit Hayabusa's style it was decided that The Gladiator would become the number one heel in the promotion after almost five years with the company. Hayabusa and The Gladiator had planned out many of their matches while Hayabusa stayed at Mike's house in Tampa earlier in the year knowing they would be the two top guys after Onita's retirement. Awesome and Hayabusa ended bringing out the very best in each others matches as they would both battle for the FMW Brass Knuckles Title in the FMW Grand Slam Tournament.

The Gladiator would end up winning the Grand Slam Tournament for the FMW Brass Knuckles Title against Hayabusa in the finals on September 26, 1995. The Gladiator was now finally held a promotions top title for the first time in his career. But due to his highflying style for a man his size, he would end up suffering knee problems and be needed to taken some time off. The Gladiator's partner Hisakatsu Oya would end up defending The Gladiator's title on February 23, 1996 but would end up losing it for him as Super Leather was now the FMW Brass Knuckles Champion. The Gladiator would have his shot to win back his title on March 15, 1996 at the Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center but the knee injury would still be too much to overcome as Super Leather would focus on it the entire match and successfully defend his title. The Gladiator would team up with Horace Boulder and Hisakatsu Oya to face the team of Super Leather and The Headhunters for the newly created FMW 6 Man Street Fight Tag Team Titles on May 5, 1996 at Kawasaki City that would see Super Leather scoring the pinfall over Horace Boulder for the titles.The Gladiator would end up coming back strong at the end of the month and defeating Super Leather on May 27, 1996 at the Fukouka Hakata Star Lanes for the FMW Brass Knuckles Title by defeating Super Leather with a Kamikaze Awesome Bomb.

The Gladiator and Horace Boulder would end up leaving Lethal Weapon after attacking Ricky Fuji in a tag team match with him. Later that month he would join up with Terry Funk and his new Funk Masters of Wrestling stable that consisted of mostly foreigners. He would team up with Terry Funk to defeat the team of Hayabusa and Masato Tanaka on September 24, 1996 after The Gladiator would pin Masato Tanaka with an Awesome Bomb.The Gladiator would then put up his Brass Knuckles Title on the line for W*ING Kanemura's newly formed Independent Heavyweight Title on December 11, 1996 with the winner becoming the first ever FMW Double Titles Champion. The Gladiator would end up finishing Kanemura off with an Awesome Bomb and walking out of the show the holder of the top two titles in FMW. Atsushi Onita would end up coming out of retirement on the show that would eventually set up The Gladiator teaming with Terry Funk and Cactus Jack against Onita, W*ING Kanemura, and Masato Tanaka on April 29, 1997 at the Yokohama Arena with Kanemura getting some revenge on The Gladiator by pinning him on the show.Although having already defended both his titles against him earlier in the year, Masato Tanaka would earn another shot at The Gladiator's Double Titles on September 28, 1997 at Kawasaki Stadium. It would turn out to be the best Stadium match of The Gladiator's FMW career as he would end up being picked up and Awesome Bomb'd himself by Tanaka outside the ring through a table. Tanaka would then finish The Gladiator off with a Tornado DDT to finally defeat The Gladiator and walk away with The Gladiator's Double Titles pretty much ending The Gladiator's two year run as a top guy in the company.

The Funk Masters of Wrestling would soon come to an end and The Gladiator would join up with Atsushi Onita's newly formed heel group ZEN. Although The Gladiator was no longer a focal man in a group like he had been like for so many other groups, and not only that but the group would turn face just three months after its creation of being the top heel group in the promotion.He would enter into an eight man single elimination tournament for the FMW Double Titles and would reach the finals after defeating Hisakatsu Oya and Yukihiro Kanemura but would end up losing to Hayabusa in the finals of the tournament on March 17, 1998.The Gladiator's last big show FMW match would take place on April 30, 1998 at the Yokohama Bunka Gym teaming with Tetsuhiro Kuroda against the top heel group members of Super Leather and Horace Boulder with Boulder getting the victory over Kuroda on the show. He would then make his Tokyo Dome debut teaming up with fellow ZEN partners Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hideki Hosaka against Akira Taue, Takao Omori, and Masao Inoue on May 1, 1998 with Taue getting the pinfall victory over Hosaka. ZEN would end up disbanding later that week and The Gladiator would proclaim himself a free agent.

He would wrestle singles matches against the likes of Yukihiro Kanemura, Jado, Ricky Fuji, and Super Leather. He would begin to be used in FMW's new talent exchange with ECW. He would wrestle in between tours of FMW for ECW but this time outside of just the ECW Arena and actually have a set feud with Masato Tanaka.Mike Awesome would make his American Pay Per View debut on August 2, 1998 against Masato Tanaka for the Heatwave '98 show in Dayton, Ohio. They would end up using many of the spots they had used the year prior for their Kawasaki Stadium match including Tanaka throwing Awesome outside over the top rope through the table before defeating Awesome in the best match of a very good show.

Although his stock in America had just gone up, he was about to suffer a huge blow to his career. He ended up wrestling his last FMW match on August 26, 1998 defeating Super Leather but injuring his knee seriously. He would take off the rest of the tour and return to America. He would still try and tough it out for his booked ECW Arena match on September 19, 1998 against Balls Mahoney but his knee would go out once again and Awesome could no longer go anymore. He would tell Balls to pin him right away and Awesome now had no choice but to get reconstructive surgery and would be out for the next year.During the year off, Awesome would decide not to return to FMW feeling it was a much different company now with Kodo Fuyuki in charge than the promotion he had originally believe he would stay loyal to in Atsushi Onita's FMW. The Gladiator would return Japan but this time for the All Japan in August 1999 and would face off against Kenta Kobashi on September 4, 1999 at Budokan Hall with Kobashi getting the win in one of Mike's favorite matches of his career.

Mike would not stay in All Japan long as he would eventually get persuaded by ECW owner Paul Heyman to return to ECW and would be promised the ECW Heavyweight Title and about the same money he was making during his last run with FMW while getting to stay in America.Mike Awesome would end up appearing at ECW's Anarchy Rulz '99 show in Villa Park, Illnois and making himself apart of a Taz vs. Masato Tanaka match for the ECW Heavyweight Title on September 19, 1999. Taz would call out for Awesome to be apart of the match with Awesome accepting. Both Awesome and Tanaka together would make short work of Taz and eliminate him from the match. Awesome and Tanaka would then end up having a similar match as the year before in ECW but this time Mike Awesome getting the victory over Tanaka and becoming the ECW Heavyweight Champion.

Mike Awesome would go on to defend the title against the likes of New Jack, Too Cold Scorpio, Vic Grimes, Tracy Smothers, and Justin Credible before knocked off before Tanaka would get another shot and take away his title on December 17, 1999 in Nashville. Awesome would come back a week later on December 23, 1999 in White Plains, New York and defeat Tanaka with a sit out Awesome Bomb off the top turnbuckle to recapture the ECW title. Awesome would go on to team with Raven to win the ECW Tag Team Titles from Masato Tanaka and Tommy Dreamer on March 4, 2000 at the ECW Arena. They would end up losing them a week later on March 12, 2000 in Danbury, CT. at the Living Dangerously 2000 show in a 3 Way Dance with Tanaka pinning Awesome to eliminate his team before the team of Justin Credible and Lance Storm would win the tag titles after Storm pinned Dreamer.Mike would only end up making it a month later with the company before getting frustrated that the money he was promised by Heyman was not coming through and looked for a deal from WCW that he ended up getting.

Awesome was actually scheduled through ECW to return to FMW as Masato Tanaka's partner as a member of ECW Japan against the team of H and Mr. Gannosuke on May 5, 2000 at the Komazawa Olympic Gym but after Awesome would leave ECW for WCW that match would never take place. Awesome would return to WCW for the first time in ten years after doing TV taping matches in Atlanta back in 1990 as The Pro. He would attack Kevin Nash in his first appearance on April 10, 2000 while still ECW Champion. He would be forced by WCW to return to ECW one last time on April 13, 2000 in Indianapolis with police security protecting him before losing the ECW title quickly for the last time to the WWF's Tazz before quickly getting up and walking out through the crowd. He would manage to defeat Masato Tanaka once again on November 2, 1999 in Buffalo after delivering a sit out Awesome Bomb through the table on Tanaka.

Mike Awesome would make his WCW Pay Per View debut in Chicago, Illinois for the Spring Stampede 2000 show on April 16, 2000 originally scheduled to face the late Bam Bam Bigelow, the match would eventually turn into Awesome facing Ernest Miller and scoring the pinfall victory. He would end up defeating Hulk Hogan on a Nitro in one of the biggest victories of his career. Awesome would then end being given back to back horrible gimmicks shortly after as he would become The Fat Chick Thrilla and then That 70's Guy. Both gimmicks would be dropped soon enough. He would enter in a one night tournament for the WCW United States title on July 18, 2000 where he would defeat Kanyon and The Great Muta before losing to Lance Storm in the finals. Awesome would eventually join Lance Storm's Team Canada as it was the second time Awesome had been apart of a Team Canada in his career. He would stay with WCW until it would be bought out by WWF in March 2001. He would make his WWF debut in June 2001 winning the WWF Hardcore Title at Madison Square Garden in New York from Rhyno.

He would make his WWF Pay Per View debut teaming up with Lance Storm to lose to Edge and Christian at the Invasion Pay Per View on July 22, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio.Awesome like many of the former WCW wrestlers would not get off on the right foot in WWF. WWF did not allow his type of style to be shown and he was quickly demoted to the syndicated show Jakked. He would end up suffering another knee injury that would require surgery in October 2001. He would make his return to WWF but in a losing role on the show Velocity where he would lose to the likes of Yoshihiro Tajiri and Shoichi Funaki before being released in the Fall of 2002 by WWF.

He would return to All Japan for the first time in over three years for the All Japan Real World Tournament as Mike Awesome in November 2002 teaming with PJ Friedman although the team would only manage two points and finish in second to last place.He would return in January 2003 as The Gladiator in All Japan and would get a shot at the All Japan Triple Crown on January 13, 2003 at the Osaka Prefectural Gym losing to the Great Muta after being hit with a a Moonsault. He would then enter into the All Japan Championship Carnival that would only be a single elimination tournament. He would end up losing to the late John Tenta on March 22, 2003 in the first round. He would form a group with The Giant Kimala, Jimmy Yang, and the late Gigantes. He would also compete for local promotion MLW and would face Masato Tanaka once again on May 9, 2003 in Orlando. He would end up wrestling his last match in All Japan on June 13, 2003 at the Aichi Prefectural Gym teaming with Gigantis and Jimmy Yang to defeat Keiji Muto, Arashi, and Tomoaki Honma after Gigantis would pin Honma.

A week later he would win the MLW Heavyweight Champion defeating All Japan's Satoshi Kojima on June 20, 2003 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida before losing it later in the night to Steve Corino.He would participate for HUSTLE-2 on March 7, 2004 at the Yokohama Arena teaming up with Sabu and Justin Credible as a group of former ECW Heavyweight Champions against a group of former FMW Heavyweight Champions in Masato Tanaka, Kintaro Kanemura, and Tetsuhiro Kuroda with the former FMW team getting the win after Tanaka would nail the rolling elbow on Credible for the win. He would then return for HUSTLE-3 on May 8, 2004 at the Yokohama Arena teaming with Kintaro Kanemura and Sabu against Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, and Tomoaki Honma in a Weapons Death Match and would get the victory after delivering a Kamikaze Awesome Bomb to Honma for the win.The Gladiator would make his debut for Pro Wrestling NOAH on November 13, 2004 teaming with Scorpio defeating the team of Takeshi Rikio and Muhammed Yone after Scorpio would pin Yone.

The Gladiator would get his big rematch against Kenta Kobashi for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on December 4, 2004 at the Yokohama Bunka Gym. The match would be given over 28 minutes, but the match would also prove that Awesome's knees just could not hold up anymore and the match would come nowhere close to a quality of match the two had five years earlier but with the same result as Kobashi would end putting away The Gladiator to defend the GHC title with a moonsault. The Gladiator would wrestle in his last NOAH matchon March 5, 2005 at Budokan Hall teaming with Bison Smith and Ace Steel defeating Akira Taue, Yoshinari Ogawara, and Go Shiosaki with Steel pinning Shiosaki. It would not only be his last match in NOAH but also Japan as well as the last time as The Gladiator.

He would then be asked to take part in WWE's ECW One Night Stand and take on his most famous opponent Masato Tanaka on June 12, 2005 in Manhattan, New York for the ECW One Night Stand Pay Per View in what turn out to be his last match against Tanaka as well as his last televised match. Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka would once again end up having the best match on a very good show as Awesome would eventually put away Tanaka throwing him over the top rope once again through the table and then diving over the top rope to the outside on Tanaka. Awesome would injure his knee on the dive and the match would be forced to end with Awesome getting the pin over Tanaka outside the ring. It would be Mike Awesome's final shining moment of his pro wrestling career with the crowd going crazy one last time for his moves.

Mike Awesome would announce in 2006 that he was retiring from pro wrestling and would be selling real estate and spend time with his family in Florida. He would turn down an offer to appear again at WWE's ECW One Night Stand in June 2006 due to his knee not being able in the condition to have a match with.

Mike Alfonso would be found dead on February 17, 2007 at his Tampa home after committing suicide by hanging himself. He was 42.

I was a big fan of Awesomes tenure in ECW. He was always entertaining and was doing things in the ring that not a lot of big men were doing. When I hear his name I always think about the meticulous way he would set up his tables, moving them an invh this way and an inch that way untill he was happy with the positioning.

Towards the end of his WWE stint he wasn't looking good at all but at the 2005 ONS he was looking great and had a stellar match with Tanaka. RIP.

Sirius, XM signal merger

U.S. satellite radio operators Sirius and XM yesterday announced a proposed all-stock merger valued at US$13-billion, and if the deal goes through it could mean a similar move by the Canadian firms that rely on them for content.

While it faces significant regulatory hurdles, a successful tie-up between the U.S. service providers would create a company with 14-million subscribers and yearly revenues of about US$1.5-billion. It would also most likely result in the merger of their content into one feed, which could leave little option but consolidation for XM Canada, which trades in Toronto through a public company majority- owned by businessman John Bitove, and Sirius Canada, which is owned by a private partnership including Standard Radio Inc. and the CBC.

"It would force a merger in Canada because they feed most of their content from the U.S. service. If the two of them get together in the States ? well you can't run two separate services here," said Carl Bayard, analyst with Desjardins Securities.

XM Canada, which is publicly traded through Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., is 22% owned by Washington, D.C.-based XM. New York-based Sirius maintains a 20% stake in Sirius Canada.

Shares of thinly-traded Canadian Satellite Radio rose 27%, or $1.80, to close at $8.44 in Toronto yesterday.

The Canadian firms pay their U.S. partners for most of the channels they offer, with 10% of their service regulated as Canadian content. While this Canadian content variance would offer some differentiation between the services if their U.S. feeds merge, it's probably not enough to sell both products separately, Mr. Bayard said.

In both the U.S. and Canada, satellite radio services have competed fiercely for customers with one another, traditional and online radio, and with products including Apple's iPod. Despite aggressive advertising, along with programs hosted by celebrities, including shock jock Howard Stern (Sirius), and Oprah Winfrey and Bob Dylan (XM), financial losses and share price declines have continued at both firms.

"This transaction will enhance the long-term financial success of satellite radio by allowing the combined company to better manage its costs through sales and marketing and subscriber acquisition efficiencies, satellite fleet synergies, combined R&D and other benefits from economies of scale," U.S.-based Sirius and XM said in a joint release yesterday. Analysts have estimated cost synergies of up to US$7- billion in the event of a merger, they added.

The industry faces big costs luring customers in Canada. XM has more than 120,000 subscribers, but posted a loss of $102.7- million in fiscal 2006. The proposed merger is good news for the industry, since it will free up funds that can be spent on advertising the benefits of subscriber-based radio, said Mr. Bitove, chairman of Canadian Satellite Radio.

"Obviously in the U.S. they believe that if they could combine forces they could plow those savings into marketing dollars to drive subscription penetrations higher than they are right no w," Mr. Bitove said. "Once we get an understanding of the rationale and business case in the coming weeks we'll decide what we're going to do."

In a statement Sirius Canada's chief executive Mark Redmond described news of the proposed merger as "exciting."

The deal needs approval from various parties, including antitrust agencies, shareholders and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

A spokesman for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which licenced the two Canadian satellite radio companies in 2005, said it is too early to comment on the impact of the merger.
lmcleod@nationalpost.com

Well, I don't like this at all. These XM jerkoffs just want to ride our coattails to victory and I say NO!!

BBB's Notebook: ECW December to Dismember 2006

I purchased the DVD because I'm a sucker and I thought I'd give it another chance and to my surpise, it wasn't so bad the second go 'round.

The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy) defeated MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) (22:33) - This was match #1 of a 2 match show. It clocked in a little long but it had some nice peaks and valleys of action. I may have shaved a few minutes off if it was up to me but it was a solid opener.

Balls Mahoney pinned Matt Striker (7:12) - It was a little sloppy but it did a good job of the 'clean cut teacher vs. the malcontent' angle. Balls wins with a spinebuster.

Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay defeated The FBI (Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke) (6:41) - Terkay sucks and it's no shame he was released.

Khasrow Daivari pinned Tommy Dreamer (7:22) - The match was a throwaway, but it was saved by the big chokeslam by Khali. I wonder how he would have worked out if he had stayed in ECW.

Mixed Tag Team Match: Kevin Thorn and Ariel defeated Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly (7:43) - I loved the Knox walk away angle and Ariel did a good job of acting like a psycho and screaming. She really got the crowd into it.

ECW World Heavyweight Title Match (Elimination Chamber Match): Bobby Lashley defeated Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Test, Hardcore Holly, Test, and The Big Show (24:42) - There was some pretty good stuff in here amongst all the shit. I would have liked to have seen Punk and RVD go a little longer. It would have been logical to me to have them feud afterwards, but hey... What the hell do I know.

It was still a weak show, but not as bad as I thought after the first viewing.

Awesome New Sirius Channel

Channel 24: 90's alternative.

The best Grunge and '90s Alternative Rock Music: you’ll hear the best tracks by the greatest bands of the era, including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and more.

I'm pretty excited about this one.... Definetly checking it out on the bus on the way to Calgary tonight.

EDIT: I turned it on this afternoon and in 20 minutes or so I heard Bad Religion, Nine Inch Nails, Hole, Weezer and Alice In Chains. I love it. And they're calling the channel 'Lithium' which is after all, my favorite Nirvana song.

3BTV

3BTV

I wanna be in a Star Wars band!!!! ROOOOCK!!! JABBAAAAA!!!

Wacky Website

February 15th:

Caught hell yesterday because you forgot to get your girlfriend a Valentines Day gift? Let the apology note generator beg forgiveness for you. forgot to shovel the walk, empty the trash, consider the feelings of your loved ones? This guy's got you covered there, too.

http://www.karmafarm.com/formletter.html

Howard Stern's Valentine's Day Shocker: He's Engaged!

When Howard Stern signed on to his satellite radio show Wednesday morning (February 14), he realized it wouldn't be long before the phone lines at Sirius were all lit up with fans and friends just waiting to ridicule him. And really, why shouldn't they?

Since the dissolution of the veteran shock jock's 20-year-long marriage to first wife Alison back in 2000, Stern has repeatedly vowed — with his entire audience as his witnesses — that he would never, ever tie the knot again. At times, he'd even deride his own pals and members of his staff in the wake of their own engagements, advising them against making the same terrible mistake he'd once made.

Well, it seems the 53-year-old King of All Media doesn't care about making the same mistake twice. Stern revealed Wednesday that he proposed to longtime girlfriend Beth Ostrosky the night before. Stern has been dating Ostrosky, a model 18 years his junior, since 2000; Ostrosky contributed a monthly advice column to the now-defunct FHM magazine and hosts "Filter" on the G4 network.

With his staff expressing their utter disbelief, Stern joked that he'd had Ostrosky's uterus excised to ensure the couple would not have children. "I see my married friends with children and it seems like absolute torture to me," said Stern, himself a father of three. Several callers to the show — along with sidekick Artie Lange — blasted Stern for his decision, which prompted the jock to call off the engagement on at least two occasions during the show's first hour.

"Do you want your Valentine's Day gift now?" Stern said this morning, recalling how he'd proposed to the woman known to fans as "Beth O." When the model told Stern she wanted her present early, he instructed her to strip down. Stern said she protested, insisting that she was too "fat" to disrobe. His first thought, he said, was "any girl who looks like that and thinks she's fat — I've got a chance with her."

When Ostrosky did get naked, Stern said he handed her a 5.2 carat diamond ring. "I love you. You're everything to me," Stern recalled saying. "This is so gay. ... I'm asking you to spend the rest of your life with me." Ostrosky said "Yes," and Stern said the couple made love immediately after; Ostrosky claims she had her "hand up and was looking at my ring the whole time" the two were in bed.

This will be Ostrosky's first marriage. When asked if the couple had set a date yet, Stern said the actual wedding was something they didn't want to even think about for now, and that his audience can expect an elongated engagement.

Wedding Bells Loom for Other Howard Stern

Hey, now: The King of All Media has found his new queen.

Howard Stern—make that Howard A. Stern the shock jock and not the Anna Nicole Smith hanger-on—announced Wednesday that he's gotten engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky.

Stern, 53, said that he popped the question to the 34-year-old model-actress Tuesday night by first asking her another, namely, "Do you want your Valentine's Day gift now?"
Stern went on to detail the R-rated romantic encounter (in uncensored detail on his Sirius Satellite Radio show, natch), wherein he insisted his betrothed to strip down before he surprised her with the ring.

Ostrosky first protested, Stern claimed, arguing that she was too fat. Stern said he knew then that proposing was the right thing to do, as "any girl who looks like that and thinks she's fat—I've got a chance with her."

She eventually relented and disrobed, at which point Stern produced a 5.2-carat Richie Winick diamond ring and whispered his own version of sweet nothings in her ear.

"I love you," he said, per his radio show play-by-play. "You're everything to me. This is so gay...I'm asking you to spend the rest of your life with me."

After Ostrosky's affirmative reply, and the couple's consummation of the milestone, Stern said he phoned the father of the would-be bride to ask permission for her hand. He agreed, with one caveat: "Never call me Dad."

Stern, who has repeatedly claimed on his morning radio show that he would never get married again, added that no wedding date has yet been set, but that he anticipates a very long engagement.

It will be the second marriage for Stern and the first for Ostrosky, a Pittsburgh native who ranked as high as 34 on FHM magazine's list of 100 Sexiest Women. Her credits include small roles in Flirting with Disaster with Ben Stiller and Whipped with Amanda Peet, and she most recently appeared as host of the G4 series Filter.

Stern and Ostrosky met in 2001, a year after Stern separated from his wife of 20 years, Alison.
The couple currently live together in an apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side and share custody of Stern's three daughters from his first marriage.

And Another....

Shock Jock Howard Stern Engaged
February 14, 2007

HOWARD STERN had a special Valentine's gift for his girlfriend -- a sparkling diamond engagement ring!

The self-proclaimed "Kind of All Media" announced this morning on his Sirius Radio show that he proposed to long-time girlfriend BETH OSTROSKY last night.

Stern was married to his first wife, ALISON, for 20 years. They separated in 1999 and later divorced. He met Ostrosky the following year and they have been a couple ever since. They currently live together in his Upper West Side Manhattan apartment.

This will be Ostrosky's first marriage.

Stern quickly followed the announcement by saying he is unsure when they will actually marry, and that they expect a very long engagement.

Another article (Expect more...)

Stern shocks fans with engagement news

Howard Stern shocked listeners this morning when he announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend and former FHM model, Beth Ostrosky.

Since his divorce in 2000 from Alison Berns, his college sweetheart and wife of 21 years, Stern has repeatedly dissed marriage on the air, claiming that he would never wed again.

When his morning radio show launched on Sirius Satellite Network in Jan. 2006, Stern announced that he'd married Ostrosky, then spent the next few hours denying it. "We don't feel that if we got married it would enhance the experience any more," he said. "We don't want to -- it up."

Seems that he's changed his mind. The 53-year-old local, raised in Roosevelt and Rockville Centre, revealed this morning that he proposed last night with a 5.2 carat diamond ring.

Ostrosky is 19 years younger than Stern. This will be her first marriage.

Shock jock Howard Stern says he's engaged

NEW YORK -- Howard Stern is engaged to Beth Ostrosky, the veteran shock jock announced on his radio program this morning.

Stern, who divorced his first wife Alison in 1999 after some 20 years of marriage, has repeatedly said he would never get married again.

He denied rumors of marriage as recently as last week.

Stern, 53, left commercial radio in 2005 and joined Sirius Satellite Radio, where his morning radio show is aired "uncensored."

He starred in the 1997 motion picture "Private Parts," based on career, which launched in Hartford. Much of the film focused on his relationship with his first wife.

In typical Stern fashion, he joked today that he removed Ostrosky's uterus to guarantee the couple will not have children.

"I see my married friends with children and it seems like absolute torture to me," Stern said this morning.

Callers to the Stern show are ridiculing the shock jock because of the announcement.

Yup, this morning Howard announced he proposed to Beth last night.... I never thought he would get married again but good for him. I hope it lasts a long long time. I'd love to see the prenup....

Paula Abdul: 'I've never been drunk'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Paula Abdul's spacy behavior on "American Idol" has prompted many to ponder if there's a tumbler or two of booze in that red cup on the table in front of her on the Fox talent contest.

That's nonsense, the 44-year-old "Idol" judge tells Us Weekly magazine in its February 16 issue. "I've never been drunk. I have never done recreational drugs," she says. "Just look at my 20-year career. Tell me someone who is into partying or doing drugs that could have done that."

In her five years on "Idol," Abdul -- a singer and a movie, TV and stage choreographer -- has weathered criticism about her sometimes odd behavior, which has included slurred and garbled speech, and her not-so-subtle gushing over the show's young, male singers.

"There have been 100 million lies about me," says Abdul, who has said she's taken prescription medication for health problems, including inflammatory arthritis. "I'm squeaky clean. I've worked my ass off my entire life. (But) being involved in the show causes people to question everything."

Last year, Fox announced that Abdul signed a deal to put up with Simon Cowell -- oh, and judge, too -- on "Idol" through 2008.

"I have never missed a live show," Abdul notes. "Even when I had surgery on my hand (for an infection caused by a botched manicure in 2004), I left my hospital bed to go to the show."

OK, how many ways can I rip this apart..... A 20 year career? And no one can party and do drugs and have a 20 year career in the entertainment industry?? It's the fucking entertainment industry!! A botched manicure? How does one botch a manicure? And "I've never been drunk. I have never done recreational drugs" Yeah.... And I don't like wrestling or big tits.....

Wacky Website

February 14th:

A fun Valentine's Day time-waster. Scroll down the middle of the page and take the love test. Don't like your evaluation? Just take it again. Almost as addictive as the chocolate you'll be scarfing down later.

http://www.mentaljokes.com/test.html

'Year Zero' Tracklisting

Trent Reznor's band release the follow-up to 2005's 'With Teeth' on April 6.

The tracklisting is:

'Hyperpower'

'The Beginning Of The End'

'Survivalism'

'The Good Soldier'

'Vessel'

'Me, I'm Not'

'Capital G'

'My Violent Heart'

'The Warning'

'God Given'

'Meet You Master'

'The Greater Good'

'The Great Destroyer'

'Another Version Of The Truth'

'In This Twilight'

'Zero-Sum'

Wacky Websites

February 12th:

Forget those plastic guys from Star Wars-let the heroes of the Western Civilization, like Freud, Einstein, Bach, and Shakespeare, join forces with Spiderman and Batman to defeat the forces of evil waging war on your living room floor.

http://www.mcphee.com/categories/action.html

February 13th:

Everything you ever wanted to know about one mans navel fluff. Actually, more then everything.

http://www.feargod.net/fluff.html

3BTV

3BTV

A little known fact about Lucas Drago.... He appears to be a sex addict....

Camera-phone

I finally figured out how to get my pictures off my phone, so I can share the awesome mullets I recently captured.

So be wary people, you never know what I'll snap.

Bam's Unholy Union

I watched the premiere of Bams Unholy Union last night. It strikes me that in the past (i.e. Jackass and Viva La Bam) he was just being his normal overly-mischevious self but on this show he's playing it up a little for the camera. I could be wrong but that's what it looked like to me.

But that being said I still enjoyed it and it was nice to see the crew like Dico and Rake again. And the little trick Missy played on him with the wedding dress shows to me that she 'gets' him and they are a good pair. I'll probably keep watching.

New Finger Eleven Single

I heard the new Finger Eleven song today and I can't decide if I like it, have a listen here and let me know what you think.