Welcome one and all to the weekly "Best of" The World Wrestling Insanity Message Boards. Here at Hot Threads we aim to give you the cream of the crop when it comes to our fabulous residents. We'll be spending time jumping from the WWE to TNA to almost anything in the 'verse.

James Guttman did an audio about Kevin Nash vs CM Punk about three weeks back, but seriously it already seems like that was five months ago with how fast this whole thing is moving, and brought up a point about worked shoots. In essence he helped bring across the idea that once you step across that line you are now in a pseudo-reality that can't live in the space of actual reality or the storyline of the shows. Basically you've thrown yourself into a second time-space of pro wrestling where some reality is true but other parts are ignored because if they were brought up it wouldn't make you want to purchase the predetermined match. Got that? No? Yes? Do I care? We're moving on anyways...

So in this weird space using Twitter as a means to communicate and work fans at the same time it really gets confusing sometimes. Sure TNA can't be touched in the space of inconsistent reality and fantasy but WWE is sure trying. If you don't use Twitter I'll try to explain it. So R-Truth and Miz have been kicked off of Raw, and during Raw or PPVs they'll tweet about how they are sorry and want to work again, but from Tues-Sat they tweet about their upcoming WWE promotional appearances and have Twitter conversations with their friends they hate on the show as if nothing is wrong. Now let's not run down the road of "acting" and all that. I know. But you really have to pick a side on these things. You can't keep jumping in between the two on a constant basis.

This can be used to create some interesting situations though. When a wrestler who people assume is in bad graces with the company goes off you don't know who is doing it. Is John Morrison the wrestler tweeting as a employee of WWE or as himself with his true feelings? Is CM Punk berating the fans and company as a model employee furthering a story or as a person tired of the same stuff we are? Is it a little of both from each of them?

From Morrison's twitter last night:

"Thoughts I had tonight during RAW tonight in Lafayette...Damn, I just got my ass kicked...

...I wonder if John Laurintis's current promo work is any indication of his aptitude as a wrestler during past in ring endeavors...

...HHH says we work for the WWE universe. Hmmm, yup, I agree with that... I wonder if he's going to mention my birthday... nope.

...If the WWE universe is paying our checks maybe the pay scale among us independent contractors should be a bit more evenly distributed...maybe forming a union is a good idea... all other entertainment and sporting entities have them...getting an individual health insurance policy after neck surgery is not easy...I wonder if HHH has an individual health insurance plan, or gets group coverage because he's classified as an employee...

...Wait a minute, when did we nominate @wadebarrett to speak on our behalf? ... haha, Barrett talks like a pirate...I think HHH may have over reached with this whole C.O.O. thing; he does do that from time to time- The Chaperone; Inside Out...no offense but, I think the best actor in Inside Out was a pickle. (A-RY was too nervous to laugh at that comment)...C'mon A-RY, Garlic dill... you know, haha!... wait a minute... "no confidence" ... we're voting now? Everyone's walking out!

...I like chaos! If they all leave & I stay, maybe HHH & I could do 5 backstage segments, an in ring promo, and an hour match next week! who am I kidding, HHH is a narcissist. He doesn't think I'm at his level- His main concern is positioning himself as the center of attention ...maybe walking out will get HHH to realize he can't do this alone, the WWE Universe wants to see different people in the mix...there's a roster full of superstars that want chaos, that want the ball, that want to be on the road at every WWE event...

...the past is always afraid of the future... HHH's ego is hungry. He's got a steak dinner every Monday night- but if he thinks his ego's gonna snack elsewhere; I'm gonna eat his lunch!"

SabuIsGod

over/under on JoMo being future endeavored? WOW

James Guttman

Such a waste. If he really wants to get fired, he should have come out for his match last night, stood in the center of the ring, and peed in it on live TV. Why waste a public meltdown on Twitter? TNA would pay him a million dollars a month with the following he'd have after that.

The Chosen 1

Eh, it looks like he was staying in character for the most part. Pretty worked shooty sounding to me. He was acting like he was deciding on the spot to walk out, and the whole union thing goes with the strike. He said "man I got my ass kicked" not "f*ckin' HHH told me I had to lose to Mark Henry! f*ck that guy!"

I'm sure he was just using it as an excuse to say that stuff but I wouldn't go so far as to say he's pullin' a Hardy

PeterDawson

Well don't forget back at Extreme Rules Morrison's career seemed to be shining bright, only for him to get injured and CM Punk to become the the next top face.

ZAH

Is it possible this is his way of trying to work into the COO/Union storyline?

James Guttman

Could be. With Twitter today, though it's hard to tell if:

- The wrestler is off the reservation and just going off (rare, but happens)

- The wrestler is completely working the fans with the blessing of the office (usual)

- The wrestler has decided to make his own "work" and try to play into an angle on his own (what I think is happening here)

The problem with this stuff though, is that you almost always get heat for it unless the office tells you to do it. It's like when Blue Meanie got his ass kicked by JBL at the first ECW Show. He had "shot" on John in interviews and Bradshaw beat him for it. After, Meanie kept saying it was "just the Internet" and he was "working everyone." Bottom line, you have to tell people you're working if you are - otherwise, you get Bradshawed.

Another problem arises in the WWE with this whole COO storyline that has been going over the past two months (seriously? This feels like it has gone on forever already.) or so. This past Monday there was a companywide (-Cena, Punk, Sheamus, and others) vote of no confidence in Triple H's handling of the company. Now I was always under the assumption it took a lot more than one guy saying "We should have a vote on your job. And whatever they say is what we'll go with. We'll do it in thirty minutes or so." I always figured there would have to be a larger time-frame to rally people. Invite a stock holder or two, ya know? With that the company voted on Triple H's ability to lead the WWE. Only problem with a walkout is that WWE produces three shows a week. So what happens to NXT and Smackdown? After Raw the insanity-ites were getting their thoughts in order on the entire mess....

JohnnyCraze

OK then, so what in the hell does all of this mean?

E.G. Woods

No Raw next Monday?

Wolfchild

Well... I'm interested. Was half expecting Cena to come out at the end and support Triple H; which would have made me less interested... But, right now, I'm interested.

JohnnyCraze

That would be interesting. A fake strike.

E.G. Woods

Something is going to have to happen between now and Smackdown, hell, between now and NXT tommorow, to either A.) Explain why some personnel that apparently walked out on the company are all of a sudden back again, or B.), they are going to have to go all the way with the storyline. I.E.; Air "best of" shows on all WWE programming, as just about all employees walked out/are on strike, or C.) Somehow have 2 hrs shows with the few that did not leave. Bears watching to see how this plays out, although I don't have my hopes up.

Sprout1883

an intriguing angle, (one that could really have been better as well if that had strung Cena v Punk out.) but again needs to be executed well. As said if programming just continues then they have to explain how and why with a decent explanation.

Theman6201

They could make the argument they are walked out of "RAW" but not out of WWE. They said before the promo that this was a referendum on HHH's leadership of RAW and that he'd have to appoint someone to run the day to day of the show if he had a no-confidence vote. So they could appear on Smackdown since that's "run" by Teddy Long and not by HHH. That would explain them working on Smackdown with an announcement to come at the start of RAW, where HHH appoints a GM or something.

E.G. Woods

That's the thing. Triple H is supposed to be The C.O.O. of the ENTIRE company, not just Raw. He frequently appears on SD and makes major decisions on that show as well. Given the fact that the brand split rules are out the window, I don't see how it would be any "safer a work enviroment" on SD as opposed to Raw.

Theman6201

I think that's how they'll spin it because they will wait until next week's RAW to further the angle. It'll get replayed on Smackdown but there won't be any major developments until RAW.

E.G. Woods

Yep, and then they wonder why Smackdown will always be looked upon as The B Show.

JT

I did watch the show earlier and have to say it was quite good and enjoyed everyone walking out on HHH.

Mike Johns

Is it too late for me to put my vote of No Confidence in HHH?

Dwattz

They've hamstrung themselves with these hotshot "supershows" for a cheap shot in the ratings arm.
CM Punk's been buried and has otherwise become an afterthought
And the entire WWE Universe revolves around Triple H and Johnny Ace.

I vote no confidence in the WWE!
Seriously, I think between HIAC and last night's show, they may've finally broken me. And after all these years...
I simply can't apologize anymore, the fans really have lost all stake in the WWE product.
Though I've denied it for years, the WWE's school of thought really is "Watch our show or don't---we don't give a shit. You'll be back!"
Unless creative finds a way to twist this angle and somehow make CM Punk the brilliant mastermind behind all this sabotage nonsense, I may seriously be done with the WWE. After Cena/Rock, I may very well relegate myself to on-demand and my DVD collection

I mean, what's the point?
Someone?... Anyone?

Sprout1883

Got to say I largely agree.
They blew the CM Punk angle by rushing it and taking away the intrigue and the massive potential it had.
Hunter returns and it's "All about The Game" again.
Miz and Truth and Nash have 'been gone' longer than Punk was.
The current storyline is indeed intriguing but they have a)ruined a lot of it b)hamstrung it by burning through it so quick and taking away masses of potential
All i can think every time is Punk's line about Vince being a millionaire and not a billionaire.

Wow...kind of a negative reaction to it all, which is some of the problem these days. The past few years of WWE seem to look like a bell-curve. January-May are a slow build into a pretty hot June-Aug/Sept followed by a quick decline Sept/Oct-December. It is a vicious cycle they've been doing for awhile. We've went from a Cena/Orton hot feud over the summer two years ago, to Nexus the next summer, then making our way to Punk. It seems at this point we're taking the back end of the bell and it is moving downhill until next June. I want to break that negativity. It just really isn't all that enjoyable to constantly look through these boards and see people saying "Seriously this sucks." It really brings me down. So I threw out the question that has always interested me. We are all wrestling fans. Something about this THING that we call pro wrestling brought us in and made us fanatics. I wanted to know what. I don't want to know what you like about it. I want to know the exact thing that made you sit there and say "Wow. This stuff is phenomenal." I want the moment that turned you into a wrestling fan. Here are a few of the answers that people have given over the past 24 hours.

Me:

Apparently I'd always watched wrestling so there was something there but my first actual memory was Wrestlemania 8. Few things I truly remember about it:

1) It was in Indy and about 5 of my cousins were going.
2) It was taking place at like 3 or 4pm instead of late night like they do now.
3) it was one of the only wrestling events my dad ever watched with me.

Anyways there are a few distinct things that I remember turned me into a fan forever from that show.

1) Jake Roberts attacking Undertaker with a chair in the pre-show about 15 times (turns out this was from a taped show sometime prior)
2) Macho Man vs Ric Flair and the Savage Elbow Drop. Everything about it, the pain, the blood, the fighting spirit. Very involving match.
3) Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper - Piper, even at 5 years old, made me laugh talking about Bret getting his diaper changed and pooping his pants.

So while people don't always see Wrestlemania 8 as a gigantic moment in WWF history....it is my first definitive wrestling memory and the reason why I'm a fan.

Sprout1883

I suppose the moment I always remember that really got me hooked was Michael, Jannety and The barber shop

Mike Johns

watched wrestling as a kid, but, honestly, it wasn't life or death. I had GI Joes as a kid, too, but I'd hardly call myself a fan, you know?

After my parents divorced, I stopped watching. We didn't go to church anymore, and wrestling would be something we watched after church if we didn't visit my grandma, so, because I genuinely didn't care that much outside of maybe 3 guys, I stopped watching.

My mom remarries. Doesn't last long, but that part is irrelevant to this story. he was there at the time. Anyway, for some reason, he turns on Monday Nitro the night WCW chose their three guys to face off against Nash, Hall, and the Mystery Guy (who'd turn out to be Hogan). One of those three was one of the few guys I did care about when I watched wrestling as a kid - Macho Man. So, you had a story that interested me, featuring a guy I recognized and liked. He and mom decided to go upstairs and... whatever. And left me with the TV. Could have changed the channel. Almost did. And then, Rey Mysterio came out.

Been watching ever since.

Exx

I think it was that match that Hogan and Piper had on MTV. The war to settle the score.

Kheneth

iron shiek beating Bob Backlund

James Bullock

A random Hulk Hogan promo on Sat. Night's Main Event hooked me, but it was when Bret Hart started getting his singles push that I fell in love with the sport/art of pro wrestling. Now I'm a frickin' ROHbot because of Bret and my obsession with workrate!

PeterDawson

King of the Ring in 1996. I'd like to say it was the Austin 3:16 quote, but it was more or less the whole show. I liked the name Jake the Snake, I liked the Ultimate Warrior, I liked Mankind, I liked the Undertaker, and I really liked the British Bulldog. My uncle, who was staying with us at the time, had ordered it and I'd watched it with him and that was that. Soon after I became a huge fan of Bret Hart and, by extension, pretty much every Canadian on the roster due to what happened with Bret.

Mets3006

When I started to watch wrestling was when I was about 5 or 6, Saturday morning was WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestling Challenge on Sundays, I did not have cable to 1994, I could not stand Hogan for nothing back then and was a fan of Demolition, Jake Roberts, The Rockers, Hart Foundation and a lot more.

Drewcifer

My first real memory of watching professional wrestling was in the early '80's. I'm not sure what year it actually was (82-83?), but I remember watching The Assassins take a pair of scissors to Jimmy Valiant's beard. I'm fairly sure it was Mid-Atlantic wrestling. Over the years, pro wrestling was always on my radar.

When I was 11 or 12, I got a TV in my room, and I became a big Saturday Night Live Fan. Back then, SNL was pre-empted every 6-8 weeks for Saturday Night's Main Event. I would always watch, of course. The moment that hooked me forever was the SNME in '87, when the Hart Foundation beat up Randy Savage, and Honky Tonk Man bashed him over the head with a guitar. This caused Elizabeth to run to the back and bring out Hulk Hogan. That was when the Mega-Powers formed, and a young Drewcifer was forever hooked.

Please, if you aren't a member of the WWI Forums join today, or tell me at the bottom of this page, the moment that turned you into a wrestling fan. With the amount of traffic the forums get along with people who read the columns I'm hoping we can highlight a few of these a week. We're all from different eras but enjoy the same thing. It's kind of cool to see how people became huge fans of this thing. We all have different moments that enticed us. It's also pretty entertaining to see just how young I am compared to basically everyone else on these boards to some extent. I was barely 5 when WM8 happened and these people are talking about Saturday Night's Main Event.

One of the polarizing subjects over this whole shift to "PG" has been blood. While some fans scoff at the idea of taking blood out at all, others don't mind that much.   I personally don't care if a match has blood or not. Would Punk/Cena at MitB have some added drama if Cena was gushing blood before making his Superman comeback? Maybe. Could they have earned 6-stars if Punk would've been wearing a crimson mask as he hit the Go2Sleep on Cena? Eh? The part we could all probably agree on is that if someone starts to bleed they should just go with it. If you're, let's say, hit in the head with a ring bell and require nine staples to close it...you're probably going to bleed. People have seen blood before. You don't need to heavily edit a show and lose about five minutes of tape just because someone is spraying blood into the third row with every breath.

Tenchi

Damn, Son! Bloodbath, much?

Aaron Wood

Well, I can tell you, since I just watched it, that literally zero of that part of the beating makes it to the show. Never mind censored in anyway, it "ends" with the Elevated DDT Orton hits before he decides to full-blown insane.

SabuIsGod

any way to see all of it? what caused the son of a plumber to wear the crimson mask? a botch or did RKO shoot on him?

Aaron Wood

Grandson of a plumber, remember. As for the blood, I believe it was hardway with the mask shots. They apparently toweled Cody up when he bled out, since it wasn't supposed to happen and wanted to try and have the angle run. on Wood

ZAH

It wasn't from the mask. Orton hit him with the ring bell when the spot happened...but it wasn't from that, either. It was from the back of his head hitting something on the table.

The Chosen 1

No, if you watch the US Version of Smackdown! (which shows a heavily edited version of the beatdown but still goes way past the DDT) you can CLEARLY see that when RKO hits him with the ring bell at ringside it cracks Cody's skull open and the blood literally pours out of his head onto the announce table like a faucet was turned on, it's really kind of a scary situation as ALL of that blood came out of him within a matter of a few short minutes.

US Version

go to 6:30 for the bell shot.

And now there's this that I just saw on Youtube. The UNEDITED Fan Video:

You can really see how much was edited out, including everything with the chair and some time trying to be killed so they could attempt to patch him up before the RKO AND as I strongly suspected watching it air on Friday and seeing Orton do that "I'm not done" sign right before they cut to a replay... A SECOND RKO.

Aaron Wood (And his proper British tongue)

See, why in the holy f*ck could the UK not get that version? We've seen worse than that on "late night" airings before. f*ck that shit...

I would also like to take this small amount of time to go on record and say this: Cody Rhodes is actually pretty sweet in this role. JG nailed it on the head again in his audio "No Confidence" available right now on www.clubwwi.com when he talked about needing more characters. Cody Rhodes stands out. He is a pleasure to watch each and every week. The delivery of his promos is also solid, solid gold.

Speaking of www.ClubWWI.com, James Guttman has introduced the Free Message Board Audio Archive Series.  Each Monday, he'll be posting a free audio from ClubWWI.com and the link will be up in the ClubWWI section of the forum.  That's it. No Twitter.  No Facebook.  No carrier pigeon.  Just another reason to join the party.

With that we've reached the end of Hot Threads for the current week. I only have two pieces of advice for any of you reading this column right now:

1) If you're reading this and have yet to join the World Wrestling Insanity Forums you really need to. You can join a fantastic community of people and also maybe get your thoughts put out on a website. Granted, when you post it on the forums it will be on a website...this would be a .com.

2) While you're on the World Wrestling Insanity Forums why don't you join Season 2 of WWI fantasy Wrestling (Link right HERE http://s14.zetaboards.com/Wrestling_Insanity/topic/6671769/ ) The rules are simple and it only takes, maybe, 5 minutes out of YOUR MONTH! So go ahead and join for a chance to win prizes, have fun, and see if you're better at knowing what will happen than everyone else.

Until next time.....