Live...as it happens... ROH DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR IX iPPV coverage by four Insanity reporters who are there!!
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I'm certainly not going to sit here and say anything negative about Stacy Keibler. Okay...maybe I'll say something negative about her tweeting ability. Read More

Obviously, the internet is all abuzz with "what if?" scenarios. There were a million ways that WWE could have gone and they chose the quick storyline arc instead of a drawn-out feud. That's fine...I'm not going to complain. But I'm certainly on the "what if?" bandwagon. Only in my case there's a twist... Read More

To say his career in TNA has been a number of hills and valleys would be an understatement. But at this point, how he's not constantly on the upper mid-card with the likes of Samoa Joe and AJ Styles is beyond me... Read More

I added a column within a column called "Pillar to Post" where I provided a topic and asked three guests give a list based on that topic. In addition, I would have a special guest from the wrestling world also comment on that topic. The first special guest I had was one of my favorite independent performers. He could wrestle, he could promo, and he was one of the most amazing modern-day managers around... Read More

It’s a pretty simple concept, really...I scour Twitter (hey... you can find me HERE …you know you want to!) looking for anything interesting or bizarre from the world of wrestling.   Trust me when I say this: you think wrestlers are weird INSIDE of the ring???   Heh...just check out what I've found for you in the last few weeks! Read More

What did the wrestlers dress-up as for Halloween?  A lot of them tweeted pictures of their costumes and they're all here for your viewing pleasure.  Or viewing entertainment.  I'm not one to judge what you want to do with the pictures. Read More

Five years ago, 2010 was the future and ZAH looked into it.  In his first ever column with World Wrestling Insanity, our soon-to-be resident head shaker looked at the stars of tomorrow, uh, today.  Well tomorrow then.  Today today.  You get it.  Anyway, journey back to October 7, 2005 as World Wrestling Insanity joins ZAH in asking... Read More

It's a pretty simple concept, really. I scour Twitter looking for anything interesting or bizarre from the world of wrestling. Trust me when I say this: you think wrestlers are weird INSIDE of the ring? Heh...just check out what I've found for you in the last few weeks... Read More

Wait...you're not on Twitter?  THIS is what you're missing out on!! Read More

If you're not on Twitter...what the hell is wrong with you? Read More

If you're not on Twitter...what the hell is wrong with you? Read More

I’m a lifelong wrestling fan who watches less than two hours a week now.   I'm the "casual smart mark" and I’ve got a few things to say about the current product: Read More

I'm ZAH...the casual smart-mark. And I' ve got a couple of things to talk about.

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – Didja miss me?

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Well you can thank reader Drewcifer for the following:

What...you don't see that?  Right over Batista's shoulder.  Here...let me narrow-it-down for you:

Yeah…that 3-piece Aaron Wood Sux sign is the single, solitary reason that I’ve come back from my self-imposed sabbatical at this time.   If you remember, way back in January I had created a joint contest with Canadian Bulldog called the “ Aaron Wood Sucks” contest.  

Basically, we both said that we’d do something together and that we’d dedicate a column or something to whomever could get an “Aaron Wood Sucks” sign on WWE television (or TNA or ROH…didn’t really matter).  

And on Monday, April 13^th…Drewcifer along with his buddy J-Zilla and his wife Kate held-up this 3-piece sign that has forever placed him in my list of all-time favorite-readers-ever-of-all-time-infinity.

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – CM Punk is IC champion FTW~!!!.

,,

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I might be slightly biased in how I perceived Monday night's match between William Regal and CM Punk for the Intercontinental title because of my multi-year man-crush for Punk (although he never returns my calls...huh), but I was extremely impressed with the No-DQ match he had with Regal from beginning to end.

The thing with Regal is that he's at his best when he's allowed to fight somebody. The best matches I've ever seen of Regal's were him against Chris Benoit because they would literally beat the ever-loving snot out of each other.   They went at it with such ferocity that you couldn’t help but believe it was real.

Monday night came close, imo.

“ Isolation is the oxygen mask... "

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – There were a couple of releases this week.

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Well, the WWE ax fell on quite a few recognizable names over this past week…even though not nearly as many as some had predicted.

Once again…Funaki is safe.

Basically, WWE announced that it was be cutting approximately 10 percent of its work force as part of the program to cut $20 million in costs in fiscal 2009. The cuts were expected to save the company $8 million. Talent cuts, as expected, were part of the layoffs.

The first casualty?

Item # 1 – So I saw “The Wrestler”…

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I gotta say…if you’re looking for a wrestling movie, this may not be for you.   The wrestling could have very easily been boxing or football or baseball or golf.   While it’s a focus of the movie, it’s not the end-all to be-all.

That’s not to say there isn’t a ton of wrestling “stuff” in there, cause there is.   A simple little indie match showcases how to blade (for those not “in the know”).   A hardcore match featuring Necro Butcher in CZW is a major focal point of the movie (and the close-ups are quite graphic).   A Ring of Honor show has Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the main event.  

But that, to me, is really just secondary.   The story is truly about Randy’s search for himself…who he is vs. who he used to be.   Who he wants to be vs. who he has no choice but being.   The struggles of wanting to improve his lot in life vs. the realities of the situation he is in and the choices that he makes.

Item # 1 –  He f*cking lost?

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Topping off my list this week...out of all things that made me shake my head over the past seven days was the debut of Jimmy Wang Yang.

For weeks, WWE has promoted this guy as a good ol’ Southern boy who just happens to be of Oriental decent.  He’s a redneck who just happens to be your boy.  Yee-haw.  Giddy-up.

The strange part?   This gimmick was actually getting over.  Whether that was the intent of WWE Creative or not...the gimmick was actually getting over.  When Yang debuted last week, he got a pretty good pop and the crowd seemed to be solidly behind him.  He was borderline-spectacular in the match, too.  Then, of course, he lost.

WHAT???

Item # 1 – Jeff Hardy wins World championship!

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Wow.

I honestly didn’t think WWE would pull the trigger.   They did…and now we’re in a Jeff Hardy Era on Smackdown.

Wow.

I know that I’ve been very hard on Hardy for some time now, but let me be very clear here: Hardy, from a wrestling standpoint, should have been champion back in January at the Rumble.   From a business standpoint, however, there is a TREMENDOUS risk associated with doing anything with Hardy and WWE has put itself in a pretty vulnerable position.

Here’s the deal, kids…it’s been an INSANE week in the “real life” of ZAH and this is what you get.   Don’t like it?   

Suck it up, princess.

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – The most ‘over’ person in WWE right now?

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I honestly don’t see how ANYBODY could argue that Vickie Guerrero isn’t the most over act in WWE right now.

Honestly...if nothing else was proven on RAW this past Monday night, it was that Vickie is a heat magnet. Molten lava hot right now.

Or as Santino Marella called her: Cougar of the Year.

Excuse me, indeed.

Item # 1 – Hot damn what an exciting week!

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F*ck no.

Yawn…the wrestling “newz” decided to take a break over the long weekend.   So yeah…there isn’t much to bitch about this week.   This, really, maybe isn’t such a bad thing for the industry as a whole.   No news is good news, right?  

WWE ratings went up…ROH filmed their last PPV with lights for a change…Edge is still WWE champion…Obama is still president…Disco Inferno is still a f*cktard…

Life is good for everybody, right?

Item # 1 – Edge wins!

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In a big surprise to most people Edge returned last Sunday night at the Survivor Series, was inserted into the horrific WWE title match between Vladimir Kozlov and Triple H, and then ended up becoming WWE champion one more time.

To me, this was a HUGE win and fantastic news. I'll freely admit to being an Edge mark and his "slightly psycho" persona has been spot-on awesome for quite some time now (I also love his “I’ve been crazy for months and living in a log cabin” beard). This not only puts an extremely charismatic super-over heel on top as champion on Smackdown, but it also gets him away from the Undertaker storyline...which is definitely needed.

Or does it?

Item # 1 – Piper loves da bong~!!

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Wow.  

And it’s not like I’m anti-drug or pro-drug…I mean, you do your own thing.   I’m not gonna judge unless it affects how you act around me.   But did Piper not realize where he was? 

Wait…where in the f*ck was he??

Item # 1 – Elijah Burke released.

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Just last week I called for some milk cartons to post Burke’s picture just so people could find the poor bastard.   Little did I know that we’d find out what he was up to so soon…

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of ECW's Elijah Burke as of Nov. 10, 2008. WWE wishes him the best in all future endeavors.

Are you f*cking kidding me?

This guy was introduced to WWE audiences as the mouthpiece for Sylvester Terkay on Smackdown. That, in and of itself, only goes to prove that the guy can talk.   AMIRIGHT??

Item # 1 – WWE cuts: fall edition.

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It’s not a huge deal, but both Paul London and Chuck Palumbo were released today by WWE and sent along on the “endeavors” road.   While not surprising, there are some interesting (to me at least) notes to consider here.  

WWE has a history of releasing bigger guys who don’t get over huge.   Guys who are “decent hands” like Rob Conway, Trevor Murdoch, Doug Basham & the Damaja, and Mark Jindrak get released when they could all fill roles that WWE obviously has a hard time filling now.

Item # 1 – Gabe Sapolsky gone from Ring of Honor!

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It came as a huge shock to me last night to learn that Gabe Sapolsky was fired as head booker of Ring of Honor after their New Jersey show last Saturday night.  It's now almost an even bigger shocker to learn that Adam Pearce...who just last month was considered “too expensive” to book as a talent in ROH...is the new head booker.

So what does this all mean?  

Yeah…so I’ve got a bad stream and my satellite’s not working.   Giddy-up.

WELCOME TO RAW IS ZAH!!!

We start off with a quick little graphic/tribute to one S.D. “Special Delivery” Jones.   I’m actually old enough to remember watching him wrestle in the early 80’s.   Goddamn…that’s depressing.

Item # 1 – Ring of Honor to get television?

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One would think that Ring of Honor's next step in their growth cycle would be to garner a national television deal. The rumor floating around today is that there have been preliminary talks (VERY preliminary) between ROH and a national television channel of some sort.

That's pretty much all the detail that's available at the moment, but one has to be a little bit excited and really nervous at the same time.

I've always been under the impression that if ROH had the same money backing it as TNA does and continued to provide the same product that it's providing now that it could be a viable #2 promotion over time. 

Please...I can't be the only one shocked at this release. I mean, it was just a few short months ago that WWE decided to give Cade a shot at the main event. They were really big on him and thought he would be able to shine through as a top-notch heel.   Of course, they didn’t really do much of anything to push him as such.   He had a victory over Paul London and then pinned Michaels in a tag match…but pretty much every other time we saw Cade on RAW or on PPV he was Chris Jericho’s lackey and was getting his ass handed to him.

I guess things just aren't meant to be. Read More

I realize that WWE is totally rushing the hell out of the Santino/Honky confrontation, but I don't care.  I absolutely MUST see Honky Tonk Man in a WWE ring again taking on Santino Marella. This is pure joy personified.

The rumors going ‘round the ‘net is that there is a distinct possibility that neither Piper, Honky, or Goldust will even show up.   The stories are that it will actually be Charlie Haas dressed-up as one of those iconic characters on his way to an IC title run.

I can’t tell you just how horrifying that would be.   I mean, I’m excited to see Santino go up against one of these wrestling old-timers and then you swerve us?   Maybe if it wasn’t a PPV where the fans actually decided on who they wanted to see…but with people actually PAYING for voting this year, it would be a terrible thing for WWE to screw around with this.

I'm really surprised this story hasn't garnered more attention.   I'm assuming it's because nobody truly believes that Rey would leave WWE for anybody at this point...but once you hear the offer that was made, you can truly understand just how close Mysterio was to leaving WWE for AAA.

Yes...AAA down in Mexico.  That AAA.  

Want to know why Rey has been seriously considering another promotion?

The big "story" of this week was that Jeff Hardy was "removed from his flight" before it left in Nashville on Wednesday morning.

I use quotation marks because all of the "wrestling journalist websites" seem to have jumped all over this story, yet nobody could get any details confirmed until an official statement from the airline was made yesterday afternoon.  

What was confirmed was that there was a "removal" of sorts.   It took place on Wednesday morning, when Jeff was accompanied off the plane by "several police officers", along with his brother Matt and Gregory Helms.   So while 99% of the internet wrestling community had gone all ape-sh*t over the possibility that Hardy f*cked up yet again, I just sat back and asked, "What if?"

This week I've got a pretty cool surprise for everybody.   I've brought back the Pillar to Post segment (more on that later), and I've got a ton of special guests participating this week.   One of them is a Ring of Honor performer who is absolutely one of my favorites and I'm 100% STOKED that he agreed to participate.   The others you are probably very familiar with and I think you'll enjoy this week's segment. Read More

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What, exactly, is the story?   Well, it's been reported that Foley has agreed to terms with TNA and will make his debut with the company once he's legally allowed to do so. Where his contract with WWE expires on Sunday & TNA just taped 3 weeks of television, it's a distinct possibility that Foley will appear at the next TNA pay-per-view, No Surrender ...assuming, of course, that the story is accurate. Read More

So Big Vision Entertainment dropped me this awesome 3-disc 9-hour set of PWG's best matches awhile back. And it just so happens I had the time to review ALL NINE HOURS. So without further adu, here's my thoughts: Read More

Item # 1 – Let the firings begin!!

Last Friday, it happened again. It has become an annual event...one day out of the year where WWE decides to do some spring cleaning. I guess this year the cleaning has come a little later than expected. Still, it's always an entertaining guessing game and this year is no different. Here are the latest casualties:  

Item # 1 – Flair quits WWE!

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Earlier this week, Ric Flair departed ways with WWE.

Apparently, Flair is now available for independent bookings and is under the assumption that he can make more money doing these than his $500,000/year salary as "goodwill ambassador" for WWE.