1. Day 464 - Please get well soon, Chico

2. Day 465 - Perhaps his legend isn't so Immortal, after all

2.5 Day 466 - RAWnning Diary

4. Day 467 - On his own terms? Hardly.

5. Day 468 - WWE Network

6. Day 469 - My passion for wrestling (re-post)

Day 464

I hate to start another week off with a super-serious column, but I don't think I have much of a choice this week. If you've been following the wrestling news over the last day or two, you've seen a lot of talk about Scott Hall.

He relapsed and suffered a drug overdose, and was rushed to the hospital because of it.

Oops. He didn't have an overdose, and his publicist says he's at home, perfectly fine.

Oops. He did overdose, but his publicist was ordered to keep the information quiet.

Nobody knew what to think, but everyone had an opinion. Some were ashamed of the "same old Scott Hall" for getting caught up in drugs and/or alcohol again. Some were upset with LordsOfPain (and every other wrestling news site out there) for reporting things before they were "fact".

That's when the videos that I opened this column with hit the internet. It's footage from an indy show that Top Rope Promotions put on in Massachusetts last night, and in it, you can clearly see that Scott Hall is in absolutely no condition to perform and to be in front of a crowd. Do the videos prove or disprove that Scott Hall had any sort of overdose the other day? No, of course not. However, even those who didn't buy into the initial reports have to be questioning things after they watch the videos. Overdose or not, the man clearly has some problems that remain in his life.

I want it to be known that Scott Hall is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I won't sit here, lie and say I knew, from the beginning, that he was going to be a huge star. I first remember seeing him in WCW as The Diamond Studd in 1991, but, of course, it wasn't until a year or so later that he would really begin to open the eyes of people across the globe. That's when he debuted with the World Wrestling Federation as Razor Ramon, a Tony Montana-like character that was pretty unique to the world of wrestling.

As one of my all-time favorites, it's especially sad to see Scott in this shape. Why, you ask? Well, as professional wrestling fans, this is something we've all seen before. We've experienced wrestlers with drug and/or alcohol problems, and let's be honest, these stories don't often end well. If they haven't had the poor ending yet, chances are it's because the story hasn't had an ending to this point.

I know I make a lot of jokes in my columns, and that I like to have a lot of fun, but right now is not that time. Scott Hall, I'm pulling for you. I'm really, honestly and truly pulling for you. The last thing the wrestling industry needs is another tragedy, especially with someone that carries a huge name.

Let me just say this, though.. the people at Top Rope Promotions should be ashamed of themselves. Not too long ago, I ripped TNA Management for allowing Jeff Hardy to go out and perform when he wasn't in proper condition to do so. Well, this situation is even worse. Hardy was messed up, but some people saw him and couldn't tell. Hall, on the other hand, was clearly messed up. It didn't matter if you were young or old.. you could tell something was wrong with him. Even a blind person could tell something was up, as he just sounded off his ass. Even with that, they still thought it would be a good idea to parade him out there in front of those people. There were children in the crowd. They don't need to see Scott Hall in that condition.

Fuck you, Top Rope. It's crystal clear that you put him out there just to make a buck, and for that, there's perhaps a special place in hell for you. There were people that bought their tickets specifically to see Scott Hall, and you knew that if you pulled him from appearing, there would be people that demanded a refund, even if you told them the real reason why you pulled him from appearing. You idiots sat there and had the nerve to tell people that you knew it was wrong to send him out there, and yet, you sent him out there. Then you tell people that they shouldn't order the iPPV that the show was filmed for, because the footage of Hall is "disturbing". So, let me get this straight.. you want Scott Hall to go out there and make you some money, but you don't want Scott Hall to make the iPPV company money? Incredible. Absolutely.. incredible. I've seen a lot of things in all my years as a wrestling fan, but that's just something special right there.

Scott Hall fans.. root for your guy. Send him well-wishes. Pray for him. Whatever it is that you feel you need to do in an attempt to help him better himself and his life, do it. He needs to know that he has support. He needs to know that he has fans on his side, and that people are pulling for him to succeed. It seems like a longshot, based on his track record and the track record of the wrestling business, as a whole, but this story can definitely have a happy ending. One can only hope, anyway.

Writer's Note: Click the following link to see the matchups in the Elite Eight of Hustle Madness 2011..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Elite Eight

The HiPE Playlist: Nothing tonight.

You people.. you know who I am, but you don't know why I'm here.

Hustle
E-mail: HIPRNFeedback@gmail.com
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-Team Sleep--------------------------Day 465
Imagine the pop he would have received if he was actually a face.

Going to be a bit of a short one tonight. I have to spend some time tonight working on my LoP Magazine columns, and I also have places to be. Speaking of LoP Magazine, the countdown is now on until the first issue is released. April 20th, ladies and gentlemen. Get your $5 ready. Uncle Joe's column is worth the $5 all by itself. Of course, I'll be keeping you updated as the date draws nearer. For now, on with tonight's column.

Just for shits and giggles, I was looking up random wrestling-related videos on YouTube today. It was one of those afternoons where you watch a video, see something that catches your attention on the Suggested Videos bar off to the side, so you click it and watch that video, and on and on and on and on, until you've spent an hour watching a whole bunch of things you forgot existed.

Well, after a while, I started looking at random WWE videos of Hulk Hogan. More of his recent stuff, that is. His appearance at WrestleMania 21, where he saved Eugene from an attack by Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. When he was the surprise tag partner of John Cena and Shawn Michaels when they faced Chris Jericho, Christian and Tomko on Raw in 2005. When he saved Hornswoggle from an attack by The Great Khali at Raw's 15th Anniversary special in 2007. The crowd in Montreal not even letting Hogan speak, the night after WrestleMania 18, because they were too busy cheering and chanting for him (mind you, he was a heel). Hulk's Hall Of Fame induction. The list goes on and on. However, there was a theme that I was seeing in all of the videos.

Ridiculous face pops.

Hulk Hogan, obviously, is one of the most popular names in the history of the business. When he was handling business for the World Wrestling Federation, he made crowds all over the globe pop. He was still driving crowds crazy in WCW.. until he shocked the world and turned heel, of course. Even with all of that, though, I still say the most amazing crowd reactions of his entire career are the ones in the videos I watched. His so-called "nostaliga tours" with World Wrestling Entertainment after the death of WCW have been incredible. He was much older (as is generally the case as time goes on), and in a lot of cases, wasn't even wrestling, but there he was.. blowing the roof off of arena after arena.

I've said it time and time again.. to this day, if those world-famous opening guitar riffs were to hit during an episode of Raw or during a WWE pay-per-view, the crowd would go banana muffin. Then, when he actually came out with the famous Hogan strut and poses, they'd go banana pancake. God forbid he actually get to the ring and start ripping shirts off and cupping ears and showing off muscles. If that happened, they'd go banana pudding. Yes, ladies and gentlemen.. they'd actually go alllll the way to banana pudding. Think about that for a moment.

Is that really true, though? I used to really stand by that line of thinking.. and then the 2011 WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony happened. If you didn't watch the ceremony, there was a moment during the induction speech for Shawn Michaels where Triple H said Hulk Hogan's name, and the crowd reaction was actually something that caught me off-guard.

His name was greeted with boos. Heavy boos, at that.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Very surprised. Was it because of Hogan's association with TNA in the last year-and-a-half? Was it just a single reaction from a crowd in Atlanta that saw Hogan be a very big part in the city's big wrestling promotion (WCW) go out of business? Was the honeymoon over, so to speak?

The TNA association, in my opinion, would make sense if he were a "lesser" name. If it were, say, Kurt Angle or Jeff Hardy (especially with Hardy's recent problems) that were name-dropped, I'd understand the negative crowd reaction. Hogan has, for years, transcended the business, no matter who was signing his paychecks and putting him on television.

The WCW thing doesn't really work either, if you ask me. For one, it's a WrestleMania crowd, which means there are probably just as many, if not more, people in the crowd that aren't ATL-iens than those that are from Atlanta. These people won't have the same WCW connection as a homegrown Atlanta crowd would have. Besides, it's not really Hogan's fault. There were a million reasons that WCW went up in flames, and while backstage politics that Hulk Hogan may or may not have been involved in happens to be one of those reasons, it's still a minor reason in the grand scheme of things.

Is the honeymoon over? It's a day that I honestly never thought I'd see. People were worried about the response that Hogan would get when the nWo was being brought to WWE. It had been a while since WWE fans had seen Hogan as anything other than a rival. Times had changed. Eras had changed. People began knowing Hulk Hogan as a completely different person than what they were used to, and not just because he had turned heel. He went from being a man that everyone wanted to look up to, to being a "backstage politician".. a "liar".. an "asshole".. whatever name you could think of, people were using it to describe him. When he showed up, though, it's what I saw in those videos today. Not only did the crowd react in a positive way to him, even though they weren't "supposed to", they reacted as though he did no wrong. He was back. He was where he belonged. He was home. He came back on several occasions, and every single time he came back, the crowd couldn't get enough of him.

Now, though.. is the legend that everyone thought was Immortal actually turning out to be much more mortal than we could have imagined? What do you folks in ReaderLand think it is? Do you think it's simply because he works for the "enemy" now? Are the fans finally growing tired of Hulk Hogan and his act? What do you think the reaction would be if he showed up, unannounced, on Raw? Holla at ya boy and let me know what's on your mind.

Writer's Note: Click the following link to see the matchups in the Elite Eight of Hustle Madness 2011 (don't forget that the Elite Eight results and Final Four matchups will be posted at some point before Raw begins here tomorrow)..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Elite Eight

The HiPE Playlist: "Tha Mansion" by Nipsey Hu$$le.. "Getting To It Mandatory" by Lloyd Banks.. "Far Away (Remix)" by Marsha Ambrosius & Busta Rhymes.. "Let's Ride" by Shane Eli, Playboy Tre & Rittz.. "The Moon & The Sky (Remix)" by Sade & Jay-Z.. "Writer's Block" by Royce Da 5'9 & Eminem.. "Rock Bottom" by Freddie Gibbs & Bun B.. "Put A Bird Up" by Cam'ron & Vado.. "Kidz Theze Daze" by Asher Roth.. "Make Some Noise" by Beastie Boys

Dad, what's a blowhole for?

I'll tell you what it's not for, and when I do, you will understand why I can never go back to Sea World.

-------------------------Day 466
Great job, Dave.

8:54pm: First things first, I'd like to say Rest In Power to Alex Whybrow, better known to the wrestling world as "Sweet N Sour" Larry Sweeney, who passed away this morning. Yet another sad moment in the history of the business. The independent wrestling scene has no words right now. My condolences go out to his friends and family.

9:01pm: I still would have preferred a red/black color scheme to the red/blue/white color scheme, but I'm still pretty happy about John Cena's new t-shirt. My first wrestling shirt purchase in who knows how long? Perhaps. We shall see.

9:04pm: For the love of hell, I really hope that they don't add the WWE Title to John Cena VS The Rock at WrestleMania 28. Talk about unnecessary.

9:07pm: Cena wants a WWE Title shot, but is interrupted by Randy Orton, who feels he deserves the shot because he actually won at WrestleMania. Then John Morrison decides to interrupt, but not before allowing some other wrestler to fuck Melina backstage. Morrison feels he's deserving of the next title shot.

9:09pm: Alright, and now Vickie Guerrero is out, throwing Dolph Ziggler's name into the mix.

9:10pm: Coon Buffoonery is running wild on Raw now. How many people are going to place themselves into the WWE Title picture? Good Lord. Is this going to lead to a Beat The Clock Challenge? I really hope not.

9:11pm: Right on cue, the anonymous Raw General Manager chimes in, and no, it isn't going to be a Beat The Clock Challenge. We're getting a Gauntlet Match. If Truth wins, it will set race relations back another 20 years.

9:17pm: Awesome Kong vignette! Yes! Maybe she's skipping FCW, after all, and is on her way to Raw.

9:18pm: Eve VS Brie Bella for the Divas Title. Yuck.

9:19pm: In an attempt to prevent "twin magic" shenaniganery, Eve pulls out a Sharpie marker to.. absolutely no response from the crowd. This bitch is worthless. Nobody cares about her at all, and yet, the company keeps pushing her. It goes back to what I said in my column about "X-Pac Heat".. she's getting zero reaction. The reaction she gets isn't even worthy of being on television, let alone being the face of the entire Divas division and getting multiple title reigns.

9:21pm: ..and Brie Bella becomes the new Divas Champion. The crowd is shown, and there's literally one person clapping, and even then, it's a polite clap. Holy shit, what are they doing?

9:22pm: Wait a minute.. they air a Kong vignette, and then switch the title to Brie Bella, out of nowhere? That just screams out "transitional champion" to me, and it makes me question things with Eve even further. They're protecting her by not having her be absolutely squashed by a debuting Kong. You know, because God forbid they tarnish the legacy that Eve has built up to this point. Eve must give some of the best face of all-time. There's no other logical explanation for her to keep getting TV time.

9:27pm: Sin Cara's on-air debut match. THE FINGERPOINT OF DOOM~! THE PRIMO OF DOOM~!

9:28pm: "Pause like you mean it" is the new catchphrase for Twix? Might wanna change that, Twix marketing team.

9:30pm: This is, perhaps, too much offense for Primo to be getting. The match should have been Sin Cara getting some dazzling offense in, and that's it. Half the people in the crowd don't even remember who Primo is.

9:33pm: Primo proves that he shouldn't be getting any offense in by slipping on the top rope. He's lucky he didn't injure himself or Sin Cara there. I like Primo and all, but he should have been nothing more than the Job Boy there.

9:40pm: So, now we're getting some drama within The Corre?

9:42pm: Santino, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry and Evan Bourne are being called The Apple. Allied People Powered by Loathing Everything about The Corre. This isn't a good sign for their future. This isn't a good sign for anyone. Apple. Corre. Because apples have cores, see? Isn't that clever? 15 years from now, it'll finally sink in and you'll get it.

9:49pm: The Corre wins. Yes, folks, go ahead and add Santino, Bryan, Bourne and Henry to your list of predicted names that will be released during Spring Cleaning.

9:52pm: Jack Swagger could very well be fighting for the WWE or World Title. Instead, he's playing the background role while the WWE announce team fight each other. This can't be life.

9:55pm: Jerry Lawler VS Jack Swagger. If Swagger wins, Michael Cole gets to retire as an undefeated in-ring competitor. If Lawler wins, he gets another shot at Cole at Extreme Rules.

9:57pm: Why couldn't it have been Michael Cole instead of Larry Sweeney? I'm 100% serious. Cole is the single most annoying person on the face of the planet. A bullet right between his eyes wouldn't even be good enough. Fucking hell.

9:59pm: I finally did it, folks. I had to mute my television. This is some of the most gawdawful shit Raw has ever given us, and that's really saying a lot.

10:01pm: Swagger loses to a ridiculously weak-looking rollup, reminiscent of Steve Austin and Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997. At least that match had an excuse, though, with Austin being temporarily paralyzed and the ending having to be ad-libbed. This just makes Swagger look terrible. Making it even worse, Cole berates Swagger after the match and slaps him across the face. Swagger just stands there. All of Swagger's credibility is flying right out the window before our very eyes.

10:05pm: Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross VS Michael Cole and Jack Swagger at Extreme Rules. If it doesn't end with Swagger ripping Cole's head from his shoulders (literally, not figuratively), they might as well release Swagger, as well.

10:09pm: They've been teasing this announcement from Edge all night long, hinting at a possible retirement. This is probably going to be very interesting.

10:24pm: He really did it. He really did announce his retirement. That was a nice, to-the-point speech. I'm a little torn about the entire thing. As you can tell, if you've been reading my columns, I'm not exactly a huge Edge fan, but it has to suck to retire that way. To be told that you can't go out and wrestle anymore, instead of making the decision on your own, is terrible for Edge. On the bright side, as he mentioned during the speech, now he doesn't have to end up in a wheelchair before the age of 40. This really opens up a big spot on Smackdown, though. It's now up to the company to make sure his spot is properly filled.

10:30pm: The main event is starting already? There's upwards of 40 minutes left in the show. Wow.

10:31pm: Randy Orton VS Dolph Ziggler to start off the Gauntlet Match.

10:35pm: Ziggler wins by a roll-up after a NexSES distraction. David Otunga, Michael McGillicutty and Mason Ryan are all apparently superhuman, as they returned from an RKOP quicker than anyone in history. Someone check them for performance-enhancing drugs. Well, except for Otunga, that is. His performance has never been enchanced.

10:39pm: Dolph Ziggler VS R-Truth is up next.

10:41pm: The crowd isn't really responding to this. However, I'm not really surprised. It's two midcarders, competing for a spot at the WWE Title, with no real build up or anything. They're not buying into this at all.

10:44pm: Truth wins, out of nowhere. Oy vey.

10:44pm: R-Truth VS John Morrison is next, with the winner facing John Cena for the title shot.

10:48pm: Truth appears to be moving in slow motion tonight. I don't know if he's already winded or what, but he's not himself, and hasn't been damn near since he started.

10:51pm: Truth wins again. R-Truth VS John Cena, with the winner to face The Miz at Extreme Rules. The crowd still doesn't care.

10:52pm: To nobody's surprise, Cena gets the first crowd reaction in damn near 20 minutes.

10:55pm: Smackdown commercial, saying Edge will be giving up the World Title this week. If this doesn't open the door for Christian to take Edge's place in the Ladder Match against Alberto Del Rrrrrio at Extreme Rules, I'll be stunned.

10:59pm: They're really overselling trying to make Truth look like an underdog. He kicks out of a regular move like a suplex, and Cena makes a face like Truth kicked out of an Attitude Adjustment from the roof of the building, and the announcers put over how Truth just won't die. It's a fucking suplex!

11:01pm: When Cena is on offense, we get a dueling chant of "Let's Go, Cena" and "Cena Sucks". When Truth is on offense, we get a dueling chant of "Let's Go, Cena" and "Cena Sucks". Sucks to be Truth.

11:03pm: The Miz and Alex Riley storm the ring, and the match has been thrown out. Goodness.

11:04pm: The Miz VS John Cena VS R-Truth for the WWE Title at Extreme Rules. Yuck.

11:05pm: Truth didn't do shit leading into WrestleMania, wasn't even on the WrestleMania card, and is now competing for the WWE Title at the following pay-per-view? I'm all for new main eventers, but wouldn't it be better to.. I don't know.. build someone up before you push him to main eventing a pay-per-view for the top title in the business?

The Positives: Awesome Kong vignette.. even though Primo had too much offense, a nice five-minute match between him and Sin Cara.. the potential of Michael Cole finally getting his comeuppance at Extreme Rules.. a nice retirement speech from Edge.. the main event was given plenty of time to work with.. a new main eventer.

The Negatives: A bad Divas Title match, complete with zero crowd reaction for anything, including the title switch.. Primo's top rope botch.. The Apple/Corre nonsense.. The end of the Lawler/Swagger match.. the main event didn't deserve all of the time it was given.. R-Truth being a main eventer.

Grade: C, leaning towards a C-

Writer's Note: We're down to the Final Four in Hustle Madness 2011, folks. Click the following link to check things out, and to get your vote in..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Final Four

The HiPE Playlist: Raw.

That's why I kicked your leg out of your leg!

-------------------------Day 467
Coup d'état!

Alright, I can't sit back and watch all of these comments in the fallout of Edge's retirement without saying something. This isn't going to be some long, drawn-out anti-Edge column. I just feel the need to inject the world (well, those that need it, anyway) with a dose of realism to bring them out of their fantasies and emotional outbursts because their guy is retiring.

Folks, we need to cut out the crap about Edge walking away "on his terms". All day, I've been seeing people praising Adam Copeland because he was "smart enough to know when to retire". They praised him, saying that, because of his decision, he wouldn't end up crippled, or even worse, at the age of 40 because of wrestling.

That's all perfectly fine and dandy, except for one minor detail.. those statements aren't true whatsoever.

Edge didn't walk away "on his terms".

He didn't "know when to retire".

It wasn't his decision that will keep him out of a wheelchair or a casket by the age of 40.

Let's look at the facts.. he was smart enough to figure out that something was wrong, which led him to get another MRI after WrestleMania. The MRI results showed that he was suffering from neuropraxia, which is the cause for the numbness and trembling that he's had in his arms and hands. It also showed that his spinal cord had continued to take a beating after his spinal fusion surgery in 2003. He was dangerously low on fluid that protects a human's spinal cord from being injured, and because of it, he wouldn't be cleared to wrestle anymore. The doctors wouldn't clear him, and in turn, WWE wouldn't clear him.

Edge was forced into retirement.

I've never met Adam Copeland, but I can just about guarantee you that, if it were up to him, he'd still wrestle. Maybe for a few more months. Maybe for a few more years. He'd still be wrestling, though. He'd go into Extreme Rules, and he'd defend the World Title against Alberto Del Rrrrrio. Win or lose, he'd go out and put it all on the line, and he'd probably take a few big bumps in the match. From there, he'd keep on keeping on.

That's how the minds of these wrestlers work, ladies and gentlemen. Right or wrong, that's just how they work. Wrestling is in their blood. It's in their system. They can't picture their lives without it, so they hang onto it for as long as they can. They often hold onto it for too long, and it ends in tragedy, sometimes of the quick and sudden variety, and sometimes of the long and drawn out variety.

There are going to be idiots out there that read this and assume it's me saying Edge isn't smart enough to know when to quit, blah blah blah. These are the same tools that read "Wrestler A is better than Wrestler B" as "Wrestler B sucks and is a child molester" and get all defensive about it. It's pretty well-documented that I'm not a huge fan of Edge, but I'm no fool. I respect the hell out of what he's done for the business. All of the blood. All of the sweat. All of the tears. There's no denying that he's put himself on the line for damn near two decades now. However, it's just not accurate to paint him as some sort of higher being in the wrestling world because he retired when he did.

It was out of hands, which is a shame. On the bright side.. yes, he is able to walk away from wrestling on a literal basis, which is something that all of his fans can be thankful for.

#ThankYouEdge
#FuckYouMattHardy

Writer's Note: We're down to the Final Four in Hustle Madness 2011, folks. Click the following link to check things out, and to get your vote in..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Final Four

The HiPE Playlist: "Tadlock's Glasses" by Beastie Boys.. "Full Metal" by Curren$y.. "Check Em Out" by Vado, Jadakiss & Ludacris.. "Varsity Blues" by Murs.. "Ballin" by Young Jeezy & Lil Wayne.. "Fame" by D12.. "Good Enough" by Bobby Brown.. "Every Little Step I Take" by Bobby Brown.. "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown.. "Rock Witcha" by Bobby Brown

Please welcome the second worst tragedy ever to hit New York City.. Donald Trump!

-------------------------Day 468

WWE Network.

WWE, WWE-related and WWE-owned content, 24 hours a day.

That's pretty crazy when you stop and think about it. Some would view that as complete overkill, while others would view it as a slice of heaven. Personally, I'm all for it. As a huge fan of the business, I could see myself spending a lot of time watching the programming. People are wondering just what that programming is going to be, though. I have a few ideas, and here are some of them, as far as what should be on the network, and what I'd like to see on the network..

Replays: I think WWE would benefit from airing replays of the current week's episodes of Raw and Smackdown on the network. It doesn't have to be aired 50 times a week or anything, but it gives more people a chance to watch the show and to keep themselves caught up on things. I suppose you could add replays of the current week's episode of Tough Enough when the show is on, but from what I've seen in the last week or so, the replays already air several times during the week, on multiple stations, which is pretty crazy.

Youth: This one covers a few different things, actually. For one, they need to get NXT back on television, instead of a web-only show. Not that the show was pulling in huge ratings to begin with, but there's countless people that I know of, personally, who have stopped watching since the show was moved to WWE.com a few seasons back. Get the damn thing back on television already. As far as the other reason behind this section being called "Youth".. I don't see a problem with putting FCW on here. There's a small, small, small portion of the United States that has an opportunity to see FCW on television. Then, these new guys debut on Raw or Smackdown, and people don't know who they are, nor do they have a reason to care. There's two-and-a-half years worth of episodes that are at the company's disposal. They could show older episodes, and people could watch guys like Jack Swagger, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, etc before they were called up. They could show the current episodes, and people would have a chance to get to know the future of the company. Then it gives the fans a reason to care when so-and-so debuts on Raw. Just an idea.

Documentaries: I don't know exactly how many DVD sets the company has put together through the years, but there have been a lot of them. With the exception of a few, each set came complete with a very nice documentary portion. Maybe, to keep the DVD sales of the newer sets up, the network could avoid showing those, but things like the Monday Night War, Rise & Fall Of ECW, etc should be in regular rotation, I'd think. They're far more in-depth than what WWE fans are used to seeing, and often show the WWE Superstars in a different light.

History: This one is pretty broad and pretty obvious, but for this, I mean it for something specifically. I've had this conversation with people, but one of the biggest WWE-related disappointments, in my opinion, is that we haven't seen episodes of Raw and Smackdown (Raw more than anything, though) on DVD. We've seen some of the top moments, but not full-on episodes. Of course, something like that would be incredibly difficult to pull off. You can't release them year by year. Imagine how big a set it would be if you had all 52 episodes of Raw from any given year, plus extras and bonus features? Well, WWE Network is the answer to that. Start with the initial episode of Raw, and show a new one every week. Show a new one every day. Show a new one every few days. It doesn't really matter, as long as the episodes are shown. The same can be done for Smackdown. If you want to go further back, the same can be done for things like Prime Time Wrestling. The same can even be done for Nitro, Thunder, and any of the other promotions that WWE own footage for.

PPV Themes: I don't mean they should play the video for Tinie Tempah's "Written In The Stars" because it was the official theme song for WrestleMania this year. I'm talking about themed weeks, and possibly even months, like I have for the bigger WWE pay-per-views. For example, in the weeks leading up to the Royal Rumble, the WWE Network could air a whole bunch of Royal Rumble-related content. Show previous Rumbles, in their entirety. Have countdown shows involving the Rumble, rating the best Rumbles, best matches, etc. It would be a lot easier to do these themes for the Rumble, for WrestleMania and for SummerSlam. If Survivor Series is kept around, then the theme could be used for that event, as well. Perhaps a theme week for Extreme Rules might not work as well.

Movies: I'm guessing that WWE Films productions would be aired on the network, whether we want them to be or not. If you want to be serious about it, it might actually open people up to some of the movies. People are always talking about how bad the movies are, yet, they won't admit to actually seeing the movies. That doesn't quite add up. Anyway, I think it would actually be nice to see wrestling-related movies that aren't WWE Films productions get some shine on the network, as well. Man On The Moon. Body Slam. The Wrestler. Beyond The Mat. Nacho Libre. Hell, if they're feeling frisky, they could even show some of Hulk Hogan's old movies. The movies would just be a nice break from the "norm" on the station.

Tributes: This goes along with the "theme week" deal I mentioned earlier. When a wrestler passes away (knock on wood), tributes can be aired for them on the network. Show their best matches, go over their biggest feuds, have other wrestlers (past and present) share their thoughts and opinions, etc. The same can be done for wrestlers who retire. The same can be done for wrestlers that have previously passed away, perhaps during the week of their birthday or something along those lines. You know what would even be nice, but probably would never happen? Chris Benoit tributes. If the company ever decides to lift its ban on Benoit's name, face and content, the WWE Network would be a good place to get people to see how great Benoit was as an in-ring competitor. Keep in mind.. Benoit's been dead for almost four years now, and will be dead for about five years when the network is launched, so there are a lot of people out there who have never even seem him wrestle. Again, it's probably never going to happen, but it would be nice.

Original Content: This is a must. WWE has long been rumored to be getting involved in sitcoms. WWE Network would be a way for that to happen, because as big a name as some of the guys are in the wrestling world, I just don't see ABC putting Big Show or Santino in a starring role in one of their sitcoms. It can go beyond just that genre, though. Perhaps an animated series of some sort for the younger crowd? It can't just be old television episodes and footage from the past that airs on the network, regardless of how huge the WWE video vault happens to be. Original content might, very well, be the key to success. If even one new show can be created, and turn out well, the network should last.

Miscellaneous: Old XFL games. What?

Other than anything I've mentioned here, what do you folks in ReaderLand want to see on the WWE Network? Holla at ya boy and let me know what's on your minds. This should be interesting.

Writer's Note: We're down to the Final Four in Hustle Madness 2011, folks. Click the following link to check things out, and to get your vote in..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Final Four

Writer's Note Part Deux: #FuckYouMattHardy

The HiPE Playlist: "HiiiPoWeR" by Kendrick Lamar.. "Trouble" by Bei Major & J.Cole.. "Look At Her (Killin Em, Part 2)" by Fabolous, Ne-Yo & Ryan Leslie.. "1995" by Maffew Ragazino & Jon Connor.. "Killa" by Cam'ron & Vado.. "Are You That?" by Raven Sorvino.. "What You See Is What You Get" by Xzibit.. "X" by Xzibit.. "Paparazzi" by Xzibit.. "Front 2 Back" by Xzibit

It's not so much that I want to kill her. It's just.. I want her not to be alive anymore.

-------------------------Day 469

Writer's Note: If you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you'd know about the ridiculous day I had today, and how I got no sleep whatsoever because of ridiculous maintenance work taking place on the roof of my apartment complex. I live on the Penthouse, so the hammering, drilling and stomping was done mere feet above my head for hours and hours today. I'm exhausted. I have a migraine that is making it hard for me to see straight. I'm going to sleep. Tonight's column is a repost. I'm sorry.

Since I started writing daily columns, people are always asking me about wrestling and how much of a passion I have for it. They ask me how long I've been a fan. They ask me what got me into watching it in the first place. They ask me if I've ever been close to giving up and walking away from being a fan. I'm getting up there in years (sorry to those of you that are older than I am), so I can't remember every single column that I've created in the past few years, but all of these questions make me think that either I've yet to do a column that answered them, or most of my readers are new to my work. Either way, I guess today is as good a time as any to get some questions answered. Once again, I'll be freestyling this, so I'll try not to ramble for too long before getting into the wrestling aspect of the column.

When I was growing up, I didn't exactly have what you'd call a "normal" childhood. It was nothing tremendously odd that movies could be made about or anything like that, but things were different nonetheless. I never really knew my father, and my mother wasn't exactly in the best life situation at the time, so I was legally adopted by my maternal grandmother when I was only a few months old. My grandparents were all I ever knew as far as parental units go. Let me paint a bit of a picture for you folks, and describe my grandparents a bit..

My grandmother was an old-school strict Chinese (yes, I actually have Chinese blood) disciplinarian, and even though she stood only five feet tall and weighed in at less than 100 pounds, she intimidated the hell out of people.

My grandfather wasn't actually my grandfather at all. By blood, anyway. He was my grandmother's boyfriend for decades, but they never got married, and they never had any kids together. My actual grandfather moved on with his own life after he and my grandmother split up. My "new" grandfather's personality was about as different from my grandmother as could possibly be. He was about as laid back as you could possibly get, and he always tried to find the humor in things. If you think I'm funny, you can thank him for that. Oh, and just to add to the difference between my grandparents, he was white. Norwegian, at that.

I'm sure it looked funny to see us out in public. I didn't look like either one of them (I was almost chocolate brown as a kid), and they clearly weren't the youngest (although, at 43 and 38, they weren't quite old fogies when I was born) people on the block. Anyway, before I end up going off on some related-yet-not-so-related rant and completely forget about what I was talking about..

When I was young, my grandparents both had jobs at the airport, working for Northwest Airlines. They both worked during the day, so that means I had a babysitter. Luckily for me, the babysitter lived down the hall from us, which made dropping me off and picking me up incredibly easy. She wasn't the greatest babysitter of all-time, but I was always fed, and I always had things to do. Her daughter was my age, so it made things easy for her.. whatever she'd normally have her daughter do, she could have me do, as well, without having to worry if it was age-appropriate, etc. My "friend" had an older brother, and he'd always have friends over at the apartment, doing whatever teenagers did in the early-to-mid 80s. One of the things they did that I was allowed to witness was watch wrestling. I remember them watching it in the living room on multiple occasions, but I had no idea what the hell it was, so I never really paid attention to it.

One day, that all changed.

I was in the living room, and they were watching a wrestling video tape that the brother had recorded over the weekend. It was the first time in my life that I saw and heard the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, and within seconds, I was hooked. He was cutting a promo on whatever schmoe he was scheduled to face that week, and I was mesmerized. He was so.. animated. There he was, with his fancy suit, shiny Rolex watch and dark shades.. unlike anything else I had glanced at while my babysitter's son had been watching wrestling. Ric Flair's charisma made me a fan of his before I even knew what charisma was or that it didn't start with the letter "k". Here I am, 25-ish years later, and I'm still watching. That's one question down..

What got you into wrestling in the first place?

Through the years, wrestling definitely became a passion of mine. I began watching it on my own, instead of just when my babysitter's son decided to watch. I started memorizing wrestler's catchphrases and using them in my every day speech, and nearly got the crust slapped out of my eye by my grandmother because I kept referring to my grandfather as "brother" after every sentence I said. She thought it was just me being disrespectful to my elders. She didn't know (and didn't care) who Hulk Hogan was.

I had the toys. I had the magazines. I even did the early stages of "fantasy booking", where I'd write out my "dream cards" on paper, and choose who'd win the matches, how they'd win, and how long the matches would last. I was obsessed with wrestling. That obsession only got worse as I got older, and as wrestling became more popular. It was on TV more, there were more pay-per-views to order, etc. I couldn't get enough. Then came the best (and worst, all at the same time) invention to ever happen to the world of professional wrestling..

The internet.

I knew four or five different wrestling news websites before I knew my first porn website. Everything about those wrestling sites intrigued me, from the news on who was "jumping ship", as well as the wonderful world of spoilers. Finding out what was going to happen on TV that night before it actually happened? Fucking hell, sign me up, and put me down for two. With the internet, also came the boom of wrestling merchandise sales, and I got in on that, too. If there were any wrestling schools around here when I was growing up, I probably would've tried to become a wrestler. It was part of my life that much.

Even to this very day, you can't question the passion that I have for pro wrestling. This is the 70th consecutive day that I've put together a column for the world to read, and I'm approaching the #170 mark for total columns written. I still watch wrestling all the time, both on television and online. I watch the "big" companies, as well as the smaller ones. Behind music, wrestling is probably the biggest passion I have in my life right now.[/nerd alert] Time to scratch another question off the list..

How much of a passion do you have for wrestling?

With as much wrestling as I've watched through the years.. with as much of my time that has been devoted to it, with all the money I've spent on it in one way or another.. I've never really come close to walking away from it. Sure, I've come close to not watching a particular company at various points, but never the entire industry as a whole. Unless you're a complete and total blind mark for a company, even your absolute favorite promotion will go through periods where the booking is questionable, or the wrestlers there aren't the most enjoyable to you, and you'll find something else to watch. For some people, that "something else" is truly that.. something else entirely. For me, that "something else" is nothing more than a different promotion. I'll watch stuff from Japan or Mexico if I'm disenchanted with WWE, TNA, etc.

I guess, if you want to get really technical, my failed suicide attempt in 2007 could be considered as "walking away" from wrestling, although it had absolutely nothing to do with wrestling or anything even remotely close to resembling it. Still, for the week or so that I was contemplating "the move", and for the week or so that I was receiving psychiatric care afterwards, I didn't watch a single second of wrestling. I didn't even talk about it. I guess that answers the question, so scratch off another question..

Have you ever been close to giving up and walking away from being a wrestling fan?

Wrestling has always been there for me, whether I've needed it or not. It has made me laugh, it has made me cry, it has made me happy, it has frustrated the hell out of me.. just about every emotion you could think of. When I do those columns that are nothing more than letters to my "love", there's a reason for it. If you're a fan of wrestling, you go through most of the emotions that "real" relationships deal with, albeit to different levels. Some people have their hearts broken when their significant other cheats on them, while some people have their hearts broken when people like Eddie Guerrero and Owen Hart pass away and they can't watch their heroes anymore. It's a strange comparison, I know, but there's a lot more truth to it than a lot of you would like to admit. All in all, I've been a fan of the business for damn near my entire life, and I really don't see that changing any time soon.

Writer's Note Part Deux: We're down to the Final Four in Hustle Madness 2011, folks. Click the following link to check things out, and to get your vote in..

Hustle Madness 2011 - Final Four

Writer's Note Part Ekolu: #FuckYouMattHardy (now a group on Facebook, so click to join:

#FuckYouMattHardy

The HiPE Playlist: Nothing tonight.

You can't just replace my dog like Brad Pitt replaced Jennifer Aniston, or John Mayer replaced Jennifer Aniston, or Vince Vaughn replaced Jennifer Aniston, or that munch from the Counting Crows repla.. the point is, my dog is not Jennifer Aniston.

Source: lordsofpain.net