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The W - Pro Wrestling - RAW #656 "Tribute to the Troops" 12/19/05
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ekedolphin
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Since: 12.1.02
From: Indianapolis, IN; now residing in Suffolk, VA

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#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.29
Well, the road to the Elimination Chamber kicked off last week with Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters, Kane and Kurt Angle winning qualifying matches to earn a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship at New Year’s Revolution on January 8.

And how in the world they managed to get Chris Masters in that match, and not Shelton Benjamin, I don’t know. For that matter, how Chris Masters got a free pass by having to take on Viscera, while Shawn Michaels had to face Big Show, I again don’t know. But, as last night’s Armageddon pay-per-view pointed out, WWE has no limits when it comes to being complete and utter retards on occasion.

But, four outta six good competitors in that match is a pretty good average. And yes, I’m including Carlito in the “good” category, and Cena in the “bad” category. Just as I can’t understand how some people actually defend the indefensible by telling me how much Chris Masters is improving (I don’t see it), I’m gonna go against the grain and say that not only do I like Carlito’s charisma, I think he’s a pretty good wrestler. I didn’t say a “great” wrestler, but unlike the incredible ball of suck that Chris Masters is, I can foresee some day in the future in which Carlito *could* be a great wrestler.

Anyway… tonight we do the annual Tribute to the Troops. Here’s a confession I have to make… I’m a huge fan of this concept, but this is the first year I’ll actually be seeing one of these shows.

We come to you from Bagram AFB in Afghanistan, in which a drill sergeant says “Welcome to WWE RAW!” and the soldiers start piling in for the show. And wow, they look excited.

We see a brief montage sequence in which we talk about the fact that for over sixty years, entertainers have gone overseas to lift the morale of our troops in war—and WWE would do no less.

“No Chance in Hell” plays as Vince McMahon struts to the ring… and *damn*, there are a lot of people here for this show. The smiles on the faces of all these people really lift my heart.

“All right! WWE is here in Afghanistan! We have come here to entertain you, we have come here to spread a little Christmas cheer. As a matter of fact, I understand that Santa Claus himself is going to make his very first World Tour stop within the hour right here.”

Santa’s going to carry on, but he’s in a bit of a quandary, because he doesn’t know what to give certain people for Christmas. Specifically, those media people back home who refuse to tell the troops’ story—a story of honor, service and sacrifice to our nation. It’s a story of accomplishment, whether it’s in Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere in the world, because wherever they’re called upon, the armed forces of America get the job done.

Vince has a few suggestions of what Santa should give those people—since what they write is good only for fertilizer, he should give them a big bag of reindeer poop. Because America damn sure supports her troops.

Anyway, after a brief and *loud* “USA” chant, Vince calls out Lillian Garcia who’s wearing an interesting Christmas outfit that includes some camouflage on the skirt.

“Atten-HUT! Here to sing the National Anthem, Lillian Garcia!” She definitely sings it enthusiastically, but when it comes to the National Anthem I’m a musical purist in the strictest sense of the word—somebody please sing the correct notes, for once.

We go to commercial, and when we come back we have another montage sequence. WWE stops at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, and they sign a few autographs and shake a few hands. Gotta dig the kid that had Carlito’s haircut.

Then some of the WWE Superstars, like Mick Foley, Big Show and Triple H, visit the troops in a military hospital.

When we come back to the show, Carlito heads out to the ring to participate in the first match of the night. And this Elimination Chamber participant will be immediately tested—his opponent is The Big Show. And I’d venture to guess, if the excited smiles on the troops’ faces whenever Big Show visits them in the hospital are any indication, you won’t find many people with the fan support of Big Show on this program.

Carlito backs away from Show in the corner, and when Show turns around Carlito tries to attack him, but it backfires. Carlito rolls out of the ring, comes back firing punches and kicks, but when he tries diving off the top rope, Show catches him, chokeslams him and pins him. If the match was longer than three minutes, I’ll eat a bug.

But the heck of it is, I don’t know if I should bitch about Carlito getting squashed, given that it’s a special presentation. Eh, I’ll do a minor gripe, anyway.

We see another montage sequence about the incredible dangers of the landmines in Afghanistan, which is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. Minesweeping is a long, tedious and dangerous process, and while the armed forces clear mines every day, there are still many, many more to go—including a section of their own base which hasn’t been cleared yet.

They take Ric Flair and Shelton Benjamin out on one of these trips and detonate a few landmines. Shelton: “I felt *that* explosion in my heart!”

Back from commercial the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Fort Cunningham wishes us Happy Holidays.

And Jonathan Coachman (wearing a new “I’m the Coach, the voice of the people” T-shirt) calls out Santa Claus, who’s wearing desert camouflage, a beard that almost entirely covers his face—and who isn’t nearly as fat as the “real” Santa Claus. Santa disagrees with one thing—Vince said that the world’s forgotten about the troops, and “Santa” says “Who cares?” He talks about the deplorable treatment he’s received— how there was no Dom Perignon for his reindeer, for one—and says that this year he’s cancelling Christmas, New Year’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Bastille Day (ha!), he’s cancelling the troops’ leave (BOOOOOO!)…

And the “real” Santa comes down now, and makes it pretty clear within about five seconds that he’s none other than Mick Foley. He proposes a “No Ho-Ho-Holds” barred match against the evil Santa, who, I just figured out, is JBL. It was a cute match, in which Mick hit JBL several times in the head with his bag of toys, but got a little carried away and turned his back on JBL after hitting him with the pillow he’d used to stuff his suit. JBL hits the Big Boot, starts choking Mick on the ropes, and goes for the Clothesline from Hell—but he misses, and Mick hits the Double-Arm DDT. Then he pulls out Mr. Socko, and applies the Mandible Claw for the three-count. Your winner: Mick “Santa Claus” Foley. I wonder if that’s going to be the fifth face of Foley.

We see a montage sequence in which John Cena and Trish Stratus meet the press in Afghanistan.

After commercial, Let Us Take You Back to Two Weeks Ago when Vince McMahon said “YOU’RE FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!” to Eric Bischoff. Next week the search for a new RAW General Manager will continue, and it won’t be Lawler, ‘cuz he can’t afford the cut in pay.

Another montage sequence, in which the WWE Superstars tour the country with an MSNBC camera crew. JBL actually managed to get people to chant his initials for the first time in his life, hee.

When we come back, Rick Scavetta, Media Relations Chief, wishes Merry Christmas to his family.

Shelton Benjamin comes out to face… Snitsky? OK. Snitsky punches Shelton, and Shelton takes exception, wailing on him before getting knocked down aby a shoulder breaker from Snitsky. And he immediately goes to take off the turnbuckle pad. He lifts him up for a suplex, but Shelton reverses as only he can. Snitsky tries for a clothesline, misses, whips Shelton into the ropes but eats a flying forearm and then a clothesline. Shelton comes off the top rope, hits a flying clothesline, and starts punching away on Snitsky, which is quickly broken up by the ref. Snitsky’s in the corner with the exposed turnbuckle, and—yup. Shelton goes for the Stinger Splash, but eats steel instead, and a big boot later, Snitsky’s your winner.

It figures that they finally come up with a storyline for Shelton Benjamin which requires him to lose about seventy quadrillion matches in a row. Which is actually not much different than what he’s been doing since WrestleMania, only now they’re making it a point to say he’s on a losing streak.

When we come back, John Cena will take on Chris Masters.

Some more troops wish us Happy Holidays, and now here comes John Cena, who grabs a green flag—the Marine flag, I think? Help me out here—and he waves it on the way down to the ring.

Chris Masters is out next, and his entrance looks even *more* ridiculous without the entrance video or pyro. Cena and Masters lock up, and Masters gradually out-powers Cena back into the corner. Another tie-up, Cena knocks Masters down with a shoulder block and gets two. A few more knock-downs and rope runs… Cena leapfrogs Masters and drop-toe holds him into a front chancery. Masters gets up into another rope-run, and this time he ends up on the floor, because Cena pulls the ropes down. He follows Masters to the outside, but gets a face full of steel steps for his trouble. Masters gets him in a front face lock, Cena gets up out of it and they, once again, run the ropes—but Masters manages to get the Master Lock on him. Cena comes awfully close to breaking it, but Masters relinquishes the hold and goes up top for a fist drop. But he ends up eating Cena’s foot instead, which leads to the moves of doom—clothesline, clothesline, spinning side slam, “You Can’t See Me”, Five-Knuckle Shuffle, F-U. Three, and the kind of boring match that I expected considering the guys in the ring. Cena’s over in Afghanistan, in any event.

We’re reminded again (which I forgot to mention last time) that Triple H and HBK will meet in a Boot Camp match, and I wish I could remember what that was, but the last Boot Camp-related thing I can remember also had to do with the Diva Search, and I don’t apologize for missing that.

We see another montage sequence, in which more WWE Superstars visit the troops. And I’d be a WWE Superstar if it just meant I could go overseas and kiss cute soldier girls once in awhile, like Triple H did.

Interspersed in the sequence are shots of the show that haven’t happened yet on air, like Triple H celebrating with troops after his match. Which doesn’t necessarily give away any spoilers, considering the circumstances.

Also, I liked the “Terrorism? That’s not cool!” sign that someone had.

Next week on RAW, Kurt Angle will have a “shocking” announcement that “you can’t miss”. OK.

Coach calls out the 16-time World Champion Ric Flair, but points out that he’s suffering a losing streak not only in the ring, but also in life. I’m sure Ric will have a retort to that.

Coach ridicules Flair for not staying down after Triple H “took him in back of the barn and shot him” at Survivor Series, which doesn’t have the literal meaning that the thing at Armageddon did. He says that Flair’s a pathetic specimen, and even the Coach could beat him 1-2-3—and, in fact, that’s exactly what he wants to do. He challenges him to put the Intercontinental Title on the line against him right here, right now, and Flair’s only response is “WOO!”

Coach actually manages to gain an advantage to start out with, but before long he falls victim to the eye-pokes, chops, and low-blows that Ric Flair made famous. Before long Flair applies the figure-four leglock, and the camera cuts, strangely, to focusing just on Coach’s face and completely ignoring the actual move itself. But Coach taps anyway, and Flair’s still the champion.

We have another montage sequence before we go to commercial, and when we come back we have another montage sequence. And I *did* see Coach put on a parachute the wrong way, didn’t I? Hee, well, I wish him good luck with that.

Gotta love Triple H autographing a rocket and writing “Eat This!” on it, though.

We’re gonna have a Santa’s Little Helper Divas match up next, and, hee, Maria comes awfully close to going into that mine room I mentioned earlier. But did anyone else take a deep breath, wondering if WWE would actually have her do it?

Back from commercial, Trish Stratus comes out, wearing a camo ensemble complete with Santa hat. Ashley wears a traditional elf outfit with the nontraditional skull baseball cap, black boots and fish-net stockings. Candice comes out in the red-and-white robe, wearing… I guess that’s a corset?—with silver lining and black boots. And that damn wand, of course.

And Maria wears Christmas red and white on her sleeves and hat, and blue for her top and skirt. Trish’s outfit, as relatively modest as it is, gets my vote for bst outfit.

Maria and Ashley start this tag-team match, and Maria hits a side headlock takeover—and gets way too pleased with herself, jumping and cheering like Eugene. She accidentally trips her up, and tags in Candice—who wants Trish and only Trish. At least until she gets in the ring, that is—then she walks onto the barricade and goes body-surfing. OK. But when she gets back into the ring, more stalling, as Candice does the obligatory “Go Daddy” dance and even lies between the ropes. Trish throws her out, mocks her with a between-the-ropes pose of her own, and goes for the twirly-bird spinning head-scissors, but she accidentally gets the ref. While I finish cooking, some… interesting stuff happens, um… Trish finally hits the twirly-bird move on the ring person, first of all, but when Ashley goes for a move off the top rope, Candice manages to roll her up for three. Lillian: “Here is your winner [sic]: Candice Michelle and Maria!” Oops.

Because the word “montage” is soooo six paragraphs ago, I’ll let Word’s synonym detector change it up for me. We have another hodgepodge sequence, and this one pays tribute to some of the many troops who’ve given their lives in the line of duty.

Coming back from commercial, we have a promo for the Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution. And then we show how the makeshift arena was set up for this show.

And our main event’s up next—Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels. And you *know* these two guys are gonna bring it against each other. And you gotta love the banner that some of our troops made to pay tribute to the memory of Eddie Guerrero.

By the way, Triple H’s water-spitting thing isn’t nearly as cool in broad daylight when you can’t really see it.

Shawn Michaels comes out next, carrying his own camcorder, and somewhere Alex Shelley’s on the phone with his lawyer. HBK, by the way, is wearing camo—khaki camo pants and a green “Tribute to the Troops” T-shirt.

HHH gets the better part of the opening tie-up, and they go again, Trips knocking HBK down with a shoulder block off the ropes. Hip toss by HBK, and then an arm drag into an armbar. Trips gets up, backing HBK in the corner at the same time. HBK reverses Trips’ whip into the corner, but eats elbow, but when HHH charges out of the corner, HBK arm-drags him and applies another arm bar. After a brief rope-running sequence, Trips knocks HBK out of the ring, and we go to break.

And I want to apologize for the quality of this recap… I’ve been writing pretty much every day for the past week, and the creativity well’s running a little bit dry tonight.

Oh, God, they’re making a FOURTH American Pie movie?!

When we come back, Trips is throwing HBK over the top rope, and he hit pretty hard. Triple H follows HBK out and helps him up only to punch him in the face. Good Samaritan he’s not. They start brawling all the way up the entrance ramp, and Trips tries to go for the Pedigree right near the entrance—which is denied. HBK tosses HHH a sandbag, which he catches in self-defense, but it leaves him completely open to a second sandbag, which drills him right in the head. For some reason, though, the referee holds HBK back shortly thereafter, and Trips takes advantage, slamming a gas can into HBK’s head. As they both get up, they brawl all the way back to the ring. HBK hits a chop in the corner, and whips HHH back into that same corner, sending him flying. HBK drills Trips with a wet mop, and Trips drills him into the steel ring post.

Back in the ring, the ref gets bumped by a flying burrito, and Trips hits a DDT, but the referee’s down and can’t make the count. Finally another referee comes in and gives him a two-count. Triple H is pissed off by that, and pushes Chad Patton, but he shows him a patch on his shoulder—that of the Army’s First Cavalry Division. Triple H sarcastically stands up straight and salutes, and then drills the referee. HEE!

The first referee gets up just as HBK’s ready to go for the Five Moves of Doom. Clothesline, clothesline, inverted atomic drop, Macho Man Elbow connects, and he’s tuning up the band—but Sweet Chin Music misses! Trips goes for the Pedigree, but it’s reversed into a catapult, and then HBK hits an uncharged superkick to get the three-count. Good match!

And we have another mosaic chain to end the show.

So, with that in mind…

DASCOOL!: Good match by HBK and Triple H, a fun match between Mick Foley and JBL, and overall, what a great thing WWE does for our troops. Individual highlights for me include Maria almost wondering into the mined room, and Triple H sarcastically saluting the referee before knocking the shit out of him.

YOU SUCK!: Shelton’s losing streak continues (and against Snitsky, no less—I mean, c’mon, what’s next, he jobs to the ring attendant?), and Carlito gets squashed by Big Show. John Cena and Chris Masters have no business facing each other in a one-on-one match, because of all the people who can carry Masters to a three-star match, Cena isn’t close to being one of them. Also, “You Set Me Free”, the music they played for about half of the [random-generated synonym coming up] pastiche sequences, got on my last nerves after awhile.

WHAT?!: Evil Santa cancelled Bastille Day and Cinco de Mayo? That’s not cool. But in all seriousness… had this been any other WWE show, I would have bitched and hollered about the over-reliance on mishmash sequences. I’ll give them a pass this time, as I understand why they did it, but I would have liked to see less montages and more wrestling.



"Yes, the new plan will still involve rocket skates."
--Nale, The Order of the Stick

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AWArulz
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Since: 28.1.02
From: Louisville, KY

Since last post: 90 days
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#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.19
    Originally posted by ekedolphin
    and now here comes John Cena, who grabs a green flag—the Marine flag, I think? Help me out here


Nice report, Eke - that was what they call a unit standard. I couldn't see the standard, but a green one that color of green was probably an MP standard(Military Police). It would normally haave your unit's designation and (if it was an MP) the symbol (the MPs are crossed pistols).

I loved this Raw. Big Show has a good time in the ring, doesn't he? And HHH/Shawn was fun.



We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
redsoxnation
Scrapple








Since: 24.7.02

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#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.71
I'm guessing the No Blood rule had to be in force, because Michaels + ringpost usually equals bladejob. Nice match between the two, and very rare to see Trip in a No DQ match not have Mr. Sledgehammer. Still, no Iron Sheik vs. Sgt. Slaughter in terms of a boot camp match.
Shelton should not job to Snitsky, no matter how stupid an angle they are going to try.
Would J.R. have said he was in Connecticut or pretended he was in Iraq?
They really needed to have Flair try to give an Afghani a driving lesson. And, I've watched Flair for over 20 years. That was the shittiest figure 4 he ever applied.
Since Shawn did not drop down to pray, does that mean he really prays to the pyro. And, Masters entrance is beyond idiotic without the pyro.
At some point during these long plane rides, Vince had to pull Flair and Foley aside and have a conversation along these lines: You two don't like each other. I don't care. You both like money. I like money. You're facing each other at Mania, and you are going to act like professionals. If you can't figure out who wins, flip a damn coin before the match begins to determine the outcome.



Any complaints about the preceding post can be directed at the time traveling aliens who edited it.
geemoney
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Since: 26.1.03
From: Naples, FL

Since last post: 3 days
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#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.20
Obviously, this RAW isn't to be measured by the in-ring action. The diva tag match wasn't good, but the Trips/HBK match was. Everything else was too short to amount to anything. It was nice to see all the video tributes to the troops. Very well done.

I thought it was interesting that they had the crawl at the bottom noting the behind-the-scenes guys on the trip, including Fit Finley and Johnny Ace in talent relations.

And was there a reason ever given why Smackdown didn't go overseas this year? Was it because of the Armageddon PPV?



(edited by geemoney on 19.12.05 2329)

(edited by geemoney on 19.12.05 2329)

College, Sports and More!: Experience It



FurryHippie
Frankfurter








Since: 29.10.02
From: New York

Since last post: 6414 days
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#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.60
Trish's outfit was the highlight for me. Who gets the job of oiling her protruding asscrack? Jesus, that outfit ruled.

(edited by FurryHippie on 19.12.05 2031)
Deputy Marshall
Liverwurst








Since: 28.6.04
From: Troy, NY

Since last post: 3441 days
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#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.81
    Originally posted by geemoney
    And was there a reason ever given why Smackdown didn't go overseas this year? Was it because of the Armageddon PPV?


That probably did factor into it, but I think mostly it's because they've exclusively sent the Smackdown brand in previous years (unless I'm completely forgetting them doing a RAW trip to the troops).




Live long and
be fabulous.
UnsUwe
Chourico








Since: 6.7.02
From: Germany

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#7 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.39
Another Monday, another ekedolphin-buries-Masters-marathon. Obviously I am the only one getting annoyed by this, but I would wish for a more objective recap.



Sweet dreams......
ekedolphin
Scrapple








Since: 12.1.02
From: Indianapolis, IN; now residing in Suffolk, VA

Since last post: 480 days
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#8 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.29
Oh, heehee... I'm biased, huh? Puts me in good company, then.

Hey, I'm the first to say that I'm not objective, and I've no intention of being objective. I wish WWE were burying Masters as much as I have been. I'm not hesitant to let people know when I think something sucks.

The one good thing I can say about Masters' appearance tonight was that at least the match was relatively short. But the fact that this hack is going to be wrestling for the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber at the main-event of a freakin' pay-per-view is just wrong on so many levels. Particularly when Shelton Benjamin, who's got more talent in his pinky finger than Masters has in his entire body, and who stole the show at WrestleMania in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, probably won't have anything worthwhile to do, and in fact is in the midst of a now-publicized losing streak.

Wow, see, you ask me to be a little more objective, and I end up burying Masters just a little bit more.




"Yes, the new plan will still involve rocket skates."
--Nale, The Order of the Stick

Four-Time W of the Day (5/27/02; 7/3/02; 7/30/04; 8/28/04)

The Only Five-Time (and Last) N.E.W. World Heavyweight Champion

Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!

Jonny_English
Mettwurst








Since: 18.3.04
From: Derby, UK

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#9 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.85
Sounds like a fun show. I wish we got these specials in the UK, rather than some lame "Best of RAW" affair.
Derrick
Cotechino








Since: 10.9.05
From: Detroit

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#10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 1.74
Did anyone notice how flabby Snitsky looked? I haven't seen him really since the whole drugtesting policy was instituted. I am not one to jump to conclusions, but id say it was pretty noticable that he lost alot of muscle and gained alot of fat.



"They're all losers, either by birth or by choice." - Jack Parkman (Major League 2)
AWArulz
Scrapple








Since: 28.1.02
From: Louisville, KY

Since last post: 90 days
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#11 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.19
    Originally posted by UnsUwe
    Another Monday, another ekedolphin-buries-Masters-marathon. Obviously I am the only one getting annoyed by this, but I would wish for a more objective recap.


I want to say that I am usually forgiving of wrestlers - especially young enthusiastic ones. I LIKE Cena - I enjoy his act, for the most part. He knows how to play. And I like Carlito - although it is my opinion that he should be doing more talking, less wrestling. Cabana was his place.

But Masters - he's a body. Yes, I even like body building. But bodybuilders don't have to move, talk and bumb. Masters has none of those skills, at least to my discernment. He looked terrifically blown-up after his short match with Cena last night.

The three top pushed young wrestlers on raw are Cena, Masters and Carlito. I'd have to say I can't think of Carlito having a "finisher", although perhaps he does. That might be good. Cena's is essentially a body slam and Master's is a full Nelson. Both are not that big a deal. But at least Cena can talk a little.

No, I am with Eke on this one. I like the name The Rick applied to him: Chris F. Masters



We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
Tenken347
Knackwurst








Since: 27.2.03
From: Parts Unknown

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#12 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.78
I wouldn't say that Snitsky looked flabby, but I definately noticed a severe loss of mass and definition. Of course, Snitsky's the most obvious steroid user I've ever seen, so it's not like this is the confirmation we all needed.
JimBob Skeeter
Bierwurst








Since: 2.1.02
From: MN

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#13 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.17
This was the first "troops" show that I've seen, and I can honestly say that I loved it. I don't care about the throwaway matches. They were fun and for the TROOPS, not us. Just seeing the smiles on their faces was worth every moment. I cannot give enough kudos to the McMahon's and every WWE superstar for doing this for our military. My roomate, who was in the miliitary for two years and resigned when she got preggers, watched this for a bit with me last night. Now, she's not the biggest wrestling fan in the world, but she did not move for an hour, sat there and smiled the whole time, and said before she went to bed, "That is one of the nicest things I've ever seen." THAT says it all.


-edit- I also saw that "Terrorism? That's not cool!" sign and thought that THAT was cool!

(edited by JimBob Skeeter on 20.12.05 0817)
Mr Shh
Lap cheong








Since: 9.1.02
From: Monmouth County, NJ

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#14 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.83
    Originally posted by ekedolphin
    But the fact that this hack is going to be wrestling for the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber at the main-event of a freakin' pay-per-view is just wrong on so many levels. Particularly when Shelton Benjamin, who's got more talent in his pinky finger than Masters has in his entire body, and who stole the show at WrestleMania in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match, probably won't have anything worthwhile to do, and in fact is in the midst of a now-publicized losing streak.


Yikes...are you trolling? Just kidding...

I can't believe anyone would freak out about who gets a spot (1 of 6, mind you) in an Elimination Chamber match on a near-worthless PPV. First of all, the fact that a "main-event" spot is given to somebody on a PPV outside the Big 4 events means absolutely nothing since the PPV market is so saturated now and the quality of the PPVs has been so mediocre that the PPV shows are usually no better and no more important than regular TV.

Secondly, can you name all of the participants in all of the previous Elimination Chambers, right now, off the top of your head? If you can, God bless you. I've become senile since turning 30 and had to go look them up. Chris Masters (along with John Cena, Kurt Angle, Carlito, Kane and Shawn Michaels) are going to be nothing more than the answers to a trivia question five years from now (in much the same way that the 6 guys in the MitB ladder match are as well, since nobody really got pushed long term out of that).

So, about those other EC participants (now that I've looked them up): Did Randy Orton (in 2003) deserve a spot? Did Kevin Nash? Last year's EC match had the most talented, and arguably the most deserving six (seven) people in it, but it served only ONE purpose - to add heat to Batista-HHH. The fact that Edge, Jericho and Benoit were in that match did *nothing* to elevate themselves OR the match itself, in my opinion.

So, call me naive if I hold out hope that we're going to see Benjamin vs Michaels at WrestleMania. The fact that Shelton isn't going to be just "one of the six" on this PPV doesn't deter me. In fact, I look at it as a compliment to him.
The Thrill
Banger








Since: 16.4.02
From: Green Bay, WI

Since last post: 3624 days
Last activity: 223 days
#15 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.25
God bless the men of 2nd Bn, 127th Inf, 32d "Red Arrow" Brigade, WI Army Nat'l Guard...good luck, and come home soon.

    Originally posted by AWArulz
      Originally posted by ekedolphin
      and now here comes John Cena, who grabs a green flag—the Marine flag, I think? Help me out here


    Nice report, Eke - that was what they call a unit standard. I couldn't see the standard, but a green one that color of green was probably an MP standard(Military Police). It would normally haave your unit's designation and (if it was an MP) the symbol (the MPs are crossed pistols).


In my limited Army days of the early 90's, they always referred to that as a "guidon." (sp?) When you were in your barracks, it was posted outside. When your unit (usually company, sometimes battalion or brigade-level) went marching, somebody carried it in front of your formation. (If you were marching w/ it furled, you were being publicly shamed...I suspect it must've been a ritual of Basic Training to get it furled, and then you "work" to get it unfurled.)

I was always in an infantry unit, so ours was blue. Like such:


(Gotta love the site I got this from...a military site w/ a Beavis sound file...hee.)

The Marine Corps does have its own branch flag, as do the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. It's this:



Yes, I'm a vexilogical dork. So sue me. :-)

    Originally posted by ekedolphin
    Gotta love Triple H autographing a rocket and writing “Eat This!” on it, though.


Close...but it looked to me like that was actually a mortar shell...I know I saw one WWE worker firing one of those during one of those gotta-have-a-montage (TM South Park.) Mortars are all the rage in Afghanistan.

And for what it's worth, you get my vote for the "Chris Masters = teh suck" issue. :-)




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Since: 28.1.02
From: Louisville, KY

Since last post: 90 days
Last activity: 90 days
#16 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.19
    Originally posted by The Thrill
    In my limited Army days of the early 90's, they always referred to that as a "guidon." (sp?) When you were in your barracks, it was posted outside. When your unit (usually company, sometimes battalion or brigade-level) went marching, somebody carried it in front of your formation.


Yep. A Guidon and unit standard are synonymous. Nice post. Except you posted in Infantry unit standard (Charlie company, 2nd of the 136th Infantry Regiment). (Bushbeaters - boo hiss - go fight bad guys)

We mostly saw ours when we were running behind it.

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(edited by AWArulz on 20.12.05 1723)


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Since: 18.6.02
From: North Cacalacky

Since last post: 5375 days
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#17 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.25
Good show for what it was. These shows for the troops are always fun. I could have lived without all the media bashing (I think Vince was the only one on the actual show, but on Unlimited (yes, I watched that... and no, I don't know why) JBL, Shawn Michaels, and I think a couple others repeated that as well. I don't know why that irked me... it just did.

Still, it's hard to complain about one of these shows, and I think these shows have become a tremendous tradition.

Oh, and Gene Snitsky was quite flabby yesterday.




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Since: 12.12.01

Since last post: 1755 days
Last activity: 1407 days
#18 Posted on | Instant Rating: 8.46

    I don't know why that irked me.


I do: because it's so stupid. It's nice that they do this, and I don't think there's any question that the wrestlers themselves were very genuine and moved, but with the year he's had, I find Vince wrapping himself in the flag as The Last Humanitarian/Patriot really nauseating -- especially on a show that is apparently going to be bookended by exploitative anti-American Kurt Angle angles.
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Since there is no Gordon Solie and Bill Apter in studio to throw it to George Thorogood and the Destroyers, time to inflict the torture the name Evad Sullivan has brought back to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHEk1YKldU&feature=related
- redsoxnation, LORD OF THE RING (2010)
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