Browsing Posts tagged Pro Wrestling Illustrated

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“Of course, I’m number one. I’m the Miz. I’m awesome. The other 499 never had a chance.”–30-year-old former WWE heavyweight champion, in a phone interview with PWI’s Al Castle. 

I’ve wanted to tell you guys for months … but now it’s official and you can look for the issue starting August 16th. In MY mind, there was never any question that The Miz accomplished more this past year (June ’10-May ’11) to earn top billing in the PWI 500 than any other wrestler out there.

There was some skepticism when I presented my argument in the office (and in ensuing weeks after our May meeting when it seemed The Miz couldn’t buy a clean win). But I - and one or two of my peers - held our ground, and eventually won over the others. In my own mind, I never lost sight of all that The Miz has accomplished during the grading period. Call him a chicken. Call him a fluke. Whatever. The Miz proved this past year that he is for real. Who else in wrestling has accomplished all of the following?

  • Six-month reign as WWE champion.
  • Winning every title for which he was eligible (WWE, US, and Tag).
  • Money In The Bank winner.
  • Successful title defense in WrestleMania main event.
  • Pinfall victories over John Cena, Randy Orton, R-Truth, John Morrison, Daniel Bryan, and Jerry Lawler.

Thoughts? You’re probably not going to change my mind … but I’m curious.

It’s time again for Thursday Night AMP with Stevie J and Peter H! This week our special guest is wrestling manager, broadcaster, columnist and host of “In the Room,” the one and only Brady Hicks. We’ve got a wealth of topics to discuss with Mr. Hicks as he’s worked with everybody from Demolition to Dixie Carter, and we’ll also get his thoughts on the build toward WrestleMania 27 as Atlanta is now just 10 days away! All of that plus a story about one of the Godfather’s Hoes from our good friend Coke0! Enjoy Thursday Night AMP courtesy of your friends at The AngryMarks Podcast Network whether live, via replay here, or afterward on iTunes (kw: angrymarks).

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This week, TNA’s own DON WEST steps IN THE ROOM with Brady Hicks, DJ, and Kevin McElvaney to talk TNA Wrestling, announcing, managing The Amazing Red, and all of TNA’s great holiday dealsssssss on shoptna.com … including a few scoops that HAVE YET TO BE RELEASED! All that, plus WWE’s Slammy’s are discussed, and Brady announces the show’s own year-end awards … THE WHO’S SLAMMY’S! Check it out at thebradyhicks.com.

DON WEST, ON THE CHANGES SINCE TNA’S ORIGINS:
As somebody who has been there from the beginning and seen what it could be like and how far it could go, the exposure has been incredible. I remember doing these shows Wednesday nights at the Fairgrounds in Nashville, just the exposure has been unreal. Just the perception is so different. It’s just been phenomenal.

ON GOING LIVE ON SPIKE:
When it’s live it’s just a whole different field. It seems like everybody just fine-tunes a little more and your senses are just alerted a little bit more. At this point, the company is good where it is at.

ON RE-EMBRACING SALES:
It’s been something that I’ve been wanting to do from day one. Jeff Jarrett and I talked about this back around day one, where I would eventually go back to being a pitch-man. And then when we finally became big enough to where sales began to matter, they kind of approached me. It has been almost like a rebirth for me. It’s what I do. It’s what comes easy and natural. We’re really clicking and try . I wouldn’t trade places with my old job…

ON HIS TIME WITH THE AMAZING RED:
Timing was just bad on that. At the time they hadn’t started me on the road yet. Vince Russo came to me remembering how I had always been an Amazing Red fan, standing on the tables going, “GO RED GO.” I think the concept was good as far as me being his voice-piece, but the concept was sort of off in that I was never supposed to be his manager. I was supposed to be his promoter.

ON COLLEAGUE JEREMY BORASH:
I don’t know how JB does the schedule. He’s a man amongst boys.

All that, plus a very unique perspective of the Don West EARLY YEARS selling everything from baseball memorabilia to knives, and his more recent experiences doing the hard-sells for TNA pay-per-views. This is a really different take on the wrestling interview you’d expect.

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This week on In the Room, Brady Hicks, DJ, and Kevin McElvaney focus on WWE Raw and NXT, what both shows are doing right, and where each could stand to improve. They also take some time to address some of TNA’s recent signings, including offering a shoutout for friend of the show Becky Bayless.

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This week on In the Room, Brady Hicks and the gang play a game of Russian Roulette with a fully loaded Eddie Kingston. Hear what the CHIKARA and Ring of Honor star thinks about a varety of topics. All that, plus discussion of WWE’s Money in the Bank pay per view. Apologies for some of the language.

On the POINT of Wrestling
A lot of the fans are jaded fans and I don’t blame them. At its most basic, wrestling is about seeing who would win a match and who the better man is. That’s why fans watch wrestling in the first place.

On Working with Tommy Dreamer
It was surreal. Very, very surreal. I remember going to the ECW Arena as a kid. Tommy was a huge inspiration for me. ECW itself was an inspiration. Those guys are who they are. They’re not “characters” … they’re themselves.

On CHIKARA
Mike Quackenbush put a lot of faith in me. He told me to go out there and just be me. I owe him so much for helping train me and allowing me to do what I do.

On TNA’s ECW Revival
I’m just happy that some of the ECW guys have jobs. I’m not going to knock it.

On the Daniel Bryan Fiasco
I hope he gets back there. I was realy into watching him on TV. Bryan, Low-Ki, and Homicide actually were all very influential to me. As a kid from the street I’m very proud to see them where they are, because they came from where I came from.

All that … plus, Eddie Kingston speaks on the prospect of wrestling for WWE, who he HATES on the Ring of Honor roster, and who he grew up idolizing in the 1980s NWA and WWF. Check it out at www.thebradyhicks.com.

This week on In the Room, one time TNA star Austin “Consequences” Creed stops by to talk about his big Super 8 tournament victory, then former WWE.com (and current Pro Wrestling Illustrated) writer Louie Dee checks in to discuss developmental, the current WWE product, and so much more. Plus, is DJ leaving PWI Weekly?!

This week on In the Room, Brady Hicks, DJ, and Kevin McElvaney talk TNA Victory Road, WWE Nexus, and the top women wrestlers in the world for Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Female 50 List. All this and ECWA manager extraordinaire Coach Jim Shorts pops in to chat about Super 8 Saturday and a variety of other topics.

This week on the In the Room podcast, former two-time ROH Champion “A-Double” Austin Aries checks in and offers his thoughts on all things wrestling. A true gem for any Ring of Honor, TNA, WWE - or any wrestling – fan.

On TNA:

Maybe I wasn’t patient enough for my opportunity. Maybe I tried too hard to make my own opportunity. I don’t regret my time there. I’m eager to give, but the time just wasn’t right. Still, it was a time to do something different and see if it worked. It was a valuable experience.

 
On “Good” Matches:
If I’m the author of the story, how can I be wrong?
On his ROH Contract:
I’m going to just see what happens. I believe in ROH as a company, but I believe anywhere I go I can be an asset.
 
On the Younger Generation:
There are a lot of guys with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough quality places for people to learn about wrestling. If you’re willing to stick with this long enough, you can really make a career out of this. You just have to be dedicated enough.
 
All that, plus, find out which current ROH midcarder A-Double believes could EXCEL in WWE, comparing ROH to ECW, who the REAL star of the WWF was in the 1980s, and much, much more.
 
Thanks everybody for their support!

This week on In the Room, former ECW World Champion JUSTIN CREDIBLE stops by, and Kevin McElvaney rants about Bryan Danielson. As always, you can follow along on www.thebradyhicks.com.