A Cornish Adventure

DAY ONE

    Five o'clock in the morning. Five o'clock in the morning I got up to do this. I must have either been completely mad, or looking forward to a great holiday.
    After kissing goodbye to Shane (my dog), my taxi took me to my departure point in Norwich, where I had to meet the coach at 6:30am. I hadn't been in Norwich that early since the previous November, and my adventure in Bruges.

A Run of Bad Luck

It seems like luck is something that just isn't in my life at this moment in time. Let's take a quick look at things;

Shane

Those of you who have read TSC for a long time will know that in recent months, our family has suffered two losses. First, our Border Collie, Shep, died in May aged 15. At the beginning of September, his lifelong feline companion, Sam, died of pneumonia, also aged 15

Uncle Kracker/Motorhead/Black Sabbath Album Reviews

Something old, something new (courtesy of a Woolworth's special offer).....

After the success of my last music review column, where I reviewed recent outings from Staind, Slipknot, and Alien Ant Farm, I thought, what the hell! I've purchased some more CD's recently, why not review them as well! So, here goes!

Open Letter to Mike Aldren

Many of you know that in the past I have stated that I do not like it when writers spend their time insulting each other in their columns, and that they should write about their chosen subject.

Sam

Those of you who have visited my website recently will know that in the last week or so, I added a photos section where I placed photos of my dogs and cats. Many of you would probably have seen the photo of Sam, full name Samwise Smuggins Radbourne, my companion of the last fifteen years.

Staind/Slipkniot/Alien Ant Farm Album Reviews

In this entertainment installment of TSR, written as I await my new computer monitor, I decided to actually review something, which in this case will be three music CDs. These have already been reviewed in the "proper" media, but what the hell! Onto business.

One Man's Opinion

This piece is a follow up to my last regular column, where I reviewed some of the email newsletters. I would like to thank those who sent me feedback, although I would just like to remind you that if you want to send feedback to me, PLEASE send it directly to me, and not to my editors.

Jealous Fanzine Editors

Today, my friends, I want to tell you a little story. Are we sitting comfortably? Then I will begin.

Stop Arguing and Start Writing!

Some of you who are reading this probably know me from my work on several wrestling fanzines and email newsletters. I know that I'm not a regular columnist for DSD, but I'd like to thank David for giving me the time to air my views here. Ever since David came back to edit DSD, I, and everyone else, have seen something rather disturbing take place here. It's not David's fault this thing is happening, but I am starting to find this whole thing rather distasteful.

Rammstein

I had looked everywhere. I had looked all around my hometown of Cromer. I had asked friends in nearby towns to try and find it for me. I had spent three hours going around every music shop in Norwich, both new and second-hand, looking for this compact disk. Finally, I checked the Internet, and managed to find it without any trouble at all.

The Top 10 American Sitcoms

In response to Darryl Stewart's column last week, giving a North American view on British situation comedies (great column by the way Darryl), I thought I would offer an English view on American sitcoms. Like Darryl I am only including sitcoms, and not shows like Saturday Night Live, In Living Colour and Kids in the Hall. Great shows, but they don't fit the category.

Too Many Foreigners?

A question has arisen in the past few months about the great game of football in our country, and it all has to do with a Belgian who, until a few years ago hardly anyone in this country had ever heard of.

Jean-Marc Bosman, the aforementioned Belgian, successfully won an appeal from his club, who wanted to hold onto him despite his contract having expired. When he won his case in the European courts, it sent reverberations around the footballing world.

The number of foreigners a team playing in the European union was now no longer restricted to two or three, and this, for many people, is where the problem started.

Big Brother 2001

Week 4

Well, we have now entered week four in the Big Brother house. I had intended to write about what can only be called a phenom some time ago, but various circumstances kept getting in my way.

Manchester United & the New York Yankees

What you are about to read is my article on the relationship between Manchester United and The New York Yankees, written on February 16th. I had originally intended for this to be my first piece for The Sports Report newsletter, but, having submitted my application, the newsletter closed down after only three issues. Oh well, only two more issues to beat their record!

Greetings to you all, and welcome to the first Sports Report instalment of The Two Sheds Review.

I know what at lot of you are thinking right now. Many of you have probably subscribed to this newsletter after seeing an advertisement in one of the wrestling newsletters, and you are probably thinking this - what the hell is this wrestling writer doing in a sports newsletter.
 

Well, the answer, my friends, is quite simple. I have many varied interests in this world. Wrestling is just one of the strings on my bow. For years now, I have written science fiction stories. Many of you know that I work in a garden centre, so if I put my mind to it, I could probably do a gardening column or two. "Remember, Camellias like acid, or lime free soil!"

Sport is one of my lifelong interests. Over the years, I have had passing interests in snooker, darts, horse racing, tennis, athletics, even sumo. These days though, I seem to mainly watch football (soccer to you yanks), cricket, Formula 1, and boxing. While I do not claim to be an expert on these, I like to think I know what I'm talking about.

Celebrity Big Brother 2001

Comic Relief Day, Red Nose Day 2001, or whatever you like to call it, is now history. It broke the record for the most money raised by this event, and yours truly did his little bit.

Norwich City in Europe

Those were the days, hmm? Small boys in the park, jumpers for goal posts....

And Norwich City terrorising the biggest clubs in Europe.

Yes. You heard me. Norwich City. Now mired in mid-table obscurity in the Nationwide League Division One.

Yet there was a time, about eight years ago, when Norwich were one of the best teams in the country.

Hide v Harrison

The boxing news this past Saturday night was dominated by two fights in the heavyweight division, dominated by two men who have suffered differing fortunes of late, but who have both endured some criticism.

2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight Gold Medallist Audley Harrison finally got round to his second professional fight in 12th months, going up against Derek McCafferty. Sadly, his points win was hardly inspiring, and earned the boos and catcalls of those in attendance.

While on the same bill, former WBO Heavyweight Champion Herbie Hide fell to a second round knockout against Joseph Chingagu, a man everyone thought Hide would easily beat. Hide was defeated in the second of his comeback fights, having taken two years off to deal with several personal issues.

Audley Harrison

It was nearly a year ago when British boxing fans were given a new hope. A new fighter was coming onto the scene, sweeping all before him in taking the super-heavyweight gold at the Sydney Olympics. He gave us hope. He promised us much. He made us think that finally, after having to put up with "Pseudo-Brit" Lennox Lewis, and the somewhat disappointing careers of Herbie Hide and Frank Bruno, we finally had a heavyweight who was capable of going all the way. His name - Audley Harrison.

At the age of 29, Harrison seemed to be at the perfect point in his career to enter the professional ranks. We all thrilled at his Olympic win. Britain hadn't won a boxing gold medal since before I was born. All the boxing pundits predicted bright things for Harrison, including a reign as world champion.

Since then, Harrison has  - well, he hasn't done much.

Random Thoughts

A big congratulations to a long-time favourite band of mine, Queen. The surviving members, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were this week inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. It's just a shame that Freddie Mercury wasn't alive to see this.

The Top 10 Deep Purple Songs

In a somewhat vain attempt to show that I am far more than a wrestling journalist, yours truly has decided to take the plunge and show just what I can do by compiling a series of Top Ten lists on a variety of topics.

Am I Alternative?

Something happened to me recently which led me to realise exactly what one aspect of my musical taste really is.

The Radicals - Where are They Now? II

It was probably the biggest wrestling story of the year 2000. Four men, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn, disgruntled at life under the Kevin Sullivan regime in World Championship Wrestling, had decided enough was enough. Not even the awarding of the WCW World Championship to Benoit could stop these four men handing in their notices and approaching the World Wrestling Federation for work.

When the four men took ringside seats on Raw in January 2000, immediate parallels were drawn to Scott Hall and Kevin Nash appearing on WCW Nitro nearly four years previously. But whereas Hall and Nash had left the WWF and joined WCW because they were offered a higher wage, Benoit et al left WCW because they were unhappy.

The End of the Invasion

With the news that the WWF is set to end the WCW/ECW InVasion angle a week on Sunday at the Survivor Series, I would like to go on record as saying - it's about time.

When the angle began, I welcomed it with open arms. I really looked forward to seeing WCW's finest go up against the big guns of the WWF, and when ECW were added into the mix, people all around the world said that it wasn't a bad thing, it was a good thing.

But now, this angle has gone on for far, far too long. It has failed to grip us, to excite us, in the way that the NWO invasion of WCW did all those years ago.

Life as an Internet Wrestling Journalist is Hard Part 3

The lives of Internet wrestling journalists have become rather difficult in recent months, and when you are an Internet wrestling journalist based in the UK, and you are seemingly one of the few who are, life is very hard.

When you have chosen to follow the world of American wrestling, being based some 6,000 miles away is somewhat of a handicap. Attending shows and television tapings is impossible for monetary purposes, and watching TV shows days after your US counterparts also makes things difficult. You find that you are unable to offer a first hand, cutting view on the proceedings.

And in the first few months of this year, life got even harder.

Hogan-Brand Wrestling: No Thanks!

A couple of things in recent weeks have led me to once again think about a certain wrestler, a man who helped make the world of wrestling what it is today.

Ever since a certain incident at Bash at the Beach last year, Hulk Hogan hasn't really been in the public eye that much. There has been no retirement announcements, which I know has disappointed many a wrestling fan, including yours truly. There has been no call from the man who made him king to come back to the place that made him famous.

The only things we have heard in recent months is that old Terry is trying to start his own wrestling promotion. But this story has been doing the rounds for months, along with the ones that if he actually got the promotion off the ground, we would see the likes of Randy Savage and Roddy Piper competing for him.

My First Summerslam

It was in the deep, dark distant days of September 1989 when I say my first Summerslam. Back then Sky were about two weeks behind on the WWF programming, so Summerslam was actually broadcast here in the autumn. It was also back in the days when there were only four PPVs a year, and a long five month wait between Wrestlemania and Summerslam.

The whole event was used as publicity for Hulk Hogan's film, No Holds Barred. In the film Hogan played -yep- a wrestler, who was feuding with a big mother called Zeus, the "Human Wrecking Machine", played by Tiny Lister. Vince McMahon had the bright idea of carrying over Lister's character into the WWF. He was paired with longtime Hogan nemesis Randy Savage, while Hogan teamed with his cousin, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, one of my favourites at the time. The match itself was nothing special. Lister showed he wasn't up to much as a wrestler (probably why he was no. 500 in the PWI top 500 the following year). He only had two more WWF matches after this. True to form, Hogan and Beefcake won.

Chris Adams - A Tribute

It was with some degree of sadness that earlier today, I learned of the passing of British wrestler "Gentleman" Chris Adams.

While Adams may not have been one of the best known British wrestling exports to the US, he was certainly one of the most successful, if not on a national scale, then definitely on a regional one.

Diamond Dallas Page

If my boss took on a new employee, who took a drastic pay-cut to work at the garden centre, I would probably say one of the following things - a) he is a fool - b) he must be really desperate to work there.

This is exactly what Page Falkenburg, known to the world at large as DDP, did when he signed for the WWF. But many Internet hacks are now asking - did he do the right thing.

Backyard Feedback

Some of you may recall that a few weeks ago, I wrote a column regarding a backyard wrestling federation, East Norfolk Backyard Wrestling. In this column I wrote about how I didn't exactly like what they did, and how backyard wrestling, in general, didn't really appeal to me.

It was shortly afterwards that I decided to do something that I had never done before, and put my column up for open debate. To that end, I posted that very column on the ENBW website message board, inviting people to give their views.

I also invited several others in the industry to offer their views on backyard wrestling. What you are about to read are some of the better responses I had to my little debate;

Life as an Internet Wrestling Journalist is Hard...Still!

The world if internet writing can be one of ups and downs, and in the past few weeks I've found that most of my 'net writing career has contained downs.

A few weeks ago, one of the site masters of PWC, Ken Matthews, asked me to become "exclusive" to PWC. I considered it, but decided against it, because I wanted to stay loyal to those editors and site masters who gave me a start in this business a year ago.

But recent events have made it feel like I am exclusive to PWC now.

Going through the list of editors I would send my work off to, I found that some of the web sites I wrote for hadn't been updated in ages, and some of the newsletters I wrote for hadn't had an issue out for ages. Then, I got a rather interesting, and somewhat saddening, e-mail and instant message from a fellow newsletter editor.

Invasion Aftermath

After a faltering, stuttering start, an event that at first promised to draw more yawns than cheers hit our television screens on Sunday, and quite frankly, blew us away.

The WWF/WCW/ECW Invasion angle got off to what could only be termed a very poor start, and if it hadn't been for the injection of ECW, which, so I am led to believe, is now officially owned by WWFE, this whole pay-per-view event could have been limper than Fred Durst's bizkit.

So, Monday night, I put the video in the machine around half seven in the evening, and settled down for a night's entertainment, finger ready on the fast forward button (Channel 4 had the rights to show this one, so there were plenty of ad breaks), in eager anticipation of what was to come.

The Missing Men of Team WCW

Having watched both Raw and Smackdown last week, with, I must say, a great deal more interest than I have done of late, I saw Team ECW arrive on the scene. And upon seeing this great team of ten men, extreme legends they were, invade Raw, one thing came to mind - how desperate the WWF were.

Although I was willing to give it a chance, and it seemed that I was one of the few Internet wrestling writers who were, I could see that the WWF/WCW Invasion angle was flopping in a big way. Although there was a great deal of hype, the crowd were not just up for it, and in this day and age, even if you put on a great match, it doesn't seem to mean a thing if the crowd aren't up for it.

The Return of ECW

I had already planned this week's column by last Saturday. It was only work and other commitments that stopped me from actually writing it.

I had everything planned out in my mind. I was going to discuss the WCW Invasion angle. You see, a lot of Internet writings had really annoyed me last week, and I was going to write about it in this column. The gist of the column would have been this - I was annoyed that, after a few run-ins, an in-ring "confrontation", and just one match, the WCW Invasion angle on Raw last week was being portrayed as a complete flop by just about every Internet writer going.

East Norfolk Backyard Wrestling

It was about three months ago, while doing some research on the Internet for an article on British wrestling great Kendo Nagasaki, that I first came across the name of East Norfolk Backyard Wrestling.

I was extremely surprised that such a group existed in this country, let alone just a short train journey away from home. Intrigued by their web site, and seeing the possibility of getting some material for an issue of my own newsletter dedicated to the British wrestling scene, I got in touch with the group, via instant messaging, with the owner of the group, 18 year old James Weston. In quite a nice conversation, James agreed to contribute something to my wrestling special, and we even discussed the possibility of my newsletter carrying regular reports for the ENBW shows.

WWF v WCW

"Pardon me, but didn't King of the Ring used to be a one-night, single elimination tournament?"

Everyone else is writing about it, so I may as well too.

This year's King of the Ring provided some top-notch action. From top to bottom, we had some great matches. But a part of me can't help but feel a little disappointed with things.

I began to feel this when the fourth match of the night began. In years gone by, the final of KOTR was either the last or last-but-one match on the card, but the fourth match? Come on!

Life as an Internet Wrestling Journalist is Hard

I have a confession to make to you all.

You see, with my day job, my new web site, and my newsletter, I considered doing something - giving up doing a wrestling column.

Why? Well, I suppose you could say I was getting a form of writer's block, something I did actually suffer from many, many years ago. I was finding it difficult to get ideas on what to write about.

The reason for this can be put down to a two things.

I Miss WCW

I am going to start by saying something I thought I never would - I am starting to miss WCW. Many of us writers have said recently that the WWF is getting a bit stale as of late. With The Rock off doing his films, Rikishi's bad shoulder,  and now with Triple H's terrible injury, and the supposed end of the Undertaker-Austin angle, there seems to be a big gap at the top of the tree.

I fully applaud the efforts to get Chris J & Chris B up to the top branch, but even the blindest of men can see there is "No Chance In Hell" of Jericho becoming WWF Champion at King of the Ring. Benoit, however, does seem a cert to become the king.

Random Ramblings May

Alas, I'm going to start by discussing some sad news. A few days ago, my favourite female wrestling columnist, Graysox, announced that she was giving up writing for a while. I can understand her reasons for doing this, but I am still saddened nonetheless. In an Internet world that seems to be dominated by men, her views on the wrestling world were truly refreshing. I will miss her twice weekly updates. I would also never have probably heard of one of the sites I write for, Pro Wrestling Columns (www.prowrestlingcolumns.com). Ah well, I hope she enjoys her time off. Have fun my young friend. (Boy do I sound old here!)

Anyway, Judgement Day is now history. It wasn't surprising that the Austin/Taker match was made no holds barred. Austin is a damned good wrestler, but only seems to get the crowd reaction when he's brawling. Guess this is the old school in me talking again.

Jerry Lawler

Is it me, or has this week been the first week in ages where there has been no news item about Jerry Lawler leaving the WWF? I said at the time, I wouldn't write about those events, because everyone else probably would. Many of my fellow Internet hacks did a fine job, but as the time has passed, I thought that now would be the time to give my views on what has happened in recent weeks.

I have never been a big fan of Lawler the wrestler. But I was a huge fan of Lawler the announcer. Lawler and Jim Ross made a great broadcast team. Lawler was the perfect funny man to JR's straight man act. In my opinion, they were even better than the Vince McMahon-Jesse Ventura team of over a decade ago.

ECW Legacy

You know, lately, I've had periods of my life where I've become confused, disorientated. And this has nothing to do with the slight back injury I'm suffering from at the moment.

No. This is rather an odd feeling. It's as if I'm wearing a green turtle neck sweater, and I'm falling through this giant swirling thing, like some sort of time tunnel.

This feeling has come onto me several times in the past month or so, and it only seems to happen when I'm watching wrestling.

It started a little while ago. I was watching the wrestling one weekend, and I got an odd feeling, as if I'd travelled back in time. Two men appeared on the television before me, men I hadn't seen together in the same place for a few months.

What the Hell Are We Internet Hacks Going to Moan About Now?

Well, here we are again. Dog tired from a hard Sunday's work at the garden centre. To be honest, I'm only doing this column today because of certain website guidelines. I did consider leaving it until my next day off, on Tuesday, but, here it is.

So what am I going to run on about today? Well, I thought I'd talk to you about this thought that occurred to me the other morning, while lying in the bath.

You see, for some unknown reason, I began to think of the WWF's purchase of WCW, and I came to the following, startling conclusion.

WHAT THE HELL ARE WE INTERNET HACKS GOING TO MOAN ABOUT NOW?

Kendo Nagasaki

Many people, when asked who their childhood heroes were, would probably name a sporting hero, an actor or actress, a musician, or someone, say, like Neil Armstrong, who achieved something great.

Sure, I have many people like that who were childhood heroes of mine, but a particular favourite of mine was not a pop star, an actor, or even an astronaut.

His name was Kendo Nagasaki, and in my opinion, was the greatest heel ever to step into a British wrestling ring.

Wrestlemania X-7 Predictions

In this little section, I will dust off the old crystal ball, in an attempt to predict the outcomes of the WM X-7 matches. In the past year or so I've had a pretty good success rate at this sort of thing.

Wrestlemania Moments

Well, WMX-7 is upon us, so I thought I would get a bit nostalgic, and look back over the years to the Wrestlemanias I have seen.

WRESTLEMANIA V - They say that the first time is always the best, and I still have very fond memories of this, my first Wrestlemania. More than anything, it was watching this great event from The Trump Plaza in Atlantic City that got me hooked on pro wrestling, a long, 12 years ago.

Green Lantern

Recently, one of the oldest fictional characters in comic book history has achieved world-wide television recognition, thanks in part to WCW wrestler Greg "Hurricane" Helms. Helms tells all who are willing to listen that Green Lantern, whose power rivals that of Superman himself, is the greatest super-hero of all time.

The General Election - Who Was That Man?

Although I've never written about politics before, I thought I would take a quick look back at the recent general election campaign here in Britain, and in particular, the North Norfolk constituency. First, let's look at the three main candidates;

Random Ramblings March Part 2

Well, I'm going to say it, so let's get it out of the way! ALL HAIL LSD! LSD RULES! No, before you ask, I'm not on some sixties drug trip.

You see, I was as pleased and surprised as everyone to hear that my favourite Dudley of all, Little Spike, had joined the ranks of the WWF. Since the first time I saw Spike, I've had a soft spot for him. It's probably because that Spike is roughly the same height and weight as me, and in a wrestling world seemingly dominated by men in excess of 200 pounds and standing over six feet tall, Spike seemed like a breath of fresh air.

WCW/Dead Parrot Sketch

Today, I have a world exclusive for you. Given the current state of WCW, I managed to get a transcript of a meeting between an executive from Time Warner, and an executive from Fusient Media. For their own safety, I will not be naming them. In the transcript, the Time Warner man will be known as TWM, and the Fusient Media man will be known as FMM. Here's the transcript.

Open Letter to WCW

Below is a letter which I sent to WCW via their website. As I don't really expect them to put it on their site, I am publishing it here. If you want to send an e-mail to WCW about their current situation, e-mail feedback@wcw.com

Well, I have to admit I am a little saddened by WCW's apparent demise, but to be honest with you all, I saw it coming a long time ago.

As an Internet wrestling writer, I have followed most aspects of the wrestling business for many years, and as far as I can see, WCW is going belly up because of many things. Not pushing the younger talent in years gone by, constantly pushing the over-the-hill guys like Hogan and Flair when they were obviously past it, and ruining great careers, like those of Bret Hart and Vampiro.

Random Ramblings March

Well, looks like the old crystal ball wasn't working, doesn't it? Looking back on the list I gave in my last column, I didn't list Paul Heyman as Jerry Lawler's replacement on Raw. Guess it had something to do with all those rumours about him joining the creative team. At least I wasn't the only one who got their predictions wrong though. Those rumours of an all-ECW stable rampaging through Raw were a bit wide of the mark.

To be honest, I think Paul did okay, considering he hasn't done commentating on a regular basis for years. Will he be around for the duration? Hard to say. The only way we can see if he has what it takes to step into The King's shoes is by waiting until April 1st. In my opinion, we'll be able to see who Vince McMahon is placing his faith in, when we see who gets the chair next to Jim Ross in Houston.
 

Chyna's Book

Well everyone, it seems that stock in Two Sheds, Inc. is getting higher and higher all the time. After the disappointment of the Daily Smackdown fiasco, and the recent recruitment of yours truly to two other newsletters, I received two more offers this week. I won't say what they are, but all I will say is that they are under consideration.

Sadly, the other string I was hoping to add to my bow has broken. I had tried to get in touch with the editors of a new newsletter, The Sports Report, about writing a different column for them. The Sports Report is a general sports newsletter, mainly dedicated to American sports. They had said they were looking for new writers, so I put forward my name, offering to write about soccer, cricket, boxing, tennis, whatever! Sadly, no reply. A shame, really. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing about wrestling, but it would have been nice to take my writing career down other paths as well. C'est la vie!
 

Random Ramblings January Part 4

Normal service has been resumed as I have returned with my usual column. Thanks to The Professor for his guest spot. Please remember that if you want to give him any feedback about his guest appearance in TSR, please email him on professor417@t...

Anyway, back to business. I did say that I would continue with the nostalgia theme, which I started last week, but I'm going to hold off on that for a while. I'd like to discuss a few other things. The WCW sale - there, I mentioned it.WCW Sin - well, I've seen the reports on Sid's nasty injury. Not to pleasant by all accounts. Although I haven't seen the footage yet, which is due to be shown on Nitro, it's not that nice. Descriptions of the injury reminded me of two similar injuries I saw in football (or soccer) matches over the past few years. Many football fans will recall Coventry's David Busst, and his horrific leg injury which cost him his career. It was so bad they wouldn't show it on television. And I've also seen the pictures of his leg after the countless operation. Not a pretty sight. Last I heard, the poor sod still walks with a limp. And Celtic's Henrik Larrson, when he broke his leg not long ago. Thankfully, he's now back to full fitness. I don't know if he'll see this, but I'd like to wish Sid all the best. Get well soon big man!
 

Random Ramblings January Part 3

Welcome to the latest instalmet of TSR. I hope everyone is fine. Well, the long Christmas break I am being forced to endure will end this coming Sunday, as I return to the mind-numbing, energy sapping talent wasting job of mine! Oh well, I have to get my money somewhere I suppose!

Anyway, this week, a wave of nostalga has swept over me. This is because of three things.

The first - Channel 4 showing the 100 Greatest Number One Singles, as voted by the British public. Although I didn't actually vote, we Brits got it right by putting (in reverse order) Hey Jude by the Beatles, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and Imagine by John Lennon at the top spot. Three great songs, and a tragedy that two of the greatest performers of all time, John Lennon and Freddie Mercury, are no longer with us.
 

Random Ramblings January Part 2

Well, I made it to the 21st century. Everyone kept telling me that the real 21st century would begin on 1/1/2001. So how do I feel about being in a different century? Well, having watched science fiction films from an early age, years ago, I would have expected to be dressed all in silver at this time, instead of a pair of blue jeans and a new white sweater. Oh well!

So this is the first TSR of 21C. Not much has changed here. So what am I going to talk about today? There's a few thankyous and heys I'd like to get out of the way. Hey and thanks to Jordan Allsworth, for voting me his Column of the Year. I gratefully accept this award. Thanks buddy! Hey to Crusher! Thanks for the email with regards to what I said about the World's Strongest Man Competition, and Mark Henry. For anyone who cares, Crusher is an old friend of multiple-time World's Strongest Man winner and former WCW star Bill Kazmaier! And Graysox! How you doing? Thanks for the email! Nice to know that someone likes what I do! I would send you the proverbial bunch of flowers, but the garden centre is closed for the holidays at the moment! Will a box of chocolates do? And finally to Basil Richards, who thinks I should get paid for doing this. I admit now it would be nice to earn a living doing this stuff. I did apply for two advertising jobs, but sadly, my talents were not good enough!

Random Ramblings January

A lot has gone on since my last regular column, before my awards thing, so I'm going to talk about a few things here.

This whole Lita/Malenko thing could be played a little better, and it could re-elevate the WWF Light-Heavyweight title again. Think of this  possibility - Jeff wrestles Malenko and wins thetitle. Uncle Vince orders a number 1 contenders match for the title - between Matt and Malenko. Matt wins after Lita interferes, setting up a title bout at the Rumble. Matt and Jeff begin to argue quite a bit, causing them to lose a couple of tag matches. This infuriates Lita. Meanwhile, Malenko badgers the powers that be into making the Rumble match a threeway dance. Malenko wins - with Lita's help. Lita dumps the Hardys and joins with Malenko.