WWF Summerslam 2000 - TV Review

Welcome to another edition of "Sheds". As promised, I am following up last Saturday's Two Sheds Preview with my Two Sheds Review. Readers of my column in The Main Event fanzine will know that in these columns, I give a review of a WWF pay-per-view, giving a couple of lines opinion of each match. Recently I changed the style to where I started to grade each match, starting with the match I liked least to the one I liked the best. However, here in TWA I will be offering a little more. I will be showing my prediction for that match, to see if the old Two Sheds crystal ball was working or not. So here goes....

Rubbish Bags Piling Up Again

I'm hoping that your readers can help me with a problem that seems to arise in Cromer every so often. I seem to remember receiving something through the post, some time before Christmas, telling me that there would be no refuse collection between December 23 and January 6. I also recall seeing this notice in various shops and notice-boards in and around Cromer, in clear view for all to see.

Premier Manager '98 (Sony Playstation) - Game Review

Over the years, I've had a dream. A dream to manage a great football team. It used to be playing for a great football team, but injuries and lack of skill has stopped my progress on this front. So, over the years, I've lived out my second dream, whether it be through Football Manager on the old Spectrum, Premier Manager on the Mega-Drive, or Championship Manager on a friend's PC.

Fantasy Dream Match: Andre the Giant vs The Big Show

Before I start this piece I would just like to say something -although Andre the Giant is a wrestling legend, and the first man inducted to the WWF's Hall of Fame, I never watched him in his prime, which, from what I hear, was in the 70's and early 80's. I've read stories and articles about him, and about how he would execute moves that Matt and Jeff Hardy would be proud of. I never saw that Andre. I first saw him wrestle in 1989, against Jake Roberts at Wrestlemania V, so it's that Andre I'm going to write about, because it's that Andre I know, it wouldn't feel right doing a piece on something I haven't seen myself.

The WCW Debate

While reading Mick Foley's book, particularly the chapters regarding his time with World Championship Wrestling, several times he used the phrase "misuse of talent". This is true when you consider the names of stars who were nothing in WCW, and became stars elsewhere, or who were stars elsewhere, but became just one of the guys in WCW.

I don't want to sound like I'm starting a list, but just look at the names who were floundering in WCW before Vince McMahon saw and unleashed their full potential; Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall. The list is endless. And just look at some of the names who went nowhere in WCW - Owen Hart ws there for a while, as was Road Dogg. Triple H, Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, and many others. These men are now probably in the top twenty wrestlers in the world today. And don't forget Bret Hart - one of the top draws in the WWF, who became lost in the crowd in WCW, until their new creative direction came into being.

Owen Hart - A Personal Viewpoint

I first found out about this tragedy early last Monday morning. At 6:30am, just as my alarm clock radio went off onto Radio 5 Live, the news came on. An American wrestler had died the previous night after plunging fifty feet into the ring. The newsreader didn't say who it was.

Usually after my alarm goes off I lay in bed for about thirty minutes listening to the news, but on this day something was different. I put some clothes on and rushed downstairs. Switching onto teletext, I quickly found the news page, and found out that the man who had died was Owen Hart.

Cromer

Benjamin Cabbell Manners

Some of you may recall that a couple of weeks ago, I published a letter that I had sent to my local newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press, that they didn't publish. With my "very" local paper, the North Norfolk News, having published the letter last Thursday, I thought that I would take the time to explain the situation in a little more detail.

Argos - Killing the Small Retail Business in Cromer

Once again the small, retail business owner of Cromer is having to worry.

Are We Alone?

Ever since mankind gazed up into the night sky and looked up at the stars, he asked a simple question - are we alone in the universe? My personal belief is that we are not.

Cromer - Town on the Decline

A few weeks ago, a man, whose name I forget, wrote in one of the local papers that Cromer was now nothing more than a collection of junk shops, and it's population was now nothing more than God's waiting room. As I read this, I found myself agreeing with him.

The WWF Light-Heavyweight Division - Going to Waste

The current state of the Light-Heavyweight division can be perfectly summed up by it's current champion - Duane Gill. To be perfectly honest, as a wrestler, Duane Gill is crap, and he only beat the previous title-holder, the gothic-like Christian, due to interference by the so-caleld Job Squad, Al Snow, Bob Holly and Scorpio.

The current champion of this division really says it all about it's current state. For year, I believed that this was where the WWF lost out against it's opposition. Guys like Hakushi and the then named 1-2-3 Kid screamed out for a division of their own. Most of the time, these men were matched against opponents that outweighed them by some fifty pounds, and although they were, and still are, able competitors, they didn't do that well in the long run.

You Smell What the Rock is Cooking?

In this, the second of my series of articles about the wrestling business, I had originally intended to write about the WWF Light-Heavyweight division, what was wrong with it, and what could be done to improve it, but recent events at last week's Survivor Series and on Monday Night Raw changed my mind.

One of my predictions for the winner of the championship tournament was Dwayne Johnson, aka Rocky Maivia, aka The Rock. I thought that the final would be between the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, but once again, the machinations of Vince McMahon, and his son, Shane, robbed this great athlete of the title he so readily deserved.

Observations of a Wrestling Fan #1

It is just over three hours until the beginning of the Survivor Series, and the so-called "Deadly Game" tournament for the WWF championship.

And I begin to think of the reasons why such a tournament is taking place, and the reason is quite a simple one - the ego of Vincent K. McMahon.

The WWF has been without a World champion for nearly a month now, and it is entirely the fault of the main stock-holder of Titan Sports, Vince McMahon. If it wasn't for his now constant interfering in the athletes affairs, none of this would have happened.

The Council Exchange

The following is a true story. I know it's true because it happened to me. It was my original intention to send this to the editor of the Cromer Courier, who had published my article "Science Fiction - A Fans Viewpoint". I decided to write it under an assumed name because I did not want any repercussions. It was my hope that the family we did the council exchange with would read this in the Cromer Courtier, realize it was about them, and realize how they had pissed us off and stabbed us in the back. However, it was my brother Paul who talked me out of sending this in. He said that people would have known instantly who I was writing about, but frankly, at the time, I was pissed off with this family, and annoyed that they had stabbed us in the back they way they did.

Some Random Thoughts

Whilst walking past Norwich Market today, I saw an elderly lady, possibly in her 70's, handing out leaflets. She was also wearing a bib with the worlds "The End is Near". Should this woman be wearing these words, because for her, the end very probably is near!

A Matter of Taste

Someone asked me a while ago, "What sort of music do you like?" I began to run off a list of names.....Deep Purple...Black Sabbath...Guns 'N' Roses...Oasis...Beethoven...Wagner...Glen Miller. Upon hearing this a shocked look appeared on this man's face - Guns 'N' Roses AND Beethoven? How could this be?

Science Fiction - A Fan's Viewpoint

I like Star Trek, in all it's forms, be it classic, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine or Voyager. I have been watching it for as long as I can remember. I am a Trekkie.

The Nescafe Commercial

While watching television a few days ago, I saw the new Nescafe commercial, the new one with Chris Eubank as the lorry driver, picking up the hitch-hiker.

Letter to the Highways Department

With reference to your front page article about the Highways Department and their clampdown on the outdoor displays in Cromer, I myself have had recent experience of how petty they can be, and some might say, incompetent.

The Evils of Satellite Television

Before I go any further, I would like to go on record as saying that I was NOT paid to do this by Rupert Murdoch.