TAKE PWTORCH
WITH YOU! Get our iPhone App (FREE!): Click Here Or enter "PWTorch.com" on your Blackberry or other Smart Phone browser for mobile-version of PWTorch.
MCNEILL'S TAKE
McNEILL's Mailbag: On WrestleMania, Punk & The DiBiases Dec 12, 2008 - 9:51:32 AM
Ask me your questions via e-mail by sending them to "patmcneill@columnist.com." We'll keep doing this as long as we hear from you. More importantly, we're ready to believe you.
* * * Is there anyway you can get channel 20 from Washington? WDCA is a MyNetwork affiliate.
-Jason
I'm too far away from Washington D.C. to get any DC stations. I will keep watching Smackdown online through quasi-legal means.
* * *
I know this is off-topic, but I missed whatever happened to Dibiase Jr.? And why does the front office hate C.M. Punk? What'd I miss?
-Slapnuts
Believe it or not, Ted DiBiase, Jr. has been working on "The Marine 2". DiBiase is the star of the sequel, not John Cena.
To make a long story short, there are people who don't like C.M. Punk because they think he's too cocky. There are people who don't like C.M. Punk because he doesn't drink. And there are people who don't like Punk because they think he's disrespectful. Take your pick. Having said that, if Raw ratings had jumped to 4.0 after Punk won the title, he'd still be getting a huge push.
*** Hey Pat-
Who's gonna walk out of WrestleMania with the world titles?
"Truth" on the Torch VIP Message Board.
Assuming everyone remains healthy, it'll be John Cena and Triple H. I have no idea who will hold the ECW "World" title.
***
Regarding the McNeill Factor column in this week's newsletter:
I bought [Ted DiBiase's] previous autobiography, and the thing I was most impressed with was his willingness to go into detail about his time in different territories (the Georgia feud with the Freebirds, in particular), rather than jump straight to the WWF Million Dollar Man days. Your review seems to suggest the latter took place in this go-around. Is the book that WWF-heavy, or does he provide more solid background about Mid-South, GCW, etc.? Thanks.
"Acoustic Mike" on the Torch VIP Message Board.
DiBiase's WWE-sanctioned book is only 241 pages, out of which maybe a third deals with his time in WWF/WWE. He doesn't avoid talking about his pre-WWF days, but it isn't like he discusses them in depth.
***
Remember, that address is "patmcneill@columnist.com." Send questions about any wrestling subject current or past.
Pat McNeill has been a PWTorch columnist since 2001. He has promoted indy events and produced indy TV shows. His feature columns appear exclusively in PWTorch Newsletter most weeks. He also produces "The Real Deal with Pat McNeill" VIP audio show each week featuring breaking news, indy line-up of the week, listener mailbag, newsbreaker interviews, and more. He also participates in PWTorch's post-PPV VIP Audio Roundtables and VIP text roundtables with other Torch staff members. Pat is known for having a remarkable memory and for letting Wade pad his credentials in these blurbs.
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
INCREDIBLE BENEFITS! Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business...
Compare the value of four or five months of PWTorch VIP content to the price of just one PPV. Can you cut 25 cents a day from your budget to make room for PWTorch VIP?
AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?
