Cageside Seats Weekly RECs: Week ending Nov. 9

We're back with yet another dose of amazing work injected by you, the Cageside commenters. Many of you have impressed us all by producing some amazing work and golden comments yet again. So it's that time of the week to recognize the excellent FanPosts, FanShots, and comments that were the "Best in the World" (of Cageside) this past week.

Again, thanks to Cagesider Ecstasy with Extra Cheese for cleverly naming our Weekly Cageside Commenters Awards "The RECs", which perfectly sums up what this feature tries to do. After all, without all of you, Cageside Seats would not be the greatest pro wrestling website on the Internet.

So, without further ado, we present to you...

The cSs REC Awards:

Recognizing Excellence in Contributing

• Cagesider scorpio_x informed us that a Vote for Barack Obama is a Vote For Linda McMahon*
• Cagesider ClownBurger gave us the Sense and Nonsense: Halfway to Survivor Series Edition
• Cagesider The Notorious Eddie Mac presented That Awkward Moment When Bret Hart Got Screwed

• Cagesider Black Yen Power G-Man Spy informed us that Rob Van Dam appeared on Jay Mohr's Podcast
• Cagesider IRodC shared the Preview to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's (PWG's) Failure to Communicate

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FOR SUPREMACY IN COMMENTING IN THE THREADS*:

*To see comments in the context of their own threads, click on the 'time stamp' behind each Cagesider's name.

What I want to happen: Maddox in the ring with a mic. "I just love punchin' balls. Ain't no thang." He lies down on the ground and slithers beneath the ropes then under the ring like a snake. Over the next few years, sometimes when Ryback is wrestling, Maddox will come out from underneath the ring and slither around, making Ryback extremely angry. Nothing ever comes of it though. If this doesn't happen, I will be extremely angry. by TJLethal on Nov 3, 2012 10:14 PM EDT 3 recs

From the "Is it game over for Linda McMahon, as fatigue sets in?" thread:

[on why Linda McMahon wanted to run for Senate] Or she went cookoo after being DDT'd by Kane. by Sir Ingenious on Nov 4, 2012 3:05 AM EDT 1 recs

and also from the same thread...

Or when Vince wanted a divorce. by Sir Ingenious on Nov 4, 2012 3:05 AM EDT

and...

Or when Stephanie bitchslapped her to kingdom come. by Sir Ingenious on Nov 4, 2012 3:05 AM EDT

and...

Or when Stone Cold stunned her. by Sir Ingenious on Nov 4, 2012 3:07 AM EDT

and...

Or when Vince made out with Trish while Linda was in a wheelchair by Blueblob4life on Nov 4, 2012 12:52 PM EST

and...

Or when she watched her son in law cheat on her daughter with a dead girl by hfl2013 on Nov 4, 2012 4:04 PM EST

and...

Or when she saw her husband's limo blow up with him inside by Eugene Saxe on Nov 4, 2012 4:12 PM EST

and...

Or when she saw her hospitalized husband get beat over the head with a bed pan. by Blueblob4life on Nov 4, 2012 5:10 PM EST

and...

Or when she saw her husband, son, and their cheerleaders get pooped on by Blueblob4life on Nov 4, 2012 5:11 PM EST

and...

Or when she saw an old white woman give birth to a "half-black" hand by Blueblob4life on Nov 4, 2012 5:13 PM EST

and...

Or when she found out her illegitimate half-son was a midget Irishman by Eugene Saxe on Nov 4, 2012 6:12 PM EST

and...

Or when she saw her husband beating up her midget bastard half-son in a cage by Blueblob4life on Nov 4, 2012 6:48 PM EST

From the "The Martial Chronicles: Fighting Presidents" thread:

Y'know I always felt kinda like Lincoln coulda taken Washington in a fight. Good to have some argument to back it up. Also, totally imagining Taft and Roosevelt as a bickering tag team now. by ReverendKain on Nov 5, 2012 8:23 PM EST

From the "Barack Obama for President? CM Punk approves this message" thread:

CM Punk is definitely better off now than he was 4 years ago. by evisruc on Nov 5, 2012 2:16 PM EST 6 recs

and also from the same thread...

Celebrity endorsements
I know its only his opinion, but when he finds it "mind boggling" to vote for Romney, an opponent that shares 95% of the same views as Obama (healthcare, taxes, spending, saber rattling, foreign affairs, trade, etc.), it shows a complete lack of knowledge about either. And if you don't know about the other candidates, endorsing one makes you're ignorance on the whole subject profound. And further underscores why you shouldn't be addressing the subject at all. by Andiamo Cuccioli on Nov 5, 2012 2:48 PM EST 1 recs

From the "TNA Final Resolution 2012 poster features Jeff Hardy and looks ridiculous" thread:

Hardy moves the needle! Its not up or down. Just in and out. by Andiamo Cuccioli on Nov 6, 2012 11:25 AM EST 1 recs

From the "WWE Raw results and live blog for Nov. 5: Brad Maddox returns" thread:

I MAY HAVE A BROKEN ELBOW BUT I'M STILL HERE! GIVIN' UTI'S AND FINGER DRILLIN' BECAUSE THAT! IS WHAT! I DO! JACK! by TJLethal on Nov 5, 2012 8:09 PM EST 3 recs

and also from the same thread...

Brad Maddox as member of Aces and 8s And once he's unmasked, "I know that guy! He's reffed some of the biggest matches in the business!" by Rod Mapada on Nov 5, 2012 8:59 PM EST

and...

Del rio use Leer attack... hmm, didn't help. He probly should have used Charm instead...or Tail Whip. by Ecstasy with Extra Cheese on Nov 5, 2012 9:52 PM EST 1 recs

From the "Brad Maddox explains his actions at Hell in a Cell, WWE gets it right" thread:

[The delivery and the material] were good overall, but I thought that the material was more at fault than the performance

The Delivery
In my humble estimation Maddox showed himself to be one of the more polished newbies to the big leagues that I've seen in a long while. He read the lines well, seemed to believe them and sold them. In other words his (pro wrestling) acting is pretty advanced for one so green. He needs to be more forceful in his delivery. That's the biggest complaint I have. He let the crowd run over him (but that crowd was great and really loud, so I can't really fault him for that). All things considered, I think the guy has a lot of potential. Add him to the list of small guys that the E'll never use properly, chew up and spit out. The only other complaint I have is that his delivery seemed like it was meant for a slightly different storyline reasoning. Which brings me to the next point.

The material
This is where I disagree with General Geno a little bit (I so sorry, Geno!). Overall, the material works. But I really felt like it needed an added...emotional(?) element. That might not be the right word. Let me explain. I thought for sure it would lead to Maddox capitalizing on a turn of events and becoming an in-ring performer for his actions. This I agree with. But how he arrived there I disagreed with. I felt like they had the perfect setup when they acknowledged his experience in FCW. He's a little guy who struggled to become a pro-wrestler and had doors slammed in his face and never got an opportunity to shine. Awesome. But, just to be a sneaky little S of a B? Nah. Why not have it be that he was overcome by a weird and twisted sense of honor? He spent years working hard for his shot at the majors and has to watch as these big shots won't give him a chance. Then he gets injured, takes the ref job to pay the bills til he can recover, and then he watches as The Ryback jumps about 17 rungs up the ladder over all these other hard workers? F that! F that S in the A! Why not have him view The Ryback as everything he's been trying to overcome? He's huge, strong, mean-looking, all the things he's not. But on that alone he becomes the golden boy and Maddox takes exception to it. So, he acted. And parlayed it into a contract.

Well, that's my take. Man, that was a monster. I really didn't mean for that to go that long. My nasty. by TheRojas on Nov 5, 2012 11:20 PM EST 4 recs

From the "Presidential Election 2012 results, information, and live updates" thread:

Brad Maddox will deliver a low blow to Obama "All my life, all that I have ever wanted to do was be President of the United States.." by Eugene Saxe on Nov 6, 2012 12:09 AM EST 10 recs

and also from the same thread...

Somehow HHH is gonna find a way to put himself over both candidates during the election by spyder007 on Nov 6, 2012 4:45 PM EST 6 recs

From the "Election Results 2012: Barack Obama Retains His Title as POTUS" thread:

My only question: Where does the angle go from here?
- Next Tuesday, Vince rips up the script so this week gets retconned and it's announced that Obama is now in a triple threat match with Ryback and John Cena for the presidency.
- Presidency vs. Streak match at Wrestlemania 29. Obama vs. The Undertaker.
- The Rock announces that he wants to challenge for the presidency at next year's Royal Rumble. Obama stays in a holding pattern until then.
- Triple H comes out and puts himself over Obama to unify the Presidency and the World Heavyweight Championship. Political wrestling fans everywhere roll their eyes and groan. Trips then gives an obviously hollow retirement speech for 20 minutes that falls on a silent crowd.
- Obama/Biden vs. Team Hell No vs. Team Rhodes Scholars in a TLC match.
- Stone Cold Steve Austin is a surprise entrant at Royal Rumble, wins, and chooses to face Obama for the presidency in the main event at Wrestlemania. by DarkTalon on Nov 7, 2012 12:29 AM EST 4 recs

and also from the same thread...

I get the feeling that Romney thinks he can pull the Austin/Hart WM13 double turn If he just stays in the Ohio Sharpshooter long enough to pass out instead of tapping. Sorry, Mittens- no such luck. by ReverendKain on Nov 6, 2012 11:53 PM EST 5 recs

From the "WWE's Mount Rushmore: Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Hulk Hogan" thread:

Austin, HBK, 'Taker... The fourth spot would be determined by a 10 man battle royale which would be won by Chris Jericho. Keeping consistent with his desire to put over the next generation he would insist on having his face carved with Daniel Bryan's beard. The observation deck would be littered with bronze statues of guys like Flair, Sammartino, Rock, Hart, etc. as well as a vacant space where Hogan's statue used to be but it would be in a storage locker somewhere covered in a tarp Paterno style. by Back Brain Kick on Nov 9, 2012 7:39 PM EST

From the "Will Linda McMahon take the go away heat hint? (VIDEO)" thread:

All that money spent and she never bought a clue. by keyboard punk on Nov 8, 2012 8:50 AM EST 2 recs

From the "CSSGMT Sweet Sixteen Match: (2) 'CM Punk v John Cena, Money in the Bank 2011' vs. (3) 'The Rock v Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania 17'" thread:

Everything good about Punk/Cena was done better by Rock/Austin

Crowd - The Chicago crowd is lauded as one of the hottest crowds that there has been in years. And rightly so, because they were ON that night. But the X-Seven crowd was even hotter. 67,000 strong. Just listen to the pop Austin gets when his music hits. Crazy. So crowd goes to Rock/Austin.
Commentary - Punk/Cena had Cole, Lawler and Booker. Rock/Austin had JR and Heyman. No contest. And that's even without mentioning this brilliance by JR: "Son of a bitch! Stone Cold Steve Austin has sold his soul to Satan himself to win the WWF title!"

Match - Has there ever been a better all out NO DQ brawl than what Rock and Austin did that night? It starts off at an extreme pace, with Austin jumping Rock as soon as he gets off the turnbuckle. No staredowns or posturing, its straight into the action. And it doesn't let up from there. There are also 2 awesome nods to Austin's past, namely the WM13 scene with him in the sharpshooter. And also the Survivor Series 96 finish when Bret reversed the Million Dollar Dream. Then we get Vince coming out and it all culminates in a shocking Austin/McMahon alliance, something nobody thought possible.

Context - If we're to agree that WrestleMania X-Seven is the end of the Attitude Era (which many believe it is), then how incredibly fitting is it that the match was between the 2 men who defined that era, and the mastermind behind it. WrestleMania 17 was the culmination of a golden period for wrestling. Everything clicked that night, and this match was the crowning glory of that night and that Era.

Do the right thing people.
by WatchTheThrone89 on Nov 8, 2012 4:31 PM EST 3 recs

and also from the same thread...

With the exception of commentary, these points can all be argued in favor of Punk/Cena as well.

The crowd for MITB was white hot all throughout the show chanting for Punk during the undercard. When the hero finally emerged from the curtain for the main event in his brand new white "Best in the World" shirt, the crowd turned his entrance alone into an amazing and epic moment, and that was before the match even began. CM Punk was truly a mega star at that point thanks to the crowd reception.

The matches are very different from each other. Just as you have argued on behalf of Austin/Rock, I would cite Meltzer's star rating for Punk/Cena (5 stars) in comparison to Austin/Rock (4.5) that there is definitely a case to be made for the superiority of Cena/Punk.

And the context for Punk/Cena was a huge enough deal to garner them a ton of mainstream attention without the need of any kind of celebrity involvement. In this day where it is almost impossible for WWE to keep smart fans guessing, the smart fans had no idea what to expect due to the status of Punk's contract. In hindsight you can argue that Austin/Rock was the end of the attitude era, but at the time that wasn't so clear. Obviously it was a huge match between two of the biggest stars of all-time, but we didn't go into that match thinking that it was the end of an era. Whereas Punk/Cena had a more immediate urgency to it. It really felt like a turning point for the company could finally take place depending on the outcome of the match.

So there is a good argument to be made for both matches.
by Kanenite on Nov 8, 2012 5:34 PM EST 2 recs

From the "Why was the Survivor Series main event changed to Pnk vs Ryback vs Cena?" thread:

I simply assumed that Sin Cara booked the original main event and botched it, as usual. by Kanenite on Nov 8, 2012 6:23 PM EST 8 recs

From the "TNA 'Impact Wrestling' results and reactions from last night (Nov. 8): Next stop, 'Turning Point!'" thread:

I don't know in 1989, the D.O.C. was droppin' some funky shit. Is this not the same guy? by s1rude on Nov 9, 2012 11:24 AM EST 4 recs

In closing, Cagesiders, don't forget these awards are all about YOU; so if you think I missed anything, or have any suggestions or tweaks for the Cageside RECs, please let us know in the comments below, or email one of the site editors through our Masthead page. Bring it on with some awesome award-winning stuff for next week's RECs. Until then, see ya in the threads!

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