DE.

Triple H definitely seems to have a more old-school approach to the business which one hopes will translate into future generations of wrestlers. It would be great if WWE could strike up a deal with Japan or Mexico, though Japan especially isn't what it used to be. I'd love to see some different styles on WWE programming. One of the best things about WCW was the mix of styles, from the luchadores, to the Japanese wrestlers, the mixed-martial artists and the shooters. You then had the heavyweight grapplers with charisma main eventing. For a few years WCW was a fantastic showcase for various styles of wrestling. Nowadays you have very little in the way of variety.

It's a double-edged sword. The disappearance of the territories reduced the ability for talent in the states to perform in front of vastly different crowds and hone their in-ring skills and promo abilities. It led to what we see now as the standard, cookie-cutter WWE wrestler - by and large, pretty boring. Guys like Jericho still managed to get their education abroad in Mexico, Germany and Japan... but the problem is these styles don't translate so well in the US. Jericho struggled to get anywhere in WCW and his early run in the WWE (then WWF) was difficult for him because he wasn't working the style the other talent were used to. If the territories still existed Jericho would have been able to fit in easier. On the other hand, the dissolution of the territories heralded Wrestlemania, the birth of WCW as a single entity and arguably brought American wrestling to a more global audience. McMahon used the money gained from dissolving the territories to take the WWF and wrestling in general to the global stage in a way that hadn't been done before. Ted Turner followed suit with WCW and this eventually led to the Monday Night Wars from 95-01, when wrestling was as popular and mainstream as it is ever likely to be. It's hard to argue that the industry isn't stale these days, though. I have little to no interest in the current WWE product and only a passing interest in TNA, who are only a contender to WWE on the basis there is nobody else credible to challenge. In truth TNA is a very distant second and probably always will be. The removal of the territories has undoubtedly contributed to the current state of affairs in regards to the wrestling landscape, but I doubt McMahon much cares.

Bearer played his role very well, and by all accounts he was a very nice guy. He was a big fella though and sadly this probably contributed to his early passing (I believe a blood clot is the official cause). He was supposedly very cut up over his wife dying fairly recently, so maybe it's merciful that he's with her now.

Poor girl. Thoughts with the family of course.

Probably not many lostprophets fans on here, but their vocalist is in court for conspiring to rape a 1 year old. Words fail me.

Can we terminate his contract for fraud? Dickson may be a lot of things, but footballer is not one of them.

I'll agree with that. Am not really defending the fan as such. If I had a go at somebody on twitter, regardless of who they were, I'd expect an angry response back. But at the same time I find it amusing when footballers whine about being harrassed on twitter. Set your account to private, only accept people you know or trust to follow you. Job done.

Most footballers don't reply to fans tweet anyway. They only tend to reply to the abusive ones so it's irrelevant anyway. If they still want to interact then they can accept a fan's follow request if they wish to. Surely setting it to private is a much easier option than leaving themselves open to public "abuse"? And let's face it, a lot of people are going to feel entitled to throw angry comments at somebody earning obscene amounts of money for kicking a ball of air around for 90 minutes a week.

If footballers are so unhappy about being "harassed" perhaps they should set their accounts to private. It's very easy to do.

Footballers should really just stay off twitter. The real pros just don't rise to the bait.

One of many players at the club with disdain for the fans, there were many more loyal to Kean than we'd all like to think. Does Dickson ever come over and applaud the fans, or run off down the tunnel after every match with his partner in crime Murphy?

A 4 year contract for a 30 year old? Seems a bit excessive. Decent signing nonetheless.

Sorry to hear about this pal.

That web page badly needs to be redesigned, if they want to get the truth out there then fine, but most people aren't going to read through that mess to find out what's happened. Also a harsh lesson for them but one that should be obvious - don't lend your entire retirement savings to a bloke who has no money and no means of income. It was never going to end well. Sad to see all that stuff if it's true. I lost a lot of respect for Hendry when he had a pop at the fans regarding Steve Kean, though, so I'm not massively impacted.

Very sad, especially at that age. RIP.

I believe he was actually a qualified doctor

Before my time but by all accounts a fantastic player and a good person. I regret not being born a decade or so earlier so that I could have watched the Brazil '82 team play at that world cup.

Would also like to add I'm available to talk to if anybody feels the need... somebody very close to me has suffered with bouts of depression and I've learned the hard way how to best advise and deal with it as an outsider. She's on the mend now but went through some very dark times, she's said before that if she hadn't confided in me she isn't sure she'd be here now. It's always worth talking and there is always someone willing to listen... it's a good place, this, so plenty of fantastic people to get in contact with. Nobody has to suffer alone.

It's just so strange that there were literally NO outward signs of ANY depression whatsoever... or at least, the impression I get from those close to him certainly suggests that. If he did have depression, it must have taken some seriously incredible mental strength not to let any outward signs surface. It's frightening that somebody could seem so normal, and hide the type of turmoil that leads to suicide.

I just cannot understand this... he had two young kids, a well-paid job, by all accounts a decent lad... what in the world could have driven him to this? RIP

Blatter is a total moron, but these comments have been blown out of proportion somewhat. I would say i'm surprised an organisation the size of FIFA doesn't employ a few PR guys to ensure Blatter and other high-profile officials don't say anything that could be seen to be stupid or inconsiderate... but it is FIFA we're talking about.

My estimation of Kean could quite literally go no lower, I absolutely despise the man and cannot wait until the day he leaves this club. As a result, Kamy's words do not surprise me at all - nor should they surprise anybody else, knowing how the slimy little weasel got the job in the first place. Hopefully people will make their voices heard at the weekend. I don't hold much hope, but a stadium-wide "KEAN OUT" chant would be beautiful.

That's true Theno, but I know many, many people now (especially youngsters, 18/19/20 years old) who spend their nights playing Call of Duty/FIFA on their X-Box with their mates (sometimes together, sometimes remotely connected via the net). In terms of pulling and flirting I've lost count of the amount of couple I know who "met" over either myspace or facebook. The internet is changing the way people interact, and I think it's underestimated as a factor in why youngsters aren't going out to bars and clubs as much as they used to. It's difficult to say how big of an impact it's having, but even five/ten years ago the attitudes towards the internet and consoles were not the same as they are now. I should add that it isn't limited to the younger members of society... an older single fella who ten years ago may have gone out to try his luck at a bar can now use facebook or a dating website. It's much easier to be confident behind a keyboard.

Hi all... thought I'd post this in here rather than starting a new thread! I've recently completed the first draft of a novel. Theme-wise it's similar to Orwell's 1984, with an increasingly oppressive Government controlling the lives of its citizens. The story follows two strands - one from the perspective of a loyal citizen slowly dragged into the rebel underworld, and another following a group of rebels trying to bring the Government structure down before it's too late. Just wondering if anybody fancied reading and giving feedback on this? If it interests anybody I'd be happy to send the novel across. It's in PDF format, so I believe it should be able to be transferred to a kindle, though I don't have one myself so I'm not sure how the process works! Drop me a PM if interested, I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback

I have almost zero interest in WWE nowadays, but when Savage was wrestling - both in WWF and WCW - it was a great time to be watching wrestling. Be a Man is a tune as well... 'hollywood hulkster, you're at the end of your rope, and i'm gonna kick you in the butt and wash your mouth out with soap'