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Submitted by Hustle on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 1:43 PM EST
 Good lookin out for the graphics work, Noc "I'll let the whole world know that I can't be stopped.." A short-and-simple intro brought to us by big homie The Game. It's true. I tell people that all the time, and I say it with enough conviction that they believe me. Welcome.. readers, fans, friends, future baby mamas, and haters.. to another edition of The HIPE. It is I, the columnist that's telling everyone else that everything they fear is here, and they don't gotta search further.. over the competition, I'm towerin.. ya boy, Hustle, back in the saddle one mo' gen. Today is the day, my fellow Americans.. Election Day 2008. As I asked yesterday, please go out there and vote today if you're at all capable of doing so. I'm not asking you to tell me who you voted for, or anything like that. Just do your research on all of the candidates, and vote with who you feel is best for this country over the next four years. If all else fails, there's always the "Hustle In '08 - It's Not Too Late" movement (shouts out to my homie, PJ, for that one). You know, speaking of movement, I think it's about that time (yes, I realized I made almost the exact same comment yesterday). Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed.) Less dew eet!! Before I jump back into the "Ask Hustle" questions, I have some thoughts and opinions coming out of last night's episode of Raw, and I'd like to share them here. This isn't going to be any type of full review of the show, though, so don't worry. I'll leave that to the people who could do a much better job of it than I ever could. - When you're a heel in a tag team match, and you're on the short end of a "hot tag" scenario, things REALLY aren't going your way. I can't even recall the last time I've seen that play out with the heels instead of with the faces. That was just strange to watch, and it's an even further sign of the burial that MVP is going through at the moment. Randy Savage would probably get better treatment on WWE TV right now than MVP gets. People originally thought that his losing streak on Smackdown would lead to him leaving the show and ending up on Raw somehow. Well, now he's jobbing on Raw, as well, so what say those folks now? - Although I feel it's far too early to be teasing any sort of tension between the group, color me intrigued about the latest developments between Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, and Manu. First, DiBiase eliminates Rhodes and Manu in the Battle Royal last night, and then neither Rhodes nor Manu come to DiBiase's rescue when Randy Orton gives him the RKOP. It gives things an interesting twist, especially with Orton getting involved, since he's been rumored to be the leader of the faction from the beginning. - Stephanie McMahon is still as beautiful as she's ever been. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my medication, as my heart is going flutter, flutter. - I'm not a fan of the fact that we're about to undergo yet another "Who will be Raw's new GM?" storyline. I was one of the few people that really enjoyed Mike Adamle in that role, and now it has been taken from us quicker than World Heavyweight Titles get taken from Batista. Ouch. More on that in a bit. - Note to Vince McMahon: Release Charlie Haas already. His act is tired. - Triple H strikes again. He gets to be a part of yet another tag team getting completely destroyed in some manner. For those of you who bash John Cena for his "invincibility" while you continue to go out and praise Triple H.. fuuuuuck youuuuu. I found it somewhat funny that Shawn Michaels was the one who was interrupted on the mic by Miz & Morrison, and not Triple H. I also found it funny that Triple H had no problem taking Morrison's version of Sweet Chin Music, but when it was time for him to take Miz's version of the Pedigree, he went into full-on attack mode. Someone's a bit insecure, it seems. - John Cena gets a World Heavyweight Title match in his first match back? Hi, haters. - I'm a big fan of the decision to turn The Great Khali face. I've been calling for it for a while now. There was absolutely nothing left for him to accomplish as a heel. He doesn't have the longest shelf-life right now, so they need to get as much out of him as they can, and turning him face is a great way of getting some extra mileage out of him. It's also a nice way of showing that, contrary to popular belief, he actually does have a personality. - Can someone explain to me what the point of giving Batista a title reign was? I just don't see the logic in giving him the belt if he was only going to lose it again a week later. With the news already breaking that Cena is getting a title shot at the Survivor Series, it was perfectly set-up for Batista to walk into that PPV with the belt. The Batista VS Cena feud has already been established, and having them feud over the title is the next logical step up, especially with Cena returning against the guy who "injured" him. It would've been at a "major" PPV, which is the best place for a matchup of that proportion, and it would've been a nice place to turn Cena heel if the company decides to rush the move a bit and not wait until WrestleMania to do it. Now we're getting Chris Jericho VS John Cena. What is Jericho's record against Cena now, anyway? 2-28? It's not looking pretty. - Final note.. I wrote a column about Chris Jericho yesterday, and later that evening, he became the World Heavyweight Champion. That was all part of the plan, folks. Now stop asking me to write a column about your favorite struggling superstar, in hopes that something similar happens to them. It doesn't work that way. With that out of the way, let's get back into answering some of YOUR questions in a section I like to refer to as.. Aaaaask Huuuuustleeeee~![/cheesy announcer voice] What happened to using song titles from certain albums as the titles to your column sections? (ThePhantom) I'm surprised at just how many times this question has been asked of me in recent months. When I first started using them, I didn't even think many people would notice them, let alone start caring about them. It was an idea that I started without really thinking how difficult it would be to accomplish sometimes. For those new to my columns, I used to take a single album and use song titles from that album as the titles to each section in a particular column. It would be easier if I just used any song I wanted to, instead of just on a particular album, but that's part of the challenge I was looking for. The good news is that I've been thinking about bringing the titles back, but maybe not for every column. If I can find a way to incorporate an album into one of my columns, I'd do so, but otherwise, it would be business as usual. I've noticed that a lot of columnists have been using song titles and/or lyrics in their columns, and while I'm not saying I originated that idea in any way, I would feel a little strange bringing it back after numerous other people have started to do it. Like I said, though, I am thinking about bringing it back on an occasional basis, just to prove a point. When I figure out what that point is, I'll be sure to let you know. It isn't as easy as some of you folks might think it is. As I mentioned, it would be a whole lot easier to just use any song from any artist at any time that would match the subject of that particular section, but I decided to make things tough on myself and force my mind to use a single album per column. Think about it.. that might be as little as ten songs to choose from for a single column. Back when I started, I was writing about several different things in each column, so I'd need four or five songs at the very least. It got to the point where I could spend an hour or two just searching for the right album to use. There was even an occasion or two where I'd flip it around, and I'd use albums to help me figure out what my next column topic would be about. I'd go through the track listings and see if I could find some sort of link in the titles, and it actually worked. If I do go back to my old ways, I'd probably do it just like that. Should WWE try to move all of their women to one brand and try to compete with TNA's Knockouts Division? (Mavsman) They have women on more than one brand? Could've fooled me. Michelle McCool has been the Divas Champion since 1994, and has defended the title, what, twice since then? The Divas division is an absolute joke on the "blue brand". Michelle McCool isn't terrible, and I'll admit that she's been improving, but she's nothing special in the ring. Maryse, while not the best wrestler of the bunch, has amazing natural heel charisma. Maria provides energy and enthusiasm to her matches, and although she's much better now than she used to be, she doesn't provide much else. Natalya and Victoria are both talented as all hell, but they've been jobbed so often that they'd be tough sells as legit contenders to the casual fan. I don't even want to get started on Brie Bella, because the less said about her wrestling and this entire "ZOMG wear she go an y she kum owt frum ovur dare~?!" storyline, the better. Raw, on the other hand, has a Women's division that is just on and poppin. Beth Phoenix is amazing in her role right now, and the fact that she can throw in comedy, as evidenced with the "Glamarella" storyline, makes her extremely valuable. Mickie James is always ready to put on solid matches with just about anyone she steps in the ring with. Jillian Hall, although shackled with a gimmick that nobody on earth enjoys, is actually a really talented wrestler. Katie Lea Burchill is much like Jillian, as her gimmick hasn't always been very good, but she can still work when she's in the ring. Kelly Kelly might be the leading candidate for 2008's Most Improved Wrestler, which goes well with Candice Michelle, who was probably the winner of that award in 2007. Layla is.. well.. she's insanely hot, I guess, but I haven't exactly seen a ton of matches from her, which is a clear indication of how well she wrestles at the moment. That's not even counting Melina, who is out injured right now, but is another talented worker. Personally, although I'd prefer them on Raw because I watch the show more, I'd say to move the women over to Smackdown. To me, that show has less problems with too many wrestlers/segments and too little time, or, as I call it, "TNA Syndrome". Get rid of Brie Bella (and her unannounced twin), and you're good to go with 14 women left, which is more than enough to run a division with. It's even good for the face/heel dynamic, as it's damn near split right down the middle there, with six faces and eight heels. For the occasional freshening up of the division, they could reach out to SHIMMER and use some of their talent, even if it's on a temporary basis. That division would blow TNA's Knockout division out of the water, if you ask me (which you, technically, did). There's plenty of time on Smackdown to air one or two women's matches a week, and you could even use ECW to further feuds along if you saw fit to. Oh, and one division means one title, so that would mean the hideous looking Divas Championship would have to go. Seriously, that belt is awful, and it's nearly impossible to take them seriously if they're competing for an oversized hair barrette. You know, I come up with some pretty decent ideas from time to time. What are some of your favorite TV shows, either currently or of all-time? (Bossman B) Right now, I don't do a lot of TV watching, outside of the usual "guy stuff". Alright, it's not all "guy stuff", and I'm not afraid to admit to that. First of all, wrestling is, obviously, on my list of things to watch. Raw, ECW, Impact, and Smackdown all get viewed on a weekly basis, although I'm glad that I DVR each show, as it helps skip through the unwatchable bullshit. Raw gets watched as it airs on TV here (I would say "live", but being in Hawaii, "live" is at 9pm, which would be 2am EST, several hours after Raw has gone off the air in that time zone), and the other shows usually get watched within 24 hours of their initial airing. I'm becoming a bigger fan of MMA this year, so I've been watching The Ultimate Fighter every week. I watched every week of the initial TUF show, but haven't paid much attention to any of the following seasons, up until the current one. I find myself really getting into the current season. The fact that Junie Browning is still on the show proves that it's all about ratings, as if it was a "normal" contest, his antics would've had him kicked out a long time ago. He's a helluva fighter, though, so we'll see if he can get his act together as the show carries on. South Park and Family Guy are definitely "must-watch" shows for me every week. I've been more of a Family Guy fan through the years, but right now, South Park is definitely the better show. Family Guy just seems to be in a bit of a rut right now, but I still watch every episode, and I still laugh at the jokes. What can I say? I'm a simple guy. As long as Stewie Griffin is on my screen, add my name to the list and put me down for two. The same can be said for South Park whenever Butters is on the screen. Those fuckers are comedic gold. In a bit of a twist, there are two VH1 reality shows that I am currently finding myself addicted to. Real Chance Of Love.. Scream Queens.. I love those shows. Yes, I just admitted that I enjoy Real Chance Of Love and Scream Queens. Personally, I couldn't possibly care any less if people find it funny that I watch them. Part of what makes me me is that people usually find themselves surprised that I like certain things, whether it be music, movies, TV shows, wrestlers, or whatever. Both of these shows are fun ways for me to kick back and relax on Monday nights before Raw comes on. It helps that there's some hot women to look at on both shows. In an even bigger twist, one of my favorite shows right now is The Backyardigans. Yes, the cartoon on Nick Jr that is aimed towards preschoolers. It's a cute show, what the hell do you want me to say? I guess it is a tad bit strange that I can relate a lot to one of the characters on the show (Pablo). Like Pablo, I like coming up with various ideas, and I have no problem stepping up to take the lead in various situations, regardless of what they are. Hell, I even have the occasional panic attack like he does. Remember when I said people find themselves surprised that I like certain things? Well, here is a perfect example of that. I'm sure some of you out there will make fun of me for this. Ask me if I care, though. No, seriously.. go ahead and ask me. No. No, I do not care. Other than sports and the local news, that's really all the TV that I watch on a regular basis. If you're looking for some of my favorite shows of all-time, it would be shows like: - The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - Family Matters - The Cosby Show - Saved By The Bell - The Joe Schmo Show (the first season) - Airwolf - Square One - The Secret World Of Alex Mack - Ducktales - All That (only the earlier seasons with Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Alisa Reyes, etc) - The George Lopez Show - Unsolved Mysteries (Robert Stack's version only, thank you very much) I'm sure there are tons of other shows that I used to love, but it's 5am right now, and my mind isn't quite working up to its full potential. Besides, I could probably just end up going on and on about TV shows, and then the haters would hate, wondering why there wasn't more wrestling discussion in this column. I like to think this is switching things up a bit and providing people with something to read that they won't be able to read in various other wrestling columns. What is your favorite wrestling match ever? (Joe) You must be a newer reader of mine, because I have answered this in the past, but because you had such kind words for me in your feedback, I shall answer this once again. Why? Because I'm Hustle, and I'm changing lives, one person at a time. My favorite wrestling match ever is the Submission Match at WrestleMania 13 between Bret Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and it's really not even all that close. To this day, it's still my favorite match, smack dab in the middle of my favorite feud, and it involved my favorite double-turn. Vince McMahon couldn't have asked for the entire thing to play off any better than it did. He had the storyline take place, and then just sat back and watched as the fans determined what direction they wanted the storyline to go in. Looking back on it now (hindsight.. 20/20.. blah blah), I don't know how it was a surprise to anyone that Steve Austin became a face. He was the man who best represented the fans at the time. He was blue-collar. He was no-nonsense, and he just wanted to go in and get the job done. Bret had already started a bit of whining about various things, and fans were beginning to tire of his act a bit. The match itself was great, even without the backstory, the foreshadowing, the crowd reaction, or the double-turn. It was just two old-school workers getting in the ring and beating the hell out of each other. Sometimes, accidents turn out to be for the best, and Austin accidentally busting his head wide open made this match legendary. Bret turned into a shark in the ocean, smelling blood and attacking. The end of the match will forever be remembered for Austin's never-quit attitude, as well as the stunning visual of him locked in Bret's Sharpshooter, with blood streaming down his face as he yelled out in pain.  Being a few months away from turning 15 years old at the time, that mesmerized me. If I wasn't already rooting for Austin, that would've converted me instantly. Austin passing out from the pain and blood loss solidified him as the "Toughest Son Of A Bitch In The WWF", and it opened people's eyes to the guy that had been written off as "The Ringmaster" not too long before this. Bret continuing to attack a helpless Austin after the match was a brilliant move, as the double-turn was off and running. It wasn't just a turn where some fans switched sides and some stayed the same. No, the bandwagons were completely filled up on both sides, and when they reached a stop, everyone got out and jumped over to the other side. Notice how I didn't have to say anything about Ken Shamrock's involvement in the match? I always try to forget about him, but it never quite seems to work. My honorable mentions for favorite match of all-time would be (in no particular order): - TNA Unbreakable: Christopher Daniels VS Samoa Joe VS AJ Styles - WWF WrestleMania 17: The Rock VS Steve Austin - WWF Royal Rumble 1992: Royal Rumble match - NWA Clash Of The Champions 9: Ric Flair VS Terry Funk - NWA WrestleWar 1989: Ricky Steamboat VS Ric Flair - RoH Glory By Honor 5, Night 2: Bryan Danielson VS KENTA - RoH Good Times, Great Memories: The Briscoes VS Murder City Machine Guns - RoH Final Battle 2005: Low Ki VS KENTA - RoH Unified: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong VS The Briscoes - RoH Supercard Of Honor 3: CIMA, Dragon Kid, & Ryo Saito VS Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, & Genki Horiguchi What are the odds that Mr Kennedy ever reaches his potential in the WWE? Well, that all depends on what you think his potential is, really. If you think that his potential is being a future WWE Champion/World Heavyweight Champion, then the odds are slim to none, and slim just died laughing. If you think that his potential is a solid upper-midcarder with the company, the odds are considerably higher, but they're still only decent, at best. If you think that his potential is TNA Heavyweight Champion, then the odds get even better. If you think that his potential is to be injured again, you've pretty much stumbled across a sure thing. Seriously, though, I think he'll be wrestling elsewhere in 2009 sometime. The company just isn't getting enough out of him to justify whatever it is they're paying him and however much time they've spent in trying to push him. Perhaps if he paid a visit to some sort of Witch Doctor to try and reverse whatever curse has been placed on him, then he'd be able to find some stable success with WWE. I don't trust his track record, though, so I wouldn't bet that he shakes that curse in the near future. TNA could probably use him, though. He'd be a solid addition to their roster, in my opinion, and because he's wrestled for Vince McMahon, that automatically sets him up for eight World Title shots. The biggest question would be what his name would be in TNA, as he obviously couldn't use the one he goes by now. Use his real name, perhaps? Miiiiisterrrrr.. Aaaaandersonnnnn.. Aaaaandersonnnnn.  Hmm.. needs work. I'm sure they'd come up with something oh-so-clever for his name, just like they always seem to do with their WWE castaways. What are your favorite sports teams, and what made you start rooting for them? (John Doe) Well, first and foremost, my favorite sports teams are the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Indians, Miami Hurricanes (college football), Hawaii Warriors (college football), and North Carolina Tar Heels (college basketball). Yes, I realize that's a pretty varied array of teams, but that's just how I roll, son. For the 49ers and Lakers, it was easy to get into watching them because they're as close as Hawaii has to having "home teams". This state has pretty much adopted the teams from California as their own. They're the closest, distance-wise, to us, and therefore, they're on TV and the radio more than other teams are. When I was growing up, both teams were at the top of their respective sports, with the 49ers being led by Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and company, while the Lakers were smack dab in the middle of "The Lake Show" with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and the gang. Both teams were exciting, fun to watch, and they were winning.. all very important factors for a little kid. Yes, I jumped on their bandwagons at the time, but at least I stuck with them through their down years, as well. The Cleveland Indians were one of the first baseball teams I started paying attention to. It was around 1994 or 1995 when it started, but guys like Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Omar Vizquel, Jim Thome, Eddie Murray and Carlos Baerga all caught my attention and drew me in. However, it was Manny Ramirez that made me a full-fledged fan of the Indians. I couldn't even tell you why exactly I was hooked on Manny, but I was, and he became my favorite baseball player of all-time. When he left the Indians in 2001, I stopped paying as much attention to baseball (something that has lasted to this day), but I always made sure to follow Manny and root for him, both in Boston, and now in Los Angeles. The Miami Hurricanes of 1991 were special to me. They were so dominant and so cocky that it easy for a not-yet-ten-year-old Hustle to become a fan. That was also a National Championship year for them. Not having any pro teams here, and not even being able to watch Hawaii football games live on TV (they'd come on the air at 10:30pm here, a good hour or so after the game had concluded, and a good hour or so after I was supposed to be in bed at the time), it was tough to find teams to root for other than whichever teams were doing the best. The teams that do the best get the most press, of course, and that really helps when nobody else is getting any of that press here. For the North Carolina Tar Heels, the reason I got into them is somewhat funny, but it's also kind of.. iffy.. on my part. One of the first college basketball games I remember watching was the 1993 NCAA Title Game between North Carolina and the "Fab Five" of Michigan. I was immediately struck by their uniforms and just how different a shade of blue they had to them. I was hooked. Yes, the color of their uniforms was what initially made me a fan of their team.. big whoop, wanna fight about it? It's not like I thought it was "cute" or anything, so homophobes, step off. I know you're mostly anti-TNA, but are there things about the company you DO like? (Corey) Of course there are things I like about the company. I wouldn't be watching otherwise. I'm not like those fucking Cena Hater clowns.. if I really don't like you and what you're doing, I'm not watching, but because I am still watching, you must be doing something right. Either that, or I lost the remote for my TV, the station is stuck on Spike TV, and I'm too lazy to get up to change the channel. First and foremost, I'm still a huge fan of people like Samoa Joe, Homicide, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Petey Williams, Awesome Kong, and Velvet Sky. If any of them are in the ring, chances are, I'll be paying attention. Especially when Velvet Sky makes her entrance into the ring. That entrance, my friends, is a thing of beauty. Hell, anything that woman does is a thing of beauty. She's absolutely amazing.  See? Just Velvet Sky, though. I'm not a fan of Angelina Love. I'm definitely not a fan of Cute Kip. I also like that they're always trying new ideas. Sure, damn near all of their ideas completely suck, but at least they're not afraid to keep trying. I'll never knock someone for trying to be creative and come up with something fresh, but I'll have no problem whatsoever knocking them if those ideas turn out to be straight gabbige[/hood]. Seriously, when you have a Battle Royal that starts on the outside of the ring, and people are fighting to get in the ring, you're trying too hard. Not every gimmick match on earth needs to be retooled and changed up. Some work fine just the way they are, and if TNA would take note of that, they'd be much better off. I like that they pushed (and are continuing to push) their Knockout Division. They paid attention to the ratings, saw that the fans cared about, and wanted to see more of, the Knockouts, so they gave them more TV time, more storylines, and a better overall push. Even the biggest of TNA haters would have to give them credit for helping WWE start pushing their own women even more. Someone in Titan took notice of what TNA was doing, said it was a good idea, and decided to "borrow" the idea a bit. Women's wrestling in this country is amazing right now, and TNA is mostly to thank for that. If I think of anything else about the company I like, I'll post them in a future column, but that's really all I can think of at the moment. That's pretty sad, isn't it? Whatever works, I guess. At least this lets the TNA marks know that I can find positive things about their precious little company. Maybe now they'll stop bugging me about my negativity towards the place. You know, I highly doubt that. I bring the hate out of people. Madness the magnet keeps attracting me. We read your columns, but do you verbally speak in the same way that you "speak" in your columns? (Xavier) The best way to answer this question would be to ask someone who has both read my columns as well as heard me speak "in real life". I figured that my own opinion on this would be too biased, so I reached out to ask someone else with all the proper insider knowledge, and this person's answer was: "Yup". There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. What you're reading is what you'd be hearing if you were listening to me speak. Don't worry, though, because my audio column is still being plotted and planned, so you'll all be able to find out for yourself soon enough. For all of my female readers, I offer you this advice for listening to the audio column.. make sure the bass on your speakers is turned down a bit, if you know what I mean. Damn right. Holla at me on my MySpace. Seriously, though, I try really hard to be myself in my columns, and not to switch up the way that I am if you were to talk to me in person, on the phone, on AIM, or anything else. I'm just trying to be a "regular" person, basically. I've read too many columns where the writer appears to be going over the heads of his/her reader, and I'm not a fan of things like that. I've also read columns where the person writing it "speaks" in a certain way, but if you were to have a IM conversation with them, it would be like talking to a completely different person. I just can't do that to my peoples. Yet another edition is in the books. Believe The HIPE. It's real. Much props to everyone who continues to send in questions for "Ask Hustle". You people continue to motivate me, and I appreciate that. Keep on sending them in. I'm still working on some things, and have got a collabo or two in the works, but I'll be back tomorrow.. same Hustle time, same Hustle page.. with something for you folks to read, one way or another, so keep your peepers peepin for that. One final time.. get out there and vote, people. This is an incredibly important time in our lives, and we need to step up and handle our business. Until next time, from the home of Manti Te'o (remember the name, college football fans), I bid you farewell. Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa. "I'm exceedin expectations, you barely meeting quota.. I give it to em straight, you cut it with baking soda.." Hustle HIPRNFeedback@gmail.com 
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