All new Inside the Squared Circle tonight.

Episode #101

Tonight we discuss Bret Hart signing with WWE, More TNA vs WWE on our countdown to January 4th, 2010, proof we don't need to see another Cena vs Orton match and Douchebags from MTV and ESPN talking out their ass. Along with Ringside Chat, and The Weird News Top 5. All this and more tonight.

Maybe the GOP needs some time to do some practice with flash cards

After watching how much of the last week went down for the Republicans, one gets the feeling someone needs to take them to a neutral corner and explain how the whole "comeback tour" is supposed to go. You had Michael Steele become the new head of the RNC, emerging from a slightly ponderous candidate pool as the first African-American elected to the position, you had continued punditing on the media crush on Rush Limbaugh, as he has recently found a way to turn his noise to 11, and more proof of the blind failing the GOP has been reduced to in sound-biting. There was no doubt more to cover this past week, but hell, if I wrote about the Republicans full-time, I'd probably develop an ulcer.

Andrew Card, former Bush Chief of Staff, made remarks earlier in the week regarding the level of respect President Obama is showing the job thus far. His problem seems to be that Obama is doing work in the Oval Office with his sleeves rolled up, or tieless, or some other form of casual. His complaint comes with a comparison of the level of respect Card believes that Presidents Ronald Reagan and both Bushes showed the Presidency, which he labels "tremendous." Sure, I guess if you were going to go with a dress code measuring stick, you might have an argument, but trying to talk of respect for the Presidency, when you were a top level lackey to the undisputed worst President in this country's history, is kind of like trying to hype a fighter while his ring crew is still trying to wake him up following a knockout.

Steele, who survived several rounds of voting, during which Mike Duncan dropped his bid to remain RNC chair, featured candidates who had to resign from a whites-only country club or who treated the election as the perfect CD release party for a racial parody song, is now off to a dubious start in his new role as one of the top Republican noise-holes: “You and I know that in the history of mankind and womankind, government—federal, state or local—has never created one job. It’s destroyed a lot of them.”

Yeah, Michael Steele, the new head of the Republican National Committee, and former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, actually said that. Since there was no struggle to maintain a straight face mentioned in any account of the remark, it is fair to assume that he actually believes that. Without even getting into the ludicrous notion that government has never created a single job, this is ironic coming from the head of the RNC, given that our previous President, a Republican, created two notable jobs, the director of Homeland Security and the director of the White House Office of faith-based what the hell ever.

Puzzled, but hardly surprised by the maelstrom of attention given to Rush Limbaugh here in recent weeks. I was wondering how hard the far right-wing would strain, and seeing as how the rest the Republicans could do so far was criticize the occasionally casual workplace dress code and try and create an urban legend of political science, Limbaugh has clearly taken the lead. There's been all manner of spin on his `I want him to fail' statement, and why? His job is to whip up conservative interest and outrage, but now it's to rebuild confidence rather than confidently reassure. Obviously he wants Obama to fail, but he wants the Democrats to fail more. The concept of such failure leading to a Republican rebirth in the 2010 elections would allow Limbaugh to take partial, if not full credit for that, and at every opportunity he can possibly get his hands on. The fact mainstream media had paid it so much attention is merely helping Limbaugh draw in more suckers to listen to the 14 million suckers a week that listen to his show, which apparently warrants $38 million a year through 2016. Damn, that's not even Howard Stern money, and he draws not even a quarter of your audience.

At any rate, I hope the GOP gets amped up, and starts trying to offer more than whining about contraceptives and wardrobe choices. It may make sense, when you really get down to it, but why offer it as a marquee issue? It was weak, and it made them look not only like they were nitpicking, but like they didn't want anyone to get laid, either. Thanks to the recession, a lot of people are getting screwed, but why do they want to step in and stop people from being fucked?

Rolling Stone must have lost its damn mind...

So there I was, checking my mail, when I saw the newest issue of Rolling Stone (#1071, Feb 5, 2009) had arrived. I know, they shrank down to regular magazine size, and they have had a year or so love affair with President Obama's face, but they still have some very relevant reading regarding national affairs and other topics the so-called mainstream media should be giving ink to, even if half the damn magazine is advertisements for shit I wouldn't buy with someone else's money.

After listing the top ten (sales-wise) albums and the top ten touring acts of 2008, I found myself eyeballing a Grammy preview. In true fashion, the preview only covered six categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, the Death Grammy (also known as Best New Artist), Best Rock Album, Best Alternative Album, and Best Producer.

Not that I was even remotely interested in most of the nominees, but what got me attention was the so-called "panel of experts" the magazine trotted out to handicap the aforementioned six awards. Adele, Patrick Stump from one of those fucking emo bands that all sound alike, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, Will.i.am, Gregg Gillis (whoever the fuck that is), and Nick Jonas.

Nick Jonas? Nick Jonas, as in Nick Jonas of the fucking Jonas Brothers? What the fuck is he an expert in, cause I'll be to hell and back if you try to argue it's music. I mean, honest to God, is he even old enough to buy a pack of smokes? And Adele, who looks more like an expert in thirds at an Old Country Buffet. Those two are actually nominees for Best New Artist. Yeah, you read that right...Best New Artist. If they are new, they ain't got the experience to be "experts." What a fucking cockamamie load of shit, even for Rolling Stone.

Oh yeah, and on page 32, they refer to Amy Winehouse as their "favorite bikini model," and that she had brought the "sexy" to St. Lucia. Not even sarcasm makes that fucking funny. I am willing to put good money, bad money, even piss-soaked Monopoly money on the table that there is a far classier way to catch a STD than frolicking with Amy Winehouse.

At the rate Rolling Stone is going...I'm a fixin' to be an expert in being a former Rolling Stone subscriber, or just reading the political articles and tossing the rest on the pile...

Wrestling Milestones. December 29th - January 4th

12/29/1969 - Born - Terik the Great
12/30/1948 - Born - NWA Chief Referee Fred Richards
12/30/1970 - Born - Curtis Slamdawg
12/31/1974 - Born - Sakoda
12/31/1975 - Born - Madonna Wayne Garcy
12/31/1990 - Died - Ed the Bull Gantner of kidney disease at 31
12/31/1998 - Died - Sam Mushnick of internal bleeding at 93
01/01/1943 - Born - Jimmy Hart
01/01/1955 - Died - The Canadian Angel, Q-Ball Jack Rush
01/02/1897 - Born - Jim Londos in Argos, Greece
01/02/1969 - Born - Jimmy Cicero
01/02/1972 - Born - Joe Storm
01/03/1952 - Born - Jim Ross
01/03/1967 - Born - Brian Day
01/03/1997 - Died - Rick Martello at 38
01/04/1970 - Born - Kanyon
01/04/2001 - Died - Villano I, Jose de Jesus Diaz Mendoza, of a heart attack at age 54

This Week in Professional Wrestling History. December 29th - January 4th

12/29/1937 - Lou Thesz defeated Everett Marshall for the NWA Heavyweight Wrestling title
12/29/1985 - Stan Hansen defeated Rick Martel for the AWA Heavyweight title
12/29/1991 - Event - Starrcade, The Scope, Norfolk, VA
12/29/1995 - Mikey Whipwresk & Cactus Jack defeated Sandman & 2 Cold Scorpio for the ECW Tag Team title
12/29/1996 - Event - Starrcade, Coliseum, Nashville, TN
12/29/1996 - Eddy Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a tournament final for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
12/29/1996 - Ultimo Dragon defeated Dean Melanko for the WCW Cruiserweight title
12/29/1997 - Booker T defeated disco inferno for the WCW Television title
12/29/1997 - Ultimo Dragon defeated Eddy Guerrero for the WCW Cruiserweight title
12/29/1998 - Mankind defeated Rocky Maivia for the WWF World Heavyweight title
12/29/1998 - Doug Basham defeated Rip Rogers for the Ohio Valley Heavyweight title
12/30/1972 - Verne Gagne & Billy Robinson defeated Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens for the AWA Tag Team title
12/30/1989 - King Cobra defeated Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified Heavyweight title
12/30/1992 - Big Van Vader defeated Ron Simmons for the WCW Heavyweight title
12/30/2000 - Event - King of the Indies Tournament, Galt, CA
12/30/2003 - Rey Mysterio, Jr. defeated Tajiri for the WWE Cruiserweight title
01/01/1963 - Ivan & Karol Kalmikoff defeated Doug Gilbert & Dick Steinborn for the AWA Tag Team title
01/01/1982 - Dick the Bruiser defeated Ken Patera for the Missouri State Heavyweight title
01/01/1986 - Dick Slater defeated Butch Reed for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight title
01/01/1996 - Billionaire Ted, The Huckster and the Nacho Man debut on Monday Night Raw
01/01/1997 - Brian Christopher defeated Wolfie D for the USWA Southern Heavyweight title
01/02/1990 - Arn Anderson defeated the Great Muta for the NWA Television title
01/03/1994 - USWA Tag Team title held up
01/03/1997 - Danny Christian & Johnny Thunder defeated Justin St. John & Butch Black (subbing for Steve Flynn) for the SSW Tag Team title
01/03/1999 - Rip Rogers defeated Doug Basham for the Ohio Valley Heavyweight title
01/03/2000 - Triple H defeated the Big Show for the WWF Heavyweight title
01/03/2000 - David Flair & Crowbar defeated Kevin Nash & Scott Steiner in a tournament final for the WCW Tag Team title
01/03/2001 - BJ Payne defeated Flash Flanagan in a singles match for the Ohio Valley Southern Heavyweight Tag Title and choose Damien as his co-holder
01/03/2004 - Hoss defeated Nigel McGuinness for the Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title
01/04/1929 - Gus Sonnenberg defeted Ed Strangler Lewis for the World's Heavyweight Wrestling title
01/04/1986 - Arn Anderson defeated Wahoo McDaniel in a tournament final for the NWA Television title
01/04/1992 - Riki Choshu defeated Tatsumi Fujinami for the IWGP Heavyweight title
01/04/1993 - The Great Muta defeated Masa Chono for the NWA Heavyweight Wrestling title
01/04/1996 - Nobuhiko Takada defeated the Great Muta for the IWGP Heavyweight title
01/04/1997 - Shotgun Saturday Night debuts from the Mirage Nightclub in New York
01/04/1999 - Hollywood Hogan defeated Kevin Nash for the WCW Heavyweight title
01/04/1999 - Keiji Muto defeated Scott Norton for the IWGP Heavyweight title
01/04/2000 - Kensuke Sasaki defeated Genichiro Tenryu for the IWGP Heavyweight title

Wrestling Milestones. December 22nd - December 28th

12/23/1962 - Born - Keiji Muto aka the Great Muta
12/23/1974 - Born - Juventud Guerrera
12/24/1964 - Born - Andre Baker
12/24/1968 - Born - Johnny Lee
12/24/1969 - Born - Brad Anderson
12/25/1991 - Died - Wilbur Snyder of heart failure at 62
12/25/2001 - Died - "Maniac" Mike Davis of a heart attack at 46
12/26/1963 - Died - Georgeous George Wagner of a heart attack at 48
12/26/1964 - Born - James Clontz
12/26/1968 - Born - Mideon
12/27/1966 - Born - Bill Goldberg
12/27/1966 - Died - Promoter Morris Segal at 69
12/27/1971 - Born - Chyna
12/27/1991 - Died - Wilbur Snyder of heart failure at 62
12/28/1954 - Born - Leaping Lanny Poffo aka the Genius
12/28/1953 - Born - Tatsumi Fujinami
12/28/1967 - Died - George Drake of a heart attack

This Week in Professional Wrestling History. December 22nd - December 28th

12/22/2000 - Raven defeated Steve Blackman for the WWF Hardcore title
12/22/2000 - Mike Rapada (Colorado Kid) defeated Sabu for the NWA Heavyweight title
12/23/1999 - Mike Awesome defeated Masato Tanaka for the ECW World Heavyweight title
12/24/2000 - Controversial announcer Mark Madden was fired by WCW
12/25/1902 - Dan McLeod defeated Tom Jenkins for the American Heavyweight title
12/25/1968 - Rey Mendoza defeated Angel Blanco for the EMLL NWA Light Heavyweight title
12/25/1978 - Austin Idol defeated Jerry Lawler to win the Southern Heavyweight Title
12/25/1978 - Kevin Von Erich defeated Bruiser Brody to win the NWA American Title
12/25/1978 - Ernie Ladd defeated Ray Candy by forfeit to win his 4th Mid-South North American title
12/25/1978 - Jerry Stubbs defeated Assassin #1 to win the Mid-South Louisiana Title
12/25/1983 - Magnum T.A. & Mr. Wrestling II defeated Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart to win the Mid-South Tag Team Title
12/25/1984 - The Rock 'N' Roll Express defeated Ted DiBiase & Hercules Hernandez to win their 3rd Mid-South Tag Team Title
12/25/1987 - Dave Peterson defeated Bob Brown to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title
12/25/1994 - The Rock n' Roll Express defeated the Gangstas for the Smokey Mountain Tag Team title
12/26/1983 - The Iron Sheik defeated Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight title
12/26/1988 - Event - Starrcade, The Scope, Norfolk, VA
12/26/1988 - Rick Steiner defeated Mike Rotundo for the NWA Television title
12/26/1990 - Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Riki choshu for the IWGP Heavyweight title
12/26/1993 - Terry Funk defeated Sabu for the ECW Heavyweight title
12/26/1994 - Jimmy & Ron Harris defeated the Moondogs for the USWA Tag Team title
12/26/1994 - PG-13 defeated Jimmy & Ron Harris for the USWA Tag Team title
12/26/1998 - Event - Starrcade, MCI Center, Washington, DC
12/26/1999 - Flash Flanagan defeated Rico Constantino for the Ohio Valley Heavyweight title
12/27/1987 - Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels defeated Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose for the AWA Tag Team title
12/27/1993 - Event - Starrcade, Independence Arena, Charlotte, NC
12/27/1993 - Ric Flair defeated Big Van Vader for the WCW Heavyweight title
12/27/1993 - Steve Austin defeated Dustin Rhodes for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
12/27/1994 - Event - Starrcade, Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
12/27/1994 - Big Van Vader defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
12/27/1995 - Event - Starrcade, Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN
12/27/1995 - Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage for the WCW Heavyweight title
12/27/1995 - One Man Gang defeated Kensuke Sasaki for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
12/27/1998 - Kevin Nash defeated Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight title
12/28/1963 - Chris & John Tolos defeated Killer Kowalski & Gorilla Monsoon for the WWWF Tag Team title
12/28/1968 - Crusher & Dick the Bruiser defeated Mitsu Arakawa & Dr. Moto for the AWA Tag Team title
12/28/1992 - Event - Starrcade, The Omni, Atlanta, GA
12/28/1992 - Ron & Don Harris defeated the Moondogs for the USWA Tag Team title
12/28/1997 - Event - Starrcade, MCI Center, Washington, DC
12/28/1997 - Sting defeated Hulk hogan for the WCW Heavyweight title
12/28/1997 - Diamond Dallas Page defeated Curt Hennig for the WCW U.S. Heavyweight title
12/28/1998 - Scott Steiner defeated Konnan for the WCW Television title

Probably Uncalled For Season Finale Tonight!!!

Probably Uncalled For Season Finale!
8:00pm Eastern / 5:00pm Pacific
Live call-in # - (646)478-5145 - phones and chat room open duration of broadcast
Come join Thomas Keister and ppdingles tonight on the Season Finale of Probably Uncalled For, as they'll be digging into the by-now infamous shoe throwing incident in Iraq, Sarah Palin's church being the hottest place in Wasilla, some typical asinine behavior relating to the failed auto bailout, Diddy and Paris Hilton's stupid asses, the GTA IV defense being tried for the first time in court, the last Stupid Britain segment of 2008, education, and murders both unsolved and dubiously solved, along with the TBD topics we scour the world for. Thanks for making 2008 our biggest year yet, and help us close the book on our second season LIVE tonight on Blog Talk Radio!

Wrestling Milestones. December 15th - December 21st

12/15/1963 - Died - Rikidozan of a fatal stabbing at 38
12/15/1983 - Born - Rene Dupree
12/15/1998 - Died - Brady Boone in an auto accident at 40
12/16/1917 - Died - Frank Gotch of uremic poisoning at 39
12/16/1948 - Died - Ali Aliba, Larry LaBelle in a car crash at 40
12/16/1966 - Born - Men's Teoh
12/16/1975 - Born - Brian Fury
12/16/1976 - Born - Logan Caine
12/16/2000 - Died - The Blue Demon of a heart attack at 78
12/17/1969 - Born - Kiyoshi Tamura
12/17/1975 - Born - Brandon Bishop
12/17/1975 - Born - Merc the Cruiser
12/18/1948 - Died - Ali Aliba in an auto accident at 40
12/18/1964 - Born - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
12/18/1965 - Born - Terry Austin
12/18/1968 - Born - Maniac Mark Mustang
12/18/1971 - Born - Rob Van Dam
12/18/1975 - Born - Trish Stratus
12/20/1985 - Died - Tarzan Tyler in an auto accident
12/21/1965 - Born - Del Wilkes aka the Patriot, the Trooper

This Week in Professional Wrestling History. December 15th - December 21st

12/15/1996 - Event - In Your House VII, Auditorium, West Palm Beach, FL
12/15/1998 - Road Dogg defeated Big Bossman for the WWF Hardcore title
12/15/1999 - Jebediah Blackhawk & Trailer Park Trash defeated Rip Rogers & Jason Lee for the Ohio Valley Southern Heavyweight Tag Title
12/15/2000 - The Dudley Boyz and Tazz do a one-time return appearance for ECW to help the struggling company
12/15/2001 - Shinya Hashimoto defeated Steve Corino & Gary Steele in a 3-Way for the vacant NWA Heavyweight Wrestling title
12/15/2001 - Trent Acid defeated Ruckus to win the CZW and Big Japan Pro Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Titles
12/15/2001 - Adam Flash defeated Nick Berk and Nick Mondo in a three-way match for the Combat Zone World Ironman Title
12/15/2002 - Event - Armegeddon, Office Depot Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
12/15/2002 - Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show for the WWE Smackdown Heavyweight title
12/15/2002 - Triple H defeated Shawn Michaels for the WWE Raw World title
12/15/2002 - Booker T & Goldust defeated Chris Jericho & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, and William Regal & Lance Storm for the WWE Raw Tag Team title
12/16/1962 - Doug Gilbert & Dick Steinborn defeated Art & Stan Nielson for the AWA Tag Team title
12/16/1983 - Mike Rotondo defeated Greg Valentine in a tournament final for the Florida State Heavyweight title
12/16/1990 - Event - Starrcade, Keil Auditorium, St. Louis, MO
12/16/1990 - Lex Luger defeated Stan Hansen for the NWA U.S. Heavyweight title
12/16/1995 - NWA Champion Dan Severn won the UFC Ultimate Ultimate in Denver, CO
12/16/2003 - J.T. Stahr & T.J. Dalton defeated Johnny & Jason Riggs and Apollo & The Hussla for the Heartland Wrestling Association Tag Team Titles
12/17/1906 - Frank Gotch defeated Fred Beell for the American Heavyweight title
12/17/1995 - Event - In Your House V, Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, PA
12/17/1999 - Masato Tanaka defeated Mike Awesome for the ECW World Heavyweight title
12/17/2000 - Event - Starrcade, MCI Center, Washington, DC
12/17/2000 - Kevin Nash & Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chuck Palumbo & Sean Stasiak for the vacant WCW Tag Team title
12/17/2000 - Terry Funk defeated Crowbar for the WCW Hardcore title
12/18/1999 - Big Dick Dudley defeated Damien Steele for the XPW Heavyweight title
12/18/2000 - Undertaker & the Rock defeated Edge & Christian for the WWF Tag Team title
12/19/1969 - Carlos Elio Colisetti defeated Rey Mendoza for the EMLL NWA Light Heavyweight title
12/19/1985 - Dusty Rhodes defeated Buddy Landell for the Georgia National Heavyweight title
12/19/1994 - Tommy Rich defeated Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight title
12/19/1997 - Death & Destruction defeated The Legends for the SSW Tag Team title
12/19/1999 - Event - Starrcade '99, MCI Center, Washington, DC
12/19/1999 - Chris Benoit defeated Scott Hall for the WCW US Heavyweight title
12/19/1999 - Madusa defeated Evan Karagias for the WCW Cruiserweight title
12/19/2000 - Edge & Christian defeated Undertaker & the Rock for the WWF Tag Team title
12/20/1993 - Jerry Lawler defeated Jeff Jarrett for the USWA Unified Heavyweight title
12/20/1996 - The Eliminators defeated the Gangstas for the ECW Tag Team title
12/20/1999 - Chris Jericho and Chyna pinned each other to become co-holders of the WWF Intercontinental title
12/20/1999 - Bret Hart defeated Goldberg for the WCW Heavyweight title
12/20/1999 - Jeff Jarrett defeated Chris Benoit for the WCW US Heavyweight title
12/21/1973 - Rey Mendoza defeated Kim Sung Ho for the EMLL NWA Light Heavyweight title
12/21/1992 - Jeff Jarrett defeated Brian Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight title
12/21/1996 - The War Machine defeated Beau James for the SSW Appalachian title