Once again, Mark Madden had to have his say about Internet reporting and Internet fans which I said a small piece on and let it drop about a week ago. Why? Because that was more than Madden deserved already. You see, I do not try to feed his need for hype. But after reading a post on a popular newsboard I feel I have to take the time to respond to this post in a small way and to Madden in general.

In this post while saying that he is not a Mark Madden "mark" he does his best to put Madden over as an intelligent human being. There could be nothing farther from the truth. You see, Mark Madden chooses to live in the world of cheap heat to keep his name going. While being a great writer Madden has decided that is not what he wants to be known for. I mean, why would someone want to be known for being a great writer? He would rather try and be the ultimate asshole and just rip on people to get his name out there. Let's look at some of the aforementioned post:

"Through his WCW hotline reports and through a few friends on the Internet; Mark Madden has gotten the word out that he hates all Internet sites with the exception of a select few. Madden has been very vocal in the past regarding "Internet geeks" and the spreading of their bias and rumors via the world wide web. This time he has gotten several online reporters angry and offended. Madden is currently one of the most respected hotline reporters, perhaps more so then Jim Ross and his WCW co-workers and also does a radio show in Pittsburgh. Madden, although never made it to an on camera role with Nitro or even WCW Saturday Night has a lot of influence in the company and was re-signed to a major deal after some circles claimed that WCW feared what he could say if he jumped ship to the WWF in time for the lawsuit to go to court."

The truth of the matter is that Mark Madden shopped himself around and had NO TAKERS so he slinked back to WCW and kissed some major butt to get his job back. I find it humorous that WCW was in fear of Madden going to the WWF because according to Madden himself they never contacted him. That is of course contrary to a lot of reports. While it is true that only Madden himself knows the whole story would it be feasible to think that if someone out there really had wanted Mark Madden they would have him?

"Mark Madden is also caught up in the middle of the lawsuit between World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. A judge ruled that Mark Madden was not a real journalist despite his claims of being "professional wrestling's only real journalist."

I have to say I finally have a small bit of respect for our judicial system. Even they can see that Madden is by no stretch of the imagination a journalist. Madden likes to live in a fantasy world where he is omnipotent which is why he has chosen professional wrestling as his chosen profession to make his livelihood. You see deep down, Madden wishes he was a wrestler but the fact of the matter is the only thing Madden can put a chokehold on is his daily meals.

I could go on and on but then it would seem that I am picking this reporter's column apart and that I am not doing. I merely used it as a vehicle to start this column. Let's look at some of the quotes from Madden's little tirade:

"You know I like to peruse the Internet wrestling web sites, ya know MiCasa and I have made it a pretty good one, really the only good one not to blow smoke up his rectum but most of them suck and suck really bad. Just rumors, innuendo, and stupid ill-informed opinion which is my topic for today."

I can only imagine how many people he has laid that line on. Hell I remember when PWBTS was one of the only sites he liked. He liked it so much in fact he turned a few people in WCW onto it. Funny how things change isn't it? Actually it's funny how many people Madden tried to work because no matter how big an asshole he tries to be he always has to try and sucker someone into his corner.

"WCW has won three straight weeks in the ratings. Not long ago WCW won two straight years in the Monday night ratings. But to these Internet geeks, these self purported experts, WCW always sucks, WWF is always better. I love good workers and I like a good match. I'd rather see Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat than Ric Flair versus Hollywood Hogan. But I'd rather promote Ric Flair versus Hollywood Hogan. That match is where the money is. Get that through your thick stupid heads. This is an art. Nothing done in wrestling, and I do mean nothing, will long be remembered by the general population. There is no significant majesty in what wrestling is. Hell, there isn't even much significant significance in what wrestling is."

Madden forgets to say the WWF beat NWA/WCW for a decade before that. Not in TV show ratings of course, but in overall production and quality. To say that WCW beat the WWF for two years in the grand scheme of everything that wrestling is, is like saying the New Orleans Saints won their division once and they should be compared to the San Fransico 49's because of it. He goes onto say that the money match is Hogan vs. Flair. I really kinda doubt that very much. That has been done in both WCW and the WWF and I really do not see why he would even say that except he needed something and he used Flair/Steamboat to start his little rant with. He then basically shoots down wrestling trying to sound ambiguous and lofty by saying that nothing in wrestling will be remembered by the general population while finding another chance to try and draw some cheap heat by insulting Internet reporters by saying they have thick heads. But let's see how this compares with the next quote.

" Like I said this ain't art it is simple entertainment and I might add it is entertainment from the lowest common denominator."

Now unless his great buddy MiCasa (where this transcript came from) typo'd there Madden just contradicted himself. I believe it was probably a typo but with Madden you never know. Ya gotta remember, Madden said that the angle between Hogan and Hart was deader than JYD right after JunkYard Dog's death, but then tried to rectify it by giving JYD's family his condolences. Madden then once again takes a shot a pro wrestling by giving it no credibility what-so-ever. This is our self proclaimed greatest reporter? For who? Phil Mushnick???

"You people just don't get it see. The stuff Jim Ross says on the WWF hotline is like Moses carrying it down from the mountain on stone tablets. You ignore the fact that he is a life long wrestling guy who's job is to get you interested in the WWF by any means necessary. You want to analyze wrestling, analyze the ratings, the money coming in, popularity and personality that's what counts in wrestling today. Wrestling has never been more popular. More people watched wrestling last Monday night than watched Monday Night Football. Oh my god we are in the Golden Age of wrestling and you jerks just nitpick on stuff like.. like..just this ridiculous stuff like Mongo can't work. Mongo can't work but so what.You sit around and nitpick but the fact is it is success that is what counts."

Unless I miss my guess (and I usually do not) almost everyone who follows wrestling on the Internet KNOWS that The Ross Report or Okerland's Hotline are corporate BS and nothing more. Do we need this dweeb to tell us what we do and do not think? It is Madden who himself does not have a clue. Does he travel in the kiddie rooms on AOL to get rants? I see here he is now defending wrestling telling us we are in wrestling's "golden age". Give me a break.....can we be any more melodramatic? Wait a minute.....didn't he just say that wrestling is insignificant? Now again, unless I miss my guess Madden has ranted on more trivial things and on more wrestlers than all the Internet reporters put together but he has the audacity to bitch about someone saying that Mongo sucks? Hmmmm...I wonder what he thought about a year and a half ago when everyone was praising WCW? Oh that must have been when he was spitting on Sting I guess. And just to touch on the Monday Night Football rant, it was pre-season. There are a lot more qualifying statements he could have made there. He also touches on what is "picked apart" by sites on the net. Wow, the same things that are picked apart in every sport there is today. Let's look at football for a second, the talent is scrutinized by every reporter across the nation along with the salaries, the workrate, the attendance at the games...pretty much sounds to me that the Internet wrestling reporters are doing the same thing their counterparts in all the other sports are doing with their respective columns. Does Madden realize that his tirades make him look like a fool or did his mama raise a fool?

"You want to be a journalist you geeks? Talk to sources. I do. Don't just recycle stuff you read or hear someone else say."

I'm sorry Mark but this has to be done. Anyone who has followed PWBTS's site for the past year KNOWS that I not only post my own news but I always go around to the other newsboards and gather the best news from everywhere I can. Some say it is stealing. Others say they are grateful that I do that because they do not have the time to travel newsboard to newsboard looking to see what is happening. Here is what Mark Madden wrote to me directly...this is an exact quote:

"Hey, yo--I gotta admit, I enjoy your web site more than most because you make no bones about stealing from other sources (don't we all!)."

There it is in black and white and I have the original e-mail to prove it's authenticity. You see, Mark just passes on what he hears also. But Mark tries to act all big and bad because he does have a few more connections that most do on the Internet. That is most though...not all. Unless you are Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff posting the news then all you are doing is passing on what you hear. Does it matter where you hear it from as long as it is correct? NO!!! So Mark, stick this one right up where the sun don't shine because you are no different than anyone else. You've just been doing it a little longer.

"Be objective. Big thing here. Be objective you are not you are just fans who sit in front of a computer too much. Case in point, when someone in the WWF, like X-Pac, blasts Eric Bischoff on TV it's cool, it's hip, it's daring. Those guys are rebels man. But when Tony Schiavone exposes RAW for being a taped show you guys are like "my god how unprofessional Tony was". Geeks, those things I just mentioned, X-Pac ripping Bischoff, Schiavone ripping RAW, they are exactly the same thing."

Are they the same thing? Hardly. When Waltman ripped Bischoff it was out of emotion for the way he was used in WCW and for being let go and it was used as part of the angle of him coming back to the WWF and joining DX. When Schiavone says that RAW is taped there is nothing really wrong with it but when Bischoff used to give the results of the taped matches at the beginning of the show that was ludicrous. That only showed that Bischoff didn't have enough confidence in his own product to be able to stand on it's own. Pretty much like he is unsure of himself today or he wouldn't be having Tony say that RAW is taped. Shows a lot of insecurity on Bischoff's part. Now we all know that you are a WCW rat Mark, so these comments can be taken with a grain of salt but to try and pass them off as a legitimate bitch is showing everyone just how far up Bischoff's butt you really are. Hey, just tell the truth Mark...far to many people do not understand that concept in wrestling today. (I could swear I just heard or read that somewhere)

But my friends that wasn't enough. Dear old MARKboy felt this tirade didn't generate any heat for him (everyone just ignored it) so he tried to hit somewhere where he KNEW he would get a reaction.. After sending a small plug in e-mail (I am giving a free course in how to get Mark to stop sending his pitiful diatribe) he decided to send a letter to 1wrestling.com. Get a load of this:

"By the way, how come none of the Internet geeks have responded to my WCW hotline charges that you people report with bias and prejudice, that you are just fanboys with a keyboard? is everyone too busy misinforming the public to answer? if I'm wrong, here is your litmus test -- why was x-pac ripping Bischoff on WWF cool, but Schiavone talking about raw being a taped show unprofessional? same exact thing, smart marks. but you're just WWF marks, so you report with bias. also, why is everything Jim Ross says on the WWF hotline reported as if Moses carried it down from the mountain on stone tablets? Ross is a lifelong wrestling guy whose sole job on that hotline is to get callers interested in the WWF. am I different? why, hell, yeah! when old j.r. gets fired over the art of the hotline, let me know. You, Dave, are of course an exception to my accusations, since you seem to hate everyone, and Georgie, god bless her, neatly sidesteps the issue by never reporting anything of substance."

Can anyone here say begging? This is the most pathetic thing I have seen in a long time. Madden didn't get the "heat" he had hoped he would get from his hotline rant so he tries to start with Dave Scherer and Georgiann Makropolous hoping that his comments would solicit something from them. I can see him taking a shot a Scherer although I know Dave is smart enough not to fall for it but for Mark Madden to attack someone like Georgiann Makropolous is downright stupid. Georgiann has been around this business almost as long as I have been alive and although she never worked for any particular federation her love, devotion and dedication to the sport is undeniable and unquestionable. Georgiann has always chosen the kayfabe route as that is what she learned and she is not one to hurt the business in any way. But you see Madden has a method to his madness. Madden will not pick a fight with someone who would actually fight back. Especially one who would not only fight back but would take him to task. Sure he takes his shots at Cornette but that is in hopes that Jimmy will fire back thus giving Madden some sense of credibility (in his mind anyway) but no one that would actually go face to face with him. Do you know why that is? Because Madden will shy away from it saying that he is above the person and that they aren't going to ride on his coat tail? What freaking coat tail? All Madden has is a job with WCW. Believe me, there are a hundred people out there that are more than able to take Madden's job in a New York second.

One more thing, we must have reached that time in our illustrious history when the second coming has actually arrived. Hide in your closets people because the dead are about to rise from their graves! Remember when I said that Madden said on his hotline report that the Hart/Hogan angle was deader than JYD? This is from Madden hotline report on September 8, 1998... "Look for a Hogan/Hart match in the future to involve the World Title, since Bret is supposed to be obsessed with beating him for the title. I expect this match to happen before 98 is over, but I hope it doesn't happen that soon because Bret's much better bad than good."

I guess even the self proclaimed "only true Internet reporter" needs to start checking his "sources" much closer before he says something now doesn't he? Either that or remember what moronic statements he made in the past so they don't come up and bite him in the ass in the upcoming near future.

Fritz Capp is the editor for Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets - for comments or opposing viewpoints please e-mail to Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets