Busy, busy, busy. That's what things are like in the WWE right about now.
We're right around the corner from Wrestlemania 25, the granddaddy of 'em all, the showcase of the immortals, the grandest stage of them all....the most nerve wracking experience of my life.
I've performed live on Raw in a main event match, I've performed at big PPVs like Summerslam and Survivor Series, hell I've performed at Wrestlemania on the undercard....but never have I performed in one of the five big matches on an event of this magnitude, never. With all due respect to Ric he's not a young man anymore, in order for our match to be the match I know it can be we're going to need Ric's quarter of a century in experience and I'm going to have to bare the brunt of the physical work. Don't get me wrong, I have complete confidence that Ric can and will put on a fantastic showing and wow the crowd but it will not be easy. Can we do it? Will we do it? You're damn right.
Things lately in the WWE have been quiet, a lot of the guys seem to be a bit down to be frank. I'd theorize that like myself they're all worried and stressed out about Wrestlemania, this is make or break time for an awful lot of us, this show could send some of us to heights we could have never imagined....or it could end in heart ache. We're feeling the pressure. You know what though? I guarantee you that when they hit the ring, be it Assassin, Sergio Griffon, Simmons, Hansen, Edge, anyone of them, that the moment they hit the ring all of that nervousness flies out of the window and every single one of them will give the match absolutely everything they have. They're all out to steal the show.
There's been some humor backstage though, Assassin is still a straight-edge virgin, Ryan Simmons is still an offensive cross-dresser and the Texas Rattlesnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin himself has been backstage at a lot of the events. Steve appears to be going through a rough period in his personal life at the moment but he's just as good humored and entertaining as ever. His banter with 'Taker and Shawn is legendary. He's an assett to have backstage. As for a return......I don't know. Steve is pretty much finished with the business as far as I can tell but in wrestling one can never say never. Lord knows the fans would go absolutely ape-shit.
I wanna give a brief honorable mention to a guy called Jason Cooper by the way. Trust me, this guy is the shit. The dude has gone from more brands than Jimmy freaking Fatal (who is STILL a talented bloke imo) so he's never been given his time to shine but from what I've seen this guys got talent. I watched some of his TNA work which somehow got lost in the clusterfuck that is iMPACT but was impressive nonetheless. He's not a spot monkey who no-sells big moves like 99.9% of the X-Division this guy combines these flashy moves with a bit of ring savvy and an entertaining persona. From his mic work to his blogs, the guy has got undoubted charisma. Not to mention that he's a genuinely nice guy who's just been waiting for his chance to shine. I have no doubt that when he gets his shot after 'Mania he'll be a star. Who knows, this time next year I could be sitting here typing about Cooper/Hardy at 'Mania 26...never say never.
I've not much else to tell you my friends, I'm typing to you all from the magic of wireless internet in the back seat of a rental car, squeezed between the ample sized Morten Hansen and Suffering, Sergio Griffon having somehow commandeered the front seat while John Morrison takes the wheel. A diverse group to be sure. Travelling down this road gets lonely sometimes but having your wrestling brothers around you makes all of the difference. Be it Joe, Morten, Shane, I don't know where I'd be without them all. They keep me grounded, they keep me safe and despite all of the problems I've caused and had this year they've stood beside me and got me through it. I will forever be in debt to these guys and most of the others backstage, we really have to each other going as we cruise to the next show at 70 miles an hour. Wrestling is indeed an interesting business when 6'5 foot muscleheads (and not so 6'5 muscleheads) depend on each other for their emotional well-being.
I must away for now my friends, I'm hearing grumblings about the nearest grease bucket.....I must locate the nearest place one can obtain a nice healthy wrap. Tortilla bread = Life.
Later,
Jeff
The highs, the lows and how I got here!
14:28 pm Tuesday the 20th of December 1983 Oak park hospital Sacramento, that's where the roller coaster that is my life begun. First and only child of James and Eileen Cooper, Dad, C.E.O of Tratalic software inc, Mum a Nurse at the same hospital I was born, life was never a struggle for our family, I always had the best of everything, I was the never the boy who was bullied for the sneakers he was wearing or the pants he had on, when I was a kid all I had to do was point at something in a store and I had it there and then, though it was never my father who bought it for me, sure he paid for it but he was a busy man, he had a company to run he couldn’t waste time walking round toy stores when there was money to be made, so he said. I’m not going to sit here and diss the guy, I’ve had an amazing life and that’s most in part down to him, hell if it weren’t for my Father I wouldn’t be in this business today, My mother on the other hand was always there, I was her blue eyed boy, when I was born she never worked again, my father’s orders of course but she didn’t care, she was financially secure. She was the one who came to the ball games at junior high, who played soccer at the park, the greatest mother anyone could hope for. It was Friday July 30th 1990, a typical day, I went to school, last day before the weekend, in the middle of a lesson, my grandparents picked me up and took me home, they looked upset but didn’t say much on the drive back, I got home and Dad was there which was strange as he didn’t usually get back until 7 pm, he sat me down and told me that mum had died, he didn’t tell me the cause but I later found out she had a blood clot, I stayed with my grandparents for about a year after that, until one day Dad came to pick me up and take me home, he was a different man, he had appointed someone in his position to run the company. I always remember the day he sat me down, apologised for not being the father he could have been and promised me a fishing trip! He always made sure we had at least three a year, great times man.
As I began high school in 94 I had been watching Wrestling for about a year, the Wrestling business was just becoming a global entertainment, Hulkamania was going strong and I had watched many episodes of it with the old man, The Rock’n’Wrestling connection on MTV! I was a huge Hogan fan and had all of the merchandise, when he left after the steroid drama I was distraught but I kept watching as I had fell in love with the show, every little boys dream at the time to be a wrestler and to fight beside Hulk Hogan against Ted DiBiase and Irwin R Schyster at Wrestlemania IX in Las Vegas, that was one hell of a show, hell I still walk past Shawn Michaels, Taker and Tatanka and remember watching them go at it all those years ago, it’s awesome to think I perform on the same card as them these days, the day I share the ring with any of them will be the day I know I’ve really made. Going through high school it’s all us boys really talked about, we used to get into so many arguments about who would win up and coming matches and who would kick who’s ass if put in a match, there was a kid at school by the name of Josh, man I hated this kid, we got into this argument one day about who would in a match between Taker and Shawn Michaels, this was around 97, it all got a bit personal and being the way kids are he took a shot at my Mother, man I pounded that guy so hard he was off school for two weeks, my dad had to come to the school to discuss what had happened and I got detention for about a month solid.
After high school I got into American River College in Sacramento, taking a degree in Political Science, this is where my Wrestling career began really, Coach Paul branch was a tough guy to learn from but I owe him a hell of a lot, I went for six months undefeated on the freshman Wrestling team because of him and in my sophomore year I qualified for the State championships, I was the runner-up but my old man was so proud that he bought me my first car, A corvette woo! Although I enjoyed that style of wrestling I was always an adrenaline seeker, I used to watch guys like Rey Mysterio jr catch some serious air from a turnbuckle, the hardy boys flipping off ladders onto Edge and Christian, they’d say it set them free, flying through the air, a different high, we used to get a couple of guys together on the weekends and do some backyard matches, I was waiting for my match one day and thought I’d try some of these moves out, I was up against my good friend Brian, a stack of mats and a ladder is all we had but after that match I was hooked on the buzz of flying through the air and pulling off a big moonsault or a leg drop from a great height, it hurt like and you were sore as a you know what afterwards but the attention from the ladies made it all the more worth it. The last year of College I competed in the NCAA division but came second, as I left college I was seriously contemplating leaving my wrestling career behind and going a different direction, although I was good, I just couldn’t get to where I wanted to be and that’s the top! I had a long talk with my dad, I told him what I planned to do, he stood up walked over to me and slapped me across the face, “Don’t be so damn stupid son! Now you get out there and be the best damn wrestler you can be, make your mother proud!”
Two months later I joined Supreme Pro Wrestling in my home town ( I know it’s like I’ve never been out of Sacramento) working with guys like Mike Rayne and Sir Samurai, they did one show a month and the fan base was crazy, we used to do St Peter’s hall a lot and my old man used to come and watch the shows and we’d go for a beer with the guys afterwards, sometimes it was the hospital first then the bar. It was with SPW that I perfected the Shooting star press which I use as my finishing manoeuvre to this day, I say perfected because I botched it more than a handful of times, almost broke my damn neck doing it, almost exactly like Brock Lesnar did against Kurt Angle and I busted a guy’s ribs up too. I also invested some money into the company and whenever I’m home or near it I always pop in to see how the guys are doing, it celebrated it’s nine year anniversary in April so we had a huge hardcore show on, I was in between TNA and FCW at the time so I went down and took part, man did I get busted up but it kicked ass! Anyway we had this show on in November of 2007, we went out did the match it went great, it was a great night all in all but it was to get even better, as I was leaving the hall, someone taps me on the shoulder, I turn around and stood behind me is Jerry Jarret, he offers me a try out for TNA and of course I accepted it without even thinking about it. I jumped in the car and tore up the road until I got to my Fathers, I told him what had happened, I’ll never forget the look on his face man, he stood up gave me a huge hug and told me he was proud of me and that mum would be too. A week later after a dark match on Impact I was signed to TNA. I left SPW a 3 time SPW champion and part owner and apart from my blood sweat and tears I left some amazing people and I’ve been left with some amazing memories.
From then it’s been a whirlwind, back and forth, companies going bust, plans down the toilet, my life has been thrown around I once again contemplated leaving the business for good but luck struck a few months ago when I was resigned to FCW! I put my heart and soul into every match and it’s got me where I want to be and that’s on the flagship show of the greatest Wrestling company ever, as a small boy I dreamed of performing on TV, it may not be with Hulk Hogan but it is on WWE RAW! And I hope there’s kids out there dreaming to one day do what I’m doing and I hope they stick with it because there’s no better feeling than flying through the air in front of thousands of people in the arena and millions watching worldwide knowing that I’m not only making my parents proud but also myself. Cooper creates?
Cooper is creating a dream!
Peace!
Original Printed: May 25, 2007
Efeds. A word that has many meanings and brings up different feelings in all who come across them. To the outsiders, the people who aren’t fans of Efeds or wrestling in general it can be a boring, stupid, some even say a childish game, many slate the people who are members but most of them stay clear fearing it will lower their reputation as a hip/funky whatever they see themselves as person if they are in any way connected to them. To the people who are members or enjoy reading the great shows put on by many a great writer it can be many different things, all good but different, a place to get away from the stresses of everyday life, relax and chill out in the company of other like minded people all over the world, to the most imaginative person it can be a time to go into a fantasy world where they base their character or characters on themselves and get to live out the dream they have in their imagination, to others it can be a time to enjoy a good read whether it be a column or regular show put on by the many dedicated writers we have these days or just have a laugh in the chat rooms we have. Whatever the reason you like them, love them, dislike them or despise them, they are there and will be for the foreseeable future, online and on mobile wap.
Writers. If you don’t have one of these there is no point in an efed, they write the shows, they tell the stories and in most cases own the efed. I’ve had the privilege to know many writers in my time, some great, some bad, some can’t be beaten and I have also had the privilege to write myself. A huge amount of imagination is a must for an efed writer and a great knowledge of wrestling moves and in most cases the actual wrestlers themselves in the cases of Efeds who base themselves on current wrestling corporations I.e. WWE and TNA, all of these are a must. A writer has to paint a picture, has to make you feel like your there, make you imagine it in your head, make you feel the emotion that so many people get when watching real wrestling i.e. angry or happy. It’s not an easy task to accomplish, many people criticise writers these days claiming it’s the easiest thing to do in the world but I can tell you from experience and I’m sure many of the other writers I know will tell you it is extremely difficult, to capture the emotion to get across the effort and power and strength and will of the characters we write about. I’ve seen so many Efeds come and go, somebody thinks they can do it and starts one up and when they have to meet deadlines and keep the consistency up it gets too much and the fed closes within weeks. Some web based feds I have visited over the past few weeks don’t actually write shows, in the feds that I have been in and seen, the writer/s have written each match whether it’s been good or not is nothing but these web based feds don’t write the matches they just post results, for example: Joe Bloggs beat Steve Davis via pin, and basically that’s all you get, they seem to put so much effort into the site as in how it looks and how it is presented that they either don’t have time or plain can’t be bothered to write even a semi decent show and I sat there and saw all these people ranting and raving about these web based feds saying they were the best, no one could beat them, I looked at the actual sites and thought what a load of bolloks quite frankly. I clicked on my address bar and I saw the address for WVW which is on mywap, basically a small wap and web site you can use supplied by O2, it’s very basic but also very popular with small Efeds and I thought I’d rather join this fed than most of the web based sites, at least they put in the effort when it comes to shows etc, Andy and Fi two good friends of mine do a great job there. It used to be and in many cases still is that people partially judged your writing on how long a match actually was but I think we’re at the stage now were it’s not the length it’s the quality (drums) A thank yow! In my humble opinion that is. On average I think a decent length for a normal show match is about 4 pages of Microsoft word, it all depends on the writer really. I end this paragraph by taking off my hat to the writers I know and the good writers I don’t. I think I speak for many when I say thank you to all of them (They know who they are) for the time they take and the effort they put in to giving us all a great show to read. Thank you guys.
Characters. Another of the main components in an efed, if you don’t have these then you don’t have a show simply because there’s no one to write about. In my almost five years in Efeds I’ve seen a mixed bag of characters, ranging from the lowest of the low, people like Osama bin laden, Ben Dover and Phil McCraken, to the legendary characters, Nightmare, Doomsday and his famous hockey mask, and the awesome characters from the past two years, people like Ryan Simmons, Primal, James Steele, Michael Shane, Nathan James etc. The first three names I mentioned are a plain insult to Efeds in general and thankfully these idiots were in the “Conference league” Efeds if you will so no one really heard of them. Whether your making your own character or using one of the current superstars of WWE or TNA, it can be the easiest or most difficult thing to do. I’m sure I speak for quite a few people here when I say, you expect the world when you first start in Efeds, you have this idea in your head and you think it’s awesome, it’s so good no one can beat it and you think you’ll be heavyweight champ of a fed within weeks, as I’m sure every young start has found out up until now, it doesn’t work like that and that’s what causes so many arguments and problems in Efeds, these new starts don’t get their own way, the dummy has been thrown and the arms are wailing all over the place. In a way a fed is a like a social ladder, if you’re a champ in a fed you feel in some ways like a somebody, it feels like an achievement even if it is the luck of a guess so you always hope your gonna be next when you first start, always looking for your spot and when it doesn’t these guys can be quite disheartened. I think to create a great character knowledge is once again a must, you need to know the basics of how to cut a promo, when I first started out my promo’s were probably about four lines long and consisted of me saying I’m gonna kick someone’s ass and that was it, but as you gain more experience in Efeds the promo’s get longer and more detailed, I.e. the background, the mood, the tone of voice used, description of the characters etc. You also need to build a persona for your character, I think whether some people like to admit it or not there is a bit of reality in our characters, for instance there could be the cockiness of Edge mixed with the confidence of HBK mixed with the defiance of John Cena and so on but it all makes for some great characters but unfortunately It can make for some rubbish ones too. A couple of my personal favourites are Primal, a great character by a great bloke, Morten’s promos are awesome, there are many destructive monsters in Efeds but I think Primal takes it to a new level and not all of them are Danish lol. Another is Ryan Simmons, I personally don’t know Graeme that well but I can see by his promos and feuds that he very detailed with Simmons, most people as I said before go for the dominant monster type in their characters but Graeme has went for something totally different with Simmons, I see him as the CM punk character of Efeds, not the typical moves nor typical character which is actually quite refreshing. All in all you need to really work at your character whether that be a Nathan James or a Randy Orton, have a bit of patience give across your idea’s and hope that the fed owner is decent enough to give them a go or put you into an enjoyable feud but I will say this, sure you may have your idea’s and in your head they may be great but it might just be in your head, I’m Sure the person who had the cheek to be Osama bin laden had a vision of one day becoming a heavyweight champion and I’m sure he thought it was an amazing idea.
My opinions on here some people may agree with some people will not that’s life as they say. In my opinion Efeds are great and whoever started this craze I’d like to shake their hand, it is to me a time to get away from the stress of real life troubles and a time to relax and let my imagination run away for a bit, a time to have a laugh and enjoy some awesome writing by some talented people. Efeds in general will be around forever I think, it is a craze that will spread even more than it already has but in a way it is still an unknown to many, we must spread the word and expand them. To those who have been here since WWW, things have changed, to those who have just started, things are going to change. In my time here there have been casualties of bitter wars, Wars of word and sabotage, we’ve seen traitors, fed jumpers, the humiliation of people who have deserved it, the coming and going of some awesome and some not so awesome Efeds, the coming together of several and the demise of many. It’s been a roller coaster ride from day one and I guarantee if I live to be 100 and Efeds are still about then so shall i.
If you’ve read this far, I appreciate it thanks.
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. Edge (Last Man Standing)
I think Edge will win this one. After the Con-Chair-Toe on Monday Night Raw this past Monday then John Cena will lose the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge will be to tired to have another match and then CM Punk will cash in his Money in the Bank and beat Edge for the title
ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Christian
Christian will win but both wrestlers have each others numbers
WWE Champion Triple H, Batista & Shane McMahon vs. The Legacy (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase)
Randy Orton will win the WWE Championship Batista wants Randy Orton and will get his team DQed
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy ("I Quit" Match)
Matt has three wins over Jeff in the Extreme Rules match at WrestleMania, Strecther Match on SmackDown and Tag Team match. Matt has got Jeff madder than ever and Jeff will win
Chris Jericho vs. Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
The Dragon will win this one.
CM Punk vs. Kane
CM Punk will win this one. CM Punk will turn a Chokeslam in to a Go To Sleep
Santina On Khali Kiss Cam
I will laugh out loud
As I proved with my Wrestlemania 25 predictions, i am rubbish! But anyway, these are my predictions for Backlash:
HHH, Shane McMahon and Batista vs Legacy: I am not sure about this match, I think it may be a great match, or a huge disappointment like the Wrestlemania Main Event. I can see Batista screwing HHH in this match but i think that they are going to want to make this fued last longer, so what i see is that HHH retains the championship after Batista gets the pin, then on RAW, HHH comes out and starts talking, then Orton comes out and demands a rematch, then Batista comes out saying that he deserves a title match as he got the pin. This will then lead to Vickie coming out and announcing that at Judgement Day, it will be a triple treat match. I think thhat HHH's team wins but i want Lecay to.
John Cena vs Edge: Again I am not sure about this match, it could be a great match, or another disappointment.I can see 1 of 3 things happening.
1. Edge wins and takes the title to Smackdown
2. Cena wins and keeps the title on RAW until Judgement Day where he is in a match with another Smackdown Superstar.
3. Cena wins then CM Punk cashes in the MITB
I can definatly see Edge winning this match, but even though I am aa huge Edge fan, and I hate Cena, I hope that Cena leaves acklash with the title. I think that it is stupid that at every PPV since Survivor Series there has been either a new WWE or World Heavyweight Champion so I hope that we don't crown a new one because if WWE do, then the world titles will not mean anything so I hope that Cena wins and think he will be lose it at the next PPV.
Christian vs Jack Swagger: I am looking forward to this match! I think that this match will finally make ECW something. I can again see this match going either way. I would not be suprised if Jack Swagger wins, but will not be suprised if Christian wins. I think that Christian will win the title though for a few reasons. The first is that it would make the PPV better for the fans as Christian is now one of the most popular superstars in WWE. The second is that I think that they need to crown at least one new champion and I think this could be the match. The final reason is that with the other titles they need somebody to hold it for a while, but with the ECW, they have only had 4 diferent champions since Wrestlemania 24 so that title already means something, so again I hope that and think that Christian wins this.
Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy: I can only see this match going one way, a win for Jeff. Matt has two huge wins over Jeff in the past few wins but i think that Jeff will win this one. If Matt wins this, then I will be shocked a bit, but I think that if Matt does win, then WWE are trying to push him into the Main Event with some possible world title shots coming soon. I still think though that Jeff will win this one but will not be shocked if he doesn't as there has been some rumours...I won't say any more as it may spoil what happens over the next few months. If you want to know just post a comment and i will tell you
Chris Jericho vs Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat: I am looking forward to this match a lot. After seeing how good Steamboat still is at Wrestlemania, I think he may win this. If it had of been Jimmy Snuka or Roddy Piper in this match I think Jericho would win because they did'nt look good at Mania but steamboat was amazing. I hope that Steamboat wins because he isn't one of those legends who makes appearances every year, Steamboat hardly maakes appearances and that makes the ones he makes even more special. I want WWE to give him one last moment in the spotlight because he deserves it and I think that WWE will!
CM Punk vs Kane: I am not looking forward to this match at all. I hope that Kane wins but this match just seems pointless. They threw this together at the last minute as they needed more matches. I am expecting a prtty boring match here with Kane winning.
I don't get why they didn't make another title match. They could still have made a Diva's, Women's, IC, US and Tag team title match. They may announce some more on Smackdown and on wwe.com and even some at Backlash but overall I think it is going to be a disapointment. Only 3 title matches! I won't e watching this live and really, I don't mind. Out of these matches I want to see Matt vs Jeff, Jericho vs Steamboat and maybe the ECW and World heavyweight title match. I think they should have had it next week as they new that they only really had 2 shows to make matches because of the draft!
Foley was great once, that there is no argument over, a legendary promo and he sacrificed his body a thousand times over.
But Hulk Hogan was great in the 80s as well.
Mick Foley, like many in the business, seems to have fallen into the trap of believing the generated hype. As far as i'll forever be concerned, as "Mick Foley" and not Cactus Jack or Mankind he's never been as popular as the characterizations. His more successful post retirement run was against Orton, a feud that was lame when he was Foley in the Rock and Sock part of the feud... when he started to act like Cactus? gold.
His feud with edge, the same... till he turned heel, a run that didn't connect with the fans at all in my opinokn despite the later feud with Flair that produced good matches.
What really got the alarm bells ringing at this point was Foleys assertion that WWE "dropped the ball" with Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer. The fact that Foley genuinely believed WWE should have treated Dreamer like a megastar is ludicrous in 2006 i think it was. Unfortunately Mick seems to be one who doesn't see how WWE has changed and that maybe down to the massive amounts of time off he has.
The commentary deal? i have no words. Foley was a WWE veteran since 1996, there's no way he didn't know how it was done and that he'd have Vince in his ear. I would have expected he's have spoken to Tazz or JBL or King on the matter. I suspect he was "quietly arrogant" enough to believe his status would warrant different treatment or he simply decided it wasn't for him and looked for an excuse to get out of it. Micks always seemed to be a guy for me who gets restless, he moves from gimmick to gimmick, has little short WWE runs, even in TNA hes already gone from on air persona to wrestler, he'll probably be Mankind in a few weeks. What annoyed me was how the Netmarks treated it as "yayz somebodys stood up to nasty Vince!!". Crap, Vince was as usual, right.
Onto TNA.. this fact alone made me sick and we're harking right back to feelings from the Monday Night Wars here.
WWE made Mick Foley. I don't care about WCW or ECW, Foley was made a star and a millionaire in WWE. Mick Foley owes everything he has, his book career, his home, car, everything to Vince McMahon. Its not like Kurt Angle imo who was already an Olympic Gold Medalist, Foley was washed up and broke when he signed for WWE. I personally think that deserved a little loyalty from Foley.
That.. maybe i can get over, one misjudgment... but then Foley decides to run down WrestleMania on iMPACT! 2 weeks ago. That is unforgivable.
Joining a rival is one thing, actively trying to destroy the company and man who made you? well that's another. Foley has become the very thing he once spoke out against. How is Mick Foley trashing WrestleMania while trying to sell a few extra Lockdowns ANY different than Tony Schivone's "that outta put asses on seats" line that Foley mentions so often?
And now.. the coup de grace, Mick Foley is TNA Champion.
After a clusterfuck of a cage match that i will only describe as the natural successor to "Age in the Cage", WCW's Hogan vs Flair contest at Uncensored 1999, Foley defeated the 76 year old Sting to become champion.
Woo, yeah wayda go Mick, *blows party horn*
Remind me again why you joined TNA?
Wasn't is to help young Superstars in TNA, to help TNA challenge?
I'm sure you being champion is REALLY helping the likes of Samoa Joe isn't it.
The sad fact of the matter is, Mick Foleys run is not about TNA, it's not about helping anybody. Its about Mick Foley. An ego-trip directed at Vince McMahon, proving to WWE that Mick Foley still has value, that WWE were wrong. Mick Foley from being a legend has become just another WCW style hasbeen, a Hulk Hogan for 2009, taking a spot that could belong to somebody else, serving his own interests in a business that is leaving him behind.
Is there a place in this business in the era of John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, MVP, CM Punk, Jack Swagger, Batista, Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy for Mick Foley? i'm not convinced there is. Still... should all make his latest book interesting shouldn't it.
After being such a fan of Mick Foley for so many years, once listing him amongst my favorite wrestlers of all time, it'd sad to see the man reduced to the levels that i now see him at. Long ago, a man once said something about Mick that i've finally come to realize is true....
"Mick Foley. You're a prostitute"
The WWE draft is something that's sharply divided opinion but like with most things, I always like to take an objective view, look at things from all sides and draw mixed conclusions, the Raw draft is now different.
The opening segment really held little interest for me, we've seen this before and it seemed a little flat. With the monotone Batista and uber-serious Triple H, it really didn't have a spark of life, I'd have much rather gone in with Mysterio vs Borne as a longer opening match, build the crowd up and given them the first big draft of the evening. Not a good start to the Show.. but it wasn't REALLY a disaster, 6/10.
Rey Mysterio vs Evan Bourne. Everybody loved Bourne... and he has potential.. but.... to be honest I'm not feeling it. In ring ability is no guarantee of success, ask Shelton Benjamin, Bourne will also need to learn mat psychology and gain personality, he's rather generic in terms of look and isn't what WWE usually go for. With no cruiserweight division, where does he really fit in? could you really see Evan Bourne as WWE Champion? ... match was too short to amount to much, Rey won, which at this stage of Bourne's career was the correct decision. First draft MVP.
MVP to Raw was a call I made in the run up to the Show and makes absolute sense. MVP is WAY over on SmackDown and needs to be moved to the next level, moving to Raw will do that without pushing him up as far as the main events. Equally, if he'd been pushed to the main event on SmackDown instead of on Raw, in my honest opinion it would mean far less. Raw has the bigger audience and the bigger appeal, its a higher accolade to be in that position on the red brand. I'm eagerly looking forward to MVP on Raw, though its hard to say who he'll feud with. I'm sure Matt Hardy will be in the mix as will Cody and Ted, though who else? maybe one of the later draftees such as Miz or anybody from the supplemental draft.
Kane vs Brian Kendrick went as expected and I fear management has lost a lot of faith in Kendrick. Kendrick is in the same boat as Evan Bourne, talented in the extreme, with an actual personality this time.. but his size and style just do not allow him a chance. Send him to ECW possibly where the smaller guys seems to at least get decent airtime. If I was WWE, id reinstigate the CW title on that brand, make it one of the draws of it. Anyway, squash, Raw gets another pick.
Big Show to Raw. This is called also... well.. I said either Edge or Big Show, with Vickie being on Raw it was obvious. This does bring a few new feuds - Big Show vs HBK? id LOVE to see that, HBK having a history with bigger men.. (that sounds gay lol), Big Show vs Batista, Orton, Triple H again, a good move.
Orton's segments with Vickie = all kinds of great. I like how Orton basically doesn't care whether people are faces or heels, very Steve Austin.... now turn him face and keep it the same.
Divas match - blah.
Melina to SD, this did surprise me as Melina is one of Raw's better divas and of course the champion, sad to see her go :( to be honest, I don't see the point of the swap but more on that later.
Cena vs Swagger: If WWE had the balls, Swagger would have gone over and become a major star in one event, just imagine the reaction had he beaten Cena? WWE have done it before like when Shelton Benjamin beat Triple H and it wouldn't have hurt Cena. In the end Cena went over but Swagger was allowed a lot of decent offense and looked good here, he wasn't buried and that's something. Trust, Swagger will be a star. A lot of people mention his lisp as a drawback, I disagree, I think its an asset, it gives opponents and crowds something easy to mock and is hardly crippling, like having one leg or something. Jack Swagger will be World Champion on day, etch it in stone, remember it, write it down. Match of the night certainly... and we get two picks for Raw.
Matt Hardy: I call this one too lol, yup, expected, good move for Matt and I expect him straight into the US mix after his blow off with Jeff at Backlash
Triple H: there was NOTHING shocking about this, I called it long ago. It was treated as a big deal as it should have been... but cummon guys, he's been on Raw all year lol. What does perturb me is the fact that we're back to a very familiar line up of Batista-Triple H-Orton-Cena-Michaels on Raw, it does feel like we've been here before and I have to ask what feuds there possibly is in that? the drafting of somebody like the Undertaker would have freshened everything up... but anyway, now Raw has two world titles again. Gee... I wonder what happened last time we had that scenario *que up horrific images of CM Punk pinning Edge*
Santino/Khali = all kinds of greatness, even if Khali can barely keep a straight face during any of it. I do think there's potential for comedy in Khali as witnessed at last years draft with the telephone and a few other times since, this is defo the route they should take with him.
Khali wins another squash, really just so SD gets a pick... and thank fucking God its Punk. I don't watch SD as religiously as Raw and often DVR it so I can just skip past him now lol, though it probably means Punk will be world champion soon to get a title on the brand... ugh.
Can I also say at this point that Michael Cole was at his absolute worst during this Show, excruciatingly painful.
Miz vs Kofi was a decent match... Kofi wins... and Miz goes to Raw.
I have issues with what happened afterward, after so long of teaming.. Miz just turning on Morrison like that made little sense at all, no build up. The two should have gone their separate ways amicably or have been drafted together. Miz on his own is not going to be a star but at least Morrison gets a chance to shine again. Maybe he'll move in the supplemental.
Next was the battle royal... and as I always say... I hate battle royals. They just seem so 1980's, there's no psychology or technical skill involved and seems a piss poor way to decide anything. This was always coming down to Edge and Big Show which made sense... Edge won two picks for SmackDown - blah, if you like battle royals I guess this was fine.
Kane to SmackDown, not one of my pre-Show picks but I called it as soon as Big Show went to Raw. He's a perfect replacement for Show in the big man role. Kane is really the new Chris Ben**t in the fact that he gets swapped in every draft.
Chris Jericho: To be honest... im a little sad at that as Jericho was a highlight on Raw over the past year but now he's new opponents and scenarios and I'm already thinking The Undertaker vs Jericho, I'd really like them to save that for WrestleMania however. Jericho has a lot more opportunity now with the thinner main event picture over on the blue brand, a good move for him.
Shelton Benjamin vs Christian was a good match but again, not really enough time to make it special. I like both these guys and was hoping Christian would move to Raw to get in that US mix... not to be. Christian wins ECW a pick... and its Kozlov.
Kozlov suits ECW, he's been buried a little recently so in ECW he can rebuild his reputation, squash some of the chaff like DJ Gabriel and build his way up. I can see Swagger losing to Christian maybe, Christian to Kozlov and the Kozlov vs Dreamer at Extreme Rules, the underdog story for Dreamer, something like that anyway. Good move for Kozlov.
CM Punk vs Matt Hardy: Decent match again, nothing offensive here as you'd expect... Jeff's run in was good and I got a sense that CM Punk may bring it up with Jeff on SmackDown. Punk desperately needs to turn heel, he's MADE to be a heel, he was awesome as a heel in ROH... so whys he a damn face ffs. Have him beat the shit out of Jeff on SD please WWE :) I expect to see TLC at Backlash as the blowoff, Jeff getting the win. Anyway, Matt wins by DQ, giving Raw the win... and....
Maryse to Raw. Obvious but ugh. Frankly I cant stand Maryse and swapping her for Melina = no buys.
Jericho's out next... followed by Dreamer... which means SmackDown will win lol... and sure enough, Dreamer got some offense which is some consolation, but Jericho wins... and.... Rey Mysterio to SmackDown. Another of my calls, it became a lock when MVP went to Raw. And to the person who said "That's not very likely Mick, he was drafted in 2008" ... fuck off :)
Draft makes sense, Rey will re add the Hispanic audience to SmackDown and frankly, he should never have left in the first place.
And that's your lot. What let it down was the fact that the last draft was not last on the show and wasn't a huge name this year so it wasn't as exciting. Had the last draft been Triple H and been the last act of the Show... that would probably have left the audience with a better taste from those who disliked it.
Anyway, still the Legacy shenanigans to come... and whadda ya know, Legacy lose again.
Cody and Ted losing is becoming a farce, are they serious henchmen or jobbers? as they never win a match, why is Orton hanging with them? just what exactly to Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase offer to Randy Orton? an no, beating up the Colons doesn't count. Rhodes and Dibiase need to get their heat back, they've lost match after match recently are have zero credibility to me at the moment.
The Batista/Shane/Trips uneasy alliance is a nice and interesting aspect but I think Batista needs to directly address the fact he'll be defending Triple H's WWE title. Why not have Vickie add a stip whereby if Batista wins at Backlash... HE will become Champion?
Anyway, Orton vs Triple H next week? well lets hope its better than WrestleMania.
I got really bored so i made this.
Themes include:
-Edge
-Christian
-Randy Orton
-Batista
-John Cena
-HHH
-RVD
-Undertaker (Rollin)
-HBK
So here we are WrestleMania 25, butterflies in stomachs, lights on bright, careers to be made and broken, titles to be won and moments that will echo through the ages to be created.
WrestleMania 25 will emanate live from the huge Reliant Stadium in Houston, the arena that replaced the iconic Astrodome in 2002, host to WrestleMania 17. Over 70,000 will be on hand for the 25th anniversary spectacular (for 24th anniversay if you're pedantic) but what exactly will go down.... well here's my thoughts.
Nicole Scherzinger is scheduled to open the show with America The Beautiful, Scherzinger for those not in the know is the lead Pussycat Doll and current girlfriend of Lewis Hamilton. She's probably a better driver than he is also... but singer? well we'll see. Either way.. I doubt she'll top Aretha Franklin last year. Being the complete MTV whore that I am, apparently Nicole was struck down by an illness this week and the Dolls had to pull out of supporting Britney in concert so who knows if she'll even show.
But that's really irrelevant.. because it's wrestling we're here for, I'll predict in the rumored run order for the show but personally, I DON'T think this is how things will go.
Rey Mysterio vs John Bradshaw Layfield: After this was given away for FREE on Raw, I have serious doubts this match will even. JBL has suggested he will do something historic at the event and will win "the most complete victory ever" this can mean a few things in my estimation - he will kill Rey Mysterio in the ring, it doesn't come more complete.. or more likely he will leave WrestleMania with more than he entered it with. I personally think that somehow he'll end up with either the United States Title, the MITB or the WWE Championship. With so little information, I cant really even make a guess as to what's gunna happen here... maybe he trades the IC Title for the MITB or buys it, cashes it in, leaves as IC and WWE Champion... for once, I've no idea. I count out JBL retiring at WrestleMania as some have predicted to return to the commentary booth, I don't feel that.
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match: My original process of elimination went like this - WWE don't rate Christian, he won't win. They don't see Kane as a Main Eventer and he doesn't need the case anyway, Finlay, Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry? no chance by common sense. There's been "late betting" on Shelton Benjamin as many seem to think that he's in favor with Vince at the moment... but in favor enough to get a World Title shot? no. Which leaves two men - CM Punk and MVP. Originally I believed that CM Punk was a dead cert to win it back to back.. but I've changed my mind. Management seems to be back in favor and has a lot of momentum on SmackDown, he's over as a face and I think he maybe WWE's project for 2009 - your winner, MVP. Expect an insane splash off the ladder by Mark Henry, a bump by Tony Atlas and something nasty to happen to Hornswoggle.
The Legends match: well the script has long been written for this one, Chris Jericho loses the match after interference by Mickey Rourke and as much as we've joked or speculated that Rourke may turn on the legends... no he won't. Rourke is a one shot deal. As a side note, what a class act of him to be at the HOF last night? I get the sense he genuinely respects this business and he's one of the celebrities who "gets it" like I mentioned in my other blog. We've joked a little about Jimmy Snuka and the state of his health but it is something I am seriously concerned about for both his health and the match quality. Snuka was atrocious in the Royal Rumble two years ago and in his promo with Jericho looks like he could barely walk. Maybe they should bring back the 80's gondolas that stood on to come to the ring as well as Jimmy getting to the ring will probably take longer than the match. Snuka will be eliminate quickly by Jericho and who's eliminated then will depend on how management feel about Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat vs Jericho has long been considered a dream match so MAY get the lions share but depending on ring rust, it's probably more likely to be Piper. Your winner however... will be the legends.
The Tag Team Unification match: Ah, the excuse to get everybody on the show lol, at least it wasn't like at WM20 when everybody actually had matches. I think the winners here will fairly obviously be Miz and Morrison. WWE are building them as the best tag team of this generation and they're already on every brand almost anyway. I just don't see the Colons being high enough in managements estimation to be given the accolade of first undisputed tag champions, I've heard nothing to suggest managements opinion of Carlito in particular has changed.
Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy: Smart money is on Jeff... but no, I'm calling Matt Hardy in a nod to Bret Hart vs Owen Hart at another anniversary PPV, WrestleMania 10 where Owen won. This is a feud that is NOT ending here, this is going to go on a lot longer than this and take in a ladder match or TLC before it ends. If Jeff wins, the need for the face to get the win isn't there, there's just no point in going on with the feud if the good guy has already won. Jeff I anticipate will also want to put his brother over and to be honest, I don't think Jeff needs this win while Matt does. A win over Jeff on a show like this will propel Matt into being a genuine upper midcarder player. Your winner? Matthew Moore Hardy.
Next up we'll have an intermission with a medley of Kid Rocks hits. This is WWE doing the Superbowl halftime show frankly... and I like it. On a four hour show a break half way through for a piss and a change to grab snacks could be fantastic, giving the fans change to recharge their batterys. Like the Superbowl, Kid Rock will play four songs apparently... none of them however the ones I want lol. If he doesn't play American Badass and All Summer Long as well as Cowboy... that would be lame. I'd like him to play Fuck You Blind as well.. but that maybe too much to ask for.
Back to the show and we'll now be onto serious business - the Divas Battle Royal, the reason we're all watching.
The sheer fact that if anybody throws Mae Young over the top rope, she will die... leads me to believe Mae will most likely win this thing. WWE have a habit of Mae shenanigans and so long as she's not exposed.. we should be alright. I'd personally like to see Sunny win... but for no other reason than I still all these years on.. have an adolescent fixation on her... the same as Stacy Keibler.. but she isn't there :( I would like to see a few surprises even at this late stage like Stacy or somebody absurd like Bull Nakano just for a bit of fun. The winner could realistically be any number of people, Mae would be a good bet... but I've a feeling Trish Stratus will win... so I'll pick Trish.
Triple Threat: This match really hasn't interested me too much to be honest. It's interesting... but doesn't interest me, if that makes sense. I just get the feeling we've seen it all before, Cena and Edge have feuded for a long time and Cena was involved with a Triple Threat last year. The two have been constantly in the title picture for a while now and it seems like Edge certainly always has a title of some kind. I know I'm probably in the minority but just to be different and give us something new, I really wouldn't mind seeing Big Show leaving as Champion. No matter what happens - Vickie Guerrero will be instrumental in the finish. It'll most likely be John Cena leaving as champion after Vickie accidentally costs Edge the title... but as I say, id rather see it be Show leaving as Champion thanks to Vickie.
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. Simply for me, this is match of the decade. I'm concerned that we maybe hyping the match too much but I say that every year, I did last year with HBK/Flair. This match will be the match of the night and I think almost everything has already been said about this match. I really hope the feud doesn't end here but I suspect it will. WWE, as they did last year, have done a good job of making many believe that the Undertakers streak is in jeopardy, against Michaels, its believable in kayfabe terms the Undertaker faces his biggest threat. The build up has been absolute quality... and totally in HBK's favor... and if you didn't believe HBK will lose before, you should because of that fact. Shawn, realistically, stands no chance in hell... the streak continues.
And finally....
Randy Orton vs Triple H. This is hard to judge. Vince always likes to end the show on a positive note and WrestleMania especially. Its no coincidence that it wasn't until WrestleMania 16 a heel left Mania as Champion. Triple H has been abused big style in the run up and everything points to Triple H beating Randy Orton and retaining. The fact that Shane and Vince are now allied with him suggests the new McMahon-Helmsley faction will be facing Legacy at Backlash in a six man. Personally? I'd enjoy a WrestleMania 17 scenario with maybe Shane McMahon turning heel and joining Legacy, as a third generation Superstar he'd fit perfectly... but I'm calling Triple H to retain, i really can't see a swerve being in WWE's mind after Shane and Vince came out last week.
So that's your lot... shenanigans with JBL, MVP to become Mr MITB, Miz and Morrison to win the undisputed tag titles, Undertaers streak to continue, Triple H to retain... and as for the triple threat? well i'd like Big Show, but it'll probably be Cena.
Predictable? we'll soon see.
See you at Wrestlemania folks.
My predictions are famously inaccurate hence why I rarely make any but given that its mania I shall endeavour to make the effort...
Tag Team Unification Match.....
In spite of every effort being made to make me give a shit about the Colons.....I don't. I'm sure it's a very respectable wrestling name but in this day and age having a tag team named after offal will enjoy no buys. With the only other credible tag team being preoccupied with the main event then hopefully Miz and Morrison will win and feud with Legacy down the line. I suspect I am hoping for too much here however.
Rey V JBL
Another difficult one. Rey has been boring for more years than I care to remember, I'm still haunted by the embarrassment of him being Heavyweight Champion. JBL clearly peaked around the Eddie feud period and despite somewhat of a renaissance against HBK I'd still rather see him back behind the announce desk. The outcome of this match probably hinges on the much vaunted 'Historical' happening we have been promised. I suspect this will be an almighty anticlimax however. I will hope it will be something positive for JBL and as a result he will lose this one prior to it. Rey for the win.
MITB
This may well be down to my personal preference as much as anything else here but unsurprisingly I'm going for Christian to win Money in the Bank. I suspect this alleged dislike of Christian by Vince is a smokescreen, I can't see why they'd bother hiring him just to bury him and its better for them to strike while the iron is hot and the fans are hot for the guy than later when he's probably a bit stale. As for the other competitors, Shelton is just there to provide this years spots as I suspect is Kofi. Henry.....Well I'm not sure that requires comment, they may as well have put Yokozuna in a ladder match ffs. Finlay is increasingly becoming an irrelevance particularly as he is seemingly shackled to little bastard for eternity. An argument could be made for any of the others winning I suppose but a win for any of the rest bar Kane just fills me full of meh so Christian it is.
Jericho v Legends
Seems to be nailed on this one. Jericho will beat two legends, get cheap shotted by Flair and Rourke and then end up losing. Probably to Piper as I suspect the Superfly would be the deah of Snuka. Legends win.
Hardy v Hardy
Come on Matt!!! Jeff wins, just because he and the bookers like to annoy me.
Divas Match
I fear Mae Young. On many levels. Having her win this would just be pissing on the efforts of all the other Divas so hopefully common sense prevails and Trish or one of the leading current Divas wins leading to a decent feud. I'll go with Trish.
Triple Threat
I really couldn't care less who wins. The feud bores me. Shows KO punch is a dreadful imitation of the punt and frankly he's looking a lot worse than when he returned. Cena needs better than this, Edge needs better than this. The whole thing just needs to die and be forgotten by Backlash but I fear that won't happen. Apparently Cena has filming to do, Show looks dreadful so I'll plump for Edge but in all honesty Vickie could win for all I care about this 'feud' right now.
HBK/Taker
Prior to this I really couldn't see myself having much interest in this. Silent Taker was boring me, HBK seemed on to a loser from the start but over the last few weeks Taker has opened his mouth and made me care again and HBK's mind games have been very, very well done so I'm now thoroughly looking forward to this one. If JBL is to do something relevant then he may have some involvement here but barring that I imagine after a hard fought brawl HBK will get Tombstoned and pinned leaving Taker the winner. Again.
Orton/HHH
I would sell my Grandmother for an Orton win. She's a bit senile now and thinks I have a daughter called Jack rather than a son called Jake so i wouldn't get much for her but that's neither here nor there. I am going to go against any sensible logic and predict an Orton win, presumeably with Vince screwing H and revealing that it was the plan all along. I suspect I'll be worng and H will win in a predictable manner without anything unorthodox happening but I live in hope.
As I take a (well deserved) break from writing Raw, I thought I'd blog on WWE matters and what else could I possibly talk about other than WrestleMania?
I'm going to do two pieces, one on my personal memories of WrestleMania (that's this one), and secondly, my predictions and hopes for this years event.
In the beginning... Vince created WrestleMania.
WrestleMania at the beginning really wasn't seen as "the Superbowl of professional wrestling", it really wasn't as grand as all that. The NWA had already promoted their Starrcade supercards and WWE had produced Showdown at Shea, make no mistake, WrestleMania was the answer to Starrcade.
Vince McMahon is the kind of man, much like myself lol, who has to do everything bigger, better and badder than the opposition. Vince will have looked at Starrcade and thought - how can we blow that out of the water. At this time Vince was at the forefront of new innovation and technology, something WWE is NOT in 2009. Vince looked at cable and MTV in particular, he looked at the 1980's political landscape and gave us Hogan, Volkoff etc... he looked to pay-per-view.
PPV was the single invention that changed wrestling forever, talking it out of local arenas and barns and into the front room, the revenue allowed companies to suddenly become major TV players and increase production values and wages tenfold. People like Hulk Hogan became mainstream celebrities, all from this one event. Vince apparently figuratively stakes the family jewels on this being a success... and it was. The celebrity endorsement brought in new fans and exposure and WrestleMania, in one night, made the WWF the hottest thing in America, burying the NWA in the process.
My first WrestleMania was apparently WrestleMania III though I remember nothing of it. My father was allegedly something of a fan in the 1980's and literally everybody watched WrestleMania 3, I was allowed to stay up for it. Even though I don't remember it, maybe it left a subconscious memory that led me to VWWE some 15 years later lol. What follows next is my own memories of the events I saw live at the time. Many of these I, in truth, haven't watched fully again since then, so I'm just remembering off the top of my head what I can (I nearly forgot the ladder match at WM16 for one lol, so sorry if I miss anything really important out)
My first actual memory of a WrestleMania is WrestleMania IX at Caesars Palace with those absurd toga costumes. All I remember remembering is how much Hulk Hogan sucked and at that time I'd wished Bret Hart had left with the title lol. In truth I probably still believe that, Hulk Hogan winning the title at WM9 being the moment Hogan Jumped the Shark in the WWF, it was one of the most shameful power plays ever seen. Bret should have left WM9 as champion and although it didn't hurt his career, it could easily have done.
WrestleMania X I remember a lot more, by this point I was watching the WWF regularly with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon etc being my favorites (even Bret Hart). WrestleMania X is still one of my favorite PPV's and one of the best ever WrestleMania's with Owen Hart going over Bret and the infamous Ladder Match. This was imo the PPV where the New Generation really came into their own. The main event, like last year and next year was forgettable however - Bret vs Yokozuna and I don't think imo that WrestleMania had really reached its "Superbowl" status yet and wouldn't for a long time.
WrestleMania XI and the involvement of Lawrence Taylor I remember, funnily it's really only the celebrities I remembered from this PPV, Pamala Anderson of course being there with Jenny McCarthy. I didn't remember a thing about any of the matches which says everything about the quality of the show. This was a PPV where they tried to mask the lameness of the card with the celebs. Did it work? nope.
WrestleMania 12 was the Ironman match and of course the Warrior vs Helmsley, losing in 12 seconds which is hilarious now... but I was pissed back then. Not for Helmsley who I hated but if there was one person I hated more it was the Warrior. I was a total New Generation freak at the time and ANYBODY who I saw as being from the 80's I hated - Hogan, Warrior, Slaughter. An Ultimate Warrior return filled me with dread, luckily it didn't last. I haven't seen the Ironman match in ages but it's always been one of my favorite matches.. yet thinking back to it, I really think HBK has had better matches since. Id certainly rather watch his Flair match or Jericho matches. Maybe I've just forgotten how great it was, I'll have to rewatch sometime.
WrestleMania 13 came at a time I was becoming exasperated, for want of another word, with the WWF. I'd been watching WCW a lot in the latter half of 1996 and it was on fire, the WWF was in transition but mostly lame and WrestleMania 13 didn't buck the trend. I remember little of it and haven't seen it since first broadcast I don't think. I really had little interest in it. The only match that stands out is Bret Hart vs Steve Austin... and i'm gunna leave my thoughts on that for my 1997 history blogs lol.
What a difference a year made... WrestleMania 14 and it could have been a whole different company. This was the "official" start of attitude with Tyson, Austin and Michaels being so memorable. Throughout that match it really felt like the end of an era but HBK was in such visible pain its still amazing they had the match they did. The final punch by Tyson and the 3:16 T-Shirt over the face were absolute perfect. There was much more to this PPV though, the DX Band murdering America the Beautiful was perfect for this era, LOD and Sunny was great, the dumpster match... great PPV and at this point, my favorite of them all.
A year later and the WWF was now trouncing WCW... but in my own opinion, WrestleMania 15 wasn't as memorable as the year befores and all that stands out is the very poor Hell in a Cell match and the main event. The HIAC really was a snooze fest from a feud undeserving of the stipulation, it seemed tacked on and there simply to build on the reputation of the Taker/Mankind HIAC. The main event however was, like last year, genuinely the best two guys in the company and the hottest acts in wrestling. The right result with Austin again being champion led to the main event for the second year in a row being particularly memorable.
WrestleMania 2000, XVI, 16, whatever you call it... it was shoite. Possibly the biggest disappointment in WrestleMania history for me, WrestleMania 16 should have been so much more. With the roster they had, the total domination... they decided for some reason to simply stick as many people as they could on the card. I'm struggling to remember much about the event, its another I haven't seen in a long time despite buying the DVD a few weeks back. Ice T I remember of course and there was the Angle/Benoit/Jericho match that was very good but could have been more. Plans I've always presumed originally featured the Undertaker who'd been scheduled to return at the 2000 Royal Rumble but in the end they had the four way that was excellent all told. Mick Foley's return however was lame and he should never have been in the match. Mick's career ending so close to WrestleMania was a perfect tragic ending to a career, it told a story. Coming back for this one match ruined that and would only have worked had Mick won the title for the fairytale ending. In the end we broke with tradition and Triple H won when many were expecting the Rock to do so. The ONLY great thing on the show as the triple threat ladder match, that's all that saved this card from being a disaster. That alone and the fact that all the matches, while not stellar, were good ranks it over WM15. Not my favorite event though....
But the next one was.
WrestleMania 17 from the Houston Astrodome was simply the greatest night in the history of wrestling, I'll not hear otherwise. This show was the final act in the attitude era, the last hurrah before the onset of a dark period. From top to bottom the card was utter quality. I remember watching this one live with some mates from college as everybody was still into wrestling at this point, something unthinkable just a year later. This night for me personally was the peak of wrestling's popularity even though ratings had already started to fall, but in terms of quality, passion from the fans, productions, talent, everything on this night was aligned.
We had the TLC match, the gimmick battle royal, that awesome Limp Bizkit theme song, Undertaker and Triple H, the great garage brawl with Kane, Show and Raven, Angle and Benoit.
McMahon vs McMahon for me at the time was just absolutely brilliant, it had been built perfectly with Shane buying WCW and on the night it was amazing storytelling with Linda rising up and kicking Vince in the balls, Shane going coast to coast - it was a fine start to the Alliance feud that sadly never lived up to these heights.
The match of the evening however was Austin vs The Rock and frankly, this was one of the best built matches of all time. Austin and The Roc in the run up to this contest put in some of their finest ever performances, from Austin's NEED to be champion to the Rocks quest to actually win the belt from Kurt Angle, it was all brilliant and on the night they gave us one of the greatest WrestleMania main events ever. I loved them stealing each others finishers lol, you never seen that these days.... but the finish was what always made this special. I knew very little of backstage happenings at this point so it was a complete shock, Austin turning heel was the greatest swerve of all time, that image of Austin shaking hands with McMahon was one of the great pictures in wrestling history, played perfectly by JR and Paul Heyman. As much as I'd loved King, this event wouldn't have been quite as good without Heyman imo. It was a perfect end to a perfect show. The greatest WrestleMania of em all.
For me, WrestleMania 17 was the moment that WrestleMania became WWE's answer to the Superbowl. Unlike other recent Manias, the crowd was huge, over 70,000, I cant remember the exact number. Every match on the card was fantastically built and a huge collision, the performances were off the chat as was the production. WrestleMania 17 heralded a new dawn for WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 18 the year after was the first of the VWWE era, for many of our younger members, that must seem an age ago lol. The problem with WrestleMania 18 is that it followed 17 and could never live up to the previous years event despite the fact that WWE followed exactly the same formula almost. There was the big arena and crowd, the massive set, a live band... the problem? the matches.
I'm as big a Chris Jericho fan as anybody but the decision to put the belt on Jericho at Vengeance in December 2001 was one of the biggest mistakes in WWE history. Following what happened at WrestleMania 17, the logical and poetic finale to the year 2001 was The Rock vs Steve Austin for the Undisputed Championship with The Rock winning and avenging his loss at WM17, possibly going on to WM18 to face Triple H. However... WWE threw us a swerve and had Jericho win and the had him hook up with Stephanie McMahon. In just a year WWE had gone from some of the greatest TV ever seen... to shoite. Jericho was a poor champion, a weak champion.. and there was never any doubt in anybodys mind that Triple H would roll over him at WM. That said, Triple H's return at the Rumble had been awesome.. but the whole fake pregnancy? not so. And Steph really looks a slut at this point as a side note lol.
Steve Austin was completely wasted on this show and I've never understood why. From being the biggest draw in wrestling just 6 months previously, Austin was reduced to facing Scott Hall (no disrespect to him) in an undercard match... why? Personally, I'd have gone for - Nash and Hall challenge for the tag titles, Hogan faces The Rock, Austin faces Triple H, Undertaker faces Ric Flair. THAT would have been a challenger to WrestleMania 17.
But the show wasn't a complete disaster, The Rock and Hulk Hogan was as well built as Austin/Rock had been the year previously. Who can forget "Yes.... or no?", one of the great promos of the decade? the match was absolutely electric, a magnificent example of psychology and working a crowd. This was the final answer to the idiots who believe that the likes of American Dragon have what it takes to be stars. These two men held the crowd in their palm and, frankly, out of an average match in the ring, gave us an ICONIC match through the manipulation of the crowd and the audience. The told a story and THAT is what this business is all about.
Often forgotten on the card tragically is the Undertaker vs Ric Flair. Another fantastically built match, I LOVED this heel Undertaker, demanding respect and taking it if he didn't get it. Taker was awesome in the run up to this match with his beat down of David Flair for example. The match is a great street fight, another example of great storytelling but in truth, also the best actual match on the card. I MARKED for the run-in of Arn Anderson in the match, that was a WrestleMania moment for me.
The main event as I mentioned... was crap. The crowd burned themselves out with Hogan/Rock which should have main evented, but besides that.. it just wasn't a good match. I never believed Jericho stood a change and frankly... his ring attire was vile. This match really marked a MASSIVE downturn in the quality of the main events in WWE for about the next six months. We had the atrocious Triple H/Hogan and Hogan/Undertaker in the moths that followed and ratings plummeted.
Over all.. a letdown of a WrestleMania, but maybe not as bad as many people remember.
WrestleMania XIX the year later was a return to form and a big improvement all round. WWE once again were following that formula of the past two events - big arena, live music, even Limp Bizkit returned this time.
Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio started us off if I remember and it was a great opening match, Limp Bizkit played Taker to the ring.. Fred Durst looking an absolute midget next to Taker.
This was the first WWE branded PPV and the first with the two titles. The WWE Championship match was poorly and offensively built with a vaguely racist Angle built around Triple H and Booker T which I thought was beneath Triple H and Ric Flair and even if they'd gone there, Booker T had to win the blow off... which of course he didn't. This match really held little interest for me or anybody else as I remember, there were three other matches on the card of prime importance - Michaels vs Jericho, Lesnar vs Angle and Hogan vs McMahon.
There was always a sense in the early days of HBK's return, as far up to this match at WM19 that we should expect too much from him, his back could give out at any moment and going into the event, although we expected a good match, we didn't think it'd be a classic as this was. This was the moment we realized "Michaels is truly back" The ending where Jericho kicked him in the balls was great storytelling again and really got Jericho over as a heel at that point.
Lesnar vs Angle was a match where Lesnar had to step up, it was make or break for him. Luckily he and Angle had a great match but what everybody talks about is that final moment where Lesnar was supposed to win with the Shooting Star Press and botched it. There was complete shock both in chat and the arena, a moment of silence where the whole world thought "he's dead". Luckily he wasn't and recovered enough, Angle has the intelligence to work a finish on the fly and all was well, but that was nearly the worst possible moment in WrestleMania history.
The big match promoted here however was McMahon vs Hogan, twenty years in the making. In one way, it would have been cool had they held this off to WM20 but as it was this was built fantastically with a lot of great promos from both Hogan and McMahon on who was really responsible for the success of WrestleMania. In WWE, few people really are as good at this type of street fight as Vince McMahon, he's really pretty much mastered it over the years. The ladder and bloody Vince with the pipe were both great moments but the return of Roddy Piper was just brilliant. Very similarly booked to Undertaker vs Flair the year before in many ways.
One year later and the WWE was really up shit creek. Raw had been poor, SmackDown had descended into shit central and VWWE was closed nearly, my own interest in WWE was dwindling a little, one of the few saving graces WrestleMania XX on the horizon from the iconic Madison Square Garden.... but WWE really dropped the ball here. WrestleMania 20 should have been the greatest card of all time, yet like at WrestleMania 16 WWE decided to simply cram the card with as many people as possible. There were a few saving graces going in - Evolution vs Rock/Sock, Angle vs Eddie, The Triple Threat and Christian vs Jericho.
Christian vs Chris Jericho had been one of WWE's better booked programs going into the event with Christian playing the Creepy Little Bastard to perfection, perving after Trish Stratus. It was an excellent match with a great swerve finish with Trish turning on Jericho... and watch this space for VWWE ripping that Angle off soon enough :)
The Rock and Sock Connection vs Evolution was a match that let me down on a lot of levels and I know many in VWWE were angry about the match and in particular by the performance of The Rock and Mick Foley that was just not up to standard. A lot of backlash went against The Rock after this in some quarters while Mick salvaged a lot with his excellent match against Orton at Backlash. However, watching iMPACT this week and Mick's words about WrestleMania... fuck him. And talking of TNA wastes... Kurt Angle. In seriousness, Angle and Eddie were on top of their games at this point, it was the height of both men's careers and after the euphoria of Eddie Guerrero winning the title at No Way Out, I think a lot was expected of this match... and for me... it failed to deliver. The match was excellent and certainly one of the best on the card... but it wasn't quite the 5 star match we were expecting and it was something of a letdown as well. After 5 hours almost, I was tired and exhausted by the main event but what happened next certainly kept me awake.
The triple threat WAS a 5/5 star match. I remember the early talk in the locker was about how awesome Triple H's combination of white boots and black trunks was... which gives you an idea how "Queer Eye" Sam was back in those days lol. The match was another masterclass and an answer to the critics who'd been out in force for Triple H for well over a year. What happened after the match however is something that has changed since then. When Eddie came out to congratulate Chris Benoit in 2004, it was a poetic finale to the show, the two friends who were like brothers after all these years, champions together at last. Now it's a symbol of tragedy, the two friends locked together by a fateful future. What was once the most joyous end to a WrestleMania, is now the saddest.
WrestleMania 21 had a theme - Hollywood, despite not actually being held in Hollywood. The commercials for this WrestleMania were probably the best thing about it with the "You lookin a me" one actually helping to build up Batista's character at the time I think. My personnel favorite was Austin's Gladiator one, being a big fan of that film but the Braveheart one with Flair falling off the donkey was hilarious. The event itself really marked the beginning of a new generation in WWE with Randy Orton, John Cena and Batista all in prominent singles matches for the first time.
The build before the show was all about Batista, it had been going on for about six months and was the best turn WWE probably ever did. It was so subtle and Batista and Triple H played it to perfection, each week Tista got a little bit further away from Evolution. When he finally turned and powerbombed Triple H through that table, a viewing audience cheered in unison. It really seemed that Batista was the next big thing at this point, everybody was behind him. Unfortunately after his 3-0 winning streak over Triple H he got sent to SmackDown and was found out very quickly, he never reached these heights again which says a lot about Triple H's fantastic ability and is the final word to people who believe Helmsley wont do what's right for the business.
Batista's victory was met with a massive response.. but on the undercard, Cena's wasn't. At this time Cena was over as a face, not to Batista's level at that time but certainly over. His win over JBL was more expected I think, the program was nowhere near as good, the crowd were bored of JBL as champion, the match was atrocious for a World title match at WrestleMania and Cole completely, as usual, failed to get the moment and its significance across. The Cena era started with a whimper.
Elsewhere on the card Undertaker downed Randy Orton in a great match that's started their excellent feud and Shawn Michaels faced Kurt Angle in the match of the night, Shawn against stealing the show. To be honest though, I cant remember off the top of my head who won here, I'm pretty certain it was Angle but I wouldn't bet on it. I could go and look it up on Wiki... but I'll leave it lol.
WrestleMania 21 marked a move back away from the big arenas that had made WrestleMania's 17 to 19 so great, 20 being excepted due to it being MSG and WrestleMania 21 to me always seems far smaller and less grand than many other manias, even WrestleMania 22 which was at just a small arena.
WrestleMania 22 marked WWE with the Cena era in full swing and again, this isn't one of my favorite WrestleMania's. The Edge vs Mick Foley match was the highlight and an excellent match as Mick always manages in that environment, nothing less was expected. There were some great touches with the barbed wire, fire and Lita and it probably stole the show. However, there was some crap here too - the Boogeyman's involvement, Undertaker being landed with Mark Henry, Rey Mysterio winning the World title. Cena vs Triple H was excellent and I remember everybody was rooting for Triple H, having turned on Cena in the proceeding year... yet Cena won. Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon was another excellent match.. yet with two street fights on the card, it may have been overbooking in retrospect. Though the elbow off the ladder onto the trash canned Vince = WrestleMania moment. At the time I was caught in the atmosphere of WrestleMania and the good points outweighed the bad... but in retrospect, this was an average WrestleMania I'm sad to now say. The theme song rawked though, it was also the first web era WrestleMania for VWWE.
WrestleMania 23 felt somewhat different to WrestleMania 22 to me, it was nearer WrestleMania's 17 -19 in terms of scale. WWE went back to the big arenas for it and the build up was brilliant. I've always put over the three months of Raw prior to WrestleMania 23 as some of the best Raw's ever and I still think that. With Cena, Orton, Edge and Michaels, the four of them gave us great match after great match in the build to Mania that year, coupling that with The Donald and you already had a great lineup and in truth, I was a little disappointed when Orton and Edge were put in the MITB as I thought they deserved to be in singles action after their awesome performances.
Undertaker vs Batista was again, very well built on SmackDown.. even if nobody believed for a moment Batista stood a chance. Undertaker winning the title was an added bonus. Much of the build however surrounded that hair vs hair match. The less said about Bobby Lashley the better but the match was decent enough, an enjoyable clusterfuck and the crowd got what they wanted with Vince being shaved, a nice added epilogue to the McMahon/Austin feud.
Much like WrestleMania 22 the main event featured John Cena, as a face, squaring off against a man who most people wanted to beat him, this time Shawn Michaels. Original plan seemed to be Triple H vs John Cena again but Helmsley of course got injured. This was really the best opportunity WWE had to put the belt on Michaels at a time most fans believed he deserved it, a lot of people thought he'd win... but no. Excellent match however and the trend of great main events continued. WrestleMania 23 was overall an excellent PPV... the feel and format of which WWE's again followed last year at WrestleMania 24 and again tonight for WrestleMania 25.
WrestleMania 24 is probably my favorite WrestleMania since WrestleMania 17. The outdoors nature gave it a unique look and the set looked absolutely awesome as well. Those great images of the pyro, a lot of the entrances couldn't have been done indoors. A decent opener from Finlay and JBL, nothing spectacular but it warmed the crowd up. The MITB, which I haven't mentioned at all this blog, was fucking amazing. Remember that Morrison bump? and Kennedy with the Green Bay Plunge to Hornswoggle? Batista vs Umaga = passable and Kane defeating Chavo, while disrespectful possibly to Chavo... was funny as hell.
But now it was down to serious business - namely Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels. When thinking of my favorite match of all time... I can't think of anything better than this. Is it either mans best match? no. Was it the best ACTUAL wrestling match of 2008? no. Was it probably the best wrestling match of the decade? oh yes. This was about spectacle, about that storytelling and that psychology. That image of Ric Flair getting up, begging Michaels to finish it and Shawn telling Ric he loved him before pulling the trigger was THEE most memorable moment in the history of WrestleMania for me personally. For most its probably Hogan slamming Andre or some huge moment... this was so different. Subtle almost, quiet.. but just as emotional. It was the death of a career and an era, Michaels and Flair told the perfect story, the perfect ending to a perfect career and no true wrestling fan can have watched that without a mix of emotions. Delight that Flair had gone out in such style, sadness that it was all over and so much more. A rollercoaster and in my humble opinion, the greatest 30 minutes in WrestleMania history and why these two men are and were peerless in this industry.
The Triple Threat was excellent and somewhat unexpected as I think many believed Orton would lose the title, The Undertaker and Edge giving us a hell of a main event, definitely deserving of the spot after Taker got bumped last year, winning the title for the second year in a row.
Like WrestleMania 23, much of the hype and advertising centered on the celebrity involvement - this year being Floyd Mayweather Jnr. I'd always been a fan of Floyd, getting even bigger when he beat the crap out of the annoying Ricky Hatton. Mayweather and Big Show were excellent in the run up to the event I thought, building it like they would a boxing contest. Celebrities either "get" it.. or they don't, Pete Rose for example "got it" as did Kevin Federline and Mike Tyson all those years ago, while other celebrities remain aloof backstage and believe they're above the business. Mayweather luckily "got it" and was said to be very willing to learn and very sociable. Mayweather totally performed above my expectations and his match may actually be my favorite celebrity match of them all.
So... there ya go, my memories of WrestleMania. I expect WrestleMania 25 will follow the format of the past two years and I think we've seen that already - big arena, big set, celebrity, big matches, well built. The event is fitting into a predefined template almost and now at the 25th anniversary, is truly... the Superbowl of Wrestling.
Here is my WrestleMania 25 predictions.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
I reckon this will be the best match of the night and match of the year but I think that Undertaker's winning streak will not end tonight he will beat HBK tonight despite the mind games that HBK has done to The Undertaker.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
This match is going to be exiting but there is two big superstars in this match Mark Henry and Kane but none of those two will win it. It will be a close one between CM Punk and Kofi Kingston. This is tough but in think Kofi Kingston will win.
Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
What Randy Orton has done to Mr. McMahon, Shane McMahon and his wife Stephanie McMahon Randy has got Triple H madder than he has ever been in the WWE but Randy Orton has got to Triple H and Randy Orton will win the WWE Championship
Edge (c) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship
Both Edge and Big Show don't like John Cena but they don't trust each other but will work together and take John Cena out of the match. John Cena has had one loss in three years last year in a Triple Threat match but he will win this year to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
25-Diva Battle Royal
I don't know who is in it so can't tell who is going to win
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy in a Extreme Rules Match
Jeff Hardy will win this one. Matt has got Jeff upset so Jeff will win he's got the high-risk which is what you need in a Extreme Rules match.
Carlito & Primo (c) vs. John Morrison & The Miz (c) in a Lumberjack Match
Primo does not have the expirience at WrestleMania and this match is to unify the Tag Team Championships and both team will bring up there games but I think The Miz & John Morrison will win this match.
JBL (c) vs. Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship
I think Rey Mysterio will win this match he has the speed to dodge JBL's Clothesline From Hell and will be able to hit the 619 and then he might give JBL a Frog Splash and dedicate the match to Eddie Guerrero
Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat & Jimm Snuka (with Ric Flair)
There is no chance that Chris Jericho will win this one three legends and one other legends to manage them so the legends will beat Chris Jericho.
These are my Wrestlemania 25 Predictions :D
Tag Team Unification Match: I reckon Miz and Morrison will come out on the top in this one. They have a load of accomplishments and are the best Tag Team going around so it would be fitting for them to be Unified Champs. I wouldn't rule out Primo and Carlito though except that I don't really see them being the Unified Champions. I don't like the added part of a Lumberjack Match and thought they should've found something else for the other stars. I also think the build has been alright for this match over the past month or so and I'm looking forward to watching it.
Rey vs. JBL: I reckon this one is fairly obvious in that JBL will retain, this is the match im probably least looking forward to but im keen to see what the historic thing JBL is going to do. Hopefully the match doesn't go for too long and I also thought that the build was horrible for this, all of a sudden the match is there, hardly any interaction between Rey and JBL before the announcement, with a better build the match could've been a bit better.
MITB: Hmmm, a tough one. I'd like to see Christian win it but apparently Vince aint to happy with him but that could easily be a lie. Mark Henry has no hope, hopefully he doesn't kill someone in the process lol. Finlay I hope to hell doesn't win and I don't think he will, hopefully Hornswoggle will get squashed some time during the match. Kane is another good contender and I would like to see win because a good World Title run for him would be awesome. MVP is a posibility but I'm not too sure, if he were to win however I reckon he would probably do what Jon said and sell it to JBL. Shelton can fuck off he bores me to shits and if he wins I riot lol. Kofi hopefully does some sick moves and I wouldn't mind him winning but I don't see it happening. Punk is also a good chance but I would absolutely hate it if he won for a second time in a row. I was also thinking bout Kennedy earlier, maybe he'll play apart but I doubt it and also Evan Bourne could play apart some how...hopefully. Overall however I'm going to say Punk will unfortunately win it :(
Jericho vs. Legends: Most likely will see the Legends win, I'm not gonna think too much about this match, just sit back and see what happens. I would mark out for Rourke to come in and Ram Jam Jericho though =D
Hardy vs. Hardy: I'm actually looking forward to this match despite the shitty (IMO) build. Hopefully they will pull out alot of 'Extreme' moves and put on an entertaining match. I see Jeff coming out on top in the end however and I'm pretty dead set on that decision. If this match had the right build it would be an awesome match but they have just been out shone by the likes of HHH/Orton/HBK/Taker.
Divas Match: SANTINO! It would be awesome to see Santino crowned Miss Wrestlemania but alas I don't think it'll happen. There are too many options to really pull out a winner in this match however. If Mae Young wins it though, I'll be one pissed off fan lol. I'm going to take a guess and say Beth Phoenix winning it, possibly screwing Santino over if he enters it lol.
Triple Threat Match: Even though the competitors in this match aren't particuarly my favourites I'm looking forward to the match, I always like a Triple Threat match. I've started to like Cena over the past few weeks as well. I don't really mind who wins it however. If Cena wins I see Orton winning later on in the night and if Edge wins HHH will win later on. I don't really see Big Show winning but ya never know. I think I'm going to go with Cena however, maybe picking up the win when Edge and Show are arguing over Vickie lol.
HBK/Taker: Taker will win it, no doubt. The WWE have done a good job of making people believe HBK can win it and certainly have sucked me into thinking that but deep down you know Taker is going to win. If the match went last it would've made me think further that HBK would win and it is in his home state. I'm looking forward to an Epic match however and one of the matches im most looking forward to.
HHH/Orton: Well, this is the match I am most looking forward to. I think the build has been absolutely brilliant and right up there, if not above HBK/Taker. From the whole Punting McMahons to the house attack, the hand cuffs etc. etc. I have enjoyed it all the way. I've also started to like HHH more and more in it so I don't mind if he wins it but I would prefer Orton to win. I reckon it could go either way to be honest but seeing as it is the last match on the card I see HHH winning it.
Well, thats me Predictions, I got a bit lazy towards the end in reviewing them etc. but oh well lol.
I was reminded by Tone earlier that today marks the 7th anniversary or the first ever edition of VWWE (or VWWF as it was then) Raw, you can read whats left of the show here:
Tony then said that there are only 3 survivors of that show still in VWWE... so lets now take a look back at what became of the VWWE Founding Fathers
Nightmare: Nightmare went on the become a VWWE Hall of Famer and icon, winning a record 8 WWE Titles, being a member of the nWo, the Horseman and Kliq. He is an icon of the game.
The Nick Show: Didn't do anything more in the game and really has no claim to fame.
Edge: The original Edge went on to be a star on SmackDown following the brand split, winning four WWE Tag Team Titles with Mick as Christian and winning two Intercontinental Championships. The character will make a splash in 2009 in ECW.
Reaper: Reaper was one of the first "indy characters" and while finding leittle success in VWWE, he had success elsewhere, notably XIW
Phoenix: A life long enhancement talent Phoenix was another with little claim to fame other than a never ending feud with Blizzard and Angel. In 2008 his character was retconned in the VWWF Retro Fed and controlled by Nath.
Manny: Vanished from the business but made a little impact in FWC's Crusierweight Division i believe
Ultimate Warrior: His one and only VWWE appearance lol
Stevie Dragon: Famous as VWWE's first ever member, this Welshman may get into the Hall of Fame one day for that alone. Hey... Vince's driver got in. One and only appearance.
Banshee: One of the original members of VWWFs four man board with Jon the pervert, Tony and Mick she became one of the most controversial figures in history and regarded as a threat to VWWE's security. Her relationship to Jon has been questioned and some suspect she may have been a work.
Mallory: My own then GF, i press ganged her into joining lol, the name was taken from the film Natural Born Killers and the couple Mickey and Mallory. Went onto success as Lita before we broke up.
Rogue: The story of Fi is well known. Going on to become VWWE Womens Champion and later James Steele, Fi left in 2007 after an incident with FWC. She now lives with Mike aka Goldberg.
Venus: One of the biggest womens stars of the era, Venus will probably be retconned into being Venus Vulu at some point lol. A far bigger star in FWC and elsewhere however, she never really got over with the VWWE crowd.
Randy Savage: Seen as a potential headline act for years to come, Marty or the ginger tosser as he called himself had a major falling out with VWWE in late 2002 following the "WWWF Incident" as it's generally refereed to. Became a Bruno Sammartino like figure, bitter about what happened. He returned only once - to object to his inclusion in the HOF. A tosser indeed.
nWoKane: Despite his objections that he did, this man later went on to play Booker T and become KOTR 2002 and United States Champion. Seen as a major breakout start for later that year and 2003, he unfortunately vanished. Was a tennis prodigy who played in national youth tournaments and for i know, may very well have been Andy Murrey lol
Rob Van Dam: Irish Rob went on to be World and WWE Champion. He is a Guinness delivery man and makes sporabic appearances in the chat and VWWE. Also winning Intercontinental and tag gold in VWWE and having success in many other feds of the era, he is a Hall of Famer.
Sandman: Gary went on to major success in FWC, becoming FWC Champion before making the switch to VWWE and taking up the mantle of William Regal. He is now VWWE Chief of Staff.
Pimp: Became on of the most beloved superstars in VWWE history and one of VWWEs only Asian members. His debauched evenings of weed and women set the tone for the whole of VWWE. Becoming the greatest hardcore champion ever, he also won tag gold and a HOF spot. His legacy will forever live on.
Steve Austin: Tone went on to be the face of VWWE for a generation. Main eventing three WrestleManias, having the Icion vs Icon match, leading the Monday Night Wars and becoming a great friend. Tone was the centerpiece of VWWE for the attitude era. Tony MAY be haaving one last match at WrestleMania 25... watch this space.
Triple H: Possibly the most eventful career in history. Will was always the insurgent in the midst, ready to attempt to seize power at any moment and comically failing. As Triple H he main evented the first WrestleMania but never rose to that height again thanks to his backstage attitude. He took over the WWWF E-fed and absurdly allowed VWWE on board while VWWE made him 49 percent owner of VWWE, a meaningless gesture. He was involve in scandal after scandal and generally became to be considered as the plaything of the Kliq. Made numerous comebacks an attempts to takeover or subvert VWWE till finally just leaving. The characters was taken over by Mark who finally led him to the WWE Title in 2007. In 2009 he will return under a new controller on the ECW brand.
Angel and Janus: Both men went on to be life long jobbers in VWWE, though Angel did carve out a short lived career in the indies of the day. He is also responsible for the worst VWWE angle of all time - Mr America, being the "fake" Mr America to Sam's "real" one.
Craig Gilbert: Seen as a sort of Paul Ellering figure, he did little after VWWE's first month and vanish as quickly as his nWd charges.
Unforgiven and Forsaken (New World Disorder): Made more famous by Morten than they ever were as themselves, the nWd were the Road Warriors of March 2002. They did little and vanished quickly. The were resurrected in 2008 by Morten and have had a little backstory added to them. Quite random.
Nitro: Debate rages over whether Kyle was black or not. Originally conceived as being white, he was retconned into being VWWE's (and WWE's) first ever African-American champion in 2007. He went on to be World and as mentioned, WWE Champion. Many in hindsight consider him the 2nd worst VWWE Champion of all timebut he never lost his sense of his own self importance. Formed TNA in 2002 and has rarely been seen since then.
Paz: God knows what became of him lol, i really have nothing to offer here. Did nothing, ever.
Kane: Danny was an icon of the business in 2002 and was what Neal is to VWWE now. Beloved and popular, he could promo, write and was great in the chat. Winning four WWE Titles at that time was a stunning achievement and he is rightfully one of our first Hall of Famers. One of the biggest ever losses to VWWE. The character of Kane of course lives on in the excellently capable hands of Stu, one of the few members i know can carry on Dannys legacy.
Chris Jericho: I dont remember much of the original Jericho besides the fact he was Intercontinental Champion and a star in FWC as well. He vanished in mid-2002.
Ringmaster: Formerly Physio in WWW, Ringmaster cursed himself with his character that was never going to survive next to Steve Austin. An intelligent and popular member however, he was good friends with SA and Banshee and from what was gathered at the time had a falling out with them and was done away with. Not seen since then.
HBK: Well this is me obviously, you don't need me to tell you what happened... well... OK then. HBK went on to win 5 world titles and have some of the greatest matches ever. Mick went on to win the Monday Wars and make VWWE the biggest and greatest name in all E-Feds. You know the deal :)
SA: Became managements right ahnd man in 2002. A schemer, he always looked for ways to consolidate his own power. AFter trying to seiaze power in E-Feds in 2003, the relationship changed and faced terminal mektdown a year later afetr one famous argument. Jon's once glorious career became akin to that of the Warrior.
Yup...the champ's still here
It feels great to type that on so many levels but I'll get to that in a bit, I wanna try and give you some insight into just what went down yesterday, because to me, it was nothing more than a blur.
We all knew going into the match that we had to knock it out the park, but I don't think any of us have grasped just what we've done yet. I certainly haven't, and I've spoken with Shawn and I know he hasn't. I met up with him yesterday afternoon after a meeting with Vince and he was just so calm and relaxed, even though he's been out for so long he had no doubts in his own ability.
'You'll be fine, kid'
Working with Shawn in the Chamber was just incredible, I honestly have to put it up there with winning the WWE Title for the first time and beating Hulk Hogan as one of the greatest moments of my career. Shawn helped mold me throughout my career, and still does, he's one of the guys I look to in that locker room if something's on my mind.
To be stood across the ring from him at the Royal Rumble inside the Elimination Chamber....pure magic, despite the whole gimmick I really felt we clicked, he's just such a creative and calming prescence. I gotta say, I was bricking it out there because I know how Shawn likes to call his spots on the fly.
I sound like such a kissarse. But seriously, maybe one day down the line we'll see Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena. Who knows.
As I said, the day was pretty much a blur, but one of the coolest bits was watching the Michael Shane/Suffering angle play out, I was in Vince's office with Gerwitz and Shane McMahon watching it and I honestly think that's shattered the glass ceiling for both those guys, Joe really deserves it after his recent work and Mick...well, he's just Mick.
(I jest, I'll buy you that pina colada you've been pestering me for, great stuff)
After that....well, I did my stuff and that was pretty much that, I've just finished watching the tape that Morten lent me and the rest of the show went down great, locker room morale's apparently sky-high right now, although that may be down to Jeff and RVD's *disclaimer: anecdote censored*
I usually stick around after my match, be it RAW or on PPV, but last night I just couldn't. I got through the curtain, got a few thanks from the boys, thanked Vince(who looked ridiculous in his wrestling attire, it must be said) and headed for the trainer's room, then left. It didn't feel right to stick around last night, I was in a state of mind that really didn't want me mixing with the rest of the guys.
This time last year, I was wrestling Hulk Hogan in Madison Square Gardens....last night, I defended the WWE Title in the Elimination Chamber. One year is a helluva long time in wrestling, and I needed some time to comprehend that. So I didn't sit backstage and watch the Rumble, I went straight back to my hotel room. And I sat on the edge of my bed, WWE Title in my lap, and thought about.....
Well....about everything, basically.
Give a man time to think, and he becomes a dangerous animal. I looked at my reflection in that belt, and I thought about the rapping, the cussing, the brass knucks, the injuries, the return, the rise, the title win, the heel turn....I became enraptured in reality, lost in sense, transported into real life.
This is no dream.
This is reality. And the reality of this situation is that I sit here, WWE Title centimetres away from me, as the guy who this company is hooking the wagon to on the Road to WrestleMania. Me and Randy, we're cut from the same cloth, we eat, sleep and breathe this company.
I hope you all enjoy what we're about to send your way.
Because I know I will.
Until next time....
John
Well I'm sitting here caped in Blood. Both my own and Mick's...
I've had many amazing Nights in my 9 year career but tonight tops all of them...
I know I sort of Kayfabed my first blog but this is coming from the heart
I've been back in WWE for 6 months (5 months on screen) and I honestly can't believe how far I've come. I returned here with nearly all of the boys hating my guts. But I knew if I kept my head down I could make an impact. I made that impact tonight.
On a rainy night in October last year I approached Vince with an idea. I wanted to feud with Michael Shane. He loved the ideas I came to him with and the wheels were in motion.
This feud will be mine and Michael Shane's making. We both plan on taking it to limits that none of you will ever imagine. Tonight was just the edge of a very very big iceberg.
After I was eliminated from the Rumble I walked backstage with the fans booing me. But as soon as I walked through the curtain I received a standing ovation. Vince hugged me, stephanie hugged me. My friends in the gathering (Punk, Mickie and Sergio) shook my hand. Both William Regal and Primal complimented me on my performance. My roomie Jeff (or Nero as we know him) Hugged me and whispered that I'd beaten him!!!
I limped to the medical office where the real star sat. There was Mick all patched up. He looked up at me and laughed "Hey Joe, I've already Blogged". I just smiled and hugged him...
Tonight is the start of the biggest angle of my career... But tonight was also the night I realised something
WWE is my home and the boys who hated me... now treat me like a brother
Thank you guys!!!
CHANGES!!!!!
FFS. I really shouldn't show myself being angry but Vince has just changed BACK those changes i talked about he made yesterday, after yesterday learning the new lines with Ric. Ric isn't pleased either but seems to hide it better than me. I'm just venting, i always get frustrated and on edge before big nights and THIS is a big night in my career.
Michael Shane as a character, like all good ones, is an exaggerated form of myself. Just like Cena, Austin, Ric and even Randy, we all have a little of ourselves in our characters.
I'm like to think I'm confident rather than arrogant, nobody else agrees with me, that i do respect this business and the legends of it but equally, i want my own chance to shine, something any self respecting Legend would actually agree with me on. Hogan doesn't, but he can f*ck off.
But until last week you didn't see the other side to Michael Shane - the one who ISN'T confident, the one who doubts so much.
On nights like this, my mind is full of what if's. What if i mess this up.. what it i forget what I'm supposed to do, what if i mess up. No matter how many years go by, i ALWAYS think that. When you're stood in that Gorilla position, thousands of fans on the other side of that curtain, Vince McMahon blaring in your ear last minute advice.... i cant tell you the feeling, it's like standing on the edge of a cliff ready to jump or be pushed by the boss. The heart beats faster, the blood pounds in the ears... and then your music hits. Somehow, like when Festus used to hear that bell... everything changes. There's no doubt anymore... there's no fear or nervousness, because when that music hits I'm no longer me.... I'm The New Generation Nature Boy, I'm Michael Shane. And I'm the best in the World.
But for now... I'm stuck with the what if's.
Got to the arena, straight into the locker room, there's Assassin playing SvR with Sergio Griffon, the new kid of ECW. I like him, reminds me of a young Ricky Steamboat in that athletic style and martial arts influence, maybe a little of me. He's got something.
There's a HUGE tray of hotdogs on a table over to one side, that can only mean Steve Austin and ANOTHER unmentionable guy are here already, i haven't seen them yet though. There's cables on the floor, Joey Nebraska tells me they're filing some kind of angle in here, i haven't even seen a full run sheet yet, i ask somebody to find me one.... seems its under the hotdogs and I'm not touching those things.
Open my bag, out comes a suit i was asked to bring, WWE don't do costumes except ring and backstage gear - no suits department, its the same one i wore when we filmed a segment on Wednesday with Ashley and Venus Vulu, nice continuity.
Lunch time, then we'll be out to get final word on what we're doing from Vince and the cerative team.