Loss

(1) Christian is supposedly really upset about his current lack of push and as a result put out far less effort than normal last night. (2) Lots of heat on Johnny Ace for bringing Animal back in, and especially with them getting the titles last night. (3) After watching last night's show, a lot of wrestlers have a newfound respect for HHH because he worked so hard against Batista and Batista just isn't as good against anyone else. Match with JBL was said to be pretty bad.

Credit: 1Wrestling The style is dated. Get over it. It's not going to succeed, and the time isn't right for an alternative to do well in wrestling at the moment anyway. If this is going to have a snowball's chance in Hell, they're going to have to have a plan in place to actually build new stars instead of running nostalgia shows with Shane Douglas and Terry Funk. And they're running shows at Center Stage? Somehow, that's hilarious. Maybe the reason I'm so cynical is because I keep seeing this anti-sports entertainment movement on the indy scene. Yes, those words are annoying, but it's just another term for a pro wrestling company that runs storylines. ALL wrestling companies are sports entertainment.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Vote for the tag team that you feel was better. Voting ends in approximately 24 hours.

Glad you said that. I need to post the next round.

He was there for a few months actually, teaming with Bobby Eaton in a short-lived tag team called Bad Attitude.

I really enjoyed Muta in Florida, from what I've seen of him.

I think that's just an extra, not the entire DVD.

You're either considered a "performer" or "legend" according to these deals, so guys like Flair and Michaels would definitely fall on the "performer" side.

I also wonder if they've issued contracts to the wives of people like Curt Hennig, Rick Rude and Davey Boy Smith to market their images. Legally though, are they even required to get permission to market those guys after they've passed, and are they required to pay royalties to the families if they do?

Jake Roberts Road Warrior Animal Pat Patterson Paul Orndorff Bobby Heenan Gene Okerlund Jimmy Hart Fabulous Moolah Mae Young My guess is that all of those have Legends Contracts. Not sure who the others would be though. Bruce Hart is such a whore that I'm sure he wishes he could have one.

I'm really wondering what WWE is going to do when they've cut costs as much as they possibly can. They're already creeping up on the point when they're going to start hurting pretty badly if they can't boost house show business.

Bret Hart v Undertaker - WWF One Night Only PPV 09/20/97 Atmosphere alone doesn't make a match, but it certainly goes a long way. Here, it adds an extra dimension to the work in the ring, an alternative way to interpret the actions of each man. What makes this match unique isn't the fact that the crowd is divided - we've seen that in many major matches. What makes this unique is that in most cases, a divided crowd results in a somewhat dull match with no established roles with everything getting cheered. In this case, a course of boos acts as a background vocal for the loud cheers both men receive - it's simply amazing that each man has so much hardcore support from the audience. They do a great job catering to the whims of both sets of fans, each guy gets plenty of offense, plenty of time to stay in control, and his opponent does everything he can to sell it brilliantly. This took place amidst Bret Hart's brilliant 1997, a year that saw him play the hero to his international fans, all the while showing contempt for the American fans. He won the championship 47 days before this event from the Undertaker and this was Taker's rematch, a match that would truly take place on neutral ground. Unlike even some of the better matches in WWE history, this doesn't take place in a vacuum. The announcers acknowledge the strategies that were successful for Bret at Summerslam that he recycles here -- he was able to gain control for the Summerslam match by taking 'Taker off of his feet and he steps it up a notch here. In this case, UT has learned a few things, but Bret is too good and it only gets him so far. 'Taker may know to put his foot up to block the ringpost figure four, but Bret has no problem adjusting to that by getting in a cheapshot by slamming his knee into the ringpost. In other cases, the Undertaker knows that he can't defeat Bret through brawling and mind games alone in the way he can many of his other opponents. He works over Bret's chest for much of the match, pulling out a few heart punches, stomping on Bret's chest, dropping some great elbow and legdrops, and even standing on his chest. The opening few minutes are largely a stalemate, with both briefly obtaining an advantage through brawling. Bret knows he can't do this for long, and in fact, he does a nice job of putting 'Taker over as the better brawler - his openings come through his opponent's missed elbowdrop attempts and by catching him off guard. He takes the pad off of the top turnbuckle, which would become important later, when Taker expanded his game beyond Bret's chest and also started working over his back; it was Bret who exposed the turnbuckle, but it was also Bret who paid the price for doing so, as he was Irish whipped into it. Bret also does everything he can to create space between himself and his larger opponent, which doesn't really work, as 'Taker is tenacious enough to follow him wherever he goes, even bodyslamming him on the entrance ramp outside the ring. The theme continues that the only time Bret is able to obtain any type of control is when the challenger misses a move -- ducking too soon for a back bodydrop allows him to land a great DDT and moving out of the way of an attempted jumping knee into the corner allows him to take Undertaker to the mat and keep him there. While Bret shines here on offense, Undertaker's selling is excellent as well, and he does it in the context of his gimmick. He continues the sit-up-and-rise-from-the-dead act, but he struggles to do it every time and he shows agony while doing it. He hobbles even when he is in control, but Bret takes so many shots at his knee that it's hard for him to forget to sell anything. In fact, Bret is the one who makes an error at one point, working over the wrong limb briefly, which the announcers even notice. Even on the mat, the Undertaker is far from out of his element, as he works his share of holds -- working a backbreaker submission, pulling Bret's arms behind his back while kneeing his spine, and even doing an amateur rollup out of that into a crucifix-style pin attempt when it looks like Bret is about to find a counter. He hits on all the right points to nicely put over the holds he's working; he doesn't just cinch in the backbreaker submission, he grinds his forearm across Bret's face in the process. He knows how to sell from underneath as well, and Bret knows how to give him openings where he can remain strong - Bret locks in a figure four and instead of Taker struggling to reach the ropes, he reverses the hold until Bret can reach the ropes. He even tries a crossface to get out of Bret's leg grapevine. On his comeback, he thinks he's taken more out of Bret than he really has though, as he makes the mistake of going for a big boot with his good leg, leaving his bad leg privy to Bret clipping it. That's not enough to keep the Undertaker down for long, so Bret headbutts his back three times in a row and attempts a pin after both a Russian legsweep and a snap suplex, an impressive move considering Undertaker's size. He comes back again, but misses a lariat, and they clothesline each other, which sees Taker rise to his feet first. That makes perfect sense, as one would assume Taker would have the far more effective lariat. Bret never stops thinking though; one legdrop to Hart's abdomen works, but a second allows Bret to counter the move into a sharpshooter, which UT powers out of. Bret immediately tries another, and Taker chokes his way out and attempts a chokeslam, only for Bret to kick his knee out from under him yet again. Wisely, he drops a half dozen rapid fire punches in Bret's chest and stomach while on his knees, and now *he's* the one trying to create space between himself and his opponent. That ultimately works against him though, as it gives Bret time to go outside and get the ring bell, which misses. 'Taker gets the bell and attempts to use it, but the referee takes it away, distracting him long enough for Bret to clip him yet again from behind. He drops his weight on Taker's leg once, but tries a second time and ends up catapulted over the top rope and to the floor. He's brought back in, and Taker attempts an Irish whip into the same exposed turnbuckle, but Bret ducks to avoid it and ends up sliding across the mat and going back first into the ringpost. When Taker attempts a ropewalk, Bret quickly pulls him down and then has everyone in the building thinking that he's retaining his title when he gets in a reverse rollup for a very close two-count. He then tries to tombstone the Undertaker, which sees Taker reverse the move, only for Bret to grab onto the ropes with all his might and end up tangled in those ropes in a neck vice as a result. At this point, Taker refuses to let up and is disqualified for it. This is easily the best performance of the Undertaker's life, for several reasons. The first of which is that he shows his ability to work holds, both doing them and having them done to him. There is a struggle for all of his offense, and he makes Bret struggle for all of his offense as well. The second reason is that he shows how great of a seller he can be when he chooses to be, and he tows the line far better than you'd expect, as he remembers his stature as a big guy without sacrificing the credibility of his opponent. Finally, he pulls it all together by staying consistent with his character -- he still does his trademark zombie sit ups and comebacks, but he doesn't stop selling while he's doing them, and they're far more believable and engaging as a result. Bret is the same great Bret Hart he almost always was, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent and crafting a match that caters to the style of the Undertaker. Watching this match, it's fascinating how much Bret Hart has influenced the current style, but the more frustrating aspect of that is how some of the great spots have been overdone now. I can't count the number of WWE matches I've seen where the turnbuckle is exposed, or where someone goes crashing into the steel steps at ringside. Had those spots not been used to the point of overkill since, I probably would have enjoyed them more here. It was also slightly frustrating watching 'Taker show that while he's better than he often lets on, he's also very much a product of the WWF working style, as a large part of his comeback centers around choking and big, loose punches. That said, they both accomplished more within that style than almost anyone has, and this is the last classic match Bret Hart ever had in the promotion that was truly his for much of the 1990s. ****1/4

I agree that it's a really good match, but for comparison's sake, how do you think it holds up next to the European title final with Owen in March of '97? This may have been the better match, but I think that match featured the better Davey Boy performance.

I do think Christian v Batista is a match that can be booked in the future. I just think Summerslam is too soon, considering all the big losses Christian has suffered this year. He really needs a year of heavy push without doing any high-profile jobs (or at least staying protected when he does job) so when he gets the opportunity, he won't fall on his face. I think RAW is suffering right now because Cena/Jericho has no intrigue, because no one thinks Jericho can win the belt and they haven't put him over *anyone* to build to the big match with Cena since turning heel. I just don't want the same thing happening to Christian.

With Jake, I'm sure they're also planning on using Georgia footage, where he wrestled for quite a while, and which they own.

This November, WWE is releasing the following on DVD Screwed: The Bret Hart Story (3 discs) WWE Legends - Jake "The Snake" Roberts (3 discs) Ultimate Warrior DVD (unsure how many discs) Wrestlemania I-XXI box set The entire WM box set can be purchased for $299.95 at suggested retail, or you can purchase 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 for $69.95 each. At this point, Bret is not involved in production of the DVD. If he is, he'll most likely want the name changed. Bret and Vince *are* back on speaking terms again though, with WWE wanting rights to Bret's upcoming books on his career. If it gives you any indication how extensive they'll be, he's already written 850 pages and he's only in the mid-80s. Anyway, WWE wants rights to the books because (a) they know they'll be the best selling books in Canada and ( they want to neuter certain aspects of the books. I can't see Bret agreeing to that, considering that the books will sell well with or without WWE promotion, and the only way I *could* see him agreeing is if the agreement is made that he won't be edited by WWE. The Warrior DVD is also being made without Warrior. He wanted to be a part of the DVD initially, but he and Vince came to a disagreement when he wanted to include an insert in all the DVDs advertising his shoot interview. WWE didn't feel this would benefit them at all and the deal was called off. So he'll probably still get royalties on this for using his face and image, but he won't directly be a part of the set at this point. This is all the info I've been able to collect scanning various message boards, and I can't vouch for any of it, but every bit of it seems plausible.

Vader v Owen Hart - WWF One Night Only 09/22/97 PPV In terms of a huge monster going against a smaller babyface, this is one of the better matches I've seen WWE pull off. It compares favorably to matches Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels have had against bigger guys because Owen actually goes out of his way to sell the size difference. He gets thrown to the mat twice at the onset when attempting a collar-and-elbow tie-up and the best moment of that is when Vader catches Owen running off the ropes with a shoulderblock that was sold brilliantly by Owen, as he fell into the ropes and reflexed back up immediately, only to get knocked down again. The spot seems contrived, but all wrestling is contrived - the key is to make it look believable. That was definitely accomplished here. Owen's huracanrana on Vader was an excellent spot, but I feel like it came way too early in the match when had they built to both that and the bodyslam spot the way they did, they would have had even more payoffs. Where this match deserves credit is in its ability to really create suspense over the false finishes. I was sure Vader was going to submit to the sharpshooter, but he didn't, as they built to that as the finish really nicely. Perhaps the match should have ended there though, as things started to fall apart after that, aside from Owen finally getting in the bodyslam he attempted for the entirety of the match, which got an enormous pop because it was teased brilliantly throughout the match. Anyway, Vader seems unsure of where to take the match after countering the sharpshooter -- alternating between various submissions that weren't built up and were totally out of context with the match. Owen made a fantastic Sting here, and what's ultimately disappointing about this match is that Vader didn't really make a fantastic Vader. Owen was certainly motivated to be wrestling as the underdog, and Owen has so much more offense than Sting that they could have done quite a bit. However, this doesn't quite go as far as it could, despite the first half of the match being crafted in very basic, effective fashion. The wrong man went over in this one as well. ***

Thought it was a well-written article that I'm sure anyone in WWE would think was good press because it's press of some kind.

The only problem with that is that they built a RAW around that exact same concept when Batista/Christian headlined a few months ago. Also, Batista has defeated Christian since jumping to Smackdown, *and* Christian has been on the losing end of a #1 contenders match. Logically, it wouldn't work. There's no booking good enough to make Christian seem like a legitimate threat with only five weeks left to promote the pay-per-view, considering the burial he's received. That doesn't even take into consideration that he took the pin in a title match on pay-per-view for RAW in June.