RWOOD

I hated IX even as a 9 year old I thought it was a bunch of nonsense. 1991 - 1992 was not without its flaws but I loved WWF presentation then. May seem silly, but it seemed so real. I stopped believing pro wrestling was real when Papa Shango made the Warrior ooze brown stuff but I believed in Santa Claus was real til just before that Christmas, if that puts it in perspective. Saughter hanging out with Saddam? Macho bit by a snake? Taker driving the warrior crazy? The real worlds champion getting his title blurred? Michaels throwing Janetty thru a window? Fucking Sid? Real as fuck, man. Papa Shango and the Lex Express? Fuck. No. I really think this Wrestlemania that I proposed, I suppose, wouldve been so historical and memorable without changing "history" that much. The worst thing I did looking back on this stoned jot about IX is that I fanasy booked Bret out of his series of matches at King of the Ring. His match with Bigelow would be missed the most if you ask me.

I love Savage/Flair too and I would have booked that exact match at Wembly. The EXACT match. The way I see it he could've dropped it to Flair again at some point to set up either Flair/Warrior or Savage/Flair at Wembly to go along with Bulldog/Bret. Bret would still get his first title win in Saskatoon leading to most of the same stuff until the Royal Rumble in 1993 where Wrestlemania would once again be booked differently. My ideas for Wrestlemania IX were to have Bret defend the title against Mr Perfect in title match that would have seen Perfect eliminate Flair for the Rumble win. I would also have Flair stick around to be involved in the Mania angle but I wouldnt have him wrestle I dont think, since I guess he would still go to WCW in 1993. I wouldnt have Hennig booked against Flair in the tag match at Survivor Series. I suppose Warrior never ran off, whatever you want. I guess the angle would be less about Bret because it would be about how Flair dropped the strap to Bret and never got a rematch as a result of losing the Rumble. Maybe have him get a rematch on RAW or whatever prior and have Hennig cost Flair the match somehow. Bret would win the match, Flair would be responsible in a non-shitty-ending way and he and Hennig could have their loser leaves town match the night after Mania. Of course I would hotshot Hogan/Yoko to Mania in a nontitle grudge match that would have seen Hogan defending his friend Beefcake who would have had his face crushed by Yoko prior instead of being accosted by Money Inc. I think I would have Hogan go over at Mania and win the title from Bret at King of the Ring only to lose it Yoko at Summerslam and then have Yoko as the monster heel, maybe face a properly pushed Crush or a rematch with Bret at Survivor Series where go into the program with his brother, who would be in his corner and get jealous of Bret and then try to win Bret the match only to have Bret screw up and lose in a flukey way leading into his their reconciliation, subsequent breakup against the Quebecers, a decisive Rumble win and finally his double duty match with Owen redemption story against Yoko for the title at X. Fuck Lex Luger. I would imagine that I would have Michaels work an IC title program that would be less about the IC title and more about Michaels treatment of Sherri Martel and Savage taking exception to it. Suppose Liz was still around and she showed some character and turned slightly heel and went with Michaels, or at least was torn. A great moment could've been Michaels hitting the elbow on Savage after a hard fought match and hitting him with the chin music, going over as a heel and having Sherri and Liz run to him and then get destroyed by Luna, who could still make her debut with Michaels that night and then form a pre-dated DX with Michaels and Nash by the time he comes around. I think the heel going over here couldve elevated Michaels more than any other match or feud at the time. A heel going over here also wouldve complimented Hogan and Bret going over as faces. I would have Money Inc drop the tag straps to the fucking Steiners and I would've put Razor in there with Crush, have Crush crush him, continue his face push and then repackage Razor as a face like he was by October of that year anyway. I wouldve had Doink play all those heel tricks on Backlund. Backlund still gets his damn Mania match and wrestles Doink. Great. It wouldve added so much to Backlunds crazy old man gimmick if clowns tormented him at Mania. Tatanka could have his winning streak ended at Mania by a heel, Narcissist Luger. Whatever. Gotta fill out the card, right? THE BIG CHANGE AFTER ALL THIS: Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow the monster heel. Imagine that fuck. Wrestlemania IX sucks, now I want to see this card. WWF Championship: Bret Hart vs. Mr Perfect w/ Ric Flair Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Savage w/ Liz & Sherri Tag Team Championship: Money Inc. vs. Steiner Brothers Hulk Hogan w/ Beefcake vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow Razor Ramon vs. Crush Bob Backlund vs. Doink The Clown Lex Luger vs. Tatanka So good. Cheers.

edit: in keeping with tradition of fucking up my threadtitles, I meant to say Roberts instead of Savage in that subtitle. Oh well, you get the point, hah. I got this idea watching the old episode of Saturday Nights Main Event the other day where Roberts goes to hit Liz with the chair after his match with Savage. Lets say he hit her, setting up a Wrestlemania match with Savage instead of going on to feud with Taker? For continuity's sake lets say Taker still turns face at this show, but instead helps Hogan when Sid walks out on him during the tag match, much to the frustration of Flair I guess. Taker and Sid can battle to the back and set up a Wrestlemania VIII confrontation between the two instead of Taker and Roberts. This, I suppose, would have made Wrestlemania VIII look like this... WWF Championship: Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan Intercontinental Championship: Roddy Piper vs. Bret Hart Sid Justice vs. The Undertaker Steel Cage Match: Randy Savage vs. Jake Roberts I guess Sid's barbershop moment would have been on the funeral parlour with Paul Bearer instead of with Beefcake with and then cut to footage of Brother Love and Harvey Whippleman standing beside the Undertakers padlocked casket or something. Along with his stretcher jobs, Sid coulda put people in bodybags like Taker used to do then. A lot of the same stuff that happened with Flair could have happened with Hogan, calling Hogans wife a Jezebel and whatnot. She wasnt famous at the time, but whatever, Hogan was. It would have worked fine. In my opinion, they could have ran a few angles where Flair and Perfect kick the crap out of Hogan a few times leading into the Hoosier Dome. You dont even really need the woman angle nonsense. For the Roberts/Savage blowoff, you already had a hot program going into the chairshot on Liz. That alone would set up the match perfectly. You dont even really need Savage at tapings, just have Roberts destroying jobbers and cutting promos with footage of Randy in the hospital convalescing with Liz. Lets say the same thing happens for the Piper/Hart program as well as the rest of Wrestlemania undercard. There is no sense in fucking with the whole card because I always thought it was pretty good. I might be in the minority for that. Anyway, Flair Hogan can be a twenty minute blood bath and Flair can still get in shit for blading. I'd go out on a limb and call it Hogans best match ever at that point and I'm sure if Pat Patterson laid it out (in my booking he didnt try to sleep with that announcer ) everyone would agree. I would put it on at the end obviously. Flair can get his comeuppance when Hogan drops the leg and wins his fifth title. For the sake of the crowd going apeshit lets say the ref takes a bump and Perfect takes a Hulk up before Flair does. After the match, the post match beatdown that happened to Savage happens to Hogan during his celebration and the Ultimate Warrior can still make the save and pose with Hogan. I dont think I would Have Papa Shango show up. Big bang boom theres your biggest Mania main event ever that never happened. Taker/Sid can be booked the same way as their 13 match only less monumental I guess with Taker getting his second Mania victory. Sid can go play softball and history is untouched. Taker can still win the title from Sid at 13, although in my long term booking I guess Bret would get back his win over Shawn. But would that have even happened if this happened at Mania VIII? Savage can recreate the Snuka splash with an elbow from the top of the cage on Roberts, get redemption, hold Liz up, still have that same Hoosier Dome moment with the fireworks and the feud is blown off properly. He can even win the title later in the year, just not here. So there. This is very realistic and in all likelihood may have been set to happen before shit all mucked up with that press conference and double main event thing. I guess its less armchair creative booking and more food for thought. I have a few ideas for long term booking I guess but I'd like to hear what everyone else may care to think about this scenario and Im not exactly looking into fantasy booking something that already happened 21 years ago. Let me know what you think. Cheers and have a great weekend everyone.

Didnt know C4 was still kickin... I havent been to a C4 show since the cops were called to old hall because someone took a chairshot in the parking lot for a vlog. I was pissed at that because I was smoking a joint at the time haha. Actually, thats not true, I went to the first show at the Casino. The best (most attended) indy shows Ive been to in Ottawa were the string of Dave Dalton shows in 2004 -5 I think. Raven came out for one and I think Abyss was on the same show. Crowd was hot as hell and I marked out for Ravens table spot at the end. It was warranted. I may have even embraced Dave at ringside when the table broke. You figure he woulda hugged Mathis or something but I guess I was closer. Good times.

Popping in here to say that this match was surprisingly entertaining sixteen years later. Bret heeling it up is great, Sid works hard when you consider he is Sid and Taker wins a title in a great, memorable moment. So yea, this match gets a bad rap. It is a fine match and better than its comparable matches like Sid/Hogan and H/Jericho and Hogan/Bundy (by comparable I mean odd in retrospect Wrestlemania main events).

I tend to judge the entertainment quality of wrestling by how much my girlfriend will tolerate it. She seems to be a big Austin fan so this one worked well tonight while she was doing her nails, which was fine with me. She loved this, everything about it. The brawl through the crowd that has been replicated so many times and done to death seemed so organic in this one, with the minimal security all around. Hell, Lou Albano and Tony Atlas were holding fans back initially. Austin takes a backdrop and what appears to be the steps going up in the 100 section of the Rosemont Horizon which is crazy enough. The crowd is so rabid, which is nice. This Wrestlemania gets a bad rap for being bad and has since it happened I guess, but watching it tonight gives me a different feeling looking back. It was this match that saved the event and the heat held for the rest of the night. Austin doing Brets moves of doom at one point sticks out. The early stunner sticks out. The turn, by God, the turn. Weve talked enough about the turn all too much ... The use of weapons is great and adds the perfect amount of violence to the match. Austins bloody face is so iconic that its on two tshirts and a video cover. This is, if not the best match ever, the perfect match to show someone who may not like wrestling. Other matches, good or bad matches depending on who you ask, have come around at Wrestlemania in recent years that have taken wrestling storytelling and "wrestling as film" to a new level for better or worse. Fuck all of those matches. This is the match that does that perfectly right here.

Watched this yesterday. The match really held up over time and had me gasping at certain times, mostly out of vivid memory of the match. Must have watched it fifty times in 1997. The ole victory roll spot is always good to finish a friendly, or otherwise, Hart family contest.

I watch too much WWF/E and I want to talk about it but my girlfriend isnt interested so Im gonna use this thread to post about random full shows. If anyone thinks it might get too crowded and I should start my own thread, just let me know. Hopefully these can be used as reference for ... something. RAW MONDAY NIGHT MAY FIFTH 2005 I saw most of this show on TV if I recall but haven't seen it since. I suppose it is one of the more memorable shows from this era as Hogan returned to team with Michaels the night before at Backlash and there were a few good matches. Batista is wearing a real nice suit as World Champion and hanging out with the now TNA ring announcer. I think he is a face but his flirtations dont make it seem so. I was a very casual fan at this point and remember thinking Dave was no good at all. This is no good at all. 2010 leather vest Batista is a lot better. Anyway, Bischoff books an eight man tournament to decide the number one contender even though Triple H lost last night in a screwy finish. Good. H will be in the tournament. Great. Kane chokeslams Christian and goes to the second round of the tournament in a watchable contest. Lita is happily with Kane while walking on a crutch, I remember an odd pregnancy and some baby punting but I dont recall these two being friendly. The new girl Eva Marie resembles Lita more than Brie Bella or whatever, by the way. "You-lost-the-match-kid-so-take-it-from-the-naich-the-winner-of-this-tournament-will-be-Triple-H. Whoo." Ric Flair is so silly at this point but I will never not like him. He said this to Christian and apparently was not impressed with his rapping the night before. Muhammad Hassan was the best heel. He cuts an amazing promo, gets the heat, gets excluded from the tournament. I will always be a little uspet that this got canned due to right wing values. Terrorism angles and war exploitation don't bother me and this is great commentary on the state America and the world was in at the time. So much heat and a really good suit. Hassan blames his loss to Hogan and Michaels on Duvari, beats him, spits on him and leaves the ring. The best heel. So great. Viscera hits on Lillian Garcia and Simon Dean does something. I have no idea what is going on. They have a match I skipped. I guess Vis had a good match with Kane at Backlash. Big Vis is back on the black market, grabs Lilian's ass. What? Triple H growls about losing. I do not like Triple H. It is real telling that he had to marry into the family to maintain his success as a professional wrestler. Anyway. Shawn Michaels vs. Sheton Benjamin is a much talked about contest, I guess. It is easily Sheltons best Ive seen and maybe in Michaels top thirty. Someone else could probably elaborate on that for me. Decent chain wrestling to start with Michaels displaying himself as a frustrated veteran. Nearfalls during the headlocks, stiff shoulderblocks, Steamboat armdrags from Benjamin, all the makings of a good WWE match. The one wrestler on the outside and we roll on trope proves true and we come back from break with a suplex off the top. The crowd is hot for the match so I assume the action was great during the break. Really good back and forth action, but men hit flying forearms. I really like the pace of this match. A crisp sunset flip exchange leads to more back and forth stuff. Shelton blocks the chin music and nails a nice spinning heel kick, goes for a superplex but is thwarted and Michaels hits the elbow. Michaels telegraphs the sweet chin music but misses as usual and then Benjamin hits his side kick or whatever. Nearfall. Shelton his a nice springboard closeline and gets another nearfall. Shelton springboars off the top rope and falls right into the sweet chin music. Outta nowhere, or somewhere, depending on where you are. The match is something to write home about after all these years but you guys might be more interested. I remember making a bit watching this live. Good stuff. Edge cuts an okay promo about hitting Chris Benoit in the head with a brick. Anyway, Edge is in the tournament even though he is Mr. Money in the Bank. Josh Grisham mentions he might be drafted to Smackdown rendering his title shot useless. Edge looks at Lita. Oou. Rosey and Hurricane are tag team champions. How long did this Hurricane thing go on for? Whats up with that? Anyway, they wrestle the French team. I liked it better when Conway (?) wrestled with Kento Suzuki. I was cooking dinner during this match. Edge wrestles Jericho in another watchable contest though the crowd seems to be chanting boring a lot. Its a short match and the wrestling is okay. I try not to be too negative about things but Edge really is mediocre looking back. I remember wanting to like him during any given run of his. Im Canadian and I suppose I can't help it. I'll point out that they also wrestled a match for the World title at some Wrestlemania and it was better than this. Best spot of the match is when Jericho jokingly steps on Edge a few times during a criss-cross. Edge goes over when he posts himself on a spear attempt and then breaks the walls of Jericho and moves to the outside leading to a funny looking dropkick off the top (not quite missile) and gets a nearfall. He regroups with his safe-for-the-grandma spear and gets a semi clean win. Edge wrestles Michaels in round two. They wish the Rock a happy birthday, almost recalling a loser friend trying to suck up to a fella who gives them a pity hang out once a month. A guy from Boston doesnt break the master lock. Chris Masters, another okay heel that went nowhere for reasons Ill figure out eventually. Triple H wrestles Benoit in the main event. I'm sure its been talked about to death but I was unaware that Benoits actual gimmick in 2005 was an actual concussed madman. No wonder so many people were fucking offended when all that stuff happened. Anyway, from the looks of it this is a match where H potatoes Benoit. When they go to break on their one man on the outside trope again Benoit is making the kind of face that seems normal given what we know now, I guess. It is actually frightening to the point where I almost turn off the TV. We come back from break and Benoit is still making the damn face. He is obviously hurt and suffering a damn concussion. They talk about how doctors checked on him during the break but decided he should continue. They talk about the brick hit last night. JR says Benoit might be concussed. H hits a knee to the back of the head. Benoit is glazed over. "Hell no Benoit wont quit." Chop, chop, sleeper hold applied by H. Benoit is still looking crazy. "It doesnt take a PhD to figure out this guy is hurt and hurt badly." Benoit goes head first into the turnbuckle. Slow pace standing back up, Benoit needs the ropes. Side suplex from Benoit, H protects his head. Thats nice. Elbow directly to the back of the head by H, Benoit counters the pedigree, nails three suplexes, avoids landing on his head and then delivers the headbutt and gets a two count. Whats the point? Benoit is doing the convulsion sell. After Flair interference, H clocks Benoit in the back of the fucking head again and then kicks him in the balls or something. Beatdown... Batista makes the save while the referre is down. Spinebuster on Triple H, Batista cheers on Benoit instead of placing him for the cover. What a jerk. Triple H taps out to the sharpshooter after Batista prevents him from reaching the ropes. Great, I guess. Watching this was weird and scary but interesting in a retrospective kind of way. As someone who wasnt the biggest fan of Benoit anyway (What?) its no skin off my back to see stuff like this emotionally I suppose though I will probably have some kind of nightmare. I dont know if it was all selling at the time but its not fun to watch now and I dont know if it was then because I dont remember liking this kind of stuff at all. (Aside: If talking about Benoit like this offends anyone just say the word and Ill drop it in general. Personal opinions differ and its a touchy subject but I think discussing it in the manner I did within the confines of a match talk in is acceptable. If I am way off, please dont hesitate to let me know. I am here to talk wrestling not start fights and whatnot.) Realized two things while watching this. Benoits gimmick was a concussed madman. What? Benoit was really over during this time. I never realized either of these things. I already knew Triple H was a jerk who never put anyone over clean so whatever. This was a really good episode of RAW. I like WWE. Recommend something. I pretty much already have anything between 1983 and 2007 and I dont know if I have the heart to watch anything continual so do your worst. Cheers.

Yeah, Boss Man had quite a bit of respect within the company for drawing so big on house shows against Hogan a decade earlier. Vince was a big fan. I guess it is less of puzzling signing and more puzzling use. I remember suspending my belief as a smarky teen and saying "... but Bossman was so mad when Heenan was talking about his mom" during the Big Show angle. Ha.

Piper was notorious for calling out 80s wrestlers on their 90s gimmicks. I recall him having a very negative reaction to Tony Atlas as Saba Simba on commentary which Vince quickly refuted...

I always thought the Bossman and his main event push in 1998 - 9 was strange. Pretty much everything Bossman did during that run was odd and slightly offensive I guess. Facing Austin in the first round of the Survivor Series tournament, alright runs with the tag team and hardcore titles, hanging out with the Undertaker his his most dubious Wrestlemania match, killing Al Snows dog, tormenting the Big Show about his dead father and then getting a title shot at the first Armageddon in 1999. Weird. At one point I remember him having a match with the Rock on TV. That was okay. I didn't like Goldberg in WWE. Too much time had passed. I cannot wait to find out the context of Mark Henry as Santa and Tony Atlas as Rudolf.

I have no idea why but I recently filled up an external with 30 years worth of WWF/E programming and I am thinking about watching WWF from season 1, which I guess would be 1982. My only big gap in time right now is 2010 - 2011 and my PPVs/CCTVs/House shows end at 2007 for the most part. And I guess I am missing the 104 weeks of televison in 1988 - 89 but Im getting it now... slowly. Again I have no idea why since I could probably chime off the first 20 years worth of angles of the top of my head. Maybe Ill make a thread about it like the death of WCW one. Except I will die before i finish.

The 12/7 match with Show is fantastic. Theres a bit of a missed spot where Daniel goes for a cross body over the top. Big Show is supposed to catch him I suppose but doesn't and the two adjust to make it look like Bryan almost hit the move. And then they continue. The match is full of great kicks that Show sells a little but generally he does treat it like hes getting bit by a mosquito. These two work really well together. Bryan also reverses the chokeslam into a DDT. The match also includes a great lead in segment for the main event of TLC. The match is also a great testament to Show being one of WWE's best current workers. Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler wrestling right now. He is constantly having great TV matches has a great character and has been over as a face and heel in the last twelve months or so. I'd also like to throw out his RAW match with Rey as a good match from last year even though Rey was injured if I remember correctly. I think it was in October. I dont have it surprisingly.

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar Smackdown Smackdown 09/05/2002 The purpose of referencing this match is to highlight Ortons ability as a upstart face getting his ass kicked in an entertaining fashion. With the way he wrestles these days and his eventual turn coming it seems appropriate. He moves quick and works the story of the match nicely, which Heyman seemed to lay out in a promo I wasn't paying that much attention to towards the match. I will assume it had something to do with training in OVW together and him jokingly saying to Lesnar that he better watch out for Orton, who then showed up behind Heyman. Typical backstage non-walking shot. Anyway, one thing that stuck me as odd, I suppose, is that the action is very fast in the beginning of the match. Not even close to present day Orton. Orton goes for Daniel Bryan-like kicks to the side of the leg, without much effect. I do like that Brock is not no-selling these kicks but not overselling them (as I feel he is known for especially in his first run). Orton does a nice schoolboy out of the corner when Brock goes for a shoulder. Lesnar is playing his role of dominant upstart perfectly. He hits a wonderful belly to belly and does his little two step, smiling the whole time. The more I watch Lesnar the more I wonder why exactly it was I didn't like him so much in this era to the point of turning off my TV. It may have more to do with what was going on on RAW and my lack of acceptance for the brand split. Lesnar tosses Orton over the top rope in the corner and Orton almost literally goes flying over the post. I say almost because he seems to take a pretty silly bump right to the face and then fall flat on the floor. Ouch, I suppose. I wonder if this is the match where his shoulder was injured. Maybe that injury was kayfabe and I just think it was real because of the subsequent RNN news updates, which were promos I did enjoy. Who cares? Brock is on full display here but Ortons performance as a face taking a beating is pretty convincing in my book. A lot of real stiff clotheslines from Lesnar and more two-step heeling as Orton tries to get up. Brock goes for what I think will be a tree of woe (which is cool) but instead he slams Orton into the buckles, keeps him on his shoulder and then does it again in the opposite corner before dropping him like a sack of tomatoes. Brock nails a gutbuster and Orton sells it like he just got shot by his brother. Brock goes for it again but Orton valiantly fights back a bit and his one of the better modified backbreakers (the one he does now with the inverted headlock), probably because it didn't look premeditated as all hell. Didn't think it was the best continual selling of the first gutbuster (he could have held his stomach a bit before going for the dropkick to the shin) but I'll let it go because I liked the delivery of his signature spot which I can't really say about his matches these days. Orton goes for the cross body. Lesnar rolls through. In a pretty nice looking feat of strength spot Lesnar gets to his feet with Lesnar scooped up and then places him on his shoulders perfectly and nails the F5. Thats it, thats all. I realize this match highlights Lesnar much more but it really does showcase Ortons selling and speed, which are often two things that he does not showcase these days. I miss running the ropes. Everyone jogs and gallops about the ring now in WWE. It is also an entertaining slight squash that is completely watchable and enjoyable. Watching episodes in their entirety does have its benefits as I don't think I would have looked at this match otherwise. The match is on Youtube if you want to watch it. Cheers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23mXPx_557U

More appropriate would be hitting the kick off the top and getting the two count before going for his swinging neckbreaker thing, which could easily be countered into a RKO. I think whoever tells Orton what do do favors flying into the RKO. It happens more often than not. I guess it looks cool in video packages which is the best thing WWE does overall haha.

I was doing dishes during Cesaro/Del Rio apparently. Really impressed with the work up upon first watch until the odd finish also. Going for a kick to the face, I have no idea why Rhodes would dive head first. Watching the match twice now, I can say that I'm more impressed with the fact I wasn't that bored. Also upon further inspection the match was good because of Rhodes' heel work I guess, which Dylan noted was spotty. Either way, I will downgrade from really good to good respectfully. Haha.

Orton had a really good match with Cody Rhodes last night.

Just watched the match in full today. Really good stuff. Bradshaw got a lot of good looking shots in. It was right around this time Taker stopped wrestling like a zombie all together and his matches started getting better. I guess it probably started at the Rumble earlier in this year. The chokeslam Taker delivers in this match looks wonderful. And of course, the patented elbow from the apron from Foley that was featured in vingettes and promo stuff for years to come. Good match, good stuff.

I appreciate that my post may have been hyperbolized enough to make you want to watch some TV. They only other real reason we've gotten for their actions (from Cole, at least) is that Ambrose gets bored easily and likes to poke the hornets nest. Bored of what, exactly? In terms of direction, I think the best we can hope for is NOT just bragging about it for a week and then going back to Sheamus and all that. Win tag titles, run roughshod with a purpose. Let Ambrose Nelson Muntz it up a little bit. Maybe the first tag program can be with Orton and Sheamus and Orton can finally turn. Side note: Shield's outfit is the exact same as Bossman circa 1999. Just sayin'.

Ugh I forgot Lesnar signed on for another year. It should be noted that I'm not really a fan of Lesnar so that could be why. I guess we will get that at Survivor Series and Orton at Summerslam, though I'd rather see Henry in that spot but he will be next on the list if he goes over Sheamus. Would they dare do Cena/Lesnar at Mania? I guess if they had to... hah. I don't know if that would be fitting of a 30th anniversary. But what do I know? I saw someone suggest Cesaro would be a good opponent for whatever B-level PPV but it doesn't look like hes on the way up with the yodelling and jobbing out to Truth. Either way, Ambrose/Taker was pretty good ...

Rollins is going to garner X-Pac heat soon if he keep up his role of bitch. His facials and reactions to challenges (being a bitch, as you said) go over with me at all. Ambrose on the other hand plays it perfect every time. He reeks of "live to fight another day". Bradshaw does a great job of getting the unity thing over in commentary though. Cole made a comment recently along the lines of "if one falls that means they all fall, right?" I believe the response was "theyre so strong that none of them have fallen yet." Man, it really helps having JBL on commentary. If things get cold in the summer ratings wise I can see them hotshotting Ambrose to a match with Cena for the title. If you look at it, Cena doesn't really have much to work with and after this highly entertaining and heaty segment with Taker I could only imagine what it would be like with Cena. Probably the opposite because Cena is pretty much a heel in the eyes of fans. I want to keep this thread focused but I think fans of the current stuff here would have a hard time picking new programs for Cena in the main event this year.

For those unaware, Dean Ambrose wrestled the Undertaker on Smackdown this week. For those unaware, I accidentally spelt Ambrose wrong a few times including in the thread title, a sign I should proofread more. Thanks for fixing that, Loss. I may be jumping the gun in thinking this segment deserves its own thread here but I suppose time will be the judge of that. I should note that I painstakingly watch about 75% of WWE programming on a weekly basis and have been for the last year or so. I've been entertained mostly, bored slightly and bewildered a lot less than you would think. My intelligence has been insulted a few times, sure, but its a fun ride and I've enjoyed a lot of the in-ring stuff. I've also learned to live with Michael Cole and find him quite entertaining in a disgusting way. I digress... Below is a synopsis of the match so if you want no spoilers wait to read and comment later. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZazHjPiods The entire segment on TV was about thirteen minutes and the match itself was about five. From a production standpoint it got the point across and may have given the Shield a rub even moreso than CM Punk at Wrestlemania. CM Punks screaming as Takers entered seem silly in retrospect when looking at this. Even the commentators did a great job selling Shield's entrance as intimidating, which I guess it is. Maybe it was the hype in my mind but it really had a big fight feel to it. From an in-ring standpoint it was not as significant but it did get its point across. Undertaker gave a lot to Ambrose after getting his bodyshot and apron legdrop spot in. The match had great psychology as Taker kept an eye on Shield during the whole match. There was a very logical spot where Taker went for a boot in the corner and missed. He ended up on the apron and Ambrose hit a great short dropkick to the back. Ambrose has an amazing way of working that reminds of of every wrestler I've ever enjoyed. I think its unfair to compare him to Pillman. He seems to have a style all his own. There was a lot of stalling and punching and wearing down Taker. Ambrose mocks him a little (which looks hilarious and perfectly in-character) which leads to a nice goozle. He lowblows the chokeslam attempt and comes back with a really well place knee to the stomach as Taker bounds off the ropes. Ambrose bounds as Taker hulks up and Ambrose eats a chokeslam. Rollins on the apron eats a right hand enough time for Ambrose to get up and go for another low blow. He nails a DDT and Taker and for a minute you really think Ambrose might get the pin. Not really. The crowd is really hot for this match, rightfully so. Ambrose does an amazing job selling his dismay or mental problems or whatever and it goes right into Hells Gate and Ambrose taps. Shield is in and Taker gets the upperhand on the outside. There are a few chairshots and he disposes of Ambrose. As Taker is about to chokeslam Rollins off the baracade when Reigns comes thru with a spear through the announcer area thing. Spears are so much more effective when large men do them. Shield heels up in such a convincing way that I mark out and scream at my TV. Ambrose screams out "you didnt beat me" and smacks Taker with the chair a few times. Crowd chants "you tapped out" and Ambrose freaks out. Great TV. Super amazing heel heat if its not canned in. They hit the powerbomb through the table and it looks great. They start screaming out "DEAD, MAN!" as the show goes off. Wow. Really, the best segment I've seen on WWE TV in a while aside from the Regal/Ohno stuff from NXT but I don't watch NXT every week so I can't speak to the entire angle. For a one off tour, Taker did a lot to put over the Shield as legitimate contenders moreso than any other match or segment they have been in aside from maybe their first match at TLC. Call it whatever you want but I feel really good about where this may be going. I'm sure they will muck it up and water it down, but the logcial thing to do would be to put the tag straps on all three of them ala Demolition and keep fueding with Bryan and Kane over them until the eventual break up of those two. I think the five of them have a few more good matches in them that I would love to see. The six man was great on RAW too. Aside from that I really hope they start billing Ambrose as the defacto leader of the group, if he already isn't. I know he stands in the middle during all the promos but I think they could do a bit more. Anyway, I'm ineterested to know what the rest of the community thinks. Watch the match and let me know. Cheers.

"Certainly want to send out some well wishes to Dave Hebner he had a heart attack last week but is feeling great now." JR "A heart attack? Some people will do anything to get out of work. Pft. A heart attack..." Lawler RAW commentary, 08/14/2000 before the Albert,Test/Guererro,Blackman match. *sigh, why am I watching this?

Rock was on Leno Thursday and made no mention of the fact that he is the current WWE Champion, had a defense last month, or will be defending against John Cena in two weeks at Wrestlemania. So... what is the point of the Rock again? How on earth does that qualify as cross promotion aside from the fact Jay called him Rock a few times? On a side note, Chris Masters' heroics headlined his monolouge.

In another strange world, Wrestlemania VIII was probably going to be Flair/Hogan, a Savage/Roberts blowoff where the loser leaves town and still heel Taker/Sid, unless they still worked the Sid heel turn after the Rumble and used the SNME tag match to set it up... It would NOT have been better. Taker probably would have lost fuck. Personally, I hold VIII near and dear to my heart because I was 8 and a mark and watched it live. It had a 4PM EST start time. So many good memories. I hate the way they talk about VIII. /rant off. Back to the recent stuff, Punk/Cena is an early match of the year. I agree with just about every sentiment spat out here so I won't go over them again. I will say that my actual reaction to the piledriver was "holy fuck i havent seen that in years". Didn't realize they banned the move but I guess there are a lot of things they dont do anymore... like have matches like these. AND I will say this about the rana. Cena can't do a rana and its a well established part of his gimmick that he doesnt do moves. If he pulled it off like Juvi or whoever it woulda looked silly. Is the general consensus that Swgger should be punished for his weed use? I thought we lived in a semi-Liberal society where weed was becoming socially (and legally) acceptable.