Fantastic

1. Vader 2. Akira Taue 3. The Undertaker 4. Andre The Giant 5. Bruiser Brody

Genichiro Tenryu and his love for throwing water bottles, tables and chairs at his opponents in majestic displays of disrespect! Not really cheating, it's more Tenryu being a miserable angry bastard. Can't really do this without mentioning The Great Muta, particularly in the early to mid 1990's. I like his match with Liger, the one where Liger first unveield the Kishin Liger character and basically turned Muta's cheating ways against him.

Didn't Dave Meltzer and others go into detail about it? If I recall correctly, apparently Undertaker went to Punk and suggested that he smartened himself up and started wearing suits when making public appearances as champion, or something to that effect. Punk countered and said something about Jeff Hardy and John Cena not being subject to this rule, and this was where it went to shit apparently. The thing is that Punk was still considered a rising star at this point, and not on the level of the likes of Jeff Hardy or John Cena. His counter was perceived as him suggesting that he was comparable to them, and this warranted humbling apparently, and loss of the title. Ironically, a program with a star of Undertaker's caliber can hardly be considered a humbling.

2014 G1 Climax participants announced (my predicted semi finalists in bold): A BLOCK Hiroshi Tanahashi Satoshi Kojima Yuji Nagata Kota Ibushi Katsuyori Shibata (I reckon there's a good chance he'll get it this year) Shinsuke Nakamura Tomohiro Ishii Shelton “X” Benjamin Davey Boy Smith Jr. Doc Gallows Bad Luck Fale B BLOCK Togi Makabe Hirooki Goto Tetsuya Naito Hiroyoshi Tenzan Kazuchika Okada Toru Yano Minoru Suzuki Lance Archer AJ Styles Yujiro Takahashi Karl Anderson

Tarzan Goto's says hello. I wouldnt want to see Kintaro Kanemura's either. Ahh yes, forgot about Tarzan. Man, those FMW matches were great! I can't believe how over Onita was sometimes.

Dusty's got some of the worst forehead scarring, second only to Abdullah and Carlos Colon perhaps? I'm bewildered as to why WWE hasn't paid for him to have cosmetic surgery to cover that shit up, since they let him in front of a camera regularly.

I almost forgot! Joey Mercury's collision with the ladder at Armageddon 2006 was pretty bad too.

...In your opinion as a fan? These could be incidental and unplanned (hardway) or a planned part of the match (blade job) that has maybe gone too far, or perhaps just right, within the context of the match. The one that will always stick out for me, and one that made me feel legitimately queasy, was Eddie Guerrero's blading botch (he cut way too fucking deep) following that ridiculous chairshot by JBL at Judgement Day 2004.

I think it's amazing he goes out of his way to do these things in his own time. It's not even a PR agenda, he legitimately seems to care massively about his younger fans, especially those battling conditions such as the girl profiled in that link. Cena basically lives to work, yet in the precious few hours he has to himself each week, he's off doing stuff like this. I've heard that he does a lot more than is actively made public. I think Dave Meltzer hinted that Cena basically bought up a toy shop out of his own pocket and gave a load of gifts to a children's hospital at a recent Christmas. Despite his generosity, he seems pretty adamant about keeping some of this stuff on the down low, perhaps he's trying to avoid being typecast as "too" nice.

Nah, Roman will get the traditional trunks. He's being pushed as the star, and we all know that you can't be the man without the trunks of power... Unless you're John Cena.

The swerve would come from Austin and Rock's end of course. The Rock would cost Austin a pinfall opportunity because he wants to get the win himself (and Austin's title). This would naturally lead to Sting being his usual idiotic self and getting distracted by Austin and Rock turning on each other, this would result in Austin giving both Rock and Sting a stunner. Flair, being Flair, would use this opportunity to low-blow Austin, and get the pin on a fallen Rock to win the match, technically preserve his promise to Sting whilst screwing him out of winning the title, and shockingly becoming WWF Champion after nearly a decade in the process. This would result in a reverse Flair/WCW situation when Flair first went to the WWF with the NWA Heavyweight Title belt Only this time it would storyline.

Daniel Bryan, potentially, if WWE bites the bullet and really fucking gets behind him this year. In terms of wrestlers on the roster with yet-to-be-fully-tapped potential in spite of their natural showmanship: Bray Wyatt Dean Ambrose And my favorite, if he officially makes it to WWE and is given ample opportunities to do what he does best: Fergal "Prince" Devitt.

This might be controversial... As much as I love the character and class him as one of my favorite wrestlers, The Undertaker has usually only been a "great" wrestler when he's matched up against other great wrestlers. Take the streak for example, the following matches are usually considered the best of the streak: Undertaker vs. Triple H: Wrestlemania X-7 Undertaker vs. Randy Orton: Wrestlemania 21 Undertaker vs. Batista: Wrestlemania XXIII Undertaker vs. Edge: Wrestlemania XXIV Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania XXV Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels: Wrestlemania XXVI Undertaker vs. Triple H: Wrestlemania XXVII Undertaker vs. Triple H: Wrestlemania XXVIII Undertaker vs. CM Punk: Wrestlemania XXIX Each name on that list opposite The Undertaker is acclaimed as a worker in their own right. Shawn Michaels in particular, is said by many to be the best US wrestler ever to have set foot in a ring. Edge was a great worker, he could adapt to virtually any style that he was met with, and effectively. His feuds with Big Show, Mysterio, the Hardy's, Cena, Batista and of course, Taker, all speak volumes of his ability. Outside of the streak and his matches with the names on that list, Taker's had a pretty mixed history. He was pretty run of the mill during the early 1990's. He stepped up his game in 1996-1999 with his feuds with Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and Bret Hart. He tapered off in 1999, really hit or miss, although that could be down to his accumulating injuries at that point. He was abysmal on many occasions in 2000 and 2001, started to get back on track in 2002 and 2003 with his matches against Lesnar, The Rock, and Kurt Angle. His run from 2004-2008 had large periods of lackluster matches in feuds with people like Heidenreich, Mark Henry, Kane, etc. And from 2008-Present, it's really only been about the streak The point I'm getting at is that some wrestlers develop a reputation as a great wrestler, seemingly from having choice matches against other "great wrestlers".

Lets say Flair, Goldberg, Steiner and Nash are all part of the equation for the Invasion. The Invasion PPV doesn't happen, instead at Summerslam (retitled Summerslam: The Invasion) an 8 on 8 elimination match, with the winner (WCW) gaining control of the following PPV (like Souled Out). Team WWF Steve Austin (WWF Champion) The Rock Kurt Angle Chris Jericho The Undertaker Kane The Big Show Vince McMahon (WWF Owner) Team WCW Booker T (WCW Champion) Goldberg Ric Flair Kevin Nash Scott Steiner Diamond Dallas Page Lance Storm Shane McMahon (WCW "Owner") *** Goldberg is as unstoppable, plowing through everybody on the WWF team: Elimination 1: The Big Show by Goldberg (8-7 Team WCW) - Spear, pinfall Elimination 2: Kane by Goldberg (8-6 Team WCW) - Jackhammer, pinfall Elimination 3: Lance Storm by Chris Jericho (6-7 Team WWF) - Lionsault, pinfall Elimination 4: DDP by The Undertaker (6-6 Team WWF) - Last Ride, pinfall Elimination 5: Vince McMahon by Ric Flair (6-5 Team WCW) - Low Blow and rollup Goldberg is running wild at this point, surviving finishers and all kinds of shit until Undertaker clobbers him repeatedly with a steel chair and puts him through a table (this way you are preserving Goldberg's mystique whilst giving him a way out of the match and setting up a big time singles match for the next PPV between him and Taker) Elimination 6: Undertaker by DQ (6-4 Team WCW) - following the assault on Goldberg Elimination 7: Goldberg by Countout (4-5 Team WWF) - doesn't beat the count Elimination 8: Scott Steiner by The Rock (4-4 Team WWF) - Rock Bottom Pinfall Elimination 9: Kurt Angle by Shane McMahon(4-3 Team WCW) - a cheap pinfall victory following a Bookend from Booker T Elimination 10: Shane McMahon by Kurt Angle (3-3 Team WWF) - Ankle Lock, Submission Elimination 11: Kevin Nash by Steve Austin (3-2 Team WWF) - Stunner, pinfall Elimination 12: Chris Jericho by Booker T (2-2 Team WCW) - Bookend, pinfall It then boils down to Steve Austin and The Rock vs Booker T and Ric Flair. Booker T eliminates The Rock following some heelish tactics by Flair with an Axe Kick, does the spinnarooni, but turns around directly into a Stunner. Flair tries to capitalise following a low blow on Austin, ref takes a bump, but then Flair but eventually gets a Stunner for his troubles and falls out of the ring in a manner that only Flair can. Austin, sensing victory goes to retrieve him, only for the lights to go out. The lights come back on and STING is standing in the middle of the ring with a baseball bat. He clobbers Austin and places Flair over Austin. The referee comes around and counts 1-2-3. *** Fanboyish? Perhaps, but then you can have the following PPV look something like this: Sting and Ric Flair vs. Steve Austin and The Rock (the idea here is that two sets of mortal enemies are teaming up against the other - it's just asking for betrayal. For even more jeopardy, Austin's title is on the line.) WCW Championship: Booker T vs. Kurt Angle Goldberg vs. The Undertaker

Well, JTG is gone. How many roster cuts had he survived up until this point?

With you on this. Why do they bother announcing the departures of referees, especially now that they seldom mention them by their names on TV?

They need it, given how much the Network is costing them in this first year. Still waiting on news about JTG... Will this FINALLY be the year? At least Brodus Clay, Teddy Long, and Evan Bourne were all marketable at one point, JTG has never done anything worth talking about.

Where do you see this? It's not on WWE.com that I can see. Refresh

Drew McIntyre gone!

I wonder if JTG will survive this one also?

(fanwank dreambooking warning) They should have always kept WCW going as a seperate brand under WWF/E ownership as it was originally intended. The culmination of the Invasion angle at Survivor Series would end with Vince triumphing over Shane to gain control over both companies. The next night on Raw, Linda would return and reveal that the WWF board of directors have decreed that WCW is far too lucrative to simply be destroyed to satisfy Vince's need to conquer and therefore must continue. The brand split would then occur. with Vengenace being the PPV where all titles were on the line with those being recognised as brand champions by the end of that PPV being the first draftees to either WWF Raw or WCW Nitro based on what championships they held (the WWF Women's Champion and European Champion(s) would be WWF exclusive because they have no equivalent). Let's say it looked something like this: WWF Champion: Steve Austin (Raw) WCW Champion: Chris Jericho (Nitro) WWF Intercontinental Champion: Edge (Raw) WCW United States Champion: Kurt Angle (Nitro) WWF Tag Team Champions: The Hardy Boys (Raw) WCW Tag Team Champions: DDP and Kanyon (Nitro) WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: Billy Kidman (Raw) WCW Cruiserweight Champion: X Pac (Nitro) WWF Hardcore Champion: Rob Van Dam (Raw) WCW Hardcore Champion (lets just say they had it!): Rhyno (Nitro) Vince and Linda would do the picks (Flair would come later, and be appointed Nitro GM), they'd each get 10 that they could pick themselves (asides from champions exclusive to each brand following Vengeance) , before a supplemental draft would determine the rest: WWF Raw (Vince) Steve Austin (Champion) Edge (Champion) Jeff Hardy (Champion) Matt Hardy (Champion) Billy Kidman (Champion) Rob Van Dam (Champion) +10 names, mostly suited to the WWF style WCW Nitro (Linda) Chris Jericho (Champion) Kurt Angle (Champion) DDP (Champion) Kanyon (Champion) X Pac (Champion) Rhyno (Champion) +10 names, mostly suited to the WCW style Anyway, fast forward to post-Wrestlemania 2004 (which would be a dual brand supershow featuring stand alone brand matches AND interpromotional matches) and the brands might look something like: WWE Monday Night Raw: 2004 Raw as it was, less WCW names and older talent WWE Champion: Chris Benoit WWE Intercontinental Champion: Randy Orton WWE Tag Team Champions: Chris Benoit and Edge WWE Women's Champion: Trish Stratus WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Tajiri WCW Thursday Nitro: Essentially 2004's Smackdown, but more WCW names and newer talent WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Eddie Guerrero WCW United States Champion: John Cena WCW Tag Team Champions: Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio WCW Women's Champion: Victoria WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Ultimo Dragon

Probably similar to this I'd imagine, like a CM Punk 2.0.

What if Rollins takes the vacant title at MITB?

Well, F4W just reported that Daniel Bryan won't be cleared for MITB, so they are probably going to strip him, and put the title(s) up for grabs in the MITB match.