Diamonddust

Yeah... both Finlay and JBL did a great job with that segment. I can easily buy a street fight style match between the two.

At least Snitsky had a tad bit more credibility than Val, but you make a good point.

All that's missing is Big Show covering "Rap is Crap".

The match is secondary at this point. The hype it's going to get will guarantee a crazy amount of money in terms of extra pay-per-view buys.

Big Show is coming out like a million bucks in this angle.

I was about to say... They might have made a mistake trying to make Mayweather a face... or it could be a heavy Hispanic population in Southern California still ticked off about the De La Hoya match.

I can see this going either way: Vince forcing Shawn into the match with Flair OR Shawn turning on the ultra-heel mode after "gushing" over Flair and then trying to be the one to retire him

Agreed. The ending fit quite perfectly with Randy's character. The only gap in logic was Randy rushing back into the ring to avoid the double-count out, although I'll forgive that one.

I just got in from watching this at a Buffalo Wild Wings. It was the first time in a long time where I watched a PPV with a diverse group of fans - young, old, and everything in between. Here are some of the things I noticed: -The crowd at the restaurant was pretty mellow during the first Elimination Chamber match. The three biggest pops were Taker's super-slam on MVP, Hornswaggle's appearence (I have to admit... I got a kick out of that one), and the finish. It was a mix of Bastista and Undertaker fans throughout the match. -The Big Show/Mayweather angle was over big time with the crowd, including those who weren't paying attention to the show. When they kept showing Big Show's bloody face and the replay of the punches, the crowd kept getting louder. They have a big money angle on their hands with this one. I also got a kick out of how quickly Mayweather and his posse got out of the ring... it was a very nice touch. -The Orton/Cena match split the crowd just like any arena. I haven't cheered for Randy Orton that much in my life. I don't have a problem with Cena, but some of his fanbase (Especially the older people) can get on your nerves quickly. I was hoping they'd do the double-countout they teased, but then I was like, "Randy... why did you get back in the ring in the first place?" I have to admit... I liked the ending a lot, and I'm glad Orton got to keep the belt. The finish drew a mixed reaction, but the Orton fans were a bit louder. -The Raw Elimination Chamber got the big pops of the night. Umaga's double Samoan drop was a favorite, and I'm glad they made him look like a killer again. I know it's redundant to say this, but the Smackdown match was so neutered compared to this one. Shawn was gushing blood like a champion. Like Orton and Cena, the crowd was split for Hardy and HHH, although Hardy was winning the crowd by the end with his high spots. For a split second, I thought they might swerve us all and have Hardy win it. If he doesn't win Money in the Bank this year, I'll be shocked.

Hey everyone... just wanted to share some pictures I took at a local indy show in the Birmingham, Alabama area, Global Championship Wrestling. Enjoy! http://flickr.com/photos/diamondduste/sets...57603925910841/ (http://www.gcwpro.com)

Aurora Rose goes over in a handicap match against John Cena, Jeff Hardy, and for good measure The Rock.

We've heard this song and dance before from Honky, but I believe that it has been refuted by other sources who worked for the company. As others have pointed out, it doesn't make a lot of sense to change the booking of your world title program because the freaking Honky Tonk Man doesn't want to play ball. It wouldn't be the first time Honky pulled a fake story out to inflate his self-importance (see: Butch Reed fake I-C title story) Only one way to find out for sure...The Ted Dibiase shoot maybe the Jimmy Hart shoot as well. I will see what I can find out. Honky Tonk Man rules by the way. Ted, according to HTM, contends that HTM refusing to drop the belt to Savage was the reason he didn't get the World Title. HTM also says Savage understood why he wouldn't want to drop the belt. HTM's reasoning behind refusing to drop the belt was that it was on television, and back during that period, a loss on television (Especially on NBC) would have been extremely damaging. He says that since he was on a pay-per-appearance deal, Vince could have jobbed him that night and cut him right after that.

Any truth to this or more Hogan talk? Sounds like more talk to me... as Meltzer mentions, it is Wrestlemania season.

Props to whoever came up with that design.

I don't think it's acting ability. After listening to what people have said about that relationship, I think she was probably legitimately concerned Savage would do something like that.

Right, but that was when UFC business was down. Now they are legit, highlights showing up on Sportscenter and their fighters appearing on talk shows. They can afford to do something better with their presentation now. I'm not saying every fighter should be pulling a Genki Sudo, but the undercard guys have nothing to define them...a clear entrance would do that. Brock Lesner aside, to maintain their legitimacy, they don't need to do anything that would cause people to immediately think "This looks like pro-wrestling".

Agreed. The more I think about it... the more I realize it really can't be anyone but Shawn at this point. I do hope they set it up in a way where McMahon basically forces Michaels into the match by Shawn with retirement if he loses. Shawn will bust his ass to make Flair look like a million bucks in his last match.

I know Dr. Andrews is the foremost doctor to all athletes but WWE really keeps the guy in business, don't they? That didn't take Rey that long to suffer another injury but it wasn't the knee this time, which is a surprise. He's also the go to doctor for a lot of NFL and MLB guys also. Try sports medicine in general. His practice is in my hometown of Birmingham, and if you are an athlete on any level and require surgery... chances are you'll be seeing Dr. Andrews.

If I remember correctly, 95% of Hogan's offense in the 1989 Summerslam main event against Zeus and Savage was cheating - biting, scratching, using Sherri's purse, etc. I look back at it now and love how Ventura would call him out on it every chance he'd get.

Agreed. The promos he cut in Montreal and then the one the night after Summerslam were incredible.

So did they already forget about the AJ/Karen thing?

Depends. Are you looking to become a writer, or promoter? How do you define the two? Writer: Someone who takes a hand in crafting the angles/promos in a show. Promoter: Person who sets up the show. In the latter case, I think people don't realize that 5% of the job is creating the matches and angles. Far more work is involved in renting the building, advertising, booking the talent, acquiring the applicable permits, etc. I was about to say... a promoter has so much more to do than the simple creative side of things. From what I've gathered about the WWE creative process, it goes a little like this (A quick read of the Dave Lagana story provided a lot of this): There are "Senior/Head" writers for each brand. Stephanie is over all of them, while Vince still has the final say regarding the direction. They'll map out the show with the writing staff, and I'm guessing individual writers are given segments to write/produce within the guidelines laid out for them. A script is then produced for each show. (You can find a link to a TNA script over on that board, but I've read where the WWE scripts aren't as completely mapped out as the TNA ones).

Why do they even bother with these surveys? If they don't like the results, they are going to disregard it and go with the one the office (Vince) ultimately wants anyways.

If someone did the whole environmental slant that was part of Borga's gimmick, they'd probably get over as a heel very quickly. In fact, I'm kind of shocked it hasn't been done, although the whole "green" USA campaign might be a reason why it hasn't. But you bring up a very good point. A staple of wrestling has always been "foreign" heels to play up to the jingonism of the crowd. The Russians of the '80's were great heels because they were supporting a country that could actually nuke us back if they wanted. Another big reason why they caught on like they did is that no Americans were getting killed fighting the Russians at the time, which is why Sgt. Slaughter as an Iraqi support and Muhammed Hassan failed.

He can still make money off the character doing non-wrestling appearances at wrestling events.