Diamonddust

Love the slow build to his entrance...

Unfortunately, they can't place Big Show/Mayweather at this point of the show, and they've got to worry about the crowd being drained for the two World Title matches (Good chance that Flair/Shawn is going to drain the crowd and whatever comes next, hopefully the Bunny Match, as bad as it will be, will be DOA).

Wow... That's just hilarious. Chavo has become this generation's S.D. Jones.

I was getting food and missed those. What happened? Snoop Dogg was doing an interview, and he had Festus with him. Santino came in, started acting like Santino, and then Snoop Dogg pulled out a bell. Santino begged him not to ring it, Snoop rang it, and Festus chased Santino away. Foley then popped up and did some of the lame Snoop Dogg talk.

Not sure if anyone caught it, but they had a camera angle during MITB that showed a plane flying overhead between a gap in the upper-decks. You couldn't make out the banner or anything, but I wonder if it was the plane that was supposed to fly the TNA banner.

I doubt they'll do this, but I think it would be a nice touch: When they acknowledge all of the HOF inductees at Wrestlemania tomorrow, I think it would be great if Flair is the last person they announce... and that is how the match with Michaels starts. He makes his entrance amongst the rest of the Hall of Fame members.

Damn... one of Gordon Solie's sons is his absolute spitting image.

I liked the crack he had about Jericho's hair better. Jericho's response was pretty funny as well.

From what I gathered courtesy of certain shoot interviews, Austin Idol was never too fond of traveling so that's why he pretty much stayed in Memphis. I think Jim Cornette mentioned in his interview that Idol would have preferred to do just promos as opposed to actually getting in the ring. But you are right... pretty much anyone that was a fan of wrestling at the time will say Idol had tremendous ability to draw people into the building.

Same here.

One site, I forget which, is reporting JBL is inducting the Brisco Brothers. I'd also imagine Peter Maivia's wife would accept for her husband.

Also from Meltzer, I'm pretty certain someone mentioned this earlier: --WWE has already learned of TNA's plan to fly a plane with a banner that reads something like "Watch TNA Impact" at some point during Wrestlemania. Well, it's not like it'll air on the broadcast. There are several other incidents that we're trying to get confirmation on that have taken place in recent days.

Shocked Austin/Hart isn't on there.

I believe so. I know it came to a head in April so I can't remember why I was writing about it in February.

I went back and got the date off the letter - February 11th, 1998. If I remember correctly, Superbrawl and No Way Out (I remember everyone thinking how funny it was that a WWF's ppv had the initials NWO) hadn't happened yet.

10 years ago, I had to write a letter to myself 10 years in the future for a school project. I recently got the letter, and I discovered a large portion of it dealt with what was happening in wrestling at the time. The letter is circa-February 1998. Here's the letter with answers: "So tell me, what's going on in my favorite sport of pro-wrestling? If they are still around, the WWF is going to have Wrestlemania XXIV in about a month. Did Copeland (Edge) live up to the hype? (I'd say he did) Did Austin retire because of the neck? (It led to it) Did Owen ever clean pin Shawn? Down in Turner Land, what ever came of the "Disappearing Flair" situation that was beginning to brew? (We want Flair!) Did Chris get the belt he deserved? (I knew something like this was in here) When did their fossils retire? Did Birmingham ever land a PPV? (Armageddon 2000 and ECW's Guilty as Charged 2000) What ever came of ECW? Did Paul's brainchild continue to gain popularity? Is it still around? (If you only knew) Did I ever go to the arena? (ECW Arena and the answer is no) Is Terry (Funk) still wrestling? (I think so) Who's main eventing right now? Is it (ECW) still big? Did a rising indy become the next ECW? World Champions at the time of the letter: "Shawn and Shane" - I left out the WCW Champion The next week, I went to Thunder in Birmingham and wondered if the net liked my 1st hand report of the show

Hard to argue with this list: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...view/index.html

I think Flair's legacy is such that no matter how much crap they had him do in his later years, the fans will still remember Ric Flair in his prime. He was the total package in terms of a professional wrestler. He also had the class and image that made being a world champion look important. -What's your favorite Flair match?: There are a whole lot of them, but I'd put the I Quit Match against Terry Funk on top of the list. Two great masters beating the hell out of each other. -Is he overrated/underrated relative to his 80s and 90s peers? I don't think he's overrated or underrated. Any wrestling fan with half a brain will credit Flair as the Babe Ruth of Wrestling. -Do the 21 (16?) world title wins mean anything to you? It means that no matter how hard the promoters tried to screw him or do something different, they always went back to Flair because he could bring the goods. As Jim Cornette once said, "Sting vs. Flair drew. Luger vs. Flair drew. Luger vs. Sting fell on its face because it had no Flair." -Did he hang on too long? Yeah, but what else was he going to do? I won't fault him for staying as long as he did, especially since he can be more entertaining than a lot of younger guys.

Do you think that's what this WM will be like? I can't say myself, because I don't know enough/haven't seen enough Manias, but you seem to be describing the card for this Sunday. I'm going to try and watch WM this year. I don't because the WWE Title match has three guys of similar size, Taker has an opponent that isn't a lumbering slug, and well... you do have a celebrity vs. an upper midcarder, though. The worst match on the card is obviously the Divas match, but outside of that... the rest should be at least entertaining. Finlay/JBL should be a stiff enough brawl to hide any technical shortcomings, and the same can be said for Umaga/Batista... especially if both men are motivated to defy expectations. The triple threat match will deliver an entertaining encounter but anti-climactic finish, as will probably Edge/Taker. Big Show/Mayweather should be good for the spectacle. MITB is always good for some sick spots. Flair and Shawn, though, will steal the show. If Shawn could produce the match he had with Hogan, just think what he'll do with Flair.

From what I read (I don't remember which site but I only go on Gerweck.net, lordsofpain.net and wrestlview.com) TNA officials told their wrestlers not to go to the HOF ceremony for fear that they might end up on TV. You know, if I'm Sting... I'd be very torn. It would be kind of weird not to have him somewhere in the crowd when Ric Flair is going in the Hall of Fame.

I agree. I had read where Brock could do a SSP, much like The Big Show being able to do a moonsault, but seeing him do it and then screw it up was a crazy visual.

One match that doesn't get talked about a lot in terms of someone getting made is Jake Roberts vs. The Undertaker. Roberts passed the "creepy but still beloved babyface" torch to Taker with the ass kicking he took at Wrestlemania VIII.

Agreed. Wrestlemania is the only PPV I'll ever consider buying, and this year seems pretty much a lock for me.

Having a big moment at Wrestlemania is very important because, as it was said, people tend to remember those things for years on end. The reason people remember Savage/Steamboat is because of how good that match was and how hooked they had the crowd. People remember Hogan slamming Andre because of how iconic it was. People remember Hart/Austin because of the incredible visual of Austin's forehead covered in blood. Hell, that match could be looked at as probably the most influential Wrestlemania match of all-time due to what it produced in terms of the business. A wrestler can send his career into another dimension at Wrestlemania with a crazy good performance or some iconic image happening in their particular match. Answering the addition questions: 1. Shawn Michaels is the first person to come to mind in terms of memorable matches. He's been involved in one of the most influential matches of all time (Ladder match at WMX), the Iron Man Match, the match that started the Austin-era, and very good encounters with Angle, Jericho, and Cena. Some can say Hogan, and they'd be right, others would say Savage, and they'd be right as well. 2. Shawn definitely got "made" from the Ladder Match. His star was already rising at that point, but the ladder match put him in another dimension. The same goes for the Hardys and Edge and Christian during the TLC match. Austin's career went through the roof due to the I Quit match with Bret Hart. 3. Hogan vs. Andre, and it's not even close. If there was ever a super-match at Wrestlemania, it was that match. I don't care how strong the card at Wrestlemania III was, one match drew that house. Hogan vs. Warrior would be a DISTANT second. 4. Entrances are a big deal, and that is why The Undertaker is such a big part of Wrestlemania... the same goes for Shawn Michaels. People remember the entrances because the spectacle is just as big as the match itself. Speaking of entrances, I know I'm not the only one that wishes the little ring carts would be used again. 5. Shawn Michaels' flying to the ring on the zipline for the Iron Man match was good. Taker's entrance at pretty much any Wrestlemania would be up there as well (Although his entrance is usually good regardless). MVP had a pretty good one last year as well.

Hopefully not, though, because there seems to be hope of him not being edited out of history anymore. He should be edited out of history. No. However, I'd love to hear what explanation you come up with to justify this. There is still the potential for people to get up in arms about the WWE trying to profit on the likeness of a guy who killed his wife and child.