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He was much better off on Smackdown/ECW rather than Raw. For some reason, they seem to gimmick the hell out of him whenever he is on that show. The booking of the Kane vs. Rey feud was just garbage, and totally overshadowed some legitimately good matches they had together (particularly No Mercy).

Shawn was just great in that segment - though it won't happen, I'm kind of rooting for him to break the streak.

Randy Savage vs. Rick Steiner at the Tokyo Dome in January 2000, which as far as I know is Savage's last ever singles match. Wacky entrance attire on Savage - it looks like he's wearing the Gobbledygooker on his shoulders.

I haven't been paying attention to any WWE DVD release schedules for 2009 - is there a Survivor Series Anthology coming out this year?

The who would Hogan face? Because things were all about him. Now in reality, he was off pretending to run for president so the fingerpoke of doom could take place, which I still insist could have been great if done properly. Sting-Goldberg and Hogan-Hart could have been a tremendous double main event for Starrcade 1998. In an ideal world that would have been the end of Hollywood Hogan as a full-time act, and then we could have just had occasional nostalgia appearances and matches from red and yellow Hulk Hogan.

When was Roddy Piper's last appearance in WCW? I know he was around briefly during that whole Starrcade 1999 screwjob mess, so basically I just want to know if he made any appearances in 2000.

I vaguely remember hearing about Savage working under a mask as Mr. Madness. When did this happen exactly?

I love these threads because they prove that every WWE wrestler has a fan.

I've always heard that Big Bossman's WWF Title feud and match with Big Show in late 1999 was a reward from Vince for his loyalty over the years. I never understood this, because Bossman worked WCW from 1993 to 1997. Anyone have a better understanding on why Vince felt so indebted to Bossman?

That was really random and horrible. I think Kane was set to take time off for surgery after Wrestlemania 23, so they had Khali squash him, but then he stuck around so they needed a quick feud to re-establish him. I remember at the time trying to think of a less appealing match than Kane vs. David Taylor.

What is there to do on RAW for a Manu/Snuka tag team exactly? There's not much to work with - Miz & Morrison, Cryme Tyme, and possibly Kofi & Partner of the Month. They really don't appear to have the charisma or flashiness to be faces, so that limits them even further since RAW is overloaded with heels right now. Seems like a blatant cry for attention by Eric, since the Hardys are pretty hot at the moment. Looking over Matt's blog though, he does come across as kind of douchy with all the "life's so great!" stuff.

I agree with you, and it was probably the kiss of death for him when you consider they were just looking for reasons for newcomers from WCW to fail. On a side note, the fact that both DDP and Randy Savage were known for their meticulous match planning probably explains why their 1997 WCW series was so good, at a time when Savage had become really broken down.

Followed by DDP jobbing to Sara Horseface. Dave Meltzer tells a funny story in the latest Observer about how during this time period DDP wrote out a move-by-move match plan (as he was known to do) for a match with Undertaker. He then faxed it to Taker who promptly threw it away without looking at it. I'm guessing that whole deal was a contributing factor on why DDP was so quickly written off as not knowing how to work.

There weren't really any viable top heel opponents ready for Orton to work with during that time, which made the face turn even more ill-advised. Kane was out filming See No Evil and that feud would have sucked anyway, Christian was firmly a midcard act and he'd already feuded with Edge during the summer.

I didn't like the face run at all. I thought it was terribly forced and that he was so much more effective as the cocky heel character. However, you can't deny he was building major fan support throughout the summer, and if they hadn't made his character such a geek then maybe he could have sustained that support and become a long-term top babyface. I personally wanted him to stay heel and eventually take over Evolution and oust Triple H, who would then be the babyface challenger heading into Wrestlemania. Of course then we likely wouldn't have seen the ascension of Batista, so one positive did come from the failed turn.

I'd like to throw in the 1996 Godwinns vs. Bodydonnas series, which seemed to be the WWF's counterpart to WCW's Harlem Heat/Nastys neverending tag team feud of suck. They feuded for the majority of the year and while the matches were never horrible, they quickly became boring and repetitive beyond belief.

I really don't want to see Triple H win the Elimination Chamber for the second year in a row, and since he's a no-brainer for one of the WM title shots, I guess he's my pick to win the Rumble. Its inevitable that he wins another one at some stage, since he's been pencilled in to win the last three at different points. I wouldn't be surprised to see Vickie make him #1 and have him last the whole way since it fits the story of her stacking the odds against him on Smackdown and its probably something they would love on his list of accolades.

Umaga beating up Undertaker in a cemetery would be an awesome angle. He could do that running BUTT splash on Taker through a tombstone, then Samoan Spike him into an open grave. I'm half-serious.

An Undertaker vs. Umaga WM feud would be weird. Who does the promos to build it up?

I'm not super high on a Cena/Orton WM main event, but it seems fitting for such a landmark event to be headlined by the two superstars that WWE will be built around for years to come. Tough break for Batista - I guess we can't look forward to a heel turn until at least 2010.

BEST OF: A. Performer Of The Year - the best overall combination of someone who can back it up in the ring but can entertain on promos. 1. Chris Jericho 2. Edge 3. Shawn Michaels B. Wrestler Of The Year - the wrestler who can best work a technical match. Though part of "working" is the ability to entertain a crowd (this is why Hulk Hogan can never be called a bad worker - bad mat technician yes, but the man could work a crowd), this is meant for those who may not be over with Casual Joe, but Hardcore Henry says he's the greatest of all time. 1. Shawn Michaels 2. Undertaker 3. Triple H C. Entertainer Of The Year - while everyone is eligable of course, the idea here is that just because all their matches are about * or less, you find them to be a guilty pleasure or hilarious or what not. I already know who the winner is but we'll go through the motions. 1. Santino Marella (except for Spaceman Spiff). 2. Maryse 3. Kung Fu Naki D. Tag-Team Of The Year: 1. John Morrison & The Miz 2. ??? 3. ??? E. PPV Of The Year: 1. No Mercy 2. WrestleMania 3. Summerslam F. Match Of The Year: 1. Edge vs. Undertaker (WrestleMania) 2. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Unforgiven) 3. Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (No Mercy) G. Best Television Show Of The Year: 1. RAW H. Smart-Mark Out Moment Of The Year: 1. Ric Flair retirement ceremony on RAW I. DVD Of The Year (note: The SummerSlam Anthology is eligible for this): 1. The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment J. Feud Of The Year: 1. Edge vs. Undertaker K. Angle Of The Year: 1. Chris Jericho punches Shawn Michaels' wife L. Non-Match / Segment Of The Year: 1. Edge and Alicia Fox's sex tape M. Female Of The Year (either for wrestling ability or because you find them hot, I don't care): 1. Beth Phoenix 2. Maryse 3. Victoria N. Announcer / Colour Commentator Of The Year (one or the other): 1. Jim Ross WORST OF: A. Least Entertaining Wrestler (Don't use the "Best Of" classifications, this is for the person who you hate to see in the ring because you find no redeeming entertainment value with them - it probably goes without saying they can't wrestle): 1. Shelton Benjamin 2. Chavo Guerrero 3. Hurricane Helms B. Worst Interviews/Promos/Non-wrestling Segments: 1. Matt Hardy C. Worst Tag Team Of The Year: 1. Cryme Tyme D. Worst PPV Of The Year: 1. Survivor Series E. Worst Match Of The Year: 1. Triple H vs. Vladimir Kozlov (Survivor Series) F. Worst Television Show Of The Year: 1. ECW G. 2008's "Embarrassed to be a Wrestling Fan" Moment: 1. JBL drives a car into Cena's face, Cena escapes with minor scrapes H. Worst / Most Disappointing DVD Of The Year: 1. The Twisted Disturbed Life of Kane I. Worst Feud: 1. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio J. Worst Angle: 1. William Regal as GM ending matches K. Worst Announcer / Colour Commentator (one or the other): 1. Michael Cole L. Worst Non-Match/Segment Of The Year: 1. John Cena and Cryme Tyme vandalise JBL's limo M. Worst Female Of The Year 1. Michelle McCool

-Umaga will have a WWE Title run. -The Legacy will grow stronger and will eventually turn on Randy Orton, who becomes a babyface. Ted DiBiase, who conspired the plot, will become their new leader. -Triple H returns to RAW as a heel and forms an alliance with a newly heel Batista. The two will eventually feud with the uneasy alliance of John Cena and Randy Orton. Shawn Michaels will be torn between the two sides in a hot angle but will eventually emphatically remain a face. -A WrestleMania main event will be two superstars representing Shane and Stephanie McMahon wrestling for control of WWE. Whoever wins and takes control will be quickly disposed of by a returning babyface Vince. -Kane and Big Show reunite as a tag team. -Jeff Hardy will remain a main event player on Smackdown. -Chris Jericho returns to the midcard for the majority of the year. -Rey Mysterio gets a masked nemesis and will engage in a feud leading to a mask vs. mask match. -Million Dollar Mania will take place again when RAW’s ratings begin to dwindle. -Sting retires from TNA in grand fashion, with his farewell ceremony including video messages from Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. -MVP’s burial will cease but he will still remain a midcarder by the end of 2009. -Shawn Michaels and Undertaker will not retire in 2009. However, both will take lengthy sabbaticals. JBL will retire again in 2009 and will become the third man on the RAW announce team. -WWE and Great Khali part ways, causing Mark Henry to be turned into a comedy babyface and feature in skits with Mae Young playing off their past romance. -Notable releases will include The Boogeyman, Mike Knox, Hurricane Helms and William Regal (third strike). Michelle McCool will be noticeably depushed as her relationship with Undertaker behind the scenes ends. Vickie Guerrero will also cease to be an on-air character. -Big Daddy V is rehired and works a feud with Undertaker. -Christian is drafted to ECW and he and Matt Hardy engage in a very lengthy singles feud.

That Kane/Big Show tag title reign was a lot of fun actually. They were actually booked quite effectively as monsters and had some cool moments, like walking ominously through the crowd toward the ring on Smackdown to beat down Batista, screwing HHH out of an Elimination Chamber slot, and of course Big Show trying to break down a door thinking Kane is trapped only for Kane to just casually walk up behind Show. I wouldn't mind a reunion of sorts at some point since they both seem to float around without a lot to do normally.

I'm inclined to go with the main theory over at F4W, where Triple H goes tweener or heel and challenges Jeff for the belt at Mania with a 'You're not the real champion until you beat me for it' type deal. Could be good, but its not exactly fresh.

I like this idea in theory. However, its been rumored that HBK wants the big Flair sendoff for his retirement, and a respect match with HHH fits that better than losing to a heel up-and-comer. HBK pinning Flair in his final match this year didn't do a thing for HBK, but the whole deal was so awesome that no one really complained about it.