Austin3164life

A lot of people think the greatest workers of all time came after 1998. Which is why guys like Sammartino, Rodgers, Morales, etc. are ignored.

Well, I'll most likely head to the local bar or Hooter's, which is what I usually do for pay-per-views.

I also feel Kurt Angle is largely overrated as well. A lot of the 'net sites call him the best wrestler on the planet. While he had the potential (before his neck injuries), I think he still has things to work on (especially his psychology and selling).

I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but however, WAY too many people add WAY too much to his "legacy".

I was definitely looking forward to the possibilities of Brock/Benoit, but now that's been botched. Triple H/Shawn/Benoit will be a clique lovefest with Benoit playing second fiddle, Brock/Goldberg could be cool just to see Brock kick his ass (the F-5 at RR was sweet), Kane/Undertaker contains markout value for the marks, Cena probably cannot carry show to a good match but if booked well (and to each's strengths, it could be decent), Foley/Orton could be a surprise, but who knows.

I'm wondering how the three-way will turn out. Will they give it the proper time (this and the Title match should get at least 20-25 minutes each).

They're really going out of their way to NOT put Chris Benoit over at the very least. The Clique apologists are going to justify it by claiming that the ladder symbolizes Benoit's "climb to the top". And about Shawn Michaels, he was once a good wrestler who put on a string of good matches, but he is vastly overrated, especially by the WWE as being "One of the greatest wrestler's ever".

The last decisive feud with a clear winner was Angle/Cena. Cena came out and showed him complete lack of respect, followed by a series of horrible parody scenes with the mini-Angle and "thugged out" Angle. However, it should be noted that Angle beat Cena by submission clean, and they haven't rekindled the feud since.

Was the Eddy/Brock promo as good as people say it is? I didn't catch Smackdown regrettably.

I'm seeing............I'm seeing.........the ending to their match at Wrestlemania XX, with Shawn Michaels bloody on the outside somewhere.

Not sure about the Foley/Orton situation. It would be better and make sense if it were a one-on-one contest. It all depends on if the Rock makes his return or not. I'm just saying that the Royal Rumble looked great on paper, and the shower was slightly above mediocre (Sure, Benoit won, but the show itself wasn't great). Brock/Goldberg and Kane/Undertaker are the only feuds that are getting a good amount of buildup. The rest are either confusing (HHH/Benoit/HBK) or just aren't really getting good buildup at all (Cena/Big Show).

Not only the storyline though. I hate to sound like the typical cynical smark, but I feel that if Benoit does get screwed out of his World Title reign, then the clique is in full force again (as if it never was).

Vince- "Even though your major runs as Champ has produced so-so ratings, Shawn, I'm giving you another slot in our BIGGEST SHOW EVER~! I mean, God, you're our greatest cruiserweight of all time buddy!" Shawn- "Gee thanks Vince, now, how is it that I pin Benoit?" Vince-"Oh well, uh, have Benoit hit his Dynamite-wannabe headbut thingy, and then you'll just kip-up, 'cause that really doesn't hurt. Then you'll superkick Triple H, he'll kick out, get the ol' reliable sledgehammer, nail you and Benoit, and pin Benoit with it! Win-win situation, eh?" Shawn-"God is good" Triple H-"Thanksuhh, Shawn. I knowuhh"

You also have to be a good wrestler to be able to work a methodical pace in a match, and still make it good.

But come on RRR, seriously. Shawn Michaels DESERVES his 3216581915th try at the World Title, even though he had his chance at the same pay per view where Benoit won the Battle Royal. I mean, Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest performers ever~! in a WWE ring and it would be fitting to add to his illustrious career.

The WWE do has a knack for focusing on the wrong strengths of one of their talents. I see what you mean about Tazz. Lately, all he and Cole do is argue. I was just watching Cena/Benoit from 12/4/03 (night of Brock/Benoit) and there was excellent commentary from both guys. Now, all they do is argue. Kind of like Cena's raps as a face. When he was a heel, he'd tear into the face and look better than the face. Now, he's getting repetitive, and that is not a good thing when you are just starting to become the next big star. He still has the charisma, but should stop focusing on "who's gay". Tazz should go back to his usual analytical form.

In all fairness though, Tazz is a great analyst and offers a former wrestler's insight to matches, and he has vastly improved in the past 6-7 months or so.

We both must be crazy, because I also would've loved a Brock/Benoit match for the World Title, because I believe Benoit clearly wanted tthat one. It would've been much more gratifying to overcome Heyman's political BS and capture the real World Title, rather than nonsensically jumping to Raw, and going into a match with HBK as the Wild-Card participant.

Jericho vs. Christian? Seriously, this card doesn't seem like it could possibly live up to the HYPE OF DOOM~! it's been getting since last year.

The two main reasons Austin came back to wrestling early last year were because he just had a divorce, and probably needed to make more cash because a divorce drains you. The other reason is because he wanted to leave his career on a high note, and it would've been perfect had Austin left immediately following the Raw speech after WM XIX. I'll even go further and say that I have not liked Austin's current character since the summer time, and I believe he should retire after 'Mania XX (final match or not, doubt he can work another match). My point is, a lot of people are shitting on Austin for entertaining the majority of the fans, because let's face it; there's no way people are just going to forget him. He's still one of the main draws in the company. Like Ray said, it's not like the WWE is going to pool their creative resources and push for guys like Richards, Christian, or some other mid-carder to become the next big star. Austin made Kane look like a monster, which helped in his summer run, but of course Kane was subsequently killed by Shane McMahon (who else). As of late, his character has not been too offensive. We saw a pointless Bischoff/Heyman promo at the Rumble, and all Austin did was get them out to let the fans watch the match. Should he have let them both gang up on him, because HEAVEN FORBID they don't look good.

Ratings make a huge difference in the progress of the promotion though. Low ratings mean that they don't hype anything about the show, and there's nothing going on that's "important". More ratings leads to more merchandise sales, which leads to more investor confidence, which leads to more endorsements, which leads to profit.

Eh, Rock should just make up his mind about what he wants to do. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing him back full-time, but if he decides he wants to fully pursue a movie career, more power to him. It'll be a bit weird not seeing him at WM XX, assuming he does not show up.

I'm assuming they want to get the ppv over with quickly, so there's more time to build to 'Mania XX.

I agree with Choken that Cena's theme music is good for what it is. When Cena was talking about the battle raps he was participating in, I believe he was taking about when he first started out (late HS, early college). I believe he said he used those "losses" as a stepping stone to work on his skills. I'm not saying he's an excellent rapper, but he does have a lot of charisma and, like Choken said again, if he can get a good beat, and perhaps a good mentor, he can become a solid rapper. However, I'm looking for him to focus more on his in-ring skills rather. He's solid for his age, but he needs to desperately work on his pacing and psychology. He's got the selling down and he barely, if ever, blows spots or is lost. Get rid of the restholds, and he'd become very good.

Yeah, true. I'd rather that time be devoted to another match (like Angle/Eddy or a lower-card match). I agree that having a high-profile rapper on commentary would be good enough. Question is, after Big Show, who does Cena move on to? Rhyno?