Austin3164life

Cena has a great ability to sell (bonus: his facial expressions), and the Reebok-pump-up on the top rope was gold. He's getting mid-97 Austinesque pops.

I hate Billy Gunn's "Fameasser". A DDT using the legs. Lame.

Double-edged sword here. Smackdown loses one of its gems, probably for some curtain-jerk fodder, yet Raw gains an awesome worker. They're really desperate to NOT have Benoit hold the *true* World Title. I still think the best Main Event would be Benoit vs. Brock. And, if this is true, I won't get to see a Benoit title defense against Cena (would be a great feud, if booked right, and as long as Benoit retained, the first time).

I think it all comes down to Raw not having a star that fans can connect to, like RRR said on the previous page. It's the fact that all the storylines leading into the show had more holes than swiss cheese, thus fans were left confused and/or uninterested. My theory is that the product sucks because the front office, the workers, and the booking team all are depending on that one bolt of lighting to catch (ex. Rise of Hogan, Austin, etc.). They're using excuses (Iraq war, "cyclical" business) as a means of getting through the down times. I can understand that kind of philosophy in 1995-96, however when you have a roster as deep as the one WWE has today, it shows that they simply aren't trying.

I find it funny that the WWE placed pretty high in both "best" and "worst" categories.

That card doesn't look like "OMG IT'S WM XX LOOK AT THESE MATCHES~!" material. The only match from that list that I would like to see is Eddy/Angle. I still think Brock should headline with Benoit (keep building to the feud), and I DON'T want to see Austin wrestle McMahon, of all guys, if he decides to do one more match. It sounds like they hyped themselves into a corner and don't know how to deliver.

It's too bad "The Rundown" didn't do so hot in the theaters. I saw it the weekend of its inception and I was pleased with the film. The Rock's performance was fun to watch, and the only downside, like someone said, was Sean W. Scott's horrible comedy. Rundown is far superior to Scorpion King, I feel. I doubt Rocky's movie drawing potential is in the shits.

32: Austin bleeding profusely with Bret applying what was probably built up as the most devastating hold at that time, and Austin refusing to give in, making him immortal and a mega-star. 15: WWF's biggest icon is defeated by the "next big thing" and both embrace to showcase what the WWF was about in that era; sportsmanship (chuckles).

I wonder if the WWE will ever learn how to properly use a guy like Kurt Angle and Eddy Guerrero.

I haven't been watching in a long time, but I'm thinking Chris Benoit is going to be the work-horse that he usually is, and Kane is probably going to clean house.

To add two more matches, in which barely any of us (even myself) were expecting anything good: Austin/Rock III-- The best match at WM 19 because it was booked very well. Angle/Cena (NM)-- The horrible buildup aside, both guys really put on a nice match, with no blown spots, a fluid pace, a HOT crowd, and an understandable finish.

If it means that Rock and Foley don't take up time for singles, and neither do Orton and Batista, they can "kill four birds with one stone". Orton and Batista can get over without having their own matches, and Rock and Foley can have their moment.

It would be nice to see Bret give some kind of farewell speech, or to have the announcer (most definitely Finkle) announce his name and to have Bret stand up in the front row and wave (like Monsoon did in 99). Just a small tidbit to honor one of the WWE's most important wrestler's of the past 15 years.

TSM would have a field day with this topic if you replaced Heyman's name with "Triple H".

The split still hasn't realized its full potential due to horrific booking decisions made by Vince & Co. The plus is that each show has its own identity in a way. Raw is viewed as the live show with more entertainment and more "star power". Smackdown is seen as the "Sport" side of the WWE, with a bit less "star power" but better athletes. If the Raw crew realized that stories can be told just as well, if not better, in the ring than in a pointless mic/promo segment, then they'd improve their match quality. If Smackdown stops trying to garner the shitty storyline aspect of the WWE (with pointless, and way too many, backstage segments and in-ring promos) then they'll realize that stories basically write themselves if you let the athletes do what they do best; put on great matches(the good ones at least). Letting Brock and Benoit call their match on the spot at least 60% of the match (with the major spots and finish being practiced) is a good thing. Trying that formula with Randy Orton and Maven is not. If they let the workers do their job the way they want to (without letting them run the show completely) then the workers will feel happier and will show a bit more passion during promos (thus increasing their value).

The only problem is Brock's trepedation about submissions. Fix that by showing him train like a madman to try and figure out how to avoid it. He'll become more confident, in which he can become even more arrogant knowing that he can counter someone like Benoit or Angle when they're getting ready to apply their submission on him. It builds itself because then someone who is innovative can find a way to beat Brock, and it will mean something. Villains are supposed to be a bit more cunning and clever than the heroes (who are supposed to be more determined and headstrong). This is one reason why a Benoit/Brock feud would work perfectly. Let's say they go with it, and Brock eventually taps to Benoit to give Benoit his much deserved, and true, World Title victory. Benoit has his veteran run with the belt, but in the meantime Brock becomes knowledgable about submissions, and learns how to counter the Crossface into his main submission (Brock-Lock?). In the eventual rematch, Brock wins the WWE World Title back clean, upstaging Benoit by using technical expertise (the likes that Benoit used when he was younger). Then Brock will most definitely be seen as THE guy to beat, whoever the opponent is (and a far better champ than HHH).

Are there enough Cruiserweights to actually constitute a regular show that is child-friendly? I can think of Rey, Ultimo, Tajiri, Funaki, Knoble, Chavo (somewhat), Spanky, Paul London, Gowen (if he even counts), and that's it.

Cena is the perfect person for the U.S. Title right now. He's Smackdown's hottest rising star, and when you are a rising star, you grab the gold that's near you first, before you reach the top. It's why I don't support a John Cena world reign within the next 6-8 months. Let him have a 4-5 month reign with the U.S. Title, build a mid-carder who's a bit credible (i.e. Chavo), have him beat Cena for the belt, and then build Cena up to whoever is Champion by that time. But unless Brock keeps the World strap past WM XX, who will be Champ?

Vince McMahon dancing with The Cat isn't bound to save pro-wrestling. Notice how Vince comes back after four weeks, and the ratings sink.

I think Vince might play his "feud subject to change" card if he gets cold feet with Benoit. If Brock/Benoit actually happens at the Rumble, that's great though, and I wouldn't mind a bit. I still can't see it happening....yet.

Matt/Rey: A fun little match to watch, but yet again, it was a fun little match. Not enough time. ATrain/Big Show vs Undertaker: A decent hoss fest. Nothing more, nothing less. Victoria/Trish/Jazz: Didn't care to pay attention. Haas/Benjamin vs Benoit/Rhyno vs Los Guerreros: It would've been done much better, had it been at least 5-7 minutes longer. Lacked the time to tell a deeper story. HBK/Jericho: A controversial one. I loved this match when I first saw it. However, I realized that when you first see it, it's a match that makes you cheer. Since I've watched it 2-3 times after that, I realized that it's an excellent match for the first 8-10 minutes, but right when Michaels no-sells all the back-work that Jericho does, it really devalues the match quite a bit, but not THAT much. Still a great effort. HHH/Booker: Better than expected. Wasn't a classic by any means, but I liked Booker's selling of the leg, even after the Harlem Hangover (in which he should've won after that spot). Triple H puts on some work-boots as well. It was a pretty decent match. McMahon/Hogan: It was funny to watch, but too long and thus the joke got stale. Shave off 10 minutes and it would've been fine. Rock/Austin: This match doesn't touch their 17 bout, but is far ahead of their 15 bout. It kind of blends both matches to make a good match. Told an excellent story for what it was, two guys who hate each other and want to prove something. Both participants tried hard. Angle/Lesnar: A very good match that ranks up there as one of the best 'Mania main events. The only thing that ever really made me uneasy was the spotty selling and the botched SSP.

Looks like a very uneventful and unspectacular show. Looks like my television is gathering more dust Thursday night.....

I don't see why A-Train should be anywhere near the World title picture, or Benoit and Brock's feud.

HHH overshadowed Austin in 2001, after he sent Rock away for the summer. HHH overshadowed Jericho in 2002, after his long program with Rock culminated with a win at the Rumble. HHH overshadowed Goldberg in 2003, after he sent Rock away for the summer. Which is why I think The Rock prefers Hollywood over the WWE. In Hollywood, he makes twice the money and he doesn't really have to worry about politicking. In the WWE, he realizes that Vince/Triple H sometimes use Rock's stardom to feed Triple H any credible opponent that The Rock basically sets up. I think a Rock/Cena program would be great, but maybe for WM XXI, or Summerslam 2004.

"Why wouldn't The Rock want to give Cena the rub?" Rock jobs/gives rub to Jericho (3x) ---> Jericho being Triple H's bitch and jobbed outin early 2002 (while he was the UNIFIED CHAMPION)