Kurt Angle Mark

Agreed However the play-in game should be between at-large teams. Winner gets a #12 seed since that is usually the lowest an at-large team gets anyway.

From igncube.com Say goodbye to WrestleMania and hello to WWE: Day of Reckoning. Publisher THQ and developer Yuke's have abandoned the old brand in favor of delivering GameCube owners an all-new take on the entertainment-sport of professional wrestling. Of course, this new endeavor, scheduled to ship exclusively for Nintendo's console this September, will still jump headfirst into the universe of the WWE, and will naturally feature both classic and new star power to play as and go up against. But you don't become a superstar in a single day and in Day of Reckoning you'll start from the very bottom. That's right. Welcome to the "minor leagues" of wrestling. This is where you'll begin your climb from zero to hero. You'll have to build your potential superstar from scratch. Luckily, the game incorporates a detailed and flexible create-a-superstar feature with a wide variety of customization options. Configure face types, hair types, body frame, clothing, accessories, tattoos and more and then give your wrestler an audience-grabbing name and a full set of moves. He's ready to go. Now it's time to pay your dues. Forget about going up against any wrestling legend just yet. First, it's amateur night. You'll fight every rookie jobber and wannabe out there, make a name for yourself and eventually advance to the next round, the big time -- where matches are filmed and aired on television by the WWE itself. If by some chance you manage to brawl your way to the very top and take hold of the Championship Belt, which is no easy task, you'll need to defend it again and again, so don't get too comfortable. WWE: Day of Reckoning revolves around a deeper, more balanced storyline than any of Yuke's previous GameCube outings. This has been one of the areas the Japan-based development studio went back and concentrated on. As such, you can expect surprising plot developments that lead right into electrified matches. You will make your way up in the world, from WWE Velocity & Heat to the real glitz and glamour of the big-time events. And you'll do it one match at a time, battling 40 of the WWE's top wrestlers in addition to a handful of thugs and no-talents. THQ is still mum on all of the wrestlers in the game -- the full roster should be available in a few days -- but we do know that pros John Cena, Randy Orton, Chris Benoit and Triple H will all be fully playable. Expect most of the hard hitters to be featured in the title, including a wide assortment of WWE Legends. Girls, Girls, Girls By now you've seen the screenshots in this preview and you know that Day of Reckoning proudly boasts a full selection of female superstars. The game sports a full-blown Bra & Panties mode -- a first on a Nintendo console. Here you can choose your favorite fighting diva and go toe-to-toe -- or breast-to-breast, as it were -- in a bitter cat-fight complete with spandex shirts and shorts that can be snapped right off of the loser. Grapple This The good news is that the control mechanics from previous WWE titles have not been dramatically changed. Yuke's has instead made improvements to the tried-and-true setup, developing a deeper and more dynamic grappling system than ever before, according to THQ. Strong and weak grapples are back, but the game also features an all-new submission system as well as realistic reversals and superstar finishers. In addition, Day of Reckoning utilizes a system by which you can target an opponent's specific body parts -- arms, legs, chest -- and wear him or her down by concentrating on those areas. On top of everything else, there's a new "superstar momentum shift" in which you can turn the tables on your opponent even after they have given you a good beat down and still come back to win the match. Technology WWE: Day of Reckoning is sure to be the prettiest wrestling entry for Nintendo's system yet. The shines with higher polygon models, significantly improved textures and real-time lighting and pyrotechnic effects. Collision detection issues in previous games have been addressed so that this time around wrestlers really look as if they are grabbing onto and fighting with one another. There are new cinematic camera angles that shoot the action as if it were being presented for television viewers. And there are subtle extras, like the new spandex cloth that the divas wear, which realistically stretches and slinks back into form. Here are some pics from the game.

Mike Johnson attended the WWE Wrestlemania XX press conference this afternoon at Planet Hollywood in New York City, and called in the following notes: The big story was the fans in attendance, with three interesting moments created by them. First, when Vince McMahon began talking about the brand extension, the fans booed him. The second incident was when Paul Heyman came out, and a loud 'ECW' chant began. In fact, it was so loud that the proceedings virtually stopped. Triple H made a comment saying "This is Wrestlemania, not a bingo parlor", while Heyman grinned. Heyman later told Triple H that he grew up in New York watching the greats defend what is now the WWE Title at Madison Square Garden, not the title belt that Triple H holds now. The third incident was when Brock Lesnar came out, with the fans chanting and yelling at Brock about why he is leaving the company. No mention was made of it by Brock, Vince, or anyone else on the panel, but Brock was glaring at the portions of the crowd where the chants and yells were coming from. Here's a recap of the conference: - The press conference mostly consisted of the wrestlers cutting promos at the podium, followed by a very brief question and answer session. - The press conference was hosted by Jonathan Coachman, with Paul Heyman introducing the Smackdown matches, Eric Bischoff introducing the Raw matches, and Vince McMahon introducing the "inter-brand" matches. - Shawn Michaels remarked that he would be the "showstopper" again this year, Chris Benoit noted that he had worked his whole career for this match, and Triple H stated that he would retain his title. - Kane, dressed in streetclothes and sunglasses, said that he "buried his brother before" and that he would do it again at Wrestlemania. His match with the Undertaker was announced by Vince McMahon as an "inter-brand" match, so it would appear Undertaker is staying with Smackdown and Kane is staying with Raw. - Eddie Guerrero spoke of his love of the business, while Kurt Angle stated that he hasn't been this excited for a match since the Olympics. - John Cena did a rap about how he is going to be the "new Repo Man", because he planned on stealing the show. Big Show cut a promo about retaining the U.S. Title. - The Divas appeared, but said nothing of worth. - Brock Lesnar commented that he was 'next', and would destroy Goldberg. Goldberg said that Wrestlemania would be the pinnacle of his career. Steve Austin said if the two got out of line Sunday, it wouldn't be a one-on-one match, but rather he would take both men down. - Only three questions were taken before the wrestlers were split off for individual interviews. McMahon was asked who would be singing 'America The Beautiful' on Sunday, and Vince revealed that it would be the Harlem Boys Choir. Vince was asked if he expected Wrestlemania to become as big an event as it has, and Vince said yes, pointing out that wrestling needed a 'Superbowl' or 'World Series' type of event to give every year a beginning and an end. When asked if any former wrestlers would be appearing on the show, Vince gave the usual "You never know what will happen" response, but did mention that the Hall of Fame inductees from Saturday would be part of the show.

By Dave Scherer The latest on Edge is that it appears that Raw has won out and will get him as a top babyface when he returns to action after WrestleMania. The Smackdown brand had been fighting for him, but as of right now, it appears that Raw will end up with his talents. Edge, who is coming back from neck surgery and a foot injury, is scheduled to be back in action for WWE by April. With Brock Lesnar leaving after WrestleMania, and the loss of Edge, many on the Smackdown roster are starting to feel as if the company views them as the second class promotion in the company. They also point to the fact that their show, which was named for the Rock, has lost him to Raw as well.

Fox Sports News has picked up the story "WWE superstar Brock Lesnar could be leaving the world of professional wrestling to pursue a career in the NFL. If a report on PWInsider.com is accurate, Lesnar, 26, announced Tuesday night that he was leaving the WWE after this Sunday's Wrestlemania XX in Madison Square Garden. Lesnar, who at 6 foot 4, 295 pounds certainly has a body for the NFL, was an NCAA champion wrestler at the University of Minnesota. An Associated Press report in September 2002 said Lesnar turned down tryout offers from the Tampa Bay Bucs and Washington Redskins, opting instead to sign a developmental contract with the WWE. He joined the company shortly after graduating in 2000 and made his debut just after WrestleMania XVIII in 2002. Coincidentally, Lesnar's match at this year's Wrestlemania is against Goldberg, who played for the Atlanta Falcons briefly and is also expected to leave the company after the match. The trend of football players entering the professional wrestling world is nothing new. Steve McMichael was a Bears' lineman. The late Brian Pillman once played for the Bengals. Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, was a star at the University of Miami before a back injury cost him a shot at the NFL. Johnson and Goldberg even became bona fide stars in their new professions (Johnson having since made another transition into legitimate Hollywod action hero). That's not even including gridiron greats like Lawrence Taylor and Kevin Greene, who made special appearances in the ring. And these guys did it with no actual wrestling experience, although Johnson's father and grandfather were early WWF legends. But the reverse -- a wrestler becoming a pro football player despite no experience -- is unheard of. The football players that have made the transition have two of the basic qualities necessary for a wrestling career: impressive physiques and a high threshold for pain. Those same qualities aren't nearly enough to make the cut in the NFL. So what makes Lesnar think he can be the first? Maybe it's the time he spent working out with veteran NFL guard Corbin Lacina in the 2003 off-season. If the report is accurate, then someone is obviously telling Lesnar he has a shot (and remember, this could be the WWE putting one over on all of us before their marquee event.) Maybe he figures someone will give him the chance to learn on the job. After all, that's what he's done with the WWE and he went straight to the top there. Which brings up one more question: Why would he want to leave the company that seems intent on making him a star? According to the original reports, Lesnar has grown tired of the demanding schedule. There's no off-season in the WWE, the only way to get an extended break is to get badly injured or to become a celebrity in another field a la The Rock."

More from Meltzer

By Dave Meltzer Brock Lesnar quit the WWE last night at the TV tapings in Atlantic City. Lesnar, 26, will face Bill Goldberg at Wrestlemania in what will be his final match unless he changes his mind in the next few days. We'll have more on this later today.

WOW my three favorite WM matches didn't make the list 1. Owen vs. Bret 2. Rock vs. Austin 3. Warrior vs. Savage

WWE RAW did a 3.8 rating with a 5.9 share this week. That is the same rating as last week. The show did hours of 3.6 and 4.0. WWE has to be very disappointed that the final RAW heading into WrestleMania did not see a boost in ratings. - Velocity did a 0.7; Confidential did a 0.6; Heat did a 1.2. Credit: PWInsider.com I can't wait for Smackdown's rating this week because history has shown that during this week the show gets one of the lowest (If not the lowest) non-holiday rating of the year, thank to all the conference tournaments going on in college basketball. I want see how people react to that if it happens again this year.

By Mike Johnson - A video on Steve Austin and his missing ATV was shown. - John Cena came to the ring and cut a rap on the Big Show - John Cena defeated Rhyno with the FU in a squash. - Many Smackdown wrestlers were entering a room, with Dawn Marie saying that General Manager Paul Heyman was calling a "Smackdown talent meeting" tonight. - Paul Heyman held a "talent meeting" with the entire Smackdown roster backstage. He told the wrestlers that, while they may not like him, they are part of the Smackdown brand, and that the Smackdown brand puts food on their tables and pays for their children to go to college. Heyman said that "their Brock Lesnar" was going to confront Steve Austin tonight, and that the whole Smackdown roster should protect Lesnar, since they are all part of Smackdown. - Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble, with Chavo Guerrero Jr. on commentary, went for about five minutes, when Yoshihiro Tajiri, Akio & Sakoda ran in and interfered. Ultimo Dragon, Billy Kidman and Sho Funaki made the save, and the match was changed into an eight-man tag match. - Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon, Billy Kidman & Sho Funaki defeated Jamie Noble, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Akio & Sakoda. Chavo Jr. interfered, holding Rey for Noble, but Rey moved, and Noble hit Chavo. Rey then rolled up Noble for the win. Shannon Moore came out and attacked Rey Mysterio, and Nunzio came out and attacked Chavo Jr. and soon all the Cruiserweights were going at it in a huge brawl. - Backstage, Paul Heyman was telling the FBI that tonight they had "Smackdown's back" to cover. Heyman was radioed that Austin had been located in the building. - Eddie Guerrero came out and cut a promo about how Kurt Angle keeps saying he doesn't deserve to be the WWE Champion. Eddie said that he thinks Kurt Angle "talks the talk" but can't "walk the walk". Eddie said that after Wrestlemania, he will still be WWE Champion, and he will "lie, cheat and steal" more than ever. - Eddie Guerrero defeated Shelton Benjamin. The referee tossed out Charlie Haas early in the match, but later in the bout, the referee was bumped to the floor, and Haas reentered through the crowd. Haas tossed Benjamin the title belt, but Eddie dropkicked it into Benjamin. Eddie then hit Haas with the belt, then laid down in the ring, so the referee (who was starting to get back into the ring) wouldn't know who had used the belt. Eddie got up and hit Benjamin with the frog splash for the win. - Kurt Angle appeared in the aisle and just stared at Guerrero. Angle made a motion with his hands around his waist, insinuating that he would get the belt at Wrestlemania, and continued to stare at Guerrero. Angle's music played, and Kurt walked to the back, leaving Guerrero with a concerned look on his face. - Paul Heyman ran into Orlando Jordan backstage, and asked if he was going to help protect Smackdown tonight from Steve Austin. Jordan said he would, but also said that he respects Steve Austin. Heyman, not happy with what he said, told Jordan he needed to decide if he respects Austin or disrespects his job at Smackdown. - The Big Show defeated John Walters & Arch Kincaid in a handicap match when Show pinned Walters with a chokeslam. Post-match, John Cena ran out and engaged in a brief brawl with Big Show. - Paul Heyman saw that the APA was guarding a door to the building, and went over and thanked them for supporting Smackdown. He began kissing up to them, saying he got them a tag title match at Wrestlemania because if they win the belts, it will be "good for Smackdown". The APA weren't buying Heyman's kissing up, but told him that he should not question their loyalty to Smackdown. - WWE Tag Team Champions Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty defeated The Bashams in a non-title match. - The Steve Austin-Bill Goldberg-Brock Lesnar video package from Raw was shown. - We saw that Steve Austin's truck, which had been in front of the building earlier, was now gone. - Paul Heyman came to the ring, with the Smackdown roster lining the aisle. He brought out Brock Lesnar, who rode to the ring on Austin's ATV. Brock challenged Austin to come to the ring, but there was no response. Austin finally did come out, and the Smackdown roster let him walk to the ring unabated. The roster went to the locker room, leaving Lesnar and Heyman in the ring alone. Austin got on his ATV and started to leave, but stopped it in the middle of the aisle and went back to the ring. Brock and Austin started brawling on the floor, and Austin rammed Brock into the ringpost, busting him open. Back in the ring, Austin gave Heyman a stunner, and Brock grabbed Austin for an F5. Austin escaped the move, and went for a stunner, but Lesnar pushed out of it and escaped to the floor. The show ended with Lesnar, bleeding, on the floor staring at Austin, who was standing in the ring. After the broadcast ended, Austin drove his ATV to the back, and loaded it into the back of his truck, then had the usual beer celebration.

Well according to this press release there isn't a single sponsor "Local tactics in major markets put the WrestleMania XX brand on outdoor billboards, taxi tops, bus shelters, trash receptacles, graffiti murals, wild postings, lobby kiosks in Loews and Magic Johnson theaters, and even on pizza boxes delivered to homes. Street teams will distribute one million Wrestlemania XX tattoos and stage stunts in New York and Los Angeles. WWE will take over Times Square in March with a special WrestleMania Hall of Fame display at Toys'R'Us"

Ordering it. Thankfully I saved 70 bucks because as Comcast rewired the neighborhood to replace our cable with digital cable. We couldn't order Royal Rumble and No Way Out.

Update from Meltzer

So does this mean that the Goldberg/Lesnar is going to have the same finish as the UT/Kane match at JD 98? The one where Austin was the ref and after UT hit Kane with the chair , Austin stunned UT and counted both men out. I could see Lesnar F-5ing Goldberg, then Austin stuns Brock counts both men out and declares himself the winner.

1. World Title (Raw) Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. HHH © Winner: Benoit 2. WWE Title (Smackdown) Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero © Winner: Angle. I will go against the odds, because if you go by the storyline then Angle HAS to win. He is the one being built up. I say Angle "cheats" to win, Rematch at JD in Los Angeles. 3. Handicap Match : Mick Foley/Rock vs. Ric Flair/Batista/Randy Orton Winner: Rock n' Sock 4. Kane vs. Undertaker Winner: Taker 5. Fatal Four way for the WWE tag titles (Smackdown) – APA vs. WGTT (Haas/Benjamin) vs. Basham Brothers vs. Rikishi/Scotty 2 Hotty © Winners: TWGTT 6. Fatal Four was for the World Tag Titles (Raw) – Dudleys vs. Lance Cade/Mark Jindrak vs. La Resitance vs. Rob Van Dam/Booker T © Winners: Cade and Jindrak 7. Hair vs. Title – Molly Holly vs. Victoria © Winner: Molly 8. Cruiserweight Open – Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon, Tajiri, Jamie Knoble, Sho Funaki, Nunzio, Shannon Moore, Akio, and Chavo Guerrero © Winner: Chavo 9. Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar Winner: Lesnar 10. Playboy Evening Gown Match - Sable/Torrie vs. Miss Jackie/Stacy Winner: Sable & Torrie 11. US Championship – John Cena vs. Big Show © Winner: Cena 12. Christian vs. Chris Jericho Winner: Jericho

The other two matches were Andre vs Hogan and strangely enough the Wrestlemania 4 Battle Royal

Add the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics to that list and you have the only teams that have won a championship since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came into the league in 79-80.

The WWE Cruiserweight Open match at Wrestlemania will feature ten participants. - Chavo Guerrero Jr. (defending the Cruiserweight Title in this match) - Rey Mysterio - Billy Kidman - Ultimo Dragon - Sho Funaki - Nunzio - Yoshihiro Tajiri - Jamie Noble - Shannon Moore - Akio

Tons of WWE media appearances leading up to Wrestlemania: Big Show is scheduled on Conan on 3/12 HHH appears on Regis on 3/10 Rock will be on Jay Leno on 3/11 Chris Jericho will be on Cold Pizza on 3/8 Trish Stratus will be on Cold Pizza on 3/9 Ric Flair will be on Cold Pizza on 3/10 Shawn Michaels will be on Fox & Friends on 3/10 APA will be on Cold Pizza on 3/11 Kurt Angle will be on Cold Pizza on 3/12 Victoria & Angle will be interviewed for Fox news on 3/12 Vince & Linda McMahon will be on CNBC's Squawk Box on 3/12 HHH & Flair will be on The Today show weekend edition on 3/13 The Mad TV episode with Eddy Guerrero, Show, Jericho and Stratus airs 3/13 Jericho, Matt Hardy, Bubba Ray Dudley, Lita and Stacy Keibler will be on MTV's Headbanger's Ball on 3/13 credit: Dave Meltzer

I doubt it If the don't have time to edit Jackie's nipple slip, I doubt they would do anything to sweeten the crowd.

1) Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly 2) Danny Basham vs. Scotty 3) Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki 4) Tajiri/Sakoda/Akio vs. Rey/Billy Kidman/Ultimo Dragon 5) John Cena vs. A-Train 6) Paul Heyman vs. Eddie Guerrero

No surprise Dudley Boyz won so they are in the tag title match

Correction on the Rock and his tattoos from Meltzer "For those who got today's Observer, we've got an update on Rock and the tattoos. The Samoa Observer (real name of a newspaper) was only partially correct. Rock did get some new work done about ten days back to his upper body, but it's not the full blown Peter Maivia body work. There are no plans for that."

MLB - Los Angeles Dodgers NBA - L.A Clippers, I also root for Spurs and Pacers because of Duncan and Reggie NHL - Anaheim Mighty Ducks, but I don't really follow the sport NFL - Atlanta Falcons, Vick has been my hero since the BCS Championship game vs FSU NCAA - UCLA Bruins

by Dave Scherer @ 2:20:11 PM on 2/26/2004 As I talked about on my hotline earlier this week, there is a battle being waged backstage in WWE over who will get the rights to Edge when he comes back from his neck surgery. He’s about a month away from his return and is currently getting back into ring shape down at OVW. As I talked about on my hotline, in much more detail, the two brands are making their pitch for his services and it should be decided soon where he will end up going. To me, the big question in all of this is if he were to go to Raw, how long can that brand keep taking people away from Smackdown without giving anyone back? If they get Edge, someone from the Raw roster will have to move to Smackdown or the balance of talent between the brands will get too out of whack. Thus far in 2004, Smackdown has been played as the company’s number two brand in the eyes of the fans. It was a shot to the group when they booked Chris Benoit to win the Royal Rumble and then decide that he didn’t even want a shot at his own brand’s title. What kind of message does that send? That Smackdown isn’t where it’s at, that’s what. They haven’t made it clear if Benoit will go back to Smackdown in the future, but with him in the title picture at Raw through April, with his match against Triple H at Backlash, it certainly doesn’t appear that he is headed back to UPN any time soon. So in essence, Smackdown lost a top talent and got nothing back in return. In addition to that, they had Brock Lesnar lose his title to Eddie Guerrero and yet it was more important for him to fight a Raw wrestler in Goldberg than it was for him to get a rematch at the brand’s title. Then there was the Undertaker, who ran roughshod over the Smackdown brand but was “buried alive” by a Raw wrestler in Kane. The message WWE is sending is clear, that Raw matters more than Smackdown. And now, Raw wants to stick their hands in the cookie jar again. It’s time that, if the company won’t slam the lid they need to at least balance out the raids a bit. The fact of the matter is, WWE management has always looked at Raw as their top show. Smackdown has always been seen as the 1A. Vince McMahon has an affinity for Raw since it helped turn his company around, a few times. He feels that is where the company needs to set the direction and the pace for their product. While things are different now then they were on the 1990s, when the show’s impact was a focal point in the Monday Night Wars, Raw still has the “favorite child” status up in Stamford. That’s all well and good, but when WWE continually takes from one brand and doesn’t give anything back to the other, they are creating an inequity in their brands that they just can’t continue doing. As Edge prepares for his return, there is a lot of talk internally that he will in line for a classic “white meat babyface” push. That means one of two things: He will either face Brock Lesnar or will be fed to HHH. Sure, they could “do the right thing” and give him a real push if he goes to Raw, but at this point, until I see someone get such a push against the H, I won’t believe it’s possible, at least not as things are done there now. But if HHH’s lobby wins and he goes to Raw, that would be a filching that would have to be answered by Smackdown. They would have to get someone back in turn both from a business and a story line standpoint. Otherwise, they will widen the chasm between Raw and Smackdown that many in the viewing public perceive. So, if Raw takes Edge, I say that Smackdown needs to get someone in return. Raw has to give back someone who could have a similar impact on Smackdown, and that, if packaged correctly, is none other than Rob Van Dam. I am sure that some people will say, “RVD had been buried” or that “RVD can’t do the interviews needed to be a top guy”. On the former, who could argue? But certainly he isn’t the first guy in WWE to get buried, only to get another chance later. And in this case, by switching brands he would be able to, in essence, start with a clean slate. Concerning his inability to do a WWE style interview, that may very well be true but if he was pushed in the proper manner, where emphasis on his interviews came out of his work, demeanor and personality, it could work. It’s been obvious since his first day in WWE that the people want to cheer for him. That desire has been largely ignored by the Raw booking team, so why not give him a shot on Smackdown? As evidenced by Eddie Guerrero’s recent push, the Smackdown brand has been very good at turning around the fortunes of misused talent. RVD has been beaten down so much on Raw for so long that a number of people close to him have told me that the company and the politics of the brand have taken away his joy of the business. Getting away from Raw, and by extension Triple H, could be exactly what it would take to get him back on track. And he would be in the perfect place to do it, with his old ally Paul Heyman. For those who forget, Heyman built ECW around RVD back in the late 90s. Always a master at accentuating strengths and hiding weaknesses, Heyman booked RVD perfectly. While he is not in charge of creative for Smackdown, he is certainly influential and his ideas get listened to. I don’t know if RVD will ever be the prototypical WWE top talent, but they could surely get more out of him than they have thus far. With his contract expiring in June, now is the perfect time to try it. Putting RVD on Smackdown in exchange for Edge could end up being one of those ideal trades when both sides benefit. If Edge goes to Raw, Smackdown has to get someone from their roster in exchange and I can’t think of a better fit that Rob Van Dam. --------------- I whole-heartedly agree that Smackdown better get someone(heel they should get both RVD and Booker T in return) because this is getting ridiculous