Dark Age

Hey, remember how everyone said Triple H elevated Benoit by losing to him, and now Triple H is in another main event and Benoit's in the midcard? And how Angle and Shawn are both in higher profile matches than Benoit and Eddie, despite Benoit and Eddie being "put over" them last year? And Taker, too? Boy, that WWE, they sure know how to elevate talent!

No he doesn't. He has to go away.

I thought you did a very good job with it. Sums up my feelings on the match.

He was in UPW, but I don't know if he was ever under WWE development contract. I think Kazarian is one of the few cruiserweights out there who WWE would at least get behind a LITTLE. And I've never got the hate for his initial TNA work. He had some pretty sweet matches with Chris Sabin, and that was basically it. The only bad match I remember him in was the AJ Styles world title match, which was just a big disaster that I wouldn't blame on the guys (too much) involved. His X-Cup match with Sabin was boss, even if it was only 7 minutes or so, the original non-title match was really, really good, and the other, shorter, matches that they had were a lot of fun. He looked decent in all the multi-man matches that he was in, as well. So.... what's with the hate?

I believe jobbing to Heidenreich in a mid card match with no build is a lot worse than losing to the WWE Champion.

fuck off. thanks. And if they job Booker to that fool then I shall kill someone.

What are you, the Grim Rieper or something? Is there something you aren't telling us about Mr. Angle? Angle isn't doing this for money, fool. You sound like a complete dick here, looking down on Kurt for continuing to wrestle. Would it be the right decision? No, probably not, but who the Hell are YOU to not only criticise said (personal) decision but then talk about him as if he's a fucking murderer or something.

Angle should retire dropping the WWE Title to Eddie Guerrero. It could rule. Have Kurt be all worried about what Eddie's going to do to him in the run up (he could hint that one wrong move could lead to retirement) because Eddie goes all nuts and stuff. Kurt can gradually turn face throughout the course of the match, and you can have a finishing sequence where Eddie throws everything at Angle only to see him kick out. Finally, after a third frogsplash, Kurt stays down. After the match, RESPECT~ between Eddie and Kurt. Good story.

No. Not at all. I saw you list Triple H Vs. Batista as 25-40 as well. Again, not happening. Don't be silly.

This week on SD, they should have a throwback to the Angle/Big Show ledge thing, with TBS threatening to Chokeslam JBL off the ledge, but then deciding against it to "save him for the PPV". Though it's a certainty to US that JBL will win, that will throw a little doubt in to the whole "whoever gets the last laugh" theory because a) Big Show will have gotten the last laugh but: b) It would give the feeling that buying the PPV will let you see TBS finally destroy JBL. Plus, it'd be some nice continuity.

Kane and Matt will be a face tag team when Matt returns. I'm sure of it.

You've just fucked yourself up!

MY GOD! WHY??? It's only a rumour, but we shouldn't even be subjected to rumours this bad. Is Heidenreich going to cost Book his match with Cena FOR NO REASON AT ALL and then have a shitty match with him on the PPV?!? Ugh. They should have, as they originally announced, had the semi-finals at NWO as well and done: Cena Vs. Taker Angle Vs. Booker That's four big matches for the show. Add Eddie/Rey and you've got the potential for something good. A London/Akio number one contenders match, Kidman/Chavo for the CW Title (Kidman beats Funaki on SD) and Bashams/Luther and Jindrak. IT'S NOT HARD WWE! Cena vs Angle > Cena vs Taker, Angle vs Booker. And both of them wrestling twice in one night. There's no need for Eddie/Rey to fight each other, as that seems likely for a Wrestlemania match. Akio/London is a good idea of course. But there's no reason Kidman should win the CW title. Especially since he hasn't been seen for months. And chavo has been pretty much...nothing, he shouldn't even be in a CW title match. (even though he was this week). And Bashams/Jindrak and Reigns is a good idea..but, they've done it. And for some reason, I'm interested in TAker/Reigns. Partly because I enjoyed his promo...and then him acting like a pussy when Taker arrived. Except, ya know, you'd still get Angle/Cena because the winners would have to face each other...... And Angle/Booker would be better than Angle/Cena. There is a reason for Eddie/Rey. Eddie's frustrated that he's been pinned by Rey three times. Works for me. Do some funky storyline where Eddie is all pissed because he's only a midcarder a year after winning the belt. Have Rey/Eddie announced on SD, then have the two team up to win with Rey (in Eddie's mind) stealing the pin. Eddie's all pissed after the match, and you could make Eddie really paranoid and all cool stuff like that. Use the "couldn't handle it at the top" thing in the storyline and have Rey all "you should be at the top. Prove it. Beat me this Sunday and go bak for YOUR title" and Eddie's all "screw you man, I can't take it any more". Than Eddie beats Rey at NWO and they shake hands. Eddie's face again. BUT WAIT! The following SD, Eddie promises to watch Rey's back. Rey get's beat down by someone, but Eddie isn't there. Booker save Rey. Rey realises that his friend wasn't there for him. He doesn't respect him. Meanwhile, the guy who he ISN'T the best of friends with, has a ton of respect for him. Eddie gets jealous of Book and turns on him. HEEL EDDIE~! WrestleMania - Eddie (heel) beats Book, but clean. Book offers a handshake, but Eddie doesn't accept. Eddie remains a heel for the next couple of months, determined to win back his title (JBL remains champ). After JD, Eddie calls JBL out. HEEL VS HEEL! Crowd is way behind Eddie though, obviously. GAB, a year after losing the belt to JBL, Eddie wins it back. After the match, Rey and Book congratulate Eddie. Maybe even Chavo too! After everything that's happened, Eddie's friends stood by him! FACENESS~! Eddie realises that true value of friendship, and realises he was wrong. Eddie turns face and is WWE Champion. All is well with the world. Your other points: How often was Funaki seen before he won the belt? London/Kidman/Chavo should have been the WM CW title match; they can still make it happen. Why shouldn't Chavo be in a CW Title match? If Kidman were to win it, he and London would be the obvious contenders. They haven't done the tag match. This week's match hardly counts, because it was a three minute match with a non-finish. The Taker/Reigns stuff was pathetic. You had Luther cut this awesome killer promo and then? He acts like a pussy when Taker shows up. I'm sorry, but Luther would get A LOT more over if he was the one guy who didn't back down against Taker. Instead, he's like everyone other bitch who's shit scared of Undi. Boo on that, because it sucks.

MY GOD! WHY??? It's only a rumour, but we shouldn't even be subjected to rumours this bad. Is Heidenreich going to cost Book his match with Cena FOR NO REASON AT ALL and then have a shitty match with him on the PPV?!? Ugh. They should have, as they originally announced, had the semi-finals at NWO as well and done: Cena Vs. Taker Angle Vs. Booker That's four big matches for the show. Add Eddie/Rey and you've got the potential for something good. A London/Akio number one contenders match, Kidman/Chavo for the CW Title (Kidman beats Funaki on SD) and Bashams/Luther and Jindrak. IT'S NOT HARD WWE!

Just wrote up a little review of Akio/London. It's not great, but I don't have much experience in this, so whatever. Tell me what you think (it's done from memory, as well, so there may be some stuff left out). Paul London Vs. Akio (PART IV!!!) - Saturday 12th February 2005 - WWE Velocity Dang, this rules every bit as much as their previous matches! It's sad that these guys go out their everyweek, kill themselves for OUR enjoyment, and yet, still, the company doesn't give a crap about them. There is an upside to this, however - not caring about them means that they don't get restricted to the usual WWE style. They can go out there, mess some shit up, pop the crowd, have a great match and go home happy. Well, WE go home happy, I doubt they do after the nutty bumps they take. They go at a slower pace than their previous bouts here - they know that they're getting the time that they didn't have in those encounters, so it allows for better pacing. This is evident when London teases a dive early on in the match, only to hit it at a later point. He went for the same dive (somersault plancha) in one of the earlier battles between these two. This time, however, Akio has it scouted, and manages to regroup before London can hit it. He isn't prepared for the second attempt later in the match, though, when London DOES connect with the flip. It's nice that the crowd is with them from the start here, unlike previously when they had to win them over (not that that is really a bad thing). It translates well to the wrestlers, who seem to give that little bit extra with the hotter crowd on their side. London's stomps just seem to make more sense when the crowd is actually clapping along, rather than sitting on their hands, ya know? One minor gripe with this is the lack of throwbacks to the other matches in the series - I thought when London went for the double axe handle that they were going to play into a nice nearfall or counter off the top rope DDT in match number two, but that didn't happen. I'd have liked to have seen some stuff like this, but there is always room for more matches in the future and, like I said, it's only a minor gripe, and it'd be harsh to really criticise them for anything here. The chop-fest is awesome, and is similar, again, to the one we saw in match number two. That time they went in to a kicking frenzy, whilst here, London gains the upper hand and proceeds to burn Akio's chest with about twenty consecutive chops. You get the feeling that as much as this breaks from the usual company style constraints, it's still being held back just a little bit. The neck and head work from Akio is good, and gives him an obvious target and focus point for the rest of the match, however, it's as if he's not doing all that he can do. He makes the chinlock work more than most guys on the roster can, but it would have been nice to see a little more variety in the submissions - maybe a Dragon Sleeper as a nice nod to the country that they're in? The tease of the steel steps bump is as nice as the fake dive - early in the match, Akio backdrops London over the ropes, only to see him land on the ring apron and come back with a headscissors from the over the ropes. Later in the match, Akio manages to add a little extra power to the backdrop, and this time London can't hold on. The result is the insanely dangerous, yet really fuckin' cool, crash into the steel steps that should be enough to warrant a coffin for Paul. Yet still he goes on. Because he's Paul London, and he really, really rules. More than you, in fact. The fact that this is going to be longer, as opposed to a sprint, allows them to not necessarily use more stuff, but pace it better. If this was a six - seven minute match, they'd probably use all the offense that they use here, but they'd burn it up quicker, and wouldn't get the chance to tease it like they do with the dive and the stair bump. The doubled time also allows them to use a longer opening stretch. The matwork shows how equal these guys are, whereas in the other matches, we'd gage that equalness from the trading of nearfalls, but we didn't really have a platfrom to show it. Now we do. What sets these two apart from the rest is just how well they do the little things. London shaking his hand every time he throws a punch, Akio being tossed out of the corner flat on to his back. They are only minor details, but the small stuff helps a decent match become good, make a good match great. London's "undressing" from the cross-armed choke in to one of his own is fantastic. It could be percieved as comedy for the live crowd, but it shows the struggle that these two guys are in. They fight for every hold, the right to throw a punch, the right to go to the top rope. This wasn't as nutty as their other matches, but it didn't have to be. Both guys know each other so well that simply flying about the ring wouldn't be enough. They had to break each other down until the time was right and THEN take to the air. This was a battle and a struggle. They'd proven they could fly, now they were going to fight. It's fitting that London FINALLY managed to defeat Akio with his patented 450 Splash, a manoeuvre which he had attempted or teased in all their past encounters, but never managed to hit. Now he has, the best WWE feud today maybe over. (Winner: Paul London @ 14:06 with the 450 Splash) **** (WWE MOTY to date)

I miss Rocky.

No. Be happy that Triple H is champ, because it could be Viscera.

YAY! Thanks to a tape trader selling off all his stuff, looks like I'm FINALLY going to get up to date on OVW. Good times, sayeth I.

Exactly. Ask 1000 people how many remember Hogan/Warrior and then ask 1000 people how many remember Dude Love/Steve Austin. It wouldn't even be close. THAT'S the difference between Hogan and Austin. What a stupid comment. You're comparing one of Austin's "lower-level" matches with some of Hogan's most memorable. A better comparison would be Austin/Hart to Hogan/Andre. Austin/Rock to Hogan/Rock. Austin/Shawn to Hogan/Warrior, and so on. I'm not arguing Austin's case; I understand (and agree with) what point you were trying to make; Hogan's matches are more memorable, more well known, to non-wrestling fans than Austin's are. However, to use Austin/Dude Love as an example in why Hogan is more mainstream than Austin is idiotic. He used Austin/Foley cause someone else mentioned how much hotter crowd was for Austin during the match than for Hogan during his prime. And, just to be a prick, Hogan/Andre is MUCH more known than Austin/Hart and Hogan/Warrior is MUCH more known than Austin/Shawn. The Rock matches are pretty much a push. I'm not arguing that they aren't more well known. I was using Austin's most memorable matches to rival Hogan's as opposed to matches like Dude/Austin - I wasn't saying that they were more well known, or more memorable. It's just that it'd be a fairer argument to compare Austin/Bret with Hogan/Andre as opposed to Austin/DudeLove.

Exactly. Ask 1000 people how many remember Hogan/Warrior and then ask 1000 people how many remember Dude Love/Steve Austin. It wouldn't even be close. THAT'S the difference between Hogan and Austin. What a stupid comment. You're comparing one of Austin's "lower-level" matches with some of Hogan's most memorable. A better comparison would be Austin/Hart to Hogan/Andre. Austin/Rock to Hogan/Rock. Austin/Shawn to Hogan/Warrior, and so on. I'm not arguing Austin's case; I understand (and agree with) what point you were trying to make; Hogan's matches are more memorable, more well known, to non-wrestling fans than Austin's are. However, to use Austin/Dude Love as an example in why Hogan is more mainstream than Austin is idiotic. Read my statement in context to the question I was replying to. In that case, my apologies to you Hass Of Pain. The original comment, though, shall remain stupid (even if you didn't make it).

Exactly. Ask 1000 people how many remember Hogan/Warrior and then ask 1000 people how many remember Dude Love/Steve Austin. It wouldn't even be close. THAT'S the difference between Hogan and Austin. What a stupid comment. You're comparing one of Austin's "lower-level" matches with some of Hogan's most memorable. A better comparison would be Austin/Hart to Hogan/Andre. Austin/Rock to Hogan/Rock. Austin/Shawn to Hogan/Warrior, and so on. I'm not arguing Austin's case; I understand (and agree with) what point you were trying to make; Hogan's matches are more memorable, more well known, to non-wrestling fans than Austin's are. However, to use Austin/Dude Love as an example in why Hogan is more mainstream than Austin is idiotic.

Exactly. And, at the same time killing the credibility of their B shows, as well as the guys who wrestle on the B shows. That'll be good for business. They don't have any credibility to begin with, nor do the guys that wrestle on them. Why oh why is Booker facing Cena AGAIN? Did the world demand another chapter in this shitty feud? Did the world demand Booker jobbing to Cena for a fourth time on PPV? Why not do Cena Vs. Taker and Angle Vs. Booker with a Cena Vs. Angle final? The only reason NOT to do that is that Angle's neck may not be able to put up with it. Still, he went 25-30 on SD with Eddie, there's no reason he couldn't go for two 1--15 minute bouts with Cena and Book. What the card SHOULD be: JBL Vs. Big Show Kurt Angle Vs. John Cena Kurt Angle Vs. Booker T John Cena Vs. Undertaker Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio Billy Kidman Vs. Chavo Guerrero (just have Kidman beat Funaki on SD some time) Paul London Vs. Akio (No. 1 contenders match) Doug and Danny Basham Vs. Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak A good show!

Did you even read my post? This has all went completely over your head.

Teddy Long is actually rather worthless as the GM.

Ignore.