Dark Age

I think the Awesome/Tanaka match was added the week of the pay per view. Maybe they knew before that, and they just held off announcing the match, but still. Also, JustJoe, I don't think Edge is saying all hardcore matches are bad or whatever, just that particular Awesome/Tanaka match. Edge's match with Foley at Mania is probably what he expects out of a hardcore match, and you can't criticise him for that considering that match DID have the qualities Edge talked about. I liked Awesome/Tanaka, I should add, and don't really agree with Edge, but whatever.

Not that Khali should be squashing people for no reason, but if you're going to use anyone, why not Nunzio and Vito instead of your damn tag team champions.

That Charlie Haas thing came out years ago. I think Booker T started it, when he moved to SmackDown, even. 2 years then, it would be.

Hawk, where did you find out about Homicide possibly facing Angle? I can't find it anywhere, though, to be fair, haven't looked very hard!

Shouldn't we have to back all these crazy opinions up? Otherwise, what's the point? I mean, I could just spout a loud of inane statements, with no real foundation, and I could get away with it. Loads of people have done that already, in fact.

- Chris Benoit sucks. His matches are boring, to me at least, that is! He has no mic skills, is too small to be taken seriously, has no charisma, and shouldn't be anywhere near the main event. - Vince McMahon is the best character ever. Well, in WWE. The guy gets sooooo much heel heat. Did Chris Benoit get as many boos in his match with Rock at Fully Loaded 2000? I think not! I say this match because that's the most over Benoit's ever been, and he still wasn't over. - I'm glad Eddie Guerrero is dead. He was holding Rey Mysterio back. He still is, even! Not that I condone any cruiserweights being in the main event, but if they're going to use one, it should be Rey. - Criticism of Triple H is stupid. The guy has done more for WWE than any of you will admit. You all just hate him cos it's cool! - Khali should be World Champion. Dead serious. He should beat Rey in a couple of minutes at the next PPV and hold the belt til Mania, while they build Lashley up. Rey won't be damaged too much, 'cos Khali has already squashed Taker. - Bret Hart wasn't very good at all. His matches were all the same! Heck, the guy only did a few moves! - I'm glad that guys like Rock and Austin are gone. Talk about two of the most overrated wrestlers, like, ever. - WWE should keep pushing the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michael as they are still the most over guys on the show. Who cares how old they are, and the fact that we need to make new stars? It's obvious that guys like Lashley and Kennedy aren't quite ready, so keep pushing the vets til they are. Guys like Benoit and Booker and Jericho and Eddie could never really replace the REAL stars, so let us try with someone else.

So when did this change from "unpopular opinions" to just plain old regular, boring opinions? I'm gonna do some unpopular ones.

Being one of the most over guys in years is a MAJOR disappointment, huh? What more did you want out of the guy? The matches with JBL were nothing, but he's been pretty decent otherwise.

Yes, that was a very good match, one of the better 'E matches of 2003. Indeed, it may well have been as good as the No Mercy tag match of the previous year. What is most incredible is they only get 12 or 13 minutes, too. With 20 - 25, I have no doubt they would have had a match VERY close to MOTY status (it is anyway, but even closer). Has anyone watched the SD rematch, recently? I loved that at the time, but don't remember it as well as the Vengeance match. In fact, the 7 minute (or so) match they had before Mania was pretty rockin' too.

That and being a good heel, yeah.

No.

No, most "smarks" don't like Ken Kennedy.

Apparently, according to this amphibian fellow, Hard Hitting Bobby Lashley is his ACTUAL NAME. I am surprised.

I know, it's not as if Batista is over! Hard Hitting Bobby Lashley should challenge for the title at Mania, I feel.

Who's claiming you aren't? The guy said you are CLOSER to teams like Leicester and Portsmouth than "proper" big clubs. I don't know the validity of that statement, but I don't think anyone is saying Forest aren't bigger than those two clubs.

Benoit always does it. Nah, I'm kidding. As if Benoit would ever get an in-ring interview!

Regal would work, but I haven't got a clue what they're thinking with him these days. Or anything for that matter. What are the seven matches? Rey/JBL Taker/Khali Book/Lashley Angle/Henry Helms/Crazy MNM/Hooligans That's all I have. Melina vs. Jillian maybe? I thought, a few weeks back, that this would be the card, with the Benoit/Finlay stuff and Burchill/Regal finishing it off. And wasn't there talk that Shannon Moore's first feud would be with Super Crazy? Logical place to bring him back - starts his feud with Crazy, teams up with Helms, and then they can also do Mexicools vs. Helms and Moore. Then again, are the Mexicools even a team these days? It seems like they're moving Crazy away from Psicosis. Regardless, this would be a great feud, especially if they still had Juvi. Juvi, Psicosis and Crazy vs. Hardy, Moore and Helms could be quite fantastic.

Benoit/Finlay will probably be on the card, yes. I haven't seen their match from last week, but I presume Finlay cheated, giving Benoit a logical reason to seek a rematch. Also, Finlay beat down Gunner Scott the other week, so they've got that going for them as well. I suppose they could do a tag match, but I dunno who you would team with Finlay. Ken Kennedy?

Are there not exceptions to this rule, as well, though? If say, two guys go out and put on what SHOULD be considered a very good match under MisawaGQ's rules, but the crowd shits on them. See: Benoit/Malenko, Hog Wild 96. The crowd, in this situation, had no intentions of liking the match. Nothing Benoit/Malenko could do would change their opinions. Does this make it a bad match, or an exception? Should Benoit and Malenko have changed what they were doing to correspond with what the crowd was enjoying(see prior matches, who was over, etc)? But what if the crowd still doesn't react then? What if a match, like the above, is put in front of a crowd which is never going to give it a chance? What if a crowd's reacition isn't it in response to the match quality, but moreso BECAUSE they are using the rules Misawa used. Hogan and Andre have the same match (which I, too, think is a good one) in Ring Of Honour. The crowd has no intentions of liking it because it doesn't fit in with their idea of good wrestling. What then? Does the match's audience determine what rules the match should follow, or should there be none at all? I know you have been a critic of ROH in the past. Do the matches from this promotion work because they are what the audience expects (hence they are good wrestling) or is their audience something different entirely (hard to judge if it works for the audience when, as with above, they aren't brought in to the match, but instead know exactly how they will react - dueling chants, etc). For the record, I agree with Rudo 100%. I will admit to using "rules" myself, in the past, but ever since you've been mentioning this at length, I completely got where you're coming from. I still find myself falling in to the usual traps in regards to watching matches, but hopefully, over time, things will change. Would I be right to say Taker/Angle was a defining factor for your strong belief in what is/isn't good wrestling? Or have you always felt this way and I've just missed it?

He had good matches, sure. But, honestly, a good, meaningful reign? I think not. A decent run? No, not really. He wasn't really the champion, just some guy who just happened to have the belt. Was he ever the centerpiece? No. Did they ever build the show around him? Again, no. He was given respect as a competitor but that was it. It was "oh Benoit he's a great wrestler, and now he's champion, too". Never, though, was he seen as anything more than a great wrestler. Look at Benoit's run with the belt. Imagine those 5 months if Benoit wasn't champion. Would it have been ANY different at all? Not particularly. Bad Blood, he was champ, in a title match... he didn't main event. Triple H and Shawn did. Vengeance he did main event, with Triple H, but who was the focus on come the end of the show? H and Eugene, with Benoit nowhere in sight. Slam was one of the few times he really looked like the champ (and, of course, the time he loses the belt) but look at the buildup to that show. First Raw following Vengeance, Trips beats up Eugene. Oh, Benoit too! But especially Eugene. The next week he was in a midcard match with Batista to "hype" his main event the next week. That (iron man) match ended with, yep, Eugene costing Triple H the match. Benoit disappeared again. On the Raw prior to Slam it was Eugene beating up Triple H and Orton while Benoit just lay around. Eugene might as well have been the champion at this time. Or Triple H. It would have made no difference at all.

I don't like that "if Benoit did a good carry job" line because Lesnar was one of the best wrestlers in the WWE at that point. Lesnar carried others himself so Benoit probably wouldn't have to carry him. Smackdown! still needs Lesnar IMO. He was such a big part of the show. He was a very credible champion, he had in-ring charisma and he was a GREAT big man wrestler so it wasn't boring to watch him. Lesnar/JBL, Lesnar/Mysterio, Lesnar/Benoit and Lesnar/Booker T would have been awesome but no.....Lesnar had to be an asshole. Because he doesn't want to work for WWE? Yeah, what an asshole.

They could perhaps use Benoit and Rey (and Malenko?) for "dream matches" and bring them in a few times a year if, of course, it lasts that long. "Re-debuting" in ECW would be a great way for Jericho to return, too, if he ever does.

You sure hate Rey Mysterio, Naiwf! Or so it would seem!

Well it was a pretty obvious prediction to make!

Yeah sure.