Slickster

I liked how the punch panel on the casket lid was clearly visible at the end.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Cause some guy named Michael Weaver is such a credible source.

Did you get to see the 'The Power Is Back' spot that opened the show? If they use that for an ad campaign (connecting modern WWE to the history of pro wrestling), then they could definitely go a long way in reconnecting older fans to the product.

Hey, Jesus and Snitsky were in SSeries tags last year, so not necessarily.

I assume he means the original Team Piper (from that infamous WCW Nitro skit that was never spoken of again).

JBL called out HBK several times during Byte This! tonight, so I think that maybe they could be building to a feud between them that could be escalated at Survivor Series. "If HBK wants to prove he's the best, then he can come to SmackDown! and..." etc.

1. Because they needed a hook for people to watch Velocity (since they seem to pitch that show to smarks anyway). 2. According to another set of spoilers, it was a no-contest due to an MNM run-in.

Or keep the stip, have a Mysterio win it but then get screwed out of the title shot at the PPV before WM 22 so that, win or lose, the guy who got screwed out of the title shot as a ready made program post-WM. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That would also be good because the Rumble winner has won his title match for FIVE STRAIGHT YEARS, so switching it up would be great.

So I think we can all see the finish for No Mercy's casket match, eh? (Piper helps Deadman by working over Cowboy Bob, distracting Randy enough for Taker to finish him off.) If Bob and Piper get a 10-12 min segment (5-6 min match), then I think it could work out.

I liked the 'rotating' announcer stuff Nitro/RAW used to do around 99. IIRC Raw had Cole, JR, Lawler, Kevin Kelly, and Terry Taylor all working together (in various incarnations). Why not have Coach/Matthews for RAW and JR/Coach/King for RAW Zone? ----- Sean Mooney never really called anything more serious than a Berzerker-Kamala match for Supertape '92, so I'm not sure how he'd handle the big moments.

Rudo booked it perfectly in a thread a while back and had Austin go over IIRC. I agree with Rudo's idea, especially because Hulk Hogan really doesn't lose anything by losing to SCSA in my opinion. Also, I think this match can only happen at WrestleMania 22. No other show is big enough to do this.

LOL @ Austin pouring beer down her shirt. You know, I figure that was a good nostalgia moment to have SCSA do a midring promo for one last time.

God, I hope Austin and Hogan interact at some point tonight.

Angle Slam on the floor!

Cena popped out one of his teeth so he wore the mouthguard until the false tooth got set in.

DR. DEATH!

Jimmy Hart predicts HBK because he plays his music on his entrance.

Kudos for mentioing the cast.

This is Roddy Piper's first live appearance on the USA Network.

Do you understand how trademarks work? It's the same reason why they don't blur WWE title belts in the crowd.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly...98944-2,00.html

I'd bill him as "The Blaster" Bobby Lashley and emphasize his military connection (put it over on commentary, have him wrestle in camo tights, etc.). I didn't get a chance to see his debut, but I look forward to seeing him this week on SmackDown!.

Actually, it's from somewhere in early 2000, because it's from an interview used for the Wrestlemania 2000 two-disc. The only visual proof is have is the leather jacket that Helmsley is wearing, which he stopped wearing before the quad injury. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> HHH continued to wear the jean/leather jacket until he went back to wearing all the dressy stuff in mid-2002. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Under the jacket, he's wearing a DX shirt so that proves it was from 2000. Anyway, that was a great read. It's good to see Warrior defend himself. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He also doesn't have THE MUTTON CHOPS~! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Also, the on-screen graphic clearly reads 'WrestleMania: All day Long | 4/2/00' so it's from the pre-show to WrestleMania 16.

Geez, Meltzer really wants this WWE-UFC feud to happen, doesn't he? It would definitely help his business, but does he have to be so obvious about it?

I'm assuming that 1) Cena will utterly destroy Bischoff, but Angle will bump the ref and beat Cena down, allowing Bischoff to score the pin and win the title. 2) Since he is now in direct control of the WWE Title, Bischoff will immediately give the title to Kurt Angle, 'his' champion. 3) Vince McMahon will come out and say 'Andre and DiBiase say hello,' vacating the title. Then, he books a tournament for the title ending at Taboo Tuesday. This would be a shocking angle that would be an effective 'reset button' for RAW, providing an opportunity for some new guys to get elevated and also a means to further angles for Survivor Series. You could have Flair cost HHH a tournament match, for instance, furthering their feud for SSeries or beyond. You could have Shelton/Edge/Matt Hardy make an impressive showing and become further elevated to the top tier of RAW. There's all kinds of possibilities that you could try, but the end result is a good storyline that can provide an 'entry point' for new viewers, a series of important RAWs, and a guaranteed higher buyrate for the weakest-drawing show of 2004.