Hunter's Torn Quad

I would have kept Austin face. He was fresh again, after being out of the ring for so long, and I think he needed to be back at least a year before even hinting at a turn. I would have made Rock v Austin at WM X-7 babyface v babyface, but with Rock playing the subtle heel. The people were booing Rock anyway, and he could have had God, Jesus and The Holy Ghost in his corner at WM X-7. he still would have been booed. I'd have had Austin win cleanly, like Warrior v Hogan, and then have a staredown between the two, with Rock finally handing the WWF belt over to Austin, before a handshake and embrace, before Rock leaves Austin to take in the adulation. Then, the night after, with Rock still playing total babyface, he would have requested his rematch that night on Raw, and, acknowledging what everyone knew at the time, say that with his movie about to be made, it was his last chance to win the WWF belt before leaving, and he didn't know how long it would take for him to get a title shot when he returned. Austin would accept, but Vince would come out, act irate at the two being buddies, and put it in a cage. Then come main event, Austin v Rock is again a babyface v babyface match, with no really heelish actions from either man. Then, the referee gets bumped, Vince makes an appearance, shenanigans ensue, and Rock turns heel on Austin with a huge chairshot, and Austin bleeding his brains out. As Vince and Rock shake hands and assault Austin, Hunter charges in, upset at Vince for siding with Rock. However, as in real life, Hunter swerves us, and sides with Vince and Rock, and they all lay Austin out. The next week, Vince and Hunter come out, crow about the swerve they pulled, and, to really rub salt into the wound, they play up the fact that Rock is gone for six months to film a movie, and so Austin has to wait to get his revenge on Rock. However, with Hunter and Vince still around, Austin can work a lengthy program with them, which can involve a myriad of undercard guys waiting to break out. And finally, when that climaxes, say at SummerSlam or wherever, Rock can return that night or on Raw the night after, lay Austin out, and they can then begin the build to Rock v Austin III, which they would drag out until the Rumble. At which Hunter would win the Rumble, and, depending on how they go with Austin v Rock, I would book it so WM X8 would have been headlined by the never-before-seen and long awaited Austin v Rock v Hunter match, that was meant to happen at Survivor Series in 1999.

I guarantee that the last thing Vince would blame this on is steroids.

The huge drop-off started before the Invasion angle. While the fans turned off Austin, they turned off the WWF as well. Austin never should have allied with Vince. There was so much fan interest derived from Austin battling Vince, that aligning the two was insane.

What made the Austin turn a major turnoff for fans was that he sided with McMahon. All the fans that got hooked into the WWF by the Austin v Vince feud were flipped one mother of a bird, and they tuned out, and never tuned back in.

Austin's heel turn would never have been a monster at the box office, even if they had executed it to perfection. It turned off too many fans, and the kind of Austin that means big $$$ isn't a heel Austin, no matter how well he played the role.

If Undertaker feels that strongly about not wanting to lose to Orton, he won't.

If they have any result but Undertaker winning, it'll be a crowd killer. Orton isn't ready to get this kind of win; he doesn't have the credibility for it. If Orton beats Undertaker, he'll have X-Pac Heat.

Because Bob 'Porky' Ryder is in charge of this sort of thing, and because this is not the first time someone's contract has expired and it's gone unnoticed, he apparently has "supernova heat."

What are you talking about? They were building to a match at SummerSlam and the turn hadn't happened yet. I believe they were going to build something off the tag team title loss but hHh tore his quad. The original plan was for the turn to take place immediately after or shortly after WM X-7. Then it got put off for the TMPT angle, which just happened to allow Hunter to delay having to do a return job to Austin.

He gets a great reaction for his entrance, but that's almost it. Ratings wise on SD, at least for the 2-3 months up until the first week of December, he was a slight negative ratings draw, and that hasn't changed much, if at all, since then. If the match were to take place tomorrow, then I'd agree that Undertaker has to go over, because the state of Randy Orton right now means nobody would buy his victory. However, if by this WM or the next, with it 99.99% certain of being the next, they can get someone on the verge of breaking through to the superstar level, then they really have to pull the trigger on having that person, whoever it is, be the guy to break Undi's streak. As I said earlier, it's about the only major rub anyone in WWE has left to give, and whether it's this year or the next, for the good of those sticking around, it has to get broken eventually.

I can't see how anyone but the most blinded Undertaker mark can want him to retire with his WM streak intact. The only real rub for anyone in WWE left to give is the one given to whomever it is that ends Undi's WM streak. While there might not be anyone around right now who 'deserves' the rub, or is even in a position where the fans would buy it anyway, the right booking could see someone in the right position this time next year, and when the time comes, they have to pull the trigger.

The swearing on Nitro was one of those *nudge nudge* deals that 'wasn't meant to happen', and the network was 'appalled' with it.

Austin v Hunter from NWO 2001: A good match, but some totally ass backwards psychology drags it down. Rock v Austin from WM X-7: A really good match, that isn't quite as good watching it now as opposed to watching it live. The Austin turn, though, was mind numbingly stupid.

Do a search. There are at least two threads in here with Meltzer's ratings, from ECW PPV's, and from all over the place since 1990.

Some of this stuff somewhat disturbs me. That may have been interesting though. That angle definitely disturbs me. It implies someone would want to have sex with Baby Doll.

If we're talking about the pre-Uncensored 1997 angle where Piper is trying out members of his team, then Goldberg was part of that angle.

The Saito Suplex sees the guy performing the move grab his opponent in a waistlock, while standing to the side, like the set up to the backdrop driver. However, unlike the backdrop driver, when the move is executed, the victim isn't dropped on their head, but rather taken down like a regular back suplex, except with the guy performing the move turning a little so the impact looks more unique. Shawn's back suplex finisher saw him go to the side with a set up like a backdrop driver, but he hooked his arms through his opponent's legs, so it looked like his opponent was straddling his arms, and took them over suplex style, and it looked more like a variation on an amateur wrestling throw. They are two totally different moves, so I don't know how anyone with eyes can call them the same move.

Why hype up a retirement match ? Nobody buys stipulations as it is, let alone retirement ones.

Well, they have to make the fans think that Big Show will win on Sunday so they'll actually buy the PPV. If they tease a Batista jump too well, people might actually want it to happen. And it isn't going to happen.

A Batista v Big Show tease ?

Yes. If the match somehow turns out to be actually happening, we can reopen.

I like that he almost never used his other account to get past the suspension.

Has any reputable wrestling news site confirmed this ?

A foreign object of some sort is bound to come into play. They'll get juice off that. They might even not use the barbed wire, but use so much blood that people will forget that part.

Adam was the villian from the horrible season 4. I figured the reference was something obscure. I think the work itself will be *, but I'm adding * for the blood that will be needed to be shed to carry this.