Hunter's Torn Quad

It's starting.

I think X-8 should qualify as Current Era, since X-7 is the true end of the Attitude Era. When did Angle v. Eddy have better matches besides XX? Their Summerslam match was a boring one-sided squash, and I couldnt get into their other matches. But their match at Mania was fantastic. Don't forget XX also had the underrated Jericho-Chrisitian match, and Rock-n-Sock v. Evolution. And even though the match sucked, Cena's first title win is cool to see. If X8 counts as Current Era, then it wins easily. Aside from the incredibly atmosphere of Rock-Hogan, it had nothing going for it. I thought Guerrero-Angle had a better match at Summerslam , and their Smackdown match was more enjoyable for me.

Federation Era: WrestleMania IX, for reasons already talked about. It has nothing going for it except the atmosphere, and even that wasn't so great. Attitude Era: WrestleMania XV. This was a Wrestlemania that doesn't stand the test of time, much like virtually everything that has the stench of Russo over it. Rock-Austin was the best match of an uninspiring night of action, which included a Hell in a Cell match so putrefying in quality and with a finish so horrid that it's been stricken from the record books. Current Era: I'm going with XX. Aside from an excellent main event and the spectacle of Lesnar-Goldberg, which was a pretty decent match that got ruined by the crowd, this XX didn't do anything for me. Guerrero-Angle was good, but they could have much better matches and would go on to do so later. It wasn't a bad show, but it wasn't that hot, either.

Because everyone could do with a diversion, here is the top 20 in the 100 greatest wrestling moments as selected by the readers of WrestleZone: The 100 Greatest Wrestling Moments of All Time 1. Hulk Hogan turns heel and forms the NWO 2. Hulk Hogan bodyslams Andre the Giant at WM III 3. Y2J debuts for the WWF 4. Austin 3:16 5. Mankind vs. The Undertaker, Hell in a Cell 6. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WM XVIII 7. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart, Iron Man Match 8. Mankind defeats The Rock for the WWF title 9. Chris Benoit wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title 10. Stone Cold stuns Vince 11. The Montreal Screwjob 12. Shane McMahon appears on Nitro (WWF buys WCW) 13. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold, I Quit match 14. Eddie Guerrero wins the WWE championship 15. Scott Hall / Kevin Nash show up in WCW 16. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage at WM III 17. Sting returns and beats Hulk Hogan at Starrcade '97 18. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit celebrate at WM XX 19. Goldberg defeats Hulk Hogan for the WCW title 20. The Rock vs. Stone Cold, WrestleMania series Austin and Angle singing was at 44, while Austin winning the WWF title was at 94.

With the babyfaces having won the main event this week and being the ones standing tall next week, I guess that means the heels win at the PPV.

Has WWE handled his impending retirement properly? No. They've botched the storyline since day one, and it only really recovered when Shawn Michaels got involved. It still feels somewhat special, but it could have, and should have, been so much more than this. What do you expect out of this Sunday's match and what will be Flair's role in the future? I expect a really good match, that will probably hit the **** mark. Flair's role will be to dominate at first because Shawn will have second thoughts about ending Flair's career, and then start bumping and most likely blading as well. Has this WWE run hurt his overall legacy or improved it? They've kept his name out there, but for a lot of the time they've never let him run loose on the mic, which has always been his strongest point, and with his decline in ability the one thing that's stayed at a consistent level over the years. Can he really stay retired or this just another Terry Funk retirement? I doubt anyone seriously thinks Flair will never wrestle again if he loses on Sunday. He'll return somewhere down the line, and it'll probably be this year, which will tarnish what is probably going to be one of the years few moments of genuine emotion. What's your favorite Flair match? Against Steamboat at the Clash in New Orleans. Is he overrated/underrated relative to his 80s and 90s peers? I think he's like Shawn, in that he's overrated as a wrestler. He's not overrated as a performer, but strictly speaking about the non-showmanship aspects, Flair wasn't great. He was good, but not great. Do the 21 (16?) world title wins mean anything to you? Some have meaning, some are totally worthless. Generally, the earlier in his career, the more the title win means. Did he hang on too long? For the modern fans who don't really know Flair's pre-1992, yes. Unless you've really followed Flair's career, he comes across as an old man trying to act like he's still in his 20s. It's like coming into a movie halfway through; what you're watching doesn't make sense to you, because you've missed half the story, but to everyone else, it's great.

Which, sadly, creative will use as an excuse to go back to the silly comedy and bad soap opera, which is a proven failure when it comes to converting viewers into PPV buys.

via the Observer site.

Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton © vs. Triple H vs. John Cena This isn't a match I care a lot about, and it certainly doesn't feel like a Wrestlemania main event. It's Hunter's turn, with an outside chance of Orton retaining. I don't see Cena winning, and I think his next reign is probably going to happen at Summeslam, which will allow for a much better build. World Heavyweight Championship: Edge © vs. The Undertaker I don't care about this match at all, primarily because I, and a lot of people, don't buy into the idea of Edge ending the streak. It didn't help that the build has been paint-by-numbers and nothing special. Undertaker is winning. Money in the Bank ladder match: Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Carlito vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison With Jeff Hardy gone, I think it's a two horse race between Kennedy and MVP. Kennedy winning would see a fresh main event in Kennedy vs. Hunter or if they hold it off Kennedy vs. Cena. Kennedy against Hunter also means they have reason to have the MITB winner fail to win the WWE Title, because they'll, presumably, be building towards Cena vs. Hunter II. MVP seems to be someone they're slowing building up, so he's the best bet on the Smackdown side. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. The Big Show This could make things interesting, via the Observer site: I don't see Mayweather losing, if only because I don't see any way to do it in a manner to allow him to save face to the boxing world, which is where is money, and credibility, is. The swerve is most likely just a wrestler turning on Big Show, or possibly whatever celebrity that is there to do Floyd's entrance, his name escapes me, playing a role. Umaga vs. Batista The finish is meant to lead to Umaga moving to Smackdown to keep the feud going, so I could see them having a heel from Smackdown screw Batista out of victory. They have enough popular endings on the card that they could afford a heel win here. Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels One of the easiest storylines in the world has been botched since the beginning; has Vince ever explained why he forced Flair into this situation? Why was Vince even the one to do it? Why not have Flair make the decision because he wanted to prove he can still go? If Flair is going out, this is the stage to do it. Flair is losing, but look for a hell of a ride until the finish. This match will either see Flair go out like a lion, on the back of a fantastic match, or go out like a lamb, with an anti-climactic match to end a woefully mismanaged storyline. And the reason I say the match could be anti-climactic is because it has certain expectations, both from fans the two wrestlers involved, and it very well might fail to meet them. Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match: Maria and Ashley vs. Beth Phoenix and Melina ZZZZZ Belfast Brawl: Finlay vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield This should be a great. We should get bloodshed and brawling, but nothing too extravagant; that stuff is probably getting saved for the MITB. Hornswoggle will get involved, and he'll be involved in the finish, either helping Finlay win or costing him the match. I say JBL wins to keep the feud going. Pre-show: 24-man Interpromotional Battle Royal/ECW Championship: Chavo Guerrero If it's Kane or Khali, they'll win. If it's anyone else, they'll lose. It doesn't really matter either way, because this is strictly filler material. Other than that, I'll say 850,000 domestic buys with 1.2-1.3 million as the worldwide total.

We know what should happen and what we'd like to happen, but what do people think will happen? It's likely that Karen and possibly AJ will get involved in some fashion, so I think the best we'll get as far as a BS-free match is a clean finish, but even that could be a stretch.

If a guy gets a belt strictly to drop it someone, then it's a transitional reign. But if he's given the belt and intended to be pushed as the face of the company, even if the time he's losing the title is already decided, then it's not a transitional reign.

Lots of clips and Top...lists

Orton's reign is transitional; he got the belt just to drop it to Hunter. It's not the length of a title reign that makes it transitional, but the intent behind it. Billy Graham and Yokozuna would be good examples of long transitional reigns.

It hasn't been suggested because it's a terrible idea. The minute they try to get cute with the streak is the minute it stops being special and people stop being attached to it as much they are.

1. How would you have ended this angle? Stephanie acting as if to help Hunter, only turn on him and go heel with Kurt. The fans were dying to get behind the babyface Hunter, and were all too eager to hate Stephanie and Kurt. With Kurt and Stephanie together, you've got two easy-to-hate heels who can rub their duplicity into the face of Hunter who, as both a babyface the fans were dying to get behind and now with an issue that people can relate to, would be even more over than he was. There would be endless possibilities with this storyline, such as Stephanie throwing Hunter of their house or showing Stephanie and Kurt getting cosy in Stephanie's bed; you could even have Stephanie and Kurt gloat that they're going to do what Stephanie and Hunter used to do, and then turn off the lights, the screen goes dark, and they can make it sound like the two are getting intimate. Things like that that would really rub it in and get Kurt/Stephanie over as uber heels, and just imagine the reaction when Hunter, after months of teasing, finally hits the Pedigree on Stephanie and then gets his hand on Kurt. 2. What long-term impact did the angle have? This was an angle that had more emotional investment in it from the fans that any angle in a long time. Who couldn't identify with a guy like Hunter who has a girlfriend/wife that seems forever nagging on him and quick to get on him as he protests his innocence. This was an angle that people truly cared about, and when it ended in such a terrible fashion, with the one ending that people absolutely did not want, I think it greatly harmed the audience's ability to get emotionally invested in future storylines. Name one storyline since this one that's even come close in terms of emotional investment from fans? People WANTED Hunter to finally snap on Stephanie, they WANTED a reason to really get behind Hunter and were DYING to be fully able to hate Stephanie. And it got flushed down the toilet. The ending to this storyline, more than any other ending to any other storyline, is what killed the audience's willingness to get invested in storylines and characters. It didn't do anything for anyone. Hunter was a babyface who sided with the girl that nobody liked and nobody wanted to like. Stephanie was still a babyface that nobody wanted to like. And Kurt was the geek who lost the girl and got beaten clean. 3. Would you have ran this angle with other individuals in the roles? If so, whom? I think this was the right angle with the right people. Shame about the ending. 4. Was Kurt Angle better off or worse after the completion of this angle? Worse. He ending up being the geek who not only lost the girl but lost the feud decisively without ever being treated as a threat. How did that make him any better off? 5. Was this the best angle of the year 2000? If not, what was? It was the best angle of the year until the ending.

As long as it's a transitional reign that ends like this, I wouldn't mind too much. And I'd rather not see another Shawn vs. Hunter match ever again, which is a risk you run with Shawn holding the WWE title.

While plans can, and will change, if only one things is a virtual lock, it's Undertaking winning. The main event? It probably is Hunter's 'turn' to win, and at least it'll give them five months to build to Cena regaining at Summerslam, which I would guess is when he gets the belt back.

Just over a week to go until Wrestlemania, and is anyone else not really buzzed over the thing? Cena/Orton/HHH - I don't want HHH to win, would be interested if Orton retains, and would prefer to see Cena regain, but even if he does, it's still not something I'm really exited about seeing. And we'll probably get the same match again next month at Backlash. Big Show vs. Mayweather - I don't care. I just don't care what happens. Maybe if they'd had the sense to have Mayweather play heel from the beginning it would have helped. It'll be a crazy clusterfuck, but the only thing of interest to me in this whole mess is what the finish is and how it helps segue Show into a post-WM program. Flair vs. HBK - The entire build for this has been underwhelming, and they've managed to botch what should have been one of the easiest angles in the world. Sure, it'll probably be a good-to-great match and likely be the best one of the night, but outside of the promo the two had in-ring on Raw a couple of weeks ago, there's been nothing about the storyline that you've been able to sink your teeth into. Edge vs. Undertaker - Streak (sort of) vs. Streak should have been easy to write and something that people could have easily got into. But it's the same old Undertaker vs. Heel of the Month stuff, with Undertaker scaring the heel who cowers off like a chicken. This is one PPV that'll be downloaded the next morning.

An explanation? Yes? One that makes sense? Not possible. Maybe an offshoot of the original storyline for the KISS Demon, and Sting and Vampiro were fighting over his soul? That whole storyline was absolutely terrible and the matches were even worse.

So was WCW. They didn't win. They settled, which is what TNA will probably wind up doing.

Given how over he was, I don't think it would have hurt to give him a run. Sure, RVD had his weaknesses, but you work around weaknesses and don't accentuate them. If RVD couldn't talk, and his ONS promo in 2005 suggests he could talk when motivated, then either have someone talk for him or don't have him talk at all. If he's not that hot when he isn't flying, then put him in with good workers who can hide his weaknesses and let him shine when he does what he does best and what the crowd go nuts for. You can pinpoint flaws in every guy who's been pushed to the top, but where would the business be if all you did was find those flaws and highlight them instead of working around them?

Yes, they went nuts for the spinaroonie, but that was the only thing Booker did that crowds went nuts for. RVD just had to stand there, and the crowds chanted his name. It's one thing to get the crowd going nuts with a signature spot; Scotty 2 Hotty did that. It's another to have crowds chanting your name when all you're doing is standing there. My comments was about what it takes to get over, not what it takes to be WWE/F Champion; often you can be one and not the other. RVD was over, and huge.

I like Booker, but he had moderate charisma at best. He certainly never had the crowd chanting his name. And I don't think you understood my comment at all.

Being a good wrestler is not a prerequisite to getting over with the fans. Nor is being good on the mic, though that helps. The number one trait needed to get over more than anything is charisma, and RVD had that in spades.

We should be boff-free now.