RavishingRickRudo

To me, it's never acceptable. Either have the balls to do something, or don't book yourself into a corner in the first place. If I'm paying to see resolution to a storyline in a big match, and I don't get it, then I just wasted my time and money. What was the point of the build up for the match when it's just going to continue on? I'm not angry or mad, cause I didn't buy the PPV or invest myself into the angle, but to say "why would you bad mouth that finish" (which you didn't say) is a bit of a headscratcher.

But it's a PPV. If you don't resolve something there, where the fuck do you do it? Seems like a waste of money. Why bother getting one PPV when they will have another match on another PPV, this time with an actual finish?

Well, for the record, I obviously wasn't comparing either of the Vengeance matches to Rock/Austin. You were saying that the results would be similar, no? I was just saying that Edge could gain heat as the heel champ who didn't earn the title like Rock did when facing Foley, even if Batista was still going on last with his nemesis like Austin did with Taker and Vince. It's a perfectly logical comparison. No. See, "The Rock" and "Austin" and the "late 90's" don't make it logical. There is no way there would be even a similar response to what they did then; there were simply different factors involved. Meanwhile, the factors comparing this year to last year are pretty damn similar. And if Batista got screwed out of his only rematch by HHH, then it would leave tons of heat not just for the Vengeance HIAC match, but for a match between Benoit and Edge at Summerslam as well. Yeah... no... there really isn't a way they can put heat on HHH/Batista, it's a worn feud. It already peaked in heat, and that was _before_ Batista turned. However, with the energy they've put into the Edge/Kane situation Energy? What the fuck are you talking about? They had one match and Lita turned. It's not exactly the NWO they were building. They haven't done anything that can't be solved in one sketch. I'd much rather see a real match between them than watch Hogan hobble around the ring. The man can barely walk. Now, if Hogan comes talk to Edge after Vengeance to set up the Batista feud, and tells him how the title has to be earned, and he has to "win it the right way, brother" only for Edge to batter him in the middle of the ring, then you might have something. The idea that Hogan's words would resonate, but would also make Edge lash out due to his insecurity is good, but I sure as hell don't want to see Hogan trying to wrestle again. But you'd _want_ to see Batista/HHH HIAC and Kane/Edge? Iggy, Iggy, Iggy, this isn't about what we want. It's what would be better in a situation that has Edge winning the title tonight. Hogan/Edge with a retirement stip on top of HHH/Batista would be better than HHH/Batista HIAC on top of Edge/Kane for the title. Why? Because the world title match should be the most important match on the show, and in this case, it would be.

It was a PPV match. People don't buy PPV's to see DQ finishes.

Congrats on 100 Bob, you are certifiably nuts. Seth is nothing more than "solid" right now. I haven't really seen him do anything amazing yet, but then again I thought the same thing about Will Ferrell for the longest time and he managed to step up. I was more impressed with Keenan and Fred than Seth this year, though he showed himself to be naturally funny on Celebrity Poker. Maybe he needs some signature characters to improve his value? I say keep him, Riggle, Keenan, Fred and maybe Forte. I like Forte, but with Seth there, there's no need for two of them. I love Hammonds Trump, and Hahdbah, but I can (almost) do with out them. Get rid of all the bitches, though.

A HIAC match inherently gets more attention than a regular match, there is no way Edge/Kane would be treated or perceived "as important". Edges motivation right now is to hold the title and that's it, when he wins the title his characters quest dies. Do you think the current Edge character would CARE about having "earned" it? He already feels like he has earned it, he feels it is owed to him, so I doubt he would. Now, if they had Hulk Hogan come out the next week and say to Edge that he didn't earn it, that that wasn't how Hulk did it, etc. etc., THEN you have something. We know Edge has changed, but we also know that Edge loves the Hulkster and that may not have changed. Edge is conflicted between the man he is and the man (child) he was. He ultimately chooses to stay the man he is (with a lil encouragement from Lita) and tells Hulk to fuck off.. or better yet, if he was such a great champion and Edge isn't, how about they have a match at Bad Blood. Hulk says sure, Edge says on one condition - if Edge is putting up his title, then Hogan has to put up his career. THEN you have a match that can rival a HIAC and that could be justified in taking the top spot on the card. And you have to have the silliest comparisons on the board. What result do you think is more likely to happen in this situation - Austin/Rock from 1998/99, or Chris Benoit/Kane HHH/HBK from last year?

I think DVD and TSM are getting too meshed together. Way too many cross-over posts.

The title should be involved because it's the top match on the card. By saying that the champ is not the top guy, you devalue the champ. Therefore, the guy who beats the Champ doesn't really get much of an advantage from winning the title. The longer you have The Champ and The Top Guy as the same person, the better off each are, and the better off are the people who take over the role. Is this concept so hard to grasp?

Jericho: Hey Eric, can I get an advance on my match tonight? Eric: An Advance? Jericho: Yeah, a lil money up front. You see, I got this hot lil number waitin in my limo and we're goin to check out the new star wars movie, the 10:00 showing. Eric: Chris, you're match is scheduled at 9:45. Jericho: Yeah, it's gonna be tight, but I figure it'll be done in less than a minute. Eric: Chris, you're going against Christian. You two have had matches that have gone well over 15 minutes before. Jericho: Yeeeah... weeell... we'll work somethin out.. *Christian is heard from outside* Christian: SWEEETUH! Eric: What's he doin out there? Jericho: Uh... can I have my money or not...? (From outside the room) Christian: Pay him Eric!

HHH already gets face reactions from about 25-30% of the crowd, which can easily be raised to double in just a few weeks given the right amount of cool heelish moves. He has done everything there is to do as a heel, which means if he stays heel it will just be the repetitive shit we've been seeing for the past 3 years. HHH as a heel is bad, even if he performs better in the role. The purpose of him being a face is to get over heels and make a new star or two. Whether you like it or not is of little consequence. HHH has more potential as a face than he does as a heel, they can get better use of him in that role. Jericho missing a few matches, trying to cut an intense money-promo and then just stopping and saying "oh this is just silly now, does anyoen actually believe I'm going to beat Kane? I ALWAYS lose against him!", basically being Kayfabe-breaker would be great. Walking into the ring, saying "I give up" and tapping out, and collecting his cheque.

Who said it would last? The draft wouldn't allow for either groups to remain for long. The point is to mix up the 8 guys and get some good matches out of it, possibly some good feuds, and make for a month of good television.

It wouldn't have to be evolution, then. HHH can try to reform another Evolution, but Christian and Edge (and Jericho~!) say... "Hey, no way. We see what happens when you lead groups. DX. Evolution. You always end up screwing your partners. No no no. This isn't your kliq, we aren't your lackies. We will work together for a common goal, and that's to get the title off Batista."

I watched the Team Miletich PPV, and it was pretty muh. I'll save you some time and sum it up "Pat nose allot. They luv each other. MMA iz g8. Watch the same clips 10 times each." I watched UFC 31 as well, cept for Couture/Rizzo. Stay tooned.

Of course Severn, from the UWF-i matches that I have seen, is very good at the style. How could you hate Takada's work?! TAKADA RUELZ! It helps add depth when you see Takada rock in UWF-i, and then get destroyed by Rickson by -from all moves- an armbar, and then see Sakuraba pick up the torch. RRR: Needs more RINGS, period.

It was really good. You don't get much better suplexes than the ones Albright and Severn deliver. ...a sample...

They need to have major consequences for Cena hitting JBL after JBL said "I Quit".

You obviously haven't read my review of Takada/Tamura vs. Albright/Severn UWF-i.

I talked about this idea lil bit before, but I shall elaborate on it now... Since Smackdown is pre-taped, they can have some fun with the editing and post-production process. Since the Cruiserweights are "different", then why shouldn't their matches be? Have Akio come down with Bruce Lee-style outfits and sound effects, along with camera shots. Make his matches look like Bruce Lee movies. These would have to be jobber matches, but who cares, you get to see Akio do all these crazy moves. Have Funaki's matches look like Japanese Horror Movies. Nunzios matches look either like The Sopranos or The Godfather. The Mexican Wrestlers can stable-up and wrestle like a crazy El Santo movie.

Alright, but would the reason for all these guy's interfering be explained at all, or just self-explaintory? Because yes, HHH is an obvious choice, but why is Jericho interfering? Well I said "somehow"... ... it's not like I had it all worked out. I'm sure a few select promos cut before the match could make it work. Each guy is interviewed on who he thinks will win, to reinforce their involvement in the tournament. Hell, they could sit ring-side to watch the match, or around the ring, for that matter. It heightens the interest of the match, and if HHH isn't there, it helps establish his exhile (him coming out and the end is the pay-off to the tease... even though being gone 1 week isn't long enough). Kane is at ring-side, gets into it with Lita, Edge takes a shot at Kane, HBK gets involved, Christian gets involved, Benjamin, Jericho, etc. etc. etc. like HTQ said, each tournament guy getting a bit of revenge for their loss.

Akio/Nunzio was one of the better Smackdown matches I've seen. Too bad the finish was horrible. Given the pace they were building after the moonsault, they should have finished it with Nunzio getting the advantage, trying for his tornado-singlearm DDT, Akio blocking it, hitting a spin kick, and finishing it with Yang-time. The roll up win was anti-climatic and didn't benefit either guy or capitalize on the hot crowd.

To me, the drawing match on this card is Eddie/Rey, with Cena/JBL coming up second. I think they have built Eddie/Rey longer, gave it more unique twists, and are saving Reys return for the PPV. It is also a bit of a wild-card, since the winner isn't that obvious. Meanwhile, typically speaking, it is the face as a challenger that draws more than the face as a champion. Cena is going in as the favourite to win, so what incentive do fans have to see him vs. Bradshaw? The best thing I can think of is to see a bloodbath, which Eddie/Rey has the promise to be as-well (not to mention the possibility of being a much better match).

How this match should end, IMO, is somehow getting Christian, HHH, Sheldon Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho involved. The more guys that are floating around the top spot, the better. Batista, Benjamin, Benoit, Michaels vs. Edge, HHH, Christian, Chris Jericho would be awesome. Throw in Tomko and Kane if you'd like, but I wouldn't. Evil Flair and Lita would be interesting together, though a Face Flair deeming Batista/Benjamin/Benoit/Michaels the 4 Horsemen against HHH's new Evolution would be sick.

So what? In the long run, it will just put Batista over more if he can win the HIAC to blow off the feud in a position where HBK wasn't capable of doing the same thing the year before. Batista has already beaten HHH twice, how will he get "more over" by winning a 3rd time? It would just hurt HHH at that point. Besides, "doing what Shawn Michaels couldn't do" isn't something that would get the top face over "more". It's not what Batista needs right now. Batista, as champion, needs to be the top star on the show, which means HHH needs to stay off TV for a long time. This was the lesson taught with the Chris Benoit reign, most people here have learned it, and you don't even know it. The champion needs to be the most important guy on the show, because if he isn't, he becomes a weak champion. Plus, whereas, the Kane/Benoit feud was just a placeholder last year, this time, it will be based on the WWE's pet hot angle, and will lead logically to a heated title match at Summerslam. Oddly enough, Kane/Benoit last year was more focused on Lita/Kane, which -it seems- would be the same with Kane/Edge. The same result could be done without the title, and Kane/Edge isn't really lighting the world on fire right now, nor would it deliver in-ring. so I don't see why similar main events for the June/July PPVs with different results should bother anyone. You don't see how a champion not being the top star on a PPV should brother anyone?

HTQ, what's the word on the Bad Blood ME? Is it still HHH/Batista? Flair will be involved in the finish, and I can't imagine him turning on Batista. Ok, I *can* imagine it because it has happened SO many times, but then again, I *can't* imagine _because_ it has happened SO many times. The Money In The Bank thing has to come into play. Why would they have Edge win the tournament -win a shot for the title- when he already has a shot for the title?

How well did Spanglish do? Of course, that wasn't a Happy Madison production and sold moreas a James L Brooks family-dramady than anything else. 50 First Dates did well, way better than I expected, so I do not doubt Sandlers drawing power. I think The Longest Yard will make between 25-30 mil. Madagascar will do similarly. ROTS will do between 60-80 mil. If we can assume that there is 120 mil to spend, these numbers sound about right.