Hawk 34

It might have been intended to be Domino but that's Edge in the photo.

No. It's Edge. Moore is on the face side.

Just curious, what made this card more appealing to order then the others? Jericho only missed two WM's, so that couldn't be that major of issue.

Can they fire the Mayor of Orlando?

We've covered how poor the build has been for this event but the fact remains that aside from two matches, this is a very strong card on paper. Which can always be deceptive. People are really sleeping on Batista-Umaga. These two guys typically step it up big time in these type of matches and I don't expect any less here. TBS/Mayweather is such a spectacle, almost unlike anything else we've seen. It'll be quite surreal when that all happens. We got a pair of world title matches that should be sound as the previous WM main events. As long as the WWE title match is booked along the lines of WMXX triple threat and not WMXXII, it should be really good. Undertaker and Edge could go either way in quality, which makes it intriguing. The concept of anyone getting a rub from beating Ric Flair is ridiculous. Maven beat Flair. Beating Flair isn't an accomplishment anymore. After Sting and HHH, Shawn was the absolute right choice for Flair to close out his career. I think pressure will hurt the performers just a bit but it will still be a very good match. JBL-Finlay is a match people are getting excited for and I'm not sure why that is. It'll be okay but I don't think people will get what they expect here. MITB is textbook but it works. As long as they keep it suspenseful and don't replicate too many spots, the crowd will eat it up. The good chance of Matt's surprise return will add to this match. Don't forget the elements this show will take place in, making it that much more unique. WM hasn't really disappointed since WM16. Some were better and some don't hold up but they have been consistently entertaining and worthwhile.

I took a look and apparently the sunset in Orlando tonight is at 7:43. I hope WWE could time it just right and have the MITB winner on top of the ladder securing the briefcase at that precise moment. I think it would make for a very good visual. Edit: Not that's a big deal but it appears Richards has replaced Matt Striker in the Battle Royal. Odd to see Richards slapped on the heel side.

SCOH usually gets heavy praise out of the gate every year but the show had great potential going into it. I don't take much from the praise but pay more attention to the details if they offer it.

I would want to see Santino trying to knock down all the legends but end up eating his words but he'll probably get involved with Snoop again during the BunnyMania.

SCOH Results

The weather concern is probably a big reason those last few seats aren't getting sold.

I would like to see Santino bring that back. It'd suit him well.

This match revolves around Vince McMahon, so he'll be involved in some capacity. Which means they'll get to do what they need to do and JBL will make sure of that. I do believe people are expecting too much with this one. I think Batista and Umaga will pull of the better mid-card brawl.

They probably kept BDV out since they already have Kane, Snitsky, Palumbo, Festus, Henry and Khali in the match and didn't want to have that many big guys involved.

The build for Undertaker and Edge has been an absolute disappointment. It started off very well, all the way back to last spring during that period when both Kennedy and Undertaker were forced to be written off the show. The set up for this match was made right there and they should have kept it going. Edge’s return at Survivor Series was done superbly and showed signs that they would have a tremendous march to WM. In typical WWE fashion, they blew it. It isn’t as disastrous as the HHH/Jericho and HHH/Booker WM builds because neither is hurt from it. The biggest problem with this match is that it has been loaded with the complete collection of Undertaker feud cliches. From spooky lighting effects, the traditional casket segment and the cowardly heel hiding behind his cronies. Everything has just been meandering with the lone saving grace coming in the probability of a pretty good match. The WWE Title, predictably has been built fairly well enough even if most people here are turned off by all possible results. Poor booking has plagued the entire Wrestlemania card. It’s saved by the strength of the quality that were likely to see and the unique spectacle that will be offered from the venue as well as the curiosity factor with Mayweather.

That has been the consensus belief throughout the entire build up (during a staged brawl between Mayweather's entourage and other WWE wrestlers). The debate has generally centered around whom that person would be, often boiling down to MVP, Kennedy and Jericho.

Just posted by WWE.COM regarding the TBS/Mayweather event

Sting should be allowed backstage. I expect most of the TNA guys to be at the ROH show instead.

The reward for winning the Royal Rumble isn't just a world title shot but a promised main event. Chavo wasn't booked into a match for that particular night, so it would be perfectly logical for Chavo to seek a a main event slot. The notion that the IC/US titles are above the ECW title at this moment isn’t accurate. They are at the same level playing ground and the ECW title has a tremendous advantage of having some sense of importance surrounding it as it’s defended virtually every week on television and typically gets a spot on the PPV events. That can’t be said about the United States and IC championships, which can go weeks without a defense and rarely appears on PPV. Chavo being the ECW champion wasn’t the most desired circumstance but he hasn’t been ineffective as a champion but on that same accord, he hasn’t exactly set the ECW brand on fire. He has kept ECW as a product and brand stagnate which isn’t a good thing but it’s not a glaring negative. You can easily argue that a great majority of people were equally or more qualified and deserving of that spot and I would strongly agree. I don’t think it’s fair to call him the worst champion in a very long history because that just isn’t true. His reign hasn’t been a disaster and I think that ought to be taken in consideration before making such a claim. Jericho and Mysterio, just for recent comparison were enormously deserving of their lone world title reigns but each of those reigns were devastatingly botched and did more damage to those guys then any good. I won’t support the idea that this title is a genuine world title in the same manner of the other two recognized world championships in WWE but like Dandy pointed out, this championship and the title holder is generally the focus point of a nationally aired primetime cable wrestling program. It’s on the same level as TNA and their version of a world championship. There’s no disputing that this title loses a bit of luster because of this current title reign. It’s not because of the champion but rather the direction-less path it has followed since the apparent end of the CM Punk feud. If Elijah Burke were in the position that Chavo is in, I don’t think the situation would be any different. As far as improving the perception of the championship, that simply requires good promotion, stars and a strong program built around it. That’s just simple logic right there. Make people care about the people involved and establish that the object they are fighting over is important and the fans will buy it. That isn’t going to occur with Chavo Guerrero at this point. The best ECW champion has been Big Show and that is simply because he was so well booked but the product on ECW as a whole was horrible. No one really noticed it and then came the horrible mess that was the Lashley and McMahon period. Does that mean putting CM Punk back in that spot? While Punk is very well received by the fans as a personality and wrestler, his title reign didn’t have much success beyond pushing Punk. He was asked to extend an already exhausted feud with John Morrison, whom the crowd wasn’t buying as a champion and then Miz was added to the mess. While the matches they produced were perfectly acceptable, it never felt important. They moved on from there with a big man/little feud with BDV which many liked to call a failed attempt to imitate the 1992 series with Sting and Vader. Followed with a lack of direction prior to the arrival of Chavo, Punk continued to toil around doing almost nothing of note. It should be noted that the segments with Edge garnered great reactions and interest. What does that indicate? Pair Punk with someone the crowd takes seriously and not as a novelty act and they’ll go with it. The ECW title will never approach the importance of the other world titles but it certainty has the chance to be something more then a mid-card act.

Is that because of his name or is he a genuinely well-regarded teacher?

You don't consider mine a gutsy pick? Who are you? The guy that picked Duke or Texas? They are both #2's and can't really count as gutsy. Okay, I take that back. Someone picked Pittsburgh, that's a little bit of a reach but they are the trendy team thanks to Coach Asshole.

After the first day of games, not that much separation in the top half of the standings. Surprised that no one with the exception of Bored (I think) with Stanford had a gutsy pick for national champion. Everyone seemed to ride the UCLA/NC/Kansas/GT/Memphis/Tennessee line.

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? In other words, book him exactly like Heyman did.

Not rationalizing having pot, but rationalizing the question "Why would you put yourself in a situation to get busted for drugs when you're the champ?" That's what I meant. RVD knew it was too late by then and he was just keeping it warm for the Cena rematch anyways. Are you being serious? WWE crowds were going absolutely nutty for the spinaroonie in 2002-2003. It's a cliche comparison but people went nuts for The Worm and Rikishi's ass rub. Does that mean they should have been world champions?

Oh, that's a fucking dagger.