The Crossface

[Guest TSMAdmin]

Some are already saying that the events of this week could very well go down in the annals of WWF history alongside the Montreal Screwjob. What a week, and we're only seven days away from the King of the Ring PPV. I'm Stephen Popick, back from the dead and happy to be moderating the CrossFace yet again. Joining me are several of thesmartmarks.com best writers and columnists including Dr. Tom, O.R. Polk, Jr., Jared “JHawk Hawkins and Dave Dymond.

 

 

Stephen Popick: Gentleman, good evening! Before we get to the obvious, let's talk about some other issues that happened during the past few days. First and foremost, DDP retired this week. Does anyone have any thoughts on his announcement?

Dave Dymond: I have a lot of respect for DDP and I think it's a shame he's retiring.

Dr. Tom: It's about time DDP should have retired. I don't know why he stuck around after WCW failed and his buddy was out of the business. Getting humiliated by a horse-faced woman is not the way to end one's career. But he should be good as a commentator or road agent.

O.R. Polk, Jr.: DDP did a lot for a man of his advanced age. No one expected him to be able to "go" like he did.

Jared “JHawk” Hawkins: DDP is a man you have to respect. The man got into the business by paying his own way and ended up becoming a major player. I'm going to miss the guy, but hope he takes Michael Cole's job.

Stephen: I think you guys are giving him way too many props. Bischoff is the only reason he received a push.

Dave: I disagree. I don't think he got over just because of his friendship with Bischoff. He was a good worker. Even Foley thought so.

Polk: I don't have anything particularly bad to say about him but he deserves better than being the lead man in the InVasion so to speak and getting squashed by Undertaker.

Dr. Tom: He got over on his own hard work, but Bischoff is the reason he was pushed as high as he was. And good as he may have been, I think he was out of his league in the main event.

JHawk: I think DDP got a push because of Bischoff, but he got over with it, and that is out of Bischoff's hands. Ernest Miller got a push because of Bischoff and nobody bought into it.

Polk: JHawk and everyone else just said it. You can't deny the man's work once Easy E pushed him.

Stephen: DDP may have earned his working man's gimmick. Knowing him personally, I will miss seeing him in the ring but how will he be remembered?

Polk: He'll be remembered as the old guy who got beat on by Undertaker by casual fans. We’ll remember him as the old guy who could work and carried the ball handed to him by his "friend".

Dave: I HOPE he is remembered for his work against guys like Savage...and not for the Undertaker nonsense. There are guys his age that could learn a REAL lesson from his work ethic.

JHawk: Exactly, Dave. If Hogan showed half that work ethic he'd only kind of suck instead of really, really suck. DDP should be remembered as a three time, three time, three time WCW champion, but the marks will remember Sara Undertaker pinning him in 13 seconds. Sad but true

Dr. Tom: He'll probably be remembered as Bischoff's lackey, which is a shame. Newer fans will remember him losing to UT's fricking wife. But in reality, he was a solid worker and a good talker, and a decent guy in the upper midcard. And his wife is really hot.

JHawk: Yes, she is. I'm still pissed we didn't get that DDP/Kim vs. Taker/Sara match

Polk: DDP is the guy who has a good heart but gets teased behind his back by his "friends" because of that same easy going nature. We all have friends like that; a little too naive for their own good. And Sara's face is not HOT.

Dr. Tom: I was referring to Kimberly Page. On the other hand, Sara’s face belongs on the cover of the Daily Racing Form more than a men's magazine.

Dave: Sara = Million Dollar Body...Five Cent Face

JHawk: Sara could do Westerns if she had two more legs

Dr. Tom: Just put Undertaker in a horse suit with her. Since he's a horse's ass at times, there's your second set of legs

Polk: Sara has a "butter" face. Everything looks good on her "butter" face.

Stephen: Is this discussion about DDP or Sara?

Polk: Sounds like it's about Sara. I guess we have an answer to how DDP will be remembered right there.

 

Stephen: Well, it looks like we won't be seeing DDP on either Smackdown or RAW. Speaking of RAW, Vince McMahon pinned Ric Flair in the middle of the ring, giving him full control of both shows. Given this fact, does this effectively end the split, and if not, how do you see the company’s progression?

Dr. Tom: They're saying the split is not over, so I'll take them at their word, for now. I would hold out hope for some kind of an Invasion, but they bungled the last one so horribly, that would be pointless.

JHawk: Does it really matter if the split continues or not? If they drop it then they are pulling the plug too soon. If they stick with it, everyone will wonder why. I only see the split continuing to put Steph back on TV to run one of the shows, and if they do that, there won't be a WrestleMania 20

Polk: I don't think Vince'll back out of the split, he doesn't like to admit failure.

Dave: If they drop the split, a lot of good talent will get lost in the shuffle

Dr. Tom: I think it needs more time, really. The problem is, there was no plausible reason for it since they had to change a match at WrestleMania. I don't know if this has given them a better reason, though.

Stephen: Do you think the split was a failure by design?

Dr. Tom: No, it was a failure in execution.

Polk: Exactly. It never seemed like a real split from the very start.... too much crossover in the first month.

Dave: I agree. I think they should have done the full on split...two separate companies.

Dr. Tom: There were some flaws in how they planned it, but a little reworking would have solved them. They sprung this on the fans, out of the blue and they've done a poor job at sticking to it so far.

Polk: I still feel like I'm watching the same two shows that I was watching before the split.

JHawk: They didn't put enough "big names" on Raw and the two shows aren't really different enough to be a "split"… and why are the tag team champions on the show that has no tag teams?

Dr. Tom: The tag division sucks, but those belts should float like the World title and Women's title do. They need belts for each show. Keep the Undisputed title, but make a Raw TV champ and a SD TV champ. Scrap the IC, European, and Hardcore belts. Keep the Tag, Cruiser, and Women's titles.

b>Polk: I like Tom's idea. For it to feel like a real split, each show needs its own champions. Then inter-promotional feuds basically book themselves.

Dave: I think the tag teams should float like the Broads do.

JHawk: Would you really want Gunn and Palumbo on both shows though?

Dave: Yes...if it means more tag matches that mean something.

Polk: Once they had some tag champs to be proud of, I would want them on both shows. Champs are going to come and go. You're going to be fonder of some more so than others. I don't mind Billy & Chuck. Their entrance theme moves me.

Dave: There are SO many unused workers who would make perfectly serviceable tag teams.

 

Stephen: Vince also mentioned how Flair had run RAW into the ground yet Smackdown is doing worse numbers. How did the show with the stronger roster become so pathetic?

Dr. Tom: Smackdown ratings have always been worse than RAW. They're not really the same number, since RAW is a cable rating. Ignoring that, I think they're just pushing the same tired people and ignoring everyone else.

Dave: Exactly. Smackdown is loaded and there is no excuse for their mismanagement of talent.

JHawk: I blame the creative team. For example, Lance Storm's latest push is being pissed off at Brian Hebner. Why not give him a push where he's actually winning matches?

Dave: I think Storm is building Team Canada again...and that's a good thing.

Polk: Storm is going to be Baby Bret and Brian is going to be Baby Hebner; that's not good. It's destined to fail, rehashing that angle because the personnel aren’t the same caliber. And it's not something that ought to be rehashed anyway.

Storm's not popular enough and not dickish enough to be Baby Bret.

Dr. Tom: They need to get back to the wrestling. Why does the Knoble-Hurricane feud have to be over a whorish Nidia? Why can't one guy say, "Hey, you have a belt that I want," and they fight over it. Whatever happened to that?

JHawk: Why is everything based on a love triangle? Knoble-Hurricane, Tajiri-Maven...

Dr. Tom: Take out the soap opera and the real wrestling fans will come back. But that would require Stephanie to have a lobotomy, and the girly soap writers on the creative team to be sacked.

Polk: I'm pretty sure I could come up with a "feud generator" for the WWE creative team with just angles from the 80's NWA and it would blow anything they've come up with since WMX7.

Stephen: I agree Polk.

Dr. Tom: It would definitely blow their recent work away.

JHawk: Well, hopefully with Heyman allegedly having the book things will improve, but most of what worked in ECW won't be allowed to work in WWE

Dr. Tom: Heyman's overrated as a booker. He only put together a few good angles in all the time ECW was out there. The rest of it was table spots, other EXTREME~! bumps, and a rabid fanbase.

Stephen: Once Heyman's ideas start to work, the McMahon's will take over and ruin his original concepts.

JHawk: I disagree Tom. Heyman's angles might not be great, but he's a master at playing to one's strength and pushing their weaknesses aside. If Heyman can get 911 and his shitty choke slam over, there's hope for everybody

Polk: Can't they do anything original?

 

Stephen: In 1997, Jim Cornette said wrestling fans watch a wrestling show to watch wrestling. That about sums it up… Vince needs to get back to that. Anything besides the current product would be a breath of fresh air. Can someone please tell Vince that Stacy isn't attracted to him?

Polk: Can someone please tell Vance that NO ONE is attracted to him? I mean, I'll do him for his money, but for his looks? No way.

JHawk: Can someone please tell Vince that, even if she were attracted to him, I don't want to see that on my damn TV?

Dr. Tom: He knows. He just has to use his TV shows as a way to act out his lecherous fantasies now that his wife is post-menopausal.

JHawk: I think the sketch from SmackDown is setting up the "break up". That Stacy-Dawn Marie feud will draw some money, bah gawd!

Polk: Yeah, Stacy's already begun looking elsewhere.

Dr. Tom: I hope so. Though it will probably segue into a gravy bowl "match" between Stacy and Dawn Marie first.

Stephen: Vince is probably one of the main reasons for Smackdown ratings plummeting. Is there even a place for Vince in his own company anymore?

Polk: NO. Get off TV, Vance.

JHawk: Not on the air, no

Dr. Tom: I disagree. I think there is. But the Mr. McMahon character is basically a self-parody now.

Polk: The Mr. McMahon character works best when we haven't seen him for a long time. He should only come out when something of MAJOR importance goes down.

Dr. Tom: Right. If Vince is supposed to be a billionaire, he should have lackeys taking care of pedestrian things like free TV shows.

JHawk: Unless Vince is selling the company to Shane, then there is nothing of major importance left

Polk: I agree JHawk, nothing of real importance is going down, which is exactly why Vance shouldn't be on Tv. But to get heat on something, it would 'seem' important if Vance interjected himself. Everything they've done for Jericho, short of making him champion, has been an insult to his hard work.

 

Stephen: Now that we have vented about SmackDown, let’s move on to RAW. Monday night, we were privileged to see the Clique 2002, as Shawn Michaels finally spoke. In his shoot promo, he attacked the Rock for keeping HHH down. What the hell is he smoking?

Dr. Tom: Mighty big of Shawn to attack the guy who's out making movies until 2156.

Polk: Not to mention the fact that Hunter and Rocky carried the ball and were pushed together. Hunter's held down everyone. Rock’s jobbed to everyone on national TV. The point is, if he thought that Rocky's comments were a shot at Hunter, fine. But don't shoot on national TV on RAW.

Dr. Tom: The only person holding HHH down is Stephanie, on Bondage Night.

JHawk: Here's the thing about HBK's comments. He's basing that off a passing comment about people backstage playing politics when no names were mentioned. Why take offense to it if you're not playing politics in the first place?

Stephen: Face it, Shawn's on spiritual crack, and Hunter could not have made it without Rock, Jericho, and most of all, Mick Foley. But we forget about old superstars don't we?

Dr. Tom: No one can succeed in a vacuum. HHH needed the people who put him over and had good matches with him. But remember, it took a while for his run as heel champ to catch fire.

Polk: HBK's comments and personal beefs don't have any place on RAW.

JHawk: Exactly. Did Hunter lose the Scorpion King role to The Rock? Not likely, but apparently he's had his spotlight stolen.

 

Stephen: Well, in the same segment Booker T received a classic HBK superkick. Have we seen the birth of a new superstar? With his match against Brock coming this Monday, what does the future hold for Booker?

Polk: RACISM~!

Stephen: That's what Goldust implied in the Undercover Brother skit.

Polk: Booker will be embarrassed by the nWo for a while. There is no way is he winning this feud with Shawn around.

JHawk: I predict Booker to job to X-Pac in a non-tournament match on Heat before King of the Ring, Just to piss me off. Seriously, if they're smart, this leads to Booker becoming King Of the Ring and having a chance of being elevated.

Dr. Tom: I'd like to see Booker get a run in the main event, but Vince is too much of a prick to push someone from WCW that high. He’ll probably feud with the NWO for a while in the upper midcard and it will all be meaningless soon.

Stephen: I am disturbed that Booker is fighting the nWo when he should be winning the damn Crown!

JHawk: That's exactly my point, Stephen.

Dr. Tom: The guy's a five-time, FIVE-TIME WCW champion, and he'll be jobbing to fricking X-Pac in a couple weeks. Booker's a good worker with good charisma. He deserves his chance.

Polk: He's just a damn good worker because being a 5-time WCW champ doesn't mean much since Dave Arquette won the belt.

JHawk: 5 time WCW Champion doesn't mean anything when it changed hands four times a month either. Plus, X-Pac's a main-eventer. He had a title shot in 1994, you know!

Dr. Tom: Bah. X-Pac should be released and shot.

Polk: Or at least placed in some sort of hair vs. hair match.

Dave: Send X-Pac to Big Japan and put him in a death match.

 

Stephen: Speaking of Booker, his King Of the Ring opponent this week is Brock Lesnar. Why is Brock getting the push and does he deserve it? Personally, I believe Brock needs to go on beating people up and leaving them in blood...Booker needs the Crown to cement his facedom.

Dave: No. Brock does NOT deserve this push. He has done nothing to earn it.

Stephen: Why not? He’s the NEXT BIG THING!

Polk: They're elevating Brock because they are pushing the panic button, but he doesn't deserve it, not by a long shot.

Dr. Tom: He's getting the push because he's big, which Vince likes, and because he was an amateur wrestler, so Vince sees the next Kurt Angle, but he's very green and nowhere near as good as Angle, even when Angle first started. So no, he doesn't deserve the push. And if they thrust him up there in the main event, it will bomb, and it'll take him a looooong time to get back there.

JHawk: Brock's getting the push because he's big and Vince gets a hard-on for big guys. Does he deserve it? Not yet, and definitely not when they've stopped pushing him as an unstoppable monster

Dave: It's another example of Vince's Big Man Closeted Homo-erotic fetish

JHawk: McMahon needs to think back 10 years. Business was down, so he pushed the Bret Hart-type, and he stayed in business. He pushed the Kevin Nash type, and he couldn't sell out a 2000 seat music hall

Polk: He stayed in business but it didn't BOOM. It didn't do that until Austin. With Bret he just 'got by'.

JHawk: Why push Brock so high when people have been practically begging for RVD and Booker near the top for months. I thought it was all about the fans. Then slow Brock down and push these guys!

Stephen: He's faced jobbers his entire tenure in the WWE. When they tried to give him a big win, that man left in a hissy-fit. It’s not a good sign that people don’t want to work with you.

Dr. Tom: Exactly. Give the spot to someone who's paid more dues for it. I don't think they need any more disharmony in the locker room.

JHawk: It's not even about paying dues, it's about keeping the fans from boycotting.

Dr. Tom: To the other workers it is about paying dues. How happy would Jericho be if Lesnar were suddenly in the main event scene? Or Benoit? Or RVD?

Polk: He's be just as happy as he is now, Tom. Brock being pushed like this now + Jericho STILL jobbing = damned unfair.

JHawk: Well, Billy Gunn's been with the company for 9 years, and nobody's pushing for him to feud with Taker anytime soon. So it works both ways!

Dr. Tom: Because Billy Gunn sucks. And when they tried to push him as a singles star, he flopped. Jericho, Benoit and RVD have spent thirty years combined in the business, and this big ox gets a huge push in three months?

Polk: Billy DOES suck, but that never stopped him from being on my TV. Some people are going to be around regardless. Test, Albert, Mark Henry, Big Show and Billy Gunn we just have to deal with.

Stephen: Jericho should just go back to playing with Fozzy, because his WWE career prospects looks dreadful. But I digress; this is about Brock Lesnar, the monster that receives Goldberg chants.

Polk: Maybe Jericho should take some Longitude then!

 

Stephen: Well, speaking of Brock, he was supposed to be facing Steve Austin this week. I saw Confidential this week and I'm still convinced this is not a work. What the hell is going on with Austin?

Dr. Tom: Austin's done, as far as I can tell. And he was 100% wrong to walk out on the company and the fans just because he was unhappy with the writing team. BUT, he was absolutely right that WWE is creatively bankrupt. Instead of addressing that, though, Vince has just started a smear campaign and swept his complaints under the rug.

Dave: I agree.

JHawk: Austin might be right, but he took the wrong approach. I couldn't go to the hospital at my old job without being written up and Austin leaves town? Funny how Austin threw a hissy-fit about the political bullshit in WCW, and then he pulls this stunt.

Polk: Regardless of how dissatisfied someone may be with their job, regardless of how valid your concerns may be, it's still wrong to just "walk out". Everyone under the WWE umbrella is a victim to this sub par and piss poor creative team. What makes Austin better than everyone else to think he shouldn't suffer through it as well?

Dr. Tom: Not everyone is the main event, though. Bad writing will hurt the most important people more than the lower card guys.

Polk: I agree, Tom. But he also has more of a chance to walk away unscathed due to that same popularity. The big stars are also hurt less by bad angles. They can come out smelling like roses. Everyone else is saddled with bad angles and gimmicks forever.

Dr. Tom: Austin's spent a lot of time in the business, and he put the company on his back when he was a walking cripple and brought them back to the big time. It's ridiculous that Vince thinks his concerns are without merit and can be ignored so easily. It would be stupid to job Austin to Lesnar but he shouldn’t have walked out.

Polk: Exactly, Austin pissed and moaned about the reluctance of the older stars to step aside in WCW. Then he pulls this. Vance said it on Confidential: he gave Austin the opportunity to live his dream. I'm tired of everyone thinking that VKM owes Austin some tremendous favor and he should be treated differently. If you ask me, Austin OWES Vince. Otherwise he could've still been at WCW when they were sold.

Stephen: Maybe everyone should have done this. Sometimes it takes someone to walk to open the door for others. Remember the Radicalz? I don't know, but the situation is eerily similar...However, I'll make the concession that what Austin did was unprofessional.

 

Stephen: Austin was scheduled to job to Brock. Eddy loses clean to RVD. Do you think the WWE was trying to undermine Austin’s program with Eddy?

JHawk: How do we know Eddy still jobs to RVD if Austin doesn't walk out.

Dr. Tom: Jobbing to Lesnar is a bad match, though. It's not just a bad Angle. It would have made Austin look weak. Even if Lesnar's a monster, Austin ha's fought off a lot more than just one big dude before.

Polk: I agree that jobbing to Brock wasn't a good idea. But given how RAW has been going lately, it would have been forgotten the following Monday.

JHawk: I say use this fiasco to elevate Eddy and Benoit. "He didn't want to face us, he was scared." They can bury the man to make everybody else look better.

Dr. Tom: They might as well, JHawk. I think that kind of angle could work. Then have Benoit and Eddy go on a rampage, beating everyone and making them tap out.

JHawk: But that would make sense, so don’t count on it happening. On a side note, if any WWE people are reading this, I want the writing job and I work cheap!

Polk: Riiiiight, Tom. That's going to happen. Then Taz will get a push, too.

Dr. Tom: Of course it won't. But it would help get over the idea that Austin was afraid to face them. I couldn't care less about Taz's push, honestly.

Polk: I don't think anyone would buy the "Austin is afraid" nonsense to begin with. But it would certainly get some heat on Benoit and Eddy to SAY it!

Dr. Tom: They could show him tapping to Angle last year.

JHawk: They could show him to tapping to Benoit in that SmackDown match when Vince was distracting Hebner. Or even show the Montreal finish from Raw last year. It would illustrate how he can't beat Benoit.

Polk: That's when he was a cowardly heel, though. He's a face now. No one would buy him being afraid of ANYTHING, especially not the Vanilla and Caramel midgets.

JHawk: And remember, nobody bought cowardly heel Austin when he WAS cowardly heel Austin!

Dr. Tom: I thought cowardly heel Austin was fucking great, but come on. If RAWs are forgotten from one week to the next, you expect people to remember that Austin was a cowardly heel? Or for it even to be played up that way?

Polk: That only makes Benoit and Eddy come out looking like superior faces and Austin the cowardly heel. Use him to your advantage, but you can't bury the guy by going completely against his established character.

Dr. Tom: They've already started burying him.

Polk: Like I said before, it'd be a great heat-seeking tactic by Benoit and Eddy, but no one will buy that Austin was ACTUALLY afraid. If they do that, Austin doesn't look like much of a face.

 

Stephen: Speaking of cowardly Austin, this weekend, San Antonio police were called out to his house because he allegedly assaulted Debra.

JHawk: Thank you for bringing that up. I'm not buying it, too coincidental. My theory about Austin...Debra. I think we can blame everything on Debra

Stephen: Whoa! And I thought I was bad.

Polk I think we can all safely assume it's the woman's fault. Always is. Women be trippin'! Hey, all I can say is: domestic violence happens. I don't know the particulars, so I'm not tying one incident into the other. Point is, Austin's not a happy camper right now, so it's not uncommon to get into a self-destructive behavior pattern.

Stephen: Whatever happened, its a sad situation

JHawk: We need more facts. For every domestic violence dispute, there are just as many false claims too

Dr. Tom: Until Steve Williams gets a chance to talk, we're not going to know anymore than Debra's version of what happened. Keep in mind she did NOT press charges over this.

Stephen: So a bruised and battered Debra isn't proof?

Polk: Tomorrow, we'll hear he got caught drunk driving. Doesn't mean he's a spoiled prima donna, wife beating, alcoholic although that's what you'll see on every message board.

Dr. Tom: Maybe she stabbed him. Maybe he caught her cheating. Maybe someone else hit her and she's framing her husband. We don't know yet. Sure, it LOOKS cut and dried, but we know very little about the case right now.

Polk: I'm not going to say he's innocent simply because Debra didn't press charges. He still probably hit her, but most wives don't want to put their husbands away, especially when they make Austin's money. If not for Austin, she wouldn't even have been on TV the past year.

JHawk: It's possible Austin hit her. Maybe even likely. But maybe she fell down a flight of stairs.

Polk: Maybe she fell down some stairs AFTER Austin hit her.

JHawk: It could be anything, and all we know for sure is the police were called in.

Polk: I'm going to tell you all what happened. They were talking, disagreed someone got hit, (can't say how much or how hard). Debra called the police, Austin fled (for whatever reason). Leaving the scene doesn't seem to imply innocence. The police called Austin on his cell and he refused to come back.

Dr. Tom: I'm not trying to absolve him of anything because he's some sort of celebrity. But we really don't know much about what happened. And until we do, there is that whole innocent-until-proven-guilty thing that our legal system is kind of based on.

Stephen: Well, I’ll wait for the facts to come out and make it a topic for another day.

Polk: I think we all should reserve judgment. I just hate for people to jump on the poor guy because he's hit a rough spot lately. That's not fair especially since these same hypocrites were his biggest fans just last week.

JHawk: Exactly. We should all wait. We don't know Steve Williams' side of the story.

 

Stephen: One thing seems certain. Steve Austin will not be at the King Of the Ring next Sunday? Who's winning the tournament?

Dave: Probably Lesnar. Hopefully Booker

Polk: Hopefully Booker. But since WWE=WCW, I'll say Lesnar.

Dr. Tom: I'm going with the hopeful pick of Booker. If he doesn't get it, I'd like to see Jericho.

JHawk: If they're smart, Booker T. If they're of average intelligence, the winner of the RVD-Jericho semifinal. Since they're neither, Brock Lesnar.

Stephen: I'm hoping its King Booker, just so we can get a royal spinaroonie!

Dr. Tom: RVD's good at the IC level right now. I think Booker should use the King Of the Ring to vault into the title scene.

JHawk: I'm actually rooting for RVD, but I think Booker needs the victory more.

Polk: I think King Booker skits would rock. RVD doesn't need the crown.

Stephen: Booker already has a court jester. Think about it

 

Stephen: Now, what are your predictions for the MAIN events? Hogan vs. Angle and HHH vs. Taker?

Dr. Tom: I want Angle to win, and I think he will. I think Hogan realizes his job is to put the younger crowd over now.

JHawk: Well, if Angle can bring Hogan to a ** classic, he gets my vote for best wrestler since Flair in his prime

Polk: I don't really care who wins as long as Hogan comes out to his "Real American" theme music.

Dr. Tom: For the title match, I think Undertaker needs to keep the belt. They need some stability with the damn thing, and hot-shotting it back onto Hunter doesn't do anything for the title.

JHawk: They have to put Taker over Triple H. Taker's more over than Hunter, slightly healthier, and more motivated as of late

Stephen: I can't believe I’m saying this but I want Taker to win!

Polk: And Hunter's elbow is due for surgery, no?

Dr. Tom: Is it? He could probably use some time to rest his knee, too.

Polk: He needs to lose some mass and look at tapes of himself when he was actually good, motivated and mobile.

JHawk: And practice some moves other than pedigrees and facebusters!

Dr. Tom: Absolutely. Have Taker "hurt" him and keep him out until Survivor Series.

Polk: How would you have Undertaker "hurt" him, Tom?

Dr. Tom: Tombstone him thru the announce table. Since they failed to get Undertaker over as a submission wrestler (even though it would have worked had they stuck with it), he has to do it with an impact move. Hunter can sell it as a neck injury.

Polk: No one gets put out because of the announce table. Taker had to tombstone Rocky on a car for that to work. He'd have to tombstone him from the top rope onto the announce table to get anyone to believe it.

Dr. Tom: Then Tombstone him on the damn motorcycle. I just want to see a TOMBSTONE~! Or take the sledgehammer and beat him on his bad leg. Sell it as a broken knee.

Polk: Ganso Bomb~! from the apron to the exposed concrete would be my preference.

JHawk: A Ganso Bomb? Yeah, like McMahon will allow that!

Polk: Taker does it by accident a lot anyway. Almost.

JHawk: True enough.

Stephen: So it's a lock: HHH wins because all logical signs point to a Taker victory.

 

<Stephen: Finally, what are your thoughts on King Of the Ring? Will this show entertain you or will it suck worse than KOR ’95? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Polk: Thumbs down. No way they can put on a good show.

Dr. Tom: I think thumbs down.

JHawk: I'll hold off until they finalize the card, but as of right now it has potential if they don't fuck the tournament up

Stephen: get off the fence JHawk! I'll be drunk watching it so thumbs up! If I was sober, two thumbs down.

JHawk: I won't get off the fence until I know what the semifinals are but I'm going to be in attendance, so it better be thumbs up!

Polk: It's sad when the last great King Of The Ring match involved Shane McMahon.

Stephen: On that note, join us next week as we give our King Of the Ring reactions here on the Crossface!