Guest nikjohns Report post Posted March 2, 2002 The WWF seems to be struggling at the moment. Despite having a roster of some of the best wrestlers of the 80s and 90s as well as the legends of the future, the product seems stale. Introducing the nWo should have sparked a huge mainstream interest, but the latest Smackdown ratings show a drop of around a point to 3.8. Two episodes of Raw and two of Smackdown. That is how long Vince has to sort something worthwhile out of Wrestlemania. The main focus of several shows at the moment has been Jericho v HHH, which is to be expected – hell, it’s the main event. But it seems like about 99% of the feuding has been Steph and HHH. Who screwed Trips out of his Wrestlemania title shot at No Way Out? Was it the WWF champion, and guy that he’d be feuding with? Nah, it was his “soon to be” ex-wife. A mini angle lasting nearly two whole shows involved Steph lying about being pregnant. Ooh… she’s a heel and she lies and stuff. Yay. Why the hell does this interest me? Jericho has done next to nothing with HHH, the only reference to their past that has been made was when HHH got injured. And we’ve never seen THAT footage recently. Jeez… what about Jericho winning the WWF title for the first time and having it taken from him by HHH? Other than this main event, there are three other matches set up. Hogan v Rocky in a “who is not-quite the best, but quite close to being the best of all time” match. This has had one interview segment and one ludicrous beat down segment devoted to it. Great. No, really. Why didn’t they build from the Rock’s career threatening injury from just before No Way Out, instead of the silliness with the ambulance? The whole setup with the ambulance seems contrived and tacky – I mean, why would the ambulance just be parked there, if the Rock was in serious condition?! Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Scotty 2 Hally (w/Grandmaster Nashay) will be an interesting match, since it goes against Vince’s entire reasoning for bringing in the nWo; how the hell does a match at Wrestlemania (and thereby bringing money into the WWF) help to kill it? Eh? EH? Who knows where this match will go, but looking at the build-up – Austin shoots Kev with a fucking fishing net, it’ll probably end up in Tom and Jerry territory :-/ The only other match announced (not including the farce behind the APA v Fuckabilly non-event which I’ll talk about in a minute) will be the inevitable clash of styles between Regal and RVD. So far the entire feud has been, er, non-existent, still, as long as Steph stays off TV a little while longer there is hope. Ah, never mind. The two other inevitable matches are Edge vs Booker T, who are feuding over a fucking hair commercial. There are plenty of posts on why this is a retarded idea, but what the hell is Vince paying his writers for? Have Booker kick the crap out of Edge or something, like a REAL HEEL. The build up for Taker Flair is fantastic, with the “I’ll piss you off until you fight me” tactic that has been used by schoolyard bullies for years. But can Flair carry Takes through a high-card match at Wrestlemania? I’m not so sure that anything good can come from this match. Okay, the tag team title match. Remember when the Hardyz, Dudleyz and Edge & Christian bust their balls at the last two Wrestlemanias in ladder matches (and variants thereof)? Those were both ****½+ matches, and how to showcase your tag division. Billy and Chuck, the hilarious “everyone but JR knows they are gay” tag team against the APA, who have done jack all except drink beer and have a cool catchphrase (DAMN!) in years. Still, at least Vince had the sense to can that match, and have two weeks to put something reasonable together. But he won’t. Unless Billy + Chuck are going to be in the match (for the love of God, no), then they’ll have to lose the titles to another team (nobody else is being pushed), who will then have to feud with yet another team. It ain’t gonna happen. No Way Out sucked, despite so much potential. Still, there’s always Wrestlemania.... But Wrestlemania X8 will suck, despite so much potential. Still, there’s always Backlash. So, do you think WMX8 will suck or will they pull something out of the bag? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Army Eye Report post Posted March 2, 2002 I mean, why would the ambulance just be parked there, if the Rock was in serious condition?! The NWO guys blocked it from moving with their cars. Not that I don't agree with your overall point. They WWF is really dropping the ball on the build to Wrestlemania. They've shown that they can mess up any angle, no matter how much of a cant-miss it is, by not making the NWO a dominant force. The build to Flair/Taker has been OKAY, but there's little chance of it delivering in the ring and I still don't think it's a match many people want to see. HHH/Jericho is not as hot as it could be, as they've downplayed the Jericho/HHH rivalry in favor of HHH/Stephanie, and they've managed to downplay the unified title by not having Jericho's title defenses be main events on TV. I think it'll still be a good show, Wrestlemania almost never sucks, but it won't be great like 14 or 17, and a massive buyrate doesn't seem like such a sure thing any more, with the poor TV the WWF has been putting out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kahran Ramsus Report post Posted March 2, 2002 Wrestlemania I, IX, XI, XIII & XV most definitely did suck, so there is no rule that says Wrestlemania can't suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shaved Bear Report post Posted March 2, 2002 HHH/Jericho is not as hot as it could be, as they've downplayed the Jericho/HHH rivalry in favor of HHH/Stephanie, and they've managed to downplay the unified title by not having Jericho's title defenses be main events on TV. are you caqlling steph a whore for air-time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nikjohns Report post Posted March 2, 2002 <<The NWO guys blocked it from moving with their cars.>> Bah, shows how little attention I was paying <<Wrestlemania I, IX, XI, XIII & XV most definitely did suck, so there is no rule that says Wrestlemania can't suck. >> They can, but they shouldn't... they certainly shouldn't be booked that way... <<are you caqlling steph a whore for air-time>> As if I would... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nikjohns Report post Posted March 2, 2002 <<The NWO guys blocked it from moving with their cars.>> Bah, shows how little attention I was paying <<Wrestlemania I, IX, XI, XIII & XV most definitely did suck, so there is no rule that says Wrestlemania can't suck. >> They can, but they shouldn't... they certainly shouldn't be booked that way... <<are you caqlling steph a whore for air-time>> As if I would... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Man They Call Texas Blu Report post Posted March 2, 2002 I'm going to WM 18, and it better than an OK show! I'm not asking for Flair/Steamboat, just a little effort. Please for Toronto's sake. I went through hell to get tickets, and there is no way I'm backing out now! I had to give away SIX, yes six, Toronto Maple Leaf season tickets! Plus, this will most likely be the last WWF PPV in Toronto in a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest goodhelmet Report post Posted March 2, 2002 "I went through hell to get tickets, and there is no way I'm backing out now! I had to give away SIX, yes six, Toronto Maple Leaf season tickets!" Which is why you, as a fan, deserve to be entertained and not fed mediocre crap. The card still looks weak but if they add a Booker-Edge match, Christian-DDP, a cruiser bout of any kind, and somehow miraculously change UT-Flair to Angle Flair, then the show will be solid. Even without my dream match the other matches are a must for me to watch this show. Strengthen the midcard Dammit!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
