UseTheSledgehammerUh 0 Report post Posted April 1, 2005 This year there seems to be some (more than many years) discussion about who wins the respective title matches. My question, who did you PICK TO LEAVE WITH THE TITLE (not want, pick) for the following bouts below. Be honest: - Batista Vs HHH - JBL Vs Cena - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - Eddie Vs Angle - Brock Vs Angle - Booker Vs HHH - HHH Vs Jericho - Rock Vs Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH If you picked INCORRECTLY, tell why. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ISportsFan 0 Report post Posted April 1, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH -- Batista - JBL Vs Cena -- Cena (but I'm having some second thoughts) - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK -- Benoit - Eddie Vs Angle -- Eddie - Brock Vs Angle -- Brock - Booker Vs HHH -- Booker (I thought the race thing meant a sure Booker win) - HHH Vs Jericho -- HHH (easiest one of them all, even though Jericho should have won) - Rock Vs Austin -- Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH -- Rock (no heel had won up until this point in time) So, 5/7. Jason Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brighty 0 Report post Posted April 1, 2005 This year there seems to be some (more than many years) discussion about who wins the respective title matches. My question, who did you PICK TO LEAVE WITH THE TITLE (not want, pick) for the following bouts below. Be honest: - Batista Vs HHH - JBL Vs Cena - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - Eddie Vs Angle - Brock Vs Angle - Booker Vs HHH - HHH Vs Jericho - Rock Vs Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH If you picked INCORRECTLY, tell why. - Batista Vs HHH - i pick Batista - JBL Vs Cena - i pick JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - i picked HBK, cos i had got so used to seeing Benoit lose big matches, and the next PPV was in Canada and if Shawn won they could've done heel HBK v. face Benoit in Bret Country. - Eddie Vs Angle - i picked Eddie. seemed obvious from the build. - Brock Vs Angle - i picked Brock, because i knew Kurt's neck was fucked and he was taking time off after WM. - Booker Vs HHH - i picked HHH, because i never saw Booker as a World Champion type guy. - HHH Vs Stephanie McMahon (with Chris Jericho) - i picked HHH. one of the more obvious finishes cos it was his big return from injury. - Rock Vs Austin - i picked Austin. didn't think he'd turn heel though. - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - i picked Foley, because it was clear it would be his last match and i thought they'd maybe do a WWF Title tournament heading into Backlash. so that's 5/7 i called. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest fanofcoils Report post Posted April 1, 2005 I picked all of them correctly except Benoit winning in the triple threat match. I thought HHH would never lose in a Wrestlemania main event. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iggymcfly 0 Report post Posted April 1, 2005 WM XXI: Batista vs. HHH- Batista. This is one I know for a fact will happen. There's just no way they'd put HHH over here, after all the buildup that Batista's gotten. JBL vs. Cena- Cena. I haven't really been following Smackdown closely enough to be sure on this one, but from the looks of things, they have plans for Cena to be their next big star, and they're probably ready to get JBL away from the title after 8 months. WM XX: Benoit vs. HHH vs. HBK- Benoit. It was completely obvious that Benoit was going over here, as again they'd been buildin to it for six months. Never a doubt in my mind for this one. Angle vs. Eddie- Eddie. I'd actually been following Smackdown even less last year, so I wasn't sure, but it seemed like Eddie was going to keep the belt since he'd just won it a month ago. WM XIX: Angle vs. Brock- Brock. I really wanted Angle to win this match, but I knew he didn't have a chance with the injury and all. Booker T vs. HHH- HHH. Booker T had been so absolutely underwhelming that I couldn't imagine they would give him the belt, especially with Goldberg coming in. WM X-8: HHH vs. Jericho- HHH. Another completely obvious one, as Jericho was a total lame duck champion, and HHH wasn't going to lose in his big return. WM X-7: Rock vs. Austin- Austin. This was actually almost a complete toss-up, as Austin seemed to have a little more momentum to win it, coming off of injury and all, but it seemed like something "wasn't right" with his character, and that Rocky deserved to be the top guy. Of course, I didn't know that his character was off because he was about to turn heel, but it did make sense in retrospect. WM 2000: HHH vs. Rock vs. Big Show vs. Foley- Foley. I didn't really know what was going to happen here, but as a mark, I remember thinking that the SS tournament for the title was really tight, and that it would be a neat storyline coming out of WM to do something similar if Foley won the belt. I do remember thinking that there was no way in hell Trips would retain before the show though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aero 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH Pick: Batista Sure, he is owning HHH every week on the mic and in fights, but a loss would ruin his character and likely just frustrate fans. He MUST win. - JBL Vs Cena Pick: Cena This is a complete toss-up for me. Storyline-wise, Cena has been through alot of shit lately, so I would expect him to get something good. Although, JBL's guarantee has me expecting him to retain via a DQ or something.. not that's there's anything wrong with JBL retaining to me. - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK Pick: Benoit I actually did predict that HHH would tap to the Crossface, too. - Eddie Vs Angle Pick: Eddie He had just won the belt, and a win over Angle would solidify him as a credible champ, which would be a little tarnished in the upcoming months while feuding with JBL. - Brock Vs Angle Pick: Brock Everyone in the know on the internet knew about Angle's condition and him needing surgery ASAP, so this was an easy one. - Booker Vs HHH Pick: Booker T In hindsight, I can't believe I picked him, just because he has made no progress since this (unless you count the JBL feud). With all the racist comments from HHH, you had to figure Book would prevail... or not. - HHH Vs Jericho Pick: HHH This was obvious due to Jericho's poor treatment in the feud. - Rock Vs Austin Pick: Austin No real reason I can think of except for the fact that it was in Texas. I was barely on the internet at this point, but I do think I remember reading about a possible heel turn with Vince. - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH Pick: Foley In hindsight, I would've definitely picked Rock, but I'm actually happy HHH went over if only to solidify him as the No. 1 heel... but the Vince turn still makes no sense. Anyway, as for Foley, I thought Linda was giving out too much info about the post-WM title situation: the tournament to end at Backlash. Plus, during the show, the advertisement for Backlash specifically featured HHH, Big Show, Rock, and Jericho, I believe, leading me to believe these four would be in the tournament at Backlash. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alfdogg 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 Only one I missed was WM 2000, simply because a heel had never left WM with the title before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Tino Standard 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH I just can't get it out of my head that there's no way in hell Triple H would job in the main event two years in a row, especially with the way this feud has gone. Typical Triple H feuds where he loses the belt have some situations where he gets the upper hand in the buildup. I could see Batista winning a rematch at Backlash in a total letdown. This just has Goldberg in Summer '03 written all over it. - JBL Vs Cena I don't watch Smackdown, so I know little about this feud. For shits and giggles, I'll pick Cena because he was fun to cheer for when I was at Survivor Series last fall. - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK I picked Benoit, but only because I was thinking "They CAN'T be stupid enough to job him here, can they?" - Eddie Vs Angle Eddie, only because he'd won the belt the month before and there was no real reason to take it off him at that point. - Brock Vs Angle Just rewatched this match today and I enjoyed it. I picked Lesnar because of Angle's injury. It was a miracle he even wrestled that match. - Booker Vs HHH I had been saying Booker T. for the entire time during the buildup until the homestretch. I don't remember exactly what happened, but about two weeks before the show, something happened on Raw that set off warning signs. The final Raw before WM where Triple H muttered something like "Nobody told Booker T he wasn't in my league" as he limped out of the arena with Flair all but sealed that H was retaining. - HHH Vs Jericho HHH. Like there was a chance in hell he was jobbing against Jericho. - Rock Vs Austin Austin, but I had no clue about the heel turn. I figured he was the defacto choice as champ with Rock leaving for the Scorpion King. - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH Rock. Foley had gotten beaten twice on PPV and Show was a joke. HHH? Well, I was with the majority in saying "He can't win... Heels don't win the main event of WrestleMania." Oops. I think this was the first sign of any backstage stroke for Triple H. Heels WAY more over than him all had to do the J-O-B in the WM main event, but he got to retain. Up to that point, I don't think anybody had a problem with him... When Triple H first got the belt the previous fall, it seemed a little forced, but over time, he got over as a world champ, especially with the Foley feud. When he didn't job at WM, I think a lot of people resented that, and it's been all down hill in the court of public opinion for HHH ever since. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BUTT 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH Batista. There's no one left on Raw for HHH to feud with, so they'll give it to Batista for a few months before HHH wins it back and they can build up a new big face for him to lose and win the title back from. - JBL Vs Cena Cena. I'm picking him because I've read that WWE is planning a Cena/Angle ME for Judgment Day. I'm not as sure about this one as I am about the Raw ME though. - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK I was picking Benoit, just because I knew that's what the whole buildup was leading to. - Eddie Vs Angle Eddie. He wasn't just going to lose the belt after a month. - Brock Vs Angle Brock. This one was a no-brainer, since Angle was going to miss a few months after this match. - Booker Vs HHH HHH. When he started making the racist comments towards Booker, I thought there was no way he could win, but once he started backpedaling from those comments, I knew it was to justify him retaining. - HHH Vs Jericho HHH, although I wasn't completely sure. It all depended on whether HHH/Jericho or Rock/Hogan was the last match. Once Rock/Hogan went on 3rd from the top, I knew HHH was winning the title. - Rock Vs Austin Austin. It was in his home state, so I knew he was winning. - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH Rock. I had expected for months that WM16 would be Rock regaining the title. Still, I thought the four-way was an odd choice, because I figured that Foley winning would piss off the half of the audience that wanted Rock to win, and vice versa. However, I thought that there simply could be no way a heel would win. I was shocked when I found out HHH won. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbondrage99 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH---Batista - JBL Vs Cena---Cena - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK---Benoit - Eddie Vs Angle---Eddie - Brock Vs Angle---Brock - Booker Vs HHH---Booker, The main reason I thought Booker would win was because I thought he was due in the WWE, plus I think I let all the internet rumors that the booker man would win got in my head as well. - HHH Vs Jericho---HHH - Rock Vs Austin---Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH---Foley, I picked Foley here because it was going to be his REAL last match (Wrong on that count to now), and also if Foley won he would retire champion and the title would of been held up until backlash for a title tournament or something like that. So it also set up the next PPV great. This more then any other WM main event in recent memory suprised me the most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista, the company is fucked if Batista loses or if HHH goes out of his way to expose Batista's weaknesses - JBL Vs Cena - JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - I don't remember because I was changing my opinion on a constant basis. I figured they wouldn't waste Benoit's push but at the same time it was just the sort of thing they'd do to put the belt on HBK or have HHH retain - Eddie Vs Angle - Got it right - Brock Vs Angle - Brock, it was really obvious considering Angle's neck was broken - Booker Vs HHH - Booker, racists aren't supposed to win and HHH had been having horrible matches at the time so I figured they were looking to get the belt on someone better. - HHH Vs Jericho - if you got this wrong you deserve to be severely beaten. - Rock Vs Austin - Austin, this was another one everyone knew well in advance. - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - I had the Rock because really what idiot has the heel retain at Mania? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista - JBL Vs Cena - Cena - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - Benoit - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddie - Brock Vs Angle - Brock - Booker Vs HHH - Booker, because I seriously thought HHH was going to drop the title. Never have I been more pissed off at wrestling. - HHH Vs Jericho - HHH - Rock Vs Austin - Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH -Rock, because I was still a mark, and couldnt see him losing to HHH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slimm44 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 Batista vs HHH - Batista JBL vs Cena - JBL HHH vs HBK vs Benoit - I picked HHH and was happier with what really happened Eddie vs Kurt - Eddie Brock vs Angle - Brock HHH vs Booker - HHH HHH vs Jericho - HHH Rock vs Austin - Austin HHH vs Foley vs Show vs Rock - I picked Rock because he had been on fire the previous months. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JN News 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 what idiot has the heel retain at Mania? Vince McSenile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista - JBL Vs Cena - JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - HHH. Take a guess why I picked him. I would have picked Shawn but he was working injured. - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddy - Brock Vs Angle - Brock - Booker Vs HHH - HHH - HHH Vs Jericho - HHH - Rock Vs Austin - Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - Rock. At this point the heel never won, and there was no point in having Foley win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carnival 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista - JBL Vs Cena - JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - HHH - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddie - Brock Vs Angle - Brock - Booker Vs HHH - Booker T - HHH Vs Jericho - HHH - Rock Vs Austin - Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - Rock Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JN News 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista - JBL Vs Cena - JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - Benoit - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddie - Brock Vs Angle - Lesnar - Booker Vs HHH - HHH - HHH Vs Jericho - HHH - Rock Vs Austin - Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - Rock Honorable mentions: Rock vs. Austin (1st one) - Austin, because he had to win. Austin vs. HBK - Austin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista (need to pull the trigger before he loses his heat) - JBL Vs Cena - Cena (same, even though I kind of want JBL to win, so Eddie can finally win the belt back from him) - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK - Benoit (simply because Chris won the Rumble) - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddie (too over as a face to take belt off of after only 1 month) - Brock Vs Angle - Brock (Angle needed surgery) - Booker Vs HHH - HHH (too many rumors about HHH not wanting to put him over) - HHH Vs Jericho - HHH (big face comeback) - Rock Vs Austin - No pick (I had no idea) - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - Rock (should have won) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4hartthreat 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH- Um, yeah, I think I've made myself pretty clear on this one, HHH. - JBL Vs Cena- Cena - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK- It's hard to say, I changed my mind over and over and at one point thought each one of them would win. I think on the day of Mania though I had settled on HBK. I think I went with the idea that HHH would lose, but only to his buddy Shawn who would then go on to lose to Benoit at Backlash. - Eddie Vs Angle- Eddie - Brock Vs Angle- Brock - Booker Vs HHH- Booker. I am still shocked to this day that one of "those" people really couldn't win the title. - HHH Vs Jericho- HHH - Rock Vs Austin- Austin - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH- HHH. Once Vince McMahon put himself into Rock's corner I knew exactly what was going down. The funny thing about this one is, at the time I was living in a dorm and there was this guy who lived there too who was a total mark. His favorite wrestlers were Rock and Goldberg because "they used to play football man." I argued with him for weeks that HHH was going to win because Vince was going to screw Rock over and he said no way Rock could lose, and why would Vince do that anyway it didn't make sense. I told him because that's just what Vince does. Needless to say, he was very pissed when he learned of the results the next day... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JN News 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 If they wanted it to make sense, they could've had Vince come out the next day with Shane, Steph, & HHH, and say that the whole thing was their master plan that they had been concocting for a whole year, starting at last year's Mania. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Super Pissed Smark Report post Posted April 2, 2005 1. Hogan's team. (1/1) 2. Hogan (2/2 3. Hogan (3/3) 4. Hogan's little buddy (4/4) 5. Hogan (5/5) 6. Hogan (5/6) This was where my formula began to crack slightly, but next year-- 7. Hogan (6/7) right back on track! 8. Hogan (7/8) 9. Hogan (8/9) He wasn't even in the fucking match, and still he won it. Genius. 10. Hogan (8/10) Well, another off year here. I decided from now on, that if the Hulkster was not on the card, or even working for the company, I'd have to bet on someone else. 11. LT (9/11) No-brainer. 12. Bret (9/12) We were screwed. 13. ----- I still haven't seen the match. Thank God. 14. Austin (10/13) 15. Austin (11/14) 16. Rock (11/15) Triple-H is such a pile of shit. 17. Austin (12/16) 18. Rock (13/17) You seriously want to call Jericho-HHH the main event? Half the building was leaving. And they're not on the DVD cover. 19. Hogan (14/18) Again, if they're not on the DVD cover, how can they be the main event? 20. There's no one on the DVD cover. Did they even have a main event? 21. I don't want to influence anyone's picks, but statistically speaking, if Hogan is going to be in the building, he'll probably leave with the belt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Shadow Report post Posted April 2, 2005 Once again; I'd like to know how exactly keeping the title on Triple H @ WM2000 was a "stupid" idea. In hindsight; it was the smartest thing they could have ever done. It completely cemented HHH as one of the greatest heels ever and added more sympathy and support for The Rock which gave Backlash a MONSTER buyrate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carnival 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Hogan - JBL Vs Cena - Hogan I've changed my picks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dark Age 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 It didn't add anything to Rock. He didn't "gain" any overness from that match. He was still super over, win or lose, didn't matter. And Backlash would have got a big buyrate anyway, simply because it was Rock Vs. Triple H, odds against Rocky, etc. Oh, and Austin of course. If they wanted it to make sense, they could've had Vince come out the next day with Shane, Steph, & HHH, and say that the whole thing was their master plan that they had been concocting for a whole year, starting at last year's Mania. That would make even LESS sense, if that was possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 18. Rock (13/17) You seriously want to call Jericho-HHH the main event? Half the building was leaving. And they're not on the DVD cover. Main event = last match on the card. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jericholic82 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 since I have been watching wrestling, but notcie from 7-14 i was a mark basically so had no net influence) 7-Hogan even as a mark you knew he wind 8- Savage, and Hogan 9-Yokozuna (even though i was a bret mark I thought no one could beat the big man) 10-I thought Luger would win, then when he didnt i wasnt sure, I was rooting for bret, but still didnt know if hed win 11-LT, Shawn in the world title match sinc ehe had alot of momentum and sid in his corner 12-Shawn 13-Taker 14-Austin 15-Austin (first year under iwc influence, so obvious) 16-I picked Foley in my column on a now defunct website 17-Austin (it was in Texas and I knew someone was turning here but wasnt for sure) 18-Rock, HHH for the title match 19-Booker, Brock 20-Eddie, Benoit (but I had a bad feeling that he would beat shawn not hhh) 21-Im picking Batista and Cena Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2005 - Batista Vs HHH - Batista - JBL Vs Cena - JBL - Benoit Vs HHH Vs HBK -Benoit - Eddie Vs Angle - Eddie - Brock Vs Angle - Brock - Booker Vs HHH - Booker - HHH Vs Jericho -HHH - Rock Vs Austin -STONE COLD!! - Foley Vs Show Vs Rock Vs HHH - Foley So far 5 out of 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Tjhe CyNick Report post Posted April 3, 2005 Only one I missed was WM 2000, simply because a heel had never left WM with the title before. same Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iggymcfly 0 Report post Posted April 3, 2005 Two things here: One, I'm surprised that people actually thought HHH would retain last year. I remember one of my biggest complaints with the match was that the buildup made it completely obvious that Benoit would win the title, and that it was overly predictable. I guess HHH's "holding down talent" myth helped with the drama of this one. Second, it made perfect sense for HHH to win at WM 2000. At the time, business was in a high period, and Rock was so over that nothing could have damaged him. At that point, with virtually no negative consequences, it made sense that they would try not to do the exact same thing with the main event that they'd done for the last fifteen years. It really cuts down on the drama of the "biggest match of the year" if the face wins every single time. Letting HHH get the win not only helped out the huge buyrate at Backlash; it also helped out every Mania afterward by keeping the main events from being cookie cutter predictable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites