We have a new champion

[Guest Mystery Eskimo]

For all my hatred of Hogan, he should have gone over UT last night. Of course, the match should never have been made to begin with, but the overwhelming apathy thats greeted UT's win just shows how degraded title changes and also the WWF title has become.

 

It's now changed hands on 3 consecutive PPVs, and who would be surprised if it was made 4 when UT loses to HHH next month?

 

Before anyone says this belongs in flaming, there is a serious question to be discussed - how should the WWF save their titles reputation? That goes for the tag titles as well.

[Guest]

I think they're going to continue at KOTR with another title switch before hopefully they'll settle it down and give someone a decent run.

 

Tag Titles weren't too bad in that they had a long run with them but the problem was that there were only one legitimate team and several teams made up on the spot. They need the tag belts on both shows.

 

And who the hell picked Taker's music last night? That was possibly one of the worst entrance themes I've heard in my life.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I think it'll be really difficult to save the Tag Belts since, even if they were inter-roster-al, there are only five real tag teams (and that's stretching it already, calling Maven/Snow, Heyman/Brock, and Rico/Rikishi real tag teams instead of gimmick teams).

 

As for the Undisputed Belt, drop the Undisputed Belt, put it on anyone (yes, anyone) and have them retain through a couple of really great (or even semi-great) matches like the Jericho/HHH HiaC match.

[Guest Kinetic]

As an aside, I'm thinking that Vince is going to want Hogan on SmackDown, given the slight feud that they've developed over the last week.  Hogan is currently part of RAW after losing the title to Undertaker last night.  This could potentially open the door to some trades, with the struggling RAW roster getting a few key players without giving up anyone useful.  Thoughts?

[Guest]

Hogan will probably revert to smackdown because he was initially a smackdown guy.

 

And that's assuming they even bother to explain the rule, which they probably won't.  They'll just have him be on smackdown because that's where the feud with Vince is.

 

As for trades, that's probably why they turned Flair heel.  That way, with both owners heel, it'll be easier to have them get along well enough to negotiate and trade with each other.

 

Or that may have just been an accidental good move...which I tend to lean towards because A) I'm cynical as hell and B) when was the last time the Wee-Wee booking team was able to deliberately generate a good idea/decision?

[Guest]

The plan right now is to have HHH beat Undertaker at the PPV and once again be WWF champion and hold it for the rest of the year. Of course, this also gets his ass on both tv shows so he can hog more mic time. They need to take him and Stephanie off the booking committee. HHH never does a job without getting one in return soon after and he never loses the blowoff match of a feud.

[Guest Kinetic]

I was under the impression that the former champion takes the roster spot of whoever he lost the title to.

[Guest]

The plan right now is to have HHH beat Undertaker at the PPV and once again be WWF champion and hold it for the rest of the year. Of course, this also gets his ass on both tv shows so he can hog more mic time. They need to take him and Stephanie off the booking committee. HHH never does a job without getting one in return soon after and he never loses the blowoff match of a feud.

I hope you're misinformed.  I really, really do.  But somehow, I'm afraid I know better than to hope that.

 

By the time he's done, Chris Jericho will be alongside Al Snow, training the kids of Tough Enough 3.  Austin and The Rock will be driven from the roster completely.  Kurt Angle will have opted for the autocracy of the International Olympic Committee rather than put up with the autocracy of the HHHF.  Hogan will make his big paydays with Vince and Austin, then get "retired" in a match against HHH for the title. UT will be back to squashing every new star as they start to get over, cutting them off at the knees before they get anywhere close to HHH.  

 

And the coup will be complete.  There will be nobody left to push as a big star...other than TRIPLE H.  Once that is accomplished, he can "graciously" resign from the booking committee and "cease to exert any influence on the booking of the product" ...now that all other stars are purged and it's safe to do so.

 

Triple H vs Vince McMahon, every fucking week, every fucking PPV.  Get used to it.  that's your main event for every ppv in 2003 (maybe the Undertaker will get worked in now and then as a reward for being a good little pruner for HHH).  Up until Wrestlemania 20 (2004), the last pay per view event ever put on by World Wrestling Entertainment before it goes bankrupt due to rapid declines in merchandise, PPV buyrate, ticket gate revenue, and stock market investment by outside parties.

[Guest]

The plan right now is to have HHH beat Undertaker at the PPV and once again be WWF champion and hold it for the rest of the year.

And how would you know this is what the WWF is planning on doing?

[Guest Nevermortal]

Actually, Respect the Taker might care. As a matter of fact he may just be creaming his jockeys.

[Guest Ozymandias]

1) I care that UT won. And I'm glad as well.

 

2) Hogan is Raw property now.

 

3) The only sane move is to put Austin over UT tonight.

[Guest goodhelmet]

"The only sane move is to put Austin over UT tonight."

 

I hate UT's reign (all one day of it) as much as anyone else but what has Austin done since February but have shitty matches? Granted, he has had no competition but while he sits and pouts, others are busting their ass to get a decent shot. Fuck Austin. Have Taker drop the belt on Thursday to the newly bald Kurt Angle. Have him hold it until he trains for the Olympics.

[Guest]

I-couldn't-really-give-a-damn-about-the-Undisputed-Championship-anymore.

It-lost-all-my-respect-after-they-put-the-dammed-thing-on-HHH.

[Guest]

Hogan lost?

 

Good.

 

But this better be a retirement run for the 'Taker.

 

He needs to retire -

 

soon -

 

but I'd like to see one last PPV match with the full-on evil entrance... the BONG, the druids, the whole schtick.

[Guest goodhelmet]

"but I'd like to see one last PPV match with the full-on evil entrance... the BONG, the druids, the whole schtick."

 

What is up with everyone's nostalgia kick. The Deadman gimmick is dead. Really, you should pray Taker's last PPV match was last night. Red and Yellow Hogan should have stayed dead. The nWo should have never been reformed. The Four Horsemen do not need to reform. I love Foley but he needs to stay retired. Give me NEW stars and action. Leave the nostalgia to the MASH reunion. Fuck nostalgia. It has given way to some of the shittiest matches I've ever seen.

[Guest Ozymandias]

Sure, Kurt deserves it more, but Austin is still the top guy.

 

Giving him the belt will take care of his bad mood/pouting nicely. Plus, it frees him from Raw and his stupid angle with Flair. It'll set up Austin v. Hogan for the title at KotR and that match has to happen NOW while Hogan is still worth something.

[Guest goodhelmet]

Umm, how is Austin the top guy? His match was 4th on the card. Not exactly main eventing.

 

A matchup with Flair certainly sounds more appealing than a feud with Hogan. It's the NWO angle that absolutely sucks.

 

Hogan is already worth nothing. Witness the decline in the 18-34 demographic. Witness the decline in teenager viewing. Hogan is shit. Let the fans at the arenas cheer him on while he's curtain jerking with Mark Henry.

[Guest Ozymandias]

Hogan v. Austin would be bigger then Hogan v. Rock. "The 2 biggest stars ever." That's fucking MONEY, regardless of Hogan's ratings poison.

Austin may be shunted down the card now, but he's still their top face by a mile and has the most cred in the fans eyes.

[Guest Goodear]

The Undertaker reign reeks of desperation to me.  Taker isn't going to provide a draw as the top guy and just about everyone and their mother knows it.  It would have been smarter to keep Hogan as the champion for another month and have him drop the belt to either Austin (whose a better draw) or Jericho (who despirately needs to be turned into a draw if the WWE wants to be around in a few years).  The Hell in the Cell match should have helped cover the Hogan damage to the buy rate from yesterday, so you could sacrifice Taker to the legdrop.  And then job him out to the next, better opponent.  

 

This way, it seems like we're going from one short-term champion to another.  I can only assume they are looking to serve Taker up to either Austin or Triple H in short order because the next two top faces (RVD and Edge) haven't been built up to being ready yet.

[Guest Human Fly]

They can start to fix the Tag division by having the Island Boys come in when they are healthy. They need to put the titles back on Billy & Chuck first though. Taking them off of them for Rikishi & Rico was not a good move. Or have a new team like Storm & Christian win the belts.

 

As for the Undisputed title, I think they have booked themselves into a corner since 'Mania. No one wanted to see HHH win, he did. He had one title defense and then lost the belt to Hogan. People wanted to see Hogan win (in the arena) but fans at home didn't want to watch him wrestle. Now Undertaker wins, no one wanted to see him win, no one wants to watch him wrestle. A title change at the last 3 PPVs. Early guesses have HHH winning the title next. No one wants to see it, no one wants to see him wrestle. People would rather see Edge or RVD win the title. Super Heavyweight against Super Haavyweight is dead. Someone should've buried it back in the 80's. I would rather see RVD v. Undertaker where RVD can bump like a mad man for Taker's slow hihg impact offense, and then put him away with the Five Star. Edge would work in that spot as well. With one of those two as Champ it would open up the chance for better macthes with Angle, Jericho, Guererro, Benoit, etc. Even a HHH - Edge would be tons more appealing to me than HHH - Undertaker. A smaller guy v. a bigger guy is what needs to be done right now. I think the fans would be more receptive to it, and the matches would be a lot better.

[Guest Phr33k]

I heard somewhere that the plan is to have something happen between now and KOTR to have a vacated WWE Title at the PPV. The tourney format would be used to determine a new WWE Champion. Also, they'd have a Hogan/Angle match, and they wouldn't be in the tournament. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's just as valuable as the news that that other guy posted.