WWE General Discussion - December 2007

[Kristianna 0]

"I've got a great idea for Flair's retirement match..."

"Hunter, all of your ideas end with 'and then I'd beat him'..."

"Well, yeah, but it'd be really cool..."

 

Is Hunter really that much of a mark for his own career. Or do you guys think a lot of that sentiment is invented and perhaps twisted out of context by the internet community?

[Black Lushus 0]

both

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Yeah, I think the internet tries to make him look alot worse than he is though. Sure, he plays politics, but he's also one of the top performers.. not like he deserves to be in the midcard.

 

I remember a time when everyone was so sure HHH would go over everyone, then he lost to Batista/Benoit etc. and each time everyone on the internet would be saying he was going to hold them down. Then, when he came back from injury, everyone thought he'd go straight for the title and squash Cena. As far as I can tell, he let Cena have his run with no interferance, and if he is champ by the time Cena is back, I wouldn't even be surprised to see him drop the belt back to him.

[GCWPatrick 0]

Ehh...to use a comedy parallel, joking about Triple H never losing and holding people down is the equivalent of a "hack joke" these days. It's an easy wisecrack to make (which would explain why I see it happen a lot).

[The Buzz 0]

That's a helluva angle they had for Flair, but I mean its not over yet they could still do something within their own preferences that turns out just as cool.

[Blade2kxx 0]

Can I be honest here? If Michael Hayes doesn't protest moving both his color commentator AND arguably his biggest draw to RAW without a shred of compensation, then he's a total bitch. Seriously, this is just absurd if both Batista and JBL jump ship without anyone jumping back.

 

Why can't they just do the Jericho/Batista trade? It sort of solves a lot of problems with both wrestlers right now and would strengthen each brand. But I guess RAW always has to be so overloaded with talent that they end up inadvertently burying people that could make them money.

[Mecca 0]

Can I be honest here? If Michael Hayes doesn't protest moving both his color commentator AND arguably his biggest draw to RAW without a shred of compensation, then he's a total bitch. Seriously, this is just absurd if both Batista and JBL jump ship without anyone jumping back.

 

Why can't they just do the Jericho/Batista trade? It sort of solves a lot of problems with both wrestlers right now and would strengthen each brand. But I guess RAW always has to be so overloaded with talent that they end up inadvertently burying people that could make them money.

 

Vince will just make fun of him some more if he does that.......

 

Raw is the only show they care about, that's it. They took London and Kendrick off Smackdown to basically do nothing with them....if you bitched they'd probably straight say Raw is the important show and that's that.

[Hawk 34 0]

WWE is at the mercy of Bonnie Hammer, whom probably requests that Jericho stay on Raw and has seemingly campaigned for Batista. I suppose they could make Smackdown the home for Flair's retirement tour but that's another big ticket attraction that Raw must have. I know Shawn has his commitments to his church but there's no reason for him to languish on Raw now that he's feuded with EVERYONE on that roster. Move Shawn to SD gives him new stuff to do. At the very least, move Lashley for Batista.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

I believe Steve Austin was the creative mind behind the Flair retirement run plan.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Can I be honest here? If Michael Hayes doesn't protest moving both his color commentator AND arguably his biggest draw to RAW without a shred of compensation, then he's a total bitch. Seriously, this is just absurd if both Batista and JBL jump ship without anyone jumping back.

 

Why can't they just do the Jericho/Batista trade? It sort of solves a lot of problems with both wrestlers right now and would strengthen each brand. But I guess RAW always has to be so overloaded with talent that they end up inadvertently burying people that could make them money.

 

JBL leaving SD! if he returns full time is better for SD! and RAW actually. JBL has basically feuded with every top face on SD!, and if he goes to RAW he has fresh feuds.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

- The hearing of the proposed regulation of professional wrestling by the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission has concluded for today. The end result was that the Commission will take an additional sixty days to meet with a group of local promoters to try and work with them on how to institute new rules without decimating the independent scene. TNA's Bill Behrens, Mr. Hughes, Rocky King, and Thunderbolt Patterson were among some of the people who addressed the Commission. WWE also had an attorney present but he did not address the Commission.

 

 

Source - PWInsider

[Hawk 34 0]

Mr. Hughes? Awesome.

[King Kamala 0]

Mr. Hughes? Awesome.

 

 

I hope he kept his sunglasses on the entire time he was on the stand.

[The Buzz 0]

Mr. Hughes is the head trainer at WWA4 which uses the old Powerplant facilities I believe. They run shows primarily in GA I believe.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I wouldn't mind Hayes being the color guy on Smackdown at all. I remember a couple times around '98 or '99 that he filled in on RAW and I thought he actually did a pretty good job.

[Hawk 34 0]

I think it's more likely they move Tazz to SD again for good and get someone lower on the tier to pair off with Styles.

[cabbageboy 0]

They could just make Tazz pull double duty and call both SD and ECW. It's not that hard, is it?

 

What is this constant Bonnie Hammer shit anyway? Look, she's not going to cancel Raw or anything, so why does WWE cater to her every whim? Why give THIS much of a shit about what she has to say? They should listen to her crap, maybe take 1 or 2 ideas out of 10, and then ignore the rest.

[Celtic Jobber 0]

Not Michael Cole, he's fucking terrible, an insincere phony-sounding goatteed little bitchboy who completely leans on his much more talented color commentators to sound even halfway competent.

It's not 1999 anymore.

 

 

It might not be 1999 anymore, but Cole is still horrible. I mean, he's better than Mike Tenay, but he's still far from being as good as Jim Ross or even Joey Styles.

[cabbageboy 0]

Actually a decent Tenay circa 1996-98 in WCW is a vastly better announcer than Michael Cole.

[goldengreek 0]

For Flair ,The Rocky moment would be cool, but I would do it something like this and at Mania:

 

 

They could do something like heels running in and a former horseman comes out each time to run them off.

Sadly the horseman get beat down.

The heels get in the ring and beat the living hell out of flair, flair of course gigs and bleeds like a pig.

 

The lights go out...When they come back on...

Its Sting (If TNA is stupid enough to leave out the no compete again...Man are they dumb over there )

 

Sting clears the ring. Heel stumbles towards Flair and in classic Flair fashion, rolls up the heel. Pulls the tights and puts his feet on the rope for the 123

 

Thats good stuff.

[Hawk 34 0]

Sting isn't under contract. So, instead of having Sting-Flair close out Flair's career which is something Flair has openly asked for, you'd rather see Sting appear out of nowhere to a crowd that likely doesn't remember him or their history. How are the lights going out in outside field? Also, you're crazy if you think Flair wins on his way out. Flair's old school, he'll lay down.

 

It's not too late to do that angle with Flair although it'd be shortened down.

[Enigma 0]

Michael Cole is still a fucking tool that sounds like an idiot.

 

He completely ruined Edge winning the title with the Money in the Bank earlier this year but constantly screaming "OH MY GOD! THAT DAMN PIRAHNA! THAT DAMN PIRAHNA!" I wish I was behind him in the crowd so I could tell him what a stupid shithead he sounded like.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

(If TNA is stupid enough to leave out the no compete again...Man are they dumb over there )

 

Why would TNA have a no compete clause? WWE has it because their wrestlers get lots of exposure, and they don't want them helping competition.. Plus, they can afford to pay them for it.

 

Why would TNA want to pay someone to sit at home after they're finished with them? If the TNA exposure helps the wrestler get indy bookings, great! If he goes to WWE.. he doesn't have any star power from being in TNA that they could use to their advantage.

[canadafour 0]

Anybody hear anything about what they are going to do with the Crusierweight Championship???

 

A Punk/Chavo match would be good if givin the time.

[canadafour 0]

WWE should put Lee Marshall on SMackdown with Cole!!!!

[haVoc 0]

WWE will be taping two weeks worth of television on February 4th, 5th & 6th in Texas. The reason is that all three brands are touring internationally from February 9th to the 14th. Here's the taping schedule:

 

Feb. 4th in Austin - 2 episodes of Raw

 

Feb. 5th in Corpus Christi - 1 episode of Smackdown & 1 episode of ECW

 

Feb. 6th in Houston - 1 episode of Smackdown & 1 episode of ECW

 

Credit: Gerweck

 

There goes two weeks of wrestling for me. I can't help but to read spoilers and I know WWE won't do anything big if the shows are taped.

[edgehead69 0]

WWE will be taping two weeks worth of television on February 4th, 5th & 6th in Texas. The reason is that all three brands are touring internationally from February 9th to the 14th. Here's the taping schedule:

 

Feb. 4th in Austin - 2 episodes of Raw

 

Feb. 5th in Corpus Christi - 1 episode of Smackdown & 1 episode of ECW

 

Feb. 6th in Houston - 1 episode of Smackdown & 1 episode of ECW

 

Credit: Gerweck

 

There goes two weeks of wrestling for me. I can't help but to read spoilers and I know WWE won't do anything big if the shows are taped.

 

When Do The Tickets Go On Sale?

[Mecca 0]

Latest in the Benoit case. The estate battle could end this week as the Benoits and Toffolonis will decide whether this can be settled amicably or whether they are going to court. Who gets the $1.5 to $3 million estate, of course, all rests on the order of deaths. If Nancy died first, which is what is widely believed, the estate goes to the Benoit family.

 

If Daniel died first, the estate flows to Nancy and then on to her family. The belief is that the Toffoloni family doesn't have much of a case here since the coroners, police and medical examiners have all stated that Nancy was killed some time before Daniel. Also, Michael Benoit's family offered the WWE the chance to pay the children a $2 million settlement in exchange for a wrongful death lawsuit to not be filed. WWE said they were not interested in discussing the matter. Benoit's attorney said his client has not yet decided whether he will file suit. However, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which has been at the forefront of reporting on this case, believes it "appears to be just a formality."

 

The $2 million payment, Benoit's attorney Cary Icther (of WCW racial discrimination lawsuit fame, and a key member, coincidentally, of the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission) said, was for "recognition of their father's contributions to the company". He added, "Had the WWE taken the slightest interest in its wrestlers — before it became the object of the interest of district attorneys and Congress — there is little doubt that Chris Benoit and his family would still be with us today." That, of course, is greatly open to debate, and I can tell you with some certainty that WWE feels that they are not in any way responsible for what happened. There is a feeling that because the Benoit side only asked for $2 million, they don't feel like they have much of a case.

 

Hogan told OK Magazine that, in hindsight, the idea of doing Hogan Knows Best probably wasn't for the best. "There’s an upside to it and there’s a huge downside to it, especially with family members who weren’t used to it. There was a lot gained and a lot lost by doing that. I had some crazy days and some things that caught me off guard that I didn’t know were going to happen. I’ve been riding the highs, surviving the lows, leaning into the wind. All that stuff is all an attitude thing for me — being positive and knowing things are going to get better. My main concern in life is my son and his situation and the boy that’s in the car. There is no other choice but to do okay. Jumping off a bridge isn’t an option.” They asked about perhaps one day doing another series, and he said he didn't know if they could ever regroup again, but made sure to throw out: "Never say never!".

 

Ads for the No Way Out PPV at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas list an elimination chamber as the main event. Most likely the winner will get a title shot at WrestleMania, so I would expect Undertaker to be in there and win.

 

The latest we've heard is that the Congressional hearings on January 23rd that were scheduled last week upon the release of the Mitchell Report will only cover baseball and not professional wrestling. The group arranging them, headed by Tom Davis and Henry Waxman, claimed several weeks ago that the hearings would cover both, so I don't know what happened to change their minds.

 

Rey's knee jammed during the MVP match at the PPV, but he was telling people later that night that he was all right.

 

There was a hearing Tuesday regarding the new pro-wrestling regulations suggested by the Georgia State Athletic and Entertainment Commission. If you'll recall a month or so back we did a story on this and ran down a list of the totally antiquated rules they were proposing. Basically, the rules suggest that pro-wrestling is both real and fake, with requirements for what guys can wear, how the rules need to be enforced, etc.

 

The big key is that they also want an ambulance on site, two EMTs, and a 5% fee to the commission. The hiring of the ambulance and the EMTs is the deal breaker for most indy promoters, who just simply cannot afford it. Of course, an ambulance used to be required for shows up here in Washington state when I wrestled regularly, and International Championship Wrestling always seemed to find a way to afford it.

 

The rules are scheduled to go into affect on January 7th, which will result in a lot of local shows going out of business. In an interesting twist, WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt announced that due to the strict ruling, if such a thing went into affect they would stop running events in the state. What's also weird about it is that at this point, WWE isn't even affected since the statutes currently don't have any bearing on any company that has total assets of $25 million or more. The Commission is trying to get that exemption stricken, but right now it's still on the books. At the meeting Tuesday, it was determined that they would wait 90 days to put everything into effect so they'd have time to engage in discussions with indy promoters.

 

JBL will be coming back full-time as a Raw wrestler, his first feud obviously being with Chris Jericho. No idea who will be replacing him on color on Smackdown

 

Speaking of JBL, he did a radio show in Philadelphia and said a lot of the horrible things he said about Eddy Guerrero during their feud were actually lines that Eddy himself had come up with. He also said he was sorry for what happened in his feud with Blue Meanie (referring to the assault in the ring at the first One Night Stand), saying he was unprofessional and largely to blame.

 

The feeling on Kennedy internally is that this is a sink or swim opportunity for him, and that if he doesn't rise to the occasion in the feud with HBK he'll be relegated to mid-card purgatory for the foreseeable future. We've mentioned many times that if you can't improve in the ring working a feud with Shawn Michaels, how can the company possibly invest in you?

 

According to one person who has also followed his career since the beginning, it appears -- and this should come as no surprise -- that it is a pattern of inconsistency; periods where he does well and then periods where he crashes and burns. Earlier this year he was scheduled to become World Champion, but then he suffered a triceps injury. He returned and didn't look good and the opportunity disappeared, and I can't see him getting the belt any time in the near future.

 

Then he was supposed to become Vince's illegitimate son, which would have been a career-making gimmick, and blew it by volunteering to go on national TV to talk about steroids, lied, and then get busted for it. He used to be very close to Austin, but Austin in a recent interview said that right now he was listening to too many people. According to another source, he's listening to anyone and everyone for advice, including people who have no clue about what he should be doing in-ring like writer David Lagana. He is said to have little confidence in his own instincts as a performer, which is pretty clear when you watch his matches. Every match it's like he tries to be someone else, largely because every match he's trying something different that someone else told him.

 

Jeff Hardy told Bill Barnwell of IGN.com: "Matt's good, he's at home, his appendix burst when he was in Tampa, so he goes home, he's out of the hospital one week, and he starts having chills and fevers. He went back in and had to get 40 more cc's of infection out of his toe. Now, this is the best he's felt since this all started".

 

For those wondering, yes, the Jillian Hall Christmas album is legit and available on iTunes. I listened to the free preview last week, then one of our subscribers actually purchased it for me as a gift. I believe you get all five songs for $1.49. It's not joke when they said it was one of the most purchased items of the week. It's also no joke when they say it is quite awful. In fact, it's so awful that you're struck with the amount of talent this woman has. She also does her own back-up vocals for most of the tracks. It's so bad it's good, though I can tell you that I don't plan on ever listening to it again. The songs include Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, I'll be Home for Christmas, Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, and The Christmas Song.

 

WWE is looking for an editor for a new magazine they're looking to put out that will be targeted towards children. Perhaps the WWE version of Nickelodeon Magazine?.

 

John Graziano's mother stated that he's now semi-conscious and has opened up his eyes. He's still unable to breathe without the aid of a machine or speak

 

WWE has added three Mexico dates for February. It's called the Smackdown/ECW Road to WrestleMania tour. They're at Palacio de los Deportes on February 8th running head-to-head with CMLL (building seats 19,000). February 9th is Arena Monterrey (18,500), and Sunday is La Arena Vicente Fernandez de Guadalajara (12,500). OCESA is working as local promoter. Tickets range from 1,700 pesos ($156.92 US) down to 100 pesos ($9.23). Tickets went on sale Saturday and the front rows quickly sold out.

 

credit:F4W Newsletter

 

 

[Black Lushus 0]

man, I don't think Rey's knees can take any more abuse.

[pochorenella 0]

Then he'd better take his vitamins, because in February SmackDown/ECW are also headed to Guatemala, Chile and my home country, Ecuador! Yesterday we did a 10 minute phone interview with Rey for TV and he said his knees were holding up fine. He's scheduled to face The Great Khali, at least for the Ecuador show on February 12th.

The only other matches scheduled so far are Batista/Taker vs Edge/Bid Daddy V and CM Punk defending against Mark Henry. Ticket prices are very similar to the Mexico ones but so far they haven't been put available to the public even though they were advertised to be this past Saturday.