WWE General Discussion - December 2007

[cabbageboy 0]

Orton vs. ANYBODY isn't a decent WM main event, so Edge vs. UT will flat out have to carry that buyrate. And let's be honest, HHH vs. Batista? That is just so 2005.

[Mike wanna be 0]

I'd rather see an Evolution four-way elimination match, and have it come down to Flair and either Batista or Orton with the retirement on the line. Seems more fitting to have protege Batista or legend killer Orton take him out on the biggest stage for the richest prize rather than in the meaningless "You're going out at Wrestlemania, so here's your token match" bout he'd be in otherwise.

 

Edge/Taker has been obvious for years, but it shouldn't be done until Taker's finished with his career. I don't particularly care for either streak, I just don't want to see Taker lose the streak and then appear on the following year's Wrestlemania and have the awkward "Do they mention the 15-match win streak at Wrestlemania and say it's the most wins/consecutive wins at the event, or do they announce the 15 and 1 record at Wrestlemania and turn it into 'Oh yeah, he's already lost at this PPV' and ruin the streak's mystique?" moment.

[Angle-plex 0]

Orton doesn't have anyone left to get a fresh match out of. Hardy winning the belt at the Rumble and then vs HBk and/or Hunter would be the match I'd like to see the most.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

There is no way Edge goes over Taker at Wrestlemania. The streak will never end.

[strummer 0]

That's not what PWI said at all. They said she was posing for the cyber club.

 

You're right. I shouldn't have trusted the board I got it from. They just assumed it was for the WM push

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

- The original ending for RAW's 15th Anniversary show last weekend had Vince McMahon being laid out by either Steve Austin or The Undertaker, then Bret Hart would come in and put Vince in the Sharpshooter as RAW went off the air. Of course the deal with Hart didn't work out and WWE went with the ending with Foley, Austin and The Undertaker with the WWE superstars celebrating in the ring.

 

From WO

 

 

 

 

Would have been awesome.

[Kristianna 0]

- The original ending for RAW's 15th Anniversary show last weekend had Vince McMahon being laid out by either Steve Austin or The Undertaker, then Bret Hart would come in and put Vince in the Sharpshooter as RAW went off the air. Of course the deal with Hart didn't work out and WWE went with the ending with Foley, Austin and The Undertaker with the WWE superstars celebrating in the ring.

 

From WO

 

 

 

 

Would have been awesome.

 

Only thing better would have been the ring-post figure four. I used to love watching Bret do that.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

- The original ending for RAW's 15th Anniversary show last weekend had Vince McMahon being laid out by either Steve Austin or The Undertaker, then Bret Hart would come in and put Vince in the Sharpshooter as RAW went off the air. Of course the deal with Hart didn't work out and WWE went with the ending with Foley, Austin and The Undertaker with the WWE superstars celebrating in the ring.

 

From WO

 

 

 

 

Would have been awesome.

 

And this didn't work with Bret why? Isn't this the closest he'll ever get to a on air 'apology' from Vince, letting Bret put the Sharpshooter on him in the middle of the ring. I mean, Bret, obviously is still hung up (is it too earlier to use the phrase regarding a wrestler?), seems odd he'd pass at the chance to appear on RAW and put Vince in the 'Shooter.

[Enigma 0]

They've given Bret tons of chances to come in and beat up both Vince and HBK.

 

Shit, they wanted Hart to do a run-in during HBK vs. Vince at WM22, beat the crap out of both of them and leave.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

It did't work out because WWE wanted the American rights to distribute Bret Harts book, but wanted some things edited out before it was released under the wwe banner. Bret wanted his book released as he wrote it and they were at a stalemate.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

It seems JBL from the wwe.com article that is leaving SD! to become a fulltime Raw wrestler. He was a helluva lot more valuable as the color commentator on SD! - it's a HUGE loss for the brand, basically another move to make sure SD! knows it's place as the secondary show. JBL was a big part in getting the new and underpushed talent over, and I think SD! is taking a huge hit with him leaving. I'd argue that he was the most important SD! on-air entity - he's a bigger loss than losing Batista, Undertaker or Edge to Raw.

 

Who's going to replace him on SD! Tazz as part of the talent exchange? Michael Hayes would be interesting in that he'd know exactly what he was trying to get over and such, but he's probably needed in the back for the show.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

- As reported Carlito has been talked into staying with the company. He had a meeting with Vince McMahon on December 3rd and that is when he made the decision to stay. WWE not wanting to give up another "name talent" to TNA is the reason McMahon talked him into staying. WWE feels that there is value in Carlito, especially when they try to expand business into Central and South America.

 

- Carlito had been upset with his direction and felt he was being punished for his comments in the Ottawa Sun before WrestleMania, when he mentioned not being on the card. Carlos Colon, his father, has also been upset with his son's status in the company. Colon has been frustrated with WWE because he feels that WWC should be a developmental territory for WWE. Colon feels if the deal were to happen, it would help with the long-term survival of the WWC. He pushed to do joint shows in Puerto Rico, but WWE feels that when they go there the people pay to see WWE talent, not local. Also they sell out with no problems.

 

- The problems with Carlito go all the way back to the Judgment Day PPV. Vince McMahon has been in Carlito's face for his lack of motivation on several occasions. When Carlito went to the ring to face Ric Flair, they went to the ring with no finish so that Vince could evaluate his performance, which many thought was unprofessional. During the match Vince made the call that Flair was going over, and many felt that when Carlito came through the curtain, Vince would fire him. When he came back, Vince just said, "better." Carlito's main complaint is that he doesn't like the character he plays, and wants to be a more edgy heel like he was at the beginning when he feuded with John Cena.

 

Credit: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I'm happy about the prospect of HHH vs JBL.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

For replacement for JBL on commentarry on Smackdown...

 

This may be a left-field choice...by why not Ted DiBiase?

 

He did pretty good at Rumble 94 from what I saw.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I just hope it's a heel. The last thing we need is Michael Cole and Jack Korpela calling the action.

[luke-o 0]

Or Josh Matthews.

[Diamonddust 0]

It seems JBL from the wwe.com article that is leaving SD! to become a fulltime Raw wrestler. He was a helluva lot more valuable as the color commentator on SD! - it's a HUGE loss for the brand, basically another move to make sure SD! knows it's place as the secondary show. JBL was a big part in getting the new and underpushed talent over, and I think SD! is taking a huge hit with him leaving. I'd argue that he was the most important SD! on-air entity - he's a bigger loss than losing Batista, Undertaker or Edge to Raw.

 

Who's going to replace him on SD! Tazz as part of the talent exchange? Michael Hayes would be interesting in that he'd know exactly what he was trying to get over and such, but he's probably needed in the back for the show.

 

Hayes would be my first choice, but I see where it might be a logistical problem.

[DerangedHermit 0]

I just hope it's a heel. The last thing we need is Michael Cole and Jack Korpela calling the action.

 

How about Michael Cole and Matt Striker?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Matt Striker is a good choice. I didn't care for Dok Hendrix's commentary back in the mid 90s but Michael Hayes could work. Steve Corino is a dark horse candidate. Maybe Tazz if they found someone else for Joey (Dreamer? Striker?) but I thought there were stories about tension between Tazz and Cole (and Tazz seemed more than happy to insult Cole wherever possible at ONS II and I believe the ECW vs WWE show).

 

 

[Mecca 0]

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_New...cle_23979.shtml

 

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt told the Atlanta Journal Constitution today that WWE will cease holding shows in Georgia if the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission authorizes new regulations for pro wrestling in Georgia.

 

"If those regulations are applied to us, we won't do Georgia," WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt told the AJC. He reasoned that the regulations should not apply to WWE because it's not a sport. "Almost every state knows, and has known for years, that wrestling is entertainment and not a sport," he said.

 

When told about McDevitt's response to the proposed regulations, Cary Icther, the attorney for Michael Benoit, told the AJC: "What else would you expect a bully to say?"

 

The Commission is holding a public hearing at 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning to discuss the proposed regulations that would place greater restrictions on pro wrestling.

 

WWE is currently exempt from regulation in Georgia due to a 2005 statute that excludes organizations with assets over $25 million. Icther said he hopes the statute will be removed to place WWE under the regulations umbrella.

[Enigma 0]

Tazz is going back to Smackdown and doing double-duty.

[Bix 0]

I think 90% of the wrestlers would call you guys marks for thinking it was disrespectful to anybody. If a wrestler died, and they ignored his death to run the mcmahon angle, yes that would be wrong. But seeing how they stopped the angle when a wrestler died, they didn't cross any lines at all.

A wrestler DID die before that. Sherri Martel, remember? And the angle just kept chugging along. They didn't stop it until they were absolutely forced to by the Benoit situation.

 

I've participated in 10-bell salutes to real dead people. As in, been the one actually ringing the bell for locals who were now in the ground. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who would do a fake 10-bell for "entertainment" purposes should go fuck themselves for being utter disgraces to humanity.

Also, the tribute shows are not sacred and don't mean anything. It's workers working. It's a chance for wrestlers to get themselves over as genuinely good people with the fanbase by playing top this with each other to see who can do the most touching tribute and get the most adoration from it. If there's reality to it, it's incidental and rare. Acting like they've committed some sort of sacrilege by mocking it isn't cause for scorn. If anything, WWE should be commended for being more honest about their lack of class, rather than disguising it as they've been wont to do before.

 

Do you really think an Owen Hart tribute show that features the Undertaker staying off camera to protect his gimmick, Road Dogg making drug references in honor of a guy who never did drugs, and Steve Austin, who didn't even like the guy, closing out the show by toasting a beer to him simply because he's the company's top babyface, is something special that should somehow be protected? Is Stephanie McMahon comparing the Federal government to Al Qaeda really a standard that is too important to be mocked? Is a show really the best effort possible to honor Eddy Guerrero when they can't even deliver a clean finish in the main event because they want to protect guys they're building around?

[Bix 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.

[boobshaw 0]

I don't remember seeing anyone actually post this, but holy crap it would've been amazing it if had happened.

 

From the WON, on how the Flair angle was originally supposed to pan out:

 

-Flair was to be off TV for a while before joining Smackdown, with vignettes showing historical moments in Flair's career building to Flair's return to Smackdown. The push was for Khali to defend the World Title against Flair on the August Saturday Night's Main Event. The idea was based on copying Courture/Sylvia with the legend vs. the giant. The idea was the bring legends on for cameos giving their prediction on the match to give it a 'big match feel', including using his family. Flair would show up in a limo, get a promo, Flair would get some comeback offense and eventually he'd lose. They'd try and get a word with Flair but he wouldn't talk. The next week he wouldn't be there, but they'd hype an important interview with Flair on the next show.

 

-The announcers would talk about rumors Flair was going to announce his retirement. Flair would cut a promo saying he's not the person he once was as the old Ric Flair would've won the title that night, and if he can't be the old Ric Flair, then he would retire because he wants fans to remember the old days and not what he has become. He would then say being in that match changed him, because he refuses to go out like that, but the next time he lost he would retire.

 

-He'd get some wins and there would be more legend cameos. One old rival (Terry Funk was suggested) would be one of the guys doing a tribute but actually subtly knock him. They would build a Flair vs. MVP match for the US Title at Unforgiven. That wrestler would interfere as Flair had the match won, so Flair would win via DQ but not get the belt.

 

-The idea was to go in October with Flair & someone from his past against Foley & whomever (Funk), to build to a Survivor Series match where the Four Horsemen would be put together for one last time against four old Flair rivals. The proposed idea included a Flair vs. Foley Armageddon match and some Flair nostalgia opponent match at the Rumble.

 

-Flair would be picked for the Money in the Bank match at Mania, and win the match (when people expect because of the odds it will be his last match). He would then ask for his title match that night at Mania, most likely lose, and then place his robe and his boots in the middle of the ring and walk off.

 

Once again, credit WON.

 

Holy crap that would've been amazing.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

That's a fucking awesome angle. Of course they decided not to use it.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

That angle sounds fantastic and I think it would have gotten over huge. Sadly, it was never going to happen, because the right people didn't come up with it.

[Kristianna 0]

That angle sounds fantastic and I think it would have gotten over huge. Sadly, it was never going to happen, because the right people didn't come up with it.

 

Yeah, I agree with you guys, it would been an appropriately amazing end to Ric's career.

[cabbageboy 0]

It all sounds fine aside from yet another idiotic notion that someone would use the MITB the very night of WM. Let Flair save it till SummerSlam and build it up more.

 

As far as putting the belt on Jeff, it sounds good in theory but I wonder if WWE is still gunshy about him due to his past problems.

[Steviekick 0]

That angle sounds fantastic and I think it would have gotten over huge. Sadly, it was never going to happen, because the right people didn't come up with it.

 

Who do you think originally came up with that?

[GCWPatrick 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..."