wrestling / Columns
The Shimmy 04.02.07: WrestleMania Wrap-Up and Other Fun Stuff
Happy day after, everybody. Was it good for you too? Yeah, we’ll get to that in a minute.
I’ll start off my wrap-up with a look at the Hall of Fame ceremony. I was shocked at how quickly the first half went, especially with Bobby Heenan and Don Muraco doing inductions. Rob Van Dam did a pretty good job with his speech and I was impressed by Nick Bockwinkle. As for the TV portion of the show, it was very good for what it was. It was edited down to what I would imagine to be an amazing extent. I can’t wait to get the DVD to get JR’s full speech. I got misty eyed just watching the little bit they showed on Saturday night. It was a classy move on WWE’s part to induct JR and I was very happy with how he came across. Unfortunately that makes me very leery about what they have cooked up for JR in the near future. Oh, and would it have killed them to get someone that can actually pronounce Curt Hennig’s name to do the video package? It’s Henn-IG not Henn-ING.
I think one of the biggest winners of this weekend was Cody Rhodes. I was a bit surprised at who they attributed last names too though. Shouldn’t it have been Dustin Rhodes and Cody Runnels and not the other way around? In any event Cody Rhodes gave a great induction speech for Dusty. Actually the whole thing came off as a promo more than anything, a really good one at that. He’s a great talker even with the lisp. Hell, I don’t even like Dusty Rhodes and Cody had me thinking he was a wrestling god. In all honesty, as much as I hate to admit it Dusty Rhode’s portion of the show was the high point of what they showed. Dusty was on in his speech and came off larger than life. Good stuff.
And how cool was it to see Josh Matthews have something to do this weekend? Not only was he doing red carpet duty at the Hall of Fame (seen on WWE.com) he also got to do the WrestleMania pre-show with Maria all day Sunday on WWE.com. Next year they need to do the pre-show on TV so us poor schmoes with dial up can enjoy it.
So onto the main show. First of all, they decided to show us clips of Flair & Carlito’s tag match later just to say they got on the card? The show ended 15 minutes early (which isn’t surprising) they could have booked Flair & Carlito vs. London & Kendrick. Ah well, small gripe.
Last year I complained about the too-smarky-for-their own-good crowd in Chicago, which I eventually came to appreciate given that it gave the event character. This year though, I have a complaint that is far worse. This was by far one of the most lousy, cold crowds I have heard in a long time. It’s WrestleMania for God’s sake, show some enthusiasm. I’ve heard that stadium shows sometimes send the sound straight up so I’m hoping maybe that’s the case but it came across lousy on TV. Los Angeles you are no longer the crappiest wrestling crowd around.
The opening was well done and the set design looked good (although not nearly as cool as they hyped it up to be). Money in the Bank was fun, probably my favorite match of the night. They tried to pack as much action as they could in which was perfectly fine for the type of match. I don’t think this one came close in terms of greatness as the other two, but it was a nice way to start the show. Good to see Kennedy win, although I’m disappointed they killed Edge’s WrestleMania undefeated streak before he could match up with Taker. And no, before you e-mail me and say that it doesn’t count since he got carted out. He started in the match, it counts. The stuff with Kennedy and Hornswaggle was great and was probably the top WrestleMania moment in my mind.
Kane vs. Khali was what it was. Actually, it was pretty decent considering the combatants, probably Khali’s second best match since his debut. I must say that choking Kane out with the chain wasn’t nearly as dastardly as anything else he could have done like, I dunno, impaling him.
Benoit vs. MVP was odd. It had some signs of potential but it never got out of first gear. MVP was actually doing pretty well in there but the ending was beyond horrible. When was the last time Benoit actually pinned someone with the Diving Headbutt? WrestleMania 2000 is the last one that springs to mind. That’s seven years ago! Even if it has put people away since then it’s a rarity and it really made MVP look bad. That’s two underachieving Mania matches in a row for Mr. Benoit.
Undertaker vs. Batista was actually surprisingly solid. The crowd did wake up a little bit for this one, but only to boo Batista. Undertaker looked REALLY good here and I’m looking forward to a few rematches between these two (one of which will no doubt be in the Hell in a Cell). The match was good but Michael Cole, who I’m normally a fan of, sucked the drama out of every nearfall by claiming that it was the end. In recent years JR has cut down on that, now why doesn’t Coleslaw do the same.
The Originals vs. The New Breed was there. It was nice to see the Originals actually get a win but the match itself was just a decent free TV match. Did The Sandman even legally tag into the match once? With the induction of The Sheik into the Hall of Fame I would have hoped for more from Sabu, but perhaps it’s best that RVD carried the load for his team.
The Battle of the Billionaires was an interesting deal. Umaga and Lashley did an OK job at selling their stuff but the crowd just didn’t care. In fact the only thing they seemed to care about was Austin (which I believe I said might happen in the Roundtable). Oh and Donald Trump has his heel facial expressions down pat. Oh, wait, he was the face? Damn. (Speaking of “Damn” I did enjoy the crazy backstage dance party segment. I believe that was this year’s answer to the Hall of Freaks, and while not quite as classic was still pretty darn fun). McMahon looks pretty good bald and I may have to get up to see him on the Today show. It was great that Austin actually got to give the Stunner to Trump because nobody was expecting it and everyone wanted it.
The Divas Match was there. It was short and it delivered what it needed. I’m not going to be one of those blowhards that says this match shouldn’t have been on the card because it should have, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t happy it was over and done with quickly.
I’m really torn on the main event. I had high hopes for this match as did many others. My hopes were increased with the AWESOME video package for the match. Cena’s entrance was kinda meh. I like the grandiose WrestleMania entrances but this one just didn’t seem as cool as others. As for the match, I don’t know what to say. Maybe it’s because I was tired, maybe it’s because the crowd sucked, but the first 2/3 of the match were dull as dishwater on first viewing. Was Michaels trying to imply a heel turn or was he just pissed that he was jobbing? Maybe a little of both? These two men should have come out guns blazing not working the slow methodical pace. For the majority of the match this was barely a passable main event. The last few minutes though redeemed it a bit. You really didn’t know who was going to pull it out and they executed well. While I was rooting for Cena to win, especially by tap out, it just didn’t seem to fit into the last match on the card. I didn’t think I would have said this, but I think Batista-Taker would have been better served at the end of the show.
At the end of the day this WrestleMania was there. It did have that magic that keeps a WrestleMania from being completely bad, but there wasn’t a lot of stuff I’m going to be talking about for years to come. The crowd certainly didn’t help, but some of the stuff also didn’t give them much reason to cheer. I’m looking forward to hearing some live reports of the show and watching it back again on tape and seeing if I change my opinions on anything.
Andy Enjoyment Index: WrestleMania 23
1) Money in the Bank
2) Batista-Undertaker
3) Cena-Michaels
4) Battle of the Billionaires
5) Originals-New Breed
6) Kane-Khali
7) Benoit-MVP
————————————————————–
8) Melina-Ashley
Looking Ahead to Orlando
So now with WrestleMania 23 done and over with it’s time to look forward to WrestleMania 24 next year in Orlando. I’m still on the fence whether I’ll be heading there, but whether I’m there or not I will be anxiously awaiting the show. I have a feeling that WWE will be going heavy with a “Dream Match” type card to go with the big outdoor venue and the Florida location. So what tricks could WWE have up their sleeve?
Yes, I believe that The Rock will be at WrestleMania 24. Being originally from Florida could convince Rocky to come on back for one more match. Plus, with Rock and WWE seemingly back on speaking terms I think they could iron something out. As for potential opponents, there are three that I can see that Rock could be interested in. Quite frankly I think a feud with Mr. Kennedy and to a lesser extent Randy Orton (battle of third generation superstars) would be good, but I doubt The Rock would have much interest in them. No, the three men that I see for this spot are as follows: 1) Shawn Michaels. Come on, who DOESN’T want to see this match. I know it’s unlikely given their history, but if they can convince The Rock that not only is HBK a changed man but that they can make a boatload of money then they may have a chance. 2) Ric Flair. This is set to be Flair’s swan song and I think The Rock would want to be a part of that. Flair and Rock could put together a great, entertaining match and the charisma dripping off these two could cover any shortcomings they may have in the ring. 3) John Cena. It’s been said that The Rock turned down doing this match at WrestleMania 21. That may be the case but a lot has changed since them. Cena has become a much bigger wrestling star then he was two years ago, and perhaps even more important for this match, he has become a movie star as well. The could call it the Battle of the Blockbusters and really get some mainstream attention from this. They could even try and bring in someone like Arnold or Stallone to ref or something. Hell, throw Austin in the mix if they want to. In any event this could be huge.
Sting has told Dixie Carter that 2007 will probably be his last as a professional wrestler. Those may be his plans as of now, but throw some money and a Hall of Fame induction his way and the Stinger could be singing a different tune. With Ric Flair slated to be inducted this year as well it would make sense to put Sting in at the same time. Hell, they could even match Sting up against Flair one last time. I see a better scenario for Sting though. Match Showtime against the Showstoppa. Two fellow born again Christians tearing shit up at WrestleMania would be awesome. HBK could get a great match out of Hulk Hogan, imagine what he could get out of an even more mobile Sting. This could be a huge coup for WWE and would be a much more fitting retirement match then whatever TNA will undoubtedly give him.
By now it is apparent that everyone and their brother wants to put WWE and UFC up against one another. In terms of PPV UFC has been kicking WWE’s ass. Well, maybe it’s time to fight back; and just recently WWE may have found there man. Tito Ortiz has seemingly had yet another falling out with UFC after no showing his scheduled boxing match with Dana White. We all know that Tito is a wrestling fan, so I don’t think it would be hard to convince him to work WrestleMania. While some don’t like the idea of a non-wrestler competing at WrestleMania but if there is anyone that could make the transition I bet it would be an MMA fighter. Shawn Michaels would be a good opponent for him because he could bump around for whatever Tito throws at him (I’m noticed a trend here) but Tito would need to go over and I don’t think HBK would be too keen on that, nor should he be. In that case, why not someone along the lines of Rob Van Dam? RVD can bump and the matchup could be billed well. Elijah Burke could also be a good opponent but I don’t think WWE should sacrifice a young guy like that.
It is rumored that WrestleMania 24, or at least theresabouts, will be Ric Flair’s swan song. If that is the case they should market it big, especially in conjunction with his Hall of Fame induction. There are a few people that could match up well with Flair. I’ve already mentioned Sting, and Shawn Michaels would be a great opponent for him as well (what a shock, right?). I think Chris Benoit would be a great opponent for Flair to go out there and steal the show with. Who knows, this could be Benoit’s swan song as well.
I wrote up something about this before last year’s WrestleMania and JR proposed the same idea about a month ago on his blog. To my knowledge Hulk Hogan and Mick Foley have never wrestled one another, at least not at this grand a stage. While I don’t think there is any heat between the two, these are two personalities that you could easily see having heat with one another anyhow. This would be an original matchup to be sure and may be the next best thing to Hogan-Austin.
So, with all these ideas bouncing around, here an idealized card (or at least top of it) for WrestleMania 24. I’m sure not all of these matches would take place, and chances are none of them will, but it sure is fun to speculate.
WrestleMania 24:
– WWE Title Match: Triple H© vs. Edge
– Battle of the Blockbusters: John Cena vs. The Rock
– Shawn Michaels vs. Sting
– Batista vs. Bobby Lashley
– Ric Flair vs. Chris Benoit
– Rob Van Dam vs. Tito Ortiz
– Hulk Hogan vs. Mick Foley
Throw in an Undertaker match and Money in the Bank and you have a damn fine card.
Andy! Andy! At Last You Have Some Feedback!
Steve Lau asks about the Hogan-Flair match that never was:
I just read your column WrestleMania Main Events That Could Have Been
and enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
Why did wwe decide not to have hogan vs. flair as WM VIII? was it
backstage politics that denied us this dream matchup at the time?
I was so excited when flair came to wwe and thought for sure that
hogan/flair would happen at WM. So, i was shocked when it turned into
a double main event.
I really have no idea. Maybe they wanted to do something at a later date or maybe they didn’t figure Hogan would be around long enough for it to matter. They may have just decided to try and get Sid over instead and occupying Flair with Savage. Seems to me though that if Hogan was on his way out that they’d want to capitalize just in case. Puzzling.
Chris Jacobs asks about my designation of Positive and Negative changes last week:
Not criticism, just asking, why do you say that the change is the best possible outcome, especially in the first two, then at the bottom you say negative? Do I just not understand it?
Chris would actually figure it out on his own, but in case there is anybody out there that didn’t get it, here’s the explanation. If I wrote Negative than I was saying that had WWE gone with the main event that I propsed it would have been a bad switch from the actual match. Likewise, if I wrote Positive, I think it would have been a a good idea to have changed the main event to my suggestion.
Dr. Zauis:
Hey dude,
Awhile ago for my friends blog, I wrote a “What Could’ve Been” and I focused on Hogan/Flair at WM VIII and how it was right there and they blew the big one. It’s not that long, so I hope you enjoy.
OK: we start at the Royal Rumble. The main feuds heading in are Hogan/Taker, Macho Man/Jake, and Flair/EVERYONE!!! Jake and Macho Man eliminate each other mid Rumble and brawl to the back continuing their feud. Flair breaks the longevity record in from #3 and makes the Final 4. We replace Savage with anyone; let’s say Warlord since he drew #30. Sid and Hogan are friends and working together. Hogan and Sid give Flair a double big boot and he falls out of the ring through the middle rope, therefore still not eliminated. The faces double clothesline Warlord out leaving them alone in the ring. Hogan and Sid have a huge eye-to-eye confrontation and go at it. They battle close to the ropes and Flair crawls back in and lunges at both of them pushing them over together and giving him the WWF Championship in an amazing Royal Rumble. Sid and Hogan look at each other as if “how did this happen?”
After the Rumble, Flair and his manager Bobby Heenan and assistant Mr. Perfect, align with Jake “the snake” Roberts and Undertaker against Hogan, Sid and Macho Man. This can play out in any number of tag team and 6-man tag matches. The hatred between Macho Man and Jake usually results in them brawling to the back and through the arena. Their issue will settle once and for all at Wrestlemania in a No DQ, anything goes match. Undertaker and Sid are at a stand off as each big man can’t seem to keep the other down. Sid and Taker get set to square off at Wrestlemania. That sets the stage for the biggest title match in wrestling history. It would be the WWF’s greatest star vs. NWA/WCW’s greatest star. Before Wrestlemania, Sid and Hogan battle Taker and Flair in a tag match. The heels get DQ’ed for use of a steel chair. Hogan fights back and in the crossfire hits Sid across the back with it. A tense moment arises between them but in the end Macho Man runs down and unifies them again.
We are now at Wrestlemania VIII. Aside from the top three matches here, Bret Hart battles Piper for the IC belt, and the other matches from the original card remain the same. In the No DQ match, Elizabeth sneaks a low blow to Jake as he’s trying the DDT and Macho Man hits the Flying Elbow for the pin. In the battle between Taker and Sid, Sid hits the Powerbomb but only gets 2 as Taker sits up. Taker tries the Tombstone but Sid pushes off and in a shocking twist, Sid slides outside, grabs the urn and whacks Taker for the DQ. The fans are stunned as Sid Justice blatantly used a weapon and Taker gets cheered on by the crowd. That leaves the main event.
Hogan and Flair go at it for nearly 25 minutes. Flair is bleeding, Hogan as well. Flair relentlessly goes after Hulk’s leg setting up for the Figure 4 and finally cinches it in. Right when Hogan seems done, he reverses the hold and Hulks up. He hits the 3 punches, and the big boot. He signals to the crowd the end is near. But Sid Justice returns to ringside and as Hogan runs for the Legdrop, Sid trips him up. Hogan is stunned and turns his attention towards Sid allowing Flair to cradle Hogan from behind and get the 1, 2, and 3 and retain the WWF Championship. Sid and Flair beat down Hogan until…the Ultimate Warrior makes the shocking spectacular save to send the crowd home happy.
With Summerslam headlined by Bret Hart vs. Bulldog for the IC Title, a Sid/Flair vs. Hogan/Warrior match could’ve been a double main event there.
That’s a really good, really well thought out scenario. The only thing I would change is Flair winning. This is WWE and if you were having the top WWE guy and the top NWA guy facing each other, they would have put the WWE guy over. Even if you don’t want to deal with that reality, I think that the face should go over most of the time at Mania anyhow.
Right now, I am pleased to welcome my two good friends Andy Critchell and Matt Adamson to The Shimmy. Andy is returning to the column to provide us with his “Indy Insights,” the views of some of the top indy wrestling through the eyes of a WWE homer. Matt will be occupying his regular 500 Good Words spot bringing you the first of his mutli-part series of classic Champion vs. Champion Matches. Without any further adieu I welcome you to enjoy the writings of these to great columnists.
Indy Insights w/ Andy Critchell
For those of you who have read my columns in the past, you know that I am a WWE fan first and foremost. I grew up watching the WWE, I enjoy their product and I feel that I get the most “bang for my buck” with Vince & Co. I doubt anything will ever change that. Still, during the Monday Night Wars I followed WCW and saw what they did because even though I am a WWE fan, I am also a fan of wrestling as a whole. About two months ago I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase an ROH DVD. Since then I have purchased two other ROH DVDs and was lucky enough to be given a PWG DVD, thanks to regular 500 Words Contributor Matt Adamson. So what does this have to do with Wrestlemania? Well, nothing. Think of this as something to cleanse the pallet from all the Wrestlemania recaps and reactions of today. Now, before you indy fans and ROHbots say “yes, we’ve got another one,” settle down. WWE is still #1 for me and while in one way my preconceived notions about indys were proven to be false, in another way I was exactly right.
I had always thought that indy wrestling was a minor league of sorts, full of guys that either could never make it on the big scene or has beens that were never that great to begin with. Sure there were a few name guys, but for every CM Punk there were hundreds of generic guy #1s and for every Samoa Joe there were hundreds of bland guy #2s. It turns out that is not exactly the case. It turns out there are some pretty big and entertaining personalities in the indys. That fact was proven to me most decisively by the commentary track on the PWG DVD I was given. Two workers; Excalibur and Disco Machine, provided some very hilarious post presentation commentary for the entire disc and it certainly help make it accessible for someone like me who had never seen PWG before.
Another preconceived notion I had against indy wrestling was that at the end of the day the workers were not as skilled as those in the “big leagues.” Much of that was borne from what I have seen in TNA from indy legend Samoa Joe as well as Alex Shelley, Austin Aires, and Roderick Strong. ROH helped open my eyes as to what those guys were really capable of. I was more entertained by the first ROH Samoa Joe I had ever seen than I had been entertained by all of his TNA matches combined. In ROH it seems like they let Joe be more than just some super intense “oh look at my scary face” type meathead that TNA has made him into. In ROH he gets to show some personality and as such he just looks a lot more natural and comfortable in the ring. With Shelley and Aires (or Starr) it blows my mind how much TNA is wasting these guys. Both of them are in all the ROH DVDs I have and all of them are amazing talents, Shelley particularly. The fact that neither one of these guys has worn the X Division title in TNA just speaks to how screwed up the company must be. As for Roderick Strong, well we’ll get to him later.
Up to this point, I have heaped tons of praise on the indy scene but it’s not all peaches and cream kiddies. There were some things that I did notice which went along with some other preconceived notions I had. At the forefront of those was my idea that for the most part indy guys were very overrated by their small but earnest and loyal fanbases. In the case of a few guys I was right, specifically the afore mentioned Roderick Strong, Homicide, and “the world’s best wrestler” Bryan Danielson. To me, Strong could not be any more generic if he tried. Even his name “Strong” sounds generic as hell. As for Homicide, nothing he did jumped out at me at all. Other than the fact that he does the Vertebreaker, what exactly is his appeal? He’s not bad but he doesn’t make me care a whit about what he does or why he does it and a good performer is supposed to do that. Which brings us to Bryan Danielson. Personally, I think he’s a good enough worker. He seems weak on the mic but overall he’s not bad. But best wrestler in the world? Hardly. In fact, that’s laughable. The best wrestler is supposed to entertain and impress to a high degree and Danielson does neither, at least not to the point where he should be called the best.
There were other issues too like bush league production, the super annoying ROH crowd, the comically bad overselling for effect, and other minor quibbles but nothing too upsetting. Overall, I’d say my first exposure to indy wrestling was a good experience and I look forward to seeing more indy DVDs in the future. And if you are like I was, skeptical of the indy scene, don’t be afraid to check it out. You probably won’t find anything that will replace the WWE, but you might find something that you can enjoy. Of course, I’m still a WWE fan at heart and would love for them to bring Wrestlemania to my hometown of St. Louis but now I have another reason to want it here; an ROH show would probably be here that weekend as well.
500 Good Words w/ Matt Adamson
All kinds of things are changing in the WWE as of late, specifically related to the brand extension and the cessation of the single branded Pay Per Views. For the next few weeks I’m going to take a trip back in time and discuss the history of champion vs. champion matches. This week I’m going back, way back to 1948, a time when there were several World Champions scattered around North America.
The NWA, or National Wrestling Alliance was formed in 1948 in order to consolidate all the territories “World” Champions into one undisputed champion. One of the original territories to become a part of the NWA was the Midwest Wrestling Association which was run out of Kansas. Their promoter, Pinkie George, was one of the original promoters to form the NWA. They had one particular wrestler named Orville Brown who dominated that territory, holding the Midwest World Heavyweight Championship a grand total of 11 times, the MWA World title would be referred to as the National Wrestling Alliance Title after 1948 when the NWA was formed. During this same time the National Wrestling Association (That’s right, “Association” which was the St. Louis territory) was being absorbed into the NWA as well. Their World Champion was the legendary Lou Thesz.
When the NWA decided it was time to start unifying the World Titles, they knew these Brown and Thesz were the two to start with. So a match was set for November 25th 1949. This match would be one of the first, if not the very first major champion vs. champion match ever to be wrestled, but tragedy kept this match from happening. On November 1st 1949, Orville Brown was involved in a career ending car accident which left him unable to compete, and thus Thesz was awarded the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, unifying the Midwest (known as the NWA) World, and NWA (“Association” out of St. Louis) World titles.
During the following 8 years, Thesz would travel the territories of the NWA, defeating the various champions of those territories. The unification run finally came to an end in 1956 in Los Angeles, California at the Grand Olympic Auditorium when Lou Thesz faced the Los Angeles World Heavyweight Champion, Baron Michelle Leone. This would be the champion vs. champion match that would define the next three decades for the National Wrestling Alliance.
With so much on the line with establishing an Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion for the first time since about 1911, the NWA decided to have the established NWA Champion Thesz get the win and unify the titles. What is so important about this match is that it was the champion vs. champion match that would unify the last territorial World title into the NWA championship. It was smart of the NWA to choose Thesz for this as he was willing to travel and defend his title, a requirement the NWA would have of it’s champions for the next 25 years or more. The distinction of the NWA title being the undisputed title only lasted approximately one year and would be completely disputable within three years.
To be continued….
Well, more of a history of the early years than an opinion piece, that’s to be sure, but is there any other way to do it? In the next edition of 500 Good Words, I’ll be looking at a controversy within the NWA, which led to the establishment of a new World title, and the beginning of a new promotion in the northern Midwest, which led to big champion vs. champion match in Minneapolis and then to a title unification match about a year later. Interesting stuff no doubt and if you’re interested in The Crusher, Fritz Von Erich and Verne Gagne, you don’t want to miss it.
Send your feedback to me at voldegalle@yahoo.com, and if you’re into puroresu, be sure to check out my all new column, “Destiny” every Sunday.
The Shimmy Likes It Raw!
What’s on tap for tonight’s big post-Mania show?
Well that wraps up the post-WrestleMania edition of The Shimmy. It’s been an emotion filled weekend, now the big question is what’s next? I look forward to being along for the ride. Take care everybody. Until next week, don’t die. Clark…out.
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