The Wrestling Framework 02.26.12: WrestleMania is Coming!

Welcome, everyone, to The Wrestling Framework!

Big news here at 411 Mania, and I’m sure everyone knows it already. Wes Kirk is no longer with 411mania. And I think it’s fitting for me to put a tribute up to him and wish him well in his future endeavors. I’ll hit on all that later.

In other news, I picked a match from last years WrestleMania that has been put under the microscope by many people and the opinions vary to the extreme. We’ll get in to that.

The PvP segment is going to be the Kirk tribute. And Bonus Round I’ll have something interesting. Let’s go.

Every category is rated 0-2.
0-.5: Bad
.5-1: Okay
1-1.5: Good
1.5-2: Excellent

Then the scores are added up from the five different categories of the Big 5; psychology, work rate, crowd, spots and finish. The final score will be a number 1-10.
0-1: Unwatchable
1-2: Terrible
2-3: Bad
3-4: Passable
4-5: Okay
5-6: Not Bad
6-7: Decent
7-8: Good
8-9: Really Good
9-10: Excellent

MATCH: Triple H vs. The Undertaker

Psychology: 2
Work Rate: .7
Crowd: 2
Spots: 2
Finish: 1
Overall: 7.7

Psychology: The story behind this was great. They were able to tell this story so damn well in the ring, too. This is probably one of the best matches psychology-wise that I have seen in a while. It was just insane how well they pulled off the story. Triple H was kicking the shit out of Taker and doing every little thing he could to put him down. This included using Takers own Tombstone Piledriver on him and even a chair shot to the head. Something that I was not expecting at all. But I’ll talk about that in the spots section. No matter what Triple H did to Taker, he kept coming back for more. It was such a brutal battle in that ring. And it’s only a hope that they can do that again inside of the Cell. If you watch the story they tell here, you’ll notice that they really had something. Something so damn good that having another match this year was a must. I love how they’ve built it this year, too. This is proof that both men are truly legends and the last of an era. The last of a dying breed. Guys that knew how to make an edgy and dramatic story inside the ring. Guys who were around in a time that wrestling as a whole had to be at its best to be the best. Or worst, depending on what you look at. *cough* Katie Vick *cough* These guys really know how to make the story come through with their actions. And that’s impressive.

Work Rate: As you can tell, I wasn’t at all impressed with the work rate. That’s to be expected from a match featuring two guys who are past their primes. Well, Undertaker for sure is past his prime. Triple H might have a few years left in the tank, but I’m pretty sure he should just hang up the boots and do as he’s doing now. For what it was, it wasn’t bad. There were some high points as far as wrestling in this match. Not a lot, but enough to make it seem like both men were a little broken down. That’s what all the spots were for, but that will be talked of later. Yeah…not really a whole lot I can say about the work rate. I wouldn’t expect these guys to have a ***** match from work rate alone. That would be like expecting The Brooklyn Brawler and The Blue Meanie to have a phenomenal match with pure wrestling ability. It’s just no there. Or if it was, there wasn’t enough to go 30+ minutes on just that. They did what they could, and I give them respect for that. They earned my respect because they gave it their all to make this match not suck so bad. But in the end, the work rate wasn’t really anything to bat an eyelash at. Not trying to be a dick about it, but I’m just being honest.

Crowd: This crowd was damn electric. This was actually the first time I had heard that kind of crowd reaction at a PPV or just show in general in a long while. In fact, this was before I started writing for 411. My first column covered matches the week after Mania. Before all this, I didn’t watch a whole lot of old tapes. I kept to just watching the stuff that came on every week on TV. And most of those crowds on TV were usually pretty shitty. But this was the classic style of match that really got that classic style of crowd buzz. There was nary a moment of silence the entire time. And let’s not forget how well both men were able to get that crowd going absolutely crazy with even so much as a flick of the wrist. The crowd was hanging on every little thing they did. If Triple H decided that he thought he could beat the Undertaker by dropping trou and taking a dump on his face, I’m sure the crowd would have been all over it cheering their asses off. Or, there would have been a lot of people puking in the crowd. Then followed by insane cheering at not believing what the hell they had just seen. Point is, both men had such power over the crowd it really made the match spectacular to watch and listen to.

Spots: Now, here’s the thing; the match had to be immensely spotty in nature. As I said, they had to include all the spots to protect themselves from looking bad. All those things they did that distracted the crowd from the fact that they can’t actually wrestle a match. And I have to say that all the spots were damn awesome. I mentioned a couple, already. Like the Tombstone and the chair shot. That chair shot was so damn unexpected, I actually had look on in shock wondering if I had actually just seen Triple H hit Taker in the head with a chair. Especially since those were outlawed. Within the first few minutes of the match, Taker was speared through the Cole Mine. Most of the match was conducted on the outside. There was just spot after spot after spot. This match was a non-stop thrill ride of emotions. Well, save for the few points that they laid around on the mat to catch a breather. But that was a necessary thing for those old men. Great spots that made the match the epic show that it was. HHH and Taker really know how to put spots in to a match to make it exciting. And that’s not just any spots, but epic spots.

Finish: This is the only part that I really didn’t like about this match. I mean, I understand the meaning behind it, but I didn’t like it at all. It just seemed so anti-climatic an ending for such an epic thrill ride. I understand that they really needed an ending that made it seem like Taker had skimmed by with a close victory, but they maybe could have done it better. I think what killed it was that HHH was fighting it for so long. If Taker was really almost done for, could he have really fought for that long? At the same time, I could see how it’s relevant. It was Taker giving everything else he had left in his tank to hold H in the Hell’s Gate. Keeping him there at all costs to ensure he picked up the victory. But that’s not how it came off when I first watched this match. It just didn’t feel right to me. I don’t think I could come up with anything better, so my tearing it down may be a little unwarranted. It’s my column, my opinion, so I don’t think so.

Overall: If this year’s match is going to be anything like this one, I’m damn excited to see it. The fact that it’s going to be in a Cell just gives it more of a chance to be truly epic. This match was good. But watching it a second time, I have to agree that I think even I overrated that match. Then again, I might be wrong about that. I’m just saying, the story was fantastic and the feeling of the match was epic. It was a truly worthy WrestleMania match. May not have been as great as Taker/HBK 1 or 2, but it was a damn good match and I’m really looking forward to seeing if they will be able to follow up this year. All these questions and more are filling my head and I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen. I seriously lose sleep wondering how good WrestleMania will be this year. Or if they’re totally going to botch it.

WINNER: UNDERTAKER

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

DAMN!

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TRIBUTE TO KIRK AND HIS SANDWICH

Wow, where to start. First of all, I’d like you guys to just chill before flaming me. Everyone knows that Kirk was a gimmick. And in my opinion, I thoroughly enjoyed his gimmick. He was able to really pull the emotions out of people in the best and worst kind of ways. Some of you will remember the little feud that Wes and I had a few months back that eventually saw me taking a hiatus. Honestly, if it wasn’t for that, I’m pretty sure that no one would even know my column existed. And it was fun planning how it was all going to go down. Wes was a great guy with high ambitions and a lot of respect for other people regardless of what many of you know. The content that Kirk pushed out was always great. He really took his time to ensure that his column was organized and had a lot of relevant information in it. He kept it intelligent and interesting. And if it wasn’t the information in the column that people tuned in for, it was the often hilarious and quite interesting comments section that it was mostly known for. And I can’t even forget to mention that Wes was the only one who gave TNA it’s due diligence. Granted it was often while burying the WWE to a great extent. But in the end, I think that Wes Kirk was really like a voice of the voiceless on 411. He wasn’t the troll that people thought he was. He was a guy that was trying to voice his opinion, but he did it in a very over the top way. Now, as far as why he left, that’s not my story to tell. If you listened to the podcast, you would have gotten a reason. But it’s all just details now. It’s done and over with and Kirk is gone. And it’s really a shame to me. Wes Kirk was, in my opinion, an exceptional writer. And he was a friend as well. 411 has lost a good writer and regardless of how you felt about him, I ask that you join me in wishing Wes Kirk luck in all of his future endeavors.

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COMMERCIAL BREAK

Had to steal this from this week’s edition of Ryan Byers’ 8-ball.

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B-B-B-BONUS ROUND!

This weeks Bonus Round is going to be speculative WrestleMania booking.

So, we already have four matches on the card that have the potential to be freakin’ awesome.

Daniel Bryan taking on Sheamus is definitely going to be the match a lot of people are looking forward to. We didn’t get it last year for some reason. They made it a dark match and I’m sure it pissed a lot of people off just like it did me. A lot of people don’t have faith in either men, though. Bryan isn’t really seen as an entertaining champion, which I beg to differ. He’s become quite entertaining in the role they have him in. And I also disagree with the idea that Bryan will go the way of Miz or Swagger. His reign is going to be successful. People will remember it. And Sheamus is getting a lot of flack. People don’t seem to like his Great White Chalky Charisma. I think he’s doing fine in his good guy role. I find him generally entertaining. His matches aren’t at all boring when it comes to big deal matches. The guy has a very brutal technical style that comes off making him look like a beast. I think Bryan will win this one. Now that I think about it, it’s somewhat like The Miz reign. Maybe they’re going to see how well Bryan does at and after WrestleMania as champion. This match might be a show stealer. But will have to contend with…

CM Punk and Chris Jericho. This one just speaks for itself. There’s not a whole lot I have to say. It’s two guys calling themselves the best in the world and it’s hard to really decide who should win. I think that Jericho getting one last run with the title would be damn good to see. The odd thing is that I don’t see Jericho in the same light as guys like HHH, Taker, or even Rocky. I know he was around with them and all, but I his extended hiatus’ has saved him from being seen in the same light. I don’t think that he’s trying to take the spotlight from a younger guy, I think that he has and deserves one more run. Speaking of one more run…

Undertaker and Triple H, I think I’ve said enough about. So, I’ll go to another guy taking one more run.

The Rock coming back to take on John Cena has been the build for WrestleMania the entire year. It’s another match that just sells itself. Love or hate them or the build, it’s all been damn good in my opinion. And the coming weeks will make it all so much more juicy. I don’t know if I’m overly excited to see this match like I am Taker/HHH, but I’m interested to see the outcome.

As for what we may see, that’s hard for me to say. I’m not so good with the fantasy booking. If I had my try at it, I would only add maybe 3 more matches. That’s all we really need. 4 if you really want to include a divas match. You could easily get a cross promotional MitB match going. There are plenty of people who are worthy enough to be in that match and make it exciting. It would also be a good way to bring someone like Dolph Ziggler or Cody Rhodes to the next level. But, I wouldn’t have Rhodes in the match because I think there would be more money in another match he could do. And there’s the whole campaign for it, too. Cody Rhodes taking on Goldust in a Intercontinental Title vs Career match. WITH….ready? Dusty as the special guest referee. Come on? I think that’d be pretty damn awesome to watch. And the third match I would add would either be Epico and Primo defending the titles in a four way tag match. Epico/Primo vs. Truth/Kofi vs. Usos vs. Santino/???. And if you there really had to be a divas match, the only ones I would want to see are Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya or Karhma. Or Karhma vs. Natalya. Either way, it would be divas that can actually have a good match. I’ll develop this more in the coming weeks.

But, for now, that’s all for me. See you guys next week.