The Wrestling Thread Has More Hype Than WrestleMania XXIX - Part 91

[Kaleb]

I remember Shawn Michael's making fun of Shamrocks promo skills, during the build up to the Degeneration X ppv

 

[Kaleb]

 

[Lobo]

yeah they had an i quit match on raw. it's on YouTube (Austin and Shamrock)

 

[Vapor]

Speaking of Shamrock, is there any one else you'd like to see make a return? I actually wouldn't mind seeing Steve Blackman or Val Venis back. I'm also hoping they do something with the NAO to help revitalise the tag division.

 

[TripleR]

Since we're now just a week away from mania, thought I'd share the little outfit I put together for the show... all thats missing from this pic is the wrist tape obviously lol.

 

[Vapor]

Have people seen this re-leather of the US title a fan did? He should sell the design to WWE or something, it looks bloody amazing imo.

[YT]C60eTBTzlZI[/YT]

 

[Hunter Rider]

yeah they had an i quit match on raw. it's on YouTube (Austin and Shamrock)

I knew they had a match on Raw but I didn't know it was an I Quit match, I bet ended without a proper finish thgough.

I always thought in 99 that Shamrock was an ideal choice to be Vince's guy after Rock turned face, Shamrock could have slipped into the role as Vince's corporate weapon going after Austin and the title.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[Metallo]

I saw G.I. Joe: Retaliation Friday. It was better than the first movie and actually not too bad as a disposable B movie but thats not saying much. The story was just paper f***ing thin. I have no problem with simple plots but it seems like every sequence was just loosly strung together without an engaging and smooth story flow.

Spoiler

Not much Duke and the gloss over most of the Joes from the first film. Same with Destro. They explain why he's not in this one much but its gotten out of the way in such an uninteresting quick comment kind of way.

Rock was OK but not spectacular. Nobody really was. But there wasn't much to the material that anyone could work with. I thought Roadblock, Storm Shadow, Firefly, and Cobra Commander came off looking best. I really like what they did with Firefly. They did their own thing different from comics and cartoons as far as some of his personal quirks but it worked. Palicki was OK as Lady J but much liek Scarlett in the first film they tried to give her some quickly glossed over character moment so we could relate to her/understand her.

The thing that really worked for this movie is they got the look and tone more "right" and where it needed to be compared to the first film. Snake Eye looked far better and he and Storm Shadow had some good fights. I was expecting more from the mountainside fight/chase between Snake Eyes Jinx and The Red Ninjas. I do have to wonder if this is the Rocks franchise now if there is ever another sequel.

 

[Metallo]

Originally Posted by OnTheAir
Yes, I remember them hooking James Brown up with Ernest Miller. With no build-up. Genius.

WCW was a trainwreck down the stretch. But damn, I miss them. The Monday Night War was among my favorite eras in wrestling. The business is SO much more interesting with two (or more) companies on equal footing.

Oh definitely. As bad as WCW could be I wish it was still around. Its worst was usually no worse than WWE sometimes is at its worst today. It would be worth it to everyone to have had two major companies since then.

Hall was billed as being 6'6" or 6'7", so he was probably slightly under that. Definitely not a "vanilla midget."

Hall is one of my all-time favorites. Had the talent and charisma to be a world champion. I'm heartbroken that he has never really been able to overcome his substance abuse isses.

Right. With wrestling heights I've found you can usually subtract 2-4 inches from their worked heights and get their real stats. I figure Hall was 6'4" or 6'5" at his peak.

Its a shame because it was his demons that held back his career in WCW. If he had kept himself clean he probably would have gotten a run with the world title even if it was as a transitional heel champion. They gave Benoit the belt to stay and Hall had been a big deal there years before that. Nash as booker would have even pushed for it. Hall was arguably the second best worker in the Kliq in WWF in the mid 90's.

Originally Posted by OnTheAir
How sad is it that a 5-time NWA champion gets thrown into Gut Check? Back in the day, having that on your resume would have guaranteed you a spot on the roster AND a push!

It's astonishing how far the world title held by greats like Thesz, Brisco, Funk, Race, Rhodes and Flair has fallen. And, again, sad.

Like I've said before it probably would have been smart if the NWA had at least tried to keep working with TNA somehow even if they didn't let TNA use their name for their titles. National tv exposure is pretty damn important in this day in age to stay relevant.

Originally Posted by OnTheAir
It really is fitting that AJ is in this Sting-like storyline. Much like Sting was "the franchise" of WCW, AJ has been "the franchise" of TNA.

Ditto. AJ represents everything unique about TNA that makes it great. Whats being done now is a nice play off his good guy image too. If anyone has been the face of TNA as you say its him.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider
I think it could be the size thing, she has the alternative appeal Lita had and when Ashley Massaro came along they were willing to run with it again but she never got over enough, but with AJ being so tiny I think they are unsure if people can buy into her as a fighter.

Maybe but I think their willingness to use different kinds of girls has changed and lessened since the days of Lita and even Ashley. Ashley had the punk rock style but she was also more traditionally "WWE" attractive with the big boobs and the long blond hair.

Take Sara Del Rey for example. I have no doubt that 8-12 years ago she would have been on the main diva roster. Age and look and even size weren't nearly as much of factors back then. Ivory, Jackie, Jazz, and others are all prime examples of that. But now Del Rey is just being used as a trainer to improve the models they are still hiring. We still aren't seeing as much diversity in the division as we used to. Maybe Del Rey wasn't interested in the WWE road schedule but I still have to wonder if they even considered using her as a main roster wrestler.

I think its more size like you said but also style/type holding AJ back. We aren't even seeing girls like Lita anymore. If Naomi gets pushed and used REALLY well that will be a sign that things are changing for the better. She's one girl that comes closest to representing everything that used to be interesting about the Divas division. Kaitlyn's run has just been kind of "meh" as champion even though there have been a few good moments. Its not her fault its just that WWE hasn't been putting enough focus on building a good division yet.

The funny thing about McCool is that I've barely heard a bad word about her from any Diva shoots, most seem to feel she's been unfairl "Haitched" due to her being Taker's Missus.

I don't think she actively politicked but again its one of those cases where she was someone who didn't need to. WWE probably took care of her to make the big man happy. With all the talent they had during her runs at the top I still don't think she deserved as much of attention as she got. Mickie, Beth, Nattie, and others were all far superior yet McCool got a lot of accolades that others didn't. The really did a lot to get her over as a face and later as a heel when the face run was a bust.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider

Mmmm...I'm liking it. That would be a great look for her to sport in a national wrestling spotlight return.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider
Former WWE star Ken Shamrock recently appeared on Ring Rust Radio, and spoke on a number of topics, including a potential WWE return:


On a return to WWE and how winning the World Title would cement his legacy:

"Oh, definitely. I’ve tried to reach out, but I’ve been hitting some walls. I’m not sure if my messages are getting through or not. In my career, if you follow my career and watched everything that I’ve ever done from the time I was in high school to where I’m at now, I’ve always been able to reach the pinnacle. In football, I was able to win championships and go to bowl games in college, be an All-American linebacker and there were a lot of things I was able to accomplish. In my professional career, every time I jumped into an organization, I always reached the top and the title. I know with NWA with Jeff Jarrett, TNA, I was their first heavyweight champion, so I was able to reach that pinnacle. With Pancrase, I was their first champion and was also able to bring it to the U.S. using my character. I also reached the level in the UFC as a heavyweight champion, one of the first of all time, also rookie of the year, fighter of the year. I got into pro wrestling, I’ve got tag team champion, Intercontinental champion, King of the Ring. There were several times where I wished I had got that opportunity, and probably should have had that opportunity, to at least challenge for the Heavyweight Championship belt. I never got that opportunity, and I’m not sure why, but it is what it is. I will keep fighting to try and get that opportunity and close this thing up to be probably one of the only persons in sports history to go into several different organizations and become world champion in every one of them."
​

It really is amazing to me that he never got into a long term feud for the belt. Shamrock was a great athlete and had a great look. Good pro wrestler too.

Originally Posted by Kaleb
didnt he have a drug problem while he was in the wwf? (and was also a bit of a *****e backstage?) I recall someone giving a shoot interview stating that.

His real life feud with The Nasty Boys is a hilarious classic. I can just picture him beating Knobb's a**.

Originally Posted by LuisTX85
Ric Flair's 24yo son Reid Flair passes away!
http://www.pwinsider.com/article/764...-away.html?p=1
"Reid Flair, the youngest son of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, has passed away, PWInsider.com has sadly confirmed. He was only 24 years old.
Reid was seen in the latter days of WCW, where both he and his father had heads shaved as part of an angle where Ric feuded with Vince Russo. Reid later began training as a pro wrestler under Bobby Eaton and George South, but personal issues, including a heroin arrest, sidetracked what was expected to be instant stardom for Reid, who had an excellent amateur pedigree.

At one point, he was slated to debut with Ring of Honor when the promotion was owned by Cary Silkin, but the arrest caused ROH to back off on those plans. That led to the beginning of the end of their relationship with Ric Flair.

Since then, there had been talk of Reid going to WWE developmental and the company had taken a look at him, but didn't sign him to a contract. He had worked in All Japan this past January and was slated to make appearances with Ric this weekend in Maryland.

Our deepest condolences to the Flair family during what can only be described as a tragic, sad day."

R.I.P.,May God be with the Flair family at this time.!!

Real tragic news. I read about it a few days ago. I know he had his own drug demons and I just hope thats not what did him in. The story so far is the same as we've heard in so many wrestling deaths: found alone in a hotel room. The thing that makes this even worse is Reid Flair was just way too young. A parent should neve rhave to bury a child. Its just the worst kind of pain. The kid had a lot of potential. Just so sad.

Also makes me think of the Von Erichs.

Originally Posted by Van Petrol
Wouldn't mind, always been a fan of Shamrock. Brock vs. Shamrock sounds like a more enticing WM match than Brock vs. The Nose of Noses, Queen Stephanie and the MacDaddy family...ugh..

Ditto. I'd love to see Shamrock come back for something. A match with him and Lesnar could be a no brainer. It'd stir up some interest from a few different types of fans. it'd be cool even if they used him to put Brock over for bigger things down the line.

Originally Posted by Donnie Darko
Haven't they pulled the Cena "heel promo" teases several times before? I just don't see them pulling the trigger on it, but I am so far out of the loop, so who knows.

I don't think he will turn either. I mean theres a chance but I think this is all just to fan interest by giving the second match something different. Its a classic booking tactic. The problem with Cena turning now is they now they'd be taking a big risk as far as merch. They don't want to lose that now with no other strong babyfaces. With so many choices motivated by money I can't see them changing their MO just yet.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider
Tragic news about Reid Flair, I remember seeing him on Nitro when he was a kid and even then he was more of a natural than David, I also recall Flair's issues with Bischoff relating to him taking a show off to see Reid compete at amateur level.

RIP.

To me Reid will always be the kid we occasionally saw in WCW. I still remember seeing him when Flair was with his family in the build to Starrcade 93. I think of the two sons Reid had more to offer even as a kid. David was a nice guy but he just never had "IT." Boring as hell. Ironically he was the Garett Bischoff of his day.

Its like charisma skips a generation with most in this business. Soooo many greats have had sons that were just so lacking in charisma. Joe Hennig and Ted Jr come to mind.

Dusty Rhodes and his kids are one of the amazingly rare exceptions. With genes like his I guess he had to pass down something good to make up for it.

I'll give this to Hogan, Brookes one of the few kids of a wrestler these days to actually have some personality and ability to do a little bit of character stuff. She actually sold the Bully Ray angle better than I thought she would.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider
Storm is really unlucky, first his big title win got passed to Aries, then Hardy took the spot, now Bully has the main role and the title, and the logical path of the current angle is for AJ to be the guy to take the belt off Bully at BFG. I just wonder if Storm's time is ever going to come or if at this point they've lost too much momentum with him.

I think you nailed it. Just bad luck and bad timing. There are so many talented guys fighting for the top spot in TNA right now that Storms lost in the shuffle. Storms got good character but Roode just has the look so damn much. Aries is multi talented. Bully Ray is the best he's ever been. Great heel. Jeff Hardy is one of the most well known stars in the whole company. AJ is one of the great TNA originals and is clearly being built up to the big spot at BFG. There's just not much room for Storm to rise right now. TNA's potential main event scene is looking far more interesting than WWE's right now and thats because they've cultivated more potenetial main events more steadily. Bubbas gonna have any choice of opponents for a while.

Originally Posted by Lobo
Every time Dolph speaks I just become a bigger and bigger fan. I'd love to see a face Ziggler dethrone a heel Cena for the WWE title.

The Raw after Mania when the new season so to speak begins, I'm really looking forward to as that is what will determine if I take a break from watching or not.

What I'd like to see is Dolph having cashed in. Bryan start a feud with Dolph for the WHC, even a three way feud with Del Rio as I think the matches with those three can be spectacular. Cena heel it up and be challenged by Ryback or another face who could try to step up out of the midcard and could be elevated just by working with Cena. Kofi is all I can think of right now to fit the bill, but I'm sure there are others who'd work just as well if not better. And I want to see The Shield in one on one matches. I can see Rollins getting over huge and eventual face turn.

And as for Vince wanting a Latin hero, I think a returning Carlito would have a better shot at being the star Eddie was then Del Rio

His honesty is refreshing and the best part is what he's saying totally fits his show off heel character. Some of his comments could be worked or shoot.

I agree Del Rio needs a great heel worker in there with him. If they turn Bryan he could be it. It would do far more to get Del Rio over than this sh* with Swagger. Thats how WCW did it with Flair's babyface opponents.

Originally Posted by UnionJack
Swagger will pay for the DUI after WM, its the only thing they can do with Del Boro right now as they are conVinced (ha) he will get over with the crowd like Eddie. Which won't happen as Eddie had a personality and charisma Del Boro has neither.

I think the best shot is for Swagger to win and Dolph to cash in on him that very same night. Its the best solution. Del Rio's run has been blah and he needs a change. Like you said Swagger can't be given the belt as a reward he's got to pay at some point. Cashing in helps Dolph look good and chasing the belt helps put Del Rio over as a face. Sometimes the chase is more important for a faces development than almost anything.

Del Rio will never get more over doing what he's doing. Its not natural. His previous heel run only reinforced that. He's not a humble hero of the people. If he's going to be a face it needs to be done some other way.

Originally Posted by I'm Venom
I once read that Vince McMahon "freaked out" after Shamrock vs. Ortiz III on Spike TV drew a 3.1 overall rating and 4.3 for the final quarter hour featuring the actual fight. Vince went as far as to tell the writers to start coming up with ideas for Shamrock if they brought him back to WWE.

Somebody tell Vince thats what happens when you make long term stars.

Originally Posted by Kaleb

Spoiler

Time to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Originally Posted by Team Andino
After being without a computer for several weeks, I'm finally back online with a new laptop. I haven't seen or heard anything that's happen in the world of wrestling and to be honest haven't missed the headache. I'm curious though as to how the build for the Wrestlemania is, considering it's their biggest show of the year. Judging from the title of this thread though things aren't going well. Anything though that's been positive lately?

Welcome back! The break from the crappier stuff probably did you some good. As far as the shows you haven't missed much.

Originally Posted by bullets
I don't think he enjoyed the lifestyle. He talks about WWE about fifteen minutes into the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6KAPKZSn8I

I don't blame him for not wanting to do an incest angle or some of the other angles. It's interesting that he and Owen shared the same issues with creative. They worked well together. Also I thought it was awesome when Dan Severn joined the roster for a brief time.

Incest angle with Ryan Shamrock? I seem to remember something about that. What is it with Vince's obsession with incest? He tried to do it with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea too.

The lifestyle and travel seem to be the huge turnoffs for a lot of guys who get into the business. You have to be wired a little different and have a real determination and interest in being on the go to make that work.

Originally Posted by the_ultimate_evil
It's not genetics, it's the same as any big Hollywood actor, cruise, jackman, bale etc


It's all about £££££££


Seriously you take anyone give them the cash and hire a chef, trainer, nutritionist etc and give them the same 6 months with nothing else to do they'll look the same as the actors


Sorts it's a pet peeve of mine where DVDs and magazines ******** with crap like 25minutes a day and you to can have abs like wolverine.

THIS. "Resources" play a HUUGE factor. Yeah there is personal hard work but it ain't all about genetics. Its funny to me that a mag like muscle and fitness had Vince McMahon on the cover and he admitted to juicing in the past. It wasn't ALL natural hard work that got him where he was at the time...especially at his age.

Originally Posted by Vapor
Have people seen this re-leather of the US title a fan did? He should sell the design to WWE or something, it looks bloody amazing imo.

Thats pretty damn impressive. A lot nicer than any of WWE's custom looking belts right now.

Originally Posted by Hunter Rider
I knew they had a match on Raw but I didn't know it was an I Quit match, I bet ended without a proper finish thgough.

I always thought in 99 that Shamrock was an ideal choice to be Vince's guy after Rock turned face, Shamrock could have slipped into the role as Vince's corporate weapon going after Austin and the title.

Thats a great idea. They could have even played up Shamrocks MMA background as making him superior and used it to piss off wrestling fans. It could have gotten Shamrock and Vince more heel heat.

I wonder if Vince looked down his nose at MMA too much to put it over like that...especially then before it really took off as more mainstream?

ooof. As far as tight bodies go...there aren't too many better in WWE or TNA right now.

 

[Dr. Evil]

The Rock has the #1 movie....in the world:

The Rock's latest film, GI Joe: Retaliation, opened worldwide to $132 million this weekend. The movie is estimated to finish the weekend with $51.7 million domestically and $80.3 million overseas.

GI Joe was the second-best Easter domestic gross, just behind the $61.2 million take for Clash of the Titans in 2010. It also came closer to the original GI Joe movie, which opened to $54.7 million in August of 2009.

 

[Team Andino]

The build up for Shield vs Orton/Sheamus/Big Show has been great. Best booked match on the card.

It's nice to hear that Shield has been taken care of better then Nexus was after this long. Hopefully all three young guys will have strong showings at WM29. How's the Punk/Taker build been?

 

[Hunter Rider]

Maybe but I think their willingness to use different kinds of girls has changed and lessened since the days of Lita and even Ashley. Ashley had the punk rock style but she was more traditionally "WWE" attractive with the big boobs and the long blond hair.

Take Sara Del Rey for example. I have no doubt that 8-12 years ago she would have been on the main diva roster. Age and look and even size weren't nearly as much of factors back then. Ivory, Jackie, Jazz, and others are all prime examples of that. But now Del Rey is just being used as a trainer to improve the models they are still hiring. We still aren't seeign as much diversity in the division as we used to. Maybe Del Rey wasn't interested in the WWE road schedule but I still have to wonder if they even considered using her as a main roster wrestler.

I think its more size like you said but also style/type holding AJ back. We aren't even seeing girls like Lita anymore. If Naomi get sushed and used REALLY well that will be a sign that things are changing for the better. She's one girl that comes closest to representing everythign that used to be interesting about the Divas division. Kaitlyn's run has just been kind of "meh" as champion even though there have been a few good moments. It snot her fault its just that WWE hasn't ben putting enough focus on building a good division yet.

The thing with AJ is they seemed to embrace her different look and the fact she was genuinely over, last year she was in storyline's with the top 2 guys in the industry and made Raw GM. They seem fine with pushing her as a character it's as a wrestler I think there may be reservations.

However on a whole the K2 push does show the old problems still exist, I mean she was pushed without ever being that over, if you compare it to Velvet in TNA who I think is not as good in the ring, the reason to push her is she is hugely over and that trumps everything in wrestling, WWE however ignored this with Maria. In WWE

Mickie often got huge pops, bigger than some of Vince's hand picked guys, but they never truly put the machine behind her and made her the new Trish as they should have.

They ignored Beth and Nattie getting over because while they are blonds with big boobs they are just a little too far in the square shouldered department for Vince, and while Melina may have been locker-room cancer/Aids she was very over and never got enough mic time to be the top heel she could have been opposite Mickie.

I don't think she actively politicked but again its one of those cases where she was someone who didn't need to. WWE probably took care of her to make the big man happy. With all the talent they had during her runs at the top I still don't think she deserved as much of attention she got. Mickie, Beth, Nattie, and others were all far superior yet McCool got a lot of accolades that others didn't.

I'm sure that is true to a degree, when it comes to Taker I'm sure it will be an unwritten rule to keep him happy. However even though I wasn't a fan, the LayCool act was getting great heat, the problem was they never got their comeuppance as heels should, this was particularly distasteful in the "Piggie James" angle.

Mmmm...I'm liking it. That would be a great look for her to sport in a national wrestling spotlight return.

Agreed, I'd love to see her back....and her front!

To me Reid will always be the kid we occasionally saw in WCW. I still remember seeing him when Flair was with his family in the build to Starrcade 93. I think of the two sons Reid had more to offer even as a kid. David was a nice guy but he just never had "IT." Ironically he was the Garett Bischoff of his day.

Its like charisma skips a generation with most in this business. Soooo many greats have had sons that were just so lacking in charisma.

Dusty Rhodes is one of the amazingly rare exceptions. With genes like his I guess he had to pass down something good to make up for it.

I'll give this to Hogan, Brookes one of the few kids of a wrestler these days to actually have some personality and ability to do a little bit of character stuff. She actually sold the Bully Ray angle better than I thought she would.

In the case of David I think Garrett is practically Steamboat lol. Poor David just looked awkward and embarrassed, like he felt he had to try and be a wrestler because of wqho his dad was, when in truth he had no aptitude for it at all and looked like he should be serving at a Pizza Hut window. Baby Bischoff is a green as grass, overpushed rookie, but he at least has confidence and a great look.

Brooke surprised me as well, until that angle she'd been a waste of air time, but she sold her Bully lust really well and I think the fans recognized that as well as she isn't getting such audible boos lately.

I think you nailed it. Just bad luck and bad timing. There are so many talented guys fighting for the top spot in TNA right now that Storms lost in the shuffle. Storms got good character but Roode just has the look so damn much. Aries is multi talented. Bully Ray is the best he's ever been. Great heel. Jeff hardy is one of the most well known stars in the whole company. AJ is one of the great TNA originals and is clearly being built up to the big spot at BFG. There's just not much room for Storm to rise right now. TNA's potential main event scene is looking far more interesting than WWE's right now and thats because they've cultivated more potenetial main events more steadily. Bubbas gonna have any choice of opponents for a while.

I like Storm so I feel bad for him but I think on top of bad luck it's the fact that TNA have a strong face roster and in-ring he's the weakest and he's also not as good as TNA's 3 top heels. The table is set for Bully, they have a face factory there for him to go through before he gets to AJ at BFG, I mean there's Angle, Sting, Joe and Storm after he beats Hardy again and they could even throw in a heel like Roode or Aries.

Incest angle with Ryan Shamrock? I seem to remember something about that. What is it with Vince's obsession with incest? He tried to do it with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea too.

The big one he wanted to do was with himself and Steph where he was going to be the father of her baby, Triple H and Steph said no so Vince then pitched Shane as the incestuous baby baster.

Thats a great idea. They could have even played up Shamrocks MMA background as making him superior and used it to piss off wrestling fans. It could ahve gotten Shamrock and Vince more heel heat.

I wonder if Vince looked down his nose at MMA too much to put it over like that...especially then before it really took off as more mainstream?

It's possible which is ironic given what Vince would probably do with a top MMA draw now........oh wait! he was one and he's jobbing him out to his son in law.

I do wonder though if Shamrock had something in his contact where he couldn't lose clean as I can never remember it happening.

 

[Kaleb]

they really need to bring back the wwe desire videos for the new superstars

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[The Sage]

Have people seen this re-leather of the US title a fan did? He should sell the design to WWE or something, it looks bloody amazing imo.

[YT]C60eTBTzlZI[/YT]

That's really good.

It's nice to hear that Shield has been taken care of better then Nexus was after this long. Hopefully all three young guys will have strong showings at WM29. How's the Punk/Taker build been?

It was pretty weak for the first two weeks. It's sadly obvious Creative had nothing planned. Then Paul Bearer passed, and the use of the Urn has been the focus of their feud with Punk stealing it and taunting Taker. Then finally Punk cut a good promo last Monday about Taker's streak, giving the feud the much needed edge it's been missing.

 

[Team Andino]

Welcome back! The break from the crappier stuff probably did you some good. As far as the shows you haven't missed much.

Thanks, nice to be back online and not hunched on my phone. I don't plan on watching still but I can't help but want to chat with you guys.

Incest angle with Ryan Shamrock? I seem to remember something about that. What is it with Vince's obsession with incest? He tried to do it with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea too.

Let's not forget that Vince also tried to sell himself as Stephany's baby daddy and once she turned that down he tried to make it Shane. Lucky for her she's allowed to deny awful storylines. Many others don't get the luxury of that option.

 

[Donnie Darko]

All this talk of Ken Shamrock got me thinking...

Back like, I want to say five years ago, Tito Ortiz's UFC contract was ending after his fight with Lyoto Machida. He and Dana White weren't getting along, and it looked like Tito may never be coming back to the UFC. I remember telling my brother and our friends that I bet he would be working for Vince McMahob within six months. It obviously didn't happen, but I bet he could've gotten over as eithe a heel or face.

 

[JabarR]

These are my fave pics and here's a vid to go with it

[YT]WcNLNVgyQaY[/YT]

Congrats to The Miz, but she still has no butt!!!!

 

[Metallo]

The thing with AJ is they seemed to embrace her different look and the fact she was genuinely over, last year she was in storyline's with the top 2 guys in the industry and made Raw GM. They seem fine with pushing her as a character it's as a wrestler I think there may be reservations.

They used her very well during the Punk/Bryan/Kane angle but after that is where they dropped the ball. They put her in a role where she was doomed to fail and lose her momentum: the GM role. Some people saw that as a step up but I saw it as a huge mistake.

A young WRESTLER can only go so far in a role like that. Thats why they've usually made older more experienced wrestlers authority figures so they can give the position credibility. The GM role is basically a glorified plot device to move the story along. Not really a place where you can shine as an overall performer. After the stuff with Cena, Bryan, Punk, and Kane was over what else was she going to do? Her crazy GM act revolved around them and Cena and Punk are as high as it gets. Even if she did similar things with other stars once that storyline was over there was nowhere to go but down unless they gave her most of the airtime and made the entire show revolve around her GM character. That wasn't goign to happen.

If they really wanted to push AJ they would have kept her with a solid wrestler (like Dolph) as a valet/manager building up even more heat while they rebuilt the division making it ready for her. Then they could have used her popularity to boost the whole thing even more.

Either creative is incompetent or they knew they were dooming AJ to fail by cooling off her heat in a dead end position. I'm not sure which one is worse. When someone gets THAT over as a performer you put the machine behind them and push them just to see what happens.

However on a whole the K2 push does show the old problems still exist, I mean she was pushed without ever being that over, if you compare it to Velvet in TNA who I think is not as good in the ring, the reason to push her is she is hugely over and that trumps everything in wrestling, WWE however ignored this with Maria. In WWE

Kelly got more over on look than just about anyother girl in recent times. And she was pretty over for todays standards. But her character had no substance. Velvets got looks but she's also got spunk (no jokes, lads ). She's got fire. She's got a personality. Its more important than most things in the business. Thats why TNA was smart to hire her back. WWE can hire any good looking girls to take K2's spot. Kelly got the push because visually she's exactly what WWE wants to promote. In the end she was just a less sucky version of Lacy Von Erich but even Lacy's dumb ****e act could at least be funny. Years ago even Sable had sizzle. Kelly didn't even have that or couldn't show it in the PG era.

I'm not sure what happened with Maria in the long term but her wanting to control her outside projects is what did her over in the end (sounds dirty doesn't it ). Just like with Mickie. Maria was gorgeous and smart and ok on the mic. While she wasn't the best wrestler she was getting better.

Mickie often got huge pops, bigger than some of Vince's hand picked guys, but they never truly put the machine behind her and made her the new Trish as they should have.

This is one case where WWE really blew it. Mickie had it all. She never got the super push because as you say she didn't fit Vince's mould.

They ignored Beth and Nattie getting over because while they are blonds with big boobs they are just a little too far in the square shouldered department for Vince, and while Melina may have been locker-room cancer/Aids she was very over and never got enough mic time to be the top heel she could have been opposite Mickie.

Yeah I think the muscular look held them back. Especially Nattie. Beths at least a little taller and more well proportioned. Natties a bit more compact.

The shame with Melina is she was one of the best mic workers of her era of divas. She was a good manager. I think she and Mickie could have built a great rivalry with her as the heel. She kinda did herself in at the end but its true she never got the focus she really could have used.

I'm sure that is true to a degree, when it comes to Taker I'm sure it will be an unwritten rule to keep him happy. However even though I wasn't a fan, the LayCool act was getting great heat, the problem was they never got their comeuppance as heels should, this was particularly distasteful in the "Piggie James" angle.

Thats one thing that bothered me about their heel run but I also think a lot of their heat was more "annoying" heat than "we hate you and want to see you get beaten" heat. At least at first. Eventually I think they became a decent act. Not great but in the ring they could do all right. Its just that they couldn't cut good promos to save their lives. McCool is awful on the mic and Layla is not much better.

Back then the typical Laycool promo sounded like two alleycats fighting over a fishtail in a tin drum.

The one thing the Beautiful People always had over them was heel promo work. As a duo they weren't the athletes Laycool were but the BP knew how to out heel them in the classic sense. Velvet just couldn't wrestle for sh** back then.

Agreed, I'd love to see her back....and her front!

Me too. But I think she's got a bad rep. Even TNA haven't picked her or Morrison up which surprises me.

In the case of David I think Garrett is practically Steamboat lol. Poor David just looked awkward and embarrassed, like he felt he had to try and be a wrestler because of wqho his dad was, when in truth he had no aptitude for it at all and looked like he should be serving at a Pizza Hut window. Baby Bischoff is a green as grass, overpushed rookie, but he at least has confidence and a great look.

I agree. At least Bischoff has a better look. Thats about it though. I think its like you ay maybe David felt he had to try so hard becaue of who his father was. He waw just so dull. Daffney was the best thing about his run in WCW. Her and Miss Hancock. David got TOTALLY overshadowed by both of them.

Brooke surprised me as well, until that angle she'd been a waste of air time, but she sold her Bully lust really well and I think the fans recognized that as well as she isn't getting such audible boos lately.

Yeah I don't want to see her do any more than she's already doing but at least she made the best of what she was given. She didn't just coast.

I like Storm so I feel bad for him but I think on top of bad luck it's the fact that TNA have a strong face roster and in-ring he's the weakest and he's also not as good as TNA's 3 top heels. The table is set for Bully, they have a face factory there for him to go through before he gets to AJ at BFG, I mean there's Angle, Sting, Joe and Storm after he beats Hardy again and they could even throw in a heel like Roode or Aries.

Thats what I like abotu the main event right now. They can go in a number of exciting ways. I didn't even think about Joe but Bully vs Joe could be a good title match.

WWE has guys with potential but they don't have as many with the credebility yet. Or they do and WWE has been letting it ebb away in midcard comedy stuff like Bryan. Any number of opponents could be ready to dance with Bully Ray for the belt within the next week if TNA had to change something. Roodes a heel but like you said it could still work. Who here who watches TNA would brush off Bully Ray vs Roode for the belt? Thats a great match waiting to happen.

Roodes in a tag team/midcard role but at least he's a champion and they've kept him looking good. He and Aries are gold together. I feel he and Aries are being kept much stronger as serious stars in their team than Daniel Bryan is in Team Hell No.

The big one he wanted to do was with himself and Steph where he was going to be the father of her baby, Triple H and Steph said no so Vince then pitched Shane as the incestuous baby baster.

Serously...whats wrong with Vince McMahon.

It's possible which is ironic given what Vince would probably do with a top MMA draw now........oh wait! he was one and he's jobbing him out to his son in law.

The reason I said that was because even with wrestling before Vince made it look big time he always talks like it was bush league. He doesn't even make any distinctions even though wrestling was very popular on US tv in the 50's. MMA was more controversial and not as big in the early half of the 90's so I just wonder if he didn't see it as respectably as he saw boxing back then. That might be why he talked about Shamrocks background as much as he did because he didn't see MMA as any kind of threat in the late 90s.

He feels threatened by UFC and what Lesnar did there so you notice he belittles it sometimes. Joking about Heyman by calling him "The Ultimate Fighter" and crap like that. Vince is a fool to waste Lesnar's credibility. He wasn't the bst fighter but he was still a champion and nobody else in WWE today can say that.

You didn't see him belittling Tyson like that in 98. He used Mikes rep to enhance the WWF product and peoples perceptions of it.

I do wonder though if Shamrock had something in his contact where he couldn't lose clean as I can never remember it happening.

I can believe its possible. I mean...if I was a legit fighter I wouldn't want my image damaged by being presented as a jobber even if it was short term. I 'd want to look as impressive as possible because even though one is a work and the other is a shoot MMA and wrestling both deal with perceptions and drawing power. Sucess always helps lead to greater opportunities somewhere else.

He had to know his WWE run wouldn't go forever and he might want to go back to MMA or even another wrestling job.

 

[I'm Venom]

It’s tough, but I’d go:

Pre-show: Eight person tag

WrestleMania:
1. Show, Orton, & Sheamus/Shield - (15 minutes)
2. Jericho/Fandango - (10 minutes)
3. Tag Team titles - (10 minutes)
4. Del Rio/Swagger - (10 minutes…including cash-in)
5. Lesnar/Triple H - (20 minutes)
6. Henry/Ryback - (5 minutes)
7. Punk/Undertaker - (20 minutes)
8. Miz/Barrett - (5 minutes)
9. Cena/Rock - (20 minutes)

 

[Metallo]

Spoiler

"The Marine 4: Journey To The Camel's Toe" starring Mike Mizanin.

A mideastern adventure to find some of French Canadas lost treasure in a dangerous orange valley known as "The Camel's Toe!"

Spoiler

Mmmm...I must say she's never looked better.

 

[PyroChamber]

They used her very well during the Punk/Bryan/Kane angle but after that is where they dropped the ball. They put her in a role where she was doomed to fail and lose her momentum: the GM role. Some people saw that as a step up but I saw it as a huge mistake.

A young WRESTLER can only go so far in a role like that. Thats why they've usually made older more experienced wrestlers authority figures so they can give the position credibility. The GM role is basically a glorified plot device to move the story along. Not really a place where you can shine as an overall performer. After the stuff with Cena, Bryan, Punk, and Kane was over what else was she going to do? Her crazy GM act revolved around them and Cena and Punk are as high as it gets. Even if she did similar things with other stars once that storyline was over there was nowhere to go but down unless they gave her most of the airtime and made the entire show revolve around her GM character. That wasn't goign to happen.

If they really wanted to push AJ they would have kept her with a solid wrestler (like Dolph) as a valet/manager building up even more heat while they rebuilt the division making it ready for her. Then they could have used her popularity to boost the whole thing even more.

Either creative is incompetent or they knew they were dooming AJ to fail by cooling off her heat in a dead end position. I'm not sure which one is worse. When someone gets THAT over as a performer you put the machine behind them and push them just to see what happens.

Now it seems like whenever they do put AJ in a match, she barely does anything. All she does is maybe a couple of moves, look crazy, and then the match is over.

 

[Zanham]

It’s tough, but I’d go:

Pre-show: Eight person tag

WrestleMania:
1. Show, Orton, & Sheamus/Shield - (15 minutes)
2. Jericho/Fandango - (10 minutes)
3. Tag Team titles - (10 minutes)
4. Del Rio/Swagger - (10 minutes…including cash-in)
5. Lesnar/Triple H - (20 minutes)
6. Henry/Ryback - (5 minutes)
7. Punk/Undertaker - (20 minutes)
8. Miz/Barrett - (5 minutes)
9. Cena/Rock - (20 minutes)

Isn't Wrestlemania usually 4 hours instead of 3?

 

[Slushy]

Shamrock was ahead of his time to prevented him from becoming WWF Champion. Too many main eventers, worked too stiff (can't blame him), and lack of mic skills. I still love the guy though.

As for Dwayne Johnson's box office success again, boots to asses...