I remember Shawn Michael's making fun of Shamrocks promo skills, during the build up to the Degeneration X ppv
Shamrock's mic skills are probably one thing that held him back particularly during that era. Before then it may not have been as much of an issue. He also never seemed like the type to fully embrace the raunch and crassness of the Attitude Era as much as some others.
Originally Posted by Team Andino
Pathetic to hear that creative clearly had little planned for this, even with the passing of Paul the whole stealing of the urn thing feels like it belongs for a build towards any other B level PPV not a Wrestlemania build in this day and age. Punk/Taker should be grand instead of an afterthought.
The worst part is its been such CHEAP heat. I know creative can do better than this. It sounds like Bearer dying saved their a** on this one because the original build had Punk winning a four way for the right to face Taker. A four way??? Even before the four matches with HBK and HHH they had actual storylines and feuds leading into this matches. There were far more engaging builds for Taker vs Edge and Taker vs Batista. The making of the Punk/Taker match had to be the most anti climactic I'd seen in years with the streak on the line.
Originally Posted by The Sage
According to The Wrestling Observer, Jeff Jarrett not appearing on the recent "One Night Only" PPV featuring past TNA champions is very telling of his current status/position in the company.
The report notes that Jarrett lost all his power in TNA back when Dixie Carter felt Jarrett lied to her about his relationship with Kurt Angle's then-wife Karen Angle who is now married to Jarrett. At the end of 2011, both Karen and Jeff Jarrett were written off TNA TV so Jeff could focus on the Ring Ka King project in India.
When the Ring Ka King project was not renewed in India and the All Wheels Wrestling project for The Speed Channel failed, Jarrett was left with very little to do in TNA, and he has since worked on a few smaller projects outside the company including filming a scene for the movie "Spring Breakers." It's being said that both Eric Bischoff and Bruce Prichard were against the idea of bringing Jarrett back to TNA as an on-air talent.
Amidst concern within WWE that CM Punk is currently working with several nagging injuries, Punk has been pulled from all post-WrestleMania live event advertisements which indicates he will be given some time off after the big PPV to heal up.
Aaaand thats what happens when you get caught with your hand in
Kurt Angles wife the cookie jar.
I think what Jarrett did was wrong but not because he specifically got with Angles ex (?) at the time. Angle and Karen were adults if they were split up or splitting up she was fair game. It wasn't so much about Angle but just trust between a member of managment and an employee. Somethng like that may have made it hard for the behind the scenes work to flow as smoothly. It would have been a poor choice if he'd hooked up with any other employees wife IMO. But I have to wonder if Dixie would have been as hard on Jeff Jarrett if he'd hooked up with some midcarders wife? Was this about a breach of protocol or was it about keeping Kurt Angle happy and doing everything possible to keep him around?
I think Dixie went too far in punishing Jeff for something that was partly a professional matter but also partly a private matter. There's a level of conduct a TNA exec should always strive for but at the same time and to a certain extent this was no one else's business but Kurt, Jeff, and Karen's. What they do on their own time in their private lives is their business. If the Angles were split up by then then Jeff didn't mess up as badly. If they were still married then thats a real breach of professional trust. It affecting business was bad but the punishment only should have gone so far. Like I said before at a certain point we get out of their public lives and into their private lives.
Originally Posted by The Sage
Punk is not being advertised for any house show events following 'Mania, including the European tour which kicks off on 4/17 in The Netherlands. Punk is also not being advertised for any WWE events in May, including the Extreme Rules PPV taking place on 5/19. We previously reported that Punk is likely to be missing the Extreme Rules PPV, which is one of the reasons why WWE is booking both The Rock and Brock Lesnar to appear on the show.
Like Hunter Rider said the fact that they are using Rock AND Briock to make up for Punks absence says how much they rely on Punk to draw during non Mania season. And yet he still gets booked like a second rate guy sometimes despite that evidence.
Originally Posted by The Sage
Punk/Taker is unpredictable? I don't know, they haven't done a good job of creating uncertainty, and with the way Punk's lead this feud, he almost has to lose.
Then again, HHH beat Booker T in an angle that was practically set up for him to lose. So who knows
Leave it to Triple H to get special treatment. Of course I bet he personally pushed a lot harder for that win than Taker will be to keep the streak.
Originally Posted by X Knight
if the Taker/Punk feud had been about "respect" and what it means to be "best in the world," then a case could be made for Punk actually winning and ending the streak. Doing that would instantly elevate Punk's status and "prove" that he is the best in the world.
However, by involving Bearer's passing and the Urn into the feud, it has devolved into nothing more than a personal quest for Undertaker to destroy Punk for defiling the name and memory of his friend/father/manager whatever.
Taker almost has to win in order to honor Bearer's memory.
This is what I've been saying too. It all comes down to wether or not Vince wants to end this thing letting Paul Bearer be disrespected or end it with him being honored one last time. If Taker loses he's probably not coming back. He's all about the streak now.
Even if Paul and Taker would want Punk to end the streak Vince has the final say so and because Moody was held in such high regard by WWE managment there's just no way this angle isn't one last tribute to him. Taker will avenge his former mentor and friend and win it in his honor.
Originally Posted by DarthSkywalker
He won't retire with WM 30 right there. It is right there.
Yeah great point. Its such a special show. Chances are high he'd want to be there for such a milestone. He's become such a memorable and integral part of Wrestlemania that it would feel wrong if Taker wasn't there.
Originally Posted by Team Andino
The problem is that's all he even comes out for anymore is for the streak. I can't see the idea of him trying to redeem his loss being any better then if the streak will finally end. If he loses at Mania then that should be it for him. Otherwise watching him come back at this point and stage of his career is going to be quite underwhelming IMO.
Agreed. The Streak is now his whole reason for being (kayfabe and in WWE I mean). Defending it is everything for him. Everything else seems beneath him at this point. He only stirs once a year to defend his prize and extend his legacy like a dragon protecting a treasure.
HE even went after Triple H for a rematch because a tainted win or a questionable win wasn't good enough for him. He wanted something more definitive instead of the last image of him being a weak one. If he loses...and the streak is broken...it doesn't make sense for him to come back for another match at Wrestlemania the next year.
Originally Posted by The Sage
Don't forget that as the Deadman, he nearly showed HBK mercy and let him walk away from the retirement match at WM 26.
I think humanizing him was the point. It felt like Taker wanted a more Attitude Era appropriate gimmick, and since the best characters of that time--and any time--are the ones that are extensions of the wrestler's real personality, he changed it. History has shown though that the Deadman gimmick is universal and didn't need it.
True. They had been humanizing him since at least the Attitude Era. Hell before that even. He eventually began to show that he had some knd of code of honor and even sympathy. He didn't let Jake attack Savage and Liz after their wedding. The old Taker would be above such things.
As he evolved into the goth like Prince of Darkness we saw an even more human side. His in ring style changed. He got more fluid, fast, and loosened up in the ring. His speech patterns changed.
As we learned more about the Undertakers past, his parents dying, and Kane, we certainly saw a more emotional more human side to the character. Before he was stoic but by the later 90's we saw a range of emotions from him.
When he evolved further into the Lord of Darkness/Ministry leader the brief implication was that Mark Calloway had been playing a gimmick before but now he was starting to live the gimmick. He'd gone off the deep end and started to believe he was this Satanic Lord of Darkness and tried to actually sacrifice people. Just another example of the more controversial, soap operaish, more realisitic Attitude Era. I swear at one point Vince even called the Undertaker "Mark" when pleading with him to leave Stephanie alone. Another case of the lines between fantasy and reality being blurred to sell the angle.
The American Badass/Big Evil wasn't a redneck he was a biker. They aren't synonymous. I didn't really see it as encroaching on Austins character territory at all. What that gimmick was was Taker evolving with the times to stay relevant and not get stale. Most everyone else had shed their more cartoonish gimmicks and the Biker was just Undertaker trying to modernize. He still wore all black and even had the long coat for a while. He'd taken on a new more modern kind of darkness.
The biker was just a modern take on the old west outlaw and the original mortician Undertaker was based in some kind of supernatural western lore. Instead of a horse he just rode a motorcycle. Once WWE decided to bring back some retro elements and go back to more classic ideas we saw the return of The Deadman.
It was just like Sting evolving to stay modern. The crow Sting was almost the exact opposite of the Surfer Sting but as the years went on we saw more of the old Sting return. Now Sting is a combination of all those previous elements. When Taker became the Deadman again we eventually saw a version of the character that was the ultimate evolution. We're still seeing him take on elements from past incarnations and incorporating them into this current version.
