WWF(E) Review

[Shinmaru]

Since I like analyzing, I think it's time for me to post some good 'ol SummerSlam predictions (in order of importance).

A-Train vs. The Undertaker - I'd rather watch Biscoff/Shane than this, because at least Shane is a decent wrestler. This will just be a slow, drawn out match. Plus, you know that The Undertaker is going to win.

Winner: The Undertaker

Shane McMahon vs. Eric Bischoff - I don't think that the match will be very good (an understatement), but it should serve to further the Kane storyline. I see Kane interfering on Bischoff's behalf again as I have heard rumors of a Kane/Shane match at the next PPV.

Winner: Eric Bischoff

Tag Team Championship Match: Dudley Boys vs. La Resistance - It pains me to say this, but La Resistance is the best team on RAW right now. And, no, that is not a good thing, because they're very green (but still pretty good). The belts should stay on La Resistance and, hopefully, one of the two comedy teams (either Hurricane/Rosey or Goldust/Lance Storm) will be good enough to win the belts.

Winner: La Resistance

Rob Van Dam vs. Kane - I predict a good, old-fashioned squash here. It won't be that bad, but you know Kane is going to win what with the monster push that he's (justifiably) getting right now. I wish it weren't at the expense of RVD but what are you gonna do?

Winner: Kane

Fatal Fourway for U.S. Championship: Tajiri vs. Rhyno vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddy Guerrero - This could very well be the match of the night. Four great competitors in the ring together? Sign me up! I see Eddy keeping the U.S. Title because he hasn't held it long enough to make it very credible, but a good win here will really be a boost for the U.S. Championship division. But I still think the finals should've been John Cena/Matt Hardy because both Guerrero and Benoit could be fighting for the WWE Championship.

Winner: Eddy Guerrero

Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton vs. Kevin Nash vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho vs. Triple H - Okay, I know of the rumors about Triple H defending the title at house shows after this but I still think that he's losing the title here. With that said, there's an easy way to figure out the winner here; by elimination, of course. Randy Orton is way too green, Kevin Nash is injured too often, HBK doesn't wrestle enough, and Trips is gonna lose the title. That leaves Goldberg and Y2J. And I can't consciously choose Goldberg over Chris Jericho. Plus, Jericho deserves it and everyone knows it.

Winner: Chris Jericho

WWE Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar - Lesnar is in the middle of a massive push (when has he not?), but Angle hasn't held the title for very long and to take it away now would be a slap in the face for the best wrestler on Smackdown (it's true, it's damn true). This could also be the match of the night, but we'll see how it goes.

Winner: Kurt Angle

[GhostofSalvtore]

Well I will agree with all your picks except for a few.

Undertaker vs Traing: Yes this match will most likely be very bland, but I see A-Train picking up the victory. Last PPV, I felt Cena got screwed and shoulda won it, so I don't think they will have UT win twice. And maybe they are given A-Train another push. But that will probably die out quickly,

Speaking of John Cena, where is he in all this Summerslamming, and where is Gowen as well, who has had some filler matches, but also has helped SD with some high ratings. Surprised they didn't get paired in a match.

I see Eddie and Benoit feuding soon. But feuding away from the US championship. So, this is why I am going out on a limb to say that Rhyno will pick up the title. I think they are going to give him a push to someplace, it may not last long, but some push.

Jericho and the title, both are meant for each other, but I don't see Jericho winning unless WWE wants to postpone that match with }{H}{ and Goldberg for a grander PPV. So HHH will pick up the victory and feud with Goldberg till the next RAW PPV. But this match is still up in the air, its a very compelling match. At one point, I pondered that Orton would win it, and feud with HHH afterwards. So this match will be the most interesting to see how it turns out.

Now as for the best looking match, and hopefully this will be the match that their WMXIX main event was to be, the Lesnar vs Angle SD main event. Now Lesnar will win the title again, stay with his heel character, till who knows when, maybe some new WWE contenders will step in, like Benoit or Guerrero. But I would like to see Angle break off from this Lesnar/Big Show feudings. Maybe mix him up with Cena( to boost up Cena to WWE contendership), or The World's Greatest Tag Team. But all in all, I don't really care who wins this match, I just hope they put on a good show.

[Shinmaru]

I'm surprised to find that I was mostly on target with my predictions. Unfortunately, Chris Jericho didn't win the title as I had so dreamed he would, but oh well. And it really sucked how Triple H kept the title after fighting for like five minutes. He could've worked a little bit longer, at least, even with the groin problems. I also thought that stuff with Coach was pretty interesting. I always thought in the back of my mind that Coach would make a good heel because I hate him so much lol.

But now to the original intention of my post.

In just about every wrestling website I go to, everyone is trying to make predictions about who the next big star is.

On the RAW side of things, the guy getting the big push (whether warranted or not) is Randy Orton. Christian (who I think should be the next star of RAW) is also getting a bit of a push right now. Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade are also being showcased as a decent tag team, along with La Resistance. On the Smackdown side of things, the Basham Brothers are looking like a great tag team, as are The World's Greatest Tag Team. And you can't forget John Cena (who was my second choice for the next big star of the WWE). But there's one person who I think will stand above the rest as the next big star of the WWE. And that man is Matt Hardy. Here's why:

1) His physique - He has the physique that we all know that Vince McMahon loves. He's big enough to warrant a main event push, but light enough to be agile and give a great match.

2) Mic Skills - Matt has made noticable improvements in the area of mic skills ever since he adopted his Mattitude gimmick. He was never really given the time to talk before, but now has shown that he is more than competent on the mic.

3) He's easy to remember - This is a very important and often underlooked talent in certain wrestlers. Everything about Matt is eye-catching and you can immediately trace it to him. From his Mattitude sign, to the names of his moves, to his MFers, everything about him just sticks in your mind.

4) Experience - This is what puts him over John Cena, in my opinion. Matt simply has more experience than Cena does, both as a tag team wrestler and a singles wrestler. Cena is still a bit off in the areas of ring psychology and such, whereas Matt excels at that.

5) He's homegrown talent - This is also very important, because we all know how Vince holds back the guys who aren't homegrown (need proof - just look at Kanyon, Sean O'Haire, Eddy Guerrero and Chris Benoit - and that's just at Smackdown). However, Matt has the advantage of being homegrown talent, which almost assures him that he will be placed as top priority.

Bottom line, Matt Hardy has the tools, the gimmick, and the superstar quality to rise to the top. He sells well, he's capable of carrying people to great matches, and his gimmick is over with the fans. Mark my words, Matt Hardy will be the U.S. Champion very soon and he will be the WWE Champion within the next few years.

Who do you guys think the next big star will be?

EDIT: Just dropped in to say that I saw Christian's rant on RAW again when I watched The Bottom Line and I thought it was great. "Hello?! Intercontinental Champion over here!" Christian's rants are well justified; if there's anything that RAW needs, it's more Christian.

[TheShinje]

[size=1] I did not feel that this belongs in the old WWF(E) review thread, since it is an entirely different topic, mods, if you feel it's not, then merge threads by all means.
[b]Edit: This thread has been merged :p, no offense taken Manic :) [/b]

I am a big fan of the WWE, And I am intending to do a little research on the Company that I watched as a little kid, until the present day.

In this time, there was a ban on the WWF being shown in New Zealand, and in that time, the then WWF ushered in it's attitude era. I'm curious as to how it all began, was it all started with Stone Cold?

What do you think has made the WWE the wrestling conglomerate it is today? Do you enjoy the latest storylines? Also, it would help me a bit to get responses over the WWE being sued by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Do oyu think that was fair?

What do you think was the greatest match in history? Do you also have anything else in general info about the wWE's long history that i might be interested in? [/size]

[Manic Webb]

No offense in any way, but I'm merging the threads.

[color=green]2 Threads Merged.[/color]

[Shinmaru]

I'm pretty sure that all this Attitude stuff was really ushered in with Stone Cold Steve Austin and the introduction of Degeneration-X. The WWE had slowly started down this road (matches were a little bloodier and the TV shows were a bit racier around this time), but Stone Cold and DX really put it into a higher gear.

For the most part, I don't really enjoy most of the storylines that the WWE sends our way these days, mostly because it's the same stuff we've seen. The Kane storyline, while very good for the most part, has been sorely mishandled lately. They were pushing Kane against Shane McMahon and other people, but decided to go with a Kane/RVD match for SummerSlam. It was a bad move because, while the match was decent, the WWE hasn't done anything credible with Rob Van Dam in a long, long time.

About the World Wildlife Fund, I don't really think it was that fair. I don't really see how anyone could've confused the World Wildlife Fund with the World Wrestling Federation lol. It was a bunch of nonsense in my opinion.

As for my favorite match, there are just so many, it's a hard decision. However, I think I'll choose three that really stick out in my mind (all of which involve Bret Hart strangely). The first match, from WrestleMania X, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), was Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. In my opinion, Owen was very underrated not only as a wrestler, but as an entertainer. He was a great heel and one of the few people who could pull off the whiny heel with such style. Plus, the match between these two was a technical wrestling masterpiece and Owen did an amazing job of getting the crowd to hate with without even doing that much to do so. Now that's the mark of a great heel.

The second match that sticks out in my mind is from WrestleMania XII: The Iron Man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Now, a lot of wrestlers nowadays have trouble going 20-30 minutes without getting exhausted. Bret and Shawn went over 60 minutes in a masterpiece of a match and they both barely even looked tired at the end, which shows how truely great they really are. And the ending of the match is one of the most controversial and amazing endings in WWE history, with Gorilla Monsoon ordering the match to continue and with Shawn Michaels winning his first WWF Title. Great, great match.

The last match that sticks out in my mind is the Submission Match between Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee. This was the beginning of what is possibly the greatest heel turn in wrestling history (Bret Hart's amazing anti-American heel turn). Stone Cold, despite being a heel, was impossibly over and this match did not disappoint in the least. It went back and forth and was a showcase of the amazing technical skill that Stone Cold had before his unfortunate neck injury at the hands of Owen Hart. The match ending is also very controversial, with Bret Hart being declared the winner despite Stone Cold never saying "I Quit." Bret Hart holds the Sharpshooter on Stone Cold even after the bell rings and is forced off by Shamrock. Hart is booed out of the arena, while Stone Cold gets a hero's cheer. The image of a bloodied Stone Cold lying face down in the ring, while Bret Hart dejectedly walks off is one of the most amazing sights in wrestling I have ever seen.

[GhostofSalvtore]

Not much news around the WWE these past few days.

So here is some things that happened after RAW went off the air and other misc. things:

Post Raw:

Flair bladed Goldberg after the chairshot...I didn't think he'd need to as Triple H really creamed him. That chair shot was almost as loud as some of the pyros!

After the cameras went off, Evolution left up the ramp. Staff from the back came out to help Goldberg but he got up on his own after several minutes...staggering around the ring as he got his wits. He eventually left the ring under his own power, stopping to shake hands with fans and wipe his bloody head and face off on t-shirts and hats. He stopped at the Titan-tron and made a gesture of having the World Title around his waste and smiled...saying "It's mine!"

Other items of note: There was real concern over the health of Spike Dudley after the blown spot on the table. He must have indicated he was OK since Bubba ended up carrying him out on his shoulder versus going out on a stretcher.

WWE confiscated a guys "Kane fears Pro Zac" sign...perhaps too insensitive to those that actually take the drug?

It's clear why WWE keeps Stone Cold around. His t-shirts were by far the most popular selling shirt. The inflatable middle fingers were also popular. By comparison, I saw no one buy the "HHH" inflatable sledge hammers. The crowd loves cheering and chanting "What!".

Biggest Pops:

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2. Goldberg
3. J.R.
4. Trish Stratus

Most Heat:

1. Bischoff
2. Jericho
3. Christian
4. Jonathan Coachman
(This is all from a person who went to RAW)

[Shinmaru]

I thought that the best part of RAW, by far, was the couple minutes of face pop that Chris Jericho got. My God, it was beautiful. The fans were chanting "Y2J! Y2J!" like crazy. It was awesome. Of course, the WWE had to ruin it by having Jericho stay as a heel...*grumbles*

I thought Smackdown was pretty good; I especially loved the return of Chavo Guerrero. Good to see him back, especially since he's still siding with Eddy. I thought the WWE would turn Chavo against him but I'm glad to see that they haven't. That Benoit/Rhyno match was awesome, too.

By the way, I can't wait for next week's Smackdown. Kurt Angle...Brock Lesnar...Iron Man Match...it could be the best TV match in history if done right. I wish it were next Thursday already...

[GhostofSalvtore]

Wow, been a long while, but here is a few tid bits

[spoiler]Last night on the Smackdown! tapings, two matches for No Mercy were annouced. The Undertaker came out and challenged Lesnar for the championship. Vince was furious, he asked who approved the match, and his daughter Stephanie came out and stood her ground. Vince then challenged Steph to an "I Quit" match. So the two matches set for No Mercy are:

The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship

Vince McMahon vs. Stephanie McMahon in an "I Quit" match. [/spoiler]
If you watched RAW Monday, you saw that at the end of his six man match, HHH said that we "need him more than he needs us". Though it appeared it was the start of an angle by the former champion, the word I am getting is that was HHH's last TV appearance for a while and that he will now actually be off of TV as he shoots his role in the new Blade movie and prepares for his wedding to Stephanie McMahon, which will take place on 10/25. Apparently, what we saw on Monday was the last of HHH for a while. It's interesting to note the shape that he has left the Raw brand in while he's gone, especially since he has been the person that the show was built around for the last year plus.

Whether you want get into alleged political power plays he has reportedly pulled or not, it's clear that, at the very least, the character HHH has systematically mowed down all of the top contenders on the Raw roster since he was given the Raw brand title by Eric Bischoff. None of those who have worked with him have come out of their feud with H as a stronger personality than they were before they locked up with the then-champ. What that has done is filled Raw with a bunch of wrestlers who the public has been told are just not main event guys, since HHH so easily beat them all. Now, he will go on hiatus and leave Bill Goldberg holding the proverbial bag as the champion with no one to wrestle, especially after beating Chris Jericho in his first defense on Monday night. Goldberg didn't even get the chance to beat HHH again to "show it wasn't a fluke that he won" so it's almost as if the company's top guy has already distanced himself from the man who is expected to carry the torch while he is gone. It will be interesting to see what can be done now to establish and re-establish credible challengers for Big Bill, if it can be done at all.

In addition to that, it will be interesting to see how the company deals with the upcoming house shows, which HHH was advertised to appear on. While one can say that WWE always mentions that the card is subject to change, if HHH doesn't appear on the shows (and if he never intended to), I think you get into an ethical gray area as far as advertisement philosophy goes. It will also be interesting to where the company's financial indicators go during HHH's absence.

Booker T is due back in the ring in early October.


Apparently The Rock has been getting rave reviews from critics all around the country for his new movie The Rundown, which opens to the public this coming Friday the 26th. Dave Meltzer over at the Wrestling Observer hints that The Rock might not return to wrestling, except for a few TV spots or possibly a WrestleMania, and with that news it might disappoint many wrestling fans. There is no current return date set for The Rock.

-- Speaking of The Rock, he has another movie he just wrapped up and is in post-production. The movie is called "Walking Tall", and also starring in the movie is Johnny Knoxville. The IMDB has this for the plot outline: ""Walking Tall" chronicles the life of Buford Pusser (The Rock), a small-town Tennessee sheriff who makes it his one-man mission to rid his town of corruption and crime."

[Shinmaru]

Booker T.'s return is great news to me. Booker was really on a roll before he got injured (though, I still think that Christian should've kept the Intercontinental Title the whole time, with Booker staying in the main event scene).

And I hope that the WWE will use Chris Jericho better than they did on RAW this past Monday. Chris is really the front runner to be the top heel on RAW while Triple H is out. Having Goldberg totally destroy Y2J was not the smartest of booking in the WWEs part. I really hope that they can rectify the situation fairly quickly.

[Charles]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Shinmaru [/i]
[B]And I hope that the WWE will use Chris Jericho better than they did on RAW this past Monday. Chris is really the front runner to be the top heel on RAW while Triple H is out. Having Goldberg totally destroy Y2J was not the smartest of booking in the WWEs part. I really hope that they can rectify the situation fairly quickly. [/B][/QUOTE]

All right, and is anyone else getting tired of this angle where Jericho tries to get Austin fired? How many times have they tried this now? Three? lol

Thus far it seems as if the rivalry between Austin and Jericho will actually lead somewhere this time. But, in the end, I think that such a feud is counterproductive for Jericho.

Rob Van Dam said it best himself when he said (and I'm paraphrasing) "Austin was the WWE's number one wrestler. Now that he's injured and can't wrestle anymore, he's still their number one wrestler."

So, you see where I'm going with this. Why bother to involve Jericho with a guy who can no longer produce? Even if this does escalate into some sort of physical altercation, Austin is sure to come out on top due to the rarity of such an event.

Where does that leave Jericho? Not looking good--that's for sure.

[Shinmaru]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Charles [/i]
[B]Rob Van Dam said it best himself when he said (and I'm paraphrasing) "Austin was the WWE's number one wrestler. Now that he's injured and can't wrestle anymore, he's still their number one wrestler."[/B][/QUOTE]

It's really a sad situation when a retired wrestler with a trashed neck is considered the WWEs best wrestler by [i]anyone.[/i]

And it's even sadder that even with being involved with the "best wrestler in the WWE" that my favorite wrestler, Y2J, will get absolutely nothing out of it.

Jericho's been in high midcard/low main event limbo for the longest time and I'm really getting sick of it. He has the talent the be the main eventer that carries RAW - I don't think that anyone can doubt that. However, the WWE seems intent on throwing Jericho in these mini-feuds to try to get others some recognition. Austin doesn't need any more heat - he gets enough from the crowd from being Stone Cold Steve Austin. And it's blantantly apparent that Jericho will come out on the short end of the stick with this one (unless the WWE decides to throw a rare curveball, which I sincerely doubt).

At least Christian is getting a good push (yay!).

[GhostofSalvtore]

Thought this was some major news here for those who have not heard:

In an update to the story that broke this week, Rob Van Dam is indeed not a guarantee to re-sign with WWE once his current contract expires.

Sources close to the situation say that RVD doesn't really care where he ends up when his deal runs out this summer (in fact, he's not really even interested in talking with WWE about the contract at this point). While WWE strongly wants to hang onto RVD (as reported, the possible reason for giving RVD an IC Title run), Rob has lost interest due to the lack of a push he's gotten in WWE, and now is not at all set to remain with WWE for years to come.

Most feel that barring a major push that changes his mind, RVD will opt for TNA or Japan once his deal runs out.

[Jinzouningen17]

Well, like you, I see RVD goin to TNA, but then again, maybe he'll join Sabu in MLW. Either one of those places would be a GREAT improvement from the WWE. Or maybe he could wrestle with both companys like Jerry Lynn, Michael Shane, Christopher Daniels, Raven, Simon Diamond and a good bit of others do. Then I can actually watch him with his true skills once again. This is definetly a good thing right here.

[Shinmaru]

Yeah, it would be a sad thing for RVD to move away from the mainstream where most people see him but they're seeing a diluted version of RVD anyway. It's much better for RVD and his fans that he goes to a place that will let him showcase his talents to their fullest extent. Personally, I think that NWA: TNA would be a great fit for him.