Official WWE/TNA Wrestling Thread

yeah, i knew even when HHH said the Horsemen and the music started, there was no way Ole was with them.

oh well, it's his loss... being associated with the Horsemen kept him in front of the cameras making money for a few years longer than he should have.

 

anybody know about Roddy Piper's health status? i figured he would have been there, and i also know he was very sick awhile back.

 

Piper is in remission. But honestly, he has such an ego (much like Hogan) that I doubt he could put anyone over but himself, even when Flair is retiring.

 

Hence the fact that Hogan was not in attendance.

 

Accidents happen, they took all ness. precautions were taken. Oh OT kinda what was the deal with one of the Highlanders being at TNA?

 

Visiting friends and TNA took advantage. I wouldn't be surprised if he loses his job or is humiliated on tv for awhile.

 

I disagree Piper and Flair are very tight I'm sure he would be there if he could.... or if Vince paid him more.....

 

Have you ever known Piper to NOT make things about himself? I like Piper too, but the guy isn't as important to the business as he thinks he is. My guess is that he would have wanted time on the mic instead of just coming out and hugging Ric like everyone else did. Same for Hogan, although I have it on pretty good authority that Hogan and Flair aren't exactly the best of friends in real life either, so it doesn't really matter what Hogan would have wanted, out of respect to Flair, they probably didn't even ask him.

 

There's no doubt that Piper has a huge ego but he was a pretty big draw in the 80s. Flair put him over a lot in his book and has said a number of times how good friends they are. I'm sure it all came down to money with Piper though.

As for Hogan, I'm sure even if the WWE asked him to show up he wouldn't for obvious reasons.

 

Piper has believe it or not, always shied away from events such as this. He's always been very wary of the politics and drama of the WWE, and honestly he doesnt really fit in the scheme of Flairs career the way alot of the others had. Rhodes not being out there in person was odd for me, esp. since he works for the company now. Race being there was awesome. The Hammer looks terrible, but has never been an overly good looking man anyways. I think the app. people were there. The ones that werent I'm sure called etc. to wish him well.

 

See, thats funny cuz I looked at Hammer and thought he looked EXACTLY the same as he always did.

BTW, NO ONE in the history of the business took a better face bump than Valentine. NO ONE.

 

Yeh...that was kinda my point.

 

that suited me just fine actually... Hogan could fall off the planet and it wouldn't hurt my feelings.

but giving him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he didn't want to take away from Flair's weekend.

 

which explains why he is sooooo ugly. j/k he has always looked that bad, but his head is freaking Ginormous now.

 

also, many of y'all probably knew this already, but Greg The Hammer Valentine's dad (Johnny Valentine) had his wrestling career ended in the same plane crash that Flair and David Crockett survived relatively unharmed.

also, the pilot of the plane was killed in that crash.

 

I am a life long Hulkamaniac, and even I think it has more to do with the fact that Flair has always been considered a bigger star then he has. Hogan has a HUGE ego.

 

I don't think anyone OUTSIDE of the wrestling community would claim Flair as a bigger star than Hogan. Hogan had mainstream appeal and is instantly recognizable throughout the world by just his mustache alone.

I think it boils down to the respect of his peers and Flair's talent in the ring (which, in my opinion is a tad overrated, but he could tell a story with the best of them).

 

i agree, Hogan is among the most recognizable people on the planet, and is his own brand name, so to speak.

i am curious who, from your perspective, is up there in that same category or surpasses Flair for in ring talent Sam?

i would also throw in names like Bret Hart, Mick Foley, HBK, HHH, Arn Anderson, Harley Race, Beautiful Bobby Eaton, Dusty Rhodes, and Kurt Angle as guys who seem to be able to have solid matches with just about anybody.

and as much as it is not PC to mention his name anymore, Benoit is on that list too.

i am sure i am leaving out several names though.

 

also, RE; Piper not being there, wrestlezone.com said Piper was filming a movie and was unable to attend.

that site also said that Flair will be continuing on with WWE in a public relations role, and has several more years left on his contract, and that he will not be used as an announcer and is not interested in becoming one.

 

I actually thought Samphins prediction was going to come true. It def. looks like they are going to move Batista maybe back to raw to feud with HBK.

 

you mean his prediction about a new Horsemen faction? that would have been cool.

after the way Batista stared HBK down when Shawn was "leaving" earlier in the evening, i agree, he must be coming back...

plus Batista was dating Melina last i heard, so he is probably extra happy about switching back to the "A" brand.

 

Personally, I think Shawn Michaels is probably the greatest wrestler of all time. The guy can work any style and can be the top face or heel in a company at any time. The guy is, in my opinion, leaps and bounds above everyone else. Even today, in his 40's he can go better than most of the younger guys. I just wish the WWE would allow him to be a heel again as I think he is even better in that role, but he has too much goodwill built up at this point I think to ever go back to a full blown heel. Too bad.

Benoit was one of my wrestling idols growing up. His matches all over the world were and are legendary. I still have a tape of the Super J cup 94 that he won. That was an amazing tournament (Eddy G., Benoit, Sasuke, Liger, Super Delfin etc.) The man was intense and believable.

Bret Hart was a great technician, but I think, along with Flair his skillset was limited to doing very few moves extremely well. For Bret, he had the side backbreaker, the russian leg sweep, the second rope elbow drop and the sharpshooter essentially. Where Bret really seem to excel in my eyes was as a great seller (meaning he took a believable) beating and had great ring psychology.

Foley is probably my favorite wrestler of all time, but I don't know that he was much of a technician. Outside of Jake Roberts though, I cannot think of anyone who had a better grasp on ring psychology and WRESTLING psychology than Mick. The guy just gets it and knows when to, and more importantly, when NOT to turn up the intensity. Very smart, very intuitive and still has a fun time in the ring.

Angle had a chance to be one of the all time greats, but I think he started too late and has hindered himself to a degree. Nonetheless he is an amazing wrestler in my book. The Great Muta was a tremendous wrestler in his prime as well. I always felt that I was watching something special when he wrestled. He tailed off sharply later in his career, but he could go with the best of them.

But overall, Shawn Michaels I think has maintained at the highest level the longest. The guy was good when he started and is great to this day. I think it should be noted that his career was probably extended due to him taking years off because of his back. Had he not done that, he might be a shell of his former self at this point.

 

I too think HBK was the greatest of all time

 

Foley is one of my favorites as well. I have quite a few of his DVD;s. He was not a technician at all. Flair hit the nail on the head when he said he was a glorified stuntman. But there is nothing wrong with that, if thats what gets you over and thats what you enjoy doing.

 

Yeah, I kind of am intruiged by the Batista thing. However, I think if they were gonna go that route, they should have at least had Batista watching on at WM or run out and try to save Flair or something (not a fan of the run in angle myself). For him to be mad at HBK now, it seems kind of dumb because where was he the night before when Flair was losing? You would think that if he cared that much about him, he would at least be keeping a close eye on him at WM. But that is a small gripe.

They could kickstart my angle by having Batista call out HBK. Have Batista berate him and challenge him as Michaels still feels miserable for ending Flair's career. Until a point where Michaels snaps and goes nuts on Batista and vice versa. Have a mtch at whatever PPV and then a re-match with no DQ, no countout at the next PPV (Summerslam?) At that point in the middle of the brawl, have Flair come out to try and brocure the peace between the two, inly to have him low blow Michaels and give Batista the opening for a powerbomb and win.

Afterwords you can have Flair cut a promo about how his career as a wrestler is over, but he will never leave. His new goal is to make Shawn Michaels quit the business for good via Batista and Co.

Batista is turned heel along with Flair as his manager and you have yourself a program that can probably last til Survivor Series.

 

I don't know if Flair is accurate in that thought. I think there are some politics at play between those two so their opinions are a bit skewed. Foley had a great ring presence in that you truly believe he is nuts and would do anything to hurt his opponent...before he has actually done anything. He oozes that and fans can latch onto that.

Another thing to keep in mind, Flair was the head booker for quite a few oh his title reigns. Would anyone consider Flair the best if he was say, a 7 time champ? I doubt it.

 

I love his hits and misses DVD, one of the best . His commentary is classic. My favorite line is thanks for watching this DVD, and I assume that you have no life.

 

BTW, Raw was horrid tonight. Almost painful to watch. The only thing that interests me is the Batista-Michaels buildup. I was catching a vibe that Jericho was gonna flip heel on us and join Batista for a beatdown on HBK, but no go. Either way, it looks like those two are headed for a collision course, I just hope they have a plan in mind to have that go a long time, as I can see those two in a bitter fued for months if played right.

 

So you didn't like the predictable handicap matches for spots in the main event at Backlash? Talk about lazy booking 101....

 

I agree with Sam, Raw was terrible. DVR is a heaven sent. I think its time to stop shoving lance Cade down our throats...he sucks. And what is even the purpose of putting Maria in a match she has no buisness being in. I miss Trish and Lita big time. Trish, Victoria, and Lita were the only women really worth watching, IMO. While they are nice to look at, I enjoy the ones that can wrestle much more. Best womens match I have seen in a while was Wrestlemania, where Trish and Mickie James wrestled. Awesome match. The HBK, Batista angle, feels IDK, rough still. Maybe they will smoothen the edges out in weeks to come. The only way this angle is going to work is if one or the other makes a heel turn. I look for it to be HBK. He's due.

 

Actually, its gonna be Batista. I think they were presenting both sides of the case last night and letting the fans decide. The funniest part to me was the majority of the crowd chanting HBK, the rest chanting Batista and then one, single fan chanting Y2J. That had me in stitches (pun intended).

But Batista's beef is ridiculous when logic comes into play, plus, Michaels has so much goodwill, it will be hard to turn him heel against someone like Batista. Batista as a heel opens up a lot of matchups we haven't seen in a while or ever too so I like it.

I thought the acting was a little heavy last night, but part of that was probably trying to figure out who was going to take which role.

 

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/kennedysidelined

 

Mickie james is good IMO.

 

I agree, I didnt leave her out intentionally. And IMO, shes prob. the prettiest woman on the show. Def has the best body.

 

yeah shes smoking hot.

 

YEH I know....thats all I could find.