WWE Wrestlemania 22 Predictions

It's PPV time again and you know what that means, don't you? It's time for Wrestleblogger predictions. This time it's the 'Granddaddy of Them All' Wrestlemania! All of us here at Wrestleblogger World Headquarters are looking forward to what has the potential to be a great PPV. As always, I am joined here by David who will offer his predictions as well and he's even decided to explain some of the thinking behind his picks. It should also be noted that the amount of WWE television that David has seen in the past couple of months has been limited to a few RAW from a few weeks ago and he hasn't seen a Smackdown since it moved to Fridays.

On to the picks...

RAW Main Event - WWE Championship
John Cena (c) v. Triple H
I Say: As reported numerous places over the past few months, one of John Cena's biggest advocates backstage has been none other than Triple H. Triple H has done a lot to keep John Cena as a major star. Any do you want to know why? So Triple H can bring him down. I don't see any realistic chance of Cena retaining the title. Therefore I have to go with Triple H to become 11-time champion. Seeing as how most people see Triple H winning, the WWE could try a swerve and keep the title on Cena, but I doubt it. Also, with Triple H's repeated comments about John Cena having limited in-ring ability it looks likely that Cena may do some moves that he's never done before in a match. No matter what happens in this match expect to see a rematch and Backlash in late April.
David Says: The battle of two wrestlers I generally dislike. You never want to bet against Vince's son-in-law but John Cena is being pushed like hell and he is the face in the match. Cena beating Triple H is the natural WrestleMania conclusion and my pick. God help us all.

Smackdown Main Event - World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle (c) v. Rey Mysterio v. Randy Orton
I Say: There has been so much build-up for both Rey and Orton that I see Angle keeping the title highly unlikely. With that in mind I would have no problem with Randy Orton getting another (and hopefully longer) title run. Unfortunately I don't see that being as likely as Rey winning the title. Not because he necessarily deserves it, but for the story end of it ; Rey dedicating to Eddie and winning the Royal Rumble, lose the title shot only to get it handed back to him, and ultimately winning the WWE championship. Add to that Eddie's induction into the Hall Of Fame and that the band P.O.D. will be live at the PPV performing Rey's theme and you have a very strong case for Rey. It's almost as if Rey has to win. Even if those things weren't the case, never pick against Rey. More often than not he's going to win. I hope that I'm wrong, but I'm going to have to go with Rey.
David Says: Rey Mysterio is the natural face and he has the death of Eddie to bolster his chances. Look for Mysterio to win, point to heaven, get showered in confetti and lose the title within a week.

No Holds Barred
Shawn Michaels v. Vincent K. McMahon
I Say: One thing is for sure - Shawn will be off TV for a little while after WM22. His wife is pregnant and he's going to spend the rest of her pregnancy with her. When someone is planning on taking some time off it usually means that some sort of injury angle is going to happen and that they're going to lose. I do think that some injury angle will happen, but I'm not picking against him. There is no point in Vince winning the match. I have to pick Shawn. I see him getting 'injured' either post-match or possibly on Raw the night after. Or maybe he'll beat Vince and Vince will suspend him as revenge. One other thing - This match could steal the show and will be so much better than a lot of people are expecting. Never underestimate a Shawn Michaels match. Shane's involvement is pretty much a lock as well. I'm also predicting that Vince will come to the ring looking even more oiled-up and blotchier (is that even a word?) than he was on this week's RAW.
David Says: I hate when great wrestlers job to the McMahons and they don't get any better than Shawn Michaels. Despite splashing Vince and Shane-o-mac in urine Shawn has generally been on the losing end of this angle. WrestleMania will be his revenge.

Casket Match
Undertaker v. Mark Henry
I Say: It's the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Enough said. He has never lost at Wrestlemania and while I'm not saying that he will never lose at Wrestlemania I certainly don't see him doing it this time and to Mark Henry. I really don't expect a lot out of this match. 'Taker is getting slow and Henry has been slow, not to mention his poor in-ring skills. Undertaker wins. This is pretty much a guarantee.
David Says: Give me a break. Undertaker has never lost at WrestleMania and Mark Henry is a glorified jobber. If Mark Henry wins it will be the upset of the evening. Fit Finlay will win the Money in the Bank match before Mark Henry beats Undertaker.

Inter-Brand Money In The Bank Ladder Match for a title shot within the next 12 months
Matt Hardy (SD) v. Finlay (SD) v. Lashley (SD) v. Ric Flair (RAW) v. Shelton Benjamin (RAW) v. Rob Van Dam (RAW)
I Say: First I have to eliminate the ones that I am 100% sure won't win. That gets rid of Flair and Finlay. Even though the fans are behind him I can eliminate Matt Hardy as well. That leaves Lashley, RVD, and Benjamin. Benjamin’s the IC champ so I don't see him winning either. At one point it seemed like Lashley was getting a Goldberg and Lesnar type push so it would make sense for him to win, but his character needs some serious development. I'm going to have to pick RVD. He is very under-utilized to the point where it's not even funny and he deserves to get a title shot. If he doesn't win I'd say Lashley does, but I'm sticking with RVD. I expect to see RVD, Matt Hardy, and Shelton Benjamin do most of if not all of the major 'spots'. There is a minimal chance of Ric Flair taking a major spot involving the ladder. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Ric Flair's bones would crumble if he took a major spot. He will however wear the proverbial 'crimson mask'.
David Says: Matt Hardy is continually buried. Fit Finlay is Fit Finlay. Shelton Benjamin has shown a precipitous lack of mic skills. Rob Van Dam never gets title shots and Ric Flair is ancient. A Lashley win would at least give a sense of suspense given the fact that his intimidating bulk can be used to frighten whoever holds the title.

Hardcore Match
Mick Foley (as Cactus Jack?) v. Edge
I Say: As part of the build-up for this match they have been mentioning that Foley has never had his 'Wrestlemania Moment'; He's never taken a big bump at WM. Therefore, I'm going to predict that Foley will get his moment. However, he's not going to win the match. He's got nothing to gain and Edge has a lot to lose. Edge seems to be being groomed as a main-eventer in the future and having him beat Foley can only help accomplish that. The only question going into this match is whether or not Edge will be as willing to get hurt as Randy Orton was a few years ago when he landed flat on his back into a pile of thumbtacks in his match against Foley. I'm picking Edge to win.
David Says: Faces can't always win and Mick Foley has a record of jobbing in the big matches. He's also had a few weeks of getting the better of Edge. Foley juices, Edge wins and Lita probably gets some revenge for the mandible claw.

Playboy Pillow Fight
Torrie v. Candice
I Say: There has been no announcement as to how the winner of this match will be determined. Does somebody have to give up? Do they have to beat the other person with a pillow and then pin them? To be honest I think that this will go to a no-winner finish, but if one of these Divas actually wins the match I think that it'll be Candice. Probably with the help of Victoria. In the very, very likely event that this match goes to a no-winner ending I'm just going to throw it out. It all depends on how it's set up. No matter how it shapes up, Victoria's going to somehow get involved. I also see a chance that Victoria may in fact turn face and help Torrie instead. It would actually make sense since Mickie James turned heel and that leaves only Trish, Torrie, and Ashley as the only female faces on RAW. Especially since Torrie is a terrible wrestler and Ashley has a long way to go as well, but at least she's trying. Torrie looks really uninterested in the ring.
David Says: Candice

Women's Title Match
Trish v. Mickie James
I Say: This match actually might be pretty good. They are both trained wrestlers and actually know moves. I see both women having a serious chance of winning, but I'm going with Trish. Possibly by DQ. I see Mickie winning the title sometime in the near future though.
David Says: Trish

US Title Match
Chris Benoit (c) v. JBL
I Say: I am a big fan of both wrestlers so the only question is whether they will have a good match or not. Ever since Benoit won the title from Booker T, it's been a little ignored. As with the women's match, I can see this one going either way. I'll say that Benoit wins. Most likely by DQ.
David Says: Since I don't watch SmackDown I'm giving a total guess and going with Benoit.

Handicap Match
Booker T & Sharmell v. Boogeyman
I Say: As I wrote about in my predictions for Saturday Night's Main Event (and other times before), they really need to establish Boogeyman as a wrestler and not just a gimmick. The match that he had against JBL a little while back was a little short and was pretty much a squash match. I hope that this match is a little more give-and-take that the JBL match was. I predict that Boogeyman will win. Most likely by countout when Booker T & Sharmell run away. I expect Sharmell's actual involvement to be minimal. Expect a lot of comedic stuff from Booker T & Sharmell.
David Says: I'll pick Boogeyman despite never once having seen him on TV.

World Tag Team Championship
Kane & Big Show (c) v. Carlito & Chris Masters
I Say: Kane and Big Show rarely seem to be in tag matches as of late. The only reason that they have the titles is because the RAW tag division stinks, but that's a topic for another day. I'm predicting to see Carlito & Masters to pick up the titles. If they do win I expect that their title run to consist of a lot of bickering and arguments.
David Says: I think Carlito has all the skills to be a huge superstar. I think Chris Masters has all the skills to be a huge lunkhead. I see the two of them getting the win over the old and creaky tag team of Kane and Show.

There you have it - the complete Wrestlemania 22 card. For the 4th straight year there is no IC title match. Also, MNM, the WWE Tag Team Champs, aren't even on the card. That's really unfortunate since MNM are actually one of Smackdown's bright spots and the WWE's best tag team overall.

Summary
I Say: Triple H, Rey Mysterio, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, RVD, Edge, Candice (or no finish), Trish, Benoit, Boogeyman, & Carlito/Chris Masters
David Says: John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Lashley, Edge, Candice, Trish, Benoit, Boogeyman, & Carlito/Chris Masters

It looks like the WWE Championship Match and the MiTB match will decide who gets more matches right.

Final Thoughts
Typically the current Hall Of Fame class is introduced during the show. Don't be surprised if Bret Hart doesn't come out. He has openly stated that he is only staying in Chicago long enough to attend the HOF ceremony and if he saw Shawn Michaels at the ceremony he would turn around and fly home immediately. Therefore he probably doesn't even want to be in the same arena as him either. He has also said that he is expecting Vince to try to convince him to stay for the actual PPV so maybe Vince will be able to sell him on the idea and he'll decide to stay. Staying with Bret Hart, there is a lot of speculation that he may become part of TNA in the future and would appear on one of their PPVs to throw the WWE Hall Of Fame plaque into the trash. Also, Stacy has been absent from WWE television for a very long time (although she remains under contract) so there is the chance that she may make her farewell appearance at WM22. I think that she may be used during the Playboy Pillow Fight and try to get payback on Candice for her remarks a few weeks ago when she said that Stacy choked on Dancing With The Stars. It was also announced earlier this week that Joey Styles will not be the lead announcer on the RAW announce team for Wrestlemania. He will instead be replaced by former RAW play-by-play announcer Jim 'J.R.' Ross. Whether or not Styles is off the announce team for Wrestlemania is not clear, but I would assume that he won't be part of it.

Update: It is now being reported that Hulk Hogan will also not be attending at the actual Wrestlemania 22 PPV event and will only be in Chicago long enough to induct 'Mean' Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall Of Fame on Saturday night. He has apparently stated in an interview that on Sunday he would be participating in some kind of race with his son in California. Hogan did say that he would be going back to Chicago in time for Monday's RAW in order to shoot an angle with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

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RAW 3.27.2006 - Last RAW Before Wrestlemania 22

RAW started off with Vince addressing the audience from backstage. He said that the fans are lucky because they are going to see a Champ v. Chairman match. He also announced that Shawn Michaels will take on Triple H. This all happened before the opening video and theme were shown.

Foley came out carrying 2 gift boxes. He left one on the stage and took the other one into the ring. He then took flowers out from the box in the ring and said that he had no right to give Lita the mandible claw last week and wanted to give her the flowers as an apology. Edge and Lita then came out and cut a promo from the stage. Foley told him that the gift on the stage was for him to prepare him for the hardcore match at WM22. It turned out being a baseball bat and Edge took it down to the ring to attack Foley, but Foley pulled a barbed wire wrapped bat of his own out of the same box that he got the flowers from. He chased Edge off and the sat in the corner caressing the bat and bleeding from the mouth. A video was then shown of some of Foley's more hardcore moments.

In a rematch of last week Carlito took on Kane. Kane won when Carlito pulled the referee into Kane. Kane then chased Carlito to the back where Chris Masters, Lance Cade, and Trevor Murdoch attacked him, locked him in a closet, and blocked the door with a forklift. Big Show came and made the save and then tried pushing the forklift away from the door.

Up next was Big Show competing in the Masterlock Challenge. Big Show was shown backstage still trying to move the forklift. Kane then appeared and explained that there was another door on the other side of the closet. Both men made their way down to the ring. Kane chased Carlito away and stood guard while Big Show did the Masterlock Challenge. After not even being able to lock the hold onto Big Show, Masters just hit him from behind.

A video aired about John Cena where Cena talked about his determination and how he is going to retain the title at WM22.

As expected 'Mr. USA' Tony Atlas was announced as the next inductee for this year's Hall Of Fame Ceremony. He'll be introduced by S.D. Jones. Also, as rumored this past weekend, William 'Refrigerator' Perry was announced as an inductee to the Hall Of Fame's celebrity wing due to his WM2 appearance. He will be introduced by John Cena. Perry's induction was done simply because WM22 is in Chicago, home of the football team that Perry played for, the Chicago Bears. Jerry Lawler announced that he will be the emcee for the HOF ceremony.

There was no winner in the Triple H v. Shawn Michaels match. Vince came down in the middle and tripped Michaels when he was 'warming up the band'. Triple H then pedigreed him. Cena then came down to make the save. The referee was knocked down at some point so no winner was announced.

There was a ladder in the ring and Flair came down to cut a promo for his Money In The Bank match. Shelton the came down and gave his usual weak promo and eventually knocked Flair down and tried to jump on him off of the ladder, but RVD made the save only to have Flair hit him with the ladder and throw it at him.

The Spirit Squad took on Viscera, Val Venis, and Eugene. The S. Squad won and showed again why the all have very bright futures in the WWE. The end came when Val was going for the Money Shot only to have Mikey use a trampoline and knock Venis down from the top rope. After the match Venis was holding his shoulder only to have the S.Squad hold him down while Kenny did a leg drop from the top rope onto Venis' shoulder.

A Triple H video was then shown where he talked about how he is the best performer in the business today and how he has beaten all of the top stars - Rock, Austin, Hogan, Foley, 'Taker, etc... Triple H also talked about how he is preparing for the match by being trained by a former Mr. Universe & Mr. World and how Cena has no in-ring ability.

Mickie James was shown backstage sitting in what appeared to be a shrine to Trish Stratus and talked about how she is going to take Trish's title at WM22.

Trish & Torrie defeated Victoria & Candice. Normally when Trish does her matrix move she leans back when the clothesline is about to hit her. During this match though she leaned back even before Victoria started the clothesline. Bad timing.

The main event was up next. Cena v. Vince McMahon. Vince was looking really oiled-up and very tan. It looked like it may have been a rub-on tan since it looked all blotchy and streaky. Triple H will be in Vince's corner and Michaels will be in Cena's. Before the match started Vince announced that both Triple H and HBK would be handcuffed to the corner to ensure that neither interfered. As usual, normal handcuffs weren't used. Wrestling handcuffs were used - cuffs with a very long chain. A pretty short and boring match. After doing a test of strength with Cena, Vince kicked him in the balls. He then pulled a spare handcuff key from his pocket and unlocked Triple H who the pulled a sledgehammer out from under the ring and drilled Cena with it. Both Triple H and Vince (who was armed with a chair) then cornered a still-handcuffed Michaels. Triple H hit him with the sledgehammer in the stomach and Vince hit him with the phoniest chairshots ever seen. During this whole time the referee who supposedly still had the original handcuff key didn't even make an attempt to uncuff Michaels. The show ended with a bloody Cena and bloody Michaels on the edge of the ring. Next stop Chicago for Wrestlemania 22.

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WWE Announces Launching of New Music Division

Less than a week after I wrote about how the WWE is branching out too much and trying too hard to regain some of their lost popularity and revenue, I find myself reading a press release announcing something that I think has the potential to have disaster written all over it. Now that the WWE is trying their hand at movies, television, and books there is only one place left to go. The WWE is getting into the smoked meats business; selling beef jerky, bacon, and smokehouse hams. Just kidding! The WWE is trying to get into the music business. Believe it or not I have no problem with this move...assuming they don't go overboard. As it stands now this new 'WWE Music Group' will do things such as securing existing and upcoming songs for PPVs, develop wrestlers' entrance themes, and WWE superstars' albums. That last one is what I have some concerns over. If you remember the 'WWE Originals' album you will see why I am concerned. That album was awful. Songs like Stacy's 'Why Can't We Just Dance', John Cena's 'Basic Thuganomics', and my personal favorite Rikishi's 'Put a Little Ass On It'. The only song on the album that was actually done by a real singer was Lillian Garcia's song. Yeah, I know that Jericho had a song on the album too, but his singing often leaves a lot to be desired. The only success that his band has hand was because of his wrestling, not his singing. He wrestles a lot better than he sings. I just hope that they don't use the new music division as a license to release albums from the superstars. ESPECIALLY JOHN CENA! All of Cena's songs sound the same. My advice to the WWE is to just stick with getting the rights to songs for PPVs, the entrance themes, and music from actual musicians and not wrestlers. There is a reason that groups like Motorhead, and P.O.D.are not in the ring doing suplexes and Triple H and The Boogeyman aren't cutting records.

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The Death Of World Championship Wrestling

Today marks a very important day in the history of professional wrestling. Today, March 26th, marks the 5 year anniversary of the death of WCW. That's right, 5 years ago today WCW broadcasted the final edition of Monday Nitro. I can recall it just like it was yesterday. Nitro started off with Vince McMahon addressing the WCW audience via video and said "The future of WCW is in my hands.". While many insist that Vince dropped the ball when it came to the whole WCW invasion, that's a story for another day. I will instead list some of the more memorable WCW moments (good and bad) during the monday night wars. At least in my opinion.

Lex Luger appearing on the debut edition of Nitro. Everybody had assumed that he was under WWF contract, but he wasn't.

Hall & Nash go to WCW. I was a big fan of Hall and Nash and WWF's AOL sub-site had announced weeks earlier that both wrestlers had signed with WCW.

The rising of young stars. WCW basically raided ECW and showcased some of the young stars that would go on to be main eventers; Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guererro, Perry Saturn. Scratch that last one.

Vince Russo & Ed Fererra jumping ship and joining WCW. Russo and Fererra were the main writers behind a lot of WWF's success during the 'Attitude' era. Russo is credited as developing The Rock's character. Once they got to WCW, Russo's major flaw was exposed. That flaw being that while with WWF, all storyline ideas had to be run past Vince who would then give the thumbs up or down. However, in WCW Russo was given complete creative control and nobody was there to screen his ideas and as a result a bunch of crappy ideas became reality. Ideas such as putting titles on Judy Bagwell (Buff's mother) and David Arquette.

Millionaires Club v. New Blood. This angle was a complete disaster. A returning Eric Bischoff would lead a group of veteren wrestlers (Millionaires Club) versus a Vince Russo led group of young wrestlers (New Blood) looking to make a name for themselves. While the Hogan/Kidman feud was entertaining at times, the whole angle pretty much bombed.

Bash at the Beach 2000. This was one of my favorite moments in WCW and it's not just because I don't like Hulk Hogan. The scheduled match was to be Jeff Jarrett defending the WCW title against Hulk Hogan. Hogan was scheduled to lose, but as the story goes, cited a clause in his contract and demanded that the match be changed and instead have Jarrett lose the belt to him. Russo, who obviously didn't appreciate Hogan's actions, decided that Jarrett would instead 'lay down' for Hogan and let him pin him. That way Hogan would regain the title like he wanted. Russo later came out of the back and publicly 'fired' Hogan, declared the title vacant, and announced that Jarrett and Booker T would compete later to determine the World Champion. This was all presented to be a 'shoot'. Whether it was or not has been debated for almost the last 6 years, but Russo has publicly stated that the whole incident was scripted. Russo even laid out the whole setup for the 'angle'. There are a lot of people who are claiming that the whole incident was in fact really a 'shoot' despite Russo's claims.

The final Nitro Broadcast. This was truly a monumental moment in the history of professional wrestling. The WWF, who just a few years earlier was on the verge of going broke, had purchased WCW and was now the only major national promotion in the country (and still are to this day). Throughout the broadcast a series of vignettes showing Vince McMahon talking about what he might do with WCW were shown. There are only 2 matches from the show that I remember. Booker T (who WWF had already decided to retain) defeated Scott Steiner to win the WCW World Title and Sting faced a depressed and broken-spirited Ric Flair (These two also faced each other in Nitro's first ever match in 1995). The end of the broadcast saw RAW simulcast on both Spike TV and TNT where Vince would speak to the WCW audience live (via satellite). In the speech Vince talked about various topics such as whether he would just leave WCW on the shelf, polled the crowd as to which WCW stars they thought he should bring in to the WWF, and how he had requested that WCW owner Ted Turner sign ownership of WCW over to him live on PPV at Wrestlemania that coming Sunday. As Vince was about to wrap up his speech Shane McMahon's (Vince was feuding with him at the time) music began playing and while Vince was expecting Shane to come down the aisle, Shane was in fact at Nitro in Panama City Beach, Florida and was entering the WCW ring. Shane then announced that the sale of WCW was already signed, but instead of the contract reading Vince McMahon it read Shane McMahon. Shane had bought WCW out from under Vince. The rest is history.

There are numerous other memorable events during WCW's run, but these are just a few. Agree? Disagree? Want to share some of your more memorable moments?

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WWF v. WCW : Top 10 Faceoff c.1996

As I have written about before, I recently found myself going through some old issues of some wrestling magazines and was amazed at some of the things that I came across. One of the issues, titled The Wrestler and dated December 1996, was billed as a 'Special Issue' and featured an article basically going through the card of a fictional PPV where WW(E)F's top 10 faced off against WCW's top 10. Included in the article are predictions from 5 members of the magazine's staff. Let's take another look into the past...

#10 v. #10 - Owen Hart v. Chris Benoit - This is right around the time that Owen was coming into his own as a singles wrestler and Benoit was beginning to make a name for himelf on a national level. I would tend to agree that both deserved a ranking of #10 back then. The staff has Owen winning 3 votes to 2 votes. I suppose that I can agree with Owen winning.

#9 v. # 9 - Jake Roberts v Rey Mysterio - Why the hell is Jake even on the list? This is during his disasterous return, back when he got fat, old, and started wrestling in a shirt. Here was his gimmick - "I used to be a junkie and a lush". The fact of the matter is that he was still a junkie and a lush. There are 4 memorable moments from his comeback that come to mind: Jerry Lawler telling that Jake needed to go to the blood bank to get his eyes drained, Jerry Lawler presenting Jake with a giant bottle of wine, Jake getting his ass kicked as part of the show 'Boy Meets World', and losing to Austin and somewhat inspiring 'Austin 3:16'. If Jake was WWF's 9th ranked star at that point then WWF must have really sucked back then. As much as I didn't (and still don't) understand any of Rey's popularity , I'm not going to make an argument against him. Staff picks Rey to win 4 votes to 1 vote. It should have been 5 - 0.

#8 v. #8 - Davey Boy Smith v. Kevin Nash - I was never a fan of Davey Boy Smith as a singles wrestler. He had 2 moves. The stalled suplex and that slow powerslam. While I don't think he particularly deserved a ranking of #8, I'm not really going to argue against it. Nash was going through the beginning of the nWo. I would rank him higher. Staff has Nash winning 4 -1.

#7 v. #7 - Mankind v. Scott Hall - Both rankings seem okay to me. Staff has Scott Hall winning 3 - 2. I agree somewhat. Hall was in the nWo's early years and Foley was just starting to gain popularity.

#6 v. #6 - Goldust v. Randy Savage - I was actually a fan of Goldust for a while. Wrestling had never seen a character quite like him. An excellent move for him to come out of his father's shadow and make a name for himself. Like I have said before, Savage's whole WCW career was an abomination. Staff picks Goldust 3 votes to Savage's 2. I can live with that.

#5 v. #5 - Steve Austin v. Lex Luger - Again, Luger's post-WWE run in WCW was horrible (actually his career started spiraling down once he slammed Yokozuna and started the Lex Express). I can't get the image of that stupid collarless shirt he wore on the first episode of Nitro out of my head. He just looked so stupid. He started to look really old and all he would say was "I'm going to rack you!". Austin, on the other hand, was headed straight to the top and was a few months away from what I believe to be the best match of his career at 1997's Wrestlemania 13. Luger was just living on his reputation at that point. Staff picks Austin 3 -2. I would go 4 - 1.

#4 v. #4 - Undertaker v. Hulk Hogan - At one point I was a fan of the Undertaker. That is before he started to look like an old woman and walked slow as part of his gimmick as opposed to now where he walks slow because of his lack of mobility. I liked him most when he was still wearing the hat, tie, and gloves. Not when he started wearing leather and became a biker. On the other hand, I was never ever a Hulkamaniac. I just never was a fan, but that doesn't mean that I don't recognize what he did for the industry in the 1980's and the fact that he was one of the most over guys ever. I also think that his nWo heel turn in 1996 was genius. It helped revitalize wrestling in the mid-1990's and turned WCW into a solid contender which in turn forced WWF to raise their level as well. Hogan and 'Taker had (and still have to a lesser extent) amazing drawing power back then. Staff picks Hogan 3 - 2. An argument cam be made for the opposite too though.

#3 v. #3 - Vader v. Sting - Just like Luger was living on his reputation back then, so was Vader. He had definitely seen better days. Particularly when he feuded with Sting back in WCW. Sting was also a shell of his former self back then. At this point he was still colorful Sting and hadn't yet become black & white Sting yet. Just like I said with Hogan I was never a big fan of his, but I do recognize his drawing power. Whether I understand it or not is something different. Back during late 1996 the nWo was still relatively new and Sting was billed as WCW's best hopes so I guess #3 could fit. #3 for Vader though? a few spots too high of you ask me. Staff picks Sting 3 - 2. Fair enough.

#2 v. #2 - Ahmed Johnson v. Flair - Yes, Ahmed Johnson. There is no possible way that he could have been #2 back then. He was way over with the fans and muscular. That's it. He didn't have a successful past like Hogan or Sting did. Way below average ability if you ask me and extremely sloppy. I may have put him in the top 10 somewhere just based on his popularity, but it would be in the botom half of the bottom half. At this point Flair was no longer the Flair that he should be remembered for. He was in his mid-forties back then and he was definitely showing it. His pecs started to sag and his skin had gotten leathery. No way that I can agree with this #2 either. This was a little more than 9 years ago and if you would have told me back then that Flair would still be actively wrestling in 2006 and part of WWF I would have said that you were joking. Now, if someone told me that Flair would still be wrestling in 2012 I would have a small bit of doubt, but wouldn't be surprised if it turned out being true. Staff picks Ahmed 3 - 2. No way in hell that I agree. Is it possible to make it 2 - 0 in favor of Flair? Yeah, I know it doesn't add up to 5, but can't we make an exception?

#1 v. #1 - Shawn Michaels v. Giant - I have always been a fan of Shawn Michaels as a singles wrestler, although there have been times that I didn't like him as much as I did at other times. Shawn Michaels is at his best when he's a heel. Shawn as a face is okay, but he's awesome as a heel. Fortunately, he turned heel for a few weeks last summer when he feuded with Hogan, but then after the match he became a face again. Say what you will about Shawn Michaels, but he can still put on a great match and can carry a match as well as anyone. As for The Giant I was never a real big fan of him while he was in WCW. Maybe it was when he fell off of a building that ruined it for me. Or it could have been the way that they introduced him - having him break out of a rock wall in the Dungeon of Doom. It could have also been when he was billed as Andre the Giant's son and came out and hit Hogan in the face with what was supposed to be the shirt that Andre wore during filming of 'The Princess Bride'. That whole Andre the Giant stuff was squashed though when Andre's daughter threatened a lawsuit against WCW. WCW sucked back then so maybe he can be #1. He was possibly their biggest star at that time. Staff picks Giant to win 3 - 2. It can go either way, but I would side with Michaels.

All in all the Staff picked 5 wins for each company, and I would have picked WWF with 4 and WCW with 6. That's a little suprising considering my admitted bias towards WWF.

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1998 PWI 500 Revisted

As I have already done with 1997's PWI 500, I now present to you, the WrestleBlogger readers, a look back at the PWI 500 for 1998. Let's see how much a diffrence a year makes.

#1 Steve Austin (shown above in perhaps his best match ever; Wrestlemania 13 versus Bret Hart) - The time frame escapes me a little, but 1998 is right about the time that Austin became one of the top superstars of all time. A perfect fit for the top spot.

#2 Goldberg - This guy epitomizes what PWI is all about; All image and very little ability. #2 though? I disagree.

#7 Booker T - This is the first major push he got as a singles wrestler, but moving up nearly 80 spots since 1997? I have to disagree with this as well.

#11 Rocky Maivia - A jump of 92 positions. While I think that such a jump isn't warranted in his case, seeing at what he would later go on to become more than makes up for it.

#12 Sting - Sting wasn't even listed in 1997. Then he comes back and wins the title from Hogan in one of the worst matches ever.

#40 Bret Hart - This was the first PWI 500 since he left for WCW. He was #20 in 1997. Given his ability and caliber as a wrestler it says a lot about how WCW can kill a career in a short amount of time.

#59 Perry Saturn - This is during his WCW days. Saturn was one of the most overrated wrestlers in recent memory. His career peaked as a member of the Eliminators in ECW. Becoming a singles wrestler was a disaster for Saturn. There's no way that in 1998 that he should be #59

#80 Christian Cage - This was while he was still a developmental wrestler for WWF. A jump of almost 190 spots.

#107 Rey Mysterio - A fall of more than 70 spots.

#190 Steve McMichael - This is a joke right? This guy didn't know one actual move. All he knew was punches and kicks and even those were horrible. Mongo should be in the 400's at best!

#235 Jacques Rougeau - When he was the Mountie I thought that this guys was great. Then came the Quebecers which was entertaining at first, but got real stale real quick. #235 seems fitting.

#208 & #239 Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy - A jump of almost 230 spots for Matt and a PWI 500 debut of #239 for Jeff.

Most of the rest of the list are all mid-carders, jobbers, no-names, and old guys like Honkey Tonk Man and Iron Sheik. Nobody really jumps out.

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Secret Agent 'McMahon' ?

I read today that Vince McMahon (seen here getting his hair pulled) has commissioned a series of WWE themed novels to be written. The first book in the series is scheduled for release this summer, the theme of which is as follows: Vince McMahon himself would be the main character in a James Bond type role and would lead a group of WWE Superstars in an undercover mission to break up a drug smuggling/distribution operation (Perhaps if it's a steroid distribution ring, Triple H or John Cena could play the main villians). I for one think that this is a gret idea! Well, actually I not only think that this is one of the worst ideas that Vince has ever had, but possibly the worst idea in the history of all mankind. What in the hell would possess him to even consider it, let alone try and make it a reality? Would anybody actually read any of these books (actually I predict that after the first book bombs that they will scrap the idea of any others)? From what I understand, the supposed 'Unauthorized Biography' of Kane (not Glen Jacobs, but Kane, the actual gimmick) that was released not too long ago was a complete disaster. And another thing - It's not really an Unauthorized Biography if Kane is out making appearances at book signings.

I think that the WWE needs to really stop trying to branch out so much. First there was the movie division where they are trying to produce movies starring WWE Superstars such as Kane's upcoming 'See No Evil', John Cena starring in 'The Marine'. and we can't forget about the 3 picture deal of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Next there was the TV deal where the WWE would try to develop TV series' to feature WWE Superstars. I'm not talking about getting wrestlers guest roles on shows - I'm talking about shows like sitcoms starring and based around the wrestlers. I haven't heard much about the TV stuff lately so they may have realized how stupid it was and scrapped the whole idea. At least I hope so. It's no secret that the wrestling business is in a bit of a slump right now. House show attendance is down, TV ratings are declining, PPV buyrates are down, and overall revenue has certainly seen better days. Perhaps all of these projects are just an attempt to get back some of that popularity and lost revenue. The decline in the wrestling industry is from a product that has gotten stale as of late, not from a product that needs more exposure. Come up with better characters, angles, and writers and the popularity and money are sure to follow in due time.

Bottom Line: Do I think that there is any possible chance for this book deal to work? It's got 'No Chance...No Chance In Hell!'

Actually, now that I think about it, it can't be any worse of an idea than this was.

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RAW 3.20.2006 - News & Notes

RAW started out with the Spirit Squad in the ring doing a cheer introducing Shane McMahon. As Shane, Vince, and a group of security guards came out a jazz band started playing 'When The Saints Go Marching In' and confetti started raining down. Once they got into the ring fireworks started going off. Shane and Vince then gloated about Shawn Michaels losing at SNME and other embarassing moments for Shawn. Vince also announced that their match at WM22 would be no holds barred and that Michaels would be facing Triple H later in the night. That prompted John Cena to come out and say that after what happened between him and Triple H at SNME he should be one to get first crack at Triple H. Shane started threatening Cena so Vince changed the match to Cena & Michaels v. Triple H & Shane.

Kane defeated Carlito with a chokeslam and later in the show Big Show defeated Chris Masters when Masters hit him with a chair.

As rumored weeks ago, the Blackjacks were announced as the next inductees to the WWE Hall Of Fame. Their longtime manager Bobby Heenan will introduce them.

Flair, RVD, and IC Champ Shelton Benjamin had a 3-way match for the IC title. At one point RVD tried giving Flair the 5-Star frogsplash, but missed. It's a good thing too since Flair would have been smashed to dust if RVD had connected. Shelton gave Flair a poke to the eye during the match - Flair made his usual grunt and completely no-sold it. The end of the match saw Flair put RVD in the Figure-4 leglock only to have Shelton cover Flair who was unable to kick out (due to the leglock).

Mick Foley did a promo where he said that he was no longer the 'Cuddly' Mick Foley and that he is now back to being ruthless and sadistic. Edge's music hit and only Lita came out. She explained that Edge was still in a hospital in Detroit as a result of the con-chair-to that Foley gave him at SNME. She also said that she was appealing to Mick to call off the hardcore match at WM22 and instead make it a normal wrestling match. Foley didn't believe Lita and said that it was about time for Lita to slap him and have Edge attack him from behind. After some taunting Lita slapped him and Edge came out of the crowd and was going to attack Foley from behind, but Foley chased him out of the ring. Lita then tried to hit Foley in the balls from behind, but Foley caught her arm and have her a mandible claw as Edge just stood there scared.

A Playboy pillow fight was announced for WM22 between Torrie and Candice. I can't imagine how horrible an actual wrestling match would have been between them.

Victoria took on Torrie, but as the match was about to start Candice's music started playing and she came out on a bed being carried by 4 men. As soon as the match started Victoria kicked Torrie in the stomach and gave her the Widow's Peak for the win. Candice then came in and roughed Torrie up a bit then left.

After it was announced that Trish would be defending her title against Mickie James at WM22 Mickie was shown in the ring with a giant gift box. Mickie explained how Trish turned her back on her and said that she wanted to give Trish a present. When Trish didn't come out Mickie said that she was going to give Trish a little preview of what the gift was. The box was raised and underneath was a person under a black sheet who looked to be tied up on a chair. Trish came running down and Mickie revealed that it was Ashley under the sheet. Mickie and Trish then battled a bit until Mickie gave her a DDT. During the course of this Mickie somehow got a bloody nose and blood started running into her mouth. Mickie then gave Trish a bloody kiss on the mouth. I'm pretty sure that the bloody nose was unplanned and that she decided to do the kiss anyways.

For the main event Shawn Michaels was announced last and he came running down the aisle and tried to attack Shane who quickly ran into the crowd. Vince's security stopped Shawn from following him and pinned him to the floor. The bell eventually rang and Shane, who came back out from the crowd, tried attacking Cena from behind, but Cena caught him with a punch. Vince then announced that Cena had just used a closed fist and was being DQ'd. The match would now be a handicap match with Shawn taking on Triple H & Shane. Vince ordered Cena to leave ringside and that if he tried to interfere his match at WM22 would be cancelled and he would forfeit his title. Cena ended up coming out during the match and attacked Shane. Cena was in the ring for about 10 seconds before Vince's security team decided to try to stop him. Both Cena and Michaels then battled with the guards as Triple H, Shane, and Vince scurried away. Vince then announced that he had warned Cena to not interfere and as punishment he (Cena) would have to face him (Vince) next week on RAW.

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Saturday Night's Main Event - 3.18.2006 - Results

The first Saturday Night's Main Event in over a decade has come and gone. I'll have to admit, it was actually a decent show. The beginning of the show was done the same way that all Saturday Night's Main Events used to start off - With a bunch of mini-promos lasting about 10-20 seconds each. The only thing missing was the graphics of the wrestlers' logos. The arena setup was a little different than usual. There was the stage and ramp as seen on RAW. The pyros, which are usually on the stage, were instead above the enterance along bottom of the Titantron. The Titantron looked to be bigger than ever before. It seemed to take up an entire side of the arena.

On to the picks...

RAW WM22 Main Event v. Smackdown WM22 Main Event - Handicap Match
RAW's John Cena & Triple H v. Smackdown's Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, & Kurt Angle
It looked like I was going to be somewhat right in predicting that Triple H and Cena would go at it and cause Smackdown to win; John Cena went for a pin only to have Triple H break it up and give him a pedigree. Triple H then dragged Randy Orton on top of Cena. As the ref was about to count 3 Rey pulled Orton off (costing his team the win). Orton would soon go for the RKO on Cena only to have Cena get out of it and roll him up for the win.
Me: 0/1
David: 0/1

Boogeyman v. Booker T
Early in the PPV Booker was shown in trainer's room being examined by a doctor. Booker claimed that while he was running the stairs warming-up he hurt his knee and couldn't wrestle. Teddy Long came in and asked the doctor for his opinion. The doctor said that he couldn't tell if Booker was really injured and an MRI would take 3-4 hours, so he was going to take Booker's word for it and wouldn't clear him to wrestle. Therefore Teddy Long cancelled the match. Booker and Sharmell left the trainer's room, but when they were out of Teddy's view they started giggling - Booker T wasn't really injured. Later in the night Booker and Sharmell were shown in their locker room dancing and celebrating that he got out of the match. Boogeyman then appeared upside-down hanging from the ceiling. Booker and Sharmell freaked out and ran away. They ran past Teddy Long who could clearly see that Booker wasn't really injured so it's obvious that the match will take place at an upcoming Smackdown or at WM22. Since Booker T pulled out of the match because Boogeyman psychologically got the better of him I should count this as a correct prediction for myself, but I won't.
Me: 0/1
David: 0/1

Street Fight
Shane McMahon v. Shawn Michaels
A better than average match. Shane did take a few big bumps. Shane brought a ladder into the ring and ended up being superplexed off the top and through 2 tables that were set up outside the ring. Shawn went through them too. Shane also tried a Van Terminator, but Shawn moved and the trash can instead hit Vince who was standing behind HBK on the floor. Shane later went on to put Shawn in the Sharpshooter and Vince called for the bell. Just like Survivor Series 1997. I consider this a no contest and credit goes to nobody.
Me: 0/1
David: 0/1

Beer Drinking Contest
Steve Austin v. JBL
JBL made the rules - There were 50 cups of beer on a table in the ring. Both wrestlers had to stand back-to-back (like in a duel) and whomever drank more beer in 60 seconds would win. After some hesitation Austin agreed, but was suspicious about why they had to be back-to-back. The contest started and Austin chugged his beers normally, but JBL just poured the beers down his chin and down the front of his shirt. Austin turned around and caught JBL cheating. Then JBL left the ring, but Benoit came out of the back and threw him back into the ring. Austin then dumped all the beer onto him and gave him a Stunner. While nobody 'oficially' won, Austin clearly came out the winner.
Me: 1/2
David: 1/2

Diva Match
Trish Startus & Mickie James v. Victoria & Candice
A pretty good match as far as Diva matches go. No Torrie, but Trish & Mickie did win. After the match Mickie announced that she was going to follow through on her promise to not bother Trish anymore after SNME and then gave Trish a hug and kissed her on the cheek. As I predicted, Mickie then turned heel and gave Trish a Chick Kick, a Stratusfaction, and started screaming at Trish.
Me: 2/3
David: 1/3

There was a total of 5 matches announced. One was cancelled (Booker T v. Boogeyman), one didn't have real ending (Shawn v. Shane), and another had an 'implied ending' (JBL v. Austin). I picked 2/3 matches correctly and David picked 1/3 matches correctly.

Also included on the show was an edition of the Cutting Edge with guest Mick Foley. Edge was in the ring with a bunch of weapons on a table and started off talking about how he's going to beat Foley @ WM22. Foley then came out which prompted Edge to quickly set the table on fire. After about 15-20 seconds a member of the ring crew jumped in the ring and used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out. After Edge and Foley fought a little bit Foley poured out a bag full of thumbtacks in the ring. He then started punching Edge, but Edge didn't fall. Edge ended up giving Foley a bulldog (or what counts as a bulldog nowadays) onto the thumbtacks and ran up the ramp, but tripped halfway up. Foley caught up to him and eventually gave him a con-chair-to on the ramp. Foley then just stood there pulling the thumbtacks out of his own face while a stream of blood ran down his face.

To my surprised, Undertaker did indeed make an appearance. Mark Henry was cutting a promo when Undertaker's music hit and a group of druids came out carrying a casket. 'Taker soon followed (very slowly). Him and Henry battled a little until Henry was knocked over the barricade and into the crowd. 'Taker then chokeslammed Daivari onto the casket and gave him a tombstone. Perhaps the inclusion of this segment was the reason that the Booker T v. Boogeyman match was scrapped.

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1997 PWI 500 Revisted

I recently found myself cleaning up around the house and stumbled upon a stack of old wrestling magazines. A few of which happened to be issues containing Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual ranking of the top 500 wrestlers. While thumbing through them I was amazed at how certain stars have fallen while others have risen. Also, in hindsight how redicluous some of the rankings were. I have a very limited knowledge of the Japanese & Mexican wrestling scenes so I'm basically ignoring them.

#1 Dean Malenko - I had forgotten that Malenko was once ranked #1 so I was really surprised to see him at the top of the list. PWI is notorious for being written in kayfabe (acting as if wrestling is real) and putting image first and actual ability second. Malenko was a great wrestler and all, but he had absolutely no gimmick. Unless you consider doing nothing a gimmick.

#5 Lex Luger - This was around the time period where he started to look really old. This wasn't the Lex Luger of the old WCW where he feuded with Flair, Sting, and the rest. This is the talentless Luger. The Luger where all he did was threaten to 'rack' people. #5 ? No Way! #50 I could somewhat believe. Not #5.

#19 Randy Savage - I was talking about this the other night with a friend of mine. When Savage was in WWF in the late 80's he peaked. He was awesome. With the big capes, headband, and solid lens sunglasses. Then the Macho King thing happened and it was all downhill from there. And then he got all jacked up on 'roids and started wearing full body suits and stupid cowboy hats. He sucked...A LOT! His career hit an all-time low when he went to WCW. I'm not just talking about his lame feuds with DDP and Flair. I'm talking about his entire run with the company. No way he should be #19.

#24, #26, #29 Eddy Guererro, Chris Jericho, & Rey Mysterio respectively - I have no problem with these 3 rankings. These guys were still young and just making a name for themselves. As much as I don't like Rey & Eddy I think that their stars rose alot since then along with Jericho's. Jericho was the first Unified Champion, Eddy would go on to win the World Title, and Rey looks like he may get the belt @ Wrestlemania 22 (I hope I'm wrong about the last one).

#35 & #55 Ric Flair and Hogan - Even back then their careers had started plummeting.

#84 Booker T - While Booker T's character seems to go into a slump every couple of months I think that he's come a long way since 1997.

#103 Rocky Maivia - Obviously, this is during his early WWF days. Back when all the fans hated him. He went from #103 to being perhaps the most over guy the business has ever seen.

#173 Justin Bradshaw - I remember when he first came in to the WWF with Uncle Zeb. Look at him now. A former World Champion and one of the more lengthy title reigns in recent memory. He's got his own radio show, is an author, and is a former TV financial analyst as well.

#175 New Diesel - I'm going under the assumption that this is Glen Jacobs a.k.a. Kane. It goes to show how a bad gimmick can kill a wrestler while a good one can make a wrestler a major star.

#268 Christian Cage - Although I can't speak much to his ability back then since it was before he made the big time, he has certainly come a long way. He's currently the TNA World Champion (not that I see the title being that significant).

#280 Taijiri - WWE pretty much buried his character, but his ECW days were awesome. He has certainly come a long way since being #280.

#373 Ernest Miller - I don't care what anyone says; Even at his worst days in WCW there is no way that I would ever put him this low. Especially considering the nobodies that are ranked ahead of him. Quick! Somebody call his mama! The WWE should have kept him around. Even if just as an announcer.

#398 Rhino Richards - This is when he was just starting out. He too has come a long way. He's also the last official ECW World Champion.

#425 Joey Matthews - For those who don't know, he is now known as Joey Mercury from MNM and a multiple time tag champion.

#425 Surge - Currently wrestling under his real name of Matt Hardy on Smackdown he's one of the most over guys on the show eventhough they job him. I've never been known as a big MF'r (some may disagree, but I'm talking about being a Mattitude Follower), but he has certainly paid his dues and made a name for himself since 1997. His profile states that he teams with his brother Jeff who goes under that name of Wolverine (unlisted).

There were also a lot of mid-carders mixed throughout the 500 that an argument could be made for. Whether it be that they were ranked too high or too low or whatever. They just all seem to blend together to me; The Savio Vegas, Craig Pittmans , Mr Hughes, etc...I've only commented about some of the more notable wrestlers that I saw as I was going through the list. Also, Sting's not on the list. He's listed as inactive. This was during the time that he just hung out in the rafters.

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Saturday Night's Main Event - 3.18.2006 Predictions

I am pleased to present a special edition of WrestleBlogger predictions. Normally I only give predictions for PPVs, but in honor of the return of Saturday Night's Main Event and the fact that they are building up the show as a mini-PPV I have decided to present them to you, the WrestleBlogger readers. As always I am joined here at WrestleBlogger Command Central by David.

RAW WM22 Main Event v. Smackdown WM22 Main Event - Handicap Match RAW's John Cena & Triple H v. Smackdown's Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton, & Kurt Angle
I Say: As I have stated on numerous occasions, the smart money is always on Rey, but for some reason I always pick against him. Not this time though. I'm going with the Team Smackdown. There seems to be more tension between the RAW guys than there is between the Smackdown guys. For that reason I wouldn't bes urprised to see Cena and Triple H go at it and see the match awarded to Smackdown somehow. Perhaps a countout. I also see the possibility of what they call a 'schmoz' ending where all hell breaks loose leading to both teams getting DQ'd. Anyways, they seem to still be trying to go with the whole RAW v. Smackdown war and Smackdown has really been looking lackluster as of late.
David Says: Smackdown

Boogeyman v. Booker T
I Say: In my eyes the WWE needs to establish the Boogeyman as wrestler and not just all image. Booker Thas been doing a hell of a job selling Boogeyman's gimmick. Booker will be over no matter what happens so I am going with Boogeyman to win. I hope it's actually more of a give & take match and not as much of a squash as it seemed when Boogeyman defeated JBL.
David Says: Booker T

Street Fight
Shane McMahon v. Shawn Michaels
I Say: It would be ill-advised for Shawn to lose to Shane and then be expected to have any chance of beating Vince @ WM22. Therefore, I'm going with Shawn.There is no way that there won't be any interference in this match. Look for Vince to get involved. Shane typically takes big bumps during his matches so I wouldn't be surprised to see one here. I actually think that this may very well be the match of thenight. There's two things that nobody can deny about Shawn Michaels - He is still an exceptional worker & He can carry a match as good as anyone.
David Says: Shawn

Beer Drinking Contest
Steve Austin v. JBL
I Say: I'm not sure how this match is going to work. Is it whomever drinks the most beer in a given amount of time? Is it whomever finishes a certain amount of beer in the fastest time? Either way, Austin's gimmickr evolves around beer driniking so I'm going with him. I wouldn't be surprised to see JBL win in a swerve move or see Austin win, get 'drunk', and then get beat up by JBL only to have Benoit make the save.
David Says: Austin

Diva Match
Trish Startus & Mickie James v. Victoria & Candice
I Say: I am 95% sure that Torrie will somehow interfere on behalf of Trish and Mickie. I get 2 sneaking suspicions. The first one is that Torrie's face turn is a a big ruse and that this is all a big plot to turn on Trish. The second suspicion is that Mickie is going to turn on Trish at some point. Maybe not at SNME, but sometime soon. I'm going with Trish and Mickie though.
David Says: Actually David didn't really give a response when he was asked to pick the winner, but I kinda got the sense that he was leaning more towards Candice & Victoria, so that's who I'm putting down.

I am a little surprised to see Undertaker has no announced involvement in SNME. I've been fast-forwarding through most of the Undertaker / Mark Henry angle on Smackdown so he might be 'injured'. Either that or he is sticking to his apparent '1 non-PPV appearance per month policy'. Also, no Big Show, Kane, Carlito, or Masters either. I suppose that since the show is only 2 hours long that they aren't able to showcase all of their stars.

*Note - When copying and pasting this entry from Notepad into the Blogspot editor some weird things happened with the spacing between some words. I tried to fix it, but I may have missed a few.

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RAW 3.13.2006 - News & Notes

Just like last week RAW started off with Vince, Shane, and some security guards. This time they also came out with someone who was supposed to be a doctor. VInce began gloating about last week's victories over Shawn Michaels and said that he had heard rumors that Shawn Michaels was seen acting disoriented after RAW last week. Therefore, Vince thinks that he may be on drugs. He then calls Michaels down to the ring and forces him to submit to a public drug test. Michaels them goes into a little booth-looking thing surrounded by curtains and 'pees' into a cup...A very big cup. After he fills the cup the doctor pulls out some sort of test strip and dips it into the urine. Shane then tells Shawn that when it comes to drugs Shawn should have done what the popular expression says: "Just Say No". Shawn then says that there is another expression: "It's better to be pissed off than pissed on". He then grabs the cup of urine and splashes it on Vince and Shane.

After the commercial both McMahons are shown trying to wash the urine off and Vince announces that later in the night Shawn will have to face 4 members of the Spirit Squad in a Tornado cage match.

It was also announced that SNME will feature Trish & Torrie v. Victoria & Candice.

Trish defended her title against Victoria on RAW. The end of the match saw Candice distract the referee and Trish allowing Victoria to put the Widow's Peak on Trish. As Victoria was about to do the move Torrie came in and kicked her in the stomach and gave her an X-Factor enabling Trish to pick up the pin. The match did look a little rehearsed, but it was actually half-decent as far as womens matches go as of late. It's probably because both Trish and Victoria are actually trained to wrestle.

Edge took on and defeated Goldust with help from Lita. During the match there was guest commentary from country music singer Cowboy Troy from USA's Nashville Star. Before the match the Coach introduced a video clip showing Mick Foley getting beaten up at various Wrestlemanias. After the match another video played of Edge's Wrestlmania highlights. After the match Edge also announced that he will be presenting another edition of his 'talk show' The Cutting Edge at SMNE and his guest will be none other than Mick Foley.

Torrie was shown laying unconscious backstage after obviously being atttacked by Candice and Victoria.

This week's Hall Of Fame announcements were made. The first one was that Sensational Sherri would be inducted by Ted DiBiase (who also should be inducted at some point). I would have gone with Shawn Michaels to induct her, but a few months back Shawn stated that he thought that Bret Hart should be inducted to the Hall OF Fame and that if Bret didn't want him there he wouldn't attend the ceremony. So Bret may have taken him up on that offer for all I know. The other announcement was that former AWA promoter Verne Gagne would become part of the Hall Of Fame and would be inducted by his son Greg. While I think that he has done a lot for the wrestling business, I don't recall him having any previous involvement in the WWWF/WWF/WWE other than having Vince raid the AWA's talent and later go on to buy the AWA's footage library.

The contract signing between John Cena and Triple H was held on RAW. It started off with Triple H trash-talking and signing the contract. Cena then signed as well and did his own share of trash-talking. Triple H then said that now that the contract is signed, it is now about the time that he flipps the table over, takes out a sledgehammer and bashes Cena's brains out, but he said that he didn't need to. Kane and Big Show (Triple H and Cena's opponents from last week) then came out quicky followed by Carlito and Chris Masters (Kane and Big Show's WM22 opponents). At that point Triple H decided to flip the table over and pull out a sledgehammer. Unfortunately, he didn't bash Cena's brains out. Vince then appeared on the screen and made a match for later with Cena/Big Show/Kane taking on Triple H/Carlito/Masters.

In the Tornado cage match, Shawn was getting the crap beaten out of him by the S.Squad. He eventually made a comeback and was going to exit the cage when Mitch of the S.Squad tried slamming the cage door on him. Michaels blocked it and swung it back and hit Mitch with it. He then when back into the ring and superkicked Kenny and tried again to exit the cage. Shane appeared and slammed the cage into the back of Shawn's head. He then placed Kenny on top of Shawn for the pin. Shane then threw Shawn into the side of the cage and bloodied him up. He then ordered that the cage be lifted. Shane then gave Shawn a 'Van Terminator' with a trash can.

Trish announced that Torrie had a concussion as a result of being attacked earlier and would be unable to compete at SNME. Mickie then volunteered to be Trish's partner instead. Trish reluctantly agreed.

Vince announced that he wanted Shane's victory over Shawn at SNME to be special and therefore he was bringing back Jim Ross to be the announcer. No word if J.R. is back for good or if it's a one-shot deal. I get the feeling that it's more than just a one time thing since rumors are that WWE was looking for a way to get J.R. involved in WWE TV in time for WM22.

Shelton came out and cut a promo about how his Mama was getting surgery because of Ric Flair's actions last week. He looked and sounded really uncomfortable on the microphone. Shelton then took on RVD and won when Flair got on the ring apron and RVD ran into him. Shelton then rolled RVD up and pinned him while holding the ropes. Flair was doing commentary during the match and his voice sounded really old.

Last match of the night was the 6-man tag match. Kane and Big Show were about to do a double chokeslam on Triple H when Carlito and Masters hit them with steel chairs causing a DQ. Carlito and Masters then ran to the back and Kane and Big Show followed them. Triple H then stood there outside of the ring staring at Cena who was inside the ring. Randy Orton then came out of the crowd and gave Cena an RKO from behind. Triple H then chased him off and the show went off of the air with Triple H looking down at Cena and smirking.

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Candice, Your Time Is Just About Up

I would like to be the first one to say goodbye to Candice Michelle's WWE career. I am fully expecting that she will be released in the not too distant future. Why? It's the Playboy curse. Just like the Sports Illustrated cover curse and the John Madden Football cover curse. Look at the track record with WWE divas in Playboy magazine.

First you have Sable. The first WWE diva to pose in the magazine. Fast forward less than 1 year later. She's released and takes the WWE to court alleging harassment claiming that someone took a crap in her gym bag.

Next you have Chyna/Joanie/Chyna Doll/or whatever the hell she is called these days. She poses for Playboy as well. Look what happens - she's gone from the company too. She wasn't released though - her contract wasn't renewed. The buyout of WCW had just happened and the WWE didn't feel the need to offer her what she thought she deserved. Only this time the allegations are that she wasn't re-signed because Triple H & Stephanie McMahon wanted her out of the company and that Stephanie and Tripel H's romance began while she and Triple H were still dating. Whether that last part is true or not is beyond me - only Triple H & Chyna would know for sure.

Up next is Torrie Wilson. She poses for Playboy too. This may in fact be my favorite diva layout up to that point. She's the only one of the 3 that actually looked somewhat natural. Torrie's job would be safe though...for the time being. Sable then returned to the company and eventually goes on to do an additional Playboy layout with Torrie. Next thing you know - Sable's gone from the company. I think it may have had something to do with her and Brock Lesnar and them dating, but I'm not sure and it's really not that important anyways. Back to Torrie now. For the first time, a WWE diva actually managed to remain with the company to see her second layout be released (Sable and Chyna were both gone from the company shortly before their 2nd layouts were released). Time passes and Torrie's husband, Billy Kidman, is released from the company. As the story goes, the independent wrestling scene isn't as lucrative as he would have hoped it would be and he falls into a depression. After all, he was a decent wrestler and here his wife is, who doesn't have much ability other than looking hot, still under contract. As part of an international tour, Torrie goes on a tour of the far east. According to reports, Torrie ends up having to leave the tour early and go home due to a family emergency allegedly involving her husband. The WWE, in hopes of nipping a potential problem in the bud, decides to release her and even goes as far as posting on their website that they have parted ways with her. This however wouldn't last long. Within hours, the website notice is removed and within days an interview with her is posted on the site to squash the rumors of her release. Apparently, the WWE had a change of heart and decided not to release her after all. She's still with the company to this day and appearing to feud with Candice and Victoria.

Finally, there is Christy Hemme. She poses for the magazine and next thing you know she's being released as well. This time as part of 'budget cuts' although there were some reports that something she did was mistakenly seen as flirting with Triple H and that word got back to Stephanie and she fired her. The ironic thing about it is that she actually had a fair amount of athletic ability and was more than willing to move to Northern Kentucky and train full-time at Ohio Valley Wrestling. She actually had the potential of being a half-way decent female wrestler. I'm not saying that she would go on to be the next Lita or Trish, but she certainly would have been better than some of the crap were seeing on TV now.

I just have one question - How much longer until she's released? A few months? A year? Only time will tell. It may be a coincidence that all these women are getting released around the same time as their Playboy issues some out, but it just seems a little odd.

One last thing - Just so everybody knows, she's posed for Playboy before. This isn't her first layout for them.

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RAW 3.6.2006 - News & Notes

RAW started off with Vince making his way down to the ring with Shane and a group of security guards. He then proceeded to make an Academy Awards style acceptance speech thanking everyone who make last week's 'Kiss My Ass' segment possible. He mentioned that since Jannetty refused to join the 'Kiss My Ass' club last week that he would never again step foot inside a WWE ring. This may be true since WWE announced last friday that Jannetty was released yet again. Jannetty however states that although plans to use him in the buildup to WM22 have been cancelled, the possibilty remains that he may again be part of the WWE. Vince also said that as a reward for his participation last week that Chris Masters would team with Carlito to get a tag team title shot against Big Show and Kane at WM22. Just as Vince was about to end the segment Shawn Michaels' music began playing which prompted Shane and the security guards to exit the ring and stop Shawn from coming down the aisle and into the ring. In a very predictable move, Shawn came out of the crowd and attacked Vince from behind. Security broke them up and Vince went on to announce that in addition to SNME, Shawn would be facing Shane later in the night.

During the speech Vince also unveiled the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine that he is featured on. The picture looked a little strange. It looked like Vince's head was pasted on another person's body. The cover can be seen at the following address: http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/mcmahonmagazine

In a rematch from a couple of weeks ago, Shelton Benjamin took on Flair in an IC title match. At one point Shelton accidentally gave an eye gouge to the referee. Flair then put the Figure-4 onto Shelton who quickly tapped out. However, the referee disqualified Shelton for the eye gouge. Flair won, but didn't regain the IC title. After the match, Flair took Shelton's mama's oxygen tank and beat him with it.

In a WWE.com exclusive clip, Teddy Long was shown backstage and announced that the Money In The Bank ladder match at WM22 would now be a 6-man match with 3 Smackdown superstars being added to the match. Qualifying matches are set to air this Friday.

In a suprising move, they showed the original WWF logo a few times throughout the night. It was done in order to hype 2 'Wrestlemania Rewind' matches. The first one being Kane v. Triple H in a rematch from WM15 and Big Show v. Cena in a rematch from WM20.

The Kane v. Triple H match saw Chris Masters and Carlito interfere and cost Kane the match. Also, they threw Kane into the ring post at one point and Kane's head didn't even come close to hitting it, but he sold it as if it had.

A backstage segment saw a very pregnant and very busty Stephanie McMahon approach Shawn Michaels about his upcoming match. She said something about how being pregnant made her realize how important family was and that she wanted to apologize to him for her father's and her brother's actions. She then pretended to have contractions or something and asked Shawn to get her some water. After Shawn left she poured some sort of powder into Shawn's bottled water. He the returned and drank some of it.

They also unveiled Candice's Playboy cover. They had a giant box in the ring with the cover shot on all 4 sides and then the box was raised and Candice was inside wearing the outfit from the cover. She danced around a bit and talked about how Stacy choked on Dancing with the Stars. Candice also said how her Playboy cover is so hot and she's the hottest Playboy covergirl ever. Torrie took exception to this and called Candice a bitch. Candice eventually apologized and they hugged only to have Victoria attack Torrie.

In the Michaels v Shane match, Shawn suposedly was feeling the effects of his tampered-with water and apparently couldn't see straight or was dizzy. Shane just kept hitting him and eventually pinned him. After being announced as the winner, Shane instructed Lillian Garcia to announce that there would be an impromptu match between Shawn and Vince. All Vince did was pin Shawn right away. The Spirit Squad then came out and put both McMahon's on their shoulders.

After the commercial the S. Squad was still in the ring as Eugene made his way down the aisle. The S. Squad kept teasing and imitating Eugene leading up to a match between Eugene and Kenny of the S.Squad. During the match Eugene Hulked up, gave Kenny a Rock Bottom and tried giving him a People's Elbow, but some of the S.Squad distratced the referee while another attacked Eugene. Kenny then did a leg drop off of the top rope for the win.

After a commercial they showed clips of Hogan getting beat up by Don Murocco and King Kong Bundy. Boy, it was great seeing Hogan getting Avalanched.

RAW also featured a match between Maria and Lita. The match was pretty one-sided with Maria on the recieveing end. After Lita pinned her Edge was about to spear Maria when Mick Foley made the save. Lita then jumped on his back and Edge later speared him and followed that up with a one-man con'chair'to.

The WWE Hall Of Fame announcement was up next. They announced that Bret Hart would be inducted by Steve Austin and that Eddie Guererro would be inducted by Chavo, Benoit, and Rey. The 4th inductee this year was announced and it was 'Sensational' Sherri Martel. I was a little surprised, but she's done a lot as a wrestler and as a manager so I think that she's deserving of the honor.

The night concluded with the Cena v. Big Show match. Carlito and Masters tried to interfere in this match as well, but Kane prevented that from happening. Cena then superplexed Big Show of the top rope and then gave him an FU for the win. The show ended with Cena in the ring staring at Triple H who was standing with a sledgehammer at ringside.

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Smackdown's Booking Mistake

I can recall it as if it was yesterday...Vince McMahon screaming at Steve Austin, "You ruined Wrestlemania! You ruined Wrestlemania you son of a bitch!". This was of course a result of Austin's provokation of Mike Tyson live on RAW a few years back. While I wouldn't go as far as saying that Wrestlemania has been ruined this year, I think's it's pretty accurate to say that the fans are going to be denied a potentially great match when it comes to Smackdown's main event. Do you want to know why? Two words : Rey Mysterio. Why Rey was put back into the match is beyond me. He lost his title shot to Randy Orton at No Way Out. Sure, Randy cheated and held the ropes as he pinned Rey, but Rey clearly lost the match. Therefore, he is stripped of the right to challenge for the belt. The match should be Angle v.Orton. Not a triple threat match. If the bookers want to make it up to Rey (storyline wise) and give him a title shot after Wrestlemania, that's fine. Just don't put him in the WM22 match. Since Flair lost the IC title a few weeks back due to Shelton Benjamin cheating does that mean that Shelton should be stripped of the title and Flair should be handed the title back? This has nothing to do with the fact that I don't like Rey. It has to do with the fact that I want to see a good match between Angle and Randy Orton. I'm not saying that just because they happen to be two of my favorite Smackdown superstars that I can guarentee that they will have a 5-star match, but I think that Rey's inclusion in the match eliminates all possibility. Reportedly, I'm not the only one who feels this way either. Kurt Angle supposedly has been somewhat vocal in his displeasure that the match is going to be a 3-way.

Does anybody actually think that Rey would be in the match if Eddie had not died? I sure don't. All of these Internet critics have been spouting off about how bad it is that they have incorporated Eddie's death into a storyline and how Vince is expoliting it and how Orton should have had the balls to refuse to be part of the angle. What about Rey? Just because he's the babyface and was Eddie's friend he should get a free pass? Does it become okay as long as Rey points up to the sky every 30 seconds or if Rey laughs and says that Eddie played a trick on him by giving him #1 or #2 in the Rumble? If people are going to come down on Orton for not refusing to go with the angle, Rey should take his share of criticism too.

I get the feeling that Rey may walk out of WM22 with the title. It would complete the story so to speak. I hope it doean't happen though. If I had my way I would make the WM22 match an elimination match meaning that after the first pinfall that the match would then become a two-way match for the title. That way they could just have Angle and Orton beat the hell out of Rey, eliminate him, and then have the match that it should have been all along. That's not going to happen though.

It looks like they are building a feud between Orton and Chavo (even though they are on different brands). Depending on how long it goes, I see the possibility of Chavo costing Orton the match at WM22 and helping Rey win the title. For a few weeks or so the writing team looked to be going for the surprise factor - i.e. Edge cashing in his title shot after the elimination chamber, Angle showing up on Smackdown to wil the title. If they really want to shock the hell out of people what they should do is somehow have Chavo turn heel and attack Rey for exploiting his uncle's passing. It wouldn't be as monumental as Hogan's heel turn, but it would be a great swerve to pull on the fans.

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