Make sure you check out the latest CLICK HERE to listen to the latest show, which is a BIG Wrestlemania Hype show!!!! Also Note that former WCW and ECW star, Scotty Anton, will be a guest on the show on April 8th.
As I was driving to school this morning, I was listening to the radio for some good ol' talk radio on 1170, WWVA, which is in the Ohio Valley area. Anyway, on the Dimitri (sp?) show, they had this idiot named Johnny Lucifer discussing wrestling. I guess he gets a little wrestling segment on Monday mornings. Anyway, this moron states that the Rock will probably join up with Shane McMahon and go to WCW. What the hell is this guy smoking? Jesus. This is the same guy who said that Vince McMahon owned the NWA/WCW in the late 1980s, and now he turns around and says that. I guess they let anybody on radio these days....
Second thing I want to discuss.... I want to apologize for any Wrestlemania rumors that may have not come true. At the bottom of one of the newsposts, I warned that rumors are flying everywhere and to use proper judgement on what may or may not happen. I was just trying to keep up with the many rumors that the sources were pumping out, that's all. Sorry for any inconvenience.
On to the PDC.
Wow, how about that speech by Bradshaw before the 8 man match about Houston. Talk about inspirational. If you haven't kept up with the news lately, the WWF has been talking about pushing Bradshaw as a singles wrestler, and his big pin on the Goodfather might be a step in that direction. This APA/Tazz vs. RTC match wasn't all that bad, and I was pleased to not be disappointed here. Good finish, with the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL by Bradshaw.
The Hardcore match between Raven, Big Show, and Kane wasn't all that bad. Too much backstage action for my likes. I find it funny that the WWF builted extra rooms backstage just to trash them for this match. Ending was pretty cool, with Kane getting the big win at the end. My suggestion, if you want to hear me on this, is that the Big Show should be sent to WCW to return as the Giant. If anything, at least give him the "Giant" name back. It's way better than "Big Show".
Looks like the WWF lost some confidence in Test. Actually, the European title just "fits" Eddie Guerrero for some reason or another. The match was pretty good overall, coming from two pretty good workers. The WWF needs to figure out something for Test to do to improve his charisma and mic skills... maybe his look too. The second they figure that out, BOOM, he's a superstar. Speaking of superstars, or lack of them.... What on earth is with Perry Saturn these days? Last night, he changed from being a Walrus to behing Hulk Hogan with his mustache. Not only that, but he's been wearing that ridiculous hat lately. He's no good in the WWF, and a great move would be to send him down the river to WCW, just like the Big Show. Or do something else to Perry, because his "look" certainly isn't getting him any attention in the WWF.
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle was a good match, but I can see that match as being too technical for some people. The crowd certainly responded to that. However, they just might not have bought the idea that Benoit is a face now, too. I thought the match lacked a big spark, though, even though it was very watchable. Angle went oldschool, and pulled the tights to beat Chris Benoit. Ever since the late 1980s, I've always wondered how exactly pulling the tights will keep your shoulders down. Oh well, it's the thinking that makes it great.
I'm extremely glad to see Chyna winning the Women's title. I can't wait to see the likes of Jackie, Molly Holly, or Lita trying to step up to the plate against her. That should provide some excellent drama and a newfound interest to Chyna. Her character has lost a lot during her wars against men, so now this division could be exactly what she needs to rebuild herself.
I'm sure Mr. Anglefan of the LoP Message Boards was mighty pleased to see Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell in the crowd.
Great match between the McMahons. I swear, Shane McMahon could pass as a wrestler if he was just a little bit bigger in size. The guy can bump like the best of them, and he moves like a wrestler too. Just watch him wrestle his daddy, because Vince has no idea what to do in that ring. I guess Shane's many many matches against the Rock on RAW have paid off. Shane just took an incredible bump off the table, like no other company executive would even dare. Then, he did the Van Terminator on Vince. In fact, he jumped a lot further distance than Rob Van Dam did, since the WWF rings are longer than the ECW rings. Shane rules! The match had some great drama with the Trish Stratus turn, and the Linda awakening.
The TLC 2 match between Edge/Christian, Hardy Boyz, and the Dudley Boyz was yet another classic, but not as good as the Wrestlemania 16 match or the Summerslam 2000 match. Of course, it's hard to top greatness sometimes. I take it that Lita, Spike, and Rhino were added just so that the 3 great tag teams wouldn't hurt themselves as bad, I guess? One could argue that those 3 wrestlers took a little heat away from the 3 teams, but you can't deny what an overall effort or match this was. I was a little disappointed at how Edge/Christian won the match, though, but hell with it. It's another great match to tell a younger fan when you get older.
Oh my God @ the Gimmick Battle Royal. Your winner was the Iron Sheik, who doesn't quite look like a wrestler anymore. I loved Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene on commentary. Both guys seemed very happy to be there, as they weren't that thrilled working in WCW for the past few years with bad wrestling. Heenan was on fire with the one liners, and Gene was even funny too. The best was "It will be Wrestlemania 38 by the time the Sheik walks to the ring". HAHA! Some of the guys still look like they did back in the day, with Hillbilly Jim looking very slimmed down. My money was riding on Sgt. Slaughter, who lost the match, but won the moral victory against the Sheik, his former Iraq teammate.
Triple H vs. the Undertaker was solid, but I question the ending, very much. I can't see how someone could kick out of getting cracked with a sledgehammer, and then having a wrestler fall on them immediately after that. That could have been an excellent finish to the match, but nooo, the Undertaker beat Triple H with the Last Ride. It's the first Triple H clean loss on a Pay Per View in a long tome. (Notice I said "clean" loss) This feud isn't over.
Rock vs. Austin was a pretty good match, with the Rock looking at his best in a long time. Not because he lost, but he busted his ass out there, selling moves and changing his style a little bit. It was a good brawl/wrestling match, that seems to be custom of Main Events these days. I figured it would be an exact copy of Wrestlemania 15, but I was wrong. I can't say which match is better, though. Gotta love both guys supporting the Crimson Mask, too. The crowd was the real interesting thing, though. They'd cheer Austin for everything, and boo the hell out of the Rock for anything he did. HOWEVER, keep in mind that Texas is Austin's home state. Had this been in Florida, Austin would have been booed. That simple.
The heel turn was interesting in itself. It's hard to say, from right now, if it will work or not. But they tried, and very hard, with Vince McMahon's assistance, to firmly plant Austin in as a heel. I bet you that they'll keep trying on Raw/Smackdown this week, too. I don't know.... I'm going to be very patient on this heel turn, and wait to see how it turns out. What else can I do with only one federation to watch these days? Sure, if it looks ugly several weeks from here, I'll gladly mention that it was a bad turn on the WWF's part. But I'm going to give this a chance. I am alarmed at the current heel/face MAIN EVENT situation, though.
HEELS: Steve Austin, Triple H, and Kurt Angle
FACES: Undertaker, Rock, and Chris Benoit
Those are the main guys, and it seems very one sided for the Heels. From the Undertaker's style last night, we MIGHT be seeing a face turn by Triple H in the upcoming weeks. Why? Because Austin is now in cahoots with Vince McMahon, and Triple H is married to Stephanie. Triple H and Austin can't coexist, especially with their incredible feud for No Way Out. It should be very interesting on what can pan out.
LAST WORD: Well, what a night of wrestling. This is one of the most rounded Pay Per Views I've seen in quite sometime, with everything being pretty much entertaining. I'd coin this the "best ever" if it had one match that really stood out, besides the TLC match. It would be the Best Wrestlemania if it had that quality, at least. This show gets an easy
Intriguing though, because I see this as the early card for Backlash:
-Triple H vs. Undertaker
-Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (I bet it's an I Quit match)
-Steve Austin vs. the Rock
But we'll see. That looks to be what they could be heading toward, which are 3 rematches from Wrestlemania. That's what the past 2 Backlashes have been. As for the Austin/Vince alliance... let's be patient on this. You know if I can be patient, then you can, since I'm the most impatient person in the world! Just remember that Austin's final days are coming up with his age, which could have been the reason why he was turned heel too. We'll just have to see if he has any faces to challenge him to make this turn good.
Don't expect much from Shane McMahon, though. He'll be hosting RAW from WWF New York. Damn, Shane's been doing some travelling lately. I think it would be cool if he brought along some WCW stars, but that's just what I want. It wouldn't hurt, though, if they joined Shane because they couldn't have any interaction with WWF stars... yet.
I hope we see a new attitude change from Chyna now that she has the Women's title. It'd be cool for her just to challenge them all to see if anyone wants some. With Chyna in the division, the women's division could expand and get some strong attention as well. At least, that's my theory.
Expect a hard fight in the ratings battle, though, for RAW will be head to head with the NCAA finals in Men's basketball. Sure, Wrestlemania is enough to spike RAW, but Duke vs. Arizona could be an excellent game. Ok, ok... I really included this paragraph as a cheap way to make a prediction. I'll go with Duke, but the game will be VERY close. Jason Williams is just an incredible guard to contain.
NEWS ORGY: Good Sports Rant for a Preview of the NCAA Basketball Championship games, Dolphins to find World War 2 mines?, and more! So Click Here to join the it!
Make sure you check out the latest CLICK HERE to listen to the latest show, which is a BIG Wrestlemania Hype show!!!! Also Note that former WCW and ECW star, Scotty Anton, will be a guest on the show on April 8th.
LoP T-Shirts: NEW STUFF IN STOCK! Mouse Pads, Sweat Shirts, Coffee Mugs, more T-Shirts, Baby Doll shirts, and more! Also, you can now order via Credit Card!
Backyard BBQ: The Best in Backyard Wrestling!
@Phew! That's it for today. I'll be back... with RAW impressions? Ugh, I'm missing Nitro already, in some form. Let's hope RAW doesn't hit coast mode from now on because of no competition. See you tomorrow!
X-Entertainment.com
Take Care, and Thanks a Million for Reading.
Los Angeles Xtreme: 12
Memphis Maniax: 27
WEST
(x)Los Angeles Xtreme: 6-3
(x)San Francisco Demons: 5-4
Las Vegas Outlaws: 4-5
Memphis Maniax: 4-5
y denotes clinched division title
x denotes clinched playoff spot
Nothing else out there!