A lovely error occurred in Part 1 of the PDC yesterday, with the No Mercy review. I had stated that there were no cage matches, when in fact there were. I suppose I overlooked the options when playing the game Wednesday night, so shame on me! But that doesn't bring the grade up, since the tag team, Royal Rumble, or 3 Way Dance with a guest referee experience major slowdowns. Speaking of those slowdowns....
Many emailed me about "ways" to fix that problem. I was playing it with the music on, since I didn't feel like messing with the options on the game since it wasn't mine, so I didn't turn it off. I usually do, when I buy the THQ games. However, I've played WCW Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, and Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 with music going on during multiplayer matches, and it DOES NOT slowdown like it does on No Mercy. Oh, so I must turn off the music to fix this error or to "think" that it will fix the game? I don't think so. No recounts in this decision, as the grade remains a B+.
Many complained about the B+ grade..... yeah, once you get in college, you'll learn to enjoy those B+ grades, so I don't want to hear it! On to the PDC.
The big Superstars go over the much more talented wrestlers again!
Nice of the WWF to make William Regal look so bad against the Rock. Firstly, Rock does a horrible Dragon Screw legsweep, and that leads into a badly executed Sharpshooter which Regal submits to! Then, the Rock gives Regal a Rockbottom for no reason at the end. By the way, Regal is the European Champion, and someone who is said to be main eventing one day. It's also funny since Regal could destroy the Rock in real life to be humiliated like that. But hey, pissing on any future WWF superstars will only burn you down the road.....
Then, the Undertaker, once again, destroys Angle, Christian, and Edge. When will this ignorance end? Oh wait, it will probably last for 3 more Pay Per Views!
I did like the Main Event though, although Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit played "let's bump for the older Superstars" game! Chris Benoit sells that Stunner like a bitch! Pretty entertaining match overall, with Stone Cold showing some older attitude by destroying the ref.
HOWEVER, the match of the night was Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus. Trish, so filled with silicon, bless her heart because she's learning how to "wrassle". Of course, she's working with the BEST WOMEN'S WRESTLER ON THE PLANET, Mona Molly Holly. The WWF was so damn smart to hire this lady, and she's really paying off. Did you hear the pops for her? Not bad, and she's a complete wrestler, unlike Lita who can only do spots. Molly will carry the women's division to new heights, and laugh at how WCW never fully took advantage of a great talent. The women's division now has the likes of Molly Holly, an improving Trish Stratus, an overall good Jackie, a popular Lita, and a loveable pissed off looking school teacher in Ivory. But just think if the WWF decides to let Tori in the division too. Tori was the best women's wrestler as Terri Powers back in the day, and if they let her actually wrestle, good God, this will be the first ever successful women's division! Scary, eh?
What a nightmare Val Venis vs. K-Kwick was! Tazz and Raven fought to no heat, but who could blame the crowd? The WWF ruined any possibility of pushing Tazz after Royal Rumble, and Raven's image was lost thanks to the end of his WCW run and that miserable ECW second run.
I found those Thanksgiving segments to be very corny, but I did like the ending with Tiger throwing a pie at Steve Blackman, with a massive food fight starting. By the way, I found the WAZZZZZUP crap to be rather repulsive, and I really wish that Bud Light had a problem with the WWF using it.
Finally.... Why the hell did you put the Intercontinental Title on Billy Gunn????????????? I thought the WWF wasn't going to give Gunn "hand-me-outs" since he was such an ego during his push the last time. I guess locker room morale can be ignored when giving a title to a guy who the *think* is over. Yeah, he gets the pops when he comes out to the cool music, but once he shows his wrestling talent in the ring, that's a different story. But hey, it allows the WWF to bury another Radical!
See, Austin came back when everything changed. Radicals came in, Kurt Angle, Edge/Christian, Chris Jericho, and the Dudleys became HUGE, as did the Rock getting the main face pops. Plus, Triple H turned himself into the biggest heel possible. When the ratings dipped, the WWF and myself expected a Stone Cold return to boost the storylines and the ratings.
But it didn't! It's making things worse because the WWF is *attempting* to center all storylines around Austin again, thus slowing everything down and ruining other wrestlers. But since the WWF is so high on Austin and how he helped to make the WWF what it is today, they are ignoring any lost ratings or attendance and tending to his needs. Hey, that's just like Hulk Hogan in 1993!
4. Chris Jericho: Still the man, even though the WWF isn't high on him as a person.
3. Molly Holly: She rules! She carried Trish to a good match, as well as Ivory.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin: Best wrestling week since his return from injury, hands down.
1. Chris Benoit: Selling Stone Cold like his job!
@That's it for today. I shall be back to discuss more of WCW's history in the early 90s. So just chill.... till the next episode!
Phat Pharm: NEW "Gimmicks Die Hard" column is now up, so CLICK HERE to read it!!
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.