Monday
Nitro #211
Date:
October 25, 1999
Location:
America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance:
9,630
Commentators:
Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
We're
finally past Halloween Havoc and as usual with pay per views, a lot
has changed. First up would seem to be Goldberg coming out as both
United States and World Champion, but only the former is for sure.
After Hogan laid down against Sting for no apparent reason, Goldberg
beat the champ in an open challenge, which may or may not be for the
title. Tonight we should find out what's going on so let's get to
it.
A
paintless Sting is walking through the back (I'm been skipping a lot
of these segments as they're literally just people walking) and
shouting for JJ Dillon while throwing things all over the place.
Opening
sequence.
Sting
heads to the ring and calls out JJ Dillon, because last night he
issued a challenge for a fight, not a title match. Dillon comes out
and Sting repeats most of what he already said but throws in that he
was trying to bail them out of a bad situation with Hogan. Why do I
have a bad feeling that's the extent of Hogan information tonight?.
The title was never on the line, so Sting wants his belt back. JJ
agrees that the title wasn't on the line, because WCW never
sanctioned that match. Therefore, the title is vacant due to Sting
attacking the referee after the match.
Oh
come on. That's some very convenient enforcing of the rules given
what half the roster gets away with on a regular basis. Also ignore
the fact that it wasn't even in a match so why should it have any
impact on th.....never mind. I'm staying out of the quicksand that
is WCW/Russo logic. There's going to be a 32 man tournament and
Sting can be a participant. That earns Dillon a beating until
Goldberg comes out for the save.
Here
are the brackets.
Bret
Hart
Goldberg
Perry
Saturn
Eddie
Guerrero
Norman
Smiley
Bam
Bam Bigelow
Kidman
Konnan
Total
Package
Rick
Steiner
Diamond
Dallas Page
David
Flair
???
Madusa
Brian
Knobs
Sting
I'm
sure we'll see the other half later, because I'm sure it's completely
prepared at this point. Also Madusa is now a man? JJ specifically
said 32 MAN tournament.
The
Outsiders are here with a cooler but Mike Graham comes up and tells
them they have to wrestle tonight. Nash's retirement isn't addressed
because that's in the old regime or something.
Norman
Smiley says last night's match was amusing and thinks Bigelow is
tough. Oh and he likes to dance. If Russo being in charge means
more short interviews for people who don't often get TV time, maybe
he's not all bad.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Norman Smiley vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Norman
is terrified so Bigelow decides this is going to be a hardcore match.
Bigelow throws in weapons as Norman hides behind the referee, only
to get hit in the head with a broom. He puts the trashcan on
Norman's head but Norman kind of headbutts him and falls with a low
blow ala Sting. It's time to dance before Norman quickly covers
Bigelow for the pin. This was a mess and didn't even break ninety
seconds.
Hall
and Nash are in the back and Nash says he can't work. Hall says he
can't comment until the top of the hour. He won't listen to Mike
Graham either.
Recap
of the Filthy Animals vs. Ric Flair.
Here
are the Filthy Animals with Torrie sporting a shiny silver outfit
that Kidman really seems to enjoy. Eddie talks about how WCW will
never be able to break the team up. Now Ric Flair has been coming
after them, so look at this tape to see what happened. The video
show Ric being dragged away to what looks like the desert and being
buried in sand. Egads this is really happening.
Kidman
says Flair is done and Harlem Heat is next. Mysterio cuts him off
from swearing and gives the mic to Konnan for some bad catchphrases,
one of which involves the Filthy Animals being in heat. Cue Malenko
and Saturn to destroy the Animals, but Torrie runs off, only to get
caught by Shane Douglas and Asya. Well they tried to murder Flair so
I'm not sure I can sympathize with them when one of their members is
kidnapped.
Curt
Hennig doesn't like the Powers that Be and if he gets pinned he's
fired. Why you ask? The better question is why would you ask “why
you ask?” You should know by now that you're never getting a clear
answer to most of the logical questions this show brings up.
The
Outsiders drink coffee, potentially to sober Hall up.
Curt
Hennig vs. Lash Leroux
If
Hennig gets pinned he's fired. Hennig hammers away in the corner to
start and hiptosses Lash across the ring for two. Disco Inferno
comes out to praise Lash on commentary but gets interrupted by Curt
ramming Lash into the table. They head back inside with Hennig
getting two off a knee lift as this is a total squash so far, meaning
you can expect a swerve soon. Lash comes back with some right hands
and dropkicks before loading up Whiplash, only to have Hennig hit the
referee for the DQ. Well he didn't get pinned.
Hennig
lays out Lash and Disco with a chair.
The
Filthy Animals are looking for Torrie.
A
limping Bret Hart arrives.
Here
are the Nitro Girls for the Nitro Girls search stuff but Jeff Jarrett
comes out to interrupt. Jeff threatens to stroke each one of them
and says this tournament is a big work. See, he's the next champion
and if Luger disagrees, he can take the Lex Express out of town.
Amazingly enough, no one responds to the five year old reference. Oh
and he didn't hit Elizabeth last week. Their big plan to get Jarrett
over as a heel is to break up the Nitro Girls stuff? He'll be out
popping Goldberg in two weeks at this rate.
Sid
says the war with Goldberg is far from over.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Perry Saturn vs. Eddie Guerrero
Saturn
threatens to make Torrie disappear if the Animals interfere. The
Animals leave but Eddie jumps him from behind for the early
advantage. He goes after the leg as the fans are entirely behind
him, because I guess they see kidnapping Torrie as a good thing.
Guerrero uses his wrist tape to tie the leg to the ropes for some
hard kicks but Saturn quickly rips it off.
A
hot shot and gutbuster change control though and Saturn cranks on an
abdominal stretch. Eddie's ribs are draped over the top rope before
they head outside with Saturn whipping him into the barricade.
They're flying through this as you can almost feel the shenanigans
coming. Cue David Flair with a crowbar to nail Eddie in the ribs,
setting up the Rings of Saturn to give Saturn the win.
Rating:
C. That's the match of the
night isn't it? At the end of the day, you need more than four
minutes to get anything special going and even guys like Saturn and
Guerrero can only only do so much. The David Flair stuff makes sense
as he would be upset at Torrie and doesn't want her to be rescued,
but it's another case of throwing so much into one show that you
can't process it all.
Saturn
runs from the invading Animals.
Hall
and Nash don't want to fight so they come up with ways of shutting
down the show. Nash's
best idea: strip naked in the ring.
The
Revolution has Torrie held hostage in a secret location. Does anyone
ever think of just flagging down the cameraman and asking where they
just came from? Malenko
walks out of the room but Benoit jumps him behind and lays wastes to
him, clearly swearing without being censored.
Here
are the Outsiders, potentially for stripping. Hall does the Survey
and says they've been partying in Vegas, but had to come here for the
real party. Nash says no
one is going to tell them what to do, but Goldberg pops up to
threaten them with violence later in the night. The Outsiders jumped
Goldberg before the Sid match last night so we have Goldberg's next
feud. We don't have an explanation for Nash's retirement before
forgotten but you can't have everything. Or anything around here
these days actually.
Here
are Randy Savage and Gorgeous George, clad in sparkly red attire
because it makes George look good and Savage look.....well like
Savage actually. Savage
says it's been awhile but Russo and the rest of the vultures in the
back aren't going to see him hang himself on live TV. However,
George is right when she says he's well hung.
You
can't kill off the Macho Man like
you did Hogan and Flair. The
yellow and red and Space Mountain have played themselves out but
Savage is still legit. It's
time that he passes the torch to the next superstar to win World
Titles, set ratings records
and be even better than he was. I
don't think he would be seen for another six months.
The
Animals find the Revolution's dressing room (hint: it was labeled
REVOLUTION) but there's no Torrie.
The
Revolution tries to get Malenko to chill.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Madusa vs. ???
And
it's Meng. I'm assuming there's a joke here that I'm not smart
enough to get. Madusa fires off punches and kicks which are sold as
well as an air conditioner at the North Pole. Meng goes after her
but stops to look at her chest, earning him an eye poke. So this is
a comedy match? Some choking and a missile dropkick have no effect
on Meng so she jumps on his back, gets flipped over and the Tongan
Death Grip is good for the win.
Evan
Karagias of all people comes out to check on Madusa, but Dean Malenko
comes out to challenge Benoit to a last man standing match tonight.
There's no connection between Malenko and Karagias. Russo just
doesn't know what it means to wait a second.
Nash
is taping up.
Curt
Hennig and Brad Armstrong are backstage. Brad has been told to leave
until he finds a personality and the Powers that Be suggest he call
his little brother. I'm getting a headache and we're not even
halfway done with this mess.
Bret
has his leg looked at.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Total Package vs. Rick Steiner
Please
keep up the short trend here. We get the full monty of WCW's bad
production here as Tony asks for stills of Bret vs. Lex, has to stall
for about 45 seconds before they come up, has to ignore Rick
Steiner's music starting and stopping during the stills, and then we
miss the opening of the match because of Benoit vs. Steiner stills.
I mean dude, even TNA has their stuff together better than this.
Luger
hammers on him to start with his usual array of kicks and forearms as
Jarrett comes out to do commentary. Steiner fights back and sends
Luger into the buckle as Jeff talks about how he didn't attack Liz
last week because he isn't that kind of a man. Tony brings up the
WWF but Jeff says these are different days. Jeff goes after Liz but
Luger makes a save, only to have Jarrett's guitar shot hit Steiner by
mistake. Liz freaks out so Luger checks on her, only to drop her so
he can beat the ten count back in to win another short (sweet) match.
This would be about three weeks' worth of story crammed into a few
minutes.
Liz
isn't happy.
Konnan
threatens to hurt the Revolution if they harm Torrie and also speaks
on cheese.
Benoit
tapes his hands.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Konnan vs. Kidman
Time
for a stable battle. Konnan takes over quickly and snapmares Kidman
down, setting up a basement dropkick. That's not cool with Kidman
and they slug it out until Konnan hits the rolling clothesline. The
X Factor is countered with a BK Bomb for two but the referee is
bumped, as per Russo requirement. Cue Harlem Heat to lay out both
guys with finishers, though Stevie doesn't actually go off his feet
on the Slap Jack. Mysterio and Guerrero try to make a save but
Kidman rolls over onto Konnan to advance. This looked like a back
door out of having partners fight, but more than likely Russo had no
idea what he booked.
Eddie
has to calm Konnan and Kidman down post match. Konnan agrees and
wants a Tag Team Title shot tonight against “these two mark punk
busters.”
The
Outsiders are wondering who they'll be facing in their big, and I'm
sure totally serious, match. Maybe the Bushwhackers or the
Kangaroos?
Quick
look back at Bagwell being annoyed at having to job last week.
Seriously, that appears to be the story they're going with.
Here's
Bagwell for a chat. He's going to start breaking all the rules and
doesn't care about all the sacred things in this business. Last week
was the last time he'll do a job (oh here we go) for the two idiots
in the back writing this nonsense. Cue the Harris Brothers in the
soon to be named Creative Control gimmick to beat Bagwell down. This
would be the worked part after the real stuff you heard from Buff.
There are a lot of problems with this, but if you don't know what a
job is in wrestling terms, doesn't it sound like Bagwell just quit?
Dean
Malenko vs. Chris Benoit
Last
man standing for reasons that aren't really explained and
both guys are
in street clothes. They
slug it out to start and tumble out to the floor with Benoit being
sent into the barricade over and over. That
goes nowhere so they get back inside, only to have Benoit crotch
Malenko against the post. That's not something Benoit would normally
do.
Chris
chops away in the corner before a belly to back suplex sends Malenko
down. They're both up at six so Benoit rolls some Germans, only to
get kicked low. Dean tosses
him over the top and out to the floor for
more whips into the barricade. Back
in and Benoit suplexes him down again for a short count before a
double clothesline puts both guys down but only Benoit beats the
count.
Rating:
C-. This is Vince Russo in a
nutshell: a last man standing match announced with maybe half an hour
notice that gets seven minutes and ends with a clothesline because we
need to get on to all the other AMAZING things he has planned for us,
like three minute nothing matches. How did adding a gimmick to this
match help? Benoit and Malenko can have a good match with each other
in their sleep but they have to add in a last man standing gimmick
for the sake of adding one in, thereby making it look like a less
important gimmick going forward. Well done in just seven minutes.
Post
match the Filthy Animals come out but Douglas (with his arm in a
cast) and Saturn show up on stage with Asya holding Torrie. Shane
babbles about hurting Torrie and Dean is allowed to leave. The
Animals chase after him and get to the parking lot where both groups
speed away. I guess this is action adventure or something? Also,
no explanation for why Malenko did what he did last night. I'm not
expecting any reason after this point.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Sting vs. Brian Knobs
Two
ball bat shots to the chest for the pin
in thirteen seconds. Yeah
that's going to keep Sting a heel. To
recap, the brackets said Sting vs. Knobbs, Tony said Sting vs.
Morrus, Sting actually fought Knobbs. Conclusion:
Tony Schiavone is incompetent.
The
Outsiders talk strategy for later.
Bret
Hart has a hairline fracture but is going to fight Goldberg anyway.
Tag
Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs. Kidman/Konnan
Harlem
Heat is defending. Stevie
hammers Konnan down to start and stomps Kidman on the apron. All
hail King Stevie. More
pounding ensues until Konnan clotheslines both champs down for a
breather. Off to Kidman but he eats a clothesline as well to give
Stevie control again. It's
quickly back to Konnan with Booker taking over with right hands and a
side slam. The champs start
double teaming Konnan as
I guess they're heels tonight, despite the fans being all over the
Animals earlier in the night.
Stevie
knees him down and cranks on an armbar. Back
to Booker who misses the ax kick, allowing the hot tag to Kidman. A
quick Dudley Dog staggers Booker but Stevie comes back in to set up a
Hart Attack with a Harlem Side Kick instead of a clothesline. Konnan
gets back up and goes after Booker, allowing Kidman to load up
another Dudley Dog, only to have Stevie counter with a bridging belly
to back suplex, but Kidman raises his shoulder for the pin and the
titles.
Rating:
D+. Well
that happened. Was there any reason to not just give Kidman and
Konnan the belts last night? Other than a “shocking” title
change that is? The match was nothing to see, again mainly due to
time, even though this was one of the longer matches of the night at
just over five minutes. Sign
of the Russo times: that's the third title change, not counting the
belts being vacated, in eight days.
Goldberg
says he's always been brutal and the match with Sid was just showing
that side.
WCW
World Title Tournament First Round: Diamond Dallas Page vs. David
Flair
Kimberly
grabs the mic and starts up the catchphrases in that great acting
voice of hers. Page wants Flair out of the ring and grabs him by the
neck before kissing him on the cheek. He
makes the mistake of turning his back on the crazy man though,
allowing David to get in some crowbar shots. Kimberly gets in to
call David off and he leaves as Page is looked at by medics. No
match.
Outsiders
vs. ???
The
Outsiders are in street clothes. Cue
the Harris Brothers.....who step aside so a bunch of porn chicks can
come out, one of which
appears to be smuggling basketballs in her shirt. The
bell rings and my goodness they're actually doing this. Tony:
“The Powers that Be are looking for ratings and they're going to
get them!”
Hall
starts with the blonde but doesn't know where to put his hands. She
headlocks him into her chest and this is dying before my eyes. More
“comedy” ensues and Hall does the Flair Flop, earning him a
spank. The fans clap for
the hot tag and Nash is all fired up for the other blonde. He
gets the laughably enhanced brunette but both Outsiders lay down for
a double pin. You think I'm rating this?
Goldberg
comes out to clean house before the brunette can take her top off.
US
Title/WCW World Title Tournament First Round: Goldberg vs. Bret Hart
This
is for Goldberg's US Title for no apparent reason. Bret
limps down to the ring because of the leg injury over the last few
weeks. Goldberg takes him
into the corner and gives a clean break. Instead
it's the gorilla press into a powerslam to plant Bret but Goldberg
doesn't want to follow up.
A
leg lock has Bret in trouble but he's right next to the ropes. Bret
gets dropped again as this is coming off like an angle instead of a
match. Goldberg stomps away
in the corner and pulls Bret out by the leg. Another
leg lock makes Bret scream so Goldberg lets go and demands that the
referee stop it. Bret says keep going so Goldberg throws him back
to the mat.
Goldberg
charges into the good foot in the corner and Bret puts on a sleeper.
That goes as well as you
would expect with Goldberg throwing Bret onto the referee. Hart
is thrown outside so cue the
Outsiders and Sid (in his gear due to reasons of insanity) to
lay Goldberg out. Somehow
the referee looks at this and doesn't call for a DQ, allowing Bret to
crawl back inside for the pin, even though Goldberg was sitting up
when Hart got back in.
Rating:
D+. This was kind of a mess but
not as bad as it could have been, again due to having more time
(nearly EIGHT minutes!).
However, it does make the events of last night seem like a big waste
of time. Was there any reason to have Luger make Bret give up if
Bret is winning the US Title here? Or to have Goldberg win two
titles in one night and then lose both twenty four hours later? What
a mess, but this was one of the less messy messes of the night.
Also, this is another
potential Starrcade main event thrown away for free on TV. Yeah
there would be a rematch, but this wasn't really making me want to
see them again.
Here
are the updated brackets for the first half of the tournament.
Bret
Hart
Perry
Saturn
Norman
Smiley
Kidman
Total
Package
Diamond
Dallas Page/David Flair (no winner so it's not clear)
Meng
Sting
What
a glorious set of options.
Overall
Rating: F. When the best things
I can think of on a show are Torrie and Kimberly looking good, you
can tell it's been a waste of three hours. The
title matches ranged from a
series of quick ways out of having a match to adding angles to
matches so Russo can cram every single thing he can think of into the
show. It's been said that
Russo wants nothing to do with wrestling and that was never more
clear than here.
One
thing he does love though is the Filthy Animals, who were all over
this show. Their story made
sense for the most part, but it's very clear that the audience is
already having problems with who they're supposed to cheer for.
That's the shades of gray idea that Russo likes to use, which still
doesn't seem to work 90% of the time.
This
was a huge mess with WAY too much stuff going on to keep track of
anything. I watched this show over the span of about twenty four
hours and I'm struggling to remember half of what happened on it.
None of the things you see
has the chance to stick with you because they have to get on to the
next idea. There was a line from HHH when he was on Austin's podcast
that would really serve Russo well: there's always next week. It's
ok to let something play out on one show and do something next week
(or on Thunder to make that show actually mean something for a
change).
Here's
the thing: yeah the WWF is pretty lame right now with all the sports
entertainment nonsense, at least it made sense and had the charisma
to carry things through. This
show feels like someone watched Raw and said “I CAN DO THAT!” and
got a job running a wrestling comp......oh dear goodness that's
pretty much what happened isn't it? Maybe this is Russo getting his
first ideas out of the way early and it'll get better later, but for
now though, the Russo Era is terrifying.
Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6
It's tough to say right guy/wrong guy during this era of creative where no one is being used well.
ReplyDeleteWhen will people accept that Daniel Bryan will never be an answer to Vince's/WWE's problems?
ReplyDeleteBottom of the top/Top of the middle guy at best.
That's where Vince and mgmt see him, and that is where he will stay.
If they made Reigns look like an unstoppable force like they did with Brock since Summerslam 13, they would have a believable contender for the belt... oops sorry I mean Championship
ReplyDeleteThis pretty much sums up Russo in a nutshell. I can just imagine Jim Cornette watching this and freaking out over the needless match stipulations and non-sensical booking. Why does Beniot and Malenko need a last man standing stip? Russo would argue that it needs one because it'd improve ratings, which ignores the fact that people would probably watch the pair of them just to see them wrestle if you gave it longer than 5 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWWE sure sounds like a fun to place to work.
ReplyDeleteThey probably wish they'd put Bryan in the main event now so he could take the fall.
ReplyDeleteReigns needed a year, from Mania 31 to Mania 32, to set him up as a main event player.
ReplyDeleteHe really should be winning the US Title from an absolutely out of control Rusev (who should have sent Cena on an "injury" vacation).
Then Reigns kills guys all year until it's time for someone else to get the strap and he refocuses on winning the WHC.
Fuck, you can book the summer as Reigns/Cena vs Rusev/Cena's Heel Turned Buddy (presumably a turn brought on by Cena winning his "comeback match" at Mania over said friend).
So Michael Cole screwed up the start time. Tell him over the headset and hand him a paper telling him the correct start time. Problem solved. Remember Vince, Be A Star
ReplyDeleteFrom what im told They're having fun Maggle!
ReplyDeleteI guess this is why Cole is scared to say anything that doesn't sound like it's straight from WWE's branding and marketing copy.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising at all. Mick Foley basically told them to go fuck themselves after his short stint on commentary.
ReplyDeleteWell, if nothing else, at least there is apparently a lot of uncertainty in the air and I don't know what will happen with the top matches, so I'm curious at least. That's far more than I could have said a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched RAW in quite a while. Did he say it was 8pm or something?
ReplyDeleteI think Raw is shit, I think TNA have had some shitty booking, but end of days WCW is still leagues ahead in wrestling shows that were legit torture of logic and suspending disbelief. Even having it laid out in written paragraphs doesn't stop it from being a confusing mess that bleeds into eachother.
ReplyDeleteI think Reigns could've been the guy. But his push was botched by all the reasons we've talked about on and on about, and the killing stroke was missing 3 months because of his hernia problem.
ReplyDeleteHad WWE given him Goldberg's 97-98 push, he could've been something
Hey, just a message from a friendly neighbourhood TV fan.
ReplyDeleteCommunity has been uploaded to a few totally legal, not at all copyright infringing websites. I know a bunch of Canadian fans were disappointed they couldn't access it on Yahoo. I'm sure I can leave it to everyone to find their way to whichever totally up-and-up website they use.
Gotta love how we're less than two weeks out from Mania and they still haven't decided who's going to win the main event.
ReplyDelete"After the incident, like the report noted, JBL continued to bury Cole on commentary throughout the night. It was very easy to tell that Cole was getting reprimanded in some fashion after he said WrestleMania was starting at 8 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. WrestleMania, over the past several years, has always been a four-hour production."
ReplyDeletewow my head is swimming from reading this....
ReplyDeleteVince McMahon is a fucking infant.
ReplyDeleteI knew Lesnar going over was a distinct possibility. Reigns winning the title is going to hurt him badly unless he turns heel soon after.
ReplyDeleteBTW, that two hour pre-show sounds like homework or something. Unless there's a couple matches on it, no thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another leaked story attempt to try and keep smarks interested in the main event instead of hijacking it. This one might actually work out for them, especially if this story gets some traction.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, this would make people cheer for Lesnar even more.
ReplyDeleteThe man who conquered Vince's bank account.
ReplyDeleteThe following Monday on RAW, he should wear a shirt that says:
ReplyDeleteEat.
$leep.
Get paid.
Repeat.
This past RAW did a great job at that.
ReplyDeleteDelaying the Reigns coronation until Summerslam might be the best idea long term. Have him regroup and go through the Kane/Show/Rollins clean and improve along the way. In the meantime, Lesnar can face Orton a few times.
ReplyDeleteEat
ReplyDeleteSleep
Drink coors light
Fuck Sable
Repeat
I dunno how they do it to be honest. Trying to call a match while you got someone yelling at you in your ear must get really distracting.
ReplyDeleteno more reigns v show or reigns v kane matches please. we've already had enough matches between them to last 50 years
ReplyDelete"Its also reported that Vince gave Cole a "hard time" in his head set as a result."
ReplyDeleteThis translates to ear sex.
The money they get paid probably helps.
ReplyDeleteHe should spend a year in NXT.
ReplyDeleteI don't want them either, but they'll either happen with or without the title.
ReplyDeleteWatching Clash of the Champions 11. Doom VS Steiner Bros just came on. Doom have the weirdest entrance music, it's like smooth jazz type stuff that you'd probably hear in an elevator.
ReplyDelete*Mount Sable
ReplyDeleteThe potential Lesnar news gave me an extra kick to my step today. Of course Meltzers news that Daniel Bryan was going to be put in the title match did the same thing
ReplyDelete"the idea would be for Lesnar to continue making a limited appearances while the company elevates the United States and Intercontinental Titles at WrestleMania, by putting them on John Cena and Daniel Bryan, with those titles headlining house shows and the PPV's where Lesnar is not scheduled."
ReplyDeleteIt took them this long to think of this plan?
How do you think mine is from watching it?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/03/17/wwe-tells-fans-to-remove-their-vintage-wrestler-costumes-or-forfeit-their-ringside-seats-on-raw/
ReplyDeleteStay classy WWE!
Is the world ready for a Brock/Ronda progeny?
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Reigns may not be the best choice for the future and not someone people seem interested in seeing, but he's SOMETHING. You can see where WWE is going with it and there's at least an idea there. Between that, NXT, multiple TV matches getting more than ten minutes a week and the PPV matches still delivering, WWE is miles ahead of WCW at this point.
ReplyDeleteStop bullying the fans Vince.
ReplyDeleteIt's WWE. We're lucky they even have a card together.
ReplyDelete"Doom had the GREATEST entrance music, it's like smooth jazz type stuff that you'd probably hear in an elevator."
ReplyDeleteFIFY. I always loved how they were announced as The TEAM OF DOOM!!!!
I guess Vince never made a mistake on commentary.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Vince forked over the "CM Punk emergency money" he was going to throw at him in case Cena got hurt or something and decided it was a rainy enough day to use it. Funny they just NOW figure out pushing a guy to headline Wrestlemania by not actually pushing him is a bad idea.
ReplyDeleteI'd feel bad for him but you know...fuck Michael Cole.
ReplyDeleteThe Brock thing may be true, i mean who wouldn't take that easy money over going back to the UFC to get beat up a lot and make no mistake Brock is no match for anyone near the top of the HW Division. Either way no chance the Roman Empire doesn't begin at Mania literally 0% chance.
I'm 100% okay with Cena winning if it means a Lesnar win as well
ReplyDeleteAccording to Foley it's not all that much.
ReplyDeleteCheering Brock over Reigns is probably fine with them, wouldn't be the first time. But having the main event hijacked by CM Punk, Daniel Bryan or announcer chants would be the worst case scenario and one that's frankly still in play.
ReplyDeleteI would lol if Cole quit right as WM was going on the air, gave the hard camera the finger, and ran out through the crowd.
ReplyDeleteWho are you the doubt the conqueror's powers to dominate the HW division?!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOf course not. Its easy when all you say is OH MY BAAAAAACK BODY DROP GOING FOR THE RIDE
ReplyDeleteI approve of elevating the secondary titles.
ReplyDeleteCalling everything WHATAMANEUVER really cuts down on that.
ReplyDeleteAnd where else is he going to work? He's got pro wrestling stink all over him.
ReplyDeleteTNA *hah hah hah*
ReplyDeleteTNA?
ReplyDelete.
.
.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA - sorry, couldn't keep a straight face
ESPN.
ReplyDeleteKeeping the belt on Lesnar while putting the US Title on Cena and the IC Title on Bryan to try and elevate those titles doesn't sound like the worst idea...
ReplyDeleteThis. COACH has a sweet gig.
ReplyDeleteWasn't she preggers years ago at one of his UFC main events?
ReplyDeleteTodd Grisham's there too I think.
ReplyDeleteYeah right. Coachman at least had legit sport credentials. Same with Tony Schiavone.
ReplyDeleteEven J.R. at least called XFL games and loves college football and even he doesn't get many non-combat sport commentating jobs.
Coachman had legit sports credentials pre-WWE. Cole doesn't.
ReplyDeleteIf this turns out to not be true I'm gonna be convinced that metsFan is a WWE plant trying to create smark interest
ReplyDeleteMaybe Cole can understudy for Don Lemon? He is about the same level of qualified.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Cole on the news or something like that pre-WWE?
ReplyDeleteYup.
ReplyDeleteCole has years of experience as an on air guy. He'll find something in broadcasting. You eve see the idiots on local news broadcasts?
ReplyDeleteCole doesn't have Sports credentials but he has plenty of news credentials. He'll have no trouble finding work like most of the guys who have come through the WWE system.
ReplyDeleteMichael Cole is a Mets fan.
ReplyDeleteHe's had jobs with real companies and other guys have left and made it on ESPN. Cole is talented and should do the same.
ReplyDeleteOr leave it to WWE to get butthurt that the news leaked and switch it around again, like the year Sheamus won the Royal Rumble just because the internet found out Jericho was supposed to win it.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to think CNN only keeps Lemon around for the train wreck aspect of his career.
ReplyDeleteAccording to that leaked payroll account a few months ago, Cole was making six figures. I know that's not much to Foley, but it's a pretty damn good salary to most play-by-play guys in any sport.
ReplyDeleteYes he should. If Jonathan Coachman can make it at ESPN, Michael Cole can definitely do the same. That dude works too hard to catch the bullshit he does from Vince and Dunn.
ReplyDelete"Have some fun!" (But not too much.)
ReplyDeleteBryan is being added to Lesnar / Reigns?
ReplyDeleteMichael Cole deserves a medal for calling things like Boogeyman eating Jillian Hall's growth and AL WILSON with a straight face.
ReplyDeleteI kinda miss The Cole Mine.
ReplyDelete"Have some fun!"*
ReplyDelete*Please Note: WWE only allows officially licensed "WWE Fun" at all WWE events. All other types of fun will be subject to ejection.
True, but I would imagine that travel for most commentators is paid for by the company. Cole probably has to come out of his own pockets and still has to deal with this shit.
ReplyDeleteOr Matt Hardy replacing Christian as Jeff Hardy's attacker
ReplyDeleteAll of MetsFan's stories are crafted specifically to create smark excitement. 'WWE is going to go with Reigns no matter what and thinks the fanbase can kick rocks" to "WWE is gonna change their plans and make it a triple threat match at 31!" to now this.
ReplyDeleteWho's Michael Cole's backup if he misses a show? Josh Matthews called Smackdown for awhile but with him gone to TNA i legit have no idea who's the emergency play by play guy.
ReplyDeleteEvery time i watch NXT it's a combo of about 47 different people at the commentator booth. They had Tom Philips on Smackdown for awhile but he got the boot not long after.
Cole was a news reporter before wrestling, he did warzone coverage in the Gulf War.
ReplyDeleteThe Skype with the KKK grand wizard was just such a fascinating trainwreck.
ReplyDeleteCole's commentary on DVD extras is really good. He can call a match well and be funny when he doesn't have Vince in his ear.
ReplyDeleteBrock faces Reigns at Wrestlemania...Brock Smash. After the match Rollins tries to cash in...Brock Smash. Brock re-signs with the company and faces ISIS at extreme rules...Brock Smash
ReplyDeleteHe's been verified by the mods as a former WWE employee. But yeah, that doesn't mean he isn't still working for them under the table.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't call Al Wilson with a straight face, that's for sure. He and Tazz would always shit on the goofy SmackDown angles and become audience surrogates.
ReplyDeleteYugoslavian Civil War actually, plus the Waco Siege,Oklahoma City bombing and 2 presidential campaigns.
ReplyDeleteSo, this sounds like good enough news to pique my interest in the Main Event. I know it's just a rumor, but I for one am happy to entertain the prospect of the IC and US titles getting elevated.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope it's J.R.
ReplyDeleteThere is something really creepy about him using JBL to do his on air dirty work.
ReplyDelete"Hey Tazz!! What am I . . . Mitchell Diamond . . doing here in the Impact Zone!?!"
ReplyDeleteThere's also the fact that he's going straight to Reddit rather than dirtsheets like 99% of these sources.
ReplyDeleteWWE pays for airflights.
ReplyDeleteOuch that would suck, but I can imagine that. The other thing would be flying back on Vince's plane, which while saving money has to be hell!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually rooting for Reigns but I won't be losing sleep if the end result is Brock Smash.
ReplyDeleteMaggle actually WAS having fun back then
ReplyDeleteDraping Brock in the American flag isn't a bad idea, is it?
ReplyDeleteSure. But he's been doing pro wrestling for the better part of 20 years.
ReplyDeleteThere was a movement of the Sunday afternoon BOD a few weeks ago to make Brock Lesner and Ronda Rousey the next president and first lady
ReplyDeleteTheir son will be called GOD.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine if Al Michaels messed up the Super Bowl start time during a playoff game? Production would have Chris Collinsworth or a PA inform of him of the mistake and it would be mentioned once or twice that he was wrong and they'd move on. Collinsworth wouldn't be making fun of him continually while the game was going on.
ReplyDeleteIt was a straighter face than most of us could have managed. He had to be reasonably serious for Torrie vs Dawn Marie at Royal Rumble 2003 after Al Wilson had been SHAGGED TO DEATH!
ReplyDeleteYou know it would be some frail, asthmatic kid with allergies.
ReplyDeletePTBN WrestleMania Re-Book Series continues with WrestleMania 21
ReplyDeletehttp://placetobenation.com/the-great-wrestlemania-re-book-wrestlemania-21/
GOD King Lesnar the First
ReplyDeleteWith psychic powers.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone expects Bryan to be the long term solution, but he's perfectly suited to be That Guy to be the face of the company until the Next Big Thing comes along (who could have very well been Reigns if booked properly). Bryan could have been the Bret Hart-type the bridged the Hogan and Austin eras together.
ReplyDeleteHey, are you still after a good single player FPS for the 360? Try Wolfenstein The New Order. I played it on PS4 but still, hell of a good, surprising game
ReplyDeleteYeah they don't have anyone lol. Maybe that Rich guy from NXT?
ReplyDeleteSon of the Conqueror Brock Lesnar and the Bitch breaker Ronda Rousey.
ReplyDeleteDick Ebersol isn't an insane tyrant with an inferiority complex.
ReplyDeleteI am very excited by this main event
ReplyDeleterumour, just like I was very excited when Bryan returned right before the
Rumble, and when rumours broke of a three way right before Fast Lane!
You gotta be careful in the Cole Mine, or you might lose your head. Fucking Mike Florio.
ReplyDeleteWhat time you planning on watching Mania 22? Morning watch or evening thread watch?
ReplyDelete"Look at Dawn!"
ReplyDelete"Look at Al!"
LOOK AT DAWN!"
"LOOK AT AL!!!!!"
You are not venturing into the internet these days.
ReplyDeleteThe emotion has died down since the Rumble, but smarks were vehemently pissed that Bryan is not THE GUY
It sounds like a good idea, in theory. Communism sounds like a good idea. In theory. I don't believe they will book it so it actually comes off as a good idea however. They're just going to have guys slightly higher up on the card hold the US and IC titles. The booking is still going to suck.
ReplyDeleteEver hear the stories of Vince from former writers about him making fun of them for simple things like sneezing or dropping a pencil? He has major problems.
ReplyDeleteThere are people in r/SquaredCircle who legitimately think it's Triple H.
ReplyDeleteEh, Sheamus was always winning, the problem was all his buildup to the Rumble was happening on Smackdown.
ReplyDeleteSean Mooney was a news anchor for WBZ in Boston after leaving the WWF.
ReplyDelete"Goddamit Michaels, it's 6:30 pm you shithead! You've been coasting on that Miracle on Ice call for you years you hack!"
ReplyDeleteWhat is metsfan's accuracy rating? Usually right? Always right? Sometimes?
ReplyDeleteYeah, he did ACTUAL war zone coverage...
ReplyDelete...unlike Bill O'Reilly.
I loved it at Armageddon 2003 when Tazz and Cole were calling Al Wilson an asshole for not letting Dawn Marie strip.
ReplyDeleteFar as I know he's batting a pretty solid percentage.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere between a stopped clock and Grey's Sports Almanac, I believe.
ReplyDeleteEvening. 7:00
ReplyDeleteTo be fair he was the one telling people that Reigns vs Lesnar was the plan all along when rumors about a triple threat were in the dirtsheet. (he also said that Kalisto was going to be a gay hairdresser so ...)
ReplyDeleteHa ha HA! Un-be-lievable! And it's the Kid now... Oh, and he goes tumbling hard to the outside! Look at the determination on the face of Shawn Michaels, look at the fortitude!
ReplyDeleteVince's idea of play by play is to actually describe frame by frame what is on your TV
As a commentator he's like a little kid describing events and moves that they don't really understand but which they find captivating. All those bright lights and funny costumes! Wheeeeeeeee! Whatamanoova!
It might be nice having a president who only shows up every four months.
ReplyDeleteActually, scratch that, i don't want to miss the Sunny finale. 5:00
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the hype behind that Reddit guy. Most of his reports channel the spirit of RajahWWF.com; "X may happen or X may not happen." Plus he's been wrong more times than he's been right (AJ Lee being pregnant)
ReplyDeleteOf course, WWE could have elevated the Intercontinental Title by putting it on Roman Reigns in the first place. THAT is the belt he should be winning right now and steamrolling challengers over.
ReplyDelete>William Regal main eventing and winning at Wrestlemania.
ReplyDeleteStopped reading right there. Awful stuff.
Clash of the Champions: Far out, Flair has now lost to the Junkyard Dog by DQ. I don't think he's successfully defended the title at all in 1990 so far, multiple Losses to Lex Luger by DQ and now this.
ReplyDeleteVince McMahon is one thing, but to have to sit there and take an ass chewing from Kevin Dunn would make me want to punch a puppy.
ReplyDeleteI have never gained more respect for someone after watching a shoot interview than I did for Alberto after watching his YouShoot. He's honest and respectful and charming.
ReplyDeleteWhen is MetsFan4Ever going to start implementing a bullshit rating system like bullshit hockey blogger Eklund? "This rumour is an m4!"
ReplyDeleteBut no one would bully him because of his parents
ReplyDeleteWell going from coal to diamond is quite the promotion to be honest.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's fantasy booking and completely in fairy-tale land fantasy booking. Most of these have been the latter.
ReplyDeleteI've been calling for that forever. Give him the Magnum TA push where he steamrolls jobbers and has a few blood feuds where he learns how to work. Give him the fighting champ gimmick where he defends at every Raw, Smackdown, and PPV.
ReplyDeleteEspecially getting chewed by those teeth.
ReplyDeleteHe did seem very respectful, especially when it came to going into his outside wrestling "adventures" in his younger days now that he's married and has a family.
ReplyDeleteBut cena and bryan can't job every night cam they?
ReplyDeleteWhy haven't they elevated the oc and us titles SINCE SUMMETSLAM......cause wwe
Eh, I'd still be surprised if it comes to pass, and as other people have said, this sounds like it's meant to get smarks invested in the main event again, only to do what they had originally planned.
ReplyDeleteThe bright side of putting the US and IC titles on Cena and Bryan are the random-ass champion vs. champion matches they always end up booking on Raw, because a TV Cena-Bryan match could make for a great show.
WWE booting out cosplayers is the least savvy, most groan inducing news imaginable today. Why don't they next ban crowds from chanting WWE trademarked chants and catchphrases?
ReplyDelete"I got two words for ya!"
"SUCK IT!"
"Nope. Lawsuit."
I always said that this Reigns push seemed more like a Vince thing rather than a Triple H thing.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if Triple H is backstage saying "we should have went with Bryan... he can cut a promo-uh... he's actually over-uh".
that's not really how most bosses are dude.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'd still take that over what we've got now. At least Vince took it seriously and attempted to make it seem like what we were seeing was somewhat legitimate, even if Vince's announcer character was kind of a doofus.
ReplyDeletePlus Mania 21 crowned John Cena & Batista as the 2 new world champions and big stars of the promotion.
ReplyDeleteI think things turned out just fine, now if you want to erase the Sumo match or replace Christy Hemme in the Women's title match fine but everything else about that show worked. Maybe Orton doesn't get hurt and he ends the streak a decade earlier?
"After school at 3pm I will fuck you up... the end"
ReplyDeleteHasn't it been said HHH is into Reigns as much as Vince? Of course that could mean he still sees plenty of potential in him (which he has), but isn't so gung-ho that he feels the need to try and force him down everyone's throats so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think the story is that Vince wanted some other guy (maybe Cena, I don't remember) to beat Brock at WM while HHH was pushing Reigns. Of course, this was back in the summer before Reigns crashed and burned, so HHH may have had a change of heart.
ReplyDeleteI need to make Cornette's rant against Dunn my alarm sound. Waking up every day giggling to "BUCKY BEAVER MOTHERFUCKER" sounds like a great way to start the day.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the TV viewers wouldn't be distracted by a few costumes if the on-screen product wasn't so shitty
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Sunny finale tonight. Almost forgot. Don't know if I'll be able to watch all of 22 then but I may catch the ass end.
ReplyDeleteI do agree. Vince and Lawler was one of my favourite commentator combos.
ReplyDeleteStill, Vince was good in spite of himself. Not my idea of a commentary guru.
It's those damn millennials causing problems again.
ReplyDeleteHHH may be less stubborn than Vince.
ReplyDeleteKinda weird that they just couldn't find the right thing for him.
ReplyDeleteI think it was Batista when Vince felt that Dave was just off taking a break.
ReplyDeleteHEY PAL, ORTON VS. BATISTA WILL BE THE BIGGEST WM MAIN EVENT EVER, PAL. PAL.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Regal vs. HHH. Smell the buyrates!!!!
ReplyDeleteI personally, cannot talk on the phone with someone else in the room. I need near complete silence... so anyone who can talk on live TV with someone (let alone Vince McMahon) literally yelling in their ear is amazing to me.
ReplyDeleteElevating the secondary titles is one way to make up for having a part-time world champ. It's reminiscent of the days when WWF used to run house shows with Savage as IC champ on top. But I'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michael Cole... I know he catches a lot of hell from fans, but he doesn't deserve to be blasted for a mistake -- one that was easily corrected. I mean, I'm sure you can go through the WWE Network and pull your share of Vince McMahon flubs on commentary. Just as an example, how about not knowing the names of the Jumping Bomb Angels and referring to them by their tights colors when they were scripted to win the tag titles. That's to say nothing about Vince's calling of moves.
Triple H put Bryan over at the biggest show of the year last year. He definitely supports Bryan. You know he has the power to refuse to job to Bryan if he didn't believe in him.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that doesn't mean Triple H doesn't also see Reigns as the long-term face of the company.
WM21 is the best booked/built Mania of all-time. Shoud've skipped it out of respect.
ReplyDeleteOHWADDAMANUEVER!
ReplyDelete1-2-3HEGOTHIMWAITNOHEDIDN'T!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for making the US and Intercontinental Title's more prestigious but 'creative' would have lost their favourite 'Put a belt on someone and have him lose in non title matches to build up to a PPV match' which is the only midcard feud they've booked for years.
ReplyDeleteNo chance lesnar wins, and even less of a chance they rehab those titles. Those titles have been killed off and buried and being ic champ would actively hurt Bryan (not that there is much left to hurt so really, who cares?). Who is going to book the rehabilitation of those titles? Vince? So you are telling me that Vince is going to start booking completely differently and much better than he has the last 6 years, magically on the night after raw? Stop it.
ReplyDeleteI can get onboard with the secondary titles being pushed to the forefront. At least THEN they can finally build a semblance of a strong middle card, which is what has been severely lacking over the last 10 years or so. That can only help the company in the long run.
ReplyDeleteWhich is exactly how Theodore Roosevelt started out, as well. Hmmmm.....
ReplyDelete" From that, the idea would be for Lesnar to continue making a limited appearances while the company elevates the United States and Intercontinental Titles at WrestleMania, by putting them on John Cena and Daniel Bryan, with those titles headlining house shows and the PPV's where Lesnar is not scheduled."
ReplyDeleteThey got my E-mail!
Its tough not having Batista vs. HHH. I tried to do it a different way but that was the best I could.
ReplyDeleteIf Reigns loses will this be the second time a heel champ retained at mania?
ReplyDeleteSo does Cena get to never defend the US title and does Bryan get to job while holding the IC belt weekly?
ReplyDeleteI've been watching chikara a little bit here and there and I really like how they have wrestlers earn title shots. They have matches for "points." You need 3 points to get a title shot which have to come from 3 consecutive wins. If you lose once, you're back to zero points. It's so simple but so logical.
ReplyDeleteMiz.
ReplyDeleteHHH at WM XIX
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised to see this come down to the wire, with an audible being called the night of WM, should Reigns continue to bomb with the audience.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine what someone who started watching wrestling in the last 10 years thinks of those belts? They've been beyond worthless, they actually have a jobber stigma. Why would anyone give a shit about seeing Bryan work with that belt? Why should any fan care who has it or who wants it? And under what realistic circumstances would wwe creative even book like that?
ReplyDeleteI remember last summer he was like 85-100% every PPV then he went ICE COLD for a few PPVs.
ReplyDeleteI always got the feeling the WWE used the old "leak different info out to different people and whatever story gets out, they're the snitch" routine.
HHH at wrestlemania 2000.
ReplyDeleteThat was the first one I think.
ReplyDeleteThat's dolphins1925 I think. This is another reddit mole
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be weird seeing Cena in the hyperactive 50-50 secondary belt booking.
ReplyDeleteWas this the same time where Konnan started wearing a fuzzy hat and making Torrie touch it during his intro?
ReplyDeleteMeltzer and Alvarez were doing the mailbag yesterday and someone asked about Cesaro not getting the IC title last year due to the WWE thinking it was beneath him then Alvarez went on about how fucking stupid that was because the company is the one who controls the value of the belt.
ReplyDeleteIts hard to see Brock as a heel. The most heelish thing about him is Heyman. Brock himself is just a badass that should be cheered.
ReplyDelete