The WWE™ (1 Viewer)

[Jason P]

Rock won at both Wrestlemania 13 and at Wrestlemania 14, never in a main event though, and Michaels was our generations Flair. Heck, Flair was our generations Flair. Jericho is good, maybe great, but I'd take Benoit, Angle, Austin as better wrestlers, no question.

 

[Chuck C]

What?

 

[teapot2001]

The fact that everyone here thinks he sucks is exactly the reaction the WWF is looking for. The longer he keeps the belt, the more heat he gets.

Some people here think that because he is not that great of a wrestler/main eventer, not because he is generating good heel heat.

I think Hogan and Rock will deliver a good/great match. Hogan wrestled with a lot of intensity and passion in his last year in WCW; I just hope he is still in good shape after the time he has been out of wrestling.

Austin and Hall could end up being the best match. Hall has been doing an awesome job since he has returned to WWF. Hopefully, he is still good in the ring.

I don't care much about Undertaker and Flair. They need to build that match better, the Double A segment wasn't enough. At the Royal Rumble, Flair had the best match of the event with McMahon, so there's a possibility that this match could be good. I think they should go with the same type of match that Flair had with Vader at Starrcade.

~T

 

[Chris Hicks]

Somewhat off-topic: does anyone know what happened to Nidia(Tough Enough womens winner)?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

You have to remember. Hogan has NEVER been a good wrestler. Why do you think his finish is a legdrop? The Rock has some real skill in the ring. His psychology is great, and he knows how to put together an exciting match, even with his seemingly limited repitoire of moves. Hulk does the Superman, Big Boot, Legdrop, and that's about it. He had a great schtick in the 80s, but again, no real skill to back it up. The difference between Hogan and the Rock is that if you took away the mic, Rock could still hold his own in the ring. With Hogan, he'd just be laughed out of the stadium

 

[Mike Miskulin]

I'd be very surprised to see just the same-old Hogan nonsense at Wrestlemania. Sure the guy's 48, but I'm sure the powers that be in the WWF realize he just can't match up with what the Rock can do physically in the ring. Hopefully, he'll have some new moves in The Showcase of the Immortals. Otherwise he'll pull Rocky down to his level, and then a good match there will not be. Hulk's gotta come up to the Rock's level to make it interesting. (Now if Hogan was facing someone with real wrestling skills (i.e. Kurt Angle) the match would be a joke)
Okay, I just re-watched Wrestlemania III the other day and boy were some of the matches dull! I remember loving this event as a kid but comparing every aspect of it (the majority of matches/production values) it simply pales in comparison to what we've been spoiled with today. Especially the Hogan/Andre main event. I know Andre wasn't in the greatest physical health at this time, but man that match was pretty dull! At the time, the actual wrestling portion of it was below the rest of the competition out there (the Savage/Steamboat match is still great), but I could still see enjoying it at the time. What really sold the match was the months and months of build up behind it. Not like today, where there are only a couple weeks to build up matches. Going that route really hypes the event and fans think they're getting something really special. In the current state, having ppv's every month and fast title changes, it's hard to feel you're seeing something really special with a lot of history behind it. I find myself simply wanting to see the good technical matches with good wrestlers (Angle/Benoit) or some sort of gimmick match to make it interesting (TLC, Hell in a Cell, Iron Man, Fatal Four Way). The standard one on one matches are hard-pressed to hold my interest any more. There's a lack of build up. There's a lack of history.
Here's an idea: build up the main events for Wrestlemania over an extended period of time. Keep the main-eventers out of each other's hair for the most part. Stay away from the 'six-man tag team' gimmicks on Raw. Keep the heat going via interference and mic skills. Have one main-eventer a week not directly involving the same people who'll be facing each other in Wrestlemania. Give the remainder of the TV time to undercard matchups and wrestlers with real skill. It'll give something interesting to see every week without repeating the same old matches week in week out and it will give massive build-up and hype to the ppv. That way when fans shell out $40, they will be seeing something very special; not just an expanded episode of Raw.
the guy who'll still be getting Wrestlemania 'cause it'll still be fantastic,
mike.

 

[Moe Maishlish]

I'll be at Wrestlemania on March 17th with three friends, although we'll be sitting in the nosebleeds. Regardless, the tickets were incredibly hard to come by, considering how swamped Ticketmaster was the day the tickets went on sale. I bought them maybe 8 minutes after they went live, and everything but the upper-deck of Skydome was already sold out.
I think Wrestlemania is going to be amazing, even if the matches suck. I don't know how many of you have been to Skydome, but it's pretty damn big, and I can see them retracting the roof (weather permitting) sometime in the middle of the event... just to have that added effect. The sheer number of people, and the energy level in the stadium is going to be through the roof.
I'm 26 now, and I'll admit that wrestling has not held the same interest for me that it did a couple of years ago. Regardless, I was at both Raw & Smackdown when it was in Toronto last year, I'm pretty excited to be going to Wrestlemania. I'm going to feel like a kid again.
I'll be taking lots of pictures.
Moe.

 

[teapot2001]

Nidia was in the audience on Smackdown when Maven won the hardcore title, and she made an appearance several weeks ago at WWF NY.

You have to remember. Hogan has NEVER been a good wrestler. Why do you think his finish is a legdrop? The Rock has some real skill in the ring. His psychology is great, and he knows how to put together an exciting match, even with his seemingly limited repitoire of moves. Hulk does the Superman, Big Boot, Legdrop, and that's about it. He had a great schtick in the 80s, but again, no real skill to back it up. The difference between Hogan and the Rock is that if you took away the mic, Rock could still hold his own in the ring. With Hogan, he'd just be laughed out of the stadium

As opposed to someone like Angle or Malenko, I wouldn't call Hogan a good wrestler. I would, however, call him a good performer. Hogan has demonstrated that he can wrestle, but I believe he chooses not to perform a variety of moves (same goes for Goldberg). During the New Blood angle, Hogan powerbombed Kidman, which is something I had never seen him do. I doubt he had just learned that move. In the Scott Hall interview on WWF.com it mentioned how someone gave advice to Hall years ago saying that Hall should keep the moves that received a pop and throw away the others. I think that's sound advice in trying to become successful in the business. What you say about Rock with his limited set of moves in the ring, I also feel about Hogan.

~T

 

[Aaron Thomas]

1. I'm pretty sure that Hogan has never shown a variety of moves in the past 20 years.
2. A "powerbomb" isn't that difficult a move, no matter what Nash's incompetence would have you believe.
3. Hogan has less moves than Scott Hall AFTER he threw most of them away!?! Score one for The Bad Guy.
4. Come PPV time, while Rocky can brawl, he also more than doubles his workrate when facing someone who can really wrestle. (I'm specifically thinking of his matches with Angle and Triple H here; while I have enjoyed their matches on free TV, I never saw him go against Jericho on PPV.)
5. Yes, Angle does rule all.
Aaron Thomas
Support OAR - Golddust videos in anamorphic widescreen.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

Here's an aside:
Who's the best at getting the most heat as a heel, and at the same time, the biggest pops as a face? Personally, I have to give the nod to Triple H, though Angle is right at his heels (yes, pun intended ). Any other thoughts current or historical?

 

[teapot2001]

Powerbomb isn't a difficult move, nor are many other wrestling moves. Instead of Hogan lacking the skill to perform moves, he just doesn't do them; the same applies for other wrestlers. I hated Hogan when he was in the WWF, but I've learned to appreciate him more.

Who's the best at getting the most heat as a heel, and at the same time, the biggest pops as a face?

Ric Flair.

~T

 

[Marshall Alsup]

Well I for one am glad to have Hogan back in the WWF. Wrestling is not about wrestling anymore guys (not sure how I feel about that), its about story and performance, and Hogan is the man!

Since this is a general WWF discussion I thought I'd mention the one thing that drives me nuts about WWF right now

WHAT?

I hate that. It annoys me to no end that nobody can say two words without the croud chanting WHAT. Couldn't SC have come up with something better than that, IT SUCKS!

Just so everyone knows, Kurt Angle is a wrestling SUPER GOD!

Until my next post,

Marshall

 

[Mike Miskulin]

I really enjoyed the 'Hogan Produced' video on Smackdown last night. It was a nice walk down memory lane. So...for X8 is he going to come out with the usual nWo theme, his non-nWo WCW theme, or the classic 'Real American' theme from his early days? Although he'll more than likely stick with the nWo theme, I'd love to hear that original theme accompany him at X8.

mike.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Since this is a general WWF discussion I thought I'd mention the one thing that drives me nuts about WWF right now

WHAT?

That's funny, I think its hilarous, and I usually can't stand catch phrases. It was starting to get on my nerves a bit (and still does) when they do it to everyone, but as long as its Austin, Angle or Vince I don't mind too much. The funniest thing about it? Angle's reactions to the fans doing it to do him. And how funny is it, by the way, when the fans started chanting "YOU SUCK!" "WHAT?" in time to Angle's music?

Angle is hilarious. I can't believe how good he is sometimes.

Most entertaining wrestlers (today):

Triple H

Kurt Angle

Steve Austin

Undertaker (I can't believe I'm saying that, but this angle with Flair is great!)

On another note, during Smackdown! last night they ran a local commercial saying that RAW is coming to Phoenix April 8th! Wooo! I just moved here six months ago from South Dakota, so I can't wait to see the WWF again. Last time I saw them was three years ago, and I had to drive 200 miles to do it. This time its about a 20 minute drive!

 

[Terrell]

Okay, let me jump in here. First off, Goldberg and Stone Cold are really nothing alike. Goldberg outwieghs Austin by 35-40 pounds. He's also 2 inches taller. They don't look alike other than having a shaved head. And before you say WCW had Goldberg shave his head to make him Austin-like, Goldberg was shaving his head towards his last year in the NFL, long before Stone Cold made it big. As for Style, their styles are nothing alike. Goldberg is a power wrestler. And when allowed to, he's very talented. The man is lightning quick and very athletic. And brutally strong. Stone Cold is none of those things. He's a brawler. They've both made it big and there's no need to constantly compare the two.

As for WCW, how come when they do something, it's gardbage, yet when the WWF does it, it's fantastic. Seems to me that lately the WWF is nothing but a rehash machine. Try something new and quit ripping off WCW. The night the NOW beat up Rock didn't even look like a Raw. It looked like a WCW Nitro.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Terrel, really, come on. Goldberg is pure marketing, just like Hulk Hogan. At least Hogan can have a decent interview every now and then, but Goldberg was only beaten in the crappy interview race by a select few like Scott Steiner. He's physically talented, but not talented wrestling wise. He does have charisma, as long as he doesn't open his mouth. The "undefeated" bad-ass who did little talking but much fighting was a great gimmick for him.

Steve Austin is a brawler, eh? You either have a short memory or you simply don't know that Austin is a talented technical wrestler. Not on par with Benoit or Angle, but in the same ballpark. The CHARACTER of Stone Cold is a brawler, yes, but he still can show signs when the situation calls for it. Remember when he "out-wrestled" Triple H at No Mercy last year? Or when he counter-wrestled Angle (of course I know he couldn't do that in real life, but work with me here.) Do you not know that his character when he first came into the WWF was called "The Ringmaster," and it was for a reason? Granted it was a bad gimmick, but the point still stands. And in his days in WCW as "Stunning" Steve Austin he was almost exclusively a technical wrestler? I showed my cousing a tape of Austin from WCW with the long hair and the completely different style, and he didn't recognize him until I told him who it was.

Kind of sounds like you don't know quite as much history as you should.

 

[Jason P]

Marvin hit the nail on the head.

 

[Mike Miskulin]

One of the matches that sticks out in my mind is an Angle/Austin match from Raw I believe early last year. They both gave it their all, and Angle suplexed Austin something like 13 times. It was more technical than anything I've seen Austin involved in in a long time. Amazing match. Anyone remember when that match took place and under what circumstances?

mike.

 

[Terrell]

Marvin please, you're the one that obviously doesn't know much WCW history if that's all you think about Goldberg. Goldberg put on some hella matches with Steiner, Sting, DDP, and Hugh Morrus, when he was allowed to. The problem the last year in WCW was they horribly misused Goldberg and continued to throw him into 2 minutes squash matches, and gave him the worst heel turn that almost ruined him. But then WCW misused most of it's wrestlers. And Goldberg put out some good promos in his last two years in WCW, especially with Brett Hart. Just because he doesn't belt out those silly a** promos that the Rock does doesn't mean he's horrible either. Everytime Rock opens his mouth I want to puke. Other than that, I like Rock. But his promos have gotten sickening.
As for wrestling, since when has Stone Cold done anything other than punch, kick, stunner. I even saw the man throw 8 punches in a row one night. As for marketing, any wrestler that gets to superstar status gets their partly through marketing. Goldberg got there with the least marketing of anybody. How can you say someone who had no gimmick, and used his own name got over on marketing. BS. I assume you're gonna tell me that you could put anyone in that winning streak and they'd be a superstar. The man got over because he had the look, charisma, the athleticism, the power, and the rage that fans loved when he got in the ring. Tell me one wrestler his size that could do a standing backflip and simultaneously catch a 330 pound Hugh Morrus coming off the top rope and powerslam him? Tell me one guy his size that could leapfrog Sting and in one motion turn and spear him out of his shoes? Tell me one guy who could scoop slam and jackhammer a 500+ pound Paul Wight in the same match? Tell me one guy that can grap a 275 pound Scott Steiner by the thigh and neck and press him 5 times over his head with pure arm strength? Tell me how many guys that have his size and mass are as athletic and as quick as he is? The Answer? Nobody Marvin.
This is Pro Wrestling Marvin, not amateur wrestling. Hardly anyone in the WWF does any mat wrestling. It's all brawling, and punch this and kick that. Why? Because the vasy majority of people don't give a crap about technical wrestling or mat wrestling. They want drama and brawling between big guys, and that's what the WWF and Goldberg give them. But make no mistake, if Goldberg wrestles a technical match, nobody would've even cared. They want to see him kick a**, and he does that better than anyone.
C'mon Marvin! Admit it. You wanna see this man wreak some more havoc.

 

[teapot2001]

Austin is a great technical wrestler. Ever since he returned from his recent injury, he has been more of a technical wrestler like he was during his WCW days. Terrell, in the past year he's demonstrated that he isn't a brawler like you think he is against guys like Benoit, Angle, and just recently Mr. Perfect.

Goldberg is great. He brings power, athleticism and intensity to the ring unlike anyone I have ever seen. The man is just plain exciting to watch. You didn't see much from Goldberg on regular television because they were mainly squash matches, but on PPV he was in some good and great matches. He and DDP at Halloween Havoc had one of the best matches of that year. He and Steiner at Fall Brawl had one of the best matches of that year. He demonstrated that he can perform many moves (spectacular ones) against Saturn at, I think, Spring Stampede. His promo with Bret Hart on a Thunder was one of the best of that year.

~T