2008 Running Pro Wrestling Thread

You don't like the Boogeyman?

 

Forgot about the Boogeyman. Anybody over the age of 6 who eats worms is always fun. Anybody else I missed?

 

I found WrestleMania 24 to be mediocre for the most part. I enjoyed last year's edition better, because I feel the two title matches (HBK-Cena, UT-Batista) delivered much more than tonights.

The card was laid out in a way that made the results extremely predictable. As soon as they began the Triple Threat match so early, most longtime wrestling fans knew the heel would retain the belt (which Orton did) and 'Taker would win his main event match to win Gold and remain undefeated (going into WM 25 in his hometown of Houston) in the actual main event (which he did).

MITB match was excellent and there were so many incredible, innovative spots that I recommend everyone check it out. I still think it was too short and liked last years better, but this is still a must-see. The MVP vs. Matt Hardy rivalry, one of the best feuds of '07, is kicked up a notch and CM Punk will likely be challenging for the belt on Raw/Smackdown in the next few months. Maybe he'll go after Orton while Cena and HHH go at it? It was definitely a surprise to see Punk win, and I'm interested to see where they go from here. It's clear that Punk needs a change from ECW, it's become stale for him. Also, Shelton will be sore tomorrow...his body got destroyed out there.

The Triple Threat was quick and standard, with nothing too out of the ordinary happening here. It was rather short, uneventful and ho-hum for WrestleMania, especially considering the participants. Undertaker-Edge looked really good out there, comfortable with each other, and telling a story in the ring. Too bad the build up has been so slow to materialize. More fast-paced than Cena/HBK's main event last year, but also had its slow-down spots. Nice ending. I thought the match was really quite good, not classic by any means, but impressive effort especially because the outcome was very obvious.

Countless people paid to see Flair/HBK and I think the two lived up to the billing. It was a lengthy, exhausting, emotional match that was easily my favorite of the night. I think as I watch it a few more times it will quickly shoot up my list of all-time favorite matches, since The Nature Boy is one of my favorites. The match was a little sloppy sure (Micheals nearly broke ribs on a moonsault onto the announce table), but these are two in-ring legends who put on a magnificant show from start to finish. I think Flair really is gone for good, judging by his family's reaction and his own emotions. I also loved how after HBK pinned Flair he got down next to him and started whispering in his ear before walking out nearly crying. Just seems like it's time for Flair to go...no better time than now, considering he'll never get a sendoff as awesome as this again.

It wouldn't be WM without filler. That horrific (and I mean horrific, no reaction at all) Lumberjack match was completely useless and painful to watch, besides Santino. Hopefully Santino can move on to bigger and better things than stealing Subway sandwiches. JBL vs. Finlay was solid, but I hate to see that asshole get the win. Didn't make much sense to me to have that as the opener.
Batista/Umaga didn't mesh like I thought they might and was standard action.

Kane winning ECW Title in 6 seconds. Hmmm...he's out of shape, a boring character since the mask was removed and Katie Vick was humped, and doesn't interest me in the least. I guess this is a reward for all his hard work because he's never had a title reign minus a day in '98 (which is just insane) and by all accounts has been a good soldier since Day 1. Ehhh..

Big Show vs. Floyd was actually better than I expected. Not a trainwreck by any means and actually worked out quite well. Crowd was extremely behind Show, who may have had one of the biggest pops of the night. The Orlando audience ate out of his hand, but unfortuantly Floyd got the best of him with the brass knucks. Not worth all the hype and the ending certainly was a let down, but hey, it didn't flop...

 

You forgot maybe the best match of the night, Boston: Carlito vs. the Seagull in that commercial. Back-and-forth action, a total heel finish from the gull...that thing had it all, man!

Maybe I'm just not as attuned to the finer points of a match as others, but I really thought the triple threat was pretty damn good. I don't get why others are ragging on it so much. Watching the replay just now, it was a really fast-paced match. There weren't a lot of wasted moves or rest spots. Somebody was always moving and fighting. And there were some moves I hadn't seen from those guys before, like Triple H breaking out two different submission moves. Sure, it wasn't as satisfying as last year's hourlong HBK-Cena match, but it wasn't the pointless waste of time that the Kane match was, either.

And I liked how Taker-Edge ran through all of the possible cliche endings, then didn't rely on any of them for the finish. You had the ref bump, the run-in, the foreign object, the kick-outs from several different finishers...and then a big man winning with a submission move.
When I watch wrestling, I like seeing things I'm not expecting. The wins by Orton and Punk, and the way Taker won (if not the outcome itself) qualified.
Take that for what it's worth, though. I've seen a lot of wrestling, but this was my first PPV since WM V. Maybe I haven't seen the best of the best. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify to myself spending the $54.95.

 

Good stuff, and a lot of what was already written sums up my impressions on WM24. But I'll throw out some of my own stuff:

Good -- HBK-Flair match was better than I expected it to be. I went in trying to not get too excited about it, and I'm glad I had that approach. The match was more than I could have imagined, minus a few rough spots. I thought the sendoff at the end was awesome, and HBK saying "I'm sorry" right before the SCM was a nice touch.

Bad -- Umaga-Batista; Kane over Chavo in six seconds. The Umaga-Batista match was just bad from the beginning and ended terribly. Batista's Bomb nearly backfired on him, but he was able to bail out and save it. I went use the restroom when Kane's music came on, came back and Kane's music was still on, so I was like 'Cool, didn't miss anything. Oh wait, WTF is he doing holding the belt?' Wonder if that was planned from the start, or was Kane worn out from the battle royal earlier and they decided to change things up?

Ugly -- Playboy Bunny Lumberjack match. Didn't do anything for me. Thank God for Santino, because that's the only thing that kept me from going check my e-mail or mow the lawn or take out the trash. Santino needs to be a feature guy, he's just too good on the mic to be relegated to Diva duty.

Nice save -- Mayweather-Show match. Even though I still didn't like that match when it was over, at least they put on a bit of a show. Show took some nice pops, Mayweather played the heel to perfection and the posse even got into the mix. I thought this angle was doomed from the start and for the most part, it played to a chorus of boos. But they did a good job of saving it down the stretch and keeping it from being among WM's worst moments. Still would have liked to see Show win the match, but you knew that Mayweather wasn't going there to lose.

Biggest surprise -- CM Punk winning the MITB match. I had my money on Kennedy repeating, and if not him, either Jericho or Benjamin. Maybe they're thinking Punk is ready for a RAW or Smackdown push. Matt Hardy interfering was a pleasant "surprise", even though just about everybody saw it coming.

Easiest prediction -- Taker beating Edge, will eventually drop the strap to Edge at Backlash. Edge plays better as a champ than Taker, IMHO.

All in all, a decent show. Gotta admit though, the Hooter's wings I had were probably the highlight of my night. As WM's go, this one was probably a 3/5. Had some good moments, but no big "OH SHIT" moments like WMs in the past. I was waiting for that big twist, and it just never came.

 

Be glad you weren't there live.

http://www.wftv.com/news/15748647/detail.html

 

Reading all of this makes it seem like I was fortunate I had to work on desk last night (but did appreciate peeking out the site for updates). It sounds like the lame pushes en route to WM 24 resulted in a mediocre (at best) show. I must admit that Trips losing must be commended....say what you want about him, but he does take the fall in big events.

I'm guessing HHH/Cena will set up as a No. 1 contenders feud that will lead to the winner taking it all at SummerSlam. In the meantime, I think Big Show's new found face status could parlay into a title bid. MVP/M.Hardy should set up as a nice feud, but would have loved to have seen what they could have done with MVP and Jericho. Somehow, I get the feeling that we haven't seen the last of Mayweather.

 

That could have been sooooo much worse. Imagine how VKM would have spun that had there been fatalities. All things considered, a so-so show is something the WWE should be lucky to take home with them.

 

Just watch Flair/HBK, MITB, and 'Taker/Edge. That's all you missed.

I have a feeling that Orton/HHH will feud for the spring, seeing the outcome of last night. (HHH hit a pedigree on Cena, went for the pin, but Orton connected with a wicked kick to Trips head and got the pinfall instead) Cena should go up against Big Show in the time being.

I really wouldn't mind this booking, but I want some fresher blood in the Raw title picture. I wouldn't mind seeing Batista coming over since he's overstayed his Smackdown welcome. A Batista-Orton feud would be nice, as would an Evolution feud (Batista vs. Orton vs. HHH) with perhaps Flair guest-reffing.

As for Smackdown!, I'd continue the Edge-UT feud for a little longer. Umaga is rumored to be headed to Smackdown, so that'd be a logical feud for the Deadman as well. I still think the company wants 'Taker to have his final long-term title reign, before perhaps hanging it up at WM 25 in his hometown of Houston against Michaels or Cena.

I'd love to see 'Taker hold the title for a full calender year, until next WrestleMania when Cena finally breaks the streak in the show's main event, retires the Deadman and wins the gold. Safe to say Houston would riot, but it'd be an enormous match regardless of the outcome.

 

Watched WM24 with two friends, one who paid for it and wouldn't take money to help defray the cost. This was the first WM I've watched LIVE as it happens and although I did horrible with my predictions, all three of us were surprised and happy for Orton's win, CM Punk's victory and were all feeling that HBK's horrific dive outside the ring likely caused the match to be a little less than the high hopes we all had for the match. I thought that the show was going so fast that perhaps Flair and HBK would get a 60-minute match, but the two guys were going too fast in the early stages for that to be a likely situation. Their match seemed longer than 20 minutes to me.

Best match, for me, was the triple threat, but mainly because of the surprise ending. there was one point when Orton was outside the ring and seemed to look at the Flair family members for an instant and thought Reid might take a swipe at him.

Weird moment: Beth Phoenix having to play along with Santino Marella and Melina during their entrance. Phoenix got the pin and I was a bit shocked as I thought Melina would do the job.

Angle alert?: Kane squashes Chavo for the title. Taker beats Edge for the title. Brothers of Destruction are both "world" champions now. Could there be a title vs. title feud between these two at One Night Stand in June?

Hall of Fame 2009 inductees: Since they'll be in Houston, how about have Taker or HBK inducted before he has a retirement match at WM25? How about inducting Terry Funk (or both Dory and Terry)? Wonder if the Von Erichs will be inducted or perhaps the Freebirds? Kevin VE and Michael Hayes could do the intro for the other (KVE for Freebirds, Hayes for the Von Erichs).

HOF induction I'd like to see: The Jobbers (Steve Lombardi, Iron Mike Sharpe, Special Delivery Jones come immediately to mind).

 

Just like many Florida greats were elected this year, expect many ex-Texas wrestlers and promoters to get the call next year. I think either 'Taker or HBK would be a nice touch and Funk has to be a near-lock, no? Von Erichs need to get in as well.


On another note, wasn't 50 Cent supposed to rap during Floyd's entrance last night?

 

I didn't pay for Wrestlemania, I watched it at a friend's house, so I don't know if that gives me grounds to complain.

I was disappointed overall.

Flair-Michaels was a solid match, but didn't come close to expectations. For one, they both should have bled buckets (hey, it's not my forehead getting gigged).

Two, the other wrestlers should have come out to the ramp and watched the end, to give it more of a "classic" feel.

Three, said wrestlers should have come down and surrounded Flair, giving him a standing-O and carrying him back on their shoulders. It all just seemed so anti-climatic.

I was also disappointed in the Show-Mayweather match because everyone was saying how there was going to be something huge. Well, that went over like a fart in church. Big woo.

I was certainly surprised that Trips didn't go over, and think it was a swerve because of the rumors. It wouldn't surprise me to see him get the strap at Raw tonight.

Same with Mark Henry - he was probably supposed to go over Guerrero but the rumors had Vince doing the swerve.

I wanted MVP to go over in the royal. Punk was disappointing. He's all right, but I don't see him at that top level yet.