2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

As for HBK, he will certainly be missed. He's always been like Old Faithful. Whenever you needed a great match, he was the go-to guy. I never realized that until the angle with Flair a couple years ago. I'd heard all the old stories about how much of an asshole he was back in the 90s and, like Hogan, never liked him because of it.
In the last couple years I've done a complete 180.
Seeing the WM match with Flair (and the one with Cena the year before), the angle with Jericho in 2008, and the last two years against the Undertaker I came to realize just how phenomenal this guy was and is. He can wrestle any type of match, or do any kind of bit. He doesn't have to be Superman, he was willing to do goofy comedy stuff or play the heel to perfection. He could be an asshole or the perfect sympathetic babyface. He was the best wrestler of the past 25 years, hands down, and he's going out on top of his game. Even though it took me a while to realize it, I'm glad I was able to appreciate some of the best work of his career.

 

I'm not even going to bother posting my Mania thoughts yet (Gonna rewatch it on the DVR at some point this week) but I enjoyed it.

That being said, HBK's exit has struck a bit of a nerve with me. Perhaps it's just that I've really never lived in a world without him being on my TV but it just seems odd to think he won't be back in three months or a year. WrestleMania without HBK is going to be like the Oscars without the Best Picture award.

I know that, in time, it'll sink in but, right now, I don't want it to. I want to pretend last night didn't happen and that says a lot about his abilities in the ring. For me to care this much about a man I've never met--when I know wrestling is fake, mind you--says just about all you ever needed to know about HBK.

 

I agree with Podunk. I watched wrestling as a very young kid in the early 90s and was much too young to appreciate HBK then. I stopped watching really when WCW went under, but picked it back up the year Beniot won the title in the triple-threat match with HHH and HBK.
HBK instantly became my favorite wrestler and as I started watching older matches I knew I had made the right choice. A world without Michaels is one I really don't want to think about.
Finding a new favorite is going to be tough. I like Kofi a lot too, but I'm afraid he will never get a big-time push from WWE. I like Orton a lot too. Face or Heel he seems to be able to pull it off. Those are my two early leaders at the moment.

 

Might I suggest Chris Jericho? He's got a lot of the same attributes as HBK. Maybe not as much of a risk-taker or high flyer as HBK, but in terms of his ability to be either a heel or a face and work the mike he's right up there with the best of them right now. He's been a favorite of mine since the WCW days. Now if he'd only bring back the "cocky pin" ...

 

I really, really hope HBK stays away, except for some periodic appearances here and there. I doubt that he'll NEVER be on television again, but I hope they have the good sense to not have him work another match. I think WWE's roster is so crowded with guys who need to start moving into the title picture, whether it be Swagger or Kofi or John Morrison or CM Punk, that I almost view it as an altruistic move by HBK to retire.

And speaking as a Jericho mark, I agree with Littlehurt. With HBK gone, I think Jericho is the most consistent promo and in-ring guy in the business; he very, very rarely disappoints in either venue. While he plays his heel character so great, I'm hoping he goes face within a year or two, since I like him even better when he's a face. Maybe they can make it happen with the Straight Edge Society or something, since I think Punk will eventually become the alpha heel on Smackdown.

 

So Shawn Michaels is done, eh? Doesn't suprise me. I am sad to see him go, though. No one gave you a better performance night after night than what Michaels gave you. I saw him several times in person. Whether it was Raw, a house-show or a PPV, he always impressed. I got to see him wrestle with Hogan against Hassan and Davari which was pretty neat.

He seemed pretty sincere about his retirement, so I don't imagine he'll step in the ring again. He'll probably make spot appearances, but that's about it.

Oh, and about WrestleMania? I missed the first match and the Legacy triple threat, but I liked it for the most part. Taker and Michaels definitely deserved the main event.

Anyone notice the mass of celebrities behind the announce table? Manny Ramirez was directly behind Matt Striker.

 

I think my favorite celebs/athletes-in-the-seats WM moment was WM18 in Toronto after the Hogan/Rock match. Hogan's doing his thing, and you see Jerome Williams and Tracy Murray (IIRC) marking the hell out. It was random/funny as hell.

On another note, I'm watching Impact. Did anyone else have any thoughts/opinions on the Orlando Jordan bit? It looks/sounds like they're letting him go the bi route...

 

If I remember right, yes.

My main memories of the HBK/Tito match that I saw was Tito hitting the Flying Jalapeno on Shawn, who took a huge bump and flew out of the ring. Sherri helped Shawn back into the ring, and he ended up eventually getting the pin with the help of the ropes. Sherri was hysterical to watch. She spent the whole match pounding on the apron, and yelling right in some guy's face in the front row.

And then much later in the show, before the main event (Warrior vs. Papa Shango, yuck!), the ring announcer announced that Michaels had left the building. Fans booed, but there were plenty of laughs as well.

I'll definitely miss seeing him. I always liked how he used the superkick as his finisher because I used to enjoy seeing Chris Adams use it in World Class in the 80s. I'll admit that I didn't always care for his attitude in the 90s, and his role in the Screwjob frankly pissed me off. But there's no doubt that he's one of the all-time bests.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed last night's Raw. From Bret Hart's "good-bye" that turned into the ShowMiz-Hart Dynasty match (Miz is so good with the mic), to Orton joining Cena as the tag partner (great reaction from Batista) to Trips' emotional send off and the ensuing sneak attack from Seamus, to Shawn Michael's farewell. Great stuff all around.

(I'm just pretending the Hot Tub Time Machine guys never happened.)

 

Bill Simmons did a running diary of WM26, with a nice tribute to Michaels at the end:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100330

 

Fun read. Lots of factual errors that I'll attribute to him not being a regular WWE watcher anymore, but still a fun column.

 

Would have been more fun if Simmons could bother to actually, you know, look up some of these facts.