March 24, 2014
Live from Brooklyn, NY
Your hosts are JBL, Jerry Lawler, and Michael Cole
The show starts with a video highlight package on last week's brutal beatdown of Daniel Bryan at the hands of HHH.
Stephanie comes out to the ring and tells the crowd that Daniel Bryan will not be here and mentions that she saw on social media how the fans thought HHH went too far last week and she agrees, but adds that they want to show that any subordination will not be tolerated. She then calls the "Yes Movement" a fad, causing the crowd to start a giant "YES" chant. The crowd then starts a "WHAT" and a "CM Punk" chant as she goes on about her family's tradition and how the fans need them for leadership.
Randy Orton's music hits and tells Stephanie that he respects her as the crowd starts a Daniel Bryan chant that Steph acknowledges by telling the crowd he is not going to show up. Orton then says after HHH beats Bryan, he will beat him and Batista to a pulp. He then offers a suggestion of letting HHH beat Bryan to a pulp and leave WrestleMania a winner by walking away from the title match afterwards.
A boring chant ensues then Batista comes out. The crowd boos him as Batista's mic goes in and out as he yells at the crowd to deal with it as he leaves Mania the champ. This segment has now turned into a trainwreck as Batista gets a mic that works as he tells Steph that HHH has never beaten him. Batista then tells Orton that he makes him sick because he is drooling all over Steph, then adds that Steph has been drooled on a lot. Steph then smacks the glasses off of his face, which has Orton crack up. Batista sees this and spears him then picks up both title belts and raises them in the air before leaving. The actual segment was horrible and something you would expect from watching the first year of TNA but the crowd was lively and made it come across better than it was.
Christian pinned Dolph Ziggler in a "Fatal Four Way" that also included Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio to become the #1 Contender to the Intercontinental Title (11:55) **3/4.
Solid match that got a lot better after the break. Ziggler looked the best he has in months here and he even busted out a top rope X Factor. He got a lot of cheers too. Sheamus continues to struggle since returning from injury. Del Rio continues to coast along. The finish saw Christian sneak in and pin Ziggler with the Killswitch after he hit the Zig Zag on Del Rio. After the match, Big E came into the ring and extended his hand to Christian, who laughed before walking away. They will face off tomorrow night on Main Event.
Bray Wyatt cuts a promo on Cena about how he is shoved down everyone's throat but wonders if Cena sees what he is? Harper then said that they were coming to find him as Bray closes by saying run.
A Plug for the Scooby Doo WrestleMania DVD.
Sin Cara d. Damien Sandow (1:08) 1/4*.
Cara came out with Scooby in the "Mystery Machine." He put away Sandow with the senton in a little over a minute. Sandow won the MiTB Briefcase nine months ago and now he loses clean as a sheet in under a minute. Its not like he should have been a champion or anything but he has a great character and in a company that is lacking that, he can certainly be used better. The crowd didnt give a shit about this and the only noise they made was a light chant for CM Punk. Overall, it was a harmless plug for the DVD.
A video of the Shield getting destroyed on Smackdown by the New Age Outlaws, Real Americans, and Curtis Axel & Ryback
Los Matadores d. Curtis Axel & Ryback (1:01) NR
Cole lets us know that Axel & Ryback have been pulled from the WrestleMania Battle Royal and will now face the Usos for the Tag Titles at WrestleMania. The announcers played that up as Kane making a deal with them. The finish saw Diego rollup Axel, who was distracted by the Shield. The Shield then surround the ring and beat them down, complete with the triple powerbomb. The segment was designed to show that the Shield was pissed and out for revenge, not to build up the challengers for the Tag Titles.
Michael Cole is sitting in the ring and brings out HHH. After HHH is shown the footage of his beatdown on Daniel Bryan, he smirked. Cole asked him about how could he justify his attack. HHH tells Cole that is question is confusing then asks him if he wants to answer that as a COO or as a competitor. HHH then tells Cole that Bryan put people in harms way when he occupied RAW two weeks ago and asks Cole where was his outrage for that. HHH says that Bryan asked for the Game, not for the COO, then blames Bryan and the fans for forcing his hand and now, Bryan got what he deserved and that people will cry. HHH then goes on about how people are soft today and when he was a competitor he saw the lust for success from others but now he just sees apathy. He now sees pathetic, little people without power or desire and the cry when they dont get what they want and mocks the crowd that they should send him a tweet to show their displeasure. HHH then says that maybe it is up to him to change thing and says that he might start the "reality era" and at WrestleMania he ends Daniel Bryan's run at the top as well as the "Yes Movement" then plans to enter the triple threat match and no one living off of their "past glory" or "untapped potential" will stop him and will walk out as the World Heavyweight Champion. A great job on the mic by HHH
Cody Rhodes d. Fandango (2:45) 1/2*
The announcers spent the match talking about "Total Diva's" and just about anything else that was going on. Cody got the win with the Disaster Kick after Fandango was distracted by Goldust dancing with Summer Rae. After the match they teased some tension between Summer Rae and Fandango. When this duo ends, Fandango is screwed.
Hulk Hogan comes out to pump up the crowd then brings out Joe Manganiello and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plug their film "Sabotage." Arnold put over Hulk's physique. Manganiello kinda looks like a pro wrestler. He puts over Hogan then Arnold lets Hogan know that Andre the Giant was one of his favorite wrestlers and had a great time with him on the set of "Conan the Destroyer" then asks Hogan if he and Joe could enter the Battle Royal at WrestleMania. The Miz interrupts wearing a suit and does his "Really" bit and puts over his two straight-to-DVD films. He then says that he is a tough guy and not an actor, like those two, then proclaims that he will win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Miz then says that people are still talking about him when he defeated Cena at WM 27. Miz then tells them all that they do not belong here as Joe dares the Miz to throw him out. Joe towered over him. The Miz tries a sneak attack but Joe blocks the punch then Arnold hits him before Hulk tosses him to the floor. The segment was fine and Arnold was great and seemed very thrilled to be there.
Big Show d. Titus O'Neill (2:22) 1/4*
Show beat him with the KO punch. Titus's offense looked pretty bad. His stomps need a lot of work as they showed a ton of light. The announcers put over the Battle Royal and at one point Titus tried to dump Show over the top rope. The Show is being pushed as the favorite to win the Battle Royal.
The Shield interrupts Stephanie and HHH and asks where they stand. HHH said that whatever happens between them and Kane & The Outlaws is between them as Stephanie books them in a match against the Real Americans.
Cena is in the bathroom mirror, breathing heavy and splashing water on his face when he sees Rowan's sheep mask. He turns around and it went away as the announcers talk about his match against Luke Harper tonight.
John Cena NC Luke Harper (15:05) ***
Good match. The crowd was pro-Wyatt family and Harper received a ton of chants throughout the match, which made him come off like a star. The finish saw the lights go out and when they came back on, Cena was tied up in the ropes while wearing Rowan's sheep mask. That had the crowd start a "This is Awesome" chant. The match was nice but the finish was more about extending the storyline than declaring a winner.
Naomi d. AJ Lee by countout (1:10) NR
AJ and Tamina walked out of the match and got counted out on purpose. Then, Vicki Guerrero's music hit and she called AJ a bitch and told her that at WrestleMania, she will be facing all of the other Diva's on the roster, including Tamina, in the "Vickie Guerrero Invitational." The crowd heavily booed Eva Marie when she was announced. Whatever, I mean, this division is garbage and if they want to get everyone on the card, then do that and make everyone happy. I imagine that AJ retains and in the process screws over Tamina as at least that is somewhat interesting but who knows what will happen.
The Shield (Rollins & Ambrose) d. The Real Americans (13:58) ***1/4
Rollins pinned Swagger with the Peace of Mind (curb stomp). Match was good and nice to see the Brooklyn crowd really go crazy for the Shield, especially Rollins who is thriving as a face. He had an awesome dive sequence during the match. Ambrose does not make for a good babyface wrestler but Reigns and Rollins are becoming crowd favorites. The crowd also did a few "We the People" chants during the match. The Shield also powerbombed Cesaro through the announcers table. After the match ended, Kane and the New Age Outlaws, wearing suits, came out. Kane told the Shield that they will be facing them at WrestleMania.
And now, the final segment. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar come out to the ring as Heyman more or less cuts the same promo he has been for the past few weeks about Brock beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Then, we hear some chanting and see druids approach the ring. A casket is now in front of the ring as Brock is getting anxious. He finally opens it and reveals nothing. Then, after almost five minutes,the casket opens as Taker pops out. Heyman runs away. Taker then hammers away on Brock and clotheslines him over the ropes as he bounces off of the casket and lands on the floor. Then, Brock points at the WrestleMania sign as Taker gives the throat slash gesture. I thought this segment was a pile of shit and way too corny overall. And as far as the buildup to the match itself, no one is buying Lesnar at all and Taker has destroyed him in each confrontation so far. If this match doesnt end up being good, there is a chance the crowd could turn because they only selling the Undertaker as a special attraction exclusive to Mania and if his match does not deliver, then it is a complete waste.
Final Thoughts: Certainly not the greatest show and the lack of Daniel Bryan can be disappointing to some but they have at least built up WrestleMania better than it had been as recently as a few weeks ago. HHH was great on the mic and the Wyatt/Cena feud is getting better each week. The intrigue for the World Title match is growing too. They now have less than two weeks to hype the matches on the show.
Live from Brooklyn, NY
Your hosts are JBL, Jerry Lawler, and Michael Cole
The show starts with a video highlight package on last week's brutal beatdown of Daniel Bryan at the hands of HHH.
Stephanie comes out to the ring and tells the crowd that Daniel Bryan will not be here and mentions that she saw on social media how the fans thought HHH went too far last week and she agrees, but adds that they want to show that any subordination will not be tolerated. She then calls the "Yes Movement" a fad, causing the crowd to start a giant "YES" chant. The crowd then starts a "WHAT" and a "CM Punk" chant as she goes on about her family's tradition and how the fans need them for leadership.
Randy Orton's music hits and tells Stephanie that he respects her as the crowd starts a Daniel Bryan chant that Steph acknowledges by telling the crowd he is not going to show up. Orton then says after HHH beats Bryan, he will beat him and Batista to a pulp. He then offers a suggestion of letting HHH beat Bryan to a pulp and leave WrestleMania a winner by walking away from the title match afterwards.
A boring chant ensues then Batista comes out. The crowd boos him as Batista's mic goes in and out as he yells at the crowd to deal with it as he leaves Mania the champ. This segment has now turned into a trainwreck as Batista gets a mic that works as he tells Steph that HHH has never beaten him. Batista then tells Orton that he makes him sick because he is drooling all over Steph, then adds that Steph has been drooled on a lot. Steph then smacks the glasses off of his face, which has Orton crack up. Batista sees this and spears him then picks up both title belts and raises them in the air before leaving. The actual segment was horrible and something you would expect from watching the first year of TNA but the crowd was lively and made it come across better than it was.
Christian pinned Dolph Ziggler in a "Fatal Four Way" that also included Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio to become the #1 Contender to the Intercontinental Title (11:55) **3/4.
Solid match that got a lot better after the break. Ziggler looked the best he has in months here and he even busted out a top rope X Factor. He got a lot of cheers too. Sheamus continues to struggle since returning from injury. Del Rio continues to coast along. The finish saw Christian sneak in and pin Ziggler with the Killswitch after he hit the Zig Zag on Del Rio. After the match, Big E came into the ring and extended his hand to Christian, who laughed before walking away. They will face off tomorrow night on Main Event.
Bray Wyatt cuts a promo on Cena about how he is shoved down everyone's throat but wonders if Cena sees what he is? Harper then said that they were coming to find him as Bray closes by saying run.
A Plug for the Scooby Doo WrestleMania DVD.
Sin Cara d. Damien Sandow (1:08) 1/4*.
Cara came out with Scooby in the "Mystery Machine." He put away Sandow with the senton in a little over a minute. Sandow won the MiTB Briefcase nine months ago and now he loses clean as a sheet in under a minute. Its not like he should have been a champion or anything but he has a great character and in a company that is lacking that, he can certainly be used better. The crowd didnt give a shit about this and the only noise they made was a light chant for CM Punk. Overall, it was a harmless plug for the DVD.
A video of the Shield getting destroyed on Smackdown by the New Age Outlaws, Real Americans, and Curtis Axel & Ryback
Los Matadores d. Curtis Axel & Ryback (1:01) NR
Cole lets us know that Axel & Ryback have been pulled from the WrestleMania Battle Royal and will now face the Usos for the Tag Titles at WrestleMania. The announcers played that up as Kane making a deal with them. The finish saw Diego rollup Axel, who was distracted by the Shield. The Shield then surround the ring and beat them down, complete with the triple powerbomb. The segment was designed to show that the Shield was pissed and out for revenge, not to build up the challengers for the Tag Titles.
Michael Cole is sitting in the ring and brings out HHH. After HHH is shown the footage of his beatdown on Daniel Bryan, he smirked. Cole asked him about how could he justify his attack. HHH tells Cole that is question is confusing then asks him if he wants to answer that as a COO or as a competitor. HHH then tells Cole that Bryan put people in harms way when he occupied RAW two weeks ago and asks Cole where was his outrage for that. HHH says that Bryan asked for the Game, not for the COO, then blames Bryan and the fans for forcing his hand and now, Bryan got what he deserved and that people will cry. HHH then goes on about how people are soft today and when he was a competitor he saw the lust for success from others but now he just sees apathy. He now sees pathetic, little people without power or desire and the cry when they dont get what they want and mocks the crowd that they should send him a tweet to show their displeasure. HHH then says that maybe it is up to him to change thing and says that he might start the "reality era" and at WrestleMania he ends Daniel Bryan's run at the top as well as the "Yes Movement" then plans to enter the triple threat match and no one living off of their "past glory" or "untapped potential" will stop him and will walk out as the World Heavyweight Champion. A great job on the mic by HHH
Cody Rhodes d. Fandango (2:45) 1/2*
The announcers spent the match talking about "Total Diva's" and just about anything else that was going on. Cody got the win with the Disaster Kick after Fandango was distracted by Goldust dancing with Summer Rae. After the match they teased some tension between Summer Rae and Fandango. When this duo ends, Fandango is screwed.
Hulk Hogan comes out to pump up the crowd then brings out Joe Manganiello and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plug their film "Sabotage." Arnold put over Hulk's physique. Manganiello kinda looks like a pro wrestler. He puts over Hogan then Arnold lets Hogan know that Andre the Giant was one of his favorite wrestlers and had a great time with him on the set of "Conan the Destroyer" then asks Hogan if he and Joe could enter the Battle Royal at WrestleMania. The Miz interrupts wearing a suit and does his "Really" bit and puts over his two straight-to-DVD films. He then says that he is a tough guy and not an actor, like those two, then proclaims that he will win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Miz then says that people are still talking about him when he defeated Cena at WM 27. Miz then tells them all that they do not belong here as Joe dares the Miz to throw him out. Joe towered over him. The Miz tries a sneak attack but Joe blocks the punch then Arnold hits him before Hulk tosses him to the floor. The segment was fine and Arnold was great and seemed very thrilled to be there.
Big Show d. Titus O'Neill (2:22) 1/4*
Show beat him with the KO punch. Titus's offense looked pretty bad. His stomps need a lot of work as they showed a ton of light. The announcers put over the Battle Royal and at one point Titus tried to dump Show over the top rope. The Show is being pushed as the favorite to win the Battle Royal.
The Shield interrupts Stephanie and HHH and asks where they stand. HHH said that whatever happens between them and Kane & The Outlaws is between them as Stephanie books them in a match against the Real Americans.
Cena is in the bathroom mirror, breathing heavy and splashing water on his face when he sees Rowan's sheep mask. He turns around and it went away as the announcers talk about his match against Luke Harper tonight.
John Cena NC Luke Harper (15:05) ***
Good match. The crowd was pro-Wyatt family and Harper received a ton of chants throughout the match, which made him come off like a star. The finish saw the lights go out and when they came back on, Cena was tied up in the ropes while wearing Rowan's sheep mask. That had the crowd start a "This is Awesome" chant. The match was nice but the finish was more about extending the storyline than declaring a winner.
Naomi d. AJ Lee by countout (1:10) NR
AJ and Tamina walked out of the match and got counted out on purpose. Then, Vicki Guerrero's music hit and she called AJ a bitch and told her that at WrestleMania, she will be facing all of the other Diva's on the roster, including Tamina, in the "Vickie Guerrero Invitational." The crowd heavily booed Eva Marie when she was announced. Whatever, I mean, this division is garbage and if they want to get everyone on the card, then do that and make everyone happy. I imagine that AJ retains and in the process screws over Tamina as at least that is somewhat interesting but who knows what will happen.
The Shield (Rollins & Ambrose) d. The Real Americans (13:58) ***1/4
Rollins pinned Swagger with the Peace of Mind (curb stomp). Match was good and nice to see the Brooklyn crowd really go crazy for the Shield, especially Rollins who is thriving as a face. He had an awesome dive sequence during the match. Ambrose does not make for a good babyface wrestler but Reigns and Rollins are becoming crowd favorites. The crowd also did a few "We the People" chants during the match. The Shield also powerbombed Cesaro through the announcers table. After the match ended, Kane and the New Age Outlaws, wearing suits, came out. Kane told the Shield that they will be facing them at WrestleMania.
And now, the final segment. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar come out to the ring as Heyman more or less cuts the same promo he has been for the past few weeks about Brock beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Then, we hear some chanting and see druids approach the ring. A casket is now in front of the ring as Brock is getting anxious. He finally opens it and reveals nothing. Then, after almost five minutes,the casket opens as Taker pops out. Heyman runs away. Taker then hammers away on Brock and clotheslines him over the ropes as he bounces off of the casket and lands on the floor. Then, Brock points at the WrestleMania sign as Taker gives the throat slash gesture. I thought this segment was a pile of shit and way too corny overall. And as far as the buildup to the match itself, no one is buying Lesnar at all and Taker has destroyed him in each confrontation so far. If this match doesnt end up being good, there is a chance the crowd could turn because they only selling the Undertaker as a special attraction exclusive to Mania and if his match does not deliver, then it is a complete waste.
Final Thoughts: Certainly not the greatest show and the lack of Daniel Bryan can be disappointing to some but they have at least built up WrestleMania better than it had been as recently as a few weeks ago. HHH was great on the mic and the Wyatt/Cena feud is getting better each week. The intrigue for the World Title match is growing too. They now have less than two weeks to hype the matches on the show.
Could be worse. At least this time, they didn't move the Royal Rumble away from the end of the show just for Taker's Six Flags stunt show pyrotechnics.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't work with Brock. They should have stuck with the Triple H program and kept the supernatural shit to a minimum. Brock is a human killing machine that would wreck Taker in a shoot fight, all of the smoke and caskets and druids in the world wouldn't change that.
ReplyDeleteIt worked with Punk because Punk was such a campy over the top heel, but not Brock. Program is a total dud. They should have just kept Punk happy and fed Brock to him because Punk would be motivated and the program would be alot better. I really think Taker's getting hurt if this goes 20-25 minutes.
I'm so surprised at how great the Bryan/Authority/Batista/Orton angle is. The most amazing part is that WWE fell ass backwards into it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it gets dumped on a bit, I liked that opening segment. And it's pretty amazing how much Batista is hated, you'd think that segment would HAVE to get him face heat. Guess not.
ReplyDeleteThat opening segment was glorious. And I think WWE has dropped any pretense of trying to get Batista over as a face a while ago.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of falling ass backwards. Batista ripping his jeans in the ass like he's Sherman Klump was the higlight of my night.
ReplyDeleteDid that really happened? I thought I imagined it and nobody mentioned it in the live thread.
ReplyDeleteI thought that whole series was an interesting read (although a bit long).
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all points plus this: what is Taker's motivation here?
ReplyDeleteIt almost seems like Taker wants to fight Brock more than Brock wants Taker, which is ass-backwards. Taker wanting a rematch with HHH worked because HHH was trying to twist his loss into a Pyrrhic victory for Taker and Taker wanted to prove he was full of shit.
This is just dumb. It should always be a guy looking to break the streak, not Taker deciding he wants to face some dude who didn't say a word to or about him.
It was broken up into nice small parts.
ReplyDeleteGreat series, can't give enough praise.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, it would be more logical to say Taker wants the match because all his druids held out for pay raises so he needs the WM payday to take care of that.
ReplyDeleteWrestling has never been the same since the Druids unionized.
ReplyDeleteThe AJ Lee vs the entire Divas division match opened up a can of worms. What's to stop any authority figure like, Triple H, from booking say, Daniel Bryan in a match against 10 other wrestlers. One seemingly harmless booking decision has managed to undermined the logic behind the usage of authority figures.
ReplyDeleteHow many raw reports are needed? No hate just curious
ReplyDeleteThey do things like that on occasion. They call it running the gauntlet
ReplyDeleteHave you been watching wrestling for the past 16 years?
ReplyDeleteHow many Raw reporters does it take to screw in a light bulb?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, logic has been undermined hundreds of times.
ReplyDeleteIt was, but in my defence, there was a lot to cover. As White Thunder said, it was broken up into manageable parts. It wouldn't be fair to anyone if it was one giant wall of text.
ReplyDeleteThank you again. Seriously. I really don't know what else to say aside from that.
ReplyDeleteI want to like Taker/Lesnar build up, but after the pen stabbing, its been all downhill.
ReplyDeleteThe symmetry of Andre the Giant's son winning his memorial battle royal would be a nice WrestleMania(R) Moment(R)
ReplyDeleteI'm almost disappointed that HHH is jobbing at Mania, because he is in a god damned groove right now that is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's just because he's so committed to this incarnation of his character while virtually everyone else on the show is just clocking in, throwing on a costume and going through the motions or what, but I am a HHH booster.
They've finally decided he should be a heel.
ReplyDeleteI just don't know what more that people want. I keep hearing the argument of "Why can't 2 guys just fight over who's best?" Yet every time that happens, it's always billed as "Lazy booking". I have no doubt they will deliver.
ReplyDeleteI'm not disappointed that he's (hopefully) jobbing, but I will agree that he's feeling it right now.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks ago when Triple H was beating the ever-loving crap out of Daniel Bryan and Stephanie was just SCREAMING and slapping him, I felt the most outright hatred of a heel since the time I was a mark (which ended in 20010. It was the most I've ever felt emotionally involved in an angle since Cena and CM Punk's duelling promos back in the Summer of 2001. That's about as high of praise as I can give.
ReplyDeleteThat beat down sold me on the ppv.
Now, because this is the internet, and I am allowed to nitpick and never be 100% satisfied, I will say, I would have kept last week exactly the same, allowed Daniel Bryan to get the upper hand this week, and have next week end with both men being pulled apart by dozens of security guards. The other alternative would be to keep the pull-apart brawl for the go-home show and do Daniel Bryan do a Ric Flair post Funk beatdown-esque promo at home in a neck collar, where he started off calm (but focused and intense), and ended by ripping off his neck collar and screaming bloody murder for HHH. But again, that is big time nit-picking, and I'm more than happy with this storyline over the last few weeks.
And it's working perfectly.
ReplyDeletePretty sure that spike, rhyno, credible and Lynn signed in February of 2001, before lawler left and heyman came in. RVD and Dreamer were signed at the last minute to take part in the ecw reunion/invasion angle in June/July. Once heyman got the job he pushed to get rvd and dreamer in the fold because those two were owed the most money by heyman.
ReplyDeleteWhen they have something to complain about, multiple.
ReplyDeleteI got to go to this show!
ReplyDeleteA few notes if anyone is interested.
He may be a heel, but Batista got some of the best reactions of the night.
Crowd was going nuts for Ziggler.
There were a lot of "Let's go Harper" chants and when he dove out of the ring the crowd was excited.
I think the crowd was a little confused about cheering for the Shield as their face turn was tepid, but Rollins got a nice pop when he came in as a "house on fire".
I'm interested to see where the commercials were during the Taker segment because at the show, the monks were chanting for what felt like hours.
After show dark match was Shield vs. Wyatts and then a nice little speech by Rollins.
and it will continue to work perfectly until HHH decides he wants to be a face and then doesn't show any ass.
ReplyDeleteThat was the longest Druid chant ever, usually they just do it for 2 minutes, this was more like 4 or 5.
ReplyDeleteBecause, HHH.
ReplyDeleteThe way WWE keeps calling it Sports Entertainment instead of ever using the word wrestling shows what crap is it today!! Weve seen better days....
ReplyDeleteYou sound like some guy I know.
ReplyDeleteRVD talks about it on Jericho's podcast. His first day was the ECW invasion and he didn't even know about it until he got there and saw Dreamer.
ReplyDeleteI know WWF/Vince was sour on RVD from his '97 run, but can't help but think that WWF did want to get him over when he came in 2001 just because he was immediately programmed with Jeff, who was the perfect opponent for RVD and feud between the two would no doubt get both guys over.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds right. Was Sabu even considered for that? I'm sure he was owed a ton from Paul.
ReplyDeleteHow were there no plans for RVD? He had a singles match against Jeff Hardy at Invasion. Which was only the biggest non-WrestleMania PPV in history.
ReplyDeleteHeyman was there in early 2001....RVD didn't show up until the summer.
"Then Batista comes out."
ReplyDeleteI always suspected.
I want something different than the empty casket bit that has been done multiple times before. Maybe Brock will steal the urn and melt it into a necklace next.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he was owed money but I think Sabu kept leaving/coming back to the company, whereas RVD and Dreamer basically stayed there throughout it's tenure so because they worked the longest they'd be owed the most.
ReplyDeleteJust found the list Heyman owed money to:
ReplyDeleteBill Alphonso: $5,000.
C.W. Anderson: $500.
Angel (Baldies): $500.
Scotty Anton: Unknown amount.
Steve Corino: None.
Justin Credible: $7,990.
Lou E. Dangerously: $7,000.
Juilo Deniro: $300.
Devito (Baldies): $500.
Simon Diamond: $9,000.
Danny Doring: $2,100.
Shane Douglas: $48,000.
Spike Dudley: Unknown amount.
Francine: $47,275.
Chris Hamrick: $300.
Don Callis: $12,000.
Little Guido: $25,000.
Jazz: $1000.
Jerry Lynn: Unknown amount.
Balls Mahoney: $4,000.
Tony Mamaluke: $600.
Dawn Marie: $9,000.
Thomas Marquez: $500.
James Mitchell (Sinister Minister): Unknown.
EZ Money: $300.
New Jack: Unknown amount.
Nova: $4,000.
Roadkill: $21,250.
Rhyno: $50,000.
Sabu: None.
The Sandman: Unknown amount.
Johnny Swinger: Unknown amount.
Joey Styles: $50,480.
Super Crazy: $5,000.
Tajiri: $5,000.
Rob Van Dam: $150,000.
Tommy Dreamer: $100,000.
Jack Victory: $3,000.
Mikey Whipwreck: $12,000.
Chilly Willy: $500.
Sabu burned a lot of bridges. I think heyman could justify not paying Sabu (various no shows by sabu). They mended fences later which is why he ended up working for wwe later.
ReplyDeleteSource?
ReplyDeletehttp://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingECW/apr11_ecwwoes-can.html
ReplyDeleteThe problem of "Who's best" is there is NO question as to who will win this match. And that's boring.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Hogan was going to beat Andre at 3, and Austin was going to beat Michaels at 13... but there was always that little nagging "Maybe?" attached to those matches. There's no such doubt here. Taker's going over, probably (but not definitely) by submission, and Brock will continue to be more and more useless.
The VIKING SPACE LORD! is dead. Long live the lord.
(Having a little fun with this... Cena shot Brock in the knee with a crossbow... HHH tortured the captured lord... and now Taker comes for the final execution. Say... that sounds like a fun Botchamania ending. Just replace the executioner's axe with a set of metal steps.)
Wow, never knew Acclaim had a piece of ECW.
ReplyDeleteThen, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
ReplyDeleteWe're short one with Scott on hiatus. Would you like to volunteer?
I think that next week need's to end with Bryan's big penultimate promo. Triple H beat the hell out of him last week, then continued this week with running down the fans as beneath him etc. Bryan needs to end next week's Raw by coming out on the stage to confront Triple H (in the ring) and give a promo about how he was just fighting for himself to prove he should be the champion yada yada but now it's beyond personal because Triple H is everything that's wrong with the world, steps on everyone below him and now Bryan is fighting for the entire WWE Universe and every underdog in the world. Show ends with Bryan *screaming* a guarantee that he's going to make Triple H tap out at Wrestlemania or something, get your wide angle shot of D.C. doing YES! chants, and print the money.
ReplyDelete4 way was great, Shield/Americans was great, anything involving Bryan/Authority/Orton/Batista was great, and Steph as the ultimate super bitch was great. Loved the way she was talking to Batista last night.
ReplyDeleteDamn!!!! I'm guessing that Francine wasn't paid as much as Shane and RVD so she was likely not paid longer. He did get most of them jobs or at least a spot on the first One Night Stand PPV. Well except Shane who is apparently not liked by all except Foley lol. How long were the checks bouncing?
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. Wonder if Bray Wyatt gets pointers on being a cult leader from Paul?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure WWF would have never predicted the huge success of Invasion.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure they envisioned it a huge success. otherwise they might have felt the need to bring in more "bigger names" from WCW.
ReplyDeletewho would have?
ReplyDeleteJust to add a bit of fuel to the fire to all of this:
ReplyDeleteI know that Styles, Cyrus, and RVD had verbally agreed to jump to WCW. I believe this was after it became apparent that ECW had run their last show in Pine Bluff, AK.
Another tidbit - I think Jerry Lynn was one of the earlier guys to jump. Heyman apparently did a speech very late '00/early '01 asking the boys if there's anyone that wants to jump ship, as he'll try his very best to find them some work in New York. Jerry Lynn was the only one to take him up on it, and Jerry jumped ship. I'm pretty sure he wasn't on the final house shows, either.
Did he pay for her tit job? Because it is possibly the best Ive seen and cant imagine it was cheap.
ReplyDeleteDamn I hope Chilly Willy was able to eat without that $500
ReplyDeleteWhen ECW went bankrupt I remember finding the court documents on the nets. Had every wrestler Paul owed along with addresses and phone numbers. I was to chicken to try calling any of them but damn I wish I'd saved it.
ReplyDeleteI almost feel like they should have just had the ECW invasion and held off til WCW had more big names
ReplyDelete