|
|
Every Tuesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring. Every Monday a brand new Book It.
Chairshots
4-23-02Backlash Thoughts
As a kid, I was a Hulk-a-Maniac. I loved the red and yellow icon as much as I loved Santa and the Easter Bunny. I watched as many pay-per-views as my Mother would let me and found even the lamest of Hogan matches entertaining.Now however, I'm 28 and an experienced, cynical wrestling viewer. I know crap when I see it and for the last decade Hulk Hogan has been crap in the ring. He was crap when he left the WWF and joined WCW. He was crap when he joined the NWO. He was crap when WCW fell and he's crap today. The man cannot wrestle and he's barely able to cut an entertaining promo.
So now Hulk has risen from the ashes and is making a second comeback in the WWF. Due to his astounding popularity at WrestleMania, the WWF decided to push Hogan all the way to the World Title. Call it the Farewell Nostalgia Tour.
I'm all for letting Hogan have the spotlight because fans want to cheer him, but he doesn't need the world title. Hogan's match was standard Hogan but dragged on for 20 minutes. Triple H is "the best in the business" but he can be beaten by the 49-year-old leather goblin? I agree that there are more storyline possibilities with Hogan as champ than Triple H, but I'm sure Hogan could have won by DQ, Triple H keeps the belt and everyone would have been happy.
As it is, with Hogan winning the belt the main event for Judgment Day is Hogan vs. Undertaker. Undertaker actually turned in a worse performance at Backlash with his epic 30-minute brawl with Steve Austin. That match would have been a lot better if it had been under 20 minutes. It was also a poorly booked match with a pointless NWO appearance and Ric Flair taking two ref bumps. Now unless Ric Flair is lying about his intentions with Austin, how weak does Ric Flair look when a shoulder block knocks him down for 30 seconds? I also don't understand the Undertaker win coupled with the Hogan win, as I still think Austin vs. Hogan would be a bigger money match.
Despite those two matches, the rest of Backlash was quite good. Edge vs. Angle was Edge's best match to date. I could go for another month of those two feuding especially if Angle hits himself with a chair again. Easily the laugh of the night. Rob Van Dam vs. Eddie Guerrero was enjoyable and it had the ending I wanted, one that meant the feud continues. Tajiri beat Kidman in a hot opening match. In the reverse of the usual WWF pay per view format, the undercard matches were hot and the main events failed to deliver. Then again that could just be the opinion of a fan who got off the Hulk-a-Mania band wagon many years ago.
Raw Thoughts
Someday I'm going to make a fortune as a wrestler whose sole gimmick is that he knows a lot about wrestling. Like Teiresias, I shall warn other wrestlers about the future because I know the past. But like Cassandra, Apollo will curse me so that no one believes me.
I could have warned Steve Austin and J.R. last night that The Big Show could not be trusted because he's been an NWO member not once but twice before. Next week I would have a list of all the current WWF super stars that have been in the NWO, but again, no one would listen. That would be my curse.
Well, I guess the NWO needed something to make it interesting again and The Big Show wasn't busy, so why not?
I enjoyed the Booker T and Goldust at the movies segment far more than I thought I would. Anyone taking bets on how long it will be before Booker T wears a tiny cowboy hat and they call themselves Men On Film?
The most effective segment on Raw was with Triple H breaking the rules and showing up to attack Undertaker. It's only been 2 weeks since the roster split and the WWF is already blurring the lines, but Triple H with a sledgehammer is just damn entertaining.
The rumored main event for Judgment Day is Hogan vs. Triple H, vs. Jericho vs. Undertaker. That's much better than Hogan vs. Triple H, but I don't see why Triple H couldn't have won at the pay per view, Hogan attacks Undertaker the next night to get his heat back and Triple H gives them both a title shot at Judgment Day.
Ok, I need to get over this. Raw was fine.
Rock Goes Hollywood
The Scorpion King starring The Rock was the number one movie over the weekend and it broke all previous records for an April release in North America. The movie earned $36.2 million over three days. The previous April record was held by "The Matrix," which opened with $27.8 million in 1999.Vince McMahon commented on the speculation that Rock will leave the WWF for Hollywood. "The Rock will always come back to us. These are his roots, this is where he achieved stardom. The one thing you cannot get from any other form of entertainment - you cannot get the rush of 20,000 people, what they give you as a performer. No actor can get that. You can't get that on a soundstage. You can't even get that from the people walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards. Those people aren't fans, they're not passionate. The feedback you get (from fans) for being a certified superstar here in the World Wrestling Federation - the only place you can get it is here. There's no Hollywood outlet for this. The Rock's hooked, like all of us are."
Mondays With Owen
Bret Hart was the guest on the ABC Special "Contact: Talking To The Dead" with spirit medium George Anderson last night. Anderson spoke with Dean, Owen and Helen Hart. It was honestly pretty stupid as Anderson gave out family details that anyone could find online. Bret, however, described it as being very real to him. I'm sure there is a recap online somewhere but it's really not worth taking up space here.Lita Injured
WWF.com is reporting that the injury Lita suffered on the set of Dark Angel is worse than originally thought. While performing a stunt, Lita thought she had suffered what is usually called a stinger. Today, she checked into a St. Louis hospital and it was determined that she has three cracks in the C6-C7 area of her vertebrae. She will be out of action for several months. She will probably undergo surgery and will be out for some time. Too bad the WWF can't film Brock Lesnar destroying her to explain the absence.
Why Vince McMahon is My Hero
On WWF.com today, Vince McMahon confirmed that he will be making a return appearance on Bob Costas's HBO interview show. Bob and Vince had a "spirited" debate over the XFL that many thought would come to blows. "I am absolutely going back, on May 16, and I'm looking forward to it. This time if Bob Costas gets in my way, I'm going to forget that he is 4-feet-10 and 120 pounds. I'm just going to consider that he's Hulk Hogan, and when he gets in my face this time, in all likelihood, I will beat the living hell out of him."Till Friday…
