The Road to Wrestlemania has officially begun and I am back to give my opinions, reports, and feedback for this very important time of the year in wrestling. Hello all and I hope I have been missed. It has been quite sometime since I’ve been here. I wrote a Year-End Review column but I kind of kept that one to myself even though I did still post it on the site. There are so many things to touch base on and I hope you will all be patient through this. Hopefully I have not lost my touch either. If I have, I still got my day job!
The first thing to do, that would make sense, would be to start off with the Royal Rumble. The amazing thing about that was I watched it on WWE Web cast and I was very satisfied with it. I didn’t have any interruptions plus with the 35 dollars it cost, I got more out of it then I would have if I ordered it on digital cable or satellite. I think Rey winning the Rumble was a good switch. It was nice to see him accomplish that and go down in history as a winner of The Royal Rumble. I did not like seeing the Rumble match right in the middle of the PPV. Then both main events were not so great. The WWE continues to do its poor planning. They take a wrestler like Kurt Angle and put him in a match against someone like Mark Henry. The only thing worth watching after the Rumble match was the return and entrance of The Undertaker. That was very impressive and left me screaming and jumping up and down like a little kid. That was a great moment and overall a pretty good Royal Rumble.
Then came the down side. After The Royal Rumble things got too predictable. The PPV this past weekend, No Way Out, was probably the most predictable event in a long time if not ever. It has been circulating for awhile that the three Main Events for Wrestlemania would be: Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton, John Cena vs. Triple H. and HBK vs. one of the McMahons. And after the No Way Out PPV it is now very clear this will all happen. On the plus side of that PPV; Kurt Angle and The Undertaker had a great match. It was very hard to see how it was going to go even though we knew that somehow Angle would win. I am just happy they didn’t tarnish Taker’s image by having him tap out. That should never happen. That match could possibly be the best match of the year so far and possibly one of the top three of the year. It has been getting high ratings from many people in and out of the WWE. Thankfully that match made the PPV a little respectable.
On Raw this past Monday night Triple H sealed his fate by winning the Triple Threat match to get into the Main Event at Wrestlemania. Also on Raw, the only news worthy thing that happened was Ashley took a bad spill out of the ring and fractured a bone in three different places in her leg. She will be out for quite some time.
My opinions so far are the same as many others. I do not want to see the WWE waste Kurt Angle in a match against Randy Orton. I do not want to see Triple H win the belt AGAIN. I also do not want to see Cena keep the belt again. If you want my opinion, let me make the three Main Event matches:
Kurt Angle against Chris Benoit or Shawn Michaels. If Angle faced either guy, it would be probably a Match of the Year contender. (Editor’s note: Last year HBK and Angle shared the 1 and 2 spot in Match of the Year for the matches they had against each other.) Michaels, Benoit, and Angle are probably the three best wrestlers in the sport right now. (If Eddie was alive, I’d throw his name in the hat.)
I’d like to see Edge vs. Triple H for the belt. I would have Triple H. shock everyone and win the belt before Wrestlemania and then have Edge face Triple H and win the Title back at Wrestlemania. I don’t want Triple H to have the title again but the man does make for some great Main Events and I think one with Edge would be good. Edge also had the highest ratings during his title reign for those three weeks.
The last match I would like to see would be Shawn Michaels vs. RVD. If RVD gave 100% and Shawn Michaels just showed up, it would be another match of the year contender.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the Money in the Bank match again just to have some sort of a ladder match to watch. I think it would be interesting to see who they put into it this year. I would hope they would put in some worthy wrestlers, ones who could keep a match of that caliber entertaining.
Moving on to another Wrestlemania topic, we will have the Hall of Fame induction ceremony that is now apart of Wrestlemania weekend. As of this past week, two superstars have been picked to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The first pick was kind of a shock but kind of not a shock. Bret “The Hitman” Hart will be inducted into the Hall. He has not appeared on live camera or WWE TV in years. It is almost 10 to be exact. It is huge news. I am happy he will be back on TV. However I know he will get a lot of backlash though (from mostly Canadian fans) about coming back and so-called selling out. It should make for good TV and good ratings. Plus do not be surprised that he shows up during the Michaels/McMahon match at Wrestlemania.
The next inductee as of this past week is the late great Eddie Guerrero. I for one think this is a great move and one of the smartest things they have done in a long time. He was definitely in the top five of greatest wrestlers wrestling at this time. His death was untimely and he is greatly missed. He should be there.
The topic of Eddie Guerrero has been a hot one as of late. Rey Mysterio has been paying tribute to him. Randy Orton has been greatly disrespecting him. I do not hold this against Randy because someone had to make him say the things he did. A lot of people think they should leave the Eddie thing totally alone and others think the complete opposite. In my opinion, I think they should keep his name alive and his legacy. I do not think though that it should be in a negative way. I believe in always remembering those that passed on, especially if they had an impact while they were alive. Hopefully no one will ever forget Eddie or his memory. I hope it will continue on forever.
The other thing is, and I am sure he is not in it, but with Bret Hart coming back does this mean a proper induction for Owen Hart into the Hall of Fame? It is a good question.
As of this past week, (The week after No Way Out) a couple of huge things have turned up. Ashley broke her leg on Raw and on Smackdown, JBL broke his hand. These are two huge injuries in a way. Ashley looks like she will be out for awhile but JBL seems like he will be back soon and expect a Wrestlemania match between Chris Benoit and himself.
The Dicks have been released from the WWE. Their stroke has gone impotent. (Sorry, I had too.)
Candice Michelle will be in Playboy Magazine March 10th if I am correct.
The competition is picking up. NWA-TNA will be starting in a new primetime slot on April 13. I hope this company can keep going and bring some excitement back into the wrestling world. I love WWE but the one thing that makes WWE better is competition. It should be interesting to see how it goes.
I am not sure if anyone caught this piece of news either but there will be a new addition to the McMahon family soon. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H have announced that they are expecting. That could be the reason Steph was in front of the camera one minute and gone the next. It should be interesting to see how things pan out with this.
Wrestling also experienced it’s first loss of the New Year. Johnny Grunge, one member of the Tag Team Public Enemy was found dead at the age of 39 on February 16th. Public Enemy was probably responsible for helping put ECW on the map. They had many talked about matches with several different teams. One huge memory was when they beat The Gangstas for the ECW Tag Team Championship and then invited the Public into the ring to celebrate. The ring was not strong enough to hold the weight and the ring collapsed. They jumped to WCW in 1996 where they beat Harlem Heat for the Tag belts there. They later surfaced in WWE only to go back to WCW a short time later. Then it was down to the independents from there. Johnny was apart of a landmark tag team and I know he will be missed by a lot of wrestlers. May his memory live on!
On Smackdown Friday night a huge announcement came from Teddy Long stating that Rey Mysterio will still get the chance to Main Event Wrestlemania XXII. It is now a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. I think some people close to the WWE have been surfing the internet and saw that there were a lot of complaints about having Orton face Angle alone at Wrestlemania. At least Rey can pick up the pace where Orton will let it go. It now should be interesting to watch.
One question has been asked a lot: What has the Hammer been up too since November? Well besides the regular working, bowling, and sleeping, not a whole hell of a lot. I got a new computer and was also surprised with a laptop for Christmas. So I have been doing a lot of personal writing lately. I actually started my own journal. I just wish I had more time for it all. In the summer, hopefully if all goes right, I want to live a dream and go skydiving. That is like one of my last goals to complete in my lifetime, at least right now. I mean I have a couple other ones but a lot of money would have to come my way to complete them. (Basically, I want to travel to different places. You have to have money for that.) I have also taken up review writing on a website that is a member only pay wrestling site. It is not bad and a lot less stressful then trying to think of something good to say each week. God knows a lot of people think I say a lot of good and entertaining things but sometimes it can be very tough to do. I know I still got my fans, my friends, and my family. Everything is good. I did lose a very close co-worker this past week and would like to dedicate the “Road To Wrestlemania XXII Column” to him. “This is for you Fred!”
My social life is going good also. Some would say it is going too good. I am big into bowling and I am having the best year of my life. It is amazing and I hope I don’t wake up until the end of June. I am forming a lot of new relationships and friendships with people and I hope they last. There can never be too many. I thank everyone for always putting up with me, my humor, my sarcasm, and my aggravating ways but I know one thing is for sure: I don’t think anyone would ever want me to change. Sammy Davis Jr. said it the best, “The day they stop making fun of you, is the day they stop loving you.” It couldn’t be truer. Much love too all those that deserve it!
I guess I will close this column up. It is February 26, 2006 at about 10pm-ish. Dancing With The Stars just got over and I am sorry to say Stacy came in third. The 98 degrees has-been who had a professional choreographer for years ended up winning. The one who had the most perfect 10’s was out third. There is no resentment, just honesty. I have come to terms that all reality shows are fixed somewhat. Anyway, I’ve vented enough. I will be back with a Wrestlemania weekend report when it is all said and done. So until then, do not hold your breath. Thank you all for reading as always and for any newbie’s that decide to read, I hope you enjoy and come back again. Thank you all for making me one of the best at what I do! Take care and Peace!
The Hammer
2/26/06
