Getting Glenergized

I'm Comin' Home Again...

2009-07-04T01:51:00.002-04:00

Well it has come to be that time once again. Yet again I am ready to take the summer off of blogging. Although, I suppose I don't have a lot to take a holiday from here lately.

On Sunday I return to Canada for an all too brief time back in my country of birth. I will be there for just over three weeks (with a quick but exciting sojourn to New York City) before coming back to the Far East, where I'll be traveling for a while before getting ready for my sophomore year in the Middle Kingdom.

This year has been simply fantastic for me. It certainly had some ups and some downs, but all in all China gave me more good days than bad days, and what more can you really ask for than that? Well great friends, fantastic students, career challenges, and new and exciting experiences sure don't hurt.

So China, I'll miss you. Canada, I can't wait to see you, and New York, I can't wait to meet you!!!

I'm coming home!!!!

In my tradition, I'll leave you with some musak to keep you company over the next little while...

Kanye West featuring Chris Martin - Homecoming

Leonard Cohen - First We Take Manhattan

Until next time,

G

Shades of Wrestlemania -- 9 Months in Advance

2009-06-29T06:33:00.000-04:00

Well here we are, a mere 9 months away from the Grandest Wrestling Stage of them all, keeping with my long and noble tradition of predicting the card, I'll give it another chance...

As usual all matches were put in suggested order

All or Nothing Match
Colons and Evan Bourne vs. Hart Trilogy and Finlay

A match that seems destined for the pre-show. I figure that the Harts are going to be holding the tag titles soon enough, and Finlay as the heel ECW Champion sounds great, so why not put those two matches into one? If the faces win then the Colons get the tag titles and Bourne gets the ECW Title. Seems easy and entertaining enough for me.

Intercontinental Title Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Rey Mysterio

Just because I couldn't find room for any of these guys in the MITB and I think it would be an awesome way to give Ziggler some exposure, especially if he defeats the masked wonder.

Money in the Bank Match
MVP vs. CM Punk vs. Kofi Kingston vs.
Christian vs. The Miz vs. M. Hardy vs.
Cody Rhodes vs. Jack Swagger

Great Money in the Bank match, or greatest Money in the Bank match? All eight of these performers would be great in the situation, and I for one would love to see them really excel here. I put both MVP and CM Punk in here because I think it would be a great underwritten story to have Punk claim to be ready to three-peat only for MVP (someone who was in for his first two wins) come out and take it at the last moment.

The Biggest Battle Royal Ever
Featuring: The Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry, The Great Khali,
Vladmir Kozlov, Santino Marella, Tommy Dreamer,
Festus, Mike Knox, Chris Masters and possibly others

Easily the best place to put the likes of Show, Kane, and Henry. These are 10 guys who would put on an entertaining Battle Royal. I'm not sure what the stakes would be other than knowing that you are the king of the heavy weights. It would be a great way to get any one of them over the top, or to have Santino do something entertaining for a bit longer.

Interpromotional Match

Shawn Michaels vs. John Morrison

HBK vs. HB2K10! This has star-making dream match written all over it. I would love to see these two go at it, and I wouldn't even mind HBK winning, as I am sure that Morrison could look good in a loss to Michaels. I am not sure if a Morrison heel turn would be required, but it probably wouldn't hurt.

Michelle McCool and Beth Phoenix vs. Gail Kim and Mickie James

Not sure where else to put the gals, this is probably the best match available. It could work if you end up with both titles on the line here.

Randy Orton vs. Ted Dibiase Jr.

The WWE seems set with having Dibiase making it as a singles star, and this seems like a great place to cement his, ahem, legacy. Apparently there are plans for him to turn face during the fall in the build up to The Marine 2, so I am not certain how long they can have this feud simmer instead of having them actually fight. But this would be the right place to have them have their big match. Even if they have a match or two before, it would be good to have them end their feud here.

Interpromotional Match
Triple H vs. Edge

These two had a one-on-one match back at last year's Great American Bash, but it received very little build and no follow up. To have these two huge stars not have a huge match is a huge crime. They deserve a big match on the big stage, I think that they could both really deliver.

WWE Title Match
John Cena (c) vs. Batista

Well it looks like big Dave is on the shelf once more. Apparently he is not due back until December, so a Royal Rumble victory could be a fantastic comeback for the big guy. Randy Orton seems like a logical opponent given how Batista went down, but that match feels a little tired at this point. The biggest option would be to have him get the big rematch with Cena from last year's Summerslam. Apparently that was the original plan for Wrestlemania 25, but Dave's injury ruined that one. This gives them a chance to have the rematch and for Cena to rightly, get his win back.

World Title Match
The Undertaker (c) vs. Chris Jericho

This really is the last big dream match that the WWE has among it's current top-level talent. The stars never once aligned for these two to cross paths, so it seems like it would be a huge addition to a huge card. It may seem obvious to have Jericho as the champion going into it, but in recent years we have twice seen a Title vs. Streak match. As such, I think that it would be even more amazing to have Jericho claim to want to take everything away from The Deadman, his title and his legacy to cement himself as the greatest of all time.

That just about does it I think for the big card. Hey, it looks better than last year's Mania that's for sure!!!

Tune back to see if it comes true!

Until next time,

G

State of the NHL

2009-06-18T19:10:00.004-04:00

Well it's been a while since I yammered on a bout hockey, now hasn't it? To make up for it I'm posting a bit of an NHL roundup, talking about my thoughts on the finals, a Senator that is looking elsewhere, our nations best hopes, a variety of wheeling and dealing, and of course Hamilton, Phoenix, and the story that will never end.

Pen-sational!

Alright so all of the good “Pittsburgh”, “Penguin” and “Steel” puns were taken, so this was all that I had left. But the fact remains that it is GREAT to see the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. They have two of the best players in the world, and a fantastic organization from top to bottom. There is nothing to not like about this except if you live in Detroit or are Marian Hossa.

While I still consider Crosby to be the best in the world, it is hard to deny Malkin the Conn Smythe. He had a fantastic run, and scored more points in one playoff series by anyone not named Wayne or Mario. Not too bad. Of course, one could argue that Crosby drew the best of the opposition more often than not (especially against Detroit), so Malkin had it a bit easier, but none the less, well done Geno.

I would also like the record to show that I officially defeated a piece of Chinese Currency and two of my friends (in that order) to claim the Prediction Title for 2009, even with my disastrous Columbus, Montreal, and St. Louis picks.

Bye, Bye Danny

It looks like Heatley is on his way out of Canada's Capital. This is a shame, as I have always liked Heatley's ability, and there are not too many multi-time 50 goal scorers in their 20s playing at the moment, but if he doesn't want to be part of the system, good riddance.

There has been all sorts of talk about which teams are in the market, and if I were a betting man, I'd say that he ends up in LA. They have the cap room and are searching for a big named star. If they end up making a deal for LeCavalier that renders the point rather moot. Not certain if Heatley will waive his no movement clause for a trip to Hollywood, but it would be a good fit for both sides. Let's face it, if he ends up in a hockey-crazed city he'll end up a scapegoat yet again and end up getting jeered for his inability to backcheck. People keep saying the Sharks, as a Thornton-Heatley pairing sounds good, and could probably combine for 200 points in a regular season, but would struggle to get 5 in a playoff season. I hope for the Sharks sake that they stay away, they don't need him.

Olympic Posturing

I think that Heatley's current situation may have really hurt his chances to play in Vancouver next February. Let's face it, the GM of Team Canada, Steve Yzerman is a team first kind of guy, and to take a trade demand public, especially over a coach's decision to put him on the second power-play unit is not Stevie Y friendly.

With Canada having so much depth, with all things being equal who would you choose: someone who is concerned about the amount of goals he scored playing on a team that happened to underachieve (but has potential for next year) or a guy who consistently puts up good numbers for a terrible team and lit it up for Canada on the International stage last year? The second one, right? Replace those names with Heatley and St. Louis and Stevie's job may have just gotten easier.

I think that Thornton and Marleau's sub-par playoff runs really had them drop down on the depth chart with Heatley. The same also stands with Jeff Carter and Mike Green (although they are young enough to be given a pass I think). Crosby and Getzlaf's spot on the roster was never really in doubt, but their runs in the post season really solidified them as the top two centres on the squad I think. Add in Eric Staal's borderline legendary first two rounds, Jonathan Toews clutch play, and Martin St. Louis, Shane Doan, and even Steven Stamkos' world championship and I think some big name forwards may be enjoying a two week break in February.

The back end is slightly more stable. Chris Pronger proved that he can still go, and should not get bumped. Brian Campbell continued to be a disappointment, getting jumped by teammates for the biggest potential move in defense, Duncan Keith and maybe even Brent Seabrook, who did a fantastic job in a shutdown role in the first two rounds. Otherwise there should be little movement on the D from most pre-season predictions.

In between the pipes both Ward and Fleury made some noise for their inclusion on the team, while Price made even his most ardent supporters (I.e. me) question his ability under pressure. However, all of the competition appears to be for the role of third wheel/press box warmer as Brodeur and Luongo seem destined for the top two spots.

Draft Day Dealings

I'm not certain if Heatley will get moved before the draft, since he has a $4 million bonus coming on July 1st which some teams may be hesitant to pay for. However, there are some big names that may get dealt. I think that Philadelphia is going to make some big moves, most likely involving any of Daniel Briere, Simon Gange, and/or Joffrey Lupul in an attempt to clear up some space. They seem to have their sights set on Jay Bouwmeester, and they need to clear up some cap room. I would not be surprised to see them make a trade for Bouwmeester's rights much like they did with Hartnell and Timmonen a few years ago.

In other trade news, I think it's safe to say that the Leafs will NOT end up with Jonathan Tavares. The Islanders would be stupid not to take him at this point. They do not have much going on in their organization, other than Kyle Okposo, and as Pittsburgh and Chicago are showing, a dynamic duo up front can go a long way. Of course, every team needs more than just two forwards, but it is a pretty good start, especially when it comes to marketing. The Leafs talk of trading Luke Schenn is stupid for a variety of reasons. For starters Schenn is going to be a cornerstone of any franchise for years to come, but also because the pick that the Leafs traded for to get Schenn was with the Islanders. If they wanted him, they would have taken him last year, instead of trading down with the Leafs.

That being said, the Leafs will very likely move up in the draft, especially if they dangle Tomas Kaberle out there. I think that they would be very happy to end up with Brayden Schenn (Luke's brother), Evander Kane (Patrick's brother) or maybe Matt Duschene (nobody important's brother) to help their anemic offense.

Free Agent Frenzy

In addition to the previously mentioned Bouwmeester there are some big names available. The D-man should be the biggest prize, with some other great options, in particular up front, with Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat, the Sedin twins, Marian Gaborik, and Alex Tanguay being the biggest names.

While it is virtually impossible to predict at this point, I am going to try anyway! I think that the Flyers or Bruins are going to land big Jay, while the forwards are probably going to be scattered about on the following teams looking to make a big splash: Los Angeles (unless they end up with Heatley or LeCavalier), San Jose, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, and maybe even Florida. I think that the Sedins are going to end up on the Blue Shirts, Hossa in San Jose, Gaborik in Montreal, Havlat resigning in Chicago, and Tanguay maybe even going to Ottawa.

Desert Dogs

It looks like, for the time being at least, that the Coyotes are staying in Phoenix to loose millions of dollars yet again. I, for one, will not claim to be shocked about this one. Sooner or later though, the NHL needs to realize that loosing money is a bad, bad idea. Franchises like Phoenix, Atlanta, Carolina, and Nashville are simply not viable in the long term. They are going to need to move somewhere else eventually. While everyone who understands the game sees that Southwestern Ontario is a better hockey market than the Southwestern United States, it seems like that is just not going to happen for the time being. I imagine that the next team to get an NHL team will be Kansas City, with Las Vegas as an outside second choice.

I think that if a team ever ends up in Hamilton, or anywhere else in Ontario they will probably have to pay $100 million to the Leafs and about $40 million to the Sabres. Ballsillie has deep pockets, but I think that even he has his limits, which is a shame because with the current economic climate a wealthy owner who likes the game sounds like a great idea. But what do I know about economics anyway?

As I said in my previous post on the topic, this is not about dollars, or about sense. This is about pride, which is a damn shame.

But fear not Canadian hockey fans, this was Ballsillie's third attempt to get a team in Hamilton, and probably the one that came closest to succeeding. With enough troubled franchises out there, he can always wait until next year.

I guess he has a lot in common with the Leafs on that one.

Until next time,

G

You Can Be Censored Under My Umberella-ella-ella

2009-06-07T01:18:00.005-04:00

Just in case any of you were worried, there was not a hint of unrest or disorder in my part of China last Thursday on the anniversary of what shant be named. As I mentioned in my post on the day, the internet was less than accessible, and some careful subversion had to be done to get around the Great Firewall of China. However, all was for not because at the end of the day not a heck of a lot happened.

The one interesting story comes from the CNN, BBC, and AFP reporters who had the strangest form of censorship that we may have ever seen. As their reporters were on the edge of the square attempting to report on the day, they had plain clothes officers with large umbrellas come in between the journalists and their camera to try to attempt to block the shot. I understand what they were trying to do but it came across as being pretty stupid. I'm not sure who came up with this idea, but I am sure that they did not deserve a raise for it.

Check it out for yourself (courtesy of the Shangaiist):

Great eh? How about it as a video...

If that wasn't enough, check out this great remix of it, sadly there is no Rihanna involved....

The Umbrella Men of Tiananmen @ Yahoo! Video

Umbrellas, saving the masses from the horrible truth since 2009.

Until next time,

G

Ignorance is Strength

2009-06-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Party Mottoes, 1984

Some days I feel like I am living in Orwell's nightmare.

Today is an important anniversary of a solemn event, or maybe it is a day like any other, it all depends on who you ask, or who you don't ask. As many of you may know, twenty years ago today an infamous student protest in China drew the wrath of the government and their tanks, and many people were killed. Pardon me for using cryptic language, but I do not want to attract the attention of the powers that be in the country I reside in.

There has been a huge crackdown in the buildup to this day. A few months ago YouTube was banned, and blogger is currently banned (I am posting this via a proxy), while Wordpress has been banned since I arrived in August. The most recent additions to this were Twitter, Flickr, and Hotmail which went down on Tuesday (eerily as I type the rough draft for this post). Interestingly, the on-again-off-again bans on sites like BBC, Wikipedia, and Google are not in effect. In essence websites that allow regular people like me to communicate with the outside world (through posting videos or blogs) are not allowed. Somebody is worried that something is going to happen.

Also, the popular messaging system Skype, is very difficult to download in this country, instead it diverts you to a program called TOM-Skype, which restricts some of the messages that you send. For example, if you try to send the F word the message will not go through. I read reports (not going to link, too dangerous at this time) of it tracking the use of certain hotbed words that the people in charge would not like.

But the internet is not alone in it's censoring. Apparently there has been some grassroots movement to get people to wear white (the colour of mourning in Asia) on the day. There is a rumour persisting that newscasters are not to wear white for the next several weeks (which appears to be adhered to by turning on the television). A few weeks ago, an interesting bit of news came out that 300,000 newspapers had to be recalled because it had an incredibly subversive photo in it. Just in case you didn't see it when it made the rounds a few weeks ago, check it out.

Do you get why it was somehow subversive? I'll give you a hint, look at the pants of people in the front row. Now divide the picture in two and count the people on either side. Now think of today's date.

There are six people on the right side and four people on the left side, translate that into a date and you have today. Look at the four digit number on the little boy's pants in the bottom left and you have the year that the event took place.

Think about this for a second or two. If this was something that someone caught after the fact, what more obvious things are being caught before publication? I imagine someone refusing to publish an image because it bears a picture of someone who resembles a certain spiritual leader or not taking an ad for the classified because every 5th word spelled out the National Anthem for the island that China claims to be its own. I'm probably wrong, but maybe not too far off. If this picture is deemed subversive, what else gets to be in the same category?

All of this is done with one simple mission in mind: to restrict the flow of information. In other words, the government wants to keep people ignorant in order to keep the nation strong. Ignorance is strength.

What I find the saddest about all of this is how most of the concern comes from outside of the country. In the two decades that have passed since this event China has undergone a tremendous economic boom. Naturally in times of economic fortune people tend to not focus on problems with the government, and demands for change lessen. This coupled with the party's crackdown has made many of the demands of the original dissenters disappear.

Most people in this country seem to be living in a bit of a fool's paradise, similar to how I imagine America being in the 1950s, and even the 1990s. There were certainly bad things happening in the country then, but people mostly kept quiet because things were going well and they did not want to rock the boat. Flash forward a decade in either case, and the economy starts to fall and people start to protest more about the “corrupt government” and “illegal wars” which were going on before, but nobody ever cared when they were making money.

The party seems to have found the right mix of 1984 and Brave New World. Oppress people and control information while giving them all sorts of distractions that they have never imagined. Either way, it is keeping people in this country from the one thing that they truly need for development, the truth.

Until next time,

G

Dr. Atmoic or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Start Loving Geopolitics

2009-06-01T07:27:00.005-04:00

It seems like whenever I click on some news somebody is always talking North Korea, and their nuclear ambitions. It seems like everybody is ready for World War III to start on the Korean Peninsula. It seems like nobody is taking the time to realize that nothing is going to change.

That's right, there will be no nuclear war, no reunification, just more of the same status-quo that has persisted for the last 56 years. This is just another big scare that will inevitably blow over, and things will continue on as they are.

Sure, the North seems to have nuclear capabilities (maybe), and long range missiles (definitely) which seem like quite the game changer, but we can't forget the ultimate x-factor, and biggest benefactor from the way that things are, China.

Allow me to give a quick overview of East Asian geopolitics. The unquestioned forces are Japan and China, which are currently the 2nd and 3rd largest economies in the world, respectively (although they will probably flip by the end of the year). China has a very large military, and while Japan does not have any forces of their own, they have near unquestioned support of the Americans. Japan and China have long been distrustful of the other, and have been at war with each other several times in their history, most notably during WWII. Conveniently, between the two nations, there is the Korean Peninsula. This was divided at the conclusion of the Second World War, with the southern half being in the US sphere of influence, and the Northern half being in the Soviet sphere of influence. North Korea quickly became a reclusive state, relying on itself, and only itself, with the South has grown into a very vibrant economy and has served as a model for development in Asia.

While the South has been culturally closer to Japan, in recent years it's economy has been getting closer to China's. According to John Pomfret's blog on the Washington Post "Why China Won't Do More With North Korea" (the inspiration for this post), he mentions that China is South Korea's largest trading partner. While this may seem surprising, let me tell you from the inside that there are a LOT of very wealthy Korean companies doing business in China. Almost forty percent of the students at the international school that I currently work at are Korean and those kids do not come from poverty.

This huge amount of money pouring into the PRC is helping fund the current economic boom, and China needs to keep it that way. Obviously a thermonuclear war in a country that has so much investment in China is not in their best economic interests. So they will do nothing to help empower the North in a horrible to "reclaim" the South.

All of this Korean money is flowing into China because, quite frankly, there is not much else for them to develop in their own country. However, should the North collapse a massive humanitarian and economic undertaking would ensue. The North would need to be developed in a bad, bad way which would trigger require a flow of capital and efforts from companies like Samsung and Dae Woo, which are currently doing business in China. Given the current economic climate, it is likely that any of those companies would need to contract elsewhere in order to set up shop in North Korea, which would probably mean a lot of them would move out of China. China can not let this happen, certainly not while their economy continues to benefit from Korean involvment in the country.

Also, should the North fall and the Peninsula become unified, there is the pesky question of the ethnic Koreans living in the Chinese Northeast. A huge swell in Korean nationalism would no doubt catalyze the notion that those people should join their reunified homeland. Jilin and Liaoning provinces both have sizeable Korean populations, and should they ever get vocal about their land leaving China, then the PRC has large problems on its hand. They already have enough seperatist regions to deal with, why add another one? Especially one that would have Japan and America's sympathy? Jilin in particular has a great deal of national resources, notably iron, coal, and oil, which an industrializing nation like China certainly needs and could not afford to jeopordize.

China is in a clear case of "damned if we do" with very little "damned if we don't". This can only lead us to one conclusion, we're going to get more of the same, so you can crawl out of the bomb shelter.

Until next time,

G

Stanley Cup Final Prediction

2009-05-31T02:02:00.003-04:00

Well here we go yet again, this time for all the marbles, three men and a coin all find themselves confronted with a mysterious bit of deja-vu. My apologies for this being posted after Detroit's Game 1 victory, but I assure you that nothing has been changed at all, sorry but a 12 hour time difference gets in the way sometimes...

Going 1-1, upping his point total to 9, which is far below his Monkey-esque run in 2008 is last year's undisputed Champion, Jeff...

Jeff Says: So, the third round is over and again i was wrong on another one. Carolina really crapped out. Pittsburg played pretty solid, i will admit, hard to stop both Malkin and Crosby and they were both on fire. So no worries Carolina, you played well, and had a good run. Same to Chicago, who had to face Detroit which is a daunting task at all times. They played with heart and put forth a good effort. Detroit is just to deep, and simply to good.

Also going 1-1 to bring it's total to 11 is an inanimate object, the Chinese Reminbi.

Going 2-0, with an extra point for predicting the length of Detroit's victory, giving him four out of six picks (with two extra points) is Troy, who is short on words this time.

Troy Says: Hey bud, I'm in.

Seriously, that's all he had to say...

And going 2-0, with another point for Detroit's victory, is this blog's namesake. This brings his total up to 11, tying him with a piece of foreign currency.

Glen Says: After the best second round in recent memory, we get treated to perhaps the most anti-climactic Conference finals we could have asked for. Neither series was ever in doubt, as last year's finalists truly proved to be a cut above their competition dominating the next big things and the team of destiny. That being said, both Chicago and Carolina should be incredibly happy for their deep runs, and both teams should be ready to do some serious damage next season.

We have decided to add to the predictions by including guesses for MVP and favourite moment of these wild playoffs.

STANLEY CUP FINALS

Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Jeff Says: So here we go, Pittsburgh vs Detroit part 2

This will be a good series. Pittsburgh is older and more mature. At this point in time their best two players are the best two players in the playoffs so Detroit is going to have to step up. Fleury is playing super well and the team seems to be rolling. Detroit is battling injuries so if Pittsburgh is smart they will capitalize early on this. Those players will be back eventually, so they need to win, and they need to win now.

Detroit can muster up some talent as they are deep so by no means is it going to be easy for Pitt to win, but I think they can steal a game in Detroit for sure, if not both. However, having said that, it is Detroit we are talking about and I do believe they will emerge victorious again. I think this will be a harder fought series then last year so that means a game 7 could be very likely. I think the most interesting thing about this series is the Hossa situation. It would be funny to see him lose with Detroit after having switched after losing with Pittsburgh, :) not that i wish any ill will towards Hossa as he is very good. Just would be humourous. I do believe he will get his ring though.

Prediction: Detroit wins in 7

Troy Says: My pick...

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 7.

Coin Says: Detroit in 7.

Glen Says: Here we go again! I for one am very excited to see the two teams that were unquestionably the best of the Spring go head-to-head. Everyone keeps saying that this is youth vs. experience, but that was so last year (or even last round with Chicago). The Penguins are a fundamentally different team this year.

Oddly they have been able to add by subtraction. No matter how you look at it losing Whitney, Roberts, Malone, and Hossa in exchange for Satan, Fedetenko, Guerin, and Kunitz is a loss. However, somehow the Pens are a better team than they were last year. Both Crosby and Malkin are on an absolute tear, playing with a purpose. Also add to the fact that the Penguins wingers are going well (namely the four that I mentioned), and most importantly, they are being much better coached than they were last year.

That being said, the Pens can not exactly claim to be the heavy favourites here. Despite injuries to Lidstrom, and the disappearance of Pavel Datsyuk, the Wings are still rolling along. Henrik Zetterberg continues to be the best two way player in the league, Johan Franzen is still a clutch performer, and roll players like Clearly and Helm are contributing and then some. The Red Wings very clearly have the best organization in the league, and possibly all of professional sports, but the time has come for the best two players in the world to assume their place in hockey history, by slaying the big red dragon.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6.

CONN SMYTHE PREDICTION

Jeff Says: As for MVP I think that Crosby will get it, even if they lose. No player on Detroit has been dominant. Very good yes, I think Cleary or Osgood have the best shot really. But I think that regardless, if Crosby has a great series he gets it. Maybe even Malkin. They have just been to good to not get it. Unless a player on Detroit absolutely steps up and dominates this next series (I am looking at you Franzen or Cleary) then a Pittsburgh player is getting it.

Glen Says: I hate to agree with you Jeffrey, but Crosby is my prediction for this. He was at the start of the playoffs, and he has been simply dominant these playoffs. That being said, Malkin has been no slouch, and is somehow underrated for reasons that I don't fully understand. They are able to do so well because of one-another. Even if they don't play together, one of them are going to draw the oppositions best checkers (i.e. Zetterberg and Lidstrom) and the better one plays, the more room the other gets. If it were possible to have it be a tie, I think that it should be given out, but this isn't soccer, so I'm going to go with the Kid.

FAVOURITE PLAYOFF MOMENT

Jeff Says: As for my favourite memories....I can't help but get chill from when Lebron hit that winning 3 pointer with 1 second left.....oops, wrong sport......umm.....I think my fondest memories will simply be the second round which had 4 series almost go to game 7 having 3 of them do that. I think that was the best hockey I have seen in a while. With the Crosby/Ovie hat trick night being absolutely amazing and Carolina's 90 second miracle also being near the top. It has bee a great playoff run for the NHL. I still just wish St.Louis could have won at least one game :) lol.

That's about it.....I would once again like to thank Glen for inviting me to do this, even though I have had a challenging time predicting it this year after my near perfect run last year.

Troy Says: I'll go with the 90 seconds for Carolina against Jersey.

Glen Says: Damn, they stole my two choices...but I think that I am going to go with Game 2 of the Pittsburgh/Washington series. The three best players in the world on the same ice at the same time, is going to be special no matter what, but when you have two of them put on what was arguably the best game of either of their lives, both getting hat tricks is something special. To have that game get followed up with Evgeni Malkin absolutely taking over, showing that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those two was pretty great as well.

But my favourite moment will be Crosby hoisting the Cup, can't wait for it!!!

Until next time,

G

Fun With Wolfram Alpha

2009-05-25T07:23:00.003-04:00

My apologies for not being the best, and certainly not the most diverse blogger of late. But it turns out that running a second blog, posting for another one, the Great Firewall of China, and you know, real life, are rather large drains on a person.

Another reason for my detachment from this bit of space has been my newest distraction, a wonderful website called Wolfram Alpha. This website if part of a very ambitious project to make the sum of human knowledge immediately computable. Sort of like Wikipedia for the math geek, which makes it very clearly in my territory.

This site has dozens of features, all you have to do is type in any of their many types of inputs, including (but certainly not limited to) measurements, musical notes, geography, colours, anagrams, dietary reference, and of course good old fashion mathematical functions.

After putting in some different inputs I learned the following things about myself:

-My height, 5'10", is approximately equal to 0.97 fathoms, the length of DNA strands of the human genome, and the distance that light can travel in 5.9 nanoseconds.

-My birthday, December 30, 1982, is day number 2 455 334 on the Julian Calendar, it had 9 hours and 18 minutes of daylight in New York, and is 9643 days ago...I know, I don't look a day over 8000, but that's besides the point.

- Currently AIG has a stock value of $1.70 while Freddie Mac has one of $0.79. In the past five years they have had a return of -97.64% and -98.64%, respectively. Economic, what now?

- Swine Flu has 12 107 cases with 87 deaths worldwide

-My first name is ranked 502nd in the United States, with most people who share my name in their 40s and 50s, also there are an estimated 93 538 people who share the name in the US. Making my name 1 out of 2502. Not quite making me the 1 in a million that I had hoped.

-My last name, by contrast, would be ranked 191st if used as a first name, with 267 546 people in the US expected to have that as a first name. That's right my last name is almost three times more common as a first name than my own first name. Can't say that I'm the slightest bit surprised by that fact.

- In world rankings, Canada is ranked 2nd in land mass, 36th in population, 224th in population density, 136th in population growth, 8th in life expentancy, 23rd in median age, 9th in GDP, and the top three languages are English, French, and Plautdietsch. I have no idea what that third one is.

-Toronto (the closest major city to my hometown) and Suzhou (where I'm living now) are 11 460 km apart, with Toronto having an elevation of 85m higher.

-The title of this blog, is sadly not a recognized word, when I entered glen_______ into the crossword feature, I got no recognizable words.

- When asked "How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?", it said "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind (according to Bob Dylan)". Hard to argue with that one.

- However, it does not know the answer to "How do they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar?" or "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?". I guess the developers need to word on that one.

While they need to get to work on answering those last two questions, there is still a lot of fun to be had, and a lot of useless junk to learn. Go ahead and give it a try!

Until next time,

G

3rd Round Playoff Predictions

2009-05-17T07:12:00.004-04:00

Well it's getting down to the wire. While the playoffs are technically half over, the field has been reduced to a quarter of it's original size. After perhaps the best second round in recent memory, the next round has all sorts of potential as well. Our experts put their money where their mouth is trying to predict the next round...

Finishing a shocking 1-3 (after going nearly perfect last year) bringing his point total to 8 is Jeff...

Jeff Says: So that round went rather poorly for me. But at least all series were close and not complete blowouts. I thought Boston had it in them but clearly Carolina is playing really well and have a lot of heart and momentum. Vancouver/chicago could have gone either way. I thought Luongo would have stood out and stolen some games for them. Chicago is playing well. Detroit won a competitive series, something they have not had to do in a while. And Washington came just short. Ovie did everything he could, but in the end depth was probably an issue. So yah, did not do to well. Been a tough year to call them.

Anyways, onto round 3!

Going 2-2, with an extra point for correctly predicting Carolina's seven game thriller is Troy...

Troy Says: It's that time again where I make a complete ass of myself. But hey...I was perfect in the eastern conference!.

Going 3-1, with one extra point (also for Carolina) is yours truly, the 8 points currently puts him in a tie with Jeff...

Glen Says: Seriously that may have been the best second round ever. We have a shocker of an upset, an upset that almost happened, a coming of age, and well, Crosby-Ovechkin. What more could you ask for really? I'm rather for excited for a youth vs. experience match-up out West, and a brotherly showdown in the East this round...

Going 4-0, and gaining 2 extra points for correctly predicting the Carolina and Detroit series lengths is the Coin...it has a total of 10 points now, putting it in the lead...yes, we are all rather embarrassed.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #6 Carolina Hurricanes

Jeff Says: This is a tough one to call. It is going to be a very good series. Both teams some in riding game 7 highs and i like the match-up between the brothers Staal. I think Eric will enjoy a bit more of a favourable match-up now that he doesn't have to hang out with Chara every shift. So he will be quite the factor in this series. Crosby is playing like an MVP and will win the Con Smyth if they win the cup for sure. This round Pittsburgh has to face a better goaltender then they did against Washington so that is going to give them issue. Carolina gets to play a less physcial team or well less overbearing team size wise so they will be able to play with speed and skills right along with pittsburgh.

Prediction: Carolina wins in 6 (or 7 since they really like these game 7's)

Troy Says: Last year the Penguins steamrolled their way into the finals, never going deeper than 5 games in any series until they finally met up with the big red freight train. This year though the Pens are even better. Better offense, better goaltending, better defense, and more experience. I think this experience will serve them well in this series. We must not forget though that Carolina is a very experienced team as well. I tend not to think of them as an elite team but they know how to win in the playoffs. Cam Ward is now 4-0 in game 7s and although he is still very young, he's very experienced in the NHL playoffs and that can go a very long way. In my opinion though Pittsburgh's offense will put them over the top in this once. Also, when the game is on the line there is no one better right now than Crosby. He raises his game and puts his team on his shoulders. Just ask Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Washington Capitals. I don't think this is going to be an easy series for Pittsburgh though. Carolina is always a tough team in the playoffs (just ask my Montreal Canadiens) and they never go away easily.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6.

Glen Says: Well, I had the Pens penciled in as champions at the start of the playoffs, and I don't plan on changing it now. These guys are good, really, really good. They made two very good teams in Philly and Washington crumble, and on paper they should have an easier time this round than before. That being said, there is no team that has opened more eyes that the Hurricanes. Both Eric Staal and Cam Ward have upped their Olympic stock a great deal, and Eric Cole is looking like one of the best deadline (re) acquisitions ever. But, Fleury is no slouch, and well, there is that simple matter of Mr. Crosby. Sid has been unreal, notching 12 goals in the first 2 rounds (the record for most in a single playoff is 19), and he seems to have taken last years finals loss, and his early season slump personally. Make no mistake about it, this man is on a mission, and no team of destiny is going to stop that.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6.

Coin Says: Carolina in 5 (EDITOR'S NOTE:...ballsy...)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#2. Detroit Red Wings vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks

Jeff Says: Both teams come in after hard fought series'. Chicago is young and super talented and their goalie is playing well. Detroit comes in, well, as Detroit. Super skilled offensively and defensively and Osgood is good enough to keep them in any game. This is a tough series to call, or not as I have maintained all along that Detroit is going to win the cup again...as usual. So yeah, although the series could be exciting, I see no way Detroit loses after surviving Anaheim, a team that probably would have gone to the cup and won had they beat Detroit. I do wish however that Anaheim would have won because it would have been great seeing former London Knights alumni playing each other. And it would have been simply a very entertaining series overall. Plus a Anaheim/Pittsburgh series would be a great one. Well any of the combinations would be great.

Detroit wins in 6

Overall, I'm calling it, Detroit vs Carolina for the cup and Detroit winnnig in 5.

Troy Says: Although I'm not a huge Red Wings fan, I must say that there is a piece of me that thinks it's nice to see an Original Six matchup this deep into the playoffs. This should be a very series and to this point I have been thoroughly impressed with the fortitude of Chicago's young talent. Having said that though, so far in the playoffs the Black Hawks have played Calgary and Vancouver, two teams which have struggled big time with putting pucks in the net. The Detroit Red Wings do not have this problem. The Wings have one of the best offenses in the league and Chicago has yet to face a team with this type of talent. So far Chicago's young stars have been great at scoring goals but in this series they're going to have to be great at stopping goals. Detroit's only weakness in this series will be their goaltending. Fortunately for the Wings though their offense is so good that on most nights their goaltending only has to be good - not great- for them to win. This series makes me think a little bit of the Cup Finals last year between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was a great team but young and inexperienced and Detroit picked them apart. (We all know that series had no business going 6 games). I think Detroit will do the thing this year to Chicago.

Prediction: Detroit in 5.

Glen Says: With a look at the offense from top to bottom, we may just have the most exciting and explosive series since, well...Pittsburgh-Washington. If that was the battle between the two best pure talents in the league, then this is going to be a match up between the two best duos that the game has to offer, as Zetterberg and Datsyuk take on the challengers in Kane and Toews. Chicago has done a fantastic job of coming back in games that they had no business winning, and have really impressed me with their perseverance, as they are playing well beyond their years. While it is one thing to continually come back against second tier teams like Vancouver and Calgary, it is another thing to do it against the mighty Red Wings. This is a team that knows how to play well at both ends of the ice, and I just don't see the Hawks being able to come back against a team like this. If you take away those emotional come from behind wins, the Hawks lose a lot of momentum and steam. As much as I know that the league would love a Chicago-Pittsburgh final, I think that we're going to end up with a rematch from last year's main event.

Prediction: Detroit in 5.

Coin Says: Detroit in 6.

But I guess we shall have to see...

Until next time,

G

The NHL in Hamilton

2009-05-10T22:56:00.004-04:00

It seems like this comes up every year, doesn't it?

CEO of Research in Motion, Jim Balsillie, is in the middle of making his third attempt to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario. This after failed attempts to do the same for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators in 2006 and 2007 respectively. However, this time it seems a little bit more serious. Everyone knows that the Coyotes are hemorrhaging money, and that the NHL had to assume control over them in the fall (despite having denied it for months) and despite this, Balsillie is willing to put up $212.5 million dollars to purchase the team and move them to Hamilton, which he insists is a viable hockey market.

To put it simply. I don't get it. I don't understand why Balsillie offered so much money for an NHL team, especially for one with as much debt as the Coyotes. And more importantly, I don't get why the NHL is being so difficult here. Here we have an enthusiastic owner, who wants to take a team that is losing money, and have them make money, in this economy no less.

I don't get why the NHL is standing so tough on defending the Coyotes, insisting that the NHL can be viable in that market. I mean, they have had 13 years now to make money, and they still haven't. Surely, at some point, someone has got to pull the plug, right?

The most interesting twist in this has been the apparent desire for someone else to move the Atlanta Thrashers to Hamilton as well, but apparently the mayor of Hamilton is only in talks with Balsillie. Atlanta, and Phoenix, coupled with Nashville, make an interesting trio of teams on the brink of bankruptcy (or in it with Phoenix, depending on who you ask) that may just end up being sold and/or relocated.

All three of these teams have came to be during the Gary Bettman days at the front of the front office. He saw the expansion into Atlanta and Nashville, and was a key part in the relocation of the Jets to Phoenix. From 1991 to 2000 the NHL saw a huge change in its landscape with nine franchises added and four relocations, let's have a look at them all, shall we?

San Jose: Strong fan support, even when their team was pretty bad in its early years.
Ottawa: Incredibly strong fan support, even this year when their team was very bad. Almost moved to Houston in late 90s, but have benefited from the new NHL.
Tampa Bay: After a brief love affair with the team in the early 90s, fan support dwindled. Won the Cup in 2004, nobody cared.
Dallas (from Minnesota): Consistently high attendance, very successful, despite everyone thinking that they wouldn't be. Probably the reason that the NHL became so convinced that they could succeed in non-traditional markets.
Anaheim: Have high attendance since their 2007 Stanley Cup victory, but horrible attendance and apathy before then.
Florida: It all went downhill for them once they weren't allowed to throw rats on the ice.
Colorado (from Quebec): Usually high attendance suffered a set back this year due to poor on ice results.
Phoenix (from Winnipeg): Losing money all over the place.
Carolina (from Hartford): Have gone from toast of the town to afterthought and back again so many times its hard to keep track. Averaged less than 89% attendance three seasons removed from the Stanley Cup, certainly not a good thing.
Nashville: Have never made money. Had low attendance, even when they were among the best teams in the league a few years ago.
Atlanta: Only team to have less than 80% attendance this past season.
Minnesota: Have been among the league leaders in attendance since they came into the league, despite inconsistent results.
Columbus: Have been near the bottom of the NHL's attendance, but have never had a playoff team until this season.

Now there are some obvious successes in there namely Colorado, Ottawa, and Minnesota, which should really surprise nobody. However, of the southern teams, the only ones which can be declared a true success are San Jose and Dallas. Carolina, and Anaheim are in between, and the jury is still out on Columbus, but the others have to be seen as failures. Atlanta's attendance is horrible, the Predators fans are non-existent, and really, who thought that two NHL teams in Florida was a good idea?

I'll tell you who: Gary Bettman's pride.

He has visions of the NHL being a first rate league like the NBA and NFL, but the point remains that it is an afterthought in the United States, especially in the south. People get more passionate about a sport if they can play it, and really, how can someone in Miami or Atlanta skate on a pond and pretend that they are Sydney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin? It simply doesn't work that way. The mechanics of the game make it impossible. You need ice to play hockey, and you need cold weather to have ice in your backyard. Sure people can play road hockey or go to a rink, but it is really not the same. Compare this to the fact that anyone, can pick up a ball and start bouncing it at any time. As much as I love hockey, it's just something that people en masse in the South are going to get into, it's harder for them to identify with.

Now I am not one of those traditionalists who says that the NHL should not be anywhere in the south, it obviously has it's places (i.e. San Jose, Dallas, even Los Angeles) but the fact remains that it is not working in a lot of places, and that puts the NHL in jeopardy of losing more money than it can afford to lose.

The other factor in Bettman's pride is that he simply does not want to admit to making a mistake. He received a lot of flak for moving the Jets to Phoenix, and so much of his image, and legacy, is tied up to that franchise succeeding. The Jets had a loyal fan base, and while they struggled financially in the old NHL, they could easily succeed in the new one, just like Edmonton and Ottawa are doing now.

Lastly, there is the image thing. There seems to be an important part of the league's image to have teams in certain large markets, like somehow not being in them makes your league appear "second rate". There is also concern that the NHL will look bush league if the lights on Madison Square Garden read "Tonight Rangers vs. Hamilton", although how that looks any less professional that Nashville or Columbus is a bit beyond me. What the NHL needs to realize, is that it's ok to retread from big name markets if they are not making any money. In the 90s the NFL moves two teams out of Los Angeles, and one out of Houston (the 2nd and 4th largest cities in the US), and they maintain one in Green Bay (the 261st largest) and they are doing just fine. Meanwhile, the NBA has moved a team from Charlotte to New Orleans (19 to 62) and from Seattle to Oklahoma (24 to 31) and they are doing just fine (all figures come from the source of all knowledge).

My point being, that image is nothing, results are everything. The NFL, North America's most successful sports league does not have a team in Los Angeles, because it simply did not make any money, yet they are doing fine. I think that the NHL can do just fine without a team in Phoenix, Nashville, or Atlanta (the 5th, 25th, and 33rd largest cities in the US), especially if they are all losing money.

Gary, please, it is time for you to swallow your pride and get that team out of Glendale, if you really don't want to move them to Hamilton, consider places like Kansas, Portland, or even Winnipeg. And besides, it's not like anyone in Phoenix would notice.

Until next time,

G

2nd Round Playoff Predictions

2009-04-30T04:52:00.004-04:00

Greetings one and all to the predictions for the 2nd round of the NHL's playoffs. This time Jeff, the Coin, and I will be joined by Troy, who has been seamlessly added to the logo...

New to this prediction this round is this blogs frequent prognosticator, Troy.

Troy Says: Well, I must say that after my very long sabbatical it is great to be back in the greatest blog on the internet. I like to thank both of my fans for all their support while I was away. Now lets get to the picks...

With a total score of 4, for getting 3 series right and one at the correct length is this blog's namesake...

Glen Says: Well, it was a bit of a rough first round for me. While I knew that there would be some upsets, I called the wrong ones, as my gamble picks of St. Louis, Montreal, and Columbus failed to come through for me, while my top ranked predictions of San Jose and New Jersey failed me. That's right, after the first round I was a dismal 3-5, with only Pittsburgh, Washington, and Chicago coming through for me.

Ahh well, there is always next round, which poses some VERY interesting match-ups, as we have the last two Stanley Cup champions coming toe-to-toe (which hasn't happened since 1991), two tough teams that ended their regular season contests with an intense brawl, a team of destiny going up against a giant, and of course the first Crosby-Ovechkin playoff meeting. The first round did not disappoint, and the second round looks to be even more intriguing.

Going 4-4, which included a perfect Eastern Conference prediction, and 0-4 in the West is the 1RMB Coin, which had to be silenced for obvious political reasons.

Fairing much better was an actual human, Jeff, who went 5-3 on predictions, and correctly guessed the amount of time it would take both Detroit and Chicago to win, bringing his total points to 7.

Jeff Says: So the first round did not go as planned....seems every year is supposed to be San Jose's year, and yet again they exit early. Maybe we will all learn our lesson and never pick them to win again....probably not. They did run into Anaheim that is well, a really good team with a terrible regular season record. Lets be honest, Anaheim is a power house, they slept all year and are waking up at just the right time. Poor SJ. Remember when I picked Joe Thornton to be MVP........As for my Blues, I expected more of a fight from them. Although the series was not a blow out, I wish they could have at least won one game. Young team, they'll be back. Philly, such a dissapointment. Last year they did wonders for me, this year, not so much. Everything else went as planned however....even if it was tight.

As for round two, there are some interesting match-ups that will have me glued to the tv for sure i think. Lets get started.....

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#2. Detroit Red Wings vs. #8. Anaheim Ducks

Troy Says: Well well well Detroit....time to face the music. How great would it be to see the 8th place Ducks knock out the defending champs....again? It would be fantastic. And the truly great thing about this is that I actually believe they have a decent shot of doing it. The play of super-rook Bobby Ryan has been great and one of Detroit's greatest strengths (besides an insanely good offense) is playoff experience and knowing how to win the big games but that strength is shared by Anaheim as well.

Anaheim may be an 8th place team but they definitely don't play like one.

Prediction: Anaheim in 7.

Glen Says: Well last round I was totally convinced that the Wings would screw up, and I want to pick against them so badly. The Ducks are good, don't let that #8 in front of them cloud your view, they have a ton of talent, however so do the Wings. The last two times that these teams have met the Ducks have won, and moved onto the finals as a result. Even though it pains me to say so, I see the 2008 Champion defeating the 2007 Champion, in what should be a hell of a series.

Prediction: Detroit in 6

Coin Says: Detroit in 7

Jeff Says: Anaheim is a monster this year just like Dallas was last year. A sleeping giant that nobody really thought much of because of a lackluster series. They have all the tools to win the cup just like they did years ago. I think that they could go very far in these playoffs.....however they are facibng Detroit and will not go any farther....sorry guys......Detroit wins this one......and eventually probably the Cup again.......nuff said....

Prediction: Detroit wins in 5

#3. Vancouver Canucks vs. #4. Chicago Blackhawks

Troy Says: Well since two of my favourite teams (Montreal and Calgary) both decided that they'd rather play golf than hockey I've now fully jumped on the Canucks' bandwagon. Luongo is one of those goalies that can not only steal a game, but he can outright steal a series. Vancouver had no business sweeping St. Louis in the first round but thanks to Luongo that's exactly what happened. This is going to be a very tough series though because Chicago's young talent is incredible and up to this point they don't seem to be shaken by the pressure that comes along with being under the playoff spotlight.

I think Chicago is the better team here but not by a huge margin so I'm going to take Vancouver on the strength of their captain, Luongo.

Prediction: Vancouver in 6.

Glen Says: How much does the league want Chicago to be in the finals against either Pittsburgh or Washington? I am really torn on how to asses the Hawks performance in the first round, did they play well, or did Calgary just play bad? While it's impressive that the Hawks came back so many times to win, the Flames were almost out of defensemen by the end of the series. And with all due respect to the Flames goalie, he's no Roberto Luongo. The real test for the Hawks is how they can perform when they are down in a series, which never happened against the Flames. I just don't see them being able to rally back after Luongo steals a game, which is bound to happen a few times.

Prediction: Vancouver in 6

Coin Says: Chicago in 7

Jeff Says: This is a tough series to call. Both teams are fast and physical and have great goaltending. They both beat teams rather easily, well, Calgary put up more of a fight, but Vancouver played well and weathered a couple St.Louis storms. Luongo seems to be hot right now so look out. I am really not sure who is going to win this one. I can only expect that each team will win their share of games. I wanna say this will go to 7 however I think one goalie will make sure that does not happen.....and I think that goalie is going to be Luongo.

Prediction: Vancouver wins in 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1. Boston Bruins vs. #6. Carolina Hurricanes

Troy Says: Before I talk about this series I would like to say something to Carolina's last opponent, New Jersey, about what it feels like to lose a game 7 with very little time left in the game .....ahem.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... now you know what the 2003 Ottawa Senators feel like suckers!! New Jersey was actually WINNING with 80 seconds left! BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! But I digress...time to talk about Boston vs Carolina. I think this will be a tough series and I'm almost not sure who to go with but since Glen pays me....well....let's face it...A LOT of money to make predictions I will do just that. I will take Carolina for two reasons...Firstly....Boston sucks and nobody likes them and Two....Cam Ward is 3-0 in game 7s and I think

Carolina is strong enough to push this series to the limit.

Prediction: Carolina in 7.

Glen Says: Easily the most difficult series to predict. Boston looked completely dominant against Montreal, while Carolina looked to be as much of a "Team of Destiny" in the first round as imaginable, seriously, who scores a goal with 0.2 seconds left, what is this basketball? Also, down by 1 with 80 seconds to play against the greatest goalie of all time, only to come back and win. That happens? Carolina's emotional high, coupled with Boston's lull, should propel the Canes to an early charge, which should give them at least a split in the first two games in Boston. Then, at the end of the day, it's all up in the air from there. Both teams match up very well, with a strong work ethic, a balanced attack, and phenomenal goaltending. I think that the Bruins are going to be realyl special in no time, but I'm going to give it to the team of destiny on this one.

Prediction: Carolina in 7.

Coin Says: Carolina in 7.

Jeff Says: One of the hottest teams of the second half won game 7 in a minute and a half....what a game that was. Now they face the Bruins who are rested and well prepared. Carolina has a great team, they are playing well, and they are fast. Boston has a solid all round team that can beat you up and make you pay on the score board. I like Carolina, and hope they do well, however, I think Boston will take this series. Their goaltending is top notch and they have the scoring and defence to shut down Staal and Whitney. It could be a good series, and I hope it is, but oston takes this on. (Remember when Paul Maurice was fired as head coach by a certain team not to be named.....shucks.....he must really look back and complain about that)

Prediction: Boston wins in 6

#2. Washington Capitals vs. #4. Pittsburgh Penguins

Troy Says: This will be an AMAZING series and you know the NHL is lovin' this! My gut is telling me that Pittsburgh will pull out to a 3-1 series lead and then blow it but these are definitely not the same teams that met frequently in the early to mid 90s. If you look overall I think you'd have to say Pittsburgh is the better team here. They have a better offense, a deeper defense and stronger goaltending. Simeon Varlomov is still an unknown at this point and although we've seen Fleury be shaky at times we've also seem him stand on his head and steal games that Pittsburgh had no business winning. In this edition of the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry (the best player rivalry in a long time) I'm taking Crosby. I think last year's run to the finals will really pay off this year for the Penguins.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6.

Glen Says: Here we have the main event of main events. Crosby and Ovechkin are going to do something that Gretzky and Lemieux never did, meet in the playoffs. Needless to say, the entire hockey world is drooling over this one. This is going to be a wide open, end to end series, and at the end of the day, it's sad that only one of these teams can move on. All that being said, I don't expect this series to last seven games, because quite frankly, the Penguins are too good here. Sure the Caps won three straight, and rookie sensation Simeon Varlamov has been playing great, allowing only 7 goals in his 6 games, but he never had to face Crosby or Malkin in the last round. The Rangers offense is really quite weak, and I just don't think that he can match those numbers against the Pens. This should be a very high scoring series, but I think that Fleury has more in him to shut the door, and the Pens should be able to move on here.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 5

Coin Says: Pittsbugh in 5

Jeff Says: This is going to be a great series to watch. Three maybe 4 or 5 of the bestplayers in the league this year are in this series with Wshington owning 3 of them. I think these two teams match up well. They both have scoring from both the forwards and the defence. Pitt is deeper but Washington didn't finish as hig in the standings as they did because they suck. Ovie will e fired up in this series as his rivalry with Sid the Kid and Malkin will make him want to one up them. I picked Washington to make it to the finals and I am sticking with that prediction. Hoping the goaltending stands up.....

Prediction: Washington in 6.

Let's see how this one unfolds...

Until next time,

G

WWE Draft Winners and Losers

2009-04-19T09:04:00.003-04:00

Well the WWE Draft has come and gone, with some very, very interesting moves. Some of which I was right about (Punk, Triple H, Jericho, Mysterio), but some I was rather shocked about (Big Show, Matt Hardy). However, in the end, I think that this was more or less a very good draft, which should give a number of talents a great opportunity to move up. I'll look at the few people who I think were most affected by the moves.

WINNER: CM Punk. An easy choice here, as there was clearly not much room at the top for Punk on Raw, especially with Triple H going to the red brand. CM Punk should get another chance as a top dog on Smackdown, especially since he comes with the briefcase. I have really high hopes for the Straight Edge Superstar in the coming year.

LOSER: Mr. Kennedy. How the mighty have fallen. Two years ago Kennedy was the big "last pick" for the Raw brand at the draft, last year he was supposed to be a big one, right before Triple H, and this year he gets bumped down to the Supplemental Draft. Hopefully he is able to move up the rankings, but it seems to be very problematic for him on Raw, since Cena, HBK, Triple H and Batista are all higher up than he is on the face side of things. A heel turn would be very welcomed, but he would need to feud (and presumably win a few) against one of those four big faces, and I wonder if that is going to happen in the near future.

WINNER: The Big Show. Sure, he won't move too much no matter which brand he's on, but this allows him to keep his on-screen association with Vickie Guerrero, which should keep him near the top of the card for the time being. However, without Vickie around he would have be just languishing like he was this time last year.

LOSER: Montel Vontavious Porter. I love the guy, but he just doesn't feel right on Raw. While I do applaud the move to freshen him up (especially given his long losing streak), I do question having him on Raw, especially since he recently turned face. However, if he (like Kennedy) makes a heel turn, there is some potential there, I just don't see it working well for both of them, and to have them both do it in short succession could be damaging.

WINNER: John Morrison. Be prepared to start calling him the "Friday Night Delight", as he is set to take Smackdown by storm. Fresh match ups with Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy are a liscence to print money. Morrison is really set to have a great year, and I for one, can't wait.

LOSER: The Miz. On the other hand, there is Morrison's former partner, The Miz. I don't see how a move to Raw does him any good, other than by getting him away from Morrison. He was working as a joke on Smackdown, until the fall of 2007 when he paired up with the Shaman of Sexy. This helped him move up, especially on ECW, but he is likely to get very lost in the shuffle on Raw.

WINNER: Vladmir Kozlov. A number of people have complained about this move, but I think it's probably for the best. Kozlov had really done all that he could on Smackdown, and was really hurting after a series of loses to HBK, The Undertaker, and Triple H. He should get plenty of time on ECW, and I could see a Mark Henry-esque title reign sometime over the course of the year.

LOSER: THE Brian Kendrick. One of the big winners from last year's draft looks to be in trouble here. He was able to move up the card, and even get a shock of a place in the Smackdown scramble match at Unforgiven. However, he has reportedly been in the doghouse for a while, so expect him to have a rough go on Monday nights. Also, him being split from Ezekial Jackson looks to be damaging for him.

WINNER: Rey Mystero. I really didn't like Rey-Rey on Raw, it never made much sense to me. There is something definetively "Smackdown" about the little guy, and I think that it's in his best long term interest to be on this brand.

LOSER: DJ Gabriel. Sure he wasn't drafted, but the only reason for watching him (i.e. Alicia Fox) was drafted to Smackdown. I think that he can count his days numbered soon.

WINNER: Chris Jericho. Easily my favourite pick of the draft! In the year since Jericho came back, he was matched up with all of the top names on Raw, and even had to go to the Hall of Fame for fresh Wrestlemania opponents. This switch to Smackdown gives him a whole new set of big names to match up with, and it should give him a chance for a long term world title run in the future.

LOSER: The Colons. Not sure how I feel about them going to Raw. I liked their spot on Smackdown, and felt that it was giving them a nice amount of time to do their thing and get over, both in the ring and outside of it. Also, Smackdown was supposedly the show with the large latino viewers, I question having two large latino stars getting moved from that network.

WINNER: Matt Hardy. My first thought here was a very clear "what the hell are they doing?" but upon reflection, I think that this has potential to be a great move. See, no matter what Matt would do, he would forever be connected to Jeff, and it would be hard to really seperate either of them while they both remain on the same brand. Matt has been a great heel of late, and if he gets matched up with some new big names on Raw, he should have a great chance to climb the ladder, especially since Raw is so short on big heels at the moment. I really think that this has a chance to really see Matt Hardy climb the ladder, as a feud with John Cena would be all kinds of awesome.

That just about covers everyone, I think that most other moves (Kane, Melina, Maryse) were more or less lateral moves, I guess as always, we'll have to see what happens.

Until next time,

G

First Round Playoff Predictions

2009-04-15T10:09:00.005-04:00

Well it is finally that time...the time to stop talking about Wrestling!!!! I can feel the sigh of relief, and more clicks coming back to this blog already :)

It is also one of my most favourite times of the year, the NHL regular season is officially over, and we are waiting for the main event to start, the Stanley Cup playoff. Joining me for this post season break-down is going to be a man that miraculously went 14-1 in predicting last year, which was far, far better than any expert, human, or primate went last season. The man coming off a repeate in performance in dominating the Kodiak hockey pool, finishing 1st for the second strait year (to my piddly 4th), my friend Jeff.

Also, we will be joined by the whims of chance, as a coin tries to upset two supposed experts. However, the quarter I used last year was spent on a Popsicle, or a Red Bull. As such, it will be replaced by a 1 RMB coin, which will double as an estimate as to how much the Chinese know about hockey.

How will we all do? Let's find out...

Glen Says: Welcome one and all to the big day that we have been looking forward to for 365 (or so) days! The NHL playoffs are underway, and the first round looks like it has potential to be a great one. There are a few series that we have seen in recent years (Boston-Montreal, Jersey-Carolina, and Pittsburgh-Philly), one that has never happened before (Detroit-Columbus) and several others that have no happened in recent memory (i.e. the rest).

While last year was relatively short of upsets, as all the lower seeds had approximately the same (if not more) points than the higher ranked teams that they defeated, this year seems to be different. We have St. Louis and Carolina, who have been the two hottest teams in the past month, Columbus who is riding an emotional high, and pre-season favourites Anaheim, New York, and Montreal, who have the talent for an extended run. I think that all of the six through eight seeds have potential to pull of a shocker. Of course, the chances of all of them pulling of an upset is low, but I think that we may just see some big shocks this year. Who you ask? Well you'll have to read on a little further for that one...

Jeff Says: So here we are once again, predicting the playoffs. I almost have deja-vue having successfully defended my title as Kodiak Hockey Pool champion, triumphing over Glen again, by only a mere 260 points or so and 178 in front of second....domination!, lol. This time I did not have to capitalize on a Glen blunder, for I put together the most powerful team ever, accept goaltending…lol. If things go right I will have had the Hart Trophy winner (Ovie), Norris Winner (Green) and if I am lucky, Rookie of the year (Ryan). What a year. Now it is onto bigger things, the playoffs. Exciting thing this year is my St. Louis Blues are back in and ready to make some noise, so let’s get started!

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1. Boston vs. #8. Montreal

Jeff Says: This should be a good series. At least, a series that will get pretty darn high television rankings. Boston comes in with a pretty solid team, and a defence that is stacked. Montreal comes in with questions and plenty of them. What is going to happen in net? Will Kovalev show up? I honestly do not think Montreal has what it takes to beat Boston four times in 7 games. They may steal one or two at home, but ultimately Boston takes this without to much trouble.

Prediction: Boston in 5

Glen Says: Call me crazy, but I don't believe the Bruins hype. During the middle of the season they were a terrifying beast of a team, but later in the season the struggled, and if Jersey hadn't have fallen so hard, they probably would not longer be in 1st place. I know that Montreal has been nothing short of a disappointment this season, and yes, I know that I predicted them to win the Cup, but needless to say I have tempered my expectations a bit. That being said, I think that we are in for a shocker here. I think that Price is going to deliver, and that Kovalev has been playing great of late, and has delivered for the Habs in the playoffs in the past. The Habs have beaten the Bruins in three playoff series this decade, two of which had the Bruins highly favoured. I'm going out on a big limb here.

Prediction: Montreal in 7

Coin Says: (EDITOR'S NOTE: My coin comments last year have not aged well, as such they will not be happening this year)

Prediction: Boston in 6

#2. Washington vs. #7. NY Rangers

Jeff Says: Washington has weapons. Between Ovie, Semin, Backstrum, and Green they are scary in the offensive zone. Defensively they are iffy. Goaltending is super iffy. To be honest, they are going to have to have the playoffs of their lives to make it all the way. However, I think that they just might do that. They finished 2nd in the east so they can’t be to shabby. New York will do best to stay out of the penalty box. With Avery on the loose that could be a problem, but I think Torts will keep a tight leash on him. It will be interesting to see if they match Avery up against Ovie or Green. I think they will be the two main targets, which will mean it is time for Semin to come up big. New York has the goaltending, but the scoring has not been there at all this season. So unless they are planning on having 2-1 games, they are in trouble.

Prediction: Washington in 5

Glen Says: This is actually a really intriguing match up. One of the worlds best goal scorers, against one of the worlds best goaltenders. Usually in the playoffs, it is smart money to bet on goalies, but I just don't think that the Rangers have enough up front to get the job done. Jose Theodore always plays well in the first round of the playoffs, but drops off sharply after that. I think that this will be a closer series than most people think, but I'll go with the favourites here.

Prediction: Washington in 6

Coin Says: Washington in 6

#3. New Jersey vs. #6. Carolina

Jeff Says: This is going to be a good series. New Jersey can play well, they have goaltending, proven goaltending, but it has been shaky lately and the scoring has not been there as much (I have Parise and Zajac on my fantasy team…production is down). Carolina has been hot, and I mean red hot the last 2 months. This is a team that can make some noise, and they also have a proven goaltender in Ward. This series will come down to every aspect of the game as I believe these teams to be evenly matched.

Prediction: Carolina in 6.

Glen Says: Jersey was the hottest team in the league for the middle of the season, while Carolina played simply phenomenal down the stretch. This should be an amazing goaltending duo, as both teams match up well from top to bottom. This is actually the third match up of these two teams in the playoffs, interestingly enough every time the winner has been in the Cup Finals. Expect that trend to break here.

In a battle of keepers, I'll bet on the greatest one to ever lace up.

Prediction: Jersey in 7

Coin Says: Jersey in 6

#4. Pittsburgh vs. #5. Philadelphia

Jeff Says: This is going to be another interesting one. I seem to say that for a lot of series, but truth is, the way things worked out, a lot of them are going to make for some great hockey. Philly was a team last year I called to make some noise. They are built for the playoffs and Pittsburgh is unlucky to draw their number. Pittsburgh is a great team, defence could be an issue, but goaltending is their, and offence is one of the most dangerous in the league. Trade deadline was also good in making them more playoff ready with Kunitz and Guerin. I wonder how Biron will play, assuming he is drawing the starters job. Philly’s defence does not jump out at me, but their offence sure does. Briere can be a force, and Carter is having the season of his life. With a healthy Gagne this is a team to watched.

Prediction: Philadelphia in 6

Glen Says: I'm not certain if the league wanted two of their best young teams to meet in the first round, or to have it hold off until a later time. Last year, both of these teams played great in their respective playoff runs, and I think that they will play great in this playoff run, it's just a shame that it will be a short run for one of these teams, as I think that this may just be the real Eastern Conference final, as whoever wins should have a damn good shot of making it out of East. I think that Philly has a great corps, but neither of their goalies have been great this season. The Pens got hungry last year, and will be tough to be beat.

Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6

Coin Says: Pittsburgh in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1. San Jose vs. #8. Anaheim

Jeff Says: This is a good way for San Jose to start out. If they are going to win this year they need to beat some top teams. Anaheim has not been this power house they have always been the last few years. An early exit at the hands of Dallas last year should be leaving a bad taste in their mouths ready to be washed out with a solid showing this year. Unfortunately they traded away a number of pieces to their successful puzzle from a few years previous. This will not be easy for San Jose by any means. Anaheim, although not playing well now has the tools to win. I would not be surprised if an upset happens here. If Gigeure gets hot, then San Jose is in trouble.

Prediction: San Jose in 7

Glen Says: Now here is a match that many people (including myself) have been seeing as a potential Western Conference final for years, yet oddly it has never happened. The Ducks were pre-season favourites, so I don't think that the Sharks will be taking them lightly. I think that San Jose is just too good this year to go down in the first round.

Prediction: San Jose in 6

Coin Says: San Jose in 7

#2. Detroit vs. #7. Columbus

Jeff Says: Poor Columbus, first time in, and they have to face Detroit. Mason, who will win rookie of the year I am sure will need to be lights out, period. Osgood is beatable, but you have to actually get a shot on him first, and when you have top scorers who are also top defensive players that’s hard to do. This should be a rather easy series for Detroit, which may come back to bite them in the second round.

Prediction: Detroit in 4.

Glen Says: Alright, now is the time to show some guts. The Jackets are ridding a huge emotional high, and the Red Wings have played a lot of hockey in the last two years. In 2006, the Ducks made it to the Conference final, then won the Cup. How did they do in Year #3 you ask? Well they played like garbage in the opening round, made it close and then lost to the Stars. Detroit finds themselves in a similar situation, having played a ton of games in the past two seasons. I just see them being burnt out. Ken Hithcock knows hows to win, and everybody on this very young team seems to want to learn.

Prediction: Columbus in 7.

Coin Says: Columbus in 6

#3. Vancouver vs. #6. St. Louis

Jeff Says: Yes, my Blues are back in the big show. And they have done it by putting together the best 2nd half of the season out of any team. 9-1-1 to finish the season to boot. Goaltending is playing well, finishing with a shutout in their last game to clinch 6th. And they have scoring and speed. They are a dangerous team who is still missing a few top guns! Vancouver has been no slouch themselves the past couple months also putting together a great 2nd half. This series will be very interesting to watch, and I am pissed that most of the games will be late ones if they get to them of course. It is hard for me to pick against my Blues, especially if I think they actually have a shot, so I will not be doing that!

Prediction: St. Louis in 6.

Glen Says: Really, who likes the St. Louis Blues? How can you grow up in Canada and be a fan of that team? Especially when they had that turncoat Brett Hull on them for so long?

All razzing aside, I actually like the look of this team. Last year, I thought that they would break through into the playoffs, but it looks like I was only a year away. They have a ton of young talent, and Mason may end up being the best off-season acquisition of any team, and to think it only cost them a 4th round draft pick. That being said, when you talk about good young forwards and great goaltending, it's hard not to mention the Canucks. These teams are virtual mirrors of one another, with the Blues having the better forwards, and the Canucks having the better goalie. I think that both teams are hungry, and really want to succeed. That being said, there is something about this St. Louis team that make them hard to bet against for one round.

Prediction: St. Louis in 7

Coin Says: St. Louis in 7 (NOTE: It has the Blues coming back from a 3-0 deficit, can we say '72 Islanders?

#4. Chicago vs. #5. Calgary

Jeff Says: Chicago is also in the playoffs for the first time in many years. They remind me of Washington last year…young team that has a lot to bring to the table. They are facing a team that has been hit and miss the last little bit of the season in my opinion. Both teams have the tools to succeed in the playoffs, it is all going to come down to which team shows up. Will Jokinen be the force Calgary hopes he will be? Will Phanuef lead the defence like we know he can? What about Chicago? What will Khavibulin do? How will their young guns play? It is going to be another interesting series. I do believe that Calgary has a great team, but I think Chicago will come in a steal away their 2nd round dreams.

Prediction: Chicago in 6.

Glen Says: Much more so than the Pittsburgh-Philly match up, you hate to see either of these teams loose in the first round. They both have a great nucleus of talent, and are teams that you'd really like to see win the Cup. The Blackhawks remind a lot of people of the Penguins, and with good cause. This has a lot of people pointing to Crosby and Malkin's first trip to the post season when they really froze when the bright lights were on in 2007. I really don't see that happening to Toews and Kane, both have proven that they can really up their game when it counts, and I see that happening here. Also, don't count out Brian Campbell, who has struggled late in the season, but has played very well in the past three playoffs. Calgary has been limping into the palyoffs, and I think that they are cold at the wrong time of the year. This will be a great series, with a disappointing result for anyone hoping to see the Cup return north of the border.

Prediction: Chicago in 7

Coin says: Calbary in 7

FINALS PREDICTION

Glen Says: I've been ballsy already, so let's go out on a limb even farther. I think that it's going to come down to San Jose and Pittsburgh. The West seems prime for some upsets, with the Sharks being the pick of the litter to run through everyone else, and the East is full of enough also rans. The Bruins are not experienced enough, the Devils are not deep enough up front, and the Caps are not deep enough in the back. I think that the first round match up between the Pens and Flyers will result in the East Champion, and I called a Penguins win there, so let's go with it.

Sid and Evgeni beat Joe and Patrick in 7.

Playoff MVP: Sidney Crosby

Jeff Says:First off, my prediction for the Stanley Cup Finals: Fun pick…St.Louis vs. Carolina. This could happen!
Reality: I believe that as of this writing it will be San Jose vs. Washington.

San Jose has turned out a great year, and they have a few players firing on all cylinders. They have top notch goaltending, offence (especially with Marleau having the season he has had), and they have defence (Boyle and Blake…both from my fantasy team) so they are a force to be reckoned with. If Nabokov holds up they can beat Detroit, but it’s only if Nabokov can play up to it. Washington of course has the offence; their big question is in goaltending. They will benefit from a hard fought first round and if Green and Ovie can play as they have, combine that with Backstrum and Semin they have the tools. But Theodore has to step up, and I believe that he will.
San Jose wins in 6.

MVP: Joe Thornton

Coin Says: Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis...aka Jeff's wet dream

Pittsburgh in 5

MVP: Heads

Glen Says: Stay tuned for round 2 in a few weeks!!!

Until next time,

G

WWE Draft Preview 2009

2009-04-12T10:05:00.015-04:00

So I can't seem to stop talking about Wrestling right now, first with Wrestlemania, and now something else rather exciting, the upcoming WWE Draft. While it is earlier this year than in previous years, it still promises to be quite exciting.

I think that the main reason to have the draft now is two fold. For starters, it maintains any post-Wrestlemania interest, and helps keep the viewers returning from one week to the next, and secondly, and more importantly, it just makes more sense financially. Both SciFi and MyNetworkTV are getting rebranded, and losing a fair bit of steam, as such I think that a great deal of talent will makes it way back to RAW, which is on by far the most stable network that the WWE makes use of. They moved a number of big names like Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Jim Ross to Smackdown last year in order to increase the profile of the show for them to change networks effectively. Now that they have moved, and the network seems to be in trouble, it is a good time to get a lot of the bigger names off of the show. While I see a few names moving shows, I think that it will end up with a pretty big divide, with Raw as the #1 show, Smackdown as the #2, and ECW in a distant #3.

The WWE has already announced that 12 talents will be switching brands on the big show, but fails to mention the details. I think that it will probably end up like the last few years, with interpromotional matches where the winner gets a pick for their brand, I have listed the 12 highest profile talents who I think are most likely to switch sides.

FROM RAW

CM Punk

Punk's run as a top face on Raw can't really be seen as a success, despite the number of titles he's won in the past year. If the WWE unloads the talent to Raw like has been reported, I think that Punk would get lost in the shuffle, so a move to Smackdown could go a long way to keeping the brand afloat, and help Mr. Straight Edge out a great deal.

Kofi Kingston

Punk's former partner should join him in a switch to the Blue Brand. It would be nice to get them together as a team, only for Punk to turn on Kingston, leading to a great summer feud between the two.

Jerry Lawler

While a lot of people seem to think that they will reunite Lawler and Ross, I just don't see that being in the card. I think that Lawler-Grisham has much more potential in the long term, and could be the direction that they are headed.

Rey Mysterio

Mysterio really is an awkward fit on Raw, as he doesn't match up well with his opponents there, and for whatever reason just fits better on Smackdown to me. The Intercontinental Title may be a bit of a problem, but they could easily have Rey defend it on SD for a while before someone on Raw comes to “reclaim it”, or it could be balanced out with a later move.

Chris Jericho

I'd love to see Jericho go and help Save_SD from the surefire exodus of main eventers that is going to happen over there. I think that Jericho would be a good choice to run with the brand, like Edge has done for the past few years.

From ECW

John Morrison

This one has practically been telegraphed. He is getting way too big for ECW, and while I enjoy him appearing on all three shows, he needs to make the next step to being a star, and I think that a move to a different show would be a big step, I see him going to Raw to get all the exposure.

Christian

Another easy choice to move, as he was really only put on ECW to work as a different top face after Hardy left. I'd like to see him move to SD, as he would be a great wild card in the ongoing Hardy Boyz feud.

From Smackdown

Umaga

He has spent most of his time on SD injured in some capacity, so he could really use a fresh start of sort. Some time on ECW as the Monster Heel Champion could be well suited for everyone, similar to Mark Henry.

The Undertaker

Here is one of those ones where I think it is what they will do, and not necessarily what they *should* do. I, for one, like The Deadman on Smackdown, for some reason it has always suited him. But I think that it may be time to shake things up, and have perhaps the one wrestler who has never really been drafted to switch sides, so it certainly would open up a series of fresh opponents for the Deadman.

Jim Ross

This is complimentary to the Lawler swap. Apparently, Ross was moved to SD to help beef the show up for the move to MyNetworkTV, but that has sort of fallen flat, so JR should switch back. A pairing with Cole, could increase Captain Vintage's learning curve.

Edge

A move that has been simply telegraphed by Vickie becoming the full-time Raw GM. It just makes a heck of a lot of sense to have Edge go with her, as there is still more to be gained in the interaction between those two. I'm not entirely sure how this fits with their World Title plans, but I somehow see The Big Show holding the title on Smackdown after taking it from either Edge or Cena.

Triple H

He's in a feud with Raw's hottest star, and shows up on Raw more than Smackdown anyway. His drafting would just be a formality here.

So to summarize:

Raw gains: John Morrison, Jim Ross, The Undertaker, Edge, Triple H
ECW gains: Umaga
Smackdown gains: CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Jerry Lawler, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Christian

In addition, there is also a Supplemental Draft taking place on Wednesday, at this time I am uncertain as to who will move one way or another, but I think that the biggest names should end up being R-Truth, Mark Henry, William Regal, Michelle McCool, and Kelly Kelly.

Tune back next week to find out!

Until next time,

G

Looking Forward to Wrestlemania XXVI

2009-04-10T22:19:00.003-04:00

Well, since Wrestlemania XXV has come and gone and it's time to look forward to Wrestlemania to next years event, much like I did just over a year ago. In retrospect, I was able to correctly predict the Hard vs. Hardy match, which belts Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin would hold at some point over the year, and I got 3 out of 8 MITB participants accurate.

While I mostly enjoyed this years event, I do feel that the WWE has been relying on the same old, same old for a while now. Wrestlemania 21 had star-making moments for John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge, but other than their weak effort to elevate Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley's flake out, there haven't been any others to really break through to the top. Since that event, all of the top matches have involved those four men plus the old guard of Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and to a lesser extent, the Big Show. While this has worked relatively well, they need to realize that they have the talent that is ready, willing, and certainly able to break to the top. Wrestlers like John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, CM Punk, Evan Bourne, and Jack Swagger all have the necessary tools to get to the top, but they need the stage to do it, and I, for one, think that Wrestlemania XXVI may be the perfect time to make that a reality.

And it could just go something like this.....

***************************************************

ECW Title Match
R-Truth (c) vs. Tyson Kidd

I see Truth going to ECW in the near future (more on that to follow), and this seems like it would be a good feud. To be honest, I wouldn't be the slightest bit shocked if this didn't get on the card, given the treatment of the ECW Title by management.

Money in the Bank Match
Jack Swagger vs. MVP vs. Christian vs. Matt Hardy vs.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Evan Bourne vs. The Miz

A few old faces to the match, a few new ones. If the WWE decided to go with this crop, they could possibly top their greatest MITB match ever, as Shelton, Christian, MVP, and Hardy always deliver in these types of matches, while Kingston did great this year, also The Miz, and especially Bourne would be ideal for this one. Lastly, Swagger would be a great power guy to throw the little ones around, and pull out some cool stuff of his own. As for the winner, I would probably go with Swagger, since he seems most likely to be a big-time future main eventer, no matter how much I'd love to see my boy MVP get the win.

Big Show vs. Kane vs. Umaga

I had a similar match suggested for this year, and I think that it could be a fun special attraction match. If they wanted to add people like Finlay, Henry, Khali, or even Santino Marella (as a hilarious joke) that could work too.

Ted Dibiase Jr., Cody Rhodes, and DH Smith vs.
Rey Mysterio, and Carlito and Primo Colon

A battle of second generation teams! I think that DH Smith is going to be the next member of Legacy, and I would love to see them feud with another group of second generation wrestlers. This match could be fun if some titles were added (a secondary and the tag titles) to be defended in a winner take all match, but it could be fine as it is.

Women's Title Match
Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Gail Kim

I actually have high hopes for the Women's Division over the next year as there is a fair amount of talent there! This is a match up of who I believe to be the two most talented performers in what could be the closest that the women could have to an “Inter-promotional Dream Match”. I think that the dynamics would work better if Phoenix was champion, but if they wanted to do a Champion vs. Champion (non-title) match that could work too.

Shawn Michaels vs. John Morrison

The first of many matches that I have slated to help groom the next generation. These two are in a ready made feud, as it would be nice to see HB2k9 challenge the original, sure it would be a bit of a redux of the first Jericho feud, but it would still be amazing. Morrison really has a lot of early HBK mannerisms, and I think that these two could give a match for the ages, that could really help cement Morrison as a big star.

Edge vs. Mr. Kennedy

Yet another star-making match. These two do have a very long feud running between the two of them, which started after Kennedy won the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 23. I think that they are going to be split across the brands after the upcoming draft, but a special inter-promotional match could be good. I think that the promos on this one would be amazing, and it could finally set up Kennedy as a big star, which the WWE has tried to do a few different times.

The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho

Taker needs more big names for the big event, and (to my knowledge) these two have never gone one-on-one. The build could be a simple “I want to send The Streak” type angle, or it could be simmering for longer, and be more personal. Either way, it needs to happen, and it would be great to have at the big stage.

Triple H vs. Batista
Special Referee: Ric Flair

Sure Batista returned as H's buddy, but I don't see that lasting for too long. I think that H-Batista-Orton is going to be a fun triple threat type feud in the coming months, as they exchange partners, and switch off. Hopefully in any one-on-one encounters, Batista always defeats Triple H (remember, he is 3-0 against his former mentor). I would love to see a dejected Triple H challenge Batista to a match at the grandest stage of them all, on the five year anniversary of their first match, and to up the ante make their other Evolution mate work as the referee, since that would be all sorts of awesome.

World Title Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

I think that Punk (and the briefcase) are going to go over to Smackdown at some point soon. I really, really hope that Punk turns heel at some point this year, as it would liven up his character and help him be a solid main-eventer. A feud between a “holier than thou” straight edge wrestler and someone with a past like Hardy's would practically write itself. While this may not seem like a “Wrestlemania Main Event”, a world of wonder can be done in a year, and also I think that there are enough big matches that the world title match does not have to be one of the top matches. These two could really go a long way to making each other stars, an extended feud between these two that could be blown off with a ladder match stipulation would be all kinds of awesome.

WWE Title Match
John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton

Two men with a long history settling their score on the big show. It should have happened last year, and possibly this year. These two have a really good chemistry with one another, and I would love to see them work their magic, especially if you add a stipulation and let them get violent. These two are going to be the companies biggest names for the next several years, so let them have the stage now.

***************************************************

So there we have an event that gives several of these wrestlers a moment to shine with the big guys, while still giving us some solid encounters between the old guard.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if it happens.

Until next time,

G

Looking Back at Wrestlemania XXV

2009-04-09T18:50:00.004-04:00

Well it appears that the event has come and gone. I made my first post about the event last year, and it appears that this will be my last post on it. I'll always remember the memories.

I'm going to look back at the matches, and see where it fits on my different rankings that took far too much of my time leading into this event.

Lumberjack Tag Team Title Unification Match
Carlito and Primo Colon vs. John Morrison and The Miz

An absolute crying shame that this was bumped to the pre-show, as these four performers really deserved to have a big moment in the sun, especially for something as important as a title unification match. However, in a move that shouldn't be shocking, they were moved to the pre-show. To be honest, I have yet to watch this match, as I have only seen the highlights, so I feel myself unable to comment on it, let alone rank it.

Money in the Bank Match
CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Christian
vs. Finlay vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. MVP

Now this was a great way to open up the show! These guys really, really delivered. They did a repeat of the "everyone dives to the outside" spot from the first year, but followed it up with Shelton doing a crazy dive from the top of the ladder, that really could have gotten him killed. I quite enjoyed the series of ladders that they used, setting them up as a ramp going from the outside to the inside. As great as Shelton was (as always), the real star of the match for my was Kofi Kingston. He started the match by doing a standing leap over a ladder attack, and got better from there. Him jumping up the ladder that Mark Henry was holding onto was simply breathtaking. I am surprised that they gave it to CM Punk as a repeat, as the crowd seemed to want Christian really badly, and the WWE seemed to want someone else. I am hoping that they do a good redo on his first title run.

Rankings: I think that this is a hair below Money in the Bank 3, which is far from an insult. That puts it at #3 on the list of all-time openers, and #12-11 on the Extreme Rules list.

GG and TT's Prediction: Neither of us had Punk as the winner, but Travis said that this would jerk the curtain, so he gets a point. 1-0 for the bad guy.

Santina Marella wins the 25 Diva Battle Royal

It seems to me that they took everything bad about the gimmick battle royal from Wrestlemania X-7 (i.e. the quality) and none of the good stuff (i.e. the nostalgia moments during the entrance), as the only time that any diva from the past was mentioned was when they were eliminated. I understand that the entrances would have ruined the surprise of Santina Marella winning, but, I am sure that they could have worked around that. Also, Kid Rock's 10 minute "medley" was awful, and the time should have gone to the Tag teams, for shame.

Rankings: Somewhere in the "perverse entertainment" portion, mostly for Santino Marella's dancing at the end. I guess that puts it in the #12-8 ranks.

GG and TT's Prediction: My hope of a Stratus return was dashed, what hurts more is that my arch rival correctly called our new inter-gender champion. 2-0 for the Andy Kaufman to my Jerry Lawler.

Handicap Elimination Match
Chris Jericho vs.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and Ricky Steamboat

I certainly was not expecting this to be pretty, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this match. At the start, all three legends got in their spots and kept their time in the ring short. Snuka then tapped out, bringing the submission streak at Wrestlemania to six (after only three submissions in the first 19 events!), Piper was eliminated shortly thereafter, leaving Steamboat to go one-on-one with Jericho. The Dragon hasn't fought a match in I believe 15 years, and looks like he hadn't missed a beat. His flying body press, leap to the outside, and picture perfect armdrags were things of beauty. I love how the announcers played up the veteran still being able to go one more time (a la The Wrestler) without hitting us over the head with the comparisons. Steamboats roll ups were great, and I really thought that he would pull off a fluke win at some point or another. Of course, Jericho ended up hitting the Code-breaker and taking the win. The Rourke stuff afterwards really dragged on too long, and was a bit of a let down, but the match was decent though.

Rankings: Fine match, the celebrity involvement helped build the match, but added very little to the aftermath, putting it on about par with the Battle of the Billionaires from Mania 23, if not slightly better, putting it at #7 on my Celebrity rank.

GG and TT's Prediction: Looks like TT takes another one on me, and clinches the win in the third match. 3-0 in an anti-climatic moment, fitting of this match.

Extreme Rules
Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

Another match that was a touch of a let down. Don't get me wrong, these two performed well, but it seems like they just didn't have enough time to tell the epic story that they needed to. The big spots were a little rushed, especially at the beginning. I really liked the ending, with the leap-frog, followed by the Twist of Fate of absolute death with the chair. I suppose they did the right thing, saved some bigger spots for later in the feud, and made Matt Hardy look like a champ. Hopefully they really up the ante from here.

Rankings: I have it about pegged with McMahon-Hogan, but they are hard to compare, since this was clearly a better match, but McMahon-Hogan was more epic. Probably a touch better when it is all said and done, thus putting it at #12 (including the MITB match) on my Extreme Rules list.

GG and TT's Prediction: I finally got on the board with not one, but 2 points as there was a table break, giving me a bit of a fight in what may be automatically a lost cost. 4-2 for my turncoat brother.

Intercontinental Title Match
JBL (c) vs. Rey Mysterio

What a crock of garbage. Mysterio wins in a squash and JBL quits. Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame. JBL deserved a better send off in his last match, Mysterio deserved a better moment in his Triple Crown completion, and the IC Title deserves more after not being used on the show for far too long.

Rankings: Move over Maivia-Sultan, we officially have a new worst IC Title match in Wrestlemania history. Congrats guys, you earned it.

GG and TT's Prediction: Like the match length, we both came up short here. 4-2, but I won't quit after this loss.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

On the other end of the spectrum, we have this match, which was simply amazing. These two men, both in their fourties, went out and delivered an absolutely sensational match. They had a good mix of brawling, high flying, technical wrestling, and sick spots. I thought that Taker was going to die (for real) when he landed on his head on the concrete, but yet he got up and kept fighting. Both of these men really had you believing that anything could happen. I loved the countout spot (after said dive) and after some of those superkicks, I really thought that HBK was going to take the win. Like I said with Edge-Taker, it really speaks volumes about both performers when they got out and make you believe that what you *know* is not going to happen. What makes this even better, is that I watched this match a few days after the event (in China, you know) so I actually knew who won, and yet I was on the edge of my seat thinking that HBK would be able to pull it off. While it may not be the best Mania match ever, it is easily in the Top 10, and possibly in the Top 5.

Rankings: Taker's best match not only in Wrestlemania history, but possibly in the history of his career (on par with the first HITC, coincidently with HBK). I'm not certain about HBK's list though, as it is about on par with the Angle match from Wrestlemania 21. In all honesty, I would require a second viewing to decide the Number 1, and given my esteem for that match, it is saying quite a bit.

GG's and TT's Prediction: We both called for a Taker victory and we both said that it would be awesome, and what do you know, we were both right. 17-0 makes it 5-3.

World Title Match
Edge (c) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena

I said that this match could be surprisingly good, and it certianly was. The three men did well, and Cena holding both men up for the F-U was simply awesome. I also quite enjoyed the Edge getting F-U'd onto the Big Show, which was similar to what I predicted, just far less dangerous. All that being said, this realyl lacked the big match feel, and came across as more of a Raw main event than anything else.

Also note: Cena's entrance was awesome.

Rankings: This really had nowhere to go on my rank, as it didn't fit as a "last match", but if I were to do a ranking of best title matches to not go on last, this one would certianly be better than HHH-Booker and Cena-JBL, it was about on par with the Triple Threats from 22 and XXIV, but probably the worst of that lot.

GG and TT's Predictions: Both of us gain a point, but I fail to gain any ground. 6-4 for the Ultimate Opportunist.

WWE Title Match
Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton

Bad match, bad result. Orton needed to win here but didn't. I understand not wanting to end the show with a heel win, but there were lots of other options for who to give the closing spot to. It seems like they are going to give the belt to Orton at Backlash, but it may be a touch too late.

Rankings: And so the streak of great main events at six, as we get what is out worst main event match since Wrestlemania X8 (when H also ended the show with the belt, coincidence?), I'll even rank it below Bret-Yoko from Wrestlemania X, putting this at #19.

GG and TT's Prediction: We both get no points for both the results and the match placements, thus making us join Orton, and everyone who watched this match as losers. Unlike Orton, the man who attacked a female interest gets the win here (note: maybe 5 people will get that one) giving it 6-4 to TT.

So the obvious question stands: Where does this Wrestlemania rank? Well looking back at my ranking from last year, I think that this one is pretty much in the middle of the pack, compareable to X8, 2000, and VII, all three had some very good undercard matches, but flat main events, so it fits somewhere in that pack. Decent show, but probably the worst edition of the event in the past six years or so.

Ahh well, better luck next year.

Until next time,

G

Heel Heat - Episode 5

2009-04-03T06:23:00.006-04:00

Welcome all to the 5th episode of the most irregularly scheduled Wrestling talk program, Heel Heat. Today, Tenacious Trav and myself, Gorgeous Glen preview the big show scheduled for Sunday, and provide our thoughts on what should happen after Wrestlemania. Hope you enjoy.

(One Question: Great banner, or greatest banner?)

Let's get right to the card...

25 Diva Battle Royal

Gorgeous Glen Says: This should be a fun nostalgia match to go between some of the big ones. I am looking forward to appearances from people like Trish Stratus, and Lita. While it seems like they are going to push Gail Kim here, I see her getting illegally eliminated by someone like Maryse or Michelle McCool. Let's go with a nostalgia win here.

Prediction: Trish Stratus

Tenacious Trav Says: Well Glen here we are with another Wrestlemania to predict and discuss. As anyone who has read our previous features would know, I pretty much loathe women’s wrestling and have often refused to call the match. This year we’re being treated to a 25 Diva Battle Royal and I could really care less. There’s more no-to-low-talent women on the roster than ever before and there’s really been no effort to hype the return of divas of days gone by for this one historically significant match. Combine that with the winner receiving a ridiculous title and I could really care less about this one. While there are still some open spots as of this writing, I anticipate we’ll see Trish Stratus as you’ve mentioned, but also that we’ll see Santino (perhaps in drag). As he’s the most entertaining thing to happen to the divas scene in years, look for him to take home the prestigious title.

Prediction: Santino Marella

Extreme Rules Match

Jeff Hardy
vs.
Matt Hardy

GG: Who would have thought that the build to this feud would involve such great promo work? I think that it just shows how far they have come since their aborted (and ignored) feud from 2001. Like Bret-Owen from fifteen years ago, I expect this to be an absolute classic, as both brothers have a lot to prove. I think that this feud should stretch on for a while longer, so there needs to be a heel victory here. Like Wrestlemania X, let's go with Matt taking a fluke win in a shocker.

Prediction: Matt Hardy, cleanly.

TT: This definitely has the potential to be an instant classic, with both of these stars having incredible in-ring ability. It’s unfortunate that neither is all that entertaining outside of the ring or perhaps we would’ve seen a longer build-up to this match. A win for Matt here makes sense and is certainly deserved given his longer (and far less troublesome) run with the company.

Prediction: Matt Hardy

Elimination Match

Chris Jericho
vs.
Roddy Piper, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat

GG: While I would have much preferred to have this come down to Jericho vs. Rourke or Jericho vs. Austin, that did not seem to be in the cards. I see Jericho pulling out easy wins on two of these men, probably Piper and Snuka, only for Mikey Rourke to get involved, hit a Ram Jam on Jericho, and give the match to Steamboat. This will give a chance for all of the legends to hug and give us a happy Wrestlemania moment

Prediction: Legends via Mike Rourke interference

TT: This is probably one of the more disappointing items on the card as it’s an absolute waste of one of the company’s top 3 heels (the other two being Edge and Orton). While Jericho has worked his ass off trying to make this interesting (cementing that top heel status) it doesn’t change the fact he’ll be in the ring with a bunch of washed up 80s stars who have no business being in the ring. I know with this being the 25th edition of WM that there should be some nostalgia and a nod to the stars of the past, but this is just not the way to do it. We all know that it should have been Jericho vs Mikey Rourke. Rourke would have provided the celebrity involvement that this card so desperately needs – and his involvement as Glen has predicted simply won’t be enough.

Prediction: Jericho (with the legends revenge coming after the win)

The Undertaker
vs.
Shawn Michaels

GG: Easily the most anticipated match on the show. I wish that they would learn the lesson from Wrestlemania X8, and XXIV, and just have this match close the show, to not have to make anyone else try and top it. I have loved the build to this, as Michaels has continuosly gottend the better of The Undertaker, and one upped him at every stage. If you are a new fan, trust me, that never happens, ever. I think that the streak will be intact forever, unless they decide to let Cena have it, but even that I doubt. That being said, I expect both of these men to do a damn good job convincing us that maybe it will end on this night.

Prediction: The Undertaker, after probably three tombstones.

TT: Unlike the Jericho match, this one features some legends that can still go. Easily the match I’m most looking forward to, UT and HBK are sure to deliver. Your chronicles of both Michaels’ and Takers’ Mania matches (even with the completely wrong order for the top 5 UT matches) has detailed the great heights these two men can reach. Breaking the streak here makes no sense (Orton should have been the one) and since Undertaker has never beaten Michaels this match will still be historic.

Prediction: The Undertaker in what will be the match of the night.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match

CM Punk vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs.
Kane vs. Mark Henry vs.
Christian vs. Kofi Kingston

GG: The usual train wreck with many of the usual suspects, however this match is anything but usual for these guys. This is probably the hardest of all the Money in the Bank matches to predict, as very few men seem like viable contenders. Mark Henry and Kane have been around for far too long and wouldn't really work, Finlay seems to have been demoted heavily in the past year or so, Punk won it last year, and Kofi is probably a year or two away from that high of a win. This leaves three men who the WWE has pushed, and stalled on a number of times in their career, Shelton, MVP, and Christian. I would be happy to see any of these guys get the win, but I think that the winner has to be MVP, this is the most logical conclusion of his long-running losing streak storyline, and he would be a great cocky tweener to carry the briefcase around.

Prediction: MVP

TT: For once, that’s a great synopsis, Glen. While I don’t like the involvement of the big men here (one would’ve been even too much) this usual spot-fest should still pass as mediocre. Kingston is a great worker and I expect him to shine here as Shelton has done in the past. As you’ve outlined, there are really only 3 potential winners for this one and so to be contrary I’m going with Christian.

Prediction: Captain Charisma

Intercontinental Title Match

John Bradshaw Layfield (c)
vs.
Rey Mysterio

GG: I thought long and hard about this one, and changed my mind a few times. JBL winning seemed like a good transition to a new face, like Mysterio. However, JBL has promised something "special" for Wrestlemania, and rumours have persisted that he will retire with the title, thus giving him the win here. I think that seems far more likely, especially since I think that Rey will return to Smackdown following the draft (more on that later in the column), so let's give the win to JBL here. Especially since Mysterio beat him 1 on 1 in a non-title match on Raw this week.

Prediction: JBL, by some sort of heel tactics.

TT: This is shaping up to be a predictable card. I’m hoping JBL’s historic action equates to more than a retirement with a major title, but it does seem we’re going down this road. JBL and Mysterio have had a past feud, but this storyline is really out of nowhere and hard to care for. They could’ve used Koslov against JBL to have the cowboy-come-millionaire go out as an all-American face, but alas I don’t write the shows.

Prediction: JBL

Tag Team Title Unification Match

Carlito and Primo Colon

vs.

John Morrison and The Miz

GG: If their previous matches have been any indication, this should be a great, great match. I do worry however, that the addition of Lumberjacks will take away from this one. Still, these four men have been delivering classics for the past few months both in tag team matches, and in singles affairs, and I expect no different here. It all depends on who the WWE sees as the bigger stars of the future, as it would be a great thing for announcers to mention years down the line (a la Jericho), and I think that is Miz and Morrison who seem like future world champions to me, hopefully the Bella twins aren't too heavily involved in the finish, but I find that doubtful.

Prediction: Miz and Morrison via Bella-ference

TT: I’ve been a fan of Morrison since Tough Enough and even with his humble beginnings as a lackey to Eric Bischoff he showed incredible promise. He’s become a fantastic performer and is a future World Champion for certain. Carlito has gone from promising up-and-comer to being lazy in the ring. While his brother outshines him, he is the lesser known competitor. The Bella twins have no business being involved at Wrestlemania.

Prediction: Miz and Morrison (clean)

World Title Match

Edge (c)
vs.
The Big Show
vs.
John Cena

GG: While expectations are not particularly high for this match, I think that we may be in for a surprisingly good one here. Both Edge and John Cena usually deliver when they are in the spotlight, especially when it involves each other. Also, the Big Show seems tailor made for triple threat matches, as he can deliver his big moves, and then rest for a bit before returning later. I think that Cena will pull out a victory here, and let Edge and Show continue to feud over Vickie afterward. I'm really hoping to see Cean F-U the Big Show onto Edge for the finish, that would just be awesome.

Prediction: Cena via some sort of awesomeness

TT: Am I the only one getting bored with Cena? It’s sad because Edge is the number two heel in the company and should really be retaining the gold here. The kids need to go home happy, though, so look for the action star to pick up the strap. I’m just hoping this doesn’t go on too long and that Big Slow stays out of the way for the most part.

Prediction: John Cena

WWE Title Match

Triple H (c)
vs.
Randy Orton

GG: The build up for this match has been simply fantastic, and I for one am looking forward to it. While these two have never delivered a classic in their many one-on-one encounters, this time feels different. They finally have emotion, hatred, and a really big stage. As much as a part of me thinks that H is going to retain, I think that logical booking has to give it to Orton, these two are locked in a blood feud, and H would have no reason to give Orton another match after this. I think that we are in for a long story between this two, so Orton needs to win this one.

Prediction: Orton, hopefully without any McMahon swerve

TT: My love for Orton is well documented. He is truly the WWE’s number one heel and has shown depth of character rarely seen before. His ring work is second to none and by forming his own stable he’s placed himself at the top of the Raw heap of talent. The storyline is red hot going into this (minus a few mis-steps – the recent McMahon involvement, the over-the-top home invasion) and like Glen, I really expect this one to deliver. Triple H is the kind of star, not unlike the Undertaker, where he doesn’t need to hold a title to be incredibly over. Having him retain really no makes sense, and a win will mean everything to Orton on what is one of the most historic Wrestlemanias to date.

Prediction: Randy Orton

Bonus Questions:

(EDITOR'S NOTE: In the past, mostly in real life, we have done a few special "bonus questions" mostly because they are a lot of fun)

What match will go on first?

GG: Tag Title Match, Miz and Morrison deserve to open up the big event with a big win

TT: You’re probably right, but I’ll go with the MITB.

What match will go on last?

GG: World Title Match, since I have Cena penciled in for the win, it just makes sense

TT: Agreed.

Which match will a table get broken in?

GG: Hardy vs. Hardy, come on far too easy here

TT: Yes, or Orton/HHH

Will Ric Flair bleed?

GG: YES, Flair always blades, and this should be no exception.

TT: I expect him to still be bleeding from the Jericho beat down on Raw 2 weeks ago. (You know they were desperate to get some heat for this match when they resort to that)

And now to some more intriguing questions...

GG: With the upcoming draft scheduled to take place on April 13th, are there any big names that you see switching sides?

TT: I suspect we’ll see some changes involving Morrison, HHH, Rey and ideally John Cena.

GG: Agreed on the first three, but I find a Cena switch highly doubtful. MyNetwork TV, Smackdown's current network is looking like it may just tank, so I expect them to stock Raw with the biggest names, and like it or not, that's John Cena. I think we could also add Edge, JBL (to play announcer), Christian, CM Punk, and Batista as the other big names to switch sides.

It seems like every year the WWE decides to bring some new stars to the top of the card. Do you have any predictions of anyone who will break on through to the top following Wrestlemania?

TT: In the long term I expect Kofi Kingston and John Morrison to become big players. Although not at Mania, look for Evan Bourne’s star to rise in the next year.

GG: Good thoughts on those ones, but I think that the real star to break on through will be Matt Hardy, who should take a big jump to the top of the card, and Jack Swagger, who should move his way into the Upper card within the next few months.

And sadly, that just about does it for this edition of Heel Heat, and it should be my last post before Wrestlemania. Expect next week's blogging to be filled with thoughts on the event, before we make the shift back to our regular, erratic format.

Enjoy the show!

Until next time,

GG

Wrestlemania Rankings - The Main Events

2009-04-02T09:45:00.004-04:00

Here we are the 9th, and final installment of the Wrestlemania Rankings, as we look at the best matches to ever close the show. Most of these matches have been pretty spectacular, and are considered the best of the best.

***************************************************

#24.
WWF Title Match
Yokozuna (c) vs. Hulk Hogan
Wrestlemania IX
Ceaser's Palace
Las Vegas, NV

Ten seconds of pure crap. This was completely insulting to absolutely every wrestling fan out there, as Hogan went out and stole the show from Bret Hart, and Yokozuna in what is probably the worst Wrestlemania moment ever.

#23.
Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Vicious
Wrestlemania VIII
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, IL

What was supposed to be Hogan's final match, but things worked out a little bit differently to say the least. This was supposed to be Hogan vs. Flair, but sadly that never happened here for a variety of complicated reasons. This was only the second time that a non-title match closed out Wrestlemania, and it was the only time that the show ended with a disqualification finish. The match was pretty bland, but the post-match surprise of having The Ultimate Warrior return was pretty freakin' fantastic.

#22.
WWF Title Match
Psycho Sid (c) vs. The Undertaker
Wrestlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

Sid's second appearance on the list is hardly a classic either. Yet again, this is a match that was not supposed to serve as the Main Event, since it was supposed to be Bret-Shawn II, but we get this instead. Not much to write home about.

#21.
Steel Cage Match for the WWF Title
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy
Wrestlemania 2
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

Another rather bleh match, very little action, very little drama. It happened, lets move on.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And here's were they start to get good)

#20.
Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff

Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

This is a hard match to hate for nostalgias sake. These four men (including one non-trained wrestler) went out and put on a fun match, that made you believe was important, and they certainly succeeded. Well worth a watch for nostalgia, but not for much else.

#19.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

The third (and to date, final) non-title match to close out the show, and probably the best of the bunch. This is easily the best celebrity wrestling match of all time, and has held up well to this day.

#18.
WWF Title Match
Yokozuna(c) vs. Bret Hart
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

I remember watching this match and simply jumping for joy at the finish. My Canadian hero, Bret Hart, defeated the evil villain who had squashed him a year before. Simply a great moment. That being said, the match leading up to it was not the Hitman's finest, but still pretty decent, and one of the best of Yokozuna's career.

#17.
Undisputed Title Match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Triple H

Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

I have such mixed feelings about this one. The storyling going into this one was simply ridiculous, as the main focus was Triple H vs. Stephanie. The match in itself was pretty good, but not on par with their work from a year and a half before. Also, the crowd was really not into this match at all, with everyone being exhausted after the spectacle that was Rock-Hogan.

#16.
WWF Title Match
Sergeant Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan
Wrestlemania VII
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

Like the previous match, the build to this one left a lot to be desired, and like the previous match, this was still pretty good. However, unlike the previous match, the crowd was actually into this one, as Slaughter approached nuclear level heat here, thus putting it abouve Jericho-H.

#15.
World Title Match
Triple H (c) vs. Batista
Wrestlemania 21
Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA

I remember a lot of people raving about this match at the time, and I really didn't get it. Maybe because it was on the same card as Rey-Eddie, Angle-HBK, Taker-Orton, and the first Money in the Bank Match, but I really wasn't blown away by the match quality here.

#14.
Four-way Elimination Match for the WWF Title
Triple H (c) vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley vs. Big Show
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

The first multi-man match to close the show, and the first time that a heel left Wrestlemania as champion. Despite all of the McMahon involvment, the match was still a good one, especially when it came down to Triple H and The Rock. I think that everyone could see the Vince turn at the end, but it was still a fun ride getting there.

#13.
Tournament Finals for the Vacated WWF Title
Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase
Wrestlemania IV
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

This was seriously the only redeeming quality to an otherwise mediocre event. The main event really delivered as both men (plus Hogan and Andre, their respective corner men) played their role well. Savage had already fought three very long matches en route to this finale, and looked like he was set to loose. Despite all the odds though, good prevailed, and Savage was able to win his first world title.

#12.
WWF Title Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant
Wrestlemania III
Pontiac Silver Dome
Detroit, MI

This match could be ranked as high as #1, or as low as #23 and it would be hard to argue with it. This match, while technically was certianly lacking, it is easily the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling. This was not about the holds or high spots, it was about the spectacle, and every main event has been trying to recreate the same effect, to no avail.

#11.
WWF Title Match
Randy "Macho Man" Savage (c) vs. Hulk Hogan
Wrestlemania V
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

The second Wrestlemania to feature a "former friends, current enemies" main event, that was much more emotional that the build to Hogan-Andre. The match here was really nothing short of spectacular, as it featured a good mix of psychology and emotion, and marked a major shift to the current idea of a "soap opera for men".

#10.
WWF Title Match
The Rock (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

The first of their epic Wrestlemania trilogy, as The Rock was backed by Vince McMahon and Austin was trying to regain his title. The match walked the fine line between "epic" and "overbooked" nicely. The series of referees, before Foely returned to count the three helped build an undeniable drama here.

#9.
WWE Title Match
John Cena vs. Triple H
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

Simply one of the most bizarre crowd reactions ever, as Cena was supposed to be the face, and H was supposed to be the heel. However, the crowd ended up being split somewhere in the middle, and both men played tweeners for the match. This is perhaps the most genuinely shocked with a finish of a Wrestlemania main event that I have ever seen, as everyone was expecting a Triple H victory, and nobody expected Triple H to cleanly tap out to the STFU.

#8.
Title vs. Title
Hulk Hogan vs. The Warrior Warrior
Wrestlemania VI
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

The first face vs. face main event, which was simply unheard of at the time. Both men (and the crowd along with them) gave the matches of their lives, and it was far, far better than anyone could have ever anticipated.

#7.
WWF Title Match
Shawn Micheals (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

As I mentioned the in Showstopper list, this was HBK's manliest performance of his career, as he probably should have sat this one out, but fought through it all. Similar things can be said for Austin who was still recovering from his near fatal neck injury. These two gave us a great match that kick started the Attitude Era. Tyson punching HBK was one of the most lasting images in Wrestlemania history.

#6.
WWE Title Match
John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

Another of the Showstopper's great performances. One of the most well rounded matches I have seen in a while, as these two really have a fantastic chemistry.

#5.
WWE Title Match
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

One of the most anticipated matches in recent Wrestlemania history. Ever since Lesnar was signed, everyone wanted to see the battle of the two amateurs turned pro, and it was saved until the biggest stage of them all. These two men mixed their amateur background in with the professional present, and gave us a match for the ages. The one thing that stopped this match from being even higher was having Lesnar miss the shooting star press at the end, and nearly killing himself.

#4.
Iron Man Match for the WWF Title
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania 12
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

A great match that showcased the incredibly difference between the WWF and WCW main event style at the time, as the WWF's guys could really, really deliver. Despite my criticism of this match, I still think that this is one of the best technical matches to take place on the big stage.

#3.
World Title Match
Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

Yeah, I think that the latest addition to this list was that good. The build up was sub-par, and the match was in danger of falling behind the WWE Title Match, Mayweather-Big Show, and HBK-Flair on the depth chart, but they went out and closed the show in style. Seeing The Undertaker chokeslam one of Edge's cronies onto the other was great, followed by Charles Robinson's lonnnng run to the ring, and Edge getting a 2.999 count was great. Edge looked like a million bucks, and The Undertaker saved the day as usual.

#2.
World Title Match
Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Simply one of the best matches to ever take place, regardless of events that have followed it. Three of the greatest in-ring performers of all time simply delivered a match for the ages.

#1.
No-Disqualification Match for the WWF Title
The Rock (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

Now here it is, THE match. As I have said repeatedly on this blog, this is the most important match in the history of the pseudo-sport. The Attitude Era was defined by Austin fighting on his own against the Evil Boss, no matter what. Yet, here he had to turn to the very same boss to beat his long time rival, he had to give in to The Man, he fought the Law and the Law Won, he loved Big Brother. There was nothing more after that, anything else was just a footnote. This is simply required viewing for any wrestling fan.

***************************************************

And there we have it, the last of my Wrestlemania rankings for the year. Turn back later on to see prediction for the big show, as well as post show analysis. It's been a fun ride, let's see how this event changes any rankings from here on out!

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - The Showstopper

2009-04-02T06:07:00.005-04:00

Here we are at our penultimate Wrestlemania rankings, as we look at the matches of the man who is perhaps the greatest competitor in the history of the event, Mr. Wrestlemania himself, Shawn Michaels.

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#15.
The Rockers vs. The Orient Express
Wrestlemania VI
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

While this is not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, it still could have been better. I was not a huge fan of the "salt in the eyes lead to a count out" finish. These two teams would have a much better match at the following years Royal Rumble. Had that match have taken place here, then it would be far higher on the list.

#14.
Shawn Michaels vs. Tito "El Matador" Santana
Wrestlemania VIII
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, IL

As I said in my Openers list, "This was a fun match, between two very talented performers, but it lacked the necessary emotion to push it into greatness.". Not much more to add here, although it is interesting to here Bobby "The Brain" Heenan say that Michaels was going to be the biggest star of the 90s, funny how things work out.

#13.
Intercontinental Title Match
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Tatanka
Wrestlemania IX
Ceaser's Palace
Las Vegas, NV

Another match that I already mentioned. It was certainly a good one, but marred by the disqualification finish, and the lack of real emotion.

#12.
The Twin Towers vs. The Rockers
Wrestlemania V
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Hardly the biggest debut for the future legend. These two teams worked a good Big Team vs. Little Team match, which The Rockers would become famous for. This is well worth a watch, for the nostalgia factor alone.

#11.
Street Fight
Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

As I have said a number of times, this was too long and too much of Michaels beating on McMahon. While that is enjoyable to a point, they may have taken it too far and too long with this one.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's were we go from good, to great)

#10.
The Rockers vs. The Barbarian and Haku
Wrestlemania VII
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

I ranked this one #5 on my "Openers" list, and in retrospect, I may have underrated it. It was that good.

#9.
WWF Title Match
Diesel (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

The match that really showed that Michaels was a viable main event player. During this match, Diesel was supposed to be the dominant face, but Michaels did such a good job in this match that the Hartford fans started to cheer him on (a near unheard of thing in 1995). The Showstopper truly arrived here.

#8.
WWF Title Match
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

Probably the manliest performance of Michaels' career. He had already suffered a career ending back injury, months prior, but he still fought it out for this match, and absolutely delivered. This appeared to be the last match of his career, until his miraculous 2002 comeback, and had it been, it would certainly be a good way to go.

#7.
WWE Title Match
John Cena (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

While this match gets mixed reviews, I quite enjoy it. These two worked a very nice mix of technique, brawling, and high spots into one match. I really enjoyed the cross body-FU-Superkick-STFU counter series near the end. This really was a great way to end a very solid event.

#6.
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

This was from their first feud back in 2003, and not their epic feud of last year. That being said, this was an absolute dream match for me, as two of my all-time favourite performers stepped into the same ring for the first time. While it is strange to think of now, at the time, this was a novelty, as it was one of his first few matches back from his comeback, and nobody was certain how much longer he would be around for. My hopes were high, and I was certainly not let down. This is well worth a watch, even if you aren't quite as big of a fan of these two as I am.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is where it gets spectacular)

#5.
Iron Man Match for the WWF Title
Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania 12
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

This is perhaps the most overrated match in the history of the WWE. Many people call it the best match ever (as it was voted the best Wrestlemania match ever before Wrestlemania XX), and it certainly is a very good match, but the praise it receives may just be a little much. These two men delivered for an hour, which was something that we were not seeing at the time (and had not seen since Flair's glory days in the 80s). My biggest complaint is the lack of falls, they announced the Iron Man stipulation, yet did nothing to play into it, as both men were tied 0-0 at the end of the hour. A 1-1 tie would have been more effective. Still, well worth a watch if you have an hour to kill.

#4.
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Arguably Shawn's greatest match before his comeback, and the day that he started to become "The Showstopper". These two men went out and gave us something that we had never seen before. Sure the high parts have been topped since then, but words can not express how ground breaking this match was, as so much of the death-defying moves that defined the late 90s and early 00s take roots from this match.

#3.
Career Threatening Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

The last match in the career of the greatest in-ring performer against arguably his closest equal. While this match may not have been a technical classic like the Iron Man Match, or as jaw dropping as the Ladder Match, this match had far, far more emotion. The story going into this was fantastic, as Flair asked Michaels to give him a Wrestlemania moment, but Shawn was hesitant to retire his friend, yet Flair insisted that he give him his all. In the end Shawn uttered "I'm sorry, I love" before giving a final superkick and ending the career of Ric Flair in what was one of the most emotional moments in the history of this pseudo-sport

#2.
World Title Match
Triple H (c) vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

While this is controversial given the news that surrounds Mr. Benoit, I decided to let this match stand on it's own merits, and those are quite high. These three men delivered an absolute classic in every sense of the world in what is arguably the triple threat match ever, Triple H's best match ever, and ranks among the best matches of Michaels and Benoit's great in-ring careers. While many at the time were critical of Michaels's involvment in the match, he certainly added his own flair to the affair, and helped the dynamics of the match. If you can get past the sickening events surround Mr. Benoit, and the surreal hug at the end of the match, this is simply a fantastic match.

#1.
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle
Wrestlemania 21
Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA

The premise was simple. Who was the best, not just at the time, but of the generation? This pitted the best wrestler of the 90s against the best of the 00s. The results? Simply the best that you could ask for. Find a way to watch this match, even if you are not a fan, it will not let you down.

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While I said that this Sunday's match could be Taker's best ever, I am not certain that it will be the same for HBK's, he has some pretty stiff comeptition, that being said, this should still be a classic.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - The Deadman

2009-04-01T07:50:00.008-04:00

Greetings one and all, to the 7th Installment of my Wrestlemania rankings. The next two installments will look at the performers in the match that I, for one, am most eagerly anticipating, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Today, we look back at the sixteen previous victims of the Undertaker's legendary streak.

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#16.
The Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez
Wrestlemania IX
Ceaser's Palace
Las Vegas, NV

One of the main reasons that this card gets so much flack, as many consider this to be the worst match in the history of Wrestlemania. It consisted of a few punches, a clothesline or two, and Gonzalez using a rag soaked with ether to knock out the Undertaker and get himself disqualified. Sadly it took seven minutes and thirty three seconds to do all of that.

#15.
Hell in a Cell
The Undertaker vs. The Big Bossman
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

Uggh...I talked about this one in my Extreme Rules match, and that was enough, I don't want to make any of you relive this atrocity. Next.

#14.
The Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

Part of the Undertaker's year-long feud with the Corporation. This took place here, despite the fact that his main feud was with Kama Mustafa. Why they didn't just give us that match is beyond me.

#13.
Handicap Match
The Undertaker vs. Big Show and A-Train
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

While this match was bad, it could have been far worse, had they gone with the original plan to have The Undertaker team with Nathan Jones to take on the two monsters. Still it wasn't very good.

#12.
The Undertaker vs. Kane
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

The return of the Undertaker as the Deadman from the Biker for this match truly was a Wrestlemania moment. That being said, his first match back against his "brother" Kane, was not. This match was rather short and one-sided, and was a bit of a black eye on an otherwise stellar card.

#11.
Casket Match
The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

Another match that I mentioned on the "Extreme Rules" list. While this match was better than I expected, it still wasn't exactly a classic.

#10.
WWF Title Match
Psycho Sid (c) vs. The Undertaker
Wrestlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

A match that really, really, should not have happened for a variety of reasons, least of all quality wise. While some people enjoyed this one, I found it rather bland, and was only saved by Bret Hart's repeated run-ins. There is a rumour that Sid actually crapped his pants in the middle of this match, so it is worth it to try and see it, but other than that, worth a skip.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And here is where they start to get good)

#9.
The Undertaker vs. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Wrestlemania VII
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

The Deadman's memorable Wrestlemania debut. Sure it was a squash, but it was entertaining. Snuka still had enough gas in the tank to make the "new kid" look good, this worked quite well. That being said, it wasn't long enough to rank any higher.

#8.
The Undertaker vs. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Wrestlemania VIII
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, IL

I do believe that this was the last match for Roberts in the WWF before he jumped to WCW, and boy could you ever tell. The Undertaker completley dominated him, and Jake got absolutely nothing in. It really established The Undertaker as the master of mind games, and the tombstone onto the concrete was pure Bad Ass, and like nothing we had ever really seen in the WWF at the time..

#7.
The Undertaker vs. Kane
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

The first of many, many matches between these two, and still, to this day, the best of them all. Untertaker's enterance with the druids was great, and to see The Undertaker dive onto the announce table was fantastic. This one is far, far better than the match from Wrestlemania XX that I previously mentioned.

#6.
The Undertaker vs. Diesel
Wrestlemania 12
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

I do believe that this was Diesel's last match in the WWF, before his imfamous jump that changed wretling history, and this certainly was a great match to go out on. This had been something of a dream match for any wrestling fans at the time, and it definitely delivered, a surprisingly good fast-paced match.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And now we get to the pure classics)

#5.
No Disqualification Match
The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

As I said in the "Extreme Rules" post, this match does not get nearly the hype it deserves, mainly because it was on the same card as Hogan vs. Rock. Still a great deal of fun between two of the all-time greats. This match could have been #1 on the list had Flair gotten in more offense.

#4.
The Undertaker vs. Triple H
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

The first truly great Wrestlemania match for the phenom. Both men were on top of their game in this one and delivered a pure classic. This was one of the few times that the streak has been legitimately in jeopardy, and was pretty close to being done for. My one complaint with this one, was the exceptionally long ref-bump, they should have just made it no-disqualification and been done with it. Still, an underrated classic here.

#3.
The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
Wrestlemania 21
Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA

The most likely match to have ended the streak, was when the Deadman faced the Legend Killer. It would have been a perfect way to get Orton over as a huge heel would be for him to pin The Undertaker in the middle of the ring. However, that wasn't meant to be. Highlights of the match include the swank chokeslam into RKO counter by Orton. A great addition to a great card.

#2.
World Title Match
Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

Easily the best match of Batista's career, and among the greatest that the Undertaker has ever had. These two men went out and silenced all of the critics. They delivered one of the best big man power matches ever, and stole the show. You could really tell that Batista was trying to bring his A-game, using moves that he doesn't normally do, and delivered big steps, including the running powerslam onto an announce table.

#1.
World Title Match
Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

Perhaps it is too early to judge, but I think that last year's offering was the best match that the Undertaker has ever given on the grandest stage of them all, and perhaps his best non-gimmick match. These two brought it all. I was worried that Edge would be treated like a joke, but the Undertaker really made him look like a threat to the streak, selling for all of his big moves. When Edge hit Taker with the camera (like he had done back at The Survivor Series of that year), I thought that would be all she wrote, but then the Undertaker kicked back up at 2.999 and countered a Spear into the Devil's Cross for the win. This match was nothing short of fantastic and belongs at the top of the list...for now.

********************************************************************

Yes, I said "for now" because I legitimately think that this Sunday's offering has a chance to be the best match in the history of The Undertaker's fabbled streak. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - Women's Matches

2009-03-30T04:55:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the sixth of the nine part installment, looking back at different rankings of Wrestlemania matches. Right now, in honour of the 25 woman "Miss Wrestlemania" battle royal, I look back at all of the great (and not so great) Women's wrestling matches that took place on the grandest stage of them all.

**************************************************

#18.
Catfight
Terri Runnels vs. The Kat
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

A really, really, really bad match. And I am not a harsh critic of women's wrestling. These two had an unenviable position of following up the Triangle Ladder Match on the card, but they certainly did not deliver. This was just two women grabbing each others hair and rolling around. It blissfully ended with Mae Young performing a broncobuster on Moolah. I never thought that I would ever type that.

#17.
Women's Title Match
Sable (c) vs. Tori
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

Another dull one. Sable was just turning from uber-face to indifferent heel as she took on more of her own personality as a prima-dona. Tori tried to challenge her, but Sable's debuting bodyguard, Nicole Boss came down and cost Tori the match, thankfully ending the torture.

#16.
Playboy Pillowfight
Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

About as good as it sounds.

#15.
Lumberjill Match for the Women's Title
Melina (c) vs. Ashley
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

Ashley really had no place in the ring, as she was well over her head with a talented performer like Melina. This match was dull and served as a convenient break before the main event.

#14.
Women's Title Match
Fabulous Moolah (c) vs. Velvet McIntyre
Wrestlemania 2
Rosemont Horizon
Rosemont, IL

Pretty boring match, that was saved from being truly atrocious by being less than a minute.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: There is some perverse entertainment that comes after this)

#13.
Women's Title Match
Ivory (c) vs. Chyna

Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

On the other hand, this match had to be a squash, it really was the only way to end this feud. Chyna had been injured for months at the hands of the RTC, so this was the logical pay back, she had to get them, and she had to get them good. While logical, and crowd-popping, there was hardly enough here to get this to be ranked any higher.

#12.
Women's Title Match
Trish Stratus (c) vs. Chrsty Hemme
Wrestlemania 21
Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA

The annual "Playboy Push" came to Hemme in 2005. She was really, really out of her league against Trish, who could not carry her to anything watchable. It seems no coincidence that Trish would take a few months off (with the title) shortly after this match.

#11.
Beth Phoenix and Melina vs. Maria and Ashley
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

The most recent addition to the list. These four ladies had to follow up the emotional Ric Flair retirement, and oddly the lights went out in the middle of the match. Still they had a decent affair, with the heels controlling enough of the offense, and getting the win to make it worthwhile. Also, Snoop Dogg knocking out Santino Marella was amazing.

#10.
Women's Title Match
Jazz (c) vs. Lita vs. Trish
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Probably the worst placed match in the history of wrestling. These ladies had to follow up the surreal experience that was Rock-Hogan, and needless to say, the crowd wanted none of it. Still, they worked fairly hard. This match could have, and probably should have, had Trish win the belt in order to excite the Canadian crowd a little bit.

#9.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Dusty Rhodes and Saphire vs.
Randy "Macho King" Savage and Sensational Queen Sheri
Wrestlemania VI
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Much like the Backland-Hart encounter I discussed in the previous post, this was a horribly, horribly disappointing match. Both (male) wrestlers are incredibly talented, and a straight up one-on-one match between the two could have been great! Savage's ability would have helped carry Dusty's theatrics to a very good match (a la Hogan and Warrior), but alas they were saddled with two untrained women to team with them, and it really just never clicked what so ever. Probably the worst match of either of their career, certainly considering how young they both were at the time.

#8.
Playboy Evening Gown Match
Stacey Kiebler and Miss Jackie vs. Sable and Torrie
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Part of a horribly offensive storyline that portrayed Stacey and Jackie as two women who were bitter that they weren't allowed to pose for Playboy. Still, the ladies kept this match short enough to be as offensive in delivery as it was in hype.

#7.
Mixed Tag Match
Bam Bam Bigelow and Luna Vachon vs. Doink and Dink
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

It's times like this that you've got to feel bad for Bam Bam. Here he was, a talented performer in his own right, teaming up with the terrifying Luna Vachon, to take on a clown and a midget clown. Thankfully he won, but the match wasn't much to write home about, it just sort of was.

#6.
Women's Title Match
Alundra Blaze (c) vs. Leilani Kai
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

A marginally better offering from the same event. Like most of this card, it just helped to kill time between Bret-Owen and Shawn-Razor.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And here is where they get to be watchable)

#5.
Hair vs. Hair Match for the Women's Title
Victoria (c) vs. Molly Holly
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Again, another disappointing match. Both women here are more than capable, and are two of the greatest wrestlers to set foot in a WWE ring, yet they were given all of 5 minutes, and it just never worked out, which is quite the shame since they both have a ton of talent.

#4.
Mixed Tag Match
Marc Mero and Sable vs.
The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust and Luna Vachon
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

A fun little match with some pretty interesting dynamics. See Sable (who was a huge face) was feuding with Luna (a heel), but Marc Mero (a heel) and Goldust (also a heel) got involved and this match was set. Mero and Goldust were able to work some good stuff, and Sable was able to get the crowd mega-behind her before the finish.

#4.
Inter-gender Tag Team Match
Chyna and Too Cool vs. The Radicals
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

I was hesitant to include this match, since it features one woman and five men. There were enough talented workers in the match to put on a good affair and stop it from being completely terrible. That being said, Chyna pinning Eddie Guerrero is something that never should have crossed my tv screen.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And here is we get to the elite range)

#3.
Women's Title Match
Leilani Kai (c) vs. Wendi Richter
Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

While this may not have been the strongest match ever, the heat for this one was simply off the chart. This match was a huge draw to the original Wrestlemania, as Cyndi Lauper helped corner Richter. Many of these matches have been hurt by crowd reactions, but this one was immensely helped by it.

#2.
Women's Title Match
Victoria (c) vs. Jazz vs. Trish Stratus
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

Two-thirds similar to their match from a year ago, but miles better. These three, very talented women, went out and gave a great performance that added to a really stacked-show.

#1.
Women's Title Match
Trish Stratus(c) vs. Mikey James
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

A great, great, great match here. The storyline was very well thought out, as it took months of build to finally pay off in this big one-on-one show down. Both wrestlers played their part well, especially James who really had Trish (her idol) scouted and used her own moves against her. Well worth a view, even though some parts have been edited out on the DVD.

**************************************************

And there you have the good, the bad, and the ugly of the women of wrestling. Hopefully this edition makes it into the first category.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - Extreme Rules

2009-03-27T23:22:00.010-04:00

The rankings continue, in honour of the very exciting Hardy-Hardy match coming up, today we will look at the best matches to have no rules. Well that technically is not accurate, since every match needs to have some way to declare a winner (except one God awful match on this list), however there are many matches ranging from steel cage matches, to ladder matches, to falls count anywhere affairs, that have taken place that fully allow any sort of weapon or interference possible.

When compiling this list, I realize that the matches are among the greatest ones ever performed on the grand stage. As such, there are a relatively few near the bottom, and the vast majority of these belong in the upper echelon of Wrestlemania matches.

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#28.
Hell in a Cell
The Undertaker vs. The Big Bossman
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

Simply put, an awful, awful match. It lacks any of the excitement, or intensity that the gimmick or event truly deserves. Bossman really was slowing down at this point, and gave the Undertaker nothing to work with, so we ended up with what is the worst pay-per-view Hell in a Cell match ever, by far. It all seemed like an excuse for an insulting post-match angle, when Edge, Christian and Gangrel hung the Bossman from the ceiling in a moment that should have killed him, but yet was never spoken of again.

#27.
I Quit Match
Bret Hart vs. Bob Backland
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

Given the talent involved, I feel strange writing this match so low. While these two had a compelling classic at the Survivor Series before, this match was flat out boring. Bret Hart has stated that he felt that this was the worst match of his career, and it is easy to see why. Arguably the most disapointing match in Wrestlemania history.

#26.
Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. King Kong Bundy
Wrestlemania 2
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

I found little redeeming qualities in this match, as it just seemed like Hogan's victory was never really in doubt, and it all seemed like a set up for Hogan to beat up Heenan at the end. Certainly worth a pass.

#25. Hollywood Backlot Brawl
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper vs. Goldust
Wrestlemania XII
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

Not so much a match, as a show long angle between two wrestlers fighting. It started in the street early on in the show, only for Golddust to escape in a white Bronco (a la OJ Simpson, for anyone who doesn't remember that Media side show) before coming into the arena. Oddly it ended when Piper stripped Goldust of his clothes to reveal women's clothing underneath. Very bizare, and only perversely entertaining.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's where we get our first of several very large jumps in quality)

#24.
Hardcore Title Match
Billy Gunn (c) vs. Hardcore Holly vs. Al Snow
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

To put this in context, I ranked this match #14 on my list of openers, and now here it is 10 spots lower. That has more to say about the quality of this list than it does about this match. A fairly innofensive hardcore match that could be seen all over the place from 1998-2001, if you've seen one of them, you've probably seen them all.

#23.
Casket Match
The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

When this match was announced, it seemed like it was destined to be absolutely horrible, however it turned out to be a perfectly acceptable match, with the easy high point coming when the Undertaker (in his 40s no less) dives over the ropes, over the casket to nail Henry. Taker lifting Mark Henry up and delivering a Tombstone is simply awe inspiring.

#22.
Hardcore Hijinks
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

What started out as Maven defending the hardcore title against Goldust turned into a great running gag throughout the show. During the match (which was rather bland) Spike Dudley ran down to the ring to pin Maven and win the title (this of course during the 24/7 rule of the title) Crash Holly ran out to try and win the title, only for the four men to run into the back. Throughout the night there were many great bits when different wrestlers including The Hurricane, Al Snow, Molly Holly, and Christian all won the title (or tried), before Maven snuck out a pin and left with the title that he started the show with. A fun joke throughout the evening.

#21.
Falls Count Anywhere
Randy Savage vs. Crush
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

A fun little match, that was a sort of going away part for Randy Savage. This match had a bizare rule, where the person who was pinned had to return to the ring within 60 seconds or they would lose. As a result, there were a few falls, before the match finished when Savage pinned Crush in the back, and tied him up in some scaffolding, which prevented him from returning to the ring. Some fun stuff, that was no doubt ahead of its time, but the match was lacking in the drama required for an epic blood feud.

#20.
Hardcore Holly wins the Hardcore Battle Royal
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

Simply one of the most crazy fun matches in Wrestlemania history! There was a fifteen minute time limit, where the goal was to pin the hardcore champion. The title changed hands an unbelievable 9 times. This took the fun hardcore matches taking place at the time to a whole new level of entertainment.

#19.
Dumpster Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles
The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

I mentioned this in my entry for tag team wrestling. I don't have much more to add, this was a fun match that served its purpose. All four men busted out some good spots, and the good guys won.

#18.
No Disqualification Match
Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs. The Big Show
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

While I thought that it sucked at the time, I have grown to appreciate this match upon repeated viewings. These two did the best with what they had. They used the stipulation to hide their flaws, and delivered a pretty entertaining performance. The highlight of course being the Big Show take out Mayweather's posse.

#17.
Chicago Street Fight
Ahmed Johnson and the Legion of Doom vs. The Nation of Domination
Wrestlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

One of the few brightspots on a pretty terrible card. These six men had a fun hardcore match that ended with a sweet double Doomsday Device. It provided a good amount of closure to the long running Johnson-Faarooq feud and served as a catalyst for the breakup of the original Nation. Well worth a viewing.

#16.
Belfast Brawl
JBL vs. Finlay
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

As I have said a few times. Fun match, with an odd ending that I certainly do not approve of (still). That being said, any match that includes Finlay busting a tope, and JBL throwing stairs at Hornswoggle is worth watching.

#15.
No Holds Barred
Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

Oddly, the lowest match to feautre Vince McMahon features the greatest in ring-performer of this generation. While Shawn certainly did his best, this match really just did not do it for me. There were some crazy bumps, including the leap off of the mega-ladder, but it really was just Shawn Michaels beating up Vince for a solid 18 minutes. While that is entertaining, it just wasn't enough for me to get any higher than this.

#14.
Hardcore Title Match
Raven (c) vs. Kane vs. Big Show
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

A forgotten match from one of hte greatest wrestling events of all time. These three men walked the line almost perfectly between comedy and violence, as they used some violent, stiff moves, but still kept it light, with the golf cart chase. After Kane won, I was really hoping that Pete Rose would run out and try to take the title, but was slightly disappointed on that one. Still, probably the best match for hte Hardcore Title that did not involve RVD.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Now here is where it starts to get really, really good)

#13.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Ric Flair vs. Shelton Benjamin vs.
Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Matt Hardy
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

While the second installment of the now annual Money in the Bank Tradition was full of some excellent moments, including Shelton risking his life for our pleasure and the drama of Flair almost grabbing the case, it was probably the worst match in the series. Most of the spots were repeats of the previous years masterpiece, and RVD was the most logical winner, as much as I wanted to believe that Flair would pull of a miracle.

#12. Street Fight
Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

I remember watching this match with several of my friends, fully expecting to hate it. I felt that two men in their fifties would not be able to pull off anything that was even remotely entertaining, and yet, here I have it ranked higher than several great matches. These two men pulled out all of the stops, including Vince McMahon of all people jumping off of a ladder, and one of the best Wrestlemania surprises ever, in a Roddy Piper run in. Hogan won, as everyone was expecting, but it was a great deal of fun.

#11. Street Fight
Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

Probably the most overbooked matches in wrestling history. See, Vince got a divorce from Linda (who was knocked into a comma) and was cheating on him with Trish Stratus. Shane decided to come to his father's aid, but then just before the event, it was announced that the WWF purchased WCW, but it was revealed that Shane had boughten it underneath his fathers nose, adding a whole new dimension to the rivalry. Ohh, and Mick Foley (who had been fired by Vince) was named the special guest referee for this match. This probably had the highest scope of outside interference of any match ever, as all sorts of people at the time were expecting some sort of WCW run in. However, it certainly did not need it, as Trish turned on Vince, Linda walked again to attack him, Foley beat him up, and Shane delivered a Van Terminator (coast to coast dropkick) for the win. Confused? Can't say that I blame you, but it all added up to be a really entertaining match.

#10.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
Mr. Kennedy vs. CM Punk vs. King Booker vs. Edge vs.
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finlay
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

I already raved about this match when talking about the greatest opening matches in the history of the event. As I said then, this easily had the biggest names in the history of the match, as it featured three former world champions, two men who would go on to be world champion, two more who I think will be world champions soon enough, and a well respected veteran. This had some of the highest highs, but tended to drag between the spots, which prevents it from being even higher up on the list.

#9.
No Disqualification Match
The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Had this been on almsot any other card in history, it would have received more hype, and be better remembered than it has been. This truly was a match between two of the all-time greats, and it certainly did not disappoint. Both men brought their A-game and were sure to deliver a fun brawl. The most obvious highlight being the return of Arn Anderson to deliver a picture perfect spinebuster. My one complaint with this match was a bit too one sided, as Flair should have been given more offense.

#8.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
CM Punk vs. MVP vs. Chris Jericho vs. Mr. Kennedy vs.
Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. John Morrison
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

One of the highlights of last years Wrestlemania. All seven men performed very well, and it was much better paced than the previous years performance. Shelton Benjamin proved to be a highlight again, especially when he balanced himself with one foot on top of the ladder, but the real star of the show to me was John Morrison, who busted out a great moonsault with the ladder. Well done by all men, and I was glad to see CM Punk get the win, even if his title reign left a lot to be desired.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: And now we get into the epic range)

#7.
Hardcore Match
Edge vs. Mick Foley
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

A seemingly random pairing that had less build than it probably should have, but turned out to be a great match. Both men really fought like they had something to prove, Edge that he belonged in the main event, and Foley that he could still make another heel (a la Rock, Triple H, and Orton) and deliver a solid match. The two fought a great affair, that showed just how great of a performers they both are. They slowly built all of the high spots (especially the table on fire) and had the crowd eating out the palm of their hands, until they finally delivered. The obvious highlight of the match was Edge going face first into freakin' fire. A very manly performance.

#6.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit vs.
Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kane
Wrestlemania 21
Staples Center
Los Angeles, CA

The first and still the best of the annual match. Going into the match I really wasn't sure as to what to expect, as we had never seen something quite like this on such a big stage. Yet all six men (seven, counting Tomko) played their part to perfection. I especially liked the beginning where all of the men took turns diving onto everyone, until Kane ended it by jumping onto six other people. Also, Benoit's selling during this match was amazing, and stands out as one of the best sell jobs of his long illustrious career. The highlight though was Shelton Benjamin running up one ladder to knock Jericho off of another ladder, Spiderman style. Edge's victory here helped set up his "Ultimate Opportunist" character that we all know and loathe to this day.

#5.
Triangle Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles
The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

A simply ground-breaking match. Sure we had seen ladder matches before, but nothing quite like this. These six men brought organized chaos to the big leagues and it's hard not to love every single minute of it.

#4.
TLC II for the WWF Tag Team Titles
The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

It's hard to compare the back-to-back Wrestlemania encounters here, but I prefer this one ever so slightly. While they repeat a number of the same spots that they had done at Wrestlemania 2000, and Summerslam 2000, and the long-forgotten Raw ladder match between Edge and Christian and the Hardyz, this one just seems to be so much...more somehow. The addition of the three extra people as allies really helped make this even more of a train wreck, and it's hard not to love that. However, unlike most trainwrecks, this one ages quite well and is still as jaw dropping now as it was eight years ago.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is were we enter the legendary range, with three matches that any and every wrestling fan should have seen a number of times by now)

#3.
Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Micheals
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

A match that is impossible not to love. These two men pulled out a very rare mix of high spots and story telling and gave us a true classic. It was here that Shawn Michaels officially became Mr. Wrestlemania, and he hasn't looked back since.

#2.
No Disqualification Match for the WWF Title
The Rock vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

The fourth match from Wrestlemania X-Seven to be featured on this list, which oddly, was not even supposed to be under consideration here. It was only announced at the last second that it would be a No Disqualification match, which should have been the first sign that something strange was going on.

Now, I don't want to talk too much about this match here, since I would like to save it for my post on the best main events (spoiler alert: this will be ranked quite high on the list), but if you just need to know how much I love this match head on back to a post from two years ago.

It could only be topped by one thing, it's necessary precursor.

#1.
Submission Match
Bret Hart vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Wrestlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

Quite possibly the greatest match to ever take place in wrestling history. These two combined scientific wrestling with pure bloody hatred in an amazing match. These two simply pulled out all of the stops, from foreign objects, to guest referees, to blood to give us an amazing encounter. This match launched "Stone Cold" into mega-star status, and turned Bret Hart to his very intriguing heel character that he would end his WWF tenure on. While it wouldn't officially change, this match would set the WWF up for their amazing attitude era that would revolutionize the genre, and make it relevant once more.

Lofty? Of course. Inaccurate? No way. This is the match that spawned Austin and wrestling to new heights, and to think that the WWF was close to bankrupcy as this event approached, and this match probably saved it from happening.

Like the previous match, I have spoken about it once before, so give it a read if you want to know the history of this one.

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Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - Celebrities

2009-03-26T08:31:00.009-04:00

Greetings one and all for the 4th of nine installment of my Wrestlemania rankings countdown. Today, in honour of Chris Jericho's Mikey Rourke fueled feud with the legends of wrestling, we will look at the best celebrity involvement on the grandest stage of them all. While there have been a number of wrestlers who served as guest ring announcers, or time keepers, those will be ignored. We are only going to look at the 11 times (by my count) that a celebrity has been involved in a match, in one way or another.

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#11.
Miller Light Cat Fight Girls vs. Stacey Keibler and Tori Wilson
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

While this was not an official sanctioned match, it took far, far too much time to be ignored. The Miller Light Cat Fight Girls (it's ok if you forget who they are), were being interviewed, when Stacey and Tori came down, and a catfight ensued. If anyone ever asks, this is why RVD/Kane vs. Lance Storm/Morley was bumped to Sunday Night Heat. Such a crime.

#10.
Brawl for All Match:
Bart Gunn vs. Butterbean
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

One of the shortest, and most ill-advised matches to ever take place. For those of you who may not remember, the Brawl For All, was a bizarre attempt at a legitimate torunament that the WWF tried in 1998. They had felt that Dr. Death Steve Williams would win, and be a good challenger for Austin in the fall, however, Bart Gunn legitametly knocked him out in the second round of their match. Sensing an opportunity to push Gunn, the WWF worked his final two matches, to have him knock out his opponents. Sadly though, just about everyone in the tournament, including Gunn and Williams, were injured and had to take several months off as a result. When Gunn finally returned from injury (and I believe some time in Japan) he was pushed as a very tough wrestler, so logically he had to challenge Butterbean, who was a sideshow boxer at the time. Of course, keeping with the great idea, this match would not be scripted, and be fought "for real".

The most important thing to notice here is that it probably took you just as long to read about that as it did for the match to happen, as Butterbean won the match in 35 seconds, and this match (and the Brawl for All Tournament) was never spoken of again. I don't ever remember seeing Bart Gunn on WWF programming after this.

#9.
Boxing Match:
"Rowdy" Roddy Pipper vs. Mr. T
Wrestlemania 2
Nassau Colliseum
Long Island, NY

On the other end of the "ill-advised decision" spectrum is this match. Which, while still a bad move, was for a different set of reasons. Pipper and T had been involved in the main event of Wrestlemania the year before (more on that to come later), and their feud continued throughout the year. It was decided that it woudl be settled in a boxing match. However, unlike the Bart Gunn - Butterbean disaster, this would be worked. What resulted was 13 minutes of a boring, slow paced boxing match with no legitimate punches getting thrown. The only redeeming quality was Piper freaking out between rounds and throwing his stool.

The misery was stopped when Piper bodyslammed Mr. T to earn himself a disqualification.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Big, huge jump here to the next number, as all of them above here were quite good and actually added to the program)

#8.
WWF vs. NFL Battleroyal
Wrestlemania 2
Rosemont Horizon
Rosemeont, IL

One of the big attractions to Wrestlemania 2, and the second last match of the Chicago portion of the evening, was the WWF vs. NFL battleroyal, featuring a mixture of wrestlers and football players. This was a great showdown of titans, and helped bring in a great deal of fans to the event, which makes it a hard one to fault. The football players looked fine in the match, as they did not have to perform any real wrestling moves, and thankfully, it was won by a wreslter, and certainly one believable enough to eliminate the large football palyers.

#7.
Battle of the Billionaires
Hair vs. Hair Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga
Wrestlemania 23
Ford Field
Detroit, MI

THE selling point for Wrestlemania 23 was the showdown between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon, via their charges. The story being that they were having differences and wanted to settle them in a match, and they would both pick a representative. Trump picked Lashley while Vince picked Umaga. The two wrestlers had an entertaining enough match, that ended with a Lashley victory, and Vince's head was shaved in a fun Wrestlemania moment.

This certainly was a fun match and fun celebrity involvment, but it woudl have been more highly ranked had Trump been a better talker, and Bobby Lashley had stuck around for longer than he did.

#6.
The Pete Rose Run Ins
Wrestlemania XIV, XV, and 2000

This was legitametly a highlight of the attitude era Wrestlemanias. It all started when Rose was serving as a guest ring announcer before the Kane-Undertaker match at Wrestlemania XIV, he ran down the crowd, only for Kane to come to the ring, chokeslam and tombstone baseball's hit king. While that was entertaining enough, the next year, Pete Rose would run down again and attack Kane, only for the Big Red Machine to get the upper hand again. The next year, it would happen once more, this time with Rikishi (Kane's partner in the tag match) giving Rose a stinkface.

While Kane was fighting for the hardcore title at Wrestlemania X-Seven, I really hoped that after he won, Pete Rose would run in and steal a pin on Kane to get the title, before Kane would tombstone him again, but sadly, the tradition ended after three very entertaining years and moments.

#5.

No Disqualification Match:
Big Show vs. Floyd "Money" Mayweather
Wrestlemania XXIV
Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL

A fun little match, that got a lot of play on sports shows. While at first it may have seemed stupid and a waste of the Big Show's return, it ended up giving us some great moments. Floyd Mayweather was made to be a wrestling heel, as he has all of the mannerisms down pat, and knows how to cut an "I'm better than you" promo as good as almost anyone on the roster. I was really hoping that he would make a return for this years event, but I guess not.

(EDITOR'S NOTE:...and, break!)

#4.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lawrence Taylor
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

Probably the best wrestler vs. celebrity match ever. These two had a surprisingly competitive match, and Bigelow had no problem making Taylor look like a million bucks. This is one of few non world-title matches to close Wrestlemania, and is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise forgettable card.

#3.
Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Rowdy Piper and Paul Orndorff
Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

An insanely important match in the history of wrestling. While there had been previous celebrity involvment in matches, it had never been like this. This received a huge amount of hype, and was central to the entire "Wrestlemania" concept coming to be. Sure the match wasn't that great, but it helped make it all happen.

But there was another...

#2.
Women's Title Match:
Leilani Kai (c) vs. Wendi Richter
Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

That's right, I have this one a slight nod. After appearing on television a number of times, Cyndi Lauper got involved with the women of wrestling, and feuded with Leilani Kai and her manager, the Fabulous Moolah. She got herself a "temporary managers license" to stand in the corenr of Wendi Richter. While the match was far from spectacular, Lauper's involvment was a huge boost to the event, and got everything featured on MTV, which was new and hip at the time (and actually played music). This helped get a lot of people into wrestling, and helped create a huge amount of life long fans.

#1.
WWF Title Match:
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Steve Austin
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

A huge, huge, huge match, with a huge, huge, huge celebrity involvment. It was announced that Mike Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, would be involved at Wrestlemania. When he showed up on Raw, Steve Austin got in his face and a shoving match ensued. A few weeks later, Tyson showed up on Raw, and he ended up siding with Shawn Michaels and his group, D-X. This received a *huge* amount of coverage on news agencies, and it became a big deal. During the match though, Tyson switched sides, and joined Austin, giving him the victory and officially starting the most profitable era that the WWF ever experienced.

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Assuming that Rourke gets involved in Jericho's match, we could have some room up near the top. Well, at least it will have to be better than the Miller Light Cat Fight Girls, right?

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - The Tag Team Titles

2009-03-25T04:25:00.013-04:00

The countdown to Wrestlemania continues with a look at at the best matches for the Tag Team Titles being counted down. The upcoming title unification bout between Miz and Morrison against the Colons is going to be the 21st tag team title match, and to be honest, I think that it has a legitimate potential to be in the Top 3 all time.

Here are it's contenders...

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#20.
Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. D'Lo Brown and Test
Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

Such a shame that a match with four talented workers can be ranked so low, but them's the breaks. See the back story to this match was pretty negligible. Owen and Jarrett were without a challenger (since Mark Henry had suffered an injury, thus leaving D'Lo without a partner), as such, the WWE decided to have a special battle royal during the pre-show with the last two finalists getting to challenge for the title, thus the random pairing of D'Lo and Test. The match was very short and unspectacular, with the champions retaining after the challengers continued to fight. Given the talent in this match, it could have been great with more time or more of a story, but sadly it lacked both, and remains a boring and sad footnote on Wrestlemania history.

#19.
Money Inc. (c) vs. The Natural Disasters

Wrestlemania VIII
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, IL

A sad addition to one of my favourite events of all time. The super team of Ted Dibiase and IRS were running rough-shot over the tag team division. The Natural Disasters of Earthquake and Typhoon seemed like logical opponents. However, even the veterans of Dibiase and Rotunda couldn't pull a great match out of the big lugs, and gave us a slow, plodding affair. Worst of all, the champions walked out for an intentional countout in a pretty low and boring move.

#18.
The Smoking Gunns (c) vs. Owen Hart and Yokozuna
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

The match was originally billed as Owen Hart and a "Mystery Partner" challenging The Smoking Gunns. While at the time, it seemed like Jim Niedhart would be the most logical partner, it ended up being the 500lb former world champion. The match was essentially an extended squash as the challengers simply manhandled the Smoking Gunns. The match was a rather slow and uneventful affair, with the only worthwhile moment coming after the finish of the match when Owen Hart celebrated like he won the World Title, Academy Award and Super Bowl all at once.

#17.
The Colossal Connection (c) vs. Demolition
Wrestlemania VI
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Demolition were a very good tag team, and both members of The Colossal Connection, Andre the Giant and Haku had their share of good matches, but this was certainly not the time or the place. Andre the Giant was at the end of the line, and he very clearly knew it. He did not step into the ring, as Haku spent the entire match in the ring. This was simply an excuse to get the title off of The Colossal Connection and to turn Andre face, so that he could fade off into retirement soon after. A sentimental affair, but not much more than that.

#16.
The Quebecers (c) vs. M.O.M.
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

You have to hand it to these guys, as this was probably the best match that these two teams were capable of, certainly with a count-out finish. That being said, it really wasn't that great, with the double suplex of Mabel being the high point of the match. As with most of this card, it really served as filler between the big matches.

#15.
Fatal Four Way Match:
Rob Van Dam and Booker T (c) vs. La Resistance
vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak
Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Speaking of filler, we have the very definition of it here. This match was randomly announced, with the three challengers having to qualify a few weeks before the event. This match was short and largely forgettable. Thankfully though, the team that was far too good for this match ended up winning.

#14.
Money Inc. (c) vs. The Mega Maniacs
Wrestlemania IX
Ceaser's Palace
Las Vegas, NV

If you want to see why this card is so despised look no further. This was easily the second best match of the night, and see where it ranks on this list. This was Hogan's big return to challenge the evil heel tag champions with his good friend Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. This match was heavily hyped with the crowd being really into it. That being said, the lame disqualification finish did nothing for me, and made me feel like I was wasting my time.

#13.
Fatal Four Way Match:
Rikishi and Scotty Too Hotty (c) vs. APA
vs. The Basham Brothers vs. World's Greatest Tag Team

Wrestlemania XX
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Wrestlemania XX was the only card to see both the WWE Tag and World Tag titles defended (since the World Tag Title match at XIX was on the pre-show) and neither of them had much in the way of back-story to them, and neither of them were very good. Chances are, these matches being what they were no doubt helped lead to the creation of the Money in the Bank match taking palce the next year as a way to get the mid to upper card wrestlers a place on the card.

This match was marginally better than the other one, and that was mostly due to the portion of the match when Haas and Benjamin controlled the offense. The champs retained in this match, in yet another bland match that was not much to write home about.

#12.
The US Express (c) vs. The Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff
Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Fine little match that the crowd was firmly behind. The very pro-America tag team champions defended against the common foes of the Soviets and the Iranians (note: Wrestling has never fully matched the real world of geo-politics). However, the heels were able to pull of a huge upset of a victory, which nearly sent the crowd into a riot. Like the Maniacs-Money Inc. match, the crowd helps pull this one up a few spots.

#11.
Kane and The Big Show (c) vs. Chris Masters and Carlito
Wrestlemania 22
All State Arena
Chicago, IL

The only match on this list that I previously mentioned. Not the greatest match at all, and I fully believe that the wrong team won here. Not much to add that I didn't mention already. Hopefully Carlito can deliver more this year!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is an infamous break point, as the matches above here get considerably better)

#10.
Handicap Match
Demolition (c) vs. The Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji
Wrestlemania V
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Fun little match, as the face champions, Demolition, fought against their old manager and his new clients in a handicap match. The build to this match is one of the few times that the WWE has been able to pull of a double turn successfully and they deserve to be commended here. The finish to the match came as Fuji got stuck in the ring with Demolition, only to be hit with the Decapitation Device, for the victory. While not a classic, this was fun, harmless, and had a satisfying ending.

#9.
Four Way Elimination Match:
Billy and Chuck (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. APA vs. The Dudley Boyz
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Unlike the Wrestlemania XX matches, this would be an elimination match. This match started out decent enough, with all teams running around and hitting their big moves, but after the rapid-fire eliminations of the APA and the Dudleyz, the quality dropped. Like the Wrestlemania XX matches, the champs retained, and also like the Wrestlemania XX matches, not much was done as a follow up to this. But a big step up from the XX matches.

#8.
Dumpster Match:
New Age Outlaws (c) vs. Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

Essentially a tag-team equivalent of a casket match, as both members of a team had to be thrown into a dumpster and the lid had to be closed. This was in the middle of the New Age Outlaws rise to fame, but just before they joined DX, so they were not quite at mega-star level yet. The crowd was quite into this feud as it had gotten rather personal, since the Outlaws had severely injured both Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie. The match was a great hardcore style encounter, with all four men pulling out some fan hardcore spots. The finish came when the challengers used a forklift to put their opponents into a dumpster backstage. Even though the Outlaws would regain the title the very next night on RAW, the challengers needed a moral victory (like this) on a big stage to give closure to the feud. Well done by all.

#7.
The Hart Foundation (c) vs. The Nasty Boys
Wrestlemania VII
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

The Hart Foundation was seeking revenge against their original manager, Jimmy Hart, who was with his new clients, The Nasty Boys. In a great fast-paced match, Jimmy Hart used his megaphone against a team that had been the beneficiary of those shots more than any other over the course of their career. This would be the last match for the Hart Foundation, as Bret would start his rise to superstardom after this. A solid ending to a great team.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is one of the famed splits, as the matches above here are into the very-good to great range)

#6.
Owen Hart and The Brittish Bulldog (c) vs. Mankind and Vader
Wrestlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon
Chicago, IL

Fun match on an otherwise horrendous card. Given the absolute glut of talent involved in this match that really should be of no surprise. This is one of the rare occasions when the WWE has ever really done a heel vs. heel match, certainly at Wrestlemania. They had been teasing a Bulldog face turn (which would have fit nicely), but apparently they wanted to keep Hart and Bulldog as heels so that they could reform the Hart Foundation since Bret was turning heel, so those plans were scrapped at the last minute. The alignments certainly hurt the match, as it made it difficult to cheer for either team, however the worst part was definitely the finish to the match, as it ended in a double countout. That being said, this is easily the best double countout match between two heels that you will ever find.

#5.
Triple Threat Match:
Team Angle (c) vs. Los Guerreros vs. Christ Benoit and Rhyno
Wrestlemania XIX
Safeco Field
Seattle, WA

Great match between six great performers. The champions retained in a wild flurry of a finish, that saw them steal a pin on Chavo Guerrero after he was nailed with a Gore by Rhyno. While it was a touch short, it certainly was a great one. Were this match to take place on a weaker card it would probably be more fondly remembered.

#4.
Strike Force (c) vs. Demolition
Wrestlemania IV
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Demolition kicked off their legendary 478 day reign with a bang in this great match. Both teams played off one another well in one of the few good matches on a long and boring card. A simple, effective big team vs. little team encounter, and certainly well worth a view.

#3.
The Dream Team (c) vs. The British Bulldogs
Wrestlemania 2
Rosemont Horizon
Rosemont, IL

Finally, Wrestlemania 2 gets some praise on this blog! This was easily the best match of the night, as both teams delivered and then some in the main event of the Chicago portion of the evening. This match has one of the most creative finishes ever, as Davey Boy Smith uses his partners head (which was notoriously hard) as a foreign object to lead to a victory.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Like the Intercontinental Title List, this was a clear cut choice between 2 matches. However, unlike the other list, these two matches are remarkably similar)

#2.
Triangle Ladder Match
The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

A great match that put all six men on the map, in their Wrestlemania debuts. The men absolutely revolutionized both the ladder match and tag team wrestling, and took it to new heights (quite literally). A great match from start to finish, and it could only be topped by one thing, a rematch.

#1.
TLC II
The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

Simply put, watch this match. These men took everything that they had done the year before and upped it. While I think that their encounter from Summerslam 2000 was the best of this trilogy, this match is not far behind. The addition of Lita, Spike Dudley, and Rhyno, essentially made this a nine person affair, and only added to the carnage. From Jeff Hardy's super Swanton to Edge's mega spear, this match is full of jaw dropping moments. You can understand why the WWE did not decide to redo this again the following year, since it simply would have been too much, and someone could have gotten seriously injured, thus making this match all the more special.

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If the participants are given enough time and attention, they really can end up in the Top 5, and possibly Top 3 on this list. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Wrestlemania Rankings - The Intercontinental Title

2009-03-18T05:56:00.012-04:00

Welcome back as I once more continue my Wrestlemania Rankings. In honour of Rey Mysterio's challenge to JBL, this time we will be focusing on the best of the Intercontinental Title Matches of Wrestlemania's yore. Sadly, this once prestigious title that has brought us some of the great matches underlined, but hasn't been showcased at the Grandest Stage of them All in the past six events! Thankfully that streak will end, in what should be a good match between two wrestlers who have a long and storied history with one another.

This will be the 17th Wrestlemania Intercontinental Title Match ever, and the other 16 rank as follows...

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#16.
Rocky Miavia (c) vs. The Sultan
Wretlemania 13
Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, IL

Certainly not the most glamourous Wrestlemania debut for a man who would go on to be one of the greatest of all-time. Rocky Miavia (not yet Dwayne Johnson, not yet The Rock) would have a very boring 9 minute encounter. While that is certainly forgiveable, the truly insulting part is the aftermath. After Rocky gets a fluke roll-up to win, The Sultan's managers, Bob Backland and Iron Shiek join in for a 3-on-1 beat-down of the champion, only for Rocky's father, Rocky Johnson, to run down to make the save for his son. Simply a horrible way to get your good young face over, by having him need the help of his retired father. Thumbs down all around.

#2.
Randy Savage (c) vs. George "The Animal" Steele
Wrestlemania 2
Nassau Colliseum
Long Island, NY

Much like the previous entry, this was hardly the Wrestlemania debut for one of the greatest performers that the business has ever seen. Savage would later be renown as a man who could get a good match out of anyone (See: Warrior, Ultimate), but it did not work on this night. George Steele was far too worn out at this point, and did not bring enough to the table here, and Savage just phoned this one in. Certainly not a great follow up match to what I consider to be the worst opener in the card's history.

#14.
Four Way Elimination Match
Road Dogg (c) vs. Golddust vs. Ken Shamrock vs. Val Venis

Wrestlemania XV
First Union Center
Philadelphia, PA

Storyline wise this really made no sense. Up to about two weeks before this show, Val Venis, Billy Gunn, and Golddust all expressed interest in Ken Shamrock's on-screen sister, Ryan (including Venis's brilliant movie title: Saving Ryan's Privates), so Shamrock logically wanted to defend her honour against his three foes. Meanwhile, Shamrock lost his IC Title to Val Venis, so a four-way match was set. However, just before the show, Road Dogg (scheduled to compete with Hardcore Holly and Al Snow for the Hardcore Title) challenged Val Venis on his partner's behalf, and Gunn challenged Snow for Dogg. Both of the outlaws won the titles that their friends were chasing, so they switched places. This effectively killed any momentum that either feud were building since some of the principal characters were switched. The Hardcore Title Match was able to be saved by the amount of plunder involved, but this one was a different story.

This match was too short for anyone to tell their story, and the double count-out elimination of Shamrock and Venis had no place on an event titled "The Ragin' Climax" and the Road Dogg's cheap roll-up win was essentially meaningless. Couple this with the fact that Golddust won the title in a one-on-one encounter the very next night, and it really made this match seem both pointless and insulting.

14.
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (c) vs. The Junk Yard Dog
Wrestlemania
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

The first Wrestlemania really is the hardest to asses these days, so I often feel harsh ranking anything about it so low. That being said though, there are a lot of matches on there that simply did not entertain me, including this one. I think that JYD was just too old, and Valentine was too beat up to make anything special here. Also, add the fact JYD won by count-out really hurt the match. I understand wanting to give him a big win, but it really did not add to any finality of the WWF's first supercard.

13.
The Rock (c) vs. Ken Shamrock
Wrestlemania XIV
Fleet Center
Boston, MA

Odd that this is the second match to feature The Rock, a performer who I am quite fond of, performing in a match that I consider rather bland. Also, oddly, on my other list I gave the opening match of Wrestlemania XIV a low ranking, just as I am giving this one a low ranking, but it is an event that I consider to be a great one.

Anyway, this match was rather dull, and did not serve as a closer to this very long running feud, which should have logically ended with a Shamrock title win at the big event. Instead, we got a match that looked like it was going to be a squash for Shamrock (since he had never really gotten The Rock in a one-on-one encounter, due to interference from The Nation), but Shamrock refused to let go of the ankle-lock so the decision was reversed. So this match was too short, The Rock hardly got in any offense, and resolved nothing. Yeah that's enough for me to dislike this one.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is more or less when the list takes a jump from "offensive" to "bland")

12.
The Honky Tonk Man (c) vs. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
Wrestlemania IV
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Due to the tournament going on this very night, the list of credible champions for The Honky Tonk Man was rather short, so they can be forgiven for choosing Beefacke here. Beefcake was a suitable challenger here to be someone that people thought might defeat Honky in the middle of his legendary reign. This is a great example of why Honky Tonk's title run was so great, he legitimately made you believe that anyone could defeat him and end his title run at any time, only to find someway (usually a DQ, such as this night) to prolong it. While I lament other lame DQ endings, with The Honky Tonk Man it just worked. That being said this match really isn't all that great leading up to the finish.

#11.
Mr. Perfect (c) vs. Big Boss Man
Wrestlemania VII
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA

Another example of a match that should have ended with a clean, and decisive win for the face. The Big Boss Man was on a tear through the Heenan family, after the Brain repeatedly mocked Boss Man's mother. The logical climax of that would be to take out Heenan's prize client, Intercontinental Champion, Mr. Perfect. After a great back and forth match, that really made Boss Man look like a million bucks, in one of the best matches of the big man's career. As the Boss Man looked to approach victory, Haku and the Barbarian run in to cause a lame disqualification.

Fun little match, but (as many on this list) bad ending.

#10.
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Tatanka
Wrestlemania IX
Ceaser's Palace
Las Vegas, NV

The first of three matches to appear on this list as well as my previous one. As I said last time "He put on a great showcase with the then-undefeated Tatanka. However, the match was marred by a boring disqualification finish", which appears to be a common theme here.

#9.
Intercontinental Title Match:
William Regal (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
Wrestlemania X8
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

Bizarrely this match was also #9 on the other list. What are the odds, really? Not much else to add to this one, it was good, but they never really seemed to click as they really should have. However, credit must be given for putting forward an actual finish, unlike many of the other matches on this list.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here's were they start to get good)

#8.
Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. Razor Ramon
Wrestlemania XI
Hartford Civic Center
Hartford, CT

When I was compiling this list, I was simply amazed by the amount of lame non-finishes there were. But this really was the best of the 6 dq/count-out finishes here. These two had a very good chemistry with one another, and this was shaping up to be a really good one, but yet again, the lame finish took it down a notch. Had these two had a pin-fall victory for one or the other and this could have been vaulted up at least two spots on the list.

#7.
Chris Jericho (c) vs. William Regal
Wrestlemania X-Seven
Astrodome
Houston, TX

The third and final match that I mentioned in my last list. Not much else to say that I didn't say yesterday, good match but too short to be truly great.

#6.
The Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. Ric Rude
Wrestlemania V
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Heading into this match, it seemed like the still undefeated Warrior would get another victory, however, in a huge shock, the Ultimate One lost his belt to the cocky Rick Rude. This was easily the best match of Warrior's career to date, and the first of his back-to-back-to-back amazing Wrestlemania performances.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is where they jump from good, to down right legendary, and is easily the biggest leap on the list)

#5.
Two-fall, Two Title Match
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
Wrestlemania 2000
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA

The Wrestlemania debut for three men who would later go on to all compete in the Main Event in three consecutives years. The storyline going into it was that Kurt Angle held both the European and Intercontinental titles (calling himself the Eurocontinental Champion). It was decided that he would defend both of these titles against Benoit and Jericho in a two-fall match, with the first fall being for the Intercontinental title, and the second for the European gold. This match was really ahead of it's time, as all three men came up with all sorts of innovative spots in what was probably the best triple-threat match up to that point. Benoit pinned Jericho, and then Jericho pinned Benoit to make Angle loose both of his belts without taking either fall. Pure brilliance

#4.
Title vs. Title
Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior
Wrestlemania VI
Skydome
Toronto, Ontario

While it is easy to forget, this match was technically for the Intercontinental Title so deserves to be mentioned here. This match really was a classic and was better than it had any right to be. Both men worked hard and really surpassed so many of their other matches. In the very first pre-Wrestlemania post I ever made, my friend Kory stated very clearly: "The crowd was absolutely amazing. From the entrances to the final bell they went crazy for every move. One can sum up the match as a series of clothelines, body slams, and shoulder blocks. Add to that the no-sells (hulking up and calling upon the gods) and you have the match pretty much covered."

Hard to argue with that my friend. Speaking of that post, the next match on the list was mentioned in the same post...

#3.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper (c) vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart
Wrestlemania VIII
Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis, IL

One of my all-time favourite matches, as evidenced by its high ranking. The match started out like it was going to be a show-down of two friends, but turned into a bloody encounter with both men trying their all to win, and both being too proud to lose. The highlight of the match was when Piper had the ring bell and was set to nail Hart with it, but let his conscious get in the way, and decided not to resort to his heelish ways, something that Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels would do later on. Speaking of the future, this match would end with Hart countering a sleeperhold by running the ropes and getting a pin for victory, a move he would later use on Steve Austin in their epic feud.

But this match was great, not only for the in-ring action, but the story that they told, and the history that it created.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The next two really need to introduction, if you have followed wrestling at all, you would have these two placed one and two on your list of best Intercontinental Title match of all-time, and probably near the top of any of your favourite matches of all time, as great as the last three have been, one and two were never in doubt. That being said, I felt that a tie was inappropriate so I made what I feel to be the right decision)

#2
Ladder Match
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
Wrestlemania X
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Simply a fabulous match. While it was not the first ladder match, as it has often been citied, it really revolutionized the concept. While Shawn gets the credit for making this match amazing, and rightfully so, Ramon's efforts really are nothing to shake a stick at. Both men deserve all the credit in the world for using that ladder in ways that nobody had ever thought of. While it is tame compared to some later ladder matches, it still tells a great story, and includes some very entertaining parts.

#1.
Randy Savage (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat
Wrestlemania III
Pontiac Silver Dome
Detroit, MI

Mix two incredibly talented performers at the peak of their career, a simple yet emotional storyline, and the largest crowd in North American sports history, and you will get the closest you can come to perfection inside a ring. This fast paced, hate-fueled match really is something special to behold, and deserves it's rightful place at the top. There are times when roll-ups seem cheap and contrived, but then there are moments like this when it is absolutely perfect. These two were matched so equally that the only logical ending was for Steamboat to be just three seconds better than Savage.

That being said, there really is one glaring flaw with this match.

There never was a rematch.

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While I doubt that JBL-Mysterio is going to crack the Top 5, it certainly has the potential to rank high on this list. Like everything else, we'll have to wait until April 4th to find out.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women's Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events