Schmozzes & Screwjobs 03.06.07: The WrestleMania Screwjob (Part 1 of ?)

The Screwjob

Background Information: Towards the end of 2003, it would appear the Y2J Chris Jericho was becoming smitten (great word) with Trish Stratus, no shit, and several clips were shown of them together backstage, chatting, and generally looking happy. Jericho would often ask Trish on a date, but she turn him down on a couple of occasions. Good so far? I’m glad, because we’ve got a long way to go.

At Survivor Series in November, Eric Bischoff and Stone Cold Steve Austin, then co-general managers, were to put together a team each to compete against each other, with the stipulation being that if Team Bischoff won, Austin was gone, fired, done, finito. Whereas a victory for Team Austin would mean that the rule where Austin could not physically harm anybody on the Raw roster would be lifted. Austin’s team consisted of Booker T, Bubba and D-Von Dudley, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels and they would compete against Mark Henry, Scott Steiner, Christian, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. After interference from Evolution’s Batista, Randy Orton was able to cover a bloodied Shawn Michaels and Team Bischoff picked up the win. Austin was forced to leave the WWE, but don’t worry, he would only be gone for about, a month? If that. Anyway, the important part was that the next night on Raw, Bischoff granted each member of his winning team a favour. They could ask for anything that they wanted and Bischoff would grant it. Great.

Later that night on Raw, Bischoff would team with Molly Holly to take on Matt Hardy and Lita, with a stipulation being that if Lita lost, she would be fired. Yeah, Bischoff was on a role, baby. Lita was in control of Molly until Eric tagged in, so, Lita went to tag Matt but, oh shit, he refuses the tag. Bischoff pins Lita and she is GONE! Yeah, she would be back quicker than Austin. Matt then officially dumps her for Shannon Moore. Later on, we see Lita leaving the building, only for Christian to show up. She thinks he is here to mock her, but turns out he cashed in on his favour from Bischoff to get her job back. Aw, how sweet. Also that night, Jericho finally got some tongue action from Trish. Life is good when you’re Canadian.

The next week was the return of Raw Roulette in Salt Lake City, and now that Lita still had a job, she would be going one-on-one with Victoria. Molly Holly span the wheel for their match and it landed on Steel Cage, making this the first ever Women’s Steel Cage match! Lita was in control until ex-boyfriend Matt Hardy showed up and slammed the cage door into her face, allowing Victoria to pick up the win. Matt then trapped Lita in the cage and was apparently going to attack her, until Christian showed up to chase Matt off. He’s a knight in shining armour! Without the shining armour! Also that night, Bischoff made Batista and Ric Flair vs. the bitter enemies of Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho as the main event. He then made a Bra and Panties match between Trish Stratus and Miss Jackie. Jericho told Trish that he would cash in his Survivor Series favour if she did not want to compete in the match, but she said she had it covered. She also told Jericho to “do the right thing” for HBK tonight and there might be something in it for him. In the main event, Michaels inadvertently hit Jericho, but Y2J retaliated by nailing Michaels with a super kick, but HBK fell onto Ric Flair for the win. Jericho then walked off as Batista and Flair beat down the Heartbreak Kid.

The next week on Raw, we see Trish and Lita talking. Lita gives Trish a Jericho figure (Unlimited Series 3). Trish says that last week with Jericho was a good time, they just talked about their feelings and such. Trish then shows a gift she has for Jericho, a Canadian Hockey Jersey with his name on the back, and she says that she is giving up the goods tonight. Later that night, Jericho and Trish teamed up to beat Rico and Miss Jackie. Also, Matt Hardy defeated Christian in one-on-one action. And then we found out thr TRUTH! We see Jericho and Christian talking. Christian thinks the deal is done, and he will get some from Lita. Jericho then says big deal, he has Trish. Jericho: “Didn’t you hear her, tonight is the night, and I will win the bet.” WHOA! It’s a bet. Christian tosses another $1 CND in. They laugh about it. They pan out, and Trish is on the other side of the wall with her jersey for Jericho…crying. Busted.

We kick things off the next week on Raw, and Chris Jericho and Christian are out to discuss the shocking revelations from last week. They are carrying roses. Both guys apologize to the gals. They don’t know what they can do to make things right. Awwww. This brings out Trish Stratus and Lita. Jericho asks why they are so mad. Trish holds up the Canadian dollar that Jericho and Christian bet last week. Jericho asks Trish if she really believes that they have nothing between them. He then asks Lita if she really doesn’t know how Christian feels. The crowd comes out with the “Asshole” chants. Jericho asks Trish to accept his apology. He begs her. Trish looks like she will break but then turns her head to Jericho. Jericho is laying it on thick and….Trish attacks him! Lita then attacks Christian! They are beating down the guys with the roses. Bischoff settles things by making a Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Trish & Lita match for Armageddon. Interestingly enough, Christian seemed thrilled by the match while Jericho seemed not so thrilled. Perhaps he really is falling for Trish…

So we come to Armageddon and the Battle Of The Sexes! And here’s the LIVE report from 411’s coverage;

Jericho and Trish start, with Y2J begging off, saying he doesn’t want anything to do with this. Trish slaps him, and actually follows up with some of her signature moves, but Jericho never really retaliates except for a quick spanking, yes spanking, before telling Trish to calm down. Jericho tags in Christian, who shoves Trish into the corner and demands she tags in Lita. Christian isn’t afraid to shove around Lita, and Lita actually hits some headscissors before Christian takes full control, tagging in Jericho who also beats up on Lita for awhile. Lita eventually makes a hot tag to Trish, who actually cleans house on Christian. Jericho is caught upstairs, and Trish attempts to do her leg move, but Jericho shoves her off, and doesn’t try anything more, going after Lita on the outside instead. Trish tries a quick rollup which doesn’t work, and Christian runs into a Litacanrana. Jericho comes in to check on Trish, picks her up and checks on her, in the meantime Christian rolls her up for a quick three count. Jericho looks less than pleased as Christian celebrates. Jericho still looks concerned all the way up the ramp as he and Trish stare down all the way to the back.

The next on Raw, we had a Battle Of The Sexes 2: The Rematch! And once again, the live 411 report;

Trish and Jericho to start, but Jericho tags in Christian before anything happens. Lita distracts Christian, and Trish rolls him up for 2. Christian lays out Trish with a clothesline, and Lita I tagged in. Lita is on Christian’s back, but Jericho pulls him off. Christian then nails a double clothesline on both females, and Lita rolls out of the ring, while Christian nails Trish with the Unprettier. Christian then goes to pin Trish, but Jericho pulls him off. Jericho then tells the ref to end the match, and he shoves Christian away.
Winners – Trish/Lita

Bischoff comes out and gets in Jericho’s face, but Jericho says that he never wanted the match, and asks if Bischoff knows how big of a jackass he is. Jericho then walks away, and Bischoff puts him a match against Kane. Later that night, Jericho knocks on the Woman’s locker room, wondering if Trish is alright. Trish comes out and says that Jericho never talking to her again would make her alright. Jericho walks away sad.
In his match with Kane, Jericho uses a steel chair to get disqualified, but suffers a post match beatdown from the Big Red Machine. Christian comes out after to help Y2J up, but shoves him back down.

After a weeks break for Christmas, Raw returned two weeks later. Early in the show we see Jericho and Christian arguing. Christian wants an apology. He’s had his back for a while, and he says that Jericho turned his back on him for a girl. Jericho is speechless. Later that night, Jericho walks up to Trish and offers her a Xmas gift. Trish mocks him, wondering if a gift is going to make her forget everything that happened. Jericho says that he really cares, and there was nothing to the bet. Trish says that he made her fall for him, and that her heart was broken, and she hates that she feels that way about him. Jericho says that he made a mistake and is sorry. Trish says that she made the mistake for thinking that Chris Jericho could change.

One week later, Christian walks into Jericho’s locker room. He says that they were a great tag team and better friends, and that he is sorry for what happened. Jericho accepts his apology, and they reminisce about old times. Christian than says that Long gave them a tag match tonight, if Jericho wants in. Jericho is all for it! Jericho and Christian beat Rosey and The Hurricane. That night, Trish had a match with Molly Holly but was assaulted mid-match by Jazz. Jericho ran down to make the save, but Trish wasn’t too appreciative. Towards the end of the night, Jericho walks into the girls locker room, and lays his heart out on the table, talking to Trish, who he thinks is in the shower. Jericho keeps his back turned, and when he finally turns around, it’s Mae Young.

A similar situation occurred the nest week, with Trish being beaten down by Jazz and Teddy Long. Jericho ran out and chased Jazz off, then locked the Walls Of Jericho on Long, only for Mark Henry to come out and nail Y2J with the World’s Strongest Slam.
That night, Y2J went one-on-one with Henry and was in control until Jazz interfered on Henry’s behalf. This brought out Trish, but the distraction allowed Henry to hit the World’s Strongest Slam again and get the 3. Moments later, we see Stacy Keibler telling Trish that she has to talk to Jericho to tell him how she feels, or else things will get worse. Next, we get Christian telling Jericho that he is making a huge mistake, and that he is showing so much affection for Trish, and he is getting nothing in return. They should go out on Long Island and the last girl on Jericho’s mind would be Trish. Jericho agrees and goes to shower up and leave….just as they left his locker room and walked down the hall, Trish comes around the corner and gets an empty locker room.

The next week Christian begins to plot against Y2J, as we see Christian comes up and tells Trish he knows how she really feels about Jericho. He tells Trish that Jericho feels the same way. Then Christian shows Trish pictures he took on his phone of all the girls he was with last week. Christian then tells her that she’s the last thing on Jericho’s mind. Trish is trying not to be upset.

The next Sunday night was the Royal Rumble, and both Jericho and Christian were competing in the Rumble Match itself. They worked together for nearly the entire time they were in the ring together, but Christian turned on his friend and tried to toss him out, but Y2J held on and back dropped Christian out of the ring and the match.

Chris Jericho opened the show the next night by saying he wanted to cash in on his Survivor Series favour and wrestle for the World Championship TONIGHT! Bischoff, however, books a Trish v. Kane match because he’s embarrassed by Jericho’s inability to get the job done on behalf of RAW. So Jericho has a choice – cancel the Kane match, or keep his World title shot. Being the nice man that he is, Y2J has the Trish/Kane match cancelled. Meanwhile, Trish stops by to thank Jericho, but she just wants to be friends. Christian butts in because WIMMIN IS TRUBBLE, and announces that next week they wrestle for the #1 contendership to the tag title. He wants Jericho to straighten up and fly right because it’s RAW, not the OC.

That match is changed though, as the next week on Raw, Jericho and Christian challenge World Tag Team Champs Batista and Ric Flair. But before that. Christian catches up with Trish. He then talks about how the Beatles broke up because Paul and John always argued over Yoko. Christian then said that if he was Paul, he would’ve just taken the skank and nailed her with a one manned conchairto. Christian then wishes Trish luck in her Title match tonight. But Trish’s title match is change to Trish vs. Kane! Jericho makes the save but Kane smashes Y2J’s skull in with a chair, then attacks the knee with the very same chair. Backstage, Jericho is getting his knee looked at, and Trish comes in. Jericho wants to tell her something, but Christian comes in and starts yelling at both of them. Jericho gets in his face and tells Christian to worry about winning the titles tonight. That title match doesn’t turn out well though, as Evolution quickly use Jericho’s knee injury to their advantage and Flair makes Y2J submit to the Figure 4 Leglock!

Jericho and Trish teamed up next week on Raw and beat Matt Hardy and Molly Holly, but later on that night, Christian catches up with Trish, and says that he was sorry for being suck a jerk lately, and if her and Jericho are only friends, then all 3 of them can have a friendship. Christian goes in to check on Jericho’s knee, and mentions how beautiful Trish looks, the sneaky bastard.

The next week on Raw and Jericho has Kane tonight, but his knee is still messed up. He asks Christian if he thinks that the belated Valentine’s Day gift that he has in store for Trish is a good idea. Christian steals it, and tells Jericho to worry about Kane. In the match, Kane works the knee the entire match and eventually the referee has no choice but to stop the match. Kane continues the assault after the match, and Jericho is taken to a hospital that night. Later on, Trish and Victoria team up to take on Jazz and Molly Holly. Trish and Vicky get the win, and Test runs out after the match to attack Victoria, and when Trish tries to make the save, he goes after her. But Christian runs out and saves Trish! Later on, Trish catches up with Christian to thank him for the save. She says that she is going to see Jericho, and Christian says that he was going to as well. Christian says that he has the car ready, and they should just go together. Christian just has to run in his dressing room to get something, and he comes back with the rose that Jericho was going to give to her. She is flabbergasted, and they leave. She seems a tad repulsed.

Next week, Christian asks Eric Bischoff for a tag team title match with Chris Jericho for WrestleMania XX, but he doesn’t like the idea. He makes Christian vs. Trish for later tonight. Later, Trish catches up with Christian about tonight’s match. Christian says that he doesn’t want to make the match competitive, and that they will go out there and Christian will lay down, and Trish will make the cover. Christian then says that since he is laying down for her, maybe she can lay down for him later. Trish is appalled, but Christian covers it up by saying that it was just a test, and he was just trying to make sure she isn’t out to two time Jericho. Then we get to the match;

Christian kicks out when is laid down at 2. Trish is wondering what is going on, and she goes to bolt. Christian slaps her on the ass, and Trish turns around into a huge clothesline. Christian laughs at her, and locks on the Walls. Trish taps out, and Christian keeps the hold on. Christian is yelling “Where’s your boyfriend now Trish?”

The next week on Raw Christian comes to the ring and takes over Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel! He says Trish broke up their tag team and he had to take matters into his own hands, but he got Bischoff to make Jericho vs. Christian for WrestleMania. It’s tough love. Y2J returns and beats Christian out of the ring.

The Raw before WrestleMania saw Y2J talking backstage on the phone to Trish, before being attacked by Christian. Jericho had a match later that night with Stevie Richards, but lost when Trish’s music played over the PA, only for Christian to come out. The distraction led to Richards rolling up Jericho for the 3!

Wow, that section was longer than the whole of last week’s column. That just goes to show how well done this angle was, that and Ii wanted to make sure I got every detail right because this feud rocks!

How It Went Down: From 411’s WWE WrestleMania XX Coverage!

Jericho hammers down on Christian with fists and knees during the early going to take the first advantage of the match. With Jericho on the apron outside of the ropes, Christian goes to shove him over, but Jericho ducks and back-body drops him over the top rope to the outside from the apron! Loud “Y2J” chant as Jericho continues to dominate the early portion of the match. Jericho attempts the Walls of Jericho, but Christian gets to the ropes. Jericho tries a sidewalk slam, but Christian actually counters and flings Jericho over the top rope backwards in a very unique counter. Christian finally has the upper hand with a variety of fists and knees to the throat. Jericho finally regains some momentum when he counters a Christian charge with a drop-toe hold into the rope and follows it up with a dive onto his back, covers, and gets a two count. Both Y2J and Christian then go for some quick rollup pins and quick two counts. Jericho hits the bulldog and then misses with the lionsault when Christian raises his knees. Christian then goes for the Unprettier, but Jericho counters it and Christian hits a modified old version of the Unprettier from the top rope! Christian covers and gets a two count. Jericho counters a Christian charge with a lariat out of nowhere. Christian hits what JR calls a “Snap Backbreaker Like” manoeuvre, and then goes to the top rope, but Jericho climbs and catches him. Christian fists out and slams Jericho face first into the mat. Christian remains on the top rope and goes for the cross body, but Jericho rolls over into a cover of his own and gets a two count. Christian locks in a Texas Cloverleaf out of nowhere dead centre in the middle of the ring. Crowd rallies behind Jericho with “Y2J” counts as he counters out into the Walls of Jericho, but Christian quickly gets to the rope, but as Christian slides out of the ring, Jericho actually hangs on to the hold and re-applies the Walls on the outside of the ring. They spill back into the ring and grapple into the ropes, Jericho and Christian climb, and Jericho hits a double arm superplex off the top rope! Here comes Trish! Trish cheers on Jericho we assume. Jericho and Christian battle to their feet and exchange fists. Christian hits a huge super DDT but Jericho kicks out at two. Christian tries several covers that don’t work, and has a temper tantrum. Trish gets on the ring and yells, and Christian starts beating up on Trish. Jericho goes to check on Trish, but Trish doesn’t pay attention to who it is and elbows Jericho right in the face! Christian quickly rolls Jericho up and gets the pin! Trish realizes what happens and looks shocked, and Jericho comes to and looks equally shocked too. Christian comes back in the ring and Jericho wants to go after him, but Trish restrains him! Jericho looks back and wonders what she’s doing and Trish slaps him three or four times and then Christian hits the Unprettier. Swerve! Trish has an evil look on her face as Christian taunts Jericho. Trish and Christian leave together and Trish talks smack down the aisle. Christian and Trish then kiss at the top of the ramp! Jericho looks pissed in the ring.

And there you have it, the culmination of a 4 month build in a great match, which I would personally rate at ***¾, for those interested.

Analysis: Sometimes it is questioned whether Trish siding with Christian made any sense, and I can see the argument that it didn’t, but because the angle was so good, and everything was laid out perfectly and it all made for awesome TV, I’ve got no problem with this, so there really isn’t much to analysis, lucky for me. This feud would continue for a few more months, as Jericho did battle with Christian and Trish in a very good Handicap match at Backlash. Jericho got the win in that one so we needed a blow-off, and that took place in a Steel Cage match that actually main evented Raw in May. Jericho forced Christian to tap to the Walls Of Jericho, injuring Christian and sidelining him for 4 months. Of course in the middle of all this, Christian brought in TOMCO as a problem-solver. Tomco and Jericho would fight at Bad Blood where Jericho would again get the win. When Christian returned in September, the two fought again in a Ladder Match over the vacant Intercontinental Championship which Jericho won for a record 7th time! By the way, heel Trish was the best, and hottest act in wrestling. Period. I miss the Trishatron 5000! I miss Trish! Damn it, I need pictures!

It’s good to share.

The Great Disqualification Debate

You’ll recall last week we had the Screwjob from the last Saturday Night’s Main Event, with John Cena beating Edge by DQ so Edge retained the championship. So I decided I wanted your thoughts on DQ finishes. My readers weren’t too fast to send in their feedback last week, so I took to the 411 Forums and got some decent responses.

The Rabid Wolverine was the first to respond with his thoughts;

DQs and count outs may be seen as overused, but it is still important for keeping heat on Heels while keeping the Face’s looking strong. The best example is the Honky Tonk Man, through a long period of count outs and disqualifications, the former Intercontinental Champion maintained a lot of crowd heat, willing spectators into shows for the opportunity to see him finally get his ass kicked. When he lost the gold, the Belt had its image improved and Honky Tonk Man is seen as the IC Belt’s greatest ever Champion.

Without Disqualifications this sure as hell wouldn’t happen…

Good point raised here about HTM, though I wasn’t around to see his reign unfold. I do think that nowadays, a reign like that would be extremely frustrating and while it would certainly put big heat on an eventual title switch, DQ and count out endings week in and week out would get so damn frustrating.

Davo had this to say;

DQ finishes in a PPV main event, as in last match on the card, should be a no-no. It will usually bring down the crowd, how much depending on how good the undercard is, and could possibly deter people from buying other PPVs.

A heel winning by DQ has probably the best outcomes. If a face gets DQ’ed for being caught with a weapon that the heel intended on using, it can lead to the face getting his heat back by beating up the heel. If a heel wins by reverse decision, it could set the seeds for a double turn. A heel winning by DQ after an unintentional ref bump is weak though. It’s the slippery slope situation again. How come it’s ok sometimes and not other times?

I agree with most of that, other than a face beating up a heel after getting DQ’ed. Take a look at Lashley vs. Kennedy at No Way Out. Lashley made Kennedy look like the biggest bitch in that post-match beat down. I get that they were trying to push Lashley as far up the card as possible, but why at the expense of such a future star? I suppose if you’ve got a way that said heel is going to get his heel heat back A.S.A.P. then it’s forgivable, but I’d say 9/10 times the situation stinks.

The Marquis gave us the following;

My feeling on this is that in the big payoff matches DQ/Screwjob endings should be a no-no. However, I don’t think that all Pay Per View main events are payoffs. Take for instance Batista vs. Booker at Summerslam. If this match had been on TV, it would have given that match away on free TV. The two feuded from Summerslam’s build to Survivor Series and afterward, but the Summerslam match served it’s purpose exactly how it should. It built the feud using a huge match to further the desire of the fans to want to see Booker get his, and all the while, NOT giving it away for free.

To be honest I think that’s a great point, but I think he chose a bad example because Summerslam is one of the Big 4 and I think that is probably the worst of times to see a DQ or particularly screwy finish.

Release Therapy brought up a good example of an exception;

I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea as long as the ending is still good. For instance, JBL vs. Eddie at Judgment Day. Eddie got DQ’d but bled immensely, meaning it still provided a good ending even though the main event ended in DQ.

Sometimes I think it can be a good decision to end the show with that as long as something important and significant still happens.

Solid point here, the Eddie/JBL match from JD was awesome despite the DQ ending and I think possibly better because of it.

Hitman Homer emphasises how DQs get heel heat;

I think a heel champion purposely getting DQ’d or counted out is a great way for them to get heat. I remember HBK and Money Inc. doing it all the time in the early 90s.

Eventually WWF “Officials” got pissy over it and the ref would have the announcer come say, “Money Inc. have 10 seconds to return to the ring or the not only lose the match, the lose the WWF Tag Team Championships.” That ish would fire the crowd right up.

Good point on the heel heat and your examples, but I absolutely hate it when a referee makes that kind of call. That’s like saying the referees can go around booking their own matches with their own stipulations. It’s OK if an official or GM does it though.

yamsbob7 and his thoughts;

I actually think that they could potentially be used more but they would have to be used very carefully. I like the idea of the heel champion who gets DQ’d to keep the belt. Let’s say this guy wins the belt clean in December. Then he can cheat at New Year’s Revolution, cheat at the Rumble (where people are paying for the rumble NOT title matches), cheat all the way up to Mania. But then at Mania he has to fight in a Cage match or something.

As for the face getting accidentally DQ’d, I can see it happening occasionally, but basically it’s really annoying and I could do without it.

He makes a good point that it can be worked well if it gets a big pay-off, such as in a cage match.

Oddman;

It’s a good way for heat and it’s perfect for prima donna type gimmicks. Goldust got himself DQed to save his title in 96 a lot and this gave him tons of heat(as if he needed it already)

If it suits the character it’s even better.

Ron Simmons of all people, with his thoughts;

Back in the day of the Horseman (the 80’s), and even in the era of heels that the fans wanted to see killed, I think DQ finishes helped to bring people back to the next show. But this was back when there was no Internet and limited television exposure.

Now though, I do agree with DQs are overused and should really be used less then they are now.

Nice point about how internet and the TV exposure effecting things.

Your Olympic Hero is here;

I think heel DQs are a great way to put across the cowardly and rule breaking nature of a good heel. It’s also a good way to keep a big feud going that generally keeps both face and heel on equal footing.

I think they’re good if used sparingly and should only be used to further a feud

Legal Eagle raises a good but moot point;

It depends a lot on the match and it’s position on the card. A Heel Champion retaining by count-out or DQ on a match mid-way through the night is fine. But if the match is the opener then it deflates the crowd fort he rest of the show. It is even worse if it’s the Main-Event or a featured match (lots of hype)because you leave viewers feeling like they spent money on half a match when the full match will be on next months PPV or even worse on the following nights TV.

Why do I think it’s moot? Because WWE knows once they’ve put their money down it doesn’t matter what you do.

Gary The No-Trash Cougar agrees with Davo;

The prime example for overusing DQ finishes was certainly WCW during parts of the NWO era. Each and every match involving an NWO member ended when the whole NWO rushed the ring and drew the DQ. Even if the NWO wrestler was clearly above his opponent, he never won clean. Eventually the fans stopped caring (at least I did)

Generally, I agree with Davo. Having your PPV main event end in a DQ is a definite no-no. Basically, a ppv main event is SUPPOSED to be the blow off and have fans go crazy over who will win, so they’ll feel screwed if the company takes the cheap way out. However, there have been PPVs in the past where the main event was randomly thrown together 2 weeks prior and the selling point was a different match. It’s bearable in that case (though still a cheap way out).

Jedi Mara Jade and her thoughts;

DQ finishes on a free television show don’t bother me at all, but when they happen on a huge event, this Jedi considers turning to the dark side!!!

So that’s what our forumers think, but what sort of reader feedback did I get on this? None? Okay, let’s move on!

Half Time

Other great stuff around 411 this week;

Linkous’ WWE vs. TNA
The Triple Threat
Gamble’s Just S’pose
Andy Clark’s Shimmy
JT and JP’s Hidden Highlights
The Finks Payload

I’m going to swerve you all this week by putting Reader Feedback first! Shocked?

Reader Feedback

First of all, stuff from three weeks ago, for those of you who can’t remember, that was the column about Rock/Hogan II and that whole fiasco.

Samer returns!

Hello and welcome back…

That’s it for now.. Take care

I agree that dream matches where one guy isn’t wrestling on a regular basis such as Hulk Hogan should only ever happen once, but The Rock won, and Hogan lost TWICE, so to me, this ruled.
I bet you were disappointed with No Way Out this year, huh? I know I was, everything just came off as mediocre in my opinion, with the possible exception of the main event. Any of the matches you suggested would have been far better than what we got.
Well, Jeff dropped the IC title, but now both Hardyz are in MITB. I suppose there is still the possibility MNM will challenge London and Kendrick even though Nitro is on Raw.
I’ve been saying ever since I got here Raw is the best of the 3 brands and it’s really excelled in 2007. You could argue that that is only due to the fact that we are on the Road To WrestleMania but we will just have to wait and see about that. Anyway, I’m going to enjoy it while I can, and so should you all.

That was it for that weeks column, so onto the column talking about HBK/McMahons, and the WrestleMania Award nominees;

Matt Christensen shows me up big time;

Just a quick word to say that the year 2000 was the last year of the 20th century (i.e. 1-100, 101-200….1901-2000).

Matt Christensen

I checked this out and it turns out he was completely right. Son of a bitch. Nevermind, you got your award nominees and you’re going to like them!

Dominick gets in on the act of showing me up;

Hey. Liked your column this week. It’s to bad that SNME will not be showing in March this year but only in June. So anyway I’d first like to say that it is awesome that THE Travis Barker reads your column and that didn’t you say in an earlier column that you were not doing the Schmozzes anymore. Maybe it was my imagination. Also every week from now on for some columns I’m gonna do Dominick’s Super Typo Sightings. This week “it was Michaels who ended up getting his head shoved up Michaels ass.” Come on now how could Michaels get his head shoved up his own ass. That’s just silly. And don’t give me a “I have to write a long column every week plus my job and school and stuff” because I will have none of it. Stay on your toes because I’ll be searching man. And one more thing Shawn Michaels > Everyone.

I may or may not have said something about not doing the Schmozz stuff anymore, I really don’t remember, but I think it’s going to stick around for a while at least.
You’ll be searching, huh? Well guess what, I’ve included 15 typos in this week’s column, and now you have to go find ‘em! Hurry up! That’ll show him. Don’t tell him, but I actually didn’t include any typos (that I know of), but now he will spend the next 7 days looking for them. Shhh!

And now the one email from last week. Three guesses who it’s from.

Samer!

Hello this is Samer again..

That’s it for now, take care.
Samer

Good to hear some thoughts on the Mania awards, but more on those later. As far as HBK as champ being unlikely, I’m really not so sure Michaels won’t be walking out of Ford Field with a new title. I think it’d be awesome, considering most fans will be on Michaels’ side, and we haven’t seen Shawn with the gold in over 4 years, and that reign only lasted a month, so it’ll be something fresh.

Thankfully the triple edition of Feedback wasn’t too hard considering there wasn’t too much stuff that needed to be included.

False Finishes – Random Thoughts Edition V.3.0

I’m enjoying Impact, even though nearly everybody in the IWC thinks it has been steadily getting worse over the last couple of months. Maybe it has and maybe it hasn’t, but I am still tuning in every Saturday night and enjoying the show I see in front of me. To be honest, I’m actually loving all wrestling I’m watching right now, including ECW, a show I think is at a level it hasn’t been at in quite sometime. Who knows, perhaps it is because Mania is coming up, but there has definetly been some good wrestling on as of late.

Does anyone else see a resemblance between Shawn/Cena and Rock/Austin in terms of the way things are being booked headed towards WrestleMania 23? There’s obviously the respect, and they (Shawn/Cena) are the two biggest faces in the industry at the moment. There’s also the whole will he/won’t he thing about wether Shawn will turn on Cena, similar to the way they used to tease Austin nailing Rock with a Stunner. I’m just waiting for it all to explode!

6 weeks until I attend Raw live in the UK for the first time ever, baby! I’ll be the guy with the “Bring Back Rico” sign.

Matt Hardy is truly awesome. Did you see how he was selling that arm last week? Tremendous! That guy could have had his own section in Hidden Highlights this week. I love how he didn’t switch arms as he usually does to do the corner clothesline/bulldog combination move. I really think that guy has World champion calibre abilities, perhaps could use a little improved mic skills, but he certainly has the in-ring ability and popularity to carry a brand. Can’t see it happening anytime soon though.

21st Century WrestleMania Awards – The Winners

Well I’m sure everybody has been busy voting on this ALL WEEK LONG, but now is the time, the votes are in and have been counted up, and there can only be one winner. Well, technically, thirteen, as there were thirteen categories, but forget that. Let’s see what you voted for.

The WrestleMania Theme Song Award Nominees;
“California” by Jim Johnston – WrestleMania 2000 – 1%
“My Way” by Limp Bizkit – WrestleMania X-Seven – 37%
“Tear Away” by Drowning Pool – WrestleMania X8 – 3%
“Superstar” by Saliva – WrestleMania X8 – 2%
“Crack Addict” by Limp Bizkit – WrestleMania XIX – 3%
“Step Up” by Drowning Pool – WrestleMania XX – 8%
“Bigtime” by The Soundtrack of Our Lives – WrestleMania 21 – 2%
“Big Time” by Peter Gabriel – WrestleMania 22 – 14%
“I Dare You” by Shinedown – WrestleMania 22 – 10%
“Ladies And Gentlemen” by Saliva – WrestleMania 23 – 20%

So “My Way” picks up the first award, and I can’t say I’m surprised in the slightest. It is one of my favourite songs of all time and quite a lot of that has to do with hearing it for the first time in such a great video package, highlighting The Rock/Austin feud back in 2001. Great song for a great show. This year’s “Ladies and Gentlemen” another great song, comes in second.

Best WrestleMania Live Musical Performance Award Nominees;
Ice T performs Godfather’s entrance theme at WrestleMania 2000 – 6%
Motörhead performs Triple H’s entrance at WrestleMania X-Seven – 44%
Drowning Pool perform Tear Away and The Game at WrestleMania X8 – 6%
Saliva perform Superstar and Turn The Tables at WrestleMania X8 – 3%
Limp Bizkit perform Crack Addict and Rollin’ at WrestleMania XIX – 10%
Motörhead return to play Triple H to the ring again at WrestleMania 21 – 51%
Michelle Williams performs America The Beautiful at WrestleMania 22 – 5%
P.O.D. perform Rey Mysterio’s theme at WrestleMania 22 – 14%

I see we have some Motörhead fans reading my column. Their performance at WrestleMania 21 takes first place, narrowly beating out their performance of the same song at X-Seven.

The WrestleMania Breathtaking Spot Award Nominees;
Jeff Hardy’s 20 ft Swanton Bomb at WrestleMania 2000 – 10%
Shane McMahon goes pillar to post on Vince at WrestleMania X-Seven – 5%
Jeff Hardy’s 20 ft Swanton takes out Rhyno and Spike at WrestleMania X-Seven – 3%
Edge Spears Jeff Hardy 20 feet in the air at WrestleMania X-Seven – 23%
Undertaker chokeslams Triple H to hell and back at WrestleMania X-Seven – 0%
Brock Lesnar nearly kills himself with a Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania XIX – 14%
Shelton Benjamin runs the ladders at WrestleMania 21 – 7%
Shawn Michaels’ springboard dive at WrestleMania 21 – 0%
Shelton Benjamin springboards onto a ladder at WrestleMania 22 – 2%
Edge spears Mick Foley through a flaming table at WrestleMania 22 – 30%
Undertaker launches over the to rope to take out Mark Henry at WrestleMania 22 – 1%
Shawn Michaels 20 ft elbow drop through Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 22 – 4%

There were some amazing spots to choose from here and I really didn’t have a clue which one would come out on top. I’m quite surprised the flaming table spot came out on top when there were so many other awesome candidates, but you made your decision. Edge spearing Jeff Hardy from 20ft in the air came in at second place.

The WrestleMania Opening Match Award Nominees;
Godfather and D’Lo Brown vs. Bull Buchanon and Boss Man at WrestleMania 2000 – 1%
Chris Jericho vs. William Regal at WrestleMania X-Seven – 20%
William Regal vs. Rob Van Dam at WrestleMania X8 – 5%
Matt Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania XIX – 8%
John Cena vs. The Big Show at WrestleMania XX – 16%
Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania 21 – 47%
Kane and Big Show vs. Carlito and Chris Masters at WrestleMania 22 – 2%

Seriously, who voted for the first option? No big surprise here as Eddie and Rey put on a great match to kick off Mania 21 and I thought there only real competition would be Regal/Jericho and maybe Cena/Show for the sports entertainment factor, but Eddie and Rey weren’t even close to not grabbing top spot.

The WrestleMania Main Event Award Nominees;
Big Show vs. Mick Foley vs. The Rock vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 2000 – 3%
The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-Seven – 39%
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania X8 – 0%
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX – 3%
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX – 51%
Triple H vs. Batista at WrestleMania 21 – 0%
Triple H vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 22 – 3%

Triple H has been in 5 out of 7 of the last Mania main events, that’s pretty funny. It was only ever going to be one of two choices here and the Triple Threat won the award, deservedly so in my opinion.

The WrestleMania Non-Wrestling Segment Award Nominees;
The Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven – 9%
Hardcore chaos at WrestleMania X8 – 4%
The Rock and Hulk Hogan posing at WrestleMania X8 – 10%
Vince McMahon thanks the WWE fans at WrestleMania XX – 1%
Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit close out WrestleMania XX – 65%
Stone Cold Steve Austin on Piper’s Pit at WrestleMania 21 – 2%
Hulk Hogan saves Eugene from Muhammed Hassan at WrestleMania 21 – 3%
Booker T and Sharmell in the Hall of Freaks at WrestleMania 22 – 7%

Benoit and Guerrero’s moment took home an easy win here with no other nominee coming close which doesn’t really surprise me. What does surprise me is the Austin/Piper segment only getting 2%. That was an awesome segment, from their introduction to each other (thank you very much for having me son of a bitch *SLAP*) and Rowdy Roddy Piper winding up the fans over their “What?!” chants and then the interruption from Carlito was gold.

The “I Nearly Ended Undertaker’s Streak” Award Nominees;
Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven – 31%
Ric Flair at WrestleMania X8 – 12%
A-Train and Big Show at WrestleMania XIX – 1%
Kane at WrestleMania XX – 4%
Randy Orton at WrestleMania 21 – 51%
Mark Henry at WrestleMania 22 – 1%

No shocks here as Randy Orton’s WrestleMania 21 effort comes out on top. Who didn’t think Orton had that match won when he reversed the chokeslam, mid-air, into a RKO? Seriously. That was awesome. Ha, who thought Henry stood a chance last year?

The Most Shocking WrestleMania Moment Award Nominees;
Linda rises from the wheelchair at WrestleMania X-Seven – 4%
Stone Cold and Vince McMahon join forces at WrestleMania X-Seven – 39%
Roddy Piper returns at WrestleMania XIX – 3%
Brock Lesnar botched Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania XIX – 20%
The Radicalz rules the wrestling world at WrestleMania XX – 8%
Rey Mysterio at 165lbs wins the World Championship at WrestleMania 22 – 6%
John Cena forces Triple H to tap to the STFU at WrestleMania 22 – 20%

Austin turning heel and siding with arch enemy Vince McMahon picked up a convincing result here, to no-one’s surprise I should think. Lesnar’s Shooting Star and Triple H taking the job AGAIN to John Cena tied at 20% for second place.

Best WrestleMania Build-up Award Nominees;
The Triangle Ladder match at WrestleMania 2000 – 4%
Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania X-Seven – 2%
The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-Seven – 33%
The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 – 17%
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIX – 9%
Chris Jericho vs. Christian at WrestleMania XX – 7%
Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XX – 8%
Triple H vs. Batista at WrestleMania 21 – 19%

Readers, you disappoint me. I really don’t think the build for Rock/Austin deserves to take this award, because 1. it was too short and 2. I hated the stuff with Debra being The Rock’s manager. Yes, the constant exchanging of finishers was great, and they did a great sit-down interview and an awesome in ring promo (toasting the championship), but I think there were more worthy candidates.

Worst WrestleMania Match Award Nominees;
Terri vs. The Kat at WrestleMania 2000 – 7%
Chyna vs. Ivory at WrestleMania X-Seven – 5%
Maven vs. Goldust at WrestleMania X8 – 4%
Scott Hall vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X8 – 5%
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX – 34%
Big Show vs. Akebono at WrestleMania 21 – 28%
Boogeyman vs. Booker T at WrestleMania 22 – 18%

Oh yes, Brock/Goldberg. It’s funny, some people LOVE this match just because of the crowd reactions. I can’t say I’m surprised at this although personally I think the Sumo Match should have won. Interesting how the one hardcore match and the two women’s matches got low scores, which probably makes my readers XXX pervs. I’m just going by the evidence.

The 21st Century Mr. WrestleMania Award Nominees;
The Rock – 10%
Kurt Angle – 13%
Triple H – 23%
Shawn Michaels – 33%
Chris Jericho – 3%
Stone Cold – 9%
Hulk Hogan – 3%
Chris Benoit – 6%

Despite missing the first 3 Manias of the decade, I don’t think this was going to be in any doubt. The Heartbreak Kid has stole the show at just about evry Mania he has been in. **** match with Chris Jericho at XIX, ***** triple threat at XX and another ***** outing with Kurt Angle at 21. He even managed to have a great 20 minute squash match with Vince McMahon last year. Will the show stopper steal the show this year and win the WWE title? I say yes!

Best WrestleMania Match Award Nominees;
Triangle Ladder Match at WrestleMania 2000 – 2%
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit at WrestleMania X-Seven – 2%
TLC II at WrestleMania X-Seven – 12%
The Rock vs. Stone Cold at WrestleMania X-Seven – 13%
The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 – 8%
Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XIX – 4%
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XX – 5%
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX – 30%
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 – 19%
Edge vs. Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22 – 5%

It’s been called the greatest wrestling match of all time, and not many people dispute that, and now Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit is officially the greatest Mania match of the last 7 years. HBK vs. Kurt Angle comes in second. Looking at the nominees, three guys had three nominations, those being Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and… Edge! Interesting.

Best 21st Century WrestleMania Award Nominees;
WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania 21
Wrestle Mania 22

And here it, the greatest WrestleMania of the last seven years. There’s no doubting each had there high points, and low points but there could only be one winner and no-one will be surprised to see that that winner is WrestleMania X-Seven with a huge 61% of the vote. It’s widely considered the greatest wrestling show of all time so why not? Somehow WrestleMania XX takes second place while last year’s show grabs third.

And there you have it, the 21st WrestleMania Awards done and dusted. Will WrestleMania 23 put in a decent claim to any of these awards? The Road To WrestleMania is nearly over, and Detroit is in sight, so we won’t have long to find out.

The Schmozz Count

After all that excitement, I know you need something to calm you down a bit so now seems like a good time to throw in this week’s Schmozz Count.

Week Commencing 2/26/07:
Raw – Johnny Nitro vs. Super Crazy
ECW – None, again. Go, ECW!
TNA – None
SmackDown – None

Just the one from Raw this week, other than that we have a schmozz free zone! I love it when they make my job seem easy.

Schmozz Count: 23 + 1 = 24!

Taking It Home