 |
|
Home
Wrestling
WWE
TNA
Tape Reviews
Other
Sports
Basketball
Football
Baseball
Hockey
International
Entertainment
Movies / TV
Music
Gaming
Technology
Books / Comics
" The Gravel Pit "
|
|
|
|
Wrestling
Shades of Gray
Posted by Stephen Gray on Jan 24, 2004, 01:09
|
|
Just a warning that I was nice enough to add after the fact... the first little bit of this column is me rambling about why I didn�t write for months and behind the scenes politics of the website. If this is of no interest to you, skip the first few paragraphs.
Welcome to the first (and hopefully not last, but with me you never know...) instalment of the column you either love, hate, have no strong feelings for, kinda like, don�t really mind, or totally ignore... what was I saying? Oh right.. Shades of Gray is back... again. Some of you may remember that after a 3 month absence, I returned last July, promising that I had figured out why I stopped writing for 3 months, realized I can write whatever I want, and had a master plan that was good for at least 8 more articles. Then I took another 6 months off writing. What happened? A few things...
1. Immediately after I posted a column stating I had come to a conclusion that unlike my 411 days, I really had no strict set of rules to follow. I was then informed via e-mail that while I was mostly correct, there were a few minor things I needed to be cognizant of. One of them was to avoid talking about upcoming PPVs, something reserved for �The Crossface�. I�m probably more geared to doing columns solely ABOUT previewing PPVs (I always felt those were my best pieces or work, and they are my favourite to write). I don�t want to start a whole mess here, and perhaps this column isn�t the place for this, and I certainly respect everything Will has done for TSM, but I immediately went complaining to Dames about what I felt was essentially limiting me. He said in this case he sides with me, and to continue writing the way I always had been.. the reason he asked me to write for TSM in the first place. So, the problem was solved, I would continue writing, but after that I became disinterested in writing for a bit.
2. The idea I did have wasn�t all that great. A few years ago, I wrote a really quick review for SummerSlam 2001. Then I re-did it by doing a �Writer�s Commentary� of it to extend it. For some reason, I thought going totally retro on all my older columns would be a great idea. I then started looking over my older columns and realized it was not. Yes, things are funny to re-read and laugh at once was what written, but I didn�t think I really had anything to commentate on. I had gone so far as to tell Will not to bother updating my Archives (Go read them if you haven�t! Click on Forums on the top of the page!) because I would be re-using the 411 columns I sent him and those Re-do�s could be archived.
If you read the warning and skipped ahead, feel free to start reading here.
WrestleCrap: The Book: The Review
I really have nothing to say about this book this hasn�t been said elsewhere, better. Scotsman�s review of the book on 411 pretty much summed up how I (and my pal Drew, who read the entire thing after a house show in November, which I had a blast at) felt about it.
While I wasn�t too crazy with Scott Keith�s book (despite my own review On This Very Site.. hey, I wanted Scott to plug the column), it took the idea of taking something that was already available to read for free on the internet and ever so slightly expand on it in a book that cost over $20 (in Canada). The WrestleCrap book takes material that could have been read on the internet for free before the site began costing too much to maintain and scaled back, then condenses all that info. None of this info was news to me, and that more or less defeated the purpose of the book. The pictures were nice, but not really worth the price of admission. In fact, a few days later I was flipping through a book I found in my basement that I had received many Christmases earlier titled �This Is Wrestling�, featuring what had to be the funniest picture I had ever seen of Johnny B. Badd in his gay sailor outfit with a big stupid grin on his face.
The book was also written for people who really dislike Vince McMahon. Personally, I am one of those people who are thankful to Vince for getting my interested in wrestling, and try to look past the garbage he has been and will continue to be responsible for, and I found a lot of the McMahon hating-blaming-bias against to get in the way of trying to enjoy the book.
I was looking forward to this book and was pleased when it came in the mail, but I can in no way recommend paying for this if you are already familiar with the work of the WrestleCrap website. Drew is less familiar with it, so I asked him for his thoughts on the book. He felt it was good to a point (and he was laughing out loud many times while reading it), but like me, he couldn�t really get into the McMahon bashing near the end. If you�ve never read the old WrestleCrap website but are interested in the history of terrible gimmicks pro wrestling has made AND also don�t mind reading a book that has a biased viewpoint at times, feel free to pick this up - but keep in mind pictures and audio clips do a lot more to illustrate the Crap involved than the written word can.. Otherwise, this probably isn�t for you.
The 2004 Royal Rumble
So Bob Holly has a WWE title match, the clique is running wild again, and the product wasn�t that great in 2003, so this show should be pretty awful, right?
Screw that train of thought.
The worst match on the card involves Ric Flair, for crying out loud. Admittedly, as will be seen later in the column, I�m generally pretty positive about wrestling, and really my only interests are whether I�m being entertained or not. Bad wrestling, good wrestling.. to me, it�s all wrestling, and while I�m happier when it�s awesome, I�m still more than willing to watch when it�s not. The point is, Holly title shot aside, this card looks pretty good. Let�s take a look, and see what SmackDown: Here Comes The Pain had to say about the match outcomes.
Royal Rumble Match: Chris Benoit (#1), John Cena, Kurt Angle, Billy Gunn, Nunzio, A-Train, Big Show, Tajiri, Rhyno, Ernest The Cat Miller, Bradshaw, Matt Morgan, Rikishi, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Kane, Booker T, Chris Jericho, Christian, Test, Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Rico, Spike Dudley, Rene Dupree, Randy Orton, Rob Van Dam, The Hurricane, Matt Hardy, and Bill Goldberg (#30).: Every year, I look forward to the Rumble match itself. 1992 was probably the best year for the match, and 93 wasn�t as bad as some say, I haven�t seen 94�s in ages but recall it being good, and I liked the fast pace of 1995 the last time I saw it (awhile ago) but prefer the 1 1/2 - 2 minute intervals. 1996-1999 were kind of the dark ages of the match, but it�s been nothing but entertaining since 2000 in my opinion (for the record, this is all quite obviously all my opinion. Same goes for the 2003 recap to follow. If you disagree, fine. I always like to get that out of the way). I know some people didn�t like the 2003 edition, but I was very entertained. The only time I really wasn�t into it was at the end when it was Batista, Kane, and Undertaker slowing everything down. While this year we do have people like Morgan, Big Show, A-Train (who sorta resembles King Hippo with his clean shaven face) and Rikishi, we don�t have people like Rosey, Jamal, Undertaker, or Batista that we had last year in addition to 3 of the 4 previously named. We also have Hurricane, which is always a plus in my book. Hopefully he lasts longer this year than he did in his 2002 stint (same goes for Cena and his 2003 stint). This is also only Angle�s 2nd Rumble match and Chris Benoit and Rhyno�s 1st, and I hope they can add something positive. This one is also tough to call a winner. The heavy favourite is Benoit, but anytime you have Benoit as a heavy favourite to win a big match, it�s always in doubt. Dames seems to think Goldberg is a LOCK to win the thing, but I don�t. Angle or Cena are possible, with long shots being Orton or Jericho.
SmackDown 5 Says: Goldberg wins (interesting, since normally when you do the Rumble match anyone from A-Train to Ultimo Dragon could win).
World Title Match - Last Man Standing - Triple H (C) vs. Shawn Michaels: This cold be really good, and after 2003�s match to close out the year, I have high hopes. The Torch suggested HHH could be facing Rock at WM with Benoit facing Michaels, and I certainly hope that is accurate. It seems unlikely that Trips would lose the belt so soon after winning it, but I gotta give Shawn the nod to win here (though I�m pretty sure HHH will retain). The last time Shawn won the title, I liked it, but it was very meaningless since he was supposed to be semi-retired at that point. He�s more or less part of the active roster now and a title win would mean more now than it did in 2002. Hopefully the Last Man Standing rules help the match and don�t hurt it.
SmackDown 5 Says: Shawn Michaels
WWE Title Match - Brock Lesnar (C) vs. Hardcore Holly: I�m not a huge Holly fan, but I probably like him more than most net fans. I don�t understand why he�s in the title picture, but whatever, they get to blow off the angle that�s been running since November in what should at least be decent.
SmackDown 5 Says: Brock Lesnar in a squash (Holly is not in the game, but was played by Rodney Mack using Bob�s Pre-Made CAW moveset - as if it matters).
World Tag Title Tables Match - Ric Flair and Batista (C) vs. The Dudley Boyz: Like I said, this will probably be the worst match on the card, and it has Ric Flair in it. That�s a pretty good card then, is it not? I don�t know what to think of this... Dudleyz normally can work a decent match into the table gimmick. I�m also not sure who will win. I picked Batista and Flair over at the Play-Per-View on StableWars on the logic they�ve barely done a thing with the belts since winning them, but I could definitely see the Dudleyz winning them back for no apparent reason either. In the end, I just want La Resistance to win them eventually.
SmackDown 5 says: Batista and Ric Flair
WWE Cruiserweight Title Match - Rey Mysterio (C) vs. Jamie Noble: The matches these guys have had on TV have always been very good in the very short amount of time given to them. I�m very interested in seeing what they do with a PPV match. Also of note is the fact Rey has yet to win a match on PPV, and this might be his big break. On the other hand, Noble could win back the CW title. Rumours indicate Rey and Chavo will feud over the CW title, so I guess Rey will retain.
SmackDown 5 Says: Rey (over Ultimo, using Noble�s CAW Moveset).
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero: Another match I�m really looking forward to. A lot of people are saying this match is happening too soon and are upset it might be blown off in this one match with Eddie facing Lesnar at No Way Out. While I agree with the latter train of thought, keep in mind this feud has been on the slow build since October. That�s hardly hot shooting the match on the Rumble. Yes, technically the break up was only a few weeks ago, but the build to the break up (and of course the match that would follow) has been going on for longer than cynics are giving credit for. Since Chavo won on SmackDown! and Eddie is likely facing Brock at No Way Out, go with Eddie here.
SmackDown 5 Says: Eddie
Overall, looks like a good show. I really enjoyed last year�s show on the strength of Benoit/Angle and the Rumble match, and I don�t see how 2004 can be any worse. Holly/Lesnar will not even come close to Steiner/HHH levels, there is no shitty women�s match involving SmackDown Divas, and there is a CW Title and Guerrero vs Guerrero match. While none of the matches will likely be better than Benoit/Angle from last year (if HBK/HHH can do one better than their last match, it might), this looks to blow last year�s Rumble away. Hopefully the bar I�ve been watching the shows at when I wasn�t going to Famous Players Movie Theatre isn�t one of the 36 bars in this great country of Canada that WWE sued.
2003: The Year in Review
Quick Note: I have no real access to TNA and don�t see any Puro, so this is actually a WWE Year in Review. Sorry, TNA/Puro fans, but if you�re familiar with my work you should have been knowing this anyway..
Last year�s 2002 was one of my best received columns and was good enough to not share column space with anything else. This year�s has come a wee bit late and is also being posted a few days before a PPV, so I didn�t feel doing a 1 shot Year in Review piece was the way to go this year. If you missed last year�s, feel free to check it out at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/columns/article.php?columns_id=1626. Basically, I�ll do a few brief, cliched awards, then list the 12 PPV�s in the order I felt they ranked from Best to Worst. I know most people weren�t happy with 2003�s PPV offering, and with a few there was good cause, but being the mark I am for just watching wrestling, I usually found most had at least a match that I liked and could comment on. Right off the bat, I�ll say I know most people hated Backlash (which I think was unfairly deemed Worst PPV of the Year by the Observer awards) and Bad Blood, but I found both shows to be decent (though BB had the really awful Red Neck Triathlon and some pretty short matches and odd booking). Moving along...
Match of the Year: This was a no brainer for me - Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle from the 2003 Royal Rumble.
Runner Up: A bit harder. Matches that stand out in my mind are Benoit/Eddie for the US title and Rey/Kidman vs WGTT at Vengeance and Lesnar vs Angle (either PPV meeting), Angle vs Cena from No Mercy, or Michaels vs Jericho at Mania. But, since my calendar says the year ends in December, not November, my pick for Runner Up is Shawn Michaels vs HHH from the Dec. 29th Raw.
Worst Match: It�s real easy to say it was Steiner vs HHH from the Rumble, but I find that match too hilarious to give such a negative honour. Same goes for their No Way Out rematch. Mr. America vs Roddy Piper was too short to be THAT bad. Let�s just give the award to any match that involved Coach vs a Raw announcer in some way.
Wrestler of the Year: I always find this decision to make or justify, so let�s just say it�s Chris Benoit.
Runner Up: Shawn Michaels. Yeah, you heard me. He went from special attraction to almost full time wrestler, and I�ve been enjoying every minute of it.
Worst Wrestler: I guess since I�m on the internet, I�m supposed to say Triple H, but screw that. I don�t think he�s that great or anything, and his political games piss me off, but I consider myself a member of the HHHHH Club purely out of spite against the spite against Trips. Big Show�s matches with Lesnar have been fine, but take him away from a power match with Lesnar or a carry job by Angle and he still stinks, and he�s taking what started out to be a promising US title down with him, so he gets this one.
Tag Team of the Year: Not much competition in this field... or is there? The problem with the tag division this year was the teams were either really good or really bad, with no real in-between. I�ll go with The Self-Proclaimed World�s Greatest Tag Team on this one.
Runner Up: Again, like I said, a lot (well, more than 2) of good teams when you actually think about it. Since Rey/Kidman and Tajiri/Eddie were very short term, and nothing on Raw outside of Hurricane/Rosey (and that�s only for mark out purposes) strike my fancy, Los Guerreros are the Runners Up.
Worst Tag Team: The APA. While the re-teaming of the APA did put an end to a Bradshaw singles push, they�re glory days were doing backstage segments in 2000, not having bad matches in 2003.
Best Angle: I guess it�s pretty telling when I couldn�t think of anything to give this and just decided to give it to the build up (and match itself) for Team Austin vs Team Bischoff at Survivor Series. Even the pay-off made more sense than usual - Austin was brought back 2 months later with a petition and meeting representing both sides, not just thrown back into the mix 3 weeks later because Linda McMahon said so.
Runner Up: Rosey, Super Hero In Training, because I found the segments amusing. Nothing more to it.
Worst Angle: Eddie and the feces hose. Just bad stuff. Shane dominating Kane wasn�t much better.
Most Improved: Not sure how Lesnar won this in the WON voting. I guess voters thought he sucked at the end of 2002. Cena, on the other hand, is (or at least seems) a lot better in the ring this year than he was in 2002.
Runner Up: La Resistance, more specifically Rene Dupree (and the team not having Sylvain Grenier) have become much more enjoyable as the year progressed. Dupree did this great People�s Elbow rip off involving his Dance~ and lowering the knee pad and dropping the knee at the house show I went to. It�s a shame that the de-push came after the team stopped sucking.
Why is he still around?: Mark Henry. Enough said.
Best Announce Team / Runners Up / Worst Team: Cole/Tazz / Tazz/Mathews / Cat/Mathews - no explanations needed, that�s just how it was.
Pointless Award - Best Authority Figure: Consider this... if you cheat a bit and go up to the date this column was written, this is the list of Authority Figures who have been on TV: Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Stephanie McMahon, Linda McMahon, Steve Austin (Co-GM), Steve Austin (Sheriff), Mick Foley, Paul Heyman, Chief Morley as well as Teddy Long and Coach for a day. Shane McMahon also was hinted as a GM replacement for Bischoff and Sable was an assistant to Stephanie and may have made a mach or two, I don�t remember, and Dawn Marie currently announces matches on behalf of Paul Heyman. Let�s just say the best one was Heyman and the worst one was Linda.
Pay-Per-View�s of 2003 from Best to Worst (According to Me)
I didn�t have a very hard time doing 1 - 5, but after that deciding the order took some thought. They were either equally good or bad, with no real way to make one better or worse than another, but this is what I came up with:
#1. Vengeance: The first ever SmackDown! only PPV was an interesting ride. Fans were looking forward to it due to SmackDown having the better talent roster, and were certain it would blow the Raw only PPVs, and possibly even dual brand PPVs that had Raw talent on them. Neglected SmackDown! talent could finally be on PPV. Then, the card started taking shape. Two McMahon matches. No Matt Hardy. A US Title tournament seemingly designed for Billy Gunn to win. Big Show in the main event. People began to worry. Many people even thought the show would suck after the US Title finals became Eddie vs Benoit and a WWE Tag Title match of Rey and Kidman vs WGTT was added. Then the show happened... Eddie vs. Benoit were given almost 20 minutes to shine and put on a hell of a match for the US title. The ending was a bit silly but this was during Eddie�s �heel� crazy cheating era, which only served to make him really, really over. Going in, I assumed this would be the best match, but it was topped by the incredible World�s Greatest Tag Team vs Rey and Kidman match. Vince vs Gowen and Stephanie vs Sable managed to not totally suck, Gunn vs Noble was short and OK, many people liked Undertaker vs Cena but I found it was overly long and not too great, and then the Main Event, Angle vs Lesnar vs Big Show, was also a pretty damned good match, with Angle winning the title and Lesnar giving Big Show a running freakin powerbomb.
Best Match: As mentioned above, the Haas/Benjamin vs. Rey/Kidman match managed to top the Eddie/Benoit opener.
Worst Match: The Bar Room Brawl isn�t really a match, and I actually have a soft spot for crappy gimmick matches like that, designed only to get people onto the show (like Matt Hardy!). Though it wasn�t as awful as expected, Sable vs Stephanie still gets the Worst Match honour for this show.
#2. WrestleMania XIX: This is a show you either love for being an entertaining 4 hour extravaganza or hate for having booking you just couldn�t tolerate. I fall into the former, my pal Drew in the latter. While I enjoyed all 4 minutes of Rey vs Matt for the CW title, the Women�s title match, Rock vs. Austin (though nowhere near as good as before), Brock vs. Angle, and especially Jericho vs. Michaels, he was left baffled as to why Undertaker vs Show/A-Train got more time than the CW title match, why HHH went over Booker T, or why Michaels pinned Jericho. Admittedly, those things bothered me too, but overall I just enjoyed the show. The Hogan/Vince build towards the show was pretty bad, but the match was a bit of a �fun� match... �Entertaining Crap� as Scott Keith would say.
Best Match: Kind of a toss up between Michaels vs Jericho and Brock vs Angle, but I�ll go with HBK vs Y2J.
Worst Match: Undertaker and technically Nathan Jones but not really vs. A-Train and Big Show. And I didn�t even find this that bad, to be honest. Not good, just not awful.
#3. Royal Rumble: It seems rather odd that a show that featured both Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson and Triple H vs Scott Steiner as 1/3 of the card could be the #3 event of the year, but that�s how strong Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit and the majority of the 2003 Rumble match were. Triple H vs Steiner is also pretty good for comedic effect, and in honesty that match has probably been watched more than the Benoit/Angle one to show casual fan friends Steiner falling over and sucking in the ring. Big Show vs Brock Lesnar was pretty decent too.
Best Match: Benoit vs Angle. Also my MOTY.
Worst Match: Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson. By being longer, Steiner vs HHH is technically worse, but the comedy value redeems it. Dawn vs Torrie is just bad.
#4. Survivor Series: This show was generally praised as being good despite the fact a lot of the matches weren�t. IT was more or less carried by the nostalgia of having two 5 on 5 elimination matches, one of them being really, really good. And you know what? I liked that. I also liked the booking they gave Goldberg (yeah, I�ve come around to liking him, wanna fight about it?) and though many would disagree, I enjoyed the opening tag match. Also of note, Molly Holly�s attire + Dragon Sleeper = Good times.
Best Match: Team Austin (RVD, Booker T, D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley, and Shawn Michaels) vs. Team Bischoff (Chris Jericho, Christian, Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, and Randy Orton) - A good classic formula elimination match, with Michaels really carrying the whole thing at the end with a great performance and sick blade job.
Worst Match: This is kind of tough. Vince vs. Taker, Shane vs. Kane, and HHH vs Goldberg were guilty pleasures of mine, Lita vs Molly had lots of Molly cleavage, and Los Guerreros vs Bashams was technically better than all of those. I guess I�m going to have to give it to Undertaker vs Vince and their buried alive match.
#5. SummerSlam: A show pretty much carried by the two big title matches, many people were down on the show because HHH retained the title (and gave Goldberg his first loss) by doing about 15 seconds of work. That was a let down, but I found the faster paced Elimination Chamber to be better than the one from 2002 and a fun match that I was really into. Angle vs Lesnar was a good match with some real nice spots (the one legged F5, Angle�s sunset flip into a triangle lock) but was not on par with their Mania match (which some folks felt was overrated to begin with). The US Title 4-way match was good but short, Most everything else on the show fell flat, though.
Best Match: Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar: Explained above.
Worst Match: Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff. Not so much a match as it was a segment designed to turn Coach heel, which I will admit I marked for, and have Austin give a bunch of Stunner�s. Pretty bad, plus the guy in the theatre behind us was yelling like a jackass.
#6. No Mercy: Pretty much every PPV from #3 down was carried by 2 or 1 match, and this show is real proof of that. While Angle vs Cena was tremendous and Rey vs Tajiri was good, matches like Bashams vs APA and Stephanie vs Vince (despite what Dave Meltzer says) were not. I also could have done without Zach vs. Matt, but all things considered I thought that was decent. Undertaker vs Lesnar was a let down after their previous matches that turned out good. Eddie did his best with Big Show and had a watchable match with him, but the booking behind the whole feud was pretty bad and Show has dragged what started out as a good revival for the US title down to Hell. Hopefully it�s treated better when he finally loses it. I did enjoy A-Train vs. Benoit though, as Chris seems to have some ability to have good matches with Albert.
Best Match: Kurt Angle vs. John Cena. A really good match, Cena�s best ever in WWE. His match with Benoit in December comes in at a close 2nd. The real problem with the match was how to book it... Angle had just recently dropped the strap and this wasn�t a great time to be losing to Cena, but Cena was on his way to becoming hugely popular and could have used a big PPV win. Either result would have been fine, as both have good and bad points, so I�m not really with the end result.
Worst Match: Stephanie vs. Vince. Meltzer loved this match because it had a lot of heat and Vince can play a great heel. That�s fine and dandy for the people in the arena who enjoyed it, but I found it brutally boring, and I�m normally cool with Vinnie Mac matches.
#7. No Way Out: This show was built around the returns of Steve Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan, and the result is the DVD cover advertising the 3 worst matches on the card, making my memory of it seem really awful. Watching it again, it occurred to me that it�s a decent show before the 3 Main Events start. Matt Hardy vs Billy Kidman is good and a 2nd viewing of Lesnar/Benoit vs Angle/Haas/Benjamin was better than I remembered it. Austin vs. Bischoff was a fun return match squash at the time, and Steiner vs. HHH is still pretty damn hilarious, but Rock vs Hogan was just a bad match. It was a bad match the first time, but the crowd heat was tremendous and I liked it. The sequel was a bad match with a silly ending.
Best Match: Brock/Benoit vs Team Angle (all 3 members). Not as good as it sounds on paper, but a well worked match.
Worst Match: Hogan vs Rock. Explained above.
#8. Bad Blood: One of the most despised shows on the internet managed to do better on my list than 4 other PPVs. The match was sold on 3 Main Event type matches, and it happened I enjoyed all 3 (and was nicely surprised by HHH vs Nash). HHH vs Nash was certainly not great, but it was much better than I expected, especially with Foley involved. HBK vs Flair was not as good as it could have been, but it was still good, and Jericho vs. Goldberg was a good match as well thanks to Jericho. The show is really brought down by things like the Red Neck Triathlon, the bad booking in Booker vs Christian, and Kane/RVD�s title losing match against the original, bad La Resistance.
Best Match: Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels. While it wasn�t as long as Michaels was hoping for and wasn�t as good as some people were hoping for, it was still an entertaining match, and for some people that�s all that matters.
Worst Match: If the Red Neck Triathlon doesn�t count, then I�ll go with La Resistance vs RVD and Kane.
#9. Backlash: The �winner� of Wrestling Observer Newsletter�s Worst PPV of the Year Award. While it�s not very good, I liked it better than the 3 PPVs I haven�t named yet. Los Guerreros vs Team Angle was a pretty solid tag match as was Dudleyz vs RVD/Kane (I thought so, anyway), and Cena vs Brock was an interesting experiment that didn�t really work, but it was a good try. I also thought the 6 man tag match (HBK/Booker/Nash vs HHH/Flair/Jericho) was pretty good, but nothing really special. Goldberg vs Rock was heavily hyped and poorly built up, and the match was just them going through the numbers, so I can see why people would have bad memories of this PPV, but I don�t think it was the year�s worst.
Best Match: Los Guerreros vs. Team Angle. Not up to the matches they would be having later on, but still a good, solid tag match.
Worst Match: Either Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show (though I found that post-match angle impressive - but I�m not a big fan of fake injury angles) or Sean O�Haire vs. Rikishi. Take your pick.
#10. Unforgiven: A PPV sold entirely on a guarantee of Goldberg finally beating HHH for the title. The IC title triple threat match between RVD, Christian, and Jericho should have been good but for whatever reason wasn�t.
Best Match: It was either going to be Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels or Lita/Trish vs Gail/Molly. I decided to go with the tag match, marking what is probably the first time I can think of where a women�s match was a �Best Of� on a North American PPV. Maybe that 8 women tag match at Survivor Series 95? I don�t remember that show very well, but even then Diesel vs Bret was probably better.
Worst Match: Without a doubt, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler vs Coach and Al Snow. This was one of the heavier hyped matches of the show to boot, with a stipulation that lasted all of one week.
#11. Armageddon: I really have nothing to say about this show. To be honest, I�m not entirely sure why I�m putting it above a show that had Eddie/Tajiri vs. Team Angle in a ladder match.. oh wait, I remember why, but I�ll get to that later. This show was pretty below average. I had some hopes for the Tag Turmoil match, but that ended up being a big mess. I did enjoy Orton vs RVD and thought Batista vs Michaels was OK, and the main event was.. hmm.. �interesting�, but kind of a mess. I did enjoy Flair (and Batista) winning the tag titles and actually thought that Jericho/Christian vs Trish/Lita was booked and worked very well.
Best Match: Randy Orton vs RVD. Orton in a best match should make some people pretty upset. He almost was in Unforgiven�s MOTN as well. Orton in 2 Match of the Nights may have made Anglesault�s head explode. I liked the match, and also liked their rematch on Raw, but I can certainly see why others would not.
Worst Match: Sadly, Molly Holly vs Ivory. I really hate giving Molly a Worst Match distinction.
#12. Judgment Day: Despite a strong match by Haas/Benjamin and The Guerreros and an ok match between Big Show and Lesnar, this is my pick for worst show of 2003. It�s pretty close with Armageddon, but certain things made this one stick out in my mind. Mr. America vs Piper in a terrible waste of time is the big one. A screw job battle royal finish is another. Benoit was put in the opening match and it was only given about 5 minutes. Sable and Torrie, 2 women who were already naked before, took up time with a bikini contest (though I have to admit Torrie�s final form was pretty good). All this and I still haven�t mentioned La Resistance vs. Test and Scott Steiner OR Triple H vs. Kevin Nash, where Nash wins by DQ.
Best Match: Tajiri and Eddie vs Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin in a Ladder Match for the WWE tag titles. A really good match that really stood out on this show. Eddie and Tajiri were a good temporary team, making up for Chavo�s injury, while it lasted.
Worst Match: Mr. America (Hulk Hogan) vs. Roddy Piper. Really short and really bad. That�s all that needs to be said.
That will do it for now. Who knows when I�ll write again, but hopefully I�ll get some feedback on this one. You can e-mail me Here (remove the X's) or send me a Private Message in the Forums Here, or just say something in Site Feedback or WWE (I guess, since this is mostly about WWE).
Stephen Gray
| |
|
|
|
|
|
