best and worst wrestlemania matches part 1 (2000-2012)

Best and Worst wrestlemania main events part 1 (2000-2012)

Hello every one Julian cannon is here again for another article ..this will be a 3 part post of the best and worst main events in wrestlemania history. This will be part 1 and it will be from the years 2000-2012

also email me @ juliancannon70@yahoo.com for your feedback

Here are some of the best

1.the rock vs Steve Austin (wrestlemania 19)

The 3 matches they had at wrestlemania were epic but their final match I considered the best of the 3. In 2002, Steve Austin left the wwe due to creative differences and the rock was part of the smackdown brand until his loss at summerslam. 8 months later Steve Austin returned and feuded with Eric bischoff and around this time also,the rock returned to feud with hulk Hogan..there was an amount of time left for these two active wrestlers to clash one final time..the rock was a heel this time due to the heat he started to get from the fans for him choosing hollywood over wwe.going into the match, Austin was already hurt and his neck injury got to him again and many thought that he wouldn’t be able to compete. But the “rattle snake” pulled it off and him and the rock had a battle. From the rock using the stunner and to Austin using the rock bottom, and the amount of kickouts, from start to finish this match had great story telling and the fans and me brought it..the attitude era finished 2 years before this match but many fans believe that this was the real closure. The rock picked up the win on this one and this would be the last time we would see Steve Austin in a match…or is it…

2.Hardy boys vs Dudley boys vs edge and Christian (tlc II,wrestlemania 17)

I was in the 5th grade in 2001 and the whole month me and my friends were talking about this match..and the week before it,I predicted that edge and Christian would win..there was so much anticipation for this match and it delivered..every one in that match including lita, rhyno and spike Dudley were made huge stars in this match and we have seen some of the most dangerous “spots” since the closure of ecw one month before..the moat infamous spot that is often shown in wwe videos or YouTube, is when while Jeff Hardy was hanging on to the belts in the air,edge did a spear which would have both of them crashing down into the ring from 15 feet in the air..the fans roared with “holy shit” chants like it was an ecw event..after we seen Bubba ray and Matt Hardy go through 4 tables,I knew edge and Christian would get the win..this match would steal the show of the event and it got te match of the year award from the pro wrestling illustrated magazine.

Triple h vs Batista (wrestlemania 21)

In 2002, the ruthless aggression era in the wwe was born..everyone in this era wanted to make an impact and stand out with the rest..guys like Randy orton, rvd, Christian, Chris beniot and many others burst into the scene but no body other than Batista and john cena would become the biggest stars of the 2000-2010 decade.. Batista was already on smackdown in his first year but quickly moved to raw to join the newly formed evolution stable that dominated wwe raw for 2 years..Ric flair was the best of the past,triple h was the best of that time and orton and Batista was going to be the future ..in 2005,Batista became the royal rumble winner and choose to stay on raw to go against triple h for the world heavyweight championship ..I expected Batista to win but this match was an absolute war..triple h tried all that he could to take Batista down but he wouldn’t give up..even with the help of ric flair,it still didn’t help at all. Batista gave triple h a beating I wanted to see for a while and I got it. After a Batista bomb the war was over between the student and the teacher and Batista would be world heavyweight champion for the next 9 months..john cena also won the wwe championship..this ppv was the peak of the ruthless aggression era because nobody thought that these two would become champions but they proved every body wrong.

4.Chris beniot vs Shawn Michaels vs triple h (wrestlemania 20)

To me out of every wrestling promotion before styles vs Joe vs Daniels match in 2005,I considered this to be the best triple threat match of all time..beniot won the royal rumble in 2004 and he moved from smackdown to raw to face triple h and Shawn Michaels at wrestlemania ..for the first time at wrestlemania, the world championship would be on the line in a triple threat match..triple h is a ring general with brawlers antics ..Shawn michaels mixes high flying with technical mat wrestling ..and Chris beniot is a mix of 3 of those styles along with his submission style so this match was a clash of 3 worlds in one ring..beniot and Shawn had the upper hand in the beginning then triple h kept fighting back..then beniot had the fighting spirit that we knew he had..well along with those concussions he had with those diving headbutts..after Shawn hit sweet chin music I really thought the match was over..until beniot hit the crossface forcing triple h to tap out. Beniot gets the victory and celebrates with Eddie Guerrero ..those two deserved it because they came a very long way since the early 90’s

5.cm punk vs Rey mysterio (wrestlemania 26)

In 2010,the straightedge society took in full effect on smackdown..cm punk along with Luke gallows and Serena feuded with Rey mysterio.. to add insult to injury, on an episode of smackdown, Rey brought out his family and it was his daughters birthday..then the straightedge society made their way to the ring and sang the happy birthday song while the group got Rey to not attack punk..some fans thought it was disturbing but hey that is what heels do.this was pink’s first singles match at wrestlemania and these two did not disappointed anybody ..Rey came out with an avatar themed attire while cm punk came out with an GIJOE Themed attire as well.
But now to the match, punk took most of the offense until Rey made a few counters but punk came back with more counters as well..when punk was going for the GTS I thought it was over until Rey countered it..Rey went for the win for this one and Rey stated in a 2012 edition of the wwe magazine that this was his favorite match of that year.

6.undertaker vs Shawn michaels (wrestlemania 25).

Of all the undertaker’s opponents at wrestlemania, nobody has ever came close or got in the head of taker than Shawn michaels. Shawn defeated Vladimir kozlof in a match to determine who will face the undertaker at wrestlemania. The promos from Shawn michaels were the best I have ever seen..Shawn is also known as the Showstopper and Mr. Wrestlemania and since 2002 ,the undertaker’s streak has become very important..for Shawn michaels entrance, he had on a white suit and white hat,coming from the heaven, while undertaker entrance rises from hell..from the start of the match, those two went back and fourth with the usual punches and reverse moves.Shawn attempted a sweet chin music while undertaker attempted a tombstone early on through the midway of the match..then undertaker did a dive from the ring to Shawn but Shawn pushed the camera man into undertaker..the action goes back into the ring and Shawn hits the super kick but taker ticked out..the emotion begins here and I was staring into the screen..taker goes for the tombstone…1…2… kickout!!! This had everyone in the arena and home gasping at that kickout and undertaker looked shocked as well..taker goes for hells gate and hbk gets out,taker goes for tombstone again to end the match..I felt the story telling and the atmosphere of the match..and as soon as it finished, I knew it would get the match of the year vote

7.edge vs Mick Foley (hardcore match,wrestlemania 22)

When this match was building up to wrestlemania, I had no clue to who to choose for the win..at the time of 2006,edge was on a roll..he also brought up the fact that he has never lost at wrestlemania. Mick Foley the hardcore icon has had matches at wrestlemania but he stated that he has never had a wrestlemania moment.. this was the stage for him to have a moment. These two went back and fourth in the beginning of the match until the bared wire baseball bat came into play..then edge took a numb on thumbtacks, not as bad as orton took thumbtacks 2 years earlier when you saw the look on his face like he got stabbed. Lita got in the match as well and Mick used the sock wrapped in barbed wire and she was hardcore for taking it..the final spot took place where hedge speared Foley through a flaming table,which led Joey styles to shout out his famous “ohh myy God!!!!” Line back in ecw on commentary ..fans then stood up for the “holy shit” chant and edge went for the 3 count..this was clearly the best match of the show and Mick Foley finally has a wrestlemania moment.

7.Kurt angle vs Brock lesnar (wrestlemania 19).

The winner of the 2003 royal rumble was Brock lesnar and from right there, the best feud of 2003 started to kick off ..Kurt Angle was the wwe champion and these two former amateur wrestlers that turned pro, would clash in the ring for the first time..I had a gut feeling that this match would close the show and it did..match started with chain wrestling and Matt takedowns..after Brock pulled off a German suplex, the match got physical right there. Angle made sure he gave lesnar all he got..including the angle slam and moonsault..as soon ss he went for the ankle lock and lesnar reversed it,angle was trying to sell the reverse but he got injured on his neck..lesnar goes for the f-5 but angle kicks out..then lesnar goes for the shooting star press but Kurt moved out the way even though the distance was too far,which resulted in Brock landing on his head and he gets injured as well..so we have 2 injured wrestlers trying to finish the match now as lesnar hits the f-5 a.d gets the 3 count..great sportsmanship for these two and they went all out for the fans to see the conclusion even though they both got hurt very badly

Trish Stratus vs Mickey James (wrestlemania 22)

I rank this as the best divas match in wrestlemania history ..but the best divas match in history was lita vs Trish in a November 2004 episode of raw(also the only time ever on raw that the main event was for the women’s championship) . Mickey James only debuted a few months earlier, got the attention of many fans. Including Trish Stratus herself. 5 minutes into the match the crowd was not dead at all because these two women were going all out with an array of moves..looking back at this match, it was like a mirror match because they clicked too well that it was like they both wrestled eachother for years even though it was their first match. The match itself is self explanatory because they both pulled it off and when Mickey got the pin,the fans were all shocked including me because nobody would have thought that a divas match at wrestlemania would be a 5 star quality match

Honorable mentions

Triple h vs the undertaker hell in a cell match (wrestlemania 28)

The rock vs hulk Hogan (wrestlemania 18)

Team angle vs Chris beniot and rhyno vs Los Guerreros(wrestlemania 19)

Ric flair vs Shawn michaels (wrestlemania 24)

John cena vs Shawn michaels (wrestlemania 23)

Kurt angle vs Chris beniot (wrestlemania 17)

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho (wrestlemania 19)

 

now lets go through the worst now. bear with me readers lol

1.Daniel Bryan vs shaemus (wrestlemania 28)

This match from last year’s wrestlemania that opened the show with an 18 second win outraged the fans at the arenas and home .. people paid good money for tickets and ppv to not get ripped off..these 2 wrestlers Daniel Bryan and shaemus are two world class athletes with different styles so the match would have been very interesting..what makes this worse is that throughout the year of 2012,shaemus would use the 18 seconds on a lot of his promos for a cheap pop..Daniel did not deserve to drop the belt in that way..the crowd was entirely behind him at wrestlemania and this was a slap in the face to everyone who saw it.

Rey mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero (wrestlemania 21)

I wouldn’t say that this match was bad but it could have been a lot better ..for these two, you would expected a lot more in this match..the beginning was solid up until when Rey mysterio’s mask was out of place 7 minutes into the match..from there on,it just got sloppy Like it was two unprofessional high school kids doing backyard wrestling..kudos for at least trying but it failed to meet expectations..

The rock vs triple h vs big show vs mankind (wrestlemania 16/2000)

This has to be the most odd wrestlemania main event in the attitude era..here is the story..the rock wins the royal rumble, big show shows footage of both the rocks feet touching the ground first..then triple h defeats cactus Jack..in no way out, the big show defeated the rock with the help of Shane McMahon to get the rock’s spot at wrestlemania ..at the same ppv,triple h defeated Mick Foley inside hell in a cell to end Foley’s career..the rock then earned his spot back by defeating big show on raw with the help of Vince McMahon .so now at mania, its a triple threat match..however, Linda McMahon brought in Mic Foley to make it a fatal 4 way.. along with every McMahon on ringside. On paper it sounds like a good idea since there is a 75% chance that the title will change hands..but to me the match didn’t work at all..for some reason every body did not click in with eachother at this match with too many messed spots and big show should have not been in this match in the first place. Triple h got the win on this match but it didn’t matter because the triangle ladder match stole the show earlier that night and this main event was rarely ever mentioned on wwe television again

Bret Hart vs Mr.McMahon (Wrestlemania 26)

10 years later we get another great rivalry but another horrible match..Bret Hart made his wwe return in 2010 to bury the hatchet with Shawn michaels and to start his rivalry with Vince McMahon ..it was built on the Montreal screwjob back at survivor series 1997.as soon as Bert’s music played and he entered the ring with his t-shirt band blue shorts,every body was thinking, “where in the hell is the pink and black attack “..it was like he just finished drinking coffee and was told his match is next..but anyways,other than Vince trying to get Hart’s family to turn on him, Bret repeatedly his Vince with the crowbar and then he went for the sharpshooter forcing McMahon to submit …I had the mindset to go over there to Arizona to punch both of them in the face..no disrespect to the legendary Bret Hart who is one of my favorites..but this match was booked like it was a Wcw show and I understand that he had a stroke years ago,but be should have not done this match in the first place.

John cena vs the miz(wrestlemania 27)

I can say that 2010-2011 was the year of the miz. He has improve a lot since teaming with john Morrison..him becoming wwe champion in the end of 2010 got me more interested in this Guy.. now for his match at wrestlemania against arguably the biggest star of the wrestling world today john cena had me puzzled about who would win..the match started very slow and the fans were not buying that the miz were to beat cena. A few botches threw me off for this match And the spot where the match ended in a double count out was not well received by everyone ..so the rock..oh wait Dwayne Johnson who was the host of the show cones out and says that the match will be restarted .. Dwayne then gives cena the rock bottom and miz goes for the pin..this was the weakest finish in wrestlemania since wrestlemania 9 and Dwayne making that run in just didn’t make the cut at all

Goldberg vs Brock lesnar (wrestlemania 20)

I cannot lie..the moment when Brock and Goldberg had that face to face standoff, I knew something big was going to happen..the feud leading into this match was great and adding in Steve Austin as the referee made the match huge..the week before wrestlemania, it was leaked from wrestling websites that Brock lesnar is leaving after wrestlemania to go to the NFL..a few days later,it was also leaked that Goldberg is leaving too..this angered the fans and when the match started, both Brock lesnar and Goldberg were heavily booed in the Madison square garden arena, then the “you sold out” chants began ..anyways, the match started by them two stalling in the ring with no moves whatsoever for about 4-6 minutes ..the most we saw was a few holds and throws and that was it..the next 20 minutes the fans were already tired of them two and chanted for Steve Austin and started the “boring ” chants as well..the match didn’t really pick up until the last 6 minutes with Goldberg going for the spear and jackhammer and going for the 3 count but that still didn’t satisfied the fans..so stone cold did the stunner to both lesnar and Goldberg for the fans to finally give a huge reaction .. to tell you the truth, both lesnar and Goldberg deserved that angry crowd reaction and I’m happy that they did

Divas battle royal (wrestlemania 25)

Where do I start with this one..this battle royal took the spot for the tag team title unification match and I was sure the fans wanted to see it than seeing kid rock’s performance along with this very sloppy botchamania written match. This also features the divas from the past and present and the divas from the past could not keep up with the ones right now ..from the silly falls to the forgettable missed spots,this match was very un watchable..did I mention that santino marella win with the gimmick of santina marella. That’s enough said for this match..if you would like to see this kind of mess, either watch this match or watch the male version of it..its called the XFL.

Honorable mentions:

Big show vs Floyd mayweither (wrestlemania 24)

Triple h vs Randy orton (wrestlemania 25)

Test vs Eddie Guerrero (wrestlemania 17)

Undertaker vs Kane(wrestlemania 20)

Scott hall vs Steve Austin ( wrestlemania 18)

Kane vs the great khali (wrestlemania 23)

what would happen if tna wrestling and the wwe had a crossover

Julian cannon back for another post and I would like to say im happy meeting everyone for the first time at the annual BBQ. Now to give my thoughts on a topic that has been going on since 2006.

This was going to originally be a post about 7 of the best TNA wrestlers vs 7 of the best WWE wrestlers but things got changed after a news report came out a few weeks ago.

So the story is that Carter,

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who has visited the UK to promote TNA’s 2014 British tour, said that she enjoys the rivalry with WWE, arguing that it benefits both companies and – most importantly – the fans. She also told the Digital Spy magazine that “I don’t think [the WWE] shares my belief in this, but I believe that competition is 100% positively essential,
I think it’s important for fans and for us. To have one company dominate, a) it’s boring, and b) you are not being challenged enough. It’s always better to have other options out there and I truly believe it makes both companies better.”

When asked if she would ever be open to the idea of WWE and TNA stars appearing together in shows, she said: “I absolutely would do that. I’m not sure if they would do that, but I absolutely would.”

There you go. I personally think Vince McMahon was laughing too hard at this but we will never know. Here is my reaction and why I think that this can be either a good idea or bad idea.

THE GOOD

This will get their name and brand out there really quick on a nationwide basis. It happened to ECW in 1997 so I guess it can happen with them too so I can be up for it depending on how everything will be planned out. The audience will also see some wrestlers that they have seen before or never ever seen until that event happens. The crossover will be good for business and will gain the mainstream publicity for both WWE and TNA. You can hear the kids and teenagers and fans reaction and most of them will say things like “did you see those TNA guys jumped the guardrail last night on raw, that was really epic and im watching TNA impact on Thursday to see what the hell is going to happen next”. There you go, it takes one move for the entire wrestling fanbase to start talking for the week or even the month. its that simple. WWE will let TNA showcase their talent and WWE’s viewer numbers will go up. everyone wins. This was the same response when ECW first stepped foot in a WWE ring and the fans responded pretty well. The result of that was ECW and WWE had a talent exchange for a short time and we got to see guys like Rob Van Dam, Sabu, The eliminators and more would show up on raw in the months of 1997, and ecw would get WWE guys like Jerry lawler, Jake Roberts, Sunny, Justin credible and more.

THE BAD

The moment you have TNA originals (not ex WWE employees) like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, James Storm, and Austin Aries step in front of that crowd in a large stadium, at least 3 of them would want to think of jumping ship to the Big leagues..That noise from the WWE crowd is on the same level as the SuperBowl or the World series and everyone wants a piece of it. Also, how will this event be booked? Will they let the TNA wrestlers showcase their talent like having AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe on Monday night raw or smackdown? Or having them go against the WWE roster. I can tell you that once you see AJStyles go against John Cena, we know who will win because Vince McMahon is not going to let the face of the “Worldwide indy promotion” beat the face of the WWE. Its no way that’s happening in a million years. Another reason why this should never happen is because of the IWC(internet wrestling community) or the classic “smarks” term. They would not be happy if they see a TNA guy loose to this WWE guy and vice-versa. We will see angry fans on Youtube just complaining and whining over nothing as usual. Now lets say we have about 6 TNA guys in different matches with the WWE guys. I can bet you that out of 6, only one will win and the fans will take this as “oh wow WWE brought these TNA guys in just to bury them” and blah blah blah. Think of the outcry we will get after 11:05pm. My last reason is because there is too many guys in the back that will clash over with the creative. on WWE’s side its Vince McMahon, Johnny Ace and Triple H. on TNA’s side, there is Dixie Carter, Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. We will get a huge ego tripping week and we all know how Hulk Hogan is backstage with his politics “brother”

In the end I would want this to happen but you would really think how should it happen. WWE and TNA (and Ring of Honor if you want to count it) are the biggest Wrestling promotions in the united states and whatever TNA does, WWE does not ever consider them a competitor. Its just fact because WWE scores at least 3.1-3.8 in TV raitings a week and TNA has not scored over 1.8 within the last 8 months. Its just rocket science that’s all

Hope you all like my post,

any questions, juliancannon70@yahoo.com

follow me @julianexcalibur

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WWE:retro feud:Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler

There can only be one king in the WWF. Back on June 13th, 1993 the World Wrestling Federation crowned a King of the Ring. One man in particular took offense to such a title being given. After all, he had been calling himself “king” for several years.

So, when Bret Hart won the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, Jerry “the King” Lawler ended up viciously attacking Bret when he was cutting a promo shortly after the victory. During the confrontation, Bret referred to Lawler as being a Burger King. Lawler responded by attacking Bret with a scepter. The attack would be the beginning of a feud that would go on for nearly three years, off and on.

 

During the July 7th taping of Wrestling Challenge, Jerry Lawler would beat Bret’s younger brother Owen Hart to send a message to the Hart Family that he would do the same to Bret at SummerSlam in August. Lawler would continue to get underneath Bret’s skin by taunting his parents during the July 26th edition of RAW. Bret was wrestling against Bam-Bam Bigelow before he left to get his hands on Lawler, who had been in the crowd taunting Stu and Helen.

Meanwhile, Lawler and Bret were also feuding in Jerry’s promotion USWA based in Memphis. The roles were switched as Lawler was the babyface and Bret played the heel. In that promotion, they would have a steel cage match the night before SummerSlam. A stipulation was if Lawler were to lose he would refund the money he earned from the show to the fans. Of course, Lawler was able to win after the Giant Gonzales botched his interference and cost Bret the match. I thought that was an interesting tidbit.

At SummerSlam on August 30th, Lawler tried to get out of the match with Bret Hart by saying he had suffered an injury. It worked at first and he was able to get Doink the Clown to take his place. Bret won the match over Doink and was attacked by Lawler afterward. Lawler whacked Bret with his crutch and that led to them having a match shortly there after. Bret originally won by submission, but he refused to let go of the hold. So, as a result, Lawler won the match by a reverse decision. The victory allowed Lawler to have the title of being the real king of the WWF.

Bret and Lawler were supposed to continue their feud at Survivor Series in November, but Lawler had legal issues he needed to attend to and left the company. He would return in early 1994 but his feud with Bret wouldn’t be a focus that year.

Their feud continued in early 1995. William Shatner made an appearance on the January 9th edition of RAW and along with Bret Hart, he got the better of Jerry Lawler on King’s Court. A month later, Bret Hart cost Jerry Lawler a battle royal by forcing Lawler to have both feet touch the ground.

Lawler began to drag Bret Hart’s name in the mud during the February 20th edition of RAW. Lawler called Bret a racist after Bret won the Wrestle of the Year award. Jerry believed Bret won the award because the Japanese vote wasn’t counted. This would lead to a feud with Hakushi, which will be noted later on in this column.

It seemed like Bret wasn’t able to beat Lawler on a national stage as they wrestled again on the March 13th edition of RAW. Lawler won by count-out after Bull Nakano prevented Bret from returning to the ring. They would finally have another match at the first In Your House on May 14th, 1995. At the event, Bret Hart had two matches. He first beat Hakushi but was unable to beat Lawler. Instead, Bret was pinned by Lawler after Hakushi interfered and splashed Bret several times from the top rope.

They would meet again at the King of the Ring but it wouldn’t be a normal match. No, instead they competed in a Kiss My Foot match where the loser would be forced to kiss the winner’s foot. Lawler was embarrassed and would end up going to a dentist to fix his mouth. This wasn’t any normal dentist, though. The dentist was evil and known as Dr. Isaac Yankeem. Lawler wouldn’t be seeking revenge personally, but rather by recruiting Yankeem to do it for him.

At SummerSlam, Bret Hart was able to beat Yankeem but only be disqualification thanks to Jerry Lawler getting involved and attacking Bret. On the October 2nd edition of RAW, Bret attacked Lawler following a match but Yankeem saved his friend. Two weeks later, Bret competed against Yankeem inside a steel cage, which saw Lawler inside a smaller cage above the ring. Bret won the match by escaping over the cage essentially winning the feud and putting an end to his issues with Lawler.

 

31 days of Halloween: top 10 best wrestling gimmicks of all time

I am back with another post, this time, the sequel to the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, This time it will be the top 10 best wrestling gimmicks of all time

10. The Boogeyman

Like many gimmicks on this list, the Boogeyman gimmick remains a cult favorite with a lot of fans. Marty Wright got booted from Tough Enough for lying about his age, but got what he wanted out of the deal anyway. WWE saw potential in him, and he ended up with the Boogeyman gimmick. Wright embraced the gimmick wholeheartedly. You really couldn’t have asked for more. His recitation of nursery rhymes, combined with his mannerisms made what should have been a ridiculous gimmick something not only believable, but occasionally creepy. The crawling, the fantastic makeup, and the mouthful of worms combined to make WWE’s version definitely creepier than the Boogeyman from The Ghostbusters cartoon. Wright lasted nearly four years off and on with WWE with this gimmick, and scored several high profile wins over talent such as JBL and Booker T. Boogeyman remains proof that any gimmick can be successful if talent is willing to sell out for it to make it work.

9.Gangrel

The Vampire Warrior gimmick began in Memphis in the USWA, which has been home to several outlandish gimmicks. He parlayed that into a job with the World Wrestling Federation, thanks to Bruce Pritchard and Vince Russo, who felt that a vampire gimmick had legs. The character was fleshed out a bit by giving it a gothic twist, similar to what fans had seen in the screen adaptation of Interview With A Vampire. However, the true influence for the character came from the game Vampire: The Masquerade. Much like The Boogeyman, the behind the gimmick (David Heath) embraced it wholeheartedly and made it work. He would be given a couple of lackeys – Edge and Christian – in a stable called The Brood. It could be argued that a big part of the success Heath enjoyed is due to the Brood’s intro, because this was the greatest entrance ever. Gangrel could deliver in the ring, though. Everything about this gimmick worked, from blood baths to the spitting of the blood to his participating in the Ministry with The Undertaker.

8.Latin American Exchange

These three men took the world of pro-wrestling by storm, in many ways. They were a very unique team with Konnan on board, as the revolution began in TNA. The team of Homicide and Hernandez would capture many championships, Have their own Commentator table, and along with many bloody battles along the way, with names such as The New Age Outlaws, The Dudleys, Beer Money, and AJ Styles and Daniels. It’s been prove true over the past few years, there is nothing like the original as The Latin American Xchange can never be duplicated.Clearly they were the best group in TNA until the Main Event Mafia in 2008.

7.Sting

ting is arguably the most popular wrestler of all-time. He was named “Most Popular Wrestler of the Year” four times by PWI, which is more than any other wrestler.

He became known as WCW’s “Franchise” and was its most important star from the late ’80s until the company folded in 2001.

Sting is currently the only wrestler to ever win the NWA, WCW and TNA world titles and is considered by many to be the best wrestler to never step foot in a WWE ring.

Sting was WCW’s brightest star in the ’90s along with his trademark blonde flattop and various face paints.

Sting feuded with many of the company’s biggest stars including Sid Vicious, Lex Luger, The Great Muta, Cactus Jack, Vader, Nikita Koloff, Rick Rude and most famously Ric Flair.

Flair and Sting feuded for years and it was Sting who would defeat Flair in the last WCW match ever.The most dramatic moment of Sting’s career happened in 1996. Sting traded in his bright blonde hair and carefree persona and transformed into a gloomy and dark Sting.The new Sting wore all black, covered his face in white paint and would often descend from the rafters during shows. Sting would not speak on WCW programming for over a year.It was during this time period that WCW held a distinct edge over the WWE in the Monday night ratings “war.”Some of WCW’s success had to be attributed to the presence of Sting. Many fans tuned into the WCW programming to find out if and when Sting would make his next appearance.In December of 1997, Sting captured the WCW title from Hulk Hogan in the main event of Starrcade.Sting continued with WCW until the company was bought out in 2001.Sting joined the TNA wrestling company in 2006 where he still competes under the same name.

The man they call Sting is one of the greatest professional wrestling stars ever.

6.Raven

Raven – yes raven this guy was deeply disturbed he wore all black and looked like he would kill you and in his mind he probably was.From Scotty Flamingo in WCW , to Johnny polo in WWF, Raven Would soon land in ECW on January 1995 . Raven IMO is singlely the most underrated, underutilized character ever! Raven was this character that could go in many different directions . He was an ECW hardcore legend he put on some of the most extreme matches in ecw history with Tommy dreamer,The Sandman and Justin credible . Look at the promo work he did to he was able to be well worded with his work to he was able to run with emotions that IMO I believe other wrestlers look back and look to feed on. The funny thing is this guy could work the heel so well his character was made for it but he was able to get the fans behind him. In WWE,TNA,WCW and ECW, this guy had a gift maybe because deep in our minds we understand him. He won quite a few titles but when he got into wwe it seemed like they were to scared to push him I would loved to see him and Kane or undertaker feud I really would

5.Goldust

Yes Goldust I agree with a comment Mean Gene or Mick Foley said Without Goldust you might have never seen an attitude era, But then again it was ECW involvement and Brian Pillman’s “Pillman got a gun” segment.But anyways, I mean he was the man that started it pushing the envelope you never saw anything like it I mean you didn’t know what he was gonna say or do next. He not only should be on there because of that but because he deiced to take himself out of bein dusty son. He was also very good in the ring and I always just wondered that if it wasn’t for back stage politics how far he could of gone. Goldust was able to draw heat and gain fans especially during his rivalry with Lawler and his team up with Booker t.Scott Hall even said in an interview one time that he did not want to work with that guy because of the gimmick. Goldust will never get the credit he deserves – Cody Rhodes. I agree with that he never will I honestly think he should be IMO in the Hall of fame.But we will never know

4.Kane

Kane has evolved through the years, becoming at times a comedic character. He’s been masked and unmasked, heel and face. Way back when, though, the character was inspired by one of the great horror icons. Glen Jacobs himself has said that his portrayal of Kane was heavily influenced by none other than Michael Myers, the antagonist of Halloween. Despite the obvious differences in color patterns, the similarities are there – a slighted brother hellbent on destruction, the mask, remaining silent for years. In his early days, and occasionally in the years since, Kane was an indestructible force that was constantly moving forward. As time has gone by, there have been layers added to the character. At its roots, though, the Kane figure remains a dominant monster in WWE. For me, the night he took of that mask in 2003 is the greatest moment in the history for the big red machine

3.Mankind

The original idea for this character was “Mason the Mutilator”, a name dreamed up by Vince McMahon. Foley himself suggested the change, and the rest is history. Long before Mankind was a lovable underdog, he was a monster. Mankind was originally a masochistic sort that lived in boiler rooms, tucked away from society. Once he was brought into society, he was a force of destruction. Seemingly incapable of controlling himself, Mankind was prone to acts of violence and screeching fits of masochism in the middle of the ring. Mick Foley has always been able to deliver on the microphone, and his eloquent monologues and understanding of the value of vocal inflections allowed Mankind to become a very unsettling character on WWF television in the mid-90’s. Even now, watching the interview segment that results in Jim Ross having the Mandible Claw applied to him by Mankind gives me an uneasy feeling. Mankind is one of the truly great characters in wrestling history.

2.John Cena (rapper)

I’m still in shock over this.

When he debuted in the WWE, John Cena was one of the bland, faceless blue chippers. The only thing that made him stand out were his pastel tights. And then, one day, Stephanie McMahon caught him free-style rapping. Thus, Cena ditched the colorful shorts and put on some jean shorts as he adopted a white rapper gimmick. “Well, that’s it for Cena,” I thought.

And a weird thing happened. Fans started to root for him. This totally blew my mind. A rap gimmick hardly works for black wrestlers. Does anyone remember the No Limit Soldiers? Me neither. It’s even worse for white wrestlers. I mean, when I think of white rappers, I think of pop culture jokes like Vanilla Ice and Snow… and of a barely remembered tag team known as PG-13. How is this black hole of a gimmick actually getting John Cena over?

Then Cena took it to the next level. He started wearing throwback jerseys and pump shoes. He blinged out the US Title. OK, I thought, maybe fans are OK with white rappers since the Eminem thing. But Eminem’s not the kind of guy you associate with the “bling.” And Cena was also starting to do stupid puns revolving around the words “deez nutz.” Fans are going to turn on him soon, aren’t they?

In less than a year, Cena would ride the “white rapper” gimmick all the way to the WWE Heavyweight Title.

Oh, sure, eventually some fans would get tired of the gimmick and start booing Cena. And Cena would gradually drop the more overt aspects of his persona (like the rap offs) to become a superstar reminscent of Hulk Hogan. But that doesn’t change the fact that Cena parlayed a “white rapper” gimmick into one of the longest title reigns in WWF/WWE history.

1. The Undertaker

When the Undertaker debuted, it was assumed that it would be just another cartoonish gimmick that faded away relatively quickly. Instead, the character gained a cult following even as a vicious heel, and survived longer than most gimmicks – cartoonish or not – do in professional wrestling. The Undertaker has become an iconic character, the “franchise” of WWE, and an attraction unto himself. The original look for the Undertaker was based on the morticians of the old west, and the close relationship with death was enough to make people uneasy. His affinity for locking people in caskets and undead appearance furthered the effectiveness of the gimmick. As the years went on, The Undertaker became a cult leader, a biker, returned to his undead persona before becoming something of an undefined supernatural force. No matter how often this topic is revisited, or how far into the future it goes, it’s going to be virtually impossible to knock The Undertaker off this perch.

 

31 days of Halloween:Top 10 worst pro wrestling gimmicks of all time

I am back for another post. This week i will be doing the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time. The reason is because Halloween is coming up and I know most people will dress up so lets put on our costumes and start the countdown

10. PN news

PN News was fat. He was a fatty fat fatso. But he was also…phat?

That’s right. Phat with a “PH,” mothereffers! This was the early ’90s and rap was fun, god dammit! We had Kid n’ Play. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Heavy D. Vanilla Ice in Ninja Turtles II. There were Pajama Jammy Jams every night! PN News was WCW’s lame attempt to try and do something “urban.” You can also lump the WWF’s Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo) in this category of neon-colored, family-friendly old school rap n’ wrassle acts.

PN News actually had a somewhat high-profile feud with Paul E. Dangerously’s(Paul heyman)Dangerous Alliance. Before his matches, he’d get on the mic and rap a few lines that usually went a little something like “My name is PN News and I’m here to say, I’m going wrestle in a very special way…” Then he says, “Yo Baby, Yo Baby Yo” which was his way of trying to capture the magic of “Go Ninja Go Ninja Go.” Also, he looked like a giant alien potato covered in shame.

9.REPO MAN

Repo Man (Demolition’s Barry Darsow) wasn’t an utter failure. He’s one of those strange gimmicks, that I mentioned previously, that stuck around for a few years. He was a cackling, goofy 1960s-era Batman TV villain-type character that loved nothing more than just straight-up swiping other people’s shit. He was part Frank Gorshin, part Hamburglar.

I’m not sure if they were ever really trying to convince us that he held down a steady job as an actual “Repo Man,” because all he really did was swipe things. He was pretty much like Swiper from Dora the Explorer. He’d sneak around and hide, and wait for his opportunity to jack someone’s jewels. He’d really just get into feuds because he was a thief that liked to take things that didn’t belong to him. Macho Man’ s hat. Tatanka’s feathers. Hulk Hogan’s prayers and vitamins.

Why did he have tire tracks on him? Why did he wear an eye mask? Why did he use a leg-grapevine submission as a finisher? Actually, looking back at him – he might have been a genius.

8.Oklahoma

All is fair in love and war correct? Well, even though there was a Monday night ratings war between Nitro and RAW, it still didn’t seem right when the WCW created a character to serve as a personal attack on the WWF’s leading announcer Jim Ross.

Played by Ed Ferrara and co-created by Vince Russo, the character of Oklahoma was a not-so-subtle way for both Ferrara and Russo to air their grievances with their former co-worker Good Ol’ J.R. While many things were done between these two companies which seemed like exchanging blows in a fight, this would be the only punch that truly felt like it was under the belt. Making fun of J.R.’s announcing style and Bell’s Palsy, Ed Ferrara would do irreparable harm to his image within the industry by tastelessly poking fun at one of the most respected men in the business. Out of all the bad gimmicks on this list, Oklahoma serves as the only one that truly offended us.

7.THE DUNGEON OF DOOM

Hulk Hogan was new to WCW and needed some new bad guys to play with. Hey, how about a gaggle of moronic “dark” characters that he’ll just keep beating over and over again for a couple years? That sounds delightful. The Dungeon of Doom was supposed to be something to fear, but instead they were as laughable as they were inept. Erstwhile Satanist-caricature Kevin Sullivan, under the guidance of a wrinkled old “Master,” became the Taskmaster and set out to, one could only assume, embarrass the entire wrestling establishment top to bottom.

Among his minions were Kamala, Meng, The Shark (formerly Earthquake), The Loch Ness Monster (Haystacks Calhoun) and…the freaking Yeti. My god. The Yeti could have his own entry, but I decided to lump him in with this veritable “Island of Misfit Toys” of wrestling. See one of the videos below to behold the majestic Yeti in all his bandaged Hogan-humping glory.

Oh, and who could forget…Zodiac. Or is it The Butcher? Whatever. Ed “Zodiac/Butcher/Booty Man /Brutus Beefcake” Leslie takes our unofficial Gold Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Bad Gimmickry.

6.GLACIER, MORTIS and WRATH

Back in 1996 WCW had the phenomenally awesome idea of creating video game-inspired characters – reminiscent to those found in games such as “Mortal Kombat”. While there were three of them, Glacier (Ray Lloyd – aka Coach Buzz Stern), Mortis (Chris Kanyon) and Wrath (Bryan Clark – aka Adam Bomb), it would be Glacier who helped these three make their way onto our list. Spending a good amount of time feuding with each other, these three had extravagant outfits, mean attitudes and entrances which could make even multiple time world champions blush.

Glacier in particular was our favorite, as he was dressed up to look like ” Sub Zero” from the MK series – wearing a blue ninja outfit, white hair, strange contacts, a mask and occasionally a helmet (which we are told was a centuries old relic passed down by his karate instructor). While none of these guys were awful in the ring – Kanyon was actually very good – it would be the pandering to the younger gaming audience and the “trying too hard” look and feel that made these characters so embarrassing.

5.S7VEN

You may be asking: Why is Seven (or S7even, or 7even, or whatever) on this list? As, in the character’s first appearance he – being Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust) – broke character and delivered a shoot interview on crappy gimmicks. Well, while we like the fact that the WCW was able to poke fun at itself for a gimmick which I’m sure they realized sucked in hindsight, the character had serious promos created in which Seven was built as a credible threat… or circus attraction.

After creating many promotional videos that had Seven in such menacing locations as outside a child’s window at night, Turner Broadcasting wisely put an end to the character stating that it might be construed that Seven was a child abductor, or something worse. Regardless, bad idea and all, Seven is one of the few characters on this list that created genuinely entertaining television… despite the atrocious gimmick.

4.MAX MOON

Look at those space rockets that he shoots out of his space hands! Look at those fantastical laser beams that he uses to delight the masses? But why does he look like a cross between The Michelin Man and agony? Why is he a rippled, rubber piñata? Why does it look like he can be taken apart like a game of Connect Four?

Max Moon (Konnan) was one of those awful gimmicks that was meant to give the kiddies someone to cheer on. A smiling colorful douchebag that we’d see again in the form of Aldo Montoya (Justin Credible) and that we’d seen before in the form of Koko B. Ware. Always smiling. Just happy to be there. Win or lose.

Max Moon was a cyborg soldier from The Future, apparently sent back in time to make us all sick to our stomachs. Konnan wound up leaving the WWF, claiming discrimination (sound familiar?) forcing the WWF to find a different wrestler to wear the absurdly priced $1,300 costume.

 

4.OZ

There is one thing you can count on in the pro wrestling industry, and that is no matter whom you are, you have done something which you don’t want anybody to remember. The good news for all of us is that pro wrestling is recorded and achieved. So with the help of fan videos and humiliating “remember when” pieces we can humble big names in the wrestling industry. For this list we have decided to dig up dirt on Big Sexy Kevin Nash… or should we say Oz? Yes, Oz – as in The Wizard of. Back in WCW in 1991 Kevin Nash dropped his mohawked Master Blaster Steel gimmick only to upgrade (?) to that of the mysterious Oz. Ushered to the ring by the Great Wizard (Kevin Sullivan), Oz spoke with a commanding voice, wore emerald colors, a turban and mask that looked more like The Sultan from Disney’s Aladdin than something from the book/film The Wizard of Oz. Still, you need to hand it to Big Kev, as even with the bad gimmick WCW continued to push him – whether that was due to Nash’s stature and charisma or WCW refusing to acknowledge that the character of Oz was ill-conceived is still up in the air.

Let this be a warning to all those attempting to get into the business: There are video cameras on you at all times, don’t do anything you will regret for the rest of your life.

3.THE GOON

Wow. The Goon. Yes. You know there were a handful of these “occupational wrestlers” that went on to find a lot of success. Like Mike Rotunda’s IRS and Jacques Rougeau’s Mountie, but after a while people just didn’t want to see that any more. The WWF definitely passed on more than they approved. My question is…if the Baseball Player (with his face painted up like he was a Fury from The Warriors) didn’t make the cut, then why did they think The Goon (“Wild” Bill Irwin) stood a chance?

A big, clumsy and fumbly Hockey Player? With hair like an unmade bed? And wearing full hockey gear? I know it was a few years ago, but people still actually liked to watch fluid wrestling matches back then. Who would ever want to see someone compete wearing a complete body sheath? And man, could people have cared less about Hockey?

Apparently The Goon had been kicked out of every league he’d been a part of. But they could never kick him out of our hearts.

2.Shark Boy

Again, you aren’t losing your mind, in fact you’re perfectly sane but I understand why you’re doubting yourself. You’re thinking how in the hell can someone have a shark-like gimmick, well the answer to your problem is: they can and they have. The worst moment in Shark Boy’s career was when he started taking on a Stone Cold gimmick saying things such as “Give me a shell yeah!” or “What?” and believe it or not but the shark actually drank beer at one stage! Ohhh, not to mention AND THAT’S THE FISHIN’ LINE COS SHARK BOY SAID SO!

1.THE SHOCKMASTER

For those that know their professional wrestling it will come as no surprise that we have chosen The Shockmaster as #1. Some wrestlers are given good gimmicks which can carry even the worst wrestler, some wrestlers are given mediocre gimmicks which they either make succeed or fail according to their ability, some wrestlers are saddled with bad gimmicks (as this list has shown) that will essentially bury a wrestler’s career, and then every once in a blue moon something so extraordinary happens that it will echo in the annals of wrestling history as a complete and utter embarrassment to the wrestler, the company and all those that are forced to share screen time with them… thus is THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

We’re not sure if we’re ultimately more offended by the fact that this witless meatball actually fell on his ass (actually making his mic’d teammates say out loud “He just fell on his ass!”) or by the fact that his costumed consisted of suspenders and a Storm Trooper helmet with blue glitter-glue all over it.

There you have it, my top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, my next will be the top 10 best gimmicks from the 80’s to the early 2000’s..Aslo follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur

Wrestling: 5 tips for going to a wwe/tna or any wrestling event

Hey Guys, I am back for another post. The last time I went to a WWE house show was in madison square garden back in march. It was worth my 90 bucks so here is some tips for attending an event.

5. Follow The Product

Did you know that Bret Hart will be on Raw this week?

Do you know that CM punk and Paul Heyman are teasing something for this monday?

How many fans know that a 95 pound girl – AJ – is running Raw now?

This is what I mean. Of course, the diehard fans will know what is going on. However, not everybody there keeps up with the story lines. Lots of them are just there to enjoy a show. By following the product, It will be much more engaging and an enjoyable show with knowing what’s going on.

4. Leave Your House Early

Trust me! I have been to well over 40 wrestling shows. From small shows from ECW when I was a kid, to WWE pay-per-views, you have to be ready to go.

Upon the doors to the arena opening, it is just pure chaos. I hope you are ready for thousands of fans all running to their seats. It may seem like I am exaggerating here, but I am not.

I have been to a lot of WWE events, and all but two  have I  been early and on time. The few that I was running late were not very fun to deal with. Not fun at all…Add scanning tickets, getting a drink, using the restroom, getting food (I usually don’t), and you have a lot more on your hands.That is not even considering the huge crowd around the merchandise stands! The newest (or best) shirts always sell out BEFORE the show even begins. It sounds redundant, but leave your house early and avoid all of this rush!

3. Signs/Posters

Who doesn’t love “Sign Guy?”

When going to a WWE show, make sure you have some creative ideas for signs. A poster can not only add some fun to the show, but it can land you on TV!

That is a very cool thing to think about. In front of millions of people, you could be replayed in video packages and in WWE Magazine photos for years to come.

Of all the events I have gone to, only a few times have I gone without a poster. More often that not, I make up a few nice “quotes” a few hours before the show and write them on a big poster. Very cool!

2. Pick Your Poison

When going to a WWE event, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. The last thing you want to do is bring a “Negative Ned or Nelly” and be sitting next to him/her  for over three hours.

That can’t be fun.

Every move creates a negative comment under their breath. Every rest hold brings out a loud “boring” chant. Every finish warrants a “cynical, insulting” response. As always, there is a fine line between freedom of speech and ruining a show for others around you.

How do these people EVER enjoy a Wrestling show?

I often wonder. In my case, I have a lot of positive energy surrounding me in life. Thus, I have no doubts the WWE show is going to be a great time!

1.Don’t forget your tickets!!

Every time I go to see a sporting, musical or any other entertainment event, there is only one concern. Just one to worry about!

“Do you have tickets?”

You can get into a show without a poster. You can get into a show if you are late. You can get into a show if you are alone. You can get into a show if you do not follow the product.

However, you NEED a proof of purchase (ticket). It may sound like the most obvious choice, but it is also the most important.

No ticket, no entry!

 

Wrestling: Top 10 most underrated wrestlers from the 2000-2009 decade

Hey i am back for another post. I am going to list the top 10 most underrated wrestlers of the 2000-2009 decade. Now i have received some messages from a group on my facebook to discuss this topic so if anybody from the IWC(internet wrestling community) wants to be critical, well go right ahead.

10.Lance Storm(2000-2004)

Yes i had to put him on number 10. In 2000, Lance left ECW for WCW over a pay dispute. When he soon arrived, he captured the WCW united states,hardcore, and cruiserweight titles and held them all at the same time(nobody has ever held 3 belts at once again until Kurt Angle in 2007) and many speculated that he would get the world title. he had a match against Booker T and he did not win the title, but he became a big factor during the rest of his WCW run. when WWE brought WCW, Storm quickly joined the alliance and captured the intercontinental championship.Soon in 2002, he has formed the un-americans stable with Test and Christian on smackdown and captured the tag team titles two times. Now in many fans minds, he should have been ready for a world title match but he was sent back to raw on a trade and in 2003, he was rarley on television after he lost the tag team belt.

9.Shelton Benjamin (2004-2008)

Ok.  now this wrestler is on my list for many reasons.As soon as Shelton Benjamin was drafted to raw and beat triple H in a one on one match, he SHOULD have got his push right there because he beat him again the next week. But he couldn’t because Chris Benoit was the world champion that time. However, he did went against Randy Orton for the intercontinental title at Bad Blood 2004 in a great match but failed to win..he eventually got a match against chris jericho and won the belt. On both of the money in the bank ladder matches in 2005 and 2006,Benjamin did alot of memorable spots that will not be forgotten. and during a match against WWE hall of famer Shawn Michales,  he took the best sweet chin music i have ever seen, Benjamin went for a springboard and jumped to only get caught with the superkick in mid-air. He did pick up the  intercontinental title numerous times and eventually the united states title, but i never understood why he was not pushed for any world title until ECW in 2009..

8.Rob Van Dam(2001-2006)

Yes he is mr. monday night and mr. ppv, Rob Van Dam. when ECW came into the alliance in 2001, he was the most over wrestler and the only non- heel wrestler on the stable because the fans were aware of him in ECW. While he was with the stable, he captured the hardcore championship  numerous times and had memorable  matches with jeff hardy. On one smackdown in late 2001, he challenged the alliance leader Steve Austin to a match and did the unexpected and beat Austin in the match. His first shot at the WWE championship was at no mercy in 2001 against Kurt Angle and Austin but failed to win. Latrer in 2002, he wrestled his first wrestlemania and defeated William Regal for the  intercontinental title and went on to feud with the returning Eddie Guerrero.This feud was very unique because both of their finishing moves are the frog splash. They both traded victories and he would FINALLY get his chance at the world title picture by entering the king of the ring tournament. he would loose to Brock Lesnar in the finals but he went to unify some belts..RVD is the last person to have held the european and hardcore championships and also he would compete in the very first elimination chamber( i was in that arena that night and i never forgot it)..From 2003-2004, he would get some shots for the world title but would not win it..he did became the world and WWE tag team champion with Kane,Booker T, and Rey Mysterio. Now my question is that how someone with great mic skills and great wrestling ability would only get a shot about 3 times a year in that time period. In 2005, RVD got injured and would get sidelined for a year and in 2006, he returned and won the money in the bank ladder match. He would also defeat Cena for the wwe championship(yes the match where the full scale anti-cena crowd has emerged).Two  later on ECW on syfy, he would also be the new ECW champion making him the only wrestler to hold both the WWE and ECW world championships at the same time.However, he and Sabu got arrested and he had to drop both the titles which got the fans agry at arenas and the internet.No matter what anybody says, RVD proved that he was “the whole f’n show” from the moment he went out the curtain, until the bell rings.

7.Matt Hardy (2002-2005)

Now you can like him or hate him because of his reputation on the internet, but i always thought that Matt Hardy was the better technical wrestler than his brother.In 2002, Matt was traded to smackdown and he soon went to a new gimmick. Matt Hardy Version 1.0. This would include him bringing up his mattitude slang. Also everytime he made his entrance, the first thing you would see on the screen on your tv, would be the WWE.com website on his on server and when he came out, it was like watching youtube on your tv. Plus it would show some facts on the side screen about him. Now he would eventually team with his best friend Shannon Moore and he got more tv time. He would win the cruiserweight  championship from Billy Kidman in no way out 2003. And at wrestlemania, he would defend his belt against Rey Mysterio and win. He also feuded with him for the few months.And in june 2003, he would wrestle him again but this time it was the main event on smackdown for that title on the line in which he lost. he then went on for a short small feuds with Chris Benoit and Zach Gowen, but he has not got a chance for the world title. So he then was sent to raw in order to be with his girlfriend Amy “lita” Dumas. Soon he would get a shot but his pushed stopped in 2005 due to him being fired for acknowledging that lita had an affair with Edge. When the news broke out, several fans would boo her out the arenas at raw and house shows. I liked matt i just wish he was pushed more.

 

6.Booker T (2001-2005)

Can you dig it…sucka!!!!. yes Booker T lands in number 6. the night he debuted as the 4 time wcw champion, he attacked Steve Austin at the main event of the King of the Ring PPV. Also he has injured his hand in the process. Then the invasion started and he lost the WCW title to Kurt Angle and won it back the next week.With this victory, he became the 5 time WCW champion.After dropping the belt to The Rock, he started to be used less during the invasion. He however, won the tag team belts with test in 2001 and wrestled the main event at survivor series that year. For a few months in 2002, he was put in the midcard level and got his first wrestlemania match against Edge. After that, he didnt get any wwe title matches but he did won the hardcore championship in a UK tour event. This was also the time when you ask yourself, how can someone like him have so much success in WCW, but yet he didn’t get a push for a world title until the end of the year?. Well that is WWE politics for you. in 2003, he feuded with Triple H, which to me was his best feud since Steve Austin back in December 2001. During this feud, Triple H would make some controversial marks to Booker T(still searching for the video). He has lost the match but did put on a great show. His next step was for the intercontinental championship.He and Christian went for the belt back and fourth. in 2004, Booker T was drafted to smackdown. He turned heel when he stated that smackdown was for the minor leagues and raw is the place where the big boys play. he also mentioned Big Show and John cena in his promo as well.Right there was when i THOUGHT that he should have got the push. he had a match against the Undertaker, and eventually won the United states championship. He then finally got a shot at JBL’s wwe championship once in survivor series, and again in a fatal 4 way in Armageddon in that year but failed to get the title. in late 2005. He would go on to feud with Chris benoit in a best of 7 series for the united states championship. This series was some of the best matches on smackdown ever. And this series was the first step to his major push in 2006.

5. John Morrison(2007-2009)

John Morrison is one of the best pure athletes in wwe history but yet just like alot of the wrestlers, he was not used right most times. In 2007, he became the ECW champion. A few weeks later, he went from johnny nitro to John Morrison. The first thing you would notice is that he resembled the late Jim Morrison. he had the look of a 70’s rock star and he wrestles of a mix between shawn michaels and rvd. The whole summer he held the title until the beginning of september(he was suspended for 30 days for being one of the 10 wrestlers caught using steroids). After that, he and the miz would capture the tag team belts and they would have a weekley show on wwe.com called “the dirt sheet”. The show was well received by fans and they would eventually win the world tag team titles in 2008. When the team split in 2009, Morrison was sent to smackdown with a decent push but he wouldn’t win the big one. However, he beat Rey mysterio for the  intercontinental title in which that was the best match i have seen from Morrison. He has all the tools to be a future world champion. Lets not see that happen in that other wrestling company at orlando where hogan is being the emperor.

4.  Montel Vontavious Porter(MVP)(2007-2008)

MVP came into wwe in 2006, but his best years are from 2007-2008. he had great mic skills and he was not bad in the ring.his first wrestlemania was against Chris benoit. and he later won the united states championship against him on judgment day on that year in a 2 out of 3 falls match.(quick note, MVP is the only wrestler in the world to have won two straight falls in this type of match)MVP later gave credit to benoit for improving his ring skills in a 2011 interview. Also in 2007, he feuded with Matt hardy and later became tag team champions(while he was a US. champion,) and the defended it several times until Matt got injured. in 2008, MVP became the longest united states champion in WWE history. He would loose the belt to matt hardy and after that, he was put back into the mid card  level.He would only get one shot at the world title but he lost in unforgivin 2008 in a scramble match. After that, his loosing streak began and it was just sad for someone with so much momentum to be de-pushed very fast.

 

3. Molly Holly (2002-2004)

I bet nobody expected a WWE Diva to be on this list. Molly Holly was The hurricane(Shane Helms) manager from 2001-2002. When the WWF changed to WWE due to a lawsuit, she returned to raw a few weeks later, changing her entire look in the process. She went from a Blonde, to a autumn brown(i like blondes damnit lol). she also had a new gimmick. She was a   self-righteous prude diva, meaning that she  was appalled by the other WWE Divas continually using their “assets” and degrading themselves. During this gimmick, she would often refer to herself as being “pure and wholesome.” This led to a feud with the then-Women’s Champion Trish Stratus, which culminated in her winning the championship at King of the Ring in June 2002.During the feud, Jerry Lawler also began to poke fun at Molly, which Holly later revealed it genuinely hurt her feelings. Molly Holly,  however, initially did not mind the storyline when Stephanie McMahon approached her with the idea. The feud with Stratus continued for several months, and Molly later brought in Victoria as an enforcer to help deal with Trish. She would finally drop the title back to Stratus at Unforgiven in September 2003. At wrestlemania 20 in 2004, she lost her belt to Victoria in a hair vs hair match. She had her head completely shaved bald(in which she later revealed that it was her idea). She would eventually leave the WWE because it was reported that she was beginning to become disenchanted with WWE, who began to focus on looks rather than wrestling ability. She also hated that her character had become a villain, but that is not the direct cause of her leaving the company. Holly, however, stated that all of the a forementioned reasons are incorrect, but she would like to keep the real reason she left WWE private. Now she is also the innovated the move “the molly-go-around” and if she was in the wwe right now, The divas divison will not be all about dancing around in the ring.

2.William Regal(2006-2008)

This guy is a tremendous wrestler and even though his fighting style is old school he still has some classic matches. William Regal has been in the spotlight before but through the years he’s been down graded to a fool and has not been on TV much or competed in the championship matches. He has been king of the ring but its time for this guy to get a WWE championship or World Heavyweight Championship around his waist. He was even kept out of the list of WWE’s best Talkers. In 2008, he became the general manager of raw. on one episode, he cut of the live feed on one of the main event matches in which caused an outrage with many WWE fans at home. Now i dont think any heel will go that far again. in 2009, he was sent to ecw where he feuded with christian. he had many title match opportunities But he never won it. in my eyes, william regal is one of the best wrestlers to have never won a wwe or world heavyweight title.

1.Christian (2003-2005.2009)

in 2003, The rock and Christian had a backstage segment and christian stated that he will be the new people’s champion. The next week, he won the IC title. and on that monday, he has cut his long hair and referred to his audience as his peeps. now at that point i knew that his push started. he feuded with booker t and rvd for that belt and he would team with chris jericho until wrestlemania 20 where they both went against each other and christian picked up the victory in that great match.later in that year, his mic skills started getting better every week and he would have a short feud with shawn michales. in 2005, he competed in the first money in the bank ladder match but did not win, then in june, he would get a shot for the wwe championship but didnt win. so he was sent to smackdown and he didn’t win the belt either. christian was the heel that time and he started to get a cult following and his fanbase on the web was starting to take notice to him, i think if he never left wwe in 2005 for tna, he would have been world champion within a few weeks. he returned in wwe in 2009 but he didnt win the money in the bank, However, he did win the ecw championship, but many fans felt that it was not enough and i had to agree with them because he deserved a wwe or world title at the time he returned.Christian is also one of those guys just like cm punk,dolph ziggler and many more, want to see holding the belt. he did in 2011 but both of his reigns were short. lets hope soon again he can hold it longer than a month

Wrestleshock Episode 10 – Top 5 IC Champs

As the last full episode of Wrestleshock was the Honky Tonk Man interview and he was arguably the greatest intercontinental champion of all time, Mike and Chris give to you YOUR top 5 IC champions of all time.  Who made the list the most?  Was it Jeff Jarrett? Kane or HHH?  well i don’t recall them making a lot of lists!  Mike and Chris then go over your choices and their own choices as well. They talk about the 1000th episode of Raw very briefly and then what they think of the current state of the IC title in the WWE!

You have a task ahead of you as on 17th August is Summerslam and hopefully on the 12th August Mike and Chris….and perhaps someone else will be recording their Summerslam episode and we would like to hear from you again!  if you are a wrestling fan, why not send in your favourite moments or matches to vinto316@gmail.com or mikelacey91@yahoo.com.  please have them in before the 12th August!
follow mike on twitter – @mlcaey91, Chris @Vinto316 and the show @Wrestleshock316