Posted in: Hustle Is Posting Right Now Hustle Is Posting Right Now: Volume 38 ("Bracketology" Edition)
By Hustle
Mar 20, 2009 - 9:35:25 PM
Big-ups to Ro. Keep the bangers comin, my dude.
"My mind is a WMD, fuck a knife or a bullet.. my soul is a grenade pin, I'm likely to pull it.. growin up, they always told me to play nicely.. I couldn't.. never good in groups, I was born to be a leader.. you hear me loud and clear like I was born to be a speaker.."
This week's intro line is brought to us by Charles Hamilton, who just happens to be one of the top names to watch in the world of hip-hop for 2009 and beyond. Welcome, one and all, to another edition of the column that is hitting you with Tiger Uppercut after Tiger Uppercut, while mixing in a Tiger Knee here and there, before finishing you off with a Tiger Destruction.. Hustle Is Posting Right Now. Allow me to check the name on the waistband of my Underoos.. yup, it's just as I had thought.. ya boy, Hustle, is here for another week. Once again, you could be anywhere else in the world right now, but damnit, you just wouldn't be having as much fun as you are at the moment. I've got some work that I need to put in, so, uh, I think it's about that time. Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed.) Less dew eet!!
March Madness is officially upon us, and in honor of that, I decided to get my Joe Lunardi on and work on my own personal Bracketology for everyone. Instead of college basketball, though, we're going to look at wrestling matches. I've spent hours upon hours (literally, hours upon hours) coming up with 64 of the best matches I've ever seen, and turned those into "seeds", just like in the basketball tournament. We have the #1 seeds battling the #16 seeds, the #2 seeds battling the #15 seeds, and so on and so forth. I then turn it over to you, my readers, to choose the best matches. All I do is seed the matches and put them out there for you. I have absolutely nothing to do with who wins and loses here. This week, I present the entire first round of the tournament. Next week, I'll post the results of the voting and present the second round. It'll continue on until one match remains, and that match will be named Hustle Madness Champion.
In choosing the matches, I decided on going with only what was more readily available to the mainstream wrestling fan. Due to that criteria, there are no Ring Of Honor matches on here, as much as that bothers me. There are also no matches from Japan or Mexico, or even anywhere else in the world. That leaves WWF/WWE, WCW, ECW, and TNA matches. Going with that idea was probably either really smart or really dumb on my part, but I know that there are a large percentage of you out there that have only watched matches from those aforementioned promotions, so making you choose between Bryan Danielson VS Nigel McGuinness from RoH's Unified or Kenta Kobashi VS Mitsuharu Misawa from 10-31-98 just wouldn't be fair. Also, I want it to be known that the pure quality of a match wasn't the only thing to put it up for consideration, as evidenced by some of the choices I have on the bracket. Historical importance and crowd heat were also taken into consideration. A great match in front of a terrible crowd comes across as average, at best, after all.
To vote, either e-mail me your selections, or you can post them in my feedback thread over at LoPForums.com, if you'd like. Hell, you can send them to me on MySpace or on Facebook. Perhaps even send me a message on PSN, or text me if you happen to know my number. Basically, if it's a way to get a hold of me, it's a way to give me your selections. If you'd like to include a reason as to why you voted the way you did for each match, feel free to do so, but it isn't necessary. Again, I'll post the results in my column next week, and give you the matchups for the next round. Enough talking already. Let's get to the brackets, shall we?
Red Bracket #1: Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat - WrestleWar 1989
VS
Red Bracket #16: Mike Awesome VS Masato Tanaka - November 2 Remember 1999
Red Bracket #8: Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 14
VS
Red Bracket #9: Brian Pillman VS Jushin "Thunder" Liger - SuperBrawl 1992
Red Bracket #5: The Undertaker VS Shawn Michaels (Hell In A Cell) - Badd Blood 1997
VS
Red Bracket #12: Chris Benoit VS Kevin Sullivan - Great American Bash 1996
Red Bracket #4: Hulk Hogan VS Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania 6
VS
Red Bracket #13: Ric Flair VS Vader - Starrcade 1993
Red Bracket #2: Shawn Michaels VS Bret Hart (Ironman Match) - WrestleMania 12
VS
Red Bracket #15: Brock Lesnar VS Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 19
Red Bracket #7: The Rock VS Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania 18
VS
Red Bracket #10: Shawn Michaels VS Mankind - Mind Games 1996
Red Bracket #3: Steve Austin VS The Rock - WrestleMania 17
VS
Red Bracket #14: Bret Hart VS Roddy Piper - WrestleMania 8
Red Bracket #6: Shawn Michaels VS Triple H VS Chris Benoit - WrestleMania 20
VS
Red Bracket #11: Ricky Steamboat VS Lex Luger - Great American Bash 1989
Blue Bracket #1: Randy Savage VS Ricky Steamboat - WrestleMania 3
VS
Blue Bracket #16: John Cena VS Rob Van Dam - One Night Stand 2006
Blue Bracket #8: John Cena VS Triple H - WrestleMania 22
VS
Blue Bracket #9: Sting's Squadron VS Dangerous Alliance (War Games) - WrestleWar 1992
Blue Bracket #5: Bret Hart VS Owen Hart - WrestleMania 10
VS
Blue Bracket #12: The Undertaker VS Mankind (Hell In A Cell) - King Of The Ring 1998
Blue Bracket #4: Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit - Royal Rumble 2003
VS
Blue Bracket #13: Hulk Hogan VS Randy Savage - WrestleMania 5
Blue Bracket #2: Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat - Chi-Town Rumble 1989
VS
Blue Bracket #15: Rey Mysterio VS Psicosis - ECW Hardcore TV (10/17/1995)
Blue Bracket #7: Ric Flair VS Terry Funk ("I Quit") - Clash Of The Champions 9
VS
Blue Bracket #10: Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, Hawk, & Animal VS Hart Foundation - Canadian Stampede 1997
Blue Bracket #3: Bret Hart VS British Bulldog - SummerSlam 1992
VS
Blue Bracket #14: Hulk Hogan VS Goldberg - WCW Monday Nitro (7/6/1998)
Blue Bracket #6: Ric Flair VS Randy Savage - WrestleMania 8
VS
Blue Bracket #11: The Rock VS Triple H (Ladder Match) - SummerSlam 1998
Purple Bracket #1: Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant - WrestleMania 3
VS
Purple Bracket #16: Rey Mysterio Jr VS Psychosis - Bash At The Beach 1996
Purple Bracket #8: Steve Austin VS Bret Hart - Survivor Series 1996
VS
Purple Bracket #9: Shawn Michaels VS Kurt Angle - WrestleMania 21
Purple Bracket #5: Shawn Michaels VS Chris Jericho - WrestleMania 19
VS
Purple Bracket #12: TAKA Michinoku VS The Great Sasuke - Canadian Stampede 1997
Purple Bracket #4: Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (TLC Match) - WrestleMania 17
VS
Purple Bracket #13: Rob Van Dam VS Jerry Lynn - Hardcore Heaven 1999
Purple Bracket #2: Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio Jr - Halloween Havoc 1997
VS
Purple Bracket #15: Ric Flair VS Arn Anderson - Fall Brawl 1995
Purple Bracket #7: Samoa Joe VS AJ Styles VS Christopher Daniels - Unbreakable 2005
VS
Purple Bracket #10: Ric Flair VS Sting - Clash Of The Champions 1
Purple Bracket #3: Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat - Clash Of The Champions 6
VS
Purple Bracket #14: Shawn Michaels VS Triple H (Street Fight) - SummerSlam 2002
Purple Bracket #6: Triple H VS Cactus Jack (Street Fight) - Royal Rumble 2000
VS
Purple Bracket #11: Eddie Guerrero VS Dean Malenko - ECW Hardcore TV (8/26/1995)
Orange Bracket #1: Steve Austin VS Bret Hart (Submission Match) - WrestleMania 13
VS
Orange Bracket #16: Shawn Michaels VS Jeff Jarrett - In Your House 2
Orange Bracket #8: Sting, Brian Pillman, & The Steiners VS Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, & Larry Zbyszko (War Games) - WrestleWar 1991
VS
Orange Bracket #9: Ric Flair VS Terry Funk - Great American Bash 1989
Orange Bracket #5: Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble 1992
VS
Orange Bracket #12: The Rock VS Mankind ("I Quit" Match) - Royal Rumble 1999
Orange Bracket #4: Shawn Michaels VS Razor Ramon (Ladder Match) - WrestleMania 10
VS
Orange Bracket #13: Samoa Joe VS AJ Styles - Turning Point 2005
Orange Bracket #2: Ric Flair VS Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 24
VS
Orange Bracket #15: Bret Hart VS Chris Benoit (Owen Hart Tribute Match) - WCW Monday Nitro (10/4/1999)
Orange Bracket #7: Bret Hart VS Mr Perfect - SummerSlam 1991
VS
Orange Bracket #10: Shawn Michaels VS Razor Ramon (Ladder Match) - SummerSlam 1995
Orange Bracket #3: Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (TLC Match) - SummerSlam 2000
VS
Orange Bracket #14: TAKA Michinoku, Terry Boy, & Dick Togo VS The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, & Masato Yakushiji - Barely Legal 1997
Orange Bracket #6: Steve Austin VS The Rock - WrestleMania 19
VS
Orange Bracket #11: Cactus Jack, The Rock, & Too Cool VS DX & The Radicalz - WWF Raw (2/7/2000)
There you have it. Personally, I think the most stacked bracket is the Blue one. At the top of the Blue Bracket are a total of five matches that could make legitimate arguments at being a #1 seed, and features a #12 seed that is, quite possibly, the most talked-about match of the last decade or so. Because the vote is solely in the hands of you, the readers, the results really could go in numerous different directions, but that bracket is the one I'm most interested in following.
The overall #1 seeded match is Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat from WrestleWar 1989 (Red Bracket), and for those of you bracketology nerds out there, the final match to make the cut was Shawn Michaels VS Jeff Jarrett from In Your House 2 (Orange Bracket), while the first few matches to miss the cut were:
- Shawn Michaels VS Marty Jannetty from WWF Raw (5/17/1993)
- Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat from Spring Stampede 1994
- Chris Jericho VS Chris Benoit (Ladder Match) from Royal Rumble 2001
- John Cena VS Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 23
- Steve Austin VS The Rock from WrestleMania 15
I don't know exactly how many non-"mainstream" matches would've made the list if I had allowed them, but I could probably have half a bracket's worth, without even blinking an eye. Perhaps someone else, somewhere down the line, can do a column like this and include every match from every promotion in every country. That would be a lot of fun to see, and would probably be heavily slanted towards the non-"mainstream" side of things.
Let the Madness begin~!
Hustle Highlight Of The Week: Well, I was hoping for this week's HHotW to be something that was actually a wrestling match of some sort, and not just a moment or an interview, and that's what I got this week. Although it wasn't a very long match, seeing Evan Bourne's return to ECW in a match with Jamie Noble gets my vote here. That was a really fun little match, and given the proper amount of time, those two could tear the house down, I guarantee you. As a bit of an added bonus, it appears as if we're on our way to an Evan Bourne VS Tyson Kidd feud of some sort, which is going to be something special.
Writer's Note: As far as the actual March Madness going on at the moment, I still think that the best team in the country, from top to bottom, is North Carolina. That obviously doesn't mean they're the clear-cut choice to cut down the nets in Detroit when all is said and done. Memphis is a team that would scare me to death if I had to face them, and the same can be said for a team like UConn, and, to a lesser extent, Louisville. Yes, I understand that Louisville is the #1 ranked team in the country. I'm just not quite as sold on them as a lot of people are. On defense, they're definitely one of the better teams out there, but I have questions with their offense.
With the first day (and most of the second day, as of the very second I type this) of the tournament already wrapped up, I still stand by my choice of North Carolina winning the entire tournament, as long as Ty Lawson comes back healthy. He's not the best overall player in the country, but he makes a good argument for being the most valuable one, that's for sure. If he's not playing near his max potential, the Tar Heels are going to be in trouble as the tournament goes on.
A lot of people are buzzing about Memphis' tough game with Cal State-Northridge, but they're not quite looking in the proper direction, in my opinion. They're all over Memphis for their poor play for most of the game, but people aren't giving anywhere near enough credit to Northridge for playing their asses off and nearly pulling off the huge upset. Did Memphis play their best game of the year? No, of course not. However, let's give credit where credit is due, folks.. Northridge was given an opportunity, and for 90% of the game, they made the most of the opportunity. Props to them. Memphis, on the other hand, will be fine.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, should be ashamed of themselves. They really should've became the first #1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose their opening-round game. If East Tennessee State could've made some free throws, the game was theirs for the taking. Pittsburgh was outplayed and outhustled for just about the entire game, and now they don't appear to be anywhere near as "untouchable" as they were even a few days ago. I'm not saying they're going to lose in the next round or anything, but the people who picked them to win it all should be biting their fingernails right now.
All in all, the tournament has been fun to watch thus far, albeit without the usual drama that usually comes out of the first day-and-a-half with the upsets and buzzer beaters that we're used to seeing. Plenty of time for all of that to take place, though.
Writer's Note Part Deux: Last week, I was asked a question about the ongoing Triple H VS Randy Orton storyline, and I complained that "Super H" is being booked to look too dominant, and that Orton (as well as Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes, by proxy) are looking like shit. I followed that up by saying the following..
Now that I've said all this, though, don't be surprised if Orton completely destroys Trips single-handedly on Raw this week.
Well, there goes that, I guess. Another episode of Raw down, another dominant performance by "Super H", and another week where the entire Legacy looks ridiculous. Trips outsmarted the entire group by having a steel cage hanging from the ceiling (allowed, apparently, by the returning Stephanie McMahon, who made a very brief cameo backstage as Triple H was leaving the building), and he proceeded to completely destroy Cody Rhodes for several minutes, even using Cody as a weapon to thwart off Orton and DiBiase, who were trying to climb the cage to save their partner.
On the bright side for Orton fans, or for those who are just wanting an evenly booked feud, Orton cut a nice little mini-promo backstage towards the beginning of Raw. Unfortunately, due to the rest of the show, Orton's promo won't be remembered at all. Seriously, it's getting ridiculous, and we're running out of time for Orton to be able to do anything, or else this will end up as one of the most lopsided storylines for a major singles match in recent history. The only "win" for Orton and his cronies was a 3-on-1 sneak attack from Smackdown, but that's been it. It's getting real ugly, real quick.
Writer's Note Part Ekolu: What is it with the world's current obsession with Twitter? MySpace and Facebook are one thing, but why do people feel the need to tell everyone exactly what they're doing every five minutes, even if what they're doing is completely irrelevant to damn near everyone reading it? When celebrities are doing it, then I could almost.. almost.. see the point, but for everyday Joe Schmoe and Jane Plain to be doing it?
"ZOMG. I'm hungryyyy."
"Still hungry."
"Totally gonna get some food."
"Hey all, I just ate."
"Hey, I'm not hungry anymore."
It's fucking lame, ladies and gentlemen. I guess the same also goes for people who change their MySpace and/or Facebook statuseseseseseses more than a couple times per day. For that matter, the "it's fucking lame" tag also goes for the people who have conversations back and forth with one particular person using their MySpace or Facebook statuseseseseseses. If you're viewing someone's MySpace or Facebook page, and their status says something along the lines of..
"LMAO I totally agree!"
..delete that cunt, posthaste.
Some of you fucking people are going to make me end up listing my Pet Peeves Of The Week in the future. You bastards. I try and try to stay positive as often as I can, but nooooo.. you just gotta make that difficult, don't you? *sigh*
Writer's Note Part Quattro: Happy Birthday to my homeboy.. my definite partner-in-crime (literally and figuratively).. the person who would be the Marcus Burnett to my Mike Lowrey (no homo).. to the man you folks "know" as "C". Have a good one, pimpin. Try not to break a hip, though, old man. That's easier said than done in your advanced age, though, I understand. Yes, I fully expect this type of treatment from you in a few months when my birthday rolls around. I may have you shot before then, though, just to avoid it. We shall see.
Writer's Note Part Go: Real quick before I go ahead and get out of here, shout-out to DaveyBoy, who just announced that he's walking away from the column-writing game after his 300th column, which will hit the streets around the time of WrestleMania. Without people like him, there would be no HIPRN, so, uh.. some of you now know who to send your hate mail to. Ha. Real talk, though.. congratulations on everything, DB. This site, and the column-writing game in general, just won't be the same without you.
What Hustle Is Listening To Right Now: "In My Sleep" by Joe Budden.. "Starstruck" by Lady Gaga & Flo Rida (my e-Cred points are falling faster than the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic).. "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx & T-Pain.. "Here We Go Again" by DMX.. "Fight Music (We Will Rock You)" by Eminem, M.O.P., & Queen (it's a DJ Green Lantern blend).. "You Never Know" by Mario Winans.. "Get Em Up" by Ace Hood.. "Sparks" by Coldplay.. "Closer" by Ne-Yo.. "Pray 4 Betta Dayz" by 2Pac.. "Rosa Parks" by Outkast.. "Deep Cover" by Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg.. "Twinz" by Big Pun & Fat Joe.. "Captain Kirk" by Master P, Mystikal, Fiend, & Silkk The Shocker.. "I Miss My Homies" by Master P, Pimp C, & Silkk The Shocker.. "We Riders" by Master P & Mac.. "Burbans & Lacs" by Master P, Silkk The Shocker, Lil Gotti, & Mo B Dick.. "The Pledge" by The Game.. "Cocktales" by Too Short.. "Ain't Nothin Like Pimpin" by Too Short.. "Can I Get A Bitch" by Too Short & Ant Banks.. "Top Down" by Too Short.. "Hustlin" by Rick Ross.. "Buggin Out '09" by Consequence & Kid Cudi.. "Lark On My Go-Kart" by Asher Roth.. "Victory" by Puff Daddy, Notorious BIG, & Busta Rhymes.. "Virginia" by Clipse.. "Hello New World" by Clipse & Pharrell.. "Ride Around Shining" by Clipse.. "Black Gloves" by Young Buck
That about does it for another edition of HIPRN, folks. Thank you for riding with me yet again. As always, I appreciate the hell out of that. I'll be back next week with the continuation of the Hustle Madness tournament (this is your final reminder to get your votes in for the matchups), as well as some more ooey gooey columny goodness (although I haven't yet decided what next week's topic will be), so keep your peepers peepin for that. Until then, though, from the best place on earth, I bid you farewell. Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa.
”I'm exceedin expectations, you barely meetin quota.. I give it to em straight, you cut it with baking soda..”
"I don't walk in fear. I walk as fear."
"See, that's the difference between you and I.. you get money, and you get crazy.. I get crazy, and I get money..”
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