Posted in: Hustle Is Posting Right Now Hustle Is Posting Right Now: Volume 39 ("Bracketology 2" Edition)
By Hustle
Mar 27, 2009 - 10:35:50 PM
Ro's work is as fresh as Chopper's suit
"Look at that fake smile he just gave me, it's breaking my heart.. should I school him, or pull the tools out and just break him apart?.."
Jay-Z delivers another intro line for everyone, and it has to do with the subject I'm writing about this week. Welcome, one and all, to yet another edition of the column that packs more heat than Sriracha hot sauce.. Hustle Is Posting Right Now. If you don't know by know, allow me to re-introduce myself.. my name is Hus (Hus!), H-to-the-U-S.. another banger every week, it's what I do best. Alright. That might be the end of my rhyming-in-my-columns career. Wow. Anyway, glad you could join me again this week, everyone. You could be anywhere else in the world right now, but really, why would you want to do that? I see no reason to. I do, however, see a reason to put some work in, so, uh, I think it's about that time. Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed.) Less dew eet!!
You know, I've been a part of this particular discussion/argument for a while now, and it was recently made into a thread over at LoPForums, so I wanted to talk about it here. I don't think it would be enough to formulate an entire column out of, but that's why I have the Hustle Madness results and second round to discuss. If you have half a column and combine it with another half a column, it'll give you a full column. Hooray. I didn't plan on discussing this, but it was a pressing subject, so I'll just push what I had planned for this week to one of the post-WrestleMania editions of HIPRN.
Anyway, the subject is the shots that John Cena has been taking at Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in various interviews and public appearances, whether it be on the radio, on television, on the internet, in newspapers, or what have you. It's been going on for so long that I don't even remember when it all started, but for those of you who don't know or haven't been paying much attention to it, it basically boils down to this (in one long-running paragraph)..
Rock is, without question, one of the biggest names in the storied history of professional wrestling, and he put in several years of service, busting his ass night in and night out to entertain fans across the globe. Somewhere along the line, however, he decided that leaving the business to pursue a career in Hollywood would be the best option for himself. Since he left, you could count the total number of appearances he's made in the wrestling world on one hand, probably, but no more than two hands. In his media interviews, though, he's always had nothing but good things to say about wrestling, saying how much he loves the business, its fans, the wrestlers, and everything about it. Those would usually be followed up with the expected questions.. asking if he was returning to the ring, asking how much of the product he's followed since he left, and things along those lines. During those questions, he'd reveal that he doesn't watch the product at all, but again, that he loves the industry, the fans, the wrestlers, etc. That's where Cena enters the picture, as he then took multiple opportunities to bring up Rock (and had multiple occasions where Rock was brought up to him), and he would go on to say that Rock shouldn't say how much he loves the wrestling business if he has completely turned his back on it, won't watch it, won't agree to appear for the fans he says he loves so much, and whatever else Rock has been talking about.
That's pretty much where we are at this point in time. If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose what I think this is all about, I'd say that this is nothing but an elaborate attempt at a "work" that The Rock may or may not even be involved with. I think John Cena is involved in it, and I think Vince McMahon and/or someone else that is "in charge" in Titan Land is also involved in it. Again, Rock may or may not be involved in it, though. Here's why I think this is the case..
- As the top "company man", Cena's never been the guy that just goes out and says things to the media to cause a whole bunch of controvery or to get himself in trouble. As the "face of the company", his interviews outside of WWE programming need to be carefully calculated, as to not make him and/or the company look bad. All of a sudden, he's repeatedly going out of his way to speak negatively about someone else like this? That really doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
- If Cena was doing this entirely on his own, why wouldn't Vince McMahon tell him to slow his roll a bit and to not mention Rock's name in his interviews? It's giving Rock some free publicity and more buzz in the IWC, and as Vince has shown on countless occasions, he's not going to give out free publicity to someone else unless he's getting something just about equal in return (which wouldn't make the publicity "free", I suppose). Hell, he's doing it right now, as he went on record saying that he didn't like "The Wrestler", but when he found out he could make a nice chunk of change out of the movie's success, he changed directions and worked to get Mickey Rourke involved with WrestleMania. It's highly unlike Vince to have his top guy continuously giving press to anything Dwayne Johnson was doing, unless Dwayne Johnson was going to be giving something back to Vince somewhere down the line.
People are discussing this topic, not so much over whether or not it's all a work, but whether or not Cena is "in the right" for making the comments he's been making. Some people feel that Cena has overstepped his boundaries, and he should be thankful for everything Rock has done, and that he should be praising Rock, if nothing else. On the other side of that fence are the people that feel Cena is absolutely correct with everything that he's saying, and that he isn't saying a single thing that the rest of the "boys" feel. Personally, I see nothing wrong with what Cena has said, and no, that isn't because I'm a Cena fan. Years ago, The Rock was my "Cena", long before Cena actually became my "Cena", so being a fan of someone has nothing to do with why I feel the way I feel.
A lot of what this probably has to do with is the fact that people read too much into things. I know what you're thinking.. "Hus, you mean to tell me that people in the IWC assume things and jump to conclusions??".. and I hate to break it to you, but yes, they do. Nowhere, in any of the numerous interviews Cena has done, has he made mention of Dwayne Johnson being a bad person. In fact, it's quite the opposite, as he's had nothing but glowing words to say about DJ, the person. What he is saying is that he, John Cena, is now being questioned by the media over his own commitment to the world of pro wrestling. People remember when The Rock first started getting movie roles, and how he said his first priority was wrestling, and that he was loyal to the industry that made him a star.. and then he left that industry to make movies. Now, they see John Cena starting to get movie roles, and he's saying that his first priority is wrestling, and that he's loyal to the industry that made him a star. It's only natural to see the parallels there, and for people to wonder if/when Cena will make the same choice for himself and his family that DwayneRock made. It almost appears as if some people are twisting Cena's words around because he's John Cena, and they're just looking for a reason to bash the guy. You people know who you are.
I would absolutely love to see The Rock wrestle again, even if it was a one-time special attraction match. In no way, shape, or form do I find fault in his decision to make movies, though. He makes more money for one movie than he would if he worked several years as a wrestler, and the toll on his body is much less now than it was before. More money for less effort? Sign me up, posthaste. I'm really glad to know that he'll, more than likely, be able to walk and talk properly when he turns 50 years old, and he won't need a wheelchair, cane, or a walker to get around like a lot of old-time wrestlers do at that stage of their lives. However, I, as a wrestling fan, would appreciate it if he stopped trying to play towards both sides of the fence during all of his interviews, trying to play nice to the wrestling fans as well as the movie fans. Damn near all of his wrestling fans have come to terms with the fact that he's gone, and that he's an actor now. It's almost like unnecessary teasing for him to continue talking about his love for wrestling, and the amazing feeling he gets from performing in front of a live crowd the way he used to. We're not going to get mad (the sane ones won't get mad, anyway) if he chooses to distance himself from his past so that he can spend more time focusing on his future. His A-Rod Syndrome is affecting the way people view him, and it's a shame. I don't mean anything involving steroids when I mention the "A-Rod Syndrome", by the way. I mean the fact that Alex Rodriguez has always come across as phony in his interviews, because he's obviously pre-packaging everything he says, as if he's afraid to ever offend a single person. He purposely positions himself smack dab on the middle of the fence, and he'll avoid choosing sides when asked to do so. Please, Rock.. I beg of you.. do everything in your power not to be like that piece of shit A-Rod.
Unless, of course, this really is all just a work. In that case, carry on, my wayward son. Unless Hulk Hogan gets involved, I can't think of a bigger "summer blockbuster" than John Cena VS The Rock. Hmm.. SummerSlam.. Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.. it might be starting to make sense, folks.
Before I go any further here, I want to thank each and every one of you that took the time to vote in the first round of the Hustle Madness tournament. There's still a bunch of you that I need to respond to, but there's your general "thank you". Enjoy it. As for the results, it's just like the other big tournament taking place right now, because there are some surprises taking place and making the rest of the brackets look rather interesting. Here are the results for Round 1, as well as my analysis of what you people had to say..
Red Bracket #1 Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat (WrestleWar 1989) over #16 Mike Awesome VS Masato Tanaka (November 2 Remember 1999)
The winning margin of victory here was 68-24, which is actually a lot closer than I was expecting it to be. I underestimated the age of some of my readers, though, as I received a good half dozen or so votes for the Awesome/Tanaka bout due to the voter never having seen the Flair/Steamboat match because they either weren't alive at the time, or they just weren't watching pro wrestling back then. Personally, even though I didn't purposely plan it to happen this way, I love the fact that this matchup featured matches that really have nothing in common with each other. A mat-based classic VS a stiff ECW brawl. You've gotta love it when styles clash (no, not the AJ Styles finisher).
#8 Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 14) over #9 Brian Pillman VS Jushin Liger (SuperBrawl 1992)
Austin/HBK won by the absolutely shocking margin of 83-9. As the votes were coming in, I immediately noticed that there was a large margin, but when I saw the final margin was 74 votes, my jaw nearly hit the floor. Unlike the previous match, nobody mentioned that they hadn't seen Pillman/Liger, so I'm to assume that the majority of folks merely thought it wasn't as good a match as its opponent in the first round. If that's actually the case, that's a shame, because the Pillman/Liger match would be considered "great" in today's climate. In 1992, though, it was absolutely ground-breaking, at least for wrestling in this country, anyway. The birth of "The Austin Era" was too strong of an opponent, I suppose.
#5 Shawn Michaels VS The Undertaker (Badd Blood 1997) over #12 Chris Benoit VS Kevin Sullivan (Great American Bash 1996)
This one started off much the same as Austin/HBK VS Pillman/Liger did, with the margin stretching wider and wider for a brief while. However, the Falls Count Anywhere match from the 1996 version of the Great American Bash picked up a nice chunk of votes towards the end of the week, for whatever reason, and the final score here was 59-33. I don't know how much of that has to do with the fact that people were generally picking the better match and how much of it has to do with people deciding not to praise something Chris Benoit was involved in, but I actually thought that this was one of the first round matches that was most set for an upset. Obviously, it didn't happen that way.
#13 Ric Flair VS Vader (Starrcade 1993) over #4 Hulk Hogan VS Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania 6)
We have our first upset of the tournament, and it's a rather large one, as the #13 seed moves on by a score of 50-42. I sure as hell didn't have Hogan/Warrior ranked as high as it was due to the quality of the wrestling in the match, but there's no denying how important of a match it was in the history of professional wrestling, and just how electric of an atmosphere it carried with it. As much as I enjoyed Flair/Vader, I figured the history behind the #4 seed would be enough to carry it through, at least in this round.
#2 Shawn Michaels VS Bret Hart (WrestleMania 12) over #15 Brock Lesnar VS Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 19)
If I'm to believe a large percentage of you, this matchup may have very well had a different outcome had Lesnar not botched his Shooting Star Press towards the end of his match with Angle. Then again, perhaps that match would've been ranked a bit higher than a #15 seed if he connected with that move. Either way, the final score for this one was 69-23, in favor of HBK and The Hitman's Ironman Match from WrestleMania 12. Sure, that match could've used an extra fall or two, but in my opinion, the fact that it went 60+ minutes with only a single fall wasn't exactly a bad thing. It showed just how even of a match that it was, and those two were just brilliant in the ring together.
#7 The Rock VS Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 18) over #10 Shawn Michaels VS Mankind (Mind Games 1996)
By a score of 47-45, this was the closest matchup of the first round, in any of the brackets. To this day, the crowd's reaction, interaction, and overall response to the match at WM18 is second-to-none. Those two could've done nothing but stand there for 20 minutes, and the crowd still would've eaten it up with a spoon. As much as I enjoyed the Michaels/Mankind match, it just doesn't have a particular thing emblazoned into people's minds like the crowd reaction from Rock/Hogan. It should be really interesting to see how well that match does as it continues on in this tournament.
#3 Steve Austin VS The Rock (WrestleMania 17) over #14 Bret Hart VS Roddy Piper (WrestleMania 8)
This was a whole lot closer than I expected it to be, with the main event of the best WrestleMania ever (and perhaps even the best overall pay-per-view ever) winning by a score of 53-39. Obviously, as evidenced by my rankings, I "expected" Austin/Rock to win, but I'm proud to see that Hart/Piper fared as well as it did, as I feel it's one of the more underrated matches of all-time, and it just happened to take place at one of the more underrated events of all-time.
#6 Shawn Michaels VS Triple H VS Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20) over #11 Ricky Steamboat VS Lex Luger (Great American Bash 1989)
This was another blowout, with the Triple Threat winning with a score of 79-13. The entire question about whether or not you folks would praise something Chris Benoit was involved in was answered rather resoundingly, I'd say. I'd venture a guess and say that a lot of people haven't actually seen the Steamboat/Luger match, and they probably just saw Lex Luger's name and immediately voted for whatever the other match was, but it was a shockingly good match. Steamboat helped carry Luger to a match that hovers around the 4.5 star mark, and for those of you who have seen Luger work, that could be considered a minor miracle by most standards.
Blue Bracket #1 Ricky Steamboat VS Randy Savage (WrestleMania 3) over #16 John Cena VS Rob Van Dam (One Night Stand 2006)
No surprise here, with the #1 seed winning by a score of 77-15. All the John Cena fandom in the world wouldn't have convinced me to vote for his match over Steamboat/Savage. No way, no how. Not over what may be the quintessential wrestling match to take place in the entire history of ever. Sure, the Cena/RVD match had a memorable atmosphere, but the ending was far too overbooked, and it didn't do much to help Rob Van Dam, who won the match, but still needed 94 things to help him do so.
#8 John Cena VS Triple H (WrestleMania 22) over #9 Sting's Squadron VS Dangerous Alliance (WrestleWar 1992)
This one was neck-and-neck right up to the deadline, for the most part, but Cena/Trips pulled it out by the score of 49-43. I'm glad that John Cena will be making an appearance in the second round of this tournament. Ha. Cena/HHH was, arguably, the beginning of the "love/hate" relationship that live crowds have with John Cena. The smarky Chicago crowd was extremely vocal that night, and they helped make a match even more enjoyable than it already was.
#12 The Undertaker VS Mankind (King Of The Ring 1998) over #5 Bret Hart VS Owen Hart (WrestleMania 10)
Just like the college basketball tournament, the 5 VS 12 matchup proves to be a prime choice for an upset, as the most brutal match to take place in mainstream wrestling history squeaks out a victory here by the score of 48-44. This was another one of those matchups that featured polar opposites facing each other. Obviously, the amazing bumps that Mick Foley took that night were just enough to carry the match to victory over one of the best opening matches in pay-per-view history, and a match that had many people saying Owen Hart deserved to be a WWF Champion sometime before he passed away.
#4 Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2003) over #13 Hulk Hogan VS Randy Savage (WrestleMania 5)
The Mega Powers exploding was a great storyline, and it made for a surprisingly good match, but it wasn't enough to get the victory here, as Angle/Benoit pull it out here by a score of 61-31. This further shows that people are actually willing to show praise to something that Chris Benoit was involved in. That may sound like an obvious thing, but you have to remember that there was a time when it was almost a sin to do something along those lines in the IWC. Praise a match Benoit wrestled in? Bollocks! You'd be banished to the depths of wrestling hell, forced to watch the Gobbledygooker dance with "Mean" Gene Okerlund for 24 hours a day. I'm glad to see we've moved beyond that.
#2 Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble 1989) over #15 Rey Mysterio Jr VS Psicosis (ECW Hardcore TV 10/17/1995)
While this was a tad closer than I thought it would be, it was still a blowout, as Flair/Steamboat walks away with a 68-24 victory, which is the same score that the Flair/Steamboat VS Awesome/Tanaka matchup had in the Red Bracket. I found that to be a strange little kowinkydink. The work that Mysterio and Psicosis put in was just so fresh and so new to the American wrestling fan, and kudos to Paul Heyman for bringing them to ECW and setting it all up. Minor kudos to Eric Bischoff for then stealing half of Heyman's wrestlers and ideas for WCW. However, with all of that said, this is Ric Motherfucking Flair VS Ricky Motherfucking Steamboat we're dealing with, readers and readerettes.
#7 Ric Flair VS Terry Funk (Clash Of The Champions 9) over #10 Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, Hawk & Animal VS Hart Foundation (Canadian Stampede 1997)
With as much crowd heat as the 10-man tag had, and with as much as I loved that entire storyline, it still wasn't enough to win this matchup, as the "I Quit" match won by a score of 56-36. Even though Terry Funk was already 114 years old at the time, his feud with Ric Flair in 1989 was incredible, and coming off of Flair's trilogy with Ricky Steamboat, showed why "The Nature Boy" was the best wrestler alive. To go from technical wrestling with Steamboat to hardcore wrestling with Funk, and to make such a seamless transition, is something special.
#3 Bret Hart VS British Bulldog (SummerSlam 1992) over #14 Hulk Hogan VS Goldberg (WCW Nitro 7/6/1998)
My choice for the greatest match in WCW Monday Nitro history didn't really stand much of a chance here, as Bret/Bulldog picked up an easy victory by a score of 75-17. I remember both matches quite vividly. I remember that it looked as if there were 500,000 people watching both matches live. Seriously, those were some massive crowds, cheering on their hometown boys who were challenging for titles in that particular match. Match quality wins out here, though, with Bret/Bulldog coming out on top.
#11 The Rock VS Triple H (SummerSlam 1998) over #6 Ric Flair VS Randy Savage (WrestleMania 8)
This was another matchup that came right down to the wire, but in the end, the Ladder Match won by a score of 48-44. I was a big fan of the Flair/Savage feud, but I guess "New School Is Cool", as the "newer" match wins here, as well as in a lot of the matchups presented in this tournament. Again, I think I may have underestimated the age of a lot of my readers. That's fine, though, because a good match still wins out each time. The Rock and Triple H have had some fun battles against each other, and this was the best of the bunch. Not quite on the level of the Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon Ladder Matches, but still a good match nonetheless.
Purple Bracket #1 Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant (WrestleMania 3) over #16 Rey Mysterio Jr VS Psychosis (Bash At The Beach 1996)
The "Bodyslam Heard Round The World" helped carry Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant to wrestling immortality, and it also helped the match win here by a score of 64-28. I'm actually surprised Mysterio/Psychosis fared as well as they did here. It would be a tough sell to say that it was a "greater" match than Hogan/Andre, that's for sure. Each and every one of us has seen clips of the Hogan/Andre match approximately 8.35 billion times, which is considerably more than we've seen clips of the Mysterio/Psychosis match.
#9 Shawn Michaels VS Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21) over #8 Steve Austin VS Bret Hart (Survivor Series 1996)
Not much of an upset, seeding-wise, but definitely a bit of an upset, score-wise, as Michaels/Angle takes this one quite easily by a score of 67-25. They just put on a back-and-forth classic, drawing the crowd in more and more as the match went on. A lot of people will say this was the better Austin/Bret match of that era, but it didn't quite have the "it" factor that their rematch at WrestleMania 13 had, and it cost them, not only in seeding, but apparently in the voting here.
#5 Shawn Michaels VS Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 19) over #12 TAKA Michinoku VS The Great Sasuke (Canadian Stampede 1997)
While the previous 5 VS 12 matchup provided an upset, this one wasn't even close to doing so, as Michaels/Jericho stomps all over Michinoku/Sasuke by a score of 80-12. From bell-to-bell, Michinoku/Sasuke gave American fans moves and moments that they had, more than likely, never seen before, but the event it took place at was on a much lesser scale than the event that Michaels/Jericho took place at. It would've been tough for a WrestleMania match to lose to something that took place at an In Your House pay-per-view.
#4 Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (WrestleMania 17) over #13 Rob Van Dam VS Jerry Lynn (Hardcore Heaven 1999)
His series of matches with Rob Van Dam were just about the only Jerry Lynn matches I've really enjoyed, and their bout at Hardcore Heaven '99 was the best of the bunch, but I had a feeling that the juggernaut known as TLC would prevail here, and I was right. WrestleMania 17's TLC match wins this by a score of 67-25. I'm somewhat surprised, however, that this wasn't a bigger blowout, but it is what it is.
#2 Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio Jr (Halloween Havoc 1997) over #15 Ric Flair VS Arn Anderson (Fall Brawl 1995)
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you.. the biggest blowout of the entire first round. Guerrero/Mysterio wins this matchup by the jaw-dropping score of 90-2. Yes, you read that correctly.. 90 votes for Guerrero/Mysterio.. 2 votes for Flair/Anderson. To the pair of you that voted for Flair/Anderson, I applaud you for that, for no other reason than you're different. I'm pretty sure I can think of someone who is happy Arn Anderson didn't make it to the second round. Ha.
#10 Ric Flair VS Sting (Clash Of The Champions 1) over #7 Samoa Joe VS AJ Styles VS Christopher Daniels (Unbreakable 2005)
A minor upset here, but it was really close all the way until the end. The match that put Sting on the wrestling map won by a score of 49-43. I've made it no secret that I absolutely loved that Triple Threat, and it was one of the first matches that even made me want to pay attention to TNA, but it clearly didn't pack the same historical punch as its opponent in the first round. I can still remember being amazed when I first watched Flair/Sting. My jaw would drop when Sting no-sold damn near all of Flair's chops, which were notorious throughout the world of wrestling. Those two just had amazing chemistry when working together.
#14 Shawn Michaels VS Triple H (SummerSlam 2002) over #3 Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat (Clash Of The Champions 6)
Another big upset here, seeding-wise, with Shawn Michaels' return to the wrestling ring carrying the match to a 51-41 victory here. Of the Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat trilogy of 1989, this was the only match that didn't advance to the second round of the tournament. I guess that means I had this piece of the trilogy seeded correctly, in comparison to the other pieces. The Street Fight was better than most of us probably expected it would be, with Michaels spending so much time away from the ring, but let's be honest here.. it was just good to see "The Heartbreak Kid" back in action, and we would've been happy with even an average match, just to be able to see him go one last time.
#6 Triple H VS Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble 2000) over #11 Eddie Guerrero VS Dean Malenko (ECW Hardcore TV 8/26/1995)
HHH/Cactus from Madison Square Garden wins out here by a score of 66-26. If I recall correctly, the Guerrero/Malenko match was their last performance in ECW before they both moved on to "greener pastures" in WCW, but it just wasn't enough to get more of you folks to vote for it against Mick Foley's supposed second-to-last pay-per-view match. I've seen better Street Fights in my life, but that one was still fun, brutal, and carried with it an intense vibe, as well as a rabid crowd that cheered on their hometown boy.
Orange Bracket #1 Steve Austin VS Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13) over #16 Shawn Michaels VS Jeff Jarrett (In Your House 2)
Another cake walk for a #1 seed, this time seeing the Submission Match from WrestleMania 13 beat out an underrated match between Michaels & Jarrett by the score of 80-12. Perhaps I should've chosen a different match to be the final match in the tournament, but I stand by my choice of Michaels/Jarrett. That was one helluva back-and-forth match, and I think the quality of it caught a lot of people off-guard, but come on.. Austin.. Bret.. Ken Shamrock.. Sharpshooter.. blood.. the match that kept WrestleMania 13 from being the worst WrestleMania ever.. it was all the makings of an absolute epic.
#9 Ric Flair VS Terry Funk (Great American Bash 1989) over #8 Sting, Brian Pillman & The Steiners VS Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious & Larry Zbyszko (WrestleWar 1991)
Two "oldies but goodies" battled here, both matches involving Ric Flair. In the end, though, the main event of one of the best pay-per-views of all-time won out by a score of 48-44. War Games was/is a great idea, but here we are, heading towards the second round of this tournament, and we have no War Games matches left. Personally, the Flair/Funk match is better known for the brawl afterwards involving both men, as well as Sting and The Great Muta, than for the match itself. Not the match was bad or anything, but that brawl seemed to last for 20 minutes. Total mayhem.
#12 The Rock VS Mankind (Royal Rumble 1999) over #5 Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble 1992)
Another down-to-the-wire matchup that ended in a big upset, the "I Quit" match that saw Mick Foley lose hundreds of brain cells beats out Ric Flair's victory at the 1992 Royal Rumble by a score of 49-43. If you ever thought Mick Foley was sane, his match here against The Rock would prove otherwise. No sane man would agree to be handcuffed and take wicked chairshots, unprotected, to the skull, regardless of whether or not Rock hit him more times than they had originally agreed upon. If you haven't already had the chance to do so, find yourself a copy of "Beyond The Mat" and watch it. It's a good movie, overall, but it also gives you a true appreciation for the Rock/Mankind match, as you get to view it from the eyes of Mick's wife and young children. Very emotional stuff.
#4 Shawn Michaels VS Razor Ramon (WrestleMania 10) over #13 Samoa Joe VS AJ Styles (Turning Point 2005)
I was really impressed by Joe VS AJ, as I usually end up being when those two are in the ring with each other, but it was almost unfair to match them up with the match that revolutionized a gimmick involving a ladder. Michaels/Razor 1 wins by a score of 79-13. Most people didn't know what the hell to expect when WrestleMania 10 took place, but Michaels/Razor gave us a classic. I may or may not be correct here, but I think the ladders used in that match were much heavier than the ladders used in later wrestling matches. If so, that just makes some of the bumps in this match even crazier.
#2 Ric Flair VS Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 24) over #15 Bret Hart VS Chris Benoit (WCW Nitro 10/4/99)
In the matchup between two of the most emotional matches in pro wrestling history, the match that ended the legendary career of Ric Flair wins by a score of 52-40. I think the sad vibe that Bret/Benoit carried with it (which is an even sadder vibe now that Benoit is dead) made it difficult for some people to truly enjoy the match itself. It was a great idea, and it was still a really good match, but I found myself thinking about Owen Hart a lot, instead of paying complete attention to the wrestling taking place. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was doing that.
#7 Bret Hart VS Mr Perfect (SummerSlam 1991) over #10 Shawn Michaels VS Razor Ramon (SummerSlam 1995)
Michaels/Razor couldn't go a perfect two-for-two in their matches, with Bret/Perfect winning by a score of 57-35. When I watch the Bret/Perfect match, it makes me sad that Mr Perfect never got a chance to be the WWF Champion. He had everything it took to be "the man", but was never given the opportunity to do so. He would've made for a damn fine person to challenge Hulk Hogan back then. Eh, what's done is done, I guess.
#3 Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (SummerSlam 2000) over #14 TAKA Michinoku, Terry Boy & Dick Togo VS The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji (Barely Legal 1997)
There's that TLC juggernaut again, pushing this version of the series to an 83-9 victory here, assuring us of having no TAKA Michinoku sightings in the second round. Looking back on the seedings, I probably should've ranked the 6-man slightly higher than I did. A lot of ECW's work from that era has been overhyped and overrated through the years, but this match deserves the hype it has received, probably because it wasn't a true ECW match, and was just a match taking place at an ECW event. One way or another, it still had some amazing stuff, and the ECW fans ate it up.
#11 Cactus Jack, The Rock & Too Cool VS DX & The Radicalz (WWF Raw 2/7/2000) over #6 Steve Austin VS The Rock (WrestleMania 19)
The match that ended up being one of the most surprising "great" matches of all-time beats out the finale of the Steve Austin VS The Rock trilogy at WrestleMania by a score of 50-42. There wasn't a single one of you that expected the 10-man to be as fun as it was when you first started watching it. Major, major props to the Dallas crowd for being as amazingly into the match as they were. You'd think it was the main event of WrestleMania or something with the amount of crowd heat it got. I still can't believe that Grandmasta Sexay, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Rikishi are now moving on to the second round of this tournament.
Here, for your voting enjoyment, are the matchups for the second round, ladies and gentlemen..
Red #1 Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat (WrestleWar 1989)
VS
Red #8 Steve Austin VS Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 14)
Red #5 Shawn Michaels VS The Undertaker (Badd Blood 1997)
VS
Red #13 Ric Flair VS Vader (Starrcade 1993)
Red #2 Shawn Michaels VS Bret Hart (WrestleMania 12)
VS
Red #7 The Rock VS Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 18)
Red #3 Steve Austin VS The Rock (WrestleMania 17)
VS
Red #6 Shawn Michaels VS Triple H VS Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20)
Blue #1 Ricky Steamboat VS Randy Savage (WrestleMania 3)
VS
Blue #8 John Cena VS Triple H (WrestleMania 22)
Blue #12 The Undertaker VS Mankind (King Of The Ring 1998)
VS
Blue #4 Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble 2003)
Blue #2 Ric Flair VS Ricky Steamboat (Chi-Town Rumble 1989)
VS
Blue #7 Ric Flair VS Terry Funk (Clash Of The Champions 9)
Blue #3 Bret Hart VS British Bulldog (SummerSlam 1992)
VS
Blue #11 The Rock VS Triple H (SummerSlam 1998)
Purple #1 Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant (WrestleMania 3)
VS
Purple #9 Shawn Michaels VS Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21)
Purple #5 Shawn Michaels VS Chris Jericho (WrestleMania 19)
VS
Purple #4 Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (WrestleMania 17)
Purple #2 Eddie Guerrero VS Rey Mysterio Jr (Halloween Havoc 1997)
VS
Purple #10 Ric Flair VS Sting (Clash Of The Champions 1)
Purple #14 Shawn Michaels VS Triple H (SummerSlam 2002)
VS
Purple #6 Triple H VS Cactus Jack (Royal Rumble 2000)
Orange #1 Steve Austin VS Bret Hart (WrestleMania 13)
VS
Orange #9 Ric Flair VS Terry Funk (Great American Bash 1989)
Orange #12 The Rock VS Mankind (Royal Rumble 1999)
VS
Orange #4 Shawn Michaels VS Razor Ramon (WrestleMania 10)
Orange #2 Ric Flair VS Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 24)
VS
Orange #7 Bret Hart VS Mr Perfect (SummerSlam 1991)
Orange #3 Dudley Boyz VS Edge & Christian VS Hardy Boyz (SummerSlam 2000)
VS
Orange #11 Cactus Jack, The Rock & Too Cool VS DX & The Radicalz (WWF Raw 2/7/2000)
I accidentally deleted this next part from last week's column, and it made things a little tougher on myself than I would've liked, because I was getting votes until just about the moment I posted this. Voting ends at 12:00am EST Thursday night/Friday morning (whatever way you like to refer to that time as). That gives me enough time to get everything tallied up and typed out for its appearance on Friday afternoon/evening.
Hustle Highlight Of The Week: It FINALLY happened, ladies and gentlemen. Randy Orton, for the first time in the current storyline between Triple H and himself, actually looks like a solid heel. It would've been nice if he could've gained the upper hand against Triple H by himself, and not with the help of Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes, but the writing team needs to walk before they can run, I suppose. The entire segment to end Raw this week was really good stuff. I'm still a little shocked that Orton was given permission to kiss Stephanie McMahon like that, although it would be hilarious if he did it on his own without getting the go-ahead. I even have to give Triple H his props for the segment. When Orton attacked Steph for the first time, Trips' reaction was more comedic-looking than it really should've been. This week, his reaction was more "real", with his crying and look of helplessness that he wasn't able to help his wife. Everything just came together quite nicely, and that's why it was this week's HHotW.
Shawn Michaels VS Kane from Smackdown was a nominee, as was MVP winning the United States Title on Smackdown in his match against Shelton Benjamin. In the end, though, they just couldn't match up to Randy Orton finally being booked correctly. He went from looking like a complete bitch to looking like the badass heel he should be, all in a single week. That's tough to beat, in my opinion.
Writer's Note: On a continued note from the previous section, Raw was great on a "WrestleMania Hype" scale. Sure, it wasn't exactly very high up on the "Wrestling" scale, but that's to be expected this close to any big event, let alone the big event. From the beginning of the show (Chris Jericho's beatdown on Ric Flair) to the end (the Legacy/Triple H/Steph segment), I applaud WWE for doing a fine job in hyping WrestleMania. It was a considerably better job than they've been doing in the last few weeks, that's for sure.
The Shawn Michaels video was intense, if not a little strange to watch. It didn't quite fit HBK's persona, but it still did a great job in getting the point across that he isn't afraid of The Undertaker, nor is he concerned with Taker's "mind games", "The Streak", or anything else that has won countless matches for Taker before the bell would even ring. At this point, I'm actually debating on whether or not I'm going to predict that Taker's WrestleMania streak ends in Houston. I don't think I've ever come close to predicting an Undertaker loss at WrestleMania, so kudos to everyone involved for what they've done to push this storyline forward. One way or another, the match is going to be a classic, I'm sure.
The ending to the 8-man tag was a fun mini-preview of Money In The Bank, with the action becoming extremely fact-paced and hectic, and with Finlay using the ladder after the match to take out everyone else, even those who were just a part of his team. I didn't really need a whole lot of help to get excited for MITB, but that helped out, anyway.
Writer's Note Part Deux: Another round, another subpar performance by the Pitt Panthers in the other tournament going on right now. They've been extremely lucky to advance this far, and if they don't hurry and get their acts together, they'll be eliminated before they know it. It almost appears as if they're coasting right now, not trying very hard because they know they're "better" than their opponents, and they just turn it up a notch in the final few minutes to pull out a tight victory. That isn't going to work from now on. They're in the Elite Eight, and teams that make it this far just aren't fucking around, so Pitt will immediately need to focus and play up to their potential.
What Hustle Is Listening To Right Now: "Be On You" by Flo Rida & Ne-Yo.. "Break Da Law 2001" by Project Pat & Three 6 Mafia.. "My Life" by Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, & Trae.. "Live It Up" by John Legend.. "Niggaz Done Started Something" by DMX, The Lox, & Mase.. "Die Die Die" by Bone Thugs N Harmony.. "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" by Bone Thugs N Harmony & Shatasha.. "Defend Your Own" by Collie Buddz.. "One (Remix)" by Akon & Cory Gunz.. "Move On" by Slaughterhouse.. "No Matter What" by T.I. .. "Day N Nite (Remix)" by Kid Cudi, Jim Jones, & Collie Buddz.. "Tonz O Gunz" by GangStarr.. "No Apologies" by Eminem.. "Rollin" by The Game & Juice.. "Too Much" by The Game.. "Scream On Em" by The Game.. "Put You On The Game" by The Game.. "Know That" by The Next Generation.. "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder
There you have it, gotdamnit. Another edition of HIPRN is cooked, cut, bagged, and ready to serve to the fiends. Thanks to each and every single one of you that were riding with me again this week. Next week, I bring you my WrestleMania 25 preview, as well as the Sweet Sixteen in the Hustle Madness tournament, and perhaps even some other tasty morsels. We shall see. Keep your peepers peepin for that, either way. My stomach is trying to get my attention, so I need to get the hell out of here and get some dinner. Korean BBQ FTW~! Until next time, from the Spam Capital Of The World, 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..”
Hustle HIPRNFeedback@gmail.com
MySpace: www.MySpace.com/aaron_is_on_his_hustle
Facebook: E-mail me for my name or hand yours off to me
PSN: HustleLOP
