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Submitted by Tom Guzik on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at 9:29 PM EST
"I am surprised that Hunter didn't have them put a little graphic of his face in the corner of the screen during the show." Rewind – WWE Survivor Series 2002 Survivor Series 2002 marked the 12th year anniversary of watching wrestling. My god, where have all the 12 years gone. Every week watching wrestling, like it's part of my diet. I've seen every Survivor Series since 1990, not a bad record for a UK resident. Or is it just plain embarrassing..? - Let's not go there, that was the previous edition of GDH. Thanks once again to Matt Hester Version 1.0, as he kindly invited me to watch the PPV around his house, free of charge. Matt, when are you going to inject the LOP Columns Forum with a dose of Mattitude, lol?. Back on topic. Survivor Series isn't what it used to be. Usually the "thanksgiving" PPV, it used to be a PPV that I looked forward to, more so for the gimmicky feel to it, that Royal Rumble, and KOTR continue to use. Over the last 6 or 7 years, the WWE have scrapped the Elimination format of the PPV, and just continued to have normal sub-standard matches. Whether they could work in this day and age of entertainment is questionable, but it still be nice to give it a try. Problem was, when they used to have these 4 vs. 4 or 5 vs. 5 matches, the faces and heels were so distinct, that it was great to see them team up and fight with each other. Now it's just a free for all, regardless of what you are, and what you do. Maybe that's down to what took place 5 years ago, everyone expects some kind of screwjob every year at Survivor Series. The latest Survivor Series screwjob: HHH. - and we get that every Monday night as well! SS 2002 was good, but not great. By around the 2nd hour of the PPV, it seemed like all the matches had taken place, and we were ready for the Tag Titles match, followed by the chamber. The card for this year's event was poor. The timing of it, and the lack of planning, just made it a shambles. Credit to the WWE, because they did make it work well. Show/Lesnar was as short as any TV match, and I hate the fact, that out of all the people you could pick for Lesnar to lose his title to, and subsequently his undefeated record, was to Big Show. Unbelievable, how the WWE enjoy trying to push crap down our throats over and over again. At least the WWE managed to have one decent PPV this year. Summerslam 2002 was exceptional, both with the planning, the preparation, the promoting, and the actual event itself. It's a shame that the people behind the scenes, have such a short memory. Big Show, WWE Champion? Your having a laugh.. Seven things that were expected to happen, this week…. 1. Triple H to retain his World Heavyweight Title. It didn't happen. But it might as well have. He jobbed the title to his best friend Shawn Michaels. He couldn't do it to anyone else, but his friend. That disappoints me, because that was Shawn's 2nd match in 4 years and he defeats 5 top wrestlers to win the title. Let's be honest, Shawn wasn't that good back in his day. 2. Elimination Chamber to be a classic.. It wasn't. I thought the match was rough as nails, and didn't do much to preserve each wrestler's careers. Though I did like the way Shawn kept avoiding bumping on the raised steel floor. I don't think the MSG crowd enjoyed it as much either. There was no purpose for the 4 other wrestlers in that match. Why did RVD get jobbed out so early? 3. Scott Steiner makes his debut Many were expecting him to get involved in the Chamber match. No word of a lie, as soon as Nowinski started ripping on the crowd, I knew he was coming. I like Steiner, he has that bastard attitude, that is actually believable, but how long will he last. 4. Lesnar to retain WWE Title. I could just about fathom Big Show winning the title, because we all know deep down Brock will retain. Also, this match began to solidify Brock as a face. Read my previous columns prior to Summerslam, and it'll show you I was rooting for Brock, 100% in his bid to be thrown into the main event scene. "He isn't ready, he ain't good enough.." were the cries of little WIC'ites, and apparently Brock is now over as a face. How do you like them, well, ok that's copyrighted. 5. Scott Steiner to sign with Raw. Not sure if he's made his bed yet with the Raw crew, but I guess we'll be seeing a "who will he sign with.." - though I can't see Steiner being a face for too long. 6. Shawn Michaels to defend the World Title Well, everyone and their mother thought that Shawn couldn't possibly win the title, due to the schedule that a champion would undertake. But it seems like the WWE is going with it, and that Shawn is happy to do so. Though the way I see it, it's another pathetic attempt from Helmsley to make sure he covers his own back. He didn't want to job the title to either Jericho, RVD, Booker T or Kane, so he'll let Shawn do it and HHH comes out smelling of roses. Well, we'll have to wait and see how long HHH decides Shawn should have the title for. 7. Raw rating to plummet even further. It didn't happen. Wow. It went up. Was it because Shawn is champ, or because Hunter was injured. Maybe it was because of the PPV. Not sure, but it makes you wonder exactly what it could be. Hunter. Put up, or shut up. Dear Triple H, We're all guilty of whipping up a storm around the "political pull" that you have in the WWE. Many are appalled by it, and it goes beyond the realms of wrestling, or entertaining the fans. But are we over exaggerating? - I think not. The moment that IC Title was unified, I was sick. It's nothing short of criminal what you did to that title, and I am tired of it. I was a supporter of the brand extension, and felt it was the "right thing to do.." as you probably did too. It's clear that it hasn't helped the ratings, but maybe it's helped to slice the apathy that was growing in the locker rooms. At least, with the extension, everyone got to wrestle at some point, right? But, why oh why, has the IC Title gone. Why has Brock's achievement at Summerslam become a distant memory, and why is his title now around the waist, no sorry, the shoulder of the Big Show?. There should not be 2 World Titles. I am going to continue to perceive the title that is now in the hands of Shawn Michaels as the 2nd-tier title. After all, it is the IC Title. What has Shawn Michaels got, that RVD, Booker T, Kane, and Jericho haven't. Why couldn't you at least done the one decent thing and jobbed the damn title to someone else, instead of crapping on these wrestlers week in, and week out. Remember, back in 1999, when Steve Austin didn't want to drop the title to you, because he felt you "wasn't ready for it..". Remember that? - What happened instead, he jobbed the title to Mick Foley, and Mick jobbed it to you. Truth was, you wasn't ready. You were far from ready. RVD is ready. You said it yourself, "you feel comfortable with Rob in the ring.." - so why isn't he ready. How many more times are you going to go over Kane. To be truthful, I'm not a fan of Kane, but still, he's only had one run with it, and it wasn’t even long enough to keep the belt warm. Booker T, what's wrong with him. That belt you were wearing around your waist, he won the damn thing 5 times! - Someone must have had faith in him. ..and last, but not least, Mr. Jericho. How many times have you put this man over? None. You'll never put him over for one reason or the other. For the first half of the year, I've hated Jericho's heel character. But he's been working damn hard. On the way, he lost the Undisputed Title, and even jobbed to many wrestlers, including Ric Flair, but I think now he's coming into his "own". I think his heel character is 10x more entertaining than yours, but still, you don't think he's worthy enough.. Now we're all supposed to feel sorry for you because you got injured in the Chamber match. I have nothing more than admiration for someone who could have been very seriously in danger of their life, and would continue to wrestle. Though why does everyone feel it may have been a good thing? It's time to put up, or shut up. The WWE can survive without Hunter Heart Helmsley, but can Triple H survive without the WWE and it's fans? - Your going to find out, one day. High Impact Wrestling – Come get some... Gimmicks Die Hard – Missed a column, find it here.. ……and that my Friend’s concludes another edition of GDH on LOP. Thanks for Reading... and Remember you don't always need a Gimmick Tom Guzik & "GDH" © 2002 Exclusive to LordsofPain.net tommyboygdh@hotmail.com
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