Take up thy wrestling boots and walk - Back and Forth
    Submitted by Pt2 on Saturday, May 15, 2004 at 6:13 AM EST

    Welcome one more time to the column that’s more successful than the major hopes of British Tennis, Take up thy wrestling boots and walk. I’m your host, Pt2, and no I’m not a Tennis fan, so don’t ask why I picked that intro. But trust me - I’ve used worse.

    Seems to be that we’re in a bit of a newsworthy time right now. We’re just around the corner from Judgment day, and the number one contender, John Bradshaw Layfield, decides to lash out at the Net in his column. TNA sign a TV deal. Maven’s possible return. Rumours of Konnan to WWE (that’ll work, right?). Grandmaster Sexay’s release from the WWE again, and the ensuing havoc as people race to try and get to don’t give a shitsville before anyone else. Rumours of Booker T as Papa Shango, and I’m still laughing as I type that. Hands up who thinks thats been put around to try and prove that people will believe anything, then. Rumours about the Ultimate Warrior calling TNA to appear....

    May I remind you that this is the week before the PPV, and that most of the “news” up there is rumours, and not about the PPV? I’m not really sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I’m kind of thinking, that’s good, they are stopping the news from coming out as easily and some semblance of surprise could be returning to wrestling (I don’t read spoilers generally, but a large percentage of the audience reading them can be damaging). But why have they managed to do that NOW? Why before “Judgment day” of all PPV’s, to crackdown? The only other alternative is one that I don’t really like to think of. That they haven’t managed to close the gaps, and Judgment day really has nothing about it now, or nothing that occurs on it, is likely to be newsworthy. And that’s depressing.

    Think about it; Before Wrestlemania, we heard rumours of the Trish heel turn, Bret Hart appearing (as we do for EVERY event of that magnitude - or in Canada), Benoit winning, Benoit losing and winning the title in Edmonton, RVD being bumped from Mania for the second year running and all sorts of other claims, credible and bullshit. They didn’t all happen, but if there are rumours about, then people are talking about it, and thinking about it. We haven’t heard anything really about the Judgment day PPV, not even in comparison with Backlash, a PPV that traditionally suffers in the Post Wrestlemania boom.

    The only thing I can really take from this is that people really don’t care about what is going to happen this Sunday. While most people seem to like this new Bradshaw character, and he says that he’s in the best shape of his career, people don’t buy him as a title contender. He’s suffering from early push syndrome - Randy Orton did, and it took months as the Intercontinental champion for him to really be taken seriously. Now, the man who will be the future of the WWE is given a lot of respect by fans, and apparently by his colleagues. Bradshaw’s character is good; Very good in fact. It’s the most entertaining I’ve ever seen him. But in reality people aren’t buying it; His attempt to get some cheap heat in his column seems to have worked to a degree; that’s really all I believe it is, a desperate attempt to get some attention; but I don’t think it’ll work to the degree needed.

    Both he and Guerrero will have to carry a card that isn’t much stronger, either. With matches like Torrie vs. Dawn, Haas and Rico vs. Bob Holly and Billy Gunn and the gimmick of Chavo wrestling with one hand tied behind his back against a Woman, it isn’t really surprising that the Smackdown morale is apparently low, and people are worried about the buy rate. I’ve been on cards stronger than that and still seen my colleagues hang their heads and laugh at the booking. And I’ll tell you why.

    Torrie and Dawn, as lovely as they are, are not wrestlers; They are valets. If you want them to wrestle, they should train with the fast improving ladies on RAW and join the Womens division, simple as that.

    Haas and Rico have provided some entertainment on Smackdown, but where the hell do Bob Holly and Billy Gunn become tag title contenders? It seems like these guys have teamed with everybody at some point. Holly was part of the new midnight express with Gunn’s “Brother”, Bart, remember? and they didn’t get too far, except for a few wins over the Rock n’ Roll express for about 5-6 weeks before.... disappearing. Again. But I digress. They’ve been rushed into a title shot. If you want to build them up and have them on the card, by all means, a non title match - which Haas and Rico could lose, and THEN you have a sensible title match. I seem to remember that you needed to win matches to be a number one contender? Sorry, how archaic of me.

    Cena and Dupree. Well, it isn’t the most solid feud I’ve ever seen. But it’s one of the better built up matches on the card. So, credit where it’s due there - At least Eddie and John ain’t alone here.

    Jackie and Chavo is a different one. Jackie is certainly tough, there is no denying that, and she wants to start wrestling men; It seems to WWE has agreed to that. But they can’t half-ass it. They either don’t have her wrestling men, or they follow the line of the FWA with Nikita and have her wrestle them as equals. This whole thing with Chavo with a hand behind is back reeks of bullshit to me. Not only will it detract from the quality of the match (and if you don’t believe me, try and have a wrestling match with one hand behind your back) , it makes it look like the first win was a fluke, and means Jackie won’t be taken seriously until she gets a win over a two handed Chavo - if she never gets the win again, she’ll never be taken seriously. If they were to have a straight one on one match, then we would be looking at some respect given to Jackie - especially in the event of a victory.

    I’ve said before about how the ladies have to work doubly hard in the ring to get ANY respect in this business, and they can’t slack off. Nikita, here in the UK, has earned that respect. At the time, Chyna had a lot, though apparently it seems to disparate the longer she is off TV and the more rumours come out. Jackie could get it - but the other two got it by being treated as equal to the men, and she needs the same.

    I hope this weeks PPV is not going to be all negative. Eddie and Bradshaw should be good, if it goes 20-25 minutes, regardless of the lack of interest. Is Bradshaw horrible in the ring? Well, he’s certainly no Thunder Liger, but he seems like he has something to prove here - and that can only be good, because I do believe he’ll give it his all. Haas and Rico are great wrestlers, and there is no denying Billy Gunns great aptitude for tag wrestling. Cena and Dupree both know how to work the crowd - a feature familiar to names like Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash - Not always the greatest, but they got a reaction. There could be something to watch - I’m just disturbed about how a PPV, with a champion as popular as Eddie Guerrero, can receive so little attention.

    Anyway, time for some quick predictions:

    -World Wrestling Entertainment Championship: "Latino Heat" Eddie Guerrero (Champion) vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield: Eddie Guerrero. But I wouldn’t be surprised for this Bradshaw character was to stick around and have another shot after a little more establishment.

    -World Wrestling Entertainment United States Championship: John Cena (Champion) vs. Rene Dupree: I think it would be a mistake to take the title of Cena here, so I’ll take John Cena .

    -World Wrestling Entertainment Tag Team Championship: Rico & Charlie Haas (Champions, with Miss Jackie) vs. Hardcore Holly & "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn: Rico and Charlie Haas. I don’t think they want to can their segments yet, so I’ll take them over the short term order.

    -World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship: Jacqueline (Champion) vs. Chavo Guerrero (with Chavo Classic): Jacqueline. It’s just set up for her to win, so I’ll take it. either that, or Chavo trickery... I’ll stick with Jackie.

    -The Undertaker vs. Booker T: Undertaker

    -Rob Van Dam & Rey Mysterio vs. The Dudley Boyz (with Paul Heyman): Dudley Boys

    -Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie: Torrie Wilson

    That’ll wrap it up for this one. Good luck to the WWE and the Smackdown talent going into the PPV this weekend.

    I’d like to congratulate my boys at Aston Villa football club on a fantastic season. Their final game, at Home for Manchester United, is this Saturday, and a win will guarantee a place in the UEFA cup next season. It’s been a great year for David O’Leary’s barmy army, and they deserve everything that they’ve gotten this season. Well done lads!

    All feedback is appreciated. I make every effort to reply to any E-mails sent. You can get in touch with me here; Take up thy wrestling boots and walk.

    Have a good week, see you next Saturday.

    Pt2.




    WOW! Candice Soaks Herself in Beer with Her New Look!

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