AGHHHHHH Finals I hate them!!!! So anyway how is everyone doing out there in Internet land? You know I've always wondered if anyone is out there reading this naked because I'm writing it naked...that was a joke by the way. Alright I have A LOT to catch up on so there is no time like the present (hehe no pun intended...get it cause Christmas was Tuesday and you get presents and....nevermind)

Table Of Contents
I. Short Comments On Debatable Issues
A. Jericho Is Undisputed Champ
B. Austin Vs Booker
C. Royal Rumble
D. Triple H Coming Back
E. Jerry Lawler You Suck
F. Low Blow To The Hardyz
G. A Wish Comes True….kind of
II. Keeping An Eye Open
III. Question Of The Week
IV. DVD Review - PRIDE New Blood
VI. My Wrestling Wish List
VII. Closing Comments

Jericho Is Undisputed Champ

Going into Vengeance all signs pointed to Jericho coming out of the PPV as the Undisputed Champion. Although it was setup this way I didn't believe he was actually going to win the title until the ref's hand hit the mat for the 3. All I have to say is congratulations Jericho because you deserve it. He put up with the non-existent elevation process in WCW, and being pushed in the WWF only to be sent back down to mid-card level. It looks like Jericho has finally found his spot, and he could join the elite club of main eventers in the WWF. Don't be mistaken about his main event staus just because of the fact he is Undisputed Champion. Being the champ doesn't mean you're a main eventer. After he looses the title will be the real test. Does he go back down to fighting mid-card matches, or will he continue to fight with the big dogs. I really like Jericho's style so I hope he is able to stay on top for a while.

Austin Vs Booker

When I saw that the WWF was going in the direction of a Booker Vs Stone Cold feud it had that familiar stench of the failed Rikishi Vs Stone Cold feud all over it. Then I witnessed the incident at the Green Frog Grocery Store, and I came to the conclusion that this was something different; this feud actually has a chance of being damn good. Not only was the grocery store scene one of the best non-wrestling moments of 2001, but also it had me rolling on the damn floor. Then the next week the two take it to a church, and credit Vince McMahon for them not actually fighting inside the place of worship, but just running. Vince you have no idea what kind of tragedy you averted, but doing that. So many people would be on your ass you'd need 10 ply to wipe em off. We all know that both Booker and Austin can put on some damn fine matches so it's only right that they wrestle each other. The only real problem I have with it is the UNNECESSARY return of the Big Boss Man. Yes the man from Cobb County Georgia is back and worse than he was before. This is only going to take away from the feud and not add any fuel to it whatsoever!

Royal Rumble

WOOOOOO My tickets arrived in the mail on Christmas Eve, and I just can't wait. I always love to watch the Royal Rumble, and now I'm going to be there. Unfortunately I'm not rich so I couldn't afford the $300 ringside tickets, but I was able to snag the $100 tickets that are still on the floor, but not ringside. Hopefully people will forget to take their Royal Rumble chairs with them and I can snag a few extra (for the turtle ;-) ) Now a lot of things look like they will go down before the rumble i.e. the roster splits and the return of HHH. I have no idea on what bearing these things will have on the card for the Royal Rumble, but as of now it looks like the Battle Royal itself could have many the main eventer in it. Everyone knows that a mid-carder is not going to win the Royal Rumble because Vince is not going to take the chance in putting him or her in the main event for the largest PPV of the year. So basically what it comes down to is either HHH or Rock. Austin will more than likely have a match with Booker at the PPV, and Jericho Vs RVD seems like a very strong possibility. The WWF is probably going to go with HHH, but like I said there are many weeks left for a whole bunch of stuff to change. The reason I wrote this is so I would have something to go back to when everything does that 180 from where we are today.

Triple H Coming Back

So now we have a date for the return of The Game. Never have I seen the WWF actually hype the return of a wrestler who has been gone for many months well I guess they did something like that for Steve Austin, but they never really gave a date like they have here. Of course it was done for the ratings, but it just seems very odd to me. It takes away that whole surprise factor that HHH could come out at anytime. It looks like they might pull an in-between angle with HHH. We won't know whose side he is on, and he will just go alone for a while. Also it looks like finally a divorce between Stephanie & HHH could be in the works. In order for HHH to be a successful face (which is what the WWF wants him to be when he comes back) he has to dump the braud (as Classie Freddie Blassie would say) It's going to be hard for HHH to return to the level he was at when he left, but I think he might be able to do it. He has more drive and determination in him than anyone so if he works at it hard enough he can do it. I'll be looking forward to January 7th to see what goes down, and I'm sure all of you will be too!

Jerry Lawler You Suck

You know that old saying "You don't know what you have until it's gone" Well I didn't realize how shitty Jerry Lawler was until Paul Heyman left. Seriously "The King" does not talk about the matches at all. He is too busy running his damn mouth about useless garbage and trying to make one-liners that aren't funny. Heyman actually tried to get you emotionally involved into the match, and was able to add humor WHILE talking about the match at the same time….wow what a novel idea! It's obvious that the chemistry between Lawler & Ross is unmatched, but the quality is just so damn terrible. I really believe that Heyman brings out the best in Ross because really they are splitting the load. When Lawler is out there it's up to Ross to convey to the fans what is going on in the match because "The King" is too busy talking about how he can see the nipples poking through Terri's shirt. Jerry Lawler you suck!!

A Low Blow To The Hardyz

From many reports on the net from reliable reporters it seems as if the Hardy Boyz are now in the "WWF Doghouse" Basically what this means is that we are not going to be seeing either of the Boyz on TV for a little while. Evidentially the office was pissed off that Matt & Jeff had a ground style match at Vengeance instead of a high flying. For this I give a big KISS MY ASS to Vince McMahon. Both of these guys bust their ass for you flying off of everything in sight and busting their bodies up. All they want to do is take it easy for one match, and give the fans something different. They don't deserve to be punished for that crap. Supposedly Jeff Hardy has been coming in late to shows in order to get some time off. Hey I don't blame him because the WWF works both him and his brother's ass off. I hope we haven't seen the end of the Hardy Boyz in the WWF, but it is a possibility.

A Wish Come True...Kind Of

Since I have been writing this column, even at the Phat Pharm, I have made number 9 on my Wrestling Wish List the same thing every week. That of course was that I would like to see the return of Shawn Michaels. Well I suppose I got what I wished for because HBK was on Excess two weeks ago. First off let me say that it was great to see him back on WWF television. However to me it seems that he deserves more than a lousy interview by the Coach and Trish Stratus on a crappy late night TV show that no one watches. This man is the one who kept the company alive, and if it wasn't for him the WWF probably wouldn't be around, or at least a McMahon owned WWF. Anyway I was quite saddened by what I heard from HBK. It seems that he has lost all his drive to wrestle. He really is content sitting at home and taking care of his family. Now I know this is sounding selfish, but I really want him to come back and wrestle even if it was just one more match. However it doesn't seem like that will happen ever. It was really sad to see someone who loved the business more than anyone while he was active turn into someone who just didn't care anymore. Well I think it's time to take number 9 on my wrestling wish list and just put it on hold indefinitely. It may come back one day, but for now I'm going to have to put it on the shelf.

Keeping An Eye Open
Keep an eye open for these things in wrestling this week

1. The 3 hour special Raw (best of 2001) this Monday
2. What match is voted best of the year by the fans?
3. What kind of craziness the Big Boss Man stirs up this week
4. Matches signed for Royal Rumble
5. WWF tries to start something with the tag division
6. Contract talks to start with wrestlers whose Time Warner contracts end on New Years Eve
7. Undertaker & Big Show to start a 2-year late feud
8. Stephanie to keep pleading her case to come back
9. If the WWF has a cool Happy New Years graphic like they did for Christmas J

Question Of The Week

My last question of the week I asked everyone What would you do with HHH when he comes back? I got A LOT of replies and I mean A LOT!! Lets see what some of you had in mind for The Games return.

Josh Wright Wrote: (hehe)

I was thinking of doing something with HHH involving Booker T stealing Austin's truck. Booker T could be with HHH and then HHH could destroy Austin's truck, much like Austin did with the DX bus a couple years ago. That's my only idea, I thought that it should have happened on Smackdown!, but I gues we'll never know why Booker T stole Austin's truck. Actually, we'll probably find out in a few weeks when the writers remember that they had Booker T steal it on TV.

Brian Levick Wrote:

If the WWF has any sense, and wants to make a believable angle they need to have him feud with Jericho. That is if he is going to be a face, because they could say it was Jericho who injured him in his last match. If hes a face the obvious feud is with Austin for his trash talking when he got hurt. Eitherway it will be an unbelievable day when he finally returns to action.

Mat Wrote:

if i was booking HHH's return i'd have him return as a heel and cost Austin the Unification match to Jericho. Jericho gets raised to main event level by defeating both the Rock and Austin in one night, Rock and Jericho feud until WrestleMania as do HHH and Austin. Both Austin and HHH enter the Royal Rumble and HHH wins. The Main Event for Mania is set, as Jericho vs. HHH. On the Smackdown 2 weeks before Mania, Austin faces Jericho and wins the title, now with the Main Event set as Austin vs. HHH, Flair comes out on the following Raw and shows footage from Mania X-7 of Austin screwing the Rock, Flair then announces that since Vince and Austin screwed the Rock the year prior, Rock is now in the Main Event and it is set as Austin vs. HHH vs. Rock. Now we have a Main Event at Wrestlemania that has a hell of a backstory! We go onto WM where Rock takes home the gold (HHH is my favorite, but hey, the other 2 guys have had a win at Wrestlemania, give it to Rocky).


This weeks Question Of The Week is a bit different. Next week will be my 2001 review issue. I of course will be doing my picks for the usual Match Of The Year, Wrestler Of The Year, etc however I want to do something different. Email me with categories that you think I should use. Give me something creative, and if I like it then I will use it. I want my awards to have a bit of a different twist to them so come one gimme some good ones. They don't have to be funny awards, but they don't have to be serious so just come up with something good and email me at NYYanks24@mediaone.net mmhmm thanks

DVD Review - Pride FC New Blood

Well it's that time once again for another DVD review. A lot of people really liked how I did the last Pride DVD review so I think I will go ahead and do the same thing for this one. Based on what I know about each fighter I will make a prediction then comment on the match. Fair enough? Yeah well even if it wasn't I'd still do it so there….

The DVD starts off with a run down of each fighter that we are going to be seeing during this DVD. Very well done little movie with some pretty cool music in the background. The setting for this event is the Rainbow Hall in Nagoya Japan. Our commentator is Stephen Quadros and he lets us know that we are going to be seeing some awesome action. Every fight is going to have two 10-minute rounds then it will go to judge's decision. We are shown a little video Montage of both Heath Herring & Willie Peters training and we go to the match.

Pre-Fight Prediction

Every time I've seen Herring he is kicking someone's ass. I don't expect this one to be much different so there ya go Heath Herring is my pick.

The Fight

About 5 seconds into the match Heath Herring jumps on Willie Peters back and chokes him out. Peters only found out about the fight 5 days before so I guess he has an excuse. Looks like my streak continues.

Tra Telligman Vs Carlos Barreto

Pre-Fight Prediction

I never want to bet against a Brazilian, but I'm having some second thoughts for this fight. I'm not too familiar with either man, but what the hell I'm going with the Brazilian Carlos Barreto.

The Fight

The fight starts out with them basically dancing around each other until Telligman is able to take Barreto down with the good ol' single leg. Then both guys get back on their feet and try jocking for position in a collar and elbow tie-up while trading knees to the legs. After more standup fighting they finally get back down to the ground and no one really has the distinct advantage. The bell rings and that is the end of round one. The next round starts up and after a HUGE knee to the head of Telligman they go back to fighting on the ground. Barreto just starts pounding on the back of Telligmans head and somehow Telligman is able to stand them back up just to go back to the ground, and then back to their feet. After a few more exchanges from the ground to their feet both men looked gassed, and this fight could be over soon. Both men neutralized each other until the bell rang to end the second round. It goes to the judge's decision and they pick Carlos Barreto. Very good fight that had a lot of strategy involved. Like I said never bet against the Brazilian

Vernon "Tiger" White Vs Alan Goes

Pre-Fight Prediction

Uh oh we got another Brazilian in Alan goes for this match. I'm going to go with the Brazilian like always so lets so where it gets me

The Fight

After trading a few shots standing up they go down to the ground in the half-mount position. Both men trade shots on the ground while trying to get some kind of hold on their opponent. Finally after 5 minutes of being tied up on the ground Goes gets White in the full mount position and just starts pounding on his ribs. Just like the last fight they work their way up to their feet, and then tumble back down to the ground. The bell rings and it's the end of round 1. So far there hasn't been that much action in this match. Hopefully they can pick up the pace for round 2. We go back to where the last round ended and that is on the ground. Finally toward the end of the round some action took place as Goes just started pounding on Vernon's face. It goes to the judges now so lets see what happens. The judges give Alan Goes the victory. Wow two judges decisions in a row. Too bad this fight wasn't half as good as the last one.

Carlos Newton Vs Naoki Sano

Pre-Fight Prediction

I've seen a lot of Carlos Newton, and he is a very good fighter. I can't say I am familiar with Sano so based on what I know I'm going with Newton.

The Fight

Well after 35 seconds Carlos Newton locked in the arm bar and got the tap out. That was a quick one.

Akira Shoji Vs John Renken

Pre-Fight Prediction

I've seen some of Shoji in the past and his punches could knock out an elephant. Renken looks like one crazy dude, but I don't think he will be any match for Shoji.

The Fight

Renken gets in some killer blows to start the fight, but as per the theme tonight Shoji takes Renken to the mat. Renken rolled out of the side mount and they are back to their feet. That looked pretty damn cool actually! Somehow Shoji grabbed Renken by the leg and flipped over him landing in a half-mount position. Now that was even cooler than that rollout from before. After a few more minutes of rolling around on the mat Shoji locks in the arm bar and gets the tap from Renken. I'm surprised to see Shoji get the submission instead of the knockout, but it was a good fight nonetheless.

Gary Goodridge Vs Rico Rodriguez

Pre-Fight Prediction

Rico is a pretty boy and Goodridge is a scary mother….shut yo mouth. Seriously Goodridge is gonna kill this poor boy.

The Fight

Wow they are actually standing and trading blows. Both guys are actually being very cautious at the moment, but I expect some explosives soon. Down they go to the ground striking each other. The ref stops the fight temporarily after Rico punched Goodridge directly in the groin. Rico is given a caution which is kind of a technical foul. After 3 you are dq'd. It didn't seem intentional so everything should be cool. Time is called back and the fight starts again. They square off standing up again and Rico slams Goodridge to the mat in the full mount. It could have been trouble for Goodridge but the bell rings and ends the round. The second round open and they go down to the ground. Rico just starts nailing Gary in the full mount and it looks like it could be over soon. They continue to fight on the ground for a few more minutes basically just trading blows some more. The bell rings for the end of the second round and it seems that Rico is going to get the judges decision. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO the judge's decision has come and my streak is over! Rico wins with judge's decision. I guess I had this kid all wrong because he definitely gave it to Goodridge. Not an exciting fight, but it was fun to watch. Time to start a new streak.

Igor Vovhanchyn Vs Daijiro Matsui

Pre-Fight Prediction

I've seen plenty of Igor, and I know he has what it takes to beat anyone. I haven't seen much of Matsui, but I know he is dangerous. I'll have to take Igor though so lets just see.

The Fight

Igor starts the fight out quickly with a backmount and just starts pounding on Matsui. The ref calls for a reset because they were getting to close to the edge of the ring in their ground grapple. They are set in the same position but in the middle of the ring. Yeah it's kind of weird, but it's better than them rolling out of the ring and getting seriously hurt. Igor lands a huge blow to the head of Matsui and busts him open. The ref call for time to see if Matsui's corner can stop the bleeding. Matsui doesn't want to quit and in a gutsy move by Matsui he gets down in his hands and knees for Igor. Igor takes advantage and continues to punish Matsui. Gutsy move by Matsui, but really stupid. Matsui starts to bleed even more so the ref stops the fight and Matsui gets really pissed. Seriously Matsui was getting his ass kicked and the blood was just too much. Good call by the ref, and my new streak begins!

Gilbert Yvel Vs Vitor Belfort

Pre-Fight Prediction

I've seen both men fight a lot and they are both very good fighters. Belfort has some of the fastest hands in MMA and add that to the fact that he is Brazilian I pick him.

The Fight

Belfort takes Yvel down hard right away and begins to pound on his ribs. Belfort pounds on him some more until Yvel gets busted open. The ref doesn't stand them up though and they continue to pound on each other. More minutes pass by and not much of anything is really happening. I have to say thus far I am disappointed in this fight. The bell rings and that's the end of round 1. Hopefully Round 2 can deliver a lot more than this one did. Back to the ground they both go and it's not getting any better. Now don't get me wrong I really like when the fighters go to the mat and FIGHT, but I really don't like when they go to the mat and do nothing. They aren't just lying there, but not much is being done. The bell rings and the 2nd round is over. The judge's decision comes in and Vitor Belfort wins the fight decisively. Yvel really had no offense in this match, and Belfort took him out.

DVD Extras

Highlights

This is a very well put together video montage of all the fights that are on this DVD. Basically they show key moments and big hits in each fight. Not a great extra, but a pretty neat bonus.

History of PRIDE

Now this is what enhances the DVD's value greatly in my opinion. If you have never seen a PRIDE event in your life then definitely watch this feature first. It's a good 15 minutes telling you about the history of PRIDE and giving you more of an insight of what it is. A great feature and enhances the value of this DVD. Even though it's on all of the PRIDE DVD's it's still a good one.

The Final Verdict

Although the main event disappointed overall this DVD was pretty good. I wouldn't say that there was a really must see fight on here, but they were definitely worth watching. If you like Mixed Martial Arts then give this DVD a try. The History of Pride feature is good for all the newcomers to the sport. The total length of the DVD is about 3 hours, and I must say that I was entertained. So like I said give it a shot.

My Wrestling Wish List
Here is my list of things I wish happen in the WWF

1. Big Poppa Pump is signed by the WWF
2. Jericho holds onto the title for a while
3. HHH & Steph breakup (on TV)
4. Mae Young is never on WWF TV again!!!!
5. Austin & Booker's feud lasts a long time and not just a couple of weeks
6. WWF does something with the tag division
7. Paul Heyman goes to back to being commentator
8. Royal Rumble is booked smart
9. **Rings Bell 10 Times For The Temporary Retirement Of The Shawn Michaels Wish**

**********

Another column in the books. I hope all of you had a great holiday, and I wish everyone a happy new year. Don't forget to send me your idea's for year-end awards that I can give out next week. My email is NYYanks24@mediaone.net and my AOL Instant Messenger name is VinnyMac24. Well that's all I have to say mmhmm.


~"That's just my opinion I could be wrong" - Dennis Miller~