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It's been nearly 8 years to the day that I first logged onto Lordsofpain.net. I had been a long time wrestling fan, but it was late 2002 before I discovered the IWC. Upon thoroughly reading just about everything on the site, there was a column that quickly became a favorite, weekly read: Davey Boy's Wrestling Menu. For years on end, it was a part of my weekly Wednesday routine to head over to LOP and read that column. It is one of the main reasons why I decided to give column writing a try, so I thought I'd pay tribute to it with my own little version of the "Menu." It's not the original nor is it intended to be, but here we go... APPETIZER - Heh, TNA... About this time a year ago, the wrestling world was abuzz over Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff taking TNA Wrestling head-to-head with Monday Night Raw. It was a bold move. Hogan had delusions of grandeur, predicting a 3.0 rating for a show that had never gotten better than a 1.3 rating on a night completely unopposed by another wrestling promotion. WWE - knowingly or unknowingly - decided to bring back Bret Hart for his first Raw appearance in 12+ years on that same night. I was excited about the potential for a new Monday Night War. I tuned into both shows that night, flipping back and forth just like in the old days. Yet, in the weeks that followed, TNA showed that they were incapable of producing a television product that could be anything other than laughed at, much less compete with the WWE. They quickly bowed out of the "War" and TNA has fallen right back into obscurity. No one cares. Hulk Hogan has, subsequently, ruined his shot at ever being relevant in the industry again. It's sad, really. Everyone in the business was really excited about the potential for some competition again. Unfortunately, those in power at TNA seem to think that the stuff that didn't work in the dying days of WCW should work today. Once upon a time, TNA offered something different. They offered a show that focused on basic stories and the in-ring product. They tried to be different. By bringing in two guys that helped lose the Monday Night War for WCW, TNA has guaranteed that - until those guys are gone - their product will be sports entertainment and nothing more. The WWE owns that genre. My hope in 2011 is that TNA cuts their losses and moves back toward being a real alternative instead of a cheap looking knock off. Main Course – SUPERMAN VS. STREAK: Why John Cena vs. Undertaker Should Main-Event Wrestlemania 27 Wrestlemania has had some classic matches during its over two and a half decade existence. Once in a while, it has featured titans of the wrestling industry that have somehow managed to evade facing each other (be it by brand, company, or push) in a match going to toe-to-toe in what many fans called “Dream Matches.” Most every potential match of dreams has already been done using the crop of main-event players that have been around for four years or longer. There’s one exception: John Cena vs. The Undertaker. Undertaker characterizes a wrestling institution, having wrestled in the WWE as a top talent for twenty years, amassing a much hyped 18-0 record at the Show of Shows. His “Streak” has become a de-facto third main-event every year (if they didn’t combine it with another) and, as such, is one of the top draws on the card. John Cena, in the last six years, has joined him on the marquee, often eclipsing him with his considerably more mainstream star power. Cena is “The Man” in this current generation, for he’s the face of the company and the man Raw is built around. So, is it not a dream match scenario to put Cena against the (dead)man that Smackdown is built around. One or the other has been on last at Wrestlemania in four of the last five years. They don’t need any more reasons…this year it’s time for a dream match between Cena and Undertaker. Amidst declining buyrates for each of the last three Wrestlemanias, Cena vs. Taker is the kind of match that could buy them another year of prepping new stars to that level. Sure, they have faced each other before, but that was back when we didn’t even know, yet, what we had in Cena. He was the US champion nine months away from his first WWE Championship; it was the main-event of Smackdown. Cena has emerged as the guy they’ll name an “Era” about…and for all that Taker has done and as famous as his record has become in pro-wrestling lure, he will never nor has he ever had an “Era” named after him. Always a top tier player but never THE top guy, Taker is only superior to Cena at Wrestlemania. Imagine an atmosphere where two guys of that caliber go one-on-one. I get chills just thinking about the possibility… Critics have suggested that the WWE cannot pull off such a match, fearing that a win for one would damage the credibility or drawing power of the other. I say ridiculous to that. This transition period that we’re in the midst of from one group of top guys to another will make Wrestlemania 27 a launching pad for the careers of quite a few guys who could main-event Wrestlemania and start creating the buzz for future dream matches, but let Cena vs. Taker be the bait that lures in the viewers that will one day conjure up fantasy scenarios using the young talents on the brink. Cena vs. Taker is what we’ve EARNED by watching the two commit themselves to excellence over the years. It is the epitome of a Wrestlemania match; Mania was made for matches like Cena vs. Taker. I will be live in attendance this year and I honestly can tell you that the experience of being at a Wrestlemania is like nothing else, so I really do not care what the card ends up featuring. However, I can also tell you that when I sleep at night and the occasional Mania 27 perfect scenario plays out in my subconscious, there’s one amazing scenario that supersedes all else…a card with Cena vs. Undertaker as the main-event. Cena vs. Randy Orton, The Miz vs. Orton or Cena, and other matches that would be good choices for the show-closing match all would be just fine with me, but Cena vs. Taker is THE match that would make the whole experience of my 3rd Mania ten times better than anything else. This probably isn’t the last chance we’ll get for this match at Mania. Taker always hints at retiring, but you gotta think that 20-0 would be his ideal last match. He’s got to get to next year to get that, so Cena could be his 20th victory to cap his career. I just don’t believe that it could ever be quite as big or timed quite so well as it would be to do it this year. Waiting is a risk…and imagine how much better Cena vs. Miz would be if they waited until Miz was 15-months established a legitimate threat to spoiling Cena’s latest title aspiration. Taker is aging and wearing down and it has shown a lot in the last 18 months. HBK vs. Taker in 2009 might well have been the climax of Taker’s physical prowess. Waiting another year wouldn’t change the atmosphere, but it takes away the classic athletic contest aspect that would make it the crème de la crème in Mania history. You also have to think that Cena is about to reach his peak, having been on top for as long as he has. Remember when Hogan was going strong at Wrestlemania VII, but by the next year he was losing steam at an alarming rate? That could happen to Cena in the not too distant future. I want to sit here writing columns ten years from now and talk to you about what it was like that night that we saw Undertaker vs. John Cena. What was it the intro to Mania 26 said? “Place, Opponent, Universe” as being necessary for that ultimate Wrestlemania moment? Atlanta, GA is the perfect place, Taker and Cena are each other’s perfect opponents, and the WWE Universe will provide an atmosphere like few you’ll ever see. DESSERT: Brock Lesnar, Wrestling Could Sure Use You, Right Now... I don't know much about Mixed Martial Arts and I'm not going to pretend to. What I do know is that Brock Lesnar is the top star in the biggest MMA company in the world and that MMA is more popular now than it ever has been before. Part of what makes Lesnar so perfect for that company is that he's looked at as an outsider. Because of his WWE track record (I assume), he was launched to the top of the fight rankings and given a monster "push" (so to speak). It makes him a perfect guy to hate in that industry because he didn't have to work as hard to earn his spot. To me, though, it doesn't really matter how he got there...once he was there, he really did well for himself. They banked on him and he justified it. Subsequently, Brock Lesnar is a bigger star now than he ever was in the WWE, largely because MMA is a more socially accepted sport featured on ESPN segments. I think it's time he gave back to the industry that made him into the kind of guy that Dana White would take a risk on. Wrestling could really use Lesnar's star power this year at Wrestlemania. It's not likely that Dana White, though, will allow that to happen. I, personally, think that's pretty laughable considering that over a decade ago, MMA was the red-headed step child of the fighting industry and was sending some of its talent to the WWE to try and mainstream it. The WWE and UFC helped each other back then when MMA needed it. Wrestling may not necessarily need UFC's help now, but it sure as hell couldn't hurt. Lesnar is at the height of his star power right now, arguably, and his presence at Wrestlemania would go a long way toward giving the WWE a little mainstream credibility boost. ------------------------------------------------------ The Road to Wrestlemania Begins on Sunday
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