Top 10 Moments of Raw That Are NEVER Mentioned! (Written By: Maurice D. Proffit)

******Top 10 moments of raw never mentioned******

From all areas of media, whether it’s the internet, phone calls, TV ads, text messages, email alerts, smoke signals, messages in a bottle, Morse Code, WWE has taken the liberty to make sure that all walks of life are aware of the 1000^th episode of Monday Night Raw that is happening on July 23^rd 2012, live from St. Louis, Missouri. Taking nothing away from this crowning achievement, because this is an accomplishment that is rarely seen in today televisions standards. Gone are the days when a family sitcom can average about 8-10 years on television. Now shows are struggling to have 10 episodes filmed for them. But above all of the episodes of M*A*S*H, The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Seinfeld, we see the most unlikely underdog grab that heavyweight crown and we are reminded (or grinded with) that Monday night Raw is the longest weekly episodic television program in TV history and continue they shall.

This “fake” stuff actually works, huh?

Raw has provided us with some unbelievable viewing. Television that made those Tuesday morning talks with your buddies on the bus or Tuesday water cooler talk at the office about the happenings that took place the night before on Raw.

So….about that Katie Vick segment from last night….

Whether it be a solid IC title match between The Rock and Triple H. Or an interview that Mankind delivered. Or even a Diva Segment that held our attention. And could be seeing an actually title change occur on live TV. The smorgasbord of happenings was endless and Raw never failed (for the most part) in giving us something memorable.

*Sniff* I swear…I’ll never forget this episode of Raw. *Sniff*Sniff*

Leading up to this 1000^th episode of Raw, we have been seeing some great Raw Moments in its history. Whenever I see the visual bumper for it, I always get Goosebumps in me, knowing that I’m about to indulge in some nostalgic goodness. But what tires me is that whenever they do these “Raw Flashback”…I GET THE SAME THING! Not taking anything away from the moments we have all shared together, but sometimes, the WWE wants to act as if Raw did not exist before 1998. With the exception of showing the quick highlight clips of the inaugural episode and the infamous “1-2-3 kid upset”, between Jan 11^th 1993 and January 19^th 1998, the WWE forgets that Raw was even on the air because we never get any highlights during that 5 year span. And not only that, many moments get over looked beyond that 5 year span.

1993-1998??? Bitch Please!!!

When WWE gives us our “Raw Moment of the Week”, I got $20 that says that we are going to see one of the following:

–McMahon in the hospital, Austin attacks him

-the Austin Beer truck before wm 15

-something involving the 200 guest hosts that they had

-John Cena coming to Raw per the draft

-Mike Tyson/Stone Cold Scuffle the night after the 1998 Royal Rumble.

But what about those key moments that NEVER get mentioned. I at times hold on to a sliver of hope, hoping that one day, one of these will be mentioned and/or highlighted on a broadcast of Monday Night Raw.

Lets see what treasures are beyond…

10.) Howard Finkel vs Harvey Wimpleman in a tuxedo match.  (January 10^th 1994)

Yeah, lets just get this one out the way.
(Thank the lord none of them wear a thong)

This has been an slow burn of an issue with both the veteran ring announcer and the manager. They have always had a passive aggressive relationship where Howard Finkel would not give Harvey the appropriate introduction, according to Harvey’s standards. This got to a point where a Tuxedo match was appropriate for the two and the match would take place on the 1 year anniversary of Raw on Jan 1994.

Aftermath: The Fink wins; but in theory, we all lose due to seeing both of them in their draws.

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9.) -WWE IC contender battle royal for vacant IC belt/Rick Martel vs Razor Ramon (Oct 11^th 1993)

Machismo > Arrogance

This was a significant Raw moments to me, because this was one of the first times when it was evident that Razor Ramon was indeed a ring general. He and Rick Martel opened the show on Oct 11th 1993. This coming off an announcement made by Jack Tunney that Shawn Michaels has been “stripped” of the Intercontinental title due to not defending it in 30 days. Due to the ruling, that coming up Monday night Raw will hold a 20 man battle royal. The last two men in the battle royal will face off in the next episode of Raw in a 1 on 1 match and the winner will be the new IC champion. Martel and Razor were the last two, and wanted to go at it instantly. The next week, both men put on an excellent match, which told a stellar story. In the end we would see Razor Ramon win his first Intercontinental Championship.

Aftermath: Unbeknownst to the fans, this would actually be a connecting storyline to Wrestlemania 10, where Shawn and Razor would face each other in a ladder match. Shawn claimed he was the real IC champ since he never lost the title. Razor would go on to win the latter match to be the undisputed IC champion.

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8.) The Steiner brothers  vs The Quebecers for the WWF Tag Team Championship; Under Québec Province rules (Sept 13^th 1993)

Yup! Thats right. Dont adjust your sets. It really is a WWF Tag Team Title Match on Raw that had Meaning! o.O

The Steiner Brothers have been having a very strong title reign for months now, really being the cornerstone of tag team wrestling in the WWE. The Quebecers were an obnoxious tag team making up of Jacques’ and Pierre, managed by Johnny Polo. This episode of Raw the Quebecers were challenging the Steiner Brothers for the WWF Tag Team Titles, however, the stipulation was what was called “Quebec Province Rules”. These rules were No moves can be executed from the top rope, throwing your opponent over the top rope was illegal and the title can change hands on a DQ or Count out. The Quebecers claimed that these are the official rules in said province. With said rules this would rule out the possibility of the bulldog from the top rope, that the Steiner’s have made theirs and any “Stiner-Lines” over the top rope in which the Steiner’s use to gain momentum. Due to the nature of the match, the Steiner’s found themselves cornered as they were not used to these rules and with Jonny Polo being the obvious distraction, call of this could cause frustration. Leading Scotty Steiner to that brink as he brought in the Hockey Stick of Johnny Polo and used it on the challengers. Per the rules, the Steiner’s were DQ’d and the Quebecers were the new WWF Tag Team Champions.

Aftermath: The Steiner’s never won back the Tag Titles, as the Quebecers went on to hold those belts for another 6 months.

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7.) Edge and Lita have “Live/Torrid” Sex!!! (January 9^th 2006)

Oh shit. I forgot my moms in row 7, Lita.

January 2006 was the beginning of a half year of some memorable overall WWE moments. The first PPV of the year was WWE New Years Revolution. The night before the Jan 9^th edition of Raw, Edge cashes in his Money in the Bank contract to face John Cena for the WWE Championship immediately after John wins the Elimination Chamber. Edge pin Cena to win the WWE Championship for the first time. To celebrate this feat, Lita decides to give Edge a reward he’ll never forget. She will reward him with live sex, live on Raw in the middle of the ring. (Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow!). The time comes for this segment to begin and in the middle of the ring is a large heart shaped bed. This segment quickly turned into the first 5 min of the TV show, “Silk Stalkings” that used to come on immediately after Raw, where we saw a lot of skin from the two and Lita in a very revealing bra and panties set. And for the added enjoyment of the male audience, there actually was a live boob slip on Litas behalf which brought the crowd to their feet. Making this segment, that much more legendary.

Aftermath: The ending of the segment ended with Shenanigans

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6.) Gorilla Monsoon Ejects Bobbie Heenan from Raw…and the WWF (November 29^th 1993)

I’m telling you bud, Schivone sucks.

The pairing of both Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan goes back to the early years of the Golden Era of WWF. So, we’re talking about a good 5-6 years of these two giving us some of the best back n forth commentary. Monsoon and Heenan were welcomed into our homes and their relationship was unlike anyone else’s. The two would spend hours debating back n forth with each other about the state of pro wrestling and the athletes. Heenan would justify his dubious ways as Gorilla had no problems at all, calling his wrong ways out. Bobby Heenan was on his way out the door to leave for WCW, but Gorilla had the honor to physically “throw him out the building and out the WWF”. It was only fitting that it would happen this way on an episode of Raw in late 1993. Before the show went dark, we would see Bobby Heenan giving a final salute to Raw and the WWF.

Aftermath: Heenan would go on to WCW, but never really captured that magic that he had in the WWF. Nothing lacking on his part, but due to WCW not pairing him with the right personality. We would see Heenan once again in the WWF at Wrestlemania 17, where he called the Gimmick Battle Royal with Mean Gene Okerlund.

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5.)” The Nature Boy “ Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect (Retirement Match) (January 25^th 1993)

If you would’ve told me that WCW was going to try to recreate this in 4 years…yeah, I’d believe it.

This was a very unique and very exciting match due to the history of both Flair and Perfect. When Ric Flair came into the WWF in 1991, he was soon paired with Mr. Perfect with Perfect being his “Executive Consultant”. In Nov. 1992 at the Survivor Series, Macho Man and Ultimate Warrior were booked to take on Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. The Warrior was no longer with the WWF and live on Primetime Wrestling (the Monday night show, before Raw), Macho Man announced that replacing The Warrior, he wanted Mr. Perfect as his partner. While Perfect and Bobby Heenan had a laugh over it, Perfect thought that it would be a good opportunity to step aside and remove him from being the shadow of Ric Flair. Flair and Heenan were not fond of this and Perfect took it upon himself to no longer be affiliated with Flair. The WWF was not big enough for the two of them and someone had to go. And we were given this incredible match which told the story of a lifetime. In the end it would be Mr. Perfect to reign victorious. Good Bye and Thank you Ric Flair.

Aftermath: Ric Flair would go back to WCW and win 6 more world titles. Ric would be back in the WWF in late 2001.

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4.) Brian Pillman is armed as Stone Cold invades his home.

I don’t Call 9-1-1!

On an episode of WWF Superstars, Brian Pillman has an in ring interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin. To wrestling enthusiast, this was an interview worth watching as this would be the first time we’d be seeing the former members of “The Hollywood Blondes” (WCW Tag Team) in the ring together. But in the WWF, they were billed as being “Long Time Friends”. At the end of the interview, Pillman called Austin “The Best Was, the Best there is and the Best There Will Be”, and Austin attacks him. At the tail end of the attack, Austin “breaks” Pillmans ankle by placing his ankle in-between the top and base of a folded up folding chair and jumped off the top rope and onto the chair “Shattering” the ankle. The next week on Raw, Vince McMahon was interviewing Pillman via satellite while Pillman was at home nursing his injury. During the interview, commotion stirs up as they hear that Austin is on his way to Pillmans house to “finish the job”. In the interest of protecting his home and his family, Pillman announces on Raw that he has a loaded 9mm hand gun and if Austin comes in, he’s going to blow his brains out. This was one of the most intense segments ever on Raw as Austin was nearing closer and close, Pillman was cocking that weapon more and more just ready to pull the trigger. At the defining moment when Austin actually broke in the house and was in Pillmans living room, the camera shot over to Brian pointing the gun at Austin and then the live satellite feed was lost.

Aftermath: According to Vince, Pillman was restrained and the gun was taken away. Both him and Austin were restrained and pulled away from each other. Vince McMahon received A LOT of heat from the USA network regarding this segment, claiming it be “too real”.  McMahon had no idea what the difference was between this and a movie having the same kind of scenario happening. Good point.

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3.)WWF  Monday Night Raw gives us WCW Monday Night Nitro; ON RAW!

I want to watch, but Mark Madden is talking on my TV? Where is the Cyanide tablet when I need it?

On an episode of Raw in May of 2001, all I remember hearing from Jim Ross was this, “After this next commercial break we will be giving you Monday Night Nitro. WHAT?!?! And Nitro they gave us for a couple of segments. The house lights changed the little “WWF” logo in the corner of the screen changed to the “WCW” logo. Ross and Heymans mics went down and Arn Anderson and Mark Madden’s mics went on. Out came Booker T and Buff Bagwell for a one on one match. This was weeks after the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling. All rights belonged to the WWF. It looked as if this was going to be a regular segment on Raw until Nitro had its own show again, but this lasted very short. But this would be the first that we see Nitro on Raw.

Aftermath: This and about 1 or two more segments would be the only time this plan was done. Moving forward was the invasion storyline.

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2.) Fatal 4 Way Tag Team Ladder Match: Hurricane and Kane vs. Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Jeff Hardy & Rob Van Dam vs. Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley (7/10/2002)

Arrive. Become Match of the F’n Year. Leave.

What a gem this was! I know the placement of this, may be a bit questionable, but going into this match, you’re really not thinking too much of what it could be, but when you watch it, this is one of the best matches ever seen on Monday Night Raw. Historically the Triple Threat ladder matches have always been something memorable, as we saw them happen at Summer Slam 2000 and Wrestlemania 17. Those matches were of the Dudley Boys, Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boys. And in this match, (with the exception of Kane and Hurricane) each team had 1 represented from those two matches on each team. The match truly was art and they seriously tore the house down. Combining Psychology with amazing spots, told a story that you could never forget and giving us the match of the year in 2002. Outstanding!!!

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Bonus Pick (1.5)

**The Crush Savage Summit**

Its only because you let Doink kick your ass!

This took place in the latter part of 1993. Earlier in the year Yokozuna faced Crush in a one on one match on Raw for the WWF Championship. Yoko went on to win the match via the Bonzai Drop, but Yoko had more plans for the native Hawaiian. Yoko would deliver 3 banzai drops onto Crush and it took those three to happen for finally, Crush’s “best friend” Macho Man Randy Savage comes to Crush’s aid and pulled him out the ring. Crush has been on bed rest for the entire time while out and on Raw, Crushed called into Raw to have a conversation with Savage. McMahon and Heenan saying he will be on Raw the next week and he has something to say. Crush comes onto Raw and enters the ring with Mr. Fuji. Crush cuts a harmful promo on Macho Man, blaming him for what happened to him. And the only one that had Crushes best interest in mind was Master Fuji. Macho Man cannot hear anymore and enters the ring to confront Crush and to knock some sense into him, that he is better than siding himself with Fuji. Macho’s words of wisdom looked to have made Crush rethink his decision of his alignment with Fuji. Macho asked for Crushes hand in forgiveness and Crush shakes it, bringing the friendship back. But this would be short lived as Crush attacks Savage. Crush would go on to Gorilla press Macho Man on the outside of the ring and dropping him to have Savages teeth land on the steel guard barrier, busting him up. And on top of that bringing Yoko down to give Savage the Banzai drop. Completely laying Savage out and giving us a heartbreaking ending to Raw.

Aftermath: Macho Man would return a couple months later and challenge crush to a match at Wrestlemania 10. Macho Man would gain the victory at Wrestlemania concluding and winning the war.

 

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And the Number 1 Overseen and Never Mentioned Moment of Monday Night Raw…

 

1.)    ECW Invades Monday Night Raw! Live from the Manhattan Center!

G*D DAMN RIGHT!!!!

In 1997, WWF started working directly with ECW to give their talent some more exposure. ECW was this renegade wrestling promotion stationed in Philadelphia, PA that had a major cult following and was the hottest indy promotion, possibly on the planet. The week before, Jerry Lawler put out a challenge to the ECW to come onto Raw and bring their best and WWF will have their best available. The next weeks Raw was in the Manhattan Center where Raw Originated. With this wild crowd that came out and packed the Aragon Ballroom expecting to see something memorable, no one went home disappointed. After the first match, a Jobber entered the ring awaiting his opponent. As Raw was in-between segments, Vince McMahon was addressing the home audience but suddenly a monster rumble came from the crowd and all you see are two large men in the ring with said jobber giving him their finishing move, Total Elimination. The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronos) were in a WWF Wrestling Ring! But to make the situation even more deafening, on the microphone was a determined mad man to make sure that world hears him as he stands with the eliminators, takes the mike, points to Jerry Lawler at ringside and with every drop of emotion in him says the infamous words, “YOUR CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED! ECW IS IN…THE…HOUSE!” We have Mr. Paul Heyman standing in the middle of a live WWF Ring Live on Monday Night Raw! The top of the mountain top he has reached. Paul was the single match to light the fuse of dynamite to make this episode of Raw one of the greatest episodes of raw to ever be broadcasted. That night we saw the Eliminators, The Dudley Boys, The bWo,  Little Guido, Taz, 9-1-1 and Sabu. Never has this been done on wrestling before where a rival promotion would be on the air with that promotion. But it was done that night. And after that, Monday Night Raw and the WWF overall would never be the same again.

Aftermath: This would be ECW’s launch pad as ECW went on to being bigger and better than it ever has been before. Their First PPV was in April of 1997 and excelled from there. Due to some internal financial issues, ECW would close its doors in 2001. WWF would buy the rights to ECW and would resurrect the promotion as a WWE Brand. Having a reunion show in 2005 and 2006 and launching the brand in June 2006. ECW would be put to a permanent rest in Feb 2010.

Wrestlemania XXV (Written By: Maurice D. Proffit)

Wrestlemania XXV (25)

 

Date: April 5th 2009

City: Houston, Texas

Venue: Reliant Stadium

Combined Attendance: 72,744

Sub-Theme: “The 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania”

Celebrities: Mickey Rouke, Nicole Scherzinger and Kid Rock

Wrestlemania 25 is the 25th annual Wrestlemania PPV event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment. Wrestlemania returns back to Houston Texas, the home of the critical favorite, Wrestlemania 17. However, this time, this event would take place next door to the Astrodome and would be held in Reliant Stadium.

We would get to this Wrestlemania starting at the 2009 Royal Rumble, where we would see Randy Orton, with the assistance of his fellow “Legacy” members, go on to be victorious and win the match. Orton would be given  the option of wrestling for either the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship or the ECW Championship at Wrestlemania. Randy made his choice clear, as to what direction he wanted to go in for the title, as he persisted brutal assaults against the McMahon family. Assaulting both Vince and Shane McMahon and taunts to Stephanie. Triple H would avenge his family’s honor by coming to the aide of his wife, father and brother in law by going after Orton. These attacks saw Orton locking Triple H up to a pair of hand cuffs in the ring and making inappropriate taunts to Stephanie, in front of H. This also lead to a “home invasion” where Triple H invade the Home of Orton and attacked him there. The only way to settle this score would be at Wrestlemania 25.

Edge and Big Show would sign contracts for a match at Wrestlemania 25 for the World Heavyweight Championship, until John Cena appeared and crashed the party. Vicki Guerrero (Smackdown GM at the time) eventually would announce that the WHC match would be a Triple Threat between Big Show, Edge and John Cena.

Wrestlemania 25 started out with one of the most popular matches in the company, this would be the 5th annual Money In the Bank match. Participants would include CM Punk, Kane, Mark Henry, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay. Just like in the past, this match did not disappoint and to elevate the excitement, Shelton Benjamin stood out like a sore thumb when he executed a Senton Bomb from the top of the ladder onto his opponents. Unreal. The end of the match would see CM Punk kicking Kane off of the ladder, leaving him enough room and time to grab the briefcase. CM Punk is a (and the only) two time (besides Edge*) money in the bank winner.

One of the highlights of the event would be the match between Chris Jericho facing 3 WWE Legends; Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, SupaFly Jimmy Snuka and Rowdy Roddy Piper (accompanied by Ric Flair), in a 3 on One handicap elimination match. Jericho was able to take out both Snuka and Piper, but when it was time for Ricky Steamboat to come in, he gave us all a quick reminder as to why he is nick named “The Dragon”. The last time Steamboat Wrestled was in Nov of 1994 in WCW, so we’re talking an over 15 year absence from the ring. To be honest, Ricky looked like he never missed a beat. For many in the crowd, this was the first time they had a taste of seeing Ricky Steamboat perform and they were not disappointed. For those who are old school fans this was a bit of a dream match seeing Ricky Steamboat face off against Chris Jericho in an unbelievable back n forth exchange. In the end, Jericho would capitalize the situation and defeated Steamboat with the Codebreaker. Actor Mickey Rouke who was just nominated for an academy award for best Actor for “The Wrestler” was ringside for this match, and Jericho would challenge him to enter into the Ring. After some trash talk from Jericho, Rouke had enough and knocked out Y2J with a right hand.

Undertaker Note: The First Main Event we would see The Undertaker face off against The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Shawn would enter the arena, as if he was ascending from the heavens wearing all white. Hat, long coat, all white as if he was an angel. To artistically show that he is a direct contrast from The Dead Man. The match started out fast paced between these two legends. Both men, on the early onset went for their signature moves but were blocked by the other. Undertaker, lately had adopted the suicide dive as one of his signature moves, when attempting to do this to Shawn, Shawn would move out the way and throw the “cameraman” in front of Taker instead, avoiding the collision, but with Taker nearly landing on his head. Taker was able to get back into the ring. The match continued, in the match, Shawn was able to hit SCM twice on Taker, with Taker kicking out. Taker hit Shawn with the Tombstone piledriver, which has put many bodies away, but Shawn still kicked out. When Shawn was able to gain back momentum, he went to the top rope and attempted the moonsault, but Taker caught him and hit him with the Tombstone, putting Shawn Michaels away and Taker gaining the victory. The Undertaker is 17-0 at Wrestlemania. It was also declared, critically, as match of the year.

The World Heavyweight Championship was contested for in a Triple Threat match between the champion, Edge, The Big Show, and John Cena. The action started with some brawling and some early teamwork from Big Show and Edge before their alliance crumbled. The match spilled to the outside seeing Edge tackling Big Show through the guardrail with a Spear. Cena returned Edge to the ring before applying the STF before Big Show came to his senses, and broke up the action, leading to Cena and Edge teaming up to remove Big Show from the equation before turning on each other. Cena won the match by lifting The Big Show and set up the Attitude Adjustment, then dropping Edge onto Big Show with the same move before pinning The Big Show to win his second World Heavyweight Championship.

 

The third and final main event would be for the WWE Championship. match was contested between the champion, Triple H, and Randy Orton. As per a pre-match stipulation by Vickie Guerrero, if Triple H had been disqualified or had been counted out during the match, he would have lost the title to Orton. The match started out as a brawl with both men hitting their respective finishers to try and end the match quickly with both leading to only two-counts; the action continued immediately between the two with Triple H doing everything in his power to hurt Orton without being disqualified in the process. Orton tried to gain more advantage went out of the ring to pick up Triple H’s signature weapon, the sledgehammer. As Orton made his way back to the ring, Triple H ran to Orton, and delivered a punt kick across Orton’s face. The champion would defeat Orton hitting him with it and the Pedigree to retain the WWE Championship.

 

Match Card:

Dark- The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated John Morrison and The Miz in a lumberjack match to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship into the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship

PPV-

– CM Punk defeated Kane, Mark Henry (with Tony Atlas), Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay (with Hornswoggle) in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

– Santina Marella won by last eliminating Beth Phoenix and Melina in the 25-Diva Battle Royal to crown “Miss Wrestlemania”.

– Chris Jericho defeated Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka (with Ric Flair) in a Handicap Elimination Match

– Matt Hardy defeated Jeff Hardy in an Extreme Rules Match

– Rey Mysterio defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield (c) to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. After this JBL would announce his retirement.

– The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels

– John Cena defeated Edge (c) and The Big Show in a Triple Threat Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship

– Triple H (c) defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.

Wrestlemania X-8 (Written By: Maurice D. Proffit)

Wrestlemania XVIII (18)

 

Date: March 17th 2002

City: Toronto, Ontario

Venue: SkyDome

Combined Attendance: 68,237

Sub-Theme: “The One and Only”

Celebrities: Drowning Pool and Saliva

Wrestlemania 18, is the 18th annual wrestlemania professional wrestling pay per view, produced by the world wrestling federation. 

This would be the last Wrestlemania with the company being named “World Wrestling Federation” or “WWF”. Shortly after this maina, The WWF would then be The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment); due to a lawsuit settlement between the WWE and World Wildlife Fund.

Wrestlemania is returning back to Toronto. The last time Wrestlemania was in the Sky Dome was for WM 6; where over 60,000 fans witnessed Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior; title for title. This year, the arena would hold yet another dream match. This would be the house that will bring you Icon vs Icon- The Rock vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan. In addition, Hogan is making his illustrious Wrestlemania Return!

This Wrestlemania was on the bell curve of a new era of the company. The Attitude Era was no more, this would be the rooted beginnings of the “Ruthless Aggression” era (some argue that, that started at WM 17). The invasion angle is long over, WCW guys have fully assimilated into being WWF guys. The World Titles of Wrestling have consolidated into one and a major player of THE GAME recently returned as well.

A little under a year ago, Triple H suffered a devastating quad injury (while in a match partnered with Steve Austin against Jericho and Benoit on a live edition of Raw), which immediately put him on the shelf. After surgery and many many months of rehab, Triple H made his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble and won the event. This would grant him the right to face the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World; Chris Jericho. Jericho won this honor back in Dec of 2001 when he was victorious in a 3 match stipulation; by defeating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin; both in the same night. With Triple H earning the main event spot, and his “ex-wife” now siding with the champion; this is set up to be a wild contest.

A week before the No Way Out 2002 PPV, in an attempt to gain vengeance against Ric Flair who has taken over the company (thanks to him being the consortium who bought Shane and Stephanie’s stock of the company), Vince McMahon announced that he is “injecting a poison into the company he father built”. Vince broke news by announcing that he was bringing in the New World Order into the WWF, and they will be debuting at No Way Out in Milwaukee, WI. After they debuted, The Rock pressed and had some fun on the expense of Hall and Nash. However, when Hogan came out to cut a promo and lash out on the fans, is when The Rock got involved. It was during this promo where The Rock challenged Hulk Hogan, one on one at Wrestlemania. Hogan accepted…GAME ON!

Wrestlemania begins with already getting 5 STARS! Rob Van Dam challenges William Regal for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. And with the 5 star frog splash, RVD wins his 2nd singles title with the company!

Undertaker Note: The Undertaker faces Ric Flair. This would be the first time (and only time) that The Undertaker is wrestling as a heel at Mania. Due to some disagreements between the Deadman and Flair, this match came about. This was a very good 20 min match, and Flair looked as good in the match as he ever did. But Taker was just too much for the Nature Boy and pins the 16 time former heavyweight champion of the world. Undertaker is 10-0 at wrestlemania.

 

The video package begins showing the clips of the return of the nWo at No Way Out, and then leads to the epic promo between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, where the challenge is set for Wrestlemania. Clips follow, along with heart pounding rock music to illustrate the story of these two. The last image you vividly see, is a black and white image that looks to be cutting into the current footage that we are looking at. A spliced scene from one of the many invasions the nWo did on the Monday Nitro set between Hogan, Hall and Nash. A graphic of the footage looks to be ripping in half to show us present day and plays the most familiar theme music of them all, the nWo theme, Enter Hollywood Hulk Hogan. I swear to you, as I am writing this, I am getting Goosebumps thinking of this moment. 68,237 people on their feet screaming in joy, not only because of the one of the most familiar and coolest themes of our time is playing, but because (at this time) the King of Wrestlemania, Hulk Hogan is walking down a WWF Aisle into a WWF ring for his Wrestlemania return, that was have not seen in 9 years. The electricity of the crowd was so electric, that it would’ve made sense to be exhausted by the time the opening bell hit, but that wouldn’t be the case, not for this sold out crowd. Hulk Hogan, was finally home. But at an even louder ovation, The Rock’s theme hit and with (what seemed like) millions of cameras flashing in the crowd, The Rock enters into the Ring and is set center stage in front of millions watching around the world, face to face with the Icon of Pro Wrestling, Hulk Hogan in the ring with him. The match started with a memorable stare down onto each other and the crowd.

The two lock up and Rock overpowers Hogan and muscles him to the ground. Hogan back to his feet and locks back up with The Rock, however, this time it would be Hogan to overpower and throws The Rock. This send the crowd into a complete frenzy and to add fuel to the fire, Hogan breaks the cool Hollywood persona and goes back into Retro Hogan and throws poses at The Rock. There is not a soul sitting for this monumental moment. The match goes on. During the match, The Rock locked on the Sharpshooter, causing Hogan to tap out. However, the referee was down and unable to acknowledge the submission. The Rock let go of the hold and tried to revive the referee, but Hogan gave him a low blow followed by his own version of The Rock’s finisher, the Rock Bottom for a two-count. The two tried their respective finishers, the Rock Bottom and the leg drop but each kicked out. After two more Rock Bottoms and a People’s Elbow, The Rock pins the Legendary Hulk Hogan and gets the 1-2-3 victory to win the match. After the match, Hall and Nash come to ringside and express disappointment o Hogan for losing and jump Hogan. The Rock assist Hogan and both of them beat on Nash and Hall. They clear the ring. The Rock also steps to the side and gives the spotlight to the 68 thousand plus, to pose for the crowd. Hogan, not only stole the show, but was once again and officially a face in the world wrestling federation.

The main event was for the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed Championship. Chris Jericho vs Triple H. Just like how Triple H entered with Motorhead playing his theme, Drowning Pool would play a version of his theme song as he entered to the ring. Jericho, entered the arena with Stephanie McMahon on his side and the match takes place. In all fairness, both of them really do give the world a very very good match. If you watched this match isolated to the rest of the card, you can really appreciate the efforts by both of them. However, at the same time, the crowd just was not into it, and it was not anything against the two men in the ring, but more so due to how overwhelming the Rock/Hogan match was and drained the crowd of all of their energy. Not even the Divas match before the championship match could help matters. During the match Triple H went for the Pedigree on Jericho through the announcers’ table. However, Jericho reversed it into a back drop, sending Triple H through the Spanish announcers’ table. Stephanie tried to hit Triple H with a steel chair but had it removed by referee Earl Hebner. Stephanie pushed Hebner aside but then, she was met by a Pedigree from Triple H. Jericho tried his own Pedigree on Triple H but ended up having it reversed into a catapult. Triple H then hit the Pedigree on Jericho and pinned him to become the new Undisputed Champion

Match Card

HEAT- Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Albert defeated Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm and, Test

PPV

-Rob Van Dam defeated William Regal (c) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship

-Diamond Dallas Page (c) defeated Christian to retain the WWF European Championship

-Maven (c) fought Goldust to a no contest in a Hardcore Match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. The title changed hands on a number of occasions between The Hurricanne, Molly Holly, Christian and back to Maven.

-Kurt Angle defeated Kane

-The Undertaker defeated Ric Flair in a no DQ match

-Edge defeated Booker T.

-Steve Austin defeated Scott Hall (with Kevin Nash).

-Billy and Chuck (c) defeated The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw), The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (with Stacy Keibler) and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) in a Four Corners Elimination match for the WWF Tag Team Championship with Billy and Chuck retaining the titles.

-The Rock defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan

Jazz (c) defeated Trish Stratus and Lita in a triple threat match to retain the WWF Womens Championship

Triple H defeated Chris Jericho (c) (with Stephanie McMahon). To win the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed World Championship.

Wrestlemania 8 (Written by: Maurice D. Proffit)

Wrestlemania 8

 

Date: April 5^th, 1992

Cities: Indianapolis, Indiana

Venue: Hoosier Dome

Combined Attendance: 62,167

Sub-Theme: “Friendship Torn Apart, The Macho/Flair Affair, Hulkamania Farewell”

Celebrities: Reba McIntyre and Ray Combs

Wrestlemania 8 was the return of wrestlemania coming to a massive dome arena. This was the first wrestlemania to feature a double main event and the first wrestlemania where the world wrestling federation champion was not involved in the closing match. In my opinion, this Wrestlemania missed the mark on so many levels.

The back story of this wrestlemania is what started the fire. The 1992 Royal Rumble had a stipulation where the winner to the Rumble would win the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Going in to the Rumble, Hulk Hogan was the odds on favorite to win it, but with a shocking turn of events, Ric Flair beat the odds and lasted over 60 min, to win the vacant WWF Championship. A couple weeks later, the contract signing for the main event at Wrestlemania took place for the inevitable dream match (that wrestling fans have been dying for) Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship. However, due to poor responses at house shows between the two, the championship main event was scrapped, and replacing Hogan would be Randy “Macho Man” Savage for the title and Hogan would face “former best friend” Sid Justice.

Wrestlemania had some flaws, however, one thing that was absolutely flawless was the match for the Intercontinental Championship, Rowdy Roddy Piper (champion) vs Bret “The Hitman” Hart. The quality of and story of this match was reminiscent of Savage and Steamboat 5 years earlier; different, yet familiar. In my opinion, this and the championship match stole the show. In a bloody battle, Bret Hart went on to win the IC belt for the 2^nd time.

Taker Moment: The Undertaker went against Jake The Snake Roberts in a grudge match. Undertaker tombstone Jake outside the ring, and placed him back in the ring for the 1-2-3 pin fall victory. Undertaker is 2-0 at wrestlemania.

 

Macho Man Randy Savage and Ric Flair gave an excellent 20 min match, with a very intense story. Leading up to the match, and to give it a little more spice, Flair made allegations that him and Liz had a very romantic past with each other and claimed to have rekindled the relationship. Flair had doctored up photos of him and Liz and had them published in the WWF magazines. This drove Savage insane and was willing to do anything to Flair to extract revenge. Savage did such a fine job at selling the match, that his intensity showed that getting his hands on Flair meant more to him than winning the WWF Championship. In another wrestlemania quality match, Savage stole the show, and he won the World Wrestling Federation championship. Even after being declared the victor, Savage still wanted more of Flair. It took Mr. Perfect from getting Flair and fleeing ringside to save him and Elizabeth and refs to stop Savage to calm him down in risk of the decision being reversed. But the overall was that we had a new champion.

Wrestlemania closed out with Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan in a grudge match. This match was being billed as the end of the Hulkamania tour as Hogan was going to “retire” (aka: take some time off). This match missed a lot of queues and seriously should’ve been in the middle of the card. Papa Shango made an interference in the match but was REALLY late making his interference into the match, leading to Hogan winning via Disqualification. This was also the return of the Ultimate Warrior. When Shango and Sid were beating on Hogan, the Warrior returned and  saved Hogan. Now in credit, this was before the Internet era, so this surprise was a really big deal, and I can only imagine what the good fans in the Hoosier Dome were feeling when his music hit and he ran to ringside. I also heard that Sid crapped in his pants in this match, I guess it was just symbolic of the collective feel of everyone’s opinion of the match. (womp-womp)

Match Card

Dark: The Bushwhackers (Luke Williams and Butch Miller) defeated The Beverly Brothers

–Shawn Michaels (with Sensational Sherri) defeated El Matador

–The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Jake Roberts

–Bret Hart defeated Roddy Piper (c)

–The Big Boss Man, Virgil, Sgt. Slaughter, and Jim Duggan defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags), Repo Man, and The Mountie (with Jimmy Hart)

–Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated Ric Flair (c) (with Mr. Perfect)

–Tatanka defeated Rick Martel

–The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) defeated Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) (c) (with Jimmy Hart) by countout

–Owen Hart defeated Skinner

–Hulk Hogan defeated Sid Justice (with Harvey Wippleman) by disqualification

The Great Divide (The Rock vs John Cena) By: Maurice D. Proffit

 

 

 
 
April 4th 2011; The day after Wrestlemania 27; in Atlanta, GA. The Rock addresses the crowd. Giving his take on what happened in the night before WWE Championship match between John Cena and The Miz. The Miz walks away with the victory over Cena; but this night was not about The Miz, this was about Cena. The Rock was not focused on the man who was (at that time) proudly holding the WWE championship and coming off the victory of the lifetime, but rather the attention of The Rock was on the man who in fact lost the championship title fight in the headlining main event. The Rock; before a sold out crowd in the Philips Arena, made an unprecedented announcement, where be put out a challenge to John Cena, in a one on one match at Wrestlemania 28 in Miami, Florida. With the exception of Mr. Kennedy (with an asterisk) in 2007; never has there been a wrestler to make a challenge to another wrestler, exactly 1 year from the date. A very bold, brash and calculating risk that the WWE is taking in scheduling a match 1 year in advance. 
 

Dream Match...Check!

 
 
Who’s to say what will take place in one year? Who’s to say where the wrestlers will be? Who’s to say where the company/business would be? Would this be able to hold the attention of the audience and keep them interested? So many questions and so many red flags can be raised when doing this. But knowing how the WWE is when it comes to what the present to their fans, this was a risk that was worth taking and was executed perfectly. Between promoting the film “Fast 5”; to being involved with “The Summer of Punk”, to shooting “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”, to the WWE Title triangle, to Survivor Series Tag Match main event; to promoting Disney’s “Journey 2”, to Kane trying to make Cena “Embrace the Hate”, here we are at the end of February/ beginning of March, just 4-5 weeks away from wrestlemania, the journey is close to coming to a close and our final destination will be the dream match between The Rock and John Cena. 
 

 
 
The Rock came back a year ago to the WWE, in what is being looked at as one of the biggest and most astounding comebacks in wrestling history. The buzz that The Rock created was absolutely uncanny. Between The Rock being the #1 trend worldwide on twitter to every facebook status (at his return) on FB that night, being in relation with The Rock. Fan or no fan, you were talking about the return of the peoples champion (See my issue of Proffits Piledriver from 2-3 weeks ago that talks more about this…*link*). The Rock said one line in that promo, that seems to be like an STD, it just keeps looming its ugly head over and over again periodically. The Rock gave a memorable 20 min promo and he stated “I am never ever going away”. Yes, hearing that was comfortable and hearing that from him felt great knowing that The Rock was back. 
 

Honey, Guess who got fired?

 
 
But let’s be real…
 
 
I would hope that anyone with a half a brain would know that, he would NOT be wrestling full time the way he did back in 1998. No, Rock still had films to promote, we all knew about G.I. Joe, so how would it be possible for him to wrestle full time again? 
 

Duh!!! I need to fulfill contract obligations by kicking Cobras ass, prick!

 
 
I had a lightly heated discussion with someone after The Rocks comeback where I was explaining to them, that he’s not back full time. He will be back on a legends contract but not full time, he doesn’t need to. But there is a percentage of fans that feel that he is supposed to be in the ring wrestling full time, and that is what confuses and bothers me. 
 
 

Yeah, this is just the scheudle for the 2nd week of May. You didnt have anything planned now, did you?

 
 
If indeed The Rock came back and wrestled on a full time basis, he would then be deemed as “boring” or you’ll hear people crying saying “he’s taking up a roster spot”, also “The Rock is old.” Any of those variations, we would be flooded with all of those comments.
 
 

I have nothing to do but cry about something that's awesome! (In your Nancy Kerrigan voicce) Why! Why! Why!

 
 
 So, The Rock doesn’t come back immediately the next week on Raw, and he goes back to fulfill his Hollywood obligations. We see The Rock on a very sporadic basis due to his schedule. But fast forward to right now, fans are pissed off at The Rock for leaving! Fans…WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT??!?! Do they want to see The Rock vs Tyler Reks on a weekly basis? Is this what you want? 
 
 

Whoaaa Dude. Im relevant again? Gnarly!

 
 
Really? C’mon. American Wrestling fans who expect the world from everyone, calm down and relax and just enjoy what we are getting. The Rock does not need to wrestle on a full time basis at all. This man is arguably one of the greatest entertainers pro wrestling has ever seen. He was one of the leaders of the Attitude Era (the WWE’s most financial successful years in the companies existence) to help propel the WWE into competing ranks with other top outlets of entertainment. The Rock has toured the world, headlined several wrestlemanias, sold out arenas all over the world. Sold a gaudy amount of merchandise and is a constant hit on the media circuit. He is the man that Access Hollywood, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, The Tonight Show, Conan, Letterman, all go to, to appear on their shows. There is a reason behind this and it’s not that The Rocks name keeps getting pulled from a hat, that’s for sure. But it’s because he is the right man to choose from when it comes to mainstream media. 
 
 

This over taking bumps, injuries, living out a suitcase and politics? Yeah, I chose right.

 
 
The Rock still at the moment, still holds the segment for the highest rated segment in the history of professional wrestling, with “The Rock; This is your life” segment, with him and Mankind (Rock and Sock Connection). The Rock main evented three…excuse me, I don’t think you heard me….THREE Wrestlemanias wrestling Stone Cold Steve Austin. And two of those matches were for the WWE Championship. When has that ever happened in the history of the WWE? Never! The Rock has won every major title in the company from the WWE title, the World Heavyweight Championship, The IC championship to the Tag Team Championships. Arguably, he has made the company more money than any other superstar. So please help me in understanding where it is a mandatory that a wrestler who is THIS accomplished, HAVE to work a full time schedule like he did his rookie year within the WWE? Where does it say that he has to fulfill these obligations? But I guess according to many of these current disgruntled fans, this is obviously a requirement. An odd requirement, but a requirement never the less.
 
But the most common heat is “The Rock Leaving” in the first place. Fan are besides themselves that The Rock pursued a Hollywood career. How dare he make an independent adult decision to take advantage of an opportunity.
 
 

 
 
Let me just ask this first. You are a young professional; mid to late 20’s, in your ideal career. Within your department, you are a hot shot and your work speaks for itself. You work hard and you have a great respect and admiration of your peers. One day, someone approaches you and informs you of a wonderful opportunity that is available. The work is not as strenuous, still in a similar field, but the pay is out of this world. Here you are, with a long time girlfriend, whom you’re looking to propose to soon. And you know down the line you two will be speaking of starting a family as well. What would be the logical move? Turn down the opportunity because you are Mr. Office Funny Guy, and what would the department do without your presence? Or seize this opportunity so you can set up a better life for you and your family?  
 

Do I take the new offer and provide for my family or do i stay so I can continue being the office douche?

 
 
Exactly. So why is The Rock being crucified for making the same decision that we would all make as well?  Why is it ok for us to seize better opportunities, but he’s not allowed to. I think that is a massive imbalance that I would need clarity on. 
 
 

Becuase if I tweet my anger and frustration, then it must hold some merit. (Mom. can you let me know when its time for my show?)

 
 
Survivor Series 2011; live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The main event was a tag match between The Miz and R-Truth vs John Cena and The Rock. This would be the first time The Rock would be in the middle of the ring wrestling, for the first time in 7 ½ years (since wrestlemania 20). The Rock stood in the middle of the ring next to John Cena and (at the risk of sounding like I want to rape him) The Rock looked like a Greek god. 
 

This aint gonna tickle.

 
The Rock was in the best shape that he’s ever been in, in his life. Rock looked like an exaggerated characterture of himself, because he really did look like he was chiseled out of stone next to everyone else. Nothing against John Cena, because Cena is in amazing shape, but standing next to The Rock, Cena looked like he was no where even near his league. Cena looked pale compared to him. He looked very short and small next to The Rock. Cena did not look strong at all next to The Rock. There was an obvious contrast between the two, and I’m sure that if an average Joe fan like myself could notice it, you know the boss; Vince McMahon; noticed it more than ever. The Rock looked flawless in the ring that night, and even though Cena did most of the work, The Rock looked better than the entire WWE Roster, easily. Physically and how smooth his ring work was. Lord, if wrestlemania was that night, and Cena went over, there wouldn’t be a soul in that arena who would’ve bought that. 
 

What Cena looks like Next to the Rock.

 
 
Lets fast forward to 2012. The John Cena/Kane storyline was MUCH needed. Some people thought the storyline was a waste of time, I on the other hand felt it was extremely necessary because Cena needed to go through a slight transformation and embrace a more aggressive side of his. If Cena is going into Mania as the happy go lucky, “Awwwww shucks” wrestler that we know him as, he’d be laughed at. Vince needs for this dream match to look as credible as it can. The last time we had this match of this caliber was Hogan-Rock at Wrestlemania X8 (18). Those were two guys you can put in the middle of the ring, both of them look like they belong, and they will give you something memorable.  
 
 

Veteran Status In Da Hooooouse!!!!

 
 
Yes, Cena IS the right man to be in this spot. Yes, Cena IS whom we want to see in the middle of the ring with The Rock. But we all know that Cena just needed more of an edge to make this match credible. So with the storyline with Kane and how that evolved and what it resulted to, Cena has his edge. But he needs more of a direct edge with The Rock. Enter The Monday night raw edition of 2/20/2012. John Cena cuts a very intense promo against The Rock…
 

 
 
 
And the Buzz around the world was. How will The Rock respond to something so strong and passionate from Cena. Finally Cena gave us something that wasn’t full of clichés, potty humor, gay jokes (which I have a true problem with) and of course the ONE joke he’s been leaning on ALLLLLL YEAR “Being Via Satellite” or “He’s not here”. We didn’t get Robo Cena, where he comes out and is just reciting the memorized promo that was written for him by Brian Gerwitz team, in the back. We actually got a John Cena that channeled a legit emotion and brought out to the television audience. JOHN, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU!!!!! THANK YOU!!! He has finally arrived. 
 

 
 
Cena now has a credible and almost meanacing edge to him, but one more piece of the puzzle needs to be added on, The Rock needs to scale back.
 
 
On the Feb 27th edition of Raw, The Rock was live in Eugene, Oregon. He cut a promo…but…it….just….wasn’t…Rock….like….
 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mus3F3AvS-o&feature=related

 
 
Huh? #1.) Was The Rock NOT intense? #2.) Was he frazzled and thrown off?   #3.) Did he have blatant notes on his arm? HUH?!?!?!?
 

What was the over/under of some fan boy going through thr trouble to make this pic and post it online. Mr. Internet Hero! WoooHooo!!!

 
 
Since when has The Rock NOT been intense? It could be for a 45 sec promo, The Rock always brings it.  Since when does The Rock needs noted to help him know what to say next??? Since when does The Rock look thrown off? Dude, you’re a professional actor, you…wait….you’re a professional actor. 
 

"Ha! Yeah, you forgot. Im a professional actor, Moron!"

 
 
What better way to control the crowd in a direction that you want them to go in? Yes, YOU direct them yourself. Makes all the sense in the world. I see many many many comments of people bashing The Rock for what he did. I see many comments that are damn near filled with vile hate for him. People wishing death upon him. I’m sorry are these fans of pro wrestling or is this a lynch mob? 
 

 
 
It’s odd, how one year ago, the electricity and the buzz of The Rock returning brought a resurgence back to professional wrestling that is has been missing for so long; suddenly turns into this hostile hate for someone, who is on a part time schedule with the WWE. But to me, it was obvious that this was done all on purpose. The scaled back promo, the stumbling and bumbling, the written notes. All of this has to be a work in order to make Cena look like the more superior. If The Rock is The Rock every  week going into Mania, Cena will look so insignificant in that match, that the match would no longer look like money the way it once did. So, in other words, all of these angry wrestling fans that are having an aneurism over this, guess what kids…you’ve been worked. 
 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 
And it doesn’t just take one for that promo to work, it took 2…maybe 3. It took The Rock; John Cena and possibly an agent. That promo was systematically done a certain way to move the crowd. The plan worked. So if you think that you’re getting one over on The Rock because you jump on a Facebook page or twitter and leave disparaging comments about The Rock, guess again genius, because you’re only doing what he wanted you to do in the first place. 
 

 
Now don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a piece for me to write so I can say “You have to choose The Rock! What’s wrong with you?!?!” Not at all. I understand that there are Rock Fans and I understand that there are Cena fans. And it should be that way. I love the emotion that is going through people right now. There is such a vested interest in both of these men, that you cannot help but select a side. There hasn’t been this kind of emotion since WWF vs. WCW (during the hay day years, not the Invasion Angle). 
 

Ahhhhh, the glory days of war...

 

You had to choose a side and it’s that I love. But I can seriously deal without the ignorant hate that I see coming from other “fans” (and I use that term loosely with them).
 
I can admit that Cena had the upper edge once again on the 2/27 edition of Raw, in terms of promos. And that is fine. But something stood out tremendously in his 2/27 promo. The Rock’s influence.  The Rock mentioned something that I felt was very significant. Last year, when he did his first promo on his comeback, he called Cena a “bowl of fruity pebbles”. Cena response to that insult by a quiet video shot of him eating a bowl of fruity pebbles. About a good 6-9 months later, boom, John Cena is on the front of the box of Fruity Pebbles. As funny as that sounds on paper, the numbers are even better. We’re talking about a multimillion dollar endorsement with Post Cereal, for John Cena to be on the box of cereal. A one liner for The Rock turns into a mega bank role with a billion dollar company. Good for The Rock, Great for John Cena, Tremendous for The WWE.

 

I just paid BEEEEOTCH!!! Thanks Rock!

Add this to his existing endorsement deals with Subway and with Gillette.  In addition to this, When The Rock speaks, people are going to be all ears; whether they like him or not. But people will tune in to see and hear what he is going to say. He has the crowd just eating out of the palm of his hands on Monday in Eugene. And the last time he spoke, and the last, and the last, and the last. The Rock has been controlling the crowd for many years before his semi retirement to Hollywood, and he knows the ring and knows the culture. The Rock knows what the do’s and don’ts are in pro wrestling (which is why it’s laughable that people really bought the writing on the arm). The Rock has been around this business for literally his entire life. But overall, The Rock understands and respects the time honored tradition of pro wrestling. Which is why The Rock will indeed put over John Cena at Wrestlemania 28.
 

Haha!

 
He did it before with Brock Lesnar at Summer Slam 2002. The Rock put over Lesanr and dropped the WWE Undisputed Championship to him. Pretty much passing the torch that was passed to him by Hulk Hogan 4 months earlier. And now it is time to do it once again, but this time to Cena. When we think of the greatest of all times we automatically think of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, The Rock, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. That is a very elite class of men to be a part of. John Cena is a tremendous worth and a great man to have represent your company. But he’s just not in that class yet. But with the assistance of The Rock, and with him putting Cena over at the grandest stage of them all at Wrestlemania 28, it will be at moment in the middle of Sun Life Stadium where The Rock will then endorse John Cena as the true leader of this current era of pro wrestling and from there and so on, Cena will then be a part of that upper echelon of legends that were mentioned earlier, to make him immortal.

Insert badass Action Music Here.

 
 
Thank you Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

You're Welcome Jabroni.

The Rumble that should not Fumble. (2012 Royal Rumble Preview and some extra goodies)

Written By: Maurice D. Proffit

For those who are friends with me on Facebook, you have had to endure close to 25 days of daily Royal Rumble stats information on your news feed. You must forgive me, while some are quite blue during the early months of the year, due to the post holiday blues. To me, this is one of my favorite times of the year. Between Jan and April 1^st, I LIVE on a constant high. Royal Rumble in Jan, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, Grammys and then the Oscars in Feb. The SUPER BOWL, My Theater companies black history performance and the march and build up to the greatest day of the year…Wrestlemania Sunday! The day after Wrestlemania is when the blue feeling sets in on me, but I don’t even want to focus on that, because (obviously), I’m currently riding the high that I’m on, lol.

So lets talk about the most appropriate topic that is best fitting for right now…the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble holds a near and dear special place for me. More than Wrestlemania, The Royal Rumble just SCREAMS nostalgia. The 1992 Royal Rumble was my first PPV I ever watched live. A friend of mine and I shoveled snow for our neighbors ALL winter, just so we could save up the $19.99 (plus tax) so we could order the ppv. So $32.00 later we were set and ready to order (had some extra for a pizza too). Unbeknownst to me, I was about to engage in 3 hours of what many would call (to this day) the greatest Royal Rumble in history. From the opening of (After Vince McMahons iconic introduction of the Rumble participants) Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Moonsoon welcoming the ppv audience to the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Knickerbocker Arena to the ending where Ric Flair cuts, what  most would say would be one of the most memorable promos of his career (“…with a tear in my eye…”) after winning the Rumble and winning the vacant WWF Championship, there was no better way in the world of spending their Sunday evening. I was enthralled. I was in 5^th grade at the time, and the next day, my buddies and I who watch the PPV, were reenacting the end while we were outside playing at recess on the snow banks. We all took turns of being either Flair, Hogan or Sid Justice (since all three played a pivotal role at the end of the rumble) and when it was my turn to play Ric Flair and assist with dumping my buddy Mike “out of the ring” to be declared the undisputed World Wrestling Federation champion, I swear to you that I felt the euphoric feeling that Flair himself did, just 24 hours prior to my moment.

1993 Royal Rumble – The First PPV I ordered at my house.

1994 Royal Rumble – Saturday Night PPV at my friends house and a bunch of us outraged over the conclusion of the Undertaker/Yokozuna match.

1995 Royal Rumble – Watched it at my buddies house…WTF what that?!?! (if you’ve see this Rumble, you know exactly what I’m talking about).

I could go on and on about my experiences with this pay per view, but I would only be entertaining myself. But let’s talk about the 2012 WWE Royal Rumble. You know, going into this, I’m actually kinda at a loss as to what can take place. I remember 2009, to me it was CLEAR AS DAY that Randy Orton would win it all. And made that prediction a little bit after Christmas. Then, viola, Randy Orton is your 2009 WWE Royal Rumble winner, headed to Wrestlemania to face the champion of his choosing. 2008 and 2010 the “returning wrestlers” ended up winning (John Cena and Edge) it. I’m not a fan of Alberto Del Rio, I never was, I thought him winning it would engage me, but the only thing that sold me was his manager Ricardo. So when Del Rio won last year, it was pretty sour to me. Orton winning in 2009 HAD to happen, #1.) Because his build up was strong and #2) there hasn’t been a heel Royal Rumble Winner since Mr. McMahon from the 1999 Rumble. 10 yrs was long enough for the drought and Orton was the best to be overall. Currently, I’m sort of at a loss. My pick to win this year’s Royal Rumble is slightly going against the grain and last night while watching Raw, almost made me 2^nd guess my pick. But my pick to win the 2012 Royal Rumble is none other than Wade Barrett.

I’m picking Barrett because Smackdown is in desperate need of more viable heels. Barrett is that guy. Barrett has the look, the poise, the mouth piece, the skill and the credibility to be the winner of the Royal Rumble. I think this little spat he has going on with Sheamus is just going to last until “The Elimination Chamber” ppv, and from there, he will concentrate on his run for either the WWE championship or the World Heavyweight championship. Why not Barrett??? I mean who else would make sense in this equation? Not Foley (god bless him for being in it too), I don’t think the Miz will win it. I see Miz going the distance to the final 4, but not winning it. Why would Cena win it, when he’s headlining Mania with The Rock already? I don’t think Triple H, there is absolutely no reason for him to. Could it be Jericho??? Wait a second…could it be Jericho? Let’s think about it. What has been the focus line from Jericho lately “it will be the end of the world as we know it.” CM Punk calls himself “Best In the World”. To take out the best in the world would be what? “Earth shattering”. Jericho can manipulate the Rumble and be a forgotten factor, therefore pulling a Santino from last year (YouTube Santino, 2011 Royal Rumble, you’ll see what I mean), but this time succeeding at it and being the 2012 Royal Rumble Winner! Last night on Raw, Jericho showed a highlight reel of basically his entire WWE Career. It showed his WWF Debut (which I was live in attendance for, since it was my 18^th birthday as well), to him winning the Intercontinental championship, to him becoming the first ever undisputed world heavyweight champion (both the WWF and WCW world titles held at the same time. I’m only clarifying this because earlier I used the word “undisputed” while referencing Flair’s title win). To becoming the “Best In the World at What he Does”. The only thing left out of this man’s resume is being a Royal Rumble winner. Maybe it is Chris Jericho who will be able to capitalize his career with the Rumble victory and go on to Mania to face the “Best in the World” CM Punk. A program with those two going into Mania could be epic, absolutely perfect for the title match. They would give us a show that we would talk about all year. But then back to the other hand, Barrett would be a nice slice of unpredictable pie. Why is it that the Royal Rumble winners always have to be main eventers?!?! The only non-main event winners that I can recall are Duggan, Studd…wow. That’s it. 88 and 89. The rest, main event caliber stars. Now, Barrett has the million dollar look, but is not Randy Orton. But are they saving Orton and Barrett for Mania? Maybe for the World Heavyweight Championship? ARRRRRRRRGH!!!!! The possibilities are endless.

So let’s settle it here, here is my 2012 Royal Rumble / Wrestlemania XXVIII predictions…

Chris Jericho wins the Royal Rumble and goes on to Wrestlemania to Face CM Punk in an epic battle. Randy Orton wins the Smackdown Elimination chamber next month and is the World Heavyweight Champion. Wade Barrett finagles his way into the World Title scene and faces Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania XXVIII.

(Fantasy Booking)

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship

Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Undertaker vs Triple H (part 3)

The Rock vs John Cena

So there you have it. Its been said, signed, sealed and delivered on the outcome of the rumble match. Whatever the conclusion is, this Sunday’s PPV will not be a disappointment. I tend to prefer my WWE when they do not give you too much to go off from. The less the better and with this case, less is more. I look forward to seeing what happens in the under card matches as well as the Rumble itself. We know Miz is #1, that is what we have for sure, but the rest is cloudy. All that matters is that at the end when the smoke clears, there is one decisive winner and we all turn the ppv off and go home satisfied from watching an incredible display of drama meets athleticism. And that maybe somewhere out there, there is that 5^th grade kid who will be watching and this Sunday night…will be HIS 1992 WWF ROYAL RUMBLE.

Let the games begin.