http://www.cheap-heat.com WWE, TNA, ROH, NJPW - Blogs, Reviews, Top Lists, Indy News & Results Mon, 21 Sep 2015 06:33:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.1

http://www.cheap-heat.com/best-of-bash-at-the-beach/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/best-of-bash-at-the-beach/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2015 18:27:08 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Other Blogs Reviews Top Lists Bash at the Beach Beach Blast Cage Match Chris Jericho Dave Meltzer DDP DDP Yoga Dennis Rodman ECW Hulk Hogan Karl Malone Randy Savage Rey Mysterio Ric Flair Rick Rude Star Ratings Sting The Giant Top Matches Ultimo Dragon Vader WCW wrestling WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13305 Summer is in full swing so let's celebrate with a WCW Classic—Bash at the Beach! The Bash—formerly known as Beach Blast—was a wrestling tradition for nine years and hosted some of the most definitive moments in World Championship Wrestling history. The NWO formed, Hulk Hogan debuted, the late Roddy Piper wrestled Ric Flair! I've been […]

Summer is in full swing so let's celebrate with a WCW Classic— Bash at the Beach! The Bash—formerly known as Beach Blast—was a wrestling tradition for nine years and hosted some of the most definitive moments in World Championship Wrestling history. The NWO formed, Hulk Hogan debuted , the late Roddy Piper wrestled Ric Flair! I've been doing a ton of research for an upcoming analysis I think you'll all really enjoy, and have thus been paying particularly close attention to Dave Meltzer's Star Ratings. Instead of writing about why you should watch each Bash at the Beach extravaganza, I've listed Dave's highest rated match and my favorite match, to give you an idea of what kind of action went down at these particular shows.

Note: The "Combined Star Rating" is the average for each show based on match ratings and number of bouts.

Beach Blast 1992 – Mobile Alabama 6/20/92
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Sting versus Cactus Jack – Falls Count Anywhere – 4 ½ Stars
Mark's Favorite Match: Rick Rude versus Ricky Steamboat – Iron Man Match – 3 ½ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 3 Stars

Beach Blast 1993 – Biloxi Mississippi 7/18/93
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: TIED

Mark's Favorite Match: Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham – NWA World Heavyweight Title – 2 ½ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

Bash at the Beach 1994 – Orlando Florida 7/17/94
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat – U.S. Title– 3 ¾ Stars
Mark's Favorite Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair – WCW World Heavyweight Title – 3 ¼ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

Bash at the Beach 1995 – Huntington Beach California 7/16/95
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Ric Flair vs. Macho Man – Lifeguard Match – 2 ¾ Stars
Mark's Favorite Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Vader – Cage Match World Title – 2 ½ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 1 Star

Bash at the Beach 1996 – Daytona Beach Florida 7/7/96
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis – 4 ¼ Stars
Mark's Top Match: The Outsiders & Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Macho Man, & Lex Luger – 3 Stars
Combined Star Rating: 2 Вј Stars

Bash at the Beach 1997 – Daytona Beach Florida 7/13/97
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: TIED

Mark's Top Match: Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair 3 ¼ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

Bash at the Beach 1998 – San Diego California 7/12/98
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero – Hair vs. Hair – 3 ¼ Stars
Mark's Top Match: Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. DDP & Karl Malone –   -1 ¼ Stars
Combined Star Rating: 1 ВЅ Stars

Bash at the Beach 1999 – Fort Lauderdale Florida 7/11/99
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: The Triad vs. Chris Benoit & Perry Saturn – 3 ½ Stars
Mark's Top Match: Hardcore Junkyard Battle Royal – N/A
Combined Star Rating: ВЅ Star

Bash at the Beach 2000 – Dayton Beach Florida 7/9/00
Dave Meltzer's Top Match: Mike Awesome vs. Scott Steiner – U.S. Title – 3 ¼ Stars
Mark's Top Match: Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett – World Heavyweight Title – 3 Stars
Combined Star Rating: 1 Вѕ Stars

Until next time, please LIKE "The B+ Players Podcast" on Facebook , and FOLLOW me on Twitter for all the latest and greatest updates courtesy of Cheap-Heat and Daily Wrestling News !

http://www.cheap-heat.com/six-seasonal-superstars-holiday-themed-wrestlers/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/six-seasonal-superstars-holiday-themed-wrestlers/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:09:59 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Blogs Top Lists Balls Mahoney Chris Jericho Christmas Creature Ciclope Dean Malenko Dustin Runnels Fake Diesel Finlay Glen Jacobs Gobbledy Gooker Goldust Halloween Hector Guerrero Hornswoggle Kane Vince McMahon Xanta Claus http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13094 July is the season of American Independence, so in honor of the USA, I wrote "Superstars and Stripes Forever: Top 13 Most Patriotic Performers." This got me thinking about other holidays, and pro wrestlers commonly associated with them. I originally planned to do another Top Thirteen Countdown, but came up very short on names—I guess […]

July is the season of American Independence, so in honor of the USA, I wrote "Superstars and Stripes Forever: Top 13 Most Patriotic Performers." This got me thinking about other holidays, and pro wrestlers commonly associated with them. I originally planned to do another Top Thirteen Countdown, but came up very short on names—I guess there's no real market for a Columbus Day or EASTER gimmick. And before you say anything, no, I did not include Adam Rose's bunny. So sit back and enjoy "Six Seasonal Superstars: Holiday-Themed Wrestlers."

The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust – New Years 1998
Number six was a one-off by the incomparable Dustin Runnels, and while some might say that's a cop-out, I'll argue it's just as valid as se of the other names on this list. Goldust was going through some emotional problems toward the tail-end of 1997, and by 1998 had completely gone off the deep-end. This was one of his more modest moments, when compared to the time he dressed up as Sable. Goldust decided to celebrate 1998 on Monday Night Raw dressed as the iconic "Baby New Year." He was scantily-clad, as was the norm for "The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust," and danced around the ring until a certain "Rattlesnake" crashed the party. Goldust ended up ringing in the New Year inside a port-a-potty dubbed "Crapper 3:16.

Hornswoggle – St. Patrick's Day
He arrived in the WWE under seemingly mythological circumstances, and lived underneath the ring where he took part in "Little People's Court." Hornswoggle is the WWE's resident Leprechaun, who captured his own "pot of gold" in the form of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Hornswoggle has transitioned away from the soot-faced caricature he used to play, but still enters the arena to a lively Irish jig. Not only has Hornswoggle made a name for himself in the WWE, but on the silver screen in the recent reboot of the "Leprechaun" film franchise.

Christmas Creature – Christmas
Before he was the "Devil's Favorite Demon," Kane went by several other names. Without getting into the history of insane gimmicks Glen Jacobs has been given, let's instead focus on the most bizarre of them all. After making a name for himself in USWA, Jacobs arrived in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where Jim Cornette christened him "The Christmas Creature." His sleeves were made to look like candy canes, whereas the rest of his body—including his head—was covered in green fabric. In addition, he was liberally adorned with strands of tinsel—both across his chest and around his waist, as well as suggestively strung between his legs. The Christmas Creature might have been a bit flawed in terms of execution, but you cannot fault anyone for the sheer creativity of the character.

Gobbledy Gooker – Thanksgiving
The holiday season was just starting in 1990, and the entire WWE Universe was wondering—"What's in the Egg?" The Egg, of course, was a giant anomaly placed near the entrance way at WWE television tapings and live events. Speculation would proceed to run rampant, until everyone's questions were answered at the Survivor Series on Thanksgiving Night. It was the Gobbledy Gooker! An anthropomorphic Turkey, who ran to the ring and danced with Mean Gene Okerlund. The �Gooker went on to appear a handful of times in prerecorded promos, but disappeared from television before Christmas. It was later revealed that Hector Guerrero—Eddie's older brother—was the wrestler inside the Turkey suit. Hector reprised his role as the Gobbledy Gooker in 2001 as part of the "Gimmick Battle Royal" at Wrestlemania X7, when he was the second Superstar eliminated.

Halloween – Halloween
Halloween is number two for a variety of reasons, but first and foremost—his name is Halloween! Audiences in America might best remember this famed performer as "Ciclope," a Cruiserweight competitor in WCW. Halloween's longevity sets him apart from everyone else on the list. Like Hornswoggle, his persona is more than just a short-lived publicity stunt—Halloween has been performing under the black and orange since 1990. While his resilience and ability to withstand the test of time earns him a top spot on my list, I couldn't place him at number one because his character doesn't exactly embody the "Halloween Spirit."

Xanta Claus – Christmas
Like many other names listed, our number one Seasonal Superstar went on to achieve greater success once his holiday-themed gimmick expired. Fans around the world know him as Balls Mahoney, the former amateur wrestler-turned-hardcore legend, but for a short period in the mid=90s, Balls was known as Xanta Claus. Xanta Claus was brought to the World Wrestling Federation by the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, to act as an antithesis to—you guessed it— SANTA CLAUS . He wore black and red, and sported a closely-groomed dark brown beard. He wouldn't last very long because, as James Bond will tell you: "Christmas only comes once a year." Despite the unusually short-shelf life of the character, Xanta Claus remains among the most talked about WWE Superstars of all time.

Until next time, please LIKE "The B+ Players Podcast" on Facebook , and FOLLOW me on Twitter for all the latest and greatest updates courtesy of Cheap-Heat , Gutbusters , and Daily Wrestling News !

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-iron-side-of-the-stories-5715/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-iron-side-of-the-stories-5715/#comments Thu, 07 May 2015 20:46:50 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Chris Jericho Global Force Wrestling Owen Hart http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=11621 Hello again, and welcome to the cleverly named “Iron Side of the Stories,” where I run through some of the big stories of the week, with my thoughts. Let’s get right to it.   WWE Produced Owen Hart Documentary In The Works Just announced today at www.wrestlingdvdnews.com, on what would have been the 50th birthday […]

Hello again, and welcome to the cleverly named “Iron Side of the Stories,” where I run through some of the big stories of the week, with my thoughts. Let’s get right to it.

WWE Produced Owen Hart Documentary In The Works

Just announced today at www.wrestlingdvdnews.com, on what would have been the 50th birthday of the late Owen Hart, WWE is working on the long awaited Owen Hart documentary. Perhaps even more shocking than the creation of the DVD is the fact that Owen’s widow Martha Hart has given her blessing to the WWE to go forward in creating the documentary.

Finally. Since his tragic passing in May of 1999, wrestling fans worldwide have been waiting for a documentary that would pay tribute to one of the most beloved wrestlers in the history of WWE. We are finally going to get it. No release date has been announced. I personally cannot wait, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the DVD will drop sometime near the beginning of 2016– right around WWE Hall of Fame induction announcement time. After waiting far too long, not only will we get an in depth feature on “The Rocket,” but we just may get that final “must have” induction into the H.O.F.

Chris Jericho Announced As The Host of WWE Tough Enough

Y2J has just been revealed as the host of the new incarnation of WWE’s Tough Enough series. In my opinion, that decision is just as good as the previous one that saw Stone Cold Steve Austin host the show. Jericho has been with the WWE on and off for nearly twenty years, not to mention time he spent in WCW, ECW, WAR, as well as many independents across the U.S. and Canada. Jericho was also trained in Stu Hart’s infamous Dungeon. When you talk credible training and experience, the front man of Fozzy is a great choice to host this season of T.E.

Sami Zayn Injured

Monday on Raw, Sami Zayn had the opportunity of a lifetime, taking on John Cena has part of Cena’a United States Championship Open Challenge in front of a rabid hometown crowd Montreal, Canada. Zayn was so excited that before he even entered the ring, it appeared that he injured his right shoulder. Despite this, Zayn went on to wrestle an excellent match with one of the biggest stars in wrestling history.

Unfortunately, the rumor going around is that Zayn’s injury may put him on the shelf for two or three months. Sami had just returned from an injury to the same shoulder. Will this halt his momemtum? I don’t think so. NXT is the “in” thing in wrestling right now, and between the following that he’s amassed while competing for NXT and his incredible performance this past Monday night, I think it’s safe to say that if Sami needs time off, he’ll be greeted with open arms from the WWE Universe upon returning.

Global Force Announces Roster

After much anticipation the first names for Jef f Jarrett’s Global Force has been announced. The names include the likes of Justin Gabriel, D.H. Smith, Lance Hoyt, and Bullet Club’s Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. It seems as though the promotion has grabbed a hold of quite a few talents that have been cutting their teeth in Japan for a while now (Gabriel the only exception, as he recently left WWE). I can dig it, especially the addition of two Bullet Club members, arguably the most popular group in pro wrestling at this moment. I’m excited to see who else gets named!

That’s it for this week. If you’re near north east Ohio, come see me at Olde Wrestling in Lakewood, Ohio tomorrow. I’ll have a mustache. That in itself should sell you on the show.

www.oldewrestling.com

-Greg

http://www.cheap-heat.com/nice-guys-finish-last-5-heel-victories-at-wrestlemania/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/nice-guys-finish-last-5-heel-victories-at-wrestlemania/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2015 19:46:00 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Blogs Indy/Puro/Lucha Other Blogs Brock Lesnar Chris Jericho HHH Steve Austin Stone Cold The Miz Triple H Wrestlemania WWE http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=10787 Nice Guys Finish Last: 5 Heel Victories at Wrestlemania Written by Mark Adam Haggerty One of the defining dissimilarities separating the National Wrestling Alliance from the World Wrestling Federation was the way in which each promotion booked their world title. The NWA pushed villainous heels such as Ric Flair for YEARS at a time, so […]

Nice Guys Finish Last:
5 Heel Victories at Wrestlemania
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

One of the defining dissimilarities separating the National Wrestling Alliance from the World Wrestling Federation was the way in which each promotion booked their world title. The NWA pushed villainous heels such as Ric Flair for YEARS at a time, so as to tell the tale of multiple heroes chasing the championship. The WWF belt however, was generally possessed by key babyface competitors who sold out arenas by defending the strap against an array of antagonists. It's interesting to note that while the WWE continues to evolve, it's booking practices at the "Granddaddy of Them All" remains the same. Now more than three decades into this annual tradition and only FOUR heels have ever walked away from Wrestlemania with the world title.

Triple H – Wrestlemania 2000 & XIX
Triple H has certainly seen his share of both success and defeat at the "Showcase of the Immortals," and will go down in history as the only heel to leave Wrestlemania with the world championship—TWICE. Believe it or not, babyfaces reigned supreme throughout the first fifteen years of Wrestlemania; from Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart to Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, every �Mania from—from one through fifteen—ended on a happy note with the villain vanquished. All that changed when Wrestlemania dropped its numeric value and went by its "New Millennium Moniker"—Wrestlemania 2000 was headlined by a four-way elimination match featuring a "McMahon in every corner." Triple H was escorted to ringside by his then-Kayfabe wife Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, where he proceeded to defeat the Big Show, Mick Foley, and the Rock to retain his WWE Championship. Fast forward 3-years to Seattle's SafeCo Field and the "Game" is once again on the defensive, although this time in a one-on-one encounter with the "Five-Time WCW Champion" Booker T. After a hard-fought battle against the righteous Booker T, the racist Triple H prevailed—still in possession of the "Big Gold Belt."

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin – Wrestlemania X-Seven
Although the "Texas Rattlesnake" enjoyed a far more lucrative run as a babyface, his victory over the Rock at Wrestlemania X-Seven will go down as one of the most dastardly decisions in �Mania history. By the spring of 2001, WWE Creative felt that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin could use a shot of adrenaline and opted to turn him heel for the foreseeable future. But how could the company go about changing direction on THE most popular performer in WWE history? After delivering a debilitating number of steel chair shots to his nemesis—Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson—Steve did the unthinkable and embraced the sinister and sadistic Vince McMahon. Hindsight being 20/20—according to Steve himself—this was probably the wrong move to make in terms of the "Stone Cold" character. The match itself is among the most praised in �Mania history and the events that followed will forever be immortalized as an iconic "�Mania Moment."

Chris Jericho – Wrestlemania XXVI
When Chris Jericho returned to the WWE in 2007, he did so with no purpose or direction—just another silver vest and a really bad haircut. By the time summer 2008 rolled around, Y2J was well on his way toward reinventing himself as a methodical menace to the sanctity of World Wrestling Entertainment. He continued on his slow-talking crusade as a championship contender for the rest of the run, and defended his world heavyweight championship against the "Rated R Superstar" at Wrestlemania XXVI in Glendale, Arizona. Edge and Jericho were a formidable-yet-short-lived tag team tandem before Edge was forced out of action due to injury. When he returned to the WWE, he received a hero's welcome from the �Universe, much to the chagrin of the world champion. Chris Jericho defeated his challenger in true heel fashion by relying on a foreign object—the "Big Gold Belt"—to do his dirty work. He blind-sided Edge and hit him with a "Codebreaker" for good measure, earning the victory and retaining his belt in the process.

The Miz – Wrestlemania XXVII
The Miz is among the most polarizing figures in Sports Entertainment thanks to his lifelong association with MTV and reality television. But that's not to say that Mike Mizanin isn't a qualified world heavyweight champion that held his title for an astonishing 160 days. I was in Atlanta for Wrestlemania XXVII, and I really enjoyed the video package that introduced the WWE Universe to the Miz as a main event talent. The talk of the weekend was the inevitable Cena-victory over the Miz, granting the "Doctor of Thuganomics" his umpteenth world championship. The match was far better than anticipated, and the finale was something nobody could have predicted. The cold and calculating Miz defeated the venerable John Cena in the headlining attraction of the first-and-only Wrestlemania where zero title changes occurred. The show ended with the Miz on his back after receiving the "People's Elbow" from the Rock. This was the last time a heel left Wrestlemania as champion.

There you have it—only four VILLAINS have ever walked away from Wrestlemania with the championship draped over their shoulder. And if you'll notice, aside from "Stone Cold"—who could hardly be considered a heel—every other instance was a successful title defense. Will Brock Lesnar be the next "bad guy" to emerge victorious with his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, or will Roman Reigns continue what has been a near-30 year tradition of babyface dominance? Until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty reminding you to keep checking out Cheap-Heat and to follow my podcast on Facebook by LIKING "The B+ Players."

http://www.cheap-heat.com/hall-of-fame-hopefuls-part-five-headliners/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/hall-of-fame-hopefuls-part-five-headliners/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:44:45 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Blogs Other Blogs Bill Goldberg Chris Jericho Goldberg Hall of Fame HHH HOF JBL John Bradshaw Layfield Kurt Angle Owen Hart Sting The Rock Triple H Undertaker Vince McMahon Wrestlemania WWE http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=10727 Hall of Fame Hopefuls Part Five: Headliners Written by Mark Adam Haggerty Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the fifth and final chapter of "Hall of Fame Hopefuls," exclusively available at Cheap-Heat.com. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and over the past month I've had the chance to chat about some of the most iconic talents […]

Hall of Fame Hopefuls
Part Five: Headliners
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the fifth and final chapter of "Hall of Fame Hopefuls," exclusively available at Cheap-Heat.com. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and over the past month I've had the chance to chat about some of the most iconic talents to ever be featured in-or-around a professional wrestling ring. We began with tag teams, moved on to the celebrity wing, then to managers and broadcasters, and last week I named the most deserving Divas whom I believe belong in the WWE Hall of Fame. For this ultimate edition, we're listing ten possible headliners for future Hall of Fame classes. These are the men who will fill the same sort of role as Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, the Ultimate Warrior, and of course the "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Let's kick things off with the only Olympic Gold Medalist on the countdown.

Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle is among the greatest technicians in the history of professional wrestling, and might be the greatest active competitor inside a squared—or six-sided—circle. After taking home top honors at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Kurt Angle was at a loss for how to continue his athletic career. After much soul-searching he decided to try his hand at professional wrestling and made his in-ring debut for the National Wrestling Alliance on October 24, 1998. Angle was spotted by the WWE immediately and first appeared for the �Federation at the Survivor Series the following year. Angle enjoyed a dominant winning streak lasting over two months and made history when he won the WWE Championship from the Rock at No Mercy 2000, just eleven months after debuting. A former King of the Ring, Kurt went on to achieve unprecedented honors including the WWE, WCW, and World heavyweight championships—in addition to secondary belts like the U.S., Intercontinental, European, Hardcore, and tag team titles. Although the "Wrestling Machine" has been absent from World Wrestling Entertainment for nearly a decade, it's safe to assume his seat will always be ready, should he decide to take his place amongst the "Immortals."

Triple H
The man that would one day become Triple H started his career in 1992 after training with the legendary Killer Kowalski. He debuted for World Championship Wrestling in 1994 as Terra Ryzing, but was soon repackaged as "Jean-Paul Levesque"—a French nobleman with a finishing maneuver known as the "Pedigree." He signed with the WWE in 1995 and brought his aristocratic act to a whole new audience as the "Connecticut Blue Blood" Hunter Hearst-Helmsley. Triple H teamed with Shawn Michaels in 1997 to form D-Generation X, which Hunter continued to lead clear into the new millennium. Triple H won his first world title on an episode of Raw following Summerslam 1999 and has since become one of the most decorated performers in WWE history. A 13-time world heavyweight champion, Triple H is also a former King of the Ring, Royal Rumble winner, and a member of BOTH the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame and the International Sports Hall of Fame.Triple H has scaled back on in-ring competition since taking a job in Titan Towers in 2010, where his main focus has been on creative and talent relations. Triple H is a lock for the WWE Hall of Fame—the only uncertainly is when we might see it happen.

The Rock
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been igniting the box office for 15 years, but got his start in entertainment by "electrifying millions—and millions" of people around the world. The Rock debuted for the WWE in 1996 at the Survivor Series as "Rocky Maivia"—a name created by combining Rocky Johnson with Peter Maivia—in honor of his father and grandfather. Audiences didn't take to the Jerri-curled babyface and soon began to greet the future "Great One" with chants of "Rocky Sucks" and "Die, Rocky, Die." The Rock found himself in the driver's seat of the Nation of Domination after ejecting their former leader Farooq, and by 1998 was well on his way to world heavyweight title. The Rock became the WWE champion at the Survivor Series that year when he "screwed" Mick Foley in the "Deadly Games Tournament." The Rock held numerous championships during his time with the WWE, but made his greatest mark in ways that no previous Superstar could have imagined. The December 1998 pay-per-view—Rock Bottom—was named for the champ, but that was only the beginning. In 1999 the WWE debuted Smackdown—a phrase made popular by the Rock—which led to an enormously popular video game series by the same name. The Rock returned to the WWE in 2011 to host Wrestlemania XXVII, and went on to win the WWE championship for an 8th time at the Royal Rumble in 2013. If the Rock isn't worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame—then why does it exist?

Sting
Steve Borden began his wrestling career much the same as fellow Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels—as part of a tag team. Borden was originally one-half of the Blade Runners with the man who would one-day be known as the Ultimate Warrior. Originally referred to as "Blade Runner Flash," Borden would ultimately change his name to Sting. He debuted for Jim Crockett Promotions in 1987 and quickly engaged in a heated rivalry with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. Sting won his first world title on July 7, 1990 from the "Nature Boy," and by 1991 was considered the "Franchise" of World Championship Wrestling. When the New World Order started to take over WCW during the summer of �96, Sting went into hiding and returned in the rafters where he proceeded to watch the events of �97 unfold. Sting finally met "Hollywood" Hogan for the WCW championship at Starrcade 1997, where he defeated the former Hulkster and regained the title on behalf of WCW. Over the next several years, Sting's character would evolve and alternate allegiances, even aligning with Kevin Nash and the NWO Wolf Pac. Sting had the privilege of performing in the main event of the final Monday Nitro in March of 2001 against his longtime nemesis, Ric Flair. When the company closed, Borden opted not to join the competition and instead signed with the WWE alternative Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003. Sting's induction seems all-but-imminent now that the "Vigilante" has signed with the WWE—14 years removed from the Monday Night War. Sting is also a longtime resident of the "Lone-Star State"—the site of next year's potential record-breaking Wrestlemania—so now seems like a perfect time to consider him for the WWE Hall of Fame.

Chris Jericho
The self-professed "Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla" is one of the most diverse performers to ever lace-up a pair of wrestling boots. Chris Jericho started his journey toward the WWE Hall of Fame in 1990 when he began training under the highly-acclaimed Hart Brothers. Jericho traveled the world and learned various nuances of the business during his time in Mexico and Japan, and eventually debuted stateside for Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1995. It wasn't long before national promotions started to take notice of young "Lionheart" and in 1997, Chris Jericho signed with WCW. He achieved mild-success while employed by Turner, engaging in memorable rivalries with high profile talents such as Dean Malenko and even Bill Goldberg. Jericho joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 and made his long-awaited debut by interrupting the Rock on Monday Night Raw. Chris Jericho holds the record for most intercontinental title reigns at nine, and is further renowned for being the very first Undisputed Champion in WWE history. Jericho is the WWE's 4th Grand Slam Champion, coming in just behind Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, as well as current "Authority Figures" Triple H and Kane. Chris Jericho has been able to withstand the test of time by reinventing himself and relying on the number one rule of showmanship—"always leave them wanting more." Chris is an aspiring actor, a successful podcast host, and most notably—he is the lead singer for the hit heavy metal band FOZZY. Hopefully Y2J will "save us" from boring speeches when he inevitably accepts the honor of being added to the WWE Hall of Fame.

John "Bradshaw" Layfield
John "Bradshaw" Layfield signed with the WWE in 1995 and has remained involved with the company to some degree ever since. He began as the Texas roughneck Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, an homage to clichéd Sports Entertainment cowboys such as Stan Hansen and Black Bart. Bradshaw found much of his early success in the tag team ranks, both with Barry Windham as the "New Blackjacks," and later with his longtime partner Ron Simmons in the APA. Bradshaw and Simmons won the WWE tag titles on three separate occasions before finally separating in 2004. By this time, Bradshaw's real-life role on Wall Street started to seep into the storyline, and the JBL character was born. John "Bradshaw" Layfield formed his "Cabinet" and took the WWE Championship from Eddie Guerrero in a bloody Bull Rope Match at the Great American Bash. His record-breaking streak as champion came to an end at Wrestlemania 21 when he dropped the coveted title to John Cena. JBL remained adamant about regaining his gold, but failed to do so, instead choosing to focus on secondary singles titles such as the United States and Intercontinental Championships. Today Bradshaw is a color commentator on Monday Night Raw and hosts a daily radio segment with Michael Cole. If Jerry Lawler and Booker T are going to flash their Hall of Fame jewelry at ringside, then so too should John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

Goldberg
Bill Goldberg was an Atlanta Falcon who entered the world of professional wrestling in 1997 after training at WCW's Power Plant. Goldberg immediately turned heads with a physical presence unlike anything wrestling fans had ever seen. His matches might have been short, but they added up to an astounding 173-0 winning streak lasting until Starrcade 1998. Goldberg lost the title but maintained his winning edge, only losing to a select few individuals such as Kevin Nash and Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Goldberg was loyal to World Championship Wrestling until its dying day, and opted to sit-out the remainder of his contract, rather than sign with World Wrestling Entertainment. Goldberg made his WWE debut on the Monday Night Raw following Wrestlemania XIX in Seattle, where the former-Falcon warned the Rock: "You're Next!" Goldberg was featured prominently on the WWE's Raw brand during his year with the company, and won the world heavyweight championship from Triple H in a "Title vs. Career Match" at Unforgiven 2003. Goldberg's final match with the company would be a polarizing affair featuring Brock Lesnar with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as the guest referee. While the match left a lot to be desired, Bill Goldberg walked away victorious and even shared a ceremonial beer with the "Rattlesnake" before getting 'Stunned himself. Goldberg might not have been the most technically proficient superstar in wrestling history, but he sold tickets and remains a household name almost 20 years after his debut.

Owen Hart
There are a variety of reasons why Owen Hart has yet to be added to the WWE Hall of Fame; his widow Martha is adamant that he not be included, although his brother Bret seeks closure and continues to pressure Martha into changing her mind. The logistics of the situation aside, Owen Hart is one of the most deserving professional wrestlers who's yet to receive a WWE Hall of Fame acknowledgment. Owen began learning his craft under the tutelage of his famed father Stu Hart. His wrestling career was hindered as his debut in 1983 came during a time that Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation was acquiring Stu's Stampede territory. Owen wasn't afforded the chance to learn on his family's home turf and instead made a name for himself on the independent circuit before being signed to the WWE in 1988. Owen competed as the Blue Blazer and was even featured at Wrestlemania V against Mr. Perfect. Owen left the WWE and spent time back at home in Calgary, as well as in WCW, before returning to the �Federation in 1993. Beginning in the autumn of '93, Owen entered into what would become a defining program in his career—a bitter year-long rivalry with his older brother Bret. The two first met at �Mania X where Owen got the best of Bret, and then again at Summerslam in a 5-star championship cage match wherein the "Hitman" emerged victorious. Owen became a celebrated tag team specialist alongside partners like Yokozuna, the British Bulldog, and Jeff Jarrett. In addition to numerous tag team accolades, Owen is a former intercontinental champion, European champion, King of the Ring, and 3-time Slammy Award Winner. Sadly however, Owen lost his life in a tragic accident at the Kemper Arena on May 23rd, 1999; Owen Hart was a world-class performer who most certainly deserves one final "Wrestlemania Moment" as his memory is honored in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The Undertaker
Mark Calaway stood nearly seven feet tall and was originally brought to the mainstream by WCW in 1989 as "Mean Mark Callous." He replaced Sid Vicious as one-half of Teddy Long's "Skyscrapers" along with Dan Spivey, but soon embarked on a singles career that would introduce him to a wider audience. Calaway signed with the WWE in 1990, leaving wrestling fans flabbergasted when Ted DiBiase introduced his otherworldly team mate at the Survivor Series. The Undertaker was a sinister heel during his first two years in the �Federation, and captured the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan one year after his debut at the �Series in �91. By the time the "New Generation" was taking over from the "Old Guard," the Undertaker transitioned from fearsome freak to beloved babyface. He introduced the "Casket Match" to the WWE Universe against Kamala and later the world champion Yokozuna. He regained the WWE belt at Wrestlemania 13 against the man he originally replaced in WCW— Psycho Sid—and started down a championship path that would ultimately include 7 world titles. The Undertaker's contributions to the WWE are innumerable and impossible to list in one paragraph, but include match types such as "Buried Alive," the "Last Ride Match," and "Hell in a Cell." The Undertaker's Kayfabe brother Kane was introduced to compliment the �Taker character, but has since gone on to achieve a mythical status of his own. The Undertaker is one of the most inventive Superstars in the history of the WWE; whether he's the Phenom of the World Wrestling Federation or the American Badass, it's hard to argue with success. I think it's safe to say the Undertaker is a guaranteed future-Hall of Famer, so I'll stop here and patiently await next year's Wrestlemania in the Dead Man's home state of Texas.

Vince McMahon
The WWE Hall of Fame would cease to be had it not been for the vision of one global entrepreneur. Vince McMahon took his father's New York-based wrestling promotion and developed it into a worldwide entertainment conglomerate, currently trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Vince became a focal point on �Federation broadcasts beginning in the early 1970s, and by the end of the decade would be the driving force within his father's company. Vince's distribution outfit—Titan Sports—acquired the World Wrestling Federation in 1982, just a few years shy of Hulk Hogan and the advent of Wrestlemania. Vince remained dedicated to the announce desk throughout the 1980s and �90s, forming lasting bonds with color commentators such as Jess "The Body" Ventura and Jerry "The King" Lawler. In 1997 Vince stepped outside his comfort zone and into the spotlight, where he would become the diabolical "Mr. McMahon" character that audiences love-to-hate. McMahon feuded with main event talents from numerous generations including Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Triple H, and most famously "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. In addition to his countless honors outside of professional wrestling, Vince is a 2-time world champion—having held both the WWE and ECW world heavyweight championships. Vincent J.—Mr. McMahon's father—was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996, so there's certainly room for more McMahons should the opportunity someday arise. Vince McMahon has received his share of criticism throughout the years from both industry insiders and outsiders alike, but few can debate whether Vince McMahon belongs in his OWN Hall of Fame.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read "Hall of Fame Hopefuls." This was a fun way to highlight some of the biggest names in wrestling history that haven't yet found their place in the "Pantheon of the Immortals." In five weeks I've named sixty different Superstars from various eras and countless generations, all of whom deserve recognition for their contributions to the industry. Until next time, this has been Mark Adam Haggerty reminding you to keep checking out Cheap-Heat and to follow me on Facebook by LIKING "The B+ Players."

http://www.cheap-heat.com/legends-house-2-8-potential-names/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/legends-house-2-8-potential-names/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2015 05:16:48 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Blogs Other Blogs APA Bradshaw Chris Jericho David Von Erich DDP Diamond Dallas Page Dok Hendrix Dusty Rhodes ECW Fabulous Freebirds Farooq Great American Bash Hall of Fame Hillbilly Jim HOF Jake Roberts JBL Jesse Ventura Kerry Von Erich Legends House Macho Man Michael Hayes Million Dollar Man Nation of Domination NWA Pat Patterson Randy Savage Ricky Steamboat Ron Simmons Ted DiBiase TNA Vader War Games WCCW WCW Wrestlemania WWE WWE Network WWF http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=9876 Legends House 2: 8 Potential Names Written by Mark Adam Haggerty It's been one year since the world was first introduced to the WWE Network—a 24-hour streaming service featuring the best of WWE's current product as well as unfettered access to wrestling TV from yesteryear. Among the most popular content on the �Network is the […]

Legends House 2:
8 Potential Names
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

It's been one year since the world was first introduced to the WWE Network—a 24-hour streaming service featuring the best of WWE's current product as well as unfettered access to wrestling TV from yesteryear. Among the most popular content on the �Network is the original material, including WWE Legend's House . Originally produced for cable television, Legend's House was the WWE's answer to the "Surreal Life" . Seven Hall of Famers and Hillbilly Jim converged in Palm Springs and proceeded to pull back the curtain like never before. Of course there were an enormity of activities to keep the Legends busy, but the real magic of the show came from the bond between eight brothers of the locker room. Since the show concluded, there's been talk of developing a second season, but the question as to who might make up the cast remains unanswered. My name is Mark Adam Haggerty and I'm here to make some predictions and suggestions as to who I'd like to see stuck inside the Legend's House .

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase
Starting off our list is a man whose name was synonymous with the WWF during the late 1980s. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was the top-drawing villain of his day, squaring off against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, and Dusty Rhodes. He arrived in the WWE where he was outfitted with luxurious tuxedos, extravagant jewelry, and most precious of all—the Million Dollar Championship. Though never officially winning the world title, DiBiase did buy one from Andre the Giant, and even became the 1988 King of the Ring. Ted DiBiase retired from in-ring competition in 1994 and continued to work in the industry as a manager for such Superstars as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the 1-2-3 Kid, the Steiner Brothers, and the NWO. "The Million Dollar Man" would make a fine addition to the Legend's House based solely on his dynamic legacy, but a TV show needs more than famous wrestlers. Everybody involved needs to have a decisive quirk to set them apart—on the first season Tony Atlas was annoying, Roddy Piper was crazy, and Pat Patterson was gay. In addition to being a world-class wrestler, Ted DiBiase is also an ordained minister, and is said to be the one responsible for several wrestlers "finding Jesus." I suggest his calm demeanor could play greatly against some of the more explosive personalities in the wrestling business.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat entered the wrestling industry in 1976, traveling the North American territory system while also learning to hone his craft overseas. "The Dragon" earned a sterling reputation specifically in the NWA promotions along the East Coast, and would eventually become an NWA/WCW Triple Crown champion when he won each the U.S., tag team, and world's heavyweight titles. Ricky had a brief stint in the WWF during the 1980s where he was met with minimal success. However it was a match from this time with "Macho Man" Randy Savage that helped make Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat a household name. Ricky returned to his roots and the WCW where he remained until the final days of his in-ring career. In 1994, the "Dragon" received his pink-slip via FedEx—from Eric Bischoff. Ricky has remained loyal to the industry but has only stepped inside the squared-circle on rare occasion, including a pair of bouts against Chris Jericho in 2009. Ricky Steamboat is an incredibly nice guy who won't do much to push buttons while living in the Legend's House. At the same time however, the former NWA champion has a dry wit about him, which could make him the straight man to some of the more outrageous members of the cast.

Michael “PS” Hayes
In 1995 the WWE hired a mustachioed color commentator with sandy-colored hair and a raspy voice. I was only 9-years-old at the time, so I had no reason to think this guy was anybody other than "Dok Hendrix"—boy was I wrong! The legend of Michael "PS" Hayes began long before his time in the broadcast booth, down in the murkiest depths of America in 1977. Hayes learned to work in his home state of Florida, and soon moved on to larger markets in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. Hayes and his running-mates dubbed the "Fabulous Freebirds" were proud of their Southern Rock routes and chose to wear the confederate flag no matter where they performed. The �Freebirds engaged in landmark rivalries with the legendary Von Erich Family, most notably against David and Kerry. Over the course of his illustrious 20-year run, Michael Hayes captured tag team gold on a number of occasions in every notable promotion—except the WWF. Hayes has garnered something of a notorious reputation behind the scenes in WWE where he currently works as head-producer. It would seem that every year around Wrestlemania, Michael Hayes gets drunk and says something racist. While I'm certainly not defending racism, I'd like to remind people that he's a sixty-year-old redneck from the Florida panhandle—I think we're lucky he keeps those remarks to himself as often as he does. Regardless, I think a man known to make as many faux pas as Freebird is made for reality TV.

Diamond Dallas Page
Don't knock yoga until you try it—Diamond Dallas Page is helping extend the careers and lives of legendary wrestlers and everyday people through his proven system of "DDP Yoga." Page is an inspiration in more ways than one; after debuting well into his prime, Diamond Dallas Page went on to have an extraordinary career which included every title in WCW as well as the WWF European and tag team championships. Now at the age of 58, Page is still active and in such peak-condition that he entered the 2015 Royal Rumble just last month ago, delivering a Diamond Cutter or two along the way. He is also the man who helped deliver Jake "the Snake" Roberts from "Death's Door" to the WWE Hall of Fame, a near impossible feat, accomplished by an unprecedented individual. Diamond Dallas Page is the most positive person on the planet, to the point where his energy is infectious and could benefit some of the other housemates who don't possess the same sunny disposition as Page. While most members of the Legend's House will probably find the WCW "People's Champion" endearing, there are bound to be a few grumpy guys unwilling to do yoga in the morning, making for some hilarious repartee.

Ron Simmons
There has still never been an African-American WWE champion, unless you count the Rock—which I don't think anybody does. But the first African-American world champion in WCW earned that honor on August 2, 1992 after defeating Big Van Vader—of course I'm talking about Ron Simmons. Unlike other names on the list, Simmons started wrestling after his football career was at an end. He debuted in 1986 and by the early �90s was known the world over as one-half of the dreaded tag team Doom. He and Butch Reed were managed by future Smackdown general manager Teddy Long, and held the WCW world tag titles before disbanding, leaving Simmons to try his hand at singles action. Following his title run and subsequent time with WCW, Ron Simmons moved on to ECW, but eventually arrived in the WWF as the "Modern Day Gladiator" Farooq Asaad. Farooq captained the fearsome Nation of Domination, one of the most revered stables in wrestling history, and alongside John Layfield formed the APA, an equally destructive tag duo. I think Ron Simmons would be an excellent member of the cast because he's a WWE Hall of Famer, he's renowned for his barrier-breaking achievements, and he's been known to drink a beer or two. Plus—if Michael Hayes is going to be around, they'll need somebody to keep him in line.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Every Legend's House is going to need a wild card, so unless Roddy Piper wants to return, we've got to find a replacement. Jake "the Snake" Roberts is a fabled character in professional wrestling, whose name echoes in the ears of those who don't even follow the sport. Jake, a second-generation wrestler, debuted in 1975 after being told repeatedly by his father Grizzly Smith NOT to become a wrestler. Jake signed with the WWF in the mid �80s amidst the "Rock �N' Wrestling" campaign. "The Snake" wasn't as family friendly as some of his contemporaries and made his presence felt through much darker means, including cryptic promos and threatening his opponents with fear—fear of his pet snake Damian . Although active for forty years in numerous promotions including WWF, WCW, ECW, TNA, WCCW, and others, Jake "The Snake" Roberts never won a major singles title. Jake is a very interesting character who's managed to defeat several demons, all the while still battling with others. He had some recent health issues, but the 2014 Hall of Famer appears to be getting better than ever. If you thought it was hard keeping "Hot Rod" locked up inside a house, imagine dealing with Jake Roberts. And plus—he'll probably bring the snake!

“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes
Just like the Hall of Fame or Wrestlemania itself, Legend's House needs a couple of headliners to give the people what they want! And who better than the 3-time NWA world heavyweight champion, the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes? �Dream made his debut in 1968 and established himself as a cagey tag team competitor. Dusty was a long-time supporter of the National Wrestling Alliance, and remained under its promotional umbrella for most of his career. He made a brief appearance in the WWF during the early 1990s, feuding with the "Macho Man" Randy Savage and the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Dusty is accredited with creating some of the most spellbinding spectacles in wrestling including War Games and the Great American Bash. A highly decorated legend and WWE Hall of Famer like Dusty Rhodes has the potential to steal the show. He's never at a loss for what to say, and seems like he can offer up some poignant knowledge to his fellow cast mates once the final episode rolls along. The Legends are quite often asked to sing and dance and act outrageous—even at 69-years old, nobody gets "funky like a monkey" quite like Dusty Rhodes.

Jesse “The Body” Ventura
I dare say Jesse "The Body" Ventura would be the most entertaining cast member of Legends House: Season 2 POSSIBLE . Jesse started his wrestling career after serving his country during the Vietnam War. He received his training in his home state of Minnesota from the iconic trainer of superstars, Eddie Sharkey. Jesse Ventura's career would only last eleven years, but in that time he managed to create a legacy that would extend more than forty years. In 1986 Jesse joined the announce desk where he was most remembered by people from my generation; he served as color-commentator at the first several WWF pay-per-views such as Summerslam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Wrestlemania. Jesse moved on to do the same type of work for WCW before leaving the industry all-together. In 1998 Ventura, now known as the "Mind," won the Minnesota gubernatorial election and served from 1999 until 2003. In addition to his public service and professional wrestling careers, the former Navy Seal is also an author, actor, and—oh yeah, he's absolutely insane. Jesse hosts a podcast every week where he describes his life living off the grid, without cell phones or computers, and ridiculing everyone who trusts in technology. I would very much like to see a show where Michael Hayes and Dusty Rhodes, two WWE employees required to carry cell phones, get lectured by the "Body" over government surveillance. Now that's good TV!

Whether you agree with me or not, I think I made some valid arguments as to why these eight individuals belong trapped together in the middle of the Southern California desert. I hope the WWE Network decides to order a second season of Legend's House, or at the very least, introduces a similar behind-the-scenes program to satiate my appetite when I'm not keen on Kayfabe. Until next time, this has been Mark Haggerty, reminding you to check out Cheap-Heat.com for all the latest and greatest news, columns, countdowns and coverage.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/lucky-thirteen-7-bandits-of-the-bout/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/lucky-thirteen-7-bandits-of-the-bout/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:02:19 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Top Lists AJPW All-Japan Pro Wrestling America's Most Wanted AWA Barry Windham Bart Gunn Beer Money Billy Gunn Blackjack Lanza Blackjack Mulligan Bob Holly Bob Orton Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Bobby Duncum Jr. Bobby Roode Brawl for All Chris Harris Chris Jericho Cowboy Bob Orton Cowboy James Storm Curt Henning Dory Funk Dory Funk Jr. ECW GWF Henry Godwinn Hulk Hogan Jake Roberts James Storm JBL Jim Crockett Jimmy Wang Yang John Bradshaw Layfield John Layfield Lance Cade Master P New Blackjacks NWA Outlaw Ron Bass Paul Orndorff Phineas Godwinn Randy Savage Revolution Road Dogg Roddy Piper Ron Bass Sam Houston Shanghai Pierce Shawn Michaels Stan Hanson Steve Williams Sunny Ted DiBiase Terry Funk Tex Slazenger The Blackjacks The Godfather The Smoking Gunns TNA Trevor Murdoch Vader Vince McMahon WCCW WCW West Texas Rednecks Wrestlemania WWC WWE WWF WWWF http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=9750 Lucky Thirteen #7 Bandits of the Bout Written by Mark Adam Haggerty When other sites are counting down from ten, we take it to the next level and give you the Lucky Thirteen. Why? Because we're Cheap-Heat and we believe in kicking things up to the extreme! Today we’re talking about Bandits and Outlaws, otherwise […]

Lucky Thirteen #7
Bandits of the Bout
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

When other sites are counting down from ten, we take it to the next level and give you the Lucky Thirteen. Why? Because we're Cheap-Heat and we believe in kicking things up to the extreme! Today we’re talking about Bandits and Outlaws, otherwise known around these here parts as Cowboys. Since the dawning of the age of Sports Entertainment, professional wrestling has featured an enormity of wrestling roughnecks who would appear just as comfortable on the back of a horse than they would inside of the squared circle. Let's start things off with one of the most modern members of our countdown and a graduate of the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy…

13. Lance Cade
Lance Cade was a superior talent who first happened upon the professional wrestling scene in Japan alongside fellow Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy classmate Bryan Danielson. Cade had developed a penchant for tag team wrestling and in 2005 was called to the main roster in the midst of the "Ruthless Aggression Era." Originally sporting a cowboy hat and leather chaps, he was saddled with the equally talented and deceptively athletic Trevor Murdoch. Together these rugged ruffians captured the world tag team titles on three separate occasions. While Murdoch was depicted as a chaw-chewing Redneck, Lance Cade was cast as the smooth-talking cowboy with devilish good looks. The character carried him farther than he would have imagined into his singles career, eventually aligning with then-heavyweight champion Chris Jericho in 2008. Sadly on August 13, 2010, Lance Cade died at the age of 29 due to heart failure. Two months later medical examiners declared Lance "Cade" McNaught's death accidental, an apparent reaction to the mix of prescription drugs he'd been taking. Although his career was cut tragically short, "Cowboy" Lance Cade will never be forgotten and was even honored in 2011 by a local tribute show in his adopted hometown of San Antonio.

12. Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce
Don't go messing with the country boys, because these two future Godwinn Cousins are far more dangerous than Phineas and Henry would ever prove to be. Well, in theory that is. While they're more familiar to most fans as the former WWF tag team champions, these hard-edged hillbillies got their first taste of fame wrestling as the fearsome Tex Slazenger and the mysterious Shanghai Pierce. Tex was a rootin' tootin' Texas roughneck complete with a ten gallon hat and all the appropriate accoutrement you'd associate with any accurate cowboy costume. Shanghai was a bit different as he opted to sport a luchador mask with a singlet—uh, not so much a cowboy, but definitely intimidating in its own way. Although they never captured championship gold under their southwestern pseudonyms in WCW, Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce were also never adorned with the prestige of "Worst Tag Team in Wrestling"—an honor they received from Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1996. And then again in 1997.

11. Jimmy Wang Yang
Perhaps the most charismatic individual on our countdown comes in at number eleven. Not only is he one of the youngest Superstars on the list, he's more than likely the only Korean Cowboy in wrestling history. Jimmy Yang was a skilled performer in the dying days of WCW and a key component in its highly inventive Cruiserweight Tag Division. After spending time on the independent circuit and in the WWE playing minor roles, Yang was brought in as a member of the main roster with "Wang" inserted between his first and last name. However instead of playing the Young Dragon whom audiences had already come to know, the WWE was going to draw upon Yang's affinity for country music and NASCAR in order to create an all new type of Superstar. Needless to say 2006 wasn't the most progressive year for the WWE, and a white-trash Korean character was probably just as suitable as The Wrestling Zombie or Paul and Katie Lea Burchill's incest angle. Despite never winning a championship title during his WWE run, Jimmy Wang Yang will always be remembered as one of the most iconic and original cowboys in pro wrestling history.

10. Bobby Duncum Jr.
Bobby Duncum Jr. was a refined second generation wrestling superstar who struggled to make his name after the decline of the territory system. Debuting in 1992, Duncum initially worked as a tag team competitor with the Global Wrestling Federation in Dallas, Texas. Two months into his debut, Bobby Duncum Jr. won his only championship ever —the GWF tag team titles alongside future WWE Champion and Monday Night Raw commentator Johnny "Hawk" Layfield. Although he worked around the world for countless promotions including ECW and All Japan Pro Wrestling, Bobby Duncum Jr. was most famous for his time in WCW as part of the "West Texas Rednecks." Joined by Kendall and Barry Windham, in addition to their leader Curt Hennig, the �Rednecks ran rough-shod over the WCW for a short period in the late 90s, claiming that "Rap is Crap," and entering into a rivalry with hip-hop recording artist Master P. In January of 2000, Duncum was recovering from reconstructive rotator cuff surgery, and accidentally overdosed on a cocktail of pain killers. He was 34 years old, and less than eight years into his career.

9. Sam Houston
The name "Sam Houston" tends to elicit both passion and pride from Texas natives, but unfortunately for Michael Smith, it's not the WWF cowboy whom they happen to admire. Sam Houston was the son of "Grizzly" Smith, and half-brother to both Jake "the Snake" Roberts and "Rockin" Robin. Houston was a well-known enhancement talent throughout the 1980s and 90s, working for Jim Crockett Promotions before finally breaking through to the World Wrestling Federation. He participated in several television matches which usually resulted in his shoulders being pinned to the mat, but even Sam Houston had a "Wrestlemania Moment," when he competed in the 20-man battle royal at Wrestlemania IV. Houston was also in the very first Royal Rumble match with his brother Jake, and though the audience wasn't privy to their relationship, Houston helped save the "Snake" from elimination on a number of occasions. In 2005, Sam Houston was sentenced to ten years in prison for repeated DUI offenses; according to his ex-wife, Houston had an average of 2 DUI-related arrests per year over the previous decade.

8. The Smoking Gunns
You can't say, "wrestling cowboy" to a �90's kid and expect him to think of anything other than The Smoking Gunns. Billy and Bart were a redesigned cowboy for a post-modern, pre-millennial world. They wore spandex made to look like skinny jeans and carried starter pistols which they shot into the air during their entrance. Wrestling cowboys were oftentimes out-of-shape and angry, swinging a cowbell with little regard for the surrounding audience members. But the Kayfabe brothers were different, smiling and shaking hands on their way to the ring and sporting far less menacing facial features than some of the more rugged individuals on our countdown. The �Gunns would become tag team champions on three separate occasions, owing their final title reign to their short-lived manager Sunny, eventually breaking up and going their separate ways. While Billy Gunn's career skyrocketed alongside the Road Dogg and Degeneration X, Bart Gunn stayed true to his roughneck roots, engaging in the highly dangerous, experimental "Brawl for All" shoot-fighting tournament in 1998. After defeating four other Superstars including Bob Holly, Steve Williams, the Godfather, and John Layfield, the last man standing was none other than Bart Gunn.

7. “Outlaw” Ron Bass
While a great deal of wrestling cowboys have been based out of the "Lone Star State," Ron Bass was one such individual proud of his roots in Harrisburg, Arkansas. The "Outlaw," as he would come to be known, was a ruthless heel during the late 1980s in the World Wrestling Federation. Prior to his would-be rivalries with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake, Ron Bass enjoyed a steady career touring the vast NWA territory system of the 1970s. He spent time with Jim Crockett as well as several years in Japan, but was most famous for his time in the WWF. In 1988, Ron Bass fought to the end of the King of the Ring tournament, and qualified for the finals by defeating future WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. However the "Outlaw" would not advance to the main event against Randy Savage—instead choosing to "sell" his victory to the "Million Dollar Man," who would lose to Savage later that night. After nearly 20-years in the squared-circle, Ron Bass retired in 1991 and currently resides in Tampa, Florida.

6. The Funk Family
If I can include a tag team as one entry, then how about an entire family? Even though Dory Funk Sr. was born in Indiana, he will forever be known as the Patriarch of the "Double Cross Ranch" in Amarillo, Texas. After serving in the United States Navy, Funk Sr. began wrestling in Texas and would become a promotor in the Amarillo region where both his sons Dory Jr. and Terry would thrive as superstars. Dory Jr. was regarded as a master in-ring technician, famous for created the "Texas Cloverleaf" finishing hold. His younger brother Terry was the "wild child," much more akin to the cowboy lifestyle of the Amarillo Ranch. The Funk Brothers would make history, by becoming the only brothers in wrestling to each hold the NWA world heavyweight championship. In 2009, Dory and Terry were both honored as they were simultaneously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Both brothers are still active in the wrestling industry; Dory Funk is the proprietor of the "Funkin' Conservatory" wrestling school in Amarillo, while Terry Funk is well beyond "middle-aged-and-crazy," as he still steps into the ring today at 70.

5. “Cowboy” James Storm
The only cowboy on our countdown that is still currently active inside a televised American wrestling ring is the 13-time tag team champion and former TNA world heavyweight champion, the "Cowboy" James Storm. Storm debuted in 1997 working for various NWA affiliates and the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. After the collapse of WCW, the National Wrestling Alliance sought to fill a void by creating a weekly-PPV series known as Total Nonstop Action. James Storm signed with TNA in 2002 after working an impressive string of matches with then-tag partner "Wildcat" Chris Harris. Over the next four years, the duo known as "America's Most Wanted" would capture the NWA tag titles on six separate occasions. After spending a year on his own, Storm would once again "saddle up" with a partner—this time the "It Factor" Bobby Roode. Storm and Roode came to be called "Beer Money," based on either gentleman's Kayfabe affinity. Today James Storm is the leader of the cult-like "Revolution," and has therefore traded the cowboy hat for a veil of secrecy, and his beer bottle for a solo cup of "Kool-aid."

4. “Cowboy” Bob Orton
Fans of the modern WWE product who are familiar with the "Legend Killer," ought to know that Randy Orton comes from a long-line of wrestling royalty, including his father—"Cowboy" Bob Orton. Bob Orton was a main event attraction around the country during the 1980s but would become world-famous during the Rock �N' Wrestling Connection. Orton was fast friends with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, so it was no surprise when the second generation star known as "Ace" was in "Hot Rod's" corner at the inaugural Wrestlemania in Madison Square Garden. Bob Orton was a key component during the period of time in which wrestling truly became "Sports Entertainment," providing back-up during several renditions of Piper's Pit. Although never achieving a championship during his time with the WWF, "Ace" held numerous titles across various territories in the United States and was named "Rookie of the Year" by PWI in 1973. In 2005, "Cowboy" Bob Orton was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside fellow Wrestlemania pioneers Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Paul Orndorff.

3. John "Bradshaw" Layfield
Since 2004, JBL has been known as an arrogant aristocrat, riding to the ring in his limousine and winning his bouts by any means necessary. But John Layfield began just the same as many other Texas wrestlers, working for the Global Wrestling Federation in Dallas. He won the tag team titles in 1992 alongside Bobby Duncum Jr., and spent the next three years earning a wrestling education on the independent and international circuits. Layfield debuted for the WWF in 1995 as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, a badass brandishing a branding-iron who set to "stamping" each of his conquered opponents. In 1997, "Hawk" joined second-generation Superstar Barry Windham to form the "New Blackjacks," a team drawing on their real-life familial connections to the original "Blackjacks" Mulligan and Lanza. The "Bradshaw" character would continue to evolve over the next several years and although he's primarily known today as a talking head for both the WWE and Fox Business, John Layfield is a Grand Slam winning champion, making him THE most decorated cowboy on this entire countdown.

2. The Blackjacks
Transitioning away from the "New Blackjacks," it's about time we discuss the genuine article—the tag team of Blackjack Lanza and Blackjack Mulligan. The tall, dark duo clad in black leather were amongst the most feared tag teams of the 1970s, earning their reputation by standing tall atop numerous fallen combatants. The Blackjacks were an AWA attraction, managed by the incomparable Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, and also competed in Texas for Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling. The Blackjacks eventually made their way to New York where they would continue their reign of terror against a brand new roster of unsuspecting victims. While working for Vince McMahon, the Blackjacks aligned themselves with Captain Lou Albano, who helped guide the already world-renowned wrestlers to the WWWF tag team championships. Of course then in 1997, a "tribute" team was created, comprised of Mulligan's son Barry Windham and Lanza's nephew John Layfield. The Blackjacks were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006; Blackjack Lanza currently works as a producer for the WWE, while Blackjack Mulligan has two grandsons working on the main roster—Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt.

1. Stan “The Lariat” Hansen
Stan "the Lariat" Hansen is a performer whose mythos goes beyond the realm of cowboys and Indians, and further transcends the atmosphere of professional wrestling entirely. When the sport of sports entertainment was outwardly declared "fake," Stan Hansen lit the international scene on fire with his brand of explicit violence and a charismatic streak that ignited something inside fans across the globe. Stan Hansen was the AWA World Heavyweight champion and even competed for the WWF before earning his true place in history, across the Pacific in the "Land of the Rising Sun." During an infamous encounter with future WCW champion Vader, Hansen managed to clip Leon White with his cowbell, dislodging his eyeball and forcing the "Mastodon" to compete with his eye ajar inside his mask. Although claiming to be from Borger City, Texas—with a "big fat wife and a bunch of kids," the mild-mannered Hansen is actually a resident of Knox City, and has two sons, each of whom is a nationally-recognized baseball player. During his active wrestling days, Stan Hansen garnered a reputation for his no-nonsense approach to business, both inside the ring and backstage with promotors. Since retiring from the squared-circle in 2001, the "Lariat" has made numerous appearances in Japan, where he still receives the same standing ovation he did during his peak in 1981.

Thank you for joining me for this SEVENTH edition of the "Lucky Thirteen." Do yourself a favor and bookmark Cheap-Heat on your computer and in your mobile device so you don’t miss any of our countdowns, columns or coverage. As for me—I think it's about time for this Old Cowpoke to hit that there dusty trail. So until next time, my name is Mark Adam Haggerty and this has been "Lucky Thirteen: Bandits of the Bout."

http://www.cheap-heat.com/ring-dissection-reigns-the-rumble-the-reaction/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/ring-dissection-reigns-the-rumble-the-reaction/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2015 05:32:25 +0000 Scott Hayes Blogs Other Blogs Batista Big Show Bray Wyatt Brock Lesnar Chris Jericho Damien Sandow Daniel Bryan Dean Ambrose Dolph Ziggler John Cena Kane MizDow Paul Heyman Roman Reigns Royal Rumble Rusev Ryback Seth Rollins The Miz The Rock Vince McMahon Wrestlemania WWE WWE Network http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=9317 What a rather insane roller coaster the last 48 hours or so have been for WWE fans. I'm guessing for WWE employees too. They had their second biggest show. Which included a match of the Year Contender. They had a hot crowd in the palm of their hands, loving every minute of the first half […]

What a rather insane roller coaster the last 48 hours or so have been for WWE fans. I'm guessing for WWE employees too. They had their second biggest show. Which included a match of the Year Contender. They had a hot crowd in the palm of their hands, loving every minute of the first half of the Royal Rumble Match itself, and then… the wheels fell off… and a caught fire… and a group of hooligans attempted to rock and tip the bus over. THEN? Mother Nature decided to weigh in and Blizzarded (yes its a verb now) all over whatever they may have had planned for Raw. The Arena show got cancelled. The Television show got moved and reformatted.

So let us bring out our trays and scalpels because THIS is a few days as Wrestling Fans that, like a complex digestive track, has enough twists and turns that its just BEGGING For a dissection.

Lets start here. Roman Reigns as way back as last year's Survivor Series was being mentioned as far as being groomed for a possible Rumble win at THIS Rumble. He broke Kane's record at the 2014 Rumble. People chanted for him when it boiled down to him and Batista last year. The SHIELD Broke up, but Roman's rise up the ladder got derailed by an injury. He was out for a few months. Months where he could have more organically gotten traction and continued to build upon the fan support he already had. That didn't happen. He appeared sporadically. Did a few interviews that ranged from decent to awkward and stilted. When he returned to the WWE, he won Superstar of the Year. In this humble writer's opinion that Award belonged to Seth Rollins or Brock Lesnar. Dolph Ziggler could have been an outlier for the award especially on the strength of his last 4 months of 2014. So that immediately got people's ire up. We were staring at the plates WWE was serving up for the "Wrestlemania Corridor", and without any kind of order placed we were all being given a heaping helping of Roman. Like we all experienced as kids. We get served the dinner Mom and/or Dad want to make. And you best finish your plate, or no dessert for YOU, Mister!

The Royal Rumble was the tale of two wrestling experiences. Up to Daniel Bryan's elimination? The Rumble was exciting. Crowd was loving it. We (i was there live) had just watched, quite possibly, the greatest Triple Threat match WWE had ever put on. We saw one of Brock Lesnar's best performances in a WWE ring since his return 2 years ago. We saw Seth Rollins steal the show. We saw John Cena do what he does (give the devil his due, he has entertaining matches with all types of opponents). We got the return of Bubba Ray Dudley. That was an awesome moment, albeit a too short stint in the match. Bray Wyatt looked amazing early on, and dominated… HARD until Daniel Bryan's music hit. The place erupted and the match really felt like it was hitting its stride. And… that's where it went to hell. Don't get it wrong, this isn't about Bryan losing… at least… not to me, and most of the fans I talked to since then. Its NOT about Roman winning. I actually preferred neither of them win, for a host of reasons, but like I pointed out in my Over/Under columns. The addition of Bryan lend doubt and drama to the Rumble proceedings. So when the unceremoniously and un built up or teased elimination of the most popular guy IN the match went down? Well…

THE Reaction(S)

Lets start with in the Arena. The crowd was stunned silent for a few minutes. Couldn't be bothered to even count down. I turned to my buddy and muttered, "they just did Roman NO favors. We're going to murder him when he comes out." I had already predicted Reigns to get "Cena Heat" in Philly that night. His handling the last six weeks was already getting some mixed reactions. So as the crowd went through a litany of chants from "Daniel Bryan" to "Bullshit" there was a parade of guys we weren't going to care about. When left to stew, Wrestling fans are not going to slowly work their way out of the funk… and anything short of WWE releasing some sort of aerosoled antidepressant? It was about to get ugly. SO… when Roman Reign's music hit and the place lost its collective mind. Last year it was Batista. Again the two or three rows around me just couldn't believe they'd actually book the match this way. Not Roman winning, but totally robbing us of any drama in the process. Even the slim and desperate hopes for guys like Ziggler, Ryback, or the excitement for some fun from Mizdow… clearly NO ONE READ MY FACES OF MIZDOW DISSECTION!?!? (*insert wailing and gnashing of teeth here ——> ) – Gone almost as quickly as they perked the crowd up. And with EACH and every elimination of anyone who would lend drama to the proceedings? It came off more and more as "this is our guy, and you'll like it." So the crowd responded in kind. Countless stories that could have been told and executed, outside of some dominance by Bray and Rusev? Largely ignored, so this Rumble fell flat on excitement. And if there are two guys who more represent the frustration people can feel for the WWE Product? It is the two men dominating near the end. See: Kane and Big Show. So the crowd gets louder and angrier. "Same old Shit" chants ring out because, basically… Reigns was a colorful shirt, flat top, and turning his cargo pants into cargo shorts from being John Cena. Eventually Reigns eliminates the two giants in an impressive feat of strength and perseverance and is booed out of the building, and quickly followed with a �WE WANT RUSEV' chant… which brings me to a tangent.

People loving the argument and memes, (Jericho even retweeted one) – "they chanted for Reigns last year, now they don't want him to win this year"… that's a weak crutch to lean on. That chant was due, in LARGE part because they didn't want Batista to win. Similarly its not like chanting for Rusev at the close of THIS match is tacit year long approval that the fan base wants to see the Russian Flag drop from the Wrestlemania Sign NEXT year… THAT said? That'd be pretty funny. If I photoshopped better (read: At all) I'd put that picture right here.

Tangent over. But before Rusev, Kane and Show return… start a beat down. Rock's music hits. Rocky helps dispatch the baddies. Eventually Rusev who… I had NO Idea was still IN the match returns. One spectacular spear later (it really was a nice spear, high velocity. Reigns was totally horizontal.) – Reigns is the Rumble winner and the live crowd is going insane. Even Rocky's help and hand raising of his cousin elicited crazy loud boos. To the point where Rocky's non verbals told a story… he was shocked. Little to my knowing, the Internet? Also going insane. #cancelWWENetwork was trending worldwide and in the US. This gained enough traction that outside news sources were covering it. The hilarious thing about THAT? The WWE announced today that they've finally cracked the one million subscriber mark. But back to the Rumble. The crowd started filing out as soon as the match ended. Not many were thrilled to stay and watch the celebration. People were underwhelmed and disappointed. A far cry from the amazing time we had for so much of the night.

Random Commentary: I'd LOVE to see backstage reaction to the Rumble match from Roman's entrance on. I hope like hell that'll be an episode of 24 in the future. Because to see Rock's reaction. To see Vince's reaction. To see Roman backstage after his win? All would be good TV. Oh to be a fly on THAT wall.

With the "WWE Universe" all twitter pated, the weather was either conspiring FOR or AGAINST the WWE… Hindsight, and my humble opinion says "FOR". A blizzard and travel ban cancelled Raw. So they headed to Stamford and did a studio show and showed both the World Title Triple Threat match AND the Royal Rumble match. Very nice, and as a Network Subscriber? This doesn't irk me in the least. If I bought the PPV outright? I guess it would, but its a crazy circumstance. So I guess if you're that upset you can always just hope for Natural Disasters in towns WWE heads to post PPV's so you can see it free. What they did WELL? Were the sitdown interviews with Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, and then a show closing Face Off with Heyman, Lesnar, and Reigns. Oh and throw in a great bit of work from Dean Ambrose ta boot. Here we got to have the wrestlers sit and answer questions and tell their stories and share their feelings from the Rumble. From Rollin's confidence in "KNOWING" he won that match when he hit the Phoenix Splash… TO Lesnar's cockiness saying he'd sting around to "meet this kid" in reference to Reigns, or "Someone's pissed he got his ass whipped" in reference to Rollins. To Bryan's shoot tinged promo about wanting that match with Lesnar so badly… that he was the "Ultimate David to go against the Ultimate Goliath", but where he also expressed his disappointment for letting the fans down. That he felt he owed US another WWE World Heavyweight Championship win. There was also the very real disappointment you felt from Reigns about how his big moment went down in terms of the crowd reaction. The show closing sit down with Heyman winding a brilliant tale about Reign's lineage in the wrestling bidness… He talked about his respect, and how the Rock faced Lesnar once, and never came back for more. He flipped it eventually, in typical Heyman brilliance and asked Reigns what it'll feel like to let his whole family down. An intense stare down between Reigns and Lesnar, a handshake, and a quick exchange of words and it was absolutely a great course correction after the Royal Rumble. The weather gave us this unique show, and they really made it something interesting, and it definitely benefited from a lack of a live crowd. Especially for all things Reigns. Would have been hard to maximize everything that happened in that studio with a crowd that very likely would have continued down a similar track.

In 48 hours we kicked off the "Road to Wrestlemania", and right out the bat we were like "WWHHHHHEEEEEEEE!!!! THIS IS AMAZING!" Then we hit a pot whole and we lost a couple people…

But we successfully are back on track and things are looking up. I try like hell to be a "half glass full"… wait… that's not right… "Full Half Glass"… no… whatever. You know what I mean. I was frustrated by the way the Rumble played out. It felt lazy and that they ONLY cared about Reigns, and it led to a lackluster Rumble with a predictable finish a year in the making, but the Triple Threat Match and the SnowDay Raw show really buoyed me. Wrestling fandom is like sports fandom. Sometimes you win… sometimes you lose by fifty…. sometimes you spend a week and a half arguing about deflated balls. There will NEVER be a shortage of drama!

Scalpels Down. Wash your hands, or they'll smell like formaldehyde.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/hunchamania-royal-rumble-2015-predictions/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/hunchamania-royal-rumble-2015-predictions/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2015 04:37:38 +0000 Gary Mastriano Blogs Other Blogs Adam Rose Alberto Del Rio Antonio Cesaro Big E Big Show Billy Gunn Bray Wyatt Brie Bella Brock Lesnar Cesaro Chris Jericho Damien Sandow Daniel Bryan DDP Dean Ambrose Dolph Ziggler HBK Jey Uso Jimmy Uso John Cena Kidd Kofi Kingston Konnor Miz MizDow Natalya New Age Outlaws New Day Nikki Bella Paige Randy Orton Road Dogg Roman Reigns Royal Rumble RVD Seth Rollins Shawn Michaels Sheamus Steve Austin The Ascension The Bella Twins The Miz The New Day The Usos Tyson Kidd Undertaker Viktor Wrestlemania WWE Xavier Woods http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=9242 Royal Rumble Predictions   Pre show-Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Adam Rose vs the New Day There has been a nice little feud developing between the new day and the Party Masters (stable name copyright Gary Mastriano 2015). Not really sure why they are feuding, but it feels like a good old fashioned mid card feud […]

Royal Rumble Predictions

Pre show-Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Adam Rose vs the New Day
There has been a nice little feud developing between the new day and the Party Masters (stable name copyright Gary Mastriano 2015). Not really sure why they are feuding, but it feels like a good old fashioned mid card feud from the late 90s. I suspect a New Day win, and all that all 6 of these men will show up in the Rumble later on in the night. Adam Rose will have a comedy spot, probably involving the being thrown over the top rope and caught by his posse only to be dropped by the Bunny. And I cannot imagine a Rumble without a crazy Kofi spot.

The Ascension vs the New Age Outlaws
I think this match may open the show with a guaranteed crowd pleasing Outlaws pop. This feud kind of came together last minute last Monday. The Ascension has struggled to get over on the main roster and a feud with the Outlaws may be the way to do it. I don't know about you guys but I thought Billy Gunn looked great on Raw. The Outlaws proved last year that they could still go, so I suspect a fun little match that won't take up much time. The Ascension needs and gets the win here.

The Bellas vs Paige and Natalya
Did TNA have women's tag champions? I wonder if that would ever work in WWE. With the increase in talented ladies I think it may be worth a shot. Paige and Natalya, easily the top workers in the Divas division, make an awesome tag team. Niki Bella's in ring work was a pleasant surprise in the second half of 2014, therefore I think this COULD be a good match. However I don't see this match getting much time either, like most Diva's matches. I am not sure why WWE doesn't give their ladies more time to shine, especially their Total Diva stars who can actually wrestle. The Bellas steal a victory here, possibly leading to Fatal Four way at WrestleMania for the title.

Damien Mizdow and the Miz vs the Usos
I've seen people predicting the demise of the Miz/Mizdow for months. I think the WWE will continue to run with duo until Mania season. I think Miz and Mizdow will have a ton of fun in the Rumble match later on in the night, with the seeds of a break up happening there. I find it interesting that every under card match is a tag match, and not a single match on the entire PPV is a one on one contest.This has been another fun mid card feud. But with the Mizdow break up on the horizon, I cannot see the Usos losing in this one. They will hopefully move on to a well-deserved spot on the WrestleMania card proper.

Royal Rumble Match
I have spent the last week rewatching every Rumble match ever in anticipation of this one. I have noticed there are 2 types of Rumble match- one where the winner is extremely obvious (HBK in 96, Austin in 98, Orton in 09), and another with a much wider field of potential winners (Taker in 07, Del Rio in 11, Sheamus in 12). Obviously the latter is a much more fun match. This year I would say fits into that category. The top 2 choices have to be Reigns and Bryan. Bryan has been getting the most Rumble based storylines heading into Sunday, while Reigns has only mentioned that he wants to win while being occupied with the Big Show. While these two are the front runners, and have the most upside to winning, there are actually a few other candidates.

-Dolph Ziggler has to be considered the #3 choice to win the Rumble. He is on a spectacular roll the past few months, and is finally getting the push that he and many other think he deserves. Ziggler has always connected with the crowd, and delivered in the ring. Now he is finally involved in a main event storyline that has made him one of the top faces in the company. I would not be surprised at all to see him have a surprise Cinderella win.

-Dean Ambrose is another face on the verge of superstardom. Having Ambrose win the Rumble may be a better play than his Shield brother Reigns. Reigns may not be ready to main event WrestleMania yet, nor may Ambrose for that matter. But a failed Ambrose push is easier for WWE, and the Lunatic Fringe himself, to recover from. Pushing Reigns too soon may result in a Randy Orton 2004 situation.

-Bray Wyatt has been rumored to face the Undertaker in March for months. I for one have ZERO interest in seeing that match. Undertaker's in ring career died with the streak, and nor he or Wyatt benefit from a feud together. Wyatt could be a surprise winner of the Rumble leading to a potential rematch at Mania with Cena, this time for the WWE championship?
As for some other Rumble highlights, I think we will see Ziggler and/or Ambrose be the long man this year putting in great work. After Smackdown this week I believe we will see Ambrose be the first entrant. I am sure we will see a few great surprise entrants to delight the Philly crowd. If I had to guess I would say DDP, RVD, and maybe even Jericho show up Sunday.
Needless to say there are a ton of options for potential winners at this year's Royal Rumble. It is really difficult to pick a winner, especially between Bryan and Reigns. I really cannot pick a winner, but I personally want Daniel Bryan to win, so I will go with him.

WWE Title- Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins vs John Cena
Just like the Rumble match, the WWE title match is wide open. I could see any of these three men walk out of Philadelphia with the strap. Cena is always a safe bet to carry the strap into Mania. Seth Rollins has the insurance of the briefcase on his side. But I cannot imagine Brock Lesnar losing anywhere but WrestleMania. Lesnar has been built up like too much of a monster. His victory over Undertaker pretty much assures that whoever beats him will be a made man. Sure fantasy booking can tell you that Lesnar can win the match, only to lose to Seth Rollins, but I see Rollins walking into Mania with the case still intact (although I don't think HE will leave with it…). Lesnar gets the W here in a match I am eagerly anticipating.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/doubleshot-2-in-1-wrestling-ppv-reviews-march-2001-wrestlemania-17-vs-greed/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/doubleshot-2-in-1-wrestling-ppv-reviews-march-2001-wrestlemania-17-vs-greed/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2015 17:51:15 +0000 Mark Adam Haggerty Blogs Other Blogs Reviews WWE Network Reviews Animal APA Bam Bam Bigelow Big Show Bill Goldberg Billy Kidman Bobby Hennan Booker T Bradshaw Bubba Ray Buff Bagwell Buff Daddy Bull Buchanon Chavo Guerrero Jr. Chris Benoit Chris Jericho Chris Kanyon Christian Chuck Palumbo Chyna DDP Devon Diamond Dallas Page Duke The Dumpster Droese Dustin Rhodes Dusty Rhodes Eddie Guerrero Edge Elix Skipper Eric Bischoff Ernest Miller Farooq Garrett Bischoff Goldberg Greed Hardy Boyz HHH Hugh Morrus Ivory Jason Jett JBL Jeff Hardy Jeff Jarrett Jim Crockett Kane Kevin Nash Kid Romeo Kidman Konnan Kurt Angle Kwee-Wee Lance Storm Lex Luger Macho Man Matt Hardy Mean Gene Michael Hayes Mick Foley Mickey Rourke Mike Awesome Natural Born Thrillers Nature Boy Nick Patrick NWA Paul Heyman Raven Rey Mysterio Jr. Ric Flair Rick Steiner Right to Censor Road Warrior Road Warrior Animal Ron Simmons Scott Hudson Scott Steiner Sean O'Haire Sgt. Slaughter Shane Helms Shane McMahon Shawn Stasiak Stacy Keibler Starrcade Stephanie McMahon Steve Austin Stevie Richards Stone Cold Tazz Team Canada Test The Cat The Dudley Boyz The Iron Sheik The Magnificent Seven The Rock The Undertaker The Wrestler TLC Tony Schiavone Totally Buff Triple H Vince McMahon WCW William Regal World Championship Wrestling Wrestlemania Wrestlemania 17 WWE WWF http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=9121 Doubleshot: 2-in-1 Wrestling Reviews March 2001 – Wrestlemania vs. Greed Featuring Mark Adam Haggerty & Gary Mastriano Welcome to the official premier of Doubleshot, the twice-monthly once-over of some of the best, the worst, and the wildest events in sports entertainment. I'm Mark Adam Haggerty joined as always by Gary Mastriano as we get set […]

Doubleshot: 2-in-1 Wrestling Reviews
March 2001 – Wrestlemania vs. Greed
Featuring Mark Adam Haggerty & Gary Mastriano

Welcome to the official premier of Doubleshot , the twice-monthly once-over of some of the best, the worst, and the wildest events in sports entertainment. I'm Mark Adam Haggerty joined as always by Gary Mastriano as we get set to discuss the dueling pay-per-view events that made March 2001, perhaps one of the most explosive months in professional wrestling history. I'll kick things off talking about WCW Greed, followed by Gary's thorough examination of Wrestlemania 17. Could WCW's final attempt at drawing a big-money audience even compete with what's been called "the greatest Wrestlemania of all time?" We'll find out in this week's edition of Doubleshot !

"If it's professional wrestling, it's gotta' be GREED!"
Written by Mark Adam Haggerty

Growing up in New Jersey and living just a quick train ride from Madison Square Garden, I was definitely more inundated with the WWE product than I ever was with WCW. Therefore when the Turner extension of Crockett Promotions collapsed, I felt little sympathy and instead rejoiced for the home team. Fast forward fourteen years to where I'm twice as old at 28, and presumably twice-the-wiser. In 2015 I'm far more concerned with what goes on between the ropes than I am with what happens on the mic, and thanks to the WWE Network I've been able to discover a litany of new moments to treasure from the early days of WCW up until its final hour. Today I'm taking a look at the very last pay per view from WCW, the aptly named Greed. World Championship Wrestling had started straying from its usual set of monthly event titles, and along with January’s Sin, Greed was to be the dawning of a new day in WCW. In fact the plans to reboot the company were much larger than one pay-per-view and didn't even include a March event. But the decision makers demanded a final show and thus Greed was born, perhaps serving as the final nail in the proverbial coffin for WWE's longtime rival.

Once the show hit the air live from the Jacksonville Coliseum, Tony Schiavone proceeded to introduce audiences to the newest tradition in World Championship Wrestling, “Welcome to the first ever Greed!” Alongside Scott Hudson, the perpetual voice of WCW Schiavone wished everyone a belated Saint Patrick’s Day on this March 18th and the show was off and running.

Opening Contest
Kwee Wee vs. Jason Jett
So if you aren’t aware of who Kwee-Wee is, that’s perfectly fine. A Cruiserweight during the dying days of WCW, Kwee-Wee wore loose fitting pink pants and styled his hair in sort of a vertical blowout. His opponent is Jason Jett, an equally unknown yet radically less ridiculous competitor. The match is in Kwee-Wee’s favor for much of the onset until Jett earns the upper hand and delivers an onslaught of impact moves along with an inventive submission described by Hudson as a “pendulum surfboard.” The two battle what becomes a series of reversals that culminate atop the turnbuckle for a suplex reversed into a powerbomb reversed into a hazardous release-hurricanrana that drops both men square in the center of the ring. Various pin attempts on both sides until Kwee-Wee finds himself on the floor; Jason Jett makes a play to the audience, letting them know that he’s going to “play possum.” As Kwee-Wee makes it back into the ring, he goes for an ill-fated high risk maneuver that’s well-scouted by the well aware Jason Jett. Jett lifts Kwee-Wee for the “Crash Landing,” his throwaway suplex finishing move. 1-2-3 and Jason Jett picks up the victory.
Winner: Jason Jett – 12:17
Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

Cruiserweight Tag Team Finals
Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. & Billy Kidman
It’s the final match in the tournament to crown the first ever WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions. Only eight days before the company closes, might as well outfit some new guys with some new leather straps. Out first is “Primetime” Elix Skipper who’s teaming with the sensational Kid Romeo against Rey Mysterio sans the mask alongside a much trimmer-than-recent Billy Kidman. Phenomenal contest featuring four high-caliber talents, and yes I’m including the lesser-known Kid Romeo in that lineup. The first thing I noticed was the uncanny teamwork on display from two teams that are comprised of singles competitors. I wish the cruiserweight tag division had the chance to get up and running because some of the double team offense in this match was faster and more fluid than the stale heavyweight tag title scene during the same event. The action in the ring soon spilled onto the floor and down toward the entrance way, where the team of Skipper and Romeo were met with twin cross body attacks courtesy of Mysterio and Kidman. The match returns to the ring where the heels take control before the match turns into utter tornado pandemonium once again and is soon punctuated by a springboard shooting star press by Kidman to his opponents on the outside. Amidst the madness, Rey and Romeo are left alone in the ring. The usual array of rope tricks and high flying tactics win Rey the advantage for a moment, but the future WWE World Champion is soon caught midway through an Asai moonsault and driven head first into the mat by Kid Romeo. He goes for the pin, and we have our inaugural WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions.
Winner: Skipper & Romeo – 13:46
Rating: 3 Stars

Shawn Stasiak vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
We’re first privy to the beautiful Stacy Keibler, who’s appearing under her real name rather than her former alias “Miss Hancock.” She introduces the individual whom she declares “The Mecca of Manhood"—Shawn Stasiak. Stasiak enters the arena and proceeds to insult his opponent Bam Bam Bigelow, as well as the fans in Jacksonville. Stacy and Shawn throw numerous 8″x10” photographs of Stasiak into the crowd, and are soon interrupted by the legendary "Beast from the East." Stasiak works this match just the way any squirrelly heel should, always escaping to the outside so as to avoid confronting the tattooed head butt of Bigelow. Bam Bam dominates the match, minus a few lucky shots from Stasiak. Almost as soon as Stasiak begins to mount a formidable offense, Bam Bam returns fire with more shots to weaken the man formerly known as "Meat." Bigelow hits the flying head butt and signals for the "Greetings from Asbury Park." Just as Bam Bam is ready to finish Stasiak, Stacy Keibler climbs to the apron in an attempt at distracting the Beast. Sean Stasiak seizes the opportunity and a can of hairspray from the diabolically clever Keibler, temporarily blinding Bam Bam Bigelow and winning the match with a hangman's noose neck breaker. A terrible match with enough star power to keep me from hitting fast forward.
Winner: Shawn Stasiak – 5:55
Rating: 1 Вј Stars

Backstage, the newly crowned cruiserweight champions are still celebrating their historic win over Rey Mysterio and Kidman and are just now getting around to strapping the belts around their waists. But whereas 99.9% of professional wrestlers have no trouble in accomplishing this rather mundane task alone, Kid Romeo and Elix Skipper insist upon helping one another. In fact they insist on doing a whole lot of touching. This makes me wonder what kind of program was to develop between these exceptionally talented cruiserweights, considering Romeo's South Beach gimmick and their apparent common penchant to embrace.

Team Canada (Lance Storm & Mike Awesome) vs. Konnan & Hugh Morrus
WCW's Team Canada is comprised of several villainous wrestlers, some of which were even born right here in America. Tampa's own Mike Awesome is one such individual whose imposing ring presence is the perfect addition to Lance Storm's technical workrate. Storm takes the microphone and utters his timeless catchphrase, "If I can be serious for a minute." Storm and Awesome are getting set to deal with a personal problem, but the next thing on Team Canada's agenda are the tag team title belts, according to Lance Storm. They ask that the Canadian national anthem be played and demand the audience stand to show their respect. Rather than "O' Canada," the fans in Jacksonville instead hear the hideous laughter of a perennial mid-carder, signaling the arrival of both Hugh Morrus and Konnan. As the music began to play in lieu of Storm's request, Scott Hudson said the whitest thing in history: "This must be some Puff Daddy remix." While Hudson was being hip, Schiavone was overselling the significance of Bill Demott, referring to him as, "The legendary Hugh Morrus." The match begins with utter chaos but pandemonium soon gives way to a match with Team Canada on the offensive. These were perhaps four of the best workers on the entire roster at this time, every movement was well choreographed without losing any semblance of spontaneity. But much the same as many matches on the card, the contest never hit that climactic point of urgency that makes for dramatic professional wrestling. The end came when Morrus's high risk offense put him in the trajectory of Mike Awesome's most dreaded weapon—the Awesome Bomb. Morrus was drilled into the canvas and Team Canada won the contest.
Winner: Team Canada – 11:28
Rating: 2 Stars

Backstage once again and we see the Rhodes boys, Dusty and Dustin getting set for their tag team encounter with Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett. Dustin insists on getting ready for the match and strategizing, but the only strategizing Dusty plans on doing involves 240 burritos—his secret weapon in the upcoming, "Kiss My Ass Match." Elsewhere members of the Magnificent Seven are working on Buff Bagwell's "Ric Flair documentary," interviewing Rick Steiner about his match with Booker T later in the night. I would have liked to see the footage Buff compiled while shooting that documentary as it was of course scrapped days later when Vince McMahon took over the promotion.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero Jr. (c) vs. Shane Helms
It should come as no surprise that Chavo Guerrero and Shane Helms put on what was undoubtedly the match of the night for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. The cruiserweight division is one of the defining elements that made World Championship Wrestling recognizable, whose legacy can be traced back to the days of Flyin' Brian Pillman and his light heavyweight battles with Jushin Thunder Liger. So it was only fitting that this last WCW pay-per-view feature two of the most talented in-ring performers at the time, competing for perhaps the most prestigious junior heavyweight belt in American wrestling. Shane recently split from his Three Count "bandmates," Shannon Moore and Evan Karagias and had debuted a solo hip-hop themed gimmick dubbed the "Vertebreaker." Vertebreaker was also the name of Helms' crippling finishing hold, a modified back to back double underhook piledriver that he hoped would earn him a victory over the tenacious Chavo Guerrero Jr. The match spills onto the outside, prompting Chavo to execute a beautiful cross-body frog splash onto the floor, showcasing the veteran grace of the young Guerrero at just 30 years old. The tactful rookie from North Carolina was not to be outdone, coaxing the cruiserweight champion into a lengthy bout of chain wrestling ending with Helms on the offensive. Pragmatic execution gave way to innovative submissions by Chavo Guerrero, placing Shane Helms in a precarious spot far away from becoming the new champion. In a moment where confidence gave way to hubris, "Sugar" Shane was able to get the upper hand on Chavo, leading to a death-defying Vertebreaker and a final decision in favor of Helms. Shane Helms would go on to be the final WCW Cruiserweight Champion ever, bringing the title with him to WWE TV in the coming weeks.
Winner: Shane Helms – 13:57
Rating: 4 Stars

The Ric Flair documentary continues backstage with "Double J" and the "Nature Boy" preparing for their no holds barred battle with the Rhodes family in just under an hours' time. Buff should perhaps put the camerawork on hold for a moment as his title match with the WCW Tag Team Champions is up next. Meanwhile the challenger for the US World Heavyweight title is on hand to deliver the most stereotypically 90s rap promo in the history of 2001 professional wrestling. This must be where Scott Hudson is learning how to be cool, because Booker T not only says, "Save the drama for your mama," but also delivers a nice, "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Now, before anyone starts firing away with, "Those were his catch phrases!" No they were not. While Google can't tell me where the �Player' line originated, I can tell you that there was an episode of the Jamie Foxx Show in 1997 called, "Save the Drama for Your Mama." That was 1997; back when nobody let Booker T on the mic for fear that he'd call Hulk Hogan the "n-word" again. Moving on.

WCW Tag Team Championship
Sean O’Haire & Chuck Palumbo (c) vs. Lex Luger & Buff Bagwell
Could this even be called a match? Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell make their way to the ring at their own leisure, in no way prepared for any sort of athletic interaction. Once inside the ring both Lex and Buff cut unbelievably hilarious promos where Lex insists, "Buff is the Stuff." This event took place mere days before the fall of WCW, so I have to assume a main event level talent such as Lex Luger was aware of the impending fate of the company. So what better way to say goodbye to the only promotion willing to outfit you with their world title belt, than to cop out of your final moment in the spotlight—bravo Lex Luger. As funny as "The Total Package" was, I would have much preferred to see Lex show up in peak condition one last time, without a "bro-stitute" like Bagwell reaping the rewards of someone else's career. The members of the Magnificent Seven are soon interrupted by the Tag Team Champions, a team that was soon demolished once they debuted in the WWE—the duo of Sean O'Haire and Chuck Palumbo. At the time I was a WWE fan who watched Nitro on a delay and read what I could at the newsstand, so I'll always remember "The Natural Born Thrillers" as the powerful yet agile tag team who took over the pages in the final issues of WCW Magazine. The tag team champions O'Haire and Palumbo make short work of the Monday Night War veterans Luger and Bagwell, performing a double Swanton attack into a double cover. The �Thrillers retain the titles and subsequently invade the WWE as champions.
Winner: O’Haire & Palumbo – :54
Rating: 1 Star

Chris Kanyon vs. Ernest “The Cat” Miller
Believe it or not both of these dynamic individuals went on to enjoy brief stints as WWE Superstars, but not without first becoming WCW household names. The late Chris Kanyon had become involved in some sort of love-triangle involving Ernest "The Cat" Miller and his valet Miss Jones. Or at least that's the way it would appear, as Kanyon's infatuation with Jones seemed to be his only Achilles heel in this alteration with the "world karate champion." As an outsider watching this match out of context, I had trouble understanding who was playing what role—heel or babyface? Kanyon broke the cardinal rule of "Bros before Hoes," when he turned on his friend M.I. Smooth, otherwise known as Ice Train. Still in attendance, however not alongside Kanyon, Smooth would instead stand in support of Ernest Miller. The brawling would soon segue into blatant chicanery when Ms. Jones hit the apron, directly interfering in the match and thus getting an accidental boot on behalf of the Cat in the process. With the distraction in place, Kanyon would now have time to hit the "Flatliner" face plant on Miller. However it was M.I. Smooth who would turn the tables once more, coming to the Cat's aid and helping the former uh—nothing champion, Ernest Miller never won anything—get the victory! Serious side note though, he was Eric Bischoff's son Garrett's karate instructor and Bischoff was like, "Hey I'm sort of in the business of hiring my friends for more money than their worth, is that something you'd be interested in?" He did appear in the 2008 Oscar-nominated film "The Wrestler" alongside Mickey Rourke, so that's something to be proud of.
Winner: Ernest “The Cat” Miller – 10:31
Rating: 1 Вѕ Stars

Once again in the dressing room the dastardly duo of Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger seemingly implode following their disastrous loss to The Natural Born Thrillers. Speaking of imploding, a certain "American Dream" is set to explode in just a short while as Dusty Rhodes is hard at work devouring 240 burritos.

US World Heavyweight Championship
Rick Steiner (c) vs. Booker T
I feel like if I'm going to make fun of Booker T for his outdated catchphrases, I'd be out-of-line had I failed to mention Rick Steiner's, "You want some, come get some; if you don't like me, bite me!" Geeze Louise, those two lines are the cat's pajamas—absolutely absurd. I admire the way in which WCW remained faithful to the United States championship over the years, always presenting it as a near-main event level title without allowing it to fall into the wrong hands. Rick Steiner is dedicated to defending his championship regardless of what obstacle may lay before him. The intensity of Steiner comes face to face with the bravado of the former WCW World Champion, "You think you can take my belt," Rick asked? "You ain't takin' shit!" And the match is underway. The initial interplay involves the two veterans colliding in a series of no holds barred shots around the ringside area, until finally the action is contained within the squared-circle. Rick Steiner might go forever overlooked as the "other Steiner," but only a week removed from his 40th birthday in 2001, the United States champion still looked as good as he did in 1983. Steiner continued his reign of domination on the former Harlem Heat member with a catastrophic double under hook powerbomb, rattling Booker and leading to a near-three count. Managing to thwart each of Booker's advances, Steiner remained in control by implementing an arsenal of ground-based choke-holds, until the tragically titled "ghetto blaster" bought Book' enough time to catch up to the Dog Faced Gremlin. In a moment of spontaneous action, Booker's educated kick missed Steiner and instead found the face of referee Mickie Jay. Steiner would then capitalize on Booker's concern for the referee, delivering a textbook German suplex, but the referee was in too much pain to make the count. As victory was within sight for the current title holder, Steiner's rival Shane Douglas made a surprise appearance from the audience and attacked Rick with his right arm, sealed inside a rock-solid plaster cast. Steiner fell into the clutches of Booker T and his Rock Bottom knock-off, "The Bookend." By this point, Mickie Jay was back in action and able to count the pin fall for the final WCW US World Heavyweight Champion in history—Booker T!
Winner: Booker T – 7:31
Rating: 2 Вѕ Stars

The Magnificent Seven has been the most visible entity in backstage shenanigans this evening and once again the cameras head toward the dressing room where Road Warrior Animal is screaming for help, and screaming at the floor where his fellow stablemate Buff Bagwell is laid out unconscious. Lex Luger appears on the scene to ascertain that Animal is responsible for whatever happened. Animal argues that he wants to find "this guy" as bad as anybody, which makes me wonder where that angle was going? Let's examine the members of the Magnificent Seven for a Moment: Ric Flair, Jeff Jarrett, Rick and Scott Steiner, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Road Warrior Animal. By this point Hulk Hogan was gone, Macho Man was gone, Nash had taken his ball back to Detroit. There was only one man left on the WCW roster with enough star power to take down each member of the Magnificent Seven, a man who had been feuding with Lex and Bagwell just two months earlier—Bill Goldberg. The formerly undefeated world heavyweight champion was out for surgery following a questionable loss to "Totally Buffed" at Sin earlier that year. Of course Creative scrapped the surprise attack storyline due to the demise of WCW, but I'm willing to bet it was Goldberg that attacked Buff Daddy at Greed, and Road Warrior Animal just one week before.

“Kiss My Ass” Match
Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ric Flair & Jeff Jarrett
Dusty Rhodes is an exemplary figure in the wrestling industry having sold-out arenas from Texas to New York City. The "son of a plumber" was an especially vital cog in the intricate machine of World Championship Wrestling from its infancy with Jim Crockett to its last night in Panama City Beach, Florida. He headlined Starrcade and invented The Great American Bash—and Dusty Rhodes goes out in a "Kiss My Ass" match where he prepared by eating 240 burritos. Never mind forcing the man to wearing polka dots, he made it work! This was far more humiliating than anything Vince McMahon ever did, and he did it to himself. What can be said about this match? It featured two of the biggest stars in NWA/WCW history, alongside two of the most revered talents of the 1990s in Dustin Rhodes and Jeff Jarrett. But when it came down to it, this was a match about people farting on one another, and isn't that what really killed WCW? Ric Flair flat out refused to compete in the match, and then joined Jeff Jarrett halfway through only to finish the fight in less than ten minutes when Dusty Rhodes proceeded to humiliate the highly decorated "Nature Boy." This must have really sucked for Jeff Jarrett who left one company after losing his championship in a "Good Housekeeping Match" to a woman, only to finish his tenure with another by kissing Dusty Rhodes' ass.
Winner: Dusty & Dustin Rhodes – 9:58
Rating: 2 Stars

WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Scott Steiner (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page
The inclusion of internationally renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer has always given WCW's main events a sense of importance. Even in matches such as this, Buffer commands respect for the bout by captivating crowds with a trademark tambour in every word he says. The competitors in contention for the world heavyweight title this evening are both fine wrestlers capable of working within their means but neither DDP nor Scott Steiner were ever quite capable of exceeding expectations. Like almost every other match that came before it, the main event makes use of the ringside surroundings, but these two combatants take it further—into the audience. It's at this point that Tony Shiavone decides to remind the crowd that this is a falls count anywhere match. Steiner pulls a crutch from the crowd that according to Scott Hudson was stolen from a young child in a DDP shirt. The action soon makes its way back to the ringside area where this hardcore collision decelerates to a slow-paced battle of rest holds. Hudson continues to sell this spectacle as the WCW's "last chance against the tyrannical reign of Ric Flair and the monstrous Scott Steiner." Leading into their battle, Steiner has been responsible for defeating everyone from Goldberg to Kevin Nash, with Diamond Dallas Page next on his list of former champions to retire. Steiner raised Page for the running power slam but was reversed, shoved into the turnbuckle and caught by the "Diamond Cutter" on the rebound. Page covered Scott for the win, but referee Nick Patrick was interrupted mid-count when former US Champion and brother to the world title holder Rick Steiner emerged to save Scott's title. Steiner pulled Patrick from the ring, but was soon met by Diamond Dallas Page who leapt over the top rope and onto the �Gremlin below. So much for DDP not exceeding expectations, huh? Back inside the squared-circle, DDP's on the offense and looking for his fourth WCW title, until the raucous pandemonium catches Patrick off guard, giving Steiner the opportunity to hit Page with the belt. DDP's face erupted from the artery, blood flowing from his head into his hair as Steiner made the cover just in time for Nick Patrick to regain his senses. Your winner and still the WCW World Heavyweight Champion—"Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner.
Winner: Scott Steiner – 14:14
Rating: 2 Вѕ Stars

Final Thoughts
When the dust had settled and Greed was at an end, so too was the historic lineage of NWA and WCW. For a final show I would have hoped for more, but that's what the final Nitro in Panama City aimed to be, a "Night of Champions," so it was dubbed which saw Booker T capture the WCW World title from the villainous Scott Steiner. The business-as-usual booking had been abandoned on that final night in Florida, so as absurd as Greed was, it wasn't the last hurrah and therefore has to be judged just as any other pay-per-view event. Like many WCW shows from the late �90s and early 2000s, the highlights came from the midcard matches most notably the cruiserweight title bouts, both the singles match between Chavo and Helms, as well as the finals of the cruiserweight tag tournament. It was matches such as these that went on to help inspire TNA and its X Division the following year, and I think any fan of modern day wrestling might enjoy seeing some of the early �Impact Players' like Elix Skipper in his �rookie year.' Overall not a fantastic show minus the aforementioned bright spots; with ten matches, the average score was around two and a half stars.

"Where it All Begins, and Ends, Again… for real…"
Written by Gary Mastriano

Writing a review of Wrestlemania 17 is an extremely daunting task. I am not going to lie- I have been putting off this review for a few weeks. How can one rate and review what is unanimously viewed at the greatest Wrestlemania of all time, and arguably the single best wrestling card in history. To have this be the first review in our Doubleshot look back at WCW vs WWF PPVs is even more daunting. To start at the end of an era is extremely awkward. And believe me, this is the end of an era. Wrestlemania 17 has an heir of celebration more than any other event put on by Vince and Co. And why not? He won. He took out his biggest competition after a heated rivalry that produced the most financially successful era in pro wrestling history.

The celebration starts right from the insanely good opening video package, a theme you will see throughout the night. As the video package subtly tells us- this is it folks. People around the world are watching Wrestlemania tonight. All eyes are on the WWF. Even homeless couples will be watching this event from the back of their broken down car in a junkyard… somehow. Wrestlemani 17 would go on to be the 5th most purchased PPV of all time. It had almost 100,000 more buys than the �Mania's immediately before and after it. Clearly this was the apex of Pro Wrestling's salad days.

I would be short sighted if I failed to mention what took place just a few short days before Wrestlemania 17- the Purchase of WCW by Vince McMahon. While I won't go into the historical immplications of that event, I will mention that it is something that hangs very awkwardly over the entirety of Wrestlemania 17. It always seems to steal the attention from the card itself. I have always wondered if Vince should have saved that announcement for the night AFTER Wrestlemania 17. If creative was so set on turning Stone Cold heel (more about that decision later), than what better celebration would Vince have on Raw the next night having finally tamed his two biggest enemies- Stone Cold Steve Austin and WCW? Well anyway- on with the show:

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho (c) vs. William Regal
I have already documented my huge man crush on Chris Jericho in other columns. It was a great move to have him start the show. Jericho was red hot as a face, and about to enter the finest year of his first run in WWE. Before the year was up Jericho will have won the WCW title, and go onto defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock in the same night. I have always believed whoever's music you hear first at a Mania will go onto to do big things (ie Cena at Mania 20). The opening contest is almost as important as the main event. This match between Jericho and Regal, while a little too short to be considered a classic, is a terrific match that often gets lost on a stacked card. It is worth a rewatch for sure. Jericho picks up the victory, via Lionsault, which was surprising to me because I never considered that as finishing move.
Winner: Chris Jericho – 7:08
Rating: 3 Stars

Tazz & the APA vs. Right to Censor
Tazz and the APA defeat Right to Censor in 3:52
Tons of talent litter this match. Seriously every wrestler in this match could go, including the underrated Bull Buchanon. What should have been a hard hitting smash mouth match turns out to be… a hard hitting smash mouth match. Very odd booking for Tazz and he plays the face in peril the majority of the match until getting the hot tag to the APA for the win. Did WWF just not know what to do with Tazz? He gets the first huge pop of the night. The WHAT IF scenario's with Tazz are endless in WWE. While this may have been a throwaway match at Mania 17, it is a match that shows how deep the roster was at the time. Right to Censor would be a huge faction if they debuted in 2014, while here they are just relegated to fodder for the incredibly over APA.
Winner: Tazz & the APA – 7:08
Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

WWF Hardcore Triple Threat Match
Kane vs. Raven (c) vs. Big Show
Man this was a weird match. What was Raven doing here? When did Raven arrive in the WWF? Did he ever wrestle another match other than this one? Sorry if I don't remember, but some parts of this era of WWF are hazy to me. My initial interest was waning at the time, and I honestly stopped watching altogether for a while after Mania 17. Some cool moments highlight this match- the glass window spot was cool. Kane legit ran over Raven's leg. And give it to Paul Heyman on commentary (more on him later I promise) with the funniest line of the night- "Peach Snapple, that's my favorite kind!" This match was basically Raven getting his ass kicked for 10 minutes and Kane and Big Show trading off who was dealing the punishment. A very unique match up that spent too much time in the backstage area and not enough time in the ring.
Winner: Kane – 9:17
Rating: 2 Stars

We get a few backstage segments including Kurt Angle hamming it up with Edge and Christian. These guys were just gold together. Jimmy Snuka's at WWF New York. No one cared about Jimmy Snuka in 2001, 2015, or 1985. Sorry. And finally a shot of the Rock "arriving" to the arena. I recall WWE doing a ton of these "arriving" moments- in fact they do one later with Austin, and did one at the start of the show with Shane. I have never been a fan. Do you want me to believe that they started the show without the WWF Champion even being present? And that there are no penalties for being late to work in WWF? Wouldn't the Rock want to be on time for the biggest match of his career?

WWF European Championship
Test (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero
Test never really seemed like he fit in with the WWF/WWE. Of course everyone knows that he was a bodyguard for Motley Crue before being recruited to join the WWF, but I am no sure he belonged. He wasn't offensive in the ring and was a part of some pretty high profile programs. I am not sure if I imagined this or not- but did Test REALLY date Stephanie McMahon? Like in real life? I don't know why I thought I heard that somewhere. Eddie does what Eddie usually does in this match- puts on solid match with whoever he is in there with. Saturn does what Saturn does best- creeps around awkwardly on the outside of the ring. Half a star because I miss the European title.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero – 8:30
Rating: 2 ВЅ Stars

Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
Kurt Angle. Chris Benoit. Two of the greatest in ring performers of all time. I wonder if we will ever see two wrestlers with as much intensity as these two in the same company at the same time. I have always preferred Angle out of the two. Not only do I think he's the better wrestler (and slightly better human being… only slightly though) he also had SO much more personality than Benoit. This match was built all around their respective submission holds. Paul Heyman kicked us off with a terrific line about this match- "I am as excited for this match as a man can be with his clothes on." With these guys together in a ring, you know what you are going to get. Pure athleticism from two masters of sports entertainment. The match starts off exactly how you would expect it to, with mat wrestling and early submission teases. Benoit starts to get the upper hand in these exchanges, so Angle turns this into an Attitude era brawl with some stiff right hands, a table spot, and an Irish whip into the steps. Angle gains the upper hand and then this match turns into a suplex fest, from the two masters of the move. Angle and Benoit trade each other's finishers in a preview of tonight's main event. Heyman sums it up- "I have never in my life seen a better display of hold and counter hold in my life." A ref bump proves to be important as Angle taps while in the crossface. Once the ref is back up (rather quickly) the action picks up even more. Benoit blocks Angle's moonsault (I feel there should be an entire column dedicated to the beauty that is a Kurt Angle moonsault). Benoit connects with the headbutt, but Angle rolls him up with a handful of tights to score a win with a great piece of storyline. Neither man looked weak, and Angle's heel character got more dastardly. JR sells the match by saying "this is not the end of this rivalry." And he was right. This wasn't the last match these two would have, nor was it the best. That distinction goes to their Royal Rumble match a few years later. As it is, this match is a great 4 star match between two ring generals that could have benefited from a few more minutes as well.
Winner: Kurt Angle – 14:04
Rating: 4 Stars

WWF Women's Championship
Chyna vs. Ivory (c)
Again I cannot talk about how cool Right to Censor was. Ivory was the perfect female member of the group and worked so well as a heel. I really enjoyed her mannerisms during her entrance. She really sold the "better than you" female heel. Chyna comes out shooting a bazooka…? Great psychology in this match, with Ivory focusing on Chyna's "injured" neck early on until Chyna takes complete control and squashes Ivory for the remainder of the match. Chyna even picks Ivory up after a huge power bomb only to embarrass her more by casually pinning her. I get the appeal of Chyna as the 9th Wonder of the World, and she deserves her kudos for the surprisingly solid in ring work she did with Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero, but Ivory deserved better than this.
Winner: Chyna – 2:39
Rating: 1 Star

Street Fight w/ Mick Foley as Referee
Vince McMahon vs. Shane McMahon
Another terrific video package sums up the feud… Seeing Shane show up on Nitro was so surreal and completely AWESOME that it added another layer to what was already a heated feud. Shane comes out first to the familiar sounds of No Chance in Hell sporting a Mania 17 jersey with "Vince we Have a Problem" on the back. Remember when Shane used to have customized shirts like that? That was really really cool. Shane shouts out to his new WCW employees. The crowd has NO IDEA how to react to the WCW guys. Shane is the face in this feud, as the son standing up to his father, but are we supposed to like the WCW employees? Aren't they the enemy? Again some confusing booking with the WCW angle. Clearly the WWF wasn't sure how to handle the purchase yet, and thinks are awkward accordingly.

As for the match, it is exactly what you would expect if you have ever seen a Shane or Vince match. Shane brings the high spots, Vince gets his ass kicked. And everyone here plays their part to the T. Trish as the scorned mistress finally turning on Vince was a great moment. Stephanie plays it up as the Billion Dollar Princess Daddy's girl character that she had perfected by then. And what can be said about Linda? For someone with no acting/wrestling experience or training, she does a great job being completely catatonic. I don't think anyone gives her enough props for being able to sit still without blinking or moving. And my God that pop she gets when she sits up in the corner. Seriously if you want to hear a GIGANTIC POP, watch that moment on YouTube. Or better yet- watch this match. It is so silly and over booked and fun.
Winner: Shane McMahon – 14:12
Rating: 3 Stars

TLC 2 for the WWF Tag Team Championship
The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian
This match is kind of the elephant in the room when discussing Wrestlemania 17. IGN lists this match #5 on their all- time Wrestlemania matches, and WWE.com ranked it in their top 20 matches ever. I don't think I am going to go that far, as super insane spot fests aren't always for me. Don't get me wrong- I'm not going to hate on this match. Sure it is pretty much 15 minutes of spots with no psychology in between, but it sure is fun as hell. I have always preferred my gimmick matches with a little bit more eb and flow and purpose (see Shawn Razor ladder match, Shawn Taker Cell match, Shawn Jericho ladder match, Shawn Michaels in any gimmick match ever). However one cannot deny how impressive this match is. Who can forget the great moments like Jeff's suicide dive off of the gigantic ladder? How about Edge's spear off the ladder to Jeff Hardy? Or the multiple run ins from Spike Dudley, Rhino, and ultimately Lita that led to some great moments. The exciting conclusion comes when Matt Hardy and Bubba Ray fall through 19 tables stacked high on the outside of the ring in a completely insane spot. Everyone in this match put their bodies on the line to put on a classic that pretty much defined each of their careers afterwards. Other than Edge, I don't think anyone involved in this match has ever stepped out of the shadow of this match. Pure insanity in a gimmick match that hasn't been topped since, despite multiple attempts, that spawned its own PPV.
Winner: Edge & Christian – 15:47
Rating: 4 Stars

The Gimmick Battle Royal
Duke the Dumpster Droese is honestly one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. The New Generation has always been my favorite era of wrestling and the goofy gimmick that came along with it were awesome. This match, while unnecessary, was super fun and goofy. Great to see a lot of fun gimmicks. More of WWF celebrating their past. Having Mene Gene and Bobby Hennan call the match was an absolute treat. I've said it before, but it needs repeating- Bobby Hennan is the SINGLE GREATEST COLOR COMMENTARTOR OF ALL TIME. Fans of today's product will never be able to appreciate how incredible Hennan was. Imagine if Paul Heyman had a bit more comedy in his promo style- that's Hennan. Hennan's cracks on Sgt Slaughter are worth the price of the PPV (or $9.99 for the Network) alone. The Gimmick Battle Royal sums up a lot of what was great about Wrestlemania 17. For all the seriousness of matches like Austin vs Rock and the McMahon family drama, the WWF could still have fun. Was this the only match that Michael Hayes ever wrestled at Wrestlemania? I could be wrong about that, but that would be an interesting fact. And I tell you what—Droese looks like he could still go.
Winner: The Iron Sheik – 3:07
Rating: 2 Stars

The Undertaker vs. Triple H
This was one of my favorite matches for a long time. Time hasn't been fair to this match, especially after these two men topped it 10 and 11 years later, but for a long time this stood as one of my top 5 matches of all time. This was, by far, the best match of Undertaker's career up to this point. Undertaker never had a great in ring performance before the switch to the Biker Taker gimmick. This was also the first time I can remember Taker's undefeated streak being mentioned as well. Triple H was on the tail end of the single best heel run in company history from 1999-early 2001.

It's interesting to note that this feud was very similar to the one they would have 10 years later at Wrestlemania 27- Triple H claimed he had beaten everyone there is to beat, except the Undertaker. Motorhead plays a live version of the best theme song in wrestling and out comes Helmsley. Limp Bizkit ushers in the American Badass, and shit is about to go down. Houston's own Undertaker takes it to Triple H early on the outside. All bets are off in this one, as the action spends little time in the ring. The first great spot happens when Taker lifts HHH up for a monstrous back body drop. A ref bump leads the action to the outside again and into crowd. A lot of brawls during the attitude era spilled into the crowd, but I cannot think of one as memorable as this. The sigh of Triple H and the Undertaker battling on a lighting structure amongst 65,000 is as iconic as they com 28:07 e. Taker chokeslamming Trips right into the crowd is hokey when you see the pads the Hunter lands on, but at first viewing, it is an amazing moment. The action eventually finds its way back to the ring, where the equalizing sledgehammer is brought into play. Triple H goes for a tombstone pile driver, but it is reversed by Undertaker, but unfortunately the referee is still down. A sledgehammer shot by Triple H during a last ride leads to an incredibly close 2 count. Trips fights a bloodied Dead Man into the corner, which leads into a Last Ride for the finish.

Upon viewing this match again for the first time in a while, I can say that it still holds up. It is nowhere near as good as their second and third Wrestlemania chapters, but it is a great semi-main event to this card. Triple H showed once again his versatility by being able to go into an all-out brawl with the Undertaker. Both men seemed incredibly motivated to steal the show. This match, like this overall card, never slows down to breathe. It is incredible that these two would go on to get even better and produce two better matches than this 10 years later.
Winner: The Undertaker – 18:57
Rating: 4 ВЅ Stars

No Disqualification Match for the WWF Championship
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock (c)
A few months ago Steve Austin did a running commentary of this match on his podcast. If you haven't listened to it yet I strongly recommend it. The amount of insight he provides is amazing. Austin says going into this match that he was more confident than he had ever been. He describes how he and Rock constructed the match. How they called it on the fly. And his only regret of his career being the ending of the match. I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Much has been made of the pre match video package featuring Limp Bizkit's My Way. Many have called it the greatest video package of all time. It would be hard to argue that. WWE consistently produces terrific video packages, and this one is near the top of the list.
As soon as Austin's music hits, the crowd becomes unglued. Another gigantic pop from the 65,000 Houston fans. JR delivers one of my all-time favorite lines calling Austin a "folk hero". Rock hits the ring second, as a champion always should. JR makes me feel bad about myself by reminding me that Rock is only 28 years old at the time of this match, headlining his third Wrestlemania. Overachiever.

When looking back at this match, the conclusion shouldn't have been such a surprise. Austin wrestles the entire match as a heel. I understand the storyline that he needs to win the match and the title back so desperately. But Austin is the constant aggressor. Rock is almost always the face in peril, while he clearly isn't the fan favorite here in Houston. Austin even jaws off to the referee when things aren't going his way. Rock continues to preserve even when all of his offense is booed by the crowd. Such amazing character work done by both men.

Rock is busted open early as much of this match spills outside. The ring bell plays a significant part of the match when both Rock and Austin's faces are painted on it. Both men also taste the exposed turnbuckle, which leads to Austin being busted open. One thing to remember about this match- it isn't pretty. Austin and Rock create a brutal masterpiece. This is the best brawl match the Attitude era ever produced. My favorite spot of the match comes when Austin tries to apply the million dollar dream. That call back was incredible. Rock sloppy delivery of the sharpshooter has never bothered me either. Both spots should be commended for their relationships to Austin's Wrestlemania 13 match with Bret Hart, arguably the match that kick started the Attitude era. Only fitting the Attitude era would come to close in almost a full circle fashion.

Now let's talk about the finish. Turning Austin heel wasn't a terrible move. It made sense to the character's journey. Austin had missed almost a year due to injury, during which he saw the Rock climb to the top of the card and take his spot. Austin's road to redemption had to go through the Rock. And he would do whatever it took to get there. It made sense. Now I am not sure it was the wisest business decision knowing that the Rock was leaving. Essentially there was no number 1 face anymore, with Austin as a top heel, along with Triple H and Kurt Angle right behind him. WWF would try the Invasion angle to mixed results, but one can only wonder how much of that was affected by Austin's heel turn. It also probably wasn't wise to turn Austin heel in Houston, where he was the "folk hero" JR spoke of. Again, I think turning Austin heel was a GOOD move, but the WWF probably wanted more of a reaction than they received.

One thing that has always bothered me about this match is Vince's involvement. I have no problem with him being involved in the finish, he should have. Austin and the Rock were his two greatest adversaries and it is just right that he shows up. However the timing of Vince's involvement is strangely paced. First he shows up and just stands around a bit. Than he saves Austin after the People's Elbow. We should have seen kick to the gut, stunner, new champ. Instead we get an awkward 5 minutes of uncertainty. Instead of one shocking heel turn, we get an awkward slow turn, ref bump, and endless chair shots before it's over. Steve Austin says he regrets turning heel that night. He wishes he would've just called an audible and stunned Vince. I am not sure that was the right move either. Just a spot of Austin selling his soul. I don't think this takes away much from the match, but I do wish it was a clean and obvious heel turn, instead of being a little bit over booked at the end.

As it stands this match is a classic. There have been better matches at Wrestlemania, but this the best final match ever. No one deserved to headline the biggest Wrestlemania ever, or put an end to the attitude era, more than Austin and the Rock. Of their many encounters, and 3 Wrestlemania matches, this is easily the best. It is the darkest, hardest hitting, most brutal title match I can ever remember at Wrestlemania. Part of me wants to knock the awkward ending, but every single moment leading up to the ending is so perfect that it is impossible not to rate this match as five star match.
Winner: Steve Austin – 28:07
Rating: 5 Stars

Final thoughts
Wrestlemania 17 will forever be known as one of the best wrestling cards of all time. Looking at the roster and matches shows how stacked WWF was at the time. After the purchase of WCW, Wrestlemania 17 was Vince McMahon pounding his chest in victory. He had won the Monday Night Wars. He had the top two stars of all time headline a titanic card. He even went out and produced a memorable event that will stand the test of time. I can't decisively call Mania 17 the greatest Mania of all time. I think Mania 19, 22, 24, and 28 can each make an argument for that title. But from top to bottom Wrestlemania 17 delivers. Every person contributes and plays their part perfectly. The video packages are second to none. Every talent seems hungry to prove themselves, especially in light of the coming uncertainty and arrival of WCW talent. And enough cannot be said for the commentary work of JR and Paul Heyman. They sold every match as being important and delivered the best play by play/color commentary for a single event I have ever heard. You can have you iconic JR calls all you want, for my money this was the best work he ever did. And Heyman shows that he is truly one of a kind. Wrestlemania 17 has a few flaws, namely the awkward ending and the strange timing of the WCW purchase hanging over it. It sometimes feels like there is too much going on, and everything is a little too rushed. However it is a great call back to the older Mania cards, with 11 matches and little to no filler. It will certainly be interested recounting our steps through the WWF and WCW PPV history to see how we got to this point- the true highpoint in professional wrestling history "Where it All Begins, and Ends, Again."

Ladies and gentlemen that's it for our premiere edition of "Doubleshot: 2-in-1 Wrestling Reviews." Join us next time as Gary and I head back to 1995 before the Monday Night War had even started. Until then my name is Mark Adam Haggerty alongside Gary Mastriano, reminding you to keep checking out Cheap-Heat, your number one source for original columns, countdowns and coverage of the wide world of professional wrestling.