Hey there, kids…and welcome to yet another edition of Truth or Consequences. A rather brief column this week as I’ve got more important things on my mind than professional wrestling.
Y’see, earlier this week, my wife phoned my up in work to let me know that she is pregnant with our first child, so you’ll forgive me, I’m sure, if I keep this week’s column short ‘n’ sweet. Next week will be a big one, either way, and anybody who’s e-mailed me will get a full response then.
For now though, I just want to take a quick look at the Final Raw Main Event poll that I started a fortnight ago. One of my readers mentioned the final main event on Nitro, that saw long-time rivals and the epitomes of WCW, Ric Flair and Sting, battle one-on-one. Truly is was a fitting send-off to a show and a company that had given us so many happy memories over the years. The question that was posed was this – if WWE were to go bankrupt tomorrow, which two wrestlers would I like to see in the main event of the final edition of Raw, assuming all was well? I passed on the challenge to you guys and…well…there was a hell of a response.
No less than 117 people have e-mailed me since I originally threw down the gauntlet two weeks ago and, whilst there were certain match-ups that seemed obvious, there were also a few ones that really showed a creative flair.
So – a little analysis for starters…
Top 3 wrestlers
The following wrestlers were the most popular ones chosen for the final Raw main event, by you – the readers.
3. Bret “The Hitman” Hart – 48 votes
2. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin – 61 votes
1. Hulk Hogan – 84 votes
The big (or maybe not) news is that of the 117 people who voted, 72% of them wanted to see Hogan in the final Main Event of Raw. This is hardly surprising, as Hogan truly was the face of the WWF for many, many years and, let’s face it, if it weren’t for the awesome power of Hulkamania, most of us wouldn’t even be watching wrestling right now.
As for the single most popular match up – that was Hogan vs. Austin, with 52 readers (or 44%) voted for that as their ‘end of Raw’ match-up. Most of them cited their reasons as it being two icons from two different eras clashing in the final main event for the company and, really, who can argue with that kind of logic?
There were similar suggestions by other people, wanting to see a main event where two eras collided…Hogan-Sammartino, Hogan-Benoit, Andre-Austin, Austin-Sammartino…but the second most popular request was for Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (24 votes) based on the notion that these guys were the very best wrestlers that Raw ever had and that they should end the life of the WWE with these two going toe-to-toe for a good half-hour.
Beyond those two matches, however, there isn’t much to call, with only The Rock-Austin getting more than three separate requests, so that would be it, then – Hogan vs. Austin as your Main Event, with Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels on the undercard.
What was slightly more surprising were the guys who didn’t even get a mention…not one single bid for the Undertaker, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Triple H or Bob Backlund and yet somebody voted, in all seriousness, for Lex Luger vs. Kevin Nash.
The most entertaining vote I received was from fellow Pulser, Eric Szulczewski. His real vote was for Austin-Michaels, which is a fair enough choice, but it was his idea for an undercard match that really tickled me…
“Yeah, I know, Michaels/Austin isn’t a very creative choice, but that event occurs earlier in the night, when we finally get the Vince/Bisch/Heyman Triple Threat we’ve all been wanting to see.
Eric”
Heyman, Vinnie Mac and the Bitch-off? Excellent! Make it Barbed Wire TLC and that’s a money-maker right there.
So where would I cast my own vote? I suppose, if you’re summing up the WWF as a whole then Hogan simply has to be in there, whether you like him or not, but I’d like to see him wrestle someone like The Undertaker, who has remained with the WWF since Survivor Series 1990 and has never jumped ship and remains a useful worker to this day. Yeah – that’s it for me…Undertaker vs. Hogan.
And so I reach the end of another column and it’s time to…
BUT WAIT!
…I had said, had I not, that one person was going to receive a special prize? Picking a winner totally at random (that is, by the time-honoured technique of pulling all 117 e-mails into a single list and pointing at the screen at random) the winner of a 100% original copy of No Holds Barred is…Steven in Adelaide, Australia.
So, Steve…e-mail me with your postal address and this tape will be winging its way to you ASAP.
That’s all for this week. Thanks to everyone who voted and I’ll see you all in seven days with some more pro-wrestling related ponderings.
Until the next time…farewell.
