The Undertaker ponders ending The Streak, WrestleMania XXV’s host site takes a hit during the latest hurricane and Kane takes the place of Starrcade. Seems like a logical trade-up to me.
Opening Witty Banter
How’s everyone doing out there in Internet-land? As I’m typing this out, I’m watching the gloriousness of the Patrick Swayze movie “Road House.†Seriously, it’s a great movie, give it a try. Meanwhile I’ve got a load of wrestling waiting in the wings to be watched, from classic AWA, SmackDown! and TNA on my DVR, a whole lot of good stuff on WWE 24/7 and the brand-new Mr. Perfect DVD, so I’ve got that going for me.
The News of the Week
As in “file this under rumor because I need to fill space†there is internal talk of Undertaker eventually ending his WrestleMania streak once he is ready to retire. If it were to happen they want to make sure the job goes to someone who is a true wrestling “lifer,†as opposed to a “maybe†guy like Brock Lesnar or Bobby Lashley. Apparently talk has shifted to Ted DiBiase, Jr. being the man to end the streak. The company internally and a lot of top in-ring talent is high on DiBiase, as they see him as a top talent for years to come. Plus the story would be easy to weave as of course in kayfabe it was “Million $ Man†Ted DiBiase who brought Undertaker into WWE.
I always thought that Randy Orton would have been the most logical man to end Undertaker’s streak back at WrestleMania XXI, but since then it’s become obvious they are just feeding the streak. I think in a couple of years DiBiase would be a great choice to end Undertaker’s legacy.
Tickets for WrestleMania XXV, which were scheduled to go on sale next Saturday, September 20, have been postponed until October 11 due to Hurricane Ike terrorizing Texas, and namely the Houston area. It’s been reported that Reliant Stadium, where WrestleMania will be held, was actually damaged during the storm and the Houston Texans next home game may be postponed until the damage can be fixed.
In related news, WWE has announced the following ticket prices for WrestleMania XXV: $755, $255, $155, $100, $60, and $40.
I’m sure Houston will be back in order come WrestleMania time. Who’s coming with me?
WWE has scheduled 11/25 as the release date for their “History of the WWE Intercontinental Title” DVD.
I’ve always been a mark for the Intercontinental Title. Here’s hoping this disc is another good one in a long line of them.
According to Wrestling Observer, The Signature Pharmacy drug case has been thrown out. The judge blamed the government’s “amorphous quality of the evolving indictments” and inadequate instructions to the people on the grand jury for the case being thrown out. This is of course the same scandal that resulted in about a dozen WWE wrestlers being suspended a year ago for ordering steroids and other illegal drugs from the online pharmacy.
Boy I’m sure John Morrison, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, Funaki and so many others are glad they had to spend last September on the sidelines.
In some sad and rather puzzling move, WWE has canceled their “Best of Starrcade” 3-disc DVD set. They will now release their 3-disc Kane DVD in November in its place.
Everybody has already beat to all the good Kane jokes in regard to the DVD, but I really hope it does stay in kayfabe and they try to make sense of his storied past. Or they should go over-the-top with it and try to do it documentary style, with guys like Mean Gene and Edge talking about Kane’s past accomplishments with a straight face like he was Bret Hart or something. Please let their mentions of Isaac Yankem and “Diesel†as well. But in all seriousness Kane is more than deserving of a set like this, as he is vastly underrated in terms of drawing power and longevity during his WWE tenure.
As for the cancellation of the Starrcade set, that is absolute and utter crap. WWE is sitting on a goldmine of old WCW footage that nerds like me and those reading this article would be dying to give Vince McMahon more money for. I really hope this isn’t an outright cancellation, but rather a postponement.
The latest gossip on second and third generation kids apparently coming down the pike is that Mike Rotunda’s sons, Windham and Taylor, are both heading to the squared circle. Windham is currently playing college football at Troy University and plans on joining the pro wrestling ranks once his academic career is over. His younger brother Taylor has reported already signed a developmental deal with WWE.
All I have to say is Money, Inc. 2.0 baby!
Wrestler of the Week
I’m trying to think of new ways to change up/improve this column so each week I will highlight who I think was WWE’s Wrestler of the Week, kind of like what JR does on wwe.com. As this is still in its early stages I don’t really have any criteria, but I’m sure my choice will come from a combination of kayfabe and real-life factors.
Week of September 8 – 14: Jeff Hardy
Hardy picked up a big win on SmackDown! and positioned himself as the number one contender for Triple H’s WWE Championship. Hardy has gotten himself back in the good graces of the WWE upper echelon and seems poised to provide a legitimate challenge for Triple H. All the seeds are planted for eventual Hardy Boys dual Heavyweight Championship reigns that I think will happen sooner than later.
RAW’s On Tonight!
RAW has been booked heavy for tonight, as Chris Jericho defends the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk in a steel cage match, plus we get Rey Mysterio one-on-one with Kane. They’ve also hyping a lot out of the second-generation stable making some noise. Plus the show is being presented from Memphis, Tennessee so expect some shenanigans from Jerry “The King†Lawler.
On Last Week’s Episode…
Provencio and Neeley cover SmackDown!
Blatt takes on ECW.
Marshall and Daniels have it RAW.
How They Rated
A.M. RAW (9.7.08) – .5
RAW (9.8.08) – 3.0
ECW (9.9.08) – 1.3
SmackDown! (9.12.08) –
This is Boring, What Else is There to Read?
Buckeldee and Ditch cover puro.
Glazer and Wiswell give Ring of Honor some love.
Brian J. Blottie takes a stab at covering TNA in a weekly column.
IP Staff Roundtable Results for TNA No Surrender
IP put together a roundtable for TNA’s No Surrender pay per view from last night and four people showed up to give their thoughts. Let’s see how they fared.
Roundtable Winners: ME! Mark Allen (woo hoo!): 8-1 (102-41)
Here’s how the rest of the staff fared:
David Brashear: 7-2 (104-71)
Paul Marshall: 6-3 (87-53)
Danny Cox: 4-5 (160-135)
