Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Top Five Matches Ever Edition

I have probably seen 10,000 matches if not more in my life from the WCW, WWE and TNA that I have watched. So I thought it would be cool to take a look at my all time favorite matches. This will be my all time top five matches list, with perhaps a 6 through 10 list coming in the near future as well.

In at the number five goes all the way back to March 29th, 1987. Some people say it may be the greatest match of all time. Clearly I think an argument can be made for that. But I will put it in at number five. It is Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the Intercontinental Title. Two great men in the prime of their careers fighting for the second most prestigious title. It was back and forth. This match was a chess match between two great rivals who just couldn't defeat each other. And after near fall after near fall, Ricky Steamboat got his revenge and won the intercontinental Title with a roll up.

Number four on my list is brother versus brother at Wrestlemania X at Madison Square Garden. Owen Hart vs Bret Hart. It doesn't get much more personal then a fight between two brothers. Owen had felt he was living in Bret's shadow for too long (and for many fans like me, it was true). Bret was known more as a technical wrestler but Owen definitely proved not only could he hang with his older brother, he can defeat him. Of course Bret would get the last laugh winning the WWF Title later that night.

I'm proud to say that I was there for match number three on my list. WOOOOOOOO! Ric Flair's last match in the WWE was on March 30th, 2008. He hand selected his opponent for the night, though Shawn Michaels was very reluctant to do it. Who could blame him? Would you want to be responsible for retiring a man that you looked up to? Neither did HBK. But Flair goaded him into taking the match. The stipulation for Flair would be if he lost, he would be forced to retire. Flair threw everything he had at Shawn Michaels. And Michaels lived up to his name as Mr. Wrestlemania. Even though we all knew what the outcome would be, there wasn't many dry eyes in the arena when Michaels whispered "I'm sorry, I love you" followed by a sweet chin music for the 1, 2, 3!

Next on the list is the most recent on the list. July 17th, 2011 was when CM Punk and John Cena went one on one for Cena's WWE Title. CM Punk announced win or loss it would be his last night in the WWE (HA!). Anyone who knows me knows I don't like John Cena. But he gained a little bit of my respect that night. Again, it was back and forth. It seemed like a forgone conclusion that John Cena would retain his championship and we would never see CM Punk again. They hit finishers and signatures and their opponent just kept kicking out. It took a distraction from Mr. McMahon and John Laurinaitis for CM Punk to win the title and disappear into his hometown crowd of Chicago, Illinois. What does that say about this match to be the only match on my list not to take place at Wrestlemania, by the way?

And my all time favorite match has to be from Wrestlemania XXVI when Shawn Michaels tried his best to beat the streak. He failed the year prior to defeat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He fought almost an entire year to get the rematch. The first match was really good. The rematch was amazing. For most of Undertaker's Mania streak, there was little doubt that he would lose. But in this match, you felt that Shawn Michaels had what it took to beat the streak. But in the end, The Undertaker was able to defeat Shawn Michaels again. And the great Shawn Michaels had wrestled his last match. Unlike Ric Flair who then went and wrestled for TNA, Michaels was firm in that he was retired. And so far he has kept his word. So far....

There you have it. My top five matches of all time. Tell me what you think!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

My Wrestling Hall Of Fame-First Class

I understand that I can't always agree with who the WWE adds to their Hall Of Fame. So, I will do the next best thing. I will create my own! After every major PPV of the year, I will induct four wrestlers into my Hall of Fame. In addition, my fiancee will also induct a wrestler on her own.

Together, we can induct anyone regardless if they are still active or not. They could have competed for WCW, ECW, WWF(E), NXT, TNA or any other promotion in the world. I am sure that some of our choices will not be the most popular choices, and I am okay with that.

My first inductee is Randy "Macho Man" Savage.In his career in WWF and WCW, Savage won the WCW title four times and the WWF Title two more times. He is also a former Intercontinental Champion. Every single time he stepped in the ring, he put on great matches. His match with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at Wrestlemania III is a must watch for any young wrestling fan. For whatever reason, he isn't in the WWE Hall of Fame. But as a life long fan of the Macho Man, I have to say OHHHHH YEAH! He's in mine. For his career highlights take a look at this video that the WWE released at the time of his death.

The next inductee to My Hall of Fame is Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig. Originally he wasn't the one the WWF wanted to portray the role of Mr. Perfect, Terry "Red Rooster" Taylor was. But Hennig won them over with his style and charisma and became the perfect choice. From everything I have heard about him, he was a great guy. Just listen to Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs talk about the day that Hennig saved his life Curt Hennig was a two time Intercontinental Champion as well as a United States Champion and WCW Tag Team Champion. But for whatever reason he never won a World Championship, which to me is mind boggling. After he died, he was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Another person who never won a World Title which to me never made sense is Andre The Giant. I refuse to acknowledge when he had the title for a minute before he was stripped by Jack Tunney. There is a reason why Andre was referred to as the Eighth Wonder Of The World. There was never and will never be another Andre The Giant. Granted his move set was very limited due to his enormous size, Andre was still an accomplished wrestler. And he was one of the few wrestlers in his day that transcended wrestling. You could ask non wrestling fans in the 1980s who Andre The Giant was, they could tell you. Hulk Hogan would most likely be the only other wrestler from the era that would be as easily recognizable. Who could forget his memorable role in The Princess Bride? He won the Tag Team Titles with Haku. Andre The Giant was the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, and he is in my first class as well!

The next inductee is manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. What is there to say about him? Whether he was managing his stable of wrestlers The Heenan Family or was at the broadcast booth he was always entertaining. He seemed to enjoy being heel more then most people I can remember, especially back in the day. The chemistry he had with all of his broadcast partners has gone unmatched with the exception of Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross. I always enjoyed Heenan, whether it was in WWF or WCW. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Right now that he has been fighting throat cancer.

The Final inductee of the first class of my Wrestling Hall Of Fame belongs to my Fiancee Lori. And she inducts The Big Show. I know that she has been a fan of his ever since she started watching wrestling. He is athletic for a big man. But I think what she likes most about him, and I completely agree, is how goofy he can be one second (Just watch Knucklehead) and how much of a force he can be when he wants to the next. If you look up accomplished wrestler in the dictionary, you will see a picture of the Big Show. He has won every title he could possibly have won. He has won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice, WCW World Tag Team Championship three times, ECW World Championship, World Heavyweight Championship twice, World Tag Team Championship 5 times, Intercontinental title, WWE Tag Team Championship three times, United States Championship WWE Championship twice plus a reign as the Hardcore Champion as well. If you don't think that he is one of the best big men of all time read this article from Bleacher Report.

So there you have it. The first class of Inside the Wrestling Ring's Hall of Fame. Check back around Summerslam for the next class!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Wrestlemania 29 Predictions!



It has been two years since my last blog but now I will be back to blogging in the world of pro wrestling.  And what better time than to make Wrestlemania 29 predictions. I will have huge news coming soon as well on my next blog.  But that will be next week.  First, it's time for predictions!

First off, I have to say as a life long fan of the WWE I am rather disappointed in this year's card. There is nothing that jumps out at me and makes me say "I have to see this match!"  We have seen Rock-Cena.  We have seen Lesnar-HHH.  We have seen Undertaker-Punk. It bothers me that I am not impressed.  But oh well.

Here we go.  First with the Twice in a Lifetime match, I say there is absolutely no chance John Cena doesn't win this match.  I probably said that last year too, but now more than ever I think Cena wins and is your new WWE Champion. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not happy about this.  I am not a Cena fan.  Promo wise he is top notch, but there are only so many times I can see his five moves of doom.

Next up, we have Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Thwagger for the World Title. We may never know the original plans of this match, because I feel Jack's arrest changed the outcome of this match.  I think Swagger was going to win, but now he has no chance of winning.  It's not going to matter since Dolph Ziggler will walk out as the World Champion after cashing in his money in the bank.

Another match that the build up clearly had to change due to real life circumstances is Undertaker vs CM Punk.  With Punk being disrespectful due to the real life death of Paul Bearer,  I have to wonder what the original build was going to look like.  Regardless, Undertaker's streak will continue!

Triple H will have his revenge on his loss to Brock Lesnar as well, just like Cena will get revenge on Rock.  This match will be violent.  It will feature Shawn Michaels, Paul Heyman, and most likely a McMahon or two. It won't be a wrestling match, it will be a fight.  But I think it has the potential to be a great match.

Randy Orton, Sheamus, and Big Show Vs The Shield should be a decent match.  I have been very impressed with Roman Reigns. When The Shield was called up, Ambrose and Rollins were supposed to be the good ones and they are, but Reigns has shown me something. I do expect Big Show to officially turn face while Randy Orton turns heel. And then The Shield will win.

I think that Kane and Daniel Bryan will retain the tag titles, for now, against Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston. I see them losing the titles at Extreme Rules more than at Wrestlemania, because Dolph will be more concentrating on cashing in. If Team Hell No is still champions by the end of May and a functioning Tag Team I will be very surprised.

Ryback vs Mark Henry will also be a fight.  But Ryback needs a win on Pay Per View. And he will get it here.

Chris Jericho vs Fandango could honestly go either way. But I think Fandango will let his A's breath with a win!

The fact that Antonio Cesaro, Kofi Kingston and Zack Ryder don't have a match on Sunday but Brodus Clay/Sweet T(ensai), Naomi, Cameron, And the Bellas all have a match is just mind boggling.  And how is this not the preshow match instead of Miz-Barrett for the Intercontinental Title? Makes no sense to me!