This is column number 14. Nothing too notable in my life. I was accepted at several colleges, so that was pretty exciting. Looks like I might be at Amherst this fall, so if you attend - and god knows you probably don't - drop me a line. I hope to have a baby sometime this spring, so I'll be providing you with updates as I drink through the pregnancy.

10. Try to read my WM recapitulation for my thoughts on that show. Regarding its pending "best PPV ever status" - obviously it will take some time for that statement to ring true, if it ever will. But hating Austin's heel turn at this point and declaring WM a failure because of it is just borderline stupid.

9. Ridiculous thought of the week - any single person who thinks the World Wrestling Federation will main event UT/Kane v. HHH/Austin on one of its PPVs is insane. That's a RAW match, and even Vince knows it. Putting the IC Title on HHH is just step one to pulling out some kickass singles matches to establish the Austin-McMahon-Helmsley regime. Where is the WWF booking going?

Point blank, HHH v. Austin would not have worked the RAW after WrestleMania. It's probably better to save it for Summerslam. Working the slow build on that is the best way to draw money. Meanwhile, they'll be drawing money all their life with the eventual Rock v. Austin rematch that will hopefully be an Iron Man match down the road. That should liven up Survivor Series, or even earlier, if that's what happens.

But as for now, the company is still without a no. 1 babyface. It wouldn't be UT and Kane - Vince won't tank his company that way. Most likely, it's going to be Chris Jericho himself. I'm not going to say I called it back in my fantasy booking the WWF column, which you can feel free to take a look at, but that's what I called. I'm happy as hell for Rock's departure. Everyone who said the character was getting stale was correct, and Rock has been working pretty much constantly for the past three years - he could use some time off; it'll help his heat the same way it did Austin's.

8. Now that the WWF is win place and show, I feel bad for all the news update guys who will be out of work soon. I don't know what else Brian Gleine does. Jon Richardson should be able to fill his time nicely, but what about Eric S.? Meanwhile, I don't know how much more of Scaia I can take from the Shooters. I read that site to get away from Scaia, not to hear about him constantly. If Rantsylvania's becoming a WWF fansite, The Shooters is becoming a Wrestleline/Lano website. Good god.

In fact, I feel bad for Meltzer now that WCW is gone. They gave him a lot of gossip, and the WWF is ten times more careful with links. I expect he'll still have his sources, but the WWF itself would do well to use what little wrestling journalism there is to there advantage.

7. Where will the next wrestling company come from? God knows the boom itself is on its way out, but there should still be room for another big company. If Flair starts a regional territory, as he stipulated in an interview should a deal with the WWF fall through, that could get big. What is for certain is that Bischoff is out of the wrestling business. He'll never get a company started with the guys the WWF doesn't want, period. Hogan will not draw at this stage in the game, especially now that he has no gimmick to speak of. Another fantastic thing that Vince Russo did.

6. Jim Ross has talked twice now about exported under-utilized talent from the WWF to WCW. Read - D'Lo Brown. The man is basically off television so that the Lo-Down gimmick doesn't do him any more damage. He'll be able to make a name for himself in WCW. Billy Gunn is as good as gone, and I expect Steve Blackman will most likely make the move as well. All these guys will need to be rebuilt in WCW. They've got some time to plan, so I'm hoping they do nice things with the new promotion. I expect them to try to bust out some radical stuff.

5. You know, there are two WWF pay-per-views every year that outright suck, and they are always the same big ones. King of the Ring and Survivor Series are just never good. The only good King of the Ring was '98, and even then, the main event sucked ass. In fact, that show barely compares to any of the halfway decent WWF shows of last summer. The best match on the KOTR '99 card was The handicap ladder match featuring Austin and the McMahons. It featured an abysmal Rock v. Taker match that I remember Eliot Sparks (whatever happened to him? Bouts with Clout was the only good thing that ever came out of Emzee) giving four stars to. Going back years and years the event has sucked. Same for Survivor Series. The last two Survivor Series have been uniformly awful. '98 was shit except for Rock's first WWF Title, and '97 was a huge, huge bore, including the exceptionally disappointing Shawn v. Bret match (hugely overrated at the time), which is the worst match those two have ever had. I cringe when thinking about the brawl that started it. '96 wasn't that bad, with the Austin v. Bret match standing out. Sid won the WWF Title on that show, didn't he? Perhaps he lost it on that show. I can't be bothered to check.

4. I just watched RAW. There's the living picture of a company in which not one storyline has any idea where its going. I suppose it's still early. I sat there watching the end of RAW, wondering who was going to make the save. It struck me that Tazz could have pulled Austin off of JR on SmackDown. I can think of a lot of kick-ass tag matches Austin/HHH could have - with Benoit/Jericho, especially, but they need singles opponents for Backlash. I have trouble seeing where these opponents might come from. Rock is out, Jericho and Benoit are involved in other things. I expect it to be Jericho and Benoit eventually, but for now there's always Shawn and Foley, even if both have been retired for a considerable amount of time. It's interesting to see where it goes. God knows Austin's heel turn has made for more exciting television than I've seen since Angle-HHH started clogging up the airwaves.

3. WWF again, as if there's anything else-there's a lot of guys that are just getting painful to watch. X-Factor is already a bomb, and they haven't even cut a promo yet. I liked it better the first time, when it had a blond hardbody and was called T & A. Actually, I hated it that time as well. Rhyno seems to be doing well, at least. Unfortunately, with the number of six-man tag combinations, they might be forced to start a division. I HATE the six-man tag. It's the most boring match-up the WWF can offer me.

2. So I watched the Judgment Day PPV. Overrated does not even describe it. It took me awhile to get the tape, but the whole shebang reminds me of a really good IYH. When the expectations are low, it doesn't matter if Summerslam and WM and Royal Rumble were all better PPVs, this was the 'sleeper.' More on this topic when I cover Rock v. HHH, Iron Man next week.

1. If Jim Ross ends up in the new WCW, as teased on RAW, it's a great idea. Jim was always suited better to that southern style. He gives the promotion instant legitimacy. I just hope that it means Tony Schiavone is out of a job.

This week, Bret v. Shawn, Iron Man. Next week, Rock v. HHH, Iron Man.

The biggest knock against the first major WWF Iron Man match is that the beginning is boring. I certainly see where people are coming from when they say that. I have two responses to that complaint. One is that the last FORTY minutes of the match are without a doubt, some of the greatest wrestling in history from a fairly objective standpoint. If you want to say that the build distracts from the match as a whole because it's all mat stuff, that's fine. To be clear, I'm not sure the match is the best match ever, but's it's my personal favorite. I've watched it so many times I know the sequences by heart. The match is clearly a result of some very meticulous planning.

In the months before the Iron Man match, Bret was being made to look like a weak champion, while Shawn beat Owen at an IYH to retain the WWF Title shot that he won by winning the Royal Rumble. The match is face v. face, but it's common decency that Shawn would win and Bret would do the biggest job of his career. Up to that point. They took a tremendous gamble with this one, but it paid off.

Shawn Michaels v. Bret Hart (Iron Man Match, WWF Title). They tie up and roll around for awhile to start. Bret works a side headlock for awhile, which is my personal favorite way to begin a match. It starts psychological warfare. Bret gets the first two count of the match by rolling onto Shawn. Another two off of that. Shawn turns it for two. They do a neat wrestling sequence, but instead of doing the lame face-off thing at the end, Bret moves right back into the headlock. Another two off of that. Shawn tries to fight out of it, but Bret puts in into a front facelock. He then switches around and gets two.

Shawn pounds out of it, and he gets an armdrag sequence to begin working Bret's arm. He works the arm over, even going borderline heel. Shawn headscissors Bret out of ring after a sequence, and Bret stalks around at ringside. Shawn breaks the count repeatedly. Shawn continues to focus on the arm. Bret tries to toss Shawn, but he skins the cat and resumes the work on the arm. Knee to the gut, and headbutt to the groin begin Bret's efforts to redefine the term moveset. Bret latches on a simple headlock, sleeper-style. Shawn quickly jawbreakers out of it and drops a leg.

Shawn then goes back to the arm with considerable prejudice. This lasts until Bret gives him a spinebuster and tries a sharpshooter. Bret clotheslines Shawn out of the ring, and Shawn takes the bump, somehow worse than anyone ever has. God, he makes that look good. First really memorable moment occurs as Bret slips outside, punches Shawn, and tries a bulldog on the floor only to be pushed into the timekeeper. Shawn then superkicks the timekeeper HARD. Whew. One of my favorite spots, ever. Bret takes advantage of Shawn's mistake and rolls him back in the ring. Bret grabs the headlock to transition through.

It's amazing - this match gets itself over, while the announcers add virtually nothing - nor could they. Lawler and Vince are just useless on commentary. Shawn gets out by flipping Bret over and clotheslining him. Bret hits a nasty clothesline and goes back to wrenching on Shawn's neck. Shawn tries to roll Bret up, but dropkicks him instead out of it. Shawn goes back to the arm, despite Bret's patent refusal to sell the way we know he can.

Shawn locks on the arm-breaker, and then a cool variation of it. It gets a few two counts with Bret's shoulders down. Finally Bret opens up with punches and they shift into high gear. Bret takes the shoulder first bump to the post after a knee to gut. Always a great spot on Bret's end. Shawn snaps the arm against the post and he uses the word "fuck" in front of the camera, as in "Get the fuck out of the way." Shawn's superb shoulderbreaker sets up a double axehandle from the second rope. Hammerlock slam from Shawn continues the onslaught. He tosses Bret shoulder first to the turnbuckle. Single-arm DDT forces Bret to sell the shoulder, and Shawn locks on the arm-breaker. Bret snaps out of the thing, but takes a pounding the corner. Shawn proceeds to sit on his arm. Bret stun guns him out of it. Beauty.

Bret slingshots Shawn to the post and that gets two. Shawn smashes Bret's face to the turnbuckle. Bret kicks at Shawn drapes across the top rope. Inverted atomic drop and clothesline get two. Beautifully done. Bulldog lets Bret go to the top rope, and Shawn stop him. Bret comes off with a knee smash that bumps the ref. Wicked move. Bret checks on Hebner, and Shawn turns the tide with a powerslam for two. Vince: "Wowa."

Bret gets a glorious piledriver and lies down on Shawn for 1, 2, no. Crowd boos. Bret drops a leg and goes to the top again. Shawn throws him off Flair-style, and ranas him, pounding him after instead of hooking the legs. Shawn gets a backbreaker for two. Elbow sets up the superkick, but Bret smartly rolls out. Shawn responds with a famous plancha from the top rope. Shawn finally rolls him in, and gets a flying bodypress reversed for two. Gorgeous stuff.

They fight over a backslide, but Shawn flips it into a small package for two. Shawn gets a fisherman's suplex for two. Shawn gets a sleeper, but Bret drives him back to the corner. Shawn reapplies, and Bret's down to his knees. Bret tries to suplex out of it, but Shawn mulekicks him instead, and then gets backdropped out of the ring on a blind charge, in a replay of the bump from the In Your House Jarrett-Michaels IC Title match. Somehow it fits better in this match. Bret breaks the count when Shawn starts to come back in, and takes Shawn's back to the post. Bret rolls him back in, and picks him up.

Bret starts the assault on the back. Whip to the corner, and Bret hits the second rope elbow to the back. Hartbreaker, and Bret drops a leg. BUCKWILDBOMB! gets 2 and 3/4. That was a joke, and I apologize to all involved. Shawn tries to outdo Bret sheerly by selling more for him. Bret gets a super-belly to-back suplex, which is incidentally my favorite top rope move of all time. I mean, specifically the one Bret does in this match. 1, 2, no.

Bret goes to a camel clutch. Shawn fights out of it, and sells the back while jumping into a sunset flip for two. Bret is destroying Shawn in there. Bret brings him to the top rope, but Shawn fights him off and comes off into Bret punching him in the stomach. Russian legsweep gets two. Near falls are building here. Shawn takes his usual bump off a whip to the post, and knocks down Jose Lothario. Bret throws Shawn into the steps AND Josˇ. Great, great, great.

Bret tosses Shawn back in, and jaws with Lothario, dishing out heel elements of the character that would re-appear later. Bret cinches Shawn up for the belly to belly for two. You know something's wrong with Vince when Lawler is telling him what the psychology of the match is. Slugfest, but it's a short one as Shawn collapses because he can't take the pain on the back. Bret tries a vertical suplex, but Shawn rolls him up off the ropes for two. Bret pushes him off to the outside.

Bret and Shawn time the next spot perfectly, with Bret doing the no hands tope five feet out in the hallway. Bret rolls back in and Hebner counts. The crowd boos, and it seems to affect Bret. Bret breaks the count. Shawn is selling his ass off. AWESOME spot as Bret tries to suplex Shawn into the ring, Shawn flips around, Bret flips around and German suplexes Shawn for two. 11:00 left. I love that fucking sequence.

Slugfest again, with Shawn on his knees. Bret naturally wins this one. Bret reapplies the camel clutch. They take a breather to rest for the final sequence. Shawn comes out of it like a sleeper, and Lawler says: "The Clique! The Clique!" in a neat ironic moment. Double clothesline, and Bret's up first. Shawn tries a comeback, but Bret gets a SUPER superplex, and they are both out. Shawn kicks Bret in the face, but Bret tries a figure four, changes his mind and applies the Canadian Maple Leaf. Brilliant.

Shawn finds the ropes in the fog. Bret tries whatever from the second rope, and gets kicked in the face. Shawn dropkicks Bret to the corner. Shawn whips Bret into the turnbuckle, chest-first. Ugh. Jumping clothesline, and Shawn kips up. Boos and cheers are audible. Jumping elbow and scoop slam set up a top rope flying axehandle for 1, 2, no. Vertical suplex from Shawn sets the flying elbow. 1, 2, no. Kick to the gut, doctorbomb, but there's no cover. Shawn goes to the top, and comes off with a perfect moonsault for 1, 2, NO! Heartbreaking near falls. Shawn to the top again, and the comes off with a rana rollup (!) for two. One minute left, and Shawn goes to the top.

He finally comes off, Bret grabs the legs in the Sharpshooter. To say the crowd is batshit would be a huge understatement. Bret holds on until the one hour mark passes. What an amazing ending. You know the drill here - Bret walks down the aisle, and Gorilla Monsoon calls him back to restart the match in a sudden death fashion.

Bret is pissed. He says, ring the bell, and pounds on Shawn's back. HUGE backdrop from Bret. Hartbreaker, once more. Shawn hits the superkick out of nowhere. Both men up, Shawn hits the superkick AGAIN, and covers in 1:58 of overtime, 1:01:58 total match time, to win his first WWF Title. ***** Whatever points I could deduct from this match are gained back immediately because of how fucking great it is. You can't deduct from this match. It's that good. If you haven't seen it, it's that good. See it. You'll know - it's that good.

This match contained the following top five things:

5. Michaels overcoming his size disadvantage and Vince's penchant for small guys.
4. The angle that would eventually turn Bret Hart heel.
3. The greatest performance of one of the greatest wrestlers in history: Shawn Michaels.
2. The greatest performance of one of the greatest wrestlers in history: Bret Hart.
1. Shawn Michaels winning his long overdue 1st WWF Title, fulfilling the destiny of his character and his own personal ambition.

The crowd heat is interesting, as both men play heel and face at various points in the match-up. Depending on what end of it they are getting, the crowd responds according. That shows you how intricate the intra-match storyline is.
Back next week with Rock v. HHH.

Let me know what you thought and I'll write back. There's no Parade of Awesomeness, because lord knows that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen, but there will be polite discussion over some sort of chai.

Later.