You are here /wrestling
/guests
/Cerese
Guest Columns

Rebecca Cerese

Main

BLAH

REBECCA'S RANT

Hey all! So much to talk about this week, and I don't even know where to start. Hmmm, I guess I will talk about the PPV which got luke warm to horrible reviews all around the internet as far as I have read...so do I agree with the masses....NO!

I don't know what it was, maybe I was just in a good mood, or maybe seeing the Canadian's just flat out kick ass made me really happy, but I loved the PPV. I really did. I thought from top to bottom it was a pretty solid card. At not time was I bored and at no time was I rolling my eyes...ok, maybe when Vince came down with the truck, but still that would be about it. I thought most of the wrestling was pretty solid and I thought the booking was pretty good in most of the matches. All of the right people in my mind came off looking well, in fact I would say I was very pleased with the way people like Jericho, Benoit and Kurt Angle went over at the PPV. I can't really say I have all that many complaints...now RAW the next night is a different story, but let me back track for a minute...

First the PPV...I think that the WWF fans are jaded. The bar has been raised so high thanks to Mick Foley and the Hardys that most people aren't content unless something crazy happens in a PPV and even if something crazy happens, it is no longer enough unless its super crazy. Yes, the Rikishi bump was gimmicked, and yes, the way McMahon brought the truck out was very contrived, but still you have to give credit where credit is due. Rikishi, a 400 lb man went to the top of a cage and let himself be thrown off of it...I don't care how gimmicked it was...he still could have been hurt and he still risked his body and his life to entertain us...and I give him a hell of a lot of credit for it. Then of course I read about how that was the weakest chokeslam ever that UT delivered to push Rikishi off the cage...whatever people...despite all of his talk UT doesn't really want to kill people...and if he would have thrown Rikishi with more force the probability of an accident would have gone up. I'll admit I have a bit of blood lust in me...if I didn't than I wouldn't be a wrestling fan, but the thing is, I would rather not see bumps like the one's Foley took at his first Hell in a Cell or the ones that HBK took at his. Those bumps were real...they were not gimmicked and these guys got really hurt from them. I would rather people stay safe...and that's just the way it is... That being said, I think the Hell in a Cell match came off a whole lot better than I thought it would...no nothing totally amazing happened, but it definitely kept my interest, and when 5 of the men were on the top of the cage, I was definitely holding my breath. I thought the brawling was really good and effective, and the crowd response when Rock and Austin hooked up was amazing....this does not change my mind though about how I feel about a WM main event with them in it. Yeah, it's cool for I minute but a whole match with these two...but that's all I will say until I see how they are going to build it up. Austin has been impressing me lately...in fact his promos on RAW were some of the only things I liked...so I am willing to be patient and see where it goes from here. In terms of being a match of the year candidate as Mr. Meltzer seems to believe, I wouldn't go that far, but I was definitely entertained. I was ecstatic that Kurt Angle went over...and he did it in true heel fashion, but one cannot say that he didn't bust his ass in that match...he did, as did all the guys...esp. HHH with his messed up back...certainly not what I would have chosen to do if I had a herniated disc in my back...hell I had a displaced disc, and I couldn't even walk, I was crawling around on the floor...so I don't know how HHH was being thrown around the ring. But getting back to Angle, I think his win was huge and I have to say I called it last week. It gave him some serious credibility in my book and I am glad, because I think he is a great champion.

Speaking of Meltzer and anyone who writes or reads wrestling observer...thy just have it out for Chyna don't they. I thought her match against Val Venis was good. No it wasn't a four star match or anything like that, but it certainly wasn't as bad as all those men are saying it was. Val Venis is a really solid worker, and I think he did a great job in making Chyna look really good. I have seen Chyna look bad...hell I thought she looked like total shit against Jericho the first time she defended the IC belt against him, but she certainly didn't look bad on Sunday night. I liked this match, and I also think the right person went over in it. I don't know where they are going with this feud with the RTC though...it seems like Chyna is sort of in limbo right now, but I will tell you one thing, I cannot wait to read her book...it is going to be interesting as hell. I will say that I was horrified by her almost killing Ivory while spinning her around on RAW this past Monday. I mean Ivory almost flew out of the ring, and that would have just been flat out ugly...

The opening elimination match at the PPV was extremely solid, esp. considering that Jeff Hardy and Eddy and indeed Matt Hardy are all hurt. Still these guys are all solid professionals and came out giving everything they had. I know I sound like a broken record already, but it is really painful for me to watch Jeff Hardy wrestle. It is obvious that the boy is hurting...he is limping and grabbing his ribs...and I just wish he could get some time off. I mean this rivalry with the Radicalz should be top notch...and it is really good considering the circumstances, but imagine how good it could be if all the parties involved were actually healthy instead of hurting the way they are. It's just ridiculous. Still, I am sort of enjoying this storyline with Lita and Dean if not simply because it also gives the Hardys something to do outside of the ring, like sneak into hotel rooms and smashing Dean over the head with bottles and lamps...and while on the subject, I just have to ask, where did Lita have her lingerie stashed...I mean the woman wasn't even carrying a handbag...I didn't know hotels have complimentary silk robes and lingerie in their bathrooms...PLEASE!!!!

Give Jeff Hardy some time off!!!! Ok, that's my plea for today....

I enjoyed Hardcore vs. Regal...and the Raven run in didn't bother me, in fact I was very happy about it...it at least gave Raven something to do at the PPV, and did what a run in should do which is further or start a rivalry. Now we didn't get to see a Raven/Hardcore rematch on RAW...instead we got Al Snow vs. Raven and it seems that we are having Raven vs. UT on Smackdown...well that's according to Sharon who gave me a non-spoilers heads up...so it's a little weird...but not inconsistent with how wishy washy the WWF have been lately, esp. when it comes to people like Raven and Tazz. The thing that I don't understand is, the Raven character basically writes storylines for itself....I mean here is a guy with endless possibilities, and they can't come up with anything for him to do, except to get all sweaty and then go out into the freezing cold to get thrown into cars...the guy is going to get pneumonia people, as is Al Snow who was actually shirtless...way to protect your guys there Vince... I swear how hard is it to come up with a storyline for this guy...ask him, I'm sure he has a some good ideas...but it doesn't really seem like they care about him anyway....

Speaking of taking care of your guys, I just want to echo some of the same sentiments that I have been reading around the net about Billy Gunn. At Survivor Series, he almost dropped Eddy (I think or maybe it was Saturn) right on his head during an attempt at a Jackhammer...he had just come back from his injury and although it frightened me to see this, I figured he just needed some time to get his cardio training back up and to shake off the ring rust...so what do they do, they give him the IC title, much to my chagrin...why reward a guy who looked like crap at the PPV. But whatever I thought, we'll see what happens...then the WWF decides, that although in my mind, Benoit should be in the Main Event, they were going to demote him back to the upper midcard...Fine. They feud him with Billy and set up this match at the PPV. Let me first say that I thought this match was great because for the first time, Benoit basically dominated his opponent the whole match. But once again, Billy Gunn lost all his energy and Benoit was forced to carry him through yet another match...literally...and of course we have another botched move...when Billy obviously didn't have enough energy to get Benoit up for a tilt a whirl slam...well at least the right guy went over...and went over cleanly, when the One (who totally sucks) tapped out to the Crossface... I was ecstatic...if Benoit is going to be in the midcard, then he should be the IC champion...he is the best champ they have had in some time and he serves to elevate the belt in a big way. He is one of the most important guys on the roster right now...I mean in my mind he is responsible for raising the bar in the WWF in terms of actual wrestling. He is also responsible for getting some of the best matches out of the Main Eventers who have never been know for any kind of technical mastery no matter what J.R. (the crackhead) says...that is why it is even more unacceptable to me to have this precious commodity in the ring with someone like Billy Gunn who on Monday proved for the third time that he is not ready to be back in a WWF ring by dropping Benoit on his head while attempting to do a press slam only a few minutes after his match started. There is no excuse for this in my opinion. The guy is a danger in the ring, and he must be reprimanded. I mean I almost had a heart attack when he dropped Benoit and although J.R. and the King tried to cover it, it was very obvious what happened. I was livid, and I really don't think that anyone should have to work under those conditions. Send Billy to Ohio till he gets his stamina back up and until he gets his moves perfected again. Don't put one of your best guys in there with him until something horrible happens to him. I feel very strongly about this, and I really hope that he got strictly reprimanded for it. The thing is if this was a one time thing it would be different, hell anyone can make a mistake, but this is already the third time something like this has happened, with the last time being the worst by far...it could have easily led to a serious injury to Benoit and I don't think it should be taken lightly.

Onto a happier not...much to my shock and surprise, Christian and Edge took back the tag team titles, to become 4 time tag team champions. I certainly wasn't expecting this...I thought the Dudleys were going to take it, but I am certainly very happy that they did get them back, esp. if this leads to a rivalry just with the Dudleys for the titles...which is not something we have really seen. We've seen Duds vs. the Hardys, and then a three way rivalry with Edge and Christian thrown in but never really just the Dudleys and Edge and Christian. So I am excited. Hell in my opinion the Dudleys should be going for the belts, they are one of three best tag teams in the WWF right now. My one wish...let Buh Buh talk...please...on RAW the Duds came out with the Rock and while the Rock was stumbling through one of the worst promos I have ever heard him give, the Duds were just standing there silent. I really wish Rock had given the mic over to Buh Buh and let him just go off on the 2blondes as only Buh Buh can. I mean this was a missed opportunity if I ever saw one. Plus, I just have to say ouch for the nasty as hell bump Buh Buh took to the head on RAW. Geez Rock, you couldn't get the table out of the way more quickly...Anyway, I think that this rivalry definitely has potential to be great, esp. if you let both teams unleash the promos...

Onto the last man standing match...again, I've been reading about how poorly this match was received and I really don't understand...ok, the end was stupid, but for the most part, I thought it was a pretty solid contest, far less sloppy than the last time they met. The thing is I love the intensity of this rivalry. Yes, it started off stupid, but due to the intensity of Jericho he has elevated it to a whole new level. So Kane trying his hardest to destroy Jericho...and Jericho not backing down...in fact taking a total ass kicking and not staying down was awesome. I think that if anything it diminished Kane, but I think Kane can get back whatever he lost pretty easily by just killing someone in the ring. Jericho on the other hand, showed that he is a total bad ass by taking a beating and coming back for more over and over. Yes, the end sucked, but that's only because it looked really cheesy. And everyone saw that the barrels really didn't fall on Kane...but besides that I really enjoyed this match...but I love the rivalry. I loved how on RAW they kept saying that Jericho was hurt but wouldn't say how he was hurt...at least come up with a plausible explanation...hello!!!!

Women's match: Molly Holly just rules...I love watching her in the ring. I liked the way this match was booked, as it makes sense for Ivory to retain the title, but Molly still came off looking extremely impressive. Short and sweet...let Molly go longer in there is what I say. And as much as I hate to say it...I did mark out when the Acolytes came out...I knew they were coming as soon as I saw Crash run out there...and it was kind of cool to see them out there. There match on RAW left a lot to be desired though...I don't know there was just something missing....I think Test and Albert need to split up and they need to put Trish with someone else...like Kurt Angle...

Well, I think that is every match on the card...so just a few closing remarks about RAW...I hate Vince McMahon. The problem with Vince is his ego is way to big. He never knows his own limits. I certainly didn't want to see 25 minutes of Vince at the end of the show, droning on and on saying "Mick Foley" over and over. Hello Vince, we know his name, why do you keep repeating it...and by the way, this SUCKS!!!! Bring back Shane...have him kick Vince's ass and steal the company. Please...I like the WWF so much more when Vinny Mac is off camera. I can't stand him...he is always putting himself over instead of the talent and that is just wrong...wrong I tell you... I knew we were in trouble when Chris Benoit, the Hardys, the Dudleys, the Rock, Christian and Edge and the Radicalz were all used in the first hour...I was like huh? Just because Nitro isn't on doesn't mean the WWF should go crazy.

Other Random thoughts:

Congrats to Mick Foley on his imminent fatherhood...this should be another reminder, that you shouldn't come back into the ring...

It was so awesome to see HBK at WWF NY during the PPV. And he was looking to be in excellent shape I might add...can we possibly hope to see him again in the ring?

Is it just me or is Road Dogg the least talented rapper of all time...the man just has no flow....get K-Kwick away from him quick...

I didn't think that D'Lo could get any lower, then I watched Sunday Night Heat and saw him in his new horrible outfit, jobbed out to the worm...poor D'Lo...and the saddest thing...Lo Down is actually a really talented tag team...

Along the same lines...why is Tiger Ali Sing on my T.V.?

Does Dean Malenko enjoy kissing unconscious women?

Why did Steven Richards have to get squashed like a bug just to put over Lawler in Memphis...this really upset me...

Ok, that's about all for me today...next week, I am going to see Smackdown in Charlotte, NC. Should be fun...Heather and hopefully Jen will be joining me, and we will see how much trouble we can get into. So next week, I will hopefully have a on site report...also, I want to work on my year end column...picking some of my favorite moments of 2000. So until next time...

Rebecca
[slash] wrestling

Mail the Author

Comment about this article on the EZBoard

BLAH

Main

Design copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Christopher Robin Zimmerman & KZiM Communications
Guest column text copyright (C) 2000 by the individual author and used with permission