THE PEOPLE'S MAILBAG: Remember, I thrive on ALL of your feedback, even if it's negative. Jeff Harris writes:

King of the Ring was just a bad ppv, almost top to bottom, not some clever way of making Vince finally get his.

I never said KotR was a good PPV. They haven't gotten the tournament right since the year Owen won it.

And at the time, I didn't like the finish of the main event, but when you consider the way the storyline and the relationship among Linda (who changed the stipulations of the match so that if the McMahon-Helmsley team lost, Triple H would lose the belt), Vince (who let his ego get the best of him, went nuts and agreed to the new conditions) and Triple H (the champ) had gone up to that point, Vince almost had to take the fall.

As for Rock winning the belt back, this is more obvious: he'd been screwed out of the WrestleMania slot by Shane, then screwed out of the title at WM by Vince, who had made sure that he got into WM in the first place.

And McMahon does put himself over at the expense of the wrestlers. Remember a couple of weeks ago when he and foley had a 25 minute interview to end RAW and didn't even advance anything.

When was the last time 2 wrestlers got 10 minutes to open or end RAW let alone 25.

Uh... before Vince came back. It happened every week for the most part, particularly when Triple H was doing the talking. Although recently they've been moving those segments around.

Unless you're talking about a match, not an interview... most RAW main event matches go 7-10 minutes.

Vince is really just an ego-tistical jerk. Remember when ratings started to dip for WCW? They just kept milking out the NWO, just like the WWF is milking evil Vince McMahon and his corporation for all its worth.

Major differences here:

1. the NWO never went away. Ever. We at least get extended breaks from Mr. McMahon.

2. One of the reasons interest in the NWO fizzled was that the "WCW faction" *never* got the upper hand. Not on Nitro, not on PPV, never. (First person to say "What about Starrcade 97?" goes through a table.) Vince, egotistical jerk that he is, is at least smart enough to know that at some point, the faces *have* to go over, and in relation to Vince, more often than not, they have.

As for the Summerslam main event, you are a bit off. Kurt Angle had no main event credibility to lose because he had none. Kurt Angle was also absent pratically the whole match due to his "concussion."

Hmmm... in retrospect, you're right about this... what I probably should have said was something like "This was Kurt Angle's first pay-per-view main event, and, like Fully Loaded, another test to see how he would fare under a top-card spotlight." My point there was that if Angle had gotten pinned instead of HHH, how believable would it have been to see him go one on one with Rock for the title two months later?

LINE OF THE WEEK: Ah, so many choices. But Stone Cold wins out: "There's more foam in that bra than in one of my beers!" (Raw, Jan. 1) You know, now that that's happened... I'm not quite sure what the big deal was. I gotta side with Our Gracious Host on this and admit that I was somehow... underwhelmed.

Honorable mention: Dean Malenko: "I don't know where you're getting your information from... but I am - in my family, my WIFE is married... not me."

Am I the only one getting a feeling of deja vu while watching the WWF these days? And is it necessarily a bad thing?

I ask because there seem to be a lot of similarities between things going on now and things that were going on at about this time last year, and maybe in those comparisons, we can find some clues as to what direction the WWF is going to take for the Royal Rumble. Let's take a look...

Last year: Test was getting put through hell by DX, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, the Big Bossman, and Prince Albert.

This led to: Test winning the Hardcore title from Bossman, and making history as the last Hardcore champion before the 24/7 era.

This year: Test is getting put through hell by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Trish Stratus, and Albert. (Boy needs to swear off women for a while. I'm serious.)

This is leading to: Feud with Albert, then maybe a push up the mid-card, since it's short on faces at the moment.

Last year: Triple H was growing jealous of Stephanie's interest in newcomer Kurt Angle.

This led to: A hot love triangle angle (no, not like THAT) that turned HHH face briefly, but was then dropped.

This year: Stephanie's growing jealous of Trish's interest in daddy Vince.

This is leading to: Hard to say - this one's still developing. But it would fit in with Vince's promise of a "new, voluptuous Mrs. McMahon" he brought up a while back.

Last year: The New Age Outlaws were sabotaging the Hardy Boyz and Acolytes at every turn.

This led to: The Outlaws beating the Acolytes at the Royal Rumble to keep the tag team titles.

This year: Edge and Christian are sabotaging the Dudley Boys at every turn, while the Radicalz are sabotaging the Hardyz at every turn.

This is leading to: Edge & Christian/Dudleys at the Rumble for the Tag Team Titles is signed, and we'll probably also get a Dean Malenko/Matt Hardy Light Heavyweight title match.

Last year: The Big Show's first WWF Title reign was ending.

This led to: the return of Cactus Jack and the end of Mick Foley's wrestling career.

This year: Kurt Angle's first WWF Title reign seems to be nearing its sunset.

This is leading to: Er... it depends on what happens on Raw. If Angle retains, it almost looks like he'll be facing... CHRIS JERICHO at the Rumble. But if Austin wins, all bets are off.

And the Austin/Undertaker/Kane main event on SmackDown!, complete with Vince lurking around ringside as a second special referee, made me think it was the summer of 1998 all over again. Of course, I can't complain too much, since it led to something.

But if Raw opens with Rock leading the entire locker room in demanding Mick Foley's reinstatement, so help me...

PREDICTIONS FOR YET ANOTHER ECW PAY PER VIEW EVENT

ECW's back at the Hammerstein Ballroom for this PPV, too, as it's the only place they can afford at this point. Paul E.'s promising a huge announcement that will "change ECW forever", which could mean almost anything. Although, he didn't say that there wasn't anything Vince McMahon could do about it...

Three-Way Dance To Determine the #1 Contender For The Tag Team Titles: Mikey Whipwreck & (yoshihiro) Tajiri vs. SUPER F'N CRAZY & Kid Kash vs. FBI2K (w/THE MONSTROUSLY OBESE Sal E. Graziano)

Mikey & Tajiri and the new FBI are both former tag champs. Kash teamed with Crazy to fight Mikey & Tajiri at Massacre on 34th Street. Winner here, obviously, gets the next big tag title shot. This WILL fucking own.

What I'd Do: Even though Super Crazy's my favorite out of the six, I'm digging the prospect of Mikey & Tajiri vs. Doring & Roadkill, so that's the way I'd go.

What They'll Do: Probably the same thing.

Tag Team Title Match: Danny Doring & Roadkill vs. Not Quite Money, Inc. 2001 (w/Chris Hamrick and/or Elektra)

I'd like to say that Elektra, Doring & Roadkill's former manager who turned on them back at Living Dangerously last March, is spearheading Hot Commodity's drive towards the tag titles, but I doubt that's even been mentioned.

What I'd Do: Money & Dinero aren't ready for the straps. Doring & Roadkill retain.

What They'll Do: Faces go over to set up what I was just talking about.

Jerry Lynn & Cyrus Colton vs. Joey Matthews & Christian York

Lynn's stopped resisting, and has finally turned heel and joined forces with Cyrus. But why is the man managed by the most over heel in ECW this far down on the card?

When was the last time Callis actually WRESTLED?

What I'd Do: Lynn does all the work and he and Cyrus win.

What They'll Do: Hopefully, the above.

I Quit Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. C.W. Anderson

The Anderson-Dreamer feud rages on unabated.

This match frightens me for one reason: it's Dreamer. What is Anderson gonna have to do to him to get him to quit?

What I'd Do: Having said that, it's a better idea if Anderson wins here.

What They'll Do: I'll pick Anderson this month, since I picked him last month and he lost.

ECW World Title Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes Three-Way Dance: Steve Corino (w/Jack Victory) vs. Just Credible (w/That Slut Francine) vs. The Sandman (w/a 30-minute entrance)

So let me get this straight. We're going to take the most insane match concept since the first Hell In A Cell, port it over to a fed on its last legs, make it a singles match, add canes, and put in three workers not nearly as talented as the ones who originally put the match on the map.

Sandman stole Corino's belt after Massacre ended, while Justin and Francine are having problems of their own, mostly related to Credible's inability to win the belt back, but also due to some nonsense involving Jasmin St. Clair.

Corino's still champ, by the way.

What I'd Do: With three choices I'm just not crazy about (I can't even flip a coin), I'd go with the least of three evils and put the strap on... Sandman.

What They'll Do: Francine turns on Justin, possibly to go with Corino, who retains.

Also: The ECW website says "it will be an impactful night for Rhino." No clue here, either.

Still no RVD.

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