Review/Monday Night Raw 1/28/07

THE CHAMP IS….HERE!!!!!! Is it me or does Cena look awkward without the WWE Title? Either way John Cena opens the show with a very emotional promo. Whoever writes Cena's promos should be blamed for him getting booed all the time. I can’t WAIT for the day where Cena gets to turn heel. He’s going to let these fans have it…just so they can cheer him and start the cycle all over again. Idiots. He and Orton have a nice back and forth promo to kick things off. It’s not HHH/Foley on the mic, but I’ll take it.

Ashley and Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix

Pee break.

Regal and Vince talk backstage about who would main event WrestleMania if Orton and Cena fight at No Way Out? How about they don’t fight at No Way Out and just fight at WrestleMania. Duh. Regal has an idea on what to do.

Regal is out to the ring and announces at No Way Out there will be an elimination chamber match to decide who will face the WWE Champ at WrestleMania. Umaga, HBK, HHH, JBL, Y2J, and Jeff Hardy. That match should be the best Chamber match to date, but why is it needed? The Royal Rumble winner is supposed to fight the champion at WrestleMania. I paid $40 to see a match that would lead to the biggest pay per view of them all, not No Way Out. My guess is Triple H vs. Cena part 2 at Mania. Although I would love a Shawn Michaels John Cena rematch. Yes we get a great double main event at No Way Out because of this but it wasn’t needed.

Carlito w/Maria and Santino vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Hardcore Holly

Nice little T.V match to further this mini storyline between the teams. The more Santino the better I say!

Carlito wins with a backstabber -3:10

In the back Triple H and Shawn Michaels reform DX for tonight’s tag match against Umaga and Snitsky. DX’s gimmick of selling their gear on television is not only funny, but quite clever. I’m still waiting for HBK to market the new Degeneration X bible. Pray It Down!!!

DX vs. Umaga and Snitsky

Before Triple H and Snitsky can even lock up, Hunter begs Snitsky to brush his teeth. Very funny. The match is your typical big man work on the smaller HBK until Triple H can make the save but it works very well. Snitsky has had the best matches of his career while mixed up with Triple H, so I don’t mind them being paired together over the last month.

Degeneration X takes the win with a pedigree -12:15

JBL and Orton meet in the locker room to discuss a potential match at Mania, but more importantly the tag team match tonight. Simple enough segment to get the point across.

Todd Grisham has an interview with Jeff Hardy. Hardy explains that at The Royal Rumble it wasn’t the end, but the beginning. Or was it the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning? Oh boy I sound like Jake Roberts now. Either way I hope Jeff is right, but I wouldn’t bet on it. He deserves a run on top though.

Another backstage segment! Three in a row, what am I watching WCW Thunder? Vince is angry with Hornswoggle for coming back a LOSER! You know after watching this segment an idea came to mind that scared the life out of me. What if at WrestleMania it’s going to be Hornswoggle vs. Vince! Or Vince and Shane vs. Hornswoggle and Finlay! As Regal said earlier…may God have mercy on their souls. More like the viewer’s souls.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Brian Kendrick

I guess we needed a replay of the last squash match between the two. Poor Spanky.

Kennedy wins with the mic check- 2:00

Kennedy gets on the mic and says he pleaded with Regal not to put him in the Chamber match. He wants to retire Ric Flair instead. Well that would be more memorable. Flair interrupts and basically accepts his challenge for No Way Out. I was actually thinking this match for WrestleMania but this will do. These two on the mic together should be magical. Wooooooooooo.

Melina vs. Maria w/Santino

Another women’s match!!! But I don’t have to pee!! I kept the channel on once I heard Santino yell ‘Not in the face’ as Melina was kicking her. Hilarious.

Maria wins with a pinning combination that has Maria’s ass hanging out- 2:35

Maria celebrates with her pants down when Santino saves the day. Santino, to my great pleasure, insults the Philly crowd and vows Maria will NEVER be in the booby magazine!! Too bad Santino is four feet tall, or else he would be a main eventer in the making.

Todd interviews Jericho in the back and finds out he suffers from split personality disorder. Jericho explains he has unleashed a new side of his personality, a more violent side, and he likes it. I bet you JBL doesn’t! I’m happy for this new side of Jericho though, we know he can make us laugh; now he can show us he can be sadistic as well. Worked wonders for Triple H right?

Randy Orton and JBL vs. Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy

Four months ago I bet you would have never thought of this as a possible main event for Raw. I liked the mix though, it was different and still over enough to end the show. But another tag match? Third of the night? I’m not quite sure what to think of that. Why isn't Hardy defending the I-C title anymore? Give it to Santino! Anyway I enjoyed the match. Crowd was into it and it worked out fine.

JBL and Randy Orton with via the RKO- 11:00

Nice touch by JR explaining how the rolls were reversed from Armageddon. At the PPV Jericho had Orton in the walls with JBL making the save, tonight it was the other way around. Psychology rules.

John Cena comes out and is ready to tear apart JBL and Orton, but Bradshaw has other ideas and bails out. Sign of a true scumbag heel, nice work. Cena and Orton square off with Cena getting the edge by hitting the F-U.

The ending was predictable but the only problem I have is Cena being pushed as #1 right away. He ended the show dominant in the middle of the ring. Couldn’t you have Hardy and Jericho in the ring with him to celebrate? Are they forgotten already? Don’t get me wrong Cena is a great addition to the upper card, but he should be an addition to Jericho and Hardy, not completely replace them.

Oh well, The Champ is here. Sorry Jericho and Hardy…back to the mid card!!

Review/WWE Royal Rumble 2008

The Road to WrestleMania just got a huge boost of basic thuganomics. Word Life!

Ric Flair vs. MVP (With Ric Flair’s career on the line)

It kills me to say this, but it’s past the time where Flair can be in charge of calling a match. The match wasn’t bad but it wasn’t pay per view quality either. No brainer Flair would win and it was nice to see him get the clean victory for a change. Now the biggest question? Who gets him at Mania?

Flair wins with the figure four- 7:59

Backstage Vince has another creepy heart to heart talk with his bastard son before Finlay picks him up…literally. Surprisingly this is the only time we see Vince tonight. That’s…odd. I guess that means we’ll see 40 minutes of him on Raw to make up for it.

Mike Adamle is still alive?

JBL vs. Y2J

I loved the build for this match. One would imagine how huge Y2J would be right now if the Orton/Jericho program was developed in the same manner. Either way the match was building up to be another great Bradshaw type brawl but Jericho gets DQed for blasting JBL in the head with a chair. Nice work by JBL for not blocking the chair with his hands and awesome blade job by Jericho. They are manly men!

I understand why they had the ending they did, but I hate screw job endings at pay per views. I paid 40 bucks, let me get a winner. I’m curious to see if they want to drag this out until WrestleMania. Even more curious to see how they do it!

JBL wins by disqualification- 9:30

Ashley tries to talk with Maria about a possible playboy photo shoot, but Santino will not allow her in the booby magazine! SANTINO RULES!!

World Title Match
Edge vs. Rey Mysterio

Awesome introduction announcing both men while inside the ring. It gives the match a big fight atmosphere. The match itself was pretty good with some blown spots by Rey here and there. Does it make anybody else nervous that Rey has so much more muscle mass than Edge? I don’t know what to say, either get Edge’s ass in the weight room, or get Rey’s ass off the HGH.

Let me get this rant off my chest. New York fans, I hate you. Along with Philly, L.A, Chicago and any other town that enjoys booing faces and cheering heels. Explain this to me, how does one of the most hated heels the last 10 years in Edge…get cheered? How is it that a man who steals other men’s women, and openly make’s out with a dead mans widow get cheered? Not just some dead man, Eddie Guerrero!!!! Does he have to cut a promo in a cave with Osama Bin Laden while holding an AK47 to get booed by you people?

Sorry but the fans ruined the match for me (as they did Cena vs. HHH at Mania). A match consists a simple formula that has everything to do with the crowd reacting a certain way. When they react like idiots, the match doesn’t make sense. You can’t have Rey fighting his hardest to have a come back…and get booed for it.

Back to the wrestling, nobody expected Rey to win and he didn’t. The ending was sweet though, with Vicky holding Edge so she received the brunt of the 619 (which the crowd pops for…idiots) and Edge spearing Rey in mid air from the springboard.

Edge wins with a spear- 12:45

Mr. Kennedy and Flair have a confrontation planting the seeds for a possible Mania match. I like that one. HBK comes in as Kennedy leaves, then Batista, then Triple H. Wow what a set of wrestlers huh? Well get Batista out of there and replace him with Austin you know what I mean. I have to admit I marked out for that segment. Woooooooooo.

Maria comes to the ring to do her kiss cam in HD. One of the few times I’m grateful for not having HD. Ashley comes down to the ring because she REALLY wants her in playboy. Why does she want her in so bad? I would give a leg to find out. Santino comes down and brilliantly taunts the crowd so good that it would make Buh Buh Ray Dudley in his ECW days proud. Santino is my hero. Nice little filler segment before the WWE Title match.

WWE Title Match
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

I can’t recall a wrestler picking up as much steam as Jeff Hardy has in the last two months. If you recall it all really started when he was teaming with Triple H for a few weeks, then actually beating Triple H at the Armageddon. Ever since then his stock has only rised.

The match itself was decent, basically just a spot fest to get over Hardy’s high flying moves. I was hoping they would go at least 20 minutes, but I’m not sure if they could physically do it. Ending was very slick but rather anticlimactic with Orton reversing the Twist of Fate into the RKO. So what was the real point of this Jeff Hardy push? Just to feed someone else to Orton? It already killed Jericho, hopefully they have something else for Hardy.

Randy Orton wins with the RKO- 14:10

The Royal Rumble Match

Well my prediction went down the drain when Undertaker came out #1. Don’t worry, he’ll still be fighting Edge at Mania. The Rumble was nothing spectacular but I was getting very worried when Triple H was the only real contender in the ring. I don’t want him in the main event of WrestleMania. And then, JOHN CENA enters at #30. Believe me when I said Holy Shit, it was a Holy Shit moment. The crowd goes insane until they realize that they cheer Edge, so they immediately start booing Cena. Final two leaves everybody in suspense until John Cena eliminates Triple H to win this year’s rumble.

John Cena wins at 51:33

Kudos to WWE for being able to keep Cena a surprise. Nobody had a clue and it was a classic Royal Rumble moment. Just going through some of the message boards it gives me great pleasure seeing all the Cena haters complain. He is this generations Hogan/Austin, stop crying about him in the main event. He’s going to be there for a very long time.

My only concern is him coming back before he is physically ready. Early reports had him actually missing WrestleMania, and how he’s winning The Rumble?

Decent Rumble I guess. The huge Cena comeback made the show memorable. I don’t know what’s better, two Santino segments or no women’s match. Either way The Road to WrestleMania has begun.

Review/Monday Night Raw 1/14/08

Show opens up with a Jeff Hardy/Randy Orton microphone confrontation. Boy, don’t you miss the days where Stone Cold and The Rock would be the main eventers with the microphone confrontation? Although Jeff Hardy has surprised me with his vocal improvement.

Ashley, Maria and Mickie James vs. Jillian, Melina and Beth Phoenix
Or what I like to call, a pee break. Seriously, I haven’t watched an entire women’s match since Trish retired.

Next up a backstage segment between Vince, Snitsky and Regal. Some bad humor between Vince and Regal. Why is Regal even the G.M anymore with Vince calling the shots?

HBK wonders why he has to qualify to enter the Rumble. Good point.

Shawn Michaels vs. Trevor Murdoch
Quick match that has Shawn going over with an inverted figure four leg lock. I love when veterans change up their move list, especially when it actually finishes a match. Triple H take notes!

Mr. Kennedy shows up with a pre recorded promo basically saying he is done with HBK. But since he has just a pinch of respect he will face him next week on Raw. These guys have great chemistry in the ring so the more they fight the happier I’ll be. Maybe Lashley comes back next week?

I hate Hornswoggle. It was a fun joke on Vince in the beginning but as of right now nobody pays a ticket or turns on the television to watch him.

HHH vs. Snitsky
HHH and Snitsky have a decent back and forth match which ends with a DQ. That was probably the best match of Snitsky’s career. I know it’s not saying much, but it’s something. Triple H snaps after the match and beats up Snitsky and tries to go backstage when Vince shows up on the mini screen telling him he’s an angry young man. HHH destroys the screen with his sledgehammer as amazing spark effects fly out. Who’s producing this show? George Lucas!

HHH and Vince meet backstage and Vince says HHH is out of control, so he’s putting him back in the rumble………………………….IF he wins next weeks match. Who is that against? We’ll find out next week. I hope it’s against HBK. That would be sweet
JBL celebration time! He cuts a promo basically calling Y2J a coward. A yella bastard! Ok I made up that last part but when it comes down to it JBL is probably one of the top three heels in wrestling promo wise. The other two I would have to say are Kennedy and Edge. I would have thrown Christian Cage in there as well, be he’s a face now…I think.

Whoever thought using all those fireworks was a good idea should be fired. You could barely see anything with all the smoke in the arena. Horrible idea. With WWE’s production values you would think they would realize that. It doesn’t even add any heat to JBL. Just makes his exit really pretty.

Actually maybe the smoke was a good idea. I didn’t want to have clear vision of the midget match. Sure it was funny for a bit, but this thing went like 8 minutes while HBK vs. Murdoch went like 4. Give me a break. Khali comes out but Hornswoggle is saved by Finlay!! Hooray.

Vince and Finlay show their Irish anger and keep mentioning a deal. Hopefully the deal involves the murder of Hornswoggle.

Ric Flair vs. William Regal
Match was nothing special but the ending was fun. That’s why you pull the tights while the ref is counting on the opposite side Regal!! Well I wanted more legit wins for Flair so I guess I got my wish. Sure it only took two minutes, but a win is a win.

IC Title Match/ Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Nice touch having Jeff Hardy come out last since he is the defending champion of this match. And it’s over with a kick to the balls. I kind of figured it would be some screw job ending just because it started so late. And why give away a ppv match for free on T.V anyway.

But I loved the end of the show. Jeff Hardy was doing insane stuff for the midcard and tag division, why not do it for the main event when it really matters. Did you notice J.R and King were silent during the entire aftermath of the jump? Makes the situation seem real serious. Last time I can remember WWE using that strategy was when they worked the Shawn Michaels injury with Owen Hart in 96. They are building Hardy perfectly though, he is getting more over every week.

The show was ok. All it really accomplished was the further pushing of the JBL/Y2J and World Title storylines which is looking like the selling points of The Rumble.

Just In

http://www.411mania.com/ is reporting that Big Show is either very close to signing a new deal, or has done so already. They also say that Bobby Lashley is ready to come back anyday now from his shoulder surgery and The Rock has been asked to induct his father into the Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend.

After Vince McMahon and Donald Trump's hair got Wrestlemania a huge buyrate last year, it is good to see that WWE will be getting these extra boosts going into the big night.

My guess is Bobby Lashley will want revenge after Mr. Kennedy sidelined him for a couple of months. That could set up Lashley vs Kennedy for Wrestlemania. No idea who would or should win that one.

As for Big Show I'm praying they don't put him against The Great Khali. But I've been watching wrestling for a long time. This is Vince's wet dream. Little side note, The Big Show is the only wrestler in history to own the WCW, WWE, and ECW World Heavyweight Championships.

All three should be great additions to Wrestlemania.

Start Spreading The News...

Don’t have time to search the web for that ever so important wrestling gossip? Don’t worry I’ll do it for you, plus give you my two cents on the topics.

Ron Killings has been telling people that he will be accepting the offer given to him by WWE, which is an $80,000 downside guarantee. He hasn't signed and is seeing if AAA will match the deal.

*The last time we saw Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings in the WWE was as K-Kwik while tagging with The Road Dogg. Remember their rap song Gettin Rowdy! Wow, that was what eight years ago? Ron Killings for a bit main evented TNA shows and could be a very nice hand for WWE, especially at that bargain price if that number is true. What’s the worst that could happen?

The reason Ric Flair and HHH had the DQ finish on Raw is because Vince McMahon doesn't want Flair going over any money players at this point. Ric Flair's wife and children (Ashleigh, Reid and Tiffany) were at ringside for the match, but WWE made the call not to show them at all. Many feel the reason was because the match and finish were more of designed angle for HHH, despite it being part of the Flair retirement storyline.

*I can understand the logic but it annoys me. This Ric Flair storyline that Stone Cold came up with can be compelling television. But if it’s only going to involve DQ and interference endings...why bother. This storyline, to me, is supposed to solidify the legacy of Ric Flair by giving him weeks of quality matches and wins. To make up for losing to Kenny Dykstra three times in a row or getting murdered by Umaga and Rated RKO. Have Flair win some matches, look good, and retire with some dignity.

Mick Foley is expecting to make 2008 his last year and to fully retire. Foley knows due to back and knee injuries that his time is limited.

*I am on the fence about Foley wrestling today. It’s kind of annoying the pattern he has been on. On television for two weeks, off television. Comes back two months later same routine. I think he would be better off just staying on Raw full time for the year. My idea would be for him to go on ECW. ECW never really replaced the big name that Chris Benoit was supposed to provide, and I think he would fit well on there. Maybe a mentor storyline to C.M Punk and turn on him setting up an ECW main event for Wrestlemania?

Harris is leaving TNA. He turned down TNA's contract offer and hasn't been happy with the company for awhile now. He had a farewell dinner with several TNA workers on Tuesday after the Impact taping.

*Chris Harris leaving TNA would have been big news when America’s Most Wanted was at their peak (including their feud against one another), but Harris has died down over the last year or so. WWE probably has interest in Harris considering Vince’s obsession with big guys. Chris Harris being 6’4 and 235lbs of muscle should help his chances of employment. I’m not sure how Vince looks at TNA talent, from the sign and release of Monty Brown is doesn’t look too good. Hopefully Harris knows what he’s doing.

WWE Mobile is reporting what seems to be a storyline involving Playboy. According to the report, Ashley was at the Playboy Mansion on New Year's Eve and was asked by Hugh Hefner who the next WWE Diva to pose for Playboy should be. Before Ashley could answer, Santino Marella showed up and said that the only people who will see Maria naked are "former intercontinental champions who were plucked from the crowd in Italy and beated the Umaga."

*Anything that gets Santino more TV time is fine with me. He is gold on the mic.

WWE.com has a trailer up for the upcoming Steve Austin DVD. The DVD will have 20 full matches including WCW and ECW footage.

*I can’t wait for this DVD. Austin being one of my top 5 favorite wrestlers of all time (wait for the article) this should be sweet.

Randy Orton is getting some praise in the locker room these days. The basics are that he isn't taking any flack from HHH or Shawn Michaels. While the crew was in Iraq, Umaga was getting new tights made. Apparently he selected some colors that the seamstress said he couldn't use because, "They were HHH's colors." Umaga insisted and had the tights made. Michaels apparently threw a fit when he saw this and Randy Orton stood up for Umaga. Right now Orton has the feeling that he is untouchable, like Shawn Michaels used to have, which is why he feels he can stand up to HHH and Shawn, which has earned him the respect. There is still the feeling that HHH buries people when he has the chance, unless it is Cena. Many feel that HHH is responsible for Booker T leaving the promotion due to the booking of their Summerslam match. Booker was actually in talks with TNA before Summerslam, and what really set his leaving in motion was the suspension.

*A part of me hates Orton because he seems like an asshole behind the scenes. The other part of me loves that he is a thorn in the side of Shawn Michaels and Triple H. I look at it as karma since the klique put the boys through hell in the mid 90’s. Payback is a bitch, a RKO bitch! I don’t know about Orton being untouchable though. Cena yes, Orton…possibly.

Marijuana testing is considered "non-existent" at this point. They are testing once a year, with a fine of $1,000 for a failed test.

*Guess RVD will be back any day now.

A Phenomenal Fall

About a month ago TNAwrestling.com had a great clearance sale with all of their older DVDs. Best of the X-Division, Best of Raven, Best of Samoa Joe, but the one I really wanted to get my hands on was The Best of A.J Styles. After watching just a few matches involving The Phenomenal One… I was hooked.

Now don’t get me wrong. I was not completely in the dark when it came to TNA or A.J Styles. Since its inception I have kept up with their storylines and enjoyed watching the product evolve but I was nowhere near a hardcore fan. After watching the Styles DVD I can only compare my response of sheer amazement to one other time after observing a wrestler. About nine years ago I finally decided to stay up late and watch ECW. In my area it came on Sunday’s at one in the morning on MSG. I wasn’t impressed with the matches and non stop plugs of merchandise and future shows. Then a highlight clip of Rob Van Dam came on, and I was blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I thought I would never have that reaction towards another wrestler again. A.J is that good.

From flipping off balconies onto Abyss, to sliding under steel guard rails instead of the simple reversal A.J Styles did everything on this DVD. Immediately I found myself interested in the career of A.J Styles. Don't believe me? Take a quick look....




In October, long before watching this DVD, I ordered the TNA Bound For Glory Pay Per View mainly for the main event between Kurt Angle and Sting. A.J at the time was in some tag match involving Pac Man Jones while being sidekick to Christian Cage. I watched a recent episode of TNA Impact thinking surely A.J has moved on to something better. Something more fitting of his unbelievable talent. Yes A.J Styles has moved on, from Christian Cage’s lackey to Kurt Angle’s.

If you don’t know the back story Christian started the Christian Coalition with himself, A.J Styles and Tomko. It was obvious that A.J played second fiddle to Christian which in the beginning I had no problem with. For one it definitely helped A.J be more comfortable in front of the camera and two it should have led to a hot feud with Christian Cage. A.J would finally break free from the mental control of Cage and become the hot baby face of TNA. A role A.J succeeded in as X and World Champion.

Instead Kurt Angle and Christian started a little rivalry that put A.J Styles in the middle of them both. Forget A.J Styles becoming a face and having his much deserved feud with Cage. No he gets pushed aside and embraces The Angle Alliance. This is no way to treat arguably the greatest home grown TNA talent of all time.

Lance Storm said it best recently in a 2008 wish list he made for Thefighnetwork.com. “The AJ Styles that I saw on Impact this week was the biggest idiot loser in this business’s history, and I’d like the return of the guy that once headlined this company as World Champion. Why anyone would take such a uniquely gifted and talented performer and turn him into the biggest Jack Ass in wrestling history is beyond me.”

The only saving grace this entire A.J Styles mess has is the predictable feud between A.J Styles and Kurt Angle. I shouldn’t say predictable knowing TNA’s creative history but this feud HAS to happen and Styles HAS to go over. TNA has cashed in most of their ‘dream’ matches. A Kurt Angle vs. A.J Styles match, if done correctly, is a dream match that I would pay to watch. But it has to be done correctly. And since they dropped the ball on a Cage vs. Styles match, I’m not sure TNA can, or wants to help A.J Styles up from his phenomenal fall.

HBK-The Lost Years

Daddy Dearest?

Supposedly tomorrow's Monday Night Raw will finally reveal the identity of Vince McMahon's son. After weeks of proper and effective building tomorrow should be the payoff. It wouldn't surprise me if they hold off on the announcement until the Unforgiven pay per view but let's just say tomorrow is the day. Who is it?


I've heard a lot of rumors. The internet hyped the son as being Mr. Kennedy. They hyped it so much that I believe management decided to throw a change up and say last week he is not chosen one. Could it be Triple H? On the Vince McMahon DVD it is said that Vince wanted to be the father of Stephanie's baby for WWE television. Stephanie and Triple H refused. Has Vince finally got his wish of a controversial incest angle? Hopefully not. I'm still trying to recover from the Katie Vick fiasco.

I won't run down a list of who I think it is. Everybody has been doing that and in reality we are all probably wrong. Who do I wish it was? Now that is a different question entirely. If I was booking I would make the son of Dr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr...

Chris Jericho.

Now I know he isn't signed but honestly it is only a matter of time before his name is on a WWE contract. WWE is desperate for main event level talent and it's not as if Chris Jericho has been lighting up the acting and singing scene. Why not make Chris Jericho the center of this mega storyline. He has the star power. He has the microphone abilities. And best yet he can actually give this storyline a big payoff match.

There is Mr. Kennedy, ready to defend the honor of the man he would be proud to call Dad. Just as the announcement is about to be made the Y2J countdown begins and the crowd erupts. Chris Jericho can say he is the son and totally rip Vince McMahon. This instantly starts what could be a very entertaining feud between Chris Jericho and Mr. Kennedy/Vince. Even Jericho's history with Stephanie McMahon adds some more layers to the angle.

It wouldn't be a disappointment and best part yet, we get to see Chris Jericho back on WWE t.v.

Call it a prediction, call it a wish. I call it perfect.

HBK- The Missing Years

Think back to 1998. Shawn Michaels is World Wrestling Federation champion after beating Bret 'Hitman' Hart in the infamous Montreal screw job during The Survivor Series main event. Wrestling, and more importantly WWF, is about to explode into a new dimension of popularity not seen since the genesis of Hulkamania.

At this point and time Shawn Michaels was a 3 time WWF Champion, 3 time Intercontinental Champion, 3 time Tag Team champion, and European Champion making him the first ever grand slam champion in WWF history.

The Heart Break Kid inside the ring was unmatched in the business. He could brawl with Mankind, mat wrestle with Bret Hart, and put on entertaining matches with the likes of Sid, Diesel and Vader. On top of it all was his ultra charismatic personality and the uncanny ability to succeed as either face or heel. There was nothing he couldn't do. Well maybe one thing.

When thinking of the all time great wrestlers you try and include every facet of the wrestling business. Charisma, mic work, in ring ability, drawing power etc. Shawn Michaels had it all except he was not a top draw for the company while World Champion. During Shawn's time on top WWF was at an all time low do to the serge of popularity by Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling. Ric Flair drew money in the south for years. Hulk Hogan drew money on a national scale once in WWF and again in WCW. HBK didn't.

Which brings us to that gap in the illustrious career of Shawn Michaels. That void could have separated Shawn Michaels from the group of all time wrestling greats into a class of his own. What Ric Flair refers to as 'The Man'. We're in 1998 and instead of Shawn Micheals being apart of this wrestling rebirth into popular culture he instead is forced into retirement. No hot rematch with Stone Cold for the title. No feud with up and coming superstar The Rock. He couldn't even ride the wave of D-Generation X, the stable he created, just as it was about to pick up momentum. Everything clicked for WWF in 1998. And it clicked without Shawn Michaels.

Imagine if Shawn Michaels kept his pace going after 1997 strong into 1998. His breathtaking performances happening on pay-per-views where people were actually watching. His hilarious interviews while Raw would draw a 5.7 rating instead of a 2.1. Four years Shawn Michaels missed where business was booming. Four years in wrestling is a very long time. No off season, no repeat episodes, four years of showstopping and main eventing was taken away from the fans and from HBK's legacy.

But there is a flip side to that very coin. Shawn Michaels was considered the very best in the ring because he nearly killed himself to put on the match of the night. Casket matches, Ladder matches, Hell in a Cell matches, Shawn Michaels bumped his way to the top of the industry. The main reason Shawn Michaels was the best was the same exact reason he was forced into retirement. He thought he was superman and performed like it. Unfortunately, he burnt out.

So where does Shawn Michaels stand right now?

It's 2007 and he is still stealing the shows in the main event even at the age of 42. He's not #1 in my opinion, but because he can even be considered so...should say plenty about his spot in the record books. If only it wasn't for those missing years...