I thought this was one of the best PPVs of the last six months. I was into every mathc and each ending to each match made sense and pointed to logical directions for Wrestlemania. The Steiner/HHH match was horrible, but it was fun to see the crowd boo Stiener and HHH out of the building. I was hoping for the Booker T run-in, but I guess they maybe holding that back so we can get Goldberg in to ruin everything. Taker and Austin look to be in their best shapes in years. Even though Rock/Hogan was not a great wrestling match, it was by far more entertaining than anything done in the last few weeks on Raw and Smackdown to some extent. Rock can't carry Hogan to two straight 5 star matches. He did his best to get it to a 3 star match and thats all I ask of Rock espically with that cripple in the ring. I do think the match was going a bit too long since the Rocky chants were starting to fire up when he took Hogan's bandana and started mocking him.
A Fan- sing of the night: F-8. Canadian Exchange Rate.
Heel Rock is the greatest. Wearing the bandanna, mocking the fans clapping, smelling the heel heat, double People's Elbow with added Hogan pose....it was all so great.
Undertaker looked better than when he left. He really looked like he was in good shape. The match was good too. Big Show has stepped up in recent months. His stuff with Brock was good, his stuff with Undertaker was good. WWE is using him very well and deserves credit for that.
I wasn't excited about Austin's return until I saw the video package on heat. The return was well done. He looked like he gained some weight though.
The fans didn't give Steiner a chance tonight. The booing started before the match and that really wasn't fair. His punches looked weak and he messed up the timing of one spot, but other than that the match wasn't horrible at all. The fans didn't mind cheering Hogan's weak punches, slow movement, and two moves.
(edited by mskj on 24.2.03 0118) I hope Ohio State beats Miami.
If you were expecting 5-star classics with Triple HGH/Steiner part II and Rock/Hogan part II, then what were YOU thinking?! Yes, as matches they were abominations, but you have to take this PPV for what it was. If you bought it, you obviously bought it for the undercard, Austin's return, or Rocky's awesome heel schtick.
The loss of Heyman as lead writer will be felt much sooner than later if tonight's Rocky/Hogan match was any indication. So much for ushering in a new era of WRESTLING and WORKRATE!
Welcome back, Steve Austin!!! PLEASE SAVE US FROM THIS CRAP!!!
I wasn't expecting Rock-Hogan II to be anywhere in the neighborhood of *****, but I was expecting at least some of the electricity Rock-Hogan I delivered. Oh well, lightning, bottles, all that.
I can't really call it an actively bad PPV, but neither can I say I felt I got my money's worth. When the big markout moment of the night is the Undertaker bringing the no-hands tope out of mothballs, it's a sign that the PPV is lacking.
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?"
Rock can't carry Hogan to two straight 5 star matches
When did they ever have the 1st? 5* = the perfect match, so I wouldn't call their match in Toronto a 5* match.
Matthew: You would've loved it, David. A week in a foreign country, strange people, strange customs... Dave: Oh, I know what you mean. I've been to Canada.
Was anyone else expecting Vince to come down to ringside 3/4's of the way through Rock/Hogan? Rock does his spinebuster, but goes for the Sharpshooter instead of the elbow. Then Vince tells the ref to ring the bell. That would have been cool, if not cliche.
Originally posted by DVDWas anyone else expecting Vince to come down to ringside 3/4's of the way through Rock/Hogan? Rock does his spinebuster, but goes for the Sharpshooter instead of the elbow. Then Vince tells the ref to ring the bell. That would have been cool, if not cliche.
That's been done, and done, and done again. It would be just plain retarded if it were to happen again, especially at a major show such as a WWE PPV.
And especially since Bret said he wasn't going to wrestle again recently, what's the point in even going back to something if nothing (Bret returning) is going to come out of it?
The screwjob happened over 5 years ago. Don't you think it's time to think up something new?
(Edit)
And my thoughts on the show. ... Well, I didn't see it, so I can't really comment. Though, having been told about it from my brother, I intend to purchase the DVD one (and if) it comes out. Though, being that all the Blockbusters and Walmarts around here aren't going to be carrying wrestling DVD's in the future, and the prices at HMV and Music World are insane... I would doubt if I actually do get around to buying it.
And, from what I've heard, Austin didn't even cut a promo for his return. I, personally, think that that's just bad business. But I haven't seen it for myself, so I can't really justify my opinion...
I haven't been watching much of the WWE lately as I don't watch TV anymore. But, I recently got about 6 WWF DVD's from Walmart (as they were desperately trying to get rid of what few shows they had left for a bargain price of 7 bucks a one), and I was watching a few shows from last year... and you know what? They were actually pretty decent to look back upon. It's interesting how much the WWF has changed over the last couple years since the Invasion angle. ... Sure, much of the change has been for the worse, but some for the better. Such as all the wrestling talent they have at their disposial now. ... If only they'd dump their writers and let the wrestlers do their own angles/characters.
If only Jericho were allowed to be himself... *sigh*
(Edit)
And I personally think it's fine for Jericho to wrestle first. I strongly beleive that almost all of the workers in the WWE have the attitude of "As long as I get booked, I'm a happy man." Afterall, why wouldn't they be? And personally, I think that the second match is the lowest spot on the card... ... I would die a very happy man if I were ever booked on a WWE PPV to wrestle...
Originally posted by Shem the PenmanI wasn't expecting Rock-Hogan II to be anywhere in the neighborhood of *****, but I was expecting at least some of the electricity Rock-Hogan I delivered. Oh well, lightning, bottles, all that.
Wasn't going to be even close to the same. The reason the fans were so into the match the first time around was because there was no clear choice for who to cheer for. Fans were pretty divided into both camps.
This go around, it was all one-sided. Everyone LOVED heel Rock. (Okay, so that's not exactly true....) But this time there was a clear heel distinction, and the crowd wasn't ready to single-handedly turn a guy, like they did Hogan at Mania.
I enjoyed the PPV, the undercard was very good. Here are my views on each match.
Jericho vs Jeff - slow starter but got good at the later stages. Good opener.
RVD/Kane vs Regal/Storm - Better than I expected, possibly because Regal and Kane were not in the match much.
Matt vs Kidman - Mattitude rocks as did this match
Taker - Big Show - Typical slow build up until it became good at the end
5 Man Tag - Best match of the night
Austin - Bischoff - Squash but good to see Austin back
Rock - Hogan - You could tell during the match that Rock was dying to go his normal fast pace during the match but old washed up Hogan didn't allow that to happen.
Well, it was this or the Grammys, so... Seriously, my expectations were a little mixed because of my current stance on WWE, but because of those expectations, I got more fun out of it. My opinions are like this...
JERICHO Vs. HARDY: Oh, and TEST would've been better, we said? Yeah right. Started slow, picked up real nice.
Rob Van Kane VS REGAL/STORM: Okay, I'll leave it at that.
MATTITUDE Vs. Kidman: OH YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHH! Sorry about that. Had fun with this match, and Matt Hardy with a singles belt?!?! I'll live with that, since I'm learning more about the man himself, and he's less annoying every week. Congrats, Matt!
TAKER Vs. BIG SHOW: Dead man flying? Haven't seen that in a while, and the fact he could still do that, reminds me why I don't say too many bad things about him, even thoough some of us do... Another OK match. A-Train should really consider waxing himself.
5 man tag: Typical Smackdown stuff, but you can't go wrong with the Team Angle sweats in a blizzard.
BISCHOFF Vs. Austin: Great to see Steve back, and his belly looks as beered up as ever. JR gives us a taste of things to come on RAW with the fellatiating. I'll let it go for now since I enjoyed the return too.
HHH V. Steiner: Okay, you guys hate HHH and Steiner, fine. I wasn't too hot about this match either, so I decided to let the Montreal crowd decide where I go. So, sure enough, I cheered for my boy and booed the old fart, oh, and Hebner too, LOL. I cheered my ass off (like they did) when HHH bullied Hebner. The crowd was on the mark for that, and I'm just relieved that Scott will be fired. Thanks, Montreal for making that less boring..
ROCK HOGAN II: This was never about technical wrestling, but Rock's heelish antics were fun to see (though pretty alien since it's been forever since the last time) Fun stuff, even the screwjob.
OVERALL: My lowered expectations, and several okay to great matches and moments, and you got a fun PPV, and a hopefully smooth road to WMIX. No Summerslam '02, but still entertaining. Can't wait to see how they botch this up......:fingers crossed:
Ringmistress
Proper planning prevents piss poor performance" William Regal
The Rock screwjob of Hogan --> heelturn comes about 1 year too late imho. The time to turn Rock was when he actually was drawing heel heat, especially during his WM fight with Hogan. So you slay Rock's building heel heat by immediately sticking him in a instafeud with Vince during the draft episode. A mistake. Turn him heel now? I don't see the crowd clamoring for a heel Rock.
Once AGAIN, Vince FAILS to listen to the crowd.
Also, what's with the stupid arm tattoo Rock got? Reminds me of Tyson face tattoo. Didn't the tattoo fad die about 5 years ago?
Thread ahead: Kind of glad I missed tonight's PPV... Next thread: Is it just me, or does this Austin thing Previous thread: Announced matches for RAW 2/24
Am I the only guy that kinda hates Meltzer? Dude makes a buttload of money off being a parasite of the industry, and now can't even be bothered to watch the shows because he's too busy hanging onto Dana White's nutsack.