What's your pick at Wrestlemania 20 in Madison Square Garden March 14.
WWE champion:EDDIE GUERRERO or KURT ANGLE ???
Of course I want Eddie's title run to last awhile but, come on...aren't we lucky just to see him with the title.
It's a tough one, or is it odvious ?
"If you put the letter 'S' in front of Hitman, you get my basic oppinion of Bret Hart!"-Steve Austin to Brian Pillman September 96 in regards to Bret Hart...and, no I'm not calling you stupid!
angle used to my favorite wrestler, but I dunno, he hasn't been the same lately. I hope eddie wins and I think he deserves it, but I wouldn't complain if angle did.
I was thinking about this subject this morning, and I think Eddie will retain. If they're really serious about attracting Hispanic viewers, then it would make sense to give Eddie at least a brief title reign, and I mean longer than a month.
Plus, he's over. Over enough to warrant more than just a transitional title run. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think when Vince pulled the trigger on the title switch, it wasn't just to get the belt off Brock.
Maybe they're giving Eddie the ball?
-- Asteroid Boy
Wiener of the day: 23.7.02
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
I think it depends on how long Angle can be active before injuries force his retirement. I have my fears of Eddie as a transitional champ, but he's going into WMXX main event as the champ. Triple H aside, the face champ tends to retain.
Will they allow Angle to lose two consecutive WM heavyweight title matches? He doesn't need the belt to get over, and he's already held the belt.
Still, just saying that Eddie's "going into WMXX main event as the champ" is enough to make me happy. He's going up against a guy of equal size and considerable ability. You could peg the match as a four-star event on potential alone.
I'd really like to see the main event use legends for cornermen. Angle could have Hogan, and Eddy could have Tito Santana.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
I think that they'll go with a longterm rivalry feud between Eddie and Kurt that will keep going after Wrestlemania... kind of like the Lesnar-Angle feud over the summer that produced the Summerslam and Iron Man match. It'll really establish Eddie as a main event player if that happens, even if he doesn't retain the belt.
As far as WM itself goes, I think that Angle will win, but it won't be clean, so the feud could be prolonged.
Wheel of Fortune booking proceeds. Angle reveals that he's been HOLDING EDDY DOWN the past couple of months. Eddy gets revenge, but not when it matters. Angle over Eddy at WMXX as Guerrero's picture goes up next to the entry for 'transition champion' in the wrestling encyclopedia.
I would leave the belt with Guerrero as first time champion to get him over big. It would have a bigger impact if he kept the title. Angle has had the title in the past year twice, while this is Eddie's first big run.
So, are they going to do Angle's heel turn before or after Mania? A month seems like a pretty short time to put together a decent heel program for Kurt (Then again, it is Kurt). Is there any possibility of them doing a face/face match and then turning Angle heel out of frustration from the Mania loss?
Well, the thing about Angle's heel turn is this: it has been in progress for a few weeks already. As someone already said, Angle has been holding Eddie down by inciting the Chavo feud and keeping Eddie out of the rumble, then attacking Eddie to try to keep him out of the Smackdown battle royale. Angle is scared of Eddie and has been posing as his friend in a good bit of Machiavellian intrigue. All of this will be revealed in the next couple of weeks and those who haven't noticed the turn will say "Ahhh!" and realize the tremendous job the WWE has done building up the main event of Wrestlemania. I'm all kinds of pumped about this.
"Also, don't incur the wrath of P.U. It can only lead to trouble." - Torchslasher
1) He wrestled with his neck hanging by a thread last year and pulled off a helluva ME with Lesnar. He can pull a HHH and say he deserves a win in return for that kind of risk-taking.
2) Edge's return. A program with a face Edge seems much more natural than a heel Edge against Eddy, mostly for history reasons (I know Edge and Eddy had some matches awhile back, but nothing like the ECK angles of years past.)
3) Eddy winning the belt feels more like a 'omfg he did it' kind of win. To me, at least, he doesn't feel like a believable long-term champion. Yet. Angle felt the same way during his first reign, and now he's the type of guy who can carry the entire brand on his back. I think Eddy will be ready for a 4-5 month title reign in about a year - just not yet.
So, are they going to do Angle's heel turn before or after Mania? A month seems like a pretty short time to put together a decent heel program for Kurt (Then again, it is Kurt). Is there any possibility of them doing a face/face match and then turning Angle heel out of frustration from the Mania loss?
I'd love to see a face vs. Face match, especially at WM. As a matter of fact I wouldn't mind if the Smackdown main events for the next couple of ppvs were face vs face with any combination of Eddie, Kurt, Edge, and Cena.
Originally posted by CubsWooI think Kurt wins at Mania - for these reasons:
1) He wrestled with his neck hanging by a thread last year and pulled off a helluva ME with Lesnar. He can pull a HHH and say he deserves a win in return for that kind of risk-taking.
He COULD, but Kurt is not HHH. And I don't see him making that sort of backstage demand.
Originally posted by CubsWoo2) Edge's return. A program with a face Edge seems much more natural than a heel Edge against Eddy, mostly for history reasons (I know Edge and Eddy had some matches awhile back, but nothing like the ECK angles of years past.)
Oh, but remember that hellacious no-DQ match that Edge and Eddie had. Probably the high point of the glory days of Smackdown.
Originally posted by CubsWoo3) Eddy winning the belt feels more like a 'omfg he did it' kind of win. To me, at least, he doesn't feel like a believable long-term champion. Yet. Angle felt the same way during his first reign, and now he's the type of guy who can carry the entire brand on his back. I think Eddy will be ready for a 4-5 month title reign in about a year - just not yet.
It was definitely a mark out moment when Eddie won. But I think it's not fair to compare it to Kurt's first title win. Kurt was in his first year with the company; Eddie's a respected veteran. Now, maybe there isn't the "finally he got the belt" reaction that Benoit would get, but it's not exactly coming out of left field, either.
-- Asteroid Boy
Wiener of the day: 23.7.02
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
You and I both remember the Edge/Eddy matches, but it's fair to say that the casual fan remembers Edge, Christian, and Angle hamming it up for months. Also (and I'm not sure about this) I think Edge said in one of his interviews that he wanted to come back as a face? Unless they're planning some kind of contrived double-turn before Mania (seems impossible after the reaction post-NWO) Angle has to be the heel by default.
I'm not saying Eddy as the champ is a bad thing. Far from it. And yes, I admit to being an Angle mark from the beginning. And whoever comes out the champ post-WM is going to make me both happy and willing to watch on Thursdays. I just think Kurt winning makes more sense.
P.S. - isn't Kurt's Mania record sort of lackluster, all things considered? (Lost to Benoit/Jericho, cheap win over Kane, loss to Lesnar? Am I missing any?)
Originally posted by CubsWooI just think Kurt winning makes more sense.
P.S. - isn't Kurt's Mania record sort of lackluster, all things considered? (Lost to Benoit/Jericho, cheap win over Kane, loss to Lesnar? Am I missing any?)
I think Eddie should win. That would show that they mean business.
Angle, not only doesn't need the win, but also stands to do so much more for the company by putting Eddie over. Eddie is already over, he needs a big win to establish him as champ. We've seen Angle as a heel champion before, and I really don't see what it changes or adds to the table, if he wins.
The assumption is that they're going to be the new Stooges. The difference, obviously, is that Patterson and Brisco never got to go over the tag team champions.