Starrcade Main Event Restructuring

From 1983 until 2000, just mere months before the end of WCW, the NWA and WCW had an annual event called Starrcade, the brainchild of Dusty Rhodes. In the WWF, WrestleMania was the granddaddy of them all. In the NWA and later WCW’s case, Starrcade was the most important show of the year. While half of the main event matches for Starrcade were stellar and iconic, the other half left a lot to be desired. Im going to go through every Starrcade and determine which main event could have used an upgrade or complete rewrite. Some matches will remain intact, while some of those same ones will be a different outcome.

1983

The inaugural Starrcade was aptly titled “A Flair For the Gold,” as it featured Ric Flair himself challenging Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The circumstances leading up to this match were very personal. Race did everything he could to make sure Flair would not be a challenger, including putting a bounty on Flair, in which anyone who was able to incapacitate Flair would receive a large sum of money. Dick Slater and Cowboy Bob Orton tool up Race on his offer and brutally attacked Flair. Not to be outdone, Flair than made the challenge to Race and it would be inside a Steel Cage. By night’s end, Flair reigned supreme as the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. This was perfect and I wouldn’t charge a thing.

Final verdict - Harley Race vs. Ric Flair

1984

This is yet another one I wouldn’t touch. The early years of Starrcade main events in general were great. Ric Flair was back to his dastardly ways and was to defend the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes: Flair and Rhodes were polar opposites and had a feud that went on for years at a time. The Nature Boy was the wheelin’ dealin,’ jet plane flyin,’ limousine ridin’ son of a gun and Dusty was the common man. As for the match, I liken it to the first Rocky movie. The biggest thing about that film was that Rocky, the main character, lost. Dusty lost as well, albeit in different circumstances, but still lost. The story told was that he would eventually get the win, much like Rocky did over Apollo Creed. This brings me to a slight change I will make for the next Starrcade.

Final verdict - Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes

1985

This year, the main event was yet again Flair vs. Rhodes for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. While I am keeping this, I want to make a slight change. While Dusty did eventually win the Title from Flair, it didn’t happen until July, 1986 at the Great American Bash. I personally would have preferred Dusty winning at Starrcade, doing the thing he couldn’t the previous year. Similarly, I’m still pulling for Cody Rhodes to do that very thing by defeating Roman Reigns at next year’s WrestleMania. Unfortunately, Dusty typically received short reigns when he was Champion. The feud Dusty had with Flair led to the formation of the Four Horsemen, who had broken Dusty’s arm in a brutal attack that year. As iconic and important as the Bash was, I think the title change should have occurred at Starrcade. 

Final verdict - Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes

1986

You’re going to notice a theme here, as Ric Flair main evented several Starrcades over the years. In fact, he main evented 10 out of the 18 events, which is over half. 1986 was an interesting year for wrestling, specifically for the NWA for this event. The heavily rumored man to take the World Title from Ric Flair was Magnum TA. Unfortunately, as you know, Magnum was involved in a career ending and crippling accident. The main event for this year’s Starrcade became Flair defending the Title against newly transitioned babyface Nikita Koloff. I’d keep this match and result exactly the same. Under the circumstances, it made the most sense, specifically because of the history of brutal matches Magnum and Nikita had shared. The only other opponent that would make sense was Dusty Rhodes, but they already did Flair vs. Rhodes twice.

Final verdict - Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff

1987

This one is definitely going to change. Earlier that year, Ronnie Garvin defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Now, I’m a Garvin fan, but I didn’t see him at this level. Plus, he held it for a very short time. This is the event where he lost the Title back to Flair. The Four Horsemen were really gaining steam here and they started feuding with Barry Windham, who would join the group in mid-1988. My main event for this Starrcade would be Windham defending and losing the World Title to Flair. 

Final verdict - Barry Windham vs. Ric Flair

1988

The main event for this year was Ric Flair vs. Lex Lugar for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. My scenario is the same match and the same finish, yet with a twist. In late 1987, Lex was kicked out of the Four Horsemen after refusing to let manager JJ Dillon win a battle royal. A few months later, Lex and Barry Windham had won the World Tag Team Titles from Horsemen members Arn Anderson and Tulley Blanchard. To add more fuel to Lugar’a feud with the Horsemen, Windham turned on him and joined. I’d have Lugar defeat Flair for the Title in mid-1988, when he would drop it back to Flair at Starrcade. So, it’s the same match and result, but with Flair winning the Title from Lugar.

Final verdict - Lex Lugar vs. Ric Flair

1989

I’m having trouble on how to go with this one. The NWA decided for this year to do a round robin style iron man tournament for the singles main event bracket and the tag teams. The four men chosen for the singles tournament were NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair, Lex Lugar, Sting, and the Great Muta. While I like the idea and specifically because the last match and main event was Flair vs. Sting, it wasn’t a Championship match. Not only that, Flair was just coming off a very personal and brutal feud with Terry Funk. I’m tempted to make this Flair vs. Sting for the Title but I almost want to go with Flair vs. Funk, moving their match to Starrcade. Then you could have the on-and-off friends Sting and Lugar against each other, while putting Muta against maybe Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. 

Final verdict - Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk

1990

The main event for this show was Sting defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against The Black Scorpion. When the storyline of this masked mystery man started, it was a different person and by the time it reached its climax, creative had no idea who it would be and it was just awful. At match time, even though the mask was on, everyone knew it was Ric Flair. So, the main event was Sting vs. Flair but it was marred by this disaster of a storyline. Simplified, Sting vs. Flair itself was alluring and didn’t need nonsense like that. The backstory was already there. They had a classic two years prior when Sting was a promising upstart. In 1989 for a brief time, Sting was even a member of the Four Horsemen during Flair’s babyface run. They turned on him and kicked him out when he dared challenge Flair for the Title. Sting did indeed win it from Flair at the 1990 Great American Bash. This main event at Starrcade stays, as does the result, but without the awful Black Scorpion attached to it.

Final verdict - Sting vs. Ric Flair

1991

The entirety of Starrcade this year was Battle Bowl, with no championship being decided, most notably the World Heavyweight Championship. I should also note that WCW had officially begun by this time, which meant there were World Titles for the NWA and WCW. Another notable thing missing was Ric Flair himself, now in the WWF. Back to Battle Bowl! Random tag teams were put together in matches, with the winners of each match going on to a Battle Royal. The last two men left were Sting and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Lex Lugar. Sting eliminated Lugar to win. By this point, the two were in a bitter feud. My change to the main event would be to have Lex defend and retain against Sting, as in a couple month’s time, Sting would eventually win the belt from Lex and the Total Package would go to the WWF. I actually enjoyed the Battle Bowl concept but Starrcade was the wrong setting to me.

Final verdict - Lex Lugar vs. Sting

1992

WCW decided to go with Battle Bowl again. While the NWA and WCW World Heavyweight Championships were decided this time, the main event was the Battle Bowl Battle Royal. Not only was this the main event, but the Sting vs. Vader match overshadow both World Title matches, which consisted of Masahiro Chono vs. The Great Muta for the NWA Title and Ron Simmons vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams for the WCW Title. Simmons was on a great run aa Champion, having defeated Vader earlier that year, most notably becoming the first black man to win a World Title. Here’s what I would do. Between Halloween Havoc and Starrcade, I would have done the Battle Bowl on televised WCW shows, culminating at November’s Clash of the Champions, where the winner would earn a WCW Title shot at Starrcade. That winner would be Sting. In mid-December, two weeks before Starrcade, I’d have Vader regain the WCW World Heavyweight Title from Ron Simmons, thanks to Steve Williams, thus setting up Simmons vs. Williams at Starrcade, with the main event now being Vader vs. Sting for the Championship. 

Final verdict - Vader vs. Sting

1993

The main event for this one was Vader vs. Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. I wouldn’t change a thing. The match was great, it got a huge reception, and there was some history there. This was ten years after Flair defeated Harley Race and ironically, Race was Vader’s manager at this time. There’s really not much else I can say as this was perfect.

Final verdict - Vader vs. Ric Flair

1994

This is probably the biggest “2hat we’re they thinking?” moment in the history of Starrcade. Earlier that year, the unthinkable happened as long tenured WWF megastar Hulk Hogan came to WCW. He soon debuted and defeated Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship. But who did he defend the Title against at Starrcade? Was it a big name like Flair? Was it a huge monster to slay like Vader? Nope? It was Hulk Hogan vs. The Butcher, formerly known as Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. The Butcher had come to WCW with Hogan and Jimmy Hart but turned on his long time friend to join Kevin Sullivan and Avalanche (Earthquake) to form the Three Faces of Fear, which evolved into the Dungeon of Doom. Without discussing this nonsense further, and going right for the change. The main event will be Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Title.

Final verdict - Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair

1995

During this year, WCW had a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling to have various superstars of each promotion face each other in seven matches to determine the winning company. The main event was the WCW World Title match with Macho Man Randy Savage defending against Ric Flair. Savage had wrestled Yoshihiro Tenzan earlier that night while Flair had just wrestled Sting and Lex Lugar to determine the number one contender before this bout. I have no problem with Savage vs. Flair but Savage just won the Title at Word War 3 the month prior and losing it this quick was dumb in my opinion. Savage won the Championship in the 60-man battle royal but it was controversial due to Hulk Hogan being perceived as eliminated but never was. What I would do here is keep the number one contender Triple Threat Match and it’s ending the same but have Flair’s Title shot come a few months later at SuperBrawl. Meanwhile, whether realistic or not due to Hogan’s creative control, the main event would be Savage vs. Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Title with Savage going over clean. 

Final verdict - Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan

1996

Yet again, I’m at a crossroads here for the main event. Hulk Hogan did the unthinkable earlier that year and turned heel to create the New World Order with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Shortly thereafter, he defeated The Giant to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion. After a defense against Randy Savage at Halloween Havoc, a man from Hogan’s past came out to front him, and it was none other than Rowdy Roddy Piper, setting up a match between the two at Starrcade as it’s main event. The problem was, the Title wasn’t on the line, which is probably why Piper went over and the nWo was red hot at the time. Don’t get me wrong, because this is a great main event. The reason I’m at a crossroads is because I almost feel like they should have had this match at World War  the month earlier, while going with Hogan vs. The Giant faster at Starrcade. Then again, Hogan/Giant doesn’t have as much drawing power as Hogan/Piper. I think solution would be to have Hogan/Piper at World War 3 with Piper winning, thus granting him an immediate Title shot at Starrcade, that way the Title would be on the line at Starrcade and Hogan would retain.

Final verdict - Hulk Hogan vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper

1997

Ah, 1997! This Starrcade main event is tempered for all the wrong reasons. It was all set! Despite a brief hiccup that year, Hulk Hogan and the nWo were unstoppable. On the other side, Sting had gone quiet not long after the nWo began and a miscommunication caused tension between him and WCW. Sting appeared sporadically in the rafters and began his descent into The Crow. The announcement was made for Starrcade ‘97’s main event, Hulk Hogan vs. Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The less we dwell on the match the better. The match and the outcome was the right decision, and the buildup was incredible. How it played out, on the other hand, is another story. Here’s my change. Sting squashes Hogan in a straightforward match with no shenanigans or any other nonsense added. Simple and to the point!

Final verdict - Hulk Hogan vs. Sting

1998

If you want to talk about controversy regarding a Starrcade main event, look no further than this one. Goldberg was on top of the world as WCW World Heavyweight Champion and an incredible undefeated streak. By this point, the nWo became so big that it split into factions. Hulk Hogan led the Hollywood side while Kevin Nash led the fan favorite Wolfpac side. Nash won the World War 3 battle royal, earning himself a shot at the Title against Goldberg at Starrcade. Due to interference ranting from Bam Bam Bigelow to Wolfpac wannabe the Disco Inferno to Scott Hall with a cattle prod, Nash ended Goldberg’s streak and won the World Title. Unfortunately, it was all for nothing as days later, the nWo factions were reunited when Nash laid down for Hogan. It was unfortunate as one, people were actually looking forward to a big match like Hogan vs. Nash, it would have been nice to him to get a short run with the gold, and it made the Title look like garbage. In the end, I'd have Nash go over somewhat clean.

Final verdict - Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash

1999

I’m honestly not sure what to do with this one. It was Bret Hart vs. Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. As a whole, I feel WCW completely dropped the ball with Bret Hart. Two things that should never have happened was Hart turning heel and being a member of the nWo. I’m not even sure I’d have this be the main event. Then again, when I do these fantasy bookings, I have a rule that when real things happen and affect the story, I adjust accordingly and go generally with what happened. I’d keep it babyface vs. babyface where Goldberg goes over the gets a second World Title reign. You could still do the spear from Goldberg where Hart wore a metal plate underneath his shirt without him necessary being a heel. That really was the only bright spot of Hart as a heel in WCW. That, and the gem of a promo about El Dandy of all people. 

Final verdict - Bret Hart vs. Goldberg 

2000

By the time the year 2000 came along, WCW was just the drizzling shits, and just mere months away from closing and being bought out by rival company WWF’s owner Vince McMahon. The main event was Scott Steiner in his full “Big Poppa Pump” persona, which was wildly entertaining, vs. a past his prime Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Title. I’d get rid of this because their match at January, 1999’s Sin pay-per-view was infamous for the awful scene of Sid’s gruesome leg break. It’s still one of the most difficult and disturbing things to watch, not just as a wrestling fan, but in general. Removing this match from Starrcade doesn’t affect it happening at Sin. Obviously, it’s a horrible thing that happened but like I said on my rules of fantasy booking, real life unfortunately must happen. Instead, I’d have the main event be the last very deserving man to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title, Booker T, defending and dropping it to Scott Steiner. Here’s where I’d give Steiner the belt, at a huge and deserving stage.

Final verdict - Booker T vs. Scott Steiner

Ultimately, I did change a lot but kept most of the matches, adding a few modifications. It was fun to go back and look at all of these. To date, I think this may be the longest blog I’ve ever done, considering I covered 18 Starrcade main events. I can’t even imagine doing the entire cards. There were a bunch that were flawless that needed no changes and just as many included Ric Flair. 

The Snake’s Evil Comes Full Circle

 

     Jake “The Snake” Roberts is one of the greatest wrestling characters in the history of professional wrestling. His dynamic yet subtle charisma, along with the snake he brought to the ring, made him a household name. He was a master at ring psychology and that went much further than maneuvers in the ring. He played mind games and didn’t have to yell to get his point across. He spoke softly so people had to pay attention. In his personal life, he’s had many ups and downs, with more downs unfortunately. He battled his demons and still does to this day. Many even credit Diamond Dallas Page for Jake even being alive. Today, I’d like to discuss his character, specifically him as a heel, and how he started in the WWF until the end of his first run in 1992. 

     Jake debuted in the WWF in late 1985 as a heel. The evil de displayed was that of a snake, a huge python named Damian, that he would use to intimidate and terrorize his opponents with. After his matches, ending with his devastating DDT finisher, he would take the snake out of its bag and put it on his fallen opponent. While this was indeed scary for the audience, it want until WrestleMania 2 that the evil of this character was brought to life. He took on enhancement talent George Wells. It was business as usual after Jake handily defeated Wells and brought out Damian. However, here’s the kicker, and apparently this was Wells’ idea. Wells started foaming at the mouth from the fear he felt. That visual helped people look at Jake as a huge threat. If true, we need to acknowledge Wells for really putting Jake over, not just in the sense of an in-ring win for Jake, but for the character as a whole.

     Shortly after this in the early Spring of 1986, he entered into a feud with resident wrestling babyface, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. Jake had to up the ante a bit to come across as more sinister. He did just that by attaching Steamboat at ringside. He then pulled the padding off the floor, revealing concrete. Then then proceeded to deliver the DDT to Steamboat head first to the concrete floor. The two had a tremendous feud. While Jake had his snake, Steamboat needed an equalizer, so for their penultimate match, he brought out a Komodo Dragon. 

    Jake was so good and got over so well that fans started rally behind him. Most of that reasoning had to do with the WWF wanting him to work with Hulk Hogan in a Championship feud. Whether it was Hogan or not, the plan was cancelled, as there was a fear Jake’s growing popularity might overshadow Hogan’s. Even if Hogan had politicked, it was ultimately the right move as this might have affected the upcoming Hogan/Andre the Giant feud. Seeing how popular he was getting, the WWF decided to ride with Roberts’ popularity and turn him babyface, which was started by the Honky Tonk Man. 

     After taking on the Honky Tonk Man at WrestleMania III, he go into a rivalry with Ravishing Rick Rude which lasted throughout most of 1988. In my opinion, thus begins the seeds that would slowly grow the next few years eventually back into his heel persona, several times as sinister as before. In order to get that way, he needed to go through some things. This was step one. Rude made things personal by going after Jake’s wife Cheryl, between hitting on her to wearing her face on his tights. This got under Jake’s skin big time.

     It took a couple of years and a various feuds before step 2 came along. Jake’s next feud was with Andre the Giant. While Jake clearly couldn’t match Andre in size and strength, he had the psychological advantage. Andre was deathly afraid of snakes, which Jake exploited. It’s interesting how the use of something that made him hated as a heel caused him to be loved as a babyface and for him it was his opponents’ fear of snakes. Andre was once so visibly scared that he deliberately eliminated himself from the 1989 Royal Rumble. Jake moved on to feud with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, which, incidentally, was part of the babyface turn of the Big. Bossman. He briefly feuded with Bad News Brown in the Summer of 1990. Shortly after that, step two came around in the form of Rick Martel. 

     On the set of the Brother Love Show, Rick Martel, now being in the middle of his model gimmick, attacked Roberts. He then blinded him by spraying him with his new cologne he called “Arrogance.” This led to a feud that would last all the way through WrestleMania 7the following year. The Snake and The Model captained opposing teams at the Survivor Series. Martel’s entire team survived. Slowly, Jake’s eyesight got better but he wasn’t done with Martel by  long shot. When they finally did face each other at WrestleMania, it was contested in a blindfold match. Jake won after a DDT. Being blinded for a few months took its toll on him, though.

     Just when we thought he was doing better, he got into a dispute with Earthquake. They were set for a match but Earthquake, because of his fear of snakes, refused to enter the ring until the snake was put under the ring. Moments later, Earthquake attacked Jake from behind, pushed him into the ring, and tied his arms in the ropes, all while manager Jimmy Hart supported Earthquake. The big man then grabbed the snake in the bag from beneath the ring. Roberts looked on horror as the big man used his Earthquake Splash on Damian. He did it again and left. When officials finally got Roberts untangled, he took a look in the bag as the inevitable happened. Damian was dead. He was so distraught and brought to tears that his companion of many years was gone. 

     As if the feud wasn’t intense enough, Earthquake entered the set of Prime Time Wrestling, adorned in chef hat and apron. He approached Mean Gene Okerland and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan with a large plate of hamburgers that he called Quake Burgers. Soon after, it was revealed that he made the burgers out of the remains of Damian. Jake eventually got his match and win over Earthquake, but it’s pretty clear that it destroyed his psyche. This was step 3 and when you put these incidents together, it makes sense how Jake ended up going back to his evil ways in the Summer of 1991. Between someone messing with his wife, someone blinding him, and another killing his beloved pet as he watched, something was about to give. Another hint is that when he got a new snake, it had an even more demonic name; Lucifer!

     The Ultimate Warrior was embroiled in a feud with the Undertaker and needed help connecting to the dark side in order to conquer the dead man. The Warrior turned to Jake for guidance. Jake had Warrior go through various tests to prepare for the Undertaker, even going so far as to bury him up to his neck in a cemetery. But this wasn’t the worst of it! The last test was when Jake really took things too far. He locked the Warrior in a room with a bunch of venomous snakes. That sealed the deal and Jake was back to being his evil self. Jake then aligned with the Undertaker and his manager Paul Bearer. The Warrior soon moved on to continue to help Hulk Hogan against Sgt. Slaughter and company. 

     SummerSlam 1991 was dubbed “The Match Made In Heaven/The Match Made In Hell. The later was Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior in a handicap match against the Triangle of Terror. The Match Made in Heaven was the long awaited wedding of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth, which took place after the show ended. After the beautiful ceremony, it was time for the party. They received many gifts from people and were very happy. A mysterious box appeared and when the couple opened it, a cobra was in the box, scaring everyone. Suddenly, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the Undertaker appeared, terrorizing the guests. Savage was incredibly angry while trying to consume a very frightened and distraught Elizabeth, vowing revenge. Little did we know, this was just the beginning.

     One fateful night on Superstars in November, 1991, Jake attacked the Macho Man again. He tied him into the ropes and brought a snake from his bag, which was revealed to be a king cobra. It latches into Savage’s arm and bit. I had just turned 11 weeks ago and can tell you that I, among many young fans, was traumatized. It was an intense sight to see. Elizabeth was at ringside frightened and being berated by Roberts. Rowdy Roddy Piper was on commentary with Savage before Jake lured him out of the booth. Piper tried to help, consoled Elizabeth, and made sure a stretcher was brought out for Savage. It was a scary site and Jake was now the ultimate heel, evil as can be.

     Jake was to lead a team going into Survivor Series, which oddly enough would include former opponent Earthquake. They were to take on a team captained by Sid Justice. When Sid got injured, they instead took Jake out of the match to even the odds. They should have just reinstated Randy Savage at that point instead of waiting a few days later for “This Tuesday In Texas.” Savage had retired at WrestleMania earlier that year after a loss to the Ultimate Warrior. Roberts lost to Savage at the latter show but the attacks continued.

     It lead to another rematch on Saturday Night’s Main Event in February, 1992, which Savage won. A week later on Superstars, a video was shown if what went down after the match. After Jake left the ring following the loss, he waited in the back for Savage and Elizabeth to come through the curtain, wielding a steel chair. He was prepared to hit either. So, just went we thought he couldn’t get anymore evil, he was prepared to hit a defenseless woman with a chair. Fortunately for the couple, something stopped Jake from hitting them. That something, surprisingly, was the Undertaker. This lead to the dead man becoming a good guy, at least in terms of wrestlers. Jake’s fate was now sealed as the Undertaker defeated him at WrestleMania 8, even after Jake hit him with a DDT on the exposed concrete. 

      Since this was the end of Jake’s first run in the company, it all came full circle, as he started and ended with the most evil intentions. He proved time and time again that you cannot trust a snake, which is ironic considering Jake’s theme by the point had him sinisterly using the words “trust me” just before the opening chords. 

Striking While the Iron Is Hot

 

The title of this blog is something I hold dear, especially when it comes to professional wrestling. God knows there have been many times in wrestling history that doing this was completely ignored. I’m going to discuss a few examples of what I believe were missed opportunities to strike whole the iron is hot. This idea came to me on a recent blog I wrote about The Miz in 2016 just after the Talking Smack incident with Daniel Bryan. I felt that he was at his best during this time and unlike the two times he won the WWE Title, this would have been a much better time to do it. 

Successful Examples

Though my blog is about failing to strike while the iron is hot, I thought about some of the best examples of it working. Vince McMahon realized that Verne Gagne refusing to push Hulk Hogan as the number one guy was his gain, this Hulkamania in the WWF was born and the rest is history. The same could be said a few years later when Macho Man Randy Savage got a big push that remained for another decade. In WCW, two of these call out to me. One was Diamond Dallas Page and the other was the streak of Goldberg. For as good as those turned out, I’m about to look at missed opportunities:

The Lex Express 

I wrote a blog a few years ago about why the Lex Express ultimately failed. I pointed out that it was more because of bad booking than it being the fault of Lex as a performer. While yes he wasn’t what the fans wanted in the end as they preferred Bret Hart, the WWF dropped the ball here. They started off well with the aftermath of him slamming Yokozuna and embarked upon the bus tour known as the Lex Express. We were on the right track so far but they didn’t go all the way. It might not have worked out but they should have at least tried. It all came crashing down at SummerSlam 1993 when Lex won by count out and thus did not become Champion.

 I wholeheartedly think that he should have won but what’s worse is what happened after the match. They had him celebrate in the ring as if he won the Title, making him look ridiculous. What did he have to celebrate? He may as well have lost. At least a loss or somehow getting screwed out of the title I can respect. After that, his stock went way down. While I quite enjoyed the double Royal Rumble win with Lex and Bret and the booking up until WrestleMania, as I thought there was still a chance, the booking once again killed his momentum, what little he still had. This time he got screwed when special referee Mr. Perfect disqualified him. The only thing I liked about this was it was at least some continuity, because it looked like revenge for the previous WrestleMania when after defeating Perfect, Lex knocked him out.

Rumors say that between the Rumble and WrestleMania, Lex drunkenly told people the plans for him to be Champion. I honestly doubt this happened. As much as I dislike quick Title changes, I would have even settled for Lex defeating Yokozuna for the Title and dropping it to Bret Hart by the night’s end. However, we need to admit that the reason they did the double Rumble win was to justify Bret wrestling twice in the same night and continuing the amazing feud between Bret and his brother Owen.

Owen Hart

Interestingly, the previous topic actually leads directly into what was a highlight of the New Generation era, the bitter and emotional feud between Bret Hart and Owen Hart. Owen was on a roll in 1994. He defeated Bret in the opener of WrestleMania 10 and went on to win the King of the Ring, after which he proclaimed himself to be known from then on as the King of Harts. Between defeating Bret at WrestleMania and winning the King of the Ring, these accomplishments earned him a shot at Bret’s WWF Title at SummerSlam. 

This match took place in a Steel Cage and was yet another classic match between the brothers. Bret won but this was far from over. Directly after the match, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, who helped Owen win King of the Ring, blindsided the returning British Bulldog and his wife Diana Hart, Bret and Owen’s sister. Owen and Jim then locked themselves in the cage with Bret, as the rest of the Hart brothers tried and failed to rescue Bret. When the Bulldog finally came to, he climbed into the cage for the rescue, as Owen and Jim fled. 

Later that year, Owen acted an Oscar worthy performance, costing Bret his Championship to Bob Backlund. As successful as that storyline was, I can’t help but think they should have went all the way with Owen, giving him a brief run with the WWF Title. While it may not have made him a main event star for good like it did Bret, it was certainly worth a try, as Owen as so white hot at the moment. Owen could have just as easily transitioned the Title to Diesel in a few months. This was his time to shine. While some argue that he should have been given the ball a few years later after the Montreal Screwjob, that was during the rise meteoric rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Owen had all the momentum in 1994, which is why this became an example of not striking while the iron is hot.

Zack Ryder

One thing I want to make perfectly clear is that in no way do I mean every wrestler on this list needs a World Title. Those examples were merely a jumping off point for the topic. Not striking while the iron is hot can take many forms. One such form is Zack Ryder and how, after being barely used, he managed to get himself over. Call it a conspiracy theory if you want, but I truly believe that Vince McMahon refused to fully push anyone he didn’t help get over himself, or with help from creative. 

Ryder put together a YouTube show that was entertaining, funny, and included several insider wrestling terms that fans knew about. Instead of complaining to management, he took action and did it himself. It worked slightly, as it was enough to garner him fan support in order for them to justify him winning the US Title from Dolph Ziggler at the end of 2011. Unfortunately, that was quickly nixed, as he lost my the belt merely weeks later, and made to look quite frankly like a cuckold to his potential love interest Eve Torres and her attraction to John Cena. However, that wasn’t quite enough, as he was often manhandled by Kane, most notoriously by having Kane push a neck brace wearing, wheelchair bound Ryder off the stage.

With that being said, I, not anyone else were necessarily asking for him to be hotshot toward a main event spot or World Championship. We were realistic! It’s just that a lot more effort could been given by sources beyond Ryder’s control. 

Bret Hart 

Before you get your parties in a bunch, please know that I’m referring to Bret Hart in WCW. Fresh off the Montreal Screwjob and swift exit from the WWF, this should have been a no-brainer. Now, I know there was a full month before he could be used, be he was so white hot that it didn’t matter. When he finally did arrive, things didn’t seem right. They kept nonsensically teasing him as the newest member of the nWo, something that did eventually happen unfortunately. Thanks to various reasons, notably referee Nick Patrick not doing a fast count as intended during the Starrcade 1997 WCW World Title match between Hulk Hogan and Sting, special enforcer Bret Hart restarted the match because of so called shenanigans pulled out Hogan. Because it was a regular count, it made Hart come off looking dumb. His WCW tenure itself was a disaster but I’m just concentrating on his immediate use which should have capitalized on the tans’ support due to the incident in Montreal fresh on fans’ minds. 

Matt Hardy

I know what you’re thinking!  Broken Matt Hardy! Nope! Im referring to his brief firing and due to the real-life tension between him and Edge and Lita. That was all real. That was a hot feud. My problem is that while it made Edge the legend he is today, they only focused on Edge. The feud should have made both men. Matt could have been a huge superstar too. Obviously, he’s a legend in the business but at that point he should have gone to the moon. There are many more but I think I’ve made my point

What If Kane’s Big Night Led To His Biggest Night?

 I couldn’t think of a title for this blog without it being too obvious or too long so I left it ambiguous. Some fans may be able to see what I’m getting at anyway based on this title. What I’m referring to his Kane’s impressive Royal Rumble performance in which he eliminated 11 men in 2001. This record would remain for 13 years until Roman Reigns eliminated 12 men, although many joke it’s 11 and a half because one of those men was El Torito. Back to Kane, that was probably his most dominant performance since his debut. 

My point is, what if Kane had actually won that year’s Royal Rumble? He came as close as can be, being the very last man eliminated, by winner Stone Cold Steve Austin. It completely rewrites the WrestleMania 17 main event of The Rock vs. Stone Cold, which was damn near perfection. I can’t imagine that match not being the main event so this is a very challenging “what if.” What would the main event be? As of this PPV, no one knew what the main event got WrestleMania would be yet because the WWF Champion at the time was Kurt Angle, although many speculated that by the time the show of shows came around, The Rock would be champion. 

Kurt Angle vs. Kane

To start, what if Angle remained champion until WrestleMania and was to face Kane for the Title in the main event? I wouldn’t be against it! Interestingly, that particular match, albeit without a title on the line, ended up happening at the next WrestleMania. In this scenario it could go either way but I would put money on Kane taking the Championship.

The Rock vs. Kane

The next potential opponent I’d like to bring up is The Rock. The month after the Royal Rumble at No Way Out, The Rock had defeated Kurt Angle for the WWF Title, setting up the 2nd of three WrestleMania matches between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Kane’s had matches against The Rock in the past but for some reason I don’t see the chemistry working for a main event between them at WrestleMania. Similar to the previous match, I could see this resulting in either. This just doesn’t do it for me for some reason.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane

This is another that’s tough to call but looks better on paper than the previous match. In the Rumble as it played out, Austin won by last eliminating Kane. If Kane had won, would Austin be the last one eliminated? If so, and Austin ended up going into WrestleMania as Champion, there would be a story here.  There’s also history there, as Kane defeated Austin for the WWE at the 1998 King of the Ring, ending Austin’s first run with the Title. Unfortunately, Austin won it back the next night on Raw and Kane never won that Title again. WrestleMania 17 was in Austin’s home state of Texas and of course, won the Title by turning heel and aligning with of all people, his mortal enemy Vince McMahon himself. Would that same thing play out here? While I could see that play out the same or Austin retaining as a baby face, I have to go with Kane as the winner here.

Undertaker vs. Kane

By the end of WrestleMania 17, the Undertaker was now 9-0 with his WrestleMania streak, which actually wasn’t even acknowledged yet. Here we would have a rematch between the Brothers of Destruction. In their previous bout three years earlier, the Undertaker prevailed, but it took three Tombstones to get the job done. Even though they weren’t acknowledging the streak yet, I just can’t see it being over here. Unfortunately, Kane wouldn’t walk away the Champion. On the other hand, it would definitely be a quality WrestleMania main event.

Triple H vs. Kane

This would be another WrestleMania rematch, as these two battled two years earlier with The Game getting the win. By this point in time, Triple H is now a bona fide main event wrestler, especially compared to his place on the roster two years earlier. What’s fun is that this is yet another match whose winner could be either competitor. Within just a month of WrestleMania 17, Triple H and Steve Austin were battling Kane and the Undertaker for the Tag Team Titles. At this particular WrestleMania, Hunter lost to the Undertaker and in this scenario, I’d have to give the edge to Kane walking out as WWF Champion in a quality main event for the granddaddy of them all. 

Kane vs. (insert another wrestler)

I’ve run through pretty much all the main event wrestlers during this time to defend the WWF Title against Kane in the main event of WrestleMania. Now it’s time to think outside the box to find an opponent good enough to go toe to toe with the Big Red Machine and have it be worthy of WrestleMania’s main event. There are only two I can think of that could possibly work and one that’s a long shot but does have history behind it. 

First, there’s the Big Show, a man that matches Kane in size. These two actually did compete against one another at this WrestleMania, but it was a Triple Threat Match against Raven for his Hardcore Title. It has potential but I don’t think it works for this particular moment in time. I’m any event, I see Kane taking the Title here. Another opponent could be Chris Jericho. Kane and Jericho had a number of matches the previous year. At this WrestleMania, Jericho defeated William Regal. Much like against the Big Sbow, I see Kane as the winner. The last is the long shot, and that man is X-Pac. The only thing going for this match is the history between the two. For a time in 1999, these two became friends and Tag Team Champions. X-Pac betrayed Kane by getting together with Kane’s love interest, Tori. I just don’t see this as WrestleMania main event worthy.

Out of of all these possible opponents I’ve run through, there’s one that I think works above all the rest. A close 2nd would be Triple H but my number one guy is Stone Cold Steve Austin. I’m curious to know fan’s thoughts on this matter. Ultimately, I’m trying to go with momentum, as Kane’s dominance in the match made him look incredible and could have been his chance to have a good reign with a World Title and to main event a WrestleMania.

At His Most Awesome

 

     There was a time when I absolutely despised The Miz. I, like many others, was first introduced to Mike Mizanin on “The Real World.” He was very young at the time and came off as a complete jerk, was not socially aware, and somewhat ignorant about important aspects of life. While I did very much appreciate his fandom of wrestling, being a fan myself, he also came off a little goofy and immature, clearly wanting to be like The Rock, which is the inspiration for the name “The Miz.” He even carried his replica championship around the house, annoying the other roommates and the audience. This was not a good look. I am also a lifelong fan and while o do possess a few replica belts, I would never run around like an idiot with them, embarrassing myself. To his credit, though, it’s part of his journey as a person and as a wrestler. It helped shape who he is.

     For years, I unfairly criticized him for his ring work, his sometimes cringey mic work at first, and really anything. I wasn’t the only one and beyond dealing with wrestling fans unfairly hating on the guy, which I doubt he cared about anyway, he got it worse from the locker room. I say locker room as a general term for the wrestlers in the company as a group, but he was often kicked out of the literal locker room. While I still disliked his character, over the years I grew to respect him because he put in the work, realized his dream, and went through things he shouldn’t have had to. Even so, it still took me well over a decade to become a full fledged fan.

      I say all this for context because it leads to the topic of this blog. After his time on Tough Enough, which really got him in the door, he started on the roster. At first, he was just a hype guy while wrestling was not really the main focus. While this was definitely a rough patch for him, I’m sure he would change nothing, as participating in things like the Diva Search helped him meet his future wife Maryse. 

      He started to come into his own when he was drafted to the WWE’s ECW brand and was teamed with John Morrison. Their act really got over and they eventually became Tag Team Champions. Fast forward a couple of years and he won his first singles Championship, the US Title. In a bizarre, yet in hindsight brilliant move, The Miz was paired with perennial Indy Wrestler Bryan Danielson as the latter’s “pro” on NXT, when it was still a game show of sorts. Like many others, I found it ridiculous that The Miz was the pro for an accomplished wrestler, but this was clearly WWE trolling their audience and it worked. Danielson, now christened Daniel Bryan, would become a long-term on and off for for The Miz for years on end after this. 

     Not long after his initial feud with Bryan, The Miz found himself winning the 2010 Money In the Bank contract, allowing him to cash in at any time on the World Champion of his choosing for up to a year. At the time, I wrote this off and figured he’d just be the first MITB winner to fail his cash-in. Even though he had proven himself by this point as a very solid mid-carder with exceptional mic skills, I still feel like this main event push wasn’t warranted. I say this now as a fan of the guy and not as a hater. It just wasn’t the right time. In November of 2010, he cashed in on Randy Orton to become the WWE Champion. Ten years later when he did the same thing, this time on Drew McIntyre, it again just didn’t feel right. The first time he just wasn’t ready yet and the second time didn’t work because at that particular point, his booking didn’t make him look like a main event guy. Here’s where I get to the meat of the story!

Quick pretext before the point of this blog

     In 2016, Daniel Bryan had to unfortunately retire due to injury. At the time we thought it was for good so I’ll skip the fact that he eventually returned. He and Renee Young were the hosts of the after Smackdown review and interview show Talking Smack. One particular episode, Intercontinental Champion at the time The Miz, and his now wife Maryse were guests. Bryan criticized The Miz’ work ethic. It escalated soon and The Miz let out of of the best promos of his career, likely because it struck a cord on a personal level and became somewhat of a shoot. He tore into Bryan and it got so heated that Bryan left the set and even Maryse was taken aback by her husband’s passion. It made for quality TV! I watched this in amazement, as I agreed with a lot of things The Miz had to say. I also thought to myself, “where was this intensity hiding this whole time?” I was truly floored. It was at this moment that I threw away my preconceived notions and became a fan of The Miz. It also made me realize that promos that have realness in them and especially ones that come from the heart are much better than scripted ones. Look no further than how the promo skills of Roman Reigns changed for the better.

      I’m a firm believer, especially in wrestling, that you need to strike when the iron is hot. At this point in time, because of the Talking Smack segment and a few other similar hate hitting promos on the likes of Enzo Amore and Barkk okay Corbin, The Miz was the hottest act in the company. Unfortunately, I ultimately don’t think they fully capitalized on this and by the time he won the WWE Title for the second time, the momentum was lost and his booking hadn’t been what it used to. That’s why I wanted to do some fantasy booking and correct this situation. 

     I’d start giving The Miz big wins on TV and PPV’s. Because I have him eventually become the WWE Champion, he’s gotta lose the Intercontinental Title, a belt which he really revived the prestige of by this point. Despite the loss, I’d continue to book The Miz strong. Now we come to January of 2017 and specifically, the Royal Rumble. One thing I’d keep the same, specifically due to the rise of The Miz, is John Cena defeating AJ Styles for the WWE Title. It’ll become more clear soon. Later that night, instead of Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble, I’d have The Miz win it, really going with his momentum. 

     Some things going forward stay the same but in different timeframes. For instance, one particular WrestleMania match that was being built up at the time was a mixed tag team match of The Miz and Maryse vs. John Cena and Nikki Bella, which lead to the real life proposal of John to Nikki. While we know that didn’t exactly work out, that’s neither here nor there. The Miz and Maryse were at their best on the Road to WrestleMania, with hilarious parodies of their opponents. The funniest was Maryse’s uncanny portrayal of Nikki, specifically focusing on Nikki’s annoying speech inflections. It was comedy gold and it brought heat to the feud. However, with Cena going into WrestleMania as WWE Champion and Royal Rumble winner The Miz challenging, I’d put the mixed tag earlier at the PPV before WrestleMania. That way, the result of that match can stay and same, along with the Cena proposal, but still keeping momentum going for The Miz.

      Now the WrestleMania main event of John Cena and The Miz for the WWE Title is much more credible than that exact match that happened six years earlier. Much like their WrestleMania 27 encounter, at WrestleMania 33 The Miz walks away as the WWE Champion. I’d then give him a solid run with the belt. This prevents things like Jinder Mahal becoming WWE Champion, something I and many fans wish never happened. Eventually, he’d lose the Title to AJ Styles later that year, who was the one that defeated Jinder for the Title anyway. Hopefully, from this point on The Miz would continue to cut amazing promos and become pushed strongly from time to time, again revisiting his feud with Daniel Bryan upon Bryan coming out retirement. This situation that I spoke about here would have been the perfect time for The Miz to be WWE Champion and look good doing it, unlike the times when it did happen. Like the title of this post, I truly believe this was when The Miz was at his most…AWESOME!!!

A WrestleMania Main Event Fit For a King

 

     Looking back, it’s kind of a shame that the legendary Jerry “The King” Lawler, while in the WWE, never got a championship or even a WrestleMania moment, or at least one that wasn’t an embarrassment to him and wrestling in general. More on that later! WrestleMania 27 for the most part was just awful. No disrespect, but when your main event is The Miz walking into WrestleMania as WWE Champion against John Cena, that just doesn’t cut it. While yes, at the time The Miz was my least favorite wrestler ever and I have since grown to respect and admire the guy, at the time he just wasn’t a credible main eventer, especially at the grandest stage of them all. Even though The Rock interfered, it still didn’t matter. That’s not to say that I feel The Miz should never have been the WWE Champion, but the two times he was, neither was the right time and unfortunately WWE didn’t capitalize on him at his hottest in 2016 after his latest reign as Intercontinental Champion and his infamous blow up at Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack. But that’s another blog for another day! Back to the lecture at hand!

   There were a few other things that made this WrestleMania stand out for the wrong reasons, such as Snooki of all people actually wrestling, but the worst offense was what happened with Jerry Lawler. Leading up to the show of shows, Lawler had been feuding with commentary partner Michael Cole. At the time, Cole was portraying a heel, partly because he often read the anonymous Raw General Manager’s emails to the audience. The less said about that the better. For me, it wasn’t heel heat. It was change the channel inducing. Cole also had Jack Swagger by his side, wasting Swagger’s talents as well. The two actually had a match at WrestleMania, the first and only one Lawler would have in his 18 years with the company, sadly. It was a completely unnecessary match and moment. Lawler did win but the decision was reversed, completely crapping on the whole thing. The King deserved so much better. Well, I’m going to do a little hindsight booking and give him a WrestleMania moment. 

   For context, we’re going to have to go back a few months, to the late Summer and early Fall of 2010. At the time, at least until SummerSlam when the angle went to crap, (thanks Cena lol), the Nexus was the hottest thing in wrestling. My booking would have had leader Wade Barrett be that year’s Money In the Bank winner and would have cashed in to become the WWE Champion. However, since I’m changing things for a different person, the sad reality needs to stay. Therefore, what I envisioned for Barrett will be what actually happened and who it happened to, The Miz. 

   After an actual Championship defense in early February 2011 that ended in controversy, another match was to take place at the upcoming Elimination Chamber ppv, pitting The Miz against Jerry “The King” Lawler for the WWE Championship. Even though we all knew The Miz would inevitably win and walk into WrestleMania as Champion, many fans, including myself, had a glimmer of hope, or at least a dream. Here’s where I change things for point of this blog!

  In this scenario, Jerry Lawler defeats The Miz at Elimination Chamber to become the WWE Champion. Lawler is no stranger to World Titles, as he was the AWA World Heavyweight Champion at one point, along with God knows how many reigns atop the USWA, him running the Memphis promotion notwithstanding. However, let’s be honest! The WWE is on another level. Anyway, this really could be a feel good moment. By this time, The Rock was to make his return to the company from Hollywood after 7 years to host WrestleMania. In that respect, I’d possibly have his interference come at this show during this match, trying to equalize interference of Miz’s protege at the time, Alex Riley. This could then set up a WrestleMania match for The Rock, before setting his sights on John Cena the next night on Raw to set up their match a year later at the next WrestleMania. 

  Now that Lawler is the Champion and will headline WrestleMania, we need an opponent. In that case, it would go to the man that did challenge for the Title that year, John Cena. Cena was the man at the time, a main event player, and had headlined past WrestleManias, as well as ones after this particular one. A legend like Lawler against the current main guy for the WWE Title in the main event of WrestleMania just screams money to me. That kills two birds with one stone, giving Jerry Lawler both a long awaited Championship in the company, and a WrestleMania match and moment. 

    Now, I’m realistic enough to know that there would be no way Lawler would or should walk away from this match as the winner and Champion, and so is Lawler himself. This wouldn’t necessarily be called a passing of the torch, as Cena had been carrying that torch for years at this point, but I’m sure Lawler would be honored to drop the Title to John Cena, whereas Cena is humble enough to be honored by this match in general with a legend and becoming Champion because of it. It’s a feel-good moment and I believe fans would revel at the sight of these two showing respect to one another after the match. I think it’s a quality main event and would certainly be better than what we got. More importantly, it would show Jerry Lawler the respect he deserved at this point in his career. John Cena, in and out of the ring, is a gracious man who would be more than happy to pay respects to someone that paved the way for him. Everybody wins! What do you think?

The Reign if Terror: Was it really that bad?

 

Most wrestling fans recognize the term “reign of terror” as Triple He’s supposed stranglehold of the Big Gold Belt for the better part of three years from 2002-2005. The reason I didn’t say World Heavyweight Championship is because in my opinion, it makes no sense to have more than one World title in the same company: there in, the WWE Championship, with the lineage dating back to the beginning, is the one that matters most. Then again, had this belt been branded as a continuation of the now defunct WCW World Heavyweight Championship, I wouldn’t have had as much of a problem. However, that’s neither here nor there. Back to the topic at hand!

To tell this story properly, I need to add some context. In April, 2002, due to the on-going feud between co-owners of the company, Vince McMahon and Ric Flair, Linda McMahon announced the brand extension, which was the splitting of the roster. It was decided that Vince McMahon would run Monday Night Raw’s roster and Ric Flair would run Smackdown’s roster. Born out of this grand extension was a draft, in which each co-owner would choose a wrestler for their brand. While the other championships would be split evenly among the shows, it was initially decided that the WWE Champion, whomever that may be going forward, would between brands, thus resembling the way the territory system under the NWA was done.

After McMahon won back full share of the entire company from Flair, he appointed General Managers to run the brands. He chose his daughter Stephanie McMahon to run Smackdown, while in a twist no one saw coming, he appointed fierce Monday Night War rival and former head of WCW Eric Bischoff as the GM of Raw. In September, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar signed exclusively with Stephanie’s Smackdown, leaving Raw without a World Champion. Not to be outdone, Bischoff reintroduced the former WCW’s World Championship belt and presented it to Triple H, with Raw now having its own World Champion. 

Despite an early setback for The Game, in which he would lose it to comeback sensation Shawn Michaels, the belt would be back around Hunter’s waist within a month. From December, 2002 until March, 2004, with the exception of a short three month reign of Goldberg in 2003, Triple H ruled Raw as World Champion with an iron fist. Challenger after challenger stepped up and failed, some legitimately and some due to some dirty tactics of Triple H and his Evolution cohorts. Nonetheless, Triple H remained on top. 

I’m going to skip ahead to the end of this “Reign of Terror” briefly before I get into the premise of this blog. At WrestleMania XX, Chris Benoit defeated Hunter in a match with also included Shawn Michaels to become the new World Champion. After five months with the title, Benoit lost it to Randy Orton, Triple H’s Evolution stablemate and protege in August, 2004 at SummerSlam. The next night on Raw, Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista kicked Orton out of Evolution. By September, Triple H was back in the saddle as Champion. Although the title was briefly held up in the following months, it inevitably found its way back to Triple H. Finally, this “Reign of Terror” came to an end at WrestleMania 21 in April, 2005. Similar to the way things went down with Orton the year prior, Batista left the group and defeated Hunter to become the new World Champion. Now that I’ve established the timeline, it’s time to dissect this “Reign of Terror” to see if it was really as bad as many fans believe.

The beginning was great, as Triple H would have a great match with Ric Flair on Raw for the Title not long after being presented with the belt. When Shawn Michaels won the belt from Hunter at the Survivor Seroes, they were joined by Kane, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, and Booker T where the match was contested within the confines of the very first Elimination Chamber.  Not only that, but it was Shawn’s first World Championship in over four years since his first retirement due to a severe injury, as well as taking place in the Mecca of wrestling venues, Madison Square Garden. The “Reign of Terror” was off to a great start, with much prestige attached to it. 

After Triple H won it back at the end of 2002, he went on to defend his Title at the 2003 Royal Rumble and February’s No Way Out against Scott Steiner. Right away, I can easily defend the decision to stick with Triple H as the guy. He carried Steiner during these matches and although the matches weren’t great, none of that is on Hunter, as Scott hadn’t wrestled since WCW closed its doors nearly two years before these matches. It wasn’t until WrestleMania 19 that fans started questioning things. Here’s where I would agree with the consensus. Next up to the plate was Booker T and him winning a World Championship for the sixth time would have been a great moment. To this day, I, as well as many others, believe Booker should have won the gold, especially after the somewhat questionable and controversial storytelling, implying it was about race. A feel good moment after that would have redeemed this kind of story being told but alas, it was not to be. 

Throughout most of 2003, Triple H had a mixed bag of opponents. He had programs with Rob Van Dam, Kevin Nash, and Goldberg. RVD was a quality opponent. Triple H had two programs with Kane, one of which involved the awful “Katie Vick” storyline and eventually Kane’s unmasking. The less said on that the better. He carried Nash and Goldberg to passable matches. In September, Goldberg won the Title but by December’s Armageddon, Triple H was Champion once again.  Not only that, but Evolution had all tbe gold by the end of the night, as 23-year-old Randy Orton won the Intercontinental Championship and Ric Flair teamed with Batista to win Tag Team gold. There aren’t many moments as epic as all of Evolution posing with all the gold together. 2003 was a mixed bag, with both questionable angles and classic moments alike. All in all, I think it was the right decision to keep the World Title on Triple H for most of the year.

Triple H then re-entered a feud with Shawn Michaels, leading to some incredible matches in the first two months of 2004. I already discussed Chris Benoit’s win and Orton winning the Title only to get kicked out of Evolution. Though Orton‘a reign was short and underwhelming, he was very young at the time and not quite ready for the main event. The angle leading to Batista’s departure from Evolution and finally dethroning Triple H for the Title was a masterclass. In fact, Triple H and Batista continued their rivalry after WrestleMania with a couple of epic matches. All in all, if you look back at this supposed “Reign of Terror” of Triple H holding the gold for a majority of three years, it was actually pretty good. Fans may have been annoyed at the time but looking back it doesn’t seem as bad as some made it out to be. What do you think?