The Road to Wrestlemania XXIV concludes here. 8 matches have been set up in parts 1-4:
Worldwide Three Way Dance: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
Unified Tags: Clique: HBK/HHHM v. WMD: Cena/Leviathan: Very Special Guest Referee, Ric Flair
Jericho v. Edge
Falls Count Anywhere: Fit v. Juggernaut
Stevie v. Yakuza
Weapons Match: Dreamer v. Bradshaw
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
The main event is the TLC match to unify all 3 big straps, Punk v. Benjamin v. Nitro.
But we don't know that yet, as we return to that opening segment on RAW the day after the Rumble.
Recall, the ring is full of dudes, as we left off in Part 3, Steamboat has brought out all 4 opponents in the tag match, along with AA - and 2 of the 3 opponents in the Worldwide Match (Kendrick isn't in the match yet, he beats Yakuza the following night on GDI to take the TV title). Steamboat then proudly says that finally, finally the World heavyweight title will be again unified at 24 when the WWF Champ Benjamin takes on the NWA Champ Nitro.
They enter like they do.
Shelton Benjamin should have an emotional connection to the fans in Counterfactual WWF that he lacks in the real world as we've watched him grow up. He was on Camp Angle (our version of Tough Enough) he won the tag titles as an underdog babyface with Haas - then turned heel immediately as he and Charlie joined Brock in battling their mentor Angle. After Angle turned Machiavellian heel, Shelton again became his protegee, they were the tag champs (Shelton's 3rd run) and half of Team Angle, Kurt's heel stable. After a year battling the Clique, a frustrated Angle felt that Benjamin needed more seasoning, taking him off PPV for a year, subjecting him to increasingly humiliating lessons. Benjamin eventually snapped, turning face - and beating Kurt at WM21, Angle's last WWF match. Benjamin and a returning Haas then joined Arn, becoming Strong Style, and although they mowed through the tag opposition (including busting up MNM - a TV only feud where Johnny Nitro first gained notice as more than just a guy with a tan, his willingness to take repeated beatings from Strong Style got him Arn's respect) they never got the tag straps. Arn took Strong Style with him upon the relaunch of the NWA - but they seemed to stall, and Benjamin was traded in a 1 for 3 back to WWF for Noble/Cena/Kennedy, the only trade between the two companies.
Benjamin immediately provided dividends, he was a replacement for the injured Mysterio in the WAR Games match before the Rumble that unified the 2 companies under the WWF umbrella, recording the submission on Finlay, earning the number one contender spot - and then beating Mysterio for the strap at the Rumble. He has been talked about by the announce for a couple of years as the future of the company - and now the future arrives as he is WWF Champ. He is all white meat babyface.
Johnny Nitro is all cocky heel. His performance on the losing side in the MNM v. Strong Style feud convinced Arn that he would be a good addition to the NWA roster, and he then spent most of the year in an epic 3 PPV title match feud with Fit - which ended at the Rumble when Nitro kept the NWA strap, going over the former champ cleanly. Nitro lost Melina, however - attacked by Malenko in an angle to take her away from Nitro permanently.
Nitro and Benjamin go nose to nose in the ring - over the next month it's the TLC element of the program that carries it, the idea that these are two hyperathletic guys and at Mania, some level of dangerous bumping will take place beyond one's normal viewing. There's never been a TLC match for the WWF Title, never been a ladder match at all to headline Mania, and there hasn't been a TLC match of any type in the WWF for a few years - the notorious bodybag match that ended the Hardys/Duds/E and C feud, where 5 of the 6 wrestlers were stretchered from the ring really marked the end of the gimmick. Like the Cell main event from XXIII, TLC has been promoted for a full year - it's a protected gimmick, seen as special, seen as extreme, seen as dangerous - and that will help sell the show.
At least for the first month - because for the month after the Rumble, Punk's not in the match.
CM Punk's gimmick is a master manipulative heel, he's held the company hostage really ever since arriving - first as the guy who refused to wrestle on corporately controlled TV - and convincing others to follow suit - then, infamously winning the Undisputed Title from Flair at Survivor Series '06 and throwing down the WWF and NWA Title belts. This created GDI Wrestling (Sci Fi, Tuesday nights) and led to the rebirth of the NWA (Friday Night Fight Night, moving to My Network in September). Steamboat was brought back by the McMahon Family Trust (Titan Trust) with one marching order - put the company back together.
Steamboat has been chasing Punk ever since, constantly frustrated as Punk, with the ECW Title, has called all the shots from Tuesday night. But now, as we move to Mania, we've seen Punk finally outmaneuvered.
Steamboat's acquiring of Benjamin was facilitated by his acquisition of Noble from GDI (for longtime enhancement guy Morley, Punk made the deal to humiliate Noble) and it's Benjamin who then defeated the NWA, which is what allows for the WWF and NWA belts to come together under the WWF umbrella at 24. That confidence has allowed Steamboat a rhetorical pivot - he's just going to pretend CM Punk doesn't exist.
That initial RAW segment ends when, while Steamboat keeps using the words "unified" and "undisputed" to talk about Mania - an uninvited Punk attempts to come down the aisle - and he's stopped by security without any reference by the announce or Steamboat.
For a month - Punk acts out, frustration growing (this was started in the run up to the Rumble, Punk beginning to question if he made a mistake by throwing down the title belts - Punk realizing what he gave up - Punk angered at not being in main events - not being credited as the real world champion - for a year, "who is the real world champion" has been debated on almost every WWF broadcast - and Punk treated the question as silly - but not it's overwhelmed him and now, to find himself not even in the match to determine the real champion - he's going mad) he tries to show up on Mondays and Fridays - either stopped by security in the arena - or outside the arena - and once he finally sneaks into the ring - his mic doesn't work.
After a month of increasingly breaking down, even yelling at Maria (mmm, Maria) Punk gets a lifeline - Steamboat will have a message for him on RAW.
Now we need to talk about Steamboat for a moment. Steamboat has been constantly beleaguered in his tenure running the WWF, but in this road to Mania, he grows in strength. Recall how that RAW after the Rumble ended - the 8 man tag is broken up by the Juggernaut, who then smashed the WWF title belt - Steamboat then goes to Fight Night to ask Fit to take on Little at Mania (it's in part 3).
That serves two purposes.
It moves the Juggernaut over to Fridays as he gets in that program with Finlay - and that takes away that foil from Steamboat. And it gives an excuse for a new WWF Championship belt - which will be presented to the TLC Winner.
(it'll be presented by Floyd Mayweather, and I have to talk about that in a second)
And that allows Steamboat to say that it's the NWA title belt then which will be placed above the ring at 24 ('cause it's a ladder match).
Anyway, Steamboat addresses Punk - says Punk is invited for a one time only meeting with him, at RAW - and he needs to bring his belt.
Punk takes it. Steamboat and Punk, who have battled for a year and a half, in the ring on RAW.
They go back and forth. But the result is Steamboat makes an offer.
CM Punk can be in the title match. The main event at WM. He can compete for the title. He has a chance to be recognized as the top wrestler in the world.
Punk can't contain his desire for it. Can't keep the poker face.
But to get it - he has to give up control of GDI.
And he has to hand over the ECW belt.
And he has to tell the fans he's sorry.
Steamboat says the ECW belt will be tied to the NWA belt, and they'll be placed above the ring in Orlando.
Punk says sure, sure, sure - he'll give up the belt - but later, when Nitro gives up his, before the match.
Steamboat says no. As a sign of good faith, Steamboat wants it now.
There's hemming and hawing.
But Punk agrees. He hands Ricky Steamboat the ECW belt. He tells the fans he's sorry. He fumes, but he does it. And then he bows up a bit - getting chesty in his promo - saying he has Steamboat right where he wants him - he's in the main event at the biggest show of all time - he's going to win that main event - Punk gets more and more pumped up - the segment ends with Punk taking a swing at Steamboat - Ricky slips it - chops Punk down, armdrags Punk - you know, gets in the spots. Punk bails out, the Steamboat music plays.
It's the effective end of that program.
GDI won't really change - it'll still look like an indie show, small and intimate and raw. Just like Fight Night won't really change, it's still gonna look like UFC - like a sport, real and passionate. But after Mania, it's clear they're all a part of the WWF. The split is over after Mania, the WWF is once again whole.
And we have a main event. TLC - the three world heavyweight champions. The winner will be handed the WWF Heavyweight Championship belt.
('cause that's the other thing that's happening, once the belts, both these and the Worldwide, are all unified, it's going back to the WWF and IC titles, all the other belts are going to be decommissioned).
The guy who will be handing that new title belt to the winner is Floyd Mayweather.
Whenever it makes sense, Steamboat will cut another promo - he'll say the greatest moment in his career was being handed the WWF Title after Mania by Muhammad Ali. The greatest of all time acknowledging that he was the best wrestler in the world is an irreplaceable memory.
The best boxer in the world, Steamboat says, is Floyd Money Mayweather.
Clips.
And here he is.
Mayweather, with entourage, comes to the ring. Included therein are two wrestlers, Kofi Kingston (who we'll just call Kingston) and Ron Killings (we'll acknolwedge who Killings is, 'cause he's existed in Counterfactual TNA). Mayweather, over the course of his appearances on RAW (most of them taped - I like Mayweather in that Mayweather/De La hoya 24/7 environment, that's the best packaging of him by a million miles) will get Steamboat to agree that Kingston and Killings (the tag team called Young Money, 'cause Floyd is Money and they're Young Money) will wrestle at the dark match at Mania for a contract.
Contract Match!
It's a spot we did at 23, when the Juggernaut beat Monte Brown.
Here, it has to be dark - but there will be a contract match between Young Money and a team comprised of Chris Harris and Colin Delaney, positioned as tag champs from small independent companies.
Young Money's gonna have a Lil Wayne thing going. Their theme song will rip off Got Money, they'll do lots of taped stuff from strip clubs - get as much legit fame, legit money rub from Mayweather they can get. Gonna use this time from Floyd to launch Young Money. I want them in tattoos, if I could hire Julius Smokes and put him in a T-Pain hat, I'd do that too. It's like Cryme Time, but better workers and hopefully less cartoon like and more authentic. They don't steal stuff - they make it rain. Young Money in the dark match against Harris and Delaney. Floyd Mayweather to present the brand new WWF Title belt to the winner of the TLC match.
The only other matter then is Randy Orton, who is not wrestling at Wrestlemania. Not dark, not anywhere.
He's being benched by Dusty. Orton's been Dusty's chief antagonist for months, every decision, ridiculed by Orton. This stems from, well, from Orton's being a dick, but from Orton getting overlooked a little by Dusty. In the first War Games match, the one NWA won before SSeries, Dusty picked Nitro to be on the team instead of Orton (or Leviathan, both of whom complained) Orton lost the IC at SSeries to MVP, but, on his own found a contractual loophole that allowed him to keep the TV belt, which embarassed Dusty a little. Dusty then didn't put Orton on the second war games team (Fit and Nitro also had chances to put him on and passed) insteady going with his green son Cody - and stuck Orton in a match defending the US Title against Noble at the Rumble (Orton thought it was beneath him).
That's all in a backdrop of Orton never getting a shot at the NWA Title, despite having once beaten Fit on PPV and inherently always thinking he was superior (Fit beat Orton in the NWA title tournament) and thinking that Fit's big timing the younger wrestlers, the "I'll teach you all how to fight" was condescending and allowed by a permissive Rhodes.
So, months and months and months and months of Orton feeling slighted - of Orton feeling Dusty's blowing the company (he does have an argument - the decision to put Cody in the War Games match was a bad one, even though Cody was fine) comes to a head. Orton loses the US - doesn't get a rematch (as he never got a rematch when he lost the IC) he sees the RAW after the Rumble when the Worldwide Title match with Noble (and not Orton) in it is announced - sees Ricky Steamboat, who has been the enemy - of all people - come out on Fight Night and try to make a deal with Finlay - and that night, he tries to get into Dusty's office - only to hear that Rhodes is too busy to see him.
A couple of weeks later, Orton throws a tantrum, trashes the locker room. He's controlled by Fit, who tries to calm him down - Orton yells at Finlay - tells him he's a has been sell out. Finlay slaps him. Orton stares hard at Malenko - in a way that Orton stared hard at Malenko during the War Games selection.
A couple of weeks later, still not having been able to meet with Dusty - and with the Mania card clearly filled - there's a report that Orton trashed his hotel room and got sent home. A couple of weeks later - it's now March - Orton cuts a promo and demands to know who he is wrestling at 24.
Dusty dresses him down - says he's spoiled, says his defiance (a word often associated with Orton, just as it's been associated with the Juggernaut in his relationship with Steamboat) had just gone too far, says the truth is there's nothing for him at Mania, maybe next year.
Orton is too stunned to speak. Dusty asks if he has anything to say - Orton doesn't move, standing in the ring completely quietly. Orton hasn't been seen since.
The very last thing - the very last thing -
WWFU.
There's gonna be a reality show on the website about developmental.
World Wrestling Federation University. WWFU.
The guys from developmental are gonna live in a house in Tampa. We're gonna go full on Real World with developmental. On the road to Mania it will start. The focus will be on Jake Hager and his often visiting sister, Kelly. Hager (derisively called Jack Swagger by jealous housemates) is the lead trainee - he was All American at Oklahoma and does everything right - he's always on time, follows every rule - does every drill right. He's the teacher's pet, he's positioned to be a star. He's a little shy, not that he's not confident, he's just a little shy - as he has the lisp and is uncomfortable talking. He's just a solid, nice guy who does literally everything by the book. Perfect diet, hands at 10 and 2, that kinda thing. He colors inside the lines, every day of his life. Kelly (that would be Kelly Kelly) is similarly perfect.
And then there's the bad boy - Ted DiBiase, Jr. The Million Dollar Man, of course, was the IC and tag champ - he also owned the tag division for awhile - he never, however, could realize his quest of being WWF Champ regardless of how much money he had. His boy's a rogue, Ted's a natural, everyone says, born to wrestle - but he's a bit of a fuck up - late, drunk, practical joking - just never takes anything seriously fuck up. He's well liked, he's a guy's guy - he doesn't throw his last name around, he doesn't big time anyone - he's a rogue, a scoundrel.
Also in the house - Knox. (Mike Knox). Knox doesn't speak, he just lets his giant beard grow. Rumors spawn about Knox - from his having 37 documented kills in the Gulf to his getting kicked off the Oakland Raiders for making Warren Sapp cry to his taking a dump in the Smithsonian and winding up in Guantanamo. No one really knows, as he never says anything.
The head trainer is Taz - his being in Tampa allows that to be a bridge between developmental and the big show, since he'll be headed to Orlando to be in Tommy's corner at 24.
That's WWFU. Your internet only reality show.
And that's the build for 24.
Coming at the top of April. Wrestlemania 24. Here's your show:
Unification Match: TLC: Benjamin v. Nitro v. Punk (w/Maria)
-The winner will be given the brand new WWF Title belt by Floyd Mayweather and be named WWF Champion as the ECW/NWA belts go away. The TLC gimmick is a thing.
Worldwide Titles: Three Way Dance: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
-It's not talked about, but the same thing will happen to these belts, as the IC will be the only belt defended after this unification match. This is an elimination match. Noble and Kendrick, recall, were tag partners.
Tag Titles: Clique: HBK/HHH-M v. WMD: Leviathan/Cena (w/AA)
-Flair is the guest referee, "what will he do" is the hook for this match.
Chris Jericho v. Edge
-The Harts v. Clique match. This is promoted as a co-main event as it's the top singles match on the card, Jericho has some small mainsteam name value, and Edge was in the main the year before.
Falls Count Anywhere: Fit Finlay v. The Juggernaut
-Juggernaut's unbeaten and defiant, smoking his cigar - Fit is the no nonsense former NWA Champ. No Malenko in this match, he refuses to stand with Fit, opposing this decision. This is sold as going to be a wild brawl the ring cannot contain.
Weapons Match: Tommy Dreamer (w/Taz) v. Bradshaw (w/Henry)
-There are 2 ECW matches, this is between the two former announcers. They're going to hit each other with plunder. Plunder is expected. Barbed wire. Glass light tubes. Fire. If you watch Big Japan, this is the match for you.
Stevie Richards v. Yakuza
-The first of the 2 ECW matches, it's Stevie's last match, it's part of the same program as the Weapons match as now Yakuza has become Bradshaw's little Asian buddy.
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
-Longtime enhancement Morley went GDI and now leads the jobber revolution - jobbers are the real legends - they're casting off their oppressive overlords - the streets of Wrestlemania will run red with the blood of the bourgeoisie! Taker goes for his 7th legends title.
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
-Former tag champs meet.
Joey/JR and Mick Foley will be on the mic - it's Wrestlemania 24 - the biggest show of the year - call your local cable company!
Showing posts with label Road to Wrestlemania XXIV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Road to Wrestlemania XXIV. Show all posts
Road to Wrestlemania XXIV - Part 4: All the Main Events
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Wrestlemania 24 is coming so soon you can feel it, 8 matches, everything but the main event, have been set up - here's a list of the 23 previous main events in Counterfactual Wrestlemania history. All of these events, in fact, every event all the way through WM 24, is available right here at What If...
I. WWF Title: RICKY STEAMBOAT (c) d. BARRY WINDHAM
II. WWF Title: DYNAMITE KID d. RICKY STEAMBOAT (c)
III. WWF Title: RICKY STEAMBOAT d. DYNAMITE KID (c)
IV. WWF Title: Loser Leaves Town: DYNAMITE KID (c) d. RICKY STEAMBOAT
V. WWF Title: RANDY SAVAGE (c) (w/Liz) d. BRET HART
VI WWF Title: CURT HENNIG (c) (w/Heenan) d. RANDY SAVAGE
VII: WWF Title: Title v. Retirement Match: CURT HENNIG (c) (w/Heenan) d. RANDY SAVAGE
VIII. WWF Title: BRET HART d. RIC FLAIR (c) (w/Hennig) (Triple Crown)
IX. WWF Title: BRET HART (c) d. RAZOR RAMON
X. WWF Title: OWEN HART d. BRET HART (c)
XI. WWF Title: BRET HART (c) d. SHAWN MICHAELS
XII. WWF Title: Iron Man Match: SHAWN MICHAELS d. BRET HART (c)
XIII. WWF Title: STEVE AUSTIN d. BRET HART (c)
XIV. WWF Title: OWEN HART (c) d. SHAWN MICHAELS
XV. WWF Title: CACTUS JACK d. OWEN HART (c)
XVI. WWF Title: CHRIS BENOIT d. CACTUS JACK (c)
XVII. WWF Title: KURT ANGLE d. CHRIS BENOIT (c)
XVIII. Double World Titles: KURT ANGLE (c) d. CURT HENNIG
XIX. Undisputed Championship: KURT ANGLE (c) d. BROCK LESNAR
XX. Undisputed Championship: CHRIS BENOIT d. KURT ANGLE (c)
XXI. Undisputed Championship: Iron Man Match: EDDY GUERRERO d. CHRIS BENOIT (Dean Malenko, special guest referee)
XXII. Undisputed Championship: REY MYSTERIO (c) d. CHRIS BENOIT
XXIII: Hell in a Cell: MATT HARDY d. EDGE
And coming in Part V of the build to WM 24 - the announcement of the main event:
XXIV: TLC Unification Match: SHELTON BENJAMIN (WWF Champ) v. JOHNNY NITRO (NWA Champ) v. CM PUNK (ECW Champ) (w/Maria)
I. WWF Title: RICKY STEAMBOAT (c) d. BARRY WINDHAM
II. WWF Title: DYNAMITE KID d. RICKY STEAMBOAT (c)
III. WWF Title: RICKY STEAMBOAT d. DYNAMITE KID (c)
IV. WWF Title: Loser Leaves Town: DYNAMITE KID (c) d. RICKY STEAMBOAT
V. WWF Title: RANDY SAVAGE (c) (w/Liz) d. BRET HART
VI WWF Title: CURT HENNIG (c) (w/Heenan) d. RANDY SAVAGE
VII: WWF Title: Title v. Retirement Match: CURT HENNIG (c) (w/Heenan) d. RANDY SAVAGE
VIII. WWF Title: BRET HART d. RIC FLAIR (c) (w/Hennig) (Triple Crown)
IX. WWF Title: BRET HART (c) d. RAZOR RAMON
X. WWF Title: OWEN HART d. BRET HART (c)
XI. WWF Title: BRET HART (c) d. SHAWN MICHAELS
XII. WWF Title: Iron Man Match: SHAWN MICHAELS d. BRET HART (c)
XIII. WWF Title: STEVE AUSTIN d. BRET HART (c)
XIV. WWF Title: OWEN HART (c) d. SHAWN MICHAELS
XV. WWF Title: CACTUS JACK d. OWEN HART (c)
XVI. WWF Title: CHRIS BENOIT d. CACTUS JACK (c)
XVII. WWF Title: KURT ANGLE d. CHRIS BENOIT (c)
XVIII. Double World Titles: KURT ANGLE (c) d. CURT HENNIG
XIX. Undisputed Championship: KURT ANGLE (c) d. BROCK LESNAR
XX. Undisputed Championship: CHRIS BENOIT d. KURT ANGLE (c)
XXI. Undisputed Championship: Iron Man Match: EDDY GUERRERO d. CHRIS BENOIT (Dean Malenko, special guest referee)
XXII. Undisputed Championship: REY MYSTERIO (c) d. CHRIS BENOIT
XXIII: Hell in a Cell: MATT HARDY d. EDGE
And coming in Part V of the build to WM 24 - the announcement of the main event:
XXIV: TLC Unification Match: SHELTON BENJAMIN (WWF Champ) v. JOHNNY NITRO (NWA Champ) v. CM PUNK (ECW Champ) (w/Maria)
Road to Wrestlemania XXIV - Part 3
Saturday, February 28, 2009
In Parts 1 and 2, 6 of the 9 matches were set up.
Worldwide Titles Unification Match: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
Tag Titles: Guest Referee: Ric Flair: Clique: HHH/HBK v. WMD: Cena/Leviathan (w/AA)
Weapons Match: Dreamer (w/ Taz) v. Bradshaw (w/Henry)
Stevie v. Yakuza
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
3 matches left, the two big singles matches on the card and the TLC match to unify the World Heavyweight Championship.
Jericho v. Edge
Fit v. Juggernaut
If you read the run up to the Rumble and then the match itself, you know the Jericho/Edge story, both men returning from layoffs (Edge out since Mania, Jericho gone a couple of years) in the run up to the Rumble.
What you need to know is that, like all the long run soap operas, Counterfactual WWF has warring families that span the generations; the same family that was the focus of Guiding Light when it was a radio play is still on the show in the 21st century, and that's the device that keeps old fans invested in the program. For Counterfactual WWF, it's the Harts and the Clique.
Edge was a ring boy for Owen Hart; he joined the Clique in a heel turn that swerved best friends the Hardys when they were all young men; after that longstanding feud broke the bodies of all who were in it, Edge missed a year and a half with the broken neck - returning as a babyface at XX to reunite the Clique with Michaels/Christian/London. In that run, Edge took the IC from Jericho, ending Jericho's run with the company. The "you screwed Matt" summer of '06 ended all of that; Edge vacated the IC, beat Christian in a "loser leaves town" that was given away on free TV, Edge feuded with Matt for a year and half, culminating in the main event Hell in a Cell match at XXIII in which he may have turned face postmatch. Edge returned to stop the Clique, now Michaels/HHH-M from attacking the Anvil's girl Natty (after they had wiped out Teddy Hart, Harry Smith, and TJ Wilson) and joined with the then returning Jericho to challenge the Clique for the tag straps at the Rumble, as they had become friends while both away. At the top of the card, Jericho welcomed Edge into the Hart Foundation after his long WWF odyssey by presenting him the famed Hart Foundation hockey jersey, which had only been given to ten previous men (Stu who was number zero, Dynamite, Bret, Davey, Owen, Anvil, Pillman, Jericho, Lance, Benoit) Edge was given jersey #10 at the top of the Rumble - and then swerved Jericho in the match, allowing the Clique to punk him out.
On that first RAW after the Rumble, the hype for next week is that Edge will appear and explain his actions.
Jericho was an NWA World Champion, he arrived in the WWF as a cocky babyface, promising to go right after the Clique - and he did, taking the IC from Waltman at Survivor Series '99, then keeping it over HHH at Rumble '00. As a babyface, Jericho feuded over the IC with Eddy, then over the WWF Title with Benoit, who refused to listen to Jericho's entreaties to come home to the Hart Foundation. At Rumble '02, Jericho and his Hart Dungeon training partner, Lance Storm, became tag champs, beating Edge/Christian and the Dudleys in a 3 way. It was an ill-fated pairing; Lance and Jericho's valet/girlfriend Stacey Keibler (so hot, so painfully hot) eventually hooked up - Jericho's finding out led him into the JerichoDark period, in which he became a Raven-like figure and over the course of a 9 month long feud with Christian. At the pivotal WM XX, Jericho joined Christian's longtime valet Trish (Trish had been with E and C as part of their Clique turn) in throwing Christian off the top of the Hell in a Cell (only 3 Cell matches ever, Jericho was in one, Edge was in one). That began Jericho's intense downward spiral into drunken depravity as he became The Lizard King Chris Jericho, he came to the ring with a bottle of whiskey and he and a clearly strung out Stratus developed a Sid and Nancy relationship - the now babyface Benoit, who took his rightful place as Hart patriarch, clearly grew more and more frustrated with his inability to pull Jericho from his spriral.
Jericho left the company - returning with the Countdown clock in '07 - he and Edge meet at XXIV in what is promoted in this stretch as the co-main event.
Edge cuts promo on the 2nd RAW in the main event slot - he's full on cocky Edge, the guy you know from real world WWF. He laughs at the fans, says they're suckers - says the most fun thing he's done in years, besides having all that sex with Lita while she was living with Matt Hardy, was getting the fans to cheer him.
I mean, how dumb are you people?
Seriously?
Edge says but as much fun as that was, making fools out of you people, that was just an unintended consequence. The reason he did it is because when he was a young wrestler, he made a choice. He can have followed his Canadian roots, could have gone down the road he was expected to go down and one day earned this beloved pink and black hockey jersey.
But he didn't. He and his brother joined Triple H. They joined a brotherhood of men. They joined the Clique.
And the Clique is for life.
Edge says he doesn't like Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels wanted nothing to do with him 2 years ago, he and Shawn Michaels will never be friends. And he doesn't like Hunter. Because nobody likes Hunter. Hunter, to put it bluntly, is an asshole (he gets bleeped, even in the Counterfactual world I'm stuck with our puritanical censorship of language.)
Edge says when he stood on those turnbuckles making the sign of the Clique - he wasn't saying, I love Shawn Michaels and Triple H. He was saying - once you are Clique, you can never....never go back.
Ask Trish Stratus, Edge says, what happens if you try to leave the Clique. Ask Tammy Sytch. If you can find them.
Jericho runs to the ring - they brawl - the Clique punks Jericho out. There's a lot of that during this stretch, Jericho by himself against Edge, Shawn, and Hunter - a lot of fighting from underneath. Jericho's man fighting machine, you know the babyface drill.
The Juggernaut Eddie Little is Umaga, but in a different package - he is the WWF Kimbo Slice, but a completely defiant (and undefeated) heel. He was an internet sensation for streetfighting, signed by Steamboat to face Monte Brown in a Winner Gets a Contract match at XXIII - but he's been throughly incapable of being controlled. With his catchprhase "I'm the Juggernaut...Bitch!" Little has been a thorn in Steamboat's side all year - he's beaten everyone in his path, including the Undertaker at the Rumble, and multiple times wiped out the then WWF Champ Mysterio, including during a critical WWF v. NWA tag match. He doesn't attend meetings, doesn't show up for events, doesn't arrive at the arena on time - at the Rumble, the Juggernaut arrived in the loading dock outside the arena in a limo as his match was to be underway - he swaggered out, puffing on a cigar - piefacing Steamboat and walked right to the ring to beat the Dead Man. He is a force of nature - but his defiance has made him more trouble than he's worth - the last straw being the RAW after the Rumble.
The Main Event is a tag match featuring the guys who were in the ring to open the show (see parts one and two) Benjamin/Porter/HBK/HHH-M v. Nitro/Noble/Cena/Leviathan. This was Steamboat's big night, the culmination really of his year and a half long quest to reunite the company torn apart when Punk threw down the WWF belt at Survivor Series '06. He finally had control over the company, as he was tasked to gain, and celebrated it with the main event featuring most of the competitors for the title matches at XXIV - but that main event was marred when the Juggernaut crashed the party - his attack of Jamie Noble led to a screwjob pinfall by MVP, and the Juggernaut then took the WWF Title belt (he feels he should have gotten a shot, given his undefeated status) and destroying it.
I'm not sure how. He shatters the belt somehow. Something that makes it irreparable.
So, after a year and a half trying to make the WWF Title pre-eminant -Steamboat watches one of his wrestlers, a constantly defiant Juggernaut, destroy the WWF Title (this will turn into an excuse for a big new belt. Fun!)
And that's a bridge too far.
Steamboat will appear on Fight Night, say a couple of weeks later, to do two things - to establish what's going to happen to the NWA (it's gone, the last night for the NWA will be Mania - Fight Night will continue, however - and in fact, will get a face lift when it moves to become the flagship of My Network TV in the fall - Steamboat says Dusty can stay on as long as he likes).
That announcement doesn't go well with Randy Orton, but more on that in Part 4.
The second thing Steamboat does is ask to see Fit Finlay.
After arriving from the NWA (after years as Europe's Toughest Man) Fit moved into a front office position, running the company along with Dean and Arn. That group was moved out in favor of Steamboat (Steamboat's first run at the top of the office) and Fit decided to go back to active wrestling, calling on Malenko to be his manager. Dean and Fit became joined at the hip - as the Sunshine Boys - they set out for one more run - taking the IC from Benoit. When the company blew up and the NWA reformed, it was Fit and Dean who became the poster boys for the slogan: Where We Fight (which will now be the slogan for the entire WWF) Fit won the tournament to crown a NWA Champ at XXIII, beating Flair in the finale that was Flair's retirement match. Fit's spent the year feuding with Nitro, making a real man out of the pretty boy heel. Nitro took at Survivor Series and kept at the Rumble in the blow off - months of tension between Fit and Dean escalated at the Rumble when Malenko attacked Nitro's valet Melina (which ends her run) as Fit and Dean come out here, warily, to see the leader of the WWF, a company they have just lost their feud with - they are clearly frosty toward each other.
Steamboat asks Fit to help him. Says the WWF/NWA feud is over. Says Fit's the toughest man he ever met. Says Fit is needed now. He needs Fit - he needs Fit to teach another man a lesson - needs Fit to teach the Juggernaut a lesson.
Dean is completely opposed, 'cause, you know, they're doing a thing.
It takes about a month to set it up. The more Dean says no, the more Fit needs to do it. The Juggernaut starts appearing on Friday to slap taunt Fit. There's a Rocky III quality to this - if you think of Dean and Fit originally, back when they were prepping for Benoit, as Apollo and Balboa running on the beach - now, you can think of Dean as Burgess Meredith saying that Fit can't handle the Juggernaut - that he's too young, too strong - too much for an older Finlay - that Dean's tried to protect him - how could Fit not see it - that by the end of the Nitro feud, Nitro won and deserved to win because he's better - young and athletic and better. And the Juggernaut's a monster - a wrecking machine - Fit can't stop him.
Fit says he has to, of course - and the Juggernaut will do something personal to him, if Fit has a wife, maybe Little will ask her to come to his apartment to be with a real man. I mean, while we're doing Rocky III.
It's gonna be Falls Count Anywhere. So, the ECW garbage match will be full of plunder - but this will be a full on brawl that goes all over the building and every damn place. Know who won't be there? Malenko - who says he's been with Fit through every step - but he won't go to his execution.
So, that's 8 matches set up. Title match (and a dark match will be set up too. More value for your Counterfactual Dollar!) to come in Part 4. Also - I've got an idea for an internet show that's going to start at this time to involve developmental - that's gonna happen - plus, what about Randy Orton?
All of that coming in Part 4, which may well be the conclusion of our Road to WM 24.
Here's the current card:
Worldwide Three Way Dance: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
Unified Tags: Clique: HBK/HHHM v. WMD: Cena/Leviathan: Very Special Guest Referee, Ric Flair
Jericho v. Edge
Falls Count Anywhere: Fit v. Juggernaut
Stevie v. Yakuza
Weapons Match: Dreamer v. Bradshaw
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
Title match, a booked dark match, the new internet show, and Randy Orton all to come as the road continues.
Worldwide Titles Unification Match: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
Tag Titles: Guest Referee: Ric Flair: Clique: HHH/HBK v. WMD: Cena/Leviathan (w/AA)
Weapons Match: Dreamer (w/ Taz) v. Bradshaw (w/Henry)
Stevie v. Yakuza
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
3 matches left, the two big singles matches on the card and the TLC match to unify the World Heavyweight Championship.
Jericho v. Edge
Fit v. Juggernaut
If you read the run up to the Rumble and then the match itself, you know the Jericho/Edge story, both men returning from layoffs (Edge out since Mania, Jericho gone a couple of years) in the run up to the Rumble.
What you need to know is that, like all the long run soap operas, Counterfactual WWF has warring families that span the generations; the same family that was the focus of Guiding Light when it was a radio play is still on the show in the 21st century, and that's the device that keeps old fans invested in the program. For Counterfactual WWF, it's the Harts and the Clique.
Edge was a ring boy for Owen Hart; he joined the Clique in a heel turn that swerved best friends the Hardys when they were all young men; after that longstanding feud broke the bodies of all who were in it, Edge missed a year and a half with the broken neck - returning as a babyface at XX to reunite the Clique with Michaels/Christian/London. In that run, Edge took the IC from Jericho, ending Jericho's run with the company. The "you screwed Matt" summer of '06 ended all of that; Edge vacated the IC, beat Christian in a "loser leaves town" that was given away on free TV, Edge feuded with Matt for a year and half, culminating in the main event Hell in a Cell match at XXIII in which he may have turned face postmatch. Edge returned to stop the Clique, now Michaels/HHH-M from attacking the Anvil's girl Natty (after they had wiped out Teddy Hart, Harry Smith, and TJ Wilson) and joined with the then returning Jericho to challenge the Clique for the tag straps at the Rumble, as they had become friends while both away. At the top of the card, Jericho welcomed Edge into the Hart Foundation after his long WWF odyssey by presenting him the famed Hart Foundation hockey jersey, which had only been given to ten previous men (Stu who was number zero, Dynamite, Bret, Davey, Owen, Anvil, Pillman, Jericho, Lance, Benoit) Edge was given jersey #10 at the top of the Rumble - and then swerved Jericho in the match, allowing the Clique to punk him out.
On that first RAW after the Rumble, the hype for next week is that Edge will appear and explain his actions.
Jericho was an NWA World Champion, he arrived in the WWF as a cocky babyface, promising to go right after the Clique - and he did, taking the IC from Waltman at Survivor Series '99, then keeping it over HHH at Rumble '00. As a babyface, Jericho feuded over the IC with Eddy, then over the WWF Title with Benoit, who refused to listen to Jericho's entreaties to come home to the Hart Foundation. At Rumble '02, Jericho and his Hart Dungeon training partner, Lance Storm, became tag champs, beating Edge/Christian and the Dudleys in a 3 way. It was an ill-fated pairing; Lance and Jericho's valet/girlfriend Stacey Keibler (so hot, so painfully hot) eventually hooked up - Jericho's finding out led him into the JerichoDark period, in which he became a Raven-like figure and over the course of a 9 month long feud with Christian. At the pivotal WM XX, Jericho joined Christian's longtime valet Trish (Trish had been with E and C as part of their Clique turn) in throwing Christian off the top of the Hell in a Cell (only 3 Cell matches ever, Jericho was in one, Edge was in one). That began Jericho's intense downward spiral into drunken depravity as he became The Lizard King Chris Jericho, he came to the ring with a bottle of whiskey and he and a clearly strung out Stratus developed a Sid and Nancy relationship - the now babyface Benoit, who took his rightful place as Hart patriarch, clearly grew more and more frustrated with his inability to pull Jericho from his spriral.
Jericho left the company - returning with the Countdown clock in '07 - he and Edge meet at XXIV in what is promoted in this stretch as the co-main event.
Edge cuts promo on the 2nd RAW in the main event slot - he's full on cocky Edge, the guy you know from real world WWF. He laughs at the fans, says they're suckers - says the most fun thing he's done in years, besides having all that sex with Lita while she was living with Matt Hardy, was getting the fans to cheer him.
I mean, how dumb are you people?
Seriously?
Edge says but as much fun as that was, making fools out of you people, that was just an unintended consequence. The reason he did it is because when he was a young wrestler, he made a choice. He can have followed his Canadian roots, could have gone down the road he was expected to go down and one day earned this beloved pink and black hockey jersey.
But he didn't. He and his brother joined Triple H. They joined a brotherhood of men. They joined the Clique.
And the Clique is for life.
Edge says he doesn't like Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels wanted nothing to do with him 2 years ago, he and Shawn Michaels will never be friends. And he doesn't like Hunter. Because nobody likes Hunter. Hunter, to put it bluntly, is an asshole (he gets bleeped, even in the Counterfactual world I'm stuck with our puritanical censorship of language.)
Edge says when he stood on those turnbuckles making the sign of the Clique - he wasn't saying, I love Shawn Michaels and Triple H. He was saying - once you are Clique, you can never....never go back.
Ask Trish Stratus, Edge says, what happens if you try to leave the Clique. Ask Tammy Sytch. If you can find them.
Jericho runs to the ring - they brawl - the Clique punks Jericho out. There's a lot of that during this stretch, Jericho by himself against Edge, Shawn, and Hunter - a lot of fighting from underneath. Jericho's man fighting machine, you know the babyface drill.
The Juggernaut Eddie Little is Umaga, but in a different package - he is the WWF Kimbo Slice, but a completely defiant (and undefeated) heel. He was an internet sensation for streetfighting, signed by Steamboat to face Monte Brown in a Winner Gets a Contract match at XXIII - but he's been throughly incapable of being controlled. With his catchprhase "I'm the Juggernaut...Bitch!" Little has been a thorn in Steamboat's side all year - he's beaten everyone in his path, including the Undertaker at the Rumble, and multiple times wiped out the then WWF Champ Mysterio, including during a critical WWF v. NWA tag match. He doesn't attend meetings, doesn't show up for events, doesn't arrive at the arena on time - at the Rumble, the Juggernaut arrived in the loading dock outside the arena in a limo as his match was to be underway - he swaggered out, puffing on a cigar - piefacing Steamboat and walked right to the ring to beat the Dead Man. He is a force of nature - but his defiance has made him more trouble than he's worth - the last straw being the RAW after the Rumble.
The Main Event is a tag match featuring the guys who were in the ring to open the show (see parts one and two) Benjamin/Porter/HBK/HHH-M v. Nitro/Noble/Cena/Leviathan. This was Steamboat's big night, the culmination really of his year and a half long quest to reunite the company torn apart when Punk threw down the WWF belt at Survivor Series '06. He finally had control over the company, as he was tasked to gain, and celebrated it with the main event featuring most of the competitors for the title matches at XXIV - but that main event was marred when the Juggernaut crashed the party - his attack of Jamie Noble led to a screwjob pinfall by MVP, and the Juggernaut then took the WWF Title belt (he feels he should have gotten a shot, given his undefeated status) and destroying it.
I'm not sure how. He shatters the belt somehow. Something that makes it irreparable.
So, after a year and a half trying to make the WWF Title pre-eminant -Steamboat watches one of his wrestlers, a constantly defiant Juggernaut, destroy the WWF Title (this will turn into an excuse for a big new belt. Fun!)
And that's a bridge too far.
Steamboat will appear on Fight Night, say a couple of weeks later, to do two things - to establish what's going to happen to the NWA (it's gone, the last night for the NWA will be Mania - Fight Night will continue, however - and in fact, will get a face lift when it moves to become the flagship of My Network TV in the fall - Steamboat says Dusty can stay on as long as he likes).
That announcement doesn't go well with Randy Orton, but more on that in Part 4.
The second thing Steamboat does is ask to see Fit Finlay.
After arriving from the NWA (after years as Europe's Toughest Man) Fit moved into a front office position, running the company along with Dean and Arn. That group was moved out in favor of Steamboat (Steamboat's first run at the top of the office) and Fit decided to go back to active wrestling, calling on Malenko to be his manager. Dean and Fit became joined at the hip - as the Sunshine Boys - they set out for one more run - taking the IC from Benoit. When the company blew up and the NWA reformed, it was Fit and Dean who became the poster boys for the slogan: Where We Fight (which will now be the slogan for the entire WWF) Fit won the tournament to crown a NWA Champ at XXIII, beating Flair in the finale that was Flair's retirement match. Fit's spent the year feuding with Nitro, making a real man out of the pretty boy heel. Nitro took at Survivor Series and kept at the Rumble in the blow off - months of tension between Fit and Dean escalated at the Rumble when Malenko attacked Nitro's valet Melina (which ends her run) as Fit and Dean come out here, warily, to see the leader of the WWF, a company they have just lost their feud with - they are clearly frosty toward each other.
Steamboat asks Fit to help him. Says the WWF/NWA feud is over. Says Fit's the toughest man he ever met. Says Fit is needed now. He needs Fit - he needs Fit to teach another man a lesson - needs Fit to teach the Juggernaut a lesson.
Dean is completely opposed, 'cause, you know, they're doing a thing.
It takes about a month to set it up. The more Dean says no, the more Fit needs to do it. The Juggernaut starts appearing on Friday to slap taunt Fit. There's a Rocky III quality to this - if you think of Dean and Fit originally, back when they were prepping for Benoit, as Apollo and Balboa running on the beach - now, you can think of Dean as Burgess Meredith saying that Fit can't handle the Juggernaut - that he's too young, too strong - too much for an older Finlay - that Dean's tried to protect him - how could Fit not see it - that by the end of the Nitro feud, Nitro won and deserved to win because he's better - young and athletic and better. And the Juggernaut's a monster - a wrecking machine - Fit can't stop him.
Fit says he has to, of course - and the Juggernaut will do something personal to him, if Fit has a wife, maybe Little will ask her to come to his apartment to be with a real man. I mean, while we're doing Rocky III.
It's gonna be Falls Count Anywhere. So, the ECW garbage match will be full of plunder - but this will be a full on brawl that goes all over the building and every damn place. Know who won't be there? Malenko - who says he's been with Fit through every step - but he won't go to his execution.
So, that's 8 matches set up. Title match (and a dark match will be set up too. More value for your Counterfactual Dollar!) to come in Part 4. Also - I've got an idea for an internet show that's going to start at this time to involve developmental - that's gonna happen - plus, what about Randy Orton?
All of that coming in Part 4, which may well be the conclusion of our Road to WM 24.
Here's the current card:
Worldwide Three Way Dance: Porter v. Noble v. Kendrick
Unified Tags: Clique: HBK/HHHM v. WMD: Cena/Leviathan: Very Special Guest Referee, Ric Flair
Jericho v. Edge
Falls Count Anywhere: Fit v. Juggernaut
Stevie v. Yakuza
Weapons Match: Dreamer v. Bradshaw
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO: Chavo/Carlito v. S&S: Cade/Murdoch
Title match, a booked dark match, the new internet show, and Randy Orton all to come as the road continues.
Road to Wrestlemania XXIV - 2
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Wrestlemania XXIV is coming soon from Orlando.
In Part 1, the tag team matchup: The Clique: Shawn Michaels/Hunter Hearst Helmsley-McMahon v. WMD: Leviathan/John Cena was set up, Ric Flair is the Very Special Guest Referee.
We return to the night after the Rumble; Steamboat's in the ring with the four aforementioned tag wrestlers and Arn as he prepares to announce the Worldwide Match.
Steamboat says the Worldwide Title will be reunified at Mania in a Three Way Dance. He introduces the IC Champ, who defended his title the night before against Elijah Burke - Montel Vontavious Porter, M-V-P!
Porter, full on modern young black athlete swagger, in a ridiculously expensive suit, looking like he's in an NBA locker room, comes to the ring. Porter won the IC from Orton at Survivor Series, kept in the blow off against his childhood friend Burke at the Rumble - and now goes to Wrestlemania XXIV. The Clique clowns him a little, he ignores them completely. WMD continues to flex. Lot of heels in the ring.
Steamboat says he will be facing, from Fight Night, the US Champion - The Redneck Messiah, Jamie Noble!
Noble is now pure scrappy babyface. His GDI heel tag with Kendrick busted up; Punk ran him out of GDI in what was designed to be a humiliating trade for Sean Morley - Steamboat then turned around and shipped him in the big trade to NWA. Noble, who back in the old NWA was the number one contender for the US Title before the company was bought by WWF, convinced Dusty to give him the shot - and now he's US Champ. Noble shakes Steamboat's hand - he and Porter go nose to nose.
Steamboat says that Porter and Noble will be meeting the third man in the Three Way Dance - the TV Champion -
-And that's where he's cut off from the video wall. Live, via satellite, is the GDI locker room, from whatever arena they'll be in the following night. One may note that all the GDI faces are there, except for the Champ, Punk. The announce doesn't mention it. Kendrick, who began to emerge as the GDI spokesman on the road to the Rumble, cuts the promo.
He says unlike everyone else in the ring - at GDI Wrestling - on Tuesday Nights - you compete for your spot. So tomorrow night - in this ring - the TV Champ, the Yakuza (Jimmy Yang) will be putting up his title and his slot at Wrestlemania XXIV against...
Brian Kendrick.
Yakuza fixes Kendrick with a hard stare. Kendrick smirks and the feed cuts out.
That next night, at GDI, Kendrick takes the TV title from Yakuza. Kendrick becomes TV Champ and he will go to Wrestlemania.
Porter was TV Champ, having won it with the IC at SSeries over Orton. Foley cashed in a favor to get Steamboat to order Porter to put up the TV on GDI against Stevie Richards, who had never won a title belt of any type and after multiple throat surgeries announced he would be retiring after Mania. He was supported by Dreamer - kicking off an ECW revival - Stevie took from Porter on Burke's run in - but his celebration was immediately ended when Yakuza took the title from him. Yakuza defended at Rumble against Little Warrior (Shannon Moore, in his last match) and now has just lost the strap to Kendrick.
Kendrick is essentially his real world heel character, but his absolute craven, scavenger-like amorality is part of his character more played up here. His willingness to tow the GDI line even when his former tag partners had to be sacrificed, first London and then Noble, is his enduring essence. In '07, Kendrick won a Worldwide shot against Orton - begged London not to attack him - and when London showed him mercy, Kendrick turned on him. London was driven completely out of WWF; Noble refused finally to participate in a GDI hanging of London, London strung up from a wire upside down, blood pouring from his head - Noble walked out - but Kendrick stayed to taunt his long time partner.
Now, Kendrick is TV Champ - and Noble is US Champ. Former partners in ROH - former partners in GDI - they are 2/3 of the Three Way Dance (elimination match) against the IC Champ Porter - who is full on swagger, hitting his catchphrase "I Run This" as often as needed to get it over.
That's your IC match.
The 2 undercard ECW matches come out of that angle as well.
ECW became the flashpoint in the war of words between Dreamer, GDI analyst, and Bradshaw, NWA analyst - that boiled over at the Rumble when, after a full on ECW/GDI brawl - Bradshaw and Dreamer finally had full on blows, joined by Taz and Bradshaw's bodyguard, Mark Henry. That cost the three announcers their broadcast contracts. That brawl from earlier in the evening was ended when Stevie returned for the first time since winning/losing the TV belt - he superkicked the ring clear.
So - Kendrick wins the TV belt and leaves in triumph - Yakuza's alone in the ring and he is attacked by cane swinging Dreamer and Richards - both in ECW t shirts.
They leave him laying and bloody.
The following Tuesday, after a full on "we're ECW and we're still fighting the revolution" promo from Dreamer and Stevie, Bradshaw and Henry enter with Yakuza.
Bradshaw notes that they attacked Yakuza 2 on 1, with canes, after a hard fought title match. And that really symbolizes what ECW was all about. At WM - he's going to remove the stain of ECW from professional wrestling forever. Bradshaw does the full on "bingo hall...not real athletes...300 retarded fans" rap - they brawl - the heels go over when Colt and Sydal enter with glass light tubes to lay them out.
Bradshaw gets a couple of Tuesdays to crow while Dreamer and Stevie sell the injuries, Bradshaw does some back and forth with Foley, who is now the analyst for all 3 shows. They set up an 8 man tag for GDI, Bradshaw/Yakuza/Colt/Sydal, along with the bodyguard Henry in the corner - against Dreamer/Richards/Crazy/Guido.
They do a full garbage match, as much as they can get away with on Sci Fi, finish comes when Henry gets in the ring, does the very simple power stuff to go 5 on 4 for the heels - Foley has spent the build up to the match teasing that if Henry got in the ring - he would to have to ensure the sides were even.
Josh Matthews begs him not to, says Foley will get fired, and they are out of analysts - Foley throws down the headset to tease it - the heels motion for him to come - when Taz's music hits.
Taz does his very best impression of ECW era Taz - he suplexes whomever he can - it looks like ECW has the victory, but Bradshaw unleashes the clothesline that turns Dreamer inside out to get the fall.
That sets up two matches.
Weapons Match: Bradshaw (w/Henry) v. Dreamer (w/Taz)
Yakuza v. Stevie
Bradshaw will have Henry in his corner, Dreamer will have Taz in his. The ECW guys, along with Foley and Joey and anyone else we can get for this run, will talk as much ECW lore as they can. Plenty of clips and whatnot. Ideally, along with Guido/Crazy - there would be as many ECW alums as possible to come in a pack for this section of 24. On the other side, Bradshaw does all the derogatory, run ECW down, condescending stuff he can do. With Henry and Yakuza, Bradshaw says he's like the Secretary General of the UN, only with more power. Colt and Sydal are there to take bumps for the heels and tag up against Crazy and Guido for this run.
While we're talking undercard:
There's another GDI match - Ulysses Morley will be taking on the Undertaker in the Legends Match.
For those of you who are new, the Legends Match is an annual Mania tradition, the Undertaker has won 6 Legends Matches and it's considered his spot on the Mania card. He'll be attacked one RAW by Morley.
A recap of the Morley storyline. Morley has been enhancement talent for years, just plodding away putting guys over. It was pushed as humiliating that Noble was traded for him. Upon coming to GDI, he entered a re-education program, where Colt was tasked with trying to convert him to hate the WWF corporate machine.
That was largely an excuse for Cabana comedy - but eventually evolved so that Morley starts to believe, we saw the largest step in that direction at the Rumble when he fought on the side on GDI in the ECW brawl.
Morley shows up on RAW during a Legends Match video retrospective (lots of Mania clips, love me some Mania clips) and cuts loose. The real legends aren't the big names like the Undertaker, the real legends are the guys like Ulysses Morley who toil in anonymity. But there's no room at Wrestlemania for Ulysses Morley - they'll bring in Ric Flair, they'll bring in Floyd Mayweather (which we haven't set up yet, but will in Part 3) and Ulysses Morley, who has worked here for a decade, will sit in the back.
Undertaker comes out, says no one handed him anything - says he has to fight every day to barely keep his spot - he's earned his job and the truth is Morley's not good enough.
And that's the set up. Morley says he's fighting for the little guy - he wants to win the Legends Match for all the guys who have been forgotten. The Bob Hollys. The Brooklyn Brawlers. The Iron Mike Sharpes. They are the Legends. They will be avenged!
On the road to Mania, as many of those types of guys who we can get will come on - they'll come on, Morley will cheer for them wildly - and they'll get squashed by the Taker. Morley's original gimmick was he stood up for the little guy - so even though he's essentially on the heel side standing up against the WWF, against the idea of Wrestlemania, against the Undertaker - he still casts it (and maybe reasonably so) as he's fighting the machine. Undertaker squashes guy after guy on RAW each week - but Morley never stops. Finally, at the go home RAW - Morley finally snaps - goes full on heel after, say the Taker squashes Hacksaw, bashing the Dead Man with a chair. Then a handful of enhancement type guys enter the ring to stomp the Taker out - Jobbers of the World Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Chains!
Let's say in this angle they use: Alabama Bob, Snitsky, Hacksaw, Mabel, Chuck Palumbo, Jesse/Festus, Deuce/Domino. They come out each week, get squashed - then all join Morley in the go home show to stomp out the Dead Guy.
The opening tag has no storyline. It's classic Mania opening workrate tag - two former tag championship teams, the LWO: Chavo and Carlito meet S&S: Cade and Murdoch. LWO is a babyface team from RAW, S&S is a heel team from NWA - it's just for match quality and nothing else.
So, where do we stand after 2 parts.
Worldwide Titles: Three Way Dance: MVP v. Noble v. Kendrick
Tag Titles: Cliq v. WMD
Yakuza v. Stevie
Weapons Match: Bradshaw v. Dreamer
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO v. S&S
6 matches set up. 3 to go.
In Part 3 we'll set up the two big singles matches coming at XXIV, and the TLC match to unify the world heavyweight championship. The road continues
In Part 1, the tag team matchup: The Clique: Shawn Michaels/Hunter Hearst Helmsley-McMahon v. WMD: Leviathan/John Cena was set up, Ric Flair is the Very Special Guest Referee.
We return to the night after the Rumble; Steamboat's in the ring with the four aforementioned tag wrestlers and Arn as he prepares to announce the Worldwide Match.
Steamboat says the Worldwide Title will be reunified at Mania in a Three Way Dance. He introduces the IC Champ, who defended his title the night before against Elijah Burke - Montel Vontavious Porter, M-V-P!
Porter, full on modern young black athlete swagger, in a ridiculously expensive suit, looking like he's in an NBA locker room, comes to the ring. Porter won the IC from Orton at Survivor Series, kept in the blow off against his childhood friend Burke at the Rumble - and now goes to Wrestlemania XXIV. The Clique clowns him a little, he ignores them completely. WMD continues to flex. Lot of heels in the ring.
Steamboat says he will be facing, from Fight Night, the US Champion - The Redneck Messiah, Jamie Noble!
Noble is now pure scrappy babyface. His GDI heel tag with Kendrick busted up; Punk ran him out of GDI in what was designed to be a humiliating trade for Sean Morley - Steamboat then turned around and shipped him in the big trade to NWA. Noble, who back in the old NWA was the number one contender for the US Title before the company was bought by WWF, convinced Dusty to give him the shot - and now he's US Champ. Noble shakes Steamboat's hand - he and Porter go nose to nose.
Steamboat says that Porter and Noble will be meeting the third man in the Three Way Dance - the TV Champion -
-And that's where he's cut off from the video wall. Live, via satellite, is the GDI locker room, from whatever arena they'll be in the following night. One may note that all the GDI faces are there, except for the Champ, Punk. The announce doesn't mention it. Kendrick, who began to emerge as the GDI spokesman on the road to the Rumble, cuts the promo.
He says unlike everyone else in the ring - at GDI Wrestling - on Tuesday Nights - you compete for your spot. So tomorrow night - in this ring - the TV Champ, the Yakuza (Jimmy Yang) will be putting up his title and his slot at Wrestlemania XXIV against...
Brian Kendrick.
Yakuza fixes Kendrick with a hard stare. Kendrick smirks and the feed cuts out.
That next night, at GDI, Kendrick takes the TV title from Yakuza. Kendrick becomes TV Champ and he will go to Wrestlemania.
Porter was TV Champ, having won it with the IC at SSeries over Orton. Foley cashed in a favor to get Steamboat to order Porter to put up the TV on GDI against Stevie Richards, who had never won a title belt of any type and after multiple throat surgeries announced he would be retiring after Mania. He was supported by Dreamer - kicking off an ECW revival - Stevie took from Porter on Burke's run in - but his celebration was immediately ended when Yakuza took the title from him. Yakuza defended at Rumble against Little Warrior (Shannon Moore, in his last match) and now has just lost the strap to Kendrick.
Kendrick is essentially his real world heel character, but his absolute craven, scavenger-like amorality is part of his character more played up here. His willingness to tow the GDI line even when his former tag partners had to be sacrificed, first London and then Noble, is his enduring essence. In '07, Kendrick won a Worldwide shot against Orton - begged London not to attack him - and when London showed him mercy, Kendrick turned on him. London was driven completely out of WWF; Noble refused finally to participate in a GDI hanging of London, London strung up from a wire upside down, blood pouring from his head - Noble walked out - but Kendrick stayed to taunt his long time partner.
Now, Kendrick is TV Champ - and Noble is US Champ. Former partners in ROH - former partners in GDI - they are 2/3 of the Three Way Dance (elimination match) against the IC Champ Porter - who is full on swagger, hitting his catchphrase "I Run This" as often as needed to get it over.
That's your IC match.
The 2 undercard ECW matches come out of that angle as well.
ECW became the flashpoint in the war of words between Dreamer, GDI analyst, and Bradshaw, NWA analyst - that boiled over at the Rumble when, after a full on ECW/GDI brawl - Bradshaw and Dreamer finally had full on blows, joined by Taz and Bradshaw's bodyguard, Mark Henry. That cost the three announcers their broadcast contracts. That brawl from earlier in the evening was ended when Stevie returned for the first time since winning/losing the TV belt - he superkicked the ring clear.
So - Kendrick wins the TV belt and leaves in triumph - Yakuza's alone in the ring and he is attacked by cane swinging Dreamer and Richards - both in ECW t shirts.
They leave him laying and bloody.
The following Tuesday, after a full on "we're ECW and we're still fighting the revolution" promo from Dreamer and Stevie, Bradshaw and Henry enter with Yakuza.
Bradshaw notes that they attacked Yakuza 2 on 1, with canes, after a hard fought title match. And that really symbolizes what ECW was all about. At WM - he's going to remove the stain of ECW from professional wrestling forever. Bradshaw does the full on "bingo hall...not real athletes...300 retarded fans" rap - they brawl - the heels go over when Colt and Sydal enter with glass light tubes to lay them out.
Bradshaw gets a couple of Tuesdays to crow while Dreamer and Stevie sell the injuries, Bradshaw does some back and forth with Foley, who is now the analyst for all 3 shows. They set up an 8 man tag for GDI, Bradshaw/Yakuza/Colt/Sydal, along with the bodyguard Henry in the corner - against Dreamer/Richards/Crazy/Guido.
They do a full garbage match, as much as they can get away with on Sci Fi, finish comes when Henry gets in the ring, does the very simple power stuff to go 5 on 4 for the heels - Foley has spent the build up to the match teasing that if Henry got in the ring - he would to have to ensure the sides were even.
Josh Matthews begs him not to, says Foley will get fired, and they are out of analysts - Foley throws down the headset to tease it - the heels motion for him to come - when Taz's music hits.
Taz does his very best impression of ECW era Taz - he suplexes whomever he can - it looks like ECW has the victory, but Bradshaw unleashes the clothesline that turns Dreamer inside out to get the fall.
That sets up two matches.
Weapons Match: Bradshaw (w/Henry) v. Dreamer (w/Taz)
Yakuza v. Stevie
Bradshaw will have Henry in his corner, Dreamer will have Taz in his. The ECW guys, along with Foley and Joey and anyone else we can get for this run, will talk as much ECW lore as they can. Plenty of clips and whatnot. Ideally, along with Guido/Crazy - there would be as many ECW alums as possible to come in a pack for this section of 24. On the other side, Bradshaw does all the derogatory, run ECW down, condescending stuff he can do. With Henry and Yakuza, Bradshaw says he's like the Secretary General of the UN, only with more power. Colt and Sydal are there to take bumps for the heels and tag up against Crazy and Guido for this run.
While we're talking undercard:
There's another GDI match - Ulysses Morley will be taking on the Undertaker in the Legends Match.
For those of you who are new, the Legends Match is an annual Mania tradition, the Undertaker has won 6 Legends Matches and it's considered his spot on the Mania card. He'll be attacked one RAW by Morley.
A recap of the Morley storyline. Morley has been enhancement talent for years, just plodding away putting guys over. It was pushed as humiliating that Noble was traded for him. Upon coming to GDI, he entered a re-education program, where Colt was tasked with trying to convert him to hate the WWF corporate machine.
That was largely an excuse for Cabana comedy - but eventually evolved so that Morley starts to believe, we saw the largest step in that direction at the Rumble when he fought on the side on GDI in the ECW brawl.
Morley shows up on RAW during a Legends Match video retrospective (lots of Mania clips, love me some Mania clips) and cuts loose. The real legends aren't the big names like the Undertaker, the real legends are the guys like Ulysses Morley who toil in anonymity. But there's no room at Wrestlemania for Ulysses Morley - they'll bring in Ric Flair, they'll bring in Floyd Mayweather (which we haven't set up yet, but will in Part 3) and Ulysses Morley, who has worked here for a decade, will sit in the back.
Undertaker comes out, says no one handed him anything - says he has to fight every day to barely keep his spot - he's earned his job and the truth is Morley's not good enough.
And that's the set up. Morley says he's fighting for the little guy - he wants to win the Legends Match for all the guys who have been forgotten. The Bob Hollys. The Brooklyn Brawlers. The Iron Mike Sharpes. They are the Legends. They will be avenged!
On the road to Mania, as many of those types of guys who we can get will come on - they'll come on, Morley will cheer for them wildly - and they'll get squashed by the Taker. Morley's original gimmick was he stood up for the little guy - so even though he's essentially on the heel side standing up against the WWF, against the idea of Wrestlemania, against the Undertaker - he still casts it (and maybe reasonably so) as he's fighting the machine. Undertaker squashes guy after guy on RAW each week - but Morley never stops. Finally, at the go home RAW - Morley finally snaps - goes full on heel after, say the Taker squashes Hacksaw, bashing the Dead Man with a chair. Then a handful of enhancement type guys enter the ring to stomp the Taker out - Jobbers of the World Unite! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Chains!
Let's say in this angle they use: Alabama Bob, Snitsky, Hacksaw, Mabel, Chuck Palumbo, Jesse/Festus, Deuce/Domino. They come out each week, get squashed - then all join Morley in the go home show to stomp out the Dead Guy.
The opening tag has no storyline. It's classic Mania opening workrate tag - two former tag championship teams, the LWO: Chavo and Carlito meet S&S: Cade and Murdoch. LWO is a babyface team from RAW, S&S is a heel team from NWA - it's just for match quality and nothing else.
So, where do we stand after 2 parts.
Worldwide Titles: Three Way Dance: MVP v. Noble v. Kendrick
Tag Titles: Cliq v. WMD
Yakuza v. Stevie
Weapons Match: Bradshaw v. Dreamer
Legends Match: Undertaker v. Morley
Opening Tag: LWO v. S&S
6 matches set up. 3 to go.
In Part 3 we'll set up the two big singles matches coming at XXIV, and the TLC match to unify the world heavyweight championship. The road continues
Road to Wrestlemania XXIV - Part One
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wrestlemania XXIV from Orlando is coming.
The night after Rumble 2008, RAW opens with Joey Styles on the announce with Mick Foley.
Styles is selling the Bradshaw clothesline from the night before; he quickly explains that as a result of violating the edict that announcers cannot engage in physicality - Taz, Dreamer, and Bradshaw have all had their announcing contracts terminated. Joey thanks Taz, who has been the primary analyst for almost 5 years, and wishes him well in his future endeavors. Foley hopped into the analyst's chair during the Rumble - and Joey says Mick has some busy travel days ahead - as he'll be the analyst through Wrestlemania, not only on RAW, but also on GDI - and on Fight Night. Foley makes triple crown pun - and we're off to the ring.
Steamboat enters. He's going to announce the 3 (emphasis on 3) title matches to be wrestled at WM24.
First - the tag team titles.
Steamboat introduces the challengers, who won the number one contenders match last night at the Rumble, they are from Fight Night - with their manager Arn Anderson - Weapons of Mass Destruction: Leviathan and John Cena!
Leviathan (Batista) and Cena enter with Arn. It's the first RAW appearance for all 3 since they moved to Fight Night. Arn left with his then tag team Strong Style (Haas/Benjamin), Leviathan was essentially let go, his once promising career (he and Flair were tag champs) largely stalled, and Cena, who previously was half of the tag champs with Orton, was traded along with Kennedy and Noble, to Fight Night for Benjamin.
They're all flexing and bouncing pecs, all swagger and confidence.
Steamboat introduces their opponents, the tag team champions - The Cliq: Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley McMahon!
Michaels, a 4 time tag champ, and HHH-M, a two time champ, enter wearing mock Hart Foundation hockey jerseys. Last night, along with Edge, they swerved Jericho and are making sport of the jersey ceremony that Jericho and Edge had at the top of the Rumble.
They hijack the proceedings, as everything's beneath them. They call Howard Finkel into the ring to present him with a number one Hart Foundation jersey, they've scratched out Dynamite's name and scrawled in "The Ring Announce Dude." They are juvenile, 40 year old smug heels. They completely ignore the bouncing pecs of their challengers.
Steamboat tries to take back the moment, but can't - Hunter says it might be tempting to overlook the tag title match, 'cause let's face it - it's gonna be a squash...
...in the face of the other two title matches, there's the IC, with it's workrate and nearfalls - and then the tables and ladders and chairs main event -- so Hunter says he made a couple of phone calls and there's gonna be a very special guest referee for the tag title match.
Steamboat sighs, because he knows Hunter's gone over his head.
Hunter teases it for a moment - then he and Shawn let out a "Wooooooo" and a brief Flair clip package appears on the video wall.
Between now and Mania, we'll have 6 in ring promos by Flair. He's gonna do the full Ric Flair thing, cutting promos (while the men are also each in the ring) on all 4 wrestlers, Arn, and Steamboat.
The narrative is "how will Flair call the match, is he on anyone's side" given that Flair has history with everyone in the ring, except for Cena. And in those promos, besides being entertaining and giving Flair some run, he'll help develop the characters of everyone else.
With Hunter, they establish that they've become closer in the year since Flair's retirement (Flair lost to Fit for the new NWA Title at XXIII) that they were never that close as partners in the 51% Solution, but have found common ground over the past year (that's why HHH feels so smug about getting Flair as very special guest referee). They put over that Hunter's undefeated at Wrestlemania (as is Mysterio, I think) and he's become more than just the guy who carries around Shawn's bags.
And that's where it turns.
Flair says but with all his power and influence and money, with his marrying into the family that controls wrestling - the best Hunter can do for himself is to be the lesser half of a tag team with Michaels. 40 years old - still carrying Shawn Michaels's bags. Embarrassing. Pathetic.
When it's the Michaels promo he says Shawn's a triple crown winner, arguably the greatest wrestler who ever lived. He's done it all and done most of it twice.
And then...
He hasn't been WWF Champ in a decade. A decade. Know who has been WWF Champ since Michaels?
"Me. And I'm washed up. Wooooooo."
With Cena he says he likes his fire, likes his aggressiveness, and admires his courage when the fans still laugh at him sometimes.
With Leviathan, he apologizes. Leviathan was his protegee, his tag partner, Leviathan counted on him and Flair swerved him - left him for dead, left him to be savaged by Helmsley and Arn - left him behind when they formed the 51% Solution. Flair's sorry.
But did you ever ask yourself, Flair says, did you ever ask yourself why we didn't want you in the first place? We needed a big man, we got Lashley. You we left to die. Why do you think we did that - what do you think is missing in you that we wouldn't bring you in for the win?
With Steamboat, they roll over their life together. Mid-Atlantic. NWA. 1989. Running the WWF together. Flair swerving Steamboat when he formed the Solution. At every stop, Flair says, Flair was just a little bit better. What's that like, Flair says, to be Ricky Steamboat, to be a two time WWF Champ, to have won the main event at the first ever Mania, to be the man in charge - the man who has unified the title belts after a year and a half, and be standing in the ring with a man better at every single element of his life. Woooo.
Steamboat gets to comeback, unlike the wrestlers who have to take it.
Steamboat's response is that after Mania, Flair goes back home, no tv, no cameras, no ring -- and Steamboat will stay doing the work, stay in the business, stay in the sport. So maybe there's one step that Steamboat took that Flair didn't.
And finally, with Arn there's discomfort. They reminisce. They do the old days. And then Flair shows Arn's surprised reaction from the RAW after the Rumble when HHH-M revealed Flair would be the guest ref. Why wouldn't Arn know - Arn wouldn't know because he and Flair don't talk. Flair's been gone a year, and they haven't spoken in a year. Flair says he leaves messages - but Arn's too busy, too busy with his young wrestlers, too busy trying to win tag titles, too busy trying to hang on for another bit of reflected glory.
So, that's the set up. What will Ric Flair, as guest referee, do in the tag title matchup between the Cliq and WMD at WM XXIV? The road continues.
The night after Rumble 2008, RAW opens with Joey Styles on the announce with Mick Foley.
Styles is selling the Bradshaw clothesline from the night before; he quickly explains that as a result of violating the edict that announcers cannot engage in physicality - Taz, Dreamer, and Bradshaw have all had their announcing contracts terminated. Joey thanks Taz, who has been the primary analyst for almost 5 years, and wishes him well in his future endeavors. Foley hopped into the analyst's chair during the Rumble - and Joey says Mick has some busy travel days ahead - as he'll be the analyst through Wrestlemania, not only on RAW, but also on GDI - and on Fight Night. Foley makes triple crown pun - and we're off to the ring.
Steamboat enters. He's going to announce the 3 (emphasis on 3) title matches to be wrestled at WM24.
First - the tag team titles.
Steamboat introduces the challengers, who won the number one contenders match last night at the Rumble, they are from Fight Night - with their manager Arn Anderson - Weapons of Mass Destruction: Leviathan and John Cena!
Leviathan (Batista) and Cena enter with Arn. It's the first RAW appearance for all 3 since they moved to Fight Night. Arn left with his then tag team Strong Style (Haas/Benjamin), Leviathan was essentially let go, his once promising career (he and Flair were tag champs) largely stalled, and Cena, who previously was half of the tag champs with Orton, was traded along with Kennedy and Noble, to Fight Night for Benjamin.
They're all flexing and bouncing pecs, all swagger and confidence.
Steamboat introduces their opponents, the tag team champions - The Cliq: Shawn Michaels and Hunter Hearst Helmsley McMahon!
Michaels, a 4 time tag champ, and HHH-M, a two time champ, enter wearing mock Hart Foundation hockey jerseys. Last night, along with Edge, they swerved Jericho and are making sport of the jersey ceremony that Jericho and Edge had at the top of the Rumble.
They hijack the proceedings, as everything's beneath them. They call Howard Finkel into the ring to present him with a number one Hart Foundation jersey, they've scratched out Dynamite's name and scrawled in "The Ring Announce Dude." They are juvenile, 40 year old smug heels. They completely ignore the bouncing pecs of their challengers.
Steamboat tries to take back the moment, but can't - Hunter says it might be tempting to overlook the tag title match, 'cause let's face it - it's gonna be a squash...
...in the face of the other two title matches, there's the IC, with it's workrate and nearfalls - and then the tables and ladders and chairs main event -- so Hunter says he made a couple of phone calls and there's gonna be a very special guest referee for the tag title match.
Steamboat sighs, because he knows Hunter's gone over his head.
Hunter teases it for a moment - then he and Shawn let out a "Wooooooo" and a brief Flair clip package appears on the video wall.
Between now and Mania, we'll have 6 in ring promos by Flair. He's gonna do the full Ric Flair thing, cutting promos (while the men are also each in the ring) on all 4 wrestlers, Arn, and Steamboat.
The narrative is "how will Flair call the match, is he on anyone's side" given that Flair has history with everyone in the ring, except for Cena. And in those promos, besides being entertaining and giving Flair some run, he'll help develop the characters of everyone else.
With Hunter, they establish that they've become closer in the year since Flair's retirement (Flair lost to Fit for the new NWA Title at XXIII) that they were never that close as partners in the 51% Solution, but have found common ground over the past year (that's why HHH feels so smug about getting Flair as very special guest referee). They put over that Hunter's undefeated at Wrestlemania (as is Mysterio, I think) and he's become more than just the guy who carries around Shawn's bags.
And that's where it turns.
Flair says but with all his power and influence and money, with his marrying into the family that controls wrestling - the best Hunter can do for himself is to be the lesser half of a tag team with Michaels. 40 years old - still carrying Shawn Michaels's bags. Embarrassing. Pathetic.
When it's the Michaels promo he says Shawn's a triple crown winner, arguably the greatest wrestler who ever lived. He's done it all and done most of it twice.
And then...
He hasn't been WWF Champ in a decade. A decade. Know who has been WWF Champ since Michaels?
"Me. And I'm washed up. Wooooooo."
With Cena he says he likes his fire, likes his aggressiveness, and admires his courage when the fans still laugh at him sometimes.
With Leviathan, he apologizes. Leviathan was his protegee, his tag partner, Leviathan counted on him and Flair swerved him - left him for dead, left him to be savaged by Helmsley and Arn - left him behind when they formed the 51% Solution. Flair's sorry.
But did you ever ask yourself, Flair says, did you ever ask yourself why we didn't want you in the first place? We needed a big man, we got Lashley. You we left to die. Why do you think we did that - what do you think is missing in you that we wouldn't bring you in for the win?
With Steamboat, they roll over their life together. Mid-Atlantic. NWA. 1989. Running the WWF together. Flair swerving Steamboat when he formed the Solution. At every stop, Flair says, Flair was just a little bit better. What's that like, Flair says, to be Ricky Steamboat, to be a two time WWF Champ, to have won the main event at the first ever Mania, to be the man in charge - the man who has unified the title belts after a year and a half, and be standing in the ring with a man better at every single element of his life. Woooo.
Steamboat gets to comeback, unlike the wrestlers who have to take it.
Steamboat's response is that after Mania, Flair goes back home, no tv, no cameras, no ring -- and Steamboat will stay doing the work, stay in the business, stay in the sport. So maybe there's one step that Steamboat took that Flair didn't.
And finally, with Arn there's discomfort. They reminisce. They do the old days. And then Flair shows Arn's surprised reaction from the RAW after the Rumble when HHH-M revealed Flair would be the guest ref. Why wouldn't Arn know - Arn wouldn't know because he and Flair don't talk. Flair's been gone a year, and they haven't spoken in a year. Flair says he leaves messages - but Arn's too busy, too busy with his young wrestlers, too busy trying to win tag titles, too busy trying to hang on for another bit of reflected glory.
So, that's the set up. What will Ric Flair, as guest referee, do in the tag title matchup between the Cliq and WMD at WM XXIV? The road continues.
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