What up, my Peeps?  It’s time to do that Thursday “Fact or Fiction” thing that I do each week. It’s one of your favorite guilty pleasures, along with watching the old Saturday morning cartoons late at night on the tv and eating leftover chinese food while laying on your couch in your boxers.  Yeah, you know you love it.  And I like doing it, so we’re both happy.  I’m Doug and this is what I do.  But enough of the chit-chat.  Let’s get to work.

 

 

Was watching Starcade 85 earlier tonight on the WWE Network.  A good show, but I have to ask.  Ron Garvin in drag as “Miss Atlanta Lively”?  What the hell were they thinking?  Garvin WAS NOT an attractive drag queen.

 

But then again, John Cena once portrayed a character called “Juan Cena” so I guess that everyone has their weak moments.

 

Also watched Bash At The Beach 2000 and Lt. Loco (Chavo Jr.) versus Juventud Guerrero.  Those guys were (are) amazing workers and it was a fantastic match. And as much as I love my other-half, if “The Juice” ever becomes available, I’m ready, willing and able.  Same goes for Lisa Moretti (Ivory).  Just saying.

 

You know what would be great.  The Shield versus The Wyatts versus The Real Americans versus 3MB in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Match.  

 

Ralphus needs to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

 

I wonder if Batista regrets his decision to come back to the WWE, based on how his currrent run has gone thus far?  I also wonder if he’s bought any new jeans?

 

WE THE PEOPLE!  ‘Nuff said!

 

Remember the “Brawl For All” matches?  Bart Gunn should have become a major star after his win.  Instead he ended up getting squashed by Butterbean.  What the hell was the WWE thinking?  Talk about lost potential and money left on the table.  Oh vey!

 

Let’s answer a few questions from the old T.S. mailbag…

 

 

 

My personal choice would be the WCW, or I guess it would be WWE now, World Television Championship.  It would be a great way to build up talent and showcase some great matches for the men who are not quite ready to be in the WWE World Championship picture, but have skills and would benefit from the rub.  With the TV title, you would have a top mid-card talent making defenses on RAW, Smackdown and Main Event.  Just throw a stipulation in there like a ten or fifteen minute time limit and then you have a place for the talents to just have great matches.  The time limit means that no one has to win or lose and it would really get over, I do believe.  It gives the WWE a reason to have a tournament, comparable to the King of the Ring event, which are always fun, and give various superstars trial runs as a champion to see how well they can get over.  It’s a win-win title for a company like the WWE and should be looked into as a possibility.  At least that’s what I think.

 

 

The legacy of the Four Horsemen is something that should not be tampered with and left alone.  But, with that being said, if Vince pulled Arn and Ric into his office and said that he wanted a new group of Horsemen, it could very well happen.  I’d have Arn as the manager because Ric is, well he’s Ric Flair and just by being the “Nature Boy”, he would have a strong presence and could over-shadow the potential Horsemen.  Arn is respected and a great talker, but he would know more when to step to the back and let the others shine, much like J.J. Dillon used to do.

 

As for the wrestlers, I’ll stick with the current WWE roster.  There are quite a few guys out there that I’d love to bring in, such as Mark Jindrak from down in Mexico’s Triple AAA, former WWE stars Carlito and Chris Masters and former TNA stars Matt Morgan and Crimson, but I’m assuming that Vince would tell Arn and Ric to look at the current rosters of the WWE and NXT first before going outside the company.  

 

For the Ric Flair “top dog” role, I think I’d go with Dolph Ziggler. For the “Enforcer” role, made famous by Arn Anderson, I’d be looking at Cesaro.  For the part of the technician / trouble-maker, ala Tully Blanchard, I think that The Miz would be a good choice.  And for the mentor / veteran spot, aka Ole Anderson, I think that Mark Henry would fit.  

 

So we’d have Dolph, Miz, Cesaro and Mark Henry, managed by Double-A, Arn Anderson.  It’s not quite up to the Horseman standards, but it’d be a good start.  Everyone has the talent and skills necessary to be part of an elite grouping and if booked correctly, maybe the WWE would be able to catch lightning in a bottle.  Who knows?  

 

And just for the heck of it, if I was told to create my new “Horsemen” from anyone in wrestling, it would be the guys I mentioned earlier.  Mark Jindrak, Carlito, Chris Masters, Matt Morgan and Crimson, managed by Arn Anderson.  And that group would come in with an impact, kick ass and be a major force to be contended with.  Just sayng.

 

 

I really don’t think so.  Trish was an avid student of the game and worked hard while coming up in the WWE to become a good worker and earn her spot in the company, but a lot of the credit for her rise has to go to the other women who she worked with every night, such as Lita, Molly, Jazz, Ivory, Luna, Victoria, etc.  Trish worked hard with other women who also worked hard and as a result, she got better and better.  Being around others with talent and drive tends to bring out the best in people and in that locker room, everyone was competing to be the best and get that spot on the shows.  Trish thrived and did well.  The locker room isn’t as talented now in the ring and it’s a whole different world for the Divas.  Trish, if she was there today, would rise to the top of the Divas division.  Of that, I have no doubt, but would she be as skilled in the ring or be as highly rated? I doubt it.  Trish was a product of her time and era and sadly, that time and that place and moment doesn’t exist anymore.

 

And now…

 

 

As per the usual, the questions and statements below come from my friends at 411mania.com/wrestling.  Well, most of them do anyhow. The others are from me.  And the answers.  That’s all me, as it should be.  Let’s do this.

 

 

FACT:  Paul Heyman has done a great job with the promos and helping to build the anticipation for the Undertaker / Lesnar match, but aside from that, it really hasn’t been all that impressive.  The original “contract signing” was great and then…  eh!  Undertaker threatens Heyman on the Main Event program and we get the Druid / casket mumbo-jumbo on RAW.  It hasn’t been bad really, but it hasn’t been great either.  Honestly though, I think that could be said for the entire build for Wrestlemania XXX.  We’ve had some good moments, but it seems that, aside from the HHH / Bryan match, the build and promotion for Wrestlemania is all over the place. With the launch of The Network, the new Scooby Doo movies, the CM Punk situation, etc, maybe there are just too many things happening at once. For the die hard fans, what they’ve done is enough, but for the casual fans still on the edge, it isn’t really.

 

 

FACT:  Having Angelina Love return is a good sign for the Knockouts Division.  Will TNA be able to capitalize and take advantage?  It’s TNA so I doubt it.  It’s still a good move though.

 

 

FACT:  I have no doubt that Roman will be a big star and have a great career, but the more I see him and watch him perform, I have a feeling that Dean Ambrose will be the first one to really get over as a singles guy and make the biggest impact.  All three men are fantastic and will do very well in their careers and have break-out moments, but my gut says Ambrose will be “the man” to do it first.

 

 

FACT:  While I think Kurt would probably rather go to the WWE and finish his in-ring career there, I think he also realizes that it’s not the same as it was when he was first there.  His body is in rough shape and no one is even sure if he could pass the physicals to be allowed in a WWE ring as a wrestler.  Then add the stress of the WWE road schedule and the “Wellness policies”.  It all might be a little too much for the Olympic Gold Medalist.  And also, in WWE, Kurt would be a big fish in an ocean of big fish.  All of that has to be considered.  With Jarrett, it’s obvious that they respect each other and can work together, despite their unique personal relationship with Jeff being married to Kurt’s ex-wife Karen.  And Kurt would be the “big fish” there and not just another pretty face.  I’m sure that when Kurt retires, he’ll try his best to find a way to finish up in a WWE ring.  But Kurt isn’t ready to retire yet and for the moment, working for Jarrett is probably the best way to go.

 

 

FICTION: I’m not really a big HHH fan, but Bret is letting his personal bias cloud his judgement.  HHH isn’t perfect, but on anyone’s scale, he would be closer to the higher end than the lower, probably around the “8” or “8.5” level.  I respect Bret, but he’s wrong here.

 

 

FICTION:  Unless he’s got Al Snow as his partner, I have no desire to see Steve Blackman in any kind of show. Just saying.

 

 

FACT:  I almost said fiction because as a stand-alone character, Razor Ramon, while good, is simply a gold nugget in the middle of a gold mine.  But Razor Ramon is more than just the WWE “Bad Guy”.  It’s Scott Hall, former AWA World Tag Team Champion.  It’s Scott Hall, one of the original members of the nWo, along with Nash and Hogan.  It’s Scott Hall, one half of “The Outsiders”.  And Scott Hall, despite his failings and bad moments, has made a significant impact in this business and deserves every honor and tribute he can get.  Razor Ramon is just a piece of the puzzle – Scott Hall is the whole picture.  And survey says, one more for the bad guy!.

 

 

FICTION:  It will be good and have some great moments to be sure, but so far, based on the build and what we’re getting in terms of matches and promotion, it seems more like a chaotic mess than the biggest show of the last thirty years.  It’s been underwhelming, to say the least and it just doesn’t seem to have any focus yet.  Maybe they’ll put it all together and surprise me, but so far, it’s not looking very good.

 

 

FICTION:  We’ve all heard the news that Coach has an announcement of some sorts regarding the WWE, but will it be the WWE moving to ESPN?  I doubt it. And will it be Coach returning to the WWE?  I doubt that too. Give up that nice job with ESPN?  I can’t see it happening. It’s probably an interview of some sorts or maybe the addition of Mike Adamle to the ESPN family.  Who knows, but I really don’t expect it to be anything truly major, except in the eyes of Coach.

 

 

FICTION:  While we may see clues and hints of The Stinger at Wrestlemania XXX, I don’t expect we’ll see the actual man himself until the next night at RAW.  Sting isn’t the type to step in and steal someone else’s spotlight and moment at the WWE’s biggest show and if he was to debut at Wrestlemania, it would do exactly that and over-shadow the majority of the event. Or worse, be a big moment in a day of big moments and not have much of an effect or stand-out for what the WWE wants to do with his character.  Better to wait and have him do his thing on RAW the next night where it can mean more and truly be an impact moment rather than just another highlight in a day filled with highlights.

 

And with that, I think it’s time to bring this baby to a close. Questions and comments can be sent to Doug28352@yahoo.com or else you can come find me on Facebook at facebook.com/saltpalace.  Thank you for reading.  I’m Doug and I am out of here, my friends. Have a great week and I’ll catch you on the flip-side.  

 

Ubuntu!