pro wrestling over-sell (issue 1)

8/13/2019 Pro Wrestling Over-Sell (Issue 1)

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Eddie Edwards captures ROH WorldTile in a shocker the story that makes th

title change significant

Shocking, unexpected surprises seemto come few and far between, especially in theyear 2011. One of those moments happened onMarch 19 in the Manhattan Center of New YorkCity. Eddie Edwards became the fifteenth Ringof Honor World Champion after defeatingRoderick Strong in what was described as anawesome back and forth main event.

This wascompletely unanticipatedgiven that Roderick Stronghad title matches lined upon future shows,particularly on iPPV duringWrestleMania weekend.This seemed like it would

just be another [very good]title defense from Strong

that would stay at just that.The only thing one would hope for isthat Edwards could come out looking like heshould one day be ROH World Champion. Thatone day was Manhattan Mayhem IV.

To stay that Edwards stock rose in2010 would be an understatement. He washaving some of his best matches alongsideDavey Richards in the very successful AmericanWolves tag team. In Feb. of 2010, he wascrowned the first ROH Television Champion,having defeated Davey Richards in the finals ofthe tournament. After the Wolves went more ina singles direction, Eddie Edwards was peggedas one of the guys to keep your eyes on in 2011with fans really getting behind him.

It's that time of year when webegin to talk about the forthcomingWrestleMania, an event that is nevershort of talking points. We speculatewhere it will rank on a long, storied listof highs and lows. We wonder what willhappen on the show itself and gossipabout our own ideas and theories. Theroad to WreslteMania 27 has been abumpy one filled with both anticipationand discontent, elements that make theApril 3 spectacular in Atlanta one of themore newsworthy stories of the year.

It has been adecade since theWrestleMania that isregarded as one of, ifnot the best installmentto date. WrestleManiaX-7 from Houston,Texas on April 1, 2001has been touted as thegreatest all-around

WrestleMania by fansand critics alike. It hadeverything aWrestleMania shouldhave from theperfect setting to the unparalleledline-up of big matches of greataction and drama.

It looked good going in, andmost importantly, looked even bettercoming out. It's a show that is hard toduplicate, and for good reason. Quitesimply, it delivered and then some.

That is what is expected of a show thatis looked upon as the premierewrestling and entertainment happeningof the year. Does this year'sWrestleMania have what it takes tobe... electrifying ?

The main event is often themost talked about attraction of not justWrestleMania, but any wrestling show.Though, the main event alone isn't themain selling point of this year's event. If

For the 27th time... An in-depth look at WrestleMania XXVII

anything is responsible for gettingWrestleMania past one million buys,it's going to be a combination ofthings. Maybe it'll be the appearancesof stars from the Attitude Era ofwrestling mixed in with the newlyestablished stars that generate theneed to see the pay-per-view. Perhapsthat selling point is the man that litthe WrestleMania fire, The Rock.

So what match should go onlast? Oddly enough, that's a questionis usually never answered until the

show is underway. The threeobvious choices would be theWWE Title match,World Title match or theshowdown between TheUndertaker and TripleH. The anticipation ofwhat will come of TheRock's participation asguest host of the show,

coupled with his involvementin The Miz and John Cenafeud makes the WWETitle match stand aloneas the headline match-up.

The WWEChampion, The Miz enters his secondWrestleMania in the biggestcircumstance of his wrestling careerwith everything to prove. Thechallenger, John Cena will be enteringhis eighth consecutive WrestleMania,only having lost one time. This match

has been hinted at since late last year,really becoming obvious when TheMiz sneakily eliminated John Cenafrom the Royal Rumble match in Jan.with the intent of not having to faceCena at WrestleMania. That planbackfired when Cena won a numberone contender's match in Feb. insideof the Elimination Chamber,

PPP RRR OOO WWW RRR EEE SSS TTT LLL III NNN GGG OOO VVV EEE RRR --- SSS EEE LLL LLL Issue #1 Monthly Pro Wrestling Editorials & Analysis April 2011

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MonthlyUnderscore

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Top of the card

Between the ropes: 'Mania hype...pgs. 2-7 Tweets...pg. 9 DVD Review...pg. 8 A Look Back...pg. The Road Ahead...pg. 8 PPV Review...pg. 1

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Top of the card Continued from Page 1

eliminating five other potential challengers.Upon first glance, a Miz vs. John Cena main event

match at WrestleMania doesn't exactly seem like ablockbuster encounter. In the summer of 2009, the two hada brief feud where The Miz clearly wasn't on the same levelas John Cena. In fact, in their one and only pay-per-viewencounter to date, Cena decisively defeated The Miz inaround five minutes. Why should anyone expect a differentoutcome this time around?

Since then, The Miz has establishedhimself into a credible performer, capable ofsucceeding in a singles role when mostdoubted he would have any success after hissplit with tag team partner, John Morrison.Surprisingly, Miz has had more success thanMorrison, working his way up through themid-card, holding the United States Title, andby mid 2010 was on the cusp of main eventstatus after winning the Money in the Bank

Ladder match, guaranteeing him a shot at theWWE Title he currently holds because of thatmatch.

To sum it all up, The Miz has transformed into amain event level star, looking to prove he can stand toe-to-toe with John Cena, and even The Rock. To think Miz can gofrom the opening match at last year's WrestleMania topotentially main-eventing this year is something no onecould have predicted.

Though it's hard to deny that the bigger storyseems to be the back and forth verbal battle between JohnCena and The Rock. The Miz is looking like the third wheel inthe saga, maybe even an afterthought of both Cena and

Rock. The Miz has kept himself relevant by cutting strongpromos on the mic on both men. He has gotten the better ofCena more often than not coming into the event by leavinghim laying as most editions of Raw concluded.

It's expected than John Cena will win the WWE Titlein his seventh consecutive title match at WrestleManiacontested over a major championship. History is on his side,especially in the instance of the match going on last. Thephilosophy over the years has been to send the crowd homehappy, and The Miz retaining his title might not be the wayto make that happen. If The Miz did walk out ofWrestleMania as WWE Champion, the win would do far

more for him than it would do for Cena.The perfect solution to an ideal ending would beThe Rock and John Cena confronting one another andeventually turning their attention to a braggadocios Miz.That would lead to both Cena and Rock hitting theirsignature moves on the retaining champion as the ultimatecrowd-pleaser. The only problem is that WWE gave a littlebit of that away and then some on the go-home Raw, whichtakes away from that special moment when all three wouldbe in the ring at once at WrestleMania. There was far too

much verbal exchange and even more physicality thatcrea tes a lapse in one of the shows main selling points.Theres still a hook to see what happens next, but it is farless meaningful, as much of the payoff has already beengiven.

The match might not be remembered as one of thebetter WrestleMania main events as far as match qualitygoes, but the subsequential aftermath could be responsiblefor delivering a defining WrestleMania moment.

The World Title will be on the linefor the ninth time at a WrestleMania whenthe champion, Edge defends againstchallenger, Alberto Del Rio. This marksEdge's tenth WrestleMania appearanceand fourth consecutive year that he hasbeen in the World Title match. Edge hasnot fared well in recent years, losing hislast four WrestleMania matches afterbeing undefeated his first five matches.

As the fastest-rising star in quitesome time, Alberto Del Rio will be a part of his firstWrestleMania, entering an elite list of few who can say theirfirst WrestleMania match was contested for a World Title.The only five other wrestlers who can claim such an honorare Sgt. Slaughter, Ric Flair, Yokozuna, Diesel, and BrockLesnar.

Alberto Del Rio's rapid ascension to the top wassolidified when he won his first Royal Rumble match,ultimately choosing to face Edge for his World Title inAtlanta. Despite the match being set-up the night after theRoyal Rumble several months ago, the feud hasn't had thetype of hype it should for people to have a vested interest in

seeing the match.There isn't much

build to speak of, other thanthe few instances where DelRio attempted to injureEdge's arm, much like he didto Edge's former partnerand friend, Christian in thefall of 2010. Interestingly,Christian's involvement in the rivalry is the glue that'sholding together any interest there might be.

If there was ever a time where a title match would

benefit from being a triple threat match, this would be it.Though for all intents and purposes, it is best for Edge andDel Rio to rebound a lackluster build with a match that bothwrestlers can be proud of. Edge has been on a role as far asdelivering a consistent string of excellent matches, and forthat to end when it matters the most is improbable.

By the looks of it, Christian will accompany Edge inhis corner for moral support and Del Rio's NXT Season 4rookie, Brodus Clay will accompany him in a bodyguard typerole. Christian and Clay will be the story on the outside of

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WrestleMania XXVII preview, pt. 2



the ring, something that needs to be carefully booked as tonot take away from the in-ring action. Including them makessense given the amount of TV that has been dedicated totheir involvement.

All indicators point to Alberto Del Rio winning hisfirst World Title amidst the push he has received inWWE's current "youth movement." No matter theoutcome, both wrestlers will have a readymadechallenger in Christian. A Del Rio World Title win,however would be a payoffthat has been months in the making since he brokeonto the scene. A win for Edge might not be asimpactful, though it could go a long way in establishingEdge as a babyface at this juncture of his tenuredcareer.

In a match that is being built as "the last of theoutlaws," Triple H will challenge Undertaker's18-0 undefeated WrestleMania streak. The Undertaker willenter his nineteenth WrestleMania with the legend that issimply known as "the streak." That bit of symbolism has

turned into a story of its own for all of Undertaker'sWrestleMania matches for over the past decade.

This will be the fifthteenth WrestleManiaappearance for Triple H, back in a marquee match afterdefeating Sheamus in an undercard match last year. Triple Hindicated that ending the streak was the only thing left forhim to do in WWE, having done it all.

One of the bigger notes of the match is fact thatUndertaker and Triple H did battle at WrestleMania X-7 ten years ago with Undertaker coming out on top. Thispiece of information has been omitted in the renewedversion of the feud. By all accounts, that is the right move ifthey want the match to seem new and for fans to believethat Triple H could be the one who ends the streak.

The last time these two faced off one-on-one wason SmackDown! in Oct. 2008. They were the last twowrestlers in the WWE Title Elimination Chamber match fromNo Way Out 2009, and put on an edge-of-your-seatperformance in the final minutes. Point being, Undertakerand Triple have a record of putting on big matches with oneanother when called upon. This match, however could be anexception.

Triple H hasn't been actively wrestling since April2010, taking time off to nurse a number of injuries. TheUndertaker has been out of action since October 2010 after

losing a Buried Alive match. Quite a few injuries wereplaguing the deadman at the time, led by a torn rotator cuff.He has been rehabbing the injury extensively since then,though it is believed he's coming back before he shouldahead of schedule.

What does this mean for what is hoped to be anepic showdown? Both wrestlers have ring rust to workoff and must find a way to work around their limitations.The match was made No Holds Barred shortly after the

bout was made official, which means Triple H andUndertaker will be less likely to put on a clinic, butrather do a throwback to their last WrestleMania matchand showcase more of a brawling style. This way, theywon't be expected to even try and put on the caliber ofmatches Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have had thepast two years.

It has been a year sinceShawn Michaels has wrestled,having lost a "career vs. streak"match against The Undertaker.Michaels has played a very subtle,but important role in the feudwith the taped vignettes he's inthat have aired to promote thematch. He's the middle man inthe ordeal as the friend of Triple

H, explaining why he feels that if anyone can end the streak,Triple H will be the one to do it.

Shawn Michaels being a special referee or enforcer

for the match could have added to the story that the threehave created. Though, something like that would haverequired more time to build and Undertaker and Triple Hwould have had to of been active for much longer than theyhave been. Reintroducing both men back on television alittle over a month before WrestleMania as a part of the"2.21.11" campaign was a gamble, but one that paid offknowing who was involved and the story that was planned.

Undertaker's streak coming to an end one yearbefore potentially reaching 20-0 is doubtful. Triple H givingUndertaker his nineteenth WrestleMania win is surely whatwill happen. Given Undertaker's constant injuries and TripleH's desire to take on a permanent behind the scenes role,might this be the last time we see Undertaker and Triple Hface off?

Randy Orton and CM Punk both have a major scoreto settle after having cost the other their respective WorldTitles. Randy Orton will be competing in a WrestleManiamatch for the eighth consecutive year with just three winsunder his belt. This will be CM Punk's fifth WrestleManiaappearance, and his second singles match after havecompeted in the Money in the Bank Ladder match his firstthree outings.

This, without adoubt is the highest profile

match Punk has been in todate, coming in as one ofthe top heels, facing one ofthe top baby faces in thecompany. It's a match-upof two former, multi-timeworld champions, whichironically was the catalystthat got the rivalry going.

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Just as it looked like Orton was going to defeat TheMiz for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble, CM Punk and hisNew Nexus intervened to make sure that didn't happenafter Punk put Orton down with a Go To Sleep, costing himthe title. Punk explained his actions by alluding to the past,something that isn't often done in current storylines.CM Punk was forced to relinquish his World Title after notbeing able to defend it at Unforgiven 2008 because of apunt kick to the head from Orton, who was a heel at thetime. Punk bringing up that situation from three years priorwas what put the feud in motion. It was simple, yet effectiveto where both guys had a legitimate gripe with one anotherwith something to equally prove.

The rivalry has also been seemingly responsible forthe downfall of the New Nexus, the group CM Punk tookcontrol of in the early weeks of 2011. In a cleaver means ofinsuring Orton vs. Punk would indeed be just that, a one-on-one confrontation, Orton faced each member of the NewNexus in the following weeks with the stipulation that if hedefeated any of them, they wouldn't be allowed to

accompany Punk to the ring for their match atWrestleMania.

Orton went three for three by pinning and puntingthe heads of Michael McGillicutty, David Otunga and MasonRyan, the remaining New Nexus members. It's unknownwhere that leaves the Nexus as a group in the future, but itdoes put Orton and Punk in a situation where they can givethe fans a decisive winner.

Looking at Orton's dominance coming in, it wouldappear that he would be the one to go over. Punk hasn'tlooked like much of a threat, constantly avoiding physicalcontact. When Punk did get the upper hand, he wasassisted, resources he no longer has at his disposal. Though,Punk did injure Orton's leg with a wrench, so it remains tobe seen how that will play into the story of the match. Evenif the feud continues past WreslteMania, this particularchapter of "an eye for an eye" will be written with one ofthe two getting their recompense.

To think that Jerry Lawler has been in the wrestlingbusiness for four decades and has never competed atWrestleMania is amazing to say the least. After a prominentresurgence starting late last year, Lawler will finally get achance to add a WrestleMania match to his long list ofaccomplishments.

The antagonist, a modern day Andy Kaufman-like

foe for Lawler is Michael Cole, a character that has slowlyshifted from being your straightforward play-by-playcommentator to a colorful, over-the-top agitator to not justthe fans, but to his long-time broadcast partner. The tensionbegan when Cole prevented Lawler from winning the WWETile in a TLC match, Lawler's fist ever shot at the title in Nov.2010.

Since then, Cole has accused Lawler of stealing thespotlight from everyone else, making the show revolve all

around him. Interestingly, those accusations have beenbetter suited for Cole with his over-bearing, pompous aurahe has created for himself. Physical contact between thetwo has been kept to a bare minimum, as it should. Colewouldn't be nearly as effective in his role if he was gettingbeat up every time he said something that made you wantto slap him.

There's been enough tease of Lawler nearly givingCole him comeuppance to where fans are clamoring for themoment to happen. Cole accepted Lawler's challenge to amatch, but only under his conditions. The main one wouldbe that Jack Swagger would train and accompany Cole toringside for the match. Swagger evens what would havebeen an obvious one-sided encounter.

Swagger has been responsible for not only givingCole an edge coming into the match, but he has protectedCole, something he'll most likely do at WrestleMania.Despite not being in an actual match, being involved in thisprogram gives Swagger a meaningful role on the show withwhich to work.

Michael Cole's second condition of choosing aspecial guest referee for the match went awry when "StoneCold" Steve Austin signed a contract meant for Cole's formerSmackDown! broadcast partner, JBL. Austin's involvementseems to be purely motivated by adding more star power tothe show. Having Austin in the mix will add to the

entertainment, but he should inno way overshadow Jerry Lawler.After all, this match is designed togive Lawler his big moment.

This has been one of thebetter built programs for theshow. It's been perfectly designedfor the moment Michael Cole getshis lights knock out by Lawler.

This is an attraction match suited specifically forWrestleMania. Michael has assumed a role similar to AndyKaufman, not an in-ring performer, but someone who talksexcessively without being able to back it up.

The outcome should be obvious. A returning JimRoss on commentary objectively cheering Lawler's firstWrestleMania match and win and giving Cole what he hadcoming to him for over the past year. A beer-drinkingcelebration shouldn't be too farfetched with Austininvolved, either.

Cody Rhodes will compete in the biggest singlesmatch of his career, looking for a form of redemption as hetakes on Rey Mysterio. Rhodes enters only his secondWrestleMania, while Mysterio will be competing in hisseventh match on the big show.

Cody Rhodes has had big matches in the past,mostly teaming with former partner, Ted DiBiase against thelikes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels, even in a main eventslot. Since going solo, Rhodes as established his "Dashing"

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gimmick, finding moderate success,but definitely a step down to wherehe was.

The potential of thegimmick has been there all along,and Rhodes did everything to makeit work, which it did. He essentiallyturned into a narcissist who pridedhimself on his [dashing] good looks.This was played up in a series ofweekly vignettes titled, "GroomingTips" where Rhodes would bringeveryone "one step closer todashing ."

The purpose was served in getting the fans to hatethe character, especially with Rhodes telling members of theaudience on a weekly basis that they could never look asgood as him. Upon entering the arena, Rhodes would lookinto a mirror built into the TitonTron, which would projecthis image for the entire arena to see. The gimmick evolved

where he would throw a tantrum if anyone hit him in theface. He would stop what he was doing and check his face ina mirror at ringside before resuming the match.

To really escalate the character of Rhodes and totake it one step further, he would essentially have tobecome "un-dashing" to bring out a different side. Thathappened on the Jan. 21 SmackDown! where Mysterioinjured Rhodes' face with his exposed knee brace after a619. This really began the feud with Rhodes pulling outof the Royal Rumble match and laying blame onMysterio for destroying his chances of headliningWrestleMania. Rhodes wasn't seen for a few weeks,reportedly having reconstructive surgery while away.

Rhodes has since been wearing a towel overhis head to the ring and sporting a face mask to hidethe damage. Everything about Rhodes has been a littledarker, from his entrance music to his vicious side inhis matches. In the process, Rhodes has unmaskedMysterio, a sign of ultimate disrespect to Mysterio'sbackground and heritage.

This feud is the height of the Cody Rhodescharacter. It's the most logical direction to take thecharacter, as damaging the dashing moniker was somethingthat was bound to happen at some point, and having itculminate at WrestleMania seems only appropriate. Rhodes

has been doing the best work of his career, cutting grippingpromos and performing the darker version of the gimmickexpertly.

Rey Mysterio is a good foil, and someone who canhelp Rhodes become a prominent singles wrestler. Mysterioapparently hand-picked Rhodes as his WrestleManiaopponent , so that in itself is reflective of this program beingone of the more well-thought-out and executed storiescoming into the show.

A win for Cody Rhodes would be exactly what heneeds to put himself into an upper-mid card position later inthe year. Both wrestlers have proven to have goodchemistry, so a standout performance should comenaturally. In fact, the bout has a chance to be the dark horsematch of the night, something that could take people likesurprise, much like its build.

The foundation of WrestleMania was built oncelebrity involvement, starting with the Rock 'n' WrestlingConnection in the early 1980s. That tradition returns inAtlanta when Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi appears alongside JohnMorrison and Trish Stratus to face Dolph Ziggler and LayCoolin a six person tag.

John Morrison will wrestle at WrestleMania for thethird time and Trish Stratus for the fifth time. Dolph Zigglerwill be making his second WrestleMania appearance and forboth members of LayCool, it will be their third. This isanother match designed for WrestleMania, something thatwouldn't be done at your average pay-per-view. It's a specialattraction match meant to get people talking for a different

reason, a reason more geared to brining in a new kind ofaudience.

This interesting match came about the night Snookiwas a guest star on an edition of Raw. She sat ringside asTrish Stratus returned to the ring to face Vickie Guerrerowith Vickie's job on the line. Layla and Michelle McCool'sinterference in the match helped Vickie to get a win over theveteran, Trish. LayCool taunted Snooki, who would retaliate

on both Layla and McCool. DolphZiggler got involved and wasfended off by John Morrison.Vickie Guerrero was the one tolay down the challenge, whichSnooki surprisingly accepted.

Snooki partaking in amatch at WrestleManiaimmediately garnered coveragefrom every entertainmentoutlet the likes of TMZ and

Entertainment Weekly. Getting Snooki for WrestleManiawas a good choice, being one of the most recognizablecelebrities in current pop culture. In return, that should giveWrestleMania the necessary exposure to the non-WWEwatchers.

The winners ought to be apparent. WWE could get

some bonus press post-WrestleMania with the image ofSnooki pinning one of the members of LayCool. Morrisonand Ziggler will be able to provide the doses of athleticismwhile chaos ensues elsewhere in the match.

The United States Championship will be on the linefor only the fourth time at WrestleMania as champion,Seamus faces Daniel Bryan. Sheamus enters his secondWrestleMania and Bryan makes his WrestleMania debut,something that has been about a year in the making.


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Much of the back-story is focused on Sheamus andhow he was on a bit of a losing streak early in 2011. Afterwinning the King of the Ring tournament late last year, hehas slowly fallen down the card, even to a point where he

jobbed to Mark Henry in under five minutes. Sheamus'losing streak was attributed to his King of the Ring win,something that was pegged as the "King of the Ring curse."

The only curse in that ishow far down they put the formerWWE Champion, Sheamus. He wasimproving in the ring and took theKing Sheamus character as high ashe could. It seemed that Sheamusfell into the slump that WWE likesto put wrestlers in that receive abig push and then try to put themback in their place so they don'tget a big ego.

Daniel Bryan was United States Champion since theNight of Champions 2010 pay-per-view in Sept. of 2010. The

times he did defend the belt, particularly on pay-per-viewwere usually show-stealers. He hasn't done much in recentmonths with the most notable story being with the BellaTwins. This kind of set Sheamus and Bryan on similar coursesand gave them a reason to interact in some way.

After losing by count-out to Bryan on Raw in earlyMarch, an angry Sheamus challenged Bryan the followingweek for his United States Championship, with thestipulation that if he lost the match, he would leave Raw.

The match came and both wrestlers put on a stellarperformance worthy of being on pay-per-view. Sheamuswon the match and the title and broke his losing streak ofmatches and bad luck. He was instantly rebuilt, and being anIrishman, began rubbing in the fact that he was thechampion of the United States.

Daniel Bryan challenged Sheamus to a rematch atWrestleMania per the rematch clause of the title change. It'shard to tell why they didn't wait for WrestleMania to put thebelt on Sheamus. Perhaps they were trying to get heat onboth wrestlers leading into the match.

Seeing as Sheamus just won the belt, it's difficult toimagine that he will be dropping it this quickly. A win forDaniel Bryan could strongly set him up for the monthsfollowing WrestleMania, whereas a loss would really set himback farther than he needs to be at this point. If their title

match on Raw was any indication, we're in store for a highlycompetitive match that will certainly be in contention formatch of the night if given the time.

With no Money in the Bank Ladder match for thefirst time in six years, it seemed necessary to have a multi-man match in its place. The Corre of Wade Barrett, EzekielJackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel will team to face BigShow, Kane, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov in an eight-man tag match. This was the final match announced for the

show, just six days before the event.. Kane entersWrestleMania for the twelfth time and Big Show for theeleventh time. For everyone else, they will be making theirWrestleMania debuts.

Since Wade Barrett formed the Corre in early Jan.2011, their main adversary has been the Big Show. Theyhave used their strength in numbers to dominate the giant,and Ezekiel Jackson was always the great equalizer anytimeBig Show had an advantage. The feud continued for weeksto where the fans were waiting for Show to get some formof help.

When recruiting Kane backfired for The Corre, BigShow found himself an unlikely ally. Kane transitioned fromheel, seemingly to a babyface after he sadistically told BigShow, "You complete me." Even the two monsters struggledto stand up to Corre on their own.

Show and Kane found partners in two men thathave been feuding with The Corre's Heath Slater and JustinGabriel over the WWE Tag Titles since Nov., Santino Marellaand Vladimir Kozlov. While this isn't the most exciting four

man team, it does make the most sense given was hastranspired over the past couple of months.

There was speculation that Kofi Kingston was goingto be on the Big Show and Kane team, but those plansappeared to have been nixed. After Kingston lost hisIntercontinental Title to Wade Barrett in late March, thatseemed like a catalyst to get him involved. Kingston nothaving any presence on the main show might be one of themore missed opportunities because of his importance to thecompany's future.

This match is abig step back for WadeBarrett, especially aftercompeting in multiplemain events the secondhalf of 2010. It wouldhave been more ideal forhim to be involved insomething a little moremeaningful, but Barrett being on the show in some capacityis better than nothing.

This is a match that The Corre should win, given theidea that they've been built as a collective unit. A loss wouldonly make the group look weak with their opponents havingnothing significant to gain. Show, Kane, Marella and Kozlov

should be happy that they'll be a part of the main showwhen so many are not.

Months ago, there didn't seem to be much hope fortheir year's WrestleMania from an in-ring or spectaclestandpoint. With several big stars since last year'sWrestleMania either retired or on hiatus, there became areal concern for creating compelling, big-show worthymatch-ups. There also wasn't that hook that could generateweek-to-week interest.


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What makes Edwards title win even moresurprising is that it appeared that Davey Richards would bethe next in line to hold the world title given his story in thetitle hunt. It wasnt a matter of if, but when Richards wasgoing to defeat Strong. Timing can be everything, especiallyin Edwards case.

Over the past several years, ROH has had atendency to wait too long to pull the trigger when it comesto putting the belt on certain guys. Nigel McGuinness andTyler Black are two of the more prime examples. In bothcases, it could be said that by the time they finally won thetitle, it was a year too late. The fans invested in them earlyon when they got hot, but soured on them when theyeventually were given the belt because of the endless time ittook.

Both instances created a backlash that affected thetitle reigns to some degree to where plans had to besomewhat modified. From a character perspective,McGuinness and Black won the ROH World Title as babyfaces, and lost it as heels, largely because of the reactionfrom the fans. That slow build may have worked back in theday, but capitalizing on an opportunity in the present isessential for satisfying and long-lasting results.

Eddie Edwards hasntsuffered from a similar situation,but has benefited from theopposite. While its possible thefans turn on him at some point, itwont be because his world ti tlechase took forever to culminate.

He was on enough of a role where winning the title

wasnt out of nowhere, in that he was more than worthy tobe in contention.This was a very pleasant surprise that wasnt only

smart from a creative standpoint, but also a businessstandpoint. Edwards pinned Strong with a quick roll-up thatfurther added to the shock value. In return, this lets fansknow that a pinfall can happen at any time with somethingas simple as a flash pin. The title change adds to theimportance of events taped for DVD, giving off the idea thatthe title can change hands not just on iPPV. ROH Titlematches wont be just another match with fans highlyspeculating on all possible outcomes.

To add even more onto that, another notable

underscore is Eddie Edwards being crowned the first triplecrown champion in ROH history. To think that BryanDanielson was chasing after the tag titles in 2009 tocomplete his list of championships and didn't manage toobtain all of them to become the first triple crown championis interesting when compared to how quickly it took Edwardsto overcome that feat.

Edwards became a big deal fast and did it simply bybeing a dedicated worker. The fans noticed it, as did the

other wrestlers and management. He continues towork at becoming better and isn't complacent, aquality that has really shined through sincebecoming a regular on the roster in 2008.

The American Wolf's hunt for the ROHWorld Title was successful. Everything thatsurrounds the victory has made it one of the mosthistoric occasions in Ring of Honor's nine yearexistence.

Courtesy of Nielsen TV Ratings

Week of

March 7 3.9 1.2 1.9

March 14 3.6 1.2 2.0

March 21 3.3 1.2 1.9

March 28 3.8 1.2 1.9

Edwards wins title Continued from Page 1

Luckily, many of those problems were correctedearly enough. The talk internally is that they are doingeverything in their power to surpass one million pay-per-view buys. That probably wouldn't have had any chance ofhappening had the wheels not been put into motion earlywith starting feuds several months prior and calling up a few

names from the past.The Rock deserves the most credit for agreeing tocome back just at the right time, more importantly, makingWrestleMania feel like a big deal and giving the WWE Titlematch a glow and to make it something to anticipate.However, The Rock was just a start to a long list ofnoteworthy additions to the show.

While the hype for WrestleMania is there, itremains to be seen how it will deliver on April 3. Matchquality might not be at an all time WrestleMania high, butthere will be a number of matches that will make wrestlingpurists happy. Maybe the returning superstars andcelebrities will be enough to make the event memorable forthe fans looking for a dosage of entertainment.

WrestleMania XXVII is a show that will have a littlesomething for everyone no matter how it's looked at. If thisWrestleMania does go down as one of the better editions, itcould be one of the bigger bombshells the wrestling worldhas seen in years. Only on April 3, 2011 in the Georgia Domein Atlanta will it be determined where this WrestleMania fitsin with its 26 predecessors.

WrestleMania XXVII preview, pt. 7 (final)

Television Ratings



A look at upcoming eveThe True Story of WrestleMania The Road Ahead

EVOLVE evolvewrestling.com -EVOLVE 7April 19th, 2011: Manhattan, NYMatches: Chuck Taylor vs. Akira Tozawa,Austin Aries vs. Jon Moxley, Jigsaw &

Frightmare vs. Facade & Jason Gory, SamiCallihan vs. Zack Sabre Jr.Also booked: Jimmy Jacobs, JohnnyGargano, AR Fox, Silas Young, Jon DavisShiima Xion, Tony Nese, Reby Sky, LarryDallasDragon Gate USA dgusa.tv

-Fearless 2011June 3rd, 2011: Foxborough, MA -Uprising 2011June 4th, 2011: Deer Park, New York-Enter The Dragon 2011: SecondAnniversary CelebrationJune 5th, 2011: Manhattan, NYAll three shows to feature: YAMATO,Masato Yoshino & PAC, CIMA, AustinAries, Brodie Lee & Ricochet of BloodWarriors, Masaaki Mochizuki, SusumuYokosuka, Ronin of Chuck Taylor, JohnnyGargano and Rich Swann, D.U.F. of ArikCannon & Sami Callihan, Jimmy Jacobs,AR FoxRing of Honor rohwrestling.com-May 6, 2011: Dearborn, MI -May 7, 2011: Toronto, ONBoth shows to feature: Eddie Edwards,Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas,Christopher Daniels, Chris Hero andClaudio Castagnoli, Shane Hagadorn,Davey Richards, El Generico, Kenny Kingand Rhett Titus, Michael Elgin & TruthMartiniTNA tnawrestling.com -Lockdown 2011April 19, 2011: Cincinnati, OHMatches: Sting vs. Mr. Anderson vs. RVD,Immortal vs. Fortune, Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt

Angle, Mickie James vs. Madison Rayne,Hernandez vs. Matt Morgan , The Popevs. Samoa Joe, Xscape match, Ink Inc vs.Crimson/Steiner vs. Jordan/Young vs. Magnus/WilliamsWWE wwe.com-Extreme Rules 2011May 1, 2011: Tampa, FL

If youre looking for something to really get you ready forWrestleMania, the documentary does a great job of makingthe event feel special

-this could be a DVD people watch each year duringWrestleMania season to really get the hype going

Naturally, they spent a lot of time looking at the first three

WrestleManias and the early stages of developing the event asa yearly tradition

- some WrestleManias were glossed over, while I believeWrestleMania 22 was only mentioned by name

At times the documentary felt more like a recap or highlight of a particularWrestleMania, rather than talk about more candid thoughts going in or postreactions

- though, there is a fair mix of the two, but definitely some good insight hereand there on what went into a WrestleMania- WrestleMania 9 had some great footage behind the scenes, but that wasprobably because there was a crew that day specifically documentingdifferent happenings- I'm sure this wasn't considered for other WrestleManias, hence the reasonthere might have been just more talk

In some cases there were sub -chapters that broke up the straightforward yearto year breakdown

- there were parts that focused on Fan Axxess, the Hall of Fame, Undertakersstrea k, Shawn Michaels as Mr. WrestleMania and even the differences of astadium versus a regular arena- these were nice little additions that told a story within a story

Very satisfying documentary that paints WrestleMania in a good light, largelyfocusing on the positives, as it should

- there can be points argued that there wasnt enough never -before-seenfootage or untold stories, but its certainly recommended for what it is: avery solid interest generator that makes WrestleMania feel big

Other interesting facts:- WrestleMania 2's feed didn't work in Pittsburgh at closed circuit, so theevent was shown for free on TV days after- Hogan was extremely nervous all day at WrestleMania 3, not knowing whatto expect in the match with Andre- they claim that security was an issue for WrestleMania 7, so it would bebest to move the show from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the LASports Arena- they also claim that it happened to work in their favor because they sold

just about as many tickets for the coliseum at that point as the sports arenawould hold- "at that point" meaning sales were coming along soo slow thatthere wasn't a chance they'd sellout the coliseum is my guess- Hogan vs. Flair was actually announced as the original WrestleMania 8 mainevent to the public and not just speculated- their reason for the change was that the two didn't mesh in terms of ego,with actually bad business playing a bigger role- WrestleMania 24 was originally supposed to be held at the Amway Arena inOrlando, but other options were looked into because of the low capacity- theCitrus Bowl was the obvious substitute

The match selection of the DVD left much to be desired- these were all matches that have been on many DVD releases in the past- I would have much preferred more interviews or segments, or perhapsalternate commentary at the very least Overall: 4/5

Review



@anglefoods1Kurt Angle

To WWE wrestlers, Don't use my Finish. Get more Creative. Hmmmm- Orton. Did Isay that?3 Apr

I guess Swagger will use my Ankle Lock as well. Very creative. I'm the Best in theWorld. You Guys will never be Kurt Angle. can I get an AMEN3 Apr _______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

@CMPunkCM Punk

I like how thq acts like they don't know what would happen if @steveaustinBSR and I wereto lock horns. Everybody knows. SXE > Beer. 29 Mar

GTS > stunner.29 Mar _______________________________________________________________________________________________

@steveaustinBSRSteve Austin

@CMPunk alright Punk...you just crossed the line...i'll be seeing your ass in Atlanta. 30 Mar

_________________________________________________________________

Analyzing the top wrestler tweets of the monthin more than 140 characters

- After a backlash from those comments, Angle claimed his Twitter account was hacked. Orton responded bybasically saying that every move has been done before and that using someone else's move is a sign of respect.Kurt Angle overreacted if those were indeed his comments. The response to his tweets from most people wasthat he stole Ken Shamrock's Ankle Lock. Sure, the first time I saw Randy do the Angle Slam, I naturally thoughtof Angle. Big deal. The first time I saw Kurt do the Ankle Lock, I thought of Shamrock. Naturally, that's somethingthat's going to happen over time to some degree. Angle should see it as a compliment, or better yet, not worryabout it. Kurt should be above something like this at this point in his career.

- This "feud" came about when Paul Heyman brought up the discussion of fantasy warfare. A lot of peoplespeculated that there was legit heat between the two over it, but it was really all in good fun. There's no doubt thetwo would have a great program on promos alone. The characters are the exact opposite, making it the perfectmatch-up from a story standpoint. CM Punk had something close to this in the summer of 2009 with Jeff Hardy,who was the ideal foil for Punk's character, but Austin would be that much better because of his ability to talk.
http://twitter.com/#%21/anglefoods1http://twitter.com/#%21/CMPunkhttp://twitter.com/steveaustinBSRhttp://twitter.com/steveaustinBSRhttp://twitter.com/#%21/steveaustinBSRhttp://twitter.com/CMPunkhttp://twitter.com/CMPunkhttp://twitter.com/CMPunkhttp://twitter.com/#%21/steveaustinBSRhttp://twitter.com/steveaustinBSRhttp://twitter.com/#%21/CMPunkhttp://twitter.com/#%21/anglefoods1



From the istant Past

Analyzing the WWF for the first half of 2001 prior to invasion angle(Part 1 of 3) Royal Rumble- No Way Out

A look back

iliveforprowrestling.wordpress.com | The Pro Wrestling Over-sell | Page 10

The year 2000 in the WWF was a verysuccessful one. It saw a number of stand-out pay-per-views, the height of The Rock's babyface runand Triple H's best year in wrestling. The year2001 certainly had a bit to live up to, andstarted off right where 2000 left off.

Coming into 2001, Kurt Angle was the WorldWrestling Federation Champion. He had held thebelt since October of 2000 after defeating TheRock at No Mercy. Maybe even more importantly, heretained the title in the Armageddon Hell in aCell in December, something no one thought hewould do with the number of other stars in thematch.

That win gave Anglecredibility coming into the newyear, something his title reignreally needed. Out of all thechallengers that were lined up,they decided to go with TripleH. The thing about that is,Triple H was in the midst of ablood feud with Steve Austin,which went back to November atthe Survivor Series. The feudwas by no means over, but aKurt Angle vs. Triple H matchat the Rumble was the bestoption for insuring all of thepieces were in place for

WrestleMania that year.The first two WWF pay-per-views of 2001 mayhave been the best incarnations of theirrespective events. Both pay-per-views featured notonly classic matches, but key moments thatperfectly set up the following month, whiledelivering on every level imaginable. So what youbasically got were awesome shows that left yousatisfied, but also wanting to come back for more.

While Kurt Angle vs. Triple H at the firstof two solid shows, the Royal Rumble was a greatmatch, there were other matches and things to notethat eclipsed it. Chris Benoit and Chris Jerichorenewed their rivalry from 2000 and put on one ofthe best ladder matches the company has ever seen.Steve Austin won his third Royal Rumble match, arecord that stands to this day. That Rumble matchhas gone down as one of the more memorableeditions, being regarded as one of the betterworked ones along with 1992 and 2004's RoyalRumble matches.

Kurt Angle came out of the month of Januarystill the WWF Champion, but it was clear that himbeing the champion going into WrestleMania wasn'tthe direction the company wanted to take. Aprogram with Angle and Austin is something thatwould be put on the backburner until the summer inthe midst of the invasion angle.

Kurt Angle would drop the WWF Title at NoWay Out to the same man he won it from five monthsearlier, The Rock. This set up an obvious mto do, a WrestleMania 15 rematch between The and Steve Austin. Rock and Austin were undeniablythe two biggest stars in the company at the time.It's only a wonder why the wheels weren't put intomotion for this program earlier with at least amore prominent tease.

The problem with doing that is they werealready shuffling around a number of feuds, butdid so in a logical way. Austin cost Triple H thetitle at the Rumble, stemming back from Triple Horchestrating a hit-and-run attack on Austin in

late 1999. This was a program that was

built for over a year and needed anappropriate blow-off. It was evident bythis time that WrestleMania wasn't theplace for that, so No Way Out seemedlike the next best place.

No Way Out already felt hugebased on the big matches that werebooked. The great wrestling matches onthe show just added to that. With NoWay Out thrown in between the twobiggest WWF shows of the year, it'simperative for the February offering tostand out and be worthwhile to theconsumer. No Way Out 2001 was the primeexample of just that, largely headed by

one big match- which didn't even go onlast that night.

A Steve Austin vs. Triple H 3 Stages ofHell match had money written all over it. This isa match people wanted to see because of everythingthat happened since their last one on one match atSurvivor Series. The two contested in a brutal,epic encounter that stemmed from the great 2000for Triple H and added to the great 2001 SteveAustin would go on to have. Triple H defeatedAustin two falls to one, but it was a win heneeded to stay strong heading into WrestleMania.

The Rock walked out of No Way Out as WWFChampion in a position that wouldn't be hard toreadjust to. The WrestleMania main event wasofficially set after this night. Now it would beinteresting to see how they would build for ababyface vs. babyface encounter for the big show.

Other pieces were starting to cometogether, including the tag title picture, aWomen's title program with Chyna and Ivory, and acommissioner in William Regal who abused hispower.

With February 2001 over, March 2001 notonly saw the final stretch to WrestleMania, butalso the end of wrestling companies, somethingthat planted the seed for months to come.

to be continued...



This show seemed like it was more of a burden for TNA to puton

- it was coming off of the two big iMPACTs from NorthCarolina, which were promoted better in every way

The Dreamer vs. Bully Ray match was turned into No DQ onthe spot and was worked as a comedy match

- for what it was, this match was fun and had its moments,and the tone fit for its place on the card- given the serious nature of the feud coming in, it was anawkward contrast- before the match, Bully Ray is telling Dreamer how he oncebroke his wife's neck, and Dreamer retaliates by hitting himwith a giant stuffed minion from the Despicable Me movie- the match was a nice offset as to not have Ray and Devonface off each month- Devon's involvement in the match madesense, but the wrong guy went overnonetheless- losing in the first match on the card in a

comedy match to someone who is on TVsparingly isn't good for a guy (Ray) who isbeing built up as a badass *1/2

The Knockout Tag Title match represented thebad side of wrestling

- they were all sloppy and poorly timed keytag moves throughout the match- the finish was done soo horribly where I'mguessing Velvet Sky missed her cue to preventRosita from using the tag belt, which reallymade this whole thing look like a much biggermess than it needed to be -DUD

Why they decided to go back to a Hernandez and Matt Morganprogram is beyond me- their feud in 2010 certainly didn't light the company on fire- the first blood stipulation seemed to be tacked on for thehell of it, or maybe just so they could do the over-bookedfinish- using fake blood on your opponent in theory could be agood finish if done right- it came off bad the way it was done as it looked likeMorgan couldn't comprehend what had happened- on top of that, the finish would be good for a chickenshitheel, but Hernandez's new character is supposed to go outand hurt people at the order of Immortal, which here was

the complete opposite 1/2* The Ultimate X match was a good blend of athleticism and

story- the dynamic of Max Buck wanting Jeremy to help him winthe title was a lot of fun, especially when they went at ittoward the end of the match while hanging from the wires- Kazarian worked hard and busted out several big moves,including the Flux Capacitor- the match did lack that big X Division Title match, UltimateX feel, but that could be attributed to the X Division being

Victory Road 2011

March 13: Orlando, FL

PPV Review

booked virtually as after-thoughts- one constant is the X Division wrestlers work just as hard,if not harder than everyone else on the show ***

The tag title match was another instance where all four guysput in a lot of effort into their match

- this might have been just a slight notch below their Final

Resolution match, but told a slightly different story withShannon Moore playing the disrespectful punk andbelieving Jesse Neal is too soft- there were definitely a few instances where it looked likeInk Inc. were going to pick up the win- these two teams work well together, particularly whenthey're motivated, which they always are **3/4

AJ Styles vs. Matt Hardy was one of the more competitivematches of the night

- these two guys have a good chemistry with oneanother and can pretty effortlessly transitionfrom move to move- Flair played a good outside-the-ring dynamic,

inserting himself when necessary, but he didn'tovershadow Styles or Hardy- Styles was really awesome in this match, pullingout some moves he typically doesn't, such as thespringboard forearm off of the guardrail and thespiral tap of all things- this was Hardy's best performance since comingto TNA, something I think he'll have a hard timetopping when it comes to one on onecompetition ***1/4

Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam was a number onecontender's match, which made sense to have given that

both wrestlers have a legitimate claim to the world title- they have little to no chemistry with much of what theydo coming off as awkward and sloppy- conversely, the first minute of the match was reallyawesome where they went back and forth with a series ofmoves and counter moves that looked clean and crisp-everything after that fell apart- the double countout finish fell flat with literally half of thecrowd not wanting to see a winner- the announcers kept saying "tune in on Thursday for thefallout"- people pay money to see the match and are beingtold they would see what would happen on free TV *1/4

The Jeff Jarrett family segments throughout Universal Studioswere a lot of fun as they played into family man character,but it was surprising not to see Kurt Angle confront them atsome point in the park

Sting vs. Jeff Hardy was an abomination of a main event- apparently Jeff Hardy was in no condition to compete,which resulted in the very awkward closing of the show- if Hardy couldn't compete, there should have been asubstitute

Continued on Page 12


12/12

l f l d | h l l l

Creator and Editor: AJ Niemiec

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- this is where it would havebeen a good idea to crown anofficial number one contender inAnderson or RVD- point being, they needed tohave anything but what theyactually had: maybe the mostdisappointing TNA World Titlematches in the company'shistory- there is no reason the showshould have ended this way, andthis was one big middle finger tothe fans who actually buy TNAPPVS (and there aren't many ofthem left)- the match lasted a little over a minute with Jeff lookinglike he was trying to kick out of the Scorpion Death Drop

- this was a pathetic main event and a shadow that TNAdoes not need over their promotion -DUD The event was really strange with three really good matches

being sandwiched in-between a lot of crap- more effort could have gone into this show, but theattention was on the previous two iMPACTS and Lockdown- another thing to note is that the Rob Van Dam vs. JeffHardy world title match had been six months in the makingand was thrown on TV the iMPACT after Against All Oddswithout any real notice- this PPV, which was a placeholder for Lockdown couldhave benefited from a big match- Victory Road 2011 might have been the worst TNA pay-per-view since Victory Road 2009

______________________________________________Match of the Night: AJ Styles vs. Matt Har

-Average: 1.531

Victory Road Review Continued from Page 11 Check out the website regularly

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Also, there are opinions on various, smaller wrestlingnews stories when they occur.

If you like to use the star rating system on matches,check out a page entirely dedicated to matches threestars plus in the WWF and WWE.

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End Notes

pro wrestling over-sell (issue 1)

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