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| Guest Columns | Miguelito Fierro |
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GOLDEN AGE OF WRESTLING Wrestlemania Recap Hello again, everyone, and thank you for stopping by. I am sure that most everyone - if not everyone - has one question on their minds: who the hell is this Miguelito guy? Well, I can't let a good question go by without answering it. Unfortunately, the answer is very long and drawn out. So it is at the bottom of this article. It is Wrestlemania week. Why is that important? I've forgotten. Once upon a time, I was actually excited the week before Wrestlemania. I would have already purchased the PPV, and would be counting down the days and hours 'til the start of the event. Not so much this year. I am not very excited about Wrestlemania. The WWF is in pretty sad shape right now. Most of the storylines are either boring (most of the midcard) or insulting (the Steph/HHH storyline leaving Jericho on the outside. Who's the champ again?). What happened to the WWF that I knew and loved? Where did things go wrong? All that, dear reader, is a question for a different article. Instead of focussing on what is wrong or right in the WWF at the current time, I want to focus on the Wrestlemania card itself. Along the way, I may just answer those questions. So on to the card: As for who is going to win this match? I think you've gotta go with Hogan. If Rock wins, then the feud is over. Which would just be silly. Of course, the WWF is doing a lot of silly things here, so who knows? As has been well-documented, heels usually do not leave Wrestlemania with the gold. HHH and Steve Austin are the only two heels who have managed to accomplish this feat. I would hope that Jericho would get to keep the WWF title as reward for being involved in this crappy angle, but I am pretty sure that this isn't going to happen. I expect HHH to once again leave Wrestlemania as the champ. Jericho deserves a LOT more. As for who is going to win? We, the fans, will be the winners in this match. This is going to be an old-school brawl. Both Flair and the Undertaker excel at this type of match. They'll put on a show that will be thoroughly entertaining. In the end, I expect the Undertaker to continue his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. Which makes it appropriate that he is facing one of the top faces. RVD was heading straight for the main event before his push was cut short last year. The fans don't care that RVD isn't being pushed any more, however; they still love the guy. RVD gets an amazing ovation when he is introduced. There is something about his character that fans really dig. RVD is the man. So what happens when you put a very over heel and a very over face into the ring? Normally, you would end up with a match that people are dying to see. Unfortunately, the WWF hasn't done a whole lot to push this match. True, there's been altercations between the two. Regal has interfered in RVDs matches. But there hasn't been anything explosive happening between these two. The spark just isn't there. Regal and RVD wrestle VERY different styles. This could cause major problems in their match on Sunday. This match may end up being a dog. But I have the feeling that the conflict in styles is going to enhance this match, instead of detract. In the end, I see RVD wearing the I/C title after an entertaining (if not mind-blowing) match. As for this match, well... Last year's TLC match for the tag titles ROCKED! It was the best match at Wrestlemania, as far as I am concerned. This year, I don't hold out as much hope. Throwing the APA and Chuck & Billy into the mix is going to ground the activities. And not having Edge & Christian is definitely going to hurt the match. In the end, I hope that Chuck & Billy walk out with the gold. The tag-team division definitely needs the new blood kept into the middle of the mix. Having everyone chase Chuck & Billy makes the most sense. This feud probably should've been held off for at least another month. The build-up has been good. DDP trying to help Christian, Christian turning on DDP to prove that he doesn't need help from anyone. It's a good premise, but this kind of feud needs more time to develop, more time to get casual fans involved. This gets both guys onto the Biggest Stage of them All, and that's not a Bad Thing, it's a Good Thing. There just won't be a lot of reason for fans to care about the match at this stage of the feud. And THAT is a Bad Thing. Christian has to go over here. There's no ifs, ands nor buts. Christian has to walk out of Wrestlemania with a pinfall victory over DDP. A loss will completely destroy Christian in fan's eyes. He'll quickly become another Bart Gunn if he loses the match. I'd like to see Christian get the pin, and then brutalize DDP after the match. Christian needs to be built up by this match, or this angle was yet another waste of Christian. Trish Stratus is also pretty damned impressive. Instead of letting her body get her over, Trish actually goes out there and works. Her ring work has improved dramatically. And she is trying to get over as a legitimate badass (in the women's ranks). I like what Trish has become. I also like Lita. I don't think that her character is as strongly developed as Trish's, and Lita definitely is nowhere near as talented as Jazz. Yet, for some reason, she is the most over of the three women. I don't think I'll ever understand main-stream WWF fans. Anyway, the smart thing to do would be to keep the title on Jazz. Have Jazz come out on top of the other two women, preferably sending one (or both) out on a stretcher. But what I think will actually happen is Lita and Trish will somehow end up fighting each other, leaving Jazz an opportunity to sneak out with the victory. That's not a bad ending for Trish and Lita, it just doesn't help out Jazz very much. This match will not suck. Both men are very entertaining in the ring, and their styles will complement each other nicely. I predict a very entertaining match, with Booker T getting a clean (if not decisive) victory. Nothing special, but also not crap. OOPS! I forgot: This is another match that will simply rule. Angle and Kane work VERY well together. They will put on at least a four-star match. Fans will be into it, and will be disappointed when Angle gets the win over Kane. But that still doesn't explain why this feud is happening. It is weird, I tell you. Weird! Oh, expect Pete Rose to be up to some shenanigans with Kane, too. Perhaps that'll lead to Angle's win? Anyway, that's the card. All in all, Wrestlemania will be a good PPV. If this were, say, SummerSlam or No Way Out, this PPV would RULE! But this is Wrestlemania. It is supposed to be the grand daddy. It is supposed to be THE SHOW. When judged by that criteria, this year's Wrestlemania will be a disappointment. Much like the WWF in general is right now. As for who I am... My name is Miguelito. I have a spotty history writing about wrestling on the internet. Way back in 1996 and 1997, I ran a website that I called Biffster's Wrestling Pages. At the time, I recapped both Raw and Nitro, and ran news updates throughout the week, giving information I had gleaned from Fidonet and the news pages at the time (Scoops, The News From Dayton, etc). For a completely independent website run off of my ISP's webserver in a very small market, I think I did reasonably well. I had a few hundred loyal readers of my recaps, and a few dozen people who checked my updates during the week. But then work interfered. I had to give up the website because I could no longer watch Raw and Nitro. I depended upon recappers (mainly CRZ) to keep me up-to-date on what was happening in the world of pro wrestling. Fast forward a few years. I had a few articles published on a few different websites (back when we actually got money to freelance), but was losing interest fast. One Saturday morning, however, as I was flipping through the digital cable channels, I came upon "The Golden Age of Pro Wrestling" on ESPN Classic. It seemed like a great show, so I started watching. After the second episode, I realized that I needed to share a glimpse of this show with others. So I started submitting articles to CRZ, who was nice enough to post them on SlashWrestling. I did this for a few months, but then real life interfered once again. This time, it was not work, but romance. My wife (then my fiancee) and I had a wedding to prepare for. So I had to once again take a couple of years off. But now I actually have some free time once again. I hope to pick up where I left off. I notice that CRZ still does not have a recapper for "The Golden Age of Wrestling" (GAoW). I am wishing and hoping and praying that Mr. Zimmerman will continue to post the articles I send him. And now I am off. Cheers, everyone! Miguelito [slash] wrestling Mail the Author Visit miguelito.fierro.com Comment about this article in Wienerville |
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