The WWE Network launches in less than three weeks, and there is a wealth of programming available immediately after you pay your first $9.95. Over the next few weeks, I will be giving you my personal picks of things to watch on demand on the Network. Today, I’ll be focusing solely on WWE’s ECW. Many people hated the product, considering it a bastardization of the Extreme Championship Wrestling we all knew and loved. At the time, I had long since given up hope that the magic of the original would be captured full time, so my disappointment wasn’t as deep as it was for some. In fact, the brand produced some great television, if sometimes for the wrong reasons.
(We know that every single PPV on this list will be available. Let’s assume for argument’s sake that the non-PPV stuff listed is on there as well.)
I’m going to go on record and say that at the time of this writing, I have not watched the April 11, 2011 episode of WWE RAW. Every Monday night I try to avoid the temptation of reading about what happened on the WWE’s flagship show when I was commuting to work prior to being able to watch the show. Tonight I made the mistake of going on Twitter and seeing a ton of tweets regarding Adam “Edge” Copeland. When I called home, as I usually do when I get to work, my fiancee made it a point to tell me that Edge is retiring. No matter how hard I try, news about Edge does not slip past my RADAR, and with good reason – Edge is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time.
Edge had everything you could want in a professional wrestler. He had great mic skills, he was amazing to watch in the ring, and he managed to evolve along with the business he lived his life for over the past fourteen years. For all fourteen of those, I’ve been an Edgehead. How could you not be? He always had the coolest entrance in the business, whether it was coming in through the crowd at the beginning of his WWE career, rising up through a ring of fire with The Brood, or emerging through a cloud of smoke to the heavy metal laden sounds of Rob Zombie’s “Never Gonna Stop” or Alter Bridge’s “Metallingus.” And that’s just to get you pumped up for the spectacle you’d be about to witness.
Shawn Michaels – my absolute favorite wrestler of all time, for what it’s worth – defined the Ladder Match with Scott Hall. Edge, along with Christian, The Hardys, and The Dudleys, redefined it. Throw in some tables and chairs, and it becomes his match, the TLC Match. Edge innovated in Hardcore matches with Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22 and ECW One Night Stand 2, showing that he’d have been a huge star in the original ECW if he’d opted to ply his trade there. Edge defined the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, and earned the nickname “The Ultimate Opportunist,” and that’s just his resume in stipulation matches. He’s also, for what it’s worth, undefeated in Last Man Standing matches.
Even without weapons, Edge was a deadly foe in the ring. He could beat you any way he wanted to. Edgecution. Edgeucator. Edge-o-matic. And of course, his weapon of choice toward the end of his career, the Spear. A Ten-Time World Champion. That’s not something that just any bum off the streets can pull off – that’s an indication that you are one of the best in the world at this profession. To retire as Champion is unheard of – there goes Adam Copeland innovating this business again.
My hat goes off to Edge for knowing that his body cannot continue to take the abuse that he puts it through night in and night out on the road for the WWE. Thank you, Adam “Edge” Copeland, for entertaining me week in and week out for the last fourteen years. We’ll miss you!
If you would have asked me a decade ago what I’d be doing on a typical Monday Night in ten years, I probably would tell you I’d be flipping back and forth between WWF Monday Night RAW and WCW Monday Nitro. Then I’d be looking forward to WCW Thunder on Wednesday and WWF SmackDown on Thursday, then ECW on TNN Friday night.
What a week. And we’ve still got The Bash coming up tomorrow!
Even as I type this column, I’m distracted by the television, where there’s a clip of Michael Jackson’s performance on the Motown 25th Anniversary special, a special that is famous for one thing – Jackson debuting The Moonwalk. I’d talk more about Michael Jackson right now (for the record, this isn’t his first BWF allusion – I quoted the “BAD” video a couple weeks back in a SmackDown review), but I did that already on my official website.
B. Brian Blair was arrested on allegations of child abuse last weekend. Maybe he liked the alleged run-ins with the Iron Shiek back in the day and wanted to relive those moments in prison?
Samoa Joe turned heel at Slammiversary to the surprise of, well, pretty much everybody. Except for me. Earlier in the night, Kurt Angle cut a promo saying that King of the Mountain would be all about he and Joe, and that when it was over, “WE will be standing tall.” That’s when I got the feeling that Joe would turn, which proved correct. For the record, if you didn’t catch Slammiversary, you should. It was an excellent show.
Not only was RAW commercial free on Monday, WWE refunded the tickets of those who attended the event. Why doesn’t that ever happen in Buffalo?
Speaking of RAW, despite the fact that Cena brought up his match with Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand a few years ago where the fans continually threw his shirt back to him when he threw it into the crowd, a fan was ejected from RAW for throwing Cena’s hat back to him. To be fair, it was an ugly hat. When did John Cena become John Deere anyway?
Cena also confirmed that he’s getting married “in the near future” on the Bubba The Love Sponge radio show.
Speaking of Bubba The Love Sponge, Hulk Hogan was on the show and mentioned that the reason we never saw a big time feud between himself and Jake “The Snake” Roberts is that Hogan didn’t hear the fans react to his Hulking up and pummelling Jake. Here’s a homework assignment for the BWF readers – go to your local rehab clinic, and if you find Jake Roberts, ask him his side of the story.
I’m kidding, Jake!
Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes are no longer to be called Pricele$$. They’re now only to be refered to as Legacy. I guess that’s alright. Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson weren’t The Brain Busters when they were in the Four Horsemen either.
And before you point it out in the comments, Green Teabagger, I know that they were only the Brain Busters in the WWF.
Torrie Wilson finished second on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.” I have no idea who finished first. (It was Lou Diamond Phillips, apparently)
Michael Cole was arrested this past week. No, not that Michael Cole. A guy whose real name happens to be Michael Cole who wrestles under the name Mikael Judas was arrested for assaulting National Championship Wrestling promoter Donovan Loftis after Loftis allegedly made derogatory comments towards him on an internet message board.
Matt Hardy may have injured his abdominal muscles. He denied the reports on his twitter page, but we all know Matt Hardy has nothing better to do with his time than trying to work the internet fans. Ok, listen Matt. Complaining about losing your job when Amy Dumas and Adam Copeland were in the wrong and not yourself is one thing, and yeah, your internet fans probably got you your job back, but give this “working the internet” shit a rest. If you’re hurt, dude, we’re not gonna be mad at you for telling us the damned truth for once.
Apparently, CM Punk going to a Rancid concert is newsworthy, with the headline “CM Punk Attends Punk Concert.” OMG, you mean, CM Punk likes punk rock? Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me that The Headbangers like heavy metal, or that Disco Stu likes disco music!
Lastly, on a sad note, Billy Red Lyons, who I remember seeing on the WWF’s Maple Leaf Wrestling program when I was little, passed away this week. BWF’s condolences to his friends and family.
and now… GREAT AMERICAN BASH PREDICTIONS!
Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase – Unified Tag Team Championship
Cody’s rumored to be working with a bad neck, but if it were a serious injury he’d probably already be out for surgery. Since Primo and Carlito have their little mini feud going with The Hart Dynasty, and there’s a definitive lack of face tag teams for Legacy to defend against, The Colons should retain here.
John Cena vs. The Miz
Are you kidding? After the way Cena verbally buried The Miz on RAW (“you’re not a reality show has-been, you’re a WWE never was.”), The Miz needs this win. Needs it. The problem, of course, is the WWE likes to humiliate The Miz on occasion. Since they’ve actually been pushing for us to take him seriously, I’m going to go way out on a limb here and actually predict victory – by hook or by crook – for The Miz.
The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler – No Disqualification Match
Khali. Ziggler’s way out has been to get Khali counted out or disqualified, but all the chairs in the world won’t help Ziggler beat Khali in a no disqualification match.
Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio – Intercontinental Championship vs. Mask match
I’m a global entertainment company. I have a guy performing for me who is beloved by my younger audience members. This guy happens to wear a mask, which we sell replicas of at $50 a pop. The audience is always filled with kids wearing these masks. Am I really going to make the guy lose his mask? What am I, WCW? Look, Vince McMahon did not become a billionaire by dropping hot selling products while they’re still selling. That’s why John Cena is still a face, and it’s why Rey Mysterio will not be losing his mask this Sunday. Mysterio will be carrying gold next Friday night.
Melina vs. Michelle McCool – WWE Women’s Championship
McCool made Melina look like her bitch this past Friday on SmackDown. Melina won’t take that lying down. I just can’t see Melina dropping the belt on Sunday.
Tommy Dreamer vs. Finlay vs. Christian vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry – ECW Championship Scramble
I like the Scramble match. Last year’s PPV where they had three of them was awesome – especially because we got to see The Brian Kendrick as the WWE Champion for a few moments. This one should be good, and it’s sort of unpredictable, seeing as how three of the four challengers are former ECW Champions. Finlay has been beating everybody down lately, but Henry had the last laugh this past Tuesday night. The problem with Finlay and Mark Henry is, they don’t feel like they’ve been groomed for a run with the ECW Championship. I’m going t o give this one to Dreamer.
Randy Orton vs. Triple H – Three Stages of Hell for the WWE Championship
First fall is a regular match, second fall is falls count anywhere, and the third fall, for some ungodly reason, is a stretcher match. I have this sinking feeling in my gut that it’s Triple H getting the win here.
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk needs the World Heavyweight Championship right now. If he doesn’t have it, the slow heel turn doesn’t work as effectively. He somehow steals the victory at The Bash.
That’s it guys, enjoy The Bash. I’ll have coverage up at some point on Monday, depending on how long it takes to get my car repaired.
Wait, this isnt Wednesday. What am I doing here? I’ve already posted for the week. Well, it seems that Joe didnt like my (No Wrestlemania column during WrestleMania week column), so I am here to tell you who is winning at Wrestlemania. That’s right, no predictions. I’m telling you, who will win. Let’s begin.
Intercontinental Championship
John Bradshaw Layfield (c) vs Rey Mysterio
The head says JBL wins, and with Tazz not renewing his contract, he retires again and joins JR on commentary.
The heart agrees.
the Annual Money In The Bank Ladder Match
CM Punk vs Kane vs Mark Henry vs Finlay vs MVP vs Shelton Benjamin vs Kofi Kingston vs Christian
Everyone seems to think, that this will be the first year that the winner of the MITB, will not win the title, when they do cash in the case. However, i’m going to use some logistics. Edge won the first MITB, was a heel, and won sneakily. RVD was next, was a facee, and he won at ECW One Night Stand, after challenging John Cena. CM Punk was last year’s winner, was also face, and beat Edge, sneakily.
According to the past, two faces and one heel have won. According to the current champions, two heels and one face are champions. The Champions might change, but the MITB winner is the biggest tweener in the history. The head says Kane, the heart says Kane. Kane challenges for the World Heavyweight Championship, and loses.
A 25 woman’s Diva Battle Royal including Melina, Maryse, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Michelle McCool, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Kelly Kelly, Maria, Eve Torres, Katie Lea Burchill, Beth Phoenix, Layla El, Rosa Mendes, Candice Michelle, Natalya, Jillian Hall, Tiffany, Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, Victoria, Molly Holly, Jackie Gayda-Hass, Mae Young and one more unannounced to crown Miss Wrestlemania.
The head and heart agree again. Whomever the unannounced Diva is.
Extreme Rules match
Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy
The head says Jeff. The heart doesnt care, but reluctantly says Matt.
WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship
Carlito and Primo (c) vs John Morrison and the Miz (c)
Again, it looks straight-forward. The head and the heart say with the second best Tag Team in wrestling today. John Morrison and the Miz.
3-on-1 Handicap Match
Chris Jericho vs Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka, Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper w/ ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair
The heart says Jericho.It does. However, the head says the Legends.
World Heavyweight Championship
for the love of Vickie Guerrero
Edge (c) vs John Cena vs Big Show
The stipulation of the love of Vickie Guerrero, makes the head choose Edge. However, the heart wants a new champion, theBig Show.
WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs Randy Orton
The heart has three certain choices every year. Triple H is one of them, so the heart says Triple H. However, the head thinks this way. Why push Randy Orton up to be the big heel on campus, and not have him win the title? The head says Randy Orton.
Which leaves us just one match ….
Shawn Michaels vs the Undertaker
Mr. Wrestlemania versus the Streak. Undertaker is 16-0 at Wrestlemania, but never before, has he faced the man, whom always seems to steal the show, when it comes to Wrestlemania. How I said earlier, that the heart has three choices, and that Triple H was one? HBK and the Undertaker, are the other two, so the heart is undecided. The head however, doesn’t see the streak breaking, so the head chooses the Undertaker. The heart is torn between two, but thinks the streak could be broken. The heart chooses Shawn Michaels.
Let’s recap just what the heart and the head have chosen.
This article is part 4 of a series on WWE Pay Per View events. See also: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. At the time of this writing, the event in question is still titled WWE One Night Stand, though rumor has it that the name will change this year to WWE Extreme Rules.
Welcome back to my series on WWE Pay Per Views and why there are way too damned many of them. This is especially true in the month of June, where there are two of them – WWE One Night Stand and WWE Night of Champions. This week, I take a look at One Night Stand.
I present my arguments against WWE One Night Stand, after the jump! (more…)
