The Classic Paper Review - Vol X – SummerSlam 2005

[The Maz]

Vol X – SummerSlam 2005

Ladies and Gentleman, my name is Mazza and welcome to the landmark 10th edition of The Classic Paper Review. With swerves a plenty in the CSI Tournament which is currently taking the CF storm, I have found the time to bring you an unexpected slice of wrestling history. I’d like to give a big shout out to my ex-partner Degenerate (no homo) for getting out his own CPR on Wrestlemania 14 and that is definitely worth checking out, as are all the CSI efforts that we have been pouring blood, sweat and tears into.

So today in a bit of a challenge from my good buddy (believe it or not) Skaos (who has his own column out here). The theatrics of Shawn Michaels in his loss to Hulk Hogan in a matched dubbed Icon versus Legend is the thing that sticks out in my mind more than anything else but more on that later. Without further ado, the Classic Paper Review brings you SummerSlam 2005.


THE FACTS

As usual, all facts and figures are from Wikipedia.

The Event: SummerSlam 2005
The Date: 21 August 2005
The Place: MCI Center, Washington DC
The Attendance: 18,156

In the middle of 2005, John Cena and Batista were really starting to establish themselves as the top men on Smackdown and Raw respectively but then a strange event happened. The draft that year saw Cena moved to Raw and the Animal moved to Smackdown. Prior to his move, John Cena had been involved with Raw’s Christian but their feud was very quickly gate-crashed by Chris Jericho. At Vengeance, Cena retained his title in a triple threat against Christian and Jericho but Raw GM Eric Bischoff did not want Cena as his champion and hand-picked Y2J to challenge for the title at SummerSlam. Batista in contrast had soundly beaten Triple H in a trilogy of matches before his move and on Smackdown he found himself targeted immediately by JBL. The bad blood stemmed from Smackdown being left without a champion after Cena was drafted to Raw. JBL had won an elimination match to crown a new champion but after his victory, it was announced that Batista had been drafted to Smackdown. At the Great American Bash, JBL had defeated the World Heavyweight Champion by disqualification after Batista used a steel chair and was granted a rematch for SummerSlam.

However, neither of the world title matches would end up main-eventing SummerSlam. That honour would go to the first one-on-one meeting between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan. Michaels and Hogan had teamed together to beat Muhammad Hassan and Daiviri at Backlash in a collaboration which was as big as any ever seen in wrestling history (even Degenerate and Mazza). After the match, Hogan left the WWE but returned in July on Carlito’s Cabana where he was attacked by Carlito and Kurt Angle. HBK made the save and the duo beat the attackers in a tag match that night. However, following the match, Michaels shocked the world by giving Hogan a superkick. Michaels made a challenge to Hogan for a match at SummerSlam which the Hulkster accepted.

Of course there was one other big feud going into SummerSlam and it was somewhat controversial. Tag Team Champions Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero had opened Wrestlemania 21 by going one-on-one in a match that Rey won. Eddie and Rey lost the tag team titles to MNM and in the rematch, Eddie turned heel by walking out on Rey. Guerrero was upset with the fact that he seemingly could not beat Mysterio. At Judgement Day and The Great American Bash, Mysterio beat Guerrero again but between the two events, Eddie told the world he had a secret about Rey’s son, Dominick. He said if Rey beat him at GAB, he would not reveal the secret but in typical Eddie fashion, he lied. He revealed that Dominick was actually his son as a result of an affair and that Dominick was adopted by Rey and his wife Angelica as they were having trouble having kids of their own. Not happy in just revealing this fact to the world, Eddie announced that he was going after custody and in a move that could only happen in the world of professional wrestling, it was decided that Dominick’s custody papers would be placed in a case and hung over the ring at SummerSlam and whoever retrieved the case, would gain custody.


GET IT POPPIN’

Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan in 0:25 to win the United States Championship
At the Great American Bash, rising star Orlando Jordan stole a match against Chris Benoit to retain the US Championship. Benoit would have another shot at Jordan here with the cocky Orlando saying he would knock Benoit out. How wrong he was. 25 seconds, a German Suplex and a Crippler Crossface into the match, Jordan was tapping and Chris Benoit was new US Champion. This deserves no rating despite the generous pop it generated.
CPR Rating: N/A

We now get a promo with a slim Vickie trying to talk some sense into a “loco” Eddie Guerrero. It didn’t work and Eddie kicks her out.

Edge (With Lita) defeated Matt Hardy in 4:50

The story is well known. Matt is with Lita, Lita cheats on Matt with his friend Edge, Matt gets pissed and is fired, IWC get angry, Edge gets white hot heel heat, Vince smells money, WWE rehire Matt and here we are. Matt Hardy will not die, yadda yadda yadda and they get the chance to beat the shit out of each other. The brawl is on before Matt hits the ring. An aggressive Hardy is all action as Edge tries to get away. A headbutt by Edge sees the soon-to-be Rated R Superstar take control and he spears Hardy off the ring apron. Once they are back in the ring Matt is swinging away at Edge but whilst hitting mounted punches in the corner, Edges throws him head first into the ring post and Matt is busted open. Hardy is out of it and Edge has a field day on Matt’s head for a minute or so before the ref stops the match. For a high profile PPV I think WWE could have added a hardcore stipulation and 5-8 more minutes but they may have been worried about Matt starting to “shoot” so it is understandable. Nothing spectacular here but it did a job.
CPR Rating: 6 (Coefficient 2)

Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero in 20:19 in a Ladder match for the custody of Dominick
We now get to the climax of what I believe is the greatest feud of not only Rey’s career but also Eddie’s. The only question was could these two pull off a match to do the promo work done before it justice. The psychology is there before the bell rings. Dominick pulls away when Eddie goes to him before the match. We don’t have the puppet Mysterio we are all growing to hate come out here. He is methodical and slow. He ignores the fans he panders to so cheaply now and kisses his son. Eddie goes back over to Dominick as Rey enters the ring and shakes the Social Worker’s (who accompanied Dominick) hand. The match starts out as an intense affair with an aggressive Eddie throwing Rey into the ladder. They use the ladders well early on and it is not long until they are fighting under the case which sees Eddie hit a sunset-flip powerbomb which may have been botched by Rey. Eddie takes control of the match and we see some innovative offence which leads to both men under the case again. Another botch proves to be awesome as the ladders buckle and Rey takes a sick looking fall on top of one. Eddie takes control once more and with Rey out he goes for the case. Dominick jumps in and starts to shake the ladder which leads to some absolutely priceless heel work by Eddie as he tells Dominick “You’re gonna learn the hard way what it is to be a Guerrero”. Eddie reaches back for a slap but Rey makes the save.

An aggressive Rey takes charge and hits a 619 through the ladder on Eddie. Rey goes for the case but Eddie is soon back up and goes for an electric chair from the top of the ladder which Mysterio reverses into a powerbomb. Rey climbs again and has his hands on the case but Eddie kicks the ladder out from under him. With Rey dangling next to the case, Eddie delivers a sick looking powerbomb. Eddie pins Rey under the ladder and taunts him as he climbs. Rey powers the ladder away and it is soon Eddie who is dangling above the ring before Mysterio pulls him down. Guerrero then his the Three Amigos with the third onto the ladder. With Rey down, Eddie finally looks to have the match sewn up. He climbs but Vickie comes down and pushes him off the ladder (it is rumoured she later asked Eddie to excuse her). Vickie holds Eddie down as Rey climbs the ladder and retrieves the custody papers to win the match.

Rey celebrates with Angelica and Dominick as Eddie throws a tantrum in the ring. Rey comes back in and nails Eddie with the case as an exclamation mark on the match. Although this was not the most technically sound ladder match of all times, this match had everything. Dominick was a real pro in his actions for an eight year old and his interaction with Eddie was tremendous. The Guerrero and the Gutierrez families really put on a great show in one of wrestling’s truly memorable feuds.
CPR Rating: 9.5 (Coefficient 2)

Kurt Angle defeated Eugene (With Christy Hemme) in 4:31
Eugene shocked the world by winning Kurt Angle’s gold medals in the ‘Kurt Angle Invitational’ by avoiding defeat against Kurt for 3 minutes. Angle was incensed and this match would see the medals put on the line. Angle starts out the match using one of his 3 I’s, intensity. When the face Eugene finally gets in some offence and goes for a People’s Elbow, he is booed by the crowd. We get some glimpses of the talent of Angle and the potential of Dinsmore but the match continuously reverts back to the gimmick as Eugene gets 2 counts with a Rock Bottom and a Stunner. Eugene then locks in the Ankle Lock but Kurt reverses, hit’s an Angle Slam and puts on his own Ankle Lock for the submission victory as a chorus of complimentary “you suck’s” ring out around Washington. After the match, Angle clears Eugene from the ring and stands on a chair in a re-enactment of the Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony. These guys didn’t really have much time to create much here but it was a decent job all the same.
CPR Rating: 6.5 (Coefficient 1)

I am not sure what we did to deserve this but we now get Divas in bikinis washing a limo belonging to the US President. Vince winds down the window and asks “why not?”

Randy Orton defeated The Undertaker in 17:17
2005 saw Undertaker and Randy Orton continually get in each other’s faces. Wrestlemania had seen Orton fail in his bid to end Taker’s streak and we would get a re-match here as the Legend Killer attempted to add some more weight to his moniker. The match starts out with some nice psychology with Orton using his speed and Taker playing the power game. This pretty much becomes the formula for the match until we get a glimpse of today’s viper-like Orton as he takes control and works on Taker’s leg. The match becomes a little boring as Orton works on the leg with a series of rest hold leg-locks. The Deadman eventually gets back in control but is selling his leg injury. Finishes are then teased as RKO’s and Tombstones are countered which leads to Taker hitting a chokeslam. A “fan” then hits the ring and after he is ejected, the Deadman goes to lift an Orton who is playing possum and gets hit with an RKO out of nowhere for the 3 count. After the match, Orton hugs the fan who is revealed to be Daddy Dearest, Cowboy Bob Orton. Taker chases after the Ortons. This was a decent match but was certainly nothing earth shattering.
CPR Rating: 7 (Coefficient 2)

John Cena defeated Chris Jericho in 14:49 to retain the WWE Championship

I will go on record here and say that I am now getting bored of generic heel Jericho. It is time for flashy, cocky heel Y2J to return because quite frankly, his promos are not showing just how good of a mic worker he is. I want him to tell the legends that they need a dose of ass cream. In fact, imagine this, a cocky heel rapper Cena in a feud with a cocky face trash talking Jericho. That right there is a money feud. The match starts out with a decent pace and the action going back and forth. An aggressive Jericho soon takes charge as he goes after the big prize. The action does not really let up until Jericho goes for the Wall of Jericho and Cena powers out, pushing Y2J to the floor. Cena goes for an FU but this was countered into a Bulldog as a “let’s go Cena, let’s go Jericho” chant echoes through the arena. With Cena in control, he goes for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle but before he can drop the fist, Jericho once again puts him in the ‘Walls’. Cena does a good job of selling the hold and eventually gets to the ropes. Jericho takes control once more but out of absolutely nowhere, Cena hits an FU for the victory. This was a very good match and may have actually been the best Cena had put on at that stage of his career as Y2J led him through nicely. Better than their recent outings.
CPR Rating: 8 (Coefficient 3)

Batista defeated John Bradshaw Layfield in 9:05 in a No Holds Barred Match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

Batista comes out to a big home town pop as JBL comes to meet him on the entrance way. It is a straight up slobber-knocker as the 2 big men brawl on the stage. They fight through the crowd as Batista spears JBL through the barricade and into the ringside area. By the time they make it into the ring, Bradshaw is in control and he works on Big Dave with a belt. JBL soon hits the Clothesline from Hell but can only get a 2-count. A frustrated Bradshaw then goes for the ring steps and shapes up to hit a piledriver onto them but he is countered. Batista then hits a spinebuster and a Batista Bomb before sealing victory with a second Batista Bomb onto the steps. I think this was good considering the mess it could have been. The stipulation helped a great deal and the 9 minutes they had actually seemed a tad short.
CPR Rating: 7.5 (Coefficient 3)

Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels in 21:24

We finally get to the main event of the evening and the reason why I have chosen this PPV. The crowd are definitely pro-Hogan but HBK was playing the heel in this feud so that is understandable. They take their time to lock up as both men expertly play the crowd. Hogan gets the best of the opening exchanges to the frustration of Shawn. With The Hulkster in control, Shawn soon starts to get a little theatrical in the selling of the moves and this would become something this match is remembered for. This aside, Michaels adopting a heel persona made for an extremely intriguing match-up. We see HBK utilising slaps as a form of offence which fuels Hogan’s anger. Michaels eventually takes control by sending the Hulkster twice into the ring post and a series of punches to the head sees Hogan busted open. Michaels then goes for a sleeper and after Hulk’s arm drops twice, he hits a suplex to break the hold. Michaels then goes for the elbow from the top but misses as Hogan “Hulks-up”. Hogan goes for a big boot as Michaels goes for a flying forearm but the ref gets caught right in the middle and goes down. To keep his heel heat, Shawn then locks in a Sharpshooter as another ref arrives from the back. Hogan reaches the ropes and as HBK goes to lock it in again, Hogan kicks him off resulting in a second ref bump. Michaels hits Hogan with a low blow and a chair shot before nailing a big elbow from the top and tuning up the band. He nails Sweet Chin Music but Hogan kicks out at 2 and Hulks-up once more. We get the big boot and Michaels sells it like he is having a seizure. One big leg drop later, Hogan in victorious. As Hogan celebrates, Michaels comes back in which results in a rather insincere looking handshake between the two before the Hulkster ends the show with his posing. All in all this was a very intriguing match. Hogan still had enough in him to make it interesting and a heel Michaels was a beautiful sight to behold. The amusing but inappropriate overselling did not affect the match to a great extent when all was said and done but I cannot help but wonder just how good this could have been without the humungous egos involved.

CPR Rating: 8.5 (Coefficient 3)


THE VERDICT

Overall I have given SummerSlam 2005 a CPR Rating of 77%. Truth be told this was a very solid PPV with every single match having a legitimate place on the card with a good background story. In fact the only match I gave a coefficient of 1 (not that it seems anyone understands them anyway) was Angle and Eugene. There was nothing on the card that could be classified as bad unless you want to count the 25 second US Title match. However there were 2 men that stole the show at SummerSlam with their theatrics. Eddie Guerrero showed just how good a storyteller he is in some Academy Award-esque work with an 8-year-old boy. Shawn’s theatrics, while absolutely hilarious, were bordering on unprofessional and I would like to look a little deeper into this matter as the Classic Paper Review sees the return of that section between the review and the chav words.


RESPECT HIS LEGEND

There are plenty of things that you can call Hulk Hogan. Hell, it is probably water off a duck’s back as I am sure he has heard them all before. I have been as guilty as anyone else for having a go at this old timer who refuses to put people over and demands a hell of a lot of money for doing so but if anybody in the world of professional wrestling can be forgiven for doing so, it is Hogan. Now before anybody jumps on my case here about being pro-Hulkster, I would like to point one thing out. I have NEVER been a Hulkamaniac. As a kid getting into the wacky world of wrestling, Macho Man was always my favourite wrestler but that does not change the fact that whether you believe it or not, most of us probably would not be here in the wrestling forums if it was not for Hulkamania.

Vince brought wrestling to the mainstream in the 80’s with Hogan as the face of the company. We are all looking forward to Wrestlemania this year and for the first 9 editions of our Super Bowl, Hogan wrestled or participated in the Main Event (and left the event as WWF Champion at 6 of these). He then moved to WCW and with Hogan as their Champion, they began to compete with the WWF leading to the Monday Night Wars. Hulk Hogan became a figure that was not only the face of pro-wrestling, but was a legitimate ambassador for the sport on mainstream television. I think it is a pretty safe assumption that wrestling would not be as big as it is today if it was not for Hogan.

A lot of people will let that sort of power and importance go to their heads and it seems that Hogan is not an exception here. He will feel that what he has done for the industry means he deserves that backstage sway and the fat comeback pay cheques and to an extent, he is right. If he wasn’t he would never get work and it would be very hard to doubt this man’s knowledge of the business. The only issue I have is the fact that he doesn’t put over talent and I honestly believe that a lot of this can be traced back to Wrestlemania 18. The reaction that a heel Hogan received in his match with one of the most popular wrestlers of the era, The Rock, led to a final title run and belief that he is the most popular wrestler of all times. Once again this is hard to argue with as he has received major face pops at every return since. Hogan’s character is the good guy, the hero and in pre-Monday Night Wars wrestling, the hero always came out on top so Hogan going over is probably a very logical thing in his own mind. I may not have convinced you of much here and to be honest, I am not actually trying to but like him or hate him, Hulk Hogan deserves the respect of not only the wrestling fans but also the men and women currently making their living in the field.

Now that is out of the way, I will get back to my point. The Hogan-Michaels match at SummerSlam 2005 saw Michaels show total disrespect for Hogan. Now there are many theories as to why he did this but surely it was not the case that the guy who once “lost his smile” was upset about a guy that didn’t want to put someone over? The story goes that there was meant to be a second match (a reliable source who I shall call Mr. Donkey here to conceal his identity tells me this match was supposed to be in a cage at Unforgiven) where Michaels would go over. Supposedly Hogan said that he had problems with his knees and pulled out of a second match. Again, this is just rumour and it is also unclear whether Hogan’s “decision” not to go through with a second match was made before or after SummerSlam. If it was made before, it does not make Michaels’ actions excusable in my eyes but makes them understandable. If it was after SummerSlam then I cannot really blame Hogan for pulling out. Either way, as funny as his overselling was, for me it was a lack of professionalism from one of wrestling’s greatest ever performers. I am sure that everyone will form their own opinions on this matter and just as a refresher, here is a little montage of HBK’s actions in said match courtesy of YouTube.


THE CHAV WORD OF THE WEEK – BY SKAOS

Today, in an ironic twist of fate, the chav word of the week is bought to you by none other than the man this column was aimed at, Skaos. There maybe some of you who are still a little in the dark about the whole concept of chavism so today, Skaos will paint you a picture on exactly what on earth a chav is. The chav word of this week is…

…Chav

Chav is a term derived from Chatham in Kent, this term can be applied loosely to every culture with a nasty, thieving element. There are many variants of this creature but all are subject to the following commonalities:

Chavs are completely Amoral, having never been subjected to right and wrong by their inattentive, uncaring and often absent parents.

Chavs are part Magpie, evidentially supported by their love of all things shiny, or as vacuous, illiterate street-slang would say 'Bling'. They can be seen twokking from the Jewellery counter in Argos/Index.

Whatever their ethnic background, Chavs have a built-in affinity to hip-hop/R&B, even if they are inherently racist (see the Scottish). They see their life as glamorous and cool.

Chavs are for the most part, extremely stupid. However, some of them render a form of low cunning, which can be misinterpreted as intelligence. However this is false. A Chav has no desire to better themself through honest means nor learn anything outside of car modification.

All chavs think that they are nails. Again, this is false. Sitting in a beaten up Nova smoking Lamberts does not precipitate a healthy body. The irony being that a Chav owns mainly sportswear, yet will only break a sweat if running from the police.

Chavs are incredibly fertile beasts, and are highly successful breeders. Where they come unstuck is having to look after the offspring which their 13 year old drunken fumble produces. More often that not the child will crow to be a Chav, having received no more guidance on life than the parent.

Chavs have a fond love for cars, as well as a Vin Diesel fixation. Rather than buy a nice car to start with, a chav will spend all their dole and tax-free labouring cash on upgrading a 10 year old car with 200,000 miles on the clock. The end product will invariably be a luminous monstrosity with at least one serious collision to it's name. You will also hear this often: Come back with my bumper, you fucking Chav thief.


Well I hope Skaos has managed to clear things up a little for you. I’ll be back soon with another instalment of the The Classic Paper Review. As always feel free to PM me any nominations for the chav word section and feedback, good or bad is always appreciated. Make sure that you all vote in the semi-finals and final of CSI and this week I will plug a couple of column from writers not considered as the usual suspects:

Kano – RKO Edition IX – This guy is improving consistently in his columns week-to-week

lenjr04 – From the Podium III+II – CSI has bought a number of new writers to the CF but for me, this guy stands out from the crowd

Power for Struggle #100 – I agree it would be a bit cheap to plug my own column but fortunately this is by a guy called ET Renegade. I have no idea where this guy came from or where he went, but this was an awesome column.

[TheAmazingOne]

Very nice, I didn't see the Hogan/Michaels match in full but I've read countless stories on the matter and they are all very entertaining, if only in the fact that they show the utter ludicrousness of the whole situation. It may have been wrong by Michaels to oversell but it was incredibly funny, especially the part where (I think it's Coach) comments on Michaels seemingly being full of energy after taking a hilarious bump on the outside, and other stupid announcer comments while trying desperately not to break kayfabe. Besides, at least it provides a mostly positive memory to something that without it, could just have been another negative reminder of wrestling egos.

[TheMonkeyBoy]

Nice review here Mazza. I have never actully seen Summerslam 2005 but I have seen the HBK overselling and I agree, it weas bloody hilerious but abit unprofessional.I might have to go and buy it on DVD so i can watch it all.

I enjoyed this- well done

[Roger Murtaugh]

Man I was so disappointed with this ppv, wasn't god awful but I had such high hopes. It started with the Benoit squash which was funny but far from a match. Then we got Matt/Edge which had one of the biggest bullshit endings I recall seeing on PPV. Then the ladder match that for me was ruined by the horrid storyline and all the outside involvement. Then you have Kurt Angle destroy Eugene, and let's not forget Batista beating the living hell out of JBL. Which of course I wasn't rooting for JBL, but it never even looked like it was walking out the champ in that match.

Really the only matches I cared for were Jericho/Cena, Orton/Taker, and HBK/Hogan. JBL and Batista should have been good but it felt too short and one-sided like I said above. Hardy/Edge could have been good but the finish was premature and stupid. Their Unforgiven match in the cage was far superior.

As for the Hogan/HBK rumor, poor Michaels got stuck fighting Chris Masters at the next ppv.

Excellent read, as we come to expect.



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Now playing: God Forbid - The Rain
via FoxyTunes

[Kano]

Dude, awesome review, It's been awhile since you've busted out one of these, probably because of CSI. All in all well done. I also think Summerslam was a solid PPV, with that Ladder match beingone of the better matchs on the card. I agree with the Eddie/Dominick interaction as it really made the feud what it was.

Thanks for the plug, I was really suprised when I read it. Thanks dude, good luck for the CSI and read you again soon

[Leonard]

Another stellar and insightful review here, Mazza. I agree with the Michaels/Hogan match, as the two egos got in the way of what could have been a match of the year contender. At the same time, I will admit that Shawn's overzealous selling was some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen (especially because I've always hated Hogan in terms of wrestling--don't get me wrong, he's a great entertainer), especially selling the big boot, in which he actually took the bump, stood back up, stumbled around and bumped again (all behind Hulk's back).

Everything else, I agree 100% with also. I've always been a huge JBL fan, and I think this match killed any momentum he had at that time. At any rate, this is top notch. Also, thanks for the plug, I'm glad you think so much of my work...it means a ton.

--Leonard

[Martin Riggs]

Great review, really enjoyed it. I remember watching the PPV live at like 4am or sometime ridiculous. The bright side, of course, is that at that hour, if you're still awake, everything seems so much better!

I like that you're willing to stick your neck out and critisize HBK to defend Hogan. That's cool. and valid, it was unprofessional. Funny, but unprofessional.

Great review, as always. Any chance we, the general column viewing public, could get a list of previously used chav words? So i can suggest some different ones?

[Skaos]

First of all, great column. You really did the PPV justice here and it made me want to revisit this PPV again. As usual, your ability is top notch and I have honestly missed the CPR in the forums.

The Ladder match was just dire, sorry. It is one of the worst matches that WWE have had in recent memory, not least for the stipulation itself. True, Rey and Eddie are top notch when it comes to chemistry but this match just was not the best contest. Rey's body language shows that he wasn't into this. They had better matches.

I forgot Orton v Taker was on this card, and this will be the second reason I will revisit this PPV. WWE wasted Orlando Jordan here and the less said about Angle v Eugene, the better.

Now to the crux. Legend v Icon.
First of, there was NOTHING wrong with HBK doing what he did in this contest. First of, for Hogan to come back (in modern era wrestling) and lay waste to the best of the best in the business with his "cardboard 80's at best moveset" is unforgivable. In fact a year later he did it against Randy Orton too. Hogan should have the decency to realize that his time is over. He should take a leaf out of other wrestlers books. People like Taker, Flair, Foley and....yes, HBK. They know how to job and to put over talent. Hogan should too.

Second, HBK was not disrespecting Hogan. You may think this is the case, but in all honesty, Hogan was making himself out to be the fool. HBK was overselling to show that Hogan, for all his merit and prestige just doesn't hold up in this day and age. It just shows that now wrestling is more widespread and popular that people like Hogan pretty much don't have a place. Hogan needs to realise that he is no longer the vitamin swilling, prayer saying behemoth he was in his youth. For him to demand going over HBK....ridiculous!

And yes, I know wrestling "wouldn't" be where it was without Hogan. What a pile of shit. It was McMahon that made Hogan the star. Proof? Well, why didn't he get famous for his work in Japan or elsewhere? What happened when Hogan threw his toys out of his pram and went to WCW? And why is WCW winning the war against WWE...oh, hang on...

Vince McMahon, and his siblings, are the main reason that WWE and wrestling as a whole are on the map. Hogan helped, true, but he was in the right place at the right time. WWE could have had Flair, Savage, Rude and Bret do the work without Hogan. Vince is the sole reason WWE is where it is today, and why wrestling has a profile. Fitting, considering Hogan doesn't even know how to...

It was Vince that made Hogan a household name, not the other way around. If it was not for Vince, Hogan wouldn't get a chance for a payday here and there when his failed family life desires. If it was not for Vince, Hogan would not get a chance to host shitty reality shows to boost his ego. And sorry to break it to you dude, but if it was not for HBK, I doubt there would be a WWE for Hogan to come back to in the first place.

Excellent work. But don't bash HBK here when Hogan and his ego were the fault here. Just like HBK showed against Bret, WWE and Michaels are loyal to the fans and the company. Hogan could learn a thing or too about respect here...

[NightofDay]

Ah yes. SummerSlam 2005. The year where Shawn Michaels oversold Hogan's offense.

Benoit/Jordan did nothing except bury Jordan especially when they started the 'Benoit can beat Jordan quicker' storyline.

Matt/Edge. Now I'm not as down on the finish as everyone else is. While it is a bullshit ending considering how short the match was, the ending made sense to me because we were made to believe that there would be a fight and there was sort of.

Rey/Eddie was a great match with the usual botch or two (Rey's fall onto the ladder sticks in my mind, damn that looked sore). While the storyline was complicating as a whole, I would consider the feud to be Eddie's and Rey's best feud. It's hard enough having to tell my little sister who tolerates wrestling but took a vested interest in this match that Dominick was actually Rey's son and not Eddie's son (she was 5 at the time).

Angle/Eugene shouldn't have been on the card at all. It was just Angle squashing Eugene with Eugene getting a few bursts of offense in. Was it too much to do the same match on RAW?

Orton/Taker was a good match. Not a patch on their HIAC match they would have later in the year but I would say that it was about the same level as their WM match with a different result.

Cena/Jericho was a good match that foreshadowed the great encounters they would have three years later. The dueling crowd chants are always fun to hear.

Batista/JBL. Well at least they made it a No Holds Barred match to make up their abysmal match the month prior at the GAB but not by much.

Hogan/Shawn was a great match. People will say that Shawn carried the match but I believe Hogan did his fair share as well. Hell Hogan bladed during the match. When was the last time that happened in today's modern era?

All in all, this was a great review. I'm really looking forward to your next review. I think we're giving people a different choice as you do your random PPV reviews while I do my reviews in chronological order.

Looking forward to your next one.

[Degenerate]

As all Classic Paper Reviews, this one was a fine addition. This was one of the WWE's most solid shows in recent memory

I really just wanted to come here and also address your HBK comments. I won't go into much detail as Skaos did, but I'll just let write what we've discussed elsewhere.

If we hadn't known about the backstage shenanigans, would anyone had noticed Shawn's performance that night? Also, regardless of those moments as presented on YouTube, what was the end result of this? Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a wonderful match, HBK did the job and the Hulkster came out looking as strong as ever. HBK didn't hold up Vince McMahon backstage, demanding that the outcome be changed. He didn't get in the ring and changed things around, either. In other words, Shawn Michaels did his job. In the end, that's all that really matters.

I think this situation was magnified due to the fact that details of these issues were made public. Had they not been made public, we wouldn't have known about it, and you most likely wouldn't have written this column at all. It's just the way it is in the IWC. You know that I was going to totally disagree with your thoughts, but that's what this forum is for - to express your own opinion.

Again, great work. You've come along very nicely in the time you've been here, and I like it. I'll read you next time.

['Plan]

Magenta feedback on it's way!

As per, Mazza, you've pulled another great column out of the bag. There's not much to be said other than that. You've reached a point now where it's becoming terribly difficult to offer advice on how to improve. You're going to have your work cut out to keep topping your last column at this point but I'm sure you can get it done. You're a seriously great addition to the CF and I see bright things for your future. Doing ppv reviews is also risky considering DaveyBoy's rep, but you've established yourself as the ppv review guy and that in itself is a great accomplishment. Keep on flogging!

As far as Hogan and HBK go...well it's no surprise I'm going to condemn Shawn. It's not because of my other alleigances but because there is NEVER an excuse for over-selling the way he did. NEVER. I don't care about what went on backstage but doing what he did was unprofessional and did more damage for the rep of professional wrestling than it did good and as far as I'm concerned anything that makes it obvious what these men do is a piece of entertainment is an irreprehensible sin. Michaels had no excuse for doing what he did and as far as I'm concerned it's ridiculous people try to defend it.

Great column Mazza! I'm a firm fan of the CPR now!

[Degenerate]

'Plan, what really was unprofessional about him over-selling moves? It's not like he was over-selling all of Hulk's offense. The match did last 21 minutes, after all.

Like I said, he did his job in the end. That's all that matter.

[The Maz]

Batista Blamer - As I said, the overselling was hillarious and the announcers did seem a little lost at times. Thanks for dropping by and I am on the look out for one of those crazy columns of yours.

Little Monkey - Don't leg big monkey corrupt you.... definately worth a watch... worth spending money on though??? It is not alcohol or a loose woman so no.

Big Monkey - I am glad I have a couple of people who didn't like the Rey Eddie storyline. I won't defend it because I have already pointed out how ludicrous it was but I just felt that it was really well done. Interesting point about HBK-Masters too. As for Hardy-Edge, I guess this kind of set up the feud and with a stacked roster at the time with 2 brands, I guess it made sense to give them the better match and more time at the Raw only Unforgiven.

The Artsist Briefly Known as Muffins - Glad you enjoyed and I love these as I can write them without pressure. Plug very much merited and glad to see you are back as Kano... really glad.

Leonardo - That Big Boot may well be one of the funniest moments in wrestling history. Thanks for reading and plug well deserved.

J-Boom - As I have said I am far from a big Hogan mark but I don't think HBK should be condoned for that. Right or wrong, that is what was decided and it is childish to go a bit renegade during the match. I wonder how many people would have been laughing if at the 97 Survivor Series, Bret took his orders to drop the title to Shawn and made a mockery of him instead? As for the Chav words, I think it is only Innit, Minger and ASBO so far. Drop me a PM if you have one to bring to the world.

Skaos - As always dude, thanks for the support. REy-Eddie, I think maybe you should give it another try. I was on the fence before watching and thought it was above solid action wise. Plan actually thought he hated too til he gave it another watch and was pleasantly surprised. As for the other matters, I would never shit on Vince or guys like Savage, DiBiase, Roberts etc by suggesting that Hulk single handedly are responsible for the growth of wrestling. Just pointing out that his role was pivotal. I won't continue the arguement as we clearly have different views on the matter so it would be pointless. I think it may be time to put these HBK and Hunter issues down on paper. Damn it, if they can be friends and collab, why can't we?

NOD - Loved this feedback - A little counter review - very nice and thanks for reading and feeding.

The Odd Couple - Thanks for your praise, both of you. My thoughts were given and I left everyone to construct there own on the issue and surprise surprise, you too totally disagreed with each other. I love it and that is the beauty of the IWC. Keep up the marking but please... respect the Hulk.

Deg - I won't comment on whether you are right or wrong, all I will say is imagine Hogan, or anyone for that matter, selling SCM the way Michaels sold that Big Boot?

[KMA_Jackson]

Great column Mazza... Once again, you succeed.

On the Hogan - HBK affair.... A few things are not quite clear. First of all, it was Hogan who demanded HBK turn heel for the duration of their feud. This was something that the born again HBK was reluctant to do because of his beliefs, but did so after discussing the length of the feud and how it would benefit all parties involved. When Hogan backed out of the 2nd match, it made HBK look stupid and compromised his beliefs.

Secondly.... Hogan loves people who over-sell for him. For Hogan, I doubt he saw it as a slap in the face. He worked in WCW for years, and each time he hit a big boot on someone they lliterally FLEW out of the ring. Even the Rock could be blamed for over-selling a bit to Hogan during their few encounters. The problem is that Hogan loves the over-selling because he truly believes he is that strong. To condemn HBK for over-selling to Hogan, would mean you would also have to condemn 90 percent pf Hogan's opponents over the last 10-15 years.

What angered Hogan was Shawn's comments the next night on Raw, when HBK threw a few digs at Hogan. Hulk didn't appreciate being made to look like a fool in that sense, but perhaps then Hogan should get over himself. Here's the biggest problem with Hogan... He is a guy who made the business and is the biggest star ever. Yet when it comes time to give back to the business and help the younger guys, he believes it is enough just to show up. Beyond that, Hogan truly believes that he is helping younger talent by allowing them to be beaten by him. Does that make any sense to anyone?!

Take Roddy Piper. He was known for wanting to do the job to nobody during the 80s. He would not allow his shoulders toi be pinned to the mat for years up until Wrestlemania 8 when he faced Bret Hart. Sure, Hot Rod would lose by DQ or count out, but for nearly 9 years Piper NEVER LOST! Yet, now he shows up on the occasional Raw, Smackdown or PPV and allows himself to get beaten down by the younger guys in an attempt to help elevate that talent.

Why can Roddy Piper help put over young stars, while Hulk Hogan can't?!


ARGH!

Rant over... (Perhaps this should have been a column of my own.... dammit...)

Regardless.... Fantastic effort once again Mazza, and I anxiously await your entry in the CSI Finals!!!

Good luck!

[The Maz]

KMA - Love it! This is totally what I was trying to get out of people with this column and for me, I think you have given a better arguement that both Skaos and Degenerate when I was expecting them to literally murder me. Hogan's face was during the match says to me he was not happy about it. He looked a little disgruntled by it IMO. It could well be that HBK was asked to sell it and with that in mind, HBK decided to make a point by taking it to the next level. For me, he made a point in an unprofessional way... I am not calling the guy unprofessional on the whole, but in that action. The thing is it is exactly the sort of thing I do at work all the time (obviously not overselling but making points) and I get heat for it but I don't get in trouble. I am actually 100% behind Shawn making the comments on Raw as I felt that is a much better forum to get shit off his chest.

As for Hogan, I will not defend him not putting over youngsters because I do, like yourself, believe it is wrong of him. I do believe that he believes he is right (like you say by getting the rub of being in the ring with him). My main point, for all his faults, he deserves respect for what he has done in the past. I mean damn, Benoit performed a double murder suicide and gets more respect than Hogan - Hardly comparable with not putting people over.

Thanks for reading mate and I think we are all due a column from you soon.