11142003

Welcome to Falls Count Anywhere! My name is Chris and I just bought a four year-old
her first comic book.

SmackDown!
Well, putting Angle in the ring with Nathan Jones was a good idea, as he pulled
something that almost resembled a match. Angle is so smart in the way he lays out his
matches. They obviously sweetened the sound on this match to make the crowd seem
like they gave a damn.

I don’t know if they sweetened it that much, but the crowd seemed like it loved Holly’s
return to the ring. There were people in the front who were chanting, but that was loud,
so I don’t know. Heyman ordered Holly to not pursue Lesnar since he wasn’t medically
cleared. Paul E. was great here, doing the classic heel commish thing where he made it
seem like he was making sense.

What, the F**K wasVince saying? I get it, it was supposed to get the match over as
something important, but it was weird beyond belief. He soiled himself? How does that
make him something I want to see fight? What the hell? Vince, come back to us!

I like Tajiri, and I like Akio and Sakada a lot too. His beatdown of Jamie Noble was cool
and Mysterio did a messed up headscissors that turned into an awesome and weird lucha
thing. This could be a great feud, and Nidia is gonna be coming back with a new set of
knockers, so her absence won’t be in vain.

The Tag match between Akio and Sakada and Mysterio and Jamie Noble was pretty fun,
but not super. The Yakuza did some awesome moves, like a triangle chose in the ropes.
A sweet dropkick that made the four year-old go “Whoa”. A fun little match.

The Eddy having to go moment to be with his wife was lame, but it let us have Eddy on
the show on Sunday. Chavo getting the match moved was OK, but Shaniqua is coming
into her own.

Undertaker did a promo that was better than last week’s and also helped to get the idea
into people’s heads that they will be bringing him back as Old School Taker. A nice
finish by throwing dirt onto the camera.

Chavo’s match with the Bashems was OK. I like Chavo a lot. The Bashems are looking
better. Huge backdrop that sent Doug high and flat! Chavo with a sweet dropkick and
swinign DDT combination. It got better as it went on, but it wasn’t amazing. Chavo did
a baseball slide taking out Shaniqua. I like the Top Rope Spinebuster a lot too. This set
things up nicely. The reveal of the fact that the Sister injury was a set-up was transparent,
but at least it made it all happen.
I like the Benoit “What the hell are you thinking, Kurt” interview from Benoit. He’s not
a great promo, but he can deliver in a solid moment. It was intense and when Cena came
out, it all started working.

How to use Bradshaw. First, have a guy of his size throw him around a bit. That makes
the big guy seem tough. For some reason, the crowd believes that Bradshaw is the real
deal. Perhaps it’s because he’s one of the toughest legit guys on the roster.

What the hell is Vince thinking? The thing with the Priest was lame, since it didn’t get
him over at all, and the priest was awful. Hallow-ed? Vince did the classic heel “I want
to be good, but no…I really wanna be real evil” thing. It didn’t work, like all the other
times since Pillman did it the first time.

I am loving these Earnest the Cat Miller intros. They are just what you need to do to
bring a guy in hot. They used to do it in the old days, and it seems to be working.

Cena was great in calling the guys on Team Lesnar queer, in very florid tones. Hey,
Method Man is in the audience. It was a great intro, especially when he busted out the
training bra for Brock. That made me chuckle. He’s gonna be a great face for a while.

The Benoit/Cena vs. Big Show and Lesnar match was good enough. There was a lack of
heat at some points, but they did pick the crowd up a few times throughout. Cena looked
good in with Brock. Big Show didn’t look that bad. The match moved well, which was
the result of having Brock to guide Cena and Benoit to pull Big Show into the game. I
like Brock using the Fisherman Suplex (or the Perfectplex) as a transition move. It’s a
good move that we need to see more of. Benoit tossed a HUGE German Suplex. This
got good.

It was a solid, but far from perfect show. Too many weird McMahon stuff, though some
of the wrestling was really good. The ending was the highlight and I am glad they didn’t
show Cena taking out Benoit.

News
Kurt Angle’s neck is giving him trouble again. That’s a bad sign, as he may have come
back too soon. He’s still working, but it is a worry. He’s a Hall of Famer if he can stay
healthy for another couple of years.

Lance Storm was also hurt this weekend, a thus did not work this weekend and didn’t
wrestle on RAW.

They are also talking about bringing in Mick Foley for WrestleMania. Wether it will be a
match or just showing up, no one knows, but it should be good.

Michael P.S.Hayes is in the dog house for pushing through his ideas and claiming the
lockerroom was completely behind him in having John Cena attack Benoit after their
match. He lied, as everyone thought it was a bad idea, and they eventually edited it off of
the show. He also made an ass of himself at Stephanie’s wedding may have been the first
sign that something like that was on the horizon. Once a Freebird…

FlashBack!
Looking at the history of Survivor series, you notice that one man has been in a bunch,
has been successful and has had a ton of great matches. His name is Bret Hart and he
deserves a little bit of love.

He was there for the first one, participating in the Tag Team elimination match. The
foundation had just come out of the classic feud with the British Bulldogs, Dynamite Kid
and the late Davey-Boy Smith. They had some classic matches at WrestleMania and on
house shows around the world. Both teams were in the match and they were easily the
highlights of the match, along with the Killer Bees. Bret lost his first appearance at
Survivor Series, but still made an impression.

The Bulldogs and the Foundation were on the same team at the second edition, teaming
with The Rockers, featuring future Bret opponent Shawn Michaels. The match was really
good, not as good as the first year, but near that level. Bret looked great, especially when
he was working with Tully Blanchard or Arn Anderson. At the end of the show, he was
1-1 in Survivor Series Matches.

The third SS match Bret served in was with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, former NWA
champion Ronnie Garvin, and Hercules Hernandez against Randy Savage’s team. Bret
did the job, and was back down 1-2.

Fourth go-round featured Bret and his partner Jim Neidhart teaming with Dusty Rhodes,
and Koko B. Ware. Bret lasted to the end, being pinned by Ted DiBiase in a match that
was more notable for the debut of the Undertaker. Bret was 1-3.

1991 came around and Ric Flair came into the WWF and they naturally wanted to put
him in the ring with Bret. Flair was feuding with Roddy Piper. Piper’s team featured
Bret Hart, Virgil and Davey Boy Smith. Flair featured Ted DiBiase, The Mountie
(Jacques Rougeau), and The Warlord. Bret’s team fell again, but this was the only time
other than the Royal Rumble, that The Million Dollar Man, Davey Boy, Flair and Bret
were in the ring at the same time.

The 1992 edition saw Shawn Michaels and Bret go at it for the first time on Pay-Per-
View. The match was fantastic, nearly the level of Match of the Year, but not quite. Bret
was 2-4 in 6 matches.

Boston Garden and the 1993 Series saw Bret team with brothers Owen, Keith and Bruce
against Shawn Michaels and his Knights. Shawn took a punch from Stu (tap-tap-kiss-
point) and won again, bring him to a more solid 3-4.

The best match of Survivor Series was the Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund match that I wrote
about last week. Bret lost, lost his title, and went down to 3-5. Losing in a match like
that really did him some good. He worked a great match and managed to keep his star
shining bright.

Diesel vs. Bret Hart changed the WWF forever, as Bret won after being beaten on for
nearly 20 minutes and going through a table, a first in the WWF at the time. The match
was really good, and Bret won the World Title, making him 4-5.

Bret Hart and Steve Austin put on one hell of a match during the 1996 edition. I wrote
that one up too, and it was great. It pulled Bret up to .500.

If Bret really never wrestles again, the King of Survivor Series will forever be 5-6, as
Vince McMahon pulled a legit double-cross and had Shawn Michaels take the title from
him. It was the classic betrayal that really helped the WWF make the turn-around.

Eleven editions(I think Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker have been at more) and he
had some great matches. He won a world title, and lost a couple of them. He had a huge
impact on the WWF, and the final match he wrestled in the WWF was the most important
of modern times.

That’s another week. Next week, I’ll do a round-up of SS activities and the like.