411Mania's Squared Circle News Report 04.04.09

Posted by Dustin James on 04.04.2009

This week in the Squared Circle I discuss Tazz's decision to leave the WWE, the declining health of Scott Hall, my predictions for WrestleMania 25 and much much more!

Welcome back inside the Squared Circle! I have been a very busy man the last few days so I must apologize for the lack of news. One of these days I hope to JAM PACK this son of a gun with tons of news but I have been busy as all hell. Why have I been a busy man? Well I was busy putting together my list of the top 25 wrestlers in WrestleMania history list which can be found right here at 411. Also, the UFC held an event on Wednesday night and as I have mentioned plenty of times in the past....if there's a UFC event that week, you can count on my mind being set on that. But don't worry, I will try my best and we will work through this together!


LET'S GET IT ON!!!!!

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Biggest News Of The Week:





Tazz Done With WWE


Say it ain't so Tazz, say it ain't so!


And in news that literally shocked everyone, Tazz is reportedly DONE with the WWE. Like we are talking....no WrestleMania, no more television, no more WWE! This is horrible news for Tazz fans like myself. It feels like it was just yesterday that the news of Tazz signing with WWE was announced. Hell, I remember when the lil bastard debuted by coming out and choking Kurt Angle. YOU JUST DON'T DO THAT TO AN OLYMPIC HERO! That's how freaking bad ass Tazz was. I honestly didn't think the man would make it in the WWE, and to an extent....I was right. He never got any sort of huge push as a wrestler but once the WWE put him behind the mic, we knew there was something special there. I even remember after the news of Tazz signing with the WWE was announced, ECW owner Paul Heyman came out and said that if the WWE decided to use Tazz as a color commentator, ECW's announcers would no longer be the best in the business. And man, was he right.

Whether you want to talk about Tazz's chemistry with Michael Cole (I loved his bullying of Cole back in the day) or his recent work with JR, the fact is....the WWE doesn't have a tremendous amount of good announcers and Tazz was one of their best. If you say that losing Tazz isn't a hit to the WWE then you my friend would be a liar. The WWE needs good announcers like I need a girlfriend willing to cook naked for me. Tazz will definetely be missed by this writer and will more than likely be missed by the majority of WWE fans.

As for replacements? What the hell is Paul Heyman doing now a days? I'm sure he wouldn't mind a paycheck, plus a team of JR and Heyman is always fantastic. It's too bad the WWE released Colt Cabana because he would have made a perfect replacement for Tazz. Oh well, you can't win em all!

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Scott Hall in Bad Shape?


Hey yo....pour me a shot

During a recent interview with The Poughkeepsie Journal, Kevin Nash had the following to say regarding his good friend Scott Hall:

"[Scott Hall's] really having some hard times. You know the WWE is very concerned even though they've sent him several times on their dime. They've very concerned that one of their guys is still out there and sick. They're still trying to figure out what they can do. It's hard because they're publicly traded. The system..you can't go (to rehab) 55 times, you know. It just doesn't work that way. The longer I've been around the addiction of different people, you just realize that your friends and family can want them to be well, but if the person doesn't have the will to be well, it doesn't matter what everybody else does. Until he wants t take the steps to be clean, he's just not going to be clean. There's plenty of people that love him and want him to do it. It's just he's got to make that decision himself. We can't do it for him. Nor can Vince or anybody else."

Yikes. News like this just disappoints me. Hall really needs to do something about his problems before he winds up another wrestler who dies too young. Nash hit the nail on the head when he said that Hall can go to rehab 55 times, but it doesn't matter as long as he doesn't REALLY want to be helped. He had that explosion a few months back at that public event (can't remember what it was) that I'm sure you can find on YouTube! and it seems like the guy has just been a train wreck since before his "Razor Ramon" days. Hall is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers and I still remember how enthusiastic I was when I heard that Hall was going to be returning to the WWE when Vince introduced the return of the nWo years ago. However, Hall's problems lead to a quick release and it seems like the man's life has gotten worse. I really hope Hall can get his life together and I know I'm not the only one with the same wishes.....

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WrestleMania 25!


And it's finally here.....

And here we go, it's WrestleMania weekend.....once again time for "The Big Show", "The Granddaddy of em all", and any other wacky nickname you can think of. Here's the finalized card complete with my predictions:

- The Miz & John Morrison vs. Carlito & Primo

It's a little known fact that I'm a huge fan of Carlito's. I have kept that secret for many years now but I felt that it's about time for me to get that off of my chest. However, the "first" unified tag team champions should end up being The Miz and John Morrison!

- JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

Is this still scheduled to be JBL's last match? If so then I fully expect JBL to retire with the title!

- Money In The Bank: MVP, Shelton Benjamin, CM Punk, Finlay, Kane, Mark Henry, Christian, Kofi Kingston

I personally love me some "Money In The Bank" and you can color me with a happy crayon now that Benjamin is back in the match. As much as I would love to see Shelton win this damn thing, my money is on either Christian or CM Punk. Punk won last year so I guess I will go with Christian to become the new Mr. MIB!.

- Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

This is one that I actually can't wait to see. These two really have the chance to steal the show here. In the end though, I have to give the nod to Jeff Hardy, thus pissing off Matt even more and continuing the storyline a little longer.

- Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and Jimmy Snuka

Man, how did we go from Mickey Rourke to Piper, Snuka, and Steamboat? I have heard through the grapevine that Steamboat can actually still WRESTLE and I fully expect Snuka and Piper to get eliminated quickly and then we can see Jericho and Steamboat tear the house down for 5-10 minutes. In the end though, I gotta go with Jericho.

- 25 Diva Battle Royal

Yaaaaaaa.....don't really care.

- Edge vs. The Big Show vs. John Cena

Poor Cena. He's the biggest star in the WWE today, yet he more than likely will compete in the 5th or 6th match at WrestleMania and it just so happens that it has to be a three-way match with Edge and Big Show. Why could we not just get Cena vs. Edge? That would have been a million times better. Either way, I fully expect Edge to retain his title. Show is there to take the loss.

- The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Here is your match of the night. However, if you think HBK is going to end The Undertaker's streak....you are sadly mistaken. I would bet my mortgage on The Undertaker.

- HHH vs. Randy Orton

Another one that I honestly don't really care about. I was sick and tired of HHH and Orton feuding 5 years ago, why would I like it now? HHH hasn't won at WrestleMania in a few years so look for him to finally pick up a win and break his own streak!

The card to me doesn't that bad, just make sure you have plenty of beer and appetizers for your buddies.

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Remember This Guy???




"Hole in One" Barry Darsow

Poor Barry Darsow. The man was saddled with some horrible gimmicks during his career but none of them were near as bad as "Hole in One" Barry Darsow. You know what really gets under everyone's skin? That's right....golfers. Who doesn't want to see those bastards get their asses kicked? That's exactly what WCW executives themselves thought when they brainstormed this wonderful idea. The golf gimmick didn't last long and it didn't do much too damage the credibility of the man once known as Demolition Smash.

I would've put Repo Man here but that gimmick ruled all sorts of ass......

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Random News Bits:

- For those of you interested, Danny Bonaduce is doing all his appearances in TNA for FREE! He just wants publicity for his radio show. Good for TNA. They get a little bit of publicity on Bonaduce's radio show and they don't even have to pay the man. Just please don't make him World Champion....I beg of you.

- Former WWE wrestler Glenn Kulka (some of you will remember him!) was knocked out in his second professional MMA fight in just 1:17 at a show in Gatineau, Quebec. Kulka had a VERY short run in the WWE back in the 90's and I do believe he is about to have a short MMA career.

- Shawn Michaels knees are reportedly in extremely bad shape and he will need to take some time off fairly soon. I expect the man to lose at Wrestlemania and then take a few months off, it's much needed.

- The WWE has reportedly been looking for an updated phone number for Paul Bearer to try and lure him to Wrestlemania. Hmmm, what could they have possibly planned for a Bearer appearance?

- John Cena had the following to say to MTV News regarding "The Rock":

"I've been trying to wrestle him. It's not that I don't think he'll accept the challenge; he truly has a full plate. I think our fans would like to see him come back to the ring, Dwayne Johnson or The Rock of whatever he wants to call himself, versus John Cena, let's say Wrestlemania 26."

Yes Cena, because YOU are the first thing on Dwayne Johnson's mind. Let's face it, Cena vs. The Rock is only a dream match in Cena and his fan's eyes. If "The Rock" ever does decide to come back I would personally like to see him face someone he can put over and Cena doesn't need that.

- Sandman vs. Sabu is set to be the main event of the "ECW reunion show" (actually titled "Legends of the Arena") on June 27 in Philly. Mmmmm, smells like 1997.

- Bret Hart had the following to say to the National Post regarding people blaming the WWE's schedule as the main factor behind the deaths of so many wrestlers:

"In fairness to the WWE, as hard as this schedule is, there is no reason for these wrestlers to be dying like they are. It's not that tough. It's not that impossible. It's just an excuse."

Way to hit the nail on the head Bret! If the schedule is taking a toll on you, then quit. It's just like any other job. You quit once it becomes strenuous on the body....or at least you should.

- Reid Fliehr was arrested for a DWI on March 4 in Charlotte. The strange part of the story was that young Fliehr "Flair-flopped" during the middle of his sobriety test. That's not exactly the best way to prove to the police that you haven't been drinking.

- Sonjay Dutt is scheduled to join ROH on May 8 in Boston and May 9 in New Jersey. Apparently the WWE has no interest in young Dutt.....




(Credit goes to The Wrestling Observer for the above news!)

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Mini-review For WWE Legends of Wrestlemania


So I finally received "WWE Legends of Wrestlemania" for the Xbox360 from GameFly. I wasn't expecting much from the game when I popped the sucker in due to the fact that I had played the demo and HATED IT! But I was still willing to give the final game a chance and let me say....it's not really THAT bad. It's nothing I would spend $60 on, but overall I'm enjoying seeing the classic WWE entrances, finishers, and even the cool videos they show in the "WrestleMania Tour Mode".

My main complaints with the game are the controls and the lack of depth. Why couldn't they just port the same controls over from SvR? Those controls are fine, yet the controls for LoW are difficult to adjust to for fans of the SvR series. As for lack of depth, the "WrestleMania Tour Mode" is cool for awhile, but after you complete that....what's left? Exhibition matches? Really? Can't I at least create a PPV?

I'm willing to cut THQ a little slack here as it's the first game in the series. I honestly hope that if they decide to do another game next year, that they will add more features as well as improve the control scheme. Also, the lack of Randy Savage REALLY hurts the game. Trust me, play it and you will see......

Either way, I give it a 6.0 out of 10 mainly due to the awesomeness that is the WWE legends!

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Wrestlemania Top 10 Lists:



With Wrestlemania right around the corner, every Saturday I will present you with a special Wrestlemania-themed top 10 list. Trust me, it will be good times!


Top 10 WrestleMania's

(These are my personal top 10 WrestleMania's. Last year I did this feature for 411 during the "Countdown to Wrestlemania" but I ranked them all then....)


This list is in no particular order......


10) WrestleMania 10

Bret vs. Owen, HBK vs. Razor....nuff said

9) WrestleMania 3

Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat....yes please!

8) WrestleMania 17

A lot of people's "favorite" WrestleMania....so of course it's going to make this list!

7) WrestleMania 19

The only WrestleMania I have attended live....LOVE IT!

6) WrestleMania 18

Honestly, if you have never seen The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan.....do yourself a favor and watch it now. The crowd reaction is INSANE!

5) WrestleMania 12

HBK vs. Bret....Iron Man match! Pure greatness.

4) Wrestlemania 5

"The Mega-Powers Explode".....a phrase that will forever live in my head.

3) WrestleMania 8

Great card featuring Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage, Piper vs. Bret Hart, HBK vs. Tito Santana....and a run-in by Papa Shango! Smell the buys~!

2) WrestleMania 14

It's really hard to find a bad match on this card.......overall just an excellent show.

1) WrestleMania 6

I became a fan of wrestling just two months before WrestleMania 6....therefore the event will always have a special place in my heart.

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YouTube! Find Of The Week!

HHH gets an unwelcome challenge (jump to 2:30)........

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Your Turn:


Your Turn is on hiatus this week. As I mentioned before, my time was very limited this week so I decided to cut out your time. Feel da powa!

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And that's it for me this week. Remember, don't be a stranger to 411! Bookmark the site and visit it countless times a day. Hell, be brave and make it your homepage! Trust me, it will make you a better person......

See you next Saturday back in the Squared Circle! Until then, you can find me on MySpace or Facebook! I also recently broke down and got a Twitter as well!

Enjoy WrestleMania 25!!