wrestling / Columns

The Wednesday Wire: 2.22.12: On The Way Down Route 41

February 22, 2012 | Posted by Nick Marsico

Hi there everybody! I have been very busy over the past few weeks with work and school and a lot of other extracurricular things so I have fallen a bit behind on wrestling. I’m up to date on RAW and SmackDown, but I haven’t yet seen the Elimination Chamber PPV or last week’s Impact Wrestling, nor have I seen all of Against All Odds. We’ll say that I liked what I read about the EC PPV, the AAO PPV was pretty good from what I have seen and I’m looking forward to checking out Impact Wrestling.

There was also no Friday Supplement last week due to my inability to find any extra time, but I will wrap it up today in the WedWi, and you can read that below. As for this moment, let’s get right on with all of the past week’s news and more!

The WedWi starts…

NOW!

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There is a whole lot going on right now. We have reached the final stretch before WrestleMania, so that means Vince will be changing his mind left and right and everybody will be talking!

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Lance Storm will be returning to the ring to wrestle Mike Bennett on Friday night March 30 on the first of the two Showdown in the Sun weekend shows. I’d have loved to see Storm v. Lethal, but I understand that they want to continue pushing Bennett hard and Storm gives him a high profile match on one of the most important weekends of the year.

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Drew McIntyre’s losing streak is reportedly set to be leading to a gimmick change for the former “Chosen One”. One would think it would make approximately 150% more sense to give him a gimmick change during the months upon months that he was off television and have him return fresh, but clearly turning him into an excuse-making loser is a much more prudent way of getting the crowd to care. Good call!

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Randy Orton is out indefinitely or at least until Febrary 27 when the doctors will evaluate him again. I assume that Orton had some other injury that needed immediate attention and the concussion is how they wrote him out. That just stinks of Orton finding a way to get himself into the World Title match at WrestleMania, which ruins the good karma of Bryan and Sheamus getting to go one-on-one for the Big Gold Belt in one of the main events one year after being moved down to preshow and then downgraded further to a battle royal when they were originally set to wrestle for the US Title on the big stage.

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The Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament will be held this year on April 21. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla will put out their 6th annual tag team tournament, and Sami Callihan is set to make his PWG debut on the show.

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Taylor Rotunda, son of everyone’s favourite tax man was arrested over the weekend and charged with DUI. That’s a shame. That’s also all I got.

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Shaq confirmed in a recent interview that he will be at WrestleMania this year in Miami. No word on whether he will be in the crowd as he often is for WWE events or if the rumored match with Big Show is moving forward.

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It took a million comments before somebody made the connection that the below picture of The Undertaker looks like Ghost Rider. Maybe that really will be the new gimmick. He does ride a motorcycle, ya know.

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Among other things, Mick Foley regrets that he didn’t wrestle Vince McMahon at WrestleMania x-Seven. I didn’t even realize that match was in the cards. Here’s what he said about it:

“In 2001, I took the ridiculous stance that I was NEVER wrestling again! Really believed it too.”

Oh Mick, you slay me.

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John Cena continues to own The Rock on Twitter and in general for that matter.

“prediction 4 rock promo – 1999 catchphrase, insult Cena, catchphrase, sniff the air, eyebrow, say electrify – leave till mid march”

It’s pretty dead-on. Rock has been calling John Cena a delicious breakfast cereal (that ended up with Cena getting a promotional deal) and saying that he has lady parts. That’s just weak. It’s on the level of Cena on RAW in 2005 bad.

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The official diagnoses for Wade Barrett’s injury is a partially dislocated left elbow. Ouch. He’s going to be out for 6-8 weeks, which sucks for him since he’s not going to get a match at WrestleMania, but I look at it as a possible blessing in disguise. What would he have done on April 1 anyway? Money in the Bank ladder match? Participate in a possible RAW v. SmackDown tag match? Probably not something memorable. Now he has a chance to be off TV for a while and come back late in the Spring with a vengeance. It could turn out to be much better for his career. Weirder things have happened.

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“For your information, I’m disease free and I’d like to keep it that way.” – John Cena

Broskis before Hoeskis. We start off with Eve revealing to the world that she was never even Zack Ryder’s friend, and the Bellas act shocked that anybody would ever use and manipulate somebody like that. I agree with them. Those two minxes would never use a guy for no discernible reason. So this is where we’re headed with this angle? Eve was just using Ryder all along, and she was just using him to get to Cena. Can I ask what exactly she was using Cena to get? Money? Power? If the intention was for her to ride Cena’s coattails, where would she end up once they ripped off the back of his pompous and silly-looking suit jacket?

The rubber match! I was really holding out hope that they would give us a true blowoff of the Henry/Sheamus feud that never had a resolution. I understand that it was just a placeholder because neither of them had anything to do and they were waiting for Orton to be free for Henry, but they had two really good matches. At least this match had a decisive winner. That helps my OCD. This match was pretty good — a very short-form version of the better matches from the summer. Great chemistry.

The Boom Shall Set You Free. It looks like we have our Tag Team Championship match for WrestleMania. I realized earlier that there are a crapton of guys that don’t have anything at all going for the biggest show of the year. It’s shitty, but I don’t think Vince cares that much since he’s got Rock v. Cena and Undertaker v. Triple H in the Cell. Those two matches alone sell the show, so I guess whatever else they do is just filler. At least it almost seems that way. Not Jericho v. Punk, I guess, but other than those three matches that’s really how it feels.

General Managers Collide! Seems to me that they are trying to distinguish the brands again before the draft. It also adds another match at WrestleMania that people may care about. Aren’t they also doing the Bragging Rights show in the spring/summer this year? What do you think… one-on-one RAW v. SmackDown match at WrestleMania or a multi-man tag team match? There’s no confirmation that there will be a MITB ladder match, and with Kofi and Truth seemingly set for a tag match (hey let’s toss the two black guys in the ring as a pair!) they lose two guys, or at least one in Kofi, that would be a staple for the highlight reel match. Maybe a RAW v. SmackDown tag match will be the one that gets everybody else their WM paycheques.

Are they really “What?”-ing The Undertaker? Sans hat and with the hood that one would assume is covering his growing-in hair, The Undertaker finally has his match. I was really expecting Triple H to say “Last Man Standing”, but when he repeated himself 64 times about how important this was and how he wasn’t bullshitting, anything that wasn’t Hell in a Cell would have been completely anticlimactic. Last Man Standing makes sense in the year-long story arc, but Hell in a Cell makes sense for both men historically. It’s just a shame they had to whore out the Cell and give it a PPV of its own; the announcement could have been so much more epic if the last 47 HIAC matches weren’t regular matches with little build and no drama attached. Oh well. I hope they pull out all the stops for this one (which you would expect is the idea), but please don’t do like last year and make it long just for the sake of playing to the idea that “long = epic”. It doesn’t.

Pro Wrestler v. Movie Star In what was easily John Cena’s best promo in recent memory, the Champ (yeah, that’s his nickname no matter what) brought a heck of a lot of passion and tossed in just a tad of the necessary fire to deliver the opening salvo in the final battle before the war reaches the ring. I absolutely loved Cena here, and it’s evident that Cena really is hurt by the fact that Rocky left wrestling. Before people attack Cena, or anybody for that matter, for crying about The Rock leaving wrestling and going to Hollywood — that part is not the problem. As far as he was concerned, The Rock accomplished everything he wanted to accomplish in professional wrestling, so he moved on to another passion that arose within him when he got the opportunity to be a full-time actor. There’s absolutely zero, zilch, nothing, nil, nada, goose egg and so on and so forth wrong with that. I expected that Rock would show up now and again in taped segments, which he did in fact do, and I hoped that he would eventually pop back in to say hello and maybe even step into the ring one more time. My issue, and Cena’s as well, it seems, is that Rock left and then continued to talk about WWE like it was his home even though in recent years he appeared to be doing everything he could to distance himself from it. Then he came back for the build to WrestleMania, said he would never leave us again, and as John Cena himself said, he then left us again.

Of course he has shown his face via satellite and in pre-recorded videos and showed up for a match at Survivor Series. He also has been talking about the match with John Cena in most of his media appearances and has been going at it on Facebook and Twitter, so he hasn’t been ignoring WWE since he showed up about a year ago. You can take sides (I’ve got Cena) or you can just sit back and see what happens, but in the end I think to truly find out if The Rock really means it when he says he’s never going to leave again we will have to wait until after WrestleMania is over and the dust has settled. If he shows up a couple times a year and doesn’t act like WWE is some silly thing he did in another life, then my beef with him is settled.

And yes, I know it’s no skin off Rock’s back if one guy is annoyed with him, but I have been 100% pro-Rock since he turned face in the spring of 1999 (sue me — when I was 12 and he was the Corporate Champion I hated his ass) and as a fan of The Rock and a gigantic wrestling fan it legitimately stung when he started to distance himself more and more from the business, and the fans, that made him a star. I know I have been slinging a lot of shit at The Rock ever since I returned to 411 in September, but it comes from a bit of a wound that he left when he turned his back on us. And he really did.

“He should be docked a day’s pay for taking a nap on the job, shouldn’t he?” – CM Punk

Take out the chamber but keep the elimination. At first I wasn’t convinced that a battle royal was the way to go in order to get Jericho in as Punk’s opponent at WrestleMania. They already have an issue, and since he was knocked unconscious at the PPV Jericho has a legitimate reason to stake claim to another title shot. I may be one of the few people who actually likes battle royals (the one on SmackDown that Santino won was darn good), and this one was good enough for me. Jericho can also now claim that if Punk didn’t take him out from behind he would have won the WWE Title in the Chamber match, since he not only beat everybody from his own match, but also the 5 guys who were unable to wrestle the title away from Daniel Bryan. I am psyched (yes, I know what year it is) for Jericho v. Punk and I know that I will not be disappointed.

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Other RAW Thoughts. What was the point of the divas tag match? No Beth, no Tamina and no Kharma equals, as our friend Larry would say, NO BUYS. Daniel Bryan defeated Santino in quick work, which didn’t really matter one way or the other. The idea was to get Bryan on TV for a quick minute just for some face time since his important match is on the special live edition of his own show. My question now is what do you do with Santino? He is more over right now than he ever has been and the crowd wants him to kick some ass. If they don’t change his character out of the ring but let him come off a bit more legitimate in the ring he can be a damn good mid-card champion. Swagger v. Santino at WrestleMania?

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Check out the most recent edition of The Friday Supplement for previous installments.

Monday Night RAW, 2/13/2012 Shawn Michaels made his return to RAW to get to the bottom of why Triple H was refusing to accept The Undertaker’s challenge. At first Shawn seemed to believe that The Game was just having a laugh at everybody’s expense, but the COO of WWE, Inc wasn’t in a hardy-har mood. Shawn resorted to calling Triple H a coward and received a surprisingly candid and corporate answer from his best friend. The Undertaker is a brand that can make Triple H money, not competition in the ring. Does Triple H really feel that way or is there more to it that he doesn’t want to reveal?

The Undertaker responded with another creepy video package in which he vowed that he would get what he wanted and symbolically sheared his hair.

Monday Night RAW, 2/20/2012 The Undertaker is back again and was finally able to convince Triple H to accept the rematch. He had to invoke Shawn’s name and claim that Triple H couldn’t beat him, because Shawn couldn’t do it and HBK is better than HHH. The Game decided that if the match was going to happen, it was Hell in a Cell or nothing. It’s going to be Hell in a Cell.

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**Note: The first half of this section was written before the 2/20 RAW in which the match was officially made.

The question I posed last time was as follows:

There are no pinfalls or submissions in a Last Man Standing match. Those are the two main ways to secure a clean and decisive win in a professional wrestling contest. If Triple H were to defeat The Undertaker in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania, would that, to you, constitute a decisive and clean victory that effectively ends the streak? Or would that victory for Triple H lead to people (Triple H and Undertaker included) questioning whether or not Triple H could truly beat The Undertaker in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania?

First, the commenters whom responded directly to the above:

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gpjunk: As for if a Last Man Standing match being a legitimate way of ending the streak it all depends on the execution. If it’s a clean ending then yes and if not then no. I’ve always thought, however, that if they are going to end the streak it would be appropriate to do it in a Buried Alive or a Casket match.

Marsico: I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not beating Undertaker in a Last Man Standing match would be a legitimate claim to ending the streak. On one hand, if you are able to beat The Undertaker down enough that he can’t stand up to answer the count of ten, technically you held him down longer than the count of 3 that you need for a pinfall. The fact that, while he tapped out, Triple H was able to essentially do just that last year is what brought upon the idea of doing a LMS. On the other hand, a more satisfying and lasting image would be somebody getting the 1-2-3 on him at ‘Mania. If somebody can get that done, there is no basis to question the legitimacy of ending the streak. Keeping him down for a 10-count may lead to other wrestlers (and critics, not that we make a difference) challenging the fact that the streak-ender was unable to secure a pinfall victory, which is the most well-defined way to win a match.

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And that’s everybody. Nobody else really touched on that question. Oh well. Here’s the rest!

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Still Guest#8287: Some think it should end and some don’t. I think it should never end, but if it did TZZM would be the person to break it in my mind. I’m not a fan of HHH/Taker 3, but this is the only match possible that makes people think Taker could lose. Cena can’t be in the match, Sting isn’t gonna be there, and nobody else would be believable to end the streak. Since it’s gonna be his chance at 20-0, might as well make it seem like the streak could end.

Marsico: Agreed on both counts.

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The Great Capt. Smooth: I just feel that even though it might not be many people’s top pick for a match at WM, it should be worthwhile. These are two legends who know each other in the ring, and we should sit back and enjoy the show (unless The Streak ends, then there will be a riot).

Marsico: Before this year’s show I am going to have to check out last year’s ‘Taker/HHH match again. I hope it isn’t as shitty as I remember it being. It will likely be a much different match this year though, probably shorter and with less laying around (I hope), and I would like to see how it will pan out this time around.

I really do wonder what would happen in the arena if the streak was successfully broken. My bet is that the reaction would be stunned silence. And not the “stunned silence” excuse they use when the fans just don’t give a shit, but rather a crowd full of legitimately speechless fans. It would also be interesting to see how the crowd reacted to him the next night on RAW. Would be be praised? Would be be booed out of the building?

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The Big Fat F: Here’s how HHH breaks the streak. This year UT beats him in a Last Man Standing match and HHH retires from active competition to run the company Mr. Macmahon style. Cena beats the Rock this year and remains a face for the rest of the year although he remains tempted to “embrace the hate” periodically throughout the year. Cena wins the RR next year but announces that he doesn’t want a shot at the championships because he wants a shot at the greatest prize of all, the streak. UT accepts and at WM, Cena defeats UT because HHH slides him the sledgehammer. HHH and Cena end the streak and form the new corporation.

Of course this is just fantasy booking and I really don’t think that anyone should end the streak. Maybe UT beats Cena, then grabs the mic and says “My time has come… to rest … in… peace. Then he summons lightning bolts to hit the ring and poof he’s gone forever.

Marsico: The most intriguing part of this, BFF, is the idea that somebody would win the Royal Rumble and decide to challenge The Undertaker and pass up a World Title shot. Out of all of the active competitors, I think Cena really would probably be the only guy who could make that choice and not completely demean the titles in the process.

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Guest#6051: Taker should go 20-0 it’s the last big thing left and if he takes a few years off he could help build up the biggest mania since WM3 because he’ll have the unbeatable Andre vibe. Just don’t make the Hogan there be Cena (punk would be my choice).

This year I think it’s a red herring and we’re getting Taker/HBK 3 (taker will destroy HHH before hand and force HBK out of retirement).

Marsico: Punk’s nowhere near Cena’s level and likely never will be. He’s most certainly a big star and one of the company’s biggest, but even as WWE Champion he isn’t the focus of TV. If you want to do “The Unstoppable Force versus The Immovable Object”, it’s gotta be Cena v. Undertaker. There’s no other way to go. The Taker/HBK idea is interesting, I must say. I don’t foresee that happening, but it’s not something that ever entered my mind, so kudos on that idea.

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**Note: My responses below were written after the 2/20 RAW in which the match was officially made.
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the mecca: HHH/Taker has the best story line they could have given it. and I agree it seems the streak is in jeapordy since storyline Taker barely squeaked by last year, and real HHH does have an ego and could easily want to get one last notch on his belt. I think he really has matured in recent years and has been able to put his ego aside so I must say this year Taker goes 20-0. its gotta happen. if this is his final year I’m ok with that but he does have to hit 20-0 before there is even talk of having someone end it. If Cena ends it next year I’m sure someone somewhere will riot. that would be complete crap.

Marsico: Definitely. I would have no problem seeing Cena v. Taker at WrestleMania, but they can’t have him break the streak. It would get shat on like crazy. I would like to see John embrace the heel response from the crowd, though. Rocky did it at WM x-8 against Hogan, and Cena should do it against Rock this year, and if he gets Undertaker next year then against him as well.

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G-Walla: My problem with this is that the only reason Hs was able to walk out of the match, last year, is because he TAPPED OUT. If he had had the heart of the Undertaker, he’d have given it his all until he had nothing else to give. And then give some more.

But, he didn’t. He admitted Undertaker was the better man and that he feared for his own health. And, he tapped out. That’s why I don’t want a rematch(nothing to do with hating HHH).

I figure they just realized the match last years sucked, and they need to put on a better one. Please, no more Passion of the Undertaker.

If they do do an end-all match between them, I think it ought to be in the Hell in the Cell.

Marsico: Ding ding! Winner winner chicken dinner! Hell in a Cell it shall be.

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MoMoney1985: I’m only interested if they go into the cell with both careers on the line! The two best performers EVER in Hell in the Cell, with their careers on the line would be huge!

Marsico: You more or less got it, sir. Maybe the stipulation with their careers on the line will be added in the upcoming weeks.

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fitzinHD: I would personally love it if this led to a tag match at Mania: The Undertaker and Kane vs Triple H and Shawn Michaels. It’d be different and it would mean Undertaker wouldn’t have to wrestle a full one-on-one match.

Marsico: I wouldn’t mind seeing that match at SummerSlam.

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I Mark For Undertaker!: I didn’t understand last year’s Wrestlemania ending(when I watched it), I thought there was something legitimately wrong with Taker, and we know he had surgery while he was out.

I still think this year, HHH is the SAFE bet. He will make sure they have the best quality match while also ensuring it is safe for both. Taker absolutely SHINES at Mania and HHH is a great wrestler in his own right. Throw in HBK(or not I still don’t think it needs it)and LMS(or not) and we will have one hell of a match! I will be watching and cheering for Taker! 20-0

Now, regarding The Streak, I am sorry, I CANNOT see it ever being broken. I can’t imagine a way it gets done. It will kill the WM it is on. If it happens in the middle of the card, crowd wouldn’t recover, at the end, crowd goes home brokenhearted/pissed.

I shortened my Taker answers last week to focus on the Cena tie in, but let me explain. The Undertaker is my 2nd favorite wrestler of all time. I have followed him since the beginning of his career in WWE. My favorite wrestler if all time is Andre The Giant, funny how people have made the connection that Taker is this generation’s Andre. An absolute legend and damn near unbeatable. That brings me to my point.

The Undertaker as a character is built exactly that way! He is practically unbeatable in or out of WM. Even without “supernatural” abilities he is known as one of the toughest wrestlers there is. Even a loss can elevate a career, that is the power UT has! Earning a match with Taker says you are on another level. He is one of the GOAT.

He took a ridiculous gimmick and kept evolving it for over 20 years. He is beloved and respected by his fans and peers alike. I’ve concluded anyone who doesn’t like The Phenom must not have a soul! LOL. He is the conscious of the WWE, it’s elder statesman if you will. So, NO – absolutely NOT! The Streak remains intact. He deserves it.

As for the WM III re-write, I am all for it! Hogan has to be Cena. There is NO ONE else. No ONE. This time however, history is re-written and Andre/Taker beats Hogan/Cena. Cena would be the ultimate victim. It would be perfect for WM 30 if Taker could hold out.

Marsico: The above stands for itself. I’m somewhat surprised at how many people are bringing up doing Cena/Taker at WrestleMania as a send-up, in a way, of Hogan/Andre.

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JB: 1) Should Triple H v. Undertaker happen at WrestleMania XXVIII?
I’d rather it didn’t. Last years match was horribly overrated. Weapon shots and kicking out of finishers do not an epic match make. The problem is that the only credible main eventer WWE has built in the last year is Mark Henry, and that would likely be a poor match.

1a) Should Shawn Michaels be the guest referee if they go with that match?
Yes. It adds intigue.

2) Should the Undertaker’s streak ever be broken?
Yes. It’s a valuable commodity which should be used to make money.

2a) If so, by whom?
Very difficult. The streak should end clean, so the person needs credibility. They should be young and talented and just not quite at the level of Cena or Orton yet. They need to be reliable and they need to have Vince’s confidence (and Vince as we know is *very* changeable).

Of the current roster I really don’t think there is a credible contender right now. Maybe Sheamus could believably beat Taker, but I don’t think he needs it. A guy who does in Wade Barrett. He’s got all the attributes needed but isn’t quite getting over as he should. Push him hard for 6 months going into next years WM. Let him pin guys like Big Show and Orton (even Cena?) clean and you might just have a match with enough intrigue to end the streak.

Bonus) Do you like the idea of Triple H v. Undertaker in a Last Man Standing match?
I guess so. Given that Taker kicked out of 27 Pedigrees last year there’s not much point running a regular match, so as gimmicks go this is as good as any to use.

Finally, just to throw another name out there – Brodus Clay (in non-Funkasauraus, “I’m so angry I got stuck with that lame gimmick so I’m going to kill you all” mode).

Marsico: Today I’m in “the streak stays unbroken” mode, but that could change tomorrow. I was on the Barrett bandwagon for the shot at Undertaker last year, but he’s become somewhat boring to me. Maybe he’ll be revitalized when he comes back from his injury.

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Now that the match has been officially made I will no longer be separating this into its own topic. The idea was to debate and discuss if the match should happen and how it would be made, and that speculation is over. Thanks so much to everybody that participated. I will definitely be doing this with another topic in the future.

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I am sure there is much more to talk about, but I’ll get to it soon. Hope you enjoyed the WedWi this week.

Next week: Uncertainty!

Wrestling’s 4 Rs Elimination Chamber Edition
Going Broadway: Ron Simmons Wins The WCW Title
The Contentious Ten Most Quotable Wrestlers
Hidden Highlights: HBK, John Cena and More
The Triumvirate of Truth: Santino, Drew McIntyre and More
The Column of Honor: House Show Short-Circuit

– Nicholas A. Marsico

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