The Happy-Go-Sucky Wrestling Report 3.26.08

Posted by Steve Sullivan on 03.26.2008

Ric Flair's final request denied, Flair after his final match, Candice is out, Matt Morgan may finally wrestle, and final predictions for Wrestlemania 24!

This is "Super Bowl Sunday" for wrestling fans. This is the time of year when wrestling fans come out of the woodwork and put on their "Hulkamania Lives" shirts and their "Stone Cold Foam Fingers" with pride.

This is that time of year where when you say you are a wrestling fan, people don't roll their eyes at you or remind you that it's fake, but ask you your opinion on Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather or whether Ric Flair will actually wrestle in his last match or what the heck an Umaga is.

Suddenly, all your friends are gathering around your television and remembering the good ole days of the Monday Night War, when wrestling "was good".

Wives and lives are put on hold for a few hours. Babysitters are heavily employeed and pizza places make millions.

This is the insanity that is Wrestlemania.


News: Ric Flair originally asked to be a heel going into his match at Wrestlemania.

Happy: It would have been impossible to have Ric Flair be a heel in what is expected to be his "final match". Shawn Michaels has pulled off the "sudden heel" role several times in the past and you KNOW that the crowd is going to be heavy for Flair to pull off what would be considered an "upset". Shawn pulled this off for Hulk Hogan AND John Cena last year. Shawn is one of the few guys, if not the only guy, who can be a heel, yet still be respected as a face after the match is over.

For Flair to be a heel, Flair would have basically had to shit on all the fans. And given that Flair is one of only two reasons that is really exciting about this year's Wrestlemania, that may not have been a wise move.

Go Sucky: I have to say the promo work and the heel tactics to win this match at Wrestlemania would have been more representative of Ric Flair's career. To have him cut heel promos, and win by cheating would have summed up why we loved Ric Flair in the first place!

By the way, just out of respect for the great career that Ric Flair has put on, here are my 3 favorite Ric Flair moments where I got to see him wrestle in person.

1) Flair vs. Savage (Wrestlemania 8) - Sure, he lost his title to Savage but it was a chance to see Flair in his prime on the big stage in the 1st main event of the show. Many consider this one of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history, and I was in the 4th row!

2) Flair & Piper vs. The Spirit Squad (Cyber Sunday 2006) - Of all the titles that Ric Flair won in his career, this is the only time I was in the stands to watch him win one. And to see him win one with one of my other personal favorites of all time, made this a very memorable match for me. And as it stands, this was the last title Ric Flair ever won, and to be in attendance for that piece of history is worthy of remembering.

3) Flair @ House Shows- I saw Ric Flair wrestle at so many house shows in my life for both the WWE and WCW that I can't remember them all. The house shows were the place you could get the classic Ric Flair. Whether it be the Flair Face Plant, the flip over the top rope and dash for the turnbuckle only to get body slammed, or someone pulling down his tights and exposing his pale ass. But one show in particular when he was still teamed up with Evolution, Ric Flair got on the microphone and at Rupp Arena, in the home for the Kentucky Wildcats, he drew more heat from a crowd than I had ever seen him get when he told everyone to "Kiss His Florida Gator Ass!". Gotta love it!

Thanks for the memories Ric!

News: After Flair loses his final match, the plan is for Flair to take on an offstage role, then possibly return as an on screen character, such as a manager.

Happy: If you'll recall, I believe Ric Flair signed a 3 year contract with the WWE. I don't expect that Flair will go on a 3 year win streak so I figured he would still be used in an on air role. Meaning we won't have to see Flair job out anymore, but still get him on the microphone at some point. Not only that, Flair will be playing the roll of "Good will Ambassador" for the WWE and for the wrestling business in general. By sending Flair out to represent the WWE in foreign countries or areas that they may be considering as venues for live events or pay-per-views, the WWE still gets to cash in on Flair's name, and Flair still gets to cash WWE checks.

Then, down the road, Flair returns as a manager or a mouth piece for a young up and comer and really pushes a newer talent over the top. And if Flair needs to take a bump, he can take one! Wrestling may actually get better with Flair in someone's corner rather than having him in the ring at all. I look forward to seeing what happens in the future.

Go Sucky: I cant' say there's anything bad about this, although it would have been nice for Ric's personal life had he saved up some money throughout his career and just retired quietly to enjoy the rest of his life. But we all know that was never going to happen and I think many of us will agree that we're glad!

News: Candice Michelle will not be able to participate in the Wrestlemania Bunnymania match.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for Candice Michelle. Last week I had hoped that with Candice's injury that the match may be put on the shelf or changed but low and behold I forgot all about Ashley. If you're Ashley, you are doing cartwheels all the way to Florida. Ashley was sent home a few weeks back and now, thanks to someone else's misfortune, will get a huge paycheck and probably a victory on the Wrestlemania stage. And no offense to Ashley, but she is no where near as talented as Candice Michelle. I don't even think Ashley is as talented as Maria. And given that the WWE is pushing it's Playboy Cover Girls against two other women who are probably two of the more talented women's wrestler's on WWE's roster, chances are, beauty will prevail. I can only hope that either Melina or Beth Phoenix is pinned due to Snoop Dog blowing weed smoke in their faces allowing Maria to roll them up.

News: Matt Morgan was given a contract by the American Gladiators.

Happy: Due to this contract, TNA may soon start pushing Matt Morgan as a wrestler rather than Jim Cornette's bodyguard. Cornette and Morgan work extremely well (as seen in their OVW days) and I'll go as far as saying that Morgan may somehow play a role in a Samoa Joe angle if Samoa Joe ends up winning the TNA title from Kurt Angle at Lockdown. If you'll recall, the two have had a bitter history, so I'd expect that TNA may finally cash in on that.

If not, it would be good to see Morgan get a shot at anybody. Morgan has potential in the ring that was wasted on a terrible gimmick in the WWE.

Go Sucky: I don't know if Matt Morgan's abilities are right for TNA. Yes he can speak on a microphone. But does he have the stuff of a TNA wrestler. At 7 foot tall, it's hard to say he does and given I haven't really watched Morgan wrestle since he was in OVW (let's face it, he wasn't in the WWE long enough to pay attention to). So it should be interesting to see where they put Morgan, especially following a huge title change.

News: Former TNA Champ Ron Killings wrestled in a dark match prior to Monday night's episode of Raw.

Happy: I'm glad to see that they have Killings on Raw. It looks now that The Truth will likely make his debut after Wrestlemania, maybe leading up to to a feud at either Backlash or Judgement Day. I don't expect that they will throw him in head first to the main event, but will likely put him in the ring against a few Raw jobbers at first. In the dark match, Killings wrestled Paul London and won, meaning that Killings was likely playing a heel. So I would expect to see him wrestle someone like Cody Rhodes or Hardcore Holly in his first match on Raw.

Who do you think the WWE should have Killings wrestle first? Use the comments section below to let everyone know!

Go Sucky: I still don't think the WWE is going to push Killings very far. I'd love to see Killings and Cena go at it and settle their little grudge, but I don't expect to see Killings become the 2nd person to ever hold the WWE and TNA World Titles. (Kurt Angle is the other.) I expect to see Killings get a push similar to what Umaga had when he first started. He'll dominate a few jobbers. He'll talk some smack on the mic. Then lose high profile matches over and over again. I know he was unhappy in TNA, but his career might have been better off staying there.

News: Former WCW wrestler Chase Tatum passed away at the age of 34.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Tatum family. Apparently, Tatum's reason for death was due to an accidental drug overdose. Some websites are saying it was an overdose on pain killers. Tatum only spent 2 and a half years as a jobber in WCW, but following his short career, he ended up with back problems to which caused Tatum to build a dependency on pain killers.

Tatum's father was quick to point a finger at wrestling as the reason for the death of his son. I understand that losing a loved one causes grief and a search for acceptance of the truth. But this isn't the time for people to point fingers.

I wonder if the media will try to blame this one on Vince McMahon too. Especially since Tatum wrestled when Ted Turner owned WCW. Look for the drive by media to try to ruin this year's Wrestlemania later this week.

News: TNA Mobile sent out a message saying New York City, Chicago, and Toronto are being considered for their "Bound for Glory" pay-per-view venue.

Happy: I'm glad to see TNA expanding to larger cities. The WWWF obviously got it's big start in New York and it's known as a haven for wrestling. Chicago is big enough to fill an arena and of course our Canadian friends always love wrestling as long as their isn't a hockey game on!

Go Sucky: Given TNA's bad pay-per-view buys in Canada, I don't know if holding their version of Wrestlemania or Starcade in a country that isn't really putting money in their wallets. Some cable companies in Canada dropped ROH shows due to low buyrates and TNA wasn't doing much better. New York and Chicago are better choices and if TNA really is planning on making this show a true, coming out show, what better place than New York City. Sure it won't be Madison Square Garden, but it seems that the big events in TNA are usually the ones that define success.

And one last thing, in case you were wondering, my predictions for Wrestlemania 24:

Ashley & Maria def. Melina & Beth Phoenix
Umaga & Batista End In Double DQ
Finlay def. JBL
C.M. Punk Wins MITB
Flair def. HBK
Tommy Dreamer Wins ECW Battle Royal
Tommy Dreamer def. Chavo Guerrero for ECW Title
Big Show def. Floyd Mayweather
Undertaker def. Edge for World Heavyweight Title
Triple H def. Randy Orton & John Cena for WWE Title


I've spent the last few weeks trying to get myself excited about Wrestlemania, but it's still not happening. And apparently I'm not the only one. The last Raw before Wrestlemania actually DROPPED in its rating this week. So apparently there are a lot of other people out there who think this year's Wrestlemania is just "Eh."

I do still encourage you that if you have the extra 50 or 60 bucks to buy Wrestlemania 24, do so. History will be made some way or another. It's the mega fans like us, the guys who write and read about wrestling, that keeps this business on its toes. So get out and support the sport you love.

I'll be back next week to brag about being right. Until next week my friends, may your life, and your Wrestlemania, be Happy, or Go Sucky.