Wrestling Fact Or Fiction - March 27, 2012

Wrestling Fact Or Fiction
March 28, 2012
Doug Maynard & Russell Jackson

Welcome once more to what I think will be a very, very special edition of "Wrestling Fact Or Fiction". Why is it so special, you ask? Well, it's Wrestlemania Week and most of the questions are geared towards Wrestlemania XXVIII (or) the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012. It's me, it's me, the Saltiest Man In The Universe, Doug and my partner in crime this week is the man who even Mike Tyson calls "The Baddest Man In The World", the one and only Russell Jackson. We're doing the "Fact or Fiction" thing. And just like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, that's the bottom line because we just said so. Let's do this.

1) Having AJ in his corner is an asset to World Champion Daniel Bryan?

Russell - FICTION: Daniel Bryan havin AJ in his corner has given him chances to come out on top of his matches recently...With the way that Daniel Bryan has insulted AJ for the past few weeks, every chance he's had to do so, it all comes to an end this Sunday at WM XXVIII...Look for AJ in some way, shape, or form help Sheamus in winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Daniel Bryan...

Doug - FACT: For now, she's a benefit to Bryan because she gives him someone to use to really build his heel character and look like a total wimp-ass toady boy. It adds a level of interest to the Daniel Bryan character because you just have to wonder how long will the Bryan - AJ "relationship" last and when will AJ say enough is enough and turn on Bryan? Or will she end up being the brains behind the brawn, similar to the way a character named Robin Green evolved into "Woman" in the early days of WCW? For now, having AJ with Bryan has more pros than cons in my opinion and I'm interested in seeing just how this all turns out.

2) The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012 is one of the strongest Hall of Fame classes ever?

Russell - FACT: All in all with the exception of havin Mike Tyson bein in the HOF Class of 2012, I'd say the 2012 HOF Class is one of the strongest classes ever...You have THE greatest & first factions in pro wrestling history, The Four Horsemen; you have the "Man of 1000 Masks" Mil Mascaras; you have the late, great Yokozuna, "The Ultimate Opportunist" Edge; The first African - American WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons...Inducting not only Mike Tyson into The HOF Class but inducting Celebrities in general that aren't professional wrestlers is a complete joke...How bout the great wrestlers of yester year that hasn't been inducted yet?...Such a shame...

Doug - FACT: Look at this group. The Horsemen! Edge! Ron Simmons! Mil Mascaras! Yokozuna! Mike Tyson! There's not a weak name in the bunch. No James Dudley's in this group. This is arguably the strongest class for the HOF since they started doing this thing. It's superstar after superstar (plus some extremely big names doing the inducting as well). The way they've done it this year is how a Hall of Fame class should be done. I'm still waiting on Bruno, Backlund and Ivan Koloff though.

3) TNA will allow Ric Flair to participate in the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony?

Russell - FACT: TNA would be f'n stupid if they didn't allow Ric Flair to participate in the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony...EVEN if TNA didn't allow Flair to participate, I'd be willin to place a bet that "Naitch" would show up anyway & participate in the Hall of Fame Ceremony...Through out the history of the 4 Horsemen faction, reguardless of who was in the group, the 2 original members were always Arn Anderson & Ric Flair...It's only fitting & doesn't take a rocket scientist or a genius to understand that Ric Flair takes his spot along with Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham & JJ Dillan into the Hall of Fame Ceremony...

Doug - FACT: The news broke just a few minutes before I started typing my answers (Tuesday afternoon.) Ric Flair WILL BE at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Can't do the Horsemen without the "Nature Boy" and I think TNA realized what all the rest of us already knew. Whether they agreed or not, Ric Flair transcends rival companies and wrestling politics. He would have been there regardless and if TNA had tried to stop him, they would have been the ones to bleed, sweat and pay the price. And there definitely would have been a big backlash against TNA and hell to pay. So TNA tells Ric congratulations and to enjoy his day. And we get to see Ric and the Horsemen all together, stylin' and profilin' as only they can do. Woooooooooo!

4) Wrestlemania XXVIII is shaping up to be the greatest Wrestlemania of all time?

Russell - FICTION: You have a 4 hour PPV that ONLY has 8 matches on the card, mistake #1...Out of the 8 matches on the card, there's only 3 matches that I'm interested in: 1) The WWE Championship match, 2) The World Heavyweight Championship Match, 3) The "End of an Era" Hell in a Cell Match between Triple H & Undertaker...That's down right sad that even The Rock vs John Cena match doesn't even interest me, even tho I want The Rock to win...Again, such a shame...

Doug - FICTION: It's going to be an okay show, but aside from Rock versus Cena (which I really don't care much about) and the Undertaker - HHH match, what really stands out and makes this show "must see"? Nothing! The best thing about the twelve man tag was Christian and he's been pulled from the match. CM Punk versus Jericho might be good, but it just doesn't have that big show appeal to me. Eight matches signed to fill four hours and none of them jump out and make that demand to "watch me" in my eyes. Wrestlemania is always entertaining and a good show, but alas, a "good show" rarely turns out to be the "greatest of all time!".

5) The Miz and Drew McIntyre (replacing the injured Christian) are good choices to fill out "Team Johnny"?

Russell - FICTION: The Miz, is a good choice to be a member on "Team Johnny", after all, he is a former WWE Champion & I could see him put on a good match...Drew McIntyre though, doesn't seem like a good choice to be in the 12 man tag match, with the way that he's been used as of late...

Doug - FICTION: The Miz is a good pick for Team Johnny and I'm glad to see he's got a spot on the Wrestlemania card. He's a helluva worker and deserves it. Drew on the other hand... well, I actually like him and think he's a good talent, but based on how his character has been used this past year, he just really doesn't fit in on that team and especially not as a replacement for Christian. Christian made me want to see this match and see what kind of shenanigans that "Captain Charisma" would pull to help his team and help himself obtain that goal of "one more match". And now, he gets to sit in the back while others get to enjoy the spotlight. I don't get it at all what WWE is thinking, but I don't agree at all.

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6) Booker T is the right choice to fill out "Team Teddy"?

Doug - FACT: Well, my original choice was Mick Foley, who was petitioning for a Wrestlemania match and actually owes John Laurinaitis some retribution for a punch in the head a few months ago, but that would be logical and when has the WWE ever cared about logic? So Booker T is the sixth man and guess what? If I can't have Foley, Booker will work just fine. Booker sucks as a commentator, but he's still fun for the occasional match here and there. I'm not sure what the other wrestlers in the locker room think about an announcer getting a prime spot on the Wrestlemania card when so many full time wrestlers are being left in the locker room, but that seems to be the theme of this show anyhow. Look at it. Booker is a part time wrestler. So is The Rock... and Chris Jericho... and Undertaker... and HHH... and HBK is retired. The card is full of either part time wrestlers or wrestlers who were out for a while with "injuries" (either real or kayfabe), such as Big Show, Khali, Kane, Zack Ryder, Randy Orton, etc... Staying healthy and working a full schedule in the WWE only seems to ensure that a person WON'T be part of Wrestlemania. But anyhow, Booker will do well and the crowd will pop and we'll get a bunch of spineroonies to make the fans happy. So no real complaints here.

Russell - FICTION: Booker T. shouldn't have been chosen by Teddy Long to fill out "Team Teddy"...Booker T. is at the end of his wrestling career, he should help announce the WM XXVIII PPV instead of wrestling on it...The Jackasses that is the WWE should have a younger wrestler fillin out "Team Teddy" to help make the match interestin to watch...

7) Kelly Kelly is the hottest Diva currently in the WWE?

Doug - FICTION: Well, she's definitely no "Ivory" (the hottest Diva of ALL TIME) and in my opinion, she's not even all that sexy. Some people like walking Barbie dolls with big boobs and fake smiles, but I'm not one of them. I think she looks like she caught a major case of the mumps (definitely implants) and just doesn't float my boat at all. Eve looks better. Alicia Foz looks better. Tamina looks better. Hell, for a woman of her years, Vickie looks pretty damn hot. As for Kelly, she reeks of fakeness and is just another wannabe in my eyes.

Russell - FICTION: The Barbie Doll of the WWE is lame as is with the rest of the quote/unquote "WWE Divas"...Such a waste of time puttin them on WWE programming...

8) Brodus Clay should be given a match at Wrestlemania XXVIII?

Doug - FICTION: No chance in hell should Brodus be involved in a match at Wrestlemania. While I can see him wasting our time in a backstage segment (dancing with Mae Young while Ron Simmons stands by and says "DAMN!", he hasn't really gotten over with the fans enough yet to be worthy of a match at the biggest show of all. I just don't want to watch him on my TV screen jiggling!

Russell - FICTION: The ONLY way Brodus Clay should be given a match at WM XXVIII is if he did away with the "Funkasaurus" gimmick...The cheap, poor excuse of a Teletubby wannabe is a waste on WWE programming, he shouldn't even be on Superstars or FCW TV at that...

9) You'd be interested in seeing a feud between CM Punk and Christian?

Doug - FACT: I think the injury angle on Monday night was just setting the seeds for a feud with Christian versus CM Punk. And that would definitely be one worth watching. They're about the same size and both men are fantastic on the mic. And unlike Chris Jericho, who took several weeks to really get into the groove during the build for his match with Punk at Wrestlemania, Christian could just come out, whine about how Punk cost him a match at Wrestlemania and how he deserves "one more match" and the feud would just take off and be exciting. Both men are so talented and polished, they could easily steal the show and become the hottest thing in the WWE for the past several years. I'd love to see it happen.

Russell - FACT: CM Punk & Christian could be a pretty good feud after what Punk did to Christian on Monday Night Raw...Could make an interestin feud between the 2 over the WWE Championship...

10) The Rock versus John Cena should be the main event and close Wrestlemania XXVIII?

Doug - FACT: They've been building this match for a year now. Cena is the WWE's biggest star right now and The Rock is one of wrestling's biggest stars ever. While my own personal choice to close the show would be Undertaker versus HHH in the Hell In A Cell, the money match for this show that the majority of fans are really wanting to see is Cena versus The Rock. Since that's the match with the build, that's the match that ends the show. 'Nuff said!

Russell - FICTION: The Rock vs John Cena match SHOULD NOT & I repeat, SHOULD NOT main event & close WrestleMania XXVIII...I rightly don't give a shit if both The Rock & John Cena are the 2 BIGGEST stars in the WWE, that match shouldn't be the last match on the card...The slogan from the Royal Rumble PPV was & I quote: "The winner of the Royal Rumble will go after the championship of his chosing & MAIN EVENT WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII."...Now since Sheamus won the 2012 Royal Rumble match & has chosen to face Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship, it's only right & fitting for the World Heavyweight Championship match, Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan to main event & close WM XXVIII...Let The Rock vs Cena match be the next to last match...Not right, not right at all...

Bonus Question: If you could pick three people to be added to the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012, who would you pick?

Doug: The most obvious choices are Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Ivan Koloff, but those are too obvious and I think that Backlund and Koloff will be inducted within the next few years while Bruno will be holding out and refusing to be inducted probably up until the day he dies. So taking those names out of the equation, the three names I'd love to see inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and who I'd induct if I had the power to do so are... The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette. For this induction, it would be all the members of the Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton, Dennis Condrey and Stan Lane) along with manager Jim Cornette. It's a package deal and they do truly deserve the honors. The second person I'd induct would be Bill Eadie aka "The Masked Superstar" / "Demolition Ax". His career and legacy speaks for itself as to why he deserves to be inducted. And finally, the third person I'd induct would be Leon White, aka "Vader". His career in WCW and Japan established him as one of the most dominant big men in wrestling history. A 400-plus pound man who could do moves like Vader did in the early nineties. He was unique and definitely in a league of his own. I can think of several other guys who also deserve induction, such as Brusier Brody, Stan Hansen, Sting, Larry Zbyszko, Mr. Wrestling II, The Rock & Roll Express, etc... but if the choice was mine, these three (The Midnight Express, Bill Eadie and Vader) would be my first picks.

Russell: If I could pick 3 wrestlers to be added to the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012 that hasn't already been chosen, I'd have to pick 1) "Macho Man" Randy Savage 2) "Sting" Steve Borden 3) Owen Hart...All 3, without a doubt in my mind, should be picked to be in the WWE Hall of Fame...

So there you go. Another edition of Fact or Fiction in the books. My thanks to the "real World Champion" Russell Jackson for his participation and help with this column. Questions and comments can be sent to Doug28352@yahoo.com. I'm Doug and I guess that's a wrap. Don't forget Wrestlemania XXVIII on Sunday night. Have a great week and we'll see you on the flip side.

Ubuntu!