WWE Council of War

[Stormtrooper]

I was thinking about this the other day: At WrestleMania 23, the theme was All Grown Up and they wanted to revisit Andre/Hogan so they had Kane body slam Khali. Wouldn't it have made more sense to have Umaga/Cena take place at Mania instead of throughout January and have Cena body slam the undefeated monster?

No. Cena/Umanga would be a shit Wreslemania Main Event. Not that Umanga was a bad character or anything (far from it in fact), but Umanga is not a WresleMania caliber opponent for the WWE Champion.

Cena/Shawn Michaels, on the other hand, would be an AWESOME Main Event. Guess what we got? We got the AWESOME Main Event, and Umanga was used in the Trump/McMahon thing (which was just as big a use of him, letting Lashley go over him there in what might have been the 2nd biggest match on the card).

 

[a0161613]

The problem was that it's common knowledge that HBK was not supposed to main event Wrestlemania, it was supposed to be a HHH/Cena rematch I believe. HHH got injured at New Years Revolution and Cena/Umaga was at the Rumble.

Either match was a better Mania match than Umaga / Cena. As good as that match was, it wouldn't mainevent a Wrestlemania.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

At the same time you have to factor in that Taker/Batista would've been capable of being the main event.

 

[Shocky]

Wrestlemania 23, what could have been.

I wasn't exactly sold on Triple H vs. Cena II. Call it my natural skepticism to most things considered The Game, but I couldn't see any ending beside Triple H on top of Cena. I could be wrong, but whatever.

Shawn Michaels vs. King Bookah was the big match I was pissed we didn't get. That match as the Hair vs. Hair match would have been fantastic compared to the match we ultimately got.

This is the year MITB jumped the shark for me. Besides aforementioned Booker, why the hell were Team RKO in this match? They should have had a one on one match of some sort, but whatever.

The Undertaker vs. Batista should have closed the show, end of discussion.

Also, wasn't Hogan supposed to originally go up against Khali at this Mania?

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I haven't heard that rumour in a long time, but it wouldn't surprise me. Hogan would've made more sense than Kane, that's for sure.

 

[klunderbunker]

They set it up at Raw Homecoming (I think that was the show at least, might have been an anniversary show) so that would make sense.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

15th Anniversary, but that was like half a year later.

 

[klunderbunker]

Odd.

 

[Shocky]

From early January 2007

PWInsider.com Audio

The Great Khali was moved over to RAW in response to Triple H's injury because they needed a new big star. The plan was for the DX vs. RKO feud to continue a little longer. There had been talk of Khali vs. Lashley for the ECW Title at WrestleMania, but no longer. Plans are being reworked for the next several months as we speak. Furthermore, there were plans for Khali to move over to RAW, but not this soon.

With Big Show looking less and less likely to be able to go at WrestleMania, Khali is now the leading candidate to face Hulk Hoganat the event. Vince McMahon really wants to play off of WrestleMania 3 with Hogan vs. a giant, and now Khali appears to be that man.

Khali was moved over to RAW to get more exposure in preparation for his match with Hogan. There is still a chance that Big Show may return for this, but with it looking less and less likely with each passing week, Khali has been penciled in to wrestle Hogan at WrestleMania. Also, there are people who strongly believe that Big Show's done with the business.

I do vaguely remember that Big Show vs. Hogan was supposed to be a Mania match, but Show didn't want to.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Didn't Show do that match on an indy show a few weeks after Mania?

 

[Shocky]

I think so, wasn't it in Memphis?

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Yeah I think Lawler was supposed to do it and Show filled in for him. That's what wiki and it's link says.

 

[klunderbunker]

Yeah it was called PWG Battle of the Legends or somethign like that.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

On a different note. Reverend D-Von. Am I the only person who liked that gimmick?

 

[klunderbunker]

I just got done reviewing a show he's on. It was ok but at the end of the day it was D-Von and he got overshaddowed by his Deacon.

 

[Shocky]

I wish the Dudleys would have had a proper feud in the WWE back then. I've always felt that Bubba could have been a decent heel if given the opportunity. Not main event caliber, but that man with a midcard title could have done well. Oh wait, they shit on the midcard titles back then and folded them, what was I thinking.

Why the fuck would Show and Hogan turn down a Mania pay day to perform for Memphis Wrestling? That's a serious mindfuck there.

 

[The Crock]

Hahaha... Deacon Batista. Honestly, that was the only good that gimmick did, it gave Batista some exposure. I could have gone without Bubba and D-Von being singles competitors. Neither man is a terrible singles star, but they seem so incomplete without each other.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think Show was gone due to wanting to get off the road for health and wanting to become a boxer or something.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Yeah he wanted to get into boxing. Hence him vs. Maywether at Mania and the KO punch finisher.

 

[The Crock]

I remember that, KB. Big Show confuses me sometimes.

 

[Big Sexy]

The Dudleyz pretty much flopped when they were apart in the WWE. Bubba just went right to teaming with Spike and although I liked the Rev Devon character it went no where. They've just been a tag team for so long they don't really work well apart.

 

[The Crock]

They depend on having each other there, they work off each other. The whole "Oh mah brotha..." bit really shows the extent of how reliant on each other they are. What Bubba lacks, D-Von makes up for (In certain areas) and what D-Von lacks , Bubba makes up for.

 

[Shocky]

Has anyone gotten on Netflix today. Holy influx of WWE streaming videos! I have something to watch besides Law & Order: SVU.

 

[klunderbunker]

I need to sign up for that. What's on there?

 

[Shocky]

Up until 2 weeks ago, nothing. Then they put the Big Show video on the week before it was released on DVD.

Just today I got on, and this is what's been added.

top 50 Superstars of all time
Bobby The Brain Heenan
John Cena Experience
Rise and Fall of WCW
Breaking the Code
Ricky Steamboat
Hart & Soul: Hart Family Anthology

and....The True Story of Wrestlemania, which I'll be watching now.

That's pretty damn solid.

*PS, it's only the documentaries of said DVD, but that's enough for me.