Batista is a massive Joke -- by Dean Fortune I hate Batsista so much and i hate hm even more now that he has the belt. Why in God's name would WWE management give that useless piece of muscle that belt when? A. He can't wrestle, B. He can't make a match look good, and C. Has the endurance drive of a virgin's first time. He's been getting all these pathetic cheers from the crowd which i find annoying. He's nothing more than a built up replica of YOU GUESSED IT THE MAN CALLED....Goldberg. First the lamer is getting battered on OVW by Austin and Kane, next he's on Smackdown carrying a money till and then i believe which was one of the best decisions Triple H (My Fave Wrestler not being bias btw) ever made and that was take this virtual unknown and turn him into an Animal. Now i had no issues with Batista until the Royal Rumble when i think anybody with IQ of a grape knew that Batista was gonna win cause of his obvious built up status and it was a crap performance yet again just like the Elimination Chamber Mtahc Batista get special perks by being in the match for about 10 minutes or being last clearly giving him the edgeand trying to something special by making the match a controversial finish just like the 1994 Royal Rumble match. I mean i read all sorts of nonsense about Triple H and i agree that he shouldn't have the belt. He should be in some heavy grudge matches. But what makes Batista worthy of the belt when he's never made a huge impact on the business. But Batista has shown me the light when it come to that Championship belt it don't mean jack**** unless you got skill, history making charisma and more importantley the absolute right to earn that belt all of which EDGE deserves not Batista. Edge is a real veteran in WWE and besides an Olympic Gold medal Edge has achieved almost everying Angle has apart from a World Championship. Which he deserves ten times more than Batista. Batista has never made his name be known and he'll never achieve a status as a major heel or face because what i believe has ruined Batisia's image is the fact he's going the same way as Orton. Getting noticed by the likes of the Game and Flair, turn their backs on the them, beat Flair and H up for abit, get cheers from the fans and when their time is done they'll be ignored and just be remembered for beating the Game. Basically Batista at the expense of the Game's Career like dozens before him is building himself up cause he hasn't got the charisma or the acculay to go a character change alone. Batista will never taste true WWE success getting that belt don't mean nothing. He was a nothing when Triple H found him and when now that Batista can't aspire because he has the holy grial he'll be a nothing when he loses that belt mark my words. Overall get Batista out the WWE he is getting a super unfair push at the expense of Edge, Benoit, Jericho, Flair and Triple H and ask yourself this question the man in 39, 320lb and a two year noobie WHAT'S HE EVER DONE TO DESERVE THIS MUCH ATTENTION WHEN GUYS LIKE ANGLE, AUSTIN, BENOIT AND EDGE HAVE BROKEN THEIR NECKS TO GET WHERE THEY ARE?

Time To Lay The SmackDown -- by Anthony Peric As you probably have noticed SmackDown has become much more enjoyable than RAW. I think it s because SmackDown changes its feuds, angles and its titles regularly. How long has Shelton Benjamin been the Intercontinental champion? I know the answer to that: too long. And when SmackDown recruits talent it pushes story lines and works with the character until it molds it into the perfect one (MNM, Heidenreich, Carlito). The only one RAW has ever done right is Muhammad Hassan, his "Everyone hates me because I'm a Muslim" gimmick is running perfectly. And something that makes SmackDown awesome is the Cruiserweight title. Paul London is a great champion, easily the most deserving cruiserweight on SmackDown. His high-flying moves have exceeded the level of Rey Mysterio (who has changed his move set a lot since becoming the Tag Champ). I think SmackDown's cruiserweights are what makes SmackDown better than RAW in part. John Cena, there is a lot to be said about John Cena, some say him "modifying" the title was a disgrace, some say he can't wrestle, but I say he is the only person on SmackDown deserving of the title. He is the only man on SmackDown that can connect with a crowd, the only one with a finisher that makes a crowd as hyped as Shawn Michaels and he can talk smack. But I don't see him as the champ for too long. JBL, that name angers people. His WWE title reign annoyed the crap outta people until he lost it. Now I sorta want him back as the champ. He actually respected the title. And SmackDown is breaking up the Cabinet!!!! SmackDown finally gets a faction then breaks it up. I can't believe it! They had something to match Evolution then they destroy it. That pisses me off. I hope I have made a point saying this and I would like to add this is my opinion. If you have any feedback to my column email me at [email protected].

RAW Diva Search 2005 -- by D. Simpson Ok now I know a lot of you didn't like my death of ECW article. I will put my hands up and say sorry, it was my first post so I hope to make this one better. As you may know WWE is advertising for applicants for the next RAW diva search. Now as we all know the last RAW diva search was hardly a success. If you look at some of the RAW shows you can see crowd just sitting there and not enjoying what they're seeing. Eventually the whole thing was over and Christy Hemme was announced the winner. She had a few matches, she somehow gained a title shot at WrestleMania 21 and had to have Trish Stratus carry the match. SmackDown suffered also by having RAW diva search rejects hanging around on SmackDown with no real purpose. So what can the WWE do? I read this idea on another column and it's such a good idea I'm going to repeat it. (sorry that I haven't credited you) but why not use indy talent? I'm sure there are some good women wrestlers on the indy scene who would love a contract and would work hard to get it. So what can we expect this time - more brainless divas trying to look as though they know what a wrestling ring is? Hopefully Vince McMahon will be smart and this time choose women who can actually wrestle and put looks after wrestling ability. but if past experiences are a guide to the future then the outlook does not look good. Sadly I can't see WWE using indy talent and instead they'll employ more brainless divas who will compete in pillow fights and hot body contests. However WWE may have learnt their lesson from the last time and employ a worthwhile female wrestler. Well only time will tell.

The Pedigree Is The Truth -- by Anthony Peric There are not many moves that can make the impact in a match like Triple H's Pedigree. It is a move that has surpassed the Tombstone, Angle Slam, F-5 and RKO. It is probably the only move left in the WWE that doesn't look piss weak. It is a move that is feared. I do a lot of backyard wrestling with my friends. I use all the moves that I listed above and my friend Matt says that out of all of them the Pedigree is by far the worst. Triple H has won the World Heavyweight title ten times, the King Of the Ring, Royal Rumble, the Tag Team championship many times as well as the Intercontinental title. And in my opinion what makes an alright wrestler is his character and move set, what makes a good wrestler is being able to connect with a crowd (doesn't matter if he/she gets good/bad feedback), what makes great wrestler is an awesome finishing move (Brock Lesnar: F-5, Shawn Michaels: Sweet Chin Music), and what makes a legend is all of the above, and Triple H has all the above. Triple H ended Mick Foleys wrestling career for a time. No matter who comes and goes there will be no other wrestler like Triple H.

The Matt Hardy Saga -- by Bill Tyrell This crap with Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita honestly makes me sick to my stomach. I am personally a huge fan of Matt, and strongly dislike Edge, and at this point I am not too high on Lita, and at the risk of this not getting posted I refrain from calling her what I want to say, but I am sure people know how I feel about, but in case you don't it has itch in it. I think Vince is a fool, and I think that he may have ruined the company that I have loved since my early childhood, and him ruining the company started way before the release of Matt. How could Vince call Edge a bigger asset to the company than Matt Hardy, because that is just bullsh**, here let me prove to Vince that I know more about wrestling than he does. All you ever read about Edge backstage is that he is not very friendly, and has very few friends backstage, but all you ever read about Matt is he great backstage friendly with everybody, friends with just about everyone, and all around nice guy. Matt is great with the fans, and tries to talk with as many as he can, and he even has his online journal on his official website, that he updates every chance he gets. He updates it, not the webmaster, to keep the fans informed of where he is going to be, and just to let the fans know what is going on his personal life. Edge though doesn't have any of that, because he doesn't care about the people that sign paychecks. Hey Edge if it wasn't for us fans you would be nothing, so show us some respect you worthless arsehole, because we make you who you are. I will end with this. Thank you Matt Hardy for entertaining us for so many years, and I am sorry your WWE career had to end, because of a piss baby like Edge. Best of luck to you, which will most likely be TNA, can anyone say the Hardys might be reuniting. Well, I hope this gets posted on your site so people can see how much of a piece of crap Edge is, and I will appreciate feedback. Good day people.

WWE Title Has Lost Its Credibility -- by Stephen Taylor I just watched SmackDown! And I hate to say but I was extremely disappointed that the WWE let John Cena destroy the WWE belt like that. I understand he is the champ, but they should not let him make a complete mockery of what was once the most respected belt in all of wrestling. It's one thing to do that to the United States title (which cannot be called "respectable" anymore). I do not understand why they would do something like that to the belt that greats such as Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bret Hart have held. It is a disgrace. John Cena has been a fan favorite for over a year now and has been pushed to main-event status. He won the WWE Championship from JBL at WrestleMania 21. The whole "change the look of the title" thing started when John Cena showed up at Armageddon with a new United States Title that happened to spin. I understand that John Cena has the rapper gimmick down pact but the changing of the belt to reflect his personality is absurd. I was actually happy when JBL and Orlando Jordan destroyed the belt on an episode of SmackDown! John Cena then won a tournament to face JBL at WrestleMania 21. Cena said that when he wins he is going to be making some changes to the belt. I was hoping that JBL would wipe the floor with Cena. John Cena ended up winning and I could only imagine what he would do to the belt. I never thought it would end up as ugly and stupid looking as it is. The spinning WWE logo is ridiculous looking. It disgusts me that the WWE would do something to the belt, especially something that dramatic. I hope that within the next couple of months a respectable wrestler such as, Booker T or Kurt Angle wins the title and changes it back to the way it looked, or at least change it to something people want to look at.

SmackDown! Tag Team Titles -- by Michael J. Bowes At the SmackDown! television taping last night the OVW team of MNM (Joey Matthews and Johnny Nitro debuted on a Carlito Cabana and destroyed Rey Mysterio. How come I fear a quick title change next week at the MSG Joint brand SmackDown!/RAW Television shows next week? I know Tag Tittles don't mean anything anymore and build-up for a pay-per-view just isn't the way to do things. The Quick Fix is what is in. I can see the Tag Team Titles changing hands and Guerrero and Mysterio breaking up starting up their feud. Could this have been dragged out? Yes... but will it be? In my humble opinion I think the writing is on the wall and MNM will be wearing Tag Team Gold in MSG next week. And for those who miss this week's SmackDown! and watch next week for the MSG nostalgia theme and see Matthews and Nitro win the Tag Titles, I wont be the only one going, "Who are these guys and how did they become #1 Contender" Oh well...#1 contender is as relevant and revered as The IC title once was...

is the wwe going in the right track?? -- by Cody Alaniz i dont like the fact that you say that the WWE is going back to the "old school days" one reason is the DIVAS, if the wwe goes back to how it used to be, then say goodbye to the womens division :( the women have worked, excuse my language, they have worked too hard to just be dropped like nothing, it saddens me every monday when i see stacy and the other diva search sluts prancing around the ring in a bikini when you know damn well that backstage victoria, trish and the other divas are wishing that they could put on a match for the crowd, if the wwe dont get their head out of their ass then the womens division is going to get flushed down the toilet, now that molly is gone i have very very low faith in the womens division, Victoria and Trish and the 2 divas that are holding the womens division together, now i havent forgot about lita but as of late, she cant compete due to her injury so in a since the only 2 divas that can really go out their and perform as of right now are Trish and Victoria, i really hope that the WWE opens their eyes and sees just how badly they are draining the life of the womens division, and if the womens division doesnt pick up soon, the WWE is officially going to lose my ratings, one person mentioned on another site the some people backstage were starting to get scared and worried that the womens division was becoming TOO good, so they wanted to make it crumble a little bit by firing great divas that love to wrestle, i mean it would be an embarrassment to the WWE knowing that their divas put on more better and entertaining matches than the guys, and i do have to agree with one thing, in my opinion when the womens division was at its peak, they were more entertaining that MOST of the guys matches, no joke, all i want is for the WWE to bring back a solid womens division like their used to be, that is all i want, if you want to see girls prance around in bikinis and play limbo, watch smackdown, if you want to see beautiful women display athleticism and great wrestling technique, watch RAW, come on WWE lets start thinking with the upper head instead of the lower one

HBK Should Be Fired -- by Scott A. Sloane I think Shawn Michaels should be fired from RAW because, he has and I quote "embarrassed the show". Look at all that he has accomplished positive and negative. I admit, he is a 16 year veteran, but he has only had one title since his return in 2002. The reign was only one month long? Michaels almost won the championship so many times. I admired the fact that he was determined to get the title. He got attacked by Kurt Angle twice and no one felt like helping him. When he came to beat Kurt's @$$ he got the entire SmackDown! security to come to the ring. Shawn interrupted Kurt to show his accomplishments and still tapped out. He has already done enough in this business. He won every championship, the Royal Rumble twice; one time he entered at number one. He was one of the first Grand Slam champions, and he won the first Hell In A Cell match (it was for the European championship). The point is he did just about everything and got beat just about enough times, so let's just fire his *** and get on with our lives. I got respect for the man but he needs to get the hell out!!!!

Online World of Wrestling -- by Mark Weinstein This is the greatest website EVER!!! I have been stuck in my office here in Jersey for two days and I have done nothing but go on your website and enjoy every single part of it. It is the best history of wrestling site I have ever seen. From X-Pac's original WWF name (1-2-3 Kid) to finding out about one of Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake's alias's (The Zodiak) i have sat here and had one blast from the past to the next. Seeing some of my old favs (JYD, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart) and seeing where my ECW boys are at now (Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Sandman)is awesome. Also seeing some of my other old favorites have passed (Rick Rude, JYD, Mr. Perfect) has been very interesting. I could spend another two days reliving old memories and still not get bored of it. I thank you and your crew for putting something like this up for people like me who cant stand professional wrestling in its present form and like to relive the good times. And my favorite federation, ECW, still breathes and lives on through your site which, as a local ECW freak who couldn't believe it ended when it did, throws me into a sad yet proud state. I was just so elated by your site that I had to let you know. Keep The Dream Alive!

Undeserving Divas -- by Jacqueline I think the whole concept of the RAW Diva Search was stupid.Christy Hemme won a WWE contracT by prancing around in a bikini! And these other girls such as Lauren Jones, Rochelle Loewen, Michelle McCool, Joy Giovanni and Maria they havent done anything to contribute to WWE and certianly have not earned the title as a WWE diva. What happend to the hard work and dedication that female wrestlers such Mae Young and Moolah put into this business.Take Amy Dumas (Lita) for example she worked hard to get in the positiion she is in now. I think the womans division in WWE has become a big joke,they have to realize that although most of their viewers are made of up as males there are plenty of females that tune in every week. I myself look forward to the womans matches as much as the mens.But i dont tune in to watch a great performer like Trish Stratus have a arm wrestling competition with Christy Hemme!. If Christy is not experienced enough to have a real match send her down to OVW and put in Victoria or Molly Holly. I have never heard of lauren or rochelle before and i cant understand why WWE would have them part of the roster when all they do is sit around the locker room! I'm sure some of the female fans and hopefully some of the male fans argree that WWE has to find some girls that are experienced enough to go toe to toe with the top female performers of the WWE.There is plenty of woman out there that have training and are ready to get in the ring and kick some butt.

JBL FOREVER!!! -- by Rhey Higgins It's a damn shame. The best WWE Champion that SmackDown! has had since the Olympic Gold Medalist himself, JBL, has lost his title. In his amazing reign as champ, he defeated huge names such as 'Taker, Eddie, Booker, Big Show, even Kurt Angle! His in-ring skills seemed to get better with each title defense, but even more noticeable was the evolution of his character. With each passing week, he had better promos, better mic skills, and got a better reaction (from a heel's standpoint, of course) from the crowd. Then Cena came in and ruined it all. It's a slap in the face of JBL to give the title to Cena in the first place, but in a match like that? It's worse than a slap to the face! JBL, coming off SO MANY entertaining title defenses (Fatal Four Way at Armageddon, Barbed Wire Steel Cage at No Way Out just to name a few), losing the title in a five-minute crap match at Wrestlemania to an irritating piece of shit like Cena just bugs the crap outta' me. Cena may usher in a new era...but I won't be a part of it.

BRING BACK THE PAIN -- by John Robertson After years and years of eagerly watching the noble sport of large men in lycra pretending to hit each other, I've become remarkably disappointed as of late with the quality of the violence portrayed. From 1992 onwards, we saw a number of popular wrestling promotions quite capable of bringing the viewer hugely satisfying collisions of flesh and trash can, men falling from ladders onto balsa wood tables and of course, the ever- pleasing spectacle of athletic men leaping huge distances to land on other, more injured athletic men. The only exception to this rule, I have found, came in the ECW, a fine promotion with the excellent concept that a back- to- basics approach to bloodshed would revitalise an industry sanitised by the likes of Hulk Hogan and the remarkably immobile Andre the Giant. While certainly it gave us the wonderfully limber Rob Van Dam, The Sandman really was just a man with a paunch who periodically hit other men with whatever hefty object he could find. Though the ECW could provide you with blood, "hardcore" language and small doses of athletic prowess, an over- reliance on spoken build- up, in- match run- ins and wrestlers whose prime had either come or would never occur served to weaken the so- called "hardcore revolution" and produce a televised production that was both the excessively violent and wonderfully boring hillbilly cousin of the WWF. In 1992 Vince McMahon Jr, a gravel- voiced fellow with a distinct profile and lovely bow- tie brought the wrestling viewer the first televised Ladder Match, featuring the 100% safety record of Bret Hart and the equally fractional charisma of Shawn Michaels. Offering an opportunity both for the joy of seeing one man ramming several feet of reinforced metal against the body of a co- worker, as well as for witnessing some high- risk ladder- leaping, this match offers the starting point for the enjoyable fusion of athleticism and "hardcore" violence that carried the WCW and WWF from the mid 1990s to the earlier part of this decade. Who could forget Shane McMahon's drop from the 50ft scaffolding in a failed attempt to whack Steve Blackman? Those wonderful Hardy Boyz/ Dudley Boyz/ Golden- Haired Former- Goth Boyz TLC matches? These were demonstrations of agility and physical hardiness, acrobatic skill and the visceral satisfaction of crunching bones and splintering wood. Whatever happened to all that?

The Game Is Over -- by Mark E. HHH is one of the best in-ring performers of all time. He has a rare combination of immense size with great athletic ability. Add to that he is a smart performer who at one time was quite entertaining. But the "Game" has gone on too long and has become very dull and boring. Every week his promos on RAW consist of the same boring rant. "I am the greatest wrestler alive today", "I am the Game". Same crap now for well over a year. It is making what was once a very un-predictable show extremely predictable, and I will repeat this again; BORING. It is time for HHH to take a break. I don't know if Batista will be much better but at least it will be someone different. Hopefully HHH will go work on his movie career or maybe get a few inches of that nose sheared off. Anything, just get him off RAW for a while (1-2 years) and let some of the new stars have a chance. After he takes a long break maybe they could bring him back as a baby-face. Seems like he is almost always the heel and that is part of what is making him such a bore. If WWE takes HHH off the show for a while and then brings him back as a face that would be good for the show and for the HHH character. As it stands right now HHH is really hurting Monday Night RAW. The popularity of wrestling is already low right now and the HHH character is just making it worse.

The One Gimmick The WWE Let Get Away From Them -- by Brody Jones There have been many gimmicks the WWF/WWE has created that were used completely wrong. One gimmick that, in my honest opinion, very well COULD have been the ULTIMATE heel gimmick was the egomaniacal, womanizing, anti-everything character the WWE was doing with Sean O'Haire. There was a respectable amount of hype behind the character due to the VERY creative vignettes the WWE was putting out. O'Haire had the look, the mic skills, the talent, AND the gimmick to probably become the standard bearer for future heel gimmicks. However, the WWE creative team managed to throw away a perfectly good opportunity to establish a new face to the heel scene. They buried O'Haire in the booking sheets and in a nonsensical move; they paired him with Rowdy Roddy Piper. When Piper was fired from the WWE for some controversial statements he made in an interview with Real Sports, it left O'Haire as a floating piece of driftwood in the massive stream that is the WWE roster where he was reduced to working Velocity tapings. I think what could have been the saving grace for O'Haire could have been if the WWE had brought up Kevin Fertig with the Mordecai gimmick sooner and packaged him as a face to create a strange pseudo-spiritual war between the forces of good and evil with Mordecai as the face and O'Haire's anti-christ type character as the heel. It could have done wonders for both men but we'll never know how that feud could have turned out. I can only hope that the WWE sees someone with the talent of a Sean O'Haire come in with a similar gimmick and that this time, they do it right.