Piper vs. Rude: The Feud That Hooked Me - by Mattie C. I write this column a few days after hearing the news that my favorite wrestler of all time, Rowdy Roddy Piper, has been diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer. While the prognosis is very favorable for Hot Rod, news of this nature can't help but make me remember what it was that made me a wrestling fan in the first place. I'd always followed wrestling loosely during the 80s but had never really paid much attention until 1989 when I saw my first pay-per-view event : Summer Slam. Intercontinental champion Ravishing Rick Rude lost his title on that card to the Ultimate Warrior, but only after Roddy Piper made his way down to ringside and distracted Rude. Piper had recently returned to the WWF and had been the subject of a number of insults by Rude and his manager, Bobby Heenan. Piper and Heenan were co-hosts of the Prime Time Wrestling show, along with Gorilla Monsoon and for the next few weeks Piper taunted Heenan about Rude's loss.

Heenan and Rude got their revenge later on the Brother Love Show when Heenan confronted Piper, who had been discussing Rick Rude's hygiene. Rude waylaid Piper from behind and spit mouthwash into his eyes. At this point I was hooked into the story but it was what happened next that really made me a lifetime fan of wrestling. About two weeks later, a match aired on Prime Time that featured Rude squashing some jobber. In usual form after winning such a match, Heenan invited a beautiful woman to come to the ring to receive a Rude Awakening kiss. The women they usually picked to receive the kiss were attractive, but this one was drop dead gorgeous. She came down, and Rude laid the kiss on her, but she didn't pass out like the rest had. Rude tried again, but she left the ring. Rude was incensed. The next week, again on Prime Time, Piper had a squash match, and after the match he called out the same beautiful woman (Hot Mama). He asked her what had happened with Rude and she said that he had bad breath. Piper proceeded to kiss her with the "Rod Awakening" and she passed out. It was hilarious. All these years later, I think what I liked best about the feud was that for once a face actually got one over on a heel by outsmarting him. Usually, a face just got sneak attacked and would get his revenge by defeating the heel in a big match. The other good part was that it actually was a feud that carried over into the show (since Piper and Heenan were co-hosts.) Piper and Heenan traded some great barbs and it made for some pretty lively broadcasts. I'll close by saying "Get Better Roddy Piper" and "Thank You".

A Friendly Reminder - by Matt Derbyshire Yes, this is my first column, and yes, it's probably going to be somewhat controversial. Since Monday of last week, the biggest news in the wrestling industry has been the dismissal of Paul Heyman from the WWE creative team. People are in shock, people are angry, some people may never tune into ECW again. I have to say I'm kind of happy with the decision. Realistically, when was the last time anyone said anything good about the new ECW show anyway? Paul Heyman may have been a creative genius at one time, and I know he never had the final say on the new show but let's face it, the programming has generally been pretty weak. The only strong points on the show have been CM Punk matches and Holly getting his back ripped open.

I would love as much as anyone to see some of the originals get a push, but it really isn't fair to think that a guy like Sandman, as much as I love the guy, will never be a main-eventer. That being said, it would be great if they brought back the Television Title or even have Tazz start a tournament for his FTW Belt to give some recognition and airtime to guys like Steven Richards and the other originals. I for one am looking forward to a program where we may actually see legitimate contention for the ECW Championship. We may even see the Championship switch hands once in awhile now. Was I the only one tired of watching Big Show walk over all his competition every week? Did anyone foresee a match where Dreamer might somehow triumph over the champ, I doubt it. But a Dreamer-Lashley match might make me believe, whether they ever plan on Dreamer getting the strap or not. So before we criticize Vince any further, why don't we give him the benefit of the doubt, after all, he is the guy who revolutionized the industry and was smart enough to make a hell of a lot of money doing so. Also, bear in mind that the "New ECW" hasn't yet and probably will never live up to the old ECW we all knew and loved (and that was stated clearly from the start). I know ECW has always been synonymous with Paul Heyman, but to quote a line from one of my favorite books, "Nothing gold can stay." By Matt Derbyshire

The Big Picture - by Chris VanGroll There have been several columns posted lately chastising Mr. McMahon for ignoring in-ring talent and pushing the superstars with the most charisma. These people have lost sight of the big picture. It's important to understand that any fan writing articles for this website or fans that even visit this website are what I refer to as "hardcore" fans. By this I mean that they have been religiously watching wrestling for a long time (myself included). "Hardcore" fans appreciate wrestling at a different level than most, but are not first in terms of target audience.

Pushing wrestlers based primarily on in-ring ability would be a horrible idea. It should be factored in, but should not be the deciding factor. I read a column that suggested that it is a travesty that Shelton Benjamin hasn't received a title shot. But to me, because of his speaking ability, he just isn't World Heavyweight Champion material. It is the humor, the drama, the aura which makes wrestling attractive. In a perfect world, all main event wrestlers would talk like Carlito, look like Batista, and wrestle like Kurt Angle. But that is not reality. Don't get me wrong, wrestling ability should not be ignored. But personality/appearance does and should come first. By Chris VanGroll

Please Don't Bring Back The nWo: Part III - by Jon Rosaler I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and you all know what I was thankful for wrestling-related? No nWo vs. DX, half the wrestling fans' wish came true. This Sunday is Survivor Series, and a good question has come to mind, why wasn't the nWo apart of the WCW/ECW alliance in 2001? The answer is simple really, no Hulk Hogan. Sure, Hulk Hogan wasn't in the nWo in early 2001, but why bother to lead a faction like the New World Order into the WWF without the founder? It's almost like the Voodoo Kin Mafia having just Kip or BG go alone to declare war against the WWE. Sure, the nWo never actually pulled something like DX or VKM have been doing in the past. WWF took a lawsuit risk by putting DX in front of a live WCW event, with Eric Bischoff being a member of the nWo taking a stand. Was the nWo really the reason for DX's creation? I mean, Monty Sopp and Brian Armstrong's VKM creation is thanks to DX, so nWo being responsible for DX is likely. WWF and ECW have done a few parody's of WCW before, anyone remember Gillberg? bWo? The Brood (parodying Raven's Flock obviously)? WWF were desperate at the time, WCW were killing them. The nWo was a really powerful gimmick.

Anyway, back to Hogan. First and for most, why do I think he is a valued member of the nWo? Well, for one thing, him and Eric Bischoff have been on the same page since 1995, when Mr. Bischoff realized the money Hogan's been making him, just he read his book folks where he talks about a whole chapter of Hogan and the New World Order. Anyway, thanks for reading this long saga everyone.

Controversy Creates Cash - by Craig Knight My name is Craig Knight, I am 16 from Perth, Australia and like many others from "Down Under" enjoy wrestling. Recently, we have just been given the option to watch the pay per views from TNA which is a huge success for wrestling in Australia as many of us have only seen WWE. Since the merge between WCW and WWF (now the WWE), people in Perth have discussed the factor of competition between rivals. When the WCW and WWF had the Monday night wars people tuned in from far and wide in order to see who would out do the rival brand and conquer the ratings for another week to come while also the incentive of Thursday nights between SmackDown and Thunder. But as from the Monday nights, this competition drew large ratings and brought a lot of people into the sport of wrestling. Not to mention the competition of ECW with their extremist tactics to draw fans and great a 3 way race for wrestling supremacy.

When the merge had settled along with the story line of "The Invasion", people were put off by the fact of the storylines were good for a few weeks but then went of the track a little bit. So then came the idea of the split between the company with RAW and SmackDown being to different shows and competition to see who in fact was the better WWE brand which again brought fans and interest back into wrestling. The annual drafts only sweetening the deal by new and exciting superstars getting the chance to show their talent against new opponents yet died down a little after the new excitement level wore off. When TNA spoke of how they were going "Primetime" in America, a new buzz was set in the conversations around Perth with wrestling fanatics. WWF/WWE had their best ratings, storylines and fans while they were in conflict and competition with other brands and when competition was on between themselves. Now, from an Australian view of things, TNA and WWE have to create competition and conflict with each other in order for more fans to jump on board and help the money train roll in for both brands. As Eric Bischoff's book title says "Controversy Creates Cash" and that is exactly what the WWE and TNA have to do in order to create cash and that simply is.......Controversy!!!

The WWE Woman's Division Is Dying by Brent Matthew Denny The first woman in the WWE to hold the Women's title was The Fabulous Moolah back in 1956, from then until 1995 it was constantly fought over. Then in 1995 the champion at the time, Alundra Blaze, jumped from the WWE to WCW and took the Women's title with her. Executive Producer Of WCW Eric Bischoff convinced Madusa (as she was known to WCW fans) to drop the WWE Women's title into the trash on television, which she did. The Woman's division died from 1995 to 1998, when in 1998 Jacqueline defeated Sable. From that point on it was continually fought over, until 2001 when at WrestleMania X-7 Chyna defeated Ivory for it. She held on to it until her contract ended, the title was not used again until Survivor Series, when Trish Stratus won the 6 Pack Challenge and became champion for the first time.

However if you look at the woman's division on RAW and on SmackDown! as well as ECW, There are four to five divas in the WWE that can wrestle two of them are on ECW. Trinity and Jazz. The other three are Victoria, Mickie James, and Melina. All three of them are on RAW. All the other Divas that could wrestle such as Ivory, Tori, Jacqueline, Trish, and now Lita, have left. This is why I feel that the WWE's Women's Division is dying, and the WWE needs to do something. The Woman's Division has evolved a great deal from back when Sable and Jacqueline fought for the title. Maybe they should evolve further to include some of the same kind of matches that the men have such as Cage and Hardcore matches. The Woman's Division was, and could be again as interesting a division to watch as any of the men's. However if Vince McMahon doesn't do something soon, I fear that the WWE Woman's division is going to once again, become either none-existent or a joke. And I personally don't want to see either of those two things happen.

The Savior of the X-Division - by Roby Glodan You probably think I'm going to talk about AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels or Chris Sabin. The ones of you with a risky nature might speculate an article about Alex Shelley, Austin Starr or maybe Jay Lethal. But you'll all be wrong. I'm going to talk about Kevin Nash. Yes, Kevin "Big Sexy" Nash. We all know that the X-division has suffered a set back due to the Jackass angle. Some will say that the quick title changes are also bad for the X-division. But no matter what - the X-division is something different and special that separates TNA from the WWE. The Nash-Sabin feud from earlier this year was supposed to give Sabin his push. But Nash injured himself just before their match, and we got Shelley-Sabin. While this was a better wrestling match, it hurt Sabin's push. But the wrestler who benefited the most from that feud wasn't Chris Sabin, it was Alex Shelley. Shelley, just by hanging out with Nash got more over. The Paparazzi stuff with Nash was pure gold. I am extremely fond of the one where Shelley and Devine brought in the 2 wrestlers from MWF: Super Blue Cross Number Six AND Samolian Joe. That was one of the funniest moments of the year.

And here we are in the last Impact with another Paparazzi segment. This time Nash wants to find the best X-division wrestler, so he sets up the PCS: Paparazzi Championship Series. You see - TNA have figured how to use Nash. Don't put him in the ring, put him in segments or on commentary. You see - Nash is golden on the mic, he's funny and he has more charisma than half of the roster combined. Putting talent to work with him will only help the talent (again - the Shelley example). I mean, Dutt has shown more charisma in his ten seconds dialog then in all of his Jackass skits combined! Not to mention that it was nice to see Senshi not making stupid faces to the camera, and just sitting there looking half intense/half amused. And the part with Shelley crying only proves that he's one of the top stars in the future of professional wrestling. So where will this all lead to? I can't really tell. But I foresee only great things. Hopefully, a (well deserved) push for Shelley and/or Starr. But no matter what will happen, as long as they keep Nash out of the ring - I have a feeling it will end up well (even if Russo is booking it).