Nostalgia -- by Larry Tanner As a boy I watched Hollywood Championship Wrestling on TV hosted by Jack Little before he migrated here to host our Aussie telecasts. He also was an on screen announcer for a give-away show called "It could be you" hosted by Tommy Hanlon Jr. I recall some of Jack Little's old sayings: as the goodie bounced the baddies bum on the canvas in a scissors lock "the o-l-d teeter-totter" and as the baddy ran away from the good-guy "discretion is the better part of valour...haw haw haw". During the 60s and 70s I watched (Ch 9?) promoters Sam Menacker and Toni Koloni then Mike Cleary with all the Aussie and US wrestlers on Saturdays at Noon. In the seventies as an Immigration officer I had the opportunity to meet wrestlers Gino Garibaldi, Larry O'Dea and promoter Toni Koloni and occasionally sight high profile wrestlers as they came to the office to sort out their visas. Haystacks Calhoun got into the front seat of a taxi and you could see the car sag to one side. I even took my young 12 year old brother to the Hordern Pavilion to see wrestling midgets (I have photos) and witnessed Steve Rackman (by now a manager) as he shouted encouragement to his bad-guy from the apron of the ring, his false teeth flew out of his mouth onto the canvas! I watched WWF in the 80s with my two young sons and WCW etc in the 90s. The current stuff has gone too far and now nobody wrestles, they only kick, jump and slam...but it still gets me in! At a garage sale I found an old "learn to wrestle" book, from the 40s I think, complete with photos of popular wrestlers of the time including "Big Chief Little Wolf" and "Brother Jonathon".

Viva La TNA -- by Brad Dykens Anyone who thinks TNA is on its deathbed obviously doesn't understand the business. It's not about the quality of wrestling, it's about the number of eyes focused on the product and the money they pay to see it. As long as the number of eyes increases then TNA can only be considered a success. To think this time last year TNA had no decent TV, and ran weekly PPV with ratings too embarassing to publish. Considering the hundreds upon hundreds of indy feds, including ECW, that have tried to compete with WWE, I think TNA should be patted on the back for accomplishing what they have in less than three years. Nobody thought they'd celebrate their first anniversary - they did. Nobody thought they'd celebrate their second anniversary - they did. Nobody sure as hell gave them a chance at reaching their third anniversary, and guess what folks, they're about to do it. Everyone likes to put down TNA for pushing Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, DDP, Billy Gunn, Syxx-Pac, Jeff Jarrett etc etc but they are names that people know. They'll say, oh wow, Kevin Nash is in TNA, I should check that out some time. They tune in and see AJ Styles, the X-Division, Monty Brown, and say, wow this isn't half bad. And it isn't half bad folks, I mean GEZZ quit analyzing every little thing and be a fan again. These guys are working their way towards wheelchair retirement for YOUR entertainment and all you can do is BITCH?! Booooooooooooooo on you. Do you really tune into TNA expecting to see 5-star matches from bell to bell? Just because they don't, you automatically conclude that it's less superior to WWE?! Why? WWE certainly isn't 5-star from bell to bell. WWE is lucky to get one 5-star match at each PPV. TNA's monthly PPVs have given us 2-3 REALLY great matches per show - and they're not always the ones you expect! When was the last time WWE had a show-steeler on the undercard?! A PPV shouldn't be 5-star from bell to bell; A PPV should be a gradual incline of emotion and intrique. WWE likes to go UP-and-DOWN-and-UP-and-DOWN and drain their audience by the end, personally I don't like that. Oldschool booking gives the fans a slow start, and with each match that passes, you get a little more excited, until finally the MAIN EVENT blow off.

WWE: Be Careful With Batista -- by Ric Graham The WWE is in a great position with the babyface turn of Dave Batista. You would think they would've learned by now with the initial babyface incarnation of the Rock, and the Randy Orton experiment. In Batista, you have a homegrown talent, with none of the third generation crap being forced upon you. I'm sure everyone in the locker room is cool with him, seeing how he worked his way from the mid-card to the main event without an all out push, and has gotten over with the fans despite average mic skills. Batista reminds me of wrestlers from the 70's, in the sense that, he doesn't have to do a whole lot of talking to get his character over. But the mistake that the WWE does not need to make, is to turn him into a Rock/Stone Cold like face. Meaning, that cool, heelish guy. It seems every babyface works that way these days, and none of them are truly over. I would go completely against the grain with Batista, and have him be an uber-vanilla babyface, complete with a face manager to continue to get him over. There are plenty of heels with him to feud with on the Raw brand, so let him have a nice long run with the strap. While Triple H has been a great heel champion, and still draws reasonably well, I know the WWE is thinking to future. Randy Orton may still be the future, although distant at this point, and everyone knows that in any business, the future is NOW! Batista is NOW! He looks like an animal, but he's really a nice guy. Just don't get on his wrong side. Turn the dynamic around, instead of fans turning out to see if the heel champ loses, see if the face champ can turn back yet another assault on his title while the fans leave happy. Then when a title change does occur, fans are in an uproar, leaving the arena with a buzz, and coming back for more.

Randy Orton "The Future of the WWE" -- by Bill Tyrrell Randy Orton the next great superstar in the WWE. I haven't been this proud to call myself a wrestling in quite sometime Orton is one of those guys that everybody knew he had great talent when you saw his first match on TV, so athletic, so quick, so charismatic, and so smart in the ring. Orton is one of those future greats along with Batista, John Cena, and Maven that's right I said Maven, and whether or not people want to admit it or not Maven has showed great improvement, and he will develop into a star. Back to Orton, the thing that surprises people most about Orton is his incredible athletic ability, and his ability to put on a great show. Randy will have many more opportunities to win the WWE Championship, that is of course after Triple H gets hit by lighting, or maybe Orton could just sleep with the bosses daughter. It is pathetic that these wrestlers have such great talent and never even get a run at the title, because Triple H is a greedy assclown, and thinks he deserves to have the title already ten times, I'm sorry son but you are not that good, and you have deserved about one or two of those titles. Randy on the other hand was of the select few who got the opportunity to go after the title, but he had it for a month, because apparently Vince thought he wasn't ready to be a champion, because he hasn't develop enough character yet, which is stupid, because Orton was loved by millions of WWE fans even before he left Evolution, because we as fans recognized his great talent and incredible athletic ability, and also his ability to entertain the fans much like The Rock. On my final note there is no doubt that one day Randy Orton is going to be a bigger star than he already is, and multiple time World Champion, but I want to know why not now? Why can't he be champion now? For once in your life Vince give us as wrestling fans the chance to see what we want make someone else besides Triple H World Champion.

Stephanie McMahon Is The Highway To Hell For The WWE -- by Zack Stoffers The WWE has flourished under the control of Vince McMahon. Once a northeast organization known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation, Vince transformed it into a worldwide event. With such stars as "The Hulkster" Hulk Hogan, "The Macho Man" Randy Savage, "8th Wonder Of The World" Andre the Giant, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "Heart Break Kid" Shawn Michaels, "The Man From The Darkside" The Undertaker, and countless others, the WWE has evolved from the good ole days of Stan Hansen and Bruno Sammartino. Vince changed the "attitude" of the WWE, and helped revolutionize wreslting as we know it. Some of the greatest feuds have been made during the Vince McMahon era, such as Austin vs McMahon, Triple vs The Rock, Mankind vs The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart. You were always being kept on the edge of your seat when Vince was in charge. But now...the WWE may be coming closer to death that we thought. In the horizon, once Vince steps down as chairman and owner of the WWE, Stephanie McMahon will take his place. Shane will be in there to, but he won't play a very big substantial role. There goes the creativity...there goes the hardcore matches...there go the memories. Stephanie has done such ludicrous acts, such as getting rid of Paul Heyman, that will crumble the very foundation of the WWE. When Vince said he would inject his own poison in the WWE, he was not talking about the nWo, he was talking about the billion dollar princess, Stephanie McMahon. With her walking with her nose in the air, always wanting the "yes" or "that's a great idea" to everything she says, the WWE has fallen into a pit of despair. We can only hope that Vince comes to his senses and gives it to someone who can take great care of it. Someone like Shane McMahon, who has actual respect for the business. Shane never wanted the spotlight, he just wanted to make the fans say "Oh my god!" or "Holy shit! Holy shit!". And he did exactly that. Shane-O-Mac has jumped turnbuckles to even the rafters. He amazed the WWE audience with his raw high flying abilities and guts. Now, Vince, listen to me carefully. Don't make the mistake of giving it to Stephanie and Shane...just give it to the Shane-O-Mac...100% of it.

The Greedy and the Hardworking -- by Stephen Collins It was really quite annoying to find that Triple H had won the elimination chamber match at New Years Revolution. It p***ed me off even more to learn that once again the Cerebral Assassin has cheated at his own game (pun intended). Unlike the Rock (who is not a sell-out!) who worked hard to win his seven WWE/WWF world titles, the "Game" has to screw his opponents all the time, or wrestle in matches that allow outside interference or the use of weapons. Why should the Game be World Champion when there are people like Kane, Edge, Benoit, Jericho, RVD and Batista who actually deserve to win this title? Let's use Kane as an example. He last won the world title in 1998, and then lost it the night after. Since then he's been regulated to winning the tag titles God knows how many times. Every time he's challenged for the world title he's been beaten. At Backlash 2001 he had a great opportunity, but good old Vinnie Mac came along and spoiled everything. He gets eliminated from the Rumble each year. For a guy who's the Undertaker's brother it's actually upsetting to know that he only won one world title. We've gone back to the days when Hulk Hogan would win the title and hold it for years on end while people like the Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart were put in the backseat. Andre the Giant won one world title in his whole career. He deserved more than one considering his character, and when he did win the title, he forfeited his belt the same night. Batista has been regulated to being Evolution's lap dog and Edge gets screwed by Shawn Michaels in the match where he could have won the world title. Goldberg should have had at least two title reigns, as he is somebody who doesn't have to cheat to win. At this rate the WWE writing team is gonna kill off their own product. Triple H is the greediest piece of crap since Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan.

A Tribute to a Deadman -- by Daniel Foster To start off my first column, I would like to say what an inspiration the Undertaker has been to me. I only started watching wrestling in early 2001 so I didn't see him in his 'heyday'. But I have visited lots of his websites and I bought that great video collection of his matches in the early ' 90s. When I first started watching him on TV he was in a feud with DDP and he was a great big tough guy then. I supported him through his heel turn in 2002 and then, like millions and millions around me, enjoyed his amazing reincarnation of the deadman in 2004. While many people think that he is now useless and should retire, I don't know how they can say that - it sounds like they are trying to get rid of him. That's the last thing he should do, in fact, I think they should give him a title shot in the very near future. I have found out a lot about the Undertaker and what he used to be like, but if anyone can add to my knowledge, please post some sort of Undertaker column that would interest me. I look forward to your replies.

WWE, Mark Magnus, and Muhammad Hassan -- by Michael Coello I know Patrick Guthrie already touched on this subject (in his column "Wrestling With Prejudice"), but it needs a little more retouching. Mark Magnus,or Muhammad Hassan in the WWE,is getting the short end of the stick. After being in OVW in the Revolution team, He was assigned to the gimmick of Muhammad Hassan who, along with Khosrow Daivari, arrived on Raw as Arab American Wrestler hopefuls and ended up as another heel act for the fans to hate and boo. During the early stages of the Muhammad Hussein promo tapes,Hassan was shown as a person who wanted to prove that he could tough it out in the WWE and give his people a sense of pride. I felt that it was a good idea, even though it might be a bit too taboo to deal with a "Arab-American" from Detriot,Michigan(WWE page) or Syracuse, New York(OWW Profiles) during the War in Iraq and Terrorist threats. During the early stages, I though this would be a step in the right direction away from the early racist moments, from "the Dragon" ninja skits with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and "El Matador" Tito Santana and even new ideas of Theodore "Holla Holla Holla" Long and the Japanese wrestlers in some degree. As I continued watching, I noticed the rants being angrier and angier,which made the eventful conclusion of the storyline being obvious. During the Jericho-hosted RAW, Mark finally spoke in a regular promo and announced his debut at the next RAW. After a feud with Jerry "the King" Lawler and Jim "J.R" Ross ended with a win over Lawler at New Year's Revolution, and after being on the wrong end of an 8-on-1 beating and elimination at the 2005 Royal Rumble, his most recent possible feud seen in a fight with Chris Jericho on the Feb. 14th RAW. After all that I have seen, It became ever more obvious than before that different ethnic-based wrestlers will never be given much of a babyface run and will rely on the fans natural fear or stereotypes of the races. WWE needs to have a BIG change with all the easy heat on people like Muhammad Hassan and others like him. Racism is a trick subject to write about, but wrestling has been around for a long while, and it needs a dose of the new millenium,even though it will be a hard thing to do.

Benoit, Orton and Evolution!!!! -- by Christian Root Hi, my name is Christian Root and for the last year I have had to watch Chris Benoit in the spot light. There is no dought Benoit is one of the best wrestlers alive, but he is not the world heavywieght champion no more and its pissing me off. At summerslam 2004, Benoit defended the World heavyweight championship against Randy Orton, and that to my was a great match, but when orton won the title the camera was still on Benoit. Jim Ross (J.R) was saying Benoit was a "great fighting champion" which he was but Orton had just made history. Dont get me wrong, im not the biggest orton fan in the world, im 100% evolution. and since Orton came out of evolution hes just got cocky and orrogant to his opponent. I just hope the same woudnt happen to batista. Most people hate triple H but they shoudnt, even though triple H is pretected by flair and batista, trips had made them big, very big. 4 years ago ric fair was sat in charlotte, north caralina in a big house and he wasnt thinking about what title to go for next, he thought he was past his prime. But thanks to triple H this legend is back in action. Also batista is a huge success now, winnig the royal rumble 2005 and now headlining wrestlemania 21, I tell you if it wasnt for triple H the big man batista would be were he were 3 years ago, hanging around with D-von dudley. So dont hate on triple H that much, the man deserves respect.

Fantasy Warfare NWA vs WWE!!! -- by D.J. Kellogg Heres how my NWA vs. WWE megacard would go. Unification bought betweet AMW the NWA tag champs and the Dudleys, the Smackdown tag team champs. Team Canada vs. La R�sistance in a Qu�bec independence match. Heidenreich vs. Kevin Nash. Ron Killings vs. Booker T to determine who has the best ax kick. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. AJ Styles to unify the X title with the Crusierweight title in an Ultimate X match. Scott Hall going against Randy Orton in a ladder match for the I-C title. JBL vs. Abyss for the WWE Championship. Rhyno vs. Jeff Jerrett. RVD vs. Christopher Daniels. Triple H vs Shane Douglas and Pat Patterson and Ric Flair vs. Dusty in a handicap match. AND THE MAIN EVENT: NWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION MONTY BROWN VS. RAW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT BATISTA IN A UNIFICATION MATCH.

Importance of Entrance Music -- by Gavin Rankin Ive been watching the WWE/WWF for over 15 years now. And over that time ive seen superstars come and go. I was watching a royal rumble tape a couple of weeks ago i think it was the 1997 one (correct me if im wrong) But it was the one where austin cheated to win the rumble by being eliminated and then coming back into the ring without being seen. One my best moments from that tape was when Austin was eliminating every one and the he was just sitting on the ring post waiting for the next guy to come in and then the look on his face when hears that great guitar rift at the beginning of the hitmans music. That got me thinking what great an effect does entrance music have on a wrestlers success? and who comes up with it? Its no coincidence that the wrestlers that have made it big seem to have the great music. you look though the past see wrestlers such as, Hogan, Hart, HHH and Austin its all music that you can listen too if ya like watching wrestling or not. here is a top ten of my favourite tracks 10-Batista | 9-The Rock (original) | 8-Austin | 7-million dollar man (your probably in disgust now but i liked it) | 6-Hogan | 5-HHH (current) | 4-Ken Shamrock | 3-Sid | 2-Bret Hart | 1-Mr Perfect |

Where Have All The Great Ones Gone -- by Tom A. I remember watching WWF as a kid and just loving every cheesy moment. The characters and storyline were just so over the top it was wonderful. What ever happened to the days of The Million Dollar Man, Mr. Perfect, Jimmy Snuka, The Texas Tornado Kerry Von Erich (rip) . I mean today wrestlers just don't have charisma, storytelling ability, or the talent to lace up their boots with the greats of the 80's. There is not a wrester in the WWE that even comes close to the talent of Von Erich, and unfortunately he was only a midcarder. Hell even Doink the clown was fun to watch. Now what do we have, HHH albeit a fantastic wrestler but my opinion just below the level of The Honkey Tonk Man on the mic. For every great like Jericho or RVD there is a Cena and Randy Orton. How many more lame necrophilia, baby killer, and countless other terrible storylines do we have to sit through before we se another Undertaker locking the Ultimate Warrior in a casket. I remember being glued to my seat waiting for HBK's answer to Marty Jannety at the barber shop. Maybe the WWE should bring back some of the Greats like Ted Dibiase, Snuka, hell even Piper to work with these kids. Teach them so of the old moves that looked real and looked painful. Tech them some mic work. How good could Shelton Benjamin be if he had some verbal talent. Lastly how about a guest appearance every now and then other than wrestlemania. Could you imagine JBL out there blabbing away and "Everyone has a Price" Starts playing and The Million Dollar man comes out in that old tux. Talk about nostalgia. I hate to admit it but wrestling as I know it is Dead.

The Future is Now -- by Ditto Robertson "It's my destiny!" Famouse words from Randy Orton, one of the more popular future faces of the WWE. But, are they true? I say hell ya! The new era of wrestlers has begun, from Rene Dupree to John Cena and back again. Isn't it great to see new faces in the WWE? I mean, I'm not saying to get rid of our veterans; I can't tell you how much I respect people like HBK Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. But now, WWE has trimmed the fat (Vince's firing spree) and, even though he may have trimmed a bit much, we got rid of some dead weight as well. So now what to do? Bring in some young faces like Randy Orton, John Cena, Carlito Carribean Cool, Rene Dupree, Gene Snitsky, Paul London, John Heidenreich and Batista. First off, who predicted Carlito and Snitsky's success? But, to be fair, they earned it. Snitsky is a powerhouse, and they're always so entertaining to see. Plus, being tossed into a storyline with Kane is bound to shake you up physically and mentally. Carlito cracks me up. He's got a funny gimmick going, even though the petition is a quieter storyline then him stabbing Cena, it's good they keep him on air. John Heidenreich? I'm not a fan of. Sure, he's big, but that's about all. They play him up as being so scary, which is fine, just don't mix a monster with a poet. Can you imagine how much it would kill Kane's gimmick if he went out, kidnapped JR, violated him and read him poetry? No one would be scared of him anymore. The guys a step away from being a big bad Rico. Sure, that might be scarier to a lot of guys, but it's just not the same. Rene Dupree? Call me crazy, but I like the guy. He's a great wrestler with good looks and an unlovable gimmick. I firmly beleive that if they give him and Cena one more chance to piece the rivallry back together, they could draw crowds. Paul London: who doesn't love a cute, skilled luchador who can kick ass? If he were to get the Cruiserweight Title, would anyone really complain? He and Akio could have a hell of a rivallry going. Throw Rey Mysterio in there and ta da! John Cena. Wow. I've never seen anyone connect with the audience the way he does. They respond to him SO much, he has them at his control. I really am a big John Cena fan. Of course, if you notice his ringwork is a little on the iffy side. He's definately more of an entertainer then a wrestler, which could hurt him in the future. But, The Rock's still popular, so maybe. As for Orton and Batista? I can't get enough of these guys! Orton is very nimble, which is unusual for someone of his size. But, you can definately tell wrestling is in his blood. He is a natural. He's got a little bit of everything; mic work, speed, technicality and so good looking even Jerry "The King" Lawler had a crush on him until he turned face. Batista is some sort of freak. Their is no way any normal man could have muscles like that, it's just not right! But, Batista does. While he's not bench pressing trucks, he's showin off his amazing ring skills. He has everyone's favorite Spinebuster. His mic work could use improvement though. Even though this fits well with his charecter, he's usually mumbling, not talking. That's quite a line up. Looking at things the way they are? I think WWE has a good, solid future, and I dare you to argue with that.

See Ya Later TNA -- by Whiteboypaul69 Hey I am back after a long break from writing and I enjoy the new look of the site. After Being a fan of TNA from the start every Wednesday night, I am shocked when I look at it now. TNA used to be a great alternative to WWE, they offered a fresh product with younger people that could really work. I loved being able to tune in ever Wednesday and be able to see all my favorite indy talent right there in one place. But, after about the first year in a half things started to go south. They started doing more hardcore WWE type matches with more gimmick weapons then I could name. And I watched S.E. X. or a revamped version of the NWO. They followed the same pattern too, They just kept adding people till it was just too much. I mean they could rent some tapes and figure out that didn't work the first time. But, they did get rid of it, which I was glad. Then one of the greatest ideas in modern wrestling, The International X cup thing. Bringing in some of Mexico's, Japans, and Europe's finest was a great idea. All though, it lasted way too long, and it really wasn't a tournament as much as it was several matches all spread out on several shows until they finally gave it a whole show and wrapped it up. But, the exposure of these talents was good. And it wasn't there fault, but the incident with ROH and the talent hurt them also losing some great competitors. This reminds me of the WCW-ECW thing from the 90`S. If you look at it, TNA is making all The mistakes WCW did before its demise. Now with there show they are bringing back old talent. I for one think that this is always a bad idea, i mean yeah you get the name recognition with fans, but you also have the fact that they are way past there prime and cant compete. I do like Monty Brown, although he still has some work that needs to be done. Jeff Jarrett is still working good but he isn't a world title type person. What TNA does is they take the run off from the WWE and because people know their names they are given a title shot. Jeff Hardy is nothing but a spot rat. He is absolutely is covered with ring rust. I mean it helps to have people that the fans know but not when they can't produce a good match. Also Hall and Nash are with Jarrett to form the Kings Of Wrestling, I'm going to say it one more time, it was better when it was the NWO. And Also we get DDP, who was bad when he started in WCW. Also there are men like Raven who should be in his Prime with a character that has so much potential, is wasted. Also if this isn't all bad enough, a SIX SIDED RING? What the hell is that. Why rebuild the wheel? The wrestling ring is the one thing that is perfect in the business, and they ruin it with something new. TNA you need to really get your act together in my option or i will be sitting here reading the Death Of TNA.

Too Much Push -- by Rhey Higgins There's one wrestler in the business who has not enough wrestling talent and too much push (no, I'm not talking about Triple H): it's John Cena. Would it kill him to put someone over ONCE when it's not convineient for him? When's the last time he lost a match? When he dropped the U.S. Title to Carlito Cool. And he had an agenda there; be able to go make a movie while still looking like a hero and a fighting champion. True, he lost the Royal Rumble, but, just like always (even hen he dropped the tile to Carlito) he squashes everyone in every match; I can't even watch the bastard's matches any more 'cause I know how there gonna' end and I know that his crappy finisher (and man, is it ever crappy) will be WAY over sold. And NOW this no-sell bastard might even be main-eventing Wrestlemania and be the WWE Champion? GIMMIE' A FRIGGIN BREAK!!! WHY does he need to stroke his ego even more than The Game? It's time to take the title off him and have him job to Luther (someone who could use the cedibility) or Kenzo or Dupree (two talented wrestlers who he SQUASHED for no reason)...mabey THAT will help deflate this bastards ego.