This week's News & Views will not be as thorough as most weeks as far as my content goes. The reason for that is simply because I'm working on the Smackdown Roster Evaluation and I'd rather get that done then do some of the things I regularly do in here. This week's edition will not feature the five count section. It will, however, have a really long reader essay section that I think you'll all enjoy. Then I'll bring it home as always with the feedback feedbag. With all that said, let's get to the news.
News & Rumors
- The biggest news story this week involved Vince McMahon becoming infuriated with Ric Flair backstage at Raw. During Flair's promo on Monday he mentioned something about making "virgins bleed," which drew a pop from the crowd and set off the alarms of McMahon because it was such a "racy" thing to say. When Flair got backstage, McMahon went off on him by telling him it was inappropriate. Some even thought that McMahon would fire him right there. I don't know about you, but isn't it weird that a guy who booked an angle that involved his son in law "having sex" with a corpse on a wrestling show all of a sudden has a problem with a comment like making virgins bleed. I'm not saying that Flair's comment was fine. It's offensive. It's uncalled for. But this is Vince McMahon we're talking about. He's approved of MUCH WORSE things over his career.
- It is expected that Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Mick Foley might make an appearance at WrestleMania 21. No idea if any of them would be wrestling, but I have to say it'd rule to see them come out together at some point. Maybe they can induct them all into the Hall of Fame or something. I guess all of them could wrestle, although I doubt Austin will. Hogan just shouldn't get in a ring because he's just too damn old while Rock and Foley are definitely healthy enough to have a match, which they did this year.
- There are plenty of rumors circulating about Kane. The Honky Tonk Man actually "broke" a story saying Kane was having contract negotiation problems with the company and it was possible that he would be leaving the company. Since then, some more reliable sources have come out to say that while negotiations haven't gone well, it's not a given that he'd be leaving. Personally, I think they'll work it out. For one, where's Kane going to go? If he's upset with the dollars that WWE has for him then he'd be more upset at the numbers that some other company could pay him. Furthermore, he's scheduled to film a WWE produced movie in the coming months, so I doubt he'd walk out just as they're helping him get an acting career. This is a developing story, though, so I'll have more on it when the news comes.
- Johnny Ace gets a lot of heat backstage. He's the guy that has Jim Ross' old job as vice president of talent relations, which means he books house shows and generally deals with the wrestlers directly. He's also the one that implemented the dress code (as he did in WCW), which has pissed off some people too. Lately, though, his mistakes are getting more attention. His mess ups have resulted in Lita missing her scripted part at RAW with Kane that had to be rewritten to be just only Kane, Vince having to send his private jet to pick up wrestlers and Ace in Florida and Snitsky in Dallas due to his poor planning. That upset Vince McMahon because he's really strict about things being just right during live events.
- At the WrestleMania XXI press conference, Vince McMahon mentioned that WrestleMania is the only PPV where wrestlers from the two brands are allowed to compete against eachother. No word yet on what matches we are likely to see, but they dropped a hint at Summerslam by putting John Cena and Randy Orton on screen together. Maybe they'll do that match. Personally, I'd want to see Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle as the interpromotional dream match. I think it's a good idea to save interpromotional matches for WrestleMania because it makes them more special. Once a year is enough.
- Normally I won't talk about the ratings of Raw. However, this week it's worth noting because the ratings started out as a 3.5 in hour one and ended up at a 3.3 to end the show. Hour two is usually the better hour, so this drop is surprising.
- It seems like we won't be seeing John Cena on TV for a while. He's heading to Australia to film the WWE produced film, "The Marine." No word on when he'll be back, but I'll take a guess and say it'll be for about two or three months. Judging by what happened on Smackdown, it seems like he's got a feud with Carlito Caribbean Cool ready to go when he gets back.
The Oratory/Reader Essay
Three weeks ago I asked you to respond to one simple question: Who do you think would be the best opponent for Triple H to face at Taboo Tuesday?
The response was damn good. I told you to give me your answer in 250 words or less. After the millions (
