History Rewritten: WrestleMania XXV

Welcome back to another Edition of my "History Rewritten" Series, where I like to revisit the abysmal flaws in sports history from Basketball, Football, Wrestling, you name it. When I witness what went wrong, I like to reconstruct and rewrite history from my vantage point. I rename Award Winners and provide my own Fantasy Booking.

Background:
This was the night where WWE and the Wrestling Community celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Greatest Wrestling Event of the Year. The Super Bowl and World Series of Sports Entertainment. The Silver Anniversary for the Showcase of the Immortals took place on April 5, 2009, at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. This was the night where we witnessed the closest thing that we will ever get to perfection in wrestling as The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels wrestled the greatest match in the history of this sport. It was perfect timing for them to have this match on the 25th Anniversary of WM. On the card, you also had John Cena wrestle Edge and Big Show in a Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship, followed by Triple H vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

What Made It Great:
Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. What else needs to be said? They shut the building down. By the time that match was over, the crowd was mentally and emotionally drained, just like the fans at The Skydome for The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan match at WrestleMania X8. It became impossible to follow up those performances. Nothing else needed to follow.

WM XXV Main Event:
WrestleMania 25 featured a Triple Main Event, except Taker vs. Shawn did not end the show. Instead, you had a cluster Triple Threat Match for the WHC involving Cena, Edge & Big Show. The final match of the night was Triple H vs. Randy Orton in a lackluster match for the WWE Championship. These matches felt more like matches for Backlash Main Events than WrestleMania Main Events. I understand that those were title matches, but the Streak had become more important than the titles.

What Ruined It:
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels needed to finish the show to make it complete. How can you have a match of this magnitude and not put it on last? Considering the history of Taker and Shawn at WrestleMania, Vince McMahon, and Co. should have known what to expect! Clearly, they did not learn from the mistake that they made from WrestleMania X8. Just like that show, the Most Iconic Match of the night was a Non-Title Match. Taker vs HBK set a giant shadow over the rest of the show as everything else felt underwhelming. If the World Title matches were booked BEFORE this match, they would have been better received. I guess they did not put enough trust in The Deadman and The Showstopper to create such a Masterpiece at this point of their careers. Big, Big Mistake. This is WrestleMania, the place where both of these warriors specialize in bringing their A++ Game to the table. If I were Vince, I would have ended the show after that match. Even Triple H and Orton did not want to follow this match. Cena, Edge and Big Show knew they could not compete with it either.


However, we were treated to a Triple Threat Match that looked like a giant pile of vomit between Cena, Edge, and Big Show. This was a far cry from the Triple Threat WHC Match from WrestleMania XX featuring Anonymous Wrestler (*coughs* Chris Benoit *coughs) vs Triple H vs Shawn Michaels. Sadly, that match has become a black eye in wrestling even though it was the greatest Triple Threat Match in WrestleMania History. Like WrestleMania 2000, the involvement of The Big Show brought the match quality down by several different levels. I feel as though whenever Big Show is inserted into the mix of a main event match, he becomes dead weight. He was certainly dead weight for this match. The only special things about this match were Cena's entrance and his Double Attitude Adjustment on Edge & Big Show. Besides that, I couldn't care any less about this match.

Then, things go from bad to worse as Triple H and Randy Orton have a watered down, WWE Title match to end such a special Anniversary. Triple H was not allowed to use weapons of any kind, or else he would be disqualified and lose the title. Historically, these matches have both become afterthoughts in comparison to Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. To make things even worse, those two title matches were featured in the WWE 2k14 Video Game as part of the Special "30 Years of WrestleMania Mode". Yet, the greatest match of that night was not featured when you have to replay WrestleMania 25? Since I am rewriting WrestleMania XXV, I am inserting the HBK vs. Taker WM 25 match into WWE 2k14's 30 Years of WM.

Rewrite:
The first and most important order of business is simple. Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker needs to be the final match of the night. A match with the legacy and importance that it had deserves to close out the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. I know that it was the Main Event of the next year's WrestleMania in honor of Shawn's retirement, but that match did not fully live up to its predecessor. These two legendary generals pulled out everything that they had in their arsenal and held absolutely nothing back.  This match not only showed what WrestleMania was about, but what wrestling itself is about. This was certainly worthy to be in the 2k14 video game.

Next, I would take Big Show far away from the World Heavyweight Title match and just book the match as Edge vs. John Cena for the WHC. Cena and Edge were perfect rivals for each other. I believe that Edge brought the very best out of Cena from an overall rivalry standpoint, and vice versa. Their feud goes back to 2006 when Edge won his first WWE Title by cashing in on Cena. WrestleMania would have been the perfect stage for their rivalry to reach its peak. Instead, WWE wasted a great singles battle by having it take place at Backlash. Edge & Cena's last World Title match should not have been at Backlash. It was more important than that. This would be the match right before the Epic Showdown of the night.

As for Triple H vs Randy Orton, I would put this match on right before Edge vs Cena.

In Conclusion, this is how I would have booked WrestleMania XXV. I hope you enjoy.

History Rewritten: Bret Hart's 1992-93 Title Run

 

 

For this edition of "History Rewritten", I would like to explore the world of wrestling. Like in other Sports, wrestling is filled with events that I would like to go back and change. In this case, I would like to rewrite the first title run of one of the greatest champions of all-time: Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

 

What made it Great:

By 1992, Bret Hart was taking wrestling by storm as he emerged to Main Event Status while transitioning from his time as IC Champion. He defeated Shawn Michaels in a number of matches that year, including the first official ladder match in WWE history (7/21/92, the day after my Birthday). The Summer of 1992 might has well been called the "Summer of Bret" because of his success. The culmination of his reign took place at Summerslam in Wembley with Brother-In-Law Davey Boy Smith. Bret was quickly cracking through the glass ceiling. At this point, Vince McMahon was under heavy fire from the Federal Government for the Steroid Scandal that tainted the image of the number 1 wrestling promotion in the world.

 

As everyone knows, the face of the wrestling phenomenon, Hulk Hogan was front and center as he was found testing positive for steroids. The Golden Image of the WWF was dealt a black eye because of his involvement. Other massively built stars like The Ultimate Warrior also had blood on their hands from the controversy. The climate was changing naturally, even without steroid issues. The Aura of Hulkamania was fading fast, as fans would start to cheer anytime Hogan lost (Survivor Series vs. Undertaker) or was eliminated (Royal Rumble 1992). The Hulkster's golden charm had truly become stale. Roddy Piper was fading from the scene as he would leave following WrestleMania VIII. Piper was not one of the top commodities on Vince's agenda like he was with Hogan during 1984-85 in the midst of the expansion. Sgt. Slaughter would retire that year following a heated run as a villainous WWF Champion the year prior. Mr. Perfect was dealing with injuries. The stars that Vince McMahon relied on previously were moving on in different ways. It was time for McMahon to inject new blood into the Main Event Picture. Bret was quickly rising through the glass ceiling to obtain the "Brass Ring". On October 12, Bret defeated Ric Flair at a House Show in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. By this point, things had fallen into place for the Hitman. It was truly the breakout year that would set the course for the rest of his career.

 

 

Best Opponents:

After defeating Flair in a rematch, Bret would defeat the likes of Papa Shango, Rick Martel and The Berzerker (Not exactly a Hall of Fame list of dance partners). By Survivor Series, Bret's quality of opponents would improve as he put on a fairly underrated but special match with Shawn Michaels.

 

 Even though they were not advertised on the front of the marquee, Bret and Shawn did a fine job closing the show as we were moving on to a time without the Red & Yellow (or so we thought). The show was "fairly decent" overall, but not as much of a spectacle as the ones prior. It was a sign of the changing times. Bret would defeat Flair in a series of House Shows before heading into the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he would headline the show with a fast rising heel, Razor Ramon.

 

 

 

 

The Hitman would defeat The Bad Guy in a fairly excellent match, with his patented Sharpshooter. That night, Bret's biggest challenge to date would win the Royal Rumble as their paths would cross. That challenger would be none other than Yokozuna.

 



 



What hurt his Title Run:

 

Bret's Size: The biggest criticism of Bret Hart among the higher ups was his size. The corporate big wigs were not sure if the Hitman would be very special, because he did not have the action figure/cartoon physique of Hulk Hogan or the Ultimate Warrior. Today, people complain about Daniel Bryan, CM Punk or Dolph Ziggler having raw deals because of their size. Bret was one of, if not the first to deal with that stigma. The landscape has come a long way because of Bret, but at that time wrestling was truly the land of giants. Anything that did not look like Hulk Hogan had a huge mountain to climb. If you were not 6'7", 300 lbs with receding blond hair and a handlebar mustache, you had to prove yourself even more. Whether they were built like sculpted figures or giant piles of mass like King Kong Bundy or Earthquake, size was the top priority. The Hitman had to prove them wrong by telling his story in the ring. Bret would hold his own and proudly building the grassroots following that naturally came from his homecountry of Canada. The Hitman would build a larger International Fanbase during his rise as the MVP of the company. Unfortunately, his size would come back to bite him once WrestleMania Season came along. He would run into two massive obstacles.

 

Roadblock 1:

 

Even though Bret carried the Title as the Champion for the people, those in charge still wanted to hold on to the outdated mindset of size matters over everything else. As a result, Yokozuna enters the title picture. Yoko was very talented for a man of his size, but he was the product of the idea that you needed to be large in order to be a great champion. Bret was proving that theory wrong as he was the definition of a true workhorse. At WrestleMania IX, Bret's world would come crashing down against this mammoth Samoan that was from "Japan". Bret fought back valiantly as an underdog champion. He even had Yoko in the Sharpshooter. Hart managed to wrap a pair of 500 pound legs around for his Finishing Submission hold. This is not Shawn Michaels, Razor or even Bam Bam himself. This was a man that weighed half of 1,000 pounds!!! Think about that. The Hitman launched an arsenal of attacks at his opponent. While Bret looked like he was going to vanquish his enormous foe, things went downhill from there.

With a handful of powder to the face and a Banzai Drop, Bret Hart's first momentous reign came to an end. His 5 & a half to 6 month reign as a promising champion crashed. The result did launch a great rivalry that would culminate the following year at WrestleMania X. Bret did not look like a scrub while losing the title. If anything, this was the least of his problems. Things really hit the fan in the aftermath of the match. Just when the fans thought that business moved on, they were sadly mistaken.

Roadblock 2:

"When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside!". The moment that the fans heard that music, everyone knew that this would turn out to be the worst. Hulk Hogan sticks his giant mustache in someone else's business to steal their thunder. Even though he pinned Yokozuna, Hogan ultimately stole Bret Hart's thunder. Technically, Bret lost the title to Hogan with Yokozuna as the channel that the belt would have to pass through in between. Hulk decided to resurface in WWF after things cooled off for a while. Hogan comes to check on Bret to see if things are fine. The bosses still had an affection for the glory cartoon days, when Hogan set the world on fire by Bodyslamming Andre the Giant. They still saw dollar signs in the Hulkster as if they were still in 1985. Fuji challenged Hogan to an impromptu match. Bret signals for him to go after Yokozuna. Deep inside, Bret was saying "Go ahead Hogan, steal my spotlight that I worked so hard to gain". The Hulkster gets in the ring, when Yoko holds him for Fuji to throw the salt in his face as he did with Bret. Hogan ducks, as Yokozuna is blinded. In typical Hulkster fashion, he sends Yoko to the ropes for the Big Boot followed by a Legdrop for the 1,2,3!

People talk about Cena hogging the title. Right now, at least he is in the Midcard picture. Hogan NEVER stepped foot in that scene. However, the biggest similarity is that the belt found its way back to them. For Hogan, it was even worse because there was no place for him in the long term landscape of the promotion. In the eyes of many, Hulk Hogan had worn out his welcome by 1993. With a simple Legdrop with the 3 Count, Hulk Hogan was officially a five time WWF Champion. The match ended faster than Sheamus vs. Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII. Bret Hart really looked like a clown, because the prize that he scratched and clawed to win was cheapened with a legdrop from a guy that was only going to stick around to put himself over. It was a very salty way to end his run. Hogan wanted to be a glory hog, and refused to work with Bret because he was "too small". News flash, Randy Savage and Bret were identical in size. Macho had more muscle tone than Bret, but were not much different physically. Then again, Hogan took the title from Savage and never gave it back. When you say "too small" that means, "this guy is a threat to my place in the company and I have to stop him". The Hulkster played his Master Political Chess Game by refusing to pass the torch to Bret like he did with Ultimate Warrior at WM VI. The biggest difference is, Bret showed more promise as the Company Champion than Warrior. According to Bret, the original plan was for him and Hogan to have a match at Summerslam. Hulkster waved his finger in the face of creative and said "No, brother" as if he was staring Andre in the face. Hogan would fade from sight after losing the belt to Yokozuna at King of the Ring, as a cameraman blinded him with a flame from his camera. Bret and Hogan would meet again in WCW, but their "dream match" was a disaster.

Rewrite:

Plain and simple. Get Hogan away from the title.

If Warrior and Jake did not have such bad blood, they would be ideal opponents to make Bret look stronger.

Have Bret gain his revenge on Yoko by defeating him at KOTR with the Sharpshooter. From there, you move him into the feud with his jealous younger brother Owen. That feud could be the featured story as it would headline WrestleMania X, with Bret emerging as the champion. Following the feud with his brother, you can transition into the war with Shawn Michaels as they could headline WrestleMania 11 with Bret remaining champion. Bret would tear the house down with Owen and Shawn. WrestleMania 12 would still be the legendary Ironman match with HBK as the new champion. In between those WrestleManias, you could see a series of exciting Summerslam matches involving steel cages and ladders. There could even be a Triple Threat. Bret, Shawn and Owen. Talk about money. Diesel and Yoko could keep each other busy. Undertaker would be a nice piece to keep in the title picture. Then, you insert the emerging Stone Cold Steve Austin as another player in the mix with Bret.

With this scenario, Owen is a made man even without having to go over. He is instantly elevated. Shawn Michaels was naturally groomed to be Bret's equal and eventual successor. Austin and Bret would still have the defining submission match.


Conclusion:
With that said, the 1993 blemish can be erased so that this piece of Bret's history can be written the way it deserves to be written. With Hogan out of the way, Bret would not have to deal with a washed up Jerry Lawler who was not even a contender for a championship. Lawler is disqualified altogether as a result. Bret can enjoy a healthier tenure as champion. If that one blemish is taken away from otherwise an excellent reign as WWF Champion, just maybe, we are in a position where Bret would not expose himself to possibly be screwed in a more detrimental way in Montreal. His tenure can be that much better which would add to an already outstanding legacy. 

Top 5 Wide Receivers of All-Time

1. Jerry Rice- 20 NFL Seasons
1,549 Receptions (1st),
22,895 Receiving Yards (1st),
207 Touchdowns (1st- 197 receiving, 10 rushing)
Pro Bowls- 13
All-Pro Selections-12 (11x 1st Team All-Pro)
Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame (2010)
3x Super Bowl Champion (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)
Super Bowl XXIII MVP
2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1987, 1993)
Holds numerous NFL records
49ers All-Time Leader in Career Receptions (1,281)
49ers All-Time Leader in Career Receiving Yards (19,247)
49ers All-Time Leader in Career TDs (187)
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
Most 1,000 yard receiving seasons (14)
Most consecutive games with with a pass reception (274)
Most consecutive games with a touchdown reception- (13-1986-1987)
Most seasons with 50 or more receptions (17)
4 seasons with 100+ receptions
6 seasons leading the league in receiving yards
Led the league in touchdown receptions 6 times.
Postseason Records:
Most postseason games (29)
Most postseason touchdowns (22)
Most postseason receiving yards (2,245)
Most postseason receptions (151)
Most consecutive games, 100 or more receiving yards-3 (1988-1989)
Super Bowl Records:
Career points-48 (1st)
Receptions-33 (1st)
Receiving yards- 589 (1st)
Touchdowns- 8 (1st)
Receptions in a game- 11 (1st)
Receiving yards in a game- 215 (1st)



















2. Randy Moss- 14 NFL Seasons
982 Receptions (10th)
15,292 Receiving Yards (4th)
156 Touchdowns (2nd)
73.6 receiving yards per game (7th)
Pro Bowls: 7
All-Pro Selections: 5
10 seasons with 1,000 receiving yards (2nd)
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
Most touchdown receptions in a season- 23 (2007)
Highest career yards per catch average with 900+ career receptions- 15.6
Fastest player to reach 5,000 career receiving yards
Most seasons with 17+ TD receptions- 3 (1st-'98, '03, '07)
Most 1,200 yard receiving seasons to start a career- 6 ('98, '99, '00, '01, '02, '03)
Vikings 2nd All-Time Leader in career TDs (92)
Most 100 yard receiving games in Vikings history (41)
Most Playoff TDs in Vikings history (8)

3. Terrell Owens- 15 NFL Seasons
1,078 Receptions (6th)
15,934 Receiving Yards (2nd)
153 Touchdowns (3rd)
Pro Bowls: 6
All-Pro Selections: 5 (1st Team)
3x NFL Receiving Touchdowns Leader (2001, 2002, 2006)
2nd All-Time in Seasons with 13+ Touchdown Receptions with 7 (J. Rice- 8)
Nine Seasons with 1,000+ yards w/five consecutive (2000-2004)
Third Player to reach 150+ Touchdowns
6th Player to reach 1,000+ Receptions
Consecutive Seasons with at least 5 or more Touchdown Receptions (11, 2000-2010)
49ers All-Time Leader in Single Game Receptions: 20 (12/17/00)
Eagles All-Time Leader in Single Season Touchdowns: 14 (2004)
Eagles All-Time Leader in Single Season Receiving YPG: 109.0 (2005)
Cowboys Leader in Most Consecutive Games with at least 1 Touchdown: 7 (2007)
Cowboys All-Time Leader in Single Game Touchdown Receptions: 4 (11/18/07)
15k Receiving Yards Club
NFL 2000s All-Decade Team




















4. Cris Carter- 16 NFL Seasons
1,101 Receptions (4th)
13,899 Receiving Yards (9th)
131 Touchdowns (4th)
Pro Bowls: 8
All-Pro Selections: 3 (2- 1st Team, 1- 2nd Team)
Vikings All-Time Leader in Career Receptions (1,004)
Vikings All-Time Leader in Career Receiving Yards (12,383)
Vikings All-Time Leader in Career TDs (110)
1st player with 120+ receptions in back to back seasons. (122-1994 & 1995)
Most 12+ reception games in a single season in 1995 (4)
Most consecutive seasons with 5 or more TDs (11)
Most consecutive games with 2 TD receptions (4)
Finished the '90s decade with 835 receptions, only second to Jerry Rice (860)
1 of 2 receivers to have 150 yard receiving games in 3 different decades (Jerry Rice)
Member of Pro-Football Hall of Fame (2013)



















5. Marvin Harrison- 13 NFL Seasons
1,102 Receptions (3rd- 2nd among WRs)
14,580 Receiving yards (6th)
128 Receiving Touchdowns (5th)
Pro Bowls: 8
All-Pro Selections: 8
Super Bowl XLI Champion
Colts All-Time Leader in Receptions (1,102)
Colts All-Time Leader in Receiving Yards (14,580)
Colts All-Time Leader in Career TDs (128)
Most Receptions in a single season- 143 (2002)
4th Most TD Receptions in a decade- 95 (2000-2009)
Consecutive Seasons with 100+ receptions- 4 (1999-2002)
Consecutive Seasons with 1,400+ receiving yards- 4 (1999-2002)
Most average receptions per game in a career- 5.8 (1996-2008)