Stephanie.

Stephanie is a Cena mark. She heard him rapping and convinced Vince that he is WWE's savior. They needed to fill that void after Brock left.

Also, Goldberg is still trashing the WWE, calling it a circus, believing his own hype. He's in talks with TNA.

I wonder if HBK will be @ the Hall of Fame.

IMO, besides not improving the ring John Cena started going downhill when he was still on Smackdown and the suits at the network and WWE began censoring him. Once they started writing his raps and promos for him instead of letting him do what go him over he was through. What made it so bad though was that once he went to Raw and was on basic cable with lots more freedom the are still doing his writing.

It's like the WWE never learns. The Rock and Stone Cold didn't get over with the fans until they cut the cord and let them be themselves on TV.

Guys like HHH, Austin, Taker, the Rock and Chris Jericho want the creative team to let the guys come up with their own stuff, but it doesn't matter what they want. It's ashame that these idiots are up in the offices writing what these guys should be doing themselves.

Stephanie is a Cena mark. She heard him rapping and convinced Vince that he is WWE's savior.

Are you serious? That's how he got into the biz?

What do you guys think of Vince Russo's (who has now found God) writing? I loved his crazy stories during the "attitude" years and the Monday Night wars era.

John Cena wrestled down in OVW under the name "Prototype". He originally was brought up when the WWE began their "Routhless Agression" campaign. His character was a no-nonsense person. Eventually they turned him heel and he began rapping, having such sidekicks as B2 (B squared) (ex-Bull Buchanan) and Red Dog or something (It was Rodney Mack).

John Cena wrestled down in OVW under the name "Prototype". He originally was brought up when the WWE began their "Routhless Agression" campaign. His character was a no-nonsense person. Eventually they turned him heel and he began rapping, having such sidekicks as B2 (B squared) (ex-Bull Buchanan) and Red Dog or something (It was Rodney Mack).

I liked Russo during his WWE years. He was creative but sucked in WCW.

Vince Russo was good when Vince McMahon was still sane and would reign him in before he did something totally off the wall. They complemented each other story wise and now that Stephanie rules the world and Vince seems to have lost his mind WWE TV has gone to hell.

anyone else excited about Wrestlemania? I know it's not the best card ever, but for some reason I'm really excited about it. Too Bad the WWE canned having PPVs on CBand Satellite Dishes, so I can't watch them anymore.

The funny thing is I find the whole women's championship storyline a heck a of lot more interesting most of any of the other storylines for the other matches for some reason.

The women's story is more interesting than some.

I have an odd feeling that Cena will win.

I'm more interested than I was before about Mania.

The funny thing is I find the whole women's championship storyline a heck a of lot more interesting most of any of the other storylines for the other matches for some reason.

Is that the pillow match with Torrie. That should be good.

I liked Russo during his WWE years. He was creative but sucked in WCW.

ITA. He sucked at WCW.

What's the story behind Jim Ross not being the Raw play-by-play man anymore and Joey Stiles (wasn't he at ECW??) getting the job.

Jim Ross was "fired" in October (on-screen he was, but he continued his office duties). The WWE wanted to replace Jim Ross with UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, but ruined the chance of snagging him when they wanted him to no-show a UFC event. The then went to Joey Styles as a temporary thing, but they eventually signed him.

Vince McMahon doesn't like Joey Styles' way of announcing, so he's constantly yelling at him in his headpiece to push the storylines more. Joey is more of a play-by-play person, due to his vast knowledge of wrestling. He's good when it comes to selling storylines and stuff, but he's not "broken in" yet. Basically, Vince should just let Joey do what he wants b/c he brings down Joey's style (no pun intended) by constantly talking to him in his headpiece and distracting him.

Jim Ross originally needed time off to get surgery done, but the WWE has been trying to remove for a few years now. He doesn't "fit" into what Vince's idea of a commentator should be. Jim Ross isn't much of a looker and his bell's palsy is also a hinderance in Vince's eyes. Jerry "The King" Lawler got a facelift back in 2001-2002 due to him being afraid of losing his spot on the announce team.

The main problem is Jonathan Coachman. He's an ass and he's totally annoying on the mic. The perfect team would be JR/King/Styles, but I doubt that will ever happen. On top of that, Michael Cole & Tazz are upset that Smackdown gets treated as the secondary show and they are treated as the secondary announce team. The WWE could have chosen Cole or Tazz to replace JR (Tazz rocks as an announcer) but they didn't and that caused more problems backstage.

Is that the pillow match with Torrie. That should be good.

Nope not the pillow match I'm talking about the women's championship match with trish stratus vs. mickie james.

Triple H recently did an interview:

Mar 22, 2006

Time to play The Game

There are some entrances in professional wrestling so iconic that the first chord of their themes provokes instant reaction.

When fans hear the pounding music from Motorhead they know play time is over.

It’s time to play the game.

Triple H is here.

The winner: HHH. —Courtesy World Wrestling Entertainment (Copyright)

He strides to the ring with a look in his eyes promising nothing short of complete annihilation of his opponent. As boos rain down for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)’s most detestable villain, he takes a long drink from his water bottle and holds it in. As the heavy metal music in his entrance theme winds down, Triple H flings the bottle into the crowd and unleashes a shower of water spit out onto the fans who dare boo the cerebral assassin.

Since 1992, Triple H, short for Hunter Hearst Helmsley, has been one of the performers fans most love to hate. His character evolved from an elitist Greenwich snob to the master of the ring known as “The Game” and he’s picked up all the major WWE titles, defeating the top superstars and earning a legion of enemies along the way.

When Triple H steps into the ring April 2 in Chicago to face John Cena at Wrestlemania for the heavyweight title, he will be main eventing the biggest professional wrestling showcase for the fifth consecutive year, putting his skills on display for a sold-out crowd and hundreds of thousands more ordering the show on Pay-Per-View.

Who is he?

Behind the persona of Triple H lies a man named Paul Levesque, who lives among the suburbanites of Weston.

Even after appearing every week at 9 p.m. on the USA Network for Monday Night Raw, traveling all around the world and wrestling countless matches against the best of the best, being in the main event has lost none of its allure.

“It’s the same thrill for me,” Mr. Levesque said. “I really think it’s like being on a winning team and going to the Super Bowl every year. That’s your goal when you start the season. That’s what Wrestlemania is for me. It’s our Super Bowl. It’s the most important event in our industry.”

Mr. Levesque grew up a professional wrestling fan in New Hampshire, particularly idolizing the legendary Ric Flair, but until he turned 18 he never thought he could make a living in it. When he met a professional power lifter, Mr. Levesque said his perspective changed.

After working for the Independent Wrestling Federation, where he was both a tag team champion and a heavyweight champion, Mr. Levesque caught on with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and then moved on to WWE.

“When you’re a kid you dream of being out there on the mound in the ninth inning throwing the last pitch of the World Series,” Mr. Levesque said. “I got into this business wanting to be great. It was something I hoped would happen and worked hard to achieve it, but it’s still a dream until it actually happens.”

Many characters

Over the years Mr. Levesque has played a lot of different characters, from an evil French guy in WCW to the sledgehammer wielding “cerebral assassin” he is today.

“You always look back at times like those and you wonder what you were thinking, but I wouldn’t be what I am today if I didn’t play those characters,” Mr. Levesque said. “Playing the Greenwich snob was a great character to me. People hated him and that was what he was supposed to do. That got me noticed and getting the reaction from the fans is what’s important. They can boo or they can cheer. But you don’t want them just sitting there on their hands and not reacting.”

Though Mr. Levesque has been both a bad guy and a good guy in the wrestling ring, it’s no contest as to which one he prefers.

“I definitely love being a bad guy,” Mr. Levesque said. “It’s much more fun to have people paying to scream at you and boo you and wanting for you to get the crap kicked out of you in the ring. I get to do a lot more crazy stuff as a bad guy. A lot of times when you go to the movies you see the villain is the better character. It’s always more fun to be Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker.”

Looking back upon his career, Mr. Levesque said he is especially proud of a match he had in 2002 with Shawn Michaels, who was coming back from a back injury that was thought to have prematurely ended his career.

“He was coming back from five years off and even though we were enemies in the ring, we’re good friends out of it,” Mr. Levesque said. “At the time he was thinking it might be his one and only match back, but it just went so well that it proved to him he could still do this full time. I was really proud of being in there with him and having this great match.”

Mr. Levesque has faced most of wrestling’s biggest names in the ring, with what he admits have been mixed results at times.

“I love the run as champion I had in 2000 when I just went from one great opponent to the next,” Mr. Levesque said. “I went from Mick Foley to The Rock to Stone Cold Steve Austin to Undertaker. I was facing all the top guys and we had some great matches. But sometimes the biggest names aren’t always the best in the ring. Bill Goldberg was no picnic. He’s just not very good. He’s a great guy, but not that good a wrestler. Scott Steiner was another big name that got brought in and he looked like a million bucks out there but he’d had a lot of injuries. I had a lot of trouble out there trying to have a match with him.”

Mr. Levesque is going for his 11th world championship at Wrestlemania, but he’s not sure if he’ll ever equal or surpass the 16 championships his friend and idol Mr. Flair has won.

“It’s been hard enough getting to number 10,” Mr. Levesque said. “Certainly trying to get the title gets harder and harder. It’s something I might like, but then again I don’t want to be one of guys who’s still going out there when he shouldn’t be and people look and go ‘Wow, remember when he used to be great.’ I want to still be great at what I do. I don’t want to be someone who’s out there just trying to get by on name recognition.”

Learning the business

Mr. Levesque was conspicuously absent from WWE programming for much of last summer and he said there were a few reasons behind it. He had received some minor injuries, including one to his neck, that he wanted to rest so they didn’t become bigger problems and he also wanted to take time to learn about the business of WWE outside of the ring by shadowing the WWE’s co-founder and chairman of the board of directors Vince McMahon at the company’s Stamford offices.

Mr. McMahon is not just Mr. Levesque’s boss, however. He is also his father-in-law. Mr. Levesque married Stephanie McMahon in 2003 and his close ties to the McMahon family have frequently come under fire. Mr. Levesque has been accused by some fans and colleagues of holding other wrestlers back to keep himself in the main event at major Pay-Per-Views.

“I hear all these stories about things I supposedly did or who I’m holding back and it doesn’t bother me,” Mr. Levesque said. “You just deal with it. There are people out there who are going to think you’re great and there are people out there who are going to think you’re crap. There have been some unfair claims, but I realize I’m a scapegoat for some people.”

In addition to focusing on what will come after his wrestling days are over, Mr. Levesque is about to undergo another life-changing experience. He and Stephanie are expecting their first child this July.

“It’s hard to believe I’ll be responsible for someone else,” Mr. Levesque said with a laugh. “I’m hardly responsible for myself.

Thx for the article.

Bret Hart is a douche bag. He's basically blackballing Shawn from the HOF; crying that he'll leave if he sees Shawn. He's talented but a douche.