Trouble abounds in the WWE this week with a listof injuries and closings. Going into Wrestlemania, things are looking bleak.First off is the closing of the World in Times Square. Formerly WWF New York,the World is the WWE’s nightclub/restaurant/merchandising superstore. Ipersonally have fond memories of going there to watch Wrestlemania 16, paying80 dollars to watch it, and getting the horrible buffet food. The four-hourwait to get in was amazing as well. I hear the VIP seats for events go forhundreds of dollars. I can’t imagine why it’s closing.
Even worse is that Kurt Angle will be missing ayear of action, including Wrestlemania X9. This is almost unimaginable,because the Kurt Angle-Brock Lesnar match is perhaps one of the most highlyanticipated matches ever. Angle’s injury leaves a huge vacuum in theSmackdown line up, not only for Wrestlemania but for his year- long absence aswell. They’re either going to have to turn someone heel, such as Benoitor Rhyno, or push Matt Hardy or John Cena and hope they click with the fans.It’s going to be a rough year without Angle.
Edge is suffering the same fate as well, andwon’t be expected back for a full year. While not my favorite performer,he wasn’t horrible to watch, and is certainly better than, say, theA-Train. He’ll be missed as well.
On the RAW side, Evolution has in the pastweek devolved. Both Randy Orton and Batista are sidelined for two and sixmonths respectively. This pretty much destroys the heel stable before it evengot a chance to get off the ground, which I’m sure is not a big deal toTriple H (who’s seen better days himself, the guy just limps around thering). It’s just more attention for him. They may have to elevate Flairto replace Orton or Batista. Needless to say it’s only a matter of timebefore Triple H’s quadriceps explode again. Joy. At this rate, the mainevent at Wrestlemania will be Spike Dudley vs. Chief Morley.
And speaking of Triple H, could his interviewwith Booker T have buried him a little more? Triple H referred to him as’?boy,’ and told him to dance for the fans, without Booker gettingmuch of a word in. The racist overtones were more proof of McMahon’sprejudiced attitudes. Furthermore, Booker T would be a far greater draw thanTriple H as champion at this point, seeing as Booker T would be able toactually give a decent in-ring performance. But, hey, what do I know? He isthe game, and he is that damn injured.
In the meantime, we can just hope that theygive the Jericho Michaels match the time it deserves. There’s also goingto be the Rock Austin match. While we’ve seen it before, should beentertaining. The Rock has been particularly electrifying as a heel since hisreturn from Hollywood. Let’s just hope that Angle makes a quick recoveryand is back in time for the big XX.
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