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Stone Cold Steve Austin Needs To Be On WWE TV

May 07, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

Stone Cold Steve Austin is everywhere these days. He is producing podcasts on the Internet, taping Redneck Island for CMT television, appearing at the NRA convention, and starring in movies. Ironically the one place he isn’t is on WWE television and for the life of me I can’t understand why.

I started watching the Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time WWE documentary on Netflix over the weekend and I couldn’t stop. I had a blast reliving the old angles and memories produced by Stone Cold during the Attitude Era. The more I watched the more I started asking the question, “Why in the world is this guy not in the WWE?”

Look I get it and completely understand the fine line that the WWE has to walk with the old stars of the past and the current and future stars. I understand that you can’t go back in time and sacrifice your entire program to a guy that isn’t wrestling anymore. However, you can’t tell me that the WWE couldn’t find an on-camera role for their biggest drawing WWE superstar in history. How is it that this man is everywhere but the one place he should be?

I remember scrolling through Twitter the week of WrestleMania and seeing a few of Austin’s tweets. Austin was tweeting about his podcast and promoting his new venture. Maybe it was just me but it seemed very odd that you’d have one of the biggest WWE stars of all time online promoting his podcast the week of what was set to be the biggest Mania ever.

Speaking of the podcast, his podcast is fantastic! I don’t get the chance to listen to many podcasts with my schedule so it is rare that I have a chance to find a new one I like. But this was Stone Cold Steve Austin and I had to give it a chance. His podcast is fantastic! How the WWE could allow this podcast not to live on its site is astonishing for me. A company that prides itself on social media should be ashamed of itself for not signing up this superstar to broadcast on its website. Talk about lost traffic!

So what could Stone Cold do on television in 2013? Well we know he can’t wrestle so of course you have to be careful with how you use him. I can’t see why they couldn’t use him sparingly, once every four to eight weeks in either an authority position, guest commentate, or some kind of Tough Enough spinoff to get new talent over. The point is that there are plenty of things you can do with him so for God’s sakes, do something with him!

I can’t think of any other reason other than some kind of business dispute that the WWE and Austin are having as to why he isn’t on television. Austin is arguably their biggest drawing card in history and is doing nothing in pro wrestling right now. Austin still has a ton of appeal and could really help get some angles or young talent over if he is put in the right position. I can guarantee you this. The right position isn’t Austin sitting on his couch and watching Monday Night RAW from home.

If there is no rift and the simple answer is that the WWE has nothing for Austin, well shame on them. How can you not have something for a guy that is an instant ratings draw? If that is the case, it’s time to fire the entire WWE Creative Team and get someone in that has the guts to tell Vince McMahon that they need Austin!

We have already seen what kind of impact The Rock can have on ratings. Imagine what Austin could do, in addition to raising the bar and bringing back a little bit of that Attitude Era that’s missing on television today.

That truly is the bottom line because I said so.

Pro Wrestling Radio returns live tonight Tuesday May 7 at 7:30 PM/EST! You can listen live and join the chat on http://ProWrestlingRadio.com.

Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time

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WWE Wrestler of the Week: April 26th – May 2nd, 2013

May 03, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

WWE Wrestler of the Week is back as we make the transition from April to May and are just a few weeks away from the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. This week’s winner is a previous recipient of the award and is making a great case for his match on May 19th. He will be involved in the triple threat ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship. This week’s winner is the “Real American” Jack Swagger.

Swagger began his successful week with a victory over former World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio on the April 26th edition of Smackdown. This was a no disqualification match that saw a ladder get involved, but this was prior to the announced stipulation for Extreme Rules. This was a very important win for Swagger as he now holds recent victories over both of his Extreme Rules opponents. Swagger defeated Ziggler on the April 15th edition of Raw and now was victorious over Del Rio.

Swagger’s win on the April 29th edition of Raw came at the expense of Zack Ryder. The Woo Woo Woo kid entered with his new long haired look and reminded Swagger and his manager Zeb Colter how Ricardo Rodriguez won the manager match earlier in the night. Regardless, the outcome was never in doubt as Ryder hasn’t won a match in ages.

Most WWE fans, including myself, are surprised to see Swagger gaining so much momentum heading into Extreme Rules 2013. After Swagger’s DUI arrest, it was expected for him to be fired or punished in some way. However, Swagger’s WrestleMania match still went on, even though Swagger was on the losing end. Then, after Ziggler cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Del Rio, many probably expected Swagger to leave the title picture again.

I believe the Extreme Rules match will be the end for Swagger’s time in the title picture. One big reason why he hasn’t been punished yet is because of the success of his character alongside manager Zeb Colter. Swagger is also the least likely to win the title at Extreme Rules so WWE had to give him momentum this week. Del Rio is the former champion and will most likely continue a one on one feud with Ziggler following the pay-per-view. Ziggler needs to win this match though. He held the Money in the Bank briefcase for nine months. WWE would be making a huge mistake if he only held the title for a month or two.

It remains to be seen what WWE chooses to do with Swagger following the pay-per-view this month. His time challenging for the World Heavyweight title may be over, but he could take the United States title from Kofi Kingston. It would work well with his “Real American” gimmick. It doesn’t appear as though Swagger will be suspended or fired at this point. WWE would also be wise to keep Colter around to help Swagger’s relevancy.

Do you agree with this week’s WWE Wrestler of the Week winner? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Be sure to check out Camel Clutch Blog each and every Friday for a new WWE Wrestler of the Week!

Seth M. Guttenplan is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and host of OH YOU DIDN’T KNOW!? PWPRadio’s weekly radio show covering all wrestling news and rumors. To read more from Seth follow him on twitter (@sethgutt) and check out guttwrenchpowerblog.com. You can also like GWP on Facebook here.

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Why Ryback Is A Force To Be Reckoned With

April 17, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

For months and months, we have witnessed a huge rise in WWE, the rise of Ryback.  Ryback is the future of WWE.

Despite the big losses Ryback suffered earlier in the year or late last year, he has still remained positively over with the WWE fans that go to the shows each week, and is getting the same “Feed Me More” chants whenever he steps foot in the ring, this is a good sign especially considering all the amount of losses he suffered to CM Punk, one would think this would hurt his momentum but in fact, what it has done is make him stronger.

There’s proof of this as on the 4/15/13 edition of Monday Night RAW, Ryback explained his story perfectly and told the world exactly how he’s felt all of these months, it made sense and he couldn’t have put the pieces together more perfectly, this was the most proper way to recover from all the beat-downs and incorrect treatment of the Ryback character all of these months, the perfect way for him to bounce back and jump back into the main event fold. If I were Ryback, I wouldn’t be more pleased with the timing and positioning im in right now.

Why do I say that you might ask? Well, the answer is pretty simple. With no one left to be in the mix with John Cena as far as competition goes, (Punk rumored to take time off, Rock dealing with an injury) Ryback is going to take advantage of this situation and make it beneficial to him to make sure he remains on top, the guy has a bright future and may even steal the thunder from other top main event guys in the company such as Sheamus and Randy Orton, that’s how dangerous and threatening he has gotten. Orton’s stock has declined to an all-time low over the months and Sheamus stock has as well. Ryback is simply evolving, which makes him a force no one will soon be able to stop.

The other side of the story is the fact that he can play both an amazing unstoppable villain, and an amazing unstoppable super-hero, either side suits him perfectly and not many stars in WWE can pull off both, but Ryback can. Which makes him that much more impressive. Fans are still confused on whether or not the guy’s heel, which is good, keeps us interested, keeps things fresh for Ryback.

Many will say he lacks mic skills but I think you need to re-watch the segment from last night where he was backstage, it was done perfectly, so make that another factor as to why this guy is talented and you have the whole package in Ryback, has all the tools needed to survive in the jungle and conquer including the body-build, the look, and intensity. He’ll be around for a long time.

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucasTheMenace

YouTube: https://youtube.com/LucasTheMenace

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The Rock Injury Story Does Not Add Up

April 08, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

The wrestling social media world was in a frenzy Monday afternoon after a report that The Rock had no-showed WWE RAW. Hours later the story was that The Rock was injured. Dwayne Johnson later confirmed the injury but a deeper look at the situation is a story that doesn’t add up.

Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer created the firestorm on Monday when he broke a big story late in the afternoon. Meltzer wrote that the WWE were in a panic that The Rock had not shown up to the RAW building.

“There is absolute panic at Raw at this moment as the show was scheduled to build to a segment where Brock Lesnar beat up Rock to set up next year’s WrestleMania main event. However, Rock is not there and the word at the building is he went home.”

Speculation ran wild on the social media channels as to what happened to The Rock. Was he double crossed on the finish of his WrestleMania match? Was he double crossed in the Brock Lesnar angle, expecting something different? Not since Steve Austin walked out of RAW after refusing to job to Lesnar was there this much speculation. Than all of the sudden the story changed.

Meltzer (who by reading his Observer reports over the years would appear to be a friend of The Rock’s) reported a couple of hours later that The Rock was indeed not at RAW but he was not there because he was injured. Meltzer wrote that The Rock was injured in his match with Cena and went home.

And that is when the lie detector went off in my head. Something wasn’t right here. It just didn’t add up. Then the last piece of this messy puzzle to fall into place came at around 8 PM, coincidentally right before Monday Night RAW went on the air when Dwayne Johnson tweeted about his injury.

“In the middle of last nights Wrestlemania match I tore my abdomen & adductor muscles off the bone. Just part of the job. But as we know.. .It’s all about #JustBringIt. WWE Universe THANK YOU for all the love & well wishes. Means everything to me. #LeaveItAllInTheRing” – @TheRock

The RAW announcers brought it up first thing at the start of the show. They acknowledged Rock’s tweet and talked about the injury. The more they talked, the less I believed them. Something is up and this whole injury story seemed stranger to me than the logic of Triple H going over Brock lesnar.

Here is what we know or at least what is reported. Vince McMahon was in a panic because The Rock didn’t show up. Dave Meltzer publishes a story about it and a few hours later it’s an injury, and then minutes before RAW Dwayne Johnson decides to tweet about it.

Something just doesn’t add up!

If The Rock was really injured after the match as he says, you would expect Vince McMahon or someone close to him to know. You would also expect that they would be aware ahead of time that The Rock isn’t coming to RAW. Johnson is a pro and if he is hurt and went home, he’d tell them. If this injury really did occur, why did it take so long for Rock to tweet about it? Why wasn’t WWE.com on top of it with a story? It doesn’t add up.

What do I think really happened? I think there was a dispute over something with Rock and Vince McMahon. I can’t tell you what it was but I could take a few guesses. One may be the idea that he was getting laid out by a guy who just lost the night before. Another may be the fact that he was not expecting to get laid out period and had other ideas presented to him. Maybe he didn’t want to endorse Cena, although I don’t think it was it. I don’t know what it was but my money is on that he had some kind of problem with something that was told to him yesterday or this morning and decided to go home.

I also think that cooler heads prevailed and whatever the impasse was resolved by RAW time or they agreed to disagree and revisit it this week. Nonetheless, the WWE went into full spin control and convinced Rock to send out a tweet, ironically minutes before RAW went on the air. Regardless, something doesn’t add up.

One thing you can probably count on here. The Rock is out for Extreme Rules and is probably out until at least SummerSlam, if not for good. Meltzer is probably the key to revealing this story but he seems to be either on board with the spin or has hit a wall on his sources. The beauty of pro wrestling in 2013 is someone will talk and it may not be today, tomorrow, or next week, but if something is up, it will come out eventually.

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In Defense Of The Rock

March 26, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

My readers, specifically, my pro wrestling readers, there has been something gnawing in my stomach for quite awhile, and I think it is about time I write about it. This blog may end up being a rant, but I just can not ignore this gnawing feeling any longer. I have to just say what I need to say, and get it over with, so I hope my readers will understand. I also hope you all will enjoy it as well.

I am on Twitter, and I am on Facebook. I also have a Tumblr account, but I have not been on that in ages. Anyway, I see it on both Twitter and Facebook, and it is starting to get on my nerves. It is driving me up the wall, and I am “mad as hell, and I am not going to take it any more,” as actor Peter Finch says in the film, “Network.” As I said, this blog is all about my frustration with it.

What is “it?” Good question. It is WWE /wrestling/smart fans whining and moaning about Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson being involved in WWE story lines during the past (and including this upcoming ) few Wrestlemanias. The disrespect the man gets from these fans is just out of this world. I mean, they make all kinds of nonsensical comments.

The Rock gets called “a movie star.” He is accused of “not loving the business.” The Rock is accused of “not being dedicated to the business.” Rock is compared to John Cena by fans negatively, because Cena “lives for the business,” and Rock “went Hollywood.” The fans are upset about the Rock now, because he is holding the Title, and he is not on every Raw as well.

In this blog, I am going to at least ATTEMPT to counter some of these goofy comments I see. I admit that the Rock does not need a blogger like me to defend him, but , and I am coming clean, I am a huge fan of the man, so to paraphrase former WWE star Rakishi, “I’m doing this for the Rock.”

As I am sure I am going to get the same comments, here I go.

Argument #1. The Rock never loved the business.

Counter Argument: The Rock never loved the business? Well, how does one explain that his father, Rocky Johnson was a professional wrestler? The Rock’s grand father, the Great Chief Maivia, was also a professional wrestler also. The Rock went to the University of Miami to play football, and he wound up in the CFL, as his own father did NOT want him to go into wrestling at first because of the hard life.

However, Rock finally convinced his dad to train him, which his father initially did.

Wrestling is in Rock’s blood. Kind of hard to say that he never loved the business. The Rock loved to do what he did when he was in WWE from 1996-2002.

Argument #2. Rock is not loyal to WWE, because he shows up only to promote a movie, and John Cena is better because he does work all year round for WWE.

Counter Argument: This kind of goes back to the first argument. Rock always comes back to WWE. He didn’t go to TNA. Fans forget that it was WWE who forgot to resign the Rock. Besides, the Rock is not the ONLY one who has taken time away to do, let’s say “side projects,” and then come back, stay for awhile, and then leave again.

Let’s take the IWC’s favorite poster child, Chris Jericho. If I remember correctly, Jericho has taken a few breaks from the action, and returned to WWE. Why no hate for Jericho? There have been plenty of stars who have come back to promote their products, even for a one shot appearance. There is no hate for them, like there is for the Rock.

If it is good for Jericho, et. al., it’s good for the Rock. Besides, people loved the Rock when he was destroying his body for all those years. Why the turn on him now?

All this leads to….

Argument #3: The Rock went “Hollywood,” and Vince brings him in to make money, as Rock is just an “actor” now, and is not a wrestler.

Counter Argument: First off, I see a lot of fans calling Rock, “a Movie Star,” as if he never wrestled. Interesting. I remember him being in the Nation of Domination. I remember his turning heel, and confronting fans who chanted “Die. Rocky Die.” I remember his rivalry with Triple H, and his great matches with Austin at Manias 15, 17, and 19.

Who also could forget the Rock and Sock connection? I don’t see anything now (maybe Team Hell No) that could compete with that.

I also remember Rock having a career of putting people over. Of all of the top guys in his era, Triple H, Taker, Stone Cold, he put over more people than any of them. The only person I recall now that does that is Chris Jericho. I remember Rock put over Jericho, The Hurricane, and even Shane McMahon, amongst others. I remember one Raw, seeing Rock losing to the boss’s son. The Rock and Shane had a PPV match also.

To those who worship Cena so much, here is my question. How many people has Cena put over? If Cena is so superior, I want to know how many lower level stars he put over? Cena will give the rub to someone, and then that someone will slide right down the card again.

As far as the Rock being a “movie star,” well, if I accomplished just all I could in WWE, and was offered a chance to make similar money doing something else that doesn’t call for me to be taking bumps for 300 days a year, hell, I would do it. Why is the Rock being blasted for that?

Americans live in a Capitalist society. The idea is to make money. I don’t understand why people get so upset when someone else finds an excellent chance to BETTER THEMSELVES. In this case, Rock found the movies to be just that. He makes oodles of money, and he doesn’t have to wind up a broken man needing a million surgeries in his old age.

Sometimes, I wonder if wrestling fans really CARE about these fans. The fans bashing the Rock want it both ways.

Besides, the problem with the Rock being a part timer, and having the belt lies not with the Rock, folks. It lies with VINCE. Who runs WWE? Vince. Who ultimately decides things that happen in that ring? Vince. I am not the only blogger who has said WWE needs to build new stars.

When WWE had all the big guns such as Edge, HHH, Mysterio, Batista, HBK, etc., at their disposal, WWE should have used them to put over the younger talent. Did they? No. They kept using the same warhorses I just mentioned till they broke down like Barbaro, or bolted.

So, I don’t know what fans expect. Vince is going to continue USING part timers like the Rock, Jericho, Taker (as long as he can last), etc. til Vince gets it through his head that he has to push new talent, and really push them.

I hope you all can smell what I am cookin’

Terri Bey currently blogs for CamelClutchBlog.com about Wrestling, NFL, and other sports/pop culture related subjects. Her work has appeared in BleacherReport and for F4WOnline.com. Terri can be found here at Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/TerriBey and at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/giopontifan

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Hulk Hogan Responds To CM Punk

March 01, 2013 By: Category: WWE | Pro Wrestling

Hulk Hogan may not be able to get inside of the ring but that hasn’t stopped him from jumping into the verbal wrestling ring. In a new interview Hogan responds to WWE superstar CM Punk and the Hulkster would like you to know, he didn’t have it easy.

CM Punk is truly a genius. I mean it, the man is truly a genius. He has managed to irk two of pro wrestling’s biggest stars ever (maybe the two biggest) in one simple interview. Remember when Punk told the world that Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, and other champions had it easier than him? Well it certainly struck a chord with two of them.

Bruno responded in my interview with him here on the website. To paraphrase, Bruno wasn’t sure if Punk was working or if he really believed what he said. For the record he was clearly working. However, Bruno then went on to remind Punk of the schedule he had as champion and was clearly bugged by it. Superstar Graham also went off on Punk regarding the promo. For once, Bruno, Superstar, and Hulk Hogan agree on something.

Sounds like we got a future promotion for a Hogan vs. Punk WWE video game!

Hogan didn’t take kindly to those comments and lashed back at Punk in a recent interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine. The Hulkster would like you to know that his life was anything but easy as WWF champion…brother! Courtesy of the Wrestling Observer newsletter here is what Hogan had to say.

C.M. Punk never had to walk in a dressing room where he wasn’t supposed to be. He never walked into Kansas City, where Harley Race was the champion for 20 years, where Harley had told all of his friends and neighbors that he was the only heavyweight champion, because he was the NWA champion. C.M. Punk never walked into Kemper Arena and had Harley Race put a gun to his head and say, `Get out of my town kid.’ So, does C.M. Punk have it easier than me? When I was flying 300 days a year, doing double-shots and there was no Rock, and no Stone Cold around, but just me for the first 15 years? During the day I was flying from New York and stopping in St. Louis, taking a TV station manager out to lunch, and then in the afternoon, getting to the building early in another town, like Chicago, and cutting a TV deal before wrestling that night. So, no, I don’t think I had it easier than him.

Big Dave breaks down the fact from fiction in Hogan’s statement and while there was a lot of fact, there was also a lot of fiction. The story about Harley Race has been documented many times so that is hardly news. I also will agree with Hogan and I don’t think there is anyone with knowledge of the crazy schedule the WWF crew had in the 1980s that would disagree with Hogan’s assessment of the schedule. The big news here is that obviously Punk struck a nerve with Hogan.

Again I think it’s funny how Hogan and even Bruno to an extent took Punk’s statements seriously, Hogan more of course. If this is a contest between who had the tougher schedule, Hogan wins. Unfortunately I don’t think that’s a contest Punk or any WWE wrestler in 2013 minds losing.

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CM Punk Vs. John Cena: The Greatest Match In WWE RAW History

February 26, 2013 By: Category: lists, WWE | Pro Wrestling

Even though you knew there was no way WWE would pass up on the financial hailstorm that is a Rock-Cena rematch, you, me, and millions of viewers screamed, huffed, and were bowled over by the roller coaster ride that Cena and Punk’s #1 contender’s match on February 25, 2013.

So great was this match, so dramatic were the near-falls, and so amazing were the wrinkles thrown in (CENACANRANA!), that if you want to call it a five star match, I won’t argue that too strenuously.

As long as you don’t argue my belief that Cena vs. Punk is the greatest match in the history of Monday Night Raw.

Make no mistake, every now and again, WWE throws the fans a bone in the form of a free match that is pantheon-level, where fans of all walks, the insiders and the marks, equally know they’ve seen something special.

To my way of thinking, here are the ten greatest matches in the history of Raw.

10. Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin, 5/2/05
An opening round match of the forgotten “Gold Rush” tournament pitted Benjamin, the Intercontinental Champion of over 6 months at the time, and the iconic Michaels, who was still producing 4-star matches as often as he blinked. This back-and-forth dual babyface match saw Benjamin prove to be Michaels’ equal in seemingly every way, avoiding the superkick several times before getting decapitated by one off of his own springboard dive.

9. Triple H/X-Pac/Chris Benoit/Dean Malenko/Perry Saturn vs. The Rock/Cactus Jack/Rikishi/Too Cool, 2/7/00
Much like Cena/Punk, this one took place in Dallas, which has been known for its rowdy crowds. The three Radicalz had just aligned with DX, and the result was this raucous melee. You know a match is great when Scotty 2 Hotty hits the Worm, and tens of thousands of fans lose their minds, while the heels freak out on the apron, as if it killed Saturn. Benoit pinned Grand Masta Sexay with a diving headbutt, and then a new-look Kane came out to wreak havoc.

8. Owen Hart/Davey Boy Smith vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin/Shawn Michaels (WWE World Tag Team Championship), 5/26/97
Long before the concept of “tag partners who hate each other contending for gold” became a played-out concept, it produced this classic. Austin and Michaels were united only by their hatred of the Hart Foundation, and were saddled together to get the belts off of Owen and Bulldog. Michaels and Austin surprisingly co-existed, and Austin pinned Bulldog after a Michaels superkick. Afterward, Austin attacked and hammered an injured Bret Hart on the stage.

7. Bret Hart vs. 123 Kid (WWE Championship), 7/1/94
For 25 minutes, champion Hart and underdog Kid waged a friendly war based around two principles: Hart was the ring general that had many counters, and Kid was the 21-year-old daredevil who took control with offense Hart wasn’t used to seeing. At one point, Bret allowed the match to continue after scoring the pin, when Kid’s foot was on the ropes. Kid’s suicidal style almost won him the title, but one big miss led to Hart winning via Sharpshooter.

6. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam (WWE Intercontinental Championship/Ladder Match), 5/27/02
Guerrero’s redemption saga led to his WWE return 2 months prior, and an IC Title reign a month in. Guerrero continued that good faith by facing off with RVD, the man he beat for the title, in a ladder match in Calgary. A drunk fan ran in at one point, but couldn’t mar the stunt show at hand. RVD threw everything at Eddie, including moonsaults and Rolling Thunders on the ladder, and avoided a sky-high Frog Splash, to regain the title.

5. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (World Heavyweight Championship), 12/29/03
This one came along in a time-frame when 1) People thought Triple H was washed up, 2) Raw’s numbers weren’t great, and 3) WWE was in a quality tailspin. To say this was unexpected would be an understatement. After numerous ref bumps and Michaels playing face-in-peril as only he can, Michaels stunned HHH with Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere to seemingly win the title, but as he collapsed on Hunter, his shoulders were down too.

4. Davey Boy Smith vs. Owen Hart (WWE European Championship), 2/26/97
Undoubtedly the greatest WWE match to ever take place in Germany, it may also have been Bulldog’s last truly great singles performance that didn’t involve being embarrassed in front of his family. Davey Boy and his brother-in-law channeled the spirit of their respective classics with Bret. The finals to determine the first European Champion was an incredible cat-and-mouse game, concluding with a victory roll cradle reversed by Bulldog into the winning pin.

3. Stone Cold Steve Austin/Triple H vs. Chris Benoit/Chris Jericho (WWE World Tag Team Championship), 5/21/01
After 2 months or so of uninspired booking following WrestleMania X7, Austin and Helmsley (The Two Man Power Trip) had to defend their gold against the Calgary Kids in an unadvertised classic. This would be the match where Triple H tore his quad on a simple foot plant, but finished the match, including taking a Walls of Jericho on the announce table. Hunter would accidentally brain Austin with his sledgehammer, and new champions were crowned.

2. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (Non Title Match), 4/23/07
For nearly one hour, on his thirtieth birthday, Cena went move for move, hold for hold with arguably the most reliable in-ring performer there’s ever been, holding up his end in London with Michaels. TV matches don’t often reign in match of the year polls, but this one was a popular choice in 2007, ending as Michaels avoided the AA (then still the FU), and pinned Cena with Sweet Chin Music, a rare clean loss for Cena since becoming WWE’s hero.

1. John Cena vs. CM Punk (#1 Contendership), 2/25/13
It’s a very bold move putting this one above the previous few entries, but why not? Cena and Punk was just as great as Cena/Michaels, if not even greater, in roughly half the time. Those “YOU CAN’T WRESTLE” chants fell silent, as Cena more than held up his end, busting out hurrachanranas and sitout powerbombs. The Dallas fans lived and died on every near fall and expert counter, before Cena finished off Punk with the AA once and for all.

Justin Henry is a freelance writer who splits time between this site, WrestleCrap.com, and FootballNation.com. He can be found via his wrestling Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/wrestlecrapjrh

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