Sharpshootin' with The Franchise
Two Pounds?: The big shocker from this past weekend’s UFC 67 PPV had nothing to do with knockouts, title changes or upsets. No, the 2007 “idiot move of the year” already goes to Travis Lutter for weighing in two pounds overweight and thus turning his five-round middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva into a three-round non-title affair. Here’s a guy whose career was going virtually nowhere, went on a reality show for six weeks, had no contact with the outside world, and had to fight three times just to get to UFC 67. Then, after all that, when he finally earns his first-ever title shot, he weighs in TWO POUNDS over the limit?!?!?! Travis, I know we all make mistakes but man... this might be one you’ll never live down. The interesting thing about this whole saga was that Silva was personally offended by Lutter’s transgression and vowed to make him pay. Did he ever. Silva turned the tables on the submission master by choking him out in the second round.As for the rest of the card, I must say that I was uninspired with Rampage and Cro Cop’s debuts. They both beat men who probably shouldn’t have ever stepped into the Octagon with them. That being said, I was expecting them to come out guns blazing but it seemed as though they were a little nervous going into their first-ever UFC matches (Rampage admitted this after his fight). Not to worry though, I think both of these men will be holding gold this time next year.
Mat Rats: UFC President Dana White announced last week that in addition to the Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre welterweight title bout at UFC 69: Shootout, Josh Koshceck will challenge Ultimate Fighter 1 winner Diego Sanchez April 7th in Houston. If you want to see a wrestling clinic watch this fight – it should be amazing. Expect to also see: Pete Sell vs. Thales Leites, Mike Swick vs. Yushin Okami and Luke Cummo vs. Josh Haynes.The Road to Wrestlemania: This week on RAW, WWE announced the top two main events for Wrestlemania 23: Undertaker will challenge Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels will go up against John Cena for his WWE title. ‘Taker vs. Batista, which on paper doesn’t excite me all that much, is intriguing since ‘Taker is 14-0 at Wrestlemania. So it’s gonna be a good ol’ fashioned streak vs. title match. Cena vs. HBK should tear down the house and here’s hoping they finally pull the trigger on the Cena heel turn come April.
Heading South?: Rob Van Dam apparently gave his notice last week to WWE that he will not be re-signing with them when his contract expires this summer. After the way he's been booked in ECW, who can blame the guy. But RVD is so popular with the fans I don’t even think this latest string of losses will ruin his career. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago on TNA Impact! the entire Impact Zone was chanting his name during the Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle confrontation. Therein lies the solution: RVD needs to sign with TNA the moment his contract expires. Both parties would benefit greatly. Then maybe Chris Jericho will follow him to Orlando and this wrestling war can really get started.New Kid on the Block: Showtime’s foray into the world of Mixed-Martial-Arts begins this weekend with EliteXC: Destiny (horrible name). Boxing promoter Gary Shaw heads Elite Xtreme Combat and it was his close ties with Showtime that got the deal done. New promotions come and go all the time but this one might be here to stay. Getting on Showtime is HUGE, and this Saturday's card is loaded. The main event pits two members of the most famous families in MMA history - Renzo Gracie vs. Frank Shamrock. Also, Montreal’s own David “The Crow” Loiseau vs. Joey Villasenor and Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett vs. KJ Noons. Gina Carano also will be in action, an extremely attractive woman fighter who kicks serious ass. The announcers for the event are Mario Lopez (aka AC Slater) and former WCW Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg (dah... who made those choices?). Fight fans should have a fun Saturday night as EXC airs live this Saturday night on Showtime at 10 - the same time as Mosley vs. Collazo on HBO.
Turn back the Clock: To appease the hearts of all you old school wrestling fans out there, here's a little “This Week in Wrestling History.” Today’s entry comes from the old Boston Garden on February 8, 1986. A young “Macho Man” Randy Savage challenges Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Title. Ariba!
14 Comments:
That just whet my appetite, now I have to go find footage of the Savage/Steamboat match to bed it back down.
Ah yes the greatest I-C title match ever...Savage-Steamboat from WM III. You could make a case that in the 80's Savage was better than anybody on that roster...I think there is a still a market for him to make appearances here and there like Hogan but he seems to have fallen off a bit...
Hogan is washed up...that guy jumped the shark the same time as Tim Wallach....Savage has pizzazz, charisma, and personality....Hogan looks like he has taken way too many 'vitamins', although he does have nice tits
God damn Jesse Ventura was great
But Hogan still gets the largest pop everytime he comes out - even if he does look like a beef jerky.
Monsoon and Ventura were the greatest of all-time. Hands down...loved when he used to call Santana "Chico"
Dana White should fire Lutter's ass for failing to make weight. What a joke. Edgar vs. Griffin was by far the fight of the night last Saturday.
what's the deal with the IFL getting a Monday night timeslot at the same time as Raw AND calling their show "Total Impact"? They must have a death wish
I think the IFL has a real chance to make some noise in the MMA world. Americans, seem to love the whole team concept when it comes to sports (IFL is a fairly new promotion that has teams from different cities fighting each other in a best-of series as opposed to one-and-done matches). Fox Sports Net also just announced a Sunday night IFL show starting in a couple of weeks (22 episodes this year)...Things are starting to get really interesting.
funny you mention hogan looks like beef jerky, because savage loves slim jims....Franch, gimme the lowdown and RVD's 3 greatest matches...
hmmm tough call - I'd probably go with:
3. vs. Sabu (ECW Hostile City Showdown 04/20/96)
2. vs. Lance Storm (ECW Barely Legal 04/13/97)
1. vs. Jerry Lynn (ECW Living Dangerously 03/21/99)
but most of his title matches in ECW were amazing...that's why they called him the whole f'n show.
Vs. Sabu is a classic...Monsoon was amazing, but he couldnt do shit next to JR, and Ventura was just a watered down version of Don cherry....Keep bringing it strong, Franch
I like JR as much as the next man but Monsoon will forever be often imitated never duplicated.
My top play-by-play men would be:
3. JR
2. Gordon Solie
1. Monsoon
#111 is where you would probably find Tony Schiavone.
no talk of bobby the brain?
man he was my fav anouncer.
larry zbysko was my least fav.
steamboat- flair > steamboat-macho
p.s. someone confirm these two urban legends.
1. macho man and hogan hate each other.
2. macho man was kicked out off wwf for banging an underage Steph Mcmahon.
Good call about the Brain. As far as heel play-by-play men go he is definitely one of the greatest ever. I loved it when Hogan came down during the 96 Bash at the Bash to supposedly save the day and Heenan kept screaming "but whose side is he on?". Made it seem very real. That being said, I remember him more for his antics as a manager...
As far as the urban legends...the first one is accurate but its more that Savage is jealous of Hogan for being huge and he thinks he stole his thunder in WWF and WCW. The 2nd one...wow. Never heard of that but if it's true that's insane.
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