Post by AJ Styles (H) on May 28, 2009 23:16:09 GMT
Hall Of Fame
In this business, there are failures and there are superstars; there are losers and there are winners; there are dreamers and there are legends. Legends, with illustrious careers, built over decades, and cemented in history. These legends are the foundations of FFW, and the whole industry, and this year, the night before WrestleFest, 2 new legends were crowned. Chris Jericho and Eric Bischoff were entered into the highest echelon of success, and enforced their legacy. Both men have had an enormous impact on this business, and both have helped to make FFW the best in the business. Both men have had many great moments in this company and both have left a profound impact on those around them:
Eric Bischoff
Originally he was, “The Great One”, The Rock, and worked his way to the very top of FFW, winning the World Title at Breakout 2008. He continued to make a big impact on FFW; however he decided to add a business suit to his wardrobe and took over as Altitude General Manager. He is now the driving force behind Altitude, and is the main reason why Altitude has continued to prosper and grow as his alter-ego The Rock is still blazing a trail through the competition on Revolution. No other member has such a profound effect on both brands, and FFW as a whole.
Top 5 moments:
5) Joining FFW as his favorite wrestler, The Rock
4) Being in the first ever FFW Ironman match
3) Returning to FFW after a month and a half of an LOA
2) Beating Shawn Michaels in Wrestlefest 1
1) Winning the FFW World Title at Breakout 2008
“Friendly is An Understatement” – Robert Roode
“He has made Altitude the top show in the business” – Ted DiBiase
“He made us feel Welcome” – John Cena
Chris Jericho
Chris is arguably Altitude’s top star, and most dedicated member, and this is reflected in him being FFW’s only 2 time World Heavyweight Champion, an honor which everyone knows that he undeniably deserves. Chris is always there to help a member who needs support or advice, and has helped to welcome many people to FFW. Jericho is a vital member of FFW, who will hopefully remain here for a long time.
Top 5 moments:
5) Putting Eric Bischoff in the Walls Of Jericho
4) Beating Cage for the World Title on Altitude
3) His Altitude Debut
2) Beating CM Punk in an Ambulance Match
1) Being Inducted into the FFW Hall of Fame
“The best roleplayer that I’ve ever beaten. . . multiple times” – Kurt Angle
“An outstanding FFW member, who helped me when I was down.” – John Cena
“A remarkable person, who fully deserves the accolades he has accumulated.” – MVP
Both men entered into the Hall Of Fame this year, have earned the right, and deserve the honor. There is no question at all, that these men are the right choices to be elevated to legendary status. The question is – who will be entered next year?
WRESTLEFEST REVIEW
Wrestlefest had all of the hype and talent necessary to be the greatest event in the industry of the entire year. The event completely lived up to expectations and every superstar involved gave one hundred and ten percent, and many attempted heart-stopping, crowd-thrilling maneuvers. No one in attendance was ever sitting down; even the commentators struggled to remain sitting. Every match was phenomenal and could have gone anyway.
The first match on the card was the Intercontinental Ladder Match between Shelton Benjamin, Robert Roode and 2 members of the Kardinal Sinners, Matt Hardy and Christopher Daniels. The fans were excited to see whether the members of the Kardinal Sinners would need to face off, to determine a winner. They worked together through most of the match, only turning against each other when it was vital, for example, Matt Hardy was about to win early on, until Daniels prevented it from happening. However, when they were on the same page they proved to be very effective. They eliminated Shelton early on, after powerbombing him through a ladder, sending the fans into frenzy. Roode attempted to work against the team work, however he too was eliminated after his arm was crushed in a ladder. This left the Kardinal Sinners to battle it out. From the moment they both reached the top of a ladder, the fans expected an amazing move, and it was required to keep one man down. The move came from Christopher Daniels, who eventually hit the Angel’s Wings from the ladder, and then climbed and grabbed the title. What will happen with the Intercontinental Title in new hands? Will the new champion be affected by the draft in any way? Who will face the champion next? Tune into this the weekly Revolution show to find out.
The second match was the Invitational Bar Room Brawl for the X-Treme title. Who could have even tried to predict what was going to happen? Morrison entered into the match, facing off against most of the Altitude roster, and a few other people also. No one could even count how many men were competing for the title, and everyone was enjoying the match too much to care anyway. Because of the sheer volume of competitors, Morrison looked unlikely to retain his title; however he fought valiantly, and mainly managed to avoid any severely painful moves. Paul Birchill was not as lucky however, and must still be feeling that powerbomb. I’m sure the pool table hasn’t forgotten it either. Sabin made an impact when he took everyone out with a bar stool, however Morrison recovered well and managed to hit a Starship Pain from the top of the bar onto a large collection of people. Morrison neglected to pin Sabin or Vampiro and instead pinned the Elton John impersonator, to win, and retain his title, against all of the odds. Who will be next to step up and face the champion? Will he be moved in the draft?
Next, was arguably the most hyped and anticipated match on the card. Fans of Altitude would definitely understand what was at stake in this match, and having watched the matched, there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that both men wanted this more than anything else in the world. Both men are great show people, and both dedicated a lot of their ring time to the fans. Cena had the fans firmly behind him, but a portion of the fans were supporting The Miz too. The Miz showed some unexpected athleticism, and that showed how much he cared, as he hit a springboard legdrop. Not to be outdone, John Cena climbed to the top rope and hit a diving cross body, to hit The Miz outside of the ring. Cena regularly tried to hit the F-U, however The Miz dodged it every time. Cena eventually gave up, and changed tactics, instead reversing the Reality Check into an STFU, to get the submission victory. Something tells me that this feud is far from over, unless the draft has anything to say about it.
JBL and Tommy Dreamer faced off for the hardcore title, and even though Dreamer is the one seen as hardcore, JBL was with him every step of the way. This match was hardly ever contested in the ring, instead being fought in the streets and other unconventional areas. There were a few moments when the men seemed to have hit each other too hard, and lost their minds, for example, throwing hot dogs to inflict pain. Dreamer got his revenge for the hot dogs however, and outdid his attempt, by putting a modern twist on flushing someone’s head down a toilet, instead using a urinal. JBL used his considerable wealth and power, to make up for his lack of hardcore experience, as he bribed a fireman and used his truck against Dreamer. Dreamer seemed unfazed and recovered quickly, to vandalize a shop window, and leave a JBL shaped hole in the glass. Dreamer could have covered for the pin at this point, but he seemed to want to send a message to Revolution, and he choked JBL out with some electrical wire first, before covering for the pin. Dreamer is again the king of hardcore, and will defend the belt with pride and honour. Was Dreamer just sending a message to Revolution in this match? Or has Altitude been put on notice too? Only the draft will tell.
The battle for Brand Supremacy then began. CM Punk vs The Rock. The straight-edge superstar facing the Great One. 2 of the most hated or loved men in the business faced off. From the moment that CM Punk’s entrance music began to thunder through the arena, the fans were on their feet. Both of these men are great entertainers, and both proved it, by spending any spare moment that they had, showboating to the fans. This nearly came back to bite CM Punk on the you-know-what, when CM Punk was too busy showboating to realize that he was walking into a Rock Bottom, which only led to a two count. From then on, it was a game of one-upmanship to see who could elicit the strongest response from the crowd. Eventually both men were just trying to end it, and pick up the win, however neither could, Punk couldn’t hit the GTS and the Rock couldn’t hit the People’s Elbow. The Rock hit another Rock Bottom, this time through an announce table and Punk locked on the Anaconda Vice, however neither could get the victory. When the match eventually did end, it still wasn’t with any of these maneuvers, as Punk reversed a People’s Elbow into a bridge and got the pin. A disappointing end to a great match, but Punk seemed pretty happy with it. I don’t think this is the end of the feud between these men, especially if they end up on the same brand after the draft.
Next, Chris Jericho took on Eric Bischoff. This match seemed slightly unfair bearing in mind that Bischoff is not a trained competitor, however it was he who booked the match and so he let himself in for it. This was the most intense rivalry that FFW had seen for a long time, and it was only fitting that it culminated at the pinnacle of athletic competition and entertainment. Even though there have been many General Manager – Superstar feuds over time, this one can be considered one of the best. Ever since Altitude had aired, with Bischoff getting locked in the Walls of Jericho on the highlight reel, everyone had wanted to see how it would turn out. Bischoff regularly abused his power, and people couldn’t wait to see him get his just desserts, so understandably, everyone was thrilled when this match was announced. As for the match itself, it was completely one sided, let’s face it, Bischoff never had a chance. Jericho is dangerous enough as it is, without being frustrated. Chris seemed to intentionally get Bischoff out of the ring before locking in the Walls of Jericho, almost as if he didn’t want to give Bischoff the option of getting out of it easily. Jericho eventually stopped toying with Bischoff and hit the Codebreaker, but I can guarantee, that no one predicted what would happen next. Jericho was celebrating and turned to the fans on the other side of the arena, but instead of getting cheering fans, he got his head crushed into the canvas with an RKO. Orton then followed it up with a punt, which meant that Jericho had to be taken out on a stretcher. What does this mean for Altitude? Will Jericho come back to take his revenge on Orton? Or will Orton put Jericho down for good?
Finally, it was the match, which meant the most to both brands and champions. Altitude vs Revolution. Altitude came out on top earlier in the night; could DiBiase make it a clean sweep for Altitude? Could Undertaker salvage some of Revolutions pride and reputation? This match was seen as quite a disappointment by most of the people in attendance. The two world champions, even though neither is getting younger, should still have put on a much better show than they did. This match was very slow, and DiBiase didn’t put up much of a fight, as Undertaker was in control for a lot of it, surprising after DiBiase was talented enough to win the King of the Mountain Match a few months ago. The pace slowly quickened though, after Undertaker threw himself over the top rope onto DiBiase. The fans got more into the match, and they were having such an impact, that even after the referee counted both men out, he allowed the match to continue, to prevent the premier show of the year from ending on a count-out. The men both eventually came back into the ring and after a few reversals and signature maneuvers; Undertaker hit a devastating Last Ride to bring Revolution level. This match wasn’t the best of the night, but the star power was enough to make it a fitting end to the show. Will these champions still be on the same brands? Will either show have 2 World Champions? The draft holds the answers.
WrestleFest was an astounding show, with every match being brilliant in some way. Unexpected twists and turns on the road to WrestleFest, and the event itself, could not take away from the amazing event, however, I have to wonder, if MVP hadn’t been injured, would there be a new World Champion? And who would Undertaker have faced? One thing that I can say for sure is that I wouldn’t want to be Ted DiBiase when MVP returns.
Feud of the Month
One of the hottest rivalries in all of FFW at the moment is the feud between Cena and The Miz over The TV Title. This rivalry has raged since before the Royal Rumble and has had many twists and turns since. Firstly Cena won the title from The Miz at the Royal Rumble, and then retained his momentum through Saturday Night’s Main event, before managing to keep hold of the title at WrestleFest. Even after months of feuding, these men are both keen and eager to get into the ring together and carry on tearing the house down. Altitude’s General Manager Eric Bischoff has spotted this opportunity and announced a best of 5 series leading up the Free Fall. I took this opportunity to talk to each of the men about their feud and how it has affected each of them:
The Miz
How did you feel when you found out that you had your first TV Title shot?
The Miz: Excited, Nervous. All I wanted to do was train and work out.
What were you thinking after each successful title defense, for example, against Bret Hart?
The Miz: Like most champions I was proud and thankful.
What were you feeling when you found out that Cena would be challenging you for the title at the Royal Rumble?
The Miz: I thought it would be an easy win, seriously. But it was way over my head and I wasn't focused.
I'm sure it was a hard time for you, and I don't suppose you particularly enjoy thinking about it, but how did you feel when you lost your title?
The Miz: When I lost the title at the rumble, I was heartbroken (really) I thought I would have to start all over and work my way up. I was really upset.
What emotions were going through your head, when you found out you'd get a rematch against Cena at WrestleFest?
The Miz: Feelings. I felt great but kind of scared that I would fail. Excited.
Where does it go for The Miz from here?
The Miz: I started my quest to regain the television championship last week on Altitude. I plan on carrying on all the way through Free for All.
John Cena
How did you feel when you first found out that you had a TV Title Opportunity against The Miz at The Royal Rumble?
John Cena: "Well, when I first found out, I was a little shock because knowing during that time I was on a harsh losing streak and seeing as if I would geta title match...Well I thought it was impossible for that to happen.
How did you feel after your TV Title Victory?
John Cena: "After me winning the Television title, I felt as if I made it to heaven and I realized that I was living a dream I've been waiting to come to life and with all the heart and passion I put into my match against The Miz...I made that dream come true."
Were you surprised to be defending the TV Title at WrestleFest, FFW's biggest show of the year?
John Cena: "Nah, I wasn’t surprised. I knew i would be going into Wrestlefest knowing I would have to put this baby on the line.*Taps title* But what makes me happy about knowing that I had to defend it at the grandest stage of them all made me happy cause that was my first FFW title defense."
What was going through your mind as you walked to the ring at WrestleFest?
John Cena: "I felt like as if I was in an all or nothing situation....If I won, I would prove to The Miz and to all the others who doubted me that I’m not a man who believes in flukes or luck. But if I lost....I would've lost the Television title, prove The Miz right and that is something I never want to happen. But not only did I thought I was in a all or nothing situation, I also felt that I was ready to go to war and fight for my father, fans, and most of all.....Myself....John Cena."
What is next for John Cena?
John Cena: "Well after that victory at Wrestlefest, I believe that their is alot coming for myself. Like my three out of five match with The Miz and knowing the fact that he slapped my father, I have business to take care of. But besides that, Im seeing a special person and Im ready to take it to the next level just like with my FFW career like getting ready to prove to Eric Bischoff that its time I, John Cena get a FFW title match when I’m finish with The Miz and show to everyone that the real champ is here."
There is no doubt that both men will give their all to try and regain/retain the title. We can all enjoy watching their incredibly competitive matches and make sure that you all tune in to Free Fall and watch Altitude every week leading up to it, to take advantage of this amazing scenario.