WWE Backlash on the air tonight
Smackdown presents Backlash tonight on the WWE Network, and the show is proof of how thin the brand蘑菇视频 roster is.
I have said in this column for weeks how one-sided the WWE draft was, and it will only get worse with the cruiserweight division debuting next week.
Dean Ambrose defends the WWE title against AJ Styles, and the only other match worth tuning in for, on paper, is Randy Orton versus Bray Wyatt.
The Miz defends the Intercontinental title against Dolph Ziggler, and the first Smackdown Women蘑菇视频 champion will be crowned as Carmella, Nikki Bella, Naomi, Alexis Bliss, Becky Lynch, and Natalya square off in an elimination match.
In addition, the team of Rhyno and Heath Slater will face off with the winner of a match from earlier in the night between the Hype Bros versus the Uso蘑菇视频.
No other matches have been announced as of yet.
ESPN personality apologizes to WWE star
Amin Elhassan, an ESPN personality who likes to make fun of people, made a joke last week after seeing a video of Kevin Owens鈥� son celebrating his dad蘑菇视频 title win.
Elhassan was ripped to shreds by WWE wrestlers because of his ill words, and there may be more to the story than is known publicly, in terms of Owens鈥� son.
After catching flack, Elhassan issued an apology on Twitter to Owens.
Del Rio gone, Paige next?
The WWE announced on Friday that Alberto Del Rio is officially gone from the company.
Paige could be released any day now.
2000s Mt. Rushmore
The 2000s were a tough decade to pick, but when I factored in length of time for wrestlers, it was much easier.
For instance, John Cena is a slam-dunk home run pick, right?
Wrong.
Cena did not debut until 2003 and while he has been the face of the company since 2005, I left him off for a Pittsburgh native.
Randy Orton was another wrestler who I gave a lot of thought to, but he did not debut early enough either.
With that said, here are my four picks.
Shawn Michaels
This is a no brainer, although he did not wrestle in the decade until SummerSlam 2002.
He is the greatest in-ring performer ever in my book, and it could be argued that he had the best match at all seven WrestleMania蘑菇视频 that he wrestled at in the decade.
Triple H
Another no brainer, Triple H was the centerpiece of the promotion for the first half of the decade until Cena and Batista won their first world titles, respectively, at Mania 21.
The Undertaker
Without question, The Undertaker is the greatest big man in wrestling history and his spot here was an easy pick.
While he was a focal point of the WWE during the Attitude Era, Taker was like the proverbial fine wine, as he got better with age.
Like Michaels, Taker would get consideration for the best Mania match at seven Mania蘑菇视频 in the decade.
Kurt Angle
I was torn about whether to go with Angle or Cena in this spot.
The nod goes to Angle as he was a top guy in the WWE the entire decade until leaving in 2006 and then was the focal point of TNA the rest of the decade.
2010s next week
Next week, we will look at this decade thus far.
Who will make the cut?
We find out in seven days!
Remembering Mr. Fuji
Last week, legendary WWE wrestler, and then manager, Mr. Fuji passed away at the age of 81.
While I am too young to remember him as an in-ring performer, he was a staple of WWE programming during my youth.
He was one of many managers that the WWE had at the time, and I refer to the era as the Golden Age of managers.
Fuji, Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Miss Elizabeth, and Slick were just a handful of the top-notch managers the WWE had at the time.
Hmmm, definitely have to have a manager Mt. Rushmore down the road!
This week蘑菇视频 question
What is with Bret Hart and his statements about Seth Rollins and how he always hurts others? Chris, an online reader from Pottsville.
As I have touched on several times in this column, the older Bret gets, the better he was in his eyes and the more bitter he sounds when talking about today蘑菇视频 stars.
His comments about Rollins stem from the fact that Rollins has hurt Sting, John Cena, and Finn Balor in the last 14 months.
While I would not say that Rollins is unsafe, I think that his running powerbomb needs to be barred.
But as far as Hart goes in my eyes, it is just another example of him having the forum to keep his name relevant in the eyes of his fans, but more so himself.