The best promo Henry ever did

Night of Champions Preview, courtesy of Grantland.com:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6977346/wwe-night-champions-preview

Man did you hear that pop for heath slater....no?..me either.

SmackDown!

Cody and Edge had great chemistry together - it's a shame they didn't do anything big together while Edge was physically able to. I loved that Edge didn't even punch Cody, which I'm sure he could do, because it made Ted actually attacking Cody mean something. Plus, Ted was awesome with the bag reveal. I really liked seeing the IC Champion start the show, and put that program in a prominent position on the show.

Danielson-Hunicara was a pretty good match aside from the fucking commentary. Cole murdered the match AGAIN, this time, by focusing on everything Booker. The finish sucked - Hunicara's strikes in the tree of woe looked God-awful. These things were Baba-level. Baseball slide dropkick looked good though. Enjoyed the real Sin Cara coming out - so much more physical charisma, and Cole was great asking Booker who the real one was while Booker just tried to fuck with him the whole time, leading to Booker cracking himself up after the Sin Cara deal.

Enjoyed Trish walking in on something nearly identical to her thing with HHH a decade ago, and then reuniting with Christian in the Edge thing backstage. Loved Trish marking out for THE INTERNET CHAMPION, who according to Cole was scared after being humbled by Mark Henry. Seems like a valid concern, actually.

Gabriel/Sheamus-Barrett/Christian sure seemed like a random tag match, but was a pretty good one. Loved Booker referencing Big Bubba Rogers. I hope they actually do something with Gabriel, because otherwise, having Barrett lose to him means nothing for him and will only hurt Barrett. LOLed at the TOO MANY LIMES sign shown after the match.

Khali-Slater...happened. Loved how wacky Heath sold the head chop from Khali. HHH-Punk-Nash vid didn't do a thing to make me want to see the PPV match AND of all things to keep in, they kept in the THIS IS PHIL BROOKS TALKING TO PAUL LEVESQUE bit. Ugh.

Loved Miz and Truth's rap, even if it did further Awesome Truth being a comedy act. Cole pissed me off burying Bret - it's one thing to bring up the fashion, but the grey hair? Come on now - that's just a low blow.

Now THAT's how you go home for a PPV, and THAT's how you set up a championship match. Edge threw a perfect pitch and they just knocked it out of the park. Loved the opening with Edge, and then behind him are signs of Hogan, who he referenced in his promo, and Savage. Mark cut the promo of his career here, and its a shame they'll go with a safer route these next few months, because World Champ Mark Henry fighting off all big challengers (Sheamus, returning Kane and Big Show) only to be unseated by little underdog Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania would make for a hell of a fucking story.

Loved Edge saying the segment was over so they could brawl and Henry could just kill dudes before laying waste to Orton. Of course, that's what they've done before to show that Orton will retain, but they kind of can't have Henry lose here. If he does, then they've killed his character as a main event act unless they try to get one more PPV out of it, or have a rematch on TV and give it to Henry.


Screens -







Mega Powers Edge-splode!




TOO MANY LIMES!






He's a bag man, doing bag things...



Quotes -

Cole saying Kelly Kelly is a lot more accomplished than AJ at this point in her career

Perhaps in the locker room romances but wrestling ability? Um No

Drew vs. Ryder from SuperStars was another really good match this week. Drew looks like such a star during his heat section and has so many neat ways to work over a FIP, let's them sprinkle in hope spots here and there before cutting them off again in cool ways. I loved his middle rope neckbreaker and curb stomp in particular. Ryders finisher blows, but it's cool to see such an over midcard act. Drew deserves better.

- WWE has announced that Cody Rhodes will defend the Intercontinental Title against Ted DiBiase at Sunday's Night of Champions pay-per-view.

Well she is a Diva's Champ, I think that was the point he was tryign to say. I think they both suck, in more ways than one, just AJ has less botched bulldogs...

After my Crush appreciation post last week, I have decided to make it a weekly thing. . . So this week is my

Rick Rude Appreciation post



"Ravishing" Rick Rude was a massive favourite of mine. I’m 70% sure my Mam and Dad thought the road to homosexuality was a path I was destined to go down when they saw me drawing pictures of the Ravishing One in my jotter. But thankfully (not that there’s anything wrong with that) I turned out ‘all right’ in the end, and the only thing I was wanking over when Rick Rude was on TV was the time he bruised Francine’s arse with those legendary slaps of his. I wasn’t even one of those smart arses as a kid who loved the heels. I remember cheering Beefcake against Mr. Perfect and liking Andre because he punched Bobby Heenan and threw Haku out of those little ring carts at WrestleMania VI. I was mostly pro babyface as a young lad, as I‘m sure most of us were. Even when Randy Savage was a heel, I hated him. But Rick Rude was a different story altogether. He was funny. He seemed to do everything with a grim. For me, he was straight out of a Blackadder sketch. He seemed to be having a laugh in there as well, as those interviews before his matches showed.



He was a legendary hardcase was well. Well known for giving good hidings out to those who fancied there chances. A good story is when he was a bouncer and he turned up with a seperated shoulder. Legend has it, he ended up slapping one bloke so hard he knocked him clean out. Another tail on Rude's hardman status, was a story where Rude was in a bar with some of the other lads while injured and had his right arm incapicitated in a sling. Some tosser decided he'd get shirty with Rude - I forget why, argument about a girl, just generally an arsehole - given that with his arm in that state, it would be an easy fight and he could say "I beat up a WWF wrestler." So Rude knocks the cunt out with a single left-handed slap.



He had a fairly eventful career before he turned up in the WWF. He held a few titles up and down the territories in battles over who had the superior facial hair with Billy Jack Haynes. But the story that I most fondly remember hearing about the pre-WWF Rick Rude, was that he had a valet who was his legit girlfriend at the time. Jim Neidhart says everyone fancied her, so at the television tapings as a practical joke which I believe Jeremy Beadle wishes he’d thought of, Rude used to take her into the next room and shag her as the other lads had a look through the door. Rude never took the cigarette out of his mouth as he was smashing her either, which adds to his Ultimate Male status.



Rude’s next destination was obviously the World Wrestling Federation, where he became a house hold name and immortalised in pop culture in video games and figures and Youtube comments which usually go along the lines of “thumbs up if Cena’s a faggot and Rick Rude is better :)” and “Justin Beiber would do Rude’s theme song if he was in WWE now lol”. The winner of the first and only ever Jesse The Body Award, Rude had some famous feuds. Jake Roberts were one of the first. Lead to the ring by Bobby The Brain Heenan, Rude would usually bring women into the ring and land one on their lips as Heenan provided live commentary on whether her knickers were a light soaking or whether it was slightly matted. So when Rick tried his luck with the wife of everyones favourite Snake handler, it fuelled a red hot feud which lead to some hot angles such as Cheryl Roberts face adorning our man’s spandex and the time Jake pulled off the very same trunks leading us to believe Rude had his cock out in front of the young crowd. Times were simpler back then.



Being in the WWF gave you many a perks. He had the Hasbro which you needed if you were a name. Admittedly, you could do fuck all with it. You couldnt brawl because the arms were so shit. It was great for giving someone the Rude Awakening. Unless it was his most famous opponent, the Warrior, because his massive plastic hair wouldnt fit in.



He was in one of the first WWF wrestlers to be put into a Nintendo game as well. Not only did the game have a brilliant midi-file version of Rude's theme, but it was also the debut of his short hair. Many months before he got his hair cut short in real life. Maybe the game gave him the idea. Maybe he was so dedicated to his craft he decided to update his look as to sell more units. Or maybe the game was so shit it couldnt get his curly perm. Whatever the case Rude was always a favourite on it.



He was also on the cover of the most mental magazine cover ever. Even I wouldnt have bought a wrestling magazine with the words "Who's the Sexiest Wrestler" on the cover. And what the fucks Hogan doing on it? Mind you for £1.50, I probably would have.



When Rude and the Warrior became feuding, that was also the first feud I remember as a child. Looking at the matches now is incredible, because Warrior really does nothing. At least in the matches with Savage, Warrior knows enough to follow instruction and to do his rehearsed spots. In the absolutely brilliant SummerSlam '89 match, Rude sells EVERYTHING from a punch to an atomic drop to belt shots to the Gorilla Press like the Warrior is smacking him with a breeze block. I think everyone from the people who worked there at the time admits Rude was on a crusade to carry the Warrior. There’s carrying someone like when Goldberg was champion in the early days, where you give him 6 minutes and do some spots that will lift the faces. And then there’s carrying someone like Rude does here. He wrestles him for 16 minutes and makes the next big thing in the WWF look every inch the megastar that he was touted of becoming. Rude also had a match with him at SummerSlam '90 as well, and again made Warrior look like the Champion he was. Rude later said of Warrior “He is the most intense person I have ever met. His only weakness was that he was so intense that he would tire quickly.” Before the cage match he cut a brilliant interview based on the Rocky movies, since they were in the Philadelphia Spectrum, stating after the bout they would build a statue of Rude next to Rocky. As Heenan said “and afterwards Warrior there wont be anything left of you. There wont be any sequels either. No Rocky II, III or IV”, as Rude piped in “And there AINT GONNA BE … no rematch.”

As Rick's contribution to the WWF title pictured declined, his flashy tights just got better. Here's the Rude's Blood and their opponents for the night on the tights, which has to be up there with the best outfit ever. Eight people on the one pair of spandex!



After the SummerSlam '90 match, Rude set up a feud with the Big Boss Man, which would have been up there with Rock vs. Cena for me if they locked horse on a WWF PPV. Both were on top of their game in 1990, but it wasn’t to be. As Rude left the promotion. About 8 or 9 months later Rick resurfaced in WCW. With Madusa by his side more often that not, during a period when Madusa would have kindly got a sore throat, Rude continued how he left off in the WWF, with his hilarious routine of sending the crowd up before he wrestled and wearing the flashy tights. He won numerous titles, including the NWA World / WCW International title and the United States belt.



Being a top wrestler during the boom period meant our Rick got his shit in at the gimmick table. Turning up in WCW's so-so Superbrawl game for the SNES:



On top of that, he was WCW's main man in print form, in there abysmal WCW comic book from Marvel. He looks good though doesnt he?



But his best moment in the Atlanta promotion was definitely the 1992 War Games match at WrestleWar '92. It was the greatest match of all-time. The Dangerous Alliance could have went on for years with the players they had in the group, and this match was there crowning moment. Rude shone like a beacon, bumping around the double ring before Larry had to spoil it (fucking Larry!) by smacking our Bobby Eaton with the metal part of the turnbuckle.



A back injured suffered during a match with Sting done him. That was pretty much it as far as his in ring career went, but his days as an onscreen personality and draw weren’t over yet. He played the negotiating game with the WWF for a good 18 months from 1994 onward. Everyone thinking he was set to return. He was even backstage at WrestleMania 12 and gave WWF online a internet chat, telling people to look out for him. The next time he’d turn up would be in his old pal Paul E’s promotion ECW as a commentator and everyones favourite shit stirrer under a Luchador mask. He was quite brilliant in ECW as it happens. Using the words “pussy”, “shithead” and “fuck you” with that voice made him put Shane Douglas’ sweary hardman act to shame. We saw the unmasking of The Ravishing One at ECW’s First PPV when he and Brian Lee gave the Triple Threat a pasting.



His inevitable return to the WWF finally came in the Summer of 1997. His role was uncertain at the time, stating he was an “insurance policy” for someone in the WWF, who had the money to hire him.



As the weeks went by, it all became clear as he linked arms with Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Chyna to form D-Generation X. Shawn Michaels, as possibly the only man who was more smutty than Rude, fitted in well with The Ravishing One.



At One Night Only Rude was one of the instigators in several hundred bottles of larger being launched at the ring as he constantly kept beating on Davey Boy Smith behind the ref’s back in Bulldogs’ “horm toon” of Birmingham. Especially frustrating for the fans in the arena was when Bulldog was inches from the ropes in the figure four and Rude belted him with a right to the chin stopping that idea in its tracks. Rude was involved in a top storyline, which WWF ended up regretting when WCW found out he was working on a deal memo and WWF were in the process of finalising a proper contract. After Montreal went down, Rude felt the decision to fuck over the WWF was easier to do when WCW (who Rude had a lawsuit in process against) came to a financial agreement for him to return to the promotion on a very large deal. He came out on a famous night to the surprise of everyone in the business, be it fan, journo, promoter and wrestler. He then cut a great promo on Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Sting, Bret Hart and WCW. And then … Nothing.



Here he is with his only piece of merch:



WCW had him as Curt Hennig’s manager and interference runner for the next year and Rude hardly spoke or did anything. Like about 50 other members of the roster, he was lost in a sea of talent with a promotion not knowing what to do with him. Rude made a decision to make his return to active competition and began training hard for his comeback. Unfortunately, he was found dead in April 1999. Pretty shocking stuff. Especially as a cold hearted young lad around this time, when I’d heard a wrestler had died, my only reaction was “HAHA John Studd’s dead. Brilliant”.



He's still with us in the form was product placement. You will see his shirts on WWE.com, you'll see his figures in your local toy shop and you can hit young wrestlers with the Ruke Awakening on you Xbox 360, if you so wish, so its good to see he's not been swept under the carpet. People still remember him and like him, so hopefully a Hall of Fame induction will happen one day.




Its always interesting to wonder how he’d have got on. How would Russo have handled Rick in 1999? Would he have returned to the WWF? Would he be in TNA now with the Global title? How many divas would have been on his dick, if he’d have turned up during the Invasion angle? Would he still have the tash? Shame we’ll never get to find out. What we do know is that he’s was something to watch and he still holds up today.

Got a clip of that?