The Crippler fades to black

This image captures one of the purest, most heartfelt moments in Wrestlemania history. One of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots had just defeated two of the biggest names in the business to win the World Heavyweight Title, in Madison Square Garden, the mecca of professional wrestling. In his crowning moment, his best friend joined him in the ring. A champion in his own right, the two stood side by side, ushering in a new age in pro wrestling. So many of us thought. However, this is an image that certain people want to fade away.

After fifteen years of friendship and being such a prominent figure in his life, Chris Benoit has been excluded from the new Eddy Guerrero DVD set. Some of Guerrero's best matches were against Benoit. Certainly, the two shared one of the most memorable Wrestlemania moments. Yet "The Crippler" is taboo, these days. Many are trying to erase him from history.

Call me an apologist, but after everything people have said about the man, it's quite clear that the tragic events of June 2007 go far deeper than most want to acknowledge. WWE refuses to accept the explanation regarding the poor condition of Benoit's brain. There's also far less attention being put on the fact that the man was completely devastated when his best friend died. Something inside him just broke. Still, in my view, I haven't heard enough evidence to even prove that he is responsible for the deaths of his family and himself. At any rate, these things have nothing to do with his career as a professional wrestler. Many others have done terrible things and still get credit for what they've done in the ring. Look at Ric Flair, Steve Austin or Jake Roberts. They're not saints, yet they aren't erased from existence.

With the exception of the people involved; i.e. family, close friends, etc., no one has any business being angry about what they think happened. Period. Too many people have been overly self-righteous and they would do well to get off their high horses, since they neither know what really happened nor do they have any personal stake in the matter.

I understand that WWE doesn't want the bad publicity that would come from celebrating the career of a so-called child murderer. Fine. Don't release special Chris Benoit DVDs or other merchandise. However, excluding his matches from other events and collections is asinine. After everything that he gave for the business, to just take that away from the fans, is going too far. If people don't want to see his matches, they can skip past them. I, for one, am sick of WWE trying to rewrite history. Chris Benoit was one of the greatest pro wrestlers, ever. He existed. Nothing they do can ever change that.

"Lionheart" marches forward

This Sunday night, at Survivor Series, Chris Jericho faces his toughest challenge, since winning the World Heavyweight Title. He is set to wrestle the returning John Cena. Many Jerichoholics worry that their hero may soon taste defeat. It's not that Cena is a better wrestler, because he's not. The problem here is that the WWE has been pushing this guy down everyone's throats for years now, and it would appear that Jericho is simply keeping the belt warm for him.

Since the beginning of his career, wrestling in independent promotions throughout Canada, and as he journeyed to Mexico, Japan and even Germany, Jericho has established himself as one of the best in the sport. He has held championships all over the world. He first made a name for himself, in the US, wrestling for ECW. He was quite successful, winning the ECW World TV Title during his time there, in 1996.

Later that year, he went to WCW. Despite terrible booking, that made him the worst kind of babyface possible, his natural charisma and exceptional talents were able to shine through. He established himself by winning the WCW World Cruiserweight Title, multiple times, as well as winning the WCW World TV Title, multiple times. Along with Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, Raven and others, he was one of the work horses of WCW. While the stale main event scene bored fans to tears, the undercard kept them excited and gave them their money's worth. Still, he hit the glass ceiling. He was never given the opportunity to make it in the main event, despite possessing a great amount of talent. Many were hoping that he would return to ECW, yet he surprised us all by debuting in the WWF.

Once in WWF, Chris Jericho was given the chance to make it big. He quickly established himself by winning the WWF Intercontinental Title, having great matches with Chris Benoit, Eddy Guerrero and Kurt Angle, and also the WWF European Title. In early 2000, he even defeated HHH for the WWF Title, though the decision was reversed. Either way, the fan reaction was insane and anyone with two working brain cells could see that Chris Jericho was a license to print money. He had everything that Shawn Michaels had, but more of it. More talented and more charismatic, it seemed logical that he would be a main event player in no time.

By mid-2001, it appeared that the time was right for Jericho to ascend to the top, but he did not. WWF held back, for whatever reason. Finally, in October, he received a shot at, and won, the WCW World Heavyweight Title. By defeating The Rock, he had finally won "the big one". However, they killed any momentum that he had built up by having him job the belt back to The Rock, in November. On 9 December 2001, he defeated The Rock to regain the WCW World Title. Within twenty minutes, he defeated Steve Austin, as well, to win the WWF Title, thus becoming the first ever Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He went on to defeat RVD, The Rock, Austin, Big Show, Kurt Angle and Taz in title defenses, before being jobbed out to HHH at Wrestlemania 18. Not long after, he was wrestling the likes of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, as well as winning several more Intercontinental and Tag Team titles. All of this before Cena had even debuted in WWE.

Since his return, Chris Jericho has won the Intercontinental Title for the 8th time, he's dominated a feud with Shawn Michaels and he has won the World Heavyweight Championship, twice. He has all the momentum in the world, as the top heel in the company and a respected veteran. Yet, it is guaranteed that WWE will drop the ball and put the belt back on Cena. It wouldn't make any sense, but that is what they are going to do. If Jericho could defeat this particular challenger and retain the title, then there will be no more doubt that his place as a bonafide main eventer has been cemented, once and for all. Unfortunately, this title reign is as good as dead.

Just a few of Chris Jericho's accomplishments:

NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
ECW World Television Championship (1 time)
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002)
PWI ranked him #4 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002
WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)
WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) (Last)
WWF European Championship (1 time)
WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (8 times) (Most Reigns)
WWF Undisputed Championship (1 time) (First)
WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Chris Benoit (1), The Rock (1), and Christian (1)
World Heavyweight Championship (2 times, current)
Ninth WWF Triple Crown Champion
Third WWF Grand Slam Champion
WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gedo (First)

The Crucifixion of the Sandman

By October 1996, it appeared that the Raven-Sandman feud was finished. Raven disappeared, without warning, and Stevie Richards defended, and lost, the ECW World Title, in his place. The cane-swinging Sandman was champion again. Following a successful title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio, it seemed that the Sandman was set to move on. His son, Tyler, came to the ring, dressed like his father, and the two embraced. For many, this signaled the end of the feud, as they were tying up loose ends. For Raven fans, in particular, it created concern that he was gone forever.

Just as Sandman was embracing his son and the crowd was lulled into a false sense of security, Raven slid into the ring, grabbed his cane and cracked Sandman in the back of the head. He went on to DDT him on the title belt and the last thing we saw was Raven, standing victorious in the ring. This was a great moment. However, little did most of us know just how great it could have been. Only those in attendance that night really knew. Raven continued the assault, even piledriving Sandman through two tables at ringside. Then, his lackies retrieved the wooden cross that was under the ring and tied Sandman up. No one really knew what was happening until he was hoisted up, crucified for all to see.

This was a major moment in the development of the Raven-Sandman feud. It was the ultimate statement by Raven, who had done similar things to Tommy Dreamer, in 1995. However, due to the presence of Kurt Angle, that night, it was all ruined.

Because Kurt Angle didn't want to be associated with any sort of controversy, he made a big stink and ECW acquiesced. Truth is, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. If he was so concerned with his public image, he should have done a little research and learned what ECW was capable of. If he wasn't entirely comfortable, then the deal should have been called off. As for his claims that he demanded that he not be on the same show as the crucifixion, that was simple. Either air it on a different episode or simply don't bother to use the footage of Kurt Angle.

The bottom line was that someone like Angle didn't belong in ECW. His brief appearance meant nothing for the promotion. On the other hand, the Raven-Sandman feud had been the dominant storyline in the company, throughout 1996. If Heyman would have weighed the drawing power of Raven-Sandman vs. Kurt Angle, he would have realized that the Angle segment was entirely expendable. By refusing to air the crucifixion, Heyman sold out. He also took a lot of the wind out of the sails of the great storyline that had been developing between Raven and Sandman. This doesn't even begin to cover what an atrocity it was to force Raven to go back out and apologize, thus neutering the company in front of its fans.

On a night that should have been one of the most memorable in ECW history, the company began down the path of selling out and censoring themselves to please others. This was against everything that ECW stood for and should be remembered as a dark day in extreme history.

Brock Lesnar - New UFC Heavyweight Champion

Last night, Brock Lesnar earned respect as a mixed martial artist, at UFC 91. Lesnar beat Couture via TKO in Round 2, becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Lesnar landed a straight right that dropped Couture, and finished "The Natural" with hammerfists at 3:07 of round two.

Both fighters gave a great showing and, as far as I can tell, it could have gone either way. Brock is truly a monster, being quite difficult for Couture to handle, but he also showed signs of fatigue by the end of the first round. "The Natural" definitely made him work for it.

It seems that much was done to distance the new champ from pro wrestling; however, when it comes to Lesnar, UFC has a lot to thank the WWE for.

Lesnar is now one of the UFC's biggest money draws. And a substantial portion of people watch Lesnar because (a) they want to see a pro wrestler succeed in MMA, or (b) they think Lesnar is a complete joke because he's a "rassler" and are willing to pay to see him get taken out. (And there are a significant number of people who believe that Lesnar has no business in MMA because of his stint as a pro wrestler.)

If it weren't for the WWE run, Lesnar would be just another big MMA fighter. He would not be the money draw he currently is. If it weren't for name recognition, there would little chance that they'd put an obviously green fighter with a 2-1 record in the main event with one of their biggest stars.

Yes, Lesnar is talented and has the tools to make it in MMA even without his name. But he got to where he is now because of his name, not because of his skills. If he were just another fighter, he'd still be in the lower/midcard fighting his way to the top.

Lesnar and UFC have a lot to thank Vince for. They're making a lot of profit based on all the money and time Vince put into building him up.

Many MMA fans seem shocked that Brock Lesnar was able to defeat Randy Couture. It was unthinkable that a former pro wrestler could step into the octagon and walk out as the UFC Heavyweight Champion. What many of these people fail to realize is that Lesnar was a very successful amateur wrestler. In high school, he managed to have a 33-0 record in his senior year. Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship for his junior and senior years of college. He won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship, as a heavyweight, after placing second in 1999. Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Lesnar also wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.

That's what made this fight so interesting; he came from a background very similar to Couture's. Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Title in his fourth fight, just like Couture did in 1997. If he continues to improve with every fight, he may be well on his way to becoming a dominant force in MMA, for years to come. Congratulations to both Lesnar and Couture for a top-notch performance. I doubt we've heard the last of Randy Couture.

Where is Perry Saturn?

No one seems to know where Perry Saturn is. Some of his closest friends actually believe he's not alive, but no one has proof one way or the other. At the funeral of Killer Kowalski, the whereabouts of Perry Saturn was the number one topic of conversation with a number of his friends saying they didn't believe he was still alive. Every few months or so, his friends ask Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer to do a missing persons search on him, but it always turns up with nothing.

The last time I heard anything about him was in the summer of 2005, when he was supposed to reunite with Kronus at one of Shane Douglas's Hardcore Homecoming shows, at the ECW Arena. Due to the incident where he was shot three times in the neck, he had to take an epidural, due to the pain. As a result, he missed the show. But nothing was heard from him when Eddy Guerrero died. Same with Kronus and Chris Benoit. Now, with his absence at Kowalski's funeral, this seems even more alarming.

When I think back to 1995, when I first saw The Eliminators, I was in awe. I was sure that they would be the second coming of The Road Warriors (who had been my favorite tag team until then). Initially, they were just brought in to wrestle The Steiner Brothers. However, they remained and dominated the tag team scene in ECW from 1995-1997. They won the ECW World Tag Team Title, three times, and were widely regarded as the best tag team in the world.

I was 15 years old when The Eliminators won their first ECW World Tag Team Title. There were two men in that company that legitimately intimidated me; Taz and Perry Saturn. To me, Saturn was one of the toughest guys I'd ever seen. This has been proven in and out of the ring. He tore his ACL and then returned in a few months. He no-sold three bullets to the neck. Yet what in the world has happened to him?

Perry Saturn had it all, I thought. Watching him in ECW, one was exposed to his versatility in the ring. He could wrestle, brawl, fly through the air... Maybe, he wasn't some comedian when it came to the promos, yet that never mattered to me. He was intense and got his point across, which is all that should matter. Much like Chris Benoit, I saw great things in his future. I expected The Eliminators to create a legacy similar to The Road Warriors and to become one of the most legendary tag teams in the history of pro wrestling. Once the team split up and Saturn left for WCW, I was sure that he would find great success as a singles wrestler. The singles matches that he had in ECW were impressive enough, against the likes of Sabu and Pit Bull II.

In WCW, Saturn got off to a good start by winning the WCW World TV Title, and aligning himself with Raven. When he jobbed the title off, a month later, my best friend and I were outraged. He, eventually, got a WCW World Tag Team Title run with Raven, though it seemed about a year late.

Along with Raven, Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Jericho (Among many others), Saturn never seemed to get the recognition he deserved as one of the work horses of WCW. He never got a push deserving of someone of his calibre, but it could have been worse. In WWF, he was turned into a joke. It's a real shame how his career turned out. To this day, I can't understand why he never received the proper credit. Why did such a great wrestler never quite make it?

While his career was already in a slump, the worst came in 2004 when he intervened in an attempted rape and took a few shots to the neck. Since then, it would seem, things haven't been the same. It would appear that nice guys finish last, in this world.

Chris Jericho regains the WHC

"Lionheart" Chris Jericho defeated that 'roided-up douche, Batista, in a cage match to regain the World Heavyweight Title. Of course, he's facing Cena at Survivor Series, but there's always the possibility that Batista will screw Cena out of the match, setting up another one between them. The December PPV is already being advertised as Jericho v. Cena v. Batista. Since Cena has been out with an injury, for months, and they keep showing these lame videos in an effort to hype his return, it would be overkill to have him come in and win the World Title in his first match back. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but it's not impossible that Jericho can slide by for another few months as champ.

I didn't have to wait six more years for another title reign. Maybe this means he's finally been cemented as a main eventer. About damn time. He was booked to look so weak, going into his PPV match with Batista. Typical wrestling logic would dictate that the one looking bad on the way in will come out on top. Not this time. Jericho was treated like a bitch and soundly defeated, thanks to Austin and Michaels. I figured that it was a foregone conclusion that he would be losing his rematch and heading back for the midcard. Instead, he shocked many by regaining the World Heavyweight Title. Now, he is a five time World Champion (six, if you count his win over HHH). I don't see how he can hold on to this until Wrestlemania, but I think his legacy has been improved. Just think; if he'd never come back, many would remember him for his last couple horrible years, from 2004-2005.

The Taming of Samoa Joe

"Joe is gonna kill you!"

After building a hell of a reputation in Japan and ROH, Samoa Joe debuted in TNA, in 2005. He tore through the competition like a war machine. While looking completely different, he had that "Taz" feel. There was no bigger badass in TNA than Samoa Joe. They gave him a decent build, slowly showing that he could be beaten, without making him look bad (Steiner costing him the X Division Title). His matches became less exciting once he moved from the X Division, since the other guys in the locker room were less skilled, but he was still booked strong. By late 2006, it seemed that he would be NWA World Champion at any point.

Enter Kurt Angle.

TNA's biggest acquisition was the 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Kurt Angle. Instead of feeding him a few jobbers and, slowly, building to a feud with Joe, they rushed it. The problem was that this came right as Joe, seemingly, was being pushed to the title. Instead, that was scrapped and he began a series of matches with Angle. Of course, their first encounter made for a very good match. It had that "big fight" atmosphere. Joe came out on the losing end of the first match, which seemed to take the wind out of his sails. All of a sudden, it appeared that Angle was getting Joe's push.

Earlier this year, finally, Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Title. Granted, it was at a bigger show and in front of TNA's largest audience to date, but it was too little, too late. Joe's hot period was long gone and his character had been dragged through the mud. He went from total badass to some overgrown whiner. He also isn't having so many good matches, though that may be due to his opponents. He's not as stiff, nor is he in very good shape. His title reign was lackluster and it looks like TNA has really booked him into the dirt.

It's not too late to repair things, but TNA will have to put a lot of work into it. He can be built back up, but they really need to be careful with this. He needs to be a monster heel that speaks little and, absolutely, never pisses and moans like a bitch. Maybe he needs to watch some old ECW and study Taz. Samoa Joe doesn't need to be some whiny drama queen. He needs to be a wrecking machine.

TNA needs this man: