MAILBAG: Will Vince McMahon Headline Next Year’s HOF?

SEScoops Mailbag for July 29th

(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)

Q: I just read the article about CM Punk getting McMahon to pay royalties for the “Cult of Personality” theme. What was the case with Sandman’s theme back when he was with WWE? It was an instrumental of Korn’s “Twisted Transistor”. – Ryan B.

A: WWE had inquired about the rights to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” after the first One Night Stand, but they wanted a ridiculous amount of money (many millions) that the company wasn’t willing to pay. Frankly, I don’t blame them. McMahon allowing Punk to use the Living Colour song is, in many ways, revolutionary for them as it has always been their policy to avoid that sort of thing. I thought that maybe it was a one time thing on Raw, but according to Punk’s interview with Bill Simmons this past week, it’s going to be his permanent theme.

Q: I know it’s a little early to speculate, but with the recent storyline of Vince McMahon being “relieved of his duties”, do you think Vince will headline next year’s Hall of Fame ceremony? Or since WrestleMania is in Miami, could The Rock headline the HOF? – Rory B.

A: I’ve believed all along that Rock will headline next year as there is no better place for it than Miami. I believe Randy Savage is now under consideration as well and, while I’ve always thought Savage deserved to be the headline induction all on his own, now that he’s gone, I’d be fine with he and Rock co-headlining. As for Vince, it’s not a horrible idea given the storyline, but I would be STUNNED if this happened. First, I fully expect Vince to be back on TV in some position of power before then, anyway. Second, Vince is very strict at the HOF ceremonies that people not thank him or mention him and he rarely appears before the live audience (his induction of Steve Austin being one of the few exceptions). For him to basically put himself into the HOF is something I can’t see him doing, and being that he’s not likely to retire until he’s dead, it will be a shame for him to go in posthumously and not be there to give a speech.

Q: With WWE now apparently looking at returning to long-term booking, do you think the whole CM Punk angle is building towards Punk (anti-hero) vs. HHH (corporate boss) at WrestleMania next year? It makes sense, and with Rock vs. Cena would be another great main event, especially as they have never had a singles match.
And of course, this would leave Undertaker free to face Sting, right? Right? – Russell, UK

A: Long-term booking? Are you talking about the same company that drafted SIX different scripts for Raw last Monday before deciding only hours before the show what they were going to do? As reported on SEScoops, one of those scenarios had Triple H giving Punk a pedigree and having Alberto Del Rio cash in his MITB briefcase to win the title. I agree that Punk and Triple H seems to be the direction they are going, and it’s a fresh match I wouldn’t mind seeing at Mania (if Steve Austin is unwilling to wrestle one more match against Punk), but they came *this close* to doing the match at Summerslam in a few weeks with little build. That’s not a company with much of a long-term blueprint. As for Undertaker, some rumors have WWE grooming Mark Henry to face Taker at next year’s Mania as he continues to destroy everyone in his path on Smackdown. I think what they’re doing with Henry is great and all, but being that the two of them already had a Mania match and it sucked, Sting could not be any worse.

Q: The last time there was any mention of Lita, she attended WrestleMania Axxess and was never heard from again. Is she staying away from WWE because of what happened that year? – Kirk R.

A: I am unaware of anything that happened. Reports were that she didn’t seem too happy to be at Axxess this year, but she was still there. Plus, she had a cameo on Raw last year when Pee-Wee Herman guest hosted, so the relationship there is fine should she ever want to return.

Q: At Vengeance 2006, WWE did a storyline with imposter Kane vs. the real Kane. If you watch the match, the crowd was chanting ”boring” at one point. Is that the reason they suddenly scratched the [whole thing]? Who was the imposter Kane? – Simon Babu

A: That whole angle went over about as well as a fart in church. It was conceived as a way to promote Kane’s movie See No Evil, the first of the WWE Films, and yes, that PPV match was a killer. The funny thing is that the Kane imposter won clean over the real Kane, which is kind of a big deal, yet the very next night, the entire thing was aborted when they had Kane rip off the other guy’s mask and throw him out of the building. Fake Kane was played by Drew Hankinson who would go on to greater success on TV as Festus and Luke Gallows.

Q: What are you thoughts on WWE introducing a Divas tag team Championship? I always thought it would be a good thing because the Divas title alone is not enough since they have to stay in line and wait for so long to get a title shot. Would you recommend a WWE Tag team championship for Divas? – John

A: Repeat after me – NO. NEW. TITLES. Heaven forbid the Divas have to “wait in line”, as you say, for a title shot. I mean, it’s so unfair. Then again, when the WWE Title changes hands three times in eight days, this is the sort of thing people are conditioned to expect. I’m not a fan of TNA having Knockouts tag belts and I sure as hell don’t think WWE needs them. Why bother when the women only get 30 seconds on Raw for a 14-Diva tag match?

Q: Kurt Angle is one of the best pure wrestlers in the business. Where do
you rank him all time? Also, do you think his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 19 is one of his best matches? – Troy

A: He’s definitely a top 10 all-time performer. Having won a gold medal in the Olympics and making the transition to pro wrestling as seamlessly as he was able to do is incredible. He can do comedy better than anyone, or he can be deadly serious, so he’s versatile as well. On top of that, his record of titles and accomplishments, his string of classic matches in both WWE and TNA, and his ability to make anyone he’s in the ring with look good (we’ll forget that one Royal Rumble match with Mark Henry) is all the proof you need. As for his match with Lesnar, I don’t think it was one of his best. The two of them had much better matches later in the year, including a fantastic Iron Man match on Smackdown.

Q: Why does WWE always sell Wrestlemania tickets so early, when nobody knows what is going down, they don’t know the match card, what if they pay over a grand for a ringside ticket, and when it comes time for Mania, all huge stars are injured and they have to go through a really slow show featuring people from the lower brands? – Javad Hussain from Scotland

A: You’re absolutely right. From now on, WWE should wait until the last possible minute and try to unload 70,000 tickets in one week.

Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!