As reported recently, WWE suspended the “Legends” contract of Kevin Nash following his domestic dispute with his son over the holidays.

Nash was suspended by the company due to their policy of suspending any talent or employees that have outstanding domestic violence charges. If the case against Nash gets dismissed in court, he will be reinstated by the company.

Nash has a few years left on his WWE deal, as he signed a five-year “Legends” contract back in 2011.

It’s also been confirmed that Nash has been pulled from the “RAW Reunion” special coming up on January 19th in Dallas, Texas. Nash was originally scheduled to do an nWo reunion angle with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan, who along with Shawn Michaels, are still scheduled to appear.

UFC president Dana White says it all the time, “the job of a promoter is to make the matches the fans want to see.” To ensure that this happens, White has gone around buying out entire promotions, sometimes strictly for a single talent (White bought the WFA promotion just to acquire Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s contract).

Unfortunately for wrestling fans, our “Dana White” is a guy named Vince McMahon, a guy who doesn’t quite share the same philosophy about promoting.

While White’s slogan is “my job is to make the matches the fans want,” and more often than not he will, McMahon’s is, “I know what the fans want more than they do.”

Sure, in public you’ll hear McMahon say that all WWE does is listen to what the “WWE Universe” wants and his job is to give it to them, his track record, while solid, isn’t that great when it comes to making dream matches happen.

The following is part one of a new series I’m calling, “Dream Matches That Never Happened.” First on the list is the most obvious dream match of all-time, at least in this writer’s opinion …

Hulk Hogan vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

How is it possible that the two biggest names and highest drawing figures in the history of sports entertainment never once had a single high-profile match? Forget WCW, where I believe Hogan and Austin may have crossed paths (not 100 percent sure, however) when Austin was still “Stunning.”

I’m talking about “The Hulkster” and “Stone Cold” going at it, one-on-one, on the WWE stage.

Could you imagine the amount of money this match would have drawn? And don’t give me any of that crap that Hogan was too old when Austin was in his prime, and that the match would have sucked, therefore no true wrestling fan would care about it.

We’re all fans, and if two big mega-stars like Austin and Hogan collided in our lifetimes, we’d probably still remember where we were when it happened.

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan. Was it the best technical match of all-time? Absolutely not. Were the “die-hard” fans going into WrestleMania that year talking as if they were more excited for Triple H vs. Chris Jericho because the actual ring work would be better? They sure were. I was around, and still doing this for a living, and I remember it well. When the show was over, what was the true main event that night?

Enough said.

Hogan and Austin would be the same thing. Hell, WWE could book that match at WrestleMania 31 next year and it would still be a contender for highest drawing pay-per-view of all-time. The two still have that much name recognition, and a match between the two would still garner that level of interest. While I’m well aware that it’s not going to happen, you get my point.

Hogan vs. Austin is so big, it would still be a big deal today.

Now imagine if you will how big that match would have been, say, 10 years ago. The record would probably still stand today.

The fact that both were under contract, and WWE decided to go with Rock instead of Austin that year, to me, is not a big deal. Both matches are the type of “dream matches” that should have been promoted. The fact that WWE never doubled back and made Hogan and Austin happen after that, when fans were clamoring for it at different times after Hogan-Rock, that’s the part that confuses me.

Many might say, “but Austin clearly didn’t want to work with Hogan.”

So what?

If you’re a promoter, you should be able to find a way to convince him. Dana White said it best, so I won’t try to top it. If the fans want something bad enough, give it to them.

Fans for years were begging for Hogan and Austin, and WWE never made it happen. Unfortunately in the case of a Hogan-Austin match, it never will happen. With Hogan no longer allowed to compete in a WWE ring due to their strict medical program, one-half of the equation is taken out of the picture. Austin doesn’t seem keen on returning to the ring, but if it were to happen, you can rest assured that “The Hulkster” won’t be the face he’s staring at across the ring.

So, it’s one of those situations were as a fan, you simply have to wonder “what could have been,” because “The Hulkster” versus “Stone Cold” will never happen.

And that’s the bottom line, brother!

What are your thoughts on Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin never happening, or any other big dream matches that never took shape? Which matches do you consider to be the biggest potential showdowns that never happened? Let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below.

You can also hit me up on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR, and/or follow me on Twitter @MBoone420.

WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan’s son, Nick Hogan, announced over the weekend that his father will be training hip-hop artist Riff Raff to get into a pro wrestling ring in the near future.

Can't wait to start training with my new partner @JODYHiGHROLLER !!! Hulkamania is going NEON brother! HH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) December 28, 2014

Check out our partner site DefSounds.com for hip hop news, singles, mixtapes and more.

As noted earlier today, despite the reports that Kevin Nash had been pulled from the RAW Reunion special on January 19th in Dallas, Texas, he remained on the advertising for the show on the official WWE website. Nash has since been officially removed from those advertisements.

Nash was suspended from his WWE Legends deal due to the domestic situation with his son over the holidays that led to his arrest. The same incident is what has resulted in his being pulled from the RAW reunion special.

Still scheduled for the RAW Reunion show on 1/19 are Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall, who is being billed as Razor Ramon.

• Backstage News On WWE Keeping BRAY WYATT Strong For THE UNDERTAKER At WRESTLEMANIA 31

– The first new episode of WWE Countdown will air on the WWE Network next Monday, January 5th, immediately after WWE RAW at 11:06pm EST. The show will count down the “biggest cry-babies of all-time.”

– Regarding the upcoming RAW Reunion show on January 19th in Dallas, Texas, it’s worth mentioning that WWE is billing Scott Hall as Razor Ramon and Kevin Nash under his real name. As noted on Sunday, Nash has reportedly been pulled from the event following the recent domestic incident with his son, however he is still listed in the advertising for the event on the official WWE website. Also scheduled to appear on the show are Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan.

Kevin Nash will not be appearing at the upcoming “RAW Reunion” special on January 19th in Dallas, Texas.

Nash was originally scheduled to appear along with Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels, however WWE pulled him from the show due to the recent domestic incident with his son that led to his arrest.

As noted, WWE also suspended Nash from his “Legends” contract due to the same incident.

– WWE aired a video at tonight’s live event from Madison Square Garden promoting ticket sales for Extreme Rules, which takes place on Sunday, April 26th from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The Ticketmaster pre-sale code is EXTREME.

– It was also announced that WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan will be appearing at WWE’s next live event from MSG  on Friday, February 27th, 2015. The Ticketmaster pre-sale code is MSGPRE. This will be Hogan’s first appearance at MSG for WWE since 2002.

David Arquette is a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Being a World Champion normally means you’re a big star. Vince Russo was a former World Champion. The Great Khali is a former World Heavyweight Champion. Just so we understand each other, these guys, in my opinion, are not among the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling.

Do we understand the formula?

Today, we are going to look at five legends of the ring who were without a doubt top stars in their prime. At one point or another, each person on this list could be considered “the guy” in the business. All were top stars who reached Championship-level success at one time or another, however they all shared one key factor in common — they pretty much sucked in the ring.

A lot of people have different ideas of what a “good worker” really is. Generally speaking, if you’re in the business, a good worker is someone who can take the live crowd on an emotional journey. Most of the people on this list were able to do that, however if you’re a die-hard fan of the sport, you have a different opinion of what a “good worker” is. To those people, a good worker is someone who took the time to perfect the craft, the art and skill of what goes on inside the squared circle. Guys who have matches that are considered “match of the year” candidates. Guys who could have what die-hard fans call “five-star matches.”

That is who we are looking at today. Guys who by die-hard fan standards would be considered god-awful workers. Guys who couldn’t have a classic, five-star match to save their life, even if they’re able — usually due to star power and enthusiasm — to pop a crowd during a match.

With all of thr explanation out of the way, let’s take a look at who made the list of the top five biggest stars who weren’t good workers.

#5. Hulk Hogan

The guy knows how to have a classic match. His WrestleMania VI clash with Ultimate Warrior, who we’ll be talking about later, surprised many. Still, if you examine the match with your “worker” glasses on you’ll notice that it wasn’t exactly a catch-as-catch-can classic by any means.

It was a great match though in the sense that the crowd was totally invested. A lot of that had to do with the promotional build-up to the match and the characters involved. The same can be said for Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8.

A Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat classic it was not.

But the response from the fans was about as passionate as things get. Hogan can have great matches when everything falls into place, but you can’t put just anybody in the ring with him and expect a great match. As far as his star-power is concerned, Hogan is one of — if not the biggest — stars in the history of the sport.

Hulk Hogan comes in at number five.

#4. Andre the Giant

Andre The Giant is one of the biggest and most recognizable stars in professional wrestling history. In his prime as a young wrestler he would come off of the top-rope, he could throw a pretty impressive dropkick and was a lot more agile than he became later in his career.

Most will remember the run Andre The Giant had in WWE in the 1980s, but prior to that he was actually a pretty solid in-ring worker. His most famous years, however, saw a number of rest-holds killing the majority of the time in his matches. It was almost a sure thing that there would be a few bear-hugs, nerve-grip holds and the ever-popular butt-smash in the corner spot.

So again, Andre wasn’t the best in-ring technician, but he was a huge star — literally — and could elicit a great reaction from the crowd from bell-to-bell when matched with the right guy.

Regardless, Andre comes in at number four.

#3. Kevin Nash

Outside of a few matches with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, better known to WWE-exclusive fans as “Diesel,” rarely had a match above a two-star rating. He was one of the first workers to be labeled as a guy with “five moves of doom,” long before that torch was passed to John Cena.

However, Nash was a big ingredient in the pro wrestling explosion of the late 1990s. His move to WCW, which led to the formation of the nWo, was arguably the jumping-off point of the Monday Night Wars, which ultimately led to WWE’s “Attitude Era.” WWE was forced to switch gears and change the way they do business, and Nash, along with Scott Hall, were two key players at the root of all of these changes.

Despite his importance level in the business, his work level earns him the bronze medal as one of the biggest stars who wasn’t a “good worker.”

Continued on page two …

– WWE Superstar Randy Orton is scheduled to make his WWE in-ring return at this week’s non-televised live events.

– WWE stock was up on Tuesday by 1.36 percent, closing at $11.95 per share. The high for today was $12.22 per share. The low was $11.86.

– Below is a video of WWE Hall Of Fame ring announcer Howard Finkel promoting the new Mattel “Defining Moments” Hulk Hogan action figure.

– As noted, former multiple-time WWE Tag-Team Champions Edge and Christian will be featured on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW — the final episode of the show of 2014 — as the “guest General Managers” of the evening. It has since been announced that the duo will appear on next week’s edition of WWE SmackDown as well.

– Speaking of advertised additions, this past Monday night’s RAW “guest General Manager,” Hulk Hogan, will be appearing at the upcoming WWE live event this Saturday night, December 27th, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Monday, December 22nd, Christmas-themed edition of WWE RAW, which features appearances by WWE Hall Of Famers Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper, averaged 3.631 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. By comparison, last week’s show averaged 3.531 million viewers.

The hourly viewership breakdown for Monday’s RAW is as follows:

Hour One: 3.632 million viewers
Hour Two: 3.907 million viewers
Hour Three: 3.354 million viewers

The final rating for the show will be out later today.

The following is a video clip featuring part of Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Monday’s Christmas-themed edition of RAW, which features Hogan fully dressed up as Santa Claus.

Below is a portion of last night’s “Piper’s Pit” segment from RAW, which featured Roddy Piper, Rusev, Lana and Ryback.

UPDATE:

– WWE has announced that WWE Hall Of Famer “Rowdy” Roddy Piper will be on tonight’s RAW. Piper will be hosting a special “Piper’s Pit” segment with Rusev and Lana as the guests.

– Also announced for tonight’s RAW is a “Miracle on 34th Street Match” between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose.

– As noted earlier, Roman Reigns vs. Big Show has also been made official for tonight’s show.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan is scheduled to serve as the guest host of tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of the show.

ORIGINAL STORY:

WWE has announced a singles match between Roman Reigns and Big Show for tonight’s Christmas-themed edition of WWE RAW.

Also announced for tonight’s show is the return of WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan.

Make sure to join us here tonight for live RAW play-by-play results coverage.

A lot of the factors in pro wrestling are subjective. Some people enjoy this, some people enjoy that. Some fans prefer a better in-ring technician, some like a strong promo guy and others enjoy a great character. No one is wrong, because it’s all personal preference.

Generally speaking, when an editorial features a list, it’s “the best of” or “the worst of.” Today, we are going to switch gears a bit.

In keeping with the subjective theme, today we are going to look at who I personally consider to be the five best factions in the history of the business. Not the five best, my five favorite. And I’ll explain why, starting with …

#5. The Varsity Club

Many of the current generation of wrestling fans may have never even heard of The Varsity Club. Growing up, they were one of my favorite wrestling stables.

The original group consisted of Kevin Sullivan, Mike Rotunda and Rick Steiner, all of which wore their amateur wrestling letterman jackets. The guys were among the most legitimate tough guys in the business at the time, and the group had the perception of being the baddest son of a bitches on the planet.

As is the case with any wrestling stable, as time went on the group was watered down. Members such as “Dr. Death” Steve Williams and “Dangerous” Dan Spivey were added to the mix, and before too long, the group ceased to exist. While they were around though, in my opinion, they were pretty damn cool.

#4. The Fabulous Freebirds

As far as I’m concerned any writer who doesn’t include The Fabulous Freebirds on their “top stables” or “top factions” lists should have their head examined. The Freebirds were as cool as it got when I was a youngster.

The group was led by Michael “P.S.” Hayes, a current WWE creative team member who is credited with introducing theme music to the ring-walk portion of the professional wrestling presentation. The group consisted of Hayes, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy and Buddy Roberts. Roberts was considered a great in-ring technician, and prior to the Birds, had a lengthy career worthy of Hall Of Fame status. In fact, Roberts was part of the original “Hollywood Blondes” tag-team, a name that was later used for the team of “Stunning” Steve Austin and “Flyin'” Brian Pillman. Gordy was a legend in Japan and portrayed the “enforcer” role in the group. Hayes was a rock star and easily one of the most charismatic wrestlers of his time, if not of all-time.

Later on, Hayes and Jimmy “Jam” Garvin would bring back The Fabulous Freebirds as a straight tag-team act. How this group has yet to receive an induction into the WWE Hall Of Fame confuses me to this very day.

#3. D-Generation X

I’m of the belief that there is not a fan of North American professional wrestling that has not heard of D-Generation X. That would mean they did their jobs and left a lasting legacy in the business.

D-X consisted of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna and Rick Rude. When the group officially formed, you could make the argument that along with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, they officially ushered in the infamous “Attitude Era” in WWE. They did things for shock value at a time when Howard Stern, The Jerry Springer Show and many other shock-television style shows reigned supreme. It was a natural fit, and the group really cemented Triple H as a main event performer in WWE.

Later on, as is the case with every faction or stable in history, an attempt was made to get the gang back together, only this time — it worked. You could argue that the second version of D-X was actually more successful than the first. The second group featured Triple H as the leader instead of Michaels, and his group consisted of Chyna, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn and “The Road Dogg” Jesse James. Anyone who saw WWE RAW the night that D-X “invaded” WCW will never forget that moment. It was amazing entertainment and really symbolized the “Monday Night War” going on at the time between WWE and WCW.

D-X was brought back again in the 2000s as a straight tag-team act that featured the two original members — Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Personally, I didn’t enjoy that run nearly as much as their first run, but it was still a cool thing to see the two back together having fun.

Continued on page two …

– Vince McMahon, Big Show, R-Truth, Summer Rae and Alicia Fox went overseas to visit the U.S. troops this weekend. You can check out an assortment of photos from the trip at WWE.com.

– WWE will be taping next Friday’s edition of SmackDown tonight in Sioux City, Iowa. Hulk Hogan is advertised to make a special appearance. Other talent advertised for the show includes Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kane, Bray Wyatt, and Big Show. The dark match main event for the show will be Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt.

– In a correction from a previous article, Brock Lesnar has apparently not been pulled from the advertising for the big “RAW Reunion” show on January 19th in Dallas, Texas. This is the show that features the returns of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels, and is also the “go-home” show for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

– Tommy Dreamer and former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro are some of the latest names from the wrestling industry that have started using Diamond Dallas Page’s “DDP Yoga.”