| The Shakedown WrestleMania is an Astrodome-ical success 04/06/2001 By Cody Monk / Special Contributor to DallasNews.com
 Earl Campbell and Nolan Ryan provided some pretty memorable moments at Houston's Reliant Astrodome. But neither Campbell nor Ryan ever packed the place like the WWF did Sunday for WrestleMania. The event set an Astrodome attendance record with 67,925 fans. According to the WWF, gate receipts were more than $3.5 million. Axxess, a fanfest, brought in another $500,000.
The Shakedown was on hand for an event that was a success of Texas-sized proportions. A rundown of the happenings:
WAS THAT NECESSARY?
So Edna's Stone Cold Steve Austin is a heel now? Aren't bad guys supposed to be booed? The angle probably would have worked anywhere but where the WWF executed it. The Rock had slowly developed into the heel the past two weeks for his match with Austin for the WWF title. Some fans actually began booing The Rock. But Austin turned Sunday, and, so far, the WWF is pulling out all the stops to try to get fans to boo Austin.
It's not working.
The turn came in Austin's home state, a place that, last time we checked, has a heavy dose of state pride. The Rock was booed heavily during the entrances. When Austin aligned with the "evil" Vince McMahon, the live crowd hardly noticed. The fans cheered because Austin won the belt. The WWF took notice.
On Monday in Fort Worth, the WWF resorted to having Austin trash Texas and Texans. It didn't matter. Fans didn't boo him. Fans continued the cheers until McMahon took off a cowboy hat and stomped it in the ring. Austin then aligned with HHH, the Federation's biggest heel.
The next night in Oklahoma City, Austin beat up popular broadcaster and Oklahoma native Jim Ross, who had come to the ring accompanied by the Oklahoma Sooners' fight song. And next week on RAW, The Shakedown hears, Austin may evict widows and orphans from their homes.
The situation is much like Bret Hart's in Canada. No matter what Hart's status was during his days in the United States, he was cheered in Canada. The WWF learned the hard way that when a guy has a tattoo of Texas on his leg, Texans are probably going to cheer him. Regardless.
HARDCORE RAVEN
Scott Levy (Raven) gets a thumbs up for his work in Sunday's Hardcore match. Levy went through a glass window and frequently was the target of the much larger Big Show and Kane. He also took an unexpected bump. Kane commandeered a golf cart during the match and was supposed to catch up to Raven and Big Show. Kane had a hard time finding the brake and ran over the back of Levy's right leg.
MAPLE LEAF STUDS
The Hardys, Dudleys and Edge and Christian all delivered in the Tables, Ladders and Chairs matches. Nine wrestlers were used and all were used wisely. The Rhino, Spike Dudley and Lita run-ins were used effectively. And Edge and Christian walked away with the tag-team titles. The match was the third TLC match the three teams have been involved in. Edge and Christian have won all three.
HANGING BY THE BAY
The WWF is close to finishing negotiations with Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., for next year's WrestleMania. The WWF wants to continue using larger stadiums for its biggest pay-per-view event, and St. Petersburg has discussed offering the facility for free. The 1999 Final Four was held at Tropicana Field, the current home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
ON THE TEXAS TRAIL
Mark Callaway (The Undertaker) and Edna's Stone Cold Steve Austin had several family members attend WrestleMania . . . San Antonio's Shawn Michaels was scheduled to appear at WrestleMania but was written out at last week's RAW because of creative differences. Michaels recently signed a new contract, and the WWF has him figured in future storylines . . . Moises Alou and Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros attended WrestleMania . . . The WWF's Jim Ross was in familiar territory Monday in Fort Worth. Early in his career, Ross lived in Plano and worked with area territories . . . Former Sportatorium favorite Michael Hayes was part of the Gimmick Battle Royal on Sunday. His entrance music was the same "Bad Street USA" his Freebirds group used during their latter days at the Sportatorium.
IN BOX
Q: What is the prevailing thought on what McMahon will do with WCW?
Thomas Jones, Austin
A: Thomas, the WWF will operate WCW as a separate company for some time. Shane McMahon will run the promotion with several of WCW's former talents, but with few - if any - big names. The contracts of Scott Steiner, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell, among others, were not part of the WWF-WCW deal. AOL/Time Warner is still on the hook for those.
WWF must rebuild WCW's brand identity before there are any inter-promotional angles. WCW is not on the WWF's level, and there is no reason for the WWF to treat it as an equal.
PINPOINTS
The first WCW taping under Shane McMahon will be May 9 in Trenton, N.J., with a TNN Saturday show from 10 p.m-midnight starting as early as May 12. The tapings will take place on Wednesdays and likely will mean an extra day on the road for most WWF personnel, who already travel to the Monday and Tuesday shows . . . Mikey Whipwreck and Lenny Lane will be at the Texas Indoor Raceway on April 21 to take on Joey Corman and Samir . . . Former WWF and WCW broadcasters Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and "Mean" Gene Okerlund were a part of WrestleMania and signed autographs at WWF Axxess. The WWF signed the duo only for the weekend and has no current plans for either . . . Talks between Pete Rose, normally a WrestleMania mainstay, and the WWF broke down late last week over creative differences . . . Several WCW wrestlers who had 90-day rollover clauses in their contracts were officially released Wednesday. The released wrestlers have the option of having AOL/Time Warner pay out their contracts or negotiating a new deal with the WWF.
| OVERALL RANKINGS
|
| Rankings based on charisma, fan appeal and in-ring ability.
|
| Rk.
| Wrestler
| Org.
| Cody's comment
|
| 1. | HHH | WWF | Mania match showed why he is best in biz | |
2. | Kurt Angle | WWF | A face turn perhaps | |
3. | Chris Benoit | WWF | If just better on the stick, he'd be close to No. 1 | |
4. | The Rock | WWF | Will come back even more popular | |
5. | Stone Cold Steve Austin | WWF | Was that really necessary? | |
6. | William Regal | WWF | Jolly good showing | |
7. | Chris Jericho | WWF | In line for major push | |
8. | Eddie Guerrero | WWF | Heat takes title | |
9. | The Undertaker | WWF | Mania was Taker's best match in a long time | |
10. | Shane McMahon | WWF | No part-timer is better in the ring | | Dropped out: Scott Steiner (6), Vince McMahon (10) |
| CODY MONK'S BOTTOM FIVE
|
| Rankings based on five worst elements in wrestling in the past week
|
| Rk.
| Wrestler
| Cody's comment
|
| 1. | No Nitro | Next time we see WCW is with WWF in charge. Thankfully. | |
2. | Stone Cold heel turn | A heel turn shouldn't require this much effort | |
3. | Test | Got foot caught in ropes. Guerrero and 135-pound referee had to free him. | |
4. | Astrodome parking | Memo to H-Town: An NFL team is coming soon. Mix in some city planning | |
5. | Doink not winning battle royal | Dome would have exploded had the clown won battle royal |
| CODY MONK'S TOP FIVE TAG TEAMS
|
| Rankings based on charisma, fan appeal and in-ring ability.
|
| Rk.
| Wrestler
| Org.
| Cody's comment
|
| 1. | Edge and Christian | WWF | Three-for-Three in TLC | |
2. | The Hardys | WWF | Jeff Hardy is train wreck waiting to happen | |
3. | The Dudleys | WWF | Move extremely well for big men | |
4. | The Acolytes | WWF | Never ever be caught drinking non-alcoholic beer | |
5. | Bull and Goodfather | WWF | Bull a former college basketball player | | Dropped out: None |
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