So let’s start with Diamond Dallas Page. I do not particularly like DDP. I mean, I don’t hate him, but his current storyline sucks balls and does nothing for me. It should have ended long ago. That aside, DDP himself is a charismatic guy who has been entertaining people for years. He can play a believable heel or face, with no problem. However, I think he’s a much better fan favorite. DDP is 47 years old and can still go, and take one hell of a beating. Just look at the confrontations he’s had with the Undertaker. I see no real reason for DDP to retire, just to get a new storyline going, and possibly find a way to switch to being a face, although that’s not possible until the Alliance vs. WWF thing dies down. DDP won’t switch to the WWF, nor should he. But as far as I’m concerned there is no call for a DDP retirement, well, the 3:16 Report’s own Jerry would probably disagree with me over that one...
Next on our list of possible retirees is the current WWF Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin is I believe either 37 or 39 years old, I can’t remember for sure. Not old by any means, but yes, this is the world of athletic competition and once you start nearing that big 4-0 you’re consider to be past your prime. I have read and seen many comments across the internet that Steve Austin is not entertaining anymore, that he should retire, and that he pulls strings backstage and causes problems. Whatever. Austin suffered a damn near career-ending neck injury in 1997. He worked through it for about two years. Personally, it was during those two years that I felt his in-ring product was not that great. He was entertaining otherwise though. Obviously, Austin had his neck repaired in late 1999, and made his return almost a year ago now. Once Austin got back into the swing of things, he was great. He was better than the previous few years, by far, with his in ring product. I love watching Austin, especially since Wrestlemania and his heel turn. He can be a bad ass, ass kicking machine, or he can be extremely funny at times. I am a big fan of Austin’s work over the course of the last year. He’s had some great matches in 2001. He and Triple H had probably, at least in my mind, the match of the year at No Way Out. He had a good contest against the Rock and Wrestlemania, and I enjoy his television matches as well. Austin is hard working, very entertaining, and he is a great performer. As far as the rumors that he’s pulling strings backstage again, particularly as it pertains to Angle’s DQ victory at Summerslam, I just don’t but it. Austin jobbed to Triple H earlier this year, he put Jericho and Benoit over back in May, and even worked a short program with Spike Dudley, who is by no means a main event performer. Fact of the matter is, the way the WWF books is that Austin and the Rock do not lose much, period. If either of those two men lose, it’s usually to each other or Triple H. Even the Undertaker, who is supposedly so powerful backstage, hasn’t gotten over on Austin or Rock in a long time. So I don’t think Summerslam happened the way it did because of any backstage politics. I think that Austin and Angle will continue their feud, and what better way to make fans anticipate a rematch than to not have a clear winner to the first match? So do I think Steve Austin should retire? OH HELL NO!
The Undertaker. The mere mention of the man’s name brings up all sorts of different memories and emotions for different fans. If you’re a longtime fan (and two or three years IS NOT a longtime fan), then you appreciate what the Undertaker is, what he’s done for the WWF, and where he has come from. So being a longtime fan, I do appreciate the Dead Man. His classic feuds with Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin (in 1998, not 2001), Diesel, Kamala, etc. all stand out as great WWF moments. But in the last year or two, injuries and age have caught up to the Undertaker, big time. He took damn near a year off from September 1999 to June 2000 to heal some injuries and decide if he wanted to give it another go. I want to make it perfectly clear before the statement I’m about to make, that yes, I am an Undertaker mark. That being said, I DO think that the Undertaker should retire. There’s a but there, though. I think the Undertaker has one, maybe two or three good matches left in him. It just takes the right opponent. His match with Triple H at Wrestlemania this year was great. But since then his age has been showing. I’ve learned to live with the fact that the "American Bad Ass" or "Dead Man Walking" gimmick is here to stay. But recently the Undertaker has become slow and predictable. He performs very few exciting moves. But I do think that with the right opponent, ‘Taker could have one more brief reign at the top, and hopefully one more short run as WWF Champion. If for nothing else, then for the sake that he has given so much to this business, and he should be sent riding off into the sunset in the right way, not just ceasing to appear on television. However, this crap of tag teaming with Kane is getting fairly old. I like them as a team, but not a regular tag team. Kane is young, strong, and talented. The Undertaker is keeping Kane back by using teaming with the Big Red Machine as a crutch for his lacking performances. Although, Kane apparently has a back injury, so they may be crutching off of each other at this point. No matter what the case, I feel as though the Undertaker can pull off a few more good matches, hopefully climaxing with a short WWF title reign. But yes, it’s been a long, wonderful ride down that highway to hell with the Dead Man, but it has finally come time for the Undertaker to take his Last Ride. I just hope he realizes it before it becomes too late for him to go out without disgracing himself.
Until next time...
