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PWINSIDER Q & A: TAKER VS. TRIPLE H, MAD STEPH, CANDICE'S BUMP, VINCE CHANGING PLANS, THE STAR RATING SYSTEM AND MORE

As a long time wrestling fan, going on 20+ years, I always go with 'man that was a great match'. I have NEVER had the unction to say, 'man that's a 5 star match'. So my question is, when did this thing start and do you think it takes away from the matches itself? Because I think it does.

The first I remember hearing about the star rating system came from a guy named Norm Dooley about 30 years ago or so.  It was back in the days before the internet when a network of fans passed around match results and news bits to fans in other territories through the mail and he rated the matches he saw in his reports.  One of the people in the network was Jim Cornette.  For what it's worth, I agree with you.  I am not a fan of the star system any more, largely because there is no standard, accepted manner in which to implement it.  Also, everyone's standards are so subjective that it often unfairly brands matches with labels that are often are just not just.  I prefer to describe matches with words, not ratings.

Do you think we will ever see Undertaker vs. Triple H in a hell in a cell match? Lets face it those are the 2 men that seems to involve that match. Whether its Trip vs. someone or Taker vs. someone it always seems to involve those 2 men. So why not Trip vs. Taker in a whose the king of the hell in a cell match?

Wow, that would certainly be a political powder keg given both men's stature in WWE.  It would have Triple H taking on the only guy who has close to the same amount of clout in the company that he does in Taker.  I would love to see it but I think there is a reason that those two men are on different brands and don't cross paths.  I think they are better served on different brands.

It's been reported a couple of times that Stephanie McMahon was "furious" over word getting out that the "Save Us" promos were for Jericho. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the discovery process the other way around, with the Internet fans dissecting the very first video and coming to conclusion that it was for Jericho, and THEN it was confirmed to be true? If she has anyone to blame, it's herself for still thinking the Internet fans would be stupid enough to not put all the clues together so fast.

I can't speak for what the internet fans did here.  All I know is that we have been reporting since earlier this year that there was heavy talk concerning a Jericho return in the fall.  We were hearing talk that he was coming back long before the promos even started.  Once they did, we confirmed that he was definitely returning to WWE and that the plan was he would be the object of the Save_Us promos.  So, in a nutshell, the talk had been going on for a while that Jericho was coming back long before the promos started.  Where Stephanie is concerned, she has to realize that it's not 1975.  With the advent of the internet and cable news channels, stories travel quickly in all aspects of life.  It's pretty much impossible to stop.  But, I understand what you are saying.  If you put out clues to lead someone to thinking it will be a certain guy, you can't get upset when people make the guess.

With all the negative comments regarding Beth Phoenix pulling Candice to the center of the ring, was I hearing things or did I hear the referee instruct her to do so? I had the show on DVR and watched it back several times and I know I heard "Pull out and cover" said by someone in the audio.

Yes, the ref absolutely told her to move Candice to the middle of the ring and make the cover, which was a bonehead move on his part.  Beth then made her own mistake by yanking someone who could have just suffered serious head, neck or spine trauma way harder than she should have, into the center of the ring.  Hopefully, everyone involved will learn from that and the next time something like that happens, everyone will err on the side of caution.

In addition to the question you answered about Jericho not being at the PPV, do you think Vince's ego gets in the way, and he intentionally swerves the internet, even if what the internet is buzzing about is what his initial plans were. Kind of like cutting off your nose in spite of your face?

Honestly, I don't think he does that very often, if at all.  I just think he gets mad when stuff gets out because in addition to it spoiling surprises, Vince is very into controlling all of the news flow around his company.  Like his daughter however, he has to realize that gets harder and harder to do every day.  

I think what we see now is that when he changes plans, it's mostly because his mind goes in a different direction, not because he wants to say F you to net fans.  After all, he is constantly rewriting TV all the time and it's not because of any leaks.

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