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PWINSIDER Q&A: MATT HARDY-EDGE, EVAN BOURNE, GREAT HEELS AND MORE

In 2005, Was The Backstage Attack By Matt Hardy On Edge A Work Or A Shoot?

It was a work.  However, it was one of the better done angles that year.  Unfortunately, Hardy lost a lot of steam a short time later when he cut a promo basically thanking Vince McMahon for hiring him back, and coming across as less of a rebel and more of a "company man".  

Am I The Only Person In The Planet That Thinks Evan Bourne Should Have A Championship Push? I Think That The Miz Or John Morrsion Should Be High Up In The 'WWE Pryamid'.

I agree that Morrison is ready to be pushed higher up the "pyramid" and Miz is steadily improving as well.  Evan Bourne is still too new to be given a championship push at this point, especially since ECW doesn't have a "secondary" belt. 

Hey guys, I can't really remember too much of the 'Attitude' era in WWE, so I was wondering whether or not JBL/Bradshaw was always such an ass backstage who could hardly work? Or has it been a recent evolution since his JBL character change? Also, how come the APA formed in the first place, were Ron Simmons and Bradshaw a team before the APA?

JBL since moving up from the midcard, has always had a bit of a reputation as a bully, deserved or not.  As for his work, he has always been a great brawler, and his better matches have been when he has played to that strength.  As for the APA, the team was formed when Undertaker brought them both into the Ministry, and they became the Acolytes. 

As I continue to keep Ric's career alive in my DVD Player, I have chosen to look at the championship wins (that I can see or read about). Ric has 16 tours as World Champion, stretched from 1981 to 2000. The last 3 reigns were during 'garbage time' when WCW was about dead, so 13 significant reigns. I haven't pulled up the exact number of reigns for other superstars, but the one I hear about most often is Triple H. Is there a number of title reigns that could come close to equaling Flair's 'influence', or is it just too different a time, and it's time for all of us to put away our rulers, and resolve to judge current superstars by a whole different yardstick? I lean towards the latter, and while Ric Flair will always be #1 in history to me, it doesn't mean that Triple H, Undertaker, Stone Cold, or HBK aren't wrestlers of the second highest caliber. The Rock still loses 1/2 a point for the short career, at least to me, and John Cena is nowhere near done yet. I expect him to finish in the same class as the above group. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For starters, I agree that you can no longer judge wrestlers by the number of championships they have held.  Up until the early 90's, title reigns were longer, and only wrestlers that had proven themselves would be given runs with the gold.  In the mid-90's, title changes were frequent, and often had a lot less meaning behind them.  As for John Cena, it is very early in his career, but he certainly has the potential to become an all-time great. 

One of the constants for me ever since I discovered World Championship Wrestling in 1984 has been liking 'heels'. I usually wanted Hogan to win the big match, but I seemed drawn to Piper and Flair, despite their tactics (or maybe because of them). My first 'favorite' wrestler was Jake Roberts, back when he was in the fledgling 'Legion of Doom' with The Spoiler, King Kong Bundy, The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering. Most heels got heelish by screaming, yelling, getting loud. Jake could scare entire arenas without raising his voice above a whisper. After a few 'Piper's Pits', I had a new favorite. I knew Flair was almost always a heel, but he had that presence that told you he was the best. The first ultra heel that I hated was Hogan (naturally). He never felt like a real heel, but like a leech who clamped onto whatever he thought would keep him on top. Of course I liked Stone Cold and The Rock, but even though I'm less likely to root for heels now, I still recognize when they are great heels. Triple H and Edge are the best of the current generation, to me. Who were the best 'traditional' heels (1970's - 1996), and the best 'current' heels (1996 - Present) in your opinion?

In my opinion, you mentioned two of the best heels ever in Ric Flair and Roddy Piper.  They could generate anger in a crowd like few others.  I would also give credit to The Freebirds and Rick Rude in the "traditional" category.  Of the current heels, MVP and Edge are easily the top two, with Edge well in the lead for now.

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