Thunder Chunky
Main Eventer
Joined on: Aug 1, 2010 21:57:30 GMT -5
Posts: 4,542
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Post by Thunder Chunky on Sept 3, 2014 23:31:00 GMT -5
I had this idea awhile back where someone could post a year, say 1995, and we could talk about stuff that happened in that year for a week or so. Then we move on to another, like 2002 or something. And so on. I cleared this up with Joker and he said he thought was a good idea. So lets get started.
I want to start with 2008 for a few reasons. It was the last year where I saw wrestling as "real." I knew it they werent hurting each other before that, its just it was the last year where I was engaged in the stories like they were real.
Anyway, I loved the first 6 or 7 months of this year. The only things I didnt like were the Randy Orton vs. HHH feud and when Ric Flair retired. I had been watching Ric since I was a little kid and seeing that retirement ceremony wass really sad for me. I legit went to the bathroom and cried.
2008 saw 2 of my favorite storylines ever take place: Edge vs. The Undertaker and Y2J vs. HBK. I loved the Edge and Taker feud. Everything was so well written. From the start to the end.
The Y2J heel turn was one of the greatest heel turns ever IMO.
This was the year when WWE went PG and changed forever.
I think this would make great discusion and I think we could keep this going for a while.
We could vote on the next year.
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 18, 2024 8:51:16 GMT -5
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2014 23:37:23 GMT -5
I got to see my favorite of all time Jeff Hardy rise to heights I never expected...then  up again and get suspended. Oh well, it was a fun ride while it lasted and 2008 remains high on my list because of it. ECW was also still rocking it hard. |
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Mr. K.O
Main Eventer
Joined on: Mar 24, 2010 19:04:14 GMT -5
Posts: 4,094
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Post by Mr. K.O on Sept 3, 2014 23:54:33 GMT -5
2008 had some pretty good moments.
-I don't care what anyone says, Cena's return at the Rumble shocked the hell out of me. The reaction from the crowd along with JR's commentary was priceless.
- Bittersweet about Ric's retirement. And though retirements aren't really "forever" in wrestling, I wish he really did call it quits and not wrestle in TNA later on because the sendoff they gave to him on Raw was perfect.
- HBK/Jericho feud was just plain AWESOME. I still remember that one contract signing between the two for their match at Unforgiven I think. Shawn tried going after Jericho and fell through the ropes and landed on his head. Ouch! Lol
- Undertaker/Edge had great matches throughout their feud. Everything from their match at WMXXIV to their TLC Match and then HIAC match at SummerSlam.
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Post by Kanenite on Sept 4, 2014 0:10:36 GMT -5
I thought 2008 started off really great, and I expected it to be a really good full year. I remember I was really into Mr. Kennedy and MVP when 2008 was coming around.
I'd say things were enjoyable for me from January to June. I was pretty surprised by Cena winning the Rumble, Jeff Hardy was starting to feel really Main Event-level (especially after he Swanton Bomb'ed Orton from the top of the RAW set), Miz and Morrison were extremely entertaining, Wrestlemania XXIV was really great and one of my Top 5 favorite Manias, Kane won the ECW title which was awesome, Orton was the top Heel in the company and had a fresh character at the time, Cena didn't feel so overpowered, Mr. Kennedy seemed like he was going to climb up the cards, Edge and Undertaker were having an amazing feud, and the seeds for Jericho vs. Michaels were slowly planted.
After the Draft, you could really feel that it was a new era in the WWE. I thought it started to get a little rough here, but there was still some redeeming qualities.
I was pretty disappointed in Punk's WHC run. I liked him, but they made him look like a fluke the whole time he had the title. The only guy he truly got to beat was JBL. Another thing that was kind of meh was when it seemed like Kane was going to re-mask. But then the angle ends up being Kane attacked Mysterio after the Draft and stole his mask. The Legacy stable started up, but the Original line up that included Sim Snuka and Manu was stupid; it always should of just been Orton and Team Priceless. I absolutely despised Kozlov and cringed so damn hard when he beat Taker. It was also stupid to see MVP job for months to guys like Kung-Fu Naki when I thought he should of been one of Smackdown's top players. Mr. Kennedy's push completely died too but he got injured IIRC, so there goes the two younger guys I wanted to see really make it that year (MVP & Kennedy).
Something awesome from this time though was when Jericho turned full on Heel, completely changed his character and ended up being probably the best he's ever been IMO. Michaels then returned and amped his feud up with him. That along with Maryse were the Saving Graces for my WWE enjoyment at the time IMO.
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Thunder Chunky
Main Eventer
Joined on: Aug 1, 2010 21:57:30 GMT -5
Posts: 4,542
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Post by Thunder Chunky on Sept 4, 2014 0:26:05 GMT -5
I thought 2008 started off really great, and I expected it to be a really good full year. I remember I was really into Mr. Kennedy and MVP when 2008 was coming around. I'd say things were enjoyable for me from January to June. I was pretty surprised by Cena winning the Rumble, Jeff Hardyo was starting to feel really Main Event-level (especially after he Swanton Bomb'ed Orton from the top of the RAW set), Miz and Morrison were extremely entertaining, Wrestlemania XXIV was really great and one of my Top 5 favorite Manias, Kane won the ECW title which was awesome, Orton was the top Heel in the company and had a fresh character at the time, Cena didn't feel so overpowered, Mr. Kennedy seemed like he was going to climb up the cards, Edge and Undertaker were having an amazing feud, and the seeds for Jericho vs. Michaels were slowly planted. After the Draft, you could really feel that it was a new era in the WWE. I thought it started to get a little rough here, but there was still some redeeming qualities. I was pretty disappointed in Punk's WHC run. I liked him, but they made him look like a fluke the whole time he had the title. The only guy he truly got to beat was JBL. Another thing that was kind of meh was when it seemed like Kane was going to re-mask. But then the angle ends up being Kane attacked Mysterio after the Draft and stole his mask. The Legacy stable started up, but the Original line up that included Sim Snuka and Manu was stupid; it always should of just been Orton and Team Priceless. I absolutely despised Kozlov and cringed so damn hard when he beat Taker. It was also stupid to see MVP job for months to guys like Kung-Fu Naki when I thought he should of been one of Smackdown's top players. Mr. Kennedy's push completely died too but he got injured IIRC, so there goes the two younger guys I wanted to see really make it that year (MVP & Kennedy). Something awesome from this time though was when Jericho turned full on Heel, completely changed his character and ended up being probably the best he's ever been IMO. Michaels then returned and amped his feud up with him. That along with Maryse were the Saving Graces for my WWE enjoyment at the time IMO. The Cena comment is a great one. I just watched One Night Stand 2008 and its great to see Cena not in the main event or going for the title for a few months. |
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Post by Evil Abed on Sept 4, 2014 2:00:53 GMT -5
2008 is one of my favorite years of all time tbh. Just a few of my favorite moments/reasons to love 2008
- Hardy/Orton white hot feud at the start of 2008
- Cena surprise return at the Rumble
- Taker/Edge feud
- Cena/Orton/Triple H feud
- Wrestlemania 24
- Ric Flair Retirement Tribute
- Jericho Heel Turn
- Edge/Undertaker TLC Match
- CM Punk cashing in MITB to become World Champion
- Shane McMahon returning
- Edge's awesome promo work through July/Aug single handedly promoting the HIAC match with Taker
- Edge/Taker HIAC Match
- Batista/Cena Summerslam (everyone thought this match would blow, probably their best match of the series)
- Jericho becoming World Champion
- Orton turning into even more of a monster heel
- Cena staying out of the title picture for the majority of 2008
- Punk/Orton mini feud
- Legacy debut
- Jeff Hardy/Triple H matches in the fall of 2008
- Jeff Hardy winning the WWE Title
so many great moments...... although I would have changed some things
- Finding a better way to strip Punk of the World Title
- Coming up with the dumb attack storyline to get Jeff Hardy out of the WWE Title match at Survivor Series
- Mike Adamle Raw General Manager
- McMahons Million Dollar Giveaway
- Vladimir Kozlov push
- Floyd Mayweather/Big Show @ Mania 24
- Chavo winning ECW Title
- Kane not remasking, instead we get crap feud with Rey
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Post by Brad on Sept 4, 2014 6:47:56 GMT -5
I'm sad to say 2008 was a year I missed most of. I was still a couple of years away from wrestling drawing me in again. I hope eventually the network will have all the years of Raw that I missed so I can really experience it.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 4, 2014 7:17:56 GMT -5
I thought 2008 was pretty cool and here are some of my favorite things.
-John Cena's Royal Rumble return
-Ric Flair's retirement match with Shawn Michaels
-Pretty much all of WrestleMania XXIV
-Jeff Hardy's Swanton Bomb off the stage
-The outstanding Edge/Undertaker rivalry
-Getting to see the first John Cena/Batista match and it feeling like a big deal
-Chris Jericho's heel turn
-Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
-The Scramble Matches
-CM Punk cashing in Money in the Bank
-Legacy
-Edge's return at Survivor Series
-Edge's beard that night
-Jeff Hardy finally winning the WWE Championship
All in all, a fun year. I recently reviewed Night of Champions from that year and was pleasantly surprised at how good the show was. I like this thread idea.
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 18, 2024 8:51:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 7:30:58 GMT -5
I enjoyed 2008 in wrestling as a whole.
- John Cena: : I was a massive fan of Cena at this stage so I was so happy he returned at the Rumble especially so quickly. Survivor Series return was pretty cool too.
- Chris Jericho : Although Jericho technically returned in 2007 I still feel like this was his returning year, and it was very good, his heel turn was very good.
- Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels : Very good feud with some very good matches.
- John Cena vs. Batista : This match at Summerslam got me really hyped, I thought the match was pretty good too.
- CM Punk : Winning the Money in the Bank and winning the World Title was awesome as I liked him since his debut.
- Jeff Hardy : I was never a massive Jeff Hardy fan but I really liked him winning the title for the first time. I thought he massive Swanton was crazy cool.
- Edge vs. Undertaker : HIAC match was very good.
- Ric Flair : I'd only been watching him for a few years but I liked the way he retired nonetheless.
This year was a diamond in the rough as I didn't like 2007 or 2009 a whole lot.
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 18, 2024 8:51:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 7:46:53 GMT -5
I liked 2008 a lot as it was happening and a good chunk of it still holds up.
- I liked Cena's return up until they splintered him off into that horrible feud with JBL.
- WrestleMania XXIV was awesome.
- Undertaker vs. Edge was a great feud
- Batista vs. Cena at SummerSlam
- No Mercy 2008 was awesome
- Armageddon 2008 was one of the better Armageddon PPVs.
There were some really good PPVs that year, it was actually a pretty exciting follow up to what was (product wise) a really dull year in 2007.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 9:14:27 GMT -5
Shawn Micheals vs Chris Jericho was fantastic and most of the PPV's were really good (especially Summerslam).
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Post by BrIaNMeRcY on Sept 4, 2014 9:36:58 GMT -5
Where can I even begin. 2008 is still fairly recent for me to discuss but I am open to talk about the high and low points.
High points:
- The switch from standard definition to high definition. The WWE was finally able to catch up with the times and realize HD can make their TV look even better. This allowed for the WWE to do another first at Madison Square Garden being the 2008 Royal Rumble was the first PPV to be offered in HD. I am glad the network version is in HD rather than SD.
- WrestleMania XXIV and the build towards it. The WWE really did a good job building the four main matches (Shawn Michaels/Ric Flair, The Undertaker/Edge, Big Show/Floyd Mayweather Jr., Triple H/John Cena/Randy Orton). The Flair/Michaels match was good, well paced, and the psychology was there. Undertaker & Edge closing out the show was a shock to me. I feel this match solidified Edge's status as a main eventer. Triple H/Cena/Orton was good for what its worth. Show & Mayweather was done really good. Considering this is Big Show's first PPV singles match in 19 months.
- Chris Jericho's heel turn was done perfectly. Jericho even admitted that his ladder match at No Mercy 2008 against Shawn Michaels is one of his favorite matches. There isn't anything that needs to be mentioned.
Low Points:
- CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship reign. Could have been handled so much better. The fact they did an angle where Randy Orton gave him the punt at Unforgiven made it suck even harder. The silver lining was it gave us a good, Chris Jericho WHC run. I am glad it was acknowledged in Orion & Punk's 2011 feud that Punk wanted retribution from 2008.
- John Cena/Batista's program leading into SummerSlam. While this was a fresh match at the time, I feel they could have built to this match much longer than randomly announcing these two were going to have a match. The match was good but the build sucked.
- Mr. McMahon's Million Dollar Giveaway, nuff said.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 4, 2014 9:41:02 GMT -5
I'm sad to say 2008 was a year I missed most of. I was still a couple of years away from wrestling drawing me in again. I hope eventually the network will have all the years of Raw that I missed so I can really experience it. Have you been able to at least see WrestleMania 24? |
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Deleted
Joined on: Nov 18, 2024 8:51:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2014 12:01:13 GMT -5
Yes indeed this is a great idea for threads.
There was a LOT to love in 2008.
Edge & UT tore it up every time they were together WM24 is the 1st time I thought the streak was over......and I loved Batista vs HBK in the stretcher match. LOVED it. Everything else great has already been covered.
I loved Cenas return @ RR08 because it meant HHH wasn't gonna win the RR!!!
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Post by Brad on Sept 4, 2014 12:07:43 GMT -5
I'm sad to say 2008 was a year I missed most of. I was still a couple of years away from wrestling drawing me in again. I hope eventually the network will have all the years of Raw that I missed so I can really experience it. Have you been able to at least see WrestleMania 24? Most of it. I need to sit down one day and watch from front to back. |
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Post by Next Manufactured’s Sweater on Sept 4, 2014 12:25:00 GMT -5
Royal Rumble 2008 was a lesson learned for me... I had fallen asleep during the show and the next morning stupidly decided to search Youtube for the rumble match, realising all too late that there would be a million videos saying "JOHN CENA RETURNS TO WIN THE ROYAL RUMBLE" so that blew that surprise.
I'd put WrestleMania 24 up there as the best WrestleMania, a lot of people would go for X-Seven but I think 24 gets my vote.
Miz and Morrison were awesome in 2008, they were the highlight of all three shows.
Loved Punk's surprise title win, but didn't really enjoy anything he did after that all year.
Similarly, loved D'Lo Brown's return, hated everything he did (or rather, didn't do) after it.
Edge-Undertaker was a tremendous feud, didn't really care for Michaels-Jericho.
I thought 2008 was Batista's worst year -- his SummerSlam match with Cena was great, but I didn't enjoy anything else he did. Really seemed to be just going through the motions. Same in 2009 up until his heel turn.
They did some great videos for Cena's return at Survivor Series:
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Dante, The Voc
Main Eventer
If I'm not online, I'm on the toilet
Joined on: Dec 5, 2010 9:48:02 GMT -5
Posts: 1,374
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Post by Dante, The Voc on Sept 4, 2014 12:44:38 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XXIV is so sorely underrated. Great MiTB, fun Belfast Brawl (with the funniest spot of all-time: JBL tossing a trash can at Hornswoggle), fantastic main event.
Cena's return at the Rumble was insane--as an adamant Cena jeerer I still get chills watching that return. Not one soul on the good green earth expected his music to play at the Garden that night, you're lying to yourself if you knew he was gonna return.
Jericho was on his A-game throughout...first full year back and he's shooting out classics with HBK. Their Judgment Day encounter is an underrated one, the GAB match solidified the feud, and while Unforgiven shoulda been the end-game no doubt the Ladder Match was the kicker. The last great moment of the year.
Summerslam was another underrated one in the lineage. Epic encounter in HiAC, the perfect end to an Edge/Undertaker feud that went on an old-school, long feel. Cena/Batista was a cracker and HHH got a decent match outta Khali.
Punk's rise, Flair's last run, the mini-Batista/HBK feud, Kofi's first reign, and Glamarella all add to the good that 2008 brought.
As I said earlier, after Jericho/HBK the year just flatlined. Kane changed his theme & entered that garbage feud with Mysterio. They had nothing for JBL so they made him own MIchaels in a stupid way to capitalize popularity on the stock market crash. Punk's sudden drop back to the midcard was awful, as was the WHC situation, with Jericho and Batista playing hot potato until Cena took it. And don't get me started with the WWE Title. Hardy's out cold, Edge wins the belt, only for Jeff to win it back. Confusing and atrocious. The first 9 months were severely underrated but it's the last 3 that were so bad, it stains the memories of 2008, and plants the seeds for how god-awful 2009 was.
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Post by ricflair4ever on Sept 4, 2014 16:22:26 GMT -5
I agree that all the good that 2008 did was seemingly overshadowed by the last 3 months. Everything from after September just seemed to slowly lose momentum. It was almost a clear defining change , whether that was due to the rating change to pg or what, im not sure. But the beginning of 08 through that point was solid and entertaining. In my opinion the Ruthless Aggression era ended around Sept and there was just a strange kind of lull period before the full pg era of 2009. Great idea for a thread by the way
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Sept 4, 2014 17:11:28 GMT -5
The 2008 year for the WWE was actually really awesome, like everyone has stated.
My personal favourite stuff of that year was...
Edge vs. Undertaker feud
Batista vs. HBK feud over Flair
Jericho vs. HBK feud
Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H vs. Edge feud/matches
Batista vs. Cena at SummerSlam
Matt Hardy being ECW Champion
2008 and 2009 were very strong years, that probably at the time didn't get the notice or recognition that they do now, years later.
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Post by 0,Y on Sept 5, 2014 7:14:41 GMT -5
2008 was a great year. It had the best written feud in Taker/Edge in recent years and a great set of PPVs. Plus it's a sentimental favorite for me because it's the year I got hooked on watching WWE.
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