The "Adam/Matt/Amy" Angle (Possible RAW Spoiler)

[Joey Slugs]

Based on what happened tonight. What do you guys think? Did the affair ever happen? Did Matt "use" his fans to draw attention to all of this?

[James Steele]

SPOILER WARNINGS JACKASS

[DaBrasko]

You can say he used the fans, but all he really did was what every wrestler strides to do and that is get an emotional reaction from the fans, they may have gone about it in an underhanded way but can you really be angry at story line that plays on the fans trust? If you are pissed at this then you are watching the wrong television shows if you dont want to be lied to :P

All they really did is used a new tool in getting a storyline over ... the internet :) just be happy that wrestling was able to swerve you again. It could be a good sign of things to come.

[Joey Slugs]

SPOILER WARNINGS JACKASS

I fixed the title before anyone posted. Jackass.

[James Steele]

LOL, Having the spoiler in the title then putting (RAW Spoiler) isn't really effective. JACKASS

[Joey Slugs]

LOL, Having the spoiler in the title then putting (RAW Spoiler) isn't really effective. JACKASS

it's been an ongoing angle for the last month or so. how is that a spoiler? dumb fuck.

[James Steele]

Considering that you are telling people that something happened on RAW involving Matt, Edge, and Lita. Thus still giving away somewhat of a spoiler. Now shut up you ignorant ass (aka YOU GOT OWNED DUMB FUCK!)

[Joey Slugs]

Considering that you are telling people that something happened on RAW involving Matt, Edge, and Lita. Thus still giving away somewhat of a spoiler. Now shut up you ignorant ass (aka YOU GOT OWNED DUMB FUCK!)

i post a simple poll.. and i get owned. wow. impressive.

getting owned via the internet. damn.
:shifty:

[James Steele]

Welcome to TPWW

[Savio]

haha who put complete shoot?

[Corkscrewed]

Lita cheats on Matt. Matt bitches. Shit happens. Matt whines and it works. Writers exploit angle. Money calms old wounds and sets up a markout moment.

Fans win.



The moral of this story is: Lita botched hurting Matt.

[Corkscrewed]

:shifty:

[Kane Knight]

HAmes is owning n00bs left and right. My job here is done. I should bow out gracefully, retiring from TPWW...But instead, I shall return for ONE MORE POST.

[James Steele]

HAmes is owning n00bs left and right. My job here is done. I should bow out gracefully, retiring from TPWW...But instead, I shall return for ONE MORE POST.

NO! NO! NO!

YOU WILL AT LEAST POST UP TO SUMMERSLAM!!!

[Joey Slugs]

HAmes is owning n00bs left and right. My job here is done. I should bow out gracefully, retiring from TPWW...But instead, I shall return for ONE MORE POST.

oh yeah. i got rolled by a 16 year old. he owned me alright.
:roll:

[Watson]

haha who put complete shoot?

[Pepsi Man]

She probably did cheat on him, and he probably even was released, but sometimes, they do listen to the fans. Granted, it hasn't worked for one Bret Hart yet. ;)

[Marcyo]

haha who put complete shoot?

[Kane Knight]

She probably did cheat on him, and he probably even was released, but sometimes, they do listen to the fans. Granted, it hasn't worked for one Bret Hart yet. ;)
Yeah, but he's Canadian.

[Kane Knight]

oh yeah. i got rolled by a 16 year old. he owned me alright.
:roll:
Back up.

Consider that my entire post was playing on the "Immortal" Hulk Hogan's 500 returns to the ring for hsi last time. Consider it was a pisstake on my outliving my own usefulness.

And you really want to take the "owning" part seriously?

Mmmmk.

[Azriel]

I say wait to see what happens next week. If Matt ends up reinstated, then it was a work. Lord knows if my girlfriend cheated on me I don't think I'd be able to work in the same place as her

[Innovator]

I think someone inside WWE is a LC fan....because

WE

GOT

SWERVED

[Kane Knight]

I say wait to see what happens next week. If Matt ends up reinstated, then it was a work. Lord knows if my girlfriend cheated on me I don't think I'd be able to work in the same place as her
Of course, Matt's already said he's on good terms with Amy.

Speaking of which, didn't he say "Adam" and Lita?"

Why not "Amy?" Since he said Edge's real name...

[Chavo Classic]

The moral of this story is: Lita botched hurting Matt.

Lol. This is so true, Lita has never botched anything more than she botched this

[Xero]

Of course, Matt's already said he's on good terms with Amy.

Speaking of which, didn't he say "Adam" and Lita?"

Why not "Amy?" Since he said Edge's real name...
Adam's name has been mentioned on-air before. Maybe they're just pretending that we remember it.

Either that or Lita's botchieness is spreading...

[Chavo Classic]

Of course, Matt's already said he's on good terms with Amy.

Speaking of which, didn't he say "Adam" and Lita?"

Why not "Amy?" Since he said Edge's real name...


I think you might be reading too much into that.

I'm going to wait and see what happens with Matt before I really pass judgement on this. If Matt does end up back on the WWE roster then I'll happily admit that we were played for fools because, although it may not have always been so, it's an excellent work.

It'd be interesting to know exactly when this became a work, because I genuinely believe that Hadry was legitimately fired. His interviews were so emotional and believable that it'd be hard to imagine that some one at Titan towers sat down and thought this all up.

I'll give Kudos to Vince & co for being great opportunists.

[Kane Knight]

I think you might be reading too much into that.
Reading too much into what? I didn't read into it at all. I simply asked WHY.

[Xero]

I'm going to wait and see what happens with Matt before I really pass judgement on this. If Matt does end up back on the WWE roster then I'll happily admit that we were played for fools because, although it may not have always been so, it's an excellent work.
Are you insinuating that Hardy returning was a shoot or that it's a one-off?

I don't see how either are possible, honestly. Why would the WWE promote Hardy like this and just drop it? He's resigned, if he was ever released.

[Chavo Classic]

I'm trying to say that it was for real until Vince, being the opportunist, thought he could make a quick buck out of the situation and brought him back.

[James Steele]

oh yeah. i got rolled by a 16 year old. he owned me alright.
:roll:
:lol:

What did you do to piss of a 16 year old? I don't associate with people who roll houses.

[James Steele]

If that is what you are trying to imply Mr. "I'm 25 therefore am more mature just because of my age even though I am a whiny douche on a wrestling forum".

[Kane Knight]

I'm trying to say that it was for real until Vince, being the opportunist, thought he could make a quick buck out of the situation and brought him back.
Too bad for Matt that no matter how over he might get, he'll be fired again once the angle plays out.

I mean, if these guys can squash RVD and Christian during massive overness, they can SURE AS FUCK fore Matt once his usefulness is over.

[Chavo Classic]

Too bad for Matt that no matter how over he might get, he'll be fired again once the angle plays out.

....but will anyone believe it when this does happen?

"WOLF!"

[The Show Off]

Back up.

Consider that my entire post was playing on the "Immortal" Hulk Hogan's 500 returns to the ring for hsi last time. Consider it was a pisstake on my outliving my own usefulness.

And you really want to take the "owning" part seriously?

Mmmmk.

Wait, so I'm not owned?

Oh wait no one ever said they owned me... Yeah I'll go now.

[Kane Knight]

Who are you again?

[Kane Knight]

....but will anyone believe it when this does happen?

"WOLF!"
Didn't cry wolf though. He went back after he decided fifteen more minutes of fame was worth the cash and pride swallowing.

[Just John]

Man, how many marks are going to be going on about this every time someone they like is fired, they'll think its just the WWE playing with them.

[Kane Knight]

Especially once they find out who's returning tonight on Smackdown!

That's right my friends...Mmm--MmmmMatt...Mmmm-MMM---MmmmMorgan is in da house!

[Just John]

Oh my dear lord....

[Chavo Classic]

Didn't cry wolf though. He went back after he decided fifteen more minutes of fame was worth the cash and pride swallowing.


and pissed off all his little MFers in the process. Good work Mr Hardy.

[DaBrasko]

The marks shouldnt get too pissed off about this whole thing. I mean if they are getting upset over being lead to beleive somthing isnt true in wrestling then these same marks should be bitch smacked for thinking the buried alive matches are real. :P

[RGWhat316]

Wow, I'm still shocked at actually seeing Matt on RAW. I say it's a litttle bit of both. I believe that the relationship crumbled, and he did get fired. But I think that his name has been chanted for the last few months. So they almost had to bring him back. That's not always the case, but at least my opinion.

But if this was all a work, the Matt Hardy message board is probably blowing up right now. I've read on there a few times, and those people hang on every single word he said. So if he says he lied to them, he will lose a bunch of fans.

[Loose Cannon]

Worked Shoot for the 90th time.

WWE WOULD NEVER allow an uncontracted wrestler to attack a contracted wrestler in a WWE arena. And they would of NEVER kept WWE cameras on Edge/Hardy in the ring in this wasn't a work.

[Sadistic]

Complete work, obviously Matt doesn't give a shit about his fans.

[Lord-Of-Darkness]

I just rewatched the Hardy 'invasion' again, via Saviors post, and something occoured to me that makes it obvious that it is a work. If someone who isn't employed by the company gets involved in a match or gets into the ring, only to be restrained/arrested, i'm pretty sure the last thing they would do is take that person up the stage and into the Gorilla position...

[Loose Cannon]

no fricken shit.

And I'll never believe this was a complete work because of the fact that they completely ignored the "You screwed Matt" chants at first. Second, because Vince would never work a mid-card angle like this which has the possibility to make him zero dollars. Third because they didn't start fooling around with Matt Hardy (i.e. the whole fake intro thing) until after the pops and chants got louder and louder.

The WWE is doing exactly what they say they do all the time, which is bullshit. And that is giving what the fans want. Perfect example right here

[M. Banana]

Meh, I don't fucking care. I got Matt back, marked out like a three year old who realized he has a penis, and now I'm happy.

[M. Banana]

Is THEMattHardy working for anyone else?

SEEMS DOWN TO ME

[vampiro03]

Worked Shoot for the 90th time.

WWE WOULD NEVER allow an uncontracted wrestler to attack a contracted wrestler in a WWE arena. And they would of NEVER kept WWE cameras on Edge/Hardy in the ring in this wasn't a work.

I completely agree, I saw a real fan jump into the ring on nitro when it was macho/nash. it was funny macho speared the dude. big sexy (who was supposed to be ko'ed) picks his head off the mat to see what the fuck was going on. then security swarmed him. matt wouldn't have been taken away by the Red Rooster if it was a shoot. thats for damn sure.

[Sadistic]

Is THEMattHardy working for anyone else?

SEEMS DOWN TO ME
It's down for me aswell

[Corkscrewed]

Especially once they find out who's returning tonight on Smackdown!

That's right my friends...Mmm--MmmmMatt...Mmmm-MMM---MmmmMorgan is in da house!
Haven't read SD spoilers yet... are you serious?

[Kane Knight]

Haven't read SD spoilers yet... are you serious?
I haven't read them either, but as I posted it before the SD tapings, you should know I was talking pure ass. ;)

[vampiro03]

what killed the "realality" for me was Matt showing up in the back BEFORE he was in the ring. come on guys, he ran out the door the red rooster and his lackys were hovering over edge. Why weren't the police called when matt "assulted" edge in the back? where did he go when he was outside? did ANOTHER door just be ironicly unlocked with no security watching it so he could sneak back in? they should've skipped the back scene all together but they ARE learning. second, they should've had stadium security remove him, not the red rooster. that would've been 100x better.

[.44 Magdalene]

It wasn't really "Matt," but a program in the MATTRIX©. Didn't you notice how...chubby he was? Maybe a little pale? As if he wasn't really Matt, but someone who looks all but identical to him?

THEY CAN APPEAR ANYWHERE, MANG! THERE IS NO ESCAPE. IT IS A WORK. ALL OF IT--MONTREAL, THE HOLOCAUST, THE CIVIL WAR, ANNA NICOLE SMITH LOSING WEIGHT--ALL YOU KNOW AND LOVE IS A WORK.

You don't get it.

None of you do.

Follow the white rabbit. No one can be told what the Mattrix© is. You have to see it for yourself.

[M. Banana]

In an alternate universe, I'm Triple H.

[Zen v.W.o.]

Just a lil something on the greatest work-shoot of all time. Lil bit of a comparison to this Hardy version.


LOOKING BACK AT BRIAN PILLMAN, THE ORIGINAL WORK/SHOOT ANGLE IN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, SIMILARITIES TO MATT HARDY'S WWE RETURN & MORE
by Mike Johnson @ 12:40:00 PM on 7/13/2005

With the recent Matt Hardy-Edge-Lita angle making huge waves online and in the business, a number of references and allusions have been made between Hardy and the late Brian Pillman. Pillman, who passed away in October 1997 is to this day, closely linked to work-shoot angles because he was the first person to do one nationally, at the right time, with the right timing. Pillman, a former Cincinnati Bengal, had been a mid-card performer for WCW with the same start/stop pushes that most of the undercard talent (including Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and William Regal) received during the timespan of 1989-1995. One month he was pushed as part of a hot tag team with Steve Austin or the Lightheavyweight champion, the next he was looking at the lights to the latest musclebound cartoon character WCW had imported. There was no rhyme or reason, just politics and an ever-changing landscape of who was in charge this week.

During a feud with Kevin Sullivan in the Nitro era of late 1995/early 1996, Pillman broke through the politics and reinvented himself. Taking on the nickname "The Loose Cannon", Pillman began acting erratic on camera and off to get over the idea that he had seemingly lost his mind. Pillman, at this point a member of the Four Horsemen and then-WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff would get into confrontations on camera with Bischoff threatening to fire Pillman. In the ring, Pillman and Sullivan would work extremely rough and stiff, fooling others that they were "shooting" on the other.

To get over his character, Pillman went as far as grabbing Bobby Heenan during a live Clash of the Champions special on TBS during a match with Eddy Guerrero, causing the shocked Heenan to mutter the "F" word on live television and run for cover to protect his long ailing neck. Pillman's acting ability was so great that he was able to convincingly portray an absolute psycho at all times, whether he was in the arena, the airport, or the hotel. He never dropped character, not even while appearing on local Cincinnati radio shows.

At the WCW Superbrawl PPV in February 1996, Pillman was booked to face Kevin Sullivan in a Respect Strap match. After several minutes of action that didn't seem like they were working together in the least, Pillman grabbed the ring mic and said the infamous line, "I respect you, bookerman." Pillman then walked out of the building. Sullivan at the time was Bischoff's booker for the company and Pillman had seemingly broken total and complete kayfabe. It was announced Pillman had been fired by WCW the next night on Nitro. The Sullivan match concluded with a convoluted ending where Arn Anderson briefly substituted for Pillman and Ric Flair arrived to "make peace" between the parties. At the time, Disco Inferno was the only person on the WCW roster who believed the entire scenario was a work, with Diamond Dallas Page telling him, "If it is, shut up."

As it turned out, Bischoff and Sullivan were in on the whole thing, and had worked the wrestlers as well as the fans. Pillman persuaded them to fax him an actual release from WCW to cement the angle was legitimate to smart fans.

Pillman made several appearances in ECW, the rebel promotion that "hated" WCW to fuel the fires. All of Pillman's appearances were absolutely classic. He gave the promo of his life at ECW's Cyberslam '96, before attempting to pull out his penis and urinate in the ring. The idea was Pillman would eventually face off with Shane Douglas, although the match never came to fruition. He later showed up in the front row at an ECW event and when Douglas went to hit him, Pillman pulled a child in his way to stop Douglas. His appearances cemented the fact that his firing was legitimate, although not all ECW fans believed the storyline, as there were signs proclaiming otherwise at shows, such as "Hey Eric, Can We Borrow Loch Ness, Too?"

At the same time, Pillman made several appearances in the crowd in WCW, mostly holding signs for a 900 line he owned before being tossed out of the building as Eric Bischoff went off on commentary.

Pillman actually intended to take the character even farther then he actually had. He had talked of hoping onto the field at the Super Bowl and handcuffing himself to the end zone in order to get huge publicity for himself. He had also intended at one point to sit ringside at a WWF house show in Madison Square Garden under a lucha mask, then unmask and hop the rail when Shawn Michaels was wrestling, with the idea that he'd create a huge buzz for himself. A family situation prevented Pillman from pulling the WWF stunt.

Meanwhile, with an actual release in his hands, Pillman turned around and worked everyone into making him one of the hottest performers of that timespan. Even though they had been working with him, he turned around and duped Bischoff and Sullivan in the end. Pillman began negotiating with the WWF, making himself the first true free agent during the Monday Night Wars and garnering one of the first guaranteed WWF contracts ever.

Sadly, he never got the chance to see how far he could make the ginmmick run. Just prior to signing his WWF deal, Pillman was in a car accident that eventually put his life into a downward spiral, ending with his sad death in October 1997. He did eventuall return to the ring and got over to a certain extent thanks to his great acting ability and being made part of the Hart Foundation. His ankle never properly healed, and he was in constant pain for the rest of his life. He was found dead in his hotel room just prior to that year's Badd Blood PPV with the death being attributed to a heart defect, although there was little doubt his own issues may have helped augment the issue.

The timeframe for Pillman's success at reinventing himself was an important reason as to why Pillman's actions have taken on something of a cult following with wrestling fans. With WCW's Nitro show gaining steam in the ratings and the advent of the Internet as a tool in marketing and promoting the wrestling business, Pillman was in the right place at the right time. He would use a message board devoted to him on AOL to attack WCW, Bischoff, fans, and even those running the area forum. When a throat injury (which some thought was convenient timing as he would have been pinned by Hulk Hogan in the match) kept him off a WCW Uncensored PPV, Pillman went online and blasted WCW for false advertising him. Pillman would also arrive in scheduled wrestling chats and promptly find himself ejected for cursing out AOL staff. In the end, Pillman was banned from the AOL service a number of times for breaking their Terms of Service.

Pillman was simply the right person for the angle, doing it at the right time. Had things turned out differently for him personally, he may have been one of the major players of boom period of the late 90s, right alongside Steve Austin, who credits Pillman to this day for helping him become a better interview. In fact, many of the things that Austin did to get his Stone Cold persona over were derivative of many of the things Pillman did in WCW.

As with everything else in the entertainment world, once a hot idea breaks ground there are a number of rehashes and that was the case with work/shoot angles in wrestling. While there had been worked/shoot moments before in the business, such as Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA title in 1994 in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Pillman's actions set the wrestling world on fire. There were countless "This isn't supposed to happen" moments from that point on in the business, most notably in the Vince Russo era of WCW, although none drew money and most turned off fans because there wasn't a performer fans cared about at the center of it and the timing was wrong...until now.

There are a number of similarities between Pillman and the current Hardy angle. Hardy was released and used the Internet to raise his level of awareness among wrestling fans. He showed up "unannounced" and "shot on the mic." He namedropped Ring of Honor, while Pillman popped up in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Both storylines play on different levels and invoke the emotion of "this is real" in both hardcore and casual fans.

The main difference today is that smarter fans are already jaded to "worked shoots" at this point and will revolt against continuing to be worked now that it's been revealed as a storyline. It will be up to Hardy to stay one step ahead of the curve the way Pillman used to. The other prime difference is that, unlike Pillman, Hardy is healthy and is returning raring to go, without injuries and issues to hold him back. He has the chance that Brian Pillman never did, because of his own issues and injuries, to run with the angle and make himself a bigger star then he ever was before.

Whether the Hardy situation sets the business on fire or is wiped out with bad booking from this point on, it was a great moment to watch unveil and shows that, when done right, the spirit of Brian Pillman's shooting works can still be invoked to create interest in fresh ways. Whether it can draw money, however, remains to be seen. Pillman never had that opportunity. Hardy will be the test case as to whether it truly can. Time will tell.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

[Loose Cannon]

I think that's the first time in lke 3 years I've read a big article like that word for word. Great stuff by Mike. He usually writes some awesome articles.

I know I compared the Hardy thing to Pillman right away, but it's really unfair to compare the two at this point. We've only seen one segment so far and a dam good one. But I hope they really push the angle hard.