The Ass Man Cometh

And so the Ass Man cometh. Rikishi, the former cannibal and fake Arabian who failed to "make a difference" has stepped forward from the bleached blonded identity parade, left Too Fools behind, and announced himself as the man who squashed the rattlesnake with the aid of a car, and all in the name of his fellow island inhabitants.

While I admit it is nice to see the WWF powers that be push another hard working athlete to main event status, after years of questionable gimmicks, I have my doubts as to the reasons they are giving him for attacking Victoria's most famous export. For all his fellow islanders? Can anyone say Nation of Domination? I can just see it now. Samoans and Tongans from years gone by - Jimmy Snuka, Tama, Samu, Haku, Afa, Siki, the Tonga Kid - I could go on for years here - will be marched out before us, claiming how proud they are that Rikishi, on behalf of all these homeboys, ran down the great if somewhat beat down white hope in Stone Cold.

But is this really the beginning of the run-in to Wrestlemania? Are we really going to be led to believe that eventually, we wil be told that Rikishi was acting under orders from the People's Champion? Probably. But do we really want to see another bout of gang warfare in the WWF based upon racial lines? I really don't know. Was I surprised when Rikishi was announced as the man? Yes. I thought it would be someone like Chris Jericho, or perhaps even Raven.

This is perhaps one of the few times recently that I could not predict what the WWF was going to do. When you can successfully predict six out of eight pay-per-view matches, you realise that things are starting to get a little too.....well, predictable. By announcing Rikishi as the man, they fooled everyone. Leaving Too Fools behind could be the best move the big man has ever made in his career. The two clowns were doing nothing more than holding him back.But will the match with Austin be a classic? Probably not. How good will a match between a man with a dodgy knee and another man with a dodgy neck be? I'm getting flashbacks of Hulk Hogan's "return" match with Earthquake here.

But I must admit, I am looking forward to this encounter. It may not be a match for the ages, but it will be rather interesting.

Finally, a quick get well message to one Luigi Birriterri, who at this moment is currently recovering from surgery after a vicious encounter with a cactus. I understand a re-match, possibly a Hell In A Cell encounter, is pencilled in for Wrestlemania 17 next March. Get well soon you dumb assed fool!

Until next time.....