Why Rocky Lost His 'Mania Mojo

Wrestlemania has hosted many "dream matches" over the years. Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle. Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock. This year was no exception as we got to see perhaps the most anticipated match of this generation: The Rock vs. John Cena. Obviously, this match had a lot going for it: The Rock's long-awaited return to WWE, an opponent that John Cena would finally have to confront rather than simply brush off, not to mention that they are two of the biggest stars the industry has ever seen. However, for everything that felt right about this match, something about it didn't quite click the way it should have, and I think I've figured out exactly what that is.

First, let's go back. 2002. Wrestlemania X8. The Rock vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. It was perhaps the dream match to end all dream matches. The Rock was at the apex of his career, truly evolving into the most electrifying man in all of entertainment. Hogan, still the leader of the popular nWo, had just made a return to WWE after eight years, having gone down with Ted Turner's recently defunct WCW. It was truly "Icon vs. Icon" in a match that needed little hype beyond the name value of its contestants, but WWE went the extra mile to get fans involved by having the two debate back and forth who was the bigger star until Hogan and his nWo cohorts beat the living hell out of The Rock, and stuffed him in an ambulance which they then ran down with an 18-wheeler...y'know, just in case you couldn't tell who the bad guys were. "Miraculously," Rocky was cleared to compete at Wrestlemania X8, and you would think that given everything that's happened, Rock could easily rest on the idea that he would be the clear face of the match.

Keep in mind, he was beaten to a pulp and then crushed with an 18-wheeler.

Despite having suffered the type of abuse that would have sent any other assailant to prison, The Rock was actually booed vehemently during his match with Hogan. Everything was fine until Rock started to gain some momentum, at which point the crowd decided that Hogan's legacy was more important than his attack on the biggest star of this generation and began to express their disapproval of "The Great One"'s offense by the thousands.

In the end, The Rock would be victorious against the Hulkster, and would suffer greatly for it. Shortly after befriending Hogan following their epic bout, Rock would do a quick heel turn, expressing his disdain for the fans who turned on him so quickly.

Why did fans boo Hogan? Perhaps it was in the vain hope of an unpredictable finish in which Hogan would overcome all odds to beat a man half his age with twice the in-ring ability. Perhaps it was out of respect for Hogan's legacy and the generations of fans who looked up to him, and continue to do so. But I think most fans cheered for Hogan because deep down, we knew that all that garbage about running The Rock down in a tractor trailer was just for show, and that underneath all the nWo black and white was the red and yellow we knew and loved. At the base of all the fabrications, we knew that Hulk Hogan, at least as a character if not as a human being, was not a bad guy.

Flash forward a decade. It's 2012. John Cena has been the face of the WWE for the past eight years. The Rock has virtually disappeared from professional wrestling, save for the infrequent appearance or the slightly more frequent interview "via satellite." Cena has been unstoppable, and to be quite honest, it's getting on a few people's nerves. The guy just never loses, and to make matters worse, WWE can't seem to muster up an opponent that even gives the perception of being powerful enough, smart enough, or charismatic enough, to pose a threat to Cena's reign of dominance.

Several men have come along to test this idea. Chris Jericho claimed he had returned to WWE to "save us" from the weekly monotony. C.M. Punk, despite winning the WWE title from Cena and subsequently, Alberto Del Rio, seems more of an underdog champion than the real face of the industry, as the focal point of every show remains squarely on John Cena.

And then suddenly The Rock makes his triumphant and long-awaited return to wrestling and FINALLY (pun intended) it seems as though John Cena will have a truly worthy opponent.

Now, let me just say right off the bat here, that this match certainly lived up to the hype. The contest itself was as intense as they come, with both men helping to make the other worthy of the accolades that have been lavished upon them. The Rock electrified, and Cena battled. It truly was a "once in a lifetime" experience. The match itself is not what is being questioned here, but rather, the circumstances surrounding it.

Anyone who has watched wrestling over the past decade or so (or read the first six paragraphs above) will instantly recognize a parallel between The Rock in 2012 and Hulk Hogan in 2002. Both were returning to wrestling after varied success and failure outside the industry. The Rock may be one of the most recognizable faces in entertainment, but to say his movies have "electrified" critics is a gross overstatement. I'd like to cite that the average rating for a major motion picture involving Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on RottenTomatoes.com is 42%, with the lowest being The Tooth Fairy at 18%. (This is a mean score consisting of all major studio film releases featuring The Rock in a prominent role and do not include documentaries, independent films, or wrestling-related compilations or features.)

To be fair, John Cena's foray into the medium of film did not go quite so smoothly, either, considering 2006's The Marine garnered just 20%, with the average for all Cena-related feature films being a dismal 18.5%.

Despite the less-than-stellar rise to fame of these gentlemen outside the ring, there is one fact that needs to be stated here in differentiating their paths to Hollywood. For John Cena, film was something to do on the side, a curiosity he could afford to indulge, perhaps at the behest of Vince McMahon and his dream of being something more than just a wrestling promoter. For The Rock, however, being a career choice: a conscious decision to say goodbye to professional wrestling and use his star power to make a comfortable future for himself where he wouldn't have to break his back to make a handsome income.

That's not a criticism of The Rock. That is simply fact.

Let's also not forget that WWE decided to announce this match the night after Wrestlemania XXVII, thus making it perhaps the longest-promoted match in the history of contemporary professional wrestling. However, the feud didn't really kick off until November, when The Rock began making regular appearances on Monday Night Raw and actually addressing the barrage of comments launched at him by his Wrestlemania opponent.

The feud started off with a bang, as both men took their respective stances: John Cena would remind everyone that he was the one towing the company line while Dwayne decided to walk away. Meanwhile, The Rock would remind us all why he was "the most electrifying man" of a generation and proved to us all, at least on the microphone, that he still had what it took to be "The People's Champion." Most importantly, he promised us that he was here to save us from the Cena era once and for all.

It was exactly what fans had been waiting almost eight years to see: two of WWE's biggest stars at their best, dueling it out to see who really was the best. Fans who grew up during the "Attitude Era" flocked to The Rock, relieved that there finally was someone who could snuff out the candle the ever-persistent candle that was John Cena. Younger fans, many of whom became wrestling fans because of John Cena, stood by their champion and booed this old has-been for trying to trample the good name of their hero. It was everything a wrestling feud could ever be. I will admit, that I was of the former breed, and stood firmly in The Rock's camp, and I expected to remain there through Wrestlemania. All the logic in the world would dictate that this should have been the case.

But then something changed: things got personal.

It started with a few jokes. The Rock began making comments about Cena's "Fruity Pebble" color scheme and spread rumors about Cena's fictional "lady parts." Meanwhile, Cena began telling people that while he respected "The Rock", he did not respect "Dwayne Johnson", calling the former "The People's Champion," and the latter, "A Champion With People."

Cena would go on to accuse Rock of having a massive ego and turning his back on the WWE Universe. He noted that after making his comeback, "The Great One" promised fans he wouldn't be leaving "for a long, long time," but was nowhere to be found following Wrestlemania XXVII. Meanwhile, Rock would continue to make jokes about Cena, from his clothes to his lifestyle, to his career. Mick Foley even made an appearance and orchestrated a "John Cena: This is Your Life" segment to mirror the classic vignette with The Rock so many years ago.

However, there were two big obstacles facing The Rock: 1.) He had not competed full-time in eight years, 2.) To the fans' eyes, everything John Cena said was true. Whereas Rock took the sarcastic route, John Cena was spitting pure fact in his adversary's face. While this may not have been enough to win over the die-hard Cena-haters, The Rock was definitely losing momentum in a game that everyone thought Cena would never win.

It came to a head one night when Cena interrupted yet another classic tirade from "The Brahma Bull". Cena ran The Rock down for a minute or two, and, in a moment that felt something like a cross between a low blow and a knockout punch, noted that The Rock kept the notes for his promo on his wrist. The high-definition WWE cameras easily caught the flicker of fury on The Rock's face as Cena's words sank in and an audible "oooh" swept through the crowd. After Cena's exit, The Rock attempted to continue his promo as though nothing had happened, trying to get the People's Train rolling again, but all he could do was stammer his way to telling us all that he was going to kick Cena's ass at Wrestlemania, "if you smell what The Rock is cookin'."

For the first time in years, it appeared, at least to those watching, that The Rock was shaken by John Cena. And Cena knew it.

From there on out, The Rock's entire style changed. To fend off Cena's facts, The Rock began to sound like a schoolyard bully, throwing out humorous anecdotes while never really countering the things John Cena said. When given a chance to express their feelings through song, Cena returned to his trademark rap game, weaving his truths into rhyme. Meanwhile, The Rock put on another "Rock Concert" (something we'd seen back in 2003 before facing Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIX), and continued to make fun of John Cena in every way imaginable, even going so far as to insinuate he had sex with Cena's mother.

It was entertaining, but was it really what the fans wanted?

Rock's promos lacked the intensity that was found in his classic feuds. Rather than reminding us all why he was "The Great One", Rock seemed more concerned with giving us a "Rundown" of his day (see what I did there?) and making sure that his name and catchphrases were "trending worldwide" on Twitter. It certainly seemed as though The Rock, former WWE Champion, had been replaced by Dwayne Johnson, the movie star.

I wanted to get behind The Rock. Growing up in the "Attitude Era", The Rock was my favorite wrestler. Like so many other fans, I'd had enough of John Cena's "Five Moves of Doom" and the monotony of watching the same programs week in and week out. For all intents and purposes, I should be a shoe-in for The Rock's "Team Bring It". But still there was that one inescapable fact:

John Cena was right.

And so instead of being firmly set in one camp or the other, I found myself sitting on the fence thinking I didn't want either of these men to lose. WWE had begun airing video packages documenting Cena's dedication to WWE both in and out of the ring, while similar packages of The Rock consisted of 15 year-old footage and interviews and outtakes from his newest movie.

You see, I think there were two errors made on the part of The Rock that caused him to come up short in the verbal aspect of this feud.

The first is that The Rock became a mark. In wrestling terms, a "mark" is someone who "believes the hype." Someone who is a "mark" for Steve Austin might tell you they truly believe that "Stone Cold" can beat the crap out of any human being on the planet. A "mark" is that fan who is blinded to the "suspension of disbelief" that surrounds the world of wrestling and puts full stock in what they see at face value.

So who did The Rock "mark out" for?

The Rock.

I truly believe that in all the hype, Dwayne Johnson became a mark for himself. And why shouldn't he have been? For all we know, Vince McMahon really was relying on The Rock to "save" the WWE and put the company back on the map. The Rock knows he is a household name: that's why he gets paid extraordinary amounts of money for films that ultimately bomb at the box office. The Rock. He remembers what he did all those years ago, he remembers being "the most electrifying man in all of entertainment."

Unfortunately, that also seemed to mean that The Rock had nothing to prove. Indeed, he said as much in his promos, claiming that John Cena was merely a milestone for him to cement his legacy, and not a legitimate threat to the legacy itself. The Rock just assumed that fans would remember him, that he could still use his past achievements as a bid for greatness in the current generation of wrestling fans, but unfortunately for The Rock, wrestling is notorious for its short-term memory, both in the minds of the fans and the business as a whole. It's all about "What have you done for me lately?" and a simple tag team victory at Survivor Series was not enough to erase the fact that The Rock had not faced a legitimate opponent in more than eight years. Instead he figured he'd stroll in and bask in the glory of his long-anticipated return, try out a few new catchphrases, plug his new movie, get a few more Twitter followers, and let John Cena balk in the face of his "millions (and millions)" of fans.

In The Rock's defense, it had been years since Cena showed the kind of gusto that was on display against The Rock, but once the switch was on, it was a clear reminder of why we all used to cheer for Cena, and why we respect him as a performer.

Which brings me to my final point. In wrestling, the feud is generally between two characters. This is why it's so difficult to get talent outside of wrestling to come and give a good performance. Many of them, particularly athletes from other sports, don't understand the difference between the person, and the character. There is a "fourth wall" that generally remains constant, and breaking through it is referred to as "breaking kayfabe." An example would be CM Punk's promo against Vince McMahon and the WWE for holding him down because he did not "fit the mold" of what they thought a good superstar should be. These are very rare, unless you're someone like Triple H who has complete creative control and can do this at will.

In wrestling, there are good guys and there are bad guys, or, as those in the business will call them: faces and heels. We know the bad guys because they're the ones doing things we don't like, and we know the good guys because they're usually the ones beating up the bad guys. In a perfect world, we root for the good guys and cheer for the bad guys. The purpose of the storyline is to tell us who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. This is why we have things like a heel champion retaining his title by getting intentionally disqualified. That way, when a good guy comes along and he needs to remind us all why we want him to win he can tell us about the time that champion got himself intentionally disqualified.

This is all Wrestling 101, but it's important in the case of Rock vs. Cena because this feud blurred the lines between a "work" (a feud based on a creative thread or storyline), and a "shoot" (a feud based in reality). There is an interesting paradox here, because when it comes to these two men, we must consider not only their values as characters, but their values as people as well.

In the case of The Rock, we have a character that we love. The problem is, Rock isn't playing to his character, he's playing up the aura of what his character used to be, and that's not gonna fly with some people, especially the "Cenation." Still, he's charismatic, entertaining, and can still "Layeth the Smacketh Down" when need be. He can also wrestle circles around John Cena, and as an all-around performer, is largely unmatched. However, as Dwayne Johnson, we begin to see shades of someone who is largely marketing himself to public for the simple sake of movie plugs or Twitter feeds, and you begin to wonder where that passion for the business of professional wrestling has gone.

In the case of John Cena, we have the exact opposite. As a performer, he is despised. The same moves in the same style match every single week. His Pay-Per-View record is a veritable who's-who of today's biggest stars, and he's beaten them all. While that is a feather in the cap of John Cena, it makes for boring storytelling if you're a fan. Audiences are clamouring for something new and fresh from John Cena, but get stuck with the same song and dance night in and night out.

However--and this is the kicker here, so pay close attention--there is one thing the Rock has overlooked in badgering everyone's favorite underdog:

Fans do not dislike John Cena.

Now, I know I just threw a monkey wrench into the machine here, but let's think about this.

As a performer, John Cena may be getting a bit stale. That's all fine and dandy, but as a man, and more importantly as the face of the company, Cena is almost universally respected by both his contemporaries and his peers. Whether you like him or hate him, the love and passion that John Cena the man has for what he does is apparent in every promo, every match, every activity both in and out of the ring.

You see, there are some people out there who really do hate John Cena. Contrary to what television audiences will tell you, those people are in the minority. Fans don't hate John Cena, they're tired of his endless stream of victories. I guarantee you if John Cena left the WWE tomorrow, fans would beg for his return because there is simply no other star with the passion to elicit the kind of reaction that he does when he enters and arena. Cena himself has proven that he gets an emotional response from the fans every time he walks down that ramp, whether it's positive or negative, fans react. Unlike 90% of the roster that has them sitting on their hands, fans want their voices to be heard when it comes to John Cena, and that is very, very important to wrestling.

Fans aren't angry with John Cena. They don't want Cena to "embrace the hate" or turn heel. That won't fix John Cena. Fans are frustrated with WWE's booking of John Cena, and that is what needs to change.

The mistake The Rock made was assuming that he could attack John Cena the man and prove that he is nothing like what he says he is. Instead, he helped John's case by uncovering a man whose devotion to the WWE is unwavering, and in the process, exposed himself as something of a "sellout" in the eyes of the fans. Of course, most fans are so fed up with John's routine they could care less who it is that calls him out, as long as we have a superstar to give a voice to their cries.

In the end, the history books will reflect that on April 1, 2012, The Rock defeated John Cena by pinfall in an epic battle that was truly a "once in a lifetime" event, but it will be up to the fans to decide:

Who won the battle, and who won the war.

Unfocused

Watching the latest programming from WWE, and indeed perhaps the programming for the last several months, it's clear to me that the company, brand, and product is very unfocused. Between Raw and Smackdown, it's impossible to tell just exactly what the main thrust of the shows are, and more importantly, what the incentive is for fans to shell out their hard-earned money to either attend a live event, or purchase a pay-per-view. It is truly mind-boggling to see how far WWE has fallen off the mark since the glory days of the "Attitude Era," and it's become a custom now for fans to attempt to articulate the decline of this empire through their videos, blogs, and social networking outlets. In this sense, I suppose I am just one of many, adding my voice to the thousands across the world that have grown up with such amazing memories and have begun to lose faith, not because we dislike the product of professional wrestling, but because we want more memories like the ones we already cherish, and they are coming few and far between.

The first theory seems to be that this is simply the next step in the cycle that wrestling has apparently always adhered to: a peak of success to last a few years, followed by a drought and eventual re-emergence to prosperity. The main example of this was the rise of "Hulkamania" in the 80's, followed by a ten year gap of what many consider to be less-than-memorable programming, and then the boom of the "Attitude Era." I think most people will agree that "Hulkamania" hit its stride in '84-'85, and that the "Attitude Era" began in '96-'97. There are at least eleven years separating the two eras. If we are to follow this formula, that means we should have hit another "boom" period around 2008. I guess one could argue that there was a peak of interest in 2004-2005, when Randy Orton, Batista, and John Cena all rose to prominence within the company, but fans were already growing tired of Cena by 2006, as evidenced by the reaction he received in his match with Triple H at Wrestlemania 22, just one year after winning his first WWE Championship.

The other theory is that a combination of poor development and even poorer booking has made the WWE a bland, stale product with no intrigue left to speak of. Some fans will say that WWE simply doesn't know how to create characters anymore. Others will say that it's impossible to create new stars when men like Triple H, Cena, and Orton are all kept at the top of the card while everyone else is left to flounder at midcard or lower.

I think it is a combination of these things. Obviously, WWE is not the same company it was 15 years ago. Vince McMahon is not the man he was 15 years ago. Whereas the WWE of 1998 need only please its fans to sell tickets and pay-per-views (which, in turn, pleased their advertisers and USA Network), the WWE of 2011 needs not only to appease fans, but also those public shareholders with a financial stake in WWE's well-being. Many blame WWE's tamer, family-friendly TV-PG rating on Linda McMahon's vie for public office, but I believe it was as much to appeal to potential investors as it was to paint a prettier picture for political constituents.

However, I don't think a wrestling program needs to be particularly graphic or explicit to be edgy. In fact, I think TNA's Impact Wrestling could learn a few things from WWE's playbook as far as toning down some of the language in their programming. The formula for a great wrestling program has always been the same, and in fact, relates to any form of entertainment I can think of. You see, most people talk about wrestling as a sport. This may be true in a certain context, but at its heart, wrestling is entertainment. Of course, so is baseball. So is football. So is soccer, and hockey, and basketball. Like these sports, WWE Superstars and any professional wrestlers need to be superbly conditioned to be able to perform the way they do on the schedule they endure. That is not a pity party for wrestlers, that is a testament to their fortitude and conditioning. I truly believe professional wrestlers are among the greatest athletes in the world. However, unlike the sports mentioned above, wrestlers cannot make a career on athleticism alone.

Similar to the theory of why wrestlers take steroids (that a great body will get you a main event spot), the idea that a wrestler will headline pay-per-views one day due to their athleticism is simply not the case these days. Of course, being the most athletic man on the card is often very helpful, but unless it is coupled with a unique charisma and a well-booked angle, you will quickly find yourself fighting for a chances to show off your talent. Shawn Michaels was one of the few to possess all of these qualities at once, and while he didn't quite achieve the level of success of Hulk Hogan or "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, he is often cited as being arguably the greatest wrestler of all time.

In some respects, however, I believe wrestling has a lot more in common with traditional sports than most people realize. Baseball is a prime example. You see, a man like Shawn Michaels often chalks up his success to his ability to "make other guys look good." One of the reasons the Rockers became so popular in the locker room was because they could have a great match with anybody. Ric Flair has often stated that Shawn Michaels could have a 5-star match with a broomstick. That kind of respect comes from his ability to tap in to the sort of ring psychology that comes from years of training and experience. It doesn't happen overnight. To build up a man like Steve Austin, WWE needed a man like Shawn Michaels so that when Austin finally got his sweet victory at Wrestlemania XIV, it made Austin look like the toughest man alive, similar to how his match against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13 made him look almost superhuman. All three of these men possessed years of experienced that allowed them to understand how essential it is to have a good villain on your way to building a good hero. It is a special kind of teamwork that no other sport can replicate. The New York Yankees wouldn't be half as exciting to watch if it weren't for the Boston Red Sox. Both are great franchises with lifetimes of history behind them. Both are considered two of the most prestigious organizations in baseball and, arguably, in all of sports. But without the other, without that fire provided by a heated rivalry with an equally talented adversary, the game just isn't that exciting, and the team is just another team. The Yankees would not have been as successful without Mark Texiera playing such great first base, or without Robinson Cano feeding him such great plays from second. And their successes make their brand successful. They go hand-in-hand.

It's the same with wrestling.

Experience cannot be taught. It must be gained by honing your skills. Men like Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho would wrestle for almost twenty years before becoming WWE and World Heavyweight Champions. Now WWE is expecting greenhorns with just 1/4 that experience to accomplish the same levels of greatness. Unforunately for WWE, greatness cannot be mass-produced.

Steve Austin will never go down as one of the greatest "wrestlers" of all time, but will go down as arguably the greatest "personality" of all time. The same can be said of Hogan. These men were not known for their technical skills or even their athleticism. They were known for their connection with the fans on both sides of the playing field. When they were good, you loved them. When they were bad, you loved to hate them.

Why am I spending so much time talking about these men of the past? Because WWE is now gearing up for the "Road to Wrestlemania," which, traditionally, starts rather unofficially at Survivor Series. We already know that the main event at Wrestlemania XXVIII will be John Cena vs. The Rock. In preparation for that, WWE has announced that the two 'Mania opponents will be teaming together at Survivor Series. This is a match that many feel should've taken place at Wrestlemania XXVII, but instead was promised to us the night after last year's big event.

I actually think this is a good thing on several levels. The first is that WWE is finally giving us at least one "dream match" that we might otherwise never see. While I think most people would still love to see Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan, we all know that match will never happen. Similarly, with HBK in retirement, it's looking less and less likely we will ever see The Rock vs. Shawn Michaels. But this match of two icons from two generations will happen, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The second reason is that it puts John Cena in an angle that for once doesn't involve the WWE Championship. Instead, that is left to Alberto Del Rio and C.M. Punk, and while I think it is still too early to say that Del Rio has come into his own, hopefully working with Punk will lend him some credibility. This gives disgruntled Cena-haters, a long-awaited change of scenery as it pertains to the title picture.

Finally, and probably the most obvious reason this is a great idea, is that seeing The Rock return will hopefully spark interest for fans who left the product at the end of the "Attitude Era" or later. You see, The Rock isn't simply a character put out there to thwart the unconquerable Cena. It's not just The Rock's accomplishments that fans are cheering for. It's the fact that he has become yet another outlet for fans to vent their frustrations about John Cena and the generation he stands for.

Cena was poised to be the next Rock or "Stone Cold," but in 2005, he "betrayed" many fans by ditching his throwback jerseys and PhD in Thuganomics for corporate Kool-Aid and motivational bumper sticker t-shirts. "Word Life" became "Hustle. Loyalty. Respect." The "F-U" became the "Attitude Adjustment." Rather than be the next herald of a new kind of "attitude," Cena became the white-meat, straight-laced babyface that fans through every generation have learned to loath. The same move almost derailed HBK's entire WWE Championship reign, and it wouldn't be until the formation of DX that he would rise to popularity again. Now Cena was doing the same. In fans eyes, he'd sold out.

Fans have been looking for a "savior" from Cena for several years. First they thought they would get it in Randy Orton, but he became all but mute, and ascended to greatness by letting his actions speak louder than words. Then there was Batista, but he couldn't topple the Cena bandwagon. Then Chris Jericho promised to "save us" but instead became the very thing he sought to save us from. Finally, there was C.M. Punk who managed to make his voice--the "Voice of the Voiceless"--heard; but that angle was destroyed when Triple H came back to put himself over once again.

So The Rock is now the apparent last chance for WWE fans to finally be heard, and probably has the most likely chance of defeating Cena at the big showcase. But it's not all sunshine and daisies here. There are some cons to the angle as well.

For one, despite the fact that neither The Rock nor Cena are champions of any kind, the focus of the show, particularly Raw, is squarely on them. Despite the fact that Punk and Del Rio are feuding for WWE's top prize, Cena is often featured in the main events and his feud with the Rock, The Miz, and R-Truth is much more heavily promoted than the WWE title bouts. WWE is promoting The Rock's return to Raw in two weeks, saying that Raw is about to get "ROCKED!" This implies that there will be an electricity and energy in the show that is not there on a regular basis, but that was not the case when The Rock first became a prominent Superstar. Raw was already exciting. The Rock just made it better. In this case, it seems like fans are counting on The Rock to once again "save them" from boring old Raw.

After the fiasco that was Triple H's run as Raw General Manager, it's clear that WWE is putting much more emphasis on past names than on new ones. This points out the overall flaw I see in the program: the complete and utter lack of focus.

This past Monday night, we saw the Muppets guest star on Raw, picking fights with Superstars. We saw John Cena defeat the Miz. Miss Piggy picked a fight with Hornswoggle. Michael Cole continued taking shots at Jim Ross. Zack Ryder beat Dolph ZIggler. Santino Marella beat Jack Swagger. The #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship beat the WWE Champion. The tag champs got beat by a completely random pairing of Superstars. A WWE Superstar made some insinuation of a biological relation to a Muppet. Eve became the #1 contender for the Divas Championship while wearing her Halloween costume; and the World Heavyweight Champion beat the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.

From this list, compiled with a little help from the Raw results on wwe.com, we can see that WWE has no clear direction for the show. What do the Muppets have to do with wrestling? Is wrestling a comedy where we watch puppets argue with grown men, or is it a show where angry men fight? Why is there a feud between announcers? How does that sell tickets? Is their job to do play-by-play and color commentary, or is it to get in the ring? How does making Del Rio lose to Big Show make Del Rio a formidable champion for C.M. Punk? Since when are Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes a tag team? How does asking the Divas to wrestle in Halloween costumes establish respect for them as legitimate competitors? Why was Mark Henry battling Punk? What did they even have to do with each other?

You see, I think in this case, WWE could take a page from TNA's playbook. If you watch even one episode of Impact Wrestling, you'll notice that almost everyone on the program has an angle and a clear opponent. While the angles themselves often leave something to be desired, it's never a question of who the bad guy is or why this match is taking place. This is especially true in the main events. A couple of weeks ago, Kelly Kelly was the good girl gone crazy. Now all of a sudden she's a heel and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix is the face?

Burying Del Rio gave me no reason to order the pay-per-view because now I know he can be beaten. Putting the #1 contenders against champions from other shows was a bad idea because the shows and their champions are structured differently. They are in entirely different weight classes and have no reason to be fighting each other. Sure, you could argue that the Big Show/Del Rio match made sense because Del Rio ran Big Show down with his car a few months back, but this angle should've been wrapped up months ago. It should've been the first thing on Show's list when he came back. Instead he's fighting Mark Henry and rehashing a tired angle.

I think WWE has mistaken zaniness for unpredictability. Shoving as many things as you can into one show is never a recipe for success. WWE could have one match a night, and as long as it's a match fans want to see, we will watch. But trying to come up with excuses to put people on screen is just exposing your creative team as weak and tired.

WWE has a tough job creating so many hours of original programming every week, but that is also why WWE is struggling. Shows like NXT and Superstars were moved to wwe.com because they could not hold viewers attention on ScyFy and WGN, respectively. Yes, watching great athletes is impressive, but there were no angles connected with either of these shows. We were fed generic matches with mid-card talent, and no explanation. How does WWE expect that to be a successful program?

Thus, I think a combination of overexposure and bad creative decisions is what's killing the company right now. Having two world champions is confusing and stretches the roster thinner than is necessary. Consolidating titles and recombining the brands so that the Superstars are all on one roster will force Superstars to step up their game if they want TV time, and maybe cut the creative team a little slack so that they need not write a dozen storylines a week.

Finally, take John Laurinaitis out from in front of the camera. There is no reason to be putting this much emphasis on a non-wrestler character unless it is to elevate the status of a wrestler. The only man who stands to benefit from exploiting Laurinaitis' on-screen role is Triple H, and he is the last man that needs any more attention.

Hopefully WWE can get itself back on track soon. My wish is that the main event at Wrestlemania--you know, the one under The Rock and Cena--will be to recombine the WWE and World Heavyweight titles that will hopefully lead to a new era of focus and success in the company. Right now things can't get much worse: storylines are tired, the roster is thin, and the shows feel like random ideas collected from a room full of elementary school students...and not the smart ones.

Walking Out on Raw

This past Monday night on Raw, Triple H called all the talent to the ring to ask for a vote of confidence in his abilities as COO. Apparently Raw has been spiraling out of control for the past couple of weeks, and no one feels very safe.

...

Um...you do realize this is wrestling, right?

There are so many things wrong with this angle, it almost made me change the channel.

Why didn't I change the channel?

Maybe because I wanted to believe that Triple H, a man who has been in this business for so long and has been part of some of the greatest (and worst) angles in the history of the industry, could not possibly condone himself to participate in a storyline so mind-numbingly preposterous as what we were presented in the closing moments of Raw last Monday.

And by "closing moments," I mean, "twenty minutes."

Honestly, did we really need this angle to go so long? Did we really need to hear arguments not just from one wrestler on behalf of the locker room, but wrestlers, referees, divas, and announcers? This angle could've been done in 5 minutes (of course that would mean no 5 minute entrance for "The Game") and had the same effect. Instead we suffer through diatribes from Triple H, Wade Barrett (why?), Christian, Beth Phoenix, some referee no one really knows, and Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Why? Wasn't one argument enough?

Okay, let's start at the beginning.

Let's remember that just a couple of months ago, the show was on fire with John Cena and C.M. Punk fighting over the WWE Championship. It was arguably the most exciting angle in the last two years. It was fresh, honest, and unpredictable. It was everything a wrestling angle should be.

Then WWE threw Alberto Del Rio in the mix. I guess that's their "curveball." I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. Punk was still the focal point of the show, and after cycling through the same talent for the last five years, I thought perhaps we'd finally get some new blood at the top of the WWE roster.

Then, for no reason in particular, Vince McMahon was fired and Triple H replaced him as COO.

Let me just say that I absolutely loved the chemistry between Punk and McMahon. Punk was, as far as WWE was concerned, everything his name implied. He was a misfit. He didn't have the polish everyone expected of a WWE Superstar, but he had more talent in the ring and on the mic than 3/4 of the roster. He didn't need scripted promos. He didn't need anyone to tell him how to walk or dress. He didn't need to be handed a gimmick. He was great because he was real, and that has always been a formula for success across the industry.

Vince McMahon, in turn, needed no lessons on how to play the "evil emperor" of the WWE. There was genuine disdain between the two, and they needed little coaxing to put that on display for the world to see. It was a perfect platform for Punk, and a great scenario for Vince, who had gone through this all before. It seemed like we'd finally reached the next-gen iteration of the "Stone Cold" Steve Austin/Vince McMahon feud.

Then it all came to a screeching halt when we entered an all too familiar element:

Triple H.

From the moment his music hit that night and he relieved Vince McMahon of his duties to the company, it was an omen, and we all knew it.

Over the next few weeks, the showed devolved into backstage politicking between Triple H and Executive Vice-President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis.

Suddenly Kevin Nash is back, and then he's gone. Then the Miz and R-Truth are fired...for attacking John Cena, CM Punk, a referee, and Triple H.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that sort of what wrestlers do? I mean, is Raw really that much more chaotic than it ever was?

Wrestlers complain about feeling unsafe and unprotected in the work place.

Hasn't this always been the case? I mean, this is Monday Night Raw, right? This is wrestling, right?

Mark Henry attacked Jerry Lawler a few weeks ago, putting him through the announce table and forcing him out of work for a couple of weeks. Why has no one fired him? The Miz and R-Truth have been raving about an alleged "conspiracy" in the WWE for weeks, months even, yet now is when they are both suddenly "fired"?

When Triple H fired the Miz and R-Truth, he claimed he would do it at the end of the night so that he could "get one more main event out them."

A main event? Isn't putting two chopping-block candidates in a main event match more of a reward than a punishment? You're telling me they were so valuable to the company that he couldn't possibly find anyone to replace them in this particular star-studded tag team main event? With all the "world class" talent on your roster, you couldn't think of a pair of individuals to match the caliber of these two men you've been subjecting to mid-card status for the past three months?

Also, last time I checked, when someone is "fired" from the company, aren't references to them usually discouraged on live broadcasts? Not only are Miz and R-Truth mentioned regularly throughout the broadcast, but WWE actually goes the extra mile to ruin whatever credibility this angle might have had by airing a YouTube video of the two apologizing to the WWE Universe for their actions...y'know, just in case we forgot who they were, those dirty rotten scoundrels.

By the way, attacking someone in a cell after their match: doesn't that sound like something Triple H would do? I mean, he strides in wanting us to believe that thanks to his Hall-of-Fame career, he has better judgment than Vince did. We want to believe that Triple H is the same guy that knocked other men around in cells and cages and parking lots. We want to believe that this is the same, lewd, crotch-chopping rule-breaker that we know and love.

But he's not. Triple H has now donned a suit to become the very thing he once stood firmly against: the voice of authority. He has become wrestling's biggest hypocrite. Everything that C.M. Punk stood for is what Triple H once stood for: the voice of a rebellious group, a segment of the demographic that wasn't being heard. In 1998 it was people who wanted to give their boss the finger or tell them to "suck it". In 2011 it's simply the voice of a breed of wrestling fan who wants something a little more real in their product. For him to now stand against Punk and tell him that he is out of control is insulting to the fans who watched Triple H grow from a snobby, sarcastic, sophomoric hoodlum to one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. Triple H made a career out of sticking it to the McMahons. Now he was merely their re-enforcer.

Okay, so everyone feels unsafe because they've been subjected to the sort of unpredictability that was once commonplace on WWE TV. Now, Johnny L. wants to take Triple H out to the ring in front of his entire talent pool to ask for a vote of confidence.

Can someone explain to me exactly what Laurinaitis' job description is? He's the Executive Vice-President of Talent Relations (who is the President of Talent Relations, by the way, and why haven't they shown up yet?). I can understand that if Superstars have an issue with the boss, he's probably the proper channel to go through, but does John Laurinaitis really have the power to axe Triple H from his post simply on a vote of no confidence from the roster?

You see, none of this would be a big deal if WWE hadn't set a precedent for it years ago. Back in the day, if someone had a problem with how things were being run, they'd go to the WWE Board of Directors, who would then make a decision on how best to balance the power that Vince McMahon was abusing. You see, they couldn't fire Vince because he signed their checks, but they could take action to make sure that his powers did not go completely unchecked. They probably did this at great personal risk to their own jobs. The balance here was the voice of Linda McMahon, Vince's wife, who provided the perfect shield for the men actually casting the votes.

You might be tempted to say that his has no bearing now. Linda is long gone, so the Board of Directors has no power.

But wasn't it the Board of Directors who fired Vince and installed Triple H?

So what are they doing now? Just watching Raw spiral out of control and thinking, "Hey, we made the right call"? Why doesn't John Laurinaitis just go to the Board and tell them, on behalf of his talent, that he feels Triple H is doing a poor job of maintaining control of the show and until order can be restored, he's pulling his talent from the broadcasts? Once he's got it cleared with the Board, he can make a grand entrance into Raw and shock Triple H with the news, and the talent could make their mass exodus.

But, of course, this would put the focus on someone else besides Triple H. We've now gone from fighting over championships--which, frankly, is what wrestling is all about--to legal debates, lawsuits, justified (or unjustified) firings, and now, a strike.

Triple goes into this long monologue about the state of WWE, tells the talent to suck it up, and then asks for a vote of confidence. Then we have to listen to Christian, Barrett, Phoenix, the refs, and King talk about how everything is so unsafe.

I don't follow Smackdown! all that closely these days, but what exactly happened to Christian and Barrett to make them the spokesmen for an unsafe work environment? If it was that big a deal, wouldn't we have heard about it on Raw?

Then Lawler steps in the ring and makes his case. He was put through the announce table and feels very unsafe. Keep in mind, the guy that put him through the announce table is standing right there at ringside.

Then the King makes the most ridiculous statement of the entire angle. He tells us he believes there is a conspiracy in the WWE, but that it's not of Triple H's doing.

What?

At what point in this entire fiasco did we ever see evidence that there was a conspiracy? When did this "conspiracy" stop being a simple gimmick for R-Truth and suddenly become legitimate? All I saw was a few wrestlers get attacked, a ref get knocked around, and a commentator go through the announce table. Maybe if I was working for Wal-Mart, I might find these things disconcerting, but this is Monday Night Raw. What exactly about a few disgruntled wrestlers violently venting their frustrations makes anyone feel like there's a conspiracy?

But let's say, for the sake of argument, that there is a conspiracy. Let's assume that someone out there just wants to see Raw go down the tubes.

Exactly what evidence do we have that Triple H is not the one behind it? When was that ever presented? What proof does the King have that it's not Triple H pulling the strings?

And why, all of a sudden, did the entire roster share King's sentiment? In 1997, following the "Montreal Screw-job", Vince McMahon gave his talent the opportunity to walk away from the company if they had that much of a problem with the way he dealt with Bret Hart. Many men took that opportunity, including Mick Foley. But, like most of the other men who left that night, he was back quickly as he couldn't count on getting a good deal from any other wrestling promotion (he'd been through them all already.) But even as Mick walked away, that didn't suddenly cause the entire locker room to empty.

I realize there's a difference between an angle and real life, but both have to be logical to a degree. What exactly did King say to convince the entire roster to depart? What was so compelling? What evidence was presented to make everyone, including the fans, suddenly buy into this "conspiracy"?

Let's take a look at our champions: Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, and Beth Phoenix. Five of these seven are heels. Mark Henry is the man who put the King through the announce table. What suddenly made him decide to walk out? It seems foolish to me that someone who is sitting on the top of the mountain would suddenly walk out on the company due to chaos that he himself was a part of creating. Del Rio took advantage of the chaos to secure his second WWE Championship. Why did he walk out? Kelly Kelly just bitch-slapped the hell out of Beth Phoenix. One was the champion and the other was causing chaos. Why did they walk out?

I could see if it was John Cena, or The Undertaker, or Triple H himself that decided to leave. They are respected men in the locker room and carry great weight with their co-workers. No disrespect to Jerry Lawler, but does a commentator really command the kind of respect that would cause an entire roster full of talent to simply abandon their livelihoods? I doubt that very much.

You see, I think what people are expecting is that Johnny boy is gonna step forward and tell Triple H that it was him. He's got some kind of pact going with Kevin Nash. He's always on the phone. Maybe he resigns Nash and Miz and Truth and they come back as nWo 2.0 (sorry, make that 3.0...TNA covered 2.0 when it unveiled Immortal.)

Some people are saying it's Stephanie McMahon. Maybe she's out to sabotage her husband in a classic case of dysfunctional McMahon-a-mania.

Here's what I say:

What does any of this have to do with wrestling?

Wrestling angles traditionally build up to wrestling matches. Someone please tell me what confrontation will blossom from this convoluted mess. Is Laurinaitis going to fight Triple H for control of Raw? Is Stephanie going to wrestle her husband? Are Nash, Truth, and Miz gonna fight Trips in a handicap match where he bashes all their skulls in with a sledgehammer? Will Triple H reform D-Generation X (or DX 2.0) to combat this new faction?

In any case, the focus has now officially been taken from the wrestling and put on the shoulders of Triple H in an angle that few can understand and even fewer care about. The show did not end with a champion holding his title high. It didn't end with a challenger down and out, waiting to see how he would get his revenge next week. It didn't end with an active member of the roster in the frame. The show ended with Triple H standing the middle of the ring.

Alone.

That speaks volumes as to where the show is headed.

I will tell you who is sabotaging Raw. It's Triple H. He needs to come out and say he was the one that pulled the strings for Nash, Truth, and Miz. Maybe it was his conspiracy. Ever since he came back to television, the ratings have gone down, and so has the drama. Wrestling fans don't care about politics. They care about wrestling.

Unpredictability doesn't mean you can simply forsake logic. In fact, it usually requires an extra dose of logic to explain. In this case, they've completely lost touch with their fans. I was not shocked by the walk out on Raw, I was relieved. Maybe this is just some grand scheme by Triple H and WWE to clean out their product and get a fresh start. They've recombined Raw and Smackdown!, maybe this is just the next logical step. Maybe with no one to interrupt him, Triple H can finally get WWE back on track.

TNA: Impact Wrestling - 5/26/11

I've been quiet about much of what TNA has done lately, specifically on Impact because I just didn't feel that anything they were doing was newsworthy. Fortunately, some of that has changed as Impact has been on an upswing the past couple of weeks in my opinion.

So after checking my DVR'd edition of last Thursday's show, I thought I'd post some thoughts.

First off, I want to say that the recent re-branding of the show is exactly what TNA needed. Changing the name to Impact Wrestling is a great way to showcase the company's new mantra of "wrestling matters". Even with its Smackdown-esque blue glow, TNA is still unique enough to differentiate itself from the competition. It may have a blue after-touch, but the color scheme is still heavily blackened: a color WWE has really tried to avoid in recent years.

The first thing people should notice about Impact is Christy Hemme. In many ways, the feel of Impact's presentation is akin to "Attitude Era" Raw broadcasts; back before everyone was dressed to the nine's and when it was okay to be informal. Whereas every WWE broadcast now uses the voice of Justin Roberts to announce the competitions, here is a fiery, green-eyed redhead in punk-ish attire growling the names of wrestlers as they march to the ring. It lacks the polish of a WWE experience, and that is a good thing.

There is a grit to TNA that likens it more to MMA fighting than to sports-entertainment. It's the type of grit that reminds me of old westerns: when the stranger walks into the bar and picks and immediate beef with the local riff-raff. Sure, every once in a while you might get two gun-slingers who display a mutual respect and simply want to see who the better sharpshooter is, but the best confrontations are always fueled by that testosterone and adrenaline that can only come from a legitimate dislike and a need to feel superior. It is the basest of human instincts and wrestling should always cling to this rule. Whereas WWE is leaning more toward the spirit of competition in its angles, TNA makes sure to build angles that affect their characters and bring out the best (or worst) in them.

However, there is a time when the talking must stop, and over the last few months, TNA has made a habit of starting every show with a 15-minute promo, usually by Immortal or Fortune, and there has been an utter lack of actual wrestling over the two-hour timeslot.

Thankfully, tonight, TNA decided to ditch their not-so-winning formula and opened with an actual wrestling match!


STREET FIGHT
"THE PHENOMENAL" A.J. STYLES & "THE FALLEN ANGEL" CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (4TUNE) VS. BULLY RAY & TOMMY DREAMER (IMMORTAL)

Okay, so now I'm gonna backtrack on everything I just said.

You see, TNA is still playing the "nobody knows who we are" card. This is good, in the sense that we get a fresh look at each character for almost every show. This is bad when it comes to street fights. People looking for an alternative to WWE are not necessarily looking for hardcore bash-your-brains-in-with-a-garbage-can-lid action. They may just want to see good, competitive, athletic wrestling with storylines that are not written for people under fourteen years of age.

You see, if I'm a wrestling fan, or heck, even if I've never seen a wrestling show in my life, and I turn on Impact to find four men scattered throughout the arena with various foreign objects, I'm probably more likely to say, "That's barbaric and insane," than, "Oh, my God, look at him bleed!"

TNA seems much more concerned with converting wrestling fans than creating new Impact fans, almost as though fans should start out with WWE and eventually "graduate" to TNA. If that's your strategy, then it will probably work, but if you're looking to make new wrestling fans rather than simply making new TNA fans, this is probably not the way to go.

On the bright side, at least they had two great athletes in the mix with Daniels and Styles. Their athleticism really shone through even in this environment, and hopefully that keeps viewers tuned in, because there's gotta be more where that came from, right? After all, we just opened the show!

A.J. goes for the Styles Clash which gets turned into a makeshift piledriver when Daniels flies off the top rope and spikes Dreamer into the mat. It looked absolutely devastating, and was the clear nail in the coffin for the team of Immortal cohorts.

WINNERS: "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles & "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels


So now that we've got wrestling out of the way, we're ready to do some talking. By now we've been informed that TNA World Champion Sting has been given his own interview segment.

Here's the thing about interview segments. From Piper's Pit to Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel, interview segments all have one thing in common: they're hosted by the industry's best talkers. Even the less memorable Heartbreak Hotel segments are bearable thanks to Shawn Michaels' charisma. Of course, there are have been countless fly-by-night imitations, but Roddy Piper will always be the measuring stick for great interview segments, but TNA has an Ace up their sleeve in Ken Anderson.

Thankfully, the Stinger Sit-down was not hosted by the real Sting, but by the imitation Sting as played by none other than TNA's resident "asshole".

We then get thrown a curveball as Anderson calls out someone from Sting's past: none other than the unconquerable, legendary, (who was it again? Oh, yeah...) Disco Inferno!

This segment was great from start to finish. I don't care if you knew who Disco Inferno was, is, or ever will be; this segment made him look like a million bucks to every fan in the building. Rather than help to bury Sting, The Disc does nothing but praise "The Icon" to the adulation of the entire audience, culminating with Inferno wondering why Anderson flaunts the name "Asshole" when he's "clearly a dick," with Anderson's trademark mic in hand. Of course, Ken doesn't take kindly to this and uses the mic to assault his guest, prompting the Stinger to come in and save the day.

So now we have our second match. And by second match, I mean more talking. This time we're in the bathroom with Eric Young and World Television Champion, Gunner. After weeks of prancing around with old TNA World title belt, Young seems to have accidentally grabbed Gunner's belt by mistake in a backstage brawl a couple of weeks ago. Now he's got a master plan to give Gunner his belt back and help him climb up the ladder in Immortal. He cites Hogan and Nash from '99 and says all Gunner has to do is lay a finger on him and--BAM!--EY lays down and Gunner gets his belt back. Gunner reluctantly agrees. Eric is golden in this segment. None of it makes any sense, but that seems to be the key to his charm.

Okay, so now that all the jabbering is out of the way, we can move on to--wait, what's that? Are you sure? Really? I mean we've already--okay, okay! Looks like it's more talking, folks.

This time at least the scenery gets infinitely more interesting. Velvet Sky heads to the ring, which is a good thing. She means business, which is a bad thing, because it deprives us of the best entrance in wrestling.

It would be easy to say that Velvet Sky is another classic example of a wrestling Barbie Doll. In fact, that seems to be the issue here. WWE recently signed Kharma, formerly TNA's Awesome Kong and one of the staples of their Knockouts division. It has added a new air of credibility to Vince's Divas, but unfortunately, without Kong and the release of ODB, TNA has started to mirror WWE in its female competitors. Now ODB is back, and this time she's blaming Velvet for taking her spot and essentially pushing her off the roster. Her gripe seems to be that Velvet has made a living out of flaunting her physical attributes and that has made it hard for women like ODB who pride themselves on ability over appearance, to keep their spots on the roster.

The good thing about this is that it is a real issue among wrestlers and fans alike. Gail Kim is a great example of a fantastic in-ring performer who has been forced to sit on the sidelines while less experienced women take the forefront. It's easy to sympathize with ODB, but will the fans really feel bad for someone as beautiful as Velvet Sky who can easily be taken for a woman who has gotten by solely on her looks? It seemed to work tonight, and hopefully TNA keeps the fans interested. Velvet gets the beatdown, so we'll see how she plans to retaliate.

Okay, so now that we've waded through the Waters of Promo, there's got to be some wrestling on the horizon, right?

WRONG!

Instead we're in the office of Eric Bischoff and he's telling Beer Money that if Robert Roode's torn ACL doesn't heal up within the obligatory 30-day title defense timeline, they will be forced to relinquish the belts. James Storm trashes Bischoff's desk before walking out.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

Oh, wait...it's The Pope.

And he's talking.

He hit on a member of Brother D-von's family. That's not cool, and there's the feeling that something will eventually go down. We're not sure what, we just know it's coming.

*Wipes sweat from brow* Whew! Okay, back to the ring. There's...no one in it...yet. First Kurt Angle is trying to motivate "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan for his match against Jeff Jarrett. (Remember the "wrestling" part of "Impact Wrestling"?)

Okay, so now we're backstage, and--

Wait, what's this? Where are we? This looks familiar...like I've seen it before...perhaps in a dream. It reminds me of--yes! That's it! It's a wrestling ring! And there's music! Someone's coming out! Could it be? It is!

IT'S A WRESTLING MATCH!

JEFF JARRETT W/KAREN JARRETT VS. "THE BLUEPRINT" MATT MORGAN

Double-J hits the ring accompanied by his wife, Karen. She's on a crutch thanks to Velvet Sky pushing her down the ramp in a wheelchair. (Why is Velvet involved in so many angles?) She's gonna sit at ringside and watch. Here's Matt Morgan. He's knocking Jarrett around and suddenly Karen slips her crutch in the ring and "The King of the Mountain" uses it to put Morgan to sleep. With "The DNA of TNA" down for the count, the rest is academic.

WINNER: Jeff Jarrett


Well, it looks like we've got enough of the wrestling out of the way that we can go back to the promo cutting. Also, the show is now going to make me a liar. It seems that TNA is not done cutting 15-minute promos; they just moved them to the middle of the show instead of the start.

The Bisch is back, and he's got that obnoxious grin that he always wears, even when someone gets under his skin. It really bothers me that Bischoff refuses to "sell" his anger at any point against anyone. Whenever someone thwarts his doing, he simply slaps on that superficial smile and stands serenely unscathed.

Well, he's got that smile on. What is the reason for this jovial jubilee? It appears Hulk Hogan is back after dealing with Mick Foley and "The Network." The Hulkster praises Bischoff for ridding TNA of the X-Division, and assures Eric that Immortal is "back in the saddle" and that it will be nothing but "smooth sailing" from here (in a saddle?) But before they can break out the celebratory unicorn pinatas, in rides Mick Foley to inform them that "The Network" still holds a firm grip on the goings on in the realm of TNA television, and to start, the X-Division is to be reinstated.

Let's get something straight: wrestling fans do not care about the politics of broadcasting. It would be one thing if it was a wrestler taking a stand against "The Network" when the corporate hammer starts driving nails in the coffins of its performers. That would help the wrestler get over. But who's taking the stand here? TNA execs. No disrespect to Foley: few people can tell a story as intelligently as he can; but the focus needs to stay on active performers. Dealing
with all this convoluted "Network" mumbo jumbo is akin to Vince McMahon winning the ECW Championship against Bobby Lashley (remember that? Yeah, I wish I didn't, either.)

It seems TNA is trying to shift the focus by making the X-Division the center of Immortal's quarrel with "The Network." While Eric would love to see the "Hardcore Legend" face "The Monster" Abyss for the X-Division belt, Brian Kendrick comes out to insist that it be him to redeem he and his high-flying comrades. This seems to be fine with Immortal, so the match is set for later that night.

And now for the angle voted #1 in the "Kill This Now Before I Change the Channel" Poll, Winter is talking to a zombie-fied Angelina Love. Apparently Winter has been planning this "for centuries," and now their dreams are coming to fruition. To my knowledge, professional wrestling as we know it, even in its earliest form, is less than a century old, but what do I know?

Okay, so do I really need to make a list of all the reasons this angle is horrible? Probably not, but I'm going to anyway.

1.) When this first started, it seemed like Winter was simply a phantom or some figment of Angelina's imagination. Thankfully that was dropped and Winter "materialized" into a real person. Unfortunately, they then shot themselves in the foot once again.

2.) So we all know that Winter is drugging Angelina's drink. Velvet knows it. The announcers know it. The audience knows it. So, why exactly has no one done anything about this? I mean, you'd assume that someone would've gone to the police, or AT LEAST to management, right? Well, not in TNA, they don't!

3.) Velvet just kinda gave up on Angelina. She seems to be upset with her former tag partner (that just SOUNDS hot) when she should really be upset with Winter. There never really WAS a big payoff match between the two. Instead, Velvet just kind of walked away. She got mixed up in the Angle/Jarrett feud, and then ODB came out of left field to attack her. So I guess we can say the Beautiful People are officially on hiatus.

4.) If Velvet is no longer interested in liberating Angelina, why do we still have this ridiculous angle? I mean, I get that if Angelina ever "came to" she'd probably kill Winter for what she's done, but what's the point of keeping her brainwashed and chained to Winter's side if it's not to provoke Velvet? What other Knockout is going to step up and save her?

5.) Okay, so the list could go on, but just a few more thoughts: Why is it the only two people Angelina seems conscious of are Winter and whatever referee is officiating the match (she actually got out of the ring before the five count during their last tag match when the ref threatened to disqualify her)? Also, are we supposed to believe that Angelina is in this state seven days a week? I mean, how does she get to the arena? How does she eat? How does she dress herself? How does she remember her training when she's in the ring?

I understand that not every wrestling angle but there's so many holes in this storyline I don't understand how it can possibly still be on television. It's simply insulting to the fans' intelligence, and not just the so-called "smart marks" out there. It's insulting at the most basic of levels, and it only gets worse from there.

But hey, at least she can wrestle.

WINTER W/ANGELINA LOVE VS. TNA KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION MICKIE JAMES

Winter comes out to her creepy entrance music with her zombie pet, Angelina. Then comes Mickie James: TNA's poster Knockout. Mickie's done a great job of transitioning from one of WWE's top divas to a TNA mainstay. Her connection with the fans is remarkable considering people have a rather low tolerance for women's wrestling.

In this match she manages to snag a solid victory against her enigmatic adversary, even with Zombalina on the outside.

WINNER: TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James

So now we're back with Abyss who's preparing for his match against Kendrick. He's reading now, and he's picked a classic: "The Art of War." Apparently, he's also learning a lot, and he wants us to know that, because he keeps quoting from his latest tome. It's easy to see how these principles translate to success when it comes to the wars of the ring, but I could do without the preface, "Sun Tzu says," before EVERY enlightening lesson. Also, reading it straight from the book during your promo doesn't exactly demonstrate an intimate knowledge of the text.

Anyway, just as he's heading to the ring he gets jumped from behind and gets a taste of his own medicine when he's assaulted with his beloved "Janice."


TNA X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TNA X-DIVISION CHAMPION "THE MONSTER" ABYSS VS. BRIAN KENDRICK

Abyss comes to the ring in bad shape. He limps his way down the ramp to meet the erratic Brian Kendrick.

It looks like Kendrick has things well in hand until Abyss manages to use the ref as a distraction while he knocks Kendrick off the top rope. Then it's just a matter of turning his victim inside out with a Blackhole Slam for the win. Afterwards he manages to work in a quote from "The Art of War" into his use of the ref as a human shield. Short, sweet, and to the point. I like it.

WINNER: "THE MONSTER" ABYSS

You probably think now that the match is over we'll probably go backstage to some interview segment. Well, you're kinda right. We flash quickly to Kurt Angle who's telling us that tonight he will not be focused on Jeff Jarrett for a change. Instead, he's got RVD to worry about. Should be a great match, and TNA does a great job of hyping us for it. After this very brief, very concise discussion, we're back in the ring for more wrestling. I wish 70% of pro wrestling promos were paced like this.

TNA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
TNA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION GUNNER VS. ERIC YOUNG

Eric Young comes to the ring wearing the TV title, but it should be noted this match is merely a formality as Gunner never actually lost the championship. As a matter of fact, I'm not exactly sure why this match is even happening. If Gunner never lost the title, why does he have to compete in a match to get it back? No one seems to know the answer, but I wonder how many people asked the question.

True to his word, EY goes down the second Gunner touches him. Unfortunately for Gunner, the second he hooks the leg, Young rolls him into a small package for a shocking quick three count! Young springs to his feet in surprise, as Gunner takes a moment to comprehend what has just transpired. When he realizes he has been officially dethroned as the TV champion, he begins to chase Young around the ringside area, but is unable to catch him before the new champ disappears.

This was a shocking upset and a nice reminder that anything can still happen in wrestling.

WINNER: NEW TNA World Television Champion Eric Young

Okay, so now we have the main event. Jeff Jarrett heads out with Karen to the announce table, and we all know what that means...or do we?

KURT ANGLE VS. ROB VAN DAM

Okay, so I have mixed emotions about this. First the good:

The match itself was great. Fast-paced action, with RVD and Angle giving everything they've got right out of the gate. You could see they were going hard and fast, and it made for one great match (if a bit short). This is network television, so it's not like they're going to take a long time to slowly build the match to a quicker pace. It was about ten minutes long, but you got everything you paid for in those ten minutes. Definitely main-event worthy.

Van Dam seemed to have everything well in control through the first 2/3. Kurt got a few suplexes in and managed to counter some of RVD's offense, but for the most part RVD was completely owning the Olympic gold medalist. Rolling Thunder, spinning heel kick, every trademark RVD could whip out was dished out to perfection.

Then RVD gets a little cocky and Angle comes up with the Ankle Lock. RVD counters a roll-through and some kicks to Kurt's head, but misses an epic 5-Star Frog Splash before Kurt slaps on the Angle Slam for the win.

Also, I have to say, it was great to see a main-event television match that ended cleanly (no obvious disqualifications or count-outs). I (and I'm sure a lot of fans) thought for sure that Jarrett would be running down to the ring to disrupt the match, but instead he was caught talking to Tennay and Tazz.

This brings me to the bad.

For a match that was flaunted from the beginning as one of professional wrestling's epic confrontations, the announcers talked about everything except the match. I mean, sure they talked about how Double-J hand-picked RVD to face Kurt, but that was more for Jarrett's ego than for the match. Tennay couldn't call anything because he was be hounded by the Jarretts. Tazz was too busy sucking up to notice there was a match going on, and Jarrett himself talked about everything from January onward. They talked about Immortal, they talked about Jeff's MMA "career", they talked about him stealing Karen, they talked about Slammiversary, they talked about everything but this match that they'd been promoting since the start of the show.

I understand that it makes for a more interesting experience when heels are doing commentary, but you do eventually have to come back to talking about the match; particularly on a show where "wrestling matters".

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, this was a much better show than I've seen of late. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't as frustrating to watch, either. Some truly great stuff brewing, but definite room for improvement. I hope this week's Impact Wrestling sticks to this formula, and continues to improve.

Final Thoughts and "Wrestlemania XXVII" Predictions

With tonight's edition of Friday Night Smackdown under our belts, wrestling fans now look forward to Sunday, and the biggest wrestling event of the year: Wrestlemania XXVII.

Interestingly enough, tonight's Smackdown served as little more than a recap for Monday's Raw, with only a couple of matches unfolding. The rest of the show's two hours were filled with video packages and replays that we'd all seen just a few nights before. Nevertheless, it did help to add one final match to the card, and did a great job of hyping Sunday's event for all it's worth.

Certainly, there are things WWE could do to round out the show. There are no real celebrity guests aside from Snooki and Keri Hilson. But really, what I was anticipating was that there would be an unmasking of the "anonymous" Raw General Manager. How much longer is WWE going to keep this up? Isn't Wrestlemania a rather ideal time to unveil a new GM and set the stage for the coming year? Weren't Superstars like Edge and Chris Jericho on a vendetta to just that only a few short months ago?

In any case, I digress. Here's an opportunity to look at every match and I will make my final predictions for Wrestlemania XXVII.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
So apparently Cody Rhodes thinks that Mysterio deliberately damaged his face, which looks to be remarkably unscathed.
The biggest issues I have with this match is that the storyline makes little to no sense and comes off as something that I might see at Judgment Day, or Summerslam at best. This is Wrestlemania, and this guy is mad because Rey tainted his "Dashing" good looks?
This should be Rhodes' chance to shine, but unfortunately, he is going nowhere fast. He's sorely lacking in charisma and I just don't feel compelled to watch him. Cody should be getting a nice push to keep the youth movement going in the WWE, but instead he comes off as a simple doormat for Rey Mysterio. I hope these two put on a terrific match (we know they are both capable) and prove me wrong, but I just don't see the feud leading anywhere.

Who should win: Cody Rhodes
Who will win: Rey Mysterio


WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE United States Champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan
Sheamus works really well in his role, here. He's a bully, and he's at his best when he's beating people up and taking things that probably are better suited on someone else. The thing about Sheamus is that he peaked so early in his career, winning the WWE Championship, that anything less than that feels like a step back. I always thought Sheamus was a great mid-card worker, but after seeing him in feuds with the likes of Cena and Triple H, it's hard to watch him begin to pick on someone like Daniel Bryan.
On the other side of the coin, we have Bryan, who has yet to have that one truly fantastic match that we all know he can have. We got a taste of what we can expect from him at this year's Royal Rumble event when he and Punk sparred between entrants, and I thought for sure that WWE would be using this to set up a dream match a Wrestlemania. At the very least, we can hope that Bryan pulls a great match out of Sheamus and shows us what he's truly capable of. This guy needs to be pushed as strong and as soon as possible.
But first, he should probably shave, cut his hair, and change his entrance music.

Who should win: Daniel Bryan
Who will win: Daniel Bryan


EIGHT-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
The Big Show & Kane, Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (WWE Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, and WWE Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel)
This was the final match to officially make the card, and accounts for why there aren't more championships on the line (or does it?) It's a confusing match, since I'm not really sure how the teams of Kane & Big Show and Santino & Kozlov are suddenly contemplating how they must co-exist to take on The Corre. Meanwhile, Wade Barrett is running around with Kofi Kingston's Intercontinental Championship, but Kofi is not on the card. I feel like WWE could have done so much more with this. Put the Intercontinental title on the line with Kingston and Barrett, and then have a triple threat tag team match for the WWE Tag Team titles. Seems easy, right? Well, forget it, because WWE would rather cook up some insanely convoluted storyline and throw all the participants into a single bout.
Unfortunately, much like Elimination Chamber and 6-man Hell-in-a-Cell matches, these bouts always devolve into complete chaos. There is no rhyme or reason to the action. One referee cannot possibly maintain order with all these combustible elements. The Corre is a well-oiled machine facing two fly-by-night tag teams who have never worked together as a cohesive unit. Yes, all four of their opponents are former tag champions, but they don't have the look or feel of a team. They may as well have plucked four random opponents from the locker room and thrown them on the card.
The Corre should come out with the victory if only because it will solidify them as a force to be reckoned with in the coming months, and it will be fun to see which Superstars are able to step up to the plate and dismantle their brotherhood man-by-man.

Who should win: The Corre
Who will win: The Corre


Randy Orton vs. C.M. Punk
This is perhaps the most underrated feud on the card. Both these men are terrific in their respective roles, and both are solid performers. Punk has really shone brightly in the weeks leading up to this match, and Orton has been in top, dare I say, "vintage" form. I'm not sure bringing Orton's wife into the mix did anything for the angle that hadn't already been done. This is far from being the personal animosity that was seen between Triple H and Orton just a few years ago. Orton isn't a clear face, so it's hard to say that fans will be 100% behind him, which is probably the most likely reason for his wife being present during his assault.
Orton has done a great job of showcasing his vindictiveness, striking as only The Viper can to eliminate every member of the Nexus from the equation at Wrestlemania. Punk has taken all of this in stride, showing a twisted side of himself that can be at times truly disturbing. Punk believes in everything he says, and that forces the audience to believe it. Punk believes he is doing everything for all the right reasons, and that adds a level of perversion to his methods that might otherwise have been written off as casual acts of an angry wrestler.
It's hard to say who I would be rooting for in this match, and that, oddly enough, makes it more exciting, because unlike other matches, it's not entirely clear who will walk away the winner. Orton is the fan favorite, but Punk and The Nexus are the ones who stand to benefit from a victory here. Either way, this should be an intense match-up that may just surprise a few people.

Who should win: C.M. Punk
Who will win: Randy Orton


SIX-PERSON TAG TEAM MATCH
John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler, Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool & Layla) with Vickie Guerrero
What strikes me as odd about this match is that Snooki is getting so much hype, that we almost forget that Trish Stratus will be back in action for the first time in five years. Sure, you could count her couple of matches from 2008 and sporadic appearances on Raw, but this is the first time in five years that Trish will officially be back in action, and WWE has made little hoopla about it. So much has been made of Snooki, and Trish has been left on the back burner as simply a mentor figure instead of the true force to be reckoned with. She is, after all, the only 7-time WWE Women's Champion in history, as well as the Diva of the Decade. I guess that doesn't count for much when Jersey Shore is in the house.
This will be what all the media moguls are watching, but I'm not sure what they are expecting to see. We all know how this match will go down. I just hope that Trish and Morrison get their fair share of spots before Snooki takes the win.

Who should win: John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki
Who will win: John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki


Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Jack Swagger
SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
This will be the first of WWE's apparent quadruple main event. Everyone is looking forward to this, and having Austin as the ref doesn't hurt, though I'm not sure it was needed in the first place. Cole had plenty of heat before Austin hit the scene, and were it not for the arbitrary involvement of Jack Swagger, his presence might not be necessary.
A lot of people will praise Cole for being able to draw such heat from the crowd, and it is a commendable effort, but an effort that might have been better spent actually building up a heel that will help the company draw money. Watching Cole and Lawler is not going to sell t-shirts, and commentators should not be the ones putting people in seats. The sad truth is that if WWE spent as much time building up some of their other heels, or faces for that matter, as they did letting Michael Cole's monotonous ramblings plague our ears, we might have a roster of characters that we actually cared about instead of a locker room of interchangeable personalities (or lack thereof).
Still, we will all relish in the experience, and the beer bash that will inevitably follow.

Who should win: Jerry "The King" Lawler
Who will win: Jerry "The King" Lawler


WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Edge with Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio with Brodus Clay
It's pretty obvious that WWE intends to put the title on Del Rio. They've been shoving him down our throats long enough to let us see that much is clear. Again, as with Sheamus, my concern is that he will peak too early and after winning the title, simply go back to being another mid-card nobody on Smackdown. Still, it might be nice to see a new face on top for a while, though I'm not sure where WWE plans to go with him, as they haven't really built up any other young talent for him to feud with as champion.
Having their respective cohorts in their corners should add some spice to the mix. Christian and Edge should work together wonderfully to keep Brodus Clay out of the equation. Perhaps Christian will become the new #1 Contender to the World Championship. That would be a great feud that might inject a new spark in Smackdown.
Edge has done a great job holding Smackdown together in the wake of such an absence of star power, but how much longer will WWE rely on him before fans will get bored and tune out completely?
This should be a good back-and-forth battle, but in the end, "destiny" will defeat "opportunity", and we will see what happens to Smackdown when the smoke clears.

Who should win: Edge
Who will win: Alberto Del Rio


NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH
The Undertaker vs. Triple H
The promo on Raw between Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels was the stuff legends are made of. The Undertaker cutting out Triple H's entrance music at that iconic moment reinforced the idea that Triple H is playing the Deadman's game (no pun intended). Shawn Michaels' appearance was shocking: a well-kept secret in an age where everything is leaked on the internet weeks in advance. Shawn had actually tweeted just hours before that he was on his way home to San Antonio to catch Raw, and after the promo tweeted that he had "missed" what happened in the last segment.
Triple H made some tremendous points in regards to The Undertaker, the Streak, and his respect for both Shawn Michaels and his Wrestlemania opponent. His most prominent point was, perhaps, the point I attempted to make in my last column: that Triple H is no Shawn Michaels. Triple H openly acknowledges that, and admits to being the underdog in this match. The Phenom then cuts through his words with just a handful of his own, ensuring The Game that the Streak will remain intact. Shawn's reaction to The Undertaker's statements about ending the Showstopper's career gave me goosebumps, and the look of despair on his face as he mouthed the words "You can't win" to his best friend, sent shivers down my spine.
Obviously, WWE wouldn't dare jeopardize something as immortal as the Streak: the likes of which will never be duplicated. But Triple H makes a great argument as a man who could end it, and that, in the end, is what we're paying for.
This will be a classic battle between two men from a dying era, and just might steal the show.

Who should win: The Undertaker
Who will win: The Undertaker


WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE Champion The Miz vs. John Cena
WWE almost shot itself in the foot by allowing the confrontation between The Rock and Cena to air live for free on Raw this past week. After weeks of anticipation, The Rock finally met Cena eye-to-eye, but it wasn't at Wrestlemania. It will be interesting to see if the break in tension affects projected buyrates at all, as well as what WWE has in store to outshine that epic moment.
Cena will never win a war of words with The Rock, but I do give Cena props for sticking to his guns and not giving in to The Rock's game. Cena stood by everything that Rock had criticized him for, from the color of his clothes, to his entrance theme, his target demographic, and his mantra of "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect."
Then The Miz arrived to remind us all that it was his WWE Championship that Cena would be vying for this Sunday. Miz's target that night, however, was The Rock. Miz claimed that he was bigger than Rock ever was, and that "The Great One" wouldn't dare lay a hand on him because it would jeopardize his career if Miz was to retaliate.
Unfortunately for The Miz, The Rock was anything but intimidated and proceeded to "Layeth the Smacketh Down," tossing Miz and Alex Riley from the ring before turning straight into an Attitude Adjustment from Cena, who ended the show with Rock on his back as he made his way up the ramp.
The real main event will be to see what happens as a result of the beat down by Rock and Cena respectively, and ultimately, where this puts both men the following night. Will Rock stick around for a while, or is this a simple case of a wrestling "one night stand"? Where will Cena's career be after this historic night, and will The Rock's presence be enough to distract him from regaining the WWE Championship?
The Miz should hold on to that title. Cena has no need of it these days, and keeping The Miz on top a little longer will show some faith in the new generation. It would also be interesting to see how Cena continues to evolve outside of the title picture.
But of course, this is Wrestlemania, "The Showcase of the Immortals," where the impossible always happens and dreams really do come true.
Besides, we can't disappoint all those little kids.

Who should win: The Miz
Who will win: John Cena


Final Thoughts
All in all, Wrestlemania XXVII has shaped up to be a decent show. While it's far from the "biggest Wrestlemania in history," WWE has done a good job of making what seemed like a mediocre show on paper, into a can't-miss extravaganza. I'm sure we will be left with memorable moments. The Undertaker vs. Triple H along with Cena and Rock should be worth the price of the show alone. But WWE's creases are starting to show, and the cracks in their roster are leaving huge gaps. WWE needs to use the coming year to build up new stars, perhaps using the likes of Rock and Austin to help. It'll be interesting to see who comes out of Tough Enough and how/if they are pushed and used. Wrestlemania has a history of setting the tone for the rest of the year, so hopefully we are given more than a few reasons to stay tuned.

See you at Wrestlemania XXVII!

Wrestlemania Redux

Wrestlemania 23 marked the 20th anniversary of that historic and epic moment in which Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant to become WWF Champion. It was rumored that in preparation for this event in 2007, Vince McMahon planned to book Hogan against the Big Show as an homage to what is arguably the most well-known moment in wrestling history. However, Hogan's legal troubles and family issues kept him away from the ring that year, and the match never saw the light of day (or night, as it were.) The closest resemblance to this epic encounter was a brief memory of Kane slamming the Great Khali, who, up until that time, had rarely if ever left the ground.

Nostalgia seems to be in-style in WWE. Now it's 2011, and as I look at the card for Wrestlemania XVII, I can't help but take a look back to a decade ago, to April 1, 2001, and Wrestlemania X-Seven.

If you need a refreshing of your memory, here's the card from that event:

WWF CHAMPIONSHIP
No Disqualification Match
WWF Champion The Rock vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

No Holds Barred Match
Triple H vs. The Undertaker

Gimmick Battle Royal
The Iron Sheik, Luke Williams, Butch Miller, Duke Droese, Doink the Clown, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Goon, Earthquake, Gobbledy Gooker, Brother Love, Michael Hayes, One Man Gang, Kamala, Kim Chee, Jim Cornette, Repo Man, Hillbilly Jim and Sgt. Slaughter

WWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
WWF World Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian

Street Fight
Special Guest Referee Mick Foley
Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley

WWF WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
WWF Women's Champion Ivory vs. Chyna

Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit

WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
WWF European Champion Test vs. Eddie Guerrero w/ Perry Saturn

WWF HARDCORE CHAMPIONSHIP
Triple Threat Match
WWF Hardcore Champion Raven vs. Kane vs. Big Show

Six-Man Tag Team Match
Tazz and the APA w/ Jacqueline vs. Right to Censor w/ Steven Richards

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. William Regal

It's also worth noting, that on this edition of Sunday Night Heat, X-Factor's Justin Credible & X-Pac w/ Albert defeated Steve Blackman & Grand Master Sexay.

---

Now, fast forward ten years. Here is the card for Wrestlemania XXVII

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE Champion The Miz vs. John Cena

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio

No Holds Barred Match
Triple H vs. The Undertaker

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Special Guest Referee "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole w/ Jack Swagger

Six-Person Tag Team Match
John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool w/ Vickie Guerrero

WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE United States Champion Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

Special Guest Host of Wrestlemania
The Rock

And while it hasn't been officially added to the card (at least according to WWE.com), I assume the following match will also happen:

WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
WWE Tag Team Champions The Corre (Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel) vs. Kane & The Big Show


The first thing that jumps out at me is the Triple H vs. The Undertaker match. Not because it is an encounter of epic proportions, but because this is the exact same match that we saw just ten years ago, right down to the match type. It's one thing to have a rematch. Heck, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker battled two years in a row with the exact same result. Though those particular matches may be considered special cases (they are, after all, regarded by many as two of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history), WWE programming has never once mentioned that these two men have battled before on "The Grandest Stage of Them All". The only reference made to their Wrestlemania X-Seven encounter is on the Match Preview on WWE.com. The brief paragraph addressing their previous bout reads as follows:

Precisely 10 years ago, the two respected and feared Superstars squared off on The Grandest Stage of Them All at WrestleMania X-Seven. During that contest, the action spilled outside the ring in a memorable display of power and determination. In the end, The Demon of Death Valley prevailed by pinfall.

Of course, WWE is not going to tell us much about their Wrestlemania X-Seven match, because that would water-down the anticipation for this year's match. However, at the end of the day, I just don't get the same goosebumps from this angle that I did from the Shawn Michaels/The Undertaker match just a year ago.

The build up to HBK's match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 was expertly done. They went so far as to acknowledge that these two had fought numerous times before, but that Shawn had never had the opportunity to face The Phenom on his "home turf", at Wrestlemania. At Wrestlemania 26, the idea was that Shawn had come so close to beating The Deadman the previous year, that he knew he could beat him if he had just one more chance, this time putting his career on the line. Those two matches weren't about two epic Superstars clashing on a huge stage, but about two legends and in-ring artists putting on a terrific show and one man's quest to do what no man had ever done. HBK, like many of the challengers before him, played many head-games with The Undertaker, whereas Triple H has done nothing but talk. There have been no smoke and mirrors on either side. There have been no ominous messages, no supernatural occurrences; simply a lot of talk.

Unfortunately for Triple H, he ever had, nor will he ever have, the charisma that HBK brings to the big dance. Yet what The Game lacks in charisma, he makes up for in intensity, but for some reason, this makes him a little less human as he seems to possess this invulnerability about him. No matter what happens, he never falters, never cracks. He's not intimidated by The Undertaker, whereas Michaels had to noticeably don a facade simply to counter The Undertaker's head games. Is this really an epic and highly-anticipated encounter? Or is this simply a case of Triple H riding the coat-tails of HBK's 5-star matches with The Undertaker?

There is one element to this match that is bone-chilling, though subtle. Following his return, The Undertaker has repeatedly been called "The Last Outlaw". This is perhaps the one aspect of the match that proves to be its saving grace.

Flashback once again, to Wrestlemania X-Seven. It is considered by many to be the mark of the end of the "Attitude Era". While Austin, Rock, and Foley would stick around a few more years, the torch would soon be passed to Triple H to carry the company. Men like Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Jericho were quickly rising to the top.

By Wrestlemania XIX, Austin would have his last match. Rock and Foley would tag team against Evolution a year later. And by Wrestlemania 21, the only stars from the "Attitude Era" to be left in prominent, main-event spots were Triple H, The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels.

Sure, there was still Jericho, Edge, Christian, Kane, and others, but these three men were the last centerpieces of the company before the new generation would step in.

And now, with Michaels gone, Triple H and The Undertaker are the last representations of an era that captivated an entire generation of wrestling fans. From prominence in the World Wrestling Federation, through the Monday Night Wars, and through the rough transitions that followed, these two have remained permanent fixtures of the industry, and now, it would seem, are facing off one final time in a battle that will most likely put the nail in the coffin of that period. It's not so much about the intensity of either man, or even the infamous streak, it's about two veterans of a dying era, squaring off one final time: a swan song for "WWF Attitude".

In any case, what is most unnerving about this match-up is the fact that WWE continues to dig into its retro bag for answers to its general lack of star power.

So many stars from ten years ago are still the center of attention today.

Kane and the Big Show are a tag team, much like they were at Wrestlemania 22.

Edge is the World Heavyweight Champion.

The Undertaker and Triple H will square off yet again.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin will referee a match.

The Rock is the guest host.

Even Grand Master Sexay (Brian Christopher), a former WWE World Tag Team Champion, was brought back to hype the match between Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole along with Jim Ross.

There's certainly a lot more WWE could to do beef up this card and make it worth your $60. WWE has a slew of titles circulating right now, and only four of them are represented here. There is no match for the Diva's Championship (why they would retire the prestigious Women's Championship in favor of this butterfly belt is beyond me). There is no official match announced for the WWE Tag Team Championship (those belts that look like they were designed by a 4th grade fan of "Gladiator"), and of course, for the seventh time in the last eight years, the Intercontinental Championship, the most prestigious of all the mid-card titles, will not be contested at WWE's biggest event of the year. There is also no Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match this year, as that particular gimmick was given its own pay-per-view. Which begs the question of how Wrestlemania XXVII expects to fuel the WWE with any momentum going forward in 2011.

Let's face it: why are we going to buy Wrestlemania XXVII? Is it to see Daniel Bryan regain the United States Championship from Sheamus? Is it to see The Miz finally lose his coveted WWE title? Is it to see if Edge can hold on to his World Championship against the rising star of Alberto Del Rio?

Probably not.

There are three reasons people are going to buy Wrestlemania XXVII, and, depending on what kind of fan you are, you may fall into one or more of these instances.

1.) Triple H vs. The Undertaker - This is for the older demographic who remembers when these two men were in their prime. Their match at Wrestlemania X-Seven may not be the most memorable for either man, but it is memorable for fans who grew up before or during the "Attitude Era". We know this will be a great match, so we will pay to see it.

2.) Jerry "The King" Lawler vs. Michael Cole w/ Jack Swagger and Special Guest Referee "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - This is for the casual fan. You hate Michael Cole's attitude and want to see him get his face rearranged by Lawler, Austin, or both. You are probably also a "Stone Cold" fan and can't wait to see The Rattlesnake back in the ring.

3.) John Cena vs. The Rock - Sure, technically this isn't a "real" match. There won't be a sanctioned confrontation, but most fans will want to see what happens when the two most popular Superstars from their respective eras collide. This is really what is selling Wrestlemania XXVII right now, and this is what the majority of viewers are paying for. The good news? The Rock's return after a seven year hiatus is raising a lot of eyebrows (forgive the pun) for entertainment news. Fans who may have left the product after the "Attitude Era" will return, however briefly, to see stars like The Rock and Austin back in the spotlight.

The bad news? WWE really isn't giving those fans any reason to stick around after 'Mania. Who will those fans of the "Attitude Era" latch onto at 'Mania that will make them want to tune in to Raw the next night? There are no new stars to take the place of the Austins or the Rocks. Daniel Bryan is a terrific performer, but he's lacking in charisma and character, as are most of the young stars coming in right now. Guys like Orton and Punk have had their time to shine and are now simply acting as filler for the card. John Cena's gimmick is getting stale even for casual fans. Cena has main-evented every Wrestlemania for the past six years (this will be his seventh). Who is going to make sure that those fans who return for Wrestlemania won't leave once the show is over?

In the next column I'll be taking a closer look at the Wrestlemania XXVII card and making my official predictions. But on paper, I just don't see that "legend in the making". When Austin won the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XIV, it was a clear sign that he would be the next huge star. When Cena won that title from JJBL at Wrestlemania 21, it was to usher in a new era. But who will lead the new generation? Will we find out at Wrestlemania XXVII, or will we be forced to wait another year for a new legend to root for?