Just two days after Vince McMahon made the "biggest announcement in the history of television", I will bet "cash money" on the fact that there are about 300 employees running around Titan Tower and the whole of Greenwich, Connecticut after hearing the news that WWE Monday Night RAW officially dropped below the 3.0 mark in the ratings.
Vince McMahon, meanwhile, will sit at his desk and scratch his head and wonder "what could this possibly mean? Surely there is nothing wrong with my product!"
Eventually he will come to the conclusion that intriguing new programming on other networks has lured away his audience. He will tell you it was Memorial Day weekend and the extensive travel by many of his viewers means they didn't have the chance to tune in to see his incredible lineup of programming. He will do everything in his power to convince you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with World Wrestling Entertainment and Monday Night Raw.
It never occurs to Vince that maybe the reason Triple H doesn't fly as a 12-time World Champion is because the fans don't want a 12-time world champion. They want a champion they've never seen before. They want something fresh. It's ironic that Vince himself touched upon this in his infamous monologue Monday night and promised that would indeed be granted our wish in just a few short weeks with the return of the WWE Draft. Surely this will solve the problem of monotony in World Wrestling Entertainment.
But seriously, is Great Khali going to suck any less on RAW than he does on Smackdown? My guess is no.
Ted Dibiase's son debuted as a singles competitor this week. He's a heel, too! He even went so far as to challenge Rhodes and Holly for the World Tag Team Championship in his debut!
Wow. A singles wrestler challenging for tag team gold. Guess it would really put a cramp on the style of creative if they had to actually come up with a TAG TEAM to challenge for the titles. Y'know, like Cryme Tyme. Creative is too busy breaking up teams like Cade and Murdoch to worry about who will partner wtih DiBiase in his quest for the titles.
Chris Jericho is an 8-time Intercontinental Champion. That's a record, ladies and gentlemen. No one has held that title more times than Y2J.
But what does it really mean when your claim to fame is being the guy that held the "mid-card title" in wrestling more times than anyone else? We all know that Jericho is more than worthy of a World Championship run that WWE will continue to refuse him, instead appeasing him with subsequent runs as the WWE's upper-midcard champion. Becasue we all know as long as there is Triple H, there is only room for one "real" world title contender at a time.
The biggest problem in WWE right now is the terrible methods being used to bring up new stars. This is where WWE shot itself in the foot. In the course of a few years they lost their biggest names: Austin, Rock, Foley, Hogan, Lesnar, etc. Never once did they stop to think who would take their place once they were gone. Now they are pretending they can still pick and choose who gets to stand in a vaccant spotlight. Men like Kennedy, Punk, Carlito, Benjamin, MVP, the Hardys, Jericho, and countless others have been working for years to become main eventers, and instead WWE continues to hand the ball to our almighty "King of Kings", the 12-time World Champion.
I'm sure Triple H has Flair's blessing to "break the record" of 16 world championships. The only problem is, Flair's record was legit. He was a World Champion because a board of directors who had actual money riding on his reign chose HIM out of a locker room of hundreds of men to be the poster-boy for their organization. It was unanimous, because it wasn't just the NWA. It was every organization Flair ever wrestled for from NWA to WWF, to WCW, and so on.
The problem with today's system is that it is so easy for Triple H to monopolize the industry simply because of the lack of competition and his connections with the McMahon family. So rather than a board of directors, all Triple H has to do is go to his father-in-law and request a world title match...and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.
Jeff Hardy is begging to be WWE Champion. The fans are begging for Hardy to be WWE Champion. The WWE had the perfect opportunity to make Jeff Champion at the Royal Rumble...and they let it go in favor of a more Triple H condoned route of allowing Orton to keep his title.
Want to know why Orton kept his title? Because they didn't want Triple H to get booed when he came back and won it from someone like Jeff Hardy. They knew long before "The Game" returned that he would be WWE Champion come Summerslam, and they wanted to make sure he was as close to a fan-favorite as possible when it happened.
Meanwhile, the mediocrity and monotony of another Triple H title run has fans changing the channel quicker than a Bra and Panties match on ECW. Yes, travel and alternative programming have a lot to do with ratings on a holiday weekend, but let's face it: if you're programming was THAT good, people would make a point to watch it or at least record it so they could catch up on it later. There is really no excuse for a 2.9 rating for a show that is deemed the "flagship broadcast" of the WWE.
USA Network is not the least bit happy about any of it and have told Vince so on several occasions. It will be interesting to see if they choose to renew RAW another season and what happens to Vince and Co. when their outlet for national exposure suddenly closes.
Now Vince thinks giving away money on TV will help draw ratings. I really don't care if it does or not, and that is for several reasons.
Firstly, this is a tactic previously pitched by Eric Bischoff for WCW. All respect to Eric Bischoff, what does it say about Vince McMahon when he's using the tactic of a dead company to draw in his audience?
Secondly, this is clearly a stunt simply to pull the audience in. I'm not questioning it's integrity so much as I am it's intention.
Which leads me to my third point: Giving away money has nothing to do with wrestling.
Vince McMahon can pretend all he wants that he is some sort of entertainment jauggernaut, but the fact of the matter is that most of the people who know his name know him simply as a wrestling promoter and nothing else. Most people cannot tell you that he has been the executive producer of full length motion pictures. Most people cannot tell you that he is the co-founder of a failed football league. Most people cannot tell you anything about Vince McMahon that does not pertain to wrestling. But Vince McMahon, insomuch as he coined the phrase "sports-entertainment" has convinced himself that he is something more than a simple promoter of professional wrestling.
He opened up WWE Films and now he's got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Meanwhile the films produced by his company continue to disappoint at the box office despite the incredible appeal of the stars he casts in them...the stars HE created.
With the $250,000 Diva Search (you know it's on the way...) Vince turned his wrestling shows into game shows. There was no more attempt at keeping the curtain tightly closed on the reality behind the scenes of pro wrestling. We're openly showing how we get women into our business: pie eating contests and 30-second boot camp relays. And bikini contests...don't forget the bikini contests.
Heaven forbid we actually see how well these women can...y'know...WRESTLE! As long as they can dance with Kelly Kelly they really don't need to learn how to do much else.
This trend now continues with the promise of cash prizes to the viewers of Monday Night RAW.
Because why put on a good wrestling match when we can give away money? Why develop characters when we can spend more time in a Vince McMahon monologue? Why actually write a story when we've got the perfect filler in the guise of "fan appreciation"?
Genius, Vince. Pure genius.
I'm just glad Ric Flair retired when he did so he wouldn't have to be subjected to the debasement of his life's work at this level.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Road (to Wrestlemania) Goes Ever On...
So here it is: the traditional three-hour RAW extravaganza that's the official poster-child for Wrestlemania XXIV.
This has become more common in the past couple of years, and I'm not really sure why. It used to be cool to have a three-hour RAW, y'know, back when two hours weren't taken up by promos and pointless vignettes. Unfortunately, that has changed drastically.
The show opens with "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair calling out Shawn Michaels in regards to Shawn's presumptuous comments that, should "The Naitch" and "The Showstopper" get it on at Wrestlemania, Flair's show would be stopped. Flair says he doesn't want any sympathy from anyone, since Shawn's instincts told him that he did not want to be responsible for Flair's retirement. Shawn came out and squashed that sentiment by restating that he will be giving Flair 100% of classic HBK come 'Mania.
The whole affair was well done, but I have two major problems with it.
The first is that there's a bit too much respect flying around here. Don't get me wrong, anyone who is anyone in the wrestling industry knows that respect is due to Ric Flair above all other members of the locker room, but it makes for quite the contradiction when HBK steps out there and tells Flair "I love you" in one breath, and "I will retire you" in the next.
The second is that it didn't really amp up anything for the match. The fact that these guys are such great friends means that they can't really turn either one heel and sell it, because the crowd knows how much Flair and HBK respect the hell out of each other. The whole angle has not been played out to capacity by any means, as pointed out by men like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who said simply: "This is Ric Flair" we're talking about. This should be the main event at Wrestlemania, and will end up beneath both World Title matches. It's lucky to make it that high and I'm sure it's due more to Shawn's involvement than Flair's since Flair was left completely off the broadcasted card for Wrestlemania 23.
All in all, this has potential, but unless they blow the hell out of it in the few remaining weeks until the event, it will be severely underplayed. The match will be great since it involves two of wrestling's greatest performers of all time, even though both reached the peaks of their respective careers several years ago.
Next we have Randy Orton who has been dubbed General Manager for the night in the continuation of the RAW's Triple Threat Takeover. Orton plays it smart and pits HBK against Wrestlemania 23 opponent John Cena (who was victorious over Shawn at that outing) and declares that Triple H will face Wrestlemania XV opponent, Kane. Meanwhile, the Champ himself takes the night off.
In keeping with the Wrestlemania Rewind theme, a Casket Match was signed between Wrestlemania 22 opponents The Undertaker and "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. This match was short, and had a rather abrupt ending which, if I recall correctly, saw no Tombstone Piledriver or Chokeslam. I'm looking forward to watching "The Deadman" face Edge at for the World Championship on March 30, and although most people would agree that a 16-0 Wrestlemania undefeated streak for 'Taker is a foregone conclusion, the big event always brings the question of just who, if anyone, will be able to finally keep "The Phenom" down when the lights are on brightest.
I actually felt bad for the beating Mr. Kennedy suffered at the hands of Finlay. After JBL cut a promo via TitanTron about the "Belfast Brawl" scheduled between he and Finlay at Wrestlemania, the fighting Irishman snapped and went to town on Kennedy with his shilelagh. This was fine and actually brought some credibility to the angle after that god-awful "attack" by JBL on a bed-laiden Hornswoggle last Monday. My problem came when Finlay, after being restrained by three refs while Kennedy was being escorted from the ring by two more, proceeded to snap again and continue his assault.
Now, most of our fans will find that there is no love lost between themselves and the man with the microphone, but that's not the issue. The issue is this: Finlay's rage had already subsided. His first act can be taken as involuntary, almost instinctive, because of the threats of JBL and the convenience of Kennedy's pressence. Finlay could almost go the William Regal or come out on RAW next week and apologize publicly for his actions, thus remaining a face, giving JBL a chance to interrupt and do a typical heel promo on the innocent face.
But this is ruined by the second attack which is assumed to be voluntary, and that is key because good guys do not voluntarily attack innocent men (Kennedy being innocent in the context of the storyline). Wasn't JBL's attack on Hornswoggle last Monday, however brutal (as much to watch as it was to experience), an attack on an innocent man? What then, is there left to separate the good from the bad? Who now do we cheer at 'Mania? We are expected to cheer for Finlay and boo JBL because...well...because he's annoying, really, not because he's done anything that Finlay hasn't. The only excuse Finlay has now is the adolescent idea of "he made me do it" or "he did it first!" That's not exactly solid storytelling when you're trying to build a 'Mania worthy confrontation.
Finally, the does nothing for Kennedy and his entry in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at 'Mania. This is the time where all the stars involved need to be pushed as hard as possible so the buy rates will go up. By burying Kennedy tonight, you've alienated all the fans who were looking to buy 'Mania on the chance that Kennedy might walk out of his match a winner, but with the obvious push of Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy to the top of that ladder (pun intended), there's hardly room for someone who should've had his push six months ago.
And speaking of those two men, Jeff Hardy and Y2J faced off in a match for the Intercontinental Championship. This was the best match of the night: quickly paced with countless near falls throughout. Both men hit and missed their finishers, with Hardy avoiding the Walls of Jericho and turning into a small package roll up while Jericho would push off the Twist of Fate and follow up with a Lionsault. The words "We have a new Champ!" actually left the lips of commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler after one of these near falls, and he quickly retracted them when he realized the match must continue. In the end, Jericho hit "The Codebreaker" to win the match and end Jeff Hardy's six-month plus reign as Intercontinental Champion. For those of you, keeping score at home, Jericho has now broken his own record for most Intercontinental title reigns in WWE history (8).
Well, this either means they took the strap off Hardy to prepare him for a new title, or that they are ditching Hardy completely. I tend to lean towards the second theory, since they could very well wait until after Wrestlemania to take his Intercontinental title away if they wanted to give him the WWE Championship.
As much as I love to see Chris Jericho with some gold, the fact that he has now broken his own championship record will only lead him further astray from what fans really want: a Jericho WWE title run. Instead he winds up with the mid-card title, which is exactly where he was before he left in 2005. Sorry, Jerichaholics, but there seems to be little or no hope of seeing this star as World Champion again...
To RAW's credit, there was little to no backstage vignettes. All three members of the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XXIV were interviewed. Triple H's was surprisingly, and refreshingly, short. Nothing new, but not too long. Instead of the usual fifteen minute monologue, we got a very nice, short, sweet, and effective promo that ended simply with: "Cena, Orton, game on." Nicely done.
Cena put out his usual speech about how his injury made him realize how badly he wanted the spotlight again and how hard he worked to get back to it. Now he's more focused than ever on becoming champion again. He talked about how much he respected Randy Orton's accomplishments (he respects the guy that kicked his father's head in just four months ago...) and Triple H's intensity, but he's going to be champion again.
Orton's promo was the longest, but that's not to say it was too long. He called out a bunch of attributes of Triple H and Cena and claimed he was the combination of all three of these, only he had one thing they didn't have: the title. Once again, it was slow, scripted Randy Orton rhetoric, but one of the more effective of his promos.
These were short promos that didn't take up too much TV time. If you fast forwarded your DVR for two seconds, they're gone, so I didn't mind them and actually enjoyed them. There was also an effective Kane promo in which Orton tried to get Kane's anger toward "The Game" rekindled, and Kane grabbed him by the throat and told Orton that the last thing he needed regarding Triple H was a history lesson. Again, very short, very effective. He's angry. We get it. He's going to unleash years of anger. Perfect. That's what we paid to see.
Unfortunately, two segments were not nearly as effective and several times the length of these promos.
The first was the appearance of Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Shiek, whom most fans scarcely remember. So I was glad when Volkoff got his traditional heat for singing the Soviet national anthem. He actually still sounds good when he sings and, if you ask me, has aged much better than his Un-American counterpart, who uttered the traditional: "Russia: Number One! Iran: Number One! USA: aakkk-tooey!"
Then the U.S. Express, comprised of Barry Windam and Mike Rotunda arrive on the scene and it suddenly dawns on me that they are indeed here for nostalgia, but in the form of an actual wrestling contest as an omage to their confrontation at the very first Wrestlemania in 1985.
The cold hand of dread suddenly grips me tight as I try to picture a match between such relics. All due respect, they are not required to wrestle. Their appearance alone would have been enough to satisfy the foggy memories of the inagural event. Then Jillian Hall comes in to save us from this nightmare (or to enhance it). She wants to sing "Born in the U.S.A.", the song used as the U.S. Express' entrance theme back at Wrestlemania I. She does a terrible job and is given an airplane spin and rolled out of the ring.
That's it.
That's the whole segment. Russian Anthem, U.S. Express, Jillian Hall, airplane spin. The End.
Even now there is a line in the lower left corner of the WWE RAW results page that reads: U.S. Express vs. Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Shiek (no contest).
It did nothing for Wrestlemnia XXIV. Hell, I doubt it did much for fans who were around for Wrestlemania I. It did NOTHING. It's ten minutes of my life I will never get back, and I have nothing to show for it except the last few paragraphs. Is this why we extended RAW to three hours this week?
The second pointless segment was the Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Big Show weigh-in. For anyone who is curious, Mayweather clocked in at 159 lbs. and Big Show clocked in at 448. Mayweather was accompanied by his usual posse, and Big Show countered with a posse of his own, comprised of members of every WWE roster (RAW, Smackdown, and ECW). After the weigh-in, as Mayweather attempted to leave, Big Show attacked him, leading to a brawl on the outside between the two sides. Finally Mayweather was tossed over the top rope and appeared to hurt his elbow on the fall. Shane McMahon was also knocked off his feet on the ramp as they made their way to the back.
What I like here are two things: a.) that they didn't try to play Mayweather as a face, and b.) that the $20 million payday for Mayweather was brought into the mix.
WWE finally got the hint: wrestling fans don't like non-wrestlers stealing their heroes' spotlights. Mayweather's promo last week was awful, and fans knew it. He also comes out with a posse, something that's reserved specifically for heels in the wrestling industry. Despite Big Show's efforts to help put Mayweather over as a face by attacking Rey Mysterio and a Mayweather look-alike, Mayweather turned heel, primarily in light of the $20 million price tag WWE placed on him.
I won't go into detail about how insulting that is to WWE veterans, much less to every other member of the roster and WWE business in general. To people outside the industry, wrestlers become millionaires over time, and only a few work with garunteed contracts. A $20 million payday is unheard of in the wrestling industry. To put things in perspective, Hulk Hogan made a few million dollars off his contract in WCW, which was garunteed for several years...YEARS, not days, and that had fans up in arms. When Mike Tyson was brought in to work with Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV, he was allegedly given $4-5 million for his appearance. You can imagine the outrage by the rumored $20 million offered to Mayweather.
This of course is now a prominent feature of the revamped storyline, and I actually like the heel turn for Mayweather. It reminds me of Tyson's DX turn back in 1998, and it gives fans the chance to boo him due to his money, or cheer him because of his underdog status in the match. They also haven't made any big attempts to turn Big Show face, which is nice because he keeps his tenacity and the freedom to do whatever he wants (storywise...)
My theory is that Vince invented the $20 million figure to spark controversey for the match which up until then had receieved little to no publicity from any major media, including the newspapers and ESPN. He knew it would get the fans riled up, but since finances of that nature are rarely discussed publicly with media or even other talent, I doubt it's genuine. In any case, the image of Mayweather throwing hundred dollar bills at Big Show's feet will certainly get someone's attention.
But the thing is, the segment didn't really DO anyting new. They got into a brawl. Well, a brawl is what started this whole thing: that's how Show's nose got broken. So now we need something more than a brawl. We don't need to know their weights, and we don't need to cut anymore promos. We need to see Big Show decimating the smaller men in the locker room and we need to show wrestling fans what an undefeated boxer can do. This was another excuse for a three hour show, and it failed to do much as far as hyping the match.
The Kane vs. Triple H match was standard fare. Of course, Triple H goes over. 'Nuff said.
Ashley Massaro is injured, so her planned match for her and Melina from Wrestlemania 23 was scrapped. In its place Melina was put against Maria in light of their upcoming Bunny-mania match in which Playboy covergirl Maria will team up with fellow covergirl and former Women's Champion Candice Michelle against former Women's Champion Melina and current Champion Beth Phoenix.
The match was interrupted by Santino with his own copy Maria's magazine which he used to distract her and allowed Melina to pick up the win. Why Candice didn't do anyting while she was there on the outside is beyond me, but at least all participants for the Wrestlemania match were involved.
World Heavyweight Champion Edge faced off against ECW's C.M. Punk in a non-title bout that saw Edge use the distraction of the Major Brothers to pick up the win. Punk had Edge set up for the GTS when one of the Major Brothers got up on the ring apron to distract him. Punk knocked him down and was moving across the ring to deal with the second brother when Edge took him out with a Spear. I'm not exactly sure what Punk has to do with Edge's World Championship match against The Undertaker, but at least there was actual wrestling involved here. Aside from the horrible Vicky Guerrero storyline, Edge is a great talent for Smackdown and one of the best in WWE.
RAW General Manager William Regal brought out Umaga as the man who will take on Smackdown's Batista in a battle for brand supremacy at Wrestlemania. Batista soon followed out and the two exchanged blows before "The Animal" was able to Spear the "Samoan Bulldozer" out of the ring.
I really hope this match leads to a combination of the brands in the coming months. With men like Flair, Hornswoggle, and Finlay constantly jumping ship from one show to another, it's clear WWE is desperate to fill their five hours of weekly programming (not including pay-per-views). All brands are featured at every Pay-Per-View, so there's really no point in having them separate anyway. Plus it will help strengthen each division, so titles may actually mean something.
Finally we have the rematch between Cena and HBK. Cena came out to his normal rain of boos, and he and HBK attempted to remake the classic they had at Wrestlemania 23. I don't think they were as successful as they hoped they'd be. The match was slow paced, and though it featured some solid wrestling, it also featured a young talent and a man who's entire career has been molded by speed and agility. Standard stuff, with attempted finishers and submissions. HBK hit a springboard crossbody off the ropes and proceeded to beat on Cena before Orton attacked him from behind and beat the hell out of Cena himself...or at least tried to. Instead he tried to RKO Cena on an open chair while Cena reversed and threw Orton on it instead (he'll have a history of back problems after that...) Finally Cena F-Ued Orton for his trouble and was left standing tall as we headed to the back where Triple H told us that he'd be in control next week on RAW and that he had plans for Cena and Orton--not as opponents, but as tag team partners.
Their opponents?
The entire RAW roster.
Of course they save "The Game's" reign as General Manager for last because he always gets the last laugh. He'd find some way to outdo what Orton and Cena had done, so he used, quite literally, everything...or rather, everyone at his disposal.
Should be interesting...
This has become more common in the past couple of years, and I'm not really sure why. It used to be cool to have a three-hour RAW, y'know, back when two hours weren't taken up by promos and pointless vignettes. Unfortunately, that has changed drastically.
The show opens with "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair calling out Shawn Michaels in regards to Shawn's presumptuous comments that, should "The Naitch" and "The Showstopper" get it on at Wrestlemania, Flair's show would be stopped. Flair says he doesn't want any sympathy from anyone, since Shawn's instincts told him that he did not want to be responsible for Flair's retirement. Shawn came out and squashed that sentiment by restating that he will be giving Flair 100% of classic HBK come 'Mania.
The whole affair was well done, but I have two major problems with it.
The first is that there's a bit too much respect flying around here. Don't get me wrong, anyone who is anyone in the wrestling industry knows that respect is due to Ric Flair above all other members of the locker room, but it makes for quite the contradiction when HBK steps out there and tells Flair "I love you" in one breath, and "I will retire you" in the next.
The second is that it didn't really amp up anything for the match. The fact that these guys are such great friends means that they can't really turn either one heel and sell it, because the crowd knows how much Flair and HBK respect the hell out of each other. The whole angle has not been played out to capacity by any means, as pointed out by men like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who said simply: "This is Ric Flair" we're talking about. This should be the main event at Wrestlemania, and will end up beneath both World Title matches. It's lucky to make it that high and I'm sure it's due more to Shawn's involvement than Flair's since Flair was left completely off the broadcasted card for Wrestlemania 23.
All in all, this has potential, but unless they blow the hell out of it in the few remaining weeks until the event, it will be severely underplayed. The match will be great since it involves two of wrestling's greatest performers of all time, even though both reached the peaks of their respective careers several years ago.
Next we have Randy Orton who has been dubbed General Manager for the night in the continuation of the RAW's Triple Threat Takeover. Orton plays it smart and pits HBK against Wrestlemania 23 opponent John Cena (who was victorious over Shawn at that outing) and declares that Triple H will face Wrestlemania XV opponent, Kane. Meanwhile, the Champ himself takes the night off.
In keeping with the Wrestlemania Rewind theme, a Casket Match was signed between Wrestlemania 22 opponents The Undertaker and "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. This match was short, and had a rather abrupt ending which, if I recall correctly, saw no Tombstone Piledriver or Chokeslam. I'm looking forward to watching "The Deadman" face Edge at for the World Championship on March 30, and although most people would agree that a 16-0 Wrestlemania undefeated streak for 'Taker is a foregone conclusion, the big event always brings the question of just who, if anyone, will be able to finally keep "The Phenom" down when the lights are on brightest.
I actually felt bad for the beating Mr. Kennedy suffered at the hands of Finlay. After JBL cut a promo via TitanTron about the "Belfast Brawl" scheduled between he and Finlay at Wrestlemania, the fighting Irishman snapped and went to town on Kennedy with his shilelagh. This was fine and actually brought some credibility to the angle after that god-awful "attack" by JBL on a bed-laiden Hornswoggle last Monday. My problem came when Finlay, after being restrained by three refs while Kennedy was being escorted from the ring by two more, proceeded to snap again and continue his assault.
Now, most of our fans will find that there is no love lost between themselves and the man with the microphone, but that's not the issue. The issue is this: Finlay's rage had already subsided. His first act can be taken as involuntary, almost instinctive, because of the threats of JBL and the convenience of Kennedy's pressence. Finlay could almost go the William Regal or come out on RAW next week and apologize publicly for his actions, thus remaining a face, giving JBL a chance to interrupt and do a typical heel promo on the innocent face.
But this is ruined by the second attack which is assumed to be voluntary, and that is key because good guys do not voluntarily attack innocent men (Kennedy being innocent in the context of the storyline). Wasn't JBL's attack on Hornswoggle last Monday, however brutal (as much to watch as it was to experience), an attack on an innocent man? What then, is there left to separate the good from the bad? Who now do we cheer at 'Mania? We are expected to cheer for Finlay and boo JBL because...well...because he's annoying, really, not because he's done anything that Finlay hasn't. The only excuse Finlay has now is the adolescent idea of "he made me do it" or "he did it first!" That's not exactly solid storytelling when you're trying to build a 'Mania worthy confrontation.
Finally, the does nothing for Kennedy and his entry in the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at 'Mania. This is the time where all the stars involved need to be pushed as hard as possible so the buy rates will go up. By burying Kennedy tonight, you've alienated all the fans who were looking to buy 'Mania on the chance that Kennedy might walk out of his match a winner, but with the obvious push of Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy to the top of that ladder (pun intended), there's hardly room for someone who should've had his push six months ago.
And speaking of those two men, Jeff Hardy and Y2J faced off in a match for the Intercontinental Championship. This was the best match of the night: quickly paced with countless near falls throughout. Both men hit and missed their finishers, with Hardy avoiding the Walls of Jericho and turning into a small package roll up while Jericho would push off the Twist of Fate and follow up with a Lionsault. The words "We have a new Champ!" actually left the lips of commentator Jerry "The King" Lawler after one of these near falls, and he quickly retracted them when he realized the match must continue. In the end, Jericho hit "The Codebreaker" to win the match and end Jeff Hardy's six-month plus reign as Intercontinental Champion. For those of you, keeping score at home, Jericho has now broken his own record for most Intercontinental title reigns in WWE history (8).
Well, this either means they took the strap off Hardy to prepare him for a new title, or that they are ditching Hardy completely. I tend to lean towards the second theory, since they could very well wait until after Wrestlemania to take his Intercontinental title away if they wanted to give him the WWE Championship.
As much as I love to see Chris Jericho with some gold, the fact that he has now broken his own championship record will only lead him further astray from what fans really want: a Jericho WWE title run. Instead he winds up with the mid-card title, which is exactly where he was before he left in 2005. Sorry, Jerichaholics, but there seems to be little or no hope of seeing this star as World Champion again...
To RAW's credit, there was little to no backstage vignettes. All three members of the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XXIV were interviewed. Triple H's was surprisingly, and refreshingly, short. Nothing new, but not too long. Instead of the usual fifteen minute monologue, we got a very nice, short, sweet, and effective promo that ended simply with: "Cena, Orton, game on." Nicely done.
Cena put out his usual speech about how his injury made him realize how badly he wanted the spotlight again and how hard he worked to get back to it. Now he's more focused than ever on becoming champion again. He talked about how much he respected Randy Orton's accomplishments (he respects the guy that kicked his father's head in just four months ago...) and Triple H's intensity, but he's going to be champion again.
Orton's promo was the longest, but that's not to say it was too long. He called out a bunch of attributes of Triple H and Cena and claimed he was the combination of all three of these, only he had one thing they didn't have: the title. Once again, it was slow, scripted Randy Orton rhetoric, but one of the more effective of his promos.
These were short promos that didn't take up too much TV time. If you fast forwarded your DVR for two seconds, they're gone, so I didn't mind them and actually enjoyed them. There was also an effective Kane promo in which Orton tried to get Kane's anger toward "The Game" rekindled, and Kane grabbed him by the throat and told Orton that the last thing he needed regarding Triple H was a history lesson. Again, very short, very effective. He's angry. We get it. He's going to unleash years of anger. Perfect. That's what we paid to see.
Unfortunately, two segments were not nearly as effective and several times the length of these promos.
The first was the appearance of Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Shiek, whom most fans scarcely remember. So I was glad when Volkoff got his traditional heat for singing the Soviet national anthem. He actually still sounds good when he sings and, if you ask me, has aged much better than his Un-American counterpart, who uttered the traditional: "Russia: Number One! Iran: Number One! USA: aakkk-tooey!"
Then the U.S. Express, comprised of Barry Windam and Mike Rotunda arrive on the scene and it suddenly dawns on me that they are indeed here for nostalgia, but in the form of an actual wrestling contest as an omage to their confrontation at the very first Wrestlemania in 1985.
The cold hand of dread suddenly grips me tight as I try to picture a match between such relics. All due respect, they are not required to wrestle. Their appearance alone would have been enough to satisfy the foggy memories of the inagural event. Then Jillian Hall comes in to save us from this nightmare (or to enhance it). She wants to sing "Born in the U.S.A.", the song used as the U.S. Express' entrance theme back at Wrestlemania I. She does a terrible job and is given an airplane spin and rolled out of the ring.
That's it.
That's the whole segment. Russian Anthem, U.S. Express, Jillian Hall, airplane spin. The End.
Even now there is a line in the lower left corner of the WWE RAW results page that reads: U.S. Express vs. Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Shiek (no contest).
It did nothing for Wrestlemnia XXIV. Hell, I doubt it did much for fans who were around for Wrestlemania I. It did NOTHING. It's ten minutes of my life I will never get back, and I have nothing to show for it except the last few paragraphs. Is this why we extended RAW to three hours this week?
The second pointless segment was the Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Big Show weigh-in. For anyone who is curious, Mayweather clocked in at 159 lbs. and Big Show clocked in at 448. Mayweather was accompanied by his usual posse, and Big Show countered with a posse of his own, comprised of members of every WWE roster (RAW, Smackdown, and ECW). After the weigh-in, as Mayweather attempted to leave, Big Show attacked him, leading to a brawl on the outside between the two sides. Finally Mayweather was tossed over the top rope and appeared to hurt his elbow on the fall. Shane McMahon was also knocked off his feet on the ramp as they made their way to the back.
What I like here are two things: a.) that they didn't try to play Mayweather as a face, and b.) that the $20 million payday for Mayweather was brought into the mix.
WWE finally got the hint: wrestling fans don't like non-wrestlers stealing their heroes' spotlights. Mayweather's promo last week was awful, and fans knew it. He also comes out with a posse, something that's reserved specifically for heels in the wrestling industry. Despite Big Show's efforts to help put Mayweather over as a face by attacking Rey Mysterio and a Mayweather look-alike, Mayweather turned heel, primarily in light of the $20 million price tag WWE placed on him.
I won't go into detail about how insulting that is to WWE veterans, much less to every other member of the roster and WWE business in general. To people outside the industry, wrestlers become millionaires over time, and only a few work with garunteed contracts. A $20 million payday is unheard of in the wrestling industry. To put things in perspective, Hulk Hogan made a few million dollars off his contract in WCW, which was garunteed for several years...YEARS, not days, and that had fans up in arms. When Mike Tyson was brought in to work with Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV, he was allegedly given $4-5 million for his appearance. You can imagine the outrage by the rumored $20 million offered to Mayweather.
This of course is now a prominent feature of the revamped storyline, and I actually like the heel turn for Mayweather. It reminds me of Tyson's DX turn back in 1998, and it gives fans the chance to boo him due to his money, or cheer him because of his underdog status in the match. They also haven't made any big attempts to turn Big Show face, which is nice because he keeps his tenacity and the freedom to do whatever he wants (storywise...)
My theory is that Vince invented the $20 million figure to spark controversey for the match which up until then had receieved little to no publicity from any major media, including the newspapers and ESPN. He knew it would get the fans riled up, but since finances of that nature are rarely discussed publicly with media or even other talent, I doubt it's genuine. In any case, the image of Mayweather throwing hundred dollar bills at Big Show's feet will certainly get someone's attention.
But the thing is, the segment didn't really DO anyting new. They got into a brawl. Well, a brawl is what started this whole thing: that's how Show's nose got broken. So now we need something more than a brawl. We don't need to know their weights, and we don't need to cut anymore promos. We need to see Big Show decimating the smaller men in the locker room and we need to show wrestling fans what an undefeated boxer can do. This was another excuse for a three hour show, and it failed to do much as far as hyping the match.
The Kane vs. Triple H match was standard fare. Of course, Triple H goes over. 'Nuff said.
Ashley Massaro is injured, so her planned match for her and Melina from Wrestlemania 23 was scrapped. In its place Melina was put against Maria in light of their upcoming Bunny-mania match in which Playboy covergirl Maria will team up with fellow covergirl and former Women's Champion Candice Michelle against former Women's Champion Melina and current Champion Beth Phoenix.
The match was interrupted by Santino with his own copy Maria's magazine which he used to distract her and allowed Melina to pick up the win. Why Candice didn't do anyting while she was there on the outside is beyond me, but at least all participants for the Wrestlemania match were involved.
World Heavyweight Champion Edge faced off against ECW's C.M. Punk in a non-title bout that saw Edge use the distraction of the Major Brothers to pick up the win. Punk had Edge set up for the GTS when one of the Major Brothers got up on the ring apron to distract him. Punk knocked him down and was moving across the ring to deal with the second brother when Edge took him out with a Spear. I'm not exactly sure what Punk has to do with Edge's World Championship match against The Undertaker, but at least there was actual wrestling involved here. Aside from the horrible Vicky Guerrero storyline, Edge is a great talent for Smackdown and one of the best in WWE.
RAW General Manager William Regal brought out Umaga as the man who will take on Smackdown's Batista in a battle for brand supremacy at Wrestlemania. Batista soon followed out and the two exchanged blows before "The Animal" was able to Spear the "Samoan Bulldozer" out of the ring.
I really hope this match leads to a combination of the brands in the coming months. With men like Flair, Hornswoggle, and Finlay constantly jumping ship from one show to another, it's clear WWE is desperate to fill their five hours of weekly programming (not including pay-per-views). All brands are featured at every Pay-Per-View, so there's really no point in having them separate anyway. Plus it will help strengthen each division, so titles may actually mean something.
Finally we have the rematch between Cena and HBK. Cena came out to his normal rain of boos, and he and HBK attempted to remake the classic they had at Wrestlemania 23. I don't think they were as successful as they hoped they'd be. The match was slow paced, and though it featured some solid wrestling, it also featured a young talent and a man who's entire career has been molded by speed and agility. Standard stuff, with attempted finishers and submissions. HBK hit a springboard crossbody off the ropes and proceeded to beat on Cena before Orton attacked him from behind and beat the hell out of Cena himself...or at least tried to. Instead he tried to RKO Cena on an open chair while Cena reversed and threw Orton on it instead (he'll have a history of back problems after that...) Finally Cena F-Ued Orton for his trouble and was left standing tall as we headed to the back where Triple H told us that he'd be in control next week on RAW and that he had plans for Cena and Orton--not as opponents, but as tag team partners.
Their opponents?
The entire RAW roster.
Of course they save "The Game's" reign as General Manager for last because he always gets the last laugh. He'd find some way to outdo what Orton and Cena had done, so he used, quite literally, everything...or rather, everyone at his disposal.
Should be interesting...
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Messing with Success
Well, it's official. All my worst fears were realized to their fullest potential at the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View event in Madison Square Garden, New York City.
While I do a lot of criticizing when it comes to Vince McMahon's empire, I will admit to having bought the majority of PPV's from 2005 to the present. But this was different. Not just because it was finally in high-definition, but because it actually had some angles that worked. Let's take a brief look, shall we?
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Montel Vontavious Porter
-Okay, so I still don't get what the hype is behind "MVP". Some people are equating him with Mr. Kennedy from RAW, but I don't see it. Still, anything with "The Nature Boy's" career on the line has to be interesting, right? Even though we all know MVP would be the last person to end Flair's illustrious run, it makes everything out of a match that would otherwise have meant nothing.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. "Y2J" Chris Jericho
-You pondered the code that flashed across your screens on Monday nights. You cheered when you realized it meant the return of "Y2J" Chris Jericho. You jumped to your feet when he immediately challenged Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Armageddon, and you booed when he won by disqualification, leaving the title around the waist of "The Legend Killer". Then, the "Ayatolla of Rock and Rolla" was entangled in a plot with the media maven JBL, and you groaned as you realized Jericho was destined to slide back to midcard status. Yet by the time the Rumble came around, everyone was chomping at the bit to see what would happen in this match. That's because creative finally woke up and smelled the inspiration. They crafted a storyline that went beyond titles, beyond careers and dug deep to weave a tale of personal sabotage. The match may not have been a "Match of the Year" candidate, but at least Jericho picked up the win and now has the momentum as their feud continues.
Edge vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship
-Cruiserweight Rey Mysterio going for a world HEAVYWEIGHT championship. 'Nuff said.
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE Championship
-And here it is, folks: the moment you've all been waiting for. WWE pulled out a quality of storyline that hadn't been seen in almost a decade. First Hardy becomes 1 contender for the title by beating none other than "The Game" himself, Triple H. Then Hardy does a Whisper in the Wind off the top of a 15-foot high steel cage onto a 350-pound Samoan. Then Hardy does the unthinkable when he beats the champion down, drags him up the ramp, throws him off the stage, and gives him a Swanton Bomb off the TitanTron--yes, the TitanTron!
Amazing! Adrenaline? Yes! Intrigue? Yes! Money? Yes! This is it: the answer to all of WWE's problems! They finally have a star the fans are solidly behind and a champion they unanimously hate! It seemed perfectly logical that with Hardy as champion the company would cruise through Wrestlemania XXIV with little hastle and a solid main event featuring two young superstars rather than the same old veterans that have hogged the spotlight year after year. Yes, I'm talking to you, "King of Kings".
With all that was going right for them it seemed only a matter of time before WWE did what they do best and f**ked the whole thing up.
Yep. Hardy walked away from the Rumble with the short end of the stick while Orton retained his title, carrying on a dynasty that had already long overstayed its welcome. Despite the fact that the fans desperately want to see new blood in the main event picture, they are forced to suffer the same bland and well worn out personalities they've experienced for the past several years.
And get this: Hardy doesn't even get a decent spot. Nope. I mean, he gets the usual, which is great, don't get me wrong, but the so-called "writers" in WWE seem to nned another blast of Storytelling 101.
If I write a story in which Jeff Hardy jumps off a steel cage, the fans get excited because they want to know, "What will Hardy do next?" If I then continue this story with the idea of Jeff Hardy jumping off a 30 foot TitanTron set piece, the fans are thinking, "Oh my god! What will Hardy do next?" This leads us to the climax (a.k.a. Royal Rumble event). The fans have been teased with attacks here and there, but this is it: this is for all the marbles. So you would think that this is where Jeff would take the ultimate risk. He'd put it all on the line for the title, for one last chance to prove he is good enough to be called champion. This is where he does the most ridiculous spot ever.
Oh, that's right. We're talking about WWE here. Never mind. We'll just have a standard, Monday Night RAW quality match and let Orton win with a single RKO after getting the crap beaten out of him for twenty minutes.
By the way, Vince McMahon thanks you for you $39.95 (add $10 if you watched it in HD.)
So with all this, you would think that this angle is pretty much dead, right? Jeff had his chance, lost, and will now be thrown back into obscurity in favor of another Triple H/Randy Orton soap opera in which the "Cerebral Assassin" tells us all how he made Randy Orton and he can break Randy Orton and in the process become a 12-time World Champion.
But wait. Does it really have to be this way? Does the wrath of "The Game" have to be incurred when we could so easily have Hardy win the title at Wrestlemania, just months away? Maybe WWE was just whetting our appetite for something bigger...something better.
No such luck. Lo and behold! Here comes an unannounced John Cena to win the Royal Rumble by eliminating men like Umaga, Kane, Big Daddy V, and other formerly "impossible-to-eliminate-by-any-one-man" opponents.
Now, to WWE's credit, Cena's return was kept totally secret and not even hinted at during WWE programming, leaving fans and critics alike totally clueless. So when it happened, it was big. It was huge! John Cena, who was scheduled to be out for at least three more months, was not only here, but he'd won the Royal Rumble! He was going to Wrestlemania XXIV!
Wait. John Cena? The John Cena? The former three-time WWE Champion John Cena? He's back? From that torn pectorial muscle that was supposed to keep him out of action for almost a year? Didn't that happen like, four months ago? Wasn't WWE running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out what they would do without their beloved John Cena to hold the WWE Championship until Wrestlemania when he would job it out to Orton or Triple H? Isn't he the reason guys like Jeff Hardy finally got their moment in the sun? Isn't his injury the reason the fabled "glass ceiling" of WWE was finally broken? Isn't this a little soon to be coming back from a career threatening injury?
The answer to all of these questions, of course, is yes. John Cena's monopoly of the WWE Championship was thwarted by a torn pectorial muscle that was reputed to be keeping on the sidelines for the next 6-8 months and at the very least, out of the Wrestlemania main event picture. To fill the void, WWE called upon Randy Orton (after a few hours of Triple H as champion). Orton didn't fly as they'd hoped, and they were desperate to find someone worthy of holding the title. After passing up mediocre championship contenders like Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels, WWE called upon Jeff Hardy to challenge Orton.
And he lost.
Despite the fact that WWE was desperate to get the title off Orton's uncharismatic shoulder, Jeff lost. Despite the fact that everyone and his brother could just smell the money hot off the press when it came to the question of Jeff Hardy as champion, Jeff lost. Despite the fact that WWE will only get a chance like this once every full moon, Jeff lost.
Instead we get John Cena and we quickly find ourselves back in the same loop we've been in since "The Champ" won the title from JBL back at Wrestlemania 21 (2005). Never mind the fact that Cena's quick return could be more of a hinderance to his career than a benefit. Never mind that the shock will wear off in a matter of weeks and may have even worn off by Monday night. Never mind the fact that men like Jeff Hardy have been working their a$$e$ off the entire year to hold the main event picture together because WWE doesn't know what to do without "Old Reliable", Mr. Cena.
And what of the "Rainbow-Haired Warrior"? Oh, he's in the Elimination Chamber match to determine the new 1 Contender for the WWE Championship at No Way Out--WWE's next Pay-Per-View. He'll be in the chamber with Jericho, JBL, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and "The Samoan Bulldozer" Umaga.
For those that don't know, the Elimination Chamber is a steel and chain structure that is billed as being one of the most brutal matches in WWE history. For that reason, it is used very sparingly as men have sweat, bled, and clawed their way to barely surviving inside of it.
Oh yeah, and there will be two of them at No Way Out.
Yep. Two Elimination Chambers. One for RAW to determine the 1 Contender for the WWE Championship, one for Smackdown!/ECW to determine the 1 contender for either the World Heavyweight Championship or the ECW World Championship. Yep. Everyone gets to hang out in the Chamber.
First off, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the lack of inspiration here. If you're having two matches of the exact same type at the exact same Pay-Per-View in the exact same arena in the exact same ring, there's something seriously wrong.
I mean, what are people saying when Stephanie McMahon stands up in the creative meeting and says: "You know what we need to determine the 1 contender for the WWE Championshp? The Elimination Chamber!"
A slight smile flashes across Vince's face. He's so proud of his daughter's cunning mind.
"And to determine the 1 contender for the World Heavyweight and ECW World Championship?"
Everyone is on the edge of their seats. What could she have in store?
"The Elimination Chamber."
Vince shifts uncomfortably in the awkward silence that follows, then mutters, "Sweetheart, we already have an Elimination Chamber match scheduled for No Way Out."
"I know!" Stephanie tells him. "And I thought, what's better than the Elimination Chamber? TWO Elimination Chambers, of course!"
Duh! Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, because it goes against every rudementary rule of wrestling promotion.
Example: I have two street fights scheduled for my show. In the first street fight Shawn Michaels hits Shelton Benjamin with a steel chair and the crowd goes "Ooooh! Aaaah!" Then he hits him with a ladder and the crowd reacts even louder. Finally he jumps off the ladder through a flaming table onto a bleeding Shelton who is still showing some wear from the barbed wire sticking out of his left thigh. The crowd is electrified. Shawn hits a superkick, because he's Shawn, and wins.
In the second match The Undertaker hits Jimmy Wang Yang with a steel chair. The crowd mumbles it's approval. He hits him with a ladder. The crowd yawns. Finally he jumps off the ropes through the announcers table onto a lifeless Jimmy Wang Yang who is still showing some wear from the plethora of head shots he's taken from various weapons along with a superplex off the top rope and numerous Chokeslams. The crowd is forming a line at the concession stand. Undertaker hits a Tombstone for the win.
See what happened there? The first match was so good that fans wanted to see something even more brutal from the second match, and they didn't. They had already been desensitized to the violence from the first match so they didn't care.
The same rules apply to the Elimination Chamber.
The second problem I have with this is the question of where it leaves Orton and Cena? What is the champion going to do to occupy his time until the big showdown with Cena two months hence? Well that's obvious: he's going to have that showdown a month early.
Yep. After making such a huge deal about how important it was that he be back in time to headline Wrestlemania, Cena opted to take his title opportunity at No Way Out.
No offense to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, but--
WHAT?
Wasn't the whole point of the Royal Rumble the chance to main event Wrestlemania? Isn't that why midcarders like Carlito and Tommy Dreamer were in it? Hell, isn't that why Cena came back from his injury in 1/3 the time it would take the average man?
And Jeff Hardy? He now has to fight to become 1 Contender again. Whereas someone like Edge or Triple H may be able to simply invoke some sort of "rematch clasue", Jeff now has to fight his way through five other men to simply get another shot. Not only that, but he has to do it at the very last opportunity and inside one of the most hellacious structures in WWE history (one of two on the night, or did I mention that already?)
It's apparent the lack of creativity flowing through WWE has reached an all-time high. Jeff Hardy will be buried once again now that Cena is back to make all other wrestlers on the roster obsolete. Where ratings for RAW were beginning to climb towards the 3.8/4.0 range, we will now slip back into the uper 2's and lower 3's thanks to the tired song-dance one-trick pony that is John Cena. Just when it looked like someone might actually have come to really "save" RAW, we realize it is just filler for the return of a cardboard champion. Just when we think we might get to experience a fresh new flavor, WWE pulls the bait & switch one more time and we are left with that same, cold, bitter taste in our mouths.
I guess it was fun while it lasted.
While I do a lot of criticizing when it comes to Vince McMahon's empire, I will admit to having bought the majority of PPV's from 2005 to the present. But this was different. Not just because it was finally in high-definition, but because it actually had some angles that worked. Let's take a brief look, shall we?
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Montel Vontavious Porter
-Okay, so I still don't get what the hype is behind "MVP". Some people are equating him with Mr. Kennedy from RAW, but I don't see it. Still, anything with "The Nature Boy's" career on the line has to be interesting, right? Even though we all know MVP would be the last person to end Flair's illustrious run, it makes everything out of a match that would otherwise have meant nothing.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. "Y2J" Chris Jericho
-You pondered the code that flashed across your screens on Monday nights. You cheered when you realized it meant the return of "Y2J" Chris Jericho. You jumped to your feet when he immediately challenged Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at Armageddon, and you booed when he won by disqualification, leaving the title around the waist of "The Legend Killer". Then, the "Ayatolla of Rock and Rolla" was entangled in a plot with the media maven JBL, and you groaned as you realized Jericho was destined to slide back to midcard status. Yet by the time the Rumble came around, everyone was chomping at the bit to see what would happen in this match. That's because creative finally woke up and smelled the inspiration. They crafted a storyline that went beyond titles, beyond careers and dug deep to weave a tale of personal sabotage. The match may not have been a "Match of the Year" candidate, but at least Jericho picked up the win and now has the momentum as their feud continues.
Edge vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship
-Cruiserweight Rey Mysterio going for a world HEAVYWEIGHT championship. 'Nuff said.
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy for the WWE Championship
-And here it is, folks: the moment you've all been waiting for. WWE pulled out a quality of storyline that hadn't been seen in almost a decade. First Hardy becomes 1 contender for the title by beating none other than "The Game" himself, Triple H. Then Hardy does a Whisper in the Wind off the top of a 15-foot high steel cage onto a 350-pound Samoan. Then Hardy does the unthinkable when he beats the champion down, drags him up the ramp, throws him off the stage, and gives him a Swanton Bomb off the TitanTron--yes, the TitanTron!
Amazing! Adrenaline? Yes! Intrigue? Yes! Money? Yes! This is it: the answer to all of WWE's problems! They finally have a star the fans are solidly behind and a champion they unanimously hate! It seemed perfectly logical that with Hardy as champion the company would cruise through Wrestlemania XXIV with little hastle and a solid main event featuring two young superstars rather than the same old veterans that have hogged the spotlight year after year. Yes, I'm talking to you, "King of Kings".
With all that was going right for them it seemed only a matter of time before WWE did what they do best and f**ked the whole thing up.
Yep. Hardy walked away from the Rumble with the short end of the stick while Orton retained his title, carrying on a dynasty that had already long overstayed its welcome. Despite the fact that the fans desperately want to see new blood in the main event picture, they are forced to suffer the same bland and well worn out personalities they've experienced for the past several years.
And get this: Hardy doesn't even get a decent spot. Nope. I mean, he gets the usual, which is great, don't get me wrong, but the so-called "writers" in WWE seem to nned another blast of Storytelling 101.
If I write a story in which Jeff Hardy jumps off a steel cage, the fans get excited because they want to know, "What will Hardy do next?" If I then continue this story with the idea of Jeff Hardy jumping off a 30 foot TitanTron set piece, the fans are thinking, "Oh my god! What will Hardy do next?" This leads us to the climax (a.k.a. Royal Rumble event). The fans have been teased with attacks here and there, but this is it: this is for all the marbles. So you would think that this is where Jeff would take the ultimate risk. He'd put it all on the line for the title, for one last chance to prove he is good enough to be called champion. This is where he does the most ridiculous spot ever.
Oh, that's right. We're talking about WWE here. Never mind. We'll just have a standard, Monday Night RAW quality match and let Orton win with a single RKO after getting the crap beaten out of him for twenty minutes.
By the way, Vince McMahon thanks you for you $39.95 (add $10 if you watched it in HD.)
So with all this, you would think that this angle is pretty much dead, right? Jeff had his chance, lost, and will now be thrown back into obscurity in favor of another Triple H/Randy Orton soap opera in which the "Cerebral Assassin" tells us all how he made Randy Orton and he can break Randy Orton and in the process become a 12-time World Champion.
But wait. Does it really have to be this way? Does the wrath of "The Game" have to be incurred when we could so easily have Hardy win the title at Wrestlemania, just months away? Maybe WWE was just whetting our appetite for something bigger...something better.
No such luck. Lo and behold! Here comes an unannounced John Cena to win the Royal Rumble by eliminating men like Umaga, Kane, Big Daddy V, and other formerly "impossible-to-eliminate-by-any-one-man" opponents.
Now, to WWE's credit, Cena's return was kept totally secret and not even hinted at during WWE programming, leaving fans and critics alike totally clueless. So when it happened, it was big. It was huge! John Cena, who was scheduled to be out for at least three more months, was not only here, but he'd won the Royal Rumble! He was going to Wrestlemania XXIV!
Wait. John Cena? The John Cena? The former three-time WWE Champion John Cena? He's back? From that torn pectorial muscle that was supposed to keep him out of action for almost a year? Didn't that happen like, four months ago? Wasn't WWE running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out what they would do without their beloved John Cena to hold the WWE Championship until Wrestlemania when he would job it out to Orton or Triple H? Isn't he the reason guys like Jeff Hardy finally got their moment in the sun? Isn't his injury the reason the fabled "glass ceiling" of WWE was finally broken? Isn't this a little soon to be coming back from a career threatening injury?
The answer to all of these questions, of course, is yes. John Cena's monopoly of the WWE Championship was thwarted by a torn pectorial muscle that was reputed to be keeping on the sidelines for the next 6-8 months and at the very least, out of the Wrestlemania main event picture. To fill the void, WWE called upon Randy Orton (after a few hours of Triple H as champion). Orton didn't fly as they'd hoped, and they were desperate to find someone worthy of holding the title. After passing up mediocre championship contenders like Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels, WWE called upon Jeff Hardy to challenge Orton.
And he lost.
Despite the fact that WWE was desperate to get the title off Orton's uncharismatic shoulder, Jeff lost. Despite the fact that everyone and his brother could just smell the money hot off the press when it came to the question of Jeff Hardy as champion, Jeff lost. Despite the fact that WWE will only get a chance like this once every full moon, Jeff lost.
Instead we get John Cena and we quickly find ourselves back in the same loop we've been in since "The Champ" won the title from JBL back at Wrestlemania 21 (2005). Never mind the fact that Cena's quick return could be more of a hinderance to his career than a benefit. Never mind that the shock will wear off in a matter of weeks and may have even worn off by Monday night. Never mind the fact that men like Jeff Hardy have been working their a$$e$ off the entire year to hold the main event picture together because WWE doesn't know what to do without "Old Reliable", Mr. Cena.
And what of the "Rainbow-Haired Warrior"? Oh, he's in the Elimination Chamber match to determine the new 1 Contender for the WWE Championship at No Way Out--WWE's next Pay-Per-View. He'll be in the chamber with Jericho, JBL, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and "The Samoan Bulldozer" Umaga.
For those that don't know, the Elimination Chamber is a steel and chain structure that is billed as being one of the most brutal matches in WWE history. For that reason, it is used very sparingly as men have sweat, bled, and clawed their way to barely surviving inside of it.
Oh yeah, and there will be two of them at No Way Out.
Yep. Two Elimination Chambers. One for RAW to determine the 1 Contender for the WWE Championship, one for Smackdown!/ECW to determine the 1 contender for either the World Heavyweight Championship or the ECW World Championship. Yep. Everyone gets to hang out in the Chamber.
First off, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the lack of inspiration here. If you're having two matches of the exact same type at the exact same Pay-Per-View in the exact same arena in the exact same ring, there's something seriously wrong.
I mean, what are people saying when Stephanie McMahon stands up in the creative meeting and says: "You know what we need to determine the 1 contender for the WWE Championshp? The Elimination Chamber!"
A slight smile flashes across Vince's face. He's so proud of his daughter's cunning mind.
"And to determine the 1 contender for the World Heavyweight and ECW World Championship?"
Everyone is on the edge of their seats. What could she have in store?
"The Elimination Chamber."
Vince shifts uncomfortably in the awkward silence that follows, then mutters, "Sweetheart, we already have an Elimination Chamber match scheduled for No Way Out."
"I know!" Stephanie tells him. "And I thought, what's better than the Elimination Chamber? TWO Elimination Chambers, of course!"
Duh! Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, because it goes against every rudementary rule of wrestling promotion.
Example: I have two street fights scheduled for my show. In the first street fight Shawn Michaels hits Shelton Benjamin with a steel chair and the crowd goes "Ooooh! Aaaah!" Then he hits him with a ladder and the crowd reacts even louder. Finally he jumps off the ladder through a flaming table onto a bleeding Shelton who is still showing some wear from the barbed wire sticking out of his left thigh. The crowd is electrified. Shawn hits a superkick, because he's Shawn, and wins.
In the second match The Undertaker hits Jimmy Wang Yang with a steel chair. The crowd mumbles it's approval. He hits him with a ladder. The crowd yawns. Finally he jumps off the ropes through the announcers table onto a lifeless Jimmy Wang Yang who is still showing some wear from the plethora of head shots he's taken from various weapons along with a superplex off the top rope and numerous Chokeslams. The crowd is forming a line at the concession stand. Undertaker hits a Tombstone for the win.
See what happened there? The first match was so good that fans wanted to see something even more brutal from the second match, and they didn't. They had already been desensitized to the violence from the first match so they didn't care.
The same rules apply to the Elimination Chamber.
The second problem I have with this is the question of where it leaves Orton and Cena? What is the champion going to do to occupy his time until the big showdown with Cena two months hence? Well that's obvious: he's going to have that showdown a month early.
Yep. After making such a huge deal about how important it was that he be back in time to headline Wrestlemania, Cena opted to take his title opportunity at No Way Out.
No offense to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, but--
WHAT?
Wasn't the whole point of the Royal Rumble the chance to main event Wrestlemania? Isn't that why midcarders like Carlito and Tommy Dreamer were in it? Hell, isn't that why Cena came back from his injury in 1/3 the time it would take the average man?
And Jeff Hardy? He now has to fight to become 1 Contender again. Whereas someone like Edge or Triple H may be able to simply invoke some sort of "rematch clasue", Jeff now has to fight his way through five other men to simply get another shot. Not only that, but he has to do it at the very last opportunity and inside one of the most hellacious structures in WWE history (one of two on the night, or did I mention that already?)
It's apparent the lack of creativity flowing through WWE has reached an all-time high. Jeff Hardy will be buried once again now that Cena is back to make all other wrestlers on the roster obsolete. Where ratings for RAW were beginning to climb towards the 3.8/4.0 range, we will now slip back into the uper 2's and lower 3's thanks to the tired song-dance one-trick pony that is John Cena. Just when it looked like someone might actually have come to really "save" RAW, we realize it is just filler for the return of a cardboard champion. Just when we think we might get to experience a fresh new flavor, WWE pulls the bait & switch one more time and we are left with that same, cold, bitter taste in our mouths.
I guess it was fun while it lasted.
Friday, October 5, 2007
The Chance...is...here!
So, it's come to this...
After one year on top of the world of professional wrestling, John Cena's reign as WWE Champion has come to an end. Obviously, it is not exactly how anyone pictured "The Champ" being dethroned. A torn right pectoral muscle has, as many of you know, sidelined Cena for a minimum of six months, with the looming possibility of an entire year hanging over his head.
To Cena fans, this is the worst thing that could have possibly happened. To Cena-haters, it is divine intervention. To WWE, this is a creative and financial disaster. But to the rest of the wrestling world, it is nothing short of a God-send.
I have neever been a big John Cena fan, but I have a lot of respect for him. The man has more than adequately carried the company's championship for the majority of the past three years, and held together a division and a product that is sorely lacking in competition. While Smackdown's World Heavyweight Championship saw three men surrender the title due to injury (Batista, Edge, and The Undertaker), John Cena managed to hold his title for over a full straight year undefeated. His reign was controversial as his popularity seemed to wane with every victory, but the bottom line here is that John Cena wrestled as the World Champion for three straight years, and that is a feat not seen since the days of Hulk Hogan, and before him men like Bruno Sammartino.
Cena has worked hard, but it was high time he took a reprieve from the ring. The long greuling and relentless schedule was bound to take it's toll on him sooner or later, and last Monday saw the result of that. From a corporate standpoint, Cena's popularity as champion was rapidly growing smaller every week, as the fans clamoured for a change of the guard.
This draws attention to a few of WWE's many problems, not the least of which is a overtaxing work schedule and a lackluster creative team. While I could go on for pages and pages criticizing Stephanie McMahon's actions as creative director, I will instead focus on the opportunities this unfortunate event has placed before the company.
John Cena, being a man of the highest caliber, was determined to participate in his Last Man Standing Match at this Sunday's No Mercy pay-per-view against Randy Orton, whom, given Cena's injury, would've most certainly become the new Champion. On ECW on SciFi Tuesday night, Vince McMahon announced that there would be a WWE Championship match at No Mercy, and that a new Champion would be crowned. He didn't, however, mention who the participants in that match would be. This has sparked another round of controversey in the already crowded rumor mill of professional wrestling. Who will the challenger for the title be? Several names have been thrown around, and many fans believe they already know who the new champ will be.
However, the match at No Mercy is contingent on one variable: will the WWE still put the title on Randy Orton in John Cena's absence. This is unlikely, as Orton's momentum was due primarily to the growing dislike of Cena, and it would take a face of Cena's caliber to put Orton over properly as a heel champion. There are few of those left, and most people will agree that those who are left need to focus their attention somewhere outside the WWE title.
A poll on WWE.com has proven that the majority of fans want to see Triple H as champion following No Mercy. The internet or "smart" wrestling fans would disagree strongly. Triple H is a great wrestler and, as history has indicated, is perfectly capable of carrying the World Championship for the company. But Triple H's return has signaled a decline in the ratings for RAW on Monday nights, and putting him over as World Champion may only worsen that decline. Fans want someone fresh, someone new, or someone who hasn't had a good title opportunity in some years.
Many fans say that Chris Jericho will make his triumphant return at No Mercy. Fans have claimed to have deciphered the cryptic "SaveUs.222" message seen flickering ominously across the television during the last two RAW broadcasts. Supposedly these signs indicate Jericho will return at No Mercy. I personally think fans have read a bit too much between the lines of this promo and, at the very least, I doubt the WWE creative team's ability to create a product that deep so as to predict future events. However, whether these revelations are true or not is really irrelevant, as a return by Jericho at No Mercy would certainly generate a new burst of fan interest in WWE and specifically RAW. My only issue is that Jericho has not been an active member of the company for two years now, and to simply emerge and conquer Orton for the top title would be the equivalent of Goldberg or Lesnar's victories over Triple H and The Rock (respectively), and we all know how those careers turned out.
Others think that this is the perfect opportunity to unleash the brewing weapon that is Mr. Kennedy. Suprisingly, support for Mr. Kennedy has not suffered due to his involvement in the recent steroid abuse cases against WWE. After his 30 suspension, Kennedy is still considered a top star in the company, and the fans continue to keep his popularity on the rise. Putting Kennedy over as champion, or at least throwing him into title contention would establish him as an official main event star on RAW, and after his match with John Cena this past Monday, it's clear that is what fans are looking for. However, I don't think it would be wise for WWE to put over a man who has just come off a 30 suspension for steroid abuse. Not only would it look bad for the company, but it would give the impresion that Kennedy is being rewarded for something that is clearly no longer acceptable in any form of sport or entertainment.
The newest story is that WWE has changed course yet again in their creative decisions as it relates to the "SaveUs.222" message. Fans are now claiming that after so many of them deciphered the message and discovered the answer to be Chris Jericho's return, WWE has changed the nature of the message to be the return of "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. Shawn has been out since the night following his WWE Championship match against John Cena at Wrestlemania 23, and should have recovered from knee surgery by now. While the rumor was that HBK would not be returning until Survivor Series in November, the current situation within the company may dictate an early return for "The Showstopper." However, as Triple H has already shown us, the fans may not be so receptive to the idea of HBK being inserted into the main event at No Mercy. The fans want a change of pace, and while we haven't seen HBK in almost six months, the minds of the fans (contrary to popular belief) is not so short-term that they will not remember Wrestlemania and feel that the same product is being regurgitated to them.
This brings me to my pick for the challenger at No Mercy, and it may suprise some people to learn that it is not Shawn Michaels. From a business standpoint, from a ratings standpoint, from a financial standpoint, and as a fan, the man I choose to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at No Mercy is "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
Now many will wonder why Flair would be my choice, especially considering the reports that he gave notice to WWE and plans to retire by Wrestlemania 24. But these same reports are the reason why we need Flair in the main event.
Whether fans remember it or not, Flair is a main eventer. He currently sits on Smackdown doing jobs for the likes of The Great Khali and Kenny Dykstra. Flair is bigger than that, Flair is better than that, and Flair deserves better than that. Ric Flair, ladies and gentlemen, is not just Triple H's friend and former manager. Ric Flair is not just an old man who hobbles down to the ring to throw around a few chops. Ric Flair is not just wearing that robe because that's what he's always worn. He's wearing that robe because he has the money to affort a $70,000 article of clothing. He's wearing it because not so long ago, he was the biggest name in professional wrestling. He toured the country and could go an horu with the best of them every single night in any town. He really is a "limousine ridin', jet-flyin', kiss-stealin', wheelin' dealin', son of gun...WOOOO!"
Flair is the last of a dying breed of wrestlers whose accomplishments were not fabricated by some creative team. He is a sixteen time World Champion because at one point, he was the only man capable of holding the world title against the men he was ordered to wrestle. No one in history has held more championships than "The Naitch." And this man, this hall-of-famer, this one of a kind wrestler, this true and honest legend, will be hanging it up for good in just a few short months.
How will Flair be remembered? As the manager for Evolution? As the man who lost to Randy Orton? As the man that got the hell beat out of him by Triple H, or Kenny Dykstra or The Great Khali? I sure hope not.
Flair deserves to go out on top. Flair deserves to walk into Wrestlemania as a seventeen time World Champion and drop the title to the man he deems most worthy of his last job. For this reason, Flair should be inserted into the main event at No Mercy.
This serves a number of purposes and works on so many creative levels, it would be rediculous to not even consider it.
Think about it: Randy Orton is "The Legend Killer". If he is going to attain the WWE Championship at No Mercy, then he should have to defeat one last legend on his way there: Ric Flair. I am convinced that Orton will walk out of No Mercy as the Champion, as it is the easiest creative direction that requires the least change to the original story. But if they were to change their minds, it would make sense, and be a boost to the morale of fans around the world, to see Ric Flair come out as Champion one last time.
At the very least a match at No Mercy would throw Flair back into title contention and make the fans believe that this is a man who can compete with the young up and coming stars as well as the more girzzled veterans, of which Flair is king. Once in the main event picture (as champion or no) Flair can wrestle men like Triple H, HBK, Orton, and even give the rub to Kennedy on Kennedy's way up the ladder. If he is champion, Flair should hold it until Wrestlemania, where he drops the title to a young man who he deems will use the match and the rub as a means to establish himself as the next great superstar to carry the WWE. This would fulfill Flair's code of "To be the man, you've gotta beat The Man."
This may be Flair's last chance at greatness, and his last hope to establish a legitimate legacy with the current generation of wrestling fans who haven't experienced the real Ric Flair. It is a window of opportunity that is afforded few men, and who better to take advantage of it than "the Man" himself.
"To be the man, you've gotta beat The Man." That man is the legend, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
After one year on top of the world of professional wrestling, John Cena's reign as WWE Champion has come to an end. Obviously, it is not exactly how anyone pictured "The Champ" being dethroned. A torn right pectoral muscle has, as many of you know, sidelined Cena for a minimum of six months, with the looming possibility of an entire year hanging over his head.
To Cena fans, this is the worst thing that could have possibly happened. To Cena-haters, it is divine intervention. To WWE, this is a creative and financial disaster. But to the rest of the wrestling world, it is nothing short of a God-send.
I have neever been a big John Cena fan, but I have a lot of respect for him. The man has more than adequately carried the company's championship for the majority of the past three years, and held together a division and a product that is sorely lacking in competition. While Smackdown's World Heavyweight Championship saw three men surrender the title due to injury (Batista, Edge, and The Undertaker), John Cena managed to hold his title for over a full straight year undefeated. His reign was controversial as his popularity seemed to wane with every victory, but the bottom line here is that John Cena wrestled as the World Champion for three straight years, and that is a feat not seen since the days of Hulk Hogan, and before him men like Bruno Sammartino.
Cena has worked hard, but it was high time he took a reprieve from the ring. The long greuling and relentless schedule was bound to take it's toll on him sooner or later, and last Monday saw the result of that. From a corporate standpoint, Cena's popularity as champion was rapidly growing smaller every week, as the fans clamoured for a change of the guard.
This draws attention to a few of WWE's many problems, not the least of which is a overtaxing work schedule and a lackluster creative team. While I could go on for pages and pages criticizing Stephanie McMahon's actions as creative director, I will instead focus on the opportunities this unfortunate event has placed before the company.
John Cena, being a man of the highest caliber, was determined to participate in his Last Man Standing Match at this Sunday's No Mercy pay-per-view against Randy Orton, whom, given Cena's injury, would've most certainly become the new Champion. On ECW on SciFi Tuesday night, Vince McMahon announced that there would be a WWE Championship match at No Mercy, and that a new Champion would be crowned. He didn't, however, mention who the participants in that match would be. This has sparked another round of controversey in the already crowded rumor mill of professional wrestling. Who will the challenger for the title be? Several names have been thrown around, and many fans believe they already know who the new champ will be.
However, the match at No Mercy is contingent on one variable: will the WWE still put the title on Randy Orton in John Cena's absence. This is unlikely, as Orton's momentum was due primarily to the growing dislike of Cena, and it would take a face of Cena's caliber to put Orton over properly as a heel champion. There are few of those left, and most people will agree that those who are left need to focus their attention somewhere outside the WWE title.
A poll on WWE.com has proven that the majority of fans want to see Triple H as champion following No Mercy. The internet or "smart" wrestling fans would disagree strongly. Triple H is a great wrestler and, as history has indicated, is perfectly capable of carrying the World Championship for the company. But Triple H's return has signaled a decline in the ratings for RAW on Monday nights, and putting him over as World Champion may only worsen that decline. Fans want someone fresh, someone new, or someone who hasn't had a good title opportunity in some years.
Many fans say that Chris Jericho will make his triumphant return at No Mercy. Fans have claimed to have deciphered the cryptic "SaveUs.222" message seen flickering ominously across the television during the last two RAW broadcasts. Supposedly these signs indicate Jericho will return at No Mercy. I personally think fans have read a bit too much between the lines of this promo and, at the very least, I doubt the WWE creative team's ability to create a product that deep so as to predict future events. However, whether these revelations are true or not is really irrelevant, as a return by Jericho at No Mercy would certainly generate a new burst of fan interest in WWE and specifically RAW. My only issue is that Jericho has not been an active member of the company for two years now, and to simply emerge and conquer Orton for the top title would be the equivalent of Goldberg or Lesnar's victories over Triple H and The Rock (respectively), and we all know how those careers turned out.
Others think that this is the perfect opportunity to unleash the brewing weapon that is Mr. Kennedy. Suprisingly, support for Mr. Kennedy has not suffered due to his involvement in the recent steroid abuse cases against WWE. After his 30 suspension, Kennedy is still considered a top star in the company, and the fans continue to keep his popularity on the rise. Putting Kennedy over as champion, or at least throwing him into title contention would establish him as an official main event star on RAW, and after his match with John Cena this past Monday, it's clear that is what fans are looking for. However, I don't think it would be wise for WWE to put over a man who has just come off a 30 suspension for steroid abuse. Not only would it look bad for the company, but it would give the impresion that Kennedy is being rewarded for something that is clearly no longer acceptable in any form of sport or entertainment.
The newest story is that WWE has changed course yet again in their creative decisions as it relates to the "SaveUs.222" message. Fans are now claiming that after so many of them deciphered the message and discovered the answer to be Chris Jericho's return, WWE has changed the nature of the message to be the return of "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. Shawn has been out since the night following his WWE Championship match against John Cena at Wrestlemania 23, and should have recovered from knee surgery by now. While the rumor was that HBK would not be returning until Survivor Series in November, the current situation within the company may dictate an early return for "The Showstopper." However, as Triple H has already shown us, the fans may not be so receptive to the idea of HBK being inserted into the main event at No Mercy. The fans want a change of pace, and while we haven't seen HBK in almost six months, the minds of the fans (contrary to popular belief) is not so short-term that they will not remember Wrestlemania and feel that the same product is being regurgitated to them.
This brings me to my pick for the challenger at No Mercy, and it may suprise some people to learn that it is not Shawn Michaels. From a business standpoint, from a ratings standpoint, from a financial standpoint, and as a fan, the man I choose to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at No Mercy is "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
Now many will wonder why Flair would be my choice, especially considering the reports that he gave notice to WWE and plans to retire by Wrestlemania 24. But these same reports are the reason why we need Flair in the main event.
Whether fans remember it or not, Flair is a main eventer. He currently sits on Smackdown doing jobs for the likes of The Great Khali and Kenny Dykstra. Flair is bigger than that, Flair is better than that, and Flair deserves better than that. Ric Flair, ladies and gentlemen, is not just Triple H's friend and former manager. Ric Flair is not just an old man who hobbles down to the ring to throw around a few chops. Ric Flair is not just wearing that robe because that's what he's always worn. He's wearing that robe because he has the money to affort a $70,000 article of clothing. He's wearing it because not so long ago, he was the biggest name in professional wrestling. He toured the country and could go an horu with the best of them every single night in any town. He really is a "limousine ridin', jet-flyin', kiss-stealin', wheelin' dealin', son of gun...WOOOO!"
Flair is the last of a dying breed of wrestlers whose accomplishments were not fabricated by some creative team. He is a sixteen time World Champion because at one point, he was the only man capable of holding the world title against the men he was ordered to wrestle. No one in history has held more championships than "The Naitch." And this man, this hall-of-famer, this one of a kind wrestler, this true and honest legend, will be hanging it up for good in just a few short months.
How will Flair be remembered? As the manager for Evolution? As the man who lost to Randy Orton? As the man that got the hell beat out of him by Triple H, or Kenny Dykstra or The Great Khali? I sure hope not.
Flair deserves to go out on top. Flair deserves to walk into Wrestlemania as a seventeen time World Champion and drop the title to the man he deems most worthy of his last job. For this reason, Flair should be inserted into the main event at No Mercy.
This serves a number of purposes and works on so many creative levels, it would be rediculous to not even consider it.
Think about it: Randy Orton is "The Legend Killer". If he is going to attain the WWE Championship at No Mercy, then he should have to defeat one last legend on his way there: Ric Flair. I am convinced that Orton will walk out of No Mercy as the Champion, as it is the easiest creative direction that requires the least change to the original story. But if they were to change their minds, it would make sense, and be a boost to the morale of fans around the world, to see Ric Flair come out as Champion one last time.
At the very least a match at No Mercy would throw Flair back into title contention and make the fans believe that this is a man who can compete with the young up and coming stars as well as the more girzzled veterans, of which Flair is king. Once in the main event picture (as champion or no) Flair can wrestle men like Triple H, HBK, Orton, and even give the rub to Kennedy on Kennedy's way up the ladder. If he is champion, Flair should hold it until Wrestlemania, where he drops the title to a young man who he deems will use the match and the rub as a means to establish himself as the next great superstar to carry the WWE. This would fulfill Flair's code of "To be the man, you've gotta beat The Man."
This may be Flair's last chance at greatness, and his last hope to establish a legitimate legacy with the current generation of wrestling fans who haven't experienced the real Ric Flair. It is a window of opportunity that is afforded few men, and who better to take advantage of it than "the Man" himself.
"To be the man, you've gotta beat The Man." That man is the legend, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
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