Tell Me He Did Not Just Say That! CM Punk seizes the moment.
Mainstream American professional wrestling seems to have fallen into a pattern in recent years. WWE has become the safe bet, PG content that works to a more or less consistent formula. You know what you’re going to get and, theoretically, you decide whether or not to watch on that basis (except for the several thousand wrestling fans that don’t like the current product but watch anyway in the bizarre expectation that suddenly WWE is going to morph into Ring of Honor). TNA, on the other hand, is utterly unpredictable. Anything could happen, both in and out of the ring but it probably won’t make any sense. Every so often, however, WWE deliver a moment that is utterly unexpected and captures the imagination of even the most jaded fans. Such a moment took place this past Monday at the close of this week’s Raw, when CM Punk took a microphone, sat down cross-legged and proceeded to deliver the most extraordinary promo seen on WWE programming since Joey Styles’ “resignation” speech some years ago.
It wasn’t just what Punk said that stunned everybody. It was not merely the fact that, in just under seven minutes he broke every unwritten rule in the company, from mentioning rival promotions, personally insulting Triple H and Stephanie, referring to himself as a wrestler (again) rather than a superstar and, perhaps worst of all, deriding the business acumen of Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself. No, it was the fact that he was allowed to speak for so long before his microphone was finally cut that has got seemingly every WWE fan asking themselves the same question: was it real? How much, if any, of this was pre-planned? The other question that many are asking is this: was this promo the start of a fundamental shift in WWE programming?
As far as the question of reality goes, I tend to agree with Sean Waltman (who gave a brilliant take on the whole show over on his new website, realxpac.com) and JBL, both of whom posed the question “does it matter?” Rather than worrying about whether or not this was “real”, why not just enjoy the fact that Raw provided us with an utterly unexpected moment and see where it goes from here? Personally, I treat everything as if it is “real”, just like I do when watching a movie. That enables me to enjoy the show. However, if I had to give an answer, I tend in these situations to always be guided by a quote from Jeff Jarrett – “everything you see on television [in wrestling] is a work”. I think that this material was largely, if not entirely, cleared in advance. People may accuse Vince McMahon of being blind to his own failings but one thing is certainly true and has been demonstrated many times over the years: he is aware of the criticisms that are levelled at him and he is not afraid to acknowledge them inside his own programming.
There is no reason to think, at the moment, that this is anything other than a great angle, trading off the facts that Punk’s contract is almost up and he is known to be an outspoken man. The main event at “Money in the Bank” between John Cena and CM Punk is now no longer merely “good guy versus bad guy”, it is “corporate versus independent”, “entertainment versus wrestling” and so much more. Dave Lagana speculated on his podcast that this promo probably sold 50 to 100 thousand pay per views on its own – I agree wholeheartedly. Last week, the main event was a little underwhelming. Sure, it was Punk versus Cena but since Punk has already announced that he is leaving after “Money in the Bank”, nobody would expect him to actually beat John Cena. Now, it has suddenly become must-see. If that was not planned by WWE it was certainly a huge stroke of luck on their part!
By and large, this was a good Raw generally. One thing that I am really enjoying lately is the way that the crowd are getting behind Alex Riley. The huge pop that he got when he finally snapped and battered The Miz a few weeks back does not seem to have been merely a one night deal based on the crowd’s hatred of Miz. It seems to me that Riley is actually connecting with the audience. Thus far, his development has been handled well. He has been allowed to look strong and win more than he loses, giving the fans a reason to believe in him. His tornado tag match this week, with Rey Mysterio against Jack Swagger and The Miz was the best match of the night, and one of the best matches I can remember seeing on Raw in some time. I hope that it continues.
Another thing that I am really enjoying is the push of Mark Henry as an absolute wrecking machine. This is how Henry should have been presented years ago, rather than as the comedy, cuddly figure he too often has been. The man is, physically, an absolute beast and I am loving seeing that utilised so effectively. Henry has lost weight and seems to have a transformed attitude these days. For much of his career he has been a guy that I could take or leave as a fan. The all-important factor in this business is drawing money and I can only say personally that Mark Henry has never drawn my money in the past. This Mark Henry, however, is a man that I will definitely pay to see.
Yet another guy seizing the moment is R-Truth. His heel turn has just been outstanding and he portrays his new character perfectly. The fact that he is talking to imaginary “Little Jimmy” now is just making this even better. If there is one major flaw in WWE at the moment it is simply that they do not seem to have many heroes to match this glorious array of villains. That could change, however. There may be good opportunities soon for the likes of Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. A face turn for Sheamus may well be in the offing, too. Speaking as someone who frequently watched Sheamus playing the good guy back in Irish Whip Wrestling, I think that the big Irishman could be a really effective hero on Smackdown. I just hope that he doesn’t get paired up with Hornswoggle! That’s it for now. I’ll be back soon.
Day of The Destroyer, Part Two
After the shocking appearance of The Destroyer on Raw, Smackdown was placed on high alert that week. Stephanie McMahon brought in extra security and locked the building up tighter than a drum. Every car coming into the arena was stopped, even Vince’s limo.
“Could I have your identification, sir?” asked the lead security guard, quite politely, although the team of black-suited men behind him made it quite plain that this was not a request. Vince’s answering smile held no trace of amusement.
“This is a joke, right?”
“Sir, I’m going to need to see some identification before I let you in,” responded the guard.
“I’m Vince McMahon, dammit! Everybody knows who I am! Now, let me in, before I have you fired!” Suiting his actions to his words, Vince began walking forwards. Immediately, the guards moved to block his path, determination etched on their faces. As the cameras returned to Michael Cole and Tazz at ringside, it was obvious that some sort of confrontation was in the offing.
Cole: “Well, it certainly seems as if Mr McMahon’s not having a good day!”
Tazz: “Hur hur! You can say that again. He’s serious, though, those guards are gonna be lookin’ for new jobs by the end of the night.”
Cole: “They’re just doing their jobs, Tazz. Folks, some of you at home may be wondering what all this security is about. We’re going to take you back to Raw this past Monday, where you’ll see the shocking arrival of the man they are simply calling The Destroyer.”
A recap then played of Monday’s events, before Smackdown got back to its usual business.
Later on, Vince, having apparently made his way past the security force at last, was in his daughter’s office.
“Stephanie, I appreciate the need for security but, quite frankly, I do not expect to have to identify myself at my own damn show!”
Stephanie’s reply was to the point. “Well, firstly Dad, Smackdown is MY show. That’s the decision you made when you made me General Manager. So, what can I do for you?”
Swallowing his anger, Vince continued. “Where’s The Undertaker? I want him with me until this Destroyer business is done with.”
“He’s not here. I haven’t seen him in a couple of weeks. I believe he’s gone looking for the Chosen One that the prophecy mentioned.”
Vince turned purple with rage for a moment and struggled to speak. Then, slowly, he regained his composure. “Ok, fine. If that’s the way he wants to play it, fine. I know he’s up to something. Chosen One! This is WWE, not Bessy the Vampire Slayer!”
“Buffy,” interrupted Stephanie, perhaps a little unwisely. “It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Whatever,” growled Vince. “My point is that it’s all BS. Still, like I say, if that’s the way he wants it, fine. Get me The Big Show. I need to talk to him.”
Next Monday’s Raw saw similar levels of security, although these guards were aware of who Vince McMahon was. In the ring, World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg was addressing the crowd.
Goldberg: “No Mercy is less than a week away and I still don’t know who I will be defending my World Heavyweight Championship against. Last week, Kane and Triple H had a number one contender’s match which ended in a no-contest. So, who is the number one contender? If Eric Bischoff were here, I might think this was a set-up, some way to try and put me in a Triple Threat match. Well, that’s just fine with me. I will take on anybody and everybody to defend my title. All I want to know now is, WHO’S NEXT?!”
At that we hear the familiar strains of “No Chance” and Vince McMahon comes to the arena, accompanied by his son, Shane.
Vince: “Firstly, Goldberg, let me assure you that nobody is trying to set you up here. Now, as it relates to the situation of who the number one contender is, quite frankly Triple H and Kane are in no condition to compete tonight, or Sunday at No Mercy. Therefore, in this very ring tonight, there will be an over-the-top rope Battle Royal. The winner will face you at No Mercy. And, just to make sure that there are no…unexpected occurrences this week, my son Shane and I will be at ringside, acting as referees.”
Later on, Shane questioned Vince backstage.
“Are you sure this is such a good idea? That guy took out Kane and Triple H pretty handily.”
“Relax! Nobody is getting in here tonight without my say so. No one could get past all my security guys.”
Shane still looked doubtful. “No one normal, maybe. What if this prophecy business is genuine, though?”
“Not you as well!” Vince could hardly believe his ears. “This whole prophecy thing is a bunch of bull. It’s just Undertaker trying to screw with me. This is just another attempt to destabilise my empire and it’s not going to work.”
“If you say so…”
Most of Raw seemed to go reasonably well. By the time the show was almost over, there were just four men left in the Battle Royal, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Christian and Mark Henry. The three smaller guys were all trying to gang up on Henry and force him over the top rope when, suddenly, the lights went out and the evil voice was heard once more.
“The Destroyer is here!”
When the lights came back up, The Destroyer was in the ring. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were laid out at his feet, seemingly unconscious. Standing about 6’ 4”, The Destroyer cut an imposing figure. His arms looked like a cross between those of Batista and Brock Lesnar, while his costume gleamed like some form of black armour. Hoisting up the unconscious wrestlers, The Destroyer began shoving them over the top rope and out of the ring. Taking his chance, Christian delivered a clothesline to The Destroyer’s enormous back. Turning, The Destroyer snarled at Christian, who quickly stepped back behind The World’s Strongest Man.
The crowd gasped as Mark Henry faced this muscle-bound titan. The shocked McMahons began to climb on to the ring apron as The Destroyer and Henry collided, shoulder-to-shoulder. Neither man gave an inch. Henry charged again but, this time, The Destroyer neatly sidestepped him, before catching him with an arm-drag that sent him straight into Vince McMahon, knocking the billionaire to the floor. Christian leapt out of the ring and fled, while Shane went to check on his father. With everyone occupied, The Destroyer, to the shock of the audience, pressed Mark Henry above his head before dropping him a thud. At this point, Shane entered the ring with a chair and smacked The Destroyer firmly on his back. He might as well have hit an elephant with a fly swatter. The Destroyer turned to face him and delivered a right hand to the jaw that knocked Shane head over heels, leaving him unconscious. With no one left to face him, The Destroyer pushed Mark Henry over the top rope and let out a roar of triumph. With that, the lights went out again. In the darkness, the deep and eerie voice spoke once more.
“The gladiators fall. Their arena will be mine!”
The lights came back up. The Destroyer was gone, but the prone bodies of Vince McMahon, Shane, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Mark Henry lay scattered around the ring. Excitedly, Jonathan Coachman and Jerry Lawler debated what they had seen.
Coach: “What does this mean for No Mercy? Is The Destroyer the Number One Contender?”
Lawler: “Never mind No Mercy! What does this mean for Raw? Who’s going to stop this freak?”
The show went off the air with the two of them still arguing, as paramedics began tending to the wrestlers.
Change of Pace
This week, I have been preparing an article about race and pro wrestling. However, this is a big article and is taking a long time to write so, in the meantime, I thought I’d try something a little different. The following is the beginning of a piece of wrestling fan-fiction I wrote some years ago. It was basically designed to be an angle whereby I would introduce two new wrestlers to WWE, hopefully getting them over as big stars in the process. It won’t be to everyone’s cup of tea – it’s a very Undertaker, supernatural style angle, at least on the surface – but I hope that you’ll enjoy it. The setting is WWE around about 2003. Kane has been unmasked and is on his destructive rampage, Undertaker has not yet returned to the dark side, Eric Bischoff is in charge of Raw and Stephanie is in charge of Smackdown. Let me know what you think, and whether or not you would like to see more.
The Day of the Destroyer – part one
Vince McMahon could barely keep from laughing as he listened to the irate voice on the ‘phone. Whoever was talking seemed almost incoherent with rage.
“Yes Eric, I saw what Kane did to you-” Once again, Vince was cut off by an angry burst. “Look Eric, calm down. I know Kane shouldn’t have Tombstoned you onto the steel steps, but if you’re gonna keep putting him in handicap matches every week he’s gonna get peed off”. Vince listened for a moment before cutting off Bischoff’s angry rant.
“No Eric, Kane is not gonna get away with this. Our interim General Manager will deal with this situation – because I will be GM till you get back. Now get some rest.” Vince put the ‘phone down with a sigh and then almost jumped out of his skin as a huge shadow loomed over him.
“You wanted to see me, Vince” rasped the deep voice of Kane, an evil grin playing across his rough features.
“Dammit, don’t sneak up on me like that!” yelled Vince. A look of anger crossed Kane’s face, and Vince hastily lowered his voice. “Yes, I wanted to see you. Kane, as much as I might understand what you did to Eric Bischoff last week, as much as I may even approve of it, I can’t allow people to treat a GM like that. Now I understand you were provoked, but last week on Raw you tombstoned Bischoff on the steel steps, and there will have to be consequences for that.”
Vince gulped nervously and opened his briefcase. “Now in here are papers – wait a minute. What the heck is this? Did you do this? Are you trying to play some sort of mind-game with me?”
Inside the briefcase there were no papers, nothing except a worn, ancient-looking scroll, covered in arcane runes and symbols. Kane let Vince rant on awhile until he calmed down. Then he picked up the scroll and examined it closely.
“This was nothing to do with me, Vince. I can’t even read this stuff.” Kane let the scroll drop to the table.
“Do you expect me to believe – no, wait a minute. You can’t read this – but I know who could. This is just the kind of occult garbage that your brother deals with. If he’s playing games with me…”
Kane shrugged before saying “He does have some stuff that kinda reminds me of this writing.”
Vince smiled knowingly. “Well, it looks like I’ll be paying a visit to Smackdown this week.”
* * *
When Vince entered his office on Smackdown that week, he found it in pitch darkness. Suddenly, the lights came on and he gasped as he found the awesome presence of the Undertaker standing behind him.
“Word has it you’re looking for the Deadman. I ain’t hard to find,”growled the Phenom.
Gathering his courage, Vince drew himself up and brandished the scroll at the Undertaker. “What do you know about this?” he demanded, angrily. The Undertaker, however, was not impressed, and snatched the scroll from Vince, scanning it intently.
“Where did you get this?” The Undertaker’s voice brooked no argument.
“I found it in my briefcase…as if you didn’t know!”.
“This is a prophecy, McMahon. It says that the Destroyer is coming and that he will overthrow the gladiators in their coliseum. It says only the Chosen One can face the Destroyer.”
McMahon paused, astonished, and then got angry all over again. “Destroyer, Chosen One, what a bunch of garbage! I don’t know what game you’re playing, Undertaker – gack!” Vince found himself choking as the Deadman’s huge right hand grabbed him by the throat.
“You listen to me, McMahon, and you listen good. This prophecy is genuine. Only a couple of people in the world can even read this, much less fake it, so you better believe the Destroyer is coming. And the only gladiators left in this time are right here in the WWE. So you can believe that I’m behind this, or you can start looking for that chosen one. ‘Cause if you don’t, it’ll be the end of the WWE – and you.” With that, the Undertaker released Vince and left, leaving the chairman gasping and coughing.
For the next few weeks things almost settled down to normal, but just when Vince thought things had calmed down, there would be another mysterious note waiting for him, or an inexplicable power failure during a match. All this time, the Undertaker was nowhere to be found, increasing Vince’s suspicions, but nothing really concrete happened until the night Vince reinstated Kane from his suspension. That night Kane was facing HHH in a no.1 contender’s match when the lights went berserk for 5 seconds before shutting off completely for almost half a minute. During this time a maniacal laughter filled the Raw arena.
Coach: “What the hell is this? Is this another of these ‘Destroyer’ deals?”
Lawler: “I don’t know, but if you ask me anyone who interrupts Kane and the Game has gotta be more of a nut-job than the Big Red Monster!”
Coach:”Wait a minute! Who is that?! Where did he come from?”
Lawler:”He’s gotta be 300lbs! How the hell did he get in the ring without anyone seeing him!”
As the announce team looked on in shock, the audience were astonished to see the newcomer, an incredibly muscular black man, suplex HHH right over the top rope and out to the floor. As the referee ordered the timekeeper to ring the bell, the newcomer turned around, only to walk into the grasp of Kane. Kane grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up for a chokeslam.
Lawler: “Now he’s done it! Chokeslam this idiot, Kane!”
With a thunderous crash, Kane brought the newcomer into the mat with all his force. To everyone’s complete amazement, the stranger got straight to his feet and let loose a scream of rage in the astonished Kane’s face.
Coach:” My lord! He just got up like the chokeslam didn’t even hurt him! I’ve never seen anything like this! This guy can’t be human!”
The newcomer then proceeded to unleash a devastating barrage of kicks and punches on Kane before powerbombing him over the top rope, leaving him crumpled on the arena floor next to the equally decimated Triple H.
Lawler:”Get some help out here! We need paramedics and security!”
As Lawler continued to yell, the newcomer attacked the referee. Soon security arrived, but the stranger continued to level everyone who came near him. As Raw went off the air, a deep voice heard over the PA, simply saying “the Day of the Destroyer has dawned”.
The Great Feuds – Mick Foley vs Triple H
The heart of professional wrestling is the feud, the conflict between two defined personae with a legitimate grudge and a definite chemistry together. It has always seemed strange to me that WWE, with their vast library of DVD releases, concentrate almost exclusively on two formats, those being the individual wrestler profile or pay per view re-releases. While there is nothing wrong with such DVDs (indeed, many are extremely entertaining) I have often thought that a more rewarding type of presentation would be one that recaps a particular feud, presenting in order the promos and matches that made it up. With that in mind, I hereby present the first in a series of articles concentrating on the feuds that I have particularly enjoyed over the years. For the first of these, I present a feud that, in many ways, paved the way for the business of today: Mick Foley versus Triple H.
Really two feuds, the first major series of interactions between these two came at the 1997 King of the Ring, when they clashed in the final. Triple H was finally escaping from the shadow of the “curtain call” incident of the previous year and he was also trying to make another transition. At this point, Triple H was still the Greenwich snob, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, but he had largely exhausted the possibilities of that gimmick. Acquiring the services of Chyna as bodyguard had been a first step in showing a new side to his character; this feud with Foley was to be the next step. Foley himself was now in his Mankind gimmick. Having been in the company for just over a year, he had already had a memorable feud with The Undertaker and wrestled Shawn Michaels for the World Wrestling Federation Championship in their classic Mind Games match. Still climbing the ladder, it is safe to say that he was a rung or two ahead of Helmsley at this point.
The King of the Ring Final pitted Mankind, the insane brawler, against the technical skills and underhanded methods of Helmsley. Mankind was a perfect opponent for the arrogant Connecticut blueblood character Helmsley was still portraying. Unrefined, slovenly and lacking in skill but brimful of honest courage and determination, he was the antithesis of the immaculately groomed, impeccably taught but ultimately untrustworthy snob. The match, however, showed Helmsley in a different light. The two men smashed each other in a brutal, near 20 minute affair, perhaps the highlight coming when Helmsley pedigreed his adversary on a table. When Helmsley finally won, he showed that he wasn’t done, attacking Foley again with the regalia of the King, the crown and sceptre. In later years, Hunter revealed that he had had no intention of wearing the crown, feeling that it just looked silly, so he smashed it repeatedly, both in the aftermath of the match and the next night on Raw to ensure that he wouldn’t have to wear it.
This match had shown to the audience that Hunter was more than just a cheating snob; he had gone toe to toe with Mankind in a gruelling brawl and come out on top. Chyna’s involvement in the match helped Foley stay strong in the eyes of the fans while the post-match attack ensured that the feud was just beginning, despite the fact that it had begun with a decisive victory. The stage was now set and, the following night on Raw things only escalated as Mankind demanded a rematch, only to be assaulted once again with the crown. The build-up continued until the next pay per view, where Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley played their full part in one of the great WWE cards, Canadian Stampede.
Another brutal affair, this time their match ended indecisively. After a quarter of an hour of brutality, both men were counted out. Nevertheless, it didn’t end there. The two continued to fight, briefly interrupting the next match and then taking their fight to the backstage area before brawling right out onto the street! Once again, Hunter had proven to fans that he could be as tough as anybody, while Foley, as always, seemed to just keep coming back no matter what. This deeply personal issue needed something big to finish it and that finish came at Summerslam. Partly because of the constant interference by Chyna in their previous matches, the Summerslam clash was a steel cage match.
Something of a forgotten gem, this match proved the perfect ending to this two-month war. Kept inside the ring by the cage, the two men had to do things a little differently than they had in the previous matches. The cage did not prevent Chyna’s involvement, which almost proved critical when she slammed the door shut on Mankind’s head. The climax came when Foley was able to deliver a Jimmy Snuka-inspired dive from the top of the cage, nailing Helmsley and allowing Foley to climb out of the ring and finally get the victory over his cocky young rival. Afterwards, as he lay in a heap outside the ring, Foley’s foot began tapping rhythmically, which the announce team took as a sign the Foley’s Dude Love persona was reasserting itself. Before long, Foley was up and dancing as he left the arena to the Dude Love theme music.
If the feud had ended there, it would be remembered as an entertaining and well-booked affair that took two up-and-coming stars and helped both take another step towards the top. The change from Mankind to Dude Love effectively ended the feud and allowed Foley to move on to new things, while Triple H, now established as a guy who had taken his lumps and deserved his place, was able to shed the blueblood image and join Shawn Michaels in D-Generation X. Of course, it did not end there. Just one month later the two went at it again in a Falls Count Anywhere match on Raw. This match was notable because it saw the introduction of Cactus Jack to WWE, following the famous “Three faces of Foley” video promo, in which Dude Love and Mankind argued over which of them would face Triple H, only to reveal that, it would actually be Cactus Jack who took on this match. This match ended in victory for Jack after he drove Triple H through a table with a piledriver. The loss did nothing to hurt the momentum of Hunter, by now well established in DX but it was the perfect way to introduce Cactus Jack to the WWE audience ahead of the introduction of Terry Funk as Chainsaw Charlie.
After that the two men went in different directions. Foley feuded with The New Age Outlaws before getting embroiled in a major feud with The Undertaker while Triple H assisted Shawn Michaels before clashing with Owen Hart. By the time Foley won the first of his three championships, Triple H was a babyface, leading the DX army and they celebrated wildly with the new champ, their long ago rivalry apparently forgotten. However, with Triple H’s heel turn later in the year, things began to change again. Foley and Triple H were the two contenders to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s championship at Summerslam 1999. Lacking the brutality of their previous affairs, given that Foley was now in the gentler, comedy incarnation of Mankind, this was nevertheless an entertaining match which saw Foley triumph to take his third world title. Even so, like most Triple Threat matches, this was effectively No DQ, the only stipulation being that special referee Jesse Ventura insisted that he would only count the pinfall in the ring. After the match Triple H viciously worked over Austin’s leg with a chair, giving WWE an excuse to take the Rattlesnake off TV for a couple of weeks while he recuperated.
The next night, on Raw is War, Triple H forced Foley to give him a title shot by the expedient of threatening Foley’s friend, announcer Jim Ross, until Foley gave in. That night, Triple H claimed his first World Championship. Foley’s star was beginning to fade now as the battered warrior began contemplating retirement, so their interaction once again became somewhat sporadic. Nevertheless, both men took part in the six-man match at Unforgiven that year, which saw Hunter claim his second world championship. Once again, it looked as if the feud might be over. Fate, however, had other ideas. As 1999 ended, Austin finally had to take time out for neck surgery to repair the damage done by Owen Hart’s piledriver on him at Summerslam 1997. At the same time, The Undertaker also had to take an extended break, leaving the main event a little sparsely populated. Consequently, Foley was persuaded to put his pending retirement on hold a little longer, which allowed him to go out in a spectacular fashion.
As the year 2000 began, Triple H found himself in control of the entire World Wrestling Federation. He and his bride Stephanie McMahon (at this point, married in storyline only) inaugurated the McMahon-Helmsley era and their chief use of their power was to humiliate Hunter’s main rivals – Kane, Mankind and The Rock. Foley found himself ignominiously fired by the twosome when they forced him to wrestle The Rock in the first ever “Pink-slip on a Pole match”, the loser being fired. Soon after, however, The Rock organised a revolt against the corrupt leaders. He managed to persuade the entire WWE roster, apart from Triple H and his DX cohorts, to threaten to walk out on the company if Triple H and Stephanie did not meet all of their demands. Chief among those demands were the reinstatement of Mick Foley, the granting to him of a title match with Triple H at the upcoming Royal Rumble, the stipulations of which he would name later.
Foley chose for his match a Street Fight but, in the weeks that followed, Triple H and DX beat him down repeatedly. Finally, Foley confessed that he just wasn’t ready to face Triple H in a Street Fight, drawing smiles from The Game. However, Foley continued, he knew a man who was. The announcement of this man’s identity quickly wiped the smile off of Triple H’s face – none other than Cactus Jack! Hunter’s reaction made sense. The last time he had wrestled Cactus Jack he had been piledriven through a table! Nevertheless, he promised Jack that he would regret this. Hunter was going to be more brutal and more sadistic than Jack could ever imagine – and he would love every second of it.
In the event, the match was a classic, and has passed into wrestling lore as being one of the high points of both men’s careers. Using everything from chairs and handcuffs to thumbtacks, the two men beat each other mercilessly. Finally, Triple H was victorious but he still left the arena on a stretcher and, even then, was attacked again by Cactus Jack. The ending left the window open for a re-match but, this time, Hunter demanded that Cactus put his career on the line. If he lost, he would be gone and that meant for good – no sneaky changing back to Mankind or Dude Love to get around the stipulation. Jack agreed but he had a stipulation in mind. There was only one way to up the ante on their brutal Street Fight – this match would have to be a Hell in a Cell match. It was, in a little historical note, the first time that such a match would take place without the involvement of The Undertaker (Kane and Mankind had once had such a match but ‘Taker interfered in it so much he might as well have taken part). It also marked the beginning of Triple H’s long association with this match type, an association that was to be as close as The Undertaker’s own.
Following their Street Fight would be no easy task but the two men proved up to it. Give Foley’s legendary reputation in these matches, Triple H had the door padlocked to stop Foley getting out of the cell. The two brawled wildly in and out of the ring before Foley broke a hole in the cell wall after diving off the top rope to the outside of the ring with a chair. The two men then continued to brawl on the outside before Hunter decided to head for higher ground. Cactus pursued him, with his trademark barbed wire two by four, only for Hunter to take the vicious weapon and use it to send Jack flying off of the cage and into a table. The match could have ended there but Jack eventually got back on top of the cell where the fight continued. The already awestruck crowd were further shocked when Jack lit his barbed wire two by four on fire! Attempting to piledrive Hunter onto the burning implement proved to be his downfall, however, as Triple H back-dropped him to counter the move. The impact sent Jack crashing right through the cell ceiling and into the ring, which broke under his weight! Even then, Jack shocked Hunter further by getting up one more time before the pedigree finally ended the match and, officially, Mick Foley’s career.
Although many prefer the Street Fight, for me, this was the absolute highlight of the long war between these two greats. Effectively, their feud was now over, although they would meet one last time at Wrestle Mania 2000, when Linda McMahon reinstated Foley for one night only. This epitomised exactly what a great wrestling feud should be. At different stages in their careers, both men were able to elevate their opponent as well as improving their own standing. The brawler and the technician were very different wrestlers, yet their styles meshed perfectly to create a series of classic matches that ended in one of the best of all time. Many have pointed this feud, particularly the later part in early 2000, as essential in getting Triple H to be seriously established as a main-event player in WWE but, in fairness, the feud did almost as much for Foley. Both men played instrumental roles in the other becoming WWE Champion and, while the feud certainly set the scene for Triple H’s incredible success over the following decade, it also proved a fitting swansong to the regular active career of Mick Foley.
I hope you enjoyed this look back at a great feud. I would be interested to know of any other feuds that you have particularly enjoyed, or would especially like me to look at. The theme of brawler versus technical wrestler is certainly one that I shall return to, as it seems to be the common element in a number of my favourite feuds. Nevertheless, as we shall see, it is by no means the only theme that one can build a great feud around.
The PG Debate
Having looked at chair shots yesterday, it’s obvious by the scale of interest in this post that the whole WWE PG thing is a big issue for many wrestling fans at the moment. Consequently, I thought it wise to continue the theme by looking at the move to PG programming and its wider impact in more general terms. Blood, language, “adult situations” and moments of extreme violence are all seen as casualties of this move. What then, are the advantages of a move to PG? Why have WWE taken this measure? Will it work for them or will it backfire? All questions that I shall seek to answer today.
The fact that WWE’s move to PG came almost two years ago and is still one of the most talked about and controversial stories in wrestling says a great deal in itself. There are two main theories as to why this move came about. The company line is that the PG tag allows them to attract more and higher-paying advertisers and sponsors, keeps the TV networks happy and is more in keeping with the times (whatever that means). Many fans, however, have speculated that WWE have moved to PG specifically to aid Linda McMahon’s senate bid. While it certainly helps her cause that the company is toning down some of its more outrageous storylines, the fact is that the move to PG actually came about a year before Linda’s campaign even began. Which is not to say, of course, that the move was not still planned with her political ambitions in mind. One should also bear in mind that Vince has done this before. In the early to mid-nineties Vince banned blood from his show and attempted to shift the product into a “family friendly” category; only the threat of WCW forced him out of this and into the extreme Jerry Springer style shock television of the Attitude Era. So, perhaps fans should simply accept that this is where Vince’s natural inclinations lie.
It’s always dangerous to rely on Internet chatter as a guide to public opinion. Doing just that, however, a quick look around message boards, forums and so forth suggests that the PG move is seriously unpopular. There are certainly those wrestling fans, generally parents or grandparents of small children that appreciate the change but they seem to be far outnumbered by those who lament the change and want a bloodier, edgier product. That said, one has to question whether or not this is really a major issue? Surely, it should be possible to be PG and produce an entertaining wrestling show that keeps all, or at least, the vast majority of your fans happy.
Part of the problem here lies in the nature of TV censorship. The biggest problem that most fans seem to have with PG is the lack of blood in matches. Unfortunately, TV censors don’t actually censor violence; they censor effects. Movies like the Star Wars franchise and shows like the A-Team have proved over the years that you can keep a PG rating no matter how much violence you show, as long as there is no blood involved. Imagine the original Star Wars movies with real swords replacing the light-sabers and actual guns replacing the laser pistols then showing the results accordingly. That alone would make those movies a much higher certificate, despite the fact that nothing would have changed with the story. That clearly demonstrates the restriction that WWE has placed on themselves with regard to blood. If they wish to maintain a PG rating, blood is not an option.
Ok, so we might understand that blood on WWE television programming is a no-no. That doesn’t necessarily apply to pay per view, though. One of the most infuriating sights for fans since the PG era began has been the spectacle of pay per view matches being interrupted so that a wrestler’s wound can be treated. Critics argue that this utterly breaks up the flow of the match, and that blood can add drama to a match anyway. WWE have nevertheless opted to continue disallowing blood even in pay per view matches, which I suppose is necessary if they want to make all of their DVD releases PG in order to keep them in line with their TV, not to mention allowing them to show clips from the pay per views on Raw or Smackdown. Some have also pointed out the health risks associated with blood. On his Q&A JR has offered probably the most cogent and thought out defence of the anti-blood policy, which can largely be summed up thus: one, fans sitting at ringside do not want to be splattered with blood, two, in an era of AIDS and hepatitis and so on we must be more careful of blood than before and finally, do we really need blood to have enjoyable wrestling.
Responding to these points in order, I would respectfully point out that firstly, fans sitting at ringside might reasonably be assumed to know what they are in for and secondly, that relatively few fans actually get hit by blood even when both wrestlers are bleeding. Finally, a few fans do actually seem quite happy to be hit by a wrestler’s blood! As far as the health risks go, I think these are far less than in regard to chair shots. In order to spread HIV, which is generally the biggest worry where blood is concerned, an infected wrestler would have to lose blood onto an open wound of a fan. What are the odds of that happening? Slim to none, and slim left town. Obviously, spreading it between wrestlers where both are bleeding is far more likely but surely WWE could institute regular tests as part of its Wellness Policy. This would help minimize the risk.
On to the third point: do we need blood? By and large, no, we do not need blood to enjoy a wrestling match. The vast majority of matches are fine without it and I can think of a few where the wrestlers did bleed and this did nothing to enhance the match in question. Nevertheless, every once in a while, matches come along that do simply demand blood. Take Austin-Hart at Wrestlemania 13 as a perfect example. This is the match that famously accomplished the double turn of Austin and Hart. When Austin “passed out from the pain” rather than say “I quit” in Hart’s sharpshooter his status as a major league fan favourite was solidified. Doubtless you’ve all seen the iconic image, if not the match itself, of Austin in the sharpshooter, screaming in pain with blood pouring down his face. My point is this: how much less impressive would this image have been with Austin not bleeding? Sure, the crowd know that the pain of the sharpshooter supposedly targets the lower back and also the legs, but the blood on Austin’s face was a visible indication of the pain he was supposedly enduring. It’s that grit, that refusal to give in even in the face of the most agonizing pain that made Austin, and that would have been far harder to communicate without the blood. I’m not saying that the match would have failed otherwise, simply stating why I believe the use of blood was a significant enhancement.
So, at least on pay per view, I don’t see a problem with the occasional use of blood. If it makes it impossible to show clips on Raw the next night, why not use black and white stills? Most TV stations seem to find this acceptable and it gives fans another reason to buy the show if they want to see the sequence properly. Granted, it might push up the certification of the DVD of that pay per view but, seriously, how much difference does that make anyway? Parents will make the final call as to what they want their children to watch, regardless of what some board or other says, just as they always have. Moreover, in cage matches and similar, it seems almost wrong not to have blood. Sure, Bret and Owen proved in their Summerslam match that not all cage matches need to be bloody massacres – but most should be!
Staying with parents, as regards bad language and so on, one might argue that WWE almost has a duty to be PG. After all, wrestling has always appealed to children, so they’re always going to watch it. It’s therefore only sensible to leave out the gratuitous language. To be honest, I don’t really see how it enhances the product anyway. A lot of people complained that Steve Austin’s use of the word “ass” was bleeped out during his recent appearance on Raw but I think that actually helps. Not only does it keep the show PG, it actually emphasises the rebellious nature of Austin’s character. So, sure I think that where a character really needs to swear they should be able to, but it should certainly be bleeped. It might make the company look a little dorky in the eyes of some but that will surely be countered by the increase in coolness that the individual wrestler receives.
Some fans miss nudity and the raunchier elements of the Attitude Era; certainly, the days of cross promotion with Playboy are gone. I sympathise but, to me, this is hardly an important aspect of wrestling. To be honest, I would much rather the women in the company were valued for their wrestling ability than their physical appearance and sexiness although, lately, it seems that they are valued for neither! To quote Kevin Nash, “if I want to watch girls, I’ll watch girls – if I want to watch wrestling, I’ll watch wrestling”. If we never see another lingerie pillow fight I sincerely doubt that I’ll lose any sleep over it.
The flip side of all this is, of course, the opportunity it presents to TNA. Everything WWE stops doing they do more of. If these really are important issues to fans then we should see a shift in viewing patterns. Ideally, we’ll end up with a situation where two distinct groups of fans get exactly what they want from their respective federation, and everybody will be happy. It’s early days yet but so far, TNA do not seem to be making any inroads into WWE’s viewing figures. This may mean that PG is actually not that important an issue to the majority of fans but it could equally mean that brand loyalty is more important, that TNA still need to increase fan awareness of their product or even that TNA’s product is so poor that the fans who want blood and adult situations back in WWE still won’t watch it. Only time will tell on this one.
Some of Vince’s own comments are particularly telling on this issue, as well. More than once in the last year or so, he has attacked TNA for their content while insisting that they are not in competition with WWE. Vince recently told the Hersam Acorn Newspaper that TNA are “in the pro wrasslin’ business, we’re in the entertainment business”. Ignoring for the moment the ludicrous idea that a company called World Wrestling Entertainment are not in the wrestling business, the point is that Vince sees himself as being in competition with the likes of Disney. I pointed out in my piece “Vince McMahon and the Rise of the World Wrestling Federation” that that was how Vince was positioning his company even in the ‘80s. This is the key point for everyone to bear in mind. WWE will always, sooner or later, gravitate to the family friendly market because that is Vince’s dream. McDonald’s, Walmart, Disney, Baseball, WWE, that is what Vince really wants to achieve. The only hope for the fans that dream of a return to the Attitude Era is that TNA will achieve success through a more adult oriented show. Only that will force Vince to re-evaluate his position and move away from PG programming.
Replaying the Game – a look back.
From the late summer of 2002 to Wrestlemania 20 in 2004, Triple H was the undisputed king of WWE and, most especially, Raw. During this period he was champion almost the whole time and was the top contender for practically all of the rest. In fact, there were only three title matches on the Raw brand that did not feature Triple H in the whole of this time, and he interfered in one of those! Consequently, this more than any other was the period that gave rise to the long-standing criticism that Hunter used his political clout to put himself over, bury any potential rivals and dominate the show that has, to a certain extent, informed all assessments of Triple H ever since. Even here, however, during the most dominant period of his career, there are arguments to be made that WWE had fewer choices than critics might have supposed. Now, as we head to Wrestlemania with both Raw and Smackdown building entertaining storylines involving a whole host of superstars, it is worth looking back a few years to remind ourselves how different the WWE landscape was back then, and perhaps to reassess a period which most people have already made up their minds about.
Summerslam 2002 was, in some ways, a watershed moment for the not long renamed WWE. Brock Lesnar had defeated The Rock for the Undisputed Championship, a real “out with the old, in with the new” moment that saw Rocky leave WWE on his second movie-related hiatus in as many years. Coupled with the recent departures of Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, that meant that in a space of no more than three months the company had lost arguably the three biggest babyface draws in modern wrestling history. Triple H himself had just recently turned heel so, when Brock Lesnar announced that he would no longer be appearing on Raw, in the immediate aftermath of Summerslam, it left WWE’s flagship show without a champion or a top babyface. The champion part they solved easily.
On the September 2nd edition of Raw, Eric Bischoff awarded the “World Heavyweight Championship” to Triple H. Ostensibly, this championship was the successor to the WCW/NWA heavyweight titles, leaving the WWE Championship on Smackdown. While the belts have swapped shows on several occasions since, this has remained the basic format of WWE programming ever since. In my opinion, this was where the company made their first big mistake of this period. Personally, I’m not a fan of having two top guys in one company anyway but, as long as the two shows are kept pretty much separate I can see the logic and I don’t think it’s a major issue. However, the title should never have simply been awarded to someone. It is true that Bischoff simply handing the title to Triple H put more heat on both of them but, frankly, Triple H was already running pretty hot as a heel for his actions against Shawn Michaels. The Raw champion was always going to be at a disadvantage compared to Smackdown’s, since he would not have beaten Brock Lesnar. Now, the lineage of the Raw title was made even weaker, since it had not even been won in a wrestling ring at all.
Worse yet, this was the ideal time to build up a new contender. Had Bischoff started a tournament to determine Raw’s first World Heavyweight Champion, WWE could have used those matches to build up a new baby face challenger while still ending up with the same result of Triple H being the champ. September’s pay per view, Unforgiven, saw a main event for which Triple H does indeed remain unforgiven with many fans. Hunter’s first challenger on ppv for his new title was Rob Van Dam and Triple H defeated him when Ric Flair turned heel and attacked the challenger. Now, in fairness, no one could really have expected Triple H to drop the new title at the first match. The problem for many fans, however, was that RVD was thrown into the match with relatively little fanfare and basically ejected from the main event scene as soon as he lost that match. Now, personally (and I risk being ostracised from the IWC for saying this) I never really bought RVD as a main-event wrestler. I liked his work and I have plenty of respect for the man himself but something just didn’t quite click for me. That said, he has an undeniable connection with the fans and that could have been used. If the Unforgiven match was the final match of a tournament, RVD could have been booked over a couple of other big names in the run-up to the show, making the match a bigger deal.
For whatever reason, Unforgiven seems to have been a one-time only deal for RVD. It was to be many years before he would end up capturing the WWE title and that happened solely because WWE wanted to promote their new ECW. Whether because they didn’t believe in him as a main event star, his reputedly stiff style or because Triple H buried him, Rob was not booked in one on one ppv title match again. Personally, I have to say that WWE missed the boat here. Maybe RVD was the answer to their prayers and maybe he wasn’t but he could have been built up and presented a whole lot better, and this storyline needed to go on longer to really prove whether he was the man they needed or not. Still, for those who blame Triple H personally for this, I think we have to accept that it all comes down to what you want to believe. It’s certainly true that some wrestlers have accused Triple H of playing politics, burying guys behind their backs, sabotaging pushes and so on. It’s also true that other wrestlers have described him as a great guy, friendly, helpful and pleasant. What are practically impossible to find are attributable, verifiable quotations from Hunter burying anybody. It’s always anonymous sources who say “Triple H says wrestler x isn’t safe, of doesn’t know how to work, or the fans don’t like him” or whatever. Until we get real proof, believe what you will.
The next challenger up for Triple H was Kane. Now, as big a Kane mark as I am, he was clearly not going to replace the likes of Stone Cold or The Rock but then again, who could? The point was that this was the hottest streak Kane had been on since his initial run following his debut. Kane had returned from a torn bicep in August and was on an awesome run. The crowd had popped huge for him and the company had booked him really strongly. In short order he captured the tag team titles and the intercontinental title. If ever there was a good time to put the belt on Kane, this was it. He met Triple H at No Mercy in a title unification match but, like RVD before him, fell victim to outside interference and a dubious finish. Triple H, however, could not be blamed for this.
This was the notorious “Katie Vick” storyline, one of the lowest points in the history of WWE creative. It had started well enough. On the October 7th Raw, Kane’s tag team partner, The Hurricane, was taken out by Flair and Triple H, forcing Kane to defend the tag team titles alone in a fatal four-way. Victorious against the odds, Kane was shocked to hear Triple H mention the name “Katie Vick”. The show ended with Triple H telling Kane “you’re a murderer”. It was a dramatic finish that I can well remember left me anticipating the following week’s show very keenly. Unfortunately, rather than maintaining the dramatic tone, the storyline descended into a string of puerile jokes about necrophilia. The public were outraged, WWE dropped the storyline and there could be no possibility after that that Kane would actually win the belt. Another opportunity dropped by WWE but in no way due to Triple H.
The Elimination Chamber debuted in November 2002 at the Survivor Series. This saw Triple H defend his title against five others: Chris Jericho, Kane, RVD, Booker T and the returning Shawn Michaels. In the event, Shawn Michaels won the title. RVD was involved in a spot in which Triple H got hurt, which may or may not have contributed to this being Rob’s last ppv title shot, even in a group, for a looooong time. Shawn Michaels won the match, sparking further speculation that Hunter was playing politics. His long-time friendship with Michaels hardly being a secret, many speculated that Hunter was willing to lie down for his friends, if for no one else. In truth, Michaels might well have been the perfect guy to fill the void left by Austin and The Rock, if not for two drawbacks. One was that Shawn did not feel up to the rigours of a championship schedule and the other was that, since the Chamber was only his second match back since his retirement in 1998, no one else was really sure if he was up to it either.
Besides, WWE were already lining up their next big babyface star. They had, in fact, debuted him at the Survivor Series, so it was no surprise when Triple H recaptured the title at Armageddon, to close out the year as champion. The man WWE were banking on to rescue their falling ratings and buy-rates was Big Poppa Pump, Scott Steiner. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that anyone ever thought that this could work. Steiner had come into the company carrying injuries, so WWE kept him out of the ring for as long as possible. First, they ran a storyline in which Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon competed to sign Steiner. Then, it was a “hands-off” build to a match between Steiner and Triple H at the Royal Rumble of 2003. The result was a match that probably has to go down in history as the worst match in Triple H’s career. Part of the problem was that, by keeping the two apart, WWE had raised expectations for this match going in. Part was Steiner’s injuries still not being quite right. Still another factor was that Scott Steiner is not, and never has been, a natural singles babyface. By the time the match was over, I could tell watching at home that this storyline was done. Steiner was given a re-match at No Way Out, quickly beaten and never let near the televised main event again in WWE.
So, Triple H was hogging the belt again. He had now been champ for five out of six months and was heading into Wrestlemania. Still, it wasn’t like this was entirely unreasonable. RVD perhaps should have been given more chances but Katie Vick had torpedoed Kane. Shawn Michaels wasn’t interested in the top job and Scott Steiner wasn’t suited for it (which is not to say that WWE couldn’t have got more out of him than they did). Maybe Triple H had sabotaged RVD’s chances but that is the most that he could fairly be accused of at this point. None of this had solved the main problem, which was that Raw was still lacking a top babyface. Maybe moving Kurt Angle, Undertaker or Brock Lesnar over from Smackdown might have been the answer but Smackdown was going great at the time and it made little sense to solve the problems of one show by creating them on another. Instead, WWE looked from within once more. This time, to Booker T, the former WCW world champion who was beginning to really catch on as a babyface on Raw.
Booker’s match with Triple H is another example of a match where Triple H has been blamed for sabotaging the career of a rising star. In this case, I do think that WWE made a big mistake. That, however, is the benefit of hindsight. I do not think that, regardless of whether or not it was Hunter’s call, WWE ever had any intention of using Booker as anything other than an interim challenger. By the time Wrestlemania took place, WWE had already signed Goldberg to a contract. Goldberg had been the hottest thing WCW produced in the 90s and the only babyface potentially on the level of a Rock or Austin still out there. So, sure, if people want to blame Triple H for not putting Booker T or Kevin Nash over for the next few months they can. I remember personally being really disappointed when both of those guys failed to capture the belt. The fact was, though, that WWE were now simply marking time for the introduction of Goldberg to the main event scene.
By the time that Goldberg got his shot, it was Summerslam, and Triple H had been champion for about ten of eleven months. Hunter was injured going into this match and so the decision was made to leave the belt on him until he could drop it to Goldberg “properly”. Of course, one might just as easily argue that, if he was unfit the belt should be taken off of Triple H as soon as possible. The match was an elimination chamber, so having his pod open last and then wrapping the match up quickly could easily cover Hunter’s limitations. In the event, Goldberg was a rampaging monster until Triple H emerged and whacked him with his trusty sledgehammer. At the time, many felt that not handing the title to Goldberg at the first opportunity was a mistake but, regardless of that, Goldberg ended Triple H’s near year of dominance at Unforgiven the following month.
Goldberg’s reign lasted less than three months, however, before he dropped the title back to Triple H in a triple threat match with Kane at Armageddon, ensuring that Hunter ended 2003 as he had begun it, World Heavyweight Champion. Goldberg, like Steiner before him, had failed to take off as the lead babyface that WWE wanted. How one feels about that is, once again, a matter of perspective. Some felt that Triple H had himself sabotaged Goldberg’s push by refusing to lose the title at Summerslam. Many felt that WWE had dropped the ball by not booking Goldberg in the same ultra-dominant fashion that WCW had during Goldberg’s first amazingly successful run. Personally, I’d have to disagree. I almost feel bad writing this because, by all accounts, Goldberg is a really nice guy but, to me, if the only way a wrestler can get over is by being booked to squash every one of his opponents in less than five minutes, then they don’t really have any business at the top of the card anyway.
The problem with booking the way people wanted it done is that it leaves you nowhere to go. Once Goldberg has squashed all of his contenders, what do you do? Sure, you can move him to Smackdown and do the same there but, after that, all you have left is a roster full of bums and a champion with no one to wrestle. Even as desperate as he was for a new star, Vince McMahon was never going to squash the characters he had so carefully built up simply in exchange for a short-term ratings spike. Moreover, we have to bear in mind the fact that Goldberg, reputedly, has never really been in the wrestling business for the love of it. If he’d upped and left, deciding he’d made enough money, Vince would have been left with a shattered roster with no way of getting their heat back.
In any case, whether you agree with that or not, the fact was that we were once again stuck with Hunter as champion. Personally, by this point I was heartily sick of his reign and would have welcomed a comeback by The Ultimate Warrior if it meant a new champion (at least for one week). Looking back, though, it seems that it is unfair to blame Triple H for holding onto the belt too tightly. That whole period was a quest to find a new star and, every time it failed WWE were left with the option of keeping Triple H as champ. The question really comes down to this: do you believe that Triple H is responsible for the creative errors that led to his being without a viable challenger? Do you believe that the reason that Triple H stayed champion for so long is that he was refusing to put guys over, even when there are at least arguable business reasons for why those guys should not have been champions? At Wrestlemania 20, in 2004, Triple H lost the title to Chris Benoit in a triple threat match. The man who apparently refused to put anyone over tapped out to a submission hold, from a guy who’d come from WCW and spent most of his WWE career in the midcard, on the grandest stage of them all. It was clearly an example of putting someone over. Triple H still had many more title reigns to come – heck, he probably still has some more to come – but he would never again be quite this dominant over such a long period. Although Benoit’s title reign would also not be quite what WWE were looking for, by the time it was over, WWE were ready to reap the rewards of the other purpose of Hunter’s long period of dominance – the maturation of Evolution.
Looking Back on the Week in Wrestling
There have been plenty of interesting developments this week, so I have decided to do a few quick hits, rather than one long piece. Here goes!
Survivor Series No More
Vince McMahon announced this week that he is retiring the Survivor Series name, feeling that it has outlived its usefulness and is no longer relevant. The Survivor Series that took place in November 2009 will be the twenty-third and last pay per view to go out under that name. A few points occur to me, so here they are. Firstly, why does Vince seem to think that changing the name of a pay per view is the best way to increase buys? Frankly, he could call a pay per view WWE Pukathon and, as long as he offered good matches with well-thought out storylines logical builds, people would buy it. Now, as to the traditional Survivor Series elimination tag matches, maybe he’s right. I will miss them myself, but perhaps they have lost their appeal. Who’s fault, then, is that? Vince is the one who has consistently booked tag team wrestling as an afterthought for years, convincing fans that it is unimportant and not to be taken seriously.
It seems a shame to strip away the history of the company in this way. It’s far more impressive and meaningful to be watching the twenty-third annual instalment of something than it is the first. I will be most surprised if, in twenty-three years time, any of the current pay per views are still running (with the exceptions, obviously, of the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania). I’d suggest to Vince that he stop focussing on cosmetic changes and address the real issues facing his business.
The Road to Wrestlemania
Speaking of Vince focussing on the real issues, he and his creative team have done it again. Almost every year it’s the same. Between the Royal Rumble and ‘Mania, Creative (and the on-screen talent) raise the bar to such an extent that one can only wish that they would write and perform to this standard all year around. Since the Rumble I’ve watched Raw two weeks running for the first time in I don’t know how long. More to the point, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both shows and fully intend to watch again this coming week. The Bret Hart-Vince McMahon storyline is heating up nicely, the “Shawn Michaels is losing it” plot is just awesome, the break-up of Legacy is holding my attention as well. Add to that the return of Edge, the unpredictability of the title scene going into the Elimination Chamber, never mind Wrestlemania and you have a recipe for success. Oh yes, and CM Punk and his Straight Edge Society continue to rule every segment of TV they appear in. Punk instructing his minions “Luke, Serena, bring me Jared from Subway” on Raw this week was hilarious.
The End of WWECW
Should have addressed this last week but Vince’s decision to re-brand the C-show is, frankly, overdue. ECW has produced a lot of good wrestling under the WWE aegis but the viewing figures show that it is just not working. Old ECW fans hate it and newer fans just don’t value it. In a way, winding it up has come at a good time, as the uncertainty over the future of the ECW Championship is playing into the general uncertainty that’s making WWE so enjoyable as we head towards ‘Mania.
Everybody Has a Price
Ted DiBiase is the first inductee into the 2010 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Awesome! If there is anyone out there who deserves this, it is The Million Dollar Man. A consummate performer both in the ring and with a microphone for many, many years, in his prime DiBiase was as good as it gets. I haven’t the time to really pay tribute to all of his accomplishments here; suffice it to say that I am thrilled that he is going in and am greatly looking forward to this years’ Hall of Fame show.
TNA
For the first time since the Hogan-Bischoff regime took over, the ratings of TNA wobbled a little (although they still stood at the top end of anything the company had achieved before their arrival) last week. However, I have to say that I am once again cautiously optimistic over where TNA is going. Everyone seems to be getting a fair amount of TV time, the right guys are increasingly winning matches, Samoa Joe is back in the main event and the show is beginning to calm down a little from the insane pace it set when Hogan debuted. With the exception of The Nasty Boys, most of TNA is moving in the right direction. Even the Hall-Waltman storyline has the benefit of unpredictability. Granted, the recreation of Montreal recently was unnecessary and disappointing but, by and large, this may work out. The decision to re-brand the March pay per view, Destination X, as an all-X Division show is a great idea, and will really help showcase some of the best high-flying talent in wrestling today. This Sunday’s show, Against All Odds, has some compelling match-ups: The Pope versus Desmond Wolfe, Mr Anderson versus Kurt Angle and, of course, AJ Styles versus Samoa Joe with Eric Bischoff as the guest referee.
Another great idea by TNA is apparently on the way soon, as Dixie Carter tweeted this week that the company would soon announce a UK pay per view. This is awesome news, as WWE fans in the UK have been crying out for a pay per view for years. TNA should make it their policy to give the fans anything they ask for that WWE are not prepared to offer. Having decided to stay on Bravo in the UK TV market, TNA are currently enjoying very high viewing figures. Given the potentially larger audience that they can reach, when compared to WWE, TNA have every chance of becoming the number one wrestling promotion for UK fans.
Let’s Get Ready to Ruummmmblllllllllle!
Ask any WWE fan what their favourite time of year is and they’ll likely answer right now. This period, starting with The Royal Rumble and ending in Wrestlemania, generally known as The Road to Wrestlemania, has for some years now been associated with a general rise in the quality of WWE programming. For creative and backstage personnel, this is the time to step up one’s work since the success (or lack thereof) of Wrestlemania is the key barometer by which the overall success of WWE will be measured. For wrestlers and other on-screen talent, this is also the time to step it up, in order to ensure an appearance at Wrestlemania, and the prestige, not to mention additional payday, that goes with it. In short, this is the time of year in which everyone in WWE is, or should be, giving everything their very best.
Judging by this year’s Royal Rumble, the 23rd since Pat Patterson had what was quite possibly the greatest single match idea in the history of wrestling, this year will be no exception. Sunday’s pay per view was undoubtedly the best thing that WWE have put on for some time, and bodes very well for the future. The show opened with a good match between Christian and his challenger, Ezekiel Jackson, for the ECW Championship. The match sensibly played to the strengths of both men, the power and size of Jackson being contrasted with the veteran guile of Christian. It was nice to see that, even given the lowly position of ECW in the WWE priority list, the match was given a reasonable length of time. The only problem with it is that Christian has become such a dominant champion. It’s hard to see where we go next for him, which in turn, makes one question whether or not the ECW Championship will be featured at Wrestlemania. A strong feud is required to get the brand on the biggest show of the year, and currently it’s difficult to see where that is coming from. Certainly, Christian can give Jackson a rematch – the victory was hardly so dominant as to deny the big man that. Unless something happens to lift Jackson to another level, however, it’s hard to imagine that contest taking place on pay per view at all, much less on the grandest stage of them all.
Elsewhere in the WWE Universe, there are people with clearer futures. Next up, after some backstage “comedy” shenanigans, was an impromptu match between MVP and The Miz, for the United States Championship. One of the great success stories of 2009, it is nice to see that The Miz has not yet started to rest on his laurels. One just senses that he knows how close he is to achieving real success, and he is not going to let up until he gets there. This feud is also invigorating MVP, as well. Porter, once tipped to be a future top guy, has seemingly floundered for some time, particularly since moving to Raw. Going after the US Championship has helped restore his profile, which is no bad thing. This sort of feud is exactly what secondary championships are made for, in my opinion. One only has to look back at The Rock versus Triple H in 1998 or Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in 2000 to see that these kinds of mid-card feuds can enhance the profiles of all concerned.
The match itself was entertaining without being a classic. There was good back and forth, and either man could believably have won. The booing from the crowd came after the match. The Miz won with a sneaky roll-up, and then began taunting MVP, who promptly nailed him with the Playmaker. Most of the crowd seemed to regard this as sour grapes, which also indicates the rising popularity of The Miz. One can’t help but remember that MVP was far more successful as an arrogant heel than he has been lately, so maybe this would be a good feud to accomplish a double-turn, when the time is right.
Staying with the Raw brand, we moved from the US Championship to the WWE Championship, with a rare heel-heel match, Randy Orton versus Sheamus. Before the match, both members of Legacy separately found Randy to assure him of their loyalty and support, while casting doubts on that of their team-mate. Understandably, Randy grew tired of this and told Ted DiBiase that he did not want help from either of them in his match. The match itself was fine, and featured a few nice moments, such as a brawl outside the ring where Sheamus sent Orton into the ring-post and, as Orton staggered back, shoved him straight into the same post again. A very simple manoeuvre, but one that looked effective and made sense. Orton appeared to have the upper hand when Cody blindsided Sheamus in clear view of the referee. Although Orton hit the RKO on the Irishman, the ref called for the bell and Orton was disqualified.
After the match, Orton attacked Cody, to the delight of the crowd, and dealt with Ted in similar fashion when he came out to intercede on his partner’s behalf. A recovered Sheamus then levelled Orton with a bicycle kick and left the ring. Obviously, Orton had the crowd during this match but I had to agree with Jerry Lawler when he remarked that the audience were not as vocal in Orton’s support as he (or I) had expected. To be honest, I have heard Orton garner bigger pops when wrestling faces (and not just John Cena). Orton got more cheers for his post-match attacks than anything in the match. It seems clear now that Randy is turning face again and I do believe that that is what the crowd wants. However, he has built up a very distinctive in-ring style that I believe is more suited to a bad guy. To really go over as one of the good guys, although it would be a mistake to alter too much of his character, Orton needs to adopt a faster pace in the ring.
Next up was the conclusion to the “Piggy James” feud over the Women’s Title on Smackdown. I have enjoyed this feud a lot, more than any women’s feud I can remember for a long time. It’s the same formula as Miz and MVP – take two characters that can’t stand each other and give them a championship to fight over. Works every time. In this case, Women’s Champ Michelle McCool was being challenged by Mickie James, so, she decided to combat this threat by undermining the challenger’s confidence. For the last few weeks, McCool and her friend Layla (LayCool) have subjected James to increasingly nasty and brutal taunts regarding her weight. Many fans have taken offence at this, proving two things. One, that the issue is a good one since it clearly gets under people’s skin and two, that many wrestling fans seem to forget that it is the job of wrestling villains to be hateful, nasty and un-likeable. LayCool managed this very well. In this case, the match was extremely brief, which was not really a bad thing, since this story was not about the match, it was about retribution and vindication. Swiftly winning the championship (her fifth) with a typically brutal looking DDT, James was joined by the other baby-face women of Raw and Smackdown, led by her friend and ally Maria, bearing an enormous cake. As her friends held down LayCool, Mickie smashed the cake in their faces, gaining her final revenge. The two heels sold the humiliation beautifully, so this was a segment that was satisfying.
After that it was back to the business of world championships, specifically The Undertaker’s World Heavyweight Championship. Rey Mysterio, who has really been on fire for the last few months, was challenging the Deadman in a match that I was really looking forward to. The awesome video recap of their feud only heightened my anticipation. The match itself was, far and away, the best match of the night thus far, a classic case of little man with heart taking on dominating big man. Mysterio kept coming, ‘Taker kept swatting him down, Mysterio kept coming back again. The two men worked numerous and inventive counters and reversals and Undertaker did a wonderful job of selling Mysterio’s offensive moves. Finally, ‘Taker nailed the victory with The Last Ride but honestly, Mysterio came out of this defeat looking more credible than he did any of his world title victories a few years back. I would happily watch these two again.
Finally, then, The Royal Rumble Match itself, one of the most hotly anticipated matches of any year. At its worst, this match is always entertaining. This year, it was a long way from its worst. Many people complain nowadays that the prize for the Rumble, a shot at a title at Wrestlemania, makes the match more predictable, guaranteeing that only a handful of entrants have any chance of winning. So what? In any real sporting contest – be it a golf major, a tennis championship or whatever – only a handful of the entrants have a genuine chance of winning. The dream, however, is there for every entrant, however faint it may be. Moreover, the Rumble isn’t just about the winner. Done right, this match can elevate a number of guys, and that is exactly what this year’s Rumble did.
Firstly, we had CM Punk, who dominated the opening stages of this Rumble. Fair enough, Punk lasted only a few minutes and got nowhere near victory. The point was what he was allowed to do with his time. He eliminated five competitors personally and he underlined every aspect of his character by virtue of his little speeches in between waiting for opponents – his cowardice, his arrogance, his dishonesty and his skill. This was Punk’s fourth Rumble but it felt like his first as it was the first time he was in the match as a major star. Further, his elimination at the hands of Triple H, coming hot on the heels of their excellent match on Smackdown last week continues a potential feud that I would love to see played out further.
No one, with the possible exception of Matt Hardy and Zack Ryder, really came out of this match looking weaker than they had going in and almost every entrant was allowed to hit at least one finishing move on somebody, if not score any eliminations. Several guys were allowed to be extremely dominant, if only briefly, including Carlito and Kane. Beth Phoenix popped the crowd big-time when she eliminated the gigantic Great Khali with a kiss, in what has to be one of the greatest bits of booking I have ever seen. Nobody wants to see Khali main-event Wrestlemania but this allowed him to be taken out of the match while in no way diluting his aura as a dominant giant, gave the crowd a good laugh and gave Phoenix a major feather in her cap all in one moment. The feud of MVP and The Miz also continued to heat up. First, Miz regained his status as bad guy by blasting MVP in the back of the head with the US Title belt, before MVP could even get to the ring, then later, a recovered Porter eliminated both himself and Miz from the match with a clothesline, before they continued to fight on the outside. These two characters now really hate each other.
R-Truth did his cause a world of good by simultaneously eliminating both Mark Henry and The Big Show, which comes as a welcome addition to his recent victories over Chris Jericho and proves that he is moving in the right direction. And, of course, there is Shawn Michaels. HBK was both dominant and desperate in his quest to win the Rumble and challenge The Undertaker at Wrestlemania for the second year running. The moment when he eliminated his tag-team partner Triple H with a blindsided Sweet Chin Music underlined both his determination to win and the growing tension between DX. Once again, it also allowed Triple H to be eliminated while in no way detracting from his status as a dominant ass-kicker. When Michaels was himself eliminated by Batista, he played it beautifully, moving from disbelief to frustrated rage very quickly. Re-entering the ring, he super-kicked referee Charles Robinson, who was attempting to persuade him to leave, only to seemingly be overcome with remorse as he realised that he was reacting badly. This story is fascinating, and could go in many directions as yet.
But the ultimate story was, of course, the return of Edge. His shocking return from an injury that, we were told, might even keep him out of ‘Mania itself may have been reminsicient of John Cena’s 2008 victory but so what? Edge’s return shakes everything up and gives a whole host of new possibilities for ‘Mania. I also love the fact that he has opted to postpone his decision as to who he faces until after The Elimination Chamber in three weeks. The tension should only continue to rise. All in all, then, this was a cracking pay per view, with an excellent conclusion. We had both conclusions and beginnings on the show and, as The Road to Wrestlemania stretches out before us, it looks both exciting and unpredictable.
Push Me Pull You – Are the Right Guys on Top?
A quick search of the internet forum discussion topics is generally enough to illustrate that, these days, the favoured topic of debate among wrestling fans is that of “the push”. Generally, this is framed in one of two ways: firstly, that wrestler x is deserving of, but not receiving a push or that wrestler y is receiving, but not deserving of, the same. Lately, that second topic has generally concerned the sudden elevation of Sheamus to WWE Champion (“he’s being pushed too quickly” etc) while “under-pushed” wrestlers (in WWE) might include The Miz, Evan Bourne, Dolph Ziggler or a whole host of others. Even relatively high-profile wrestlers like Chris Jericho and CM Punk, darlings of the IWC as they are, are often regarded as not being pushed enough. Pushing the wrong guys seems to most WWE fans to be the biggest and most serious mistake the company makes and it is often hard to tell which is regarded as worse, under-pushing or over-pushing.
As far as Vince McMahon is concerned, he has always maintained that it is the fans who determine who gets pushed. If wrestler x is over with the fans then Vince will promote him. Many fans would disagree, saying that the reason that wrestler x is not over with the fans is simply that he has not been presented to them correctly. In short, while Vince argues that he pushes those who the fans wish to see, his critics argue that you cannot truly know whether or not the fans wish to see a wrestler until you have pushed him. So, all that said, who is right?
To be honest, both sides are over-simplifying somewhat here. Vince may say that the fans determine who gets a push but one cannot disregard the importance of a wrestlers’ initial presentation. If a wrestler spends three minutes a week being beaten like a red-headed stepchild by midcard talent and never being given the opportunity to speak, how likely are they to convince the fans that they deserve a push? Under these circumstances, could even talents like HBK have gotten over? In any case, it often seems like a rather lazy justification from Vince and his company that can be wheeled out at any time to deflect criticism. Don’t like what you’re getting? Well then, blame your fellow fans, that’s the message.
Then again, it’s all very well for fans to say “push this guy” but how should that be accomplished? On the rare occasions where Vince simply hotshots someone into a main event program, most recently with Sheamus, those same fans almost invariably tear him a new one! Sometimes, a wrestler may be very difficult to push, as in the case of Eric Young in TNA. Booked as a comedy wrestler for a long time, many fans (including Lance Storm, according to his most recent Q&A) now find it difficult or even impossible to accept him in a more serious role. Elevating talent cannot simply be accomplished through booking them to win high-profile matches. It is essential not only that the audience care about a character but also that they find him credible. Another factor that fans have to bear in mind when discussing pushes is the relative difficulty of assessing just how “over” a wrestler is in today’s market.
WWE often maintain that they have the best market research available, in the form of arenas full of outspoken fans, a statement that implies a certain degree of selective deafness on the part of WWE creative, who have frequently shown a willingness to ignore the reaction of the live crowd. However, the live crowd is by no means the only barometer of public opinion available to the WWE. First, one must consider the extent to which the crowd represent the opinions of the wider television audience. Secondly, there are other means of gauging wrestler popularity, such as merchandise sales, magazine sales and so on. Thirdly, it is difficult to gauge the extent to which any individual wrestler is responsible for such things as TV ratings and PPV buy-rates. Does the audience watch a WWE show for their favourite wrestlers, or for the overall package of talent on that show, for example? Deciding just who does and does not “draw money” in today’s marketplace is an extremely complex task.
We must also consider the extent to which the internet wrestling community are in step with the wider audience. The fact that many columnists such as myself might laud a particular wrestler and want to see him or her featured more prominently is not necessarily indicative of the mass audience’s feelings on the matter. We on the internet can often persuade ourselves that we are a bigger part of the audience than, in fact, we are. Constantly reading each other’s columns and opinions, we may think that there is near consensus on the talent and direction of a wrestler when, in fact, we represent only a small minority opinion. WWE Raw typically broadcasts to an audience of over five million people in the USA alone every week. How can we really be sure that the majority of those viewers share our grievances and frustrations?
The other difficulty is that elevating new talent often carries with it the risk of devaluing the existing talent. The most important factor in elevating someone is to give them credible, meaningful victories over credible talent. The worry for wrestling promoters is that, in doing so, they will dilute the appeal of a “proven draw”, with no guarantee that they will, in doing so, create a star whose appeal is as great, or greater, than that of the old guard. This was the trap that the old WCW fell into. By clinging on to the proven draws that they had, they allowed much of their best young talent to become frustrated and leave. When the Hogans, Pipers, Nashes et al began to lose their appeal, there was no one left to take their place.
In general, I believe that wrestling promotions exaggerate the danger to established talent of putting over new talent. Wrestling fans are extremely loyal and, once a wrestler has gained their respect and admiration, they do not easily let go of such a wrestler. A good example can be found by looking at the career of The Rock. Here was a wrestler of stupendous celebrity who was, nevertheless, frequently used to “give the rub” to rising talent, whether that meant Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit or The Hurricane. At no point did this ever affect his ability to draw money. The lessons, then, are these. The fact that a promotion like the WWE is not pushing our favourite wrestlers does not necessarily mean that they have got things wrong. However, once they do decide to push a guy, it is better that they do it too early, rather than too late. Once the audience are convinced that a wrestler is not “main-event material”, it might be impossible to ever get that momentum back. Giving a young guy a win over an established name will not, by and large, hurt the established wrestler but it may well be just what is required to move the youngster to the next level in the eyes of the fans.
The Monday Night Skirmish – Raw is Bret vs Hogan’s Impact
Now that the dust has settled and the results are in, it’s time to examine the events of Monday, January the 3rd, the most hotly anticipated day of pro wrestling that I can remember in quite some time. Ladies and gentlemen, in the corner to my right, weighing in at almost fifty years of impressive and frequently revised history, the undisputed champion of pro wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment! And, in the corner to my left, the challenger, the little federation that could, Total Non-stop Action! Who would win this Monday night showdown, the first that wrestling had seen since WCW was bought out in 2001? Both sides had, of course, wheeled out their big guns, with Hulk Hogan finally making the TNA debut he originally promised back in 2003, and Bret Hart making his first live appearance on WWE programming since 1997 when something or other happened, I forget the details.
To be honest, the aftermath of these shows is proving almost as fascinating as the build-up was. The two wrestling promotions demonstrated very different approaches on Monday and, perhaps unsurprisingly, fans are thoroughly divided on who was more successful. In terms of TV ratings, initially it seems that both companies have reasons to be cheerful. TNA are already reporting record ratings of over 2 million viewers, while it seems that Raw also enjoyed its most successful rating for some time. TNA achieved their success with a broadcast short on wrestling but long on star power, shocks and unpredictability. WWE went for a show that emphasized internal consistency and ongoing storylines but was arguably more predictable and “tame” than TNA’s offering. Both shows put considerable emphasis on the “historic” nature of the events unfolding. TNA made constant references to the competition, while WWE made no reference whatever to TNA, unless one counts Jericho’s mockery of Hulk Hogan’s poses during his match with DX.
Some time ago, I predicted that, as fans grow more used to the WWE’s PG content, the rift between TNA and WWE fans would begin to widen. I think that we are beginning to see the results of that now. Everywhere I look I see a clear division between fans over which of Monday night’s shows was better. It is not simply that people have their favourites; many people seem convinced that, not only was their favourite show better than the other, it was, in fact, no contest at all. Many of those who enjoyed Impact felt that Raw was just awful and vice versa. Personally, it is hard for me to give any definitive judgement, since Impact has yet to be shown in the UK and, even when it is, will not be aired in its entirety. Therefore, I have had to make do with written reports and a few clips that I have managed to see thanks to the miracle of the internet.
As far as Raw is concerned, I found it the most enjoyable Raw I have watched in some time; that, in itself, is hardly saying a great deal, however, as Raw has consistently been the weakest element of WWE programming at least since Backlash last year. My usual pattern of watching is to watch Smackdown every week without fail, catch ECW and Superstars if I can and ignore Raw. Then, I watch the WWE’s pay per view and usually watch the Raw the next night to see what fall-out there is from the matches I watched on ppv. However, generally this merely reminds me of why I don’t watch Raw and I immediately revert to ignoring it…until the next ppv. This Raw did not have that effect on me. I will watch again next week, which is, surely, the most important goal of episodic programming. We had some good wrestling, some genuine drama and, most shockingly, almost everything on this show made some kind of sense! I don’t expect that to last but here’s hoping.
Obviously, Bret’s interaction with Shawn Michaels at the top of the show was, by far, the most compelling aspect of the show for any long-time wrestling fan. WWE have done a good job of getting Bret, and his past issues, over with the younger elements of their audience, which was illustrated by the strength of the pop that Bret received. Granted, their hug may not have looked terribly sincere but I don’t really care. If this finally lays Montreal to rest, then I think it’s great. Elsewhere, we saw the, possibly unprecedented, sight of Vince McMahon remembering his past storylines and acting based on them. Kofi Kingston had a good match with Randy Orton, DX had a good match with JeriShow and Sheamus had a moderately entertaining match with Evan Bourne. Just on a side note, has ANYONE in history ever hit a more beautiful shooting star press than Bourne?
On the downside, we only saw Bret in three segments, although I did find all three entertaining. The Divas match between Maryse and Bella No1 was appalling. To be honest, though, that was all that I really found poor on the show. The four way for a shot at the US title was perfectly acceptable and set up a match going forward. I always, ALWAYS prefer that wrestlers earn shots at titles rather than just get them awarded. The tribute to Doctor Death was very nice, although it does raise the question as to why WWE could not give a similar tribute to Umaga. All in all, we got an entertaining show with one historic moment, a couple of nice matches and a couple of angles set up for future shows. Characters showed consistency and acted sensibly. That’s good enough for me.
So, as to Impact. Perhaps the biggest shock on this show was the appearance of Jeff Hardy. TNA are taking a hell of a chance on this one, given that Jeff’s drug charges remain unresolved and he will, indeed, face prosecution. Obviously, I hope that he is innocent and beats the rap but we will have to wait and see. What is perhaps more surprising, given that Jeff is now a three-time world champion, is that TNA, having taken the risk of signing him, have opted to use him in a relatively low-profile feud with Homicide. The appearance of The Nasty Boys will have pleased no one but The Nasty Boys while Scott Hall looks terrible these days. Does an NWO reunion really have anything to offer at this stage? As far as I can gather, TNA put together a show that challenged the viewer to keep up, delivered at least one really solid wrestling match (Styles/Angle) and attempted to offer many reasons for the viewer to keep watching. Who is the mystery assailant? What did Ric Flair want with AJ Styles? Will the NWO reform (even though they can’t use that name anymore)? And so on and so forth.
On the downside, the worries of many that Hogan’s arrival would simply lead to renewed pushes for older former WWE and WCW talents at the further expense of TNA’s existing talent roster have in no way been dispelled. The Nasty Boys vs Team 3D? Seriously? Hall gets more screen time than Daniels? Hell, Val Venis, gets more screen time than Daniels! Orlando Jones? The guy is competent, sure, but he was a never-was in WWE – making him a somebody in TNA merely underlines their clear inferiority complex. Ultimately, it’s as you were at TNA. Shows are messy and illogical but also unpredictable. The level of violence and “adult content” is much higher than that on WWE, so which show one prefers will largely depend on what one’s priorities are. TNA have to hope that a good chunk of Monday’s 2 million-odd viewers prize unpredictability and “adult content”. If they do, then they will be tuning in again which, hopefully, will allow talents like Styles, Joe, Daniels, Matt Morgan and Eric Young to take advantage of previously unprecedented levels of publicity.
So, finally, this Monday Night Skirmish is probably not going to re-ignite the Monday Night Wars. I’m not even sure it should. TNA should focus on being a successful show in their own right, not on going head to head with the WWE. What we have seen is proof that there is a potentially much bigger audience for wrestling out there than the two shows are currently attracting. The arrival of Bret and Hulk gives both companies an opportunity to revitalize wrestling in the US. Let’s hope that one or, preferably, both take advantage of it.
Has Hell Frozen Over? Is Bret Hart on his way back to WWE?
All of this week the IWC has been buzzing with the possibility, or even probability, that the impossible may have happened. Bret “the Hitman” Hart is believed to have signed a short-term contract with WWE. It’s true that recent years have seen a thawing of the ice between Bret and his former employers. His induction into the Hall of Fame, the release of his DVD set and so on, have certainly helped his relationship with Vince McMahon, even if his distaste for Shawn Michaels and Triple H seems to continue unabated. Even so, few wrestling fans would claim to be unsurprised by this and many more still remain in “I’ll believe it when I see it mode”. As yet, neither Bret nor WWE have announced any official confirmation of this rumour. Then again, neither of them have denied it either… In any case, some pretty clued in and reliable sources seem convinced that this is either a done deal, or very nearly so. What, then, does this mean?
The first question is simple: what does Bret bring to wrestling at this stage of his life? Bret is 52 years old, and his wrestling career was ended by severe concussion. Since then, he has suffered a stroke. Getting back in the ring would be extremely dangerous for him. Even if he could wrestle a match safely, it is highly unlikely that such a match would live up to the high standards he set for himself during his career. Yet, if Bret is not going to wrestle, what then? Hart was never known as a great talker during his wrestling career. One might think, therefore, that Hart has little to offer in an on-screen capacity. As a talent scout or trainer he would clearly be invaluable to any wrestling organization, but as on-air, non-wrestling talent?
Hart’s contract is believed to run from January to April and most internet commentators seem to believe that Hart will be wrestling, if only one match, at Wrestlemania. Some kind of street fight or brawl with Vince McMahon is favourite. Such a match would obviously be popular, although not necessarily the best way of utilising Hart, in my opinion. Although this type of match might be physically possible for Hart, it’s hard to see how it could be really good. The other thing that Hart is expected to do is to be the guest host of the January 4th edition of Raw. This, of course, is the edition of Raw that TNA have chosen to go head to head with, where they hope to use the debut of Hulk Hogan to make a big splash. Personally, I think WWE will slaughter them in a head to head ratings contest, Hogan or no Hogan, but there is no doubt that an appearance from Bret would certainly seal WWE’s victory. Finally, Bret is widely expected to get involved with The Hart Dynasty, the Smackdown based trio who are propelling his family’s legacy into the next generation.
For those who are unaware, The Hart Dynasty consists of Nattie Neidhart, billed as Natalya, the daughter of Bret’s long-time tag partner and close friend Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart and Bret’s sister, Ellie. Alongside Natalya are David Hart Smith, actually Harry Smith, son of the late British Bulldog and Bret’s sister Diana, and Tyson Kidd, billed as the last wrestler to be trained in the legendary Hart family “Dungeon” and Nattie’s long-time boyfriend. Although it is still relatively early in the young team’s career, they have already had some interaction with D-Generation X, that is Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Or, to put it another way, Bret Hart’s least favourite people in the wrestling business! Recently, DX defeated the Hart Dynasty in a tag team match on Raw. The two teams also clashed at the pay per view Bragging Rights. DX were the captains of Team Raw for the 7 on 7 tag match, while that Hart Dynasty were members of team Smackdown. During this match, which was won by Team Smackdown, the Harts got considerable offence in on both members of DX, particularly Shawn Michaels.
Long-term, involving Bret with the young Hart Dynasty makes the most sense. His wrestling days are past and should stay that way but if he can use his celebrity to help propel his nephew, his niece and her boyfriend to the next level then he will have achieved something valuable both for his own family and for WWE. The ideal outcome, for me, would be for The Hart Dynasty to defeat DX for the tag titles at Wrestlemania, with Bret in the Hart’s corner and, if possible, Vince in the corner of DX. Whether DX would be willing to put the youngsters over in such a big way is dubious, although their interaction with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase earlier this year shows that they are willing to put young guys over these days. Plus, the WWE is all about advancing young talent at the moment. However, one cannot forget that there is real bad feeling between Bret and DX. Would any of them allow that bad feeling to trump their professionalism, at this stage of their lives? Who knows?
There’s no doubt that Bret Hart can, in the short term, grab WWE some ratings and might, in the long-term, help advance the careers of some young wrestlers. However, there is another thing that the company can get out of the association and that is goodwill. While fans remain very much split on the rights and wrongs of Montreal and Bret, Shawn and Vince’s actions therein, there is no doubt that many fans believe that WWE have not done right by Vince. A short but positive TV run for Bret would go a long way, if not all of the way, towards laying that to rest, which I’m sure the whole company would appreciate. I’m sure Shawn could stand never to hear “you screwed Bret” chants again, as well! This sort of closure is also, I think, what Bret is looking for. Between the sourness of his exit from WWE after Montreal, and the sadness of his concussion-induced exit from WCW, and wrestling as a whole, it seems as if Bret’s wrestling career never had a satisfactory end. To an extent, his Hall of Fame induction made up for that, but I feel that Bret would like one last run on TV in order to go out from the business in a positive manner.
That’s why I see DX putting a Bret-assisted Hart Dynasty over as the perfect end to this. It would go the longest possible way to burying every hatchet. I don’t for one minute suppose that Bret, Shawn and Hunter will ever be close friends, or see eye to eye on a lot of subjects again but, by putting over the Harts, Shawn and Hunter would be doing their bit to mend fences and be doing what is right for business. I’d love to see that and so, I suspect, would many others.
R.I.P. Eddie Fatu
There is perhaps no family so intimately connected with wrestling as the Anoa’i. Their family tree reads like a who’s who of pro wrestling and it is with sadness and sympathy that the thoughts of the wrestling world are turned to them, after the tragic passing of Eki “Eddie” Fatu, known to millions of wrestling fans as Umaga, on Friday. Aged just 36, Fatu appears to have suffered a heart attack at home, followed by a second in hospital.
If anyone can be said to have been destined for a career in wrestling, it would have been Eddie Fatu. His uncles, Afa and Sika Anoa’i, attained great success as the tag team The Wild Samoans in the 70s and 80s. They considered High Chief Peter Maivia to be their uncle, thus connecting them to Rocky Johnson and his son, The Rock. Eddie’s older brothers, Sam and Solofa Jr found fame as The Tonga Kid and Rikishi respectively, while his cousin Rodney became a WWE Champion in the mid-nineties as Yokozuna. His cousins Reno and Matt are also successful professional wrestlers, not to mention the fact that WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka is also related to the family by marriage.
Eddie first came to national prominence in 2002 as one half of the tag team Three Minute Warning, under the name Jamal. His cousin Matt, wrestling under the name Rosey, was his tag partner and the pair initially acted as enforcers for then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. When verbally berating someone, Bischoff would frequently work the words “three minutes” into his speech, at which point he would interrupt himself, saying “did I just hear myself say three minutes”, at which point Rosey and Jamal would emerge to give the hapless individual a severe beating. Frequently, this beating would conclude with Jamal delivering a splash from the top rope which, given his 350lb frame, was a highly impressive move visually.
After just under a year, Eddie was released from his contract. At the time, rumours circulated on websites such as Slash Wrestling had it that the team were frequently working very “stiff”, which is to say that they were not protecting their opponents well enough. According to the same rumours, Eddie’s attitude and commitment to the business were not all they should have been. Regardless of the truth of these rumours, Eddie stayed in wrestling and soon turned up in TNA, teaming with fellow Samoan Sonny Siaki. However, this team did not last long before Eddie had moved on again, this time to All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Eddie spent over a year in Japan, mostly wrestling in tag teams and began to gain a reputation as a good “big man”. By the end of 2005, WWE had re-signed him and, in April 2006, he returned to Raw, now repackaged as Umaga and accompanied by a manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada. Many fans and observers initially took shots at the WWE, seeing this new gimmick as a shot at/rip off of TNA’s Samoa Joe. In point of fact, Umaga was a gimmick that harked back to the earlier days of WWE and was far more old-school than the image Samoa Joe presented. Moreover, sneering comments about the new gimmick quickly vanished as it became apparent that Umaga was getting over and getting over fast with the vast majority of fans. WWE presented Umaga as an unstoppable, almost uncontrollable savage and fans, myself included, ate it up. The initial criticisms soon gave way to praise, with many internet wrestling writers commenting on how much Eddie’s stint in Japan had improved him as a wrestler.
Umaga worked a series of feuds with Ric Flair, D-Generation X and Kane, before taking on the ultimate opponent, John Cena, the WWE Champion. At New Year’s Revolution 2007, Cena handed Umaga his first pinfall loss. Nevertheless, Umaga had looked strong in defeat. He had dominated most of the match, only for Cena to surprise him with a roll-up pin. The match was not terribly well received but a re-match was inevitable. When it was signed for The Royal Rumble, it was announced that the match would be a Last Man Standing match. Umaga’s manager, Estrada, taunted Cena, saying that there was no way Cena could get Umaga to stay down for a count of ten. This match was truly outstanding and will surely be remembered as the high point of Eddie Fatu’s career. Cena won when he choked Umaga out with a loosened ring rope but the real story of the match was that the reputations of both men had been greatly enhanced.
From there, however, it seemed to me that Umaga’s career began to lose focus. For whatever reason, just as he seemed poised to take the next step to the top tier of the business, it didn’t quite happen. His role at Wrestlemania remained a high-profile one as he acted as Vince McMahon’s champion in the McMahon/Trump feud. The association with the McMahons did not work for me, as it led to Umaga’s separation from Estrada. The two had worked extremely well together and, I think, should have stayed together.
Even so, Umaga stayed with the WWE until June of this year and, while he may not have quite been at the top of the card, he was always involved in high profile spots and there is nothing to say that he might not have gone still further. His final feud in the WWE was on Smackdown with CM Punk. However, on the 8th of June, Fatu was released from the company, reportedly after refusing to go into rehab. Since then, Eddie Fatu wrestled on Hulk Hogan’s recent tour of Australia, working with the former Mr Kennedy, Ken Anderson. The tour only finished on November the 28th. No one could have imagined that, less than a week later, Eddie Fatu would have passed away.
In mourning Eddie Fatu, we as wrestling fans mourn the loss of an athletic and highly skilled big wrestler who achieved considerable success and had the ability to achieve even more, had he been spared. Nevertheless, we must not forget that the real loss lies not with us, the wrestling fans, but with his family and loved ones, most of all, his wife and children. All we can really do for them is make sure they know that he did make a difference. We will miss him.
Sadly, I must also address something else while on a subject that is, frankly, painful enough already. Hardly had the news of Fatu’s passing been announced before certain people were commenting, in the most heartless terms imaginable, on Fatu’s Wellness Policy violations. Not only is this utterly insensitive – do these people not imagine that his children might go online to see what people thought of their father? – it is rampant speculation. We do not know, what, if any, role in his death Fatu’s earlier Wellness issues played so any such speculation is premature. Moreover, what does it matter? The death of a 36 year-old man is a tragedy, regardless of what role his own actions played in it. I won’t name any names, because I don’t wish to give any of these heartless creatures publicity, but some of the things I have read make me ashamed to think that anyone might think I have something in common with these people, since we are all wrestling fans.
“No pity, no sorrow” wrote one particularly foul individual who should be thoroughly ashamed of himself. Have these people never done anything to jeopardise their own health? Got roaring drunk one night, for example. Would they want their own death to be greeted in so insensitive a manner? I understand that people wish to prevent similar tragedies by pointing out the mistakes made by the dead so that the living will not repeat them but, if there are any lessons to be drawn from this affair, they can surely be drawn in more kindly and sympathetic manner. Anway, enough of that. The bottom line is this: Eddie Fatu has died. As a fan, I will miss him. As a human being, my condolences go to his family.
The Irish Curse
The second part of my feature on Vince McMahon will be up here soon but, in the meantime, I thought I’d just say a few words about Sheamus. It seems to me that people are being very hard on the WWE’s decision to give Sheamus a shot at John Cena’s WWE Championship at TLC this month. Ever since Triple H let slip that he has been working out with the Irishman, people have been looking out for a conspiracy. What’s really baffling is that everyone has been in agreement for some time that the WWE need to be creating more stars, which means giving opportunities to new people. The moment they do just that with Sheamus, the same people instantly cry foul and say that WWE are elevating the wrong talent! Who’d want a job in WWE creative, eh? Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don’t!
I’ll admit, I’m prejudiced in favour of Sheamus. I’ve followed Sheamus O’Shaughnessy for years, ever since he was in Irish Whip Wrestling. I can well remember watching him wrestle a young Drew Galloway (now McIntyre) and thinking that these guys would one day be stars in the WWE. I followed Sheamus’ career through Florida, celebrated when he was called up to ECW and was ecstatic when he was moved to Raw.
Part of the problem, I suppose, is that Sheamus has got his opportunity so quickly that a lot of people don’t quite know what he is about yet. Obviously big and powerful, Sheamus is also very thoughtful about his role in the ring and his character. He can work as both babyface and heel although, like many, he seems to prefer the vicious bully villain character he currently has. You may have heard Michael Cole say on Raw last week that Sheamus “likes to pattern himself after the ancient Celtic warriors”. This was not just a throwaway line. On the British and Irish indie scene, Sheamus used to call himself the Irish Curse. He created a whole mythology, which you can read on his official website, about himself being an ancient Irish warrior, cursed to immortality and constantly battling an evil spirit creature called Bawn which was trying to possess him. I myself contributed a chapter to this story, in which Sheamus battled perhaps Ireland’s most famous hero, Cuchulain, the Hound of Ulster.
http://www.sosofficial.com/sosmyth02.shtml
The above link will take you straight to my chapter of the Sheamus myth, but I urge you to read chapter one if you’re interested as well. It should give you an idea of what Sheamus is all about. You can also listen to his old entrance music from Irish Whip Wrestling and find out lots about his earlier career. Now, bring on Cena. Altogether now, “Somebody’s gonna get punked out!”
Time to Play the Game
Of all the superstars of wrestling, few attract more controversy than Triple H. For years he has been held up by his supporters as being one of the best, if not the best wrestlers in WWE. His detractors have claimed that he only owes his position to his marriage, that he uses his power to hold down other wrestlers and even that he has killed the business. He has, for much of his career, been involved in skits and angles that expose the business, or use insider terms and yet he is known to be a student of the business with a thorough understanding and appreciation of what has gone before him. In short, everyone in wrestling, whether promoter, wrestler or fan, has an opinion on Triple H and those opinions cover every imaginable base. What then, is the truth about the man who is arguably the most powerful and influential wrestler in the business today? The controversy with Triple H really starts with his arrival in the then World Wrestling Federation. Soon after joining the company in 1995 he became close friends with Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall, better known as The Kliq. By joining this group, Triple H was setting himself up for criticism and suspicion but also gaining opportunities. Depending on who you ask, The Kliq were either a shadowy group of opportunists, manipulating Vince McMahon in order to benefit themselves and harm their rivals, or a group of friends whose enthusiasm for the business had given them a good relationship with Vince. That The Kliq had Vince’s ear was unquestionable. To what extent, whether they were the only ones and how they used and benefited from this are the questions. The other question that Triple H’s critics pose is this: did Triple H deliberately target The Kliq as the group to join in order to further one’s career? After all, they were notorious party animals, famous for their excessive lifestyle, while Triple H himself was a bodybuilder for years and just did not seem the type to get carried away in that manner. So, was it really just a shared love of wrestling that made them friends, or was the young Triple H smart and devious enough to deliberately worm his way into the most influential group on the roster? Given the fact that the friendship between these men has endured for many years, despite all kinds of ups and downs, it seems unkind to try and suggest that their bond was anything other than sincere. Whatever the case, the fact is that they did become friends and Triple H was, therefore, in an influential position. Moreover, isn’t it only natural that a young wrestler entering the company is going to naturally gravitate towards more established and experienced wrestlers? Of course, there was a downside to being the junior member of such a group, one illustrated in the now infamous “curtain call” incident in 1996. By this point, Nash and Hall were about to go WCW and, in their last match they faced Shawn and Hunter at Madison Square Garden in a non-televised show. After the match the four friends embraced, thereby breaking character and “exposing the business” to the live audience. As Shawn and Hunter have told this story, this was intended to be nothing more than a fond goodbye between friends. They had, apparently, cleared it with Vince beforehand and, as far as exposing the business went, well, this was 1996 not 1984 after all. Afterwards, however, some unknown other people got in Vince’s ear and persuaded Vince that what The Kliq had done was disgraceful and that they should be punished. Since Nash and Hall had now gone, and Shawn was the WWF Champion, that basically meant that Hunter was going to be punished. According to Hunter, Vince told him that he was “going to have to eat sh*t and learn to like the taste of it” for some indefinite period. Hunter’s response was that he would endure whatever he had to, as long as Vince assured him that, once his punishment was over, the issue was done with. It wouldn’t be brought up again and Hunter wouldn’t find himself dogged by this time and time again. Vince assured him that, so far as he was concerned, the matter was already done with and thus, a planned push for Triple H was put on hold for about a year. For example, Triple H had been scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring, but that honour now went to Steve Austin (clearing the way for “Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass” and therefore possibly saving the company from extinction) and Hunter would have to bide his time. In later years, Triple H has often referred to this as a blessing in disguise, insisting that, at that stage of his career he was not ready to be featured that strongly, and that this “punishment” actually ensured he was ready when his turn came around. I would have to agree with him, particularly as this supposed “punishment” was hardly as serious as one might imagine. For most of the following year Hunter was still featured prominently on television, briefly gained the services of Mr Perfect as manager (before Perfect left for WCW) and even won the Intercontinental Title in October of 1996. To me, therefore, it seems more that Hunter’s push was slowed rather than stopped. Besides which, wrestling is a fluid business. It’s all very well for Vince to say “I’m punishing this guy” but if said guy is getting over with crowd then he’s getting over and you may as well go with it. The next major stage of Hunter’s career was, of course, the formation of Degeneration X with Shawn Michaels and Chyna (and, briefly, Rick Rude as Shawn’s “insurance policy”), which was another of the pivotal factors in the arrival of the “Attitude Era”. DX have often been compared to WCW’s NWO and, given that two of The Kliq formed DX, Nash and Hall were two of the founders of the NWO and Sean Waltman was the only man, prior to WWE’s takeover of WCW, to work in both groups, it is hardly surprising. In point of fact, there are as many differences as similarities between the two groups but one definite connection that both groups had was a willingness to blur the lines between story and reality and, therefore, to frequently run the risk of exposing the business. Now, this was, of course, the late nineties and it was already years since Vince McMahon had taken the decision to “break kayfabe” and publicly admit that professional wrestling was a worked sport. Nevertheless, at that time the business still had not, and many would argue still has not, come to terms with exactly what that meant and how far one should now go in this new era. The Kliq were, though perhaps they did not realise it at the time, in the vanguard of a new group that also included, for example, Vince Russo, who wanted to test the boundaries of the new freedoms and restrictions that breaking kayfabe had instituted. In that sense, they were either iconoclasts or visionaries (or both) but, either way, they got right up the noses of a lot of more old-school people within the business. Regardless of what people thought of DX, and Vince himself was often appalled by their antics, they were a massive hit with the audience. Triple H himself has often said that, at that time, they were “the hottest thing in the business not named Steve Austin” and it is certainly true that, along with the Rattlesnake, along with The New Hart Foundation’s war with America and along with the macabre soap opera that saw Kane introduced to the Undertaker’s back story, they were one of the crucial building blocks of the era of Attitude. It was inevitable, in this era of shifting fan loyalties that DX would come to be popular even as they were supposed to be booed. It only made sense when, after Shawn Michaels’ apparent retirement after Wrestlemania 14, a new Degeneration X became babyfaces. Another important change had taken place, too. Triple H was now a leader. By now, Hunter was a former European and Intercontinental Champion, as well as King of the Ring. His rise had been steady and showed no signs of abating. Critics often say that he was “shoved down the fans’ throats” but, really, this is hardly a justifiable accusation. Triple H joined WWE in 1995, the same year as Steve Austin. By Wrestlemania 14 Austin was champion but he is regarded as a man who earned his spot while Triple H was forced on the fans. Even if one accepts what appears to be a double standard here, on the grounds that Austin had more experience in the business overall, what of The Rock? He joined WWE after Triple H, with less experience, and was made Intercontinental Champion almost immediately. If ever a man was “forced on the fans” it was The Rock. Yet, by the vast majority, he is now rightly regarded as an all-time great and, if people reference his difficult early years at all, it is merely to point out the skill and charisma he displayed in turning heel. In point of fact, all three of these men, along with several others, rose quickly during these years for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because WWE was in a life or death struggle with WCW and the company were therefore willing to try new ideas and new people. Secondly, and very simply, because they were over with the fans! If you don’t believe me, get some tapes or DVDs and watch them back. Triple H was getting a great response from the crowd back in 1998 as a bayface and an even better response in 1999 as a heel. It seems to me that, ultimately, Triple H has been judged harshly for not being as over as Austin and The Rock, two of the three biggest stars in the company’s history, along with Hogan at his peak, rather than receiving the praise he deserves for being as popular as he was in his own right. Since then, of course, it is his marriage to Stephanie McMahon that has cast the biggest shadow over his career. According to his detractors, all of his success since can be attributed directly to this relationship, this despite the fact that he was already a main-event wrestler before said relationship began. Furthermore, he is accused of using his influence to sabotage the career of anyone who might threaten his own spot on the roster, to the great detriment of the company he works for. Triple H himself has always maintained that he would happily give up any creative power he may have if it were for the good of the company, and that he will step away from the limelight whenever his father-in-law, the man who wields the real power, tells him to. However, he also maintains that now is not the time for that, as the company does not have the star power to sustain such a loss. So, what is the truth? It is certainly true that, for the last decade or so Triple H has enjoyed a vast run of success at the top, winning no less than thirteen world championships. It is also true that in the early part of this century the WWE lost a lot of star power, with Steve Austin and Mick Foley more or less retiring and The Rock leaving for Hollywood. It is also true that these men have not been adequately replaced, partly due to the deaths of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, plus the defection of Kurt Angle to TNA. The idea that Triple H will not put people over is an arguable point. One can point to Triple H’s feud with Batista, some of his matches with Jeff Hardy, his Wrestlemania submissions to Benoit and Cena, even the recent DX-Legacy feud and say, sure, of course Triple H puts people over. Or, one could look at feuds with, say, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner and Hunter’s first feud with Randy Orton as evidence that Triple H does nothing but squash people and make them look bad. It should surely be obvious that to go entirely one way or the other is to present a jaundiced view. The real key, of course, is who makes these decisions. Hunter’s critics assert that he is the one deciding to hold down talent and that any examples to the contrary are merely rare examples of times he was over-ruled. Without being part of the creative meetings, how can we possibly know? All we know for certain is this – the WWE is Vince McMahon’s company and the buck for every decision stops with him. If Hunter uses his influence to maximise his own position, why then he’s only doing what countless other wrestlers have done in the past. Moreover, Triple H managed to carve out a main-event spot for himself in an era when Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were at the height of their popularity. I sincerely doubt that he is at all worried that anyone might ever threaten his spot in this day and age. The other factor that needs to be remembered is that, these days, the WWE is unwilling to take chances. As a company, their inclination is to stick with a safe bet, a proven draw like Triple H, rather than gamble on an unknown commodity. The spur of desperation once provided by the threat of Ted Turner’s millions is no longer present and so WWE will not take desperate gambles. It is not just Triple H’s role but WWE’s entire main-event picture, especially on Raw, that has become static and unchanging. It’s interesting to note that John Cena and The Undertaker, perhaps the only men booked even stronger than Hunter these days, are rarely, if ever, accused of refusing to put people over. In their case, the blame is almost always put on Vince and creative for not using them to elevate new talent. The mere fact that they’re not married to a McMahon does not mean, however, that they have no influence over Vince. What we see hear is a double standard in operation, something that I hope I have shown is nothing new in Hunter’s career. Finally, does Triple H deserve his success? Well, as I’ve said before, it’s difficult to provide a fair, objective view when one is writing about such a subjective issue. There are, and always have been, some fans who consider Triple H a dull competitor and/or a dull speaker. These are entirely valid assertions. Triple H’s ring style is not spectacular enough for the tastes of some, too repetitive for others. His speaking style is realistic, rather than caricatured promo style of many of wrestling’s great speakers. Personally, I have always found his work to be extremely entertaining. Many of my favourite WWE matches have involved Triple H and I have found him to be convincing as both a hero and a villain, believable both when intense and when humorous. For the most part, the crowd have always been into him and his fellow wrestlers tend to speak highly of his work. For my part and, I would guess the majority of fans, yes, Triple H does deserve his success. Maybe we might quibble over the precise number of title reigns but, by and large, I think most would agree that Triple H is a bone fide main event player.
Raw Last Night
For anyone who is wondering, the Englishman getting battered by Sheamus on Raw last night was indeed LDN British Champion David DeVille. What a month the man is having!
Looking Back On, And Ahead To, Survivor Series
This month sees the broadcast of the 23rd annual Survivor Series, the WWE’s second longest serving pay per view. Over the years the Survivor Series has played host to a tremendous amount of excitement, drama and controversy, including some of the most memorable moments in the promotion’s history. Part of the event’s appeal, of course, is rooted in its unique themed matches, the elimination tag matches that the show was originally all about. Teams of four or five battle each other, with wrestlers eliminated by pinfall or submission until one team is entirely eliminated, leaving the survivors victorious. Indeed, the first five Survivor Series’ consisted solely of such matches, although the fifth featured a novel twist whereby the survivors of all the undercard matches formed two teams for one final elimination tag match. Since then, the traditional Survivor Series matches have varied in popularity, sometimes making up the bulk of the card, sometimes reduced to only one match. Only twice, in 1998 and 2002, has a Survivor Series taken place with no elimination tag matches at all on the card.
The first Survivor Series was designed to follow up on the success of Wrestlemania III, earlier that year. After the enormous success of Hulk Hogan’s clash with Andre the Giant, it only made sense to continue that story and so the main event was set as Hogan’s team vs Andre’s team. With King Kong Bundy and The One Man Gang on his side, Andre’s team was certainly intimidating in size. In the event they would prove too much for the good guys. The first Survivor Series was also notable for the inclusion of a ten-team match, where two teams composed of five tag teams fought each other. In this match, since each individual was a member of a tag team, the winning team still only had to score five pinfalls to win; once a man was eliminated, his tag team partner was eliminated as well.
One of the most important legacies of the Survivor Series came at the fourth event, in 1990, when The Undertaker made his WWE debut. Introduced as part of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team, ‘Taker made an immediate impact, eliminating not only Koko B.Ware but also opposing team captain Dusty Rhodes. ‘Taker himself was only eliminated by count-out when he continued to stalk Rhodes up the ramp after eliminating him. While Undertaker’s debut remains part of WWE folklore, however, most WWE fans would probably rather forget that this show also saw the introduction of The Gobbledy-Gooker! For those of you fortunate enough to have missed this, this was poor Hector Guerrero dressed in a novelty turkey costume. In the build-up to the show, a huge egg had been shown on WWE programming, with announcers frequently wondering what was in it. The moment when the egg hatched was quite possibly the biggest anti-climax in wrestling history!
1992 saw the first casket match in WWE history, while 1994 featured a guest appearance by Chuck Norris. However, by far the most notorious event in the history of the entire WWE, never mind the Survivor Series, was the 1997 event. This, of course, was the event that included the Montreal screw-job, which in all honesty has been written about more than enough already. This was obviously one of the most pivotal moments in the history of professional wrestling and it also signified a new identity for Survivor Series itself. The following year saw the first time that Survivor Series did not feature any elimination tag matches. In order to maintain the “survival” theme, a single elimination tournament called the Deadly Game was held to crown a new WWE champion. In the final match, The Rock defeated Mankind in a re-creation of the previous year’s screw-job. It was the first evidence of a (possibly rather unhealthy) fixation with Montreal on the part of Vince McMahon.
The 1999 event was most notable for the hit-and-run attack on Steve Austin, which led to The Big Show’s championship win later that night. After two screw-jobs and one case of what was basically attempted murder, Survivor Series had acquired the reputation of a pay per view where something bad always happened. The following year, this theme was played up heavily by the announce team in the run-up to the show, particularly as Steve Austin was back and gunning for revenge on Triple H, who had earlier been unmasked as the man behind the previous year’s hit-and-run. Late on in the show Triple H got into a car, apparently intending to run Austin down again, only for Austin to pick the car up with a crane and drop it from a considerable height. Once again, something terrible had happened at the Survivor Series.
This new identity was short-lived, however. The 2001 Survivor Series became the climax of the disappointing WCW/ECW Invasion angle. The one and only traditional elimination match here was the Winner Take All match in which Vince’s Team WWE took on Shane & Stephanie’s Team Alliance. Although the storyline as a whole had been a great disappointment, taken in isolation this was an extremely enjoyable match. However, with the waning use of traditional Survivor Series match-ups and the fact that storylines like the invasion weren’t around every year, Survivor Series seemed to be in danger of becoming just another pay per view, differentiated from the other monthly shows only by its name. 2002 saw another show without elimination tag matches, although the first use of the elimination chamber kept something of the “survival” theme running.
Since then, the elimination chamber has been moved to No Way Out and the traditional matches have been reinstated, with between one and three of them taking place at every Survivor Series since 2003. This year, it will be interesting to see if the concept is maintained. As yet, only three matches have been confirmed for the show that will take place on the 22nd of November. John Cena will defend his WWE Championship against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat match, while The Undertaker defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho and The Big Show in another Triple Threat. The hook here is that both champions are defending their titles against teams in matches that are supposedly every man for himself. The other match is Batista versus Rey Mysterio, continuing the feud that began at Bragging Rights.
With so few matches set, it’s hard to make predictions. I’m going to back Cena to come out on top in Raw’s main event but not with any great confidence. Mainly, I think that the Raw title picture needs some stability after the way Orton and Cena have been swapping the belt around, so that’s why I’m tipping the champ to retain. I’d love to see Shawn turn heel in this one, as that would really shake things up on Raw but I just don’t see it happening. I’m also tipping Undertaker to retain his title, although I’m not sure how this will affect Jericho and Big Show’s run as Unified Tag Champions. If ‘Taker does lose, I expect it Show to be the guy who takes it. His deal with Teddy Long to get this title shot could all play into the Vince versus The Undertaker angle that seems to be slowly brewing on Smackdown.
As for Batista, he has to win over Rey or, failing that, give him the beating of a lifetime. Batista’s heel turn seems to have really worked well thus far, so it would make no sense to shut down his momentum this quickly. What else can we expect? I’m guessing that Kofi Kingston leads a team against Randy Orton. Another Intercontinental Title shot seems to be on the horizon for Dolph Ziggler but I wonder if we will also see a Team Ziggler vs Team Morrison bout this time around. Michelle McCool is assembling a team to face a team led by Mickie James. This one will be somewhat bizarre if the teams include women from both Raw and Smackdown, since the two brands were at each other’s throats just last month, but could be fun, as long as the WWE restrict it to the women who can actually wrestle. Beyond that, who knows? That would be six matches, which might well be enough, but it really would be nice for ECW to get on this card. I’d say Team Christian versus Team Regal would be a match well worth making.
The Rewards of Being a Wrestling Fan
The question of why people watch wrestling is one that I have addressed before. Closely bound up with, but nevertheless not quite the same as, that question is that of what we get out of the experience. What does wrestling give to the wrestling fan? On an immediate level, the answer is obvious. Wrestling, like any other action-based entertainment, provides a visceral thrill, an excitement that is all about getting the heart racing and the blood pumping. These days, we also expect it to give us a few chuckles and, hopefully, some surprises. On another level, though, we watch, like sports fans, not just for instant thrills but also for the longer-term satisfaction of seeing our favourite wrestlers achieve success.
Almost all sports fans follow favourite teams or competitors, celebrating individual victories, but also looking forward to longer-term triumphs, namely, trophies. Wrestling fans are no different; almost all of us anticipate our favourite wrestlers winning championships or one-off tournaments such as the Royal Rumble or King of the Ring. Of course, most of the time we are disappointed, which is why the favoured refrain of sports fans is “there’s always next year” but, in wrestling, there is one very important difference. In sports, when our favourite player or team loses that’s simply the way it goes. On the day, they were outplayed, out-enthused or simply unluckier than their opponents. We are disappointed, sure, but we simply have to live with that disappointment and wait for our next chance. In wrestling, however, when our favourites lose we know precisely who to blame. Someone has made a decision that that match will not go our way, whether it be Vince McMahon, Vince Russo or whoever.
Perhaps that is why wrestling often seems to arouse such anger in some of its fans. With a real focus for us to aim our disappointment at, we can vent our spleens in a way that simply wouldn’t make sense in “real” sports. And people do get angry, so angry that every so often, Jim Ross is moved to ask people why they don’t just stop watching if the show bothers them so much. The answer is, of course, that, like the sports fans, we still retain that hope for next time. If one is a John Cena fan then Summerslam may well have been a disappointment but there’s always Breaking Point to look forward to. If one is a fan of another wrestler, well, there’s still another pay per view after that where said wrestler may get the opportunity we crave. We may be furious with what wrestling is giving us right now, but we keep watching in the hope that things will turn around in our favour soon.
This marks (no pun intended) a very real divide between those in the business of pro wrestling and those who watch it. For the wrestlers and the bookers championships are, quite rightly, props. However, they only have value as props because we, as fans, emotionally invest in them. That emotional investment means that we do get frustrated and angry when we feel that the wrong people have the championships. Indeed, that is the whole point of heel champions; we watch to see them lose their title to someone more deserving. What makes the business much more frustrating, however, is the situation where a wrestler we feel deserves to be a champion is consistently denied the opportunity to compete for championships.
In sports like football, rugby, cricket, baseball, basketball and so on, we have unlimited scope for dreams. Even if our team is not in the elite echelon of our sport, they will still have trophies and glory to aim for within their own tier. Moreover, we can always imagine that one day, they will get there, that one day our team will take the field for the Superbowl, or the Challenge Cup Final, or whatever the showpiece event for our chosen sport is. There’s always next year, and an endless stream of years after that. In wrestling, it’s easy to believe that some guys will never get the chance. Many guys never do. Al Snow was a capable and talented grappler, but he never wrestled for the WWE Championship. Most likely, he didn’t really care that much, either. The goal of most wrestlers is not to win championships, but to work, to entertain, to captivate, to be on TV. Championships are simply angles for fans to get excited over. Get excited we do, however, and that is why we constantly complain and argue about guys’ “spots” on the show.
It’s a fair bet, for example, that Kane is perfectly happy with his spot in WWE, and has been for years. He is consistently featured in high-profile TV segments, with frequent pay per view bouts and plenty of merchandising. He’s had a starring role in a WWE movie, his own DVD set, magazine covers and who knows what else. Yet he has a legion of devoted fans that would love nothing better than to see him be a world champion once again and feel that the WWE have somehow undervalued him by not giving him such a title run since 1998. To me, one of the few wrestlers who really understood the fans’ mindset on this matter was Bret Hart, and it’s something that many within the business have mocked and derided him for.
Hart’s detractors have frequently presented him as a mark, a man who believed his own hype but I believe that the truth is that he simply understood how much his championships meant to his fans. When our favourite wrestlers win championships, we win them with them. Very little can compare to the thrill of seeing your favourite wrestler win the ultimate prize in a hard-fought, back and forth and unpredictable contest. Let’s face it, if we didn’t mark out for championships there wouldn’t be a wrestling business. It seems a little strange, therefore, when people within the business dismiss our grievances over who holds the titles as somehow irrelevant. We simply want to hold on to that dream that the ultimate success can, one day, come to our favourite wrestlers.
On WWE Raw that dream has, lately, become very faint and distant, unless you are a fan of Triple H, John Cena or Randy Orton. So thoroughly have these three dominated the title picture on the WWE’s flagship show that many fans have begun to express doubt that anyone else will ever be champion again on the red brand, as the Q&A section of JR’s website and the numerous ICW columns slating the three wrestlers in question attest. To an extent, we simply need to display a little more patience as fans. After all, no one in 2003 would have believed you if you had told them that, before the decade was out, Jeff Hardy would be a 3-time world champion in the WWE. By 2001, many believed that the Undertaker’s championship days were over, a victim of his age, injuries and the “over without the belt” booking philosophy that is so often allowed to get out of hand within wrestling. Since then, he’s doubled his world title count.
There’s no hard and fast rule about when wrestlers should enter the main event picture, if they are ever going to. Some guys win their first championship double quick (Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Kurt Angle) while others spend ten years or more on TV before it happens (Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero). Fans of Shelton Benjamin certainly need not give up hope yet! Even so, it would be nice if the creative minds behind wrestling reminded themselves that titles really matter to fans. A brief title reign for Kane may not have mattered much to him and may not have made the best business sense but it would have made a lot of fans very happy. And happy fans are a lot less likely to ask themselves why they bother watching and turn off the show than unhappy fans.
Marshall Law 