Hello wrestling fans and welcome back to The Trademark Rants. For those expecting a continuation of my revelations of faith, I’d hate to disappoint you, but that time has passed. For those hoping for me to continue my witness in this column, don’t lose hope because I’ve shifted directions. The time for me to speak of other things has come. It doesn’t mean that my faith is gone. I’m still trying to find an outlet, or, in the words of fellow columnist Nubis, a “proper outlet” – whatever that’s supposed to mean – for my faith. For those confused by what I’m saying now, feel free to refer back to my past three columns for a better understanding. Anyway, the time has come to move on, and therefore, we move on. Simple.
So, what should I do now with this forum that I just happen to have? Hmmm… well, there was this little thing called “WrestleMania” recently, so it would be easy to just talk about that, but, of course, that’s what everyone is talking about. And the long-time readers will note right away just how much I hate following the trends established by other columnists, so how do I talk about WrestleMania without being cliché about it? Good question. Perhaps, it’s better not to go the road most traveled….
The idea has come to me to explain to you some ideas that I’ve had concerning the current state of major wrestling promotions. In other words, look at what’s going on in WWE, TNA, and The Independents, and then offer my ideas and suggestions on what could be done to improve, or at the very least, change the obviously bland state of the business as we know it. As hot as the business is this week, thanks to WrestleMania, we can’t ignore the fact that wrestling has been in an industry slump since 2001 and the purchase of WCW by WWE. So, how do we keep the interest of the causal wrestling fan who may have just tuned into WWE this past month for the WrestleMania build-up after what may have, in fact, been a very well-done WrestleMania? This week, I’ll offer my thoughts on how WWE can capitalize on the recent upswing of interest.
First off, we should all realize that Batista is far more over with the masses than anyone has given him credit for. At the same time, the reason why Batista is over right now is because of the heel he’s been working with – Triple H. Would Batista still be this hot if he were working with, for instance, Edge? Highly unlikely. So, my first thought is that perhaps Batista needs to be built up further. And, in my opinion, a main event babyface cannot be built up while holding the World Title. I come form a philosophy that babyfaces get over by going through literal hell in order to reach a certain goal. Unfortunately, Batista hasn’t really gone through hell yet. He’s only gone through one of the easier routes of beating the current champ after winning the Royal Rumble, entering the rumble in the 28th position and winning after a shortly contested “draw” with John Cena. From there, Batista’s had a pretty easy go at becoming the champ, which, as a writer, wrestling fan, and booker, I hate. He should be made to go through hell, and my first suggestion is to do just that – put Batista through hell. If given the opportunity, I would have had Edge use his Money in the Bank Contract and challenge Batista on the night after WrestleMania, then win the title, either by hook or crook, or with Triple H’s help. Some will argue that this would, in fact, “bury” Batista, which it actually would, but sometimes in wrestling, especially when you’re building up a babyface, you have to take a step backwards in order to take 10 steps forward. Burying Batista the night after WrestleMania, in my mind, is a necessary evil, especially if I have any intention whatsoever in making Batista a draw for the upcoming SummerSlam event in August. And that’s where I’m going with this, folks – a Main Event match between Batista and Edge at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Title.
Anyway, back to the plan… Batista would lose the World Title one night after having defeated Triple H for the belt to Edge, who had been obsessively chasing the belt ever since he turned heel last year. Edge as champ serves three purposes – 1) It pays off the angle that has been built up in Edge’s persona, and also, the concept of the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania, right away, which is in agreement with Edge’s persona and drive. As a heel, Edge has never really been the type to wait around for an opportune moment. Edge’s impatience is the central core of his current heel persona, so it would only make sense that Edge would take advantage of his title shot right away. Unfortunately, WWE does not have the same sense of character continuity that my friend Terry, who revealed this character trait in Edge to me recently, does, nor the need to exploit the established personality traits of a character the way I do. Therefore, WWE has chosen to make Edge wait for his spot, which contradicts the impatience that Edge has exuded for the past several months. Now that he has his match, it makes no logical sense, considering his established character, for him to “wait for his spot”. Edge was so impatient to get his spot that he made everyone else’s life hell, so now that he finally has what he wants, he’s now going to exhibit some patience and wait for an opportune moment? Yeah, right…
The second purpose of Edge’s title run is to wean both the WWE and the WWE fans from a dependence on Triple H as the top heel of RAW. The problem right now with RAW is that there really is only one guy who anyone truly believes can carry the brand for any extended period of time – Triple H. Unfortunately, depending on only one guy to carry a brand creates a problem, which we’ve seen for the past 4 years in WWE. The problem is declining fan interest. No one wants to see the same guy on top all the time. Putting the belt on someone completely unexpected like Edge creates a more exciting environment for the fans that are tired of seeing Triple H on top all the time. It literally shocks the audience into paying attention to Raw more, just because, all of a sudden, this guy who had been whining about not getting a shot at the title go5t his shot and won it out of the blue. Now, Edge, a guy who wasn’t even at the top of the card a couple months ago, now rules RAW, and Triple H, the “top guy” for the past 4 years, isn’t even factored into the equation. Triple H has been, in a sense, “snubbed” from the top spot by some punk kid named Edge, which creates more creative opportunities for the writers of WWE to produce better shows.
The third purpose is to make things really hard for Batista. In fact, this should piss off just about everyone who had any faith in Batista whatsoever. If Batista were to be “screwed” out of his title the night after WrestleMania, the fans that supported him would want to see him get his revenge on all who were involved. This is why I’d consider having Triple H interfere – because I believe that an extended feud between Batista and Triple H, which the WWE is doing now anyway, is beneficial to Batista. The difference in opinion between the WWE and myself is the involvement of the title. I don’t want the belt involved directly, while WWE does. WWE believes Batista has gone through enough trials to be champ. I don’t believe Dave has even started on the road through Hell, yet…
So, Batista’s been screwed, Edge is the champ, and Triple H now becomes a barrier between Batista and the title. Either Triple H helped Edge win, or Triple H is pissed off because now his automatic rematch clause is null and void because, after all, you can’t have an automatic rematch with the guy who beat you for the title if that guy doesn’t have the title anymore. Since I highly doubt Triple H is smart enough to make sure the clause in his contract specifies that his return match is against the current champ, and not simply the guy who beat him for the title, I don’t see a problem with this angle as it stands. Besides, if Triple H actually had such a storylined clause in his title match contracts, then the WWE might as well just tattoo the belt on Triple H’s waist and get it over with. Such a clause would only add to the belief that Triple is “unbeatable”, causing fans to lose hope and eventually, change the channel. Anyway… Batista and Triple H now feud over a future title shot, with H likely winning the initial rematch, but then losing the feud-ending match, likely Hell in a Cell or some sort of other cage match, to Batista. Why a cage? Why not? This is Triple H, after all. All his major feuds end in some sort of gimmick match anyway, and since he seems to excel in cage matches, I might as well end their feud in a cage. The feud with Triple H should last until the build-up for SummerSlam begins for RAW, which, by then Batista should be over enough to carry the Main Event of SummerSlam against Edge for the title. Given the reactions Batista has now, combined with a proper build-up of Edge as a champion against contenders such as Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and even in matches against Batista and Triple H (Edge probably should work one match with the H, just for the hell of it, really. Because I’d have Triple H win the initial rematch with Batista, I’d likely make the winner of that match the #1 Contender, just to piss off Batista fans more and have them rally behind Batista to do something about this travesty of justice) this angle should work out pretty well.
So, with the RAW Main Eventers out of the way, one could easily look at SmackDown and make some comments. But I’ll be honest with you… the Best I could do with SmackDown right now is hope to convince Vince McMahon to sign major Indy Talent and bring in some people to help the roster out. I’m not kidding. SmackDown is in such desperate need for some stars to help add to the product that it isn’t funny. SmackDown is, at best, a starving product, in desperate need for fresh talent who can help add to the brand. When John Cena only has one realistic contender to his title (JBL) because everyone else has to fill in midcard spots just to have a full show, you have a real problem. Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are in a Tag Team right now because SmackDown has no Tag Teams, and Kurt Angle is often used as a midcard attraction simply because SmackDown has no one for him work with. SmackDown is so starved for talent that Carlito Caribbean Cool could legitimately become a contender to the WWE Tile, and he doesn’t even have a real track record established in WWE yet. I don’t have a major problem with Carlito in general, but I do have a problem with him being a contender to the WWE Title before he has had a chance to fully get over with fans as an in-ring competitor, not just as someone who’s good on a mic.
As for any other suggestions I’d want to make considering the WWE, I would like to bring up Alexis Laree and put her on RAW immediately. No, I’m serious. Alexis is wasted in OVW. She should have been on RAW 6 months ago, being built up as an eventual contender to the Women’s Title (and thus, saving Christy Hemme from being pushed before she’s been properly trained in the ring). Of course, WWE had no intention of having any other contenders other than Lita and Trish going into this year’s WrestleMania, but, as we’ve seen, Lita didn’t make it that fare, now did she? I am a big believer that you have to establish a “Plan B” in case someone gets hurt. That means bringing up a back-up talent and giving her TV time to get over, even if you don’t have any major plans for her in the near future. And since Victoria proved that she has no real hope in getting over as a babyface during her run with the Women’s Title last year, we have to give up any belief that Victoria is going to garner any interest as a face, even against the best female heel in the business today. Yes, Trish is the best female heel in the business going today, hands down, and unfortunately, because WWE refused to create a back-up plan, they had to push the only other woman on RAW who could even come close to garnering interest against Trish Stratus – Christy Hemme. Unfortunately, while Christy has the heart and drive to perform in the ring, she lacks the knowledge and training to do so at a competent level. Had she been begun training several months ago, I believe she would have done better against Trish, but that was not the case. WrestleMania was Christy’s second professional wrestling match ever, so the fact that Christy was even able to hang with Trish the way she was is a tribute to Christy’s heart and determination to what she’s doing. Alexis Laree should be brought up now. Christy isn’t ready. Victoria doesn’t have the ability to draw anything as a face, and Molly is so over as a heel, it’d be next to impossible for her to turn and stack up effectively as a face, even against Trish, who’s more over than Molly could ever hope to be. Unless Vince McMahon is still hoping for that divine healing for Lita’s knee, the only real alternative is to bring up a talented woman from OVW to fill the void. The best woman for the job is, duh, Alexis Laree. But then again, any Indy Fan could have told you Alexis was ready for the WWE back in 2003 when they signed her…
Speaking of OVW talent, there’s a lot of talk of bringing up the team of MNM (Joey Matthews, Johnny Nitro, and Melina Perez) from OVW. If WWE were going to do that, I’d hope they plan on putting them on SmackDown. As desperate as RAW is for Tag Teams, SmackDown is more so. With the recent signing of Marty Jannetty and the talk of a full-time Rockers reunion, MNM would likely be drowned out and buried on RAW to compensate what will likely be the Rockers’ show for the next year or so in the Raw Tag Team Division. Meanwhile, the pool of the Tag Team division on SmackDown is almost as shallow as the roster itself. There’s the Bashams (who are only really booed because they’re there), and the Dudleys who are… where ARE the Dudleys, anyway? Then there’s the team of Holly and Haas, who seem to have as much heat as a broken space heater in the middle of Antarctica. And since Kenzo Suzuki is out with a collapsed lung (and not really much of an asset to Rene Dupree ANYWAY), we can’t depend on the Foreigners to help the division anytime soon. So, unless we want to see Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio continue to have singles matches on major cards due to a lack of proper competition, MNM should probably go to SmackDown. Either that, or put the Rockers on SmackDown. Which would you prefer?
Well folks, that’s all for me this week. If you have any comments, questions, or anything else you’d like to share, feel free to write me at TheMaverickMJ@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading, and feel free to come back again for another installment of The Trademark Rants!
– Ephesians 6:12 (King James Version)
