Hello again wrestling fans and welcome to the Trademark Rants. Now, I could be wrong here, but I honestly believe that, right now, the WWE is having the hottest period they’ve had in nearly 5 years. In a matter of a week, Cena-Mania is both nearly killed and then, miraculously saved by Edge, who is quickly becoming the hottest star WWE has had since Eddie Guerrero. Batista, after aggravating his injury even further (to quote a really cool song by the Hives, “hate to say I told you so!”), finally wises up and vacates the title so he can get the surgery he should have had nearly 3 months ago, allowing Kurt Angle to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. WWE may have had its best week in YEARS, and, surprisingly enough, the WWE hasn’t screwed it up, yet. Given, the first RAW after Edge’s title win may have been the single weakest episode of RAW in the past five years (Katie Vick notwithstanding), but then, last week, WWE totally rights itself by giving Edge a strong showing against Ric Flair, then putting Cena-Mania back on course via a Masterlock Challenge (to make the babyface Cena look strong) and an encounter with Edge (giving fans a reason to actually LIKE John Cena, which WWE has not been doing for about a month now). RAW is almost on par with the talent they have under contract, while SmackDown has finally become watch-able again. All this, because someone is finally LISTENING TO THE AUDIENCE!!!! Way to go, Steph! After years and years of complete incompetence, you’re finally on to something! Once again, “hate to say I told you so!”
So, with all of this said, where do we go from here? Will Edge make it to WrestleMania? Will Kurt Angle kill Daivari at the Grandaddy of Them All? Will Triple H, once again, throw his weight around and get a squash win over the champ on the Biggest Stage in Sports Entertainment? Will the angle between Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon ever go anywhere? Will Tim White ever die? Where is the Road To WrestleMania going to take us this year?
And that’s where this is all going, you know. All the way to WrestleMania, the biggest spectacle in Sports Entertainment, or, at the very least, it’s the show the WWE stakes its reputation on year after year, which ought to mean something. For wrestling fans, it’s nothing short of a Second Christmas. For the WWE Superstars, it’s the greatest opportunity of their careers. For the rest of the wrestling industry, it is the measuring stick by which we measure everything we do. There is something to be learned from even the worst WrestleManias. For instance, WrestleMania XI. You’re actually going to put Lawrence Taylor on last? A non-wrestler against a midcarder (hey, I have nothing against Bam Bam Bigelow, but face it, he was a midcarder) in the Main Event of the biggest show of the year? On the same card as a Bret Hart/Bob Backlund Submission Match and a Shawn Michaels/Diesel Title Match? Are you kidding me?! No wonder 1995 was such a dismal year in wrestling…
But yes, WrestleMania. Emanating this year from Chicago, WrestleMania 22 is already being touted as easily the biggest show in wrestling to date. But really, why? Do we even know who’s going to be headlining the event? I mean, seriously, with the vast Internet Speculation that Edge is merely a transitional champion and the very real possibility that Triple H will once again assert what power he actually does have to overshadow younger and hotter talent who deserve the WrestleMania spotlight more than he does, there is a lot to worry about. But, there is some good news – I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico….
Okay, seriously, there is some good news. For the first time in years, there actually are other talents drawing on Triple H’s level who deserve the top spot at WrestleMania as much, if not more, than he does. John Cena, whether you care to admit it or not, is popular among fans. He may not be loved on the Internet, and he might have had a few close calls walking the edge of the babyface knife recently, getting a little too cheesy for his own good, but Cena draws, as does Batista (who would have probably been able to work WrestleMania had he only taken time off to tend to his injuries sooner, and YES, I am going to drive that point into the ground, hoping that others will learn from Batista’s mistake. When your body is the means by which you make your living, your health needs to be your top concern, not your pride), and really, so does Ric Flair. Flair is so popular right now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him headline WrestleMania against Edge. And really, Edge is the only guy who should be holding the WWE Title right now. Edge has so much momentum as champion that it would be a shame to see him lose it so quickly. He’s managed to bump ratings up, generating more interest as champion than anyone else in recent memory, including Eddie Guerrero, which has not only made RAW more interesting, but it’s spiked an interest in wrestling that has not been seen in years. People don’t realize it yet, but Edge winning the WWE Title at New Year’s Revolution could very well be a watershed moment for the WWE. We see a few spikes here and there, on the website, in the ratings, and possibly even in the replay buys for New Year’s Revolution, but we’re really not going to see the long-term impact of this moment for a few months. Believe me, though, there will be a long-term impact that is going to be very, very good for the wrestling business. The only thing stopping that long-term effect from happening is Triple H.
Now, this is the scenario that I see. John Cena, needing a boost due mostly to poor use through November and December, drops the title to Edge in order to save his heat. Why? Who would want to protect Cena’s heat? Triple H. Why? Triple H needs an opponent for WrestleMania, right? There’s no Batista, H and Shawn Michaels already exhausted their rivalry to death, and, for whatever reason, the WWE doesn’t tend to book Triple H against Kurt Angle. Who else is there? Ric Flair? Sorry, kids. Tried that one. Didn’t work out. So who else is there? Big Show? Kane? RVD? Yeah, right! Undertaker? Maybe… Doubtful, though. At this point, ‘Taker is best booked against the up-and-comers in the WWE, who are all going to try to make names for themselves by trying to end ‘Taker’s winning streak at WrestleMania. Triple H already did his WrestleMania job to the ‘Taker in 2001, so I doubt we’re going to see this one again. So who else is there? Without bringing in Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan to work with Triple H, that really only leaves John Cena. And notice, John Cena has yet to work with Triple H, so when he finally does, you know it’s going to be a big deal. The Old Guard vs. The New School and all that jazz. You know a Triple H/John Cena match will draw at WrestleMania, so of course, it would make sense that WWE would hold off on a Cena/H confrontation until then, just so that when it does happen, the fans will jump all over it. So, of course, it would make sense that Triple H would want to protect Cena’s heat any way he can. Otherwise, he’s going to have another dud match at WrestleMania, just like the one he had at WrestleMania XIX against Booker T. And God knows no one wants to see Triple H in another dud match at WrestleMania!
But here’s the big question – Even if Triple H is looking to work with John Cena at this year’s WrestleMania, is Triple H going to be satisfied with working a non-title match? With the situation as it stands now, John Cena doesn’t really need the title to be a strong babyface against Triple H. In fact, Cena’s status as a babyface actually fares better without the title right now. But, is that enough to make Triple H happy? Because of the influence Triple H is allowed over the creative direction of WWE (Truth: Triple H only has the political powers that he is allowed. The McMahons don’t have to do anything they don’t want to, whether H married into the family or not), he could easily have a hand in whether John Cena regains the title or not. And if Cena does regain the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble, then it’s a forgone conclusion that Cena’s opponent at WrestleMania will be Triple H. Why? Because if Edge loses the title at the Rumble, his heat is DEAD. Plain and simple.
In my professional opinion, I believe that Edge holding the WWE Title until WrestleMania is essential to the future of the WWE. It’s that important. With the bump in ratings, WWE is reaching a larger audience than usual, and for the WWE to abandon ship on Edge this soon would likely turn those fans away just as quickly as they came. For the good of the WWE, and really, the good of the business in general, Edge needs to be the WWE Champion right now. To have him drop the title now is suicide on so many levels, I couldn’t even begin to explain it. To put this as simply as I can, should Edge lose the WWE Title this Sunday, the entire wrestling business is going to be hurting for almost a year. You will have spurned damn near half a million new viewers with this move, and pissed off the hardcore fanbase, people every wrestling promotion should be depending on for word of mouth reviews, which helps a company grow. When the word of mouth about your company is negative, people are not going to tune into your product. For example, when you read someone bash the WWE on the Internet, you’re actually seeing one of the major reasons why the ratings go down. Word of mouth is important, and the happier the hardcore fanbase is, the better your company does, in general. Should Edge lose the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble, the ENTIRE wrestling business will be hurting for about a year. Edge as champion could potentially bring in a million or so new fans into the WWE’s regular audience (the people who will watch your show every week). That’s a whole ratings point, by the way, in case you’re wondering. Essentially, I’m telling you that Edge, as champ, could impact the WWE enough that in a year’s time, RAW could very well be pulling a 5+ rating! You think I’m kidding, but I’m serious. Edge as champ can have this sort of an impact on the wrestling business. Not just the WWE. I’m talking TNA, Ring Of Honor… even my little promotion, Ultimate Shock & Awe Wrestling (Coming Summer 2006! Check out www.MySpace.com/MikeJohnsUSAW for more information). Edge as the WWE Champion from now until WrestleMania could potentially bring in nearly a million new fans to Professional Wrestling, increasing not only ratings for the WWE, but for TNA, as well as live ticket sales and attendance rates for everyone all around.
In my professional opinion, Edge should hold the WWE Title until WrestleMania, then drop the belt to Ric Flair for a while before putting it back on Edge in order to build up John Cena vs. Edge for SummerSlam. Now, you might wonder about why I think Flair should go over Edge at WrestleMania. If you ask me, Ric Flair winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania 22 over Edge would be a sort of landmark moment for the WWE in 2006, much like Terry Funk defeating Raven for the ECW Title at Barely Legal (ECW’s First-Ever PPV) was for ECW in 1997. There is a marketability to booking the popular old man over the brash, young heel (it worked for ECW), and considering Flair’s current popularity among fans, as well as the heat that Edge and Flair have been drawing in their feud thus far, I feel this could go over very well.
Meanwhile, I believe that should Triple H face John Cena at WrestleMania, it should not be for a title. Of course, it would be nice to see Cena win, but not really at WrestleMania. I really feel the Cena/H feud could work long-term, so holding off on a Cena victory until Backlash may work out better than just giving fans the instant satisfaction of Cena defeating Triple H at WrestleMania.
So… with all this said, does this mean that Ric Flair is going to win the Royal Rumble? Maybe. He could very well do just that, and personally, I’d like to see it, but there’s a complication – Shawn Michaels. I really feel that with all the attention Shawn has been getting on TV from Vince lately, WWE could be setting up Shawn Michaels to win the Royal Rumble. This past Monday on RAW, Vince said that Shawn’s luck was going to run out at the Rumble, right? What does that say to you? Because what it says to me is that Shawn Michaels is going to the first man in the Rumble. Now, how many times have WWE done the whole “#1 in the Rumble wins it all” angle? At least twice, with Chris Benoit and, of course, Shawn Michaels. So, right off the bat, Shawn now becomes a realistic favorite to with the Rumble (realistic, because we all know that the people the WWE wants us to believe are the favorites… Kane, Big Show, whoever comes in as #30… are NEVER actually going to win the Royal Rumble. It’s almost always the hot babyface of the moment). But hold on here! If Shawn does win the Rumble, who is he going to face? Edge? No… there’s nothing to build on there, and besides, Edge already has two possible opponents for WrestleMania in Ric Flair and John Cena. How about John Cena, then? Nope… if Cena wins, then Triple H is his opponent. And no, I’m not guessing here. If Cena is the champ going into Mania, H is his opponent. Period. So how about Kurt Angle? Hmmm… that could work. Just one problem – Kurt’s a face now, and a strong one to boot. Who knew you could spend a month ragging on the US Armed Forces, then, within a week, become one of the hottest babyfaces in wrestling today? Apparently, Kurt Angle can, and that’s why I have a hard time seeing yet another Angle/Michaels match at WrestleMania 22. Besides, how often has WWE ever had the same two guys wrestle a match on back-to-back WrestleManias? Once – Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, and based on the booking WWE was doing between WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania X, Bret/Yoko was by no means the WWE’s plan for the Main Event of WrestleMania X. They were trying to make it Luger/Yoko, but the fans never bought into Luger, so they had to go with Bret doing double-duty at WrestleMania X just to save face. So, needless to say, there are certain complications when it comes to an Angle/Michaels World Title Match at WrestleMania 22…
…Unless, of course, Shawn turns heel. That could happen. It’s not like Shawn can’t get over as a heel when he needs to. The only problem here is when does he turn? The Rumble? If so, how? Obviously, the story, based on the WWE mentality, would be that Vince puts Shawn in at #1, just to end up helping Shawn win it all in the end anyway. Okay, interesting swerve, for sure, but logically, it makes no sense. If we are, in any way, supposed to take wrestling seriously, a certain amount of logic and realism must be applied. If Shawn wins the Royal Rumble with Vince’s help after being slated as #1, it slaps logic and realism in the face. If Shawn was in the Rumble at #1, and wrestling was, in fact, real, then there is a risk factor here that would make the serve quite an undertaking, to be sure. Shawn would have to make it to the end of the Rumble without being tossed over the top rope, and while it’s possible that, if wrestling were real, the #1 entrant could win the whole thing, the chances of it happening are extremely slim. If Vince and Shawn were looking to swerve everybody in the real world, I don’t see how either one of them would think the risk would be worth the payoff.
Now, back to the world where wrestling is a work – if Shawn somehow manages to survive the Rumble, then wins it with Vince’s help after Vince made him the #1 entrant, all this does is make wrestling look fake. It’s an interesting swerve, don’t get me wrong, but it also defies all logic and hurts the business. To the casual viewers who tend to think wrestling is “totally fake and lame” anyway, this only affirms their views, making wrestling fans look incredibly stupid, and making wrestling look, well… totally fake and lame. I get that we no longer live in a world where we try to pass wrestling off as a legit sport, and that’s a good thing. At the same time, when wrestling does something really hokey, unrealistic, and stupid, people look at it and think, “God, this is so fake! I can’t understand why anyone watches this crap!” Never mind the fact that 99% of “Reality” TV is completely fake. Never mind that every movie and TV show in the world is completely fake, with people pretending to be fake people in a fake world where fake things happen. Most people are completely aware of the fact that most forms of entertainment are totally fake. But what makes the general public’s reaction to fake TV and fake movies different from fake wrestling is that fake wrestling’s premise is based on being a semi-realistic sport. That’s what causes it. See, you can get away with outlandish and unrealistic things on TV and in the movies because the premise of these shows and movies are built around that fact that certain unrealistic things are possible. For instance, on Charmed, magic exists, and there’s an infrastructure of supernatural junk that secretly interacts with the world in order to maintain a balance of good and evil. That’s the premise of the show. In the X-Men comics and movies, genetic mutations can manifest into super-human abilities, which causes conflict. You’re willing to suspend your disbelief because the shows, comics, and movies set up their premise in order to explain to you that, unlike the real world you’re used to, in this fictional world, this is how things work. And often times, said fictional world is based on the real world we know, and the unrealistic stuff, how unbelievable it may be, is often explained through a specific line of logic that, while sometimes flawed or exaggerated, allows you to suspend your disbelief just enough to accept it for what it is. The reason why people outside of the wrestling fanbase complain that wrestling is totally fake is because wrestling fails, time and time again, to follow it’s premise or provide any sort of logic for it’s various unrealities. That, and having Boogeymen and Spirit Squads on your shows don’t tend to help much… In the end, people don’t actually complain about wrestling being fake, they complain about wrestling being TOO fake. Shawn Michaels, being slated as the #1 entrant by Vince McMahon, then winning the Rumble with help from Vince is way too fake, and really the only good reason not to do it. Otherwise… it’s a nice twist. I just don’t expect any rational, intelligent, thinking human being to buy it, that’s all.
So… how do we deal with the Rumble debacle? Does Shawn win the Rumble? Well, he did it once at #1, so maybe he could do it again. But should he? I say no, and here’s why. We’ve done this before. We’ve seen the angle done more than once and we have now been taught to accept that the #1 entrant could very well win the whole thing is faced with enough adversity going into the Rumble. Shawn Michaels, up to this point, has followed, line by line, every rule the WWE has set up for this angle. If Shawn is named the #1 Entrant, the fans now expect him to win it. Now, on the flip-side, Ric Flair has been beat up, disrespected, and completely run over by the juggernaut Edge over the past month or so. Flair is also one of the WWE’s most popular stars, and despite his age, he’s still working as well, if not better, than many on the roster. There is a good possibility that Flair will be feuding with Chris Masters at some point soon, but really, fans want to see Flair and Edge some more. So perhaps, the Masters/Flair confrontations can be a part of a WrestleMania slow-burn between Flair and Edge, and Edge and Chris Masters have had a rather loose affiliation dating back to the Taboo Tuesday build-up. It’s not like Masters really benefits any more from winning the title on RAW as opposed to winning it at WrestleMania. Honestly, I can see a Masters/Carlito I-C Title match working better on the Mania card anyway, so there’s really no reason to delay the Flair/Masters confrontations until WrestleMania. So, with the already existing heat between Edge and Flair, as well as Flair’s popularity and the potential draw for a John Cena/Triple H match-up, it only makes sense that we could see Ric Flair vs. Edge at WrestleMania. So, instead of going for the obvious win with Shawn Michaels, this is how I see the Rumble playing out – Shawn is slated at #1 and somehow survives the whole match-up up ‘til the final four. Among the four will also be Ric Flair, along with two other guys, both of which will either be totally up Vince’s ass, or Kane and the Big Show. If I were booking it, it would be Kane and Show. Anyway, Kane and Show, working as a unit, would go after Shawn, while Flair, having taken a pretty bad beating, would be down. Actually, if I were booking it, Flair would work an injury during the match, giving him an excuse to roll to the outside while the Rumble continued without him. In fact, WWE could easily use Flair’s “concussion” that Edge has been working on for weeks now to do just that. Just as Shawn is about to be eliminated by both Kane and the Big Show, Shawn somehow reverses it and ends up tossing both Kane and Show over the top using the big men’s own momentum against them. Meanwhile, knowing the match is almost over, Flair finally makes his way back into the ring, selling the concussion for all it’s worth. As Shawn looks in disbelief, having just eliminated both Kane and the Big Show, Flair grabs Michaels and tosses him over the top rope, winning the Rumble. The only downside of this finish is that the commentators are going to have to sell Flair’s concussion like their lives depend on it for the TV audience, while Flair is going to have to spend a considerable amount of time selling the concussion himself to convince the live crowd to still cheer for him despite the fact that he’s pretty much going to win like a heel. That, and the next night on RAW, Flair and Shawn are going to have to work a mutual respect angle, with Shawn congratulating Flair for being the better man that night and Flair graciously accepting Shawn’s congratulations. But beyond that, that’s how I see the Rumble panning out.
Of course, this isn’t gospel. Chances are, WWE is going to book John Cena to win the Rumble (should Edge retain the title), leaving Triple H in the cold for a WrestleMania opponent (unless they’re really serious about this feud he has with the Big Show), while giving Flair a match with Chris Masters (which isn’t all that bad of an idea, really) at WrestleMania. Either way, I might have just given away three of four potential finishes for the Rumble, none of which mentioned Triple H winning, which could very well mean just that – Triple H is winning. The truth is, I don’t know who is going to win, but I do know who I’d like to see win, and that’s Flair. I also believe that the favorites for the Rumble include Shawn Michaels, John Cena, and Triple H. Meanwhile, someone in the WWE is going to have to figure something out for Kurt, because right now, short of a Shawn Michaels heel turn, Kurt really doesn’t have anyone to work with at ‘Mania. Then again, there aren’t too many people in the WWE who can compete with Angle’s momentum right now. Basically, right now, Kurt is retaining the World Title at WrestleMania. As far as I’m concerned, unless Randy Orton can get enough heat to compete with Angle, or a Michaels’ heel turn works out extremely well, Angle’s plowing through everyone in his path until at least SummerSlam. Angle has that much momentum right now.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I already plugged USAW, but in case you didn’t see it earlier, Ultimate Shock & Awe Wrestling is looking to start up in Summer. You can find out more about USAW at www.MySpace.com/MikeJohnsUSAW. And, as always, if you have any comments, questions, complaints, or anything else you’d like to share with me, my e-mail address is TheMaverickMJ@yahoo.com. Thanks for listening, and check back again for another edition of The Trademark Rants!
