Yes. You’re reading News & Analysis, and no, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m not promising that the section is back. I just felt like writing an N & A report, because I’ve been quiet for way too long, and I don’t think a blog entry or a column will do it. So let’s see if I still have it in me and if you guys are still interested in this section.
WWE is headed to their biggest show of the year – WrestleMania. The main problem this year is that going in, they have, or at least they’d like to think they have, five main event matches. Sadly, only one has been given the proper amount of time to promote – Vince Mcmahon vs. Shawn Michaels, and it’s the wrong one out of all four. (The other three are Cena vs. Triple H, SmackDown’s Triple Threat, Money in the Bank, and Edge vs. Foley). Although I expect this to be a decent show, I believe it will not come even close to previous WrestleManias, but will also not be the worst we’ve seen, as there’s no way to beat some horribly bad previous editions of the PPV. Below is my preview for the event.
* Michaels vs. McMahon in No Holds Barred. I’m assuming Michaels will pick up the win here. Either way, this feud needs to end right now, because it’s been an incredible waste of TV time. There’s no real purpose to all this, and I can’t help but think secretly McMahon started the feud hoping that he’ll convince Bret Hart to make an appearance. It was not to be as the Hitman won’t budge, and as a result we get the match tomorrow. Plenty of juice here, and I also expect lots of weapons.
* Cena vs. Triple H. Well, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know who’s a bigger idiot – the guy (HHH) who sat in a production meeting last year and suggested they have WrestleMania’s main event be HHH as a heel going for the title from a babyface Cena, or the guy (Vince McMahon) who said that’s a great idea and agreed to go with it. It is painfully clear and obvious at this point in time that Cena is done. They can only blame themselves for not booking him right. It is also clearly obvious to everyone that Edge turned RAW around and was a breath of fresh air. If he was given the ball, he’d be the #1 heel on the show. Of course, Triple H can’t allow that.
* Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton. This is a very interesting match-up that had the potential of being the real main event of this show, but obviously Triple H couldn’t allow that, so through the writers, the feud was made to account to nothing. This is an interesting match because it has three guys with three completely different styles. It sees a former Olympic amateur champion full of submissions, defending against a gladiator type wrestler, and a cruiserweight. The dynamics of this match and the stats for an interesting environment are there. It should be the best match of the night, since it’ll be given the right amount of time. I believe they’re going with Orton on this one if memory serves me right, which although a good move, doesn’t do much for SmackDown in general. A Mysterio title win is something to consider, as it will be not only historic, but he has turned into the biggest draw on the roster.
* JBL vs. Chris Beniot. If they give them time, this will be another good match. Benoit is capable of carrying JBL, and JBL has proven before that if he has the right person to carry him, he can deliver a good bout. JBL has pretty much jobbed himself out since losing the WWE Championship, so a win here could make sense. It also frees Benoit from the US title and can introduce him in a much better role. This company simply does not know how to use perhaps the best wrestler it has in the Crippler.
* Money in the Bank. Wow. WOW! I don’t know why they booked Flair and Finlay in this match-up, but I guess the crazy spots they put them in will be some of this year’s WrestleMania highlights. I don’t know if I want to see another Flair title run, but what I do know is that they need to stick to what they did with Shelton Benjamin on RAW. The new look, and the new attitude is good. Drop mama completely and you might have something. Benjamin should win this. Van Dam is a good way to go as well, but we all know that’ll be a wasted title shot if it does take place.
* Edge vs. Mick Foley. This is better than most of the matches on the undercard, thanks to the good mic ability these guys have. Edge has really turned things around for himself since last year, which has earned him a lot of respect with yours truly and many other wrestling fans that despised him. Unfortunately, Triple H is still alive, so being a good heel on RAW is not smart these days. Foley’s usage here is not as good as what they did with him and Orton a couple of years ago. They now hot-shot two Foley matches – first with Carlito, and now this one. The win Edge will pick up won’t account for much because of that, although it will still help him, as it’ll give him something new to add to his brag list. A Foley win makes sense if there’s a rematch down the road.
* Undertaker vs. Mark Henry. 14 – 0.
* Kane/Big Show vs. Carlito/Masters. It’s good that they managed to get all four of these guys on the card, but Carlito should be used better. Winning the tag belts seems like a waste of Carlito, although I feel it could add more to his character. He should be in better programs, however.
* Boogeyman vs. Booker T & Sharmell. Booker should have retired after his horrible back injury. The company is really embarrassing him ever since he’s come back. Horrible stuff.
* Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus. Well we will finally see a good women’s match, as those have completely died on RAW. These two can go at it if they’re given the right amount of time. It makes sense for Mickie to win, but knowing WWE, I won’t be surprised to see Stratus come out victorious yet again.
* Torrie vs. Candice. The usual T & A stuff.
There was a lot of noise made over the week when information came out that Jim Ross will be calling the RAW matches, alongside Jerry Lawler and Coach, at WrestleMania. Many felt that this was a direct slap in the face of Joey Styles, after giving Ross the honors of doing the Saturday Night Main Event matches as well. The decision wasn’t the original one, as original plans called for Ross to be the host of the Hall of Fame ceremony. WWE then switched things around, having Lawler host the ceremony and Ross commentate at the PPV. Joey Styles was interviewed by WWE.com on the topic, and said that he was shocked at first, and then angry for an hour. He then said he let his ego at work, to finally come to the realization that what he had done up to this point is be a simple play-by-play guy. He was taught by Heyman to call moves one after the other, and keep up the pace of the match. He explained that WWE isn’t looking for that, but is rather looking for someone like Ross who is more of a “story teller,” than a play-by-play guy. He said he’s been told on headset to slow down a lot of times during RAW, and not call every single move. In the “interview” (which isn’t the right term, because the article consists of one question, and a 4-page essay answer by Styles), he also mentions that Ross is training him for the exact things WWE wants out of him, and he’s sure that he’ll call next year’s WrestleMania. He doesn’t miss the opportunity to remain his true self, as he takes an interesting shot of the situation by pointing something ironic out – Jim Ross trained Paul Heyman how to do announcing, and Paul Heyman trained Joey Styles, yet it’s Ross they’re bringing in to replace him at ‘Mania. I personally think that this show would die without Ross, so it’s more of a desperation move on WWE’s part. Unfortunately, Styles does seem like the victim of it all. Not so much because he doesn’t get to call the action, but rather because it seems WWE doesn’t want to commit to him and has no trust in him. I should note that they do, and they’re trying to make him better. It’s just you have to realize their definition of “good” is much different than ours. He has a three-year deal, so he’s not going anywhere.
Before I go, just a quick thought. It seems that we care about wrestling a lot less today than we used to a few years ago. I just wanted to give a personal explanation as to why that is, that could perhaps open some eyes. You see, the beauty of wrestling comes down to the creativity of presenting a story from its beginning to an end. There’s many ways one can do that. From presenting interesting characters, or just an interesting storyline in general, to coming up with creative ways of surprising the audience and most importantly making sense. The truth of the matter is that WWE stopped making sense a long time ago, and TNA still hasn’t gotten to the good product level, though they seem to be on the better route. The death of Eddie Guerrero was the last straw for me. Ever since then wrestling hasn’t been the same. But hey, here’s to hopefully many more years of good health, and memorable moments in pro wrestling.
Let me know what you thought of this by dropping me a line at Levski11@aol.com. Nothing too long. Just a short note would be greatly appreciated. I want to know if there’s interest in these reports, still. Who knows, I might just start writing again…
