A huge blow was dealt to WWE at the 10/1 RAW tapings. While performing a hip toss move on the returning Mr. Kennedy, the WWE Champion and biggest star in the company got injured. A check-up with Dr. James Andrew on Wednesday confirmed that John Cena’s longest title reign — since the one of Hulk Hogan from 1984 to 1988 — is over. The announcement was made on Tuesday’s ECW that a match for the WWE Championship will take place at the PPV, and “history will happen” was quoted Mr. McMahon.
Cena is expected to be out of action for about six to eight months, as he has suffered a complete tear of his right pectoral. This puts the company in a really tough situation in what seems to be a year full of injuries and curses. While several big names are coming back from a Wellness program suspension, the biggest draw on TV today and the main reason behind the high number of women and children watching Monday Night RAW will be off. He has been stripped from the WWE Championship.
The move, while a huge blow, leaves a lot of open direction for the company to go. A natural match would have been Randy Orton vs. Triple H – a program WWE has been planning for later on this year, or in 2008. You also have to consider that with a very low 3.2 rating coming in for the 10/1 show, adding to everything that has already went down in recent months, the company is in the midst of a feared collapse. This naturally brings the belt to Triple H, who is viewed as the “God” here. Coincidentally, this has been just about the worst time of his career since his comeback. A good way to summarize his work since returning at SummerSlam is burying Carlito, Umaga, and the tag team division; jobbing to put the boss over – his first BIG loss which was so important to emphasize on; bathroom humor, and waste of TV time. Quite the list.
Another possible way to go here is the much-talked about Chris Jericho return. While it will come as a big surprise to put the title on Jericho, it’s the perfect shot in the arm WWE needs. Not everyone is a big fan of surprises like that when it comes to the title, but belts mean nothing in WWE today. Plus, Jericho has more than enough credentials to put the title on him. A lot has been said about the “Saveus_222” promos airing on WWE TV and on WWE.com over the past few weeks. I’m amazed at how much out of their way people have gone to overanalyze and discuss the situation. Let go, guys. It’s just a simple package put together with a few key screens that are supposed to be “clues” – not every single image means something. Plenty of coincidences to go here. The important phrases the promo focuses are on “Saveus” itself, as Jericho always used to say he jumped brands to “save the WWF!” Another one seems fake, as it’s tough to frame the video, but a screen seems to appear right above “SAVE_US” saying “JER_ICO” There’s also mentions of the date No Mercy air – 10/7. If they can’t come up with anything, I’d look towards Jericho being the surprise at the show.
Though key players have came back from their 30-day suspensions, with a Cena injury on their hands, the company is once again facing the “we have a thin roster” issue. Two legends that are currently out with injury are Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels – a lot has been said about Flair particularly, and none of it is as seems, so I want to put an end to the speculations. Nothing has been worked out between Ric Flair and WWE. In the public appearances he’s made since he handed his two-week warning to the company, he’s been saying he hasn’t quit. While there’s some truth to it, he’s not back either. He had a meeting with Vince a few days ago, where he brought his lawyer – not a good move when McMahon is on TV saying he hates lawyers. Apparently, the two sides left the meeting even farther from an agreement than they were beforehand.
The problem with Flair is not new. Steve Austin had suggested an idea to Vince McMahon where Flair will lose a bunch of matches in a row, and then come out on TV and cut a solid promo (something he’s very good at) saying his next loss will be his last match, and retire. He would then go on a long winning streak, beating midcarders and eventually top names, all culminating at WrestleMania, where he would win the title, and retire the night before at the Hall of Fame – a long-time dream Flair has had. Vince loved the idea, but when he pitched it with excitement to creative, Brian Gewirtz was vocal against it, pointing out Flair would have to beat a lot of top names which would take heat off of them. There’s also the risk the company is taking with Flair at his age, running a program like this. A more serious injury clearly ends the streak, and the whole program, and then you’re left with a bunch of top guys who have all lost to an old guy who’s now out. The idea kept getting canceled, then it’d be brought up again, etc, in a never-ending cycle. Flair had been upset with the company since WrestleMania when his match with Carlito was taken off the card, though both him and Colon were told beforehand it would be on. Finally, this September when the office failed to communicate with him over some issues, he blew up and gave his notice. It wasn’t looked good at, since he owes McMahon quite a lot of money (Vince loaned Flair money to pay off his IRS debt back in the day), but it is what it is. We’ll keep you updated.
Shawn Michaels is supposed to return within a couple of months, with many targeting December, or even November as his return. The problem is that during his time off, Michaels has enjoyed the free time with his children, as well as the opportunity to reflect on his religion – his favorite hobby and lifestyle at the moment. He even brought up to some people that he’s not interested in coming back. Michaels is doing well financially, doesn’t have the need to come back, and has never really been happy with the second part of his career after returning from his back injury. It’s an interesting situation, as close friend HHH had asked The Showstopper to return sooner due to the thin roster, even in a non-wrestling role if needed to, but Michaels wouldn’t have any of it. Himself and Triple H went down to OVW a couple weeks back to help teach talent, and give a few pointers. Upper management was surprised Shawn actually went, which is a good sign, as they were hoping he’d go and get the ring fever again. However, he seems to have gotten his fix, and is still debating whether to come back or not.
I’ll try to give you more N&A reports in the near future, but much shorter, focused on one or two news items, but with lots of thoughts and analysis. Hopefully it works out.
