Unfortunately, due to my health, I was unable to invite the Internet’s leading lunatic, Mrs Linda Robin (of no fixed opinion), to a vigorous discussion regarding this year’s WWE Wrestlemania PPV. But by popular demand (or simply because you can’t legally stop me) Linda and I chatted briefly in the last few days (prior to last week’s Backlash PPV) regarding all things WWE and I have fashioned a vaguely readable column from the ashes of our thinly-veiled dislike of eachother’s point of view. As ever, I have rendered Mrs Robin’s Chicago brogue more palatable to intelligent tastes. Enjoy. Or not.
Lee says: Firstly, let me welcome Linda Robin back to a column with a functioning spellchecker. Did you miss our Wrestlemania chat?
Linda says: Glad to be here. Yeah, it’s not often I get to mix with a member of the Cena fan club.
Lee says: Way too early for that shit. Okay, seeing as your last column (about the ‘King of the ring’ 3-hour edition of Raw) seemed to polarise a lot of fans, we should start there. You still think it was a poor show or has the hatred subsided slightly?
Linda says: I feel just as I did right after the show, it was HORRENDOUS. The Hilary/Obama stuff was a total waste of time. And, as much as I love William Regal, that title should have gone to a younger talent.
Lee says: Well, bear in mind that NO ONE is supposed to like the Obama/Hilary thing, it’s just Vince giving us something to talk about again, even if it’s hatred. And I’m okay with Regal winning, mainly because it’s meaningless. And I thought recently that Punk needs a setback, no point in him getting everything his way after the MITB because that doesn’t suit his ‘underdog’ gimmick. You said in your column that you have “nothing against Regal”. Does an unselfish, long-serving performer not deserve an accolade every now and then?
Linda says: Well, an unselfish long-serving performer deserves that spot if that person is a consistent wrestler. But regal is not a guy that wrestles on a regular basis and I feel making him the new KOTR was just WRONG.
Lee says: I could understand that point if it was like the MITB winner because that would leave Regal in a position that was completely above him, having a title shot. But KOTR is little more than a name, a gimmick. If it had been a PPV then definitely I would have wanted the star of the show to be someone that can use it but the format was only brought back to sell an extended tv show.
Linda says: But see, I feel it’s time for the WWE to push the youth, push the future. With Regal now getting a push and JBL in the title picture it sends a bad message. The veterans are starting to take over.
Lee says: I hate to play the balance card again but the youth are getting a push (Matt/MVP/Punk) but it would be a shame to give them everything too early. That’s why guys like Regal and JBL are invaluable. Vince needs guys who put the company first, especially with guys like Jeff/Kennedy/Smith/Carlito who seem intent on wasting the opportunities that are given to them.
Linda says: Possibly, I can agree with you on MVP/Punk but Matt’s been around for a long time. What’s holding him back? He should be at a higher level by now. Vince should start pushing him and focus on him on Smackdown.
Lee says: True, Matt is probably 2 years behind where he should be but he’s only really been over for a year or so. And I’d bet that the timelines of Bret Hart’s development through the tag ranks and then in the mid-card mirrors Hardy’s current situation.
Linda says: Vince pushed Cena when he was hot, why not Matt? In a similar vein, it’s a shame that Mr Kennedy hasn’t reached that level yet but I think that’s more his fault than Vince. I’m very iffy on Kennedy right now.
Lee says: ‘Iffy’?? Is that your erudite, critical opinion of his talents?
Linda says: It is. The guy had it but he’s lost it now. I just feel something is lacking with him in and out of the ring. That’s not to say that he can’t get back what he had when he started but I’m not so into Mr Kennedy like I was.
Lee says: I think it’s really noticeable that Kennedy hasn’t really progressed since he debuted. Same schtick, same look, same moves. Most people would have undergone some sort of adjustment by now.
Linda says: And I don’t think his wrestling is anything exceptional either. He needs to be used more, that I agree with. Hopefully, once he returns Monday we will get to see more of him.
Lee says: Staying with the younger talent, do you think CM Punk has deserved this recent push, which has seen him emerge from a slump on ECW?
Linda says: Yeah I do, especially after watching him Monday on Raw and this week on Smackdown. I think this guy has a bright WWE future.
Lee says: I still think he’s finding it hard to inject a lot of fluidity into his style, that WWE ring-style that Vince is keen to utilise. And I think that holds the fans back from getting into his matches completely. He’s over, but sometimes his work looks clunky.
Linda says: Well, on Smackdown against Edge he looked absolutely fantastic and the crowd really was into the match. It could have been Punk’s breakthrough performance. Plus, I thought his mic work with Edge during the opening was very good, very entertaining. They worked well with each other.
Lee says: It does help early on in your career if you find someone with whom you just click, especially someone just above you on the roster. Just ask HBK/Hart. But it doesn’t matter how well the younger guys work against eachother, it is vital for them to be taken seriously by the fans that the veterans relent and let them be seen as equals. And right now Taker/Batista/HHH/JBL only seem to be giving that concession sparingly, not as the norm. That’ll hurt the transition to new main eventers in the future.
Linda says: I would put Edge in that category. To me, he’s not old by any means but he’s not one of the young guys anymore. He should be seen as equal.
Lee says: True, but that’s probably worse because it’s even more of a disappointment that, at this stage of his career, a win against those guys that I mentioned would be seen as an upset for Edge. Even though he’s been champion. Change of subject, your thoughts on the Backlash PPV?
Linda says: Well I think it’s going to be a weak PPV. It’s not exactly a must see show.
Lee says: It has its weak points, I’ll admit, but the Fatal four-way should be decent and the HBK/Batista match is at least new. They may have some problems with connectivity but Shawn has shown in the past that he can pull good matches out of big guys.
Linda says: I think HBK/Batista will be the match of the show. The fatal four-way will be nothing special.
Lee says: I meant “okay” inasmuch as it’s the same as one of the Wrestlemania main events just with a second heel added. Regardless of who’s in it, that counts as “okay”, doesn’t it?
Linda says: Maybe. You do know the match of the PPV will be Big Show/Khali right? Hopefully we’ll get lucky and the ring will collapse before it starts.
Lee says: I do think Vince would have been stupid not to do it, it’s not as if he’s turned this type of spectacle down in the past. I don’t think expectations of match quality will be too high but, then again, anyone who thinks this will be a mat-classic doesn’t really understand what Vince wants from the match.
Linda says: Vince’s only interest seems to be in pushing the big guys who can’t produce.
Lee says: Isn’t HHH a ‘big guy’? He’s received enough pushes over the years. You think he should be de-pushed to let new talent through from the mid-card?
Linda says: No, I mean wrestlers like Khali, Mark Henry, Vis and now this Vladimir Kozlov guy. Hunter isn’t in that group. He’s big and talented, they aren’t.
Lee says: Not sure the giants are getting good storylines though. I can’t remember the last time Khali/Vis/Henry got anything with depth or that pushed them as anything other than one-dimensional monsters. Most of the time they are built using jobbers or the mid-card only to eventually succumb to the real main eventers like Batista/HHH/Cena/Taker. All the writing goes to the veterans or the proven main eventers.
Linda says: Yeah but Mark Henry was pushed for a while in the upper tier, too long for my liking. And now this Vladimir guy is going to be shoved down our throats for ages and I don’t believe the fans will care about him anymore in the weeks or months to come as they do now. This isn’t what fans want. They want the high-flyers, the young talent and the veterans like Hunter, HBK, Jericho and, yes, even Cena.
Lee says: Man, that last one must have stuck in your craw to type. So you think Vladimir will be champion? Or dominating the shows? I don’t. He’ll get lots of wins, against no one that matters, but the fans will ignore it. God knows I do. Regardless of victories, that doesn’t sound like a ‘push’ to me.
Linda says: No, he won’t get near a major title. But it’ll be just like Heidenreich several years ago; things will be going fairly well, they will put him in high-profile matches against main event talent and the shows lose momentum. It’s a waste of time. The Great Khali was champion and look how that played out, it went nowhere.
Lee says: True, that wasn’t pretty. But I still see why they did it. And at least they did it right. They took it to a point where the crowd responded in the desired manner when Khali slapped on the head-vice.
Linda says: Well, I just hate that they get pushed. And the smaller guys like London, Kendrick, Yang and Noble are on but then are gone for weeks before they get on again.
Lee says: If it weren’t for house shows, they’d never get ring time. Speaking of underused talent, do you think Beth Phoenix is doing a good job as the focal point of the women’s division?
Linda says: I still can’t get into Beth.
Lee says: Into her work or her look?
Linda says: Her look is too bulky for me. And truthfully I don’t feel they are really giving her a chance to show her stuff. They have been keeping her at the same level for over 6 months.
Lee says: I’ll admit that she’s not thin or overtly feminine but, yes, the main problem is that they’re not using her right.
Linda says: Now when she first came up she wasn’t built that way was she? I don’t remember her looking like that.
Lee says: Not quite, though I think this is more what Vince wanted. Something a bit more like Bull Nakano, than Trish Stratus.
Linda says: I’m probably being overly dramatic here but do you think this is Vince’s way of saying to Chyna that he doesn’t need her and that he can bring someone up just like her or better?
Lee says: I’d be concerned if Vince created his product as a series of jabs at his former employees. I think this type of bullish, monster-heel diva is a gimmick he routinely comes back to.
Linda says: Do you feel, like I do, that Beth is just going nowhere? And that it’s all about Maria and other divas.
Lee says: Bigger picture again for me. This is just a small part of the fact that Vince has lost interest in running meaningful storylines all the way down the card. Same with the tag division, the IC title, US title, cruiserweights and the under-card. It looks like he doesn’t think they can carry the workload, so he asks them to do less and it loses something.
Linda says: Yeah, I’ll agree with that.
Lee says: Oh no, we agree on something, RUN!!!
Linda says: We usually do. And when we don’t, I’m right and YOU ARE WRONG.
Lee says: Hey, I’ve been married too long to disagree with a woman who takes that tone. We’ll leave it there I think. Thanks for your time Linda.
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