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Subject: Week in Review
Posted by: Great One@Work
- [59946299] Wed, Nov 17, 2004, 16:51
cut and paste - pretty long - but interesting - article I just read with some good details from SS PPV that I didn't know... also makes some good points about HHH and the younger talent.
Dan Wahlers looks at WWE over the past week
Will They Ever Learn? Looking at: Survivor Series, and the Raw Aftermath
njguy316@yahoo.com
Survivor Series 2004 came and went, and ended up much like I expected, a middle of the road show. There weren't any bad matches per say, even the Undertaker/Heidenreich match was better than anyone could have expected. There was effort on the part of a lot of the talent, so it wasn't like it was a poorly worked show. But in the end, when the show went off the air at 10:35 PM ET, I was left with a blah feeling regarding the show. Nothing about the show stood out as being memorable, or remarkable. There were no surprises, and no title changes. The results were predictable, and the crowd was less than enthusiastic, a disturbing trend for recent WWE PPV's. It was pretty much what I had expected going in, and that's not a good thing no matter how you look at it.
Once again, nobody stood out from the pack to distinguish themselves as possibly someone worth watching more closely in the future. Randy Orton defeated Triple H to win the Raw Elimination Match. He did it cleanly, right in the middle of the ring, which is exactly the way it should have happened. However, the feeling I got watching it all unfold was not that I was watching the next huge star, like Jim Ross tried so hard to get across, but rather a boring, predictable end to a boring, predictable show. The way the match ended so abruptly, there was no drama, no suspense to the finish. It just kind of came from nowhere, and it was over with a snap of the fingers. Orton needed to go over, which I stated in my last column. But to steal a line from Lance Storm, they needed more bells and whistles to along with it, and they didn't deliver on that throughout the course of the show.
As for the match itself, it wasn't a bad match, but nothing special either. Not the kind of quality main event you expect on one of their major shows. It's unacceptable when your best worker Chris Benoit is eliminated first, and the match still has another 20 minutes to go. That is piss poor booking at its worst. Maven was there to be your sacrificial lamb, which is what he should have been. Not your best worker, a man who can carry a match by himself. Instead Maven was booked to come out later in the match, for a heat spot cleaning house on all the heels, including potatoing Gene Snitsky which caused that nasty gash he had above his eye. The crowd didn't care about Maven, and everyone knew it. I don't get why he was booked for such a role in this match.
Maven could be, and I emphasize the word "could" be a star somewhere down the road, but it's going to take time, and them actually booking him as such. Not booking him as a jobber on Heat for two years, and then all of a sudden throwing him in the main event at Survivor Series, because Shawn Michaels happened to get hurt. It doesn't work that way. The time to capitalize on Maven was right after he won the first Tough Enough, and they tried with that angle he did with Undertaker, but too much time as passed since then. They needed to start from scratch with him, and they didn't do it.
Gene Snitsky had his first high profile PPV match, and I think he accounted pretty well for himself. He's become the punch line for a lot of jokes lately, but I don't think he's as bad as everyone makes him out to be. He was given a specific role to play, and I think he plays it well. He's getting over with the fans as a heel. They don't ask him to do too much, and he seems like he's capable of being carried to passable matches in the ring. Everyone keeps waiting for him to screw up, and embarrass himself in the ring, and I haven't seen him do it yet. I think everyone needs to give the guy a chance, and not be so quick to discard him as a failure already. He's actually one of the few new guys WWE has attempted to make that has caught on with the fans in some way.
He's certainly not going to be Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle all rolled into one, but it seems like he knows when to be in the right place, at the right time in the ring. I guess his true test will come when he has his first main event singles match on PPV against someone like Benoit or Jericho, then we'll really be able to tell what the guy has, or doesn't have. I think people need to give him a break right now. You can't say WWE needs to make new stars, and then piss on every one they attempt to make. You have to be patient, and give every one a chance. That is if you care at all about the future of the company, and more importantly the future of the wrestling business as a whole.
Survivor Series opened with a good Cruiserweight Four-Way match. All four guys Spike Dudley, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, and Chavo Guerrero worked hard to cram as much action as they could into the ten minutes they were given for the match, and did a good job. I thought at the time they could have used more time, but I accepted it figuring they needed it for one of the elimination matches later in the night, which are traditionally booked to go a long time. That wasn't the case on this night, as the Smackdown Elimination only went a little more than 12 minutes, and the Raw Elimination went about 25 minutes. The show went off the air 25 minutes before the top of the hour, so there was extra time to be had. Why couldn't they have given the cruiserweights more time? Because, The Undertaker and Heidenreich had to go 16 minutes.
That was a match I expected to be bad, and in all honesty wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Undertaker really worked hard to try and carry Heidenreich to a passable match, and I think he did that. The match shouldn't have gone as long as it did, especially given the slow, methodical style they were working. I'm not going to totally knock it though, because I've definitely seen far worse this year. We also found out that while Heidenreich is a big clod in the ring, he's also capable of being led through a match without totally falling on his face. This match should have realistically been booked to go half of what it did, and more time should have been added to the CW Four-Way, and the Smackdown Elimination.
The Smackdown Elimination was gone through so fast, that it was like Angle's team was late for a flight or something. And it seemed like half of the 12 minutes was devoted to Mark Jindrak laying in boring rest holds with different people, lulling the crowd into a malaise that they didn't really recover from the rest of the night. We knew going in with Carlito's injury situation that he wasn't going to work much, if at all, and I liked the angle they did to explain him leaving. Hopefully he'll have whatever surgery he needs to have, and get back soon, because he is another new act that was actually starting to get over.
John Cena showed more spirit and fire in that segment that he ever has before, proving that he can play serious when he wants. He needs to show more of that in the future if ever expects to go anywhere. After that, Cena didn't tag into the match once, and his only offensive move was an FU to Kurt Angle leading to the finish. The crowd popped huge for Cena during his entrance, so I think they made a big mistake by not involving him in the match more. He was more over than any of his three teammates, and as far as I know he had no real injuries that would preclude him from actually participating in the match.
Kurt Angle's neck must be worse off than any of us realize, because he didn't do much in the match at all. That might be another reason why the match was so short. WWE needs to start planning for life after Angle, because I don't believe he will last much longer. I did like the hint they gave towards a possible Kurt Angle/Shawn Michaels match in the future. That is one match I would love to see, and one they have never done before. That is probably one of the few matches they could create out of the current WWE roster that people would actually want to see, and one they haven't seen before.
Angle against Michaels is a dream match for wrestling fans. Two of the greatest workers from two different eras going against each other. I hope they figure out a way to make it happen, and Wrestlemania 21 would be a great time and place. I know Angle/Undertaker was one of the planned WM 21 matches at one point, but Angle/Michaels is a much more attractive match. I don't think too many people would argue that point, nor argue that it would be a better quality match than anything Angle and Undertaker could put together.
A couple of other notes on Survivor Series. I thought the Shelton Benjamin/Christian I-C Title match was a really good match. Benjamin had a good showing, and really looks to be improving as an in-ring worker. He used a bigger variety of moves than I have seen from him yet. Jim Ross really tried to push Benjamin as someone special, and a future star. I think it's a smart move, because Benjamin does have all the goods, and I think he will only get better as times goes on. Christian got a much-needed change of his entrance music, and an updated look as far as his ring attire goes. I doubt that will lead to his status in the company improving at all. He's a guy that just seems to be stuck where he is. The Trish/Lita 1:15 DQ finish was very cheap for PPV, but I understand why they did it. This is pretty much the only marketable women's match they have left, so they want to milk it for all it's worth. They should have still made an effort to come up with a better match scenario than that. Doing 1:15 DQ finishes on PPV isn't good for an already declining PPV business. JBL/Booker T, well I fell asleep during that match, so I think that tells you all you need to know about what I thought of it. And Survivor Series as a whole, really.
Monday on Raw was a different story altogether. The crowd in Indianapolis was hot for everything, and that makes a huge difference in how the show comes across. I don't blame the fans in Cleveland for not reacting well to Survivor Series, but a hot crowd always makes a show seem better, even if it's really not on paper. Maven was the GM for the night, and naturally booked himself into a title match against Triple H. He also booked several other interesting matches, which made the first half of Raw good. I really liked the idea of Edge and Christian teaming up against Chris Benoit and Shelton Benjamin, and it was a good, entertaining match. The whole Eugene and William Regal winning the tag titles segment was also very well done, and the crowd seemed to be very into it. I'm personally happy for Regal, because he has been through a lot to get back where he is, and it's nice to see him being rewarded for his hard work, and determination. The main storyline of the show was HHH trying to talk Maven into joining Evolution, which he did in a vignette that started out really good, but as with most HHH promos, he loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and it ended up really dragging at the end. Chris Benoit said more in the two minutes he talked to Maven, then HHH did in his entire ten minute speech. Reminding all the people that always bring it up, that Benoit actually can talk on the mic, and be effective when given good material. Maven ended up turning him down, and they had the match in the main event spot on Raw.
This match has gotten dissected by a lot of people, and a lot of questions have come up regarding how everyone was portrayed as a result of the match. One thing I will say is they booked a lot big heat spots at the end of the match, and the crowd got really into it. But the main problem was the basic premise of the match, and what it means for the future. The story of the match was Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and later Randy Orton pulling out every heel trick in the book, in order to cost HHH the title. The only problem with that is none of them are supposed to be heels, and group cheating is supposed to be done by heels on a face World Champion. The only problem with that is Triple H isn't a face champion; in fact he's supposed to be the #1 heel in the company. So why was the booking so ass backwards? Because this is Triple we're talking about, and you should already know the answer to that question.
So what WWE fans were basically told is Triple H is better than Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho, and definitely better than Maven. They were told that HHH will always win despite all the odds stacked against him, and they shouldn't even bother hoping for one of those guys to beat him, because it's never going to happen. Here's the thing about that. If the company was rolling along, and business was booming, then I would applaud that booking decision, because that is how you book a heel champion. That's how they booked Superstar Billy Graham, and it made it all the more important when Bob Backlund finally defeated him for the title.
However, with the way business is now, and the lack of a top drawing face challenger for HHH, he should be going out of his way to put over the ones they do have. That would be Orton, Benoit, Jericho, and even Maven to an extent, the four guys that were made to look like buffoons on Monday. It's the same game HHH has been playing for years now. Make it appear on the surface like he's really putting someone over, when he's really undercutting them from behind. The idea they're going for is that people will realize HHH barely wins his matches, and that he's beatable any given week. In theory, that would increase interest in his matches, leading to a culmination when he finally does drop the belt. If HHH were dropping the belt to either of Orton, Benoit, or Jericho over the next three weeks, then the booking on Monday would make more sense. But I don't see that happening.
What I see happening is HHH remaining champion after he successfully turns back the challenges of the remaining three Raw faces, and him standing alone with no one to work with, and no one anyone wants to see him work with. HHH will have squandered yet another opportunity to use his name, and superstar status to help make another wrestler. That's what's going to happen if they keep up this selfish, one-way style of booking. The remaining fans they have left are going to get fed up with HHH, and turn the channel, and the rapidly declining business will continue. Triple H is slowly ruining the company, and Vince McMahon is to blame for letting it happen. He's the only person, the only man in this world that could stand up to HHH, and end his death grip on Raw's top spot. But he doesn't want to, because HHH and all the ass kissing, shallow writers and agents he surrounds himself with have Vince believing HHH will somehow lead the company out of the doldrums they are currently in. People like Pat Patterson, who have the nerve to stand up, and say that isn't the way to go, are accused of not being team players, and out of touch with the current wrestling business.
Well who exactly is in touch with the current wrestling business? I'd like to know that. It sure as hell isn't Vince McMahon, nor is it Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Brian Gewertz, John Laurenitis, or the majority of the people working high positions in WWE today. They think they are in touch with what the fans of today want, and it's obvious that they aren't. It's obvious when HHH dominates every episode of Raw, and guys that the fans do like are booked like second-class jobbers. It's obvious when they create corny 1980's style gimmicks like Simon Dean, and Mohammed Hassan, and attempt to push them down everyone's throat. No offense to Mike Bucci, formerly Nova in ECW, a guy that has a lot of talent. But the Simon Dean gimmick sucks, and the fans are not into it at all. They can have him come out every week, call the fans disgusting, fat, and whatever else, maybe they'll boo, because he's appealing to the lowest common denominator of cheap heat. But it stops there, because the character of Simon Dean is not a character people are going to want to pay to see, so what's the point of sending him out there every week, and taking up 20 minutes on a segment that was dead before it even started?
Garbage like that is not what the wrestling fans of today want to see. They want to see more realistic matches, and angles, like the stuff currently going on in Ring of Honor. Storylines that don't insult your intelligence, which leads to a match between two guys who know how to work, and the issues are resolved in the ring. One guy wins, one guy loses. It's as simple as wrestling gets, and it's the formula that has been working since the first wrestling match back in the 1800's. Vince McMahon used to know how to follow that formula, while throwing in his own personal ideas, and visions that made WWE the most successful wrestling promotion of all-time. Somewhere during the last several years, he lost that ability to connect with his audience, and shows no signs of being able to regain what he once had.
They have some young guys like Orton, Benjamin, Cena, and others that have potential, and the fans like. But they will never be allowed to rise on their own, as long as people like HHH, Undertaker, and even Kurt Angle to an extent have to be catered to on a weekly basis. It's Vince's fault for letting it happen, and only he can be the one to change it. Maybe one day before he finally retires from the business he helped make, he will find that creative genius in him again. Right now, it's simply not there. The inmates are indeed running the asylum, and one of the biggest, guiltiest inmates of them all is the current World Heavyweight Champion, you know his name all too well.
Oh, Triple H will get the spot in wrestling history books that he so craves, but it won't be for what he did in the ring. It will be for his major role in killing off a once proud, once standard bearing wrestling company that is a shell of its former self, and showing few signs of improving. Somehow, I don't think it's an honor that a wrestling history buff like HHH wants to be associated with. But it's happening, and he's the major reason why. Pat Patterson didn't know how right he was, and something tells me more than a few people in the company know Pat was right too. Instead of fixing the problem, they can just keep moving to smaller buildings, and see what the "Cerebral Assassin" thinks about working a main event in front of 500 people.
Thanks for reading. Be back next week. Feedback is always welcomed, and appreciated at the address below.
Please send feedback to: njguy316@yahoo.com
Dan Wahlers
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