The wheels are off the boat...huh?
The Truth Fairy
I think we all smelled what the Rock was cooking last night, and if you’re like me, it smelled like BS. One would hope that the WWE would learn from an action star that actions speak louder than words. This is not to say that we all don’t love to hear him talk, because we all do, as he truly is an electrifying-man on-screen and in front of the mic, but we do expect the WWE to sell us the match on more that just words and history. Have the match evoke some emotions from the fans, taking it to the next level, while showing us that you have stopped trading off the “OMG, The Rock is back…again!” emotion.
The best way to do this would have been to have the Rock perform his “speech” while at the “U” (his alma mater) in the weight room during a workout (due to his filming schedule). Promote through the various resources online and during Smackdown, making it obvious to everyone that it’s going to happen live and to tune in. However, this time have his response be a firm “no”, out of a lack of respect for Cena. Awesome Truth, having predicted this, show up and destroy the Rock for rejecting the match. This leaves the Rock no choice but team up with Cena, as he now has a personal stake in the outcome, as his pride was hurt, he will have reason to get along with Cena and thus reason to work with him in order to destroy A-T. If the match is strategized perfectly, this entire scenario can lend itself to conflict between the two main stars. Think about it, the Rock is going to want to beat down A-T as much as possible for the shame they brought on him and his alma mater, so if Cena ends up taking the bulk of the work, the Rock is going to find a way to get into the match and get his own licks in. Cena, not one to take a backseat, will take umbrage with this and find a way to run the match fairly. Early in the match, on everyone’s best behavior the fans with be concerned that the two are getting along and that no animosity will carry over through to WM. Working the match like this makes the issues between the two more tangible than the name-calling ,that’s, so far, been the hallmark of the feud. As fans, we will need something big to chew on for the months leading up to WM and this offers something substantial.
On the other side of the ring post, this will secure major heat for A-T. Heat they drastically need to cash in on, based on the enormous popularity of the Rock. Think about the Rock as a popularity ATM, a properly executed strategy can help A-T to withdraw heat at no loss to the Rock (in fact, the opposite), and put them into the heel stratosphere with minimal work on both sides. It’s just too inviting not to attempt to embarrass and injure the Rock. I was disappointed with the creatively lazy, “verbal” effort Monday night. This is something you wouldn’t expect from either the Rock or Cena (known workorses), but something that, as of late, has become standard practice for the WWE.
Hall of Lame
Last night, WWE fans missed out on an opportunity to bear witness to an epic match between CM PUNK and Mark Henry, instead we were “tricked” into a quick ADR commissioned run-in. The shoddiness of last night’s match coupled with the timeframe in which CM Punk needed to get ADR’s acceptance for a title match, made me start to think about the actual hours and minutes the WWE has until a heavily promoted match, and how crucial it is to use the time wisely.
We all know that the WWE prefers to use terms such as “days” and “weeks” when it comes to promoting matches, mostly upcoming PPV’s, and given that we have, roughly, 180 minutes a week of TV time, it is important to use that time to evoke the exact emotions we want our fans to have. When you think about the time frame in this manner, you can’t help but be blown away and, even worse, can’t help but feel disappointed in a weak TV spot. From the second they decide to have a match, there is a cap on interactions, face-time, mic-time and ring time, much in the way that screenwriting has models for characterization and “moving the plot along.” When “crap” makes it through this important time filter, it’s effect is so obvious, wasting everyone’s time. Given that CM Punk and the rest of the WWE will be taking a backseat at the next PPV to the Main Event of Rock/Cena vs. A-T, they are already at a disadvantage thanks to this week’s “limp” segment. A missed TV spot only serves to create PPV’s where only one match is important. As a longtime fan, I want us to have it all and by that I mean we can revisit those loaded WCW and ECW PPV cards. Nowadays, if you’re like me, I look up the card online or ask a friend (because I don’t care to remember) and decide where the bathroom breaks can take place. Heck, to be honest, these days it’s best to bring a magazine with me and take my time. There’s no reason an ADR match with Punk can’t have the same amount of emotional response from the fans as a match starring the Rock (believe it or not, there are now fans that didn’t grow up with the Rock as a staple).
MuppetMania 1
I have to be honest here, I really, really wanted to be a jerk about this whole Muppet deal, but the WWE and Disney executed their spots perfectly, so much so that it won me over. From the get go, I had a hard time dealing with the fact that they were taking up valuable TV time (see above), but the nostalgia evoked by seeing my childhood “friends” transported me to an earlier time, a time where I could sit with my family and watch “The Muppet Show”, not having a care in the world. This is what the WWE used to be, and needs to get back to, or I will have to say good-bye. Realizing this, I became a bit saddened as it became apparent the current WWE doesn’t care about fostering this nostalgia. They have decided to create “sports entertainment” with “superstars” instead of putting on a great wrestling show with grand wrestlers. The brand has changed to become something I can find on any channel at anytime. Is it any wonder that we rave about shows like Dexter, Breaking Bad, or Mad Men, where clearly someone has spent time with with their craft carefully constructing our entertainment? Vince has spent a lifetime in wrestling, he is a “zen” master at this game, and yet has made the decision to move it in a new direction, one that seems to be changing with the times. What nobody told Vince is that wrestling fans don’t really change, we want the same things we wanted five and ten years (coincidentally, modern wrestling’s apex) ago. Vince needs to learn that nostalgia is something rare in a brand, consisting of two requisite components: a consistent product and loyal fans. If you are not creating memorable moments with your product, your fans will become less loyal and then the brand will be tarnished. Again, I don’t have a problem with change or vision from someone who is a visionary, but if it doesn’t work, you have to reassess the situation and sometimes go backwards in order to go forwards. Case in point, the Muppets are “classic” and I feel that wrestling should have a certain classic feel to it every time I sit down and watch it. A loyal fan needs to be able to slip into the nostalgia we are talking about, or else a loyal fan can become a frustrated one.
While the Muppets spots were entertaining and well executed, they needed to be swung more towards the WWE brand. The “commercial” aspect of the merger needed to exploit the rich history of the WWE. It would have been phenomenal to see the WWE make fun of itself as it displayed it’s most proudest and not-so-proudest moments while using the Muppet to do so. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination, but spots such as an MWO Muppet scene, with requisite invasion angle, or a Muppet rendition of “Sexy Boy”, or even a Muppet Evolution spot (as much I would love to hear Kermit say “suck it”, I can’t promote a Muppet DX spot). This would have created, as the Miz likes to say “must see” TV, the kind of TV that is considered “classic (there’s that word again) and more importantly, classic WWE TV. The kind that now lives forever on youtube and friendly emails (the not annoying kind).
Addendum:
The Miss Piggy/Jomo spot would have been hilarious if they would have made fun of the internet rumours about Jomo giving the cold shoulder to Trish. If anything it would have served to put it behind all of us, as most of us are tired of Jomo getting buried and/or having to read about the reasons behind it.
Weapons of mass WTF?!
The WWE needs to think of better ways to manage their champion. What sense does it make to have him lose clean to a “weak” Big Show? I say weak because you not only show the Vengeance PPV match, “only 8 days ago”, where Show gave it his all, but you have the announcers constantly pointing out that Show looks “tired” and not “100 percent”, etc. Then, given all of that, you have him knock your Champion unconscious? Yes, I understand that you needed to hit a certain end, so that Punk can come out and take advantage of him, but there had to be another way to hit that note.
One such note would have you put ADR in a position where he has to make an impossible choice about the PPV. Does he meet Punk alone at Survivor Series or does he have to face a 3 way, with another face along for the ride. Surely given this scenario, ADR will have to choose a one-on-one match with Punk. Or, if you want to go “light” with the decision, have it be a flub by Ricardo, who happens to respond via text to Laurinaitis with ADR’s phone (god forbid you gives us any insight or depth into Ricardo’s relationship with ADR…).
During the CM Punk portion of this segment, a WWE symbol came up on screen as CM Punk delivered the anaconda vice to ADR, making me wonder how the powers that be allowed this to slip through. They had to have known about the choke hold Punk was planning to use, and if not, what a waste of chance to really be un-“PG”. (I readily admit this could have been a feed issue, as I watched Raw online, through Justin.tv
Swagger-Ziggler “wake”
Its heartbreaking to see those with potential getting buried for no reason. Putting these two in singles matches with Santino and Ryder is just plain sad. Jomo, who deserves his burial due to his stratospheric lack of professionalism, should have been put in a 3 way with Santino and Ryder. I’ve already discussed Swagger and Ziggler pathways in older posts and need them to have an obtainable future in the WWE fast or I won’t care about them either way.
In the case of the Ziggler defeat by Ryder the burial is much, much deeper, as a title is attached to the loser. Clearly, this is how the lesser belts lose any credibility they have. The person holding a title belt in your company should mean that they know how to win at a high level, and it doesn’t necessarily mean a fair win (especially for a heel). A heel with a title belt should rarely lose because he has so much more at his disposal than a face. He should be ready to win at all costs with any kind of help, thus making Monday night’s situation even worse for Ziggler, as his manager was ringside. The only reason you have Ryder “own” Ziggler is because you want to give him that title in the future, and if that is the case, then I’m fine with it. However, given the amount of TV time, non-in-ring, I would have to say that this is not the case. It’s almost as if the WWE wants to see how popular they can let this kid get without giving him the mic. Maybe he really does deserve to be the “internet” champion.
Awesome Awkwardness
Much like all of the matches of the night, the main event of Cena vs Miz was mired in awkwardness. It also didn’t help that we really didn’t get to see either of the two prior to the match, which meant our interest in the match lies solely on the potential for a good match.
To summarize:
It was an awkward match.
With an awkward (yet predictable) end.
To an awkward show…with puppets.
Until next week.
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