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Pimpstress' Post: Stepping It Up in '08 (+ Top 10 List)
Date Added: January 21, 2008
Story By: Lana Cooper
For over the past month, WWE has been stepping it up in terms of quality matches and angles. Both the wrestlers and writers seem to have hit their stride. Looking back to the tail end of 2007 and 2008 thus far, each of WWE's three programs have brought their A-game to the table.
On RAW, company's flagship show, there hasn't been a single bad episode in at least two months. Having hit a rough patch with the RAW brand's then-champion, John Cena's injury which currently has sidelined him until post-Wrestlemania, right now, RAW is better than it has been in maybe a year or two. While Cena is a good performer with a strong work ethic, The Champ suffered from an acute case of overexposure and RAW as a whole -- and the fans -- suffered as well. It's a shame that it took a severe injury to a star that virtually the entire show was built around for WWE to realize that the brand would benefit much more from equal distribution of storylines and time in the spotlight for a number of wrestlers instead of honing in on just one.
Randy Orton finally got his crack at a long-term run with the WWE Championship belt and has proven himself to be an uber-heel who can put on some pretty good matches. While I'm not wild about the five-minute chinlocks he employs during title defenses, Orton is true old school and a nice throwback to the guys who can build the momentum of a match and tell a story in the ring instead of blowing the whole load in one fell swoop. As a heel champion, Orton has been a dastardly, yet effective one.
While many people expected Triple H to HHHog the spotlight in Cena's absence, instead, he has demonstrated a willingness to act in a strong supporting capacity. As of late, Trips has been a secondary player helping to put over Ric Flair in one hell of a match on New Year's Eve, among others. One of the major storylines currently being rotated into the RAW mix is the impending retirement of Ric Flair, with the Nature Boy put on notice by Vinnie Mac that if he loses a match, he is automatically being forced into retirement. This storyline, while not featured every single week on RAW (a wise move to make this arc a bit more plausible), has given Flair the opportunity to put on tour de force promos and even better matches. This will probably end up with Flair retiring (hopefully with one last run with the gold), but it's a great and classy way to set up a legend going out.
Besides his work with Flair, Triple H has also become something of a mentor during the course of his program with Jeff Hardy. Speaking of Jeff Hardy, the Rainbow Haired Warrior (to snag a page out of J.R.'s handbook) has been given a golden opportunity that he may not have otherwise been given had the creative team kept the focus on Cena. Right now, Hardy has been working his ass off in several tremendous matches with Triple H and finishing his matches in the past several weeks against Umaga and Randy Orton with some sick, death-defying, Mick Foley-worthy leaps from the top of a steel cage and even higher. Although Hardy doesn't need these insanely high spots to put on a showstopper of a match, already a talented and dynamic competitor as it stands -- his finishers in the past few weeks have only added even more punch to his performances. Jeff Hardy has the makings of becoming the next Shawn Michaels if he stays on track and hopefully, the Powers That Be give him a well-deserved title run.
That brings us to Shawn Michaels and his program with Mr. Ken Kennedy. In my opinion, while Kennedy started off his career as an unparalleled natural on the mike, his long-term injury and absence squashed his momentum and Kennedy wasn't quite the same afterward. His matches were stale and his skills on the stick took a bit of a beating with Kennedy alternately trying too hard or not putting enough into his promos. Working with Shawn Michaels has seemed to have put a bit more spring in Kennedy's step with his matches improving by leaps and bounds and not only improved promo skills, but also improved reaction skills in terms of promos and matches to comedic, but realistic effect. Case in point, check out Kennedy's Armageddon PPV match with Michaels where he grimaces in pain and bites the ring ropes. Classic!
Another odd pairing that has worked well recently is Matt Hardy and MVP. Although he's the veteran of the two, Matt's promos have improved greatly by hanging around Montel Vontavious Porter. The "frenemies" have been one of the highlights of the Smackdown roster and MVP has rapidly advanced in the ranks, and rightly so. As alluded to by the legendary Flair this Friday night on Smackdown, MVP is the total package who combines great promo skills, solid wrestling skills with a nice mix of mat and aerial maneuvers, and damn, dude… That guy can dress!
The surprise hit of 2008, at least in terms of mike-work, however, has been Santino Marella. After pulling off "The Milan Miracle" as an "unknown" from the crowd at a show in Italy, Marella beat Umaga for the Intercontinental title. While Santino's actual matches leave a lot to be desired, the creative team capitalized on the fans' ire at Marella and made him into one of cockiest, funniest, and most entertaining heels on either brand. While it's not necessarily the biggest treat to see Marella wrestle, whenever Santino gets on the mike, it is pure gold. From calling out the King with fifth-grade level insults such as "Jerry 'stupid' Lawler" to his mangling of the English language, Santino has gone from one of the most hated babyfaces to one of the best-loved heels thanks to some smart thinking on the part of creative.
Thus far in 2008, Santino has been the only superstar to really go toe-to-toe for some great exchanges with the returning legend, Chris Jericho. The return of Y2J (who seriously needs to ponder a nickname change considering we're well-past the year 2000) was sorely needed to rev up the roster with some more star power in a year where major injuries have sidelined top tier talent. Not just that, but Chris Jericho has been missed as a unique presence. Still in peak condition as a wrestler, Jericho's initial promo calling out Randy Orton (and his "child-bearing hips") was met with a welcoming pop from the crowd.
Jericho is currently engaged in a feud with another returning mouth, former Smackdown commentator John Bradshaw Layfield. While I'm not overjoyed at JBL's return to the ring, having enjoyed him much more as one of the best color guys currently going, what the JBL/Y2J confrontation may lack in the ring makes for a battle of dueling promos that makes it more worthwhile.
Speaking of Smackdown, the Friday night show, which was already good, has gotten even better with Eddie Guerrero's widow, Vickie, being given a prime spot as the show's General Manager, replacing the likeable Teddy Long. Making this more interesting is that not only is Guerrero the ultimate female heel of a GM, but she's carrying on a torrid (on-screen) affair with the current World Champion Edge and Teddy Long has been reduced to being her personal bitch. The interaction between Long, Guerrero, and Edge -- Master of Sarcastic Facial Expresions -- has been priceless. Chavo Guerrero has been interjected into this scenario, lending an uncomfortable touch of realism given the family connection between himself and Vickie Guerrero. It's also given him an opportunity to face Rey Mysterio yet again.
Initially, I thought, "Great. Chavo and Rey. AGAIN. Like we all haven't seen this before." Truthfully, their string of matches as of late have been PPV-level good and surprisingly fresh given how often they have worked with one another. Chavo is now being given a shot at the ECW title, which is pretty cool considering his legendary uncle's involvement in the original promotion.
As for ECW, it's gotten better. In its early stages, the resurrection of the beloved underground House of Extreme was touch-and-go with goofy characters and sub-par talent. Now it seems to be a training ground for new, upcoming talent or underutilized guys to shine. The feuds this year between CM Punk and the rechristened John Morrison for the ECW title were excellent. Of the three brands, ECW has been the one with the most stumbling blocks and growing pains, but it's improved immensely over the past year thanks to the crossover of Smackdown talent on the brand and such guys as Shelton Benjamin, Punk, Morrison, and Elijah Burke. While he doesn't have a major role on the brand, it's nice to see the Boogeyman have a regular home and still around on the scene. With that said, it would be nice to see a bit more of the ECW Originals who are still busting their asses on the brand.
Spanning all three brand extensions, the saga of Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son, Hornswoggle has made for some humorous moments. Giving ring veteran and trainer Finlay some well-deserved time in the spotlight, I doubt anyone would have thought that such a little guy (I'm talking about Hornswoggle here!) would make such an impact on the show. While the antics of the littlest McMahon often take up a little more TV time than they should, at the same time, these vignettes are always entertaining and I like that they haven't gone the route of having Hornswoggle beat guys three times his size on his own.
Rounding out what WWE has been doing right in the past month or so, the RAW 15th Anniversary Special was everything it should have been and more. This was really the turning point for getting things moving, crossing over into December's Armageddon PPV, which, in terms of quality, completely eclipsed 2007's rather disappointing Wrestlemania. With things on track as they are now and provided they stay on pace, 2008's Wrestmania PPV should be one of the best 'Manias in recent years.
Closing this puppy out, I'd like to throw in a top ten list of what I'd hope to see transpire by this time next year within the WWE. Maybe some of you out there might want to see the same, too!
Ten Things (within reason) That I Would Like to See in 2008: 10. Undertaker to keep his Wrestlemania undefeated streak 9. Owen Hart inducted into the Hall of Fame 8. In the event of Ric Flair retiring from active duty, the Nature Boy assuming JBL's old spot as Smackdown color coordinator 7. Big Daddy V putting his shirt back on....Please? 6. Less T&A and more convincing matches in the Women's division (**cough**Beth Phoenix vs. Victoria title feud, please**cough**) 5. Mega-pushes for Stevie Richards, Kane, London/Kendrick, and Shelton Benjamin 4. Titan Sports incorporating a dental and dermatological plan as part of Snitsky's compensation package 3. A WWE Championship title run for Jeff Hardy that lasts longer than two weeks 2. The return of a Tuesday Night Titans-type show with William Regal as the new Lord Alfred Hayes 1. An end to the brand extension with "open borders" between RAW, Smackdown, and ECW brands
