For The Record 6.14.09: Batista’s Glorious Title Win
Posted by Kristopher Rodriguez on 06.14.2009
The WWE Championship situation has been handled brilliantly. That may not be a popular opinion, but I rarely agree with the IWC anyway.
The Animal Reigns Supreme
At Extreme Rules, Batista defeated Randy Orton in a cage for the WWE Championship. It was a brief match, roughly seven minutes in length. And what was my reaction? I cheered… for a few different reasons.
First and foremost, it was great to see Batista win the WWE Championship. I don't know if Batista was THE most deserving wrestler. But how often do THE most deserving wrestlers win world titles anyway? What I enjoyed about seeing Batista win was that he reached a milestone in his career. He had never been WWE Champion before. It's an honor for any wrestler to hold that strap. Yes, he was a multi-time World Heavyweight Champion. But for some reason, his first WWE Title victory was refreshing.
Second, I was glad the match was brief. I know that some fans believe the match was short because of Batista's injury. But I suspect it would have been short either way. I sincerely doubt that WWE would have slashed Cena's time in his match. But anyway, Batista is an "Animal." He should be feared in cage matches, and he should be dominant in cage matches. It was logical for Batista to win quick and early. And besides, did anyone truly desire to see Orton and Batista go 20 minutes?
And third, I love world title changes. I know, it's not cool for an internet wrestling fan to enjoy frequent title changes. The IWC generally prefers lengthy reigns. However...
I suspect the IWC only prefers long reigns as a matter of principle or theory. They never seem to enjoy it in practice. Internet wrestling fans were ready to snap during Triple H's 280 run as World Heavyweight Champion from 2002 through 2003. Fans were also perturbed when Batista held that same strap for 282 days during his first reign. I also recall that many fans were coming close to a nervous breakdown when John Cena held the WWE Championship for over a year. And do you remember the IWC's reaction to JBL's 10 month run with the gold?
Wrestling fans are historians at heart. And every title change is historic. The fact is, nobody is going to make history with long title reigns. Bruno Sammartino had a seven year WWE Title reign. Bob Backlund was WWE Champion for five consecutive years. Hulk Hogan was champion for a few years in the 80s. No WWE superstar of today is going to have a reign anywhere near as long as Sammartino, Backlund, or Hogan. The only kind of wrestler that today's stars can hope to emulate is Ric Flair. Flair is a 16+ time world champion. He didn't become famous for lengthy reigns. He became famous for participating in quality, historic matches. But he also became famous for winning and chasing titles. That's where the excitement is, when the fans believe that there's a legitimate chance that any world title match can lead to a title change. And today's wrestling historians are going to have to witness history from frequent title changes, not from lengthy reigns. Wrestlers can't chase Sammartino's record, but they can chase Flair's record.
Another reason why long reigns don't work in this day and age is because there are six hours of original WWE programming per week and 14 pay-per-views per year. Who wants to see five pay-per-views in a row without a world title change? Nobody! Well, at least nobody who pays to see the shows. Wrestling fans pay to see exciting, buzzworthy developments at pay-per-views. And few things are more buzzworthy than world title changes. Successful title defenses have their place, but long reigns are rightfully few and far between. We're simply living in a different era of professional wrestling. And that's okay.
The WWE Title Situation
WWE's decision to put their championship on Batista was brilliant. It makes perfect sense. With a three hour Raw coming up, WWE had to make a choice. They could have given fans a King of the Ring tournament, or put on a pay-per-view quality broadcast with three world title matches. WWE opted for the 3-For-All, rather than the King of the Ring tournament. I think it was the right decision.
Three hour shows are an excellent opportunity to pad extra ratings for the USA Network. To score in the 3.7 to 4.1 range for a three hour show is a big plus for WWE. And quite honestly, a show with a guaranteed new WWE Champion, a World Heavyweight Title triple threat match between CM Punk, Edge, and Jeff Hardy, and an ECW Title match between Tommy Dreamer and Christian is a far bigger draw than a King of the Ring tournament. I hate to say it, but it's true.
The fatal fourway match between Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena, and The Big Show should be intriguing and chaotic. It may not be the greatest match WWE could have thought up. But the guarantee of a new world champion should add sufficient drama.
Overall, it was a good decision to have Batista win and then vacate the WWE Championship. Batista's victory gave him a feel good moment, and the vacating of the title gives fans a reason to watch this Monday's three hour Raw. It was a win-win situation. Orton's title loss shouldn't hurt him too much. He seems to carry himself better without a world title anyway.
Who Should Win?
Believe it or not, John Cena has not been WWE Champion since October 2, 2007. Yes, he's twice been the World Heavweight Champion since then. But the WWE Title has eluded him. A victory for Cena would be a refreshing change of pace for Raw. However, I can also see Big Show sneaking away with the WWE Championship. WWE has been trying to rebuild Big Show's career for a while. Nothing would make him more imposing and credible to the fans than a WWE Championship reign. And just some food for thought, Big Show hasn't been the WWE Champion since 2002.
WWE might take a more conservative route and keep the title around Randy Orton or Triple H's waist. They've been feuding for the title since March, and a Wrestlemania rematch might be in the works for SummerSlam. That wouldn't be too horrible. They could finally settle their feud in a Hell in a Cell match, just like The Undertaker and Edge did at last year's Summerslam. Keep this in mind however: Orton and Triple H could do the very same thing without a title on the line. We'll see what happens. If it was up to me, John Cena would emerge as WWE Champion.
Two Quick Observations
Number 1: MVP needs new entrance music. His current song no longer seems to suit him. It's too tame for his character. He needs something a bit more dynamic. His music played perfectly to his heel role. But if MVP is going to run onto the ramp and do fade-away jump shots, he better have music that fits better with that motion. He just looks silly right now, and it's hard to take him seriously as an emerging main eventer with that entrance. This is WWE's fault, not MVP's.
Number 2: Goldust still has a lot to offer. His character has been classic as of late. I hope he continues to thrive in his new role. WWE was wise to give him another chance.
um guest what, we are the only ones that are reading this article..
Posted By: (guest) (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Really? Big Show? No... it will be a month long reign... give it to Cena and let him build to summerslam...
Posted By: I don't know (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:28 AM
"Flair is a 16+ time world champion. He didn't become famous for lengthy reigns."
That's right, all his title reigns were blink-and-you-missed-it. Like the first time he won the NWA title, he only held it for 476 days, that's really short. Or the fourth time he won it, he only held it for... 793 days. Or the 5th, 6th, and 7th time he won the title, when he held the belt for over 400 days.
Sure, his WCW reigns were shorter (although he held the belt a lot longer than Sting), but he didn't become famous for winning and chasing titles, he became famous for never losing titles.
Posted By: Guest#6786 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:30 AM
An internet wrestling column without snark? I bow to you Kristopher!
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:33 AM
This 4 way screams of hot shotting the title to Cena without actually going 1-1 with Orton or HHH. And that is fine, HHH/Orton wasnt built around the title by their WM match (which is sad). This gets the belt onto Cena and making Big Show look important while The Miz may actually jump up the card even more.
So long as HHH doesn't come out with the title this is a win.
Main difference between Taker/Edge and HHH/Orton is that Edge actually looked on par with Taker sometimes.... A HHH/Orton HiTC would be a 20 minute burrial or WM25 in a Cell.
Posted By: Lars Person the Swedish runner (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:42 AM
Good column. I don't necessary agree with it, especially when you kept differentiating between the World and WWE titles. To me they are the same thing, just on different brands, but the column was well written. I agree with the part about the frequent title changes. I don't mind either way whether a title reign is long or short, as long as it is entertaining. Yet everybody wants a long reign but I bet when that happens, people would complain about not enough title changes.
Posted By: Guest#3985 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:11 AM
"A victory for Cena would be a refreshing change of pace for Raw."
I hope you're kidding...
Posted By: Levikeinz (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:26 AM
On long reigns not working...of those long reigns you mentioned, only HHH's was egregiously bad because of all his politicking throughout that period, and the fact that no one was able to look good. What's also significant is that none of those wrestlers you listed are all that popular with the IWC. I can't speak too much on Batista, but a good deal of the complaints Bradshaw got came from folks that quit watching as soon as he got in the title picture; I can't speak much for the quality of the reign, but for all the complaints he got, by 2005 there was a vocal group of people that were praising his reign. And of course, I don't have to speak on Cena's situation. For all the hate he gets, that year long reign he had was really good, and the best example we've got that with high quality marquee matches compelling feuds (the Michaels program in particular), long reigns can still work.
As far as frequent title reigns go, it's cool you enjoy them and I don't even think frequent changes are bad per se (they can be useful in freshening things up after a long, stale period, for instance). But considering you based a lot of your reasoning on the excitement of seeing a title change, I hope you can agree that at some point, a belt needs to have some stability in order for those title changes to mean anything. As exciting at it may be to see a title change, if we were to witness 20 title changes in a 20 day period, those individual changes would be a lot less special, regardless of match quality. And while I don't necessarily agree with the "money's in the chase" philosophy, the chase works best when you've got a strong, stable champion for the challenger to work off of; that can't happen when titles change hands so frequently that a champion isn't able to establish himself.
Basically, I agree with most of what you have to say on Batista and I think that in itself was a great move; still I think especially with MITB and all the frequent title stealing that Edge, Punk and Jericho have been doing in the last year, WWE needs to be careful not to overdo it to the point that those title changes lose their luster.
Posted By: AJP (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:30 AM
yes, you rarely agree...or maybe you wrote this hoping to annoy some iwc idiots. hahahahha garbage article.
Posted By: Mike Shinobi (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:36 AM
An internet wrestling column without snark? I bow to you Kristopher!
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:33 AM
You are correct he is not a smark.
With booking Cena to win anything he's a mark(no s) i really wish someone would present a good reason for some who likes wrestling to have anything good to say about Cena between the ropes.
Outside the ring and off wwe tv he's a great guy,smart,informed,pretty in touch with what works and what does not.
Inside,he's easily more boring then all the MeM members put together on their worst day.
Kid friendly does not mean bored to tears,Goonies is pg and it was excellent.
On a less smarkish note,i always appreciate any love for MVP as him and the miz are the only reason to watch raw at this time.
On goldust,man that is a tough call,nearly every time fan's backed the guy he's burried worse then the newest monster vs HHH.
His work run's hot and cold,when hot i love the guy,then there is black reign.
That speaks for itself!
Regardless Kris keep them coming and i'll keep reading.
Posted By: Showster (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:36 AM
The WWE championship belt on Cena, HHH, or Big Show is a terrifying thought. Maybe if Cena was turned heel and allowed to say some things that were a little edgier MAYBE that's be okay.
HHH will still be the same boring, uninteresting dick he's been for years if he has the belt, even if he were to turn heel. Too bad he's possibly stretching Stephanie's asshole as I type this because then he'll be given the title two minutes into Raw on Monday and then he'll proceed to cut a 30-minute promo while beating Legacy with one arm tied behind his back.
Big Show with the belt? Yeah, that'd be really interesting. Big Show sucks. He actually seems to get suckier as time progresses--he gets fatter, slower, and staler each year. He's almost as worthless as Mark Henry.
Fuck Randy Orton.
I'm guessing the belt will eventually be around the waist of HHH or Randy Orton in the not-too-distant future, and then if we're all lucky they'll both be embroiled in another feud with each other. No matter what happens, I think we can all count on whatever it is as being shitty. The current state of Raw can go to hell.
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:39 AM
I like Gold dust, but Big Show should not win the belt.
Posted By: iomis (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:51 AM
Have people not come to terms with the fact that the IWC is always going to hate what's happening because they can do it better?
Posted By: Snabbit (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 02:14 AM
Nice column, though it seems your goal is just to be contrary and tick off the IWC. A few quick points:
1. I agree with the aforementioned comment about the belts. No one I know even keeps up with which belt is on which show...they refer to them as the Raw and Smackdown belts. I can't even keep up.
2. The goal of WWE should not be to give Batista a "feel good moment." His feel good moments come from the big paychecks. The goal should be to give the fans a champion that is healthy and entertain said fans in the process. There is NO reason to give the belt to a guy who is about to be gone for four months.
3. No one likes shooting titles around quickly, but your logic that the IWC is hypocritical is silly. All four men with long title reigns that you mentioned were not the best examples. HHH and JBL had those long reigns at the time due to politics and were not IWC faves. Batista and Cena are booooring. If a deserving and entertaining champ had a long run...we'd accept it.
4. IWC hating by people that post on IWC forums or write for IWC web-sites must stop. That is hypocrisy. If you hate the people that post and write for the the IWC so much...stop reading. All the stereotypes given to internet fans are about five to ten years outdated. I love how we are bashed for our use of the web...I guess we should be using our time to take inane Facebook quizzes...much more productive.
Posted By: Guest#8098 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 03:01 AM
You took a unique stance and ran with it. I respect that. I disagree, but I respect it.
Posted By: Tony (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 03:08 AM
i don't like to say this but big show or cena should win the wwe title. im bored of seeing hhh and orton fueding for the title. but i know that guy with the long freak nose will come out the champ because his other name is mr. stephanie.
Posted By: Guest#9913 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 03:26 AM
Excellent column...it proves that the IWC will bitch and moan about anything. The IWC will bitch when someone holds onto a major championship a long time and likewise they will bitch when they change titleholders too often.
The IWC can never be pleased.
And that is the truth.
Posted By: Guest#8325 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 03:35 AM
yeah that is odd about wrestling nerds.(yes i am one too). everything that happens yesterday was awesome. anything that happens today is crap. so during jbl, batista, hhh, and cena's long title reigns, it was anarchy. fans wanted to assassinate these guys just to get the belts off of them. now when lokking back on those times, the very same crybabies praise the longevity of the booking and angles.
Posted By: jd (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 05:34 AM
lame!
Posted By: Guest#9225 (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 09:12 AM
Main difference between Taker/Edge and HHH/Orton is that Edge actually looked on par with Taker sometimes.... A HHH/Orton HiTC would be a 20 minute burrial or WM25 in a Cell.
Posted By: Lars Person the Swedish runner (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:42 AM
Lets see, Edge lost his title to Taker at WM, at Backlash, has his wife vacate the title, loses to Taker via Counting, Wins TLC after HEAVY interference, cheats on his wife/wife reinstates Taker, Edge goes insane and kills Foley, Taker kills Edge in HiaC.
Only Edge could lose that much and still look on par with Taker.
Posted By: EDge Fan (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 10:32 AM
oooooh Cena had just held the World Title twice this year....it would be totally refreshing to have him holding the WWE belt...it's like a whole nother ball game right there.......what?? The titles mean the SAME thing, the just have a different history! It's not refreshing to have the title on Cena or HHH...if you want refreshing, look at Smackdown...and why are they refreshing?? Young stars tearing it up...not the same shit over and over
Posted By: Erik (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Guest #8325, have you seen Raw lately? Sometimes all of the IWC hate is completely justified.
As horrible as TNA is I really hope something happens where all of the sudden they truly become a threat to WWE like WCW was. Then maybe we can have storylines that are more engrossing planned out better. If Raw had some competition we wouldn't be putting up with all this Cena, Hunter, and Orton bullshit.
Posted By: Zingy (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Well said, though I disagree with two small points: you percieve a real difference between the WWE and World championships. Same prestige, different brand, that's all. Second, I think the IWC would welcome and enjoy a long title reign by one of their favorites like Jericho, HBK, Punk or Edge. Take a look at your list of people who had epic reigns: HHH, JBL, Cena, Batista. All of which are generally loathed by the IWC. (Not so much HHH anymore, but at the time, he was not popular, due to his reduced speed/workrate at the time.)
Oh and those of you getting your panties in a bunch about someone using the internet to critique the IWC ... get over yourselves. He's making a generalization (and an accurate one, at that). You can be a part of a group of people and still criticize the general opinion thereof. Welcome to 10th grade, kids. Try to keep up.
Posted By: MDK (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Here are my thoughts on wwe...
*The Raw main event scene has become stale because we've seen Cena, HHH, Orton, Big Show and Batista fight each other so many times. Correction...Batista/Cena has only happened once...but you get the point. Each of those guys aren't bad in themselves...its just a little boring cuz we've seen them fight each other so many times for so long.
Smackdown has been nice lately cuz we're seeing some different names get in the mix..hopefully shelton and morrison really step up...personally, I think Morrison could morph into another "edge" level character at any moment. The stuff with Hardy and Punk has been somewhat new and interesting.
Stable champions help establish the belt and maintain its value...if you're going to have any belt change hands often...try the IC belt or the US Title..maybe create more interest there.....constant swapping shouldn't happen all the time with the heavyweight title.
And file this under "it won't happen" but I think the simplest way to boost interest in the show is the end of the brand extension. It has run its course...was a nice idea...but i think its time to put everyone back on each of the shows. I know I would be way more interested in watching the shows if all the stars were on each night. It could also restore value to the IC title by giving it more contenders..I would love to see it.
One last note: the JBL title reign bothered me because JBL was repackaged and kind of came out of nowhere to win the belt with a new character. It wasn't as if he had any sort of winning streak as a singles wrestler and earned the shot...just kinda was forced on us and given the title. Seemed random....let alone he held it for 10 months.
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:20 PM
I'd like to see Big Show win it, since it's been forever since his last reign, 2nd would be John Cena, & I have no desire to see Triple H or Randy Orton win the belt at the moment.
Posted By: Eye Eye Captain (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Showster, I wasn't talking about mark vs. smark. I was mentioning the way that the column didn't contain a level of snarkiness that you find almost everywhere. It's not just wrestling, but all forms of entertainment. You see this "cooler-than-you" style and it was just refreshing to not see a piece of it in the column. As far as Cena boring you, I'm sure that you are not alone. But it doesn't mean that he is boring, it means that some don't like him. I was talking to my coworker's grandchildren yesterday(ages 5 and 9 and the 5 year old looked like a mini Cena) and they LOVE him. Does that mean that they are stupid? No. It means that he works for them. He is their superhero. As far as The Goonies goes, I love it too, because I grew up on it, the same way that today's kids are growing up on Cena. I did find it odd that they dug Zack Ryder. LOL! What I'm getting at is that the IWC spends all this time bitching about everything and fighting with each other. Wouldn't it be better for us to stand united as wrestling fans instead of tearing each other apart over something that is supposed to be fun?
Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 01:15 PM
"I suspect the IWC only prefers long reigns as a matter of principle or theory. They never seem to enjoy it in practice. Internet wrestling fans were ready to snap during Triple H's 280 run as World Heavyweight Champion from 2002 through 2003."
-- Title reigns of significant length ARE good, if you're trying to cement a young main-eventer at the top of the roster. A lot of wrestling fans think that's exactly what they should be doing - or should have already done by now - with Randy Orton. If they would let him hold onto the belt for, say, eight months, then he'd be THE man, ala Cena and Triple H, and once he lost it, he would no longer NEED to win it right back in order to be a/the top guy. I know this phrase reeks of boringness, but here it is: Look at the big picture.
Also, with Triple H, he was ALREADY the man back in 2003, and still held onto the title for almost another year. That's the difference between his situation then and Orton's now. One of the reasons for the Game's reign of terror, it seemed, was that there was no one who would've worked better as champion on Raw at that time. That's no reason to LIKE his reign, though. It still made for an aggravating, repetitive show. Much in the same way, a lot of fans today are aggravated at Orton getting REPEATEDLY trounced and losing the belt.
Posted By: KanyonKreist (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Anyone would be a better champ then the 4 guys in the fatal four way. Even Virgil, Brooklyn Brawler, Abe "Knuckele Ball" Swartz, T.L. Hooper, Mantuar, Waylon Mercy, The Mountie, Skinner, Bastion Booger, Man Mountian Rock, Max Moon, Damien Demento, Tugboat, Golga, Kurrgan, Doink the Clown, Henry O. Godwinn, Hillbilly Jim, Ko Ko B. Ware, El Matador, Hercules, Kevin Nash, Bubba Ray Dudley, Mickey Whipwreck, Spike Dudley, Rosie, Rico, Chyna, Santina Marella, Shark Boy, SD Jones, The Executioner, Matt Borne, P.N. News, Big Josh, Black Blood, Kevin Sullivan, Giant Gonzales, WCW Creature, The Z-Man, WCW Halloween Phantom, 1/2 of the Dos Hombres(Doesn't Matter Which One), Firebreaker Chip, Arachniman, Lazor Tron, Teijo Khan, Earthquake Ferris, Col DeBeers, DJ Peterson, Who, Super Invader, Paul Roma, B. Brian Blair(Humbled Version), Borris, Zuchov, Col Mustafa, Akeem, Duane Gill, "Iron" Mike Sharpe, Rip Rogers, 1/2 of Techno Team 2000(Your Pick), Johnny Rodz, Gillberg, Zodiac, Z-Gangsta, Ultimate Solution, Gangrel, Stevie Ray, The KISS Demon, The Handsome Stranger, Shockmaster, Charlie Norris, Big Sky, Mabel, Sir Mo, K-Dawg, Butcher, Shark, Oz with Merlin the Wizard, Joey Maggs, Tim Horner, "Maniac" Mike Davis, Droz, NWO/Imposter Sting, Craig "Pitbull" Pittman, Jim Powers, Super Calo, Cobra, Glacier, Villano I-XIV, Lizmark, El Dande, La Parka, Motor City Madman, Big Cat, Troy Montour, Danny "The Bull" Johnson, Big Vito, Naked Mideion, The Berzerker, Zeus, The Widowmaker, Little Beaver, Mr. T, Mike Ademle, Tracey Smothers, Thomas Rich, Earl Robert Eaton, Mortis, James Vandenberg, Wrath, Leif Cassidy, Flash Funk, Rikishi, Brad Armstrong, Scotty Too Hotty, Scotty Flamingo, Vinnie Vegas, Evad Sullivan, Ice Train, The Equalizer, King Kong, Tex Slazenger, Larry O'Day, Bunkhouse Buck, Dennis Stamp, Guardian Angel, Steve Keirn, Alex Wright, Erik Watts, Bill Irwin, The Red Rooster, Todd Champion, El Gigante, Diamond Studd, Bill Kazmaier, Doug Somers, Nick Patrick, Nailz, SGT Buddy Lee Parker, LT James Earl Wright, Jack Victory, Badstreet, The Yellow Dog, Fantasia, Buddy Landell, Dutch Mantell, Norman the Lunatic, David Arquette, Jimmy Wang Yang, Vince Russo, The Artist, David Flair, Gen. Rection, Ron Harris, Horace Hogan, The Disciple, Billy Kidman, Sick Boy, Lodi, Big Dick Dudley, Sean O'Haire, Mark Jindrak, Ralphus, Morman Smiley, The Yeti, Big T, Lenny lane, Psicosis, The Wall, Crowbar, Lash LeRoux, Oklahoma, Disco Inferno, Vincent, Juventud Guerrera, Shawn Stasiak, Reno, SGT A-Wall, Kwee-Wee, Jimmy Hart, Planet Stasiak, Chuck Palumbo, Meat, Amish Roadkill, 911, Tatanka, Tod Gordon, The Cat, Al Perez, Savio Vega, Johnny Gunn, Kwang, Hack Myers, Rad Radford, Balls Mahoney, The Zombie, Little Gido, Kevin Thorn, Mike Knox, Test. Just to name a few.
Posted By: WWE SUCKS (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 02:18 PM
"But anyway, Batista is an "Animal." He should be feared in cage matches, and he should be dominant in cage matches. It was logical for Batista to win quick and early. And besides, did anyone truly desire to see Orton and Batista go 20 minutes?"
wow.......well I'm glad you enjoyed it and I respect your opinion but you just gave yet another pass to wwe. Orton and Batista aren't great wrestlers but to me steel cage matches mean something. A steel cage match used to be THE last match between hated rivals in a feud. It used to mean that there was a brawl coming. If you advertise a steel cage match, it shouldn't be 5 minutes. Another thing, long title reigns can be a great thing just so long as good feuds are going on.
Posted By: cj (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 05:29 PM
Kristopher Rodriguez... please never EVER write again.. I swear that whole article was to provoke a reaction like this.. so I guess it worked. Changing wwe's biggest price in the middle of a show with no fanfare felt like a European title change in 2001.
Big Show.. champion..again??? Epic Fail..for good reason he hasn't been champion since 2002.
This article maybe one of the worst ones I have ever read on 411.
Posted By: Andrew Barbarash (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 07:11 PM
Cena wins the belt tomorrow night and defends it against The Miz at Summerslam.
Posted By: EZMark (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 10:59 PM
"A victory for Cena would be a refreshing change of pace for Raw."- Mr. Writer, what are you, fucking twelve? A victory for that stale, lame white bread cretin would only be refreshing in the sense that it would usher in a whole new level of suckage for the worst wrestling show at present.
Posted By: Space Cowboy (Guest) on June 14, 2009 at 11:15 PM
I hope all 4 of them bring their A game and the following happens: Cena blows his peck muscle again, Triple H blows his quad again, Orton breaks his collarbone or shoulder, and Big Show gets fired for breaking all of them.
Posted By: Injury Bug (Guest) on June 15, 2009 at 12:12 AM
What's an IWC?
Posted By: dargar77 (Guest) on June 15, 2009 at 12:33 AM
8098 hits it pretty much on the head.
In addition, I believe I can take this same crappy column format and strategy and adapt it for the MMA portion of this website. I will simply look for popular opinion, or whatever I claim popular opinion is, then insult all readers and call them part of the IMMAC. I probably shouldn't have blown my entire strategy on these comments, as it is now possible somebody beats me to it, but chances are I wasn't going to submit anything anyway. But this column inspires me by being so crappy.
Posted By: Serp (Guest) on June 15, 2009 at 02:17 AM
While, I would have preferred a tournament for the WWE title, I can see why there are three title matches tonight. It's because the RAW main eventers are boring. Outside of Big Show, how many times have we seen various combinations of Cena, Orton and HHH? And heaven forbid having that tournament in the first place. The fans may see that some wrestlers in the mid-card actually are better in the ring than the merchandise sellers that are currently in the main event.
Posted By: mogamer (Guest) on June 15, 2009 at 03:36 PM
i think the rite move would have to be is putting the title on the big show untill summerslam. so at GAB- the big show would defend the title against john cena, which show would win and then go on and face triple h at night of champions and win by dq and thus loosing the wwe championship at summerslam 2 EDGE who will most likely be on raw by then
Posted By: donnie (Guest) on June 15, 2009 at 07:43 PM
