The Piledriver Report 11.25.09: Random Thoughts
Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 11.25.2009
With two weeks off from work, it’s RonnyPalooza time in The Piledriver Report household. No work, all relaxation, and some wrestling to watch are the order of the day. With that said, instead of focusing on one topic, this week, The Piledriver Report focuses on several different thoughts.
There seems to be so much going on in wrestling these days, that this week, The Piledriver Report is going to look at several issues going on in the world of the WWE.
UNIFIEDTAGTEAMTITLES
Even though the WWE has only a handful of tag teams, isn't it nice to see the promotion put so much emphasis on the tag straps lately? I give Chris Jericho 100% credit for this. More then anyone else in the company, Chris Jericho really knows how to put a belt over. Almost a decade later, Jericho still puts over the Unified World Heavyweight championship, and how he was the first man to unify the WWE and "WCW" belts. By the way, being Chris Jericho's tag team partner has to be the most dangerous job in professional wrestling. First, Edge goes under the knife, and now the Big Show.
DEGENERATIONX
Not to go on an anti-Triple H rant here, but I just have to. Why is it that Triple H never puts over a match or a title after he loses? He only puts over his matches or titles AFTER he wins them. Case in point: When Triple H lost a handicapped match against Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes, he sarcastically said that Legacy was too much for him to handle. On this past RAW, Hunter and Shawn hardly seemed upset that neither won the WWE title at the Survivor Series. Way to put the belt over guys! Actually, when was the last time the Triple H character was mad over a loss? There was a time when Triple H would get mad if he lost or didn't have championship gold around his waist. Maybe its just creative pushing Triple H's character in this direction, but this isn't being true to his character.
Speaking of creative, is it just me or is the DX/Hornswaggle storyline the dumbest angle in a long, long time? In a recent post, Lance Storm wrote the following; "Hornswaggle is a big fan of DX, so he buys and wears a ton of their merchandise and runs around and acts like them. DX is so upset by this that they are suing him to make him stop. DX…the biggest merchandise shills in WWE history… are mad that someone (Hornswaggle) is a big fan and is BUYING and wearing their merchandise… because he thinks they are cool. This upsets them so much that they are suing him to make him stop. Are all the other DX fans in the arena, who purchased and wear DX merchandise, suppose to conclude from this that if they don't stop BUYING and wearing DX gear they too will be ordered to stop and threatened with a law suit? Doesn't DX WANT people to buy their merchandise…which is available at www.wweshop.com... and wear it? Isn't that the point to all of these DX promos and skits? Aren't they supposed to want fans to buy their stuff and wear it?" I couldn't have said it better myself.
THEGOVERNOR
Jesse Ventura was without a doubt, the best guest host on RAW since the WWE started the guest host deal. To steal a line from Michael Cole, but he was "vintage" Jesse Ventura! I was glad to see Jesse stand by his heel roots. He never pandered to the fans, but was also firm with the heels. The best part of Jesse Ventura is that he really doesn't like Vince McMahon, and doesn't care. Ventura is one of the few people who doesn't get intimidated by Vince, and it showed on TV. Having Ventura and McMahon announce the main event brought back so many memories for me. It was like they never stopped. Now, if only Gorilla Monsoon was still alive, and they could have had Gorilla and Ventura call one last match, that would have been awesome.
BREAKTHROUGHBATTLEROYAL
When Jesse Ventura announced the idea of a "Breakthrough Battle Royal," I loved the concept. Here is a way to get a main event push on a pay per view after being held back. It's a way for wrestlers who deserve a step up the ladder, but for whatever reason, they haven't been granted it yet. At the same time, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought that the WWE was actually admitting to its fans that we recycle the same feuds over and over again.
This was very reminiscent of the first Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania. While it was not exclusive to wrestlers that never held World championship gold, it did help elevate the winner, Edge, to main event status. Hopefully, the Breakthrough Battle Royal will do the same, and become a yearly event. While I enjoyed the "Breakthrough" idea, I do have a couple of complaints. For one, what was Mark Henry doing in the tournament? Isn't he a former ECW champion, and doesn't the WWE consider the ECW title a World title? Sorry, but I don't think Henry should have been in the contest. Secondly, I know Orton was inserted into the match to forward the Orton/Kingston storyline. However, having Orton in the tournament destroys the whole idea of what this tournament was supposed to create.
Looking at the wrestlers who entered the battle royal, I felt that only two wrestlers made the most sense to "breakthrough." Kofi Kingston was the most logical choice. While I am not a huge Kingston fan (I don't know why, but I just haven't bought into him), the fans are ready for him to bust through to the main event level. Fighting John Cena for the title on pay per view would cement Kofi as a main event player. Of course, having him fight Randy Orton in a singles match on the pay per view, and winning, will do that as well, so I see why they didn't choose him to be the "Breakthrough" winner. BTW, did you notice the back of his trunks say "S.O.S All-Stars?" If S.O.S stands for "Same Old Shit," would that mean John Cena, Triple H, and Randy Orton would make up the S.O.S All-Star Team?
Since Kingston is set to go up against Randy Orton, I thought the best choice to win the "Breakout Battle Royal" was Ted DiBiase, Jr. If the WWE really wanted to turn DiBiase into a face to coincide with the release of "The Marine 2" on DVD, the "Breakout Battle Royal" would have been the perfect opportunity to start the ball rolling to a face turn. Take a look at this scenario, DiBiase wins the battle royal, then goes on to TLC and beats Cena for the WWE World title. The next night on RAW, Randy Orton does to DiBiase what Evolution did to him when he beat Benoit for the World Heavyweight title. The WWE will have two new single stars, Kingston due to his feud with Orton, and DiBiase winning the title and set to feud with Orton as well.
SHEAMUS
The WWE decided to give Sheamus the "Breakout" win. I'll give them credit due to the fact that he never sniffed a title shot. However, he doesn't deserve one- YET! Sheamus is still too new to say that he needs the opportunity to "breakout." What has he done to deserve the shot when there are so many others that should get the opportunity ahead of him? Cody Rhodes, The Miz, MVP, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, Kingston, DiBiase, Johnny Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, and Christian (since obviously ECW doesn't count) all deserve the World title opportunity ahead of Sheamus. Not to say that Sheamus will not one day deserve the spot, but now is not the time. Just saying that someone is now a main event wrestler does not make them a main event wrestler. The fans need to believe that Sheamus should be in the main events before they will pay to see him in the main events.
Those are my random thoughts for this week. Until next time, for those in the states have a Happy Thanksgiving. For those across the globe have a great week.
The reason that HHH's character doesn't "put over" the WWE Title after he loses is two-fold.
First off, he's a babyface now. Babyfaces who lose cleanly aren't supposed to come out and pout and moan because they didn't win the title. They are supposed to shrug it off and move on, with the implication being that they will get another chance down the line. If they are screwed out of the title, that's different, because now the only reason they lost is because somebody screwed them over. But if they lost the match fair and square, it would be very un-babyface-like to complain about losing. HHH as a heel could go out and complain about losing a title match even if he lost cleanly because he was a heel and that's what heel's do. They think that everybody is against them. They think that they got screwed even though they obviously didnt. Basically, they want to blame everybody else but themselves.
Secondly, HHH's character has evolved into that of a family man who isn't as obsessed with his career as before. During the late 90's and early 00's, HHH was on a mission to prove he is the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. So nothing else mattered to him but winning the belt. Friendships and relationships came second. The Title was the most important thing. But now that he's a 13(?) time champ, he's already proven how great he is. He's married with kids now. So now, they are the most important part of his life. Notice that when Orton attacked Stephanie, it brought out a fire in HHH that fans hadn't seen for years. Because now Orton messed with the most important part of his life: his wife.
So you call it HHH devaluing the title because he lost if you want. I call it an evolution (no pun intended) of his character. He's no longer a ruthless heel who's entire purpose in life is to be the WWE Champion. He now has a family and friends, has proven that he is one of the best ever and has connected with the fans. Sure, he'd still love to be the champion but he isn't OBSESSED with it the way that he was before. That's at least my view on it.
Also, people are complaining about Sheamus getting a title shot too early but I seem to remember some of these same ppl complaining when Umaga got a title shot against Cena in '07. Yet after the LMS match at Royal Rumble was over, everybody was suddenly hugging Umaga's nuts and calling him one of the best big men in the biz. So how about we wait to see how Sheamus performs in a Title match before we pass judgment.
Posted By: Monty (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 01:04 PM
Sheamus??!!! Really? Come on WWE. As a devoted fan of Raw since day one Sheamus winning that match was the biggest slap in the face!! Too much talent got passed over.. Who decided Sheamus is more deserving of a title shot than Rhodes, Dibiase Jr., Kingston, MVP and Evan Bourne? If I was one of the wrestlers on the Raw roster I would be a little pissed!!
I also wonder why many of the minority wrestlers get passed over when it comes to title shots. MVP is too good of a talent to have the longest superstar losing streak and not have a shot at a shot at the WWE Title or the World Heavy weight titles. Raw and the WWE is falling into mediocrity!! ECW seems to be a better place for the WWE talent to get a chance but they don't even acknowledge those titles.
Maybe some of these stars need to consider going to an organization that doesn't have favorites and is willing to give new and deserving talent a chance to become a champion.
Posted By: B. (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 01:28 PM
People say 'What has Sheamus done to deserve a title shot?' but in the shows story he won a match and a battle royal....people like to complain that people are just giving title shots for no reason, but here we have a person who "earned" a title shot and people still complain. People wanted a fresh new challenger and we got one, yet still complaints, people always want "their" guy to be the one, and if hes not, no one will ever be happy
Posted By: ScottieD (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 01:42 PM
i am all for shaemus's title match. back in the day, the world champ defended it against EVERYONE regardless if they were curtain jerkers, mid carders or main eventers. if cena is suppose to be a "fighting" champion. he should be willing to take anyone on and not just initial family. (rko, hbk, hhh, y2j etc)
Posted By: rey (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 02:30 PM
Im convinced the IWC will NEVER be satisfied, i guess this is why we arent getting paid by Vince and those "creative" people are for a reason
Posted By: Nacho Man (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 02:51 PM
wrestling nerds (myself included) are never happy.
christian is the ecw champ going on 4 months-OH THAT IS TOO LONG.
the world title has been held by 4 different wrestlers in the last 6 months-LONG TITLE REIGNS ARE NEEDED!
now someone new is challenging for the wwe title-OH NO NOT HIM.
Posted By: jd (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 06:08 PM
People say 'What has Sheamus done to deserve a title shot?' but in the shows story he won a match and a battle royal....people like to complain that people are just giving title shots for no reason, but here we have a person who "earned" a title shot and people still complain. People wanted a fresh new challenger and we got one, yet still complaints, people always want "their" guy to be the one, and if hes not, no one will ever be happy
Posted By: ScottieD (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 01:42 PM
Im convinced the IWC will NEVER be satisfied, i guess this is why we arent getting paid by Vince and those "creative" people are for a reason
Posted By: Nacho Man (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 02:51 PM
wrestling nerds (myself included) are never happy.
christian is the ecw champ going on 4 months-OH THAT IS TOO LONG.
the world title has been held by 4 different wrestlers in the last 6 months-LONG TITLE REIGNS ARE NEEDED!
now someone new is challenging for the wwe title-OH NO NOT HIM.
Posted By: jd (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 06:08 PM
Thank You. I'd love to send a memo to every IWC writer/columnist that states that atleast, atleast once a year, just be positive and not bitch.
Posted By: Justin Mainnst (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 06:43 PM
Though I feel Sheamus is an odd choice, but I'm willing to adopt a "wait and see" stance. Cena will retain but the point is to see how well Sheamus can hang with Cena and how he looks as a potential threat. Hopefully they won't book Cena to superman his way through Sheamus like he did when he faced The Miz
It will also be intresting to see how WWE reacts if Sheamus dosen't quite look so main event. Will they panic like usual or will they just take steps to remedy it?
Posted By: The_Mystical_Ninja (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 06:46 PM
If anything, Sheamus winning cements the idea that anyone has a chance to make a name for themselves in the battle royale. I think sometimes the IWC thinks with the booker hat a bit too much. While I agree with the sentiment (as a smark) that Kingston or Dibiase would've worked better (Dibiase, especially, because it could've been further used to tease out his break from Orton), but as from the perspective of someone who just watches the show, it makes for a nice change of pace. No one thinks he will win, but the rub will most certainly help him. I remember when the IWC was irate when they "shoved" Umaga up the card against Cena and then Cena went on to make him look like a monster in the process.
Posted By: Guest#5866 (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 07:22 PM
In your opinion, if they tured Ted a face now, Orton will be feuding with the two upcoming star of RAW. That would kill their momentum. Orton is ot capable of putting a fast paced match. He wastes more time in walking to the ring and in chinlocks.
Posted By: SJay (Registered) on November 25, 2009 at 08:19 PM
Marks aren't ever happy with anything because they see the business side too much and not the entertainment side. The business side plays off that Sheamus doesn't deserve a shot because he's been on RAW for a month, others deserve it, and his character is good enough. The entertainment side is "Sheamus won a singles match and snuck a clothesline on Kofi to win a battle royal." He won a match and suckerpunched a guy for a battle royal win. That's not unbelievable. In fact, it builds his bully heel character. Marks need to learn to suspend their disbelief again. We ALL do.
Posted By: ThePants (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 08:46 PM
There are many differences between Umaga's push and Sheamus' push. First of all, Umaga debuted on RAW in late March/early April 2006, and went undefeated for about 9 months (defeating legit contenders like HHH, HBK, Kane, and Flair in the process) before being fed to Cena. Granted, Umaga was never "over" in the conventional sense, but he was credible. Sheamus debuted on RAW three weeks ago, and has defeated Jamie Noble and Finlay... not quite the same buildup. (And his run on ECW doesn't count, because I'd wager that at least 75% of the casual fans don't watch ECW)
Posted By: Tom (Guest) on November 25, 2009 at 11:20 PM
I feel that recent booking of other stars pretty much forced WWE into giving Sheamus a main event so soon. The bookers have really screwed up with Swagger, MVP, Rhodes and DiBiase of late, so none of them would have looked like genuine threats to Cena's reign. At least Sheamus brings a bit of the " unknown quantity " into the match, and maybe, just maybe has chance of winning, especially under table match rules. I certainly feel they are moving in the right direction with Kofi though.
Posted By: hitmanstud (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Sheamus is a heel and they need to make Superboy Cena look superior over his oppenent. Putting Kingston there would have crushed his oppertunity to ever be a champ. Crushing Sheamus is no biggie his not in the push for main event status. His a filler like Umaga was just to slow Kingston push a bit longer and make Cena look unbeatable in a match where Sheamus would most likly dominate most of the time and Cena would come back heriocly to win the match. I dont think we will c Sheamus after this in a main event match in long time. His Raw's Finley and thats that.
Posted By: Brandon (Guest) on November 28, 2009 at 08:44 AM
