High Road/Low Road 12.18.09: Luke Gallows & CM Punk

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road!

A brief explanation of the column: Sat takes the High Road (positive view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Chad Nevett takes the Low Road (negative view).

Results for Sheamus as the Number One Contender:

High Road: 53%
Low Road: 26%
Both Roads: 21%

Chad Nevett: I was very surprised at last week’s results since I am still very much a disbeliever of the Sheamus push. But, the general response seemed to be less in favor of Sheamus and more in favor of change, which I can respect. I just wish it were good change not change for the sake of change.

Sat: I’m also surprised by the results. I was expecting this to be low road all the way.

Luke Gallows and CM Punk

High Road:

I thought Festus had shown that he had the potential to be a very good big man for the WWE. The main problem was the stupid gimmick that he had been stuck with. I think out of all the options, the explanation that the WWE gave was the best one and that was that he was out of it because he had an addiction. It basically adds something to the current angle with CM Punk and it is a reasonable explanation to why Festus was so crazy.

Low Road:

And how does addiction to prescription medication make one respond to the sound of a bell ringing exactly? The explanation makes little to no sense and works against CM Punk’s character as a result. Despite everything, Punk’s character is rooted in telling the truth about dangerous substances and that message is hurt by attributing false consequences to the dangerous substances he speaks about. I know we’re not supposed to overthink things in wrestling, but this is ridiculous.

High Road:

This point I am about to make has not been mentioned and I am shocked that it has not been. I thought the timing of CM Punk’s introduction of Luke Gallows was smart because it happened the week after CM Punk got all of that contraband dumped on him by R-Truth. Basically that moment had to be a humiliating one for Punk and he retaliated by getting some backup.

Low Road:

CM Punk shouldn’t need backup to take on R-Truth. While the logic is supposed to be that feuding with Punk will elevate R-Truth, the opposite is true, especially when Punk needs to introduce an enforcer to make sure he doesn’t lose matches. The introduction of Luke Gallows makes Punk look very weak.

High Road:

I think that we can all agree that CM Punk’s promos on SmackDown have been awesome to watch. I think that CM Punk has doing a good job in keeping people interested in what he is saying, but eventually it was going to get repetitive. I think the WWE avoided that problem by having somebody actually buy into CM Punk’s prophecy. Add the fact that with a drug addiction, Luke Gallows was crazy as Festus and by following CM Punk’s straight edge lifestyle, Luke Gallows has become a normal person. This definitely gives some validity to CM Punk’s promos.

Low Road:

The biggest problem is that Luke Gallows doesn’t come off as a normal person or as a particularly well-adjusted one. His dress is an odd paramilitary look and his attitude is bad. He doesn’t come off as much better living the straight edge lifestyle, something which Punk has done. A nicer, softer version of the character would have been a stronger way to go: a babyface that’s seen as a heel because of Punk’s preachy attitude and his devotion to Punk. He’s just a random thug right now.

High Road:

Luke Gallows as Festus showed a ton of potential and I think that he could be a good big man for the WWE. It was a smart move to associate Luke Gallows with CM Punk because it assures that Luke Gallows will get over with the fans. And I think the past few weeks have shown that having Luke Gallows associate with CM Punk has gotten him over with the fans.

Low Road:

I agree that Festus/Gallows has always shown a lot of potential, but this angle doesn’t bring it out entirely. Right now, he comes off as a hired thug more than a legitimate big man that’s to be feared. Any and all heat he’s currently getting is spill-over from Punk and, without Punk, he’d flounder. He needs a stronger, unique gimmick if he’s to get over, not simply being someone’s lackey.

High Road:

This storyline with Luke Gallows has only started, but I think it has a lot of potential for growth. In the future, we could see Gallows and Punk get into an argument and maybe see CM Punk start to drug Gallows to keep him under his control. Or we could see somebody else drug Gallows.

Low Road:

That sounds awful, quite frankly, and unlikely given the WWE’s focus on PG programming. While there is potential, any introduction of someone drugging Gallows will make this angle an early candidate for ‘worst storyline of 2010,’ especially if that someone is CM Punk.

High Road:

A minor high road here. It is nice to see SmackDown get another tag team. I was getting sick of seeing Cryme Tyme and the Hart Dynasty every week.

Low Road:

CM Punk has been in tag teams in the past and he works better alone. Even when tagged with Kofi Kingston (who is better than Luke Gallows), there was little excitement. Teaming up a proven singles main eventer with a reworked former tag wrestler isn’t the solution to the lack of tag teams on SmackDown or in the WWE in general, particularly when the teaming is obviously a temporary one.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road
Low Road
Both Roads
OR

Simply write “High Road”, “Low Road”, or “Both Roads” in the comment section.

E-Mails:

These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.

Sat: I guess we had no emails this week. Onto the comments.

Comments:

Below are the comments for last week’s columns and our responses. Every comment will not be included because it makes our lives a lot easier.

Sat: My comments were written before TLC because of a very busy week.

The Gold Standard Writes:

Low Road. I think its way too early. Hes barely being built and hasn’t defeated any big time players yet. Plus I think it shows a bad example as people will believe hes getting a push because hes butt buddies with Triple H. I think after he jobs to Cena a few times he will be a flop and slowly go down the card (See Koslov)

Sat: It was difficult for me to come up with High Roads last week. I think if the WWE had spent a month developing Jack Swagger as a threat, that would have worked a lot better.

Chad Nevett: Swagger would have been my pick, but the WWE seems cold on him now because they don’t think he’s getting over enough. Considering the way they’ve booked him, is that a surprise to anyone really?

Guest #3549 Writes:

High Road (reluctantly)

Positives:
– New main event challenger
– Sheamus is reportedly very dedicated to his career (even impressing HHH) and he may surprise us.
– This will build Sheamus as WWE’s fallback monster once Kane retires.
– This will give Sheamus credibility when/if he’s placed in Raw’s Elimination Chamber match

Negatives:
– Sheamus is unproven
– No one believes he has a chance of winning

Sat: I agree with your positives. I think the main problem is that it is way too soon.

Chad Nevett: Well, he won… and I still can’t believe it. Lansdell summed it up rather well in his live recap of the PPV: “Winner: Sheamus via WHAT THE FUCK.”

Denton56 Writes:

Low Road: My biggest problem is this. When Cena wins, no one will be surprised. If Sheamus wins, no one wants to see him as champion. It’s nice to mix up the contenders, but a guy should already be over before he contends for a title.

Hell look at Stone Cold. He was MASSIVELY over before even winning the IC title from Owen Hart. And then that match made him even MORE over to finally win the world title six months later.

The WWE is telling us to care about Sheamus and not telling us why. At this point the best you can hope for is a classic between the two, but what are the odds on that one.

Sat: I agree, but is it also not time to switch things up and not have the same four guys fighting each other.

Chad Nevett: I had hoped that they would build him strongly after he won the title shot, but they didn’t. Instead of having him face guys like Jack Swagger and the Miz deliver some good matches, they simply had him beat up Santino and Mark Cuban… oh, and back down from Cena’s challenge to fight for the belt on Raw. So, he’s a chickenshit monster heel now?

Eboney Writes:

I think one thing a lot of people are overlooking is the big time stip of the match. Sheamus doesn’t have to PIN or make Cena TAP. He just has to make sure that SHEAMUS isn’t the one that goes through a table. For all we know Cena can get over confident and accidentally put himself though a table.

With that being said, I am not a fan, but I do feel for Sheamus. He is like the first guy to be put in a main title match in his first year since.. Since.. I don’t know. Yet, people are complaining still about how they need to make “new” stars. Maybe they should jsut chill out and give it a chance?

Sat: Good point, but I understand why people are freaking out.

Chad Nevett: I don’t blame Sheamus for his push and try not to hold it against him personally since I think he does have talent and could be a main eventer in the future. It’s simply that tossing someone into the main event like this rarely works out for anyone in the long run, so why risk it when there are other midcarders much more prepared to step up?

Phil Writes: Writes:

seeing Sheamus all over sportscenter because of mark cuban has made him seem a bit more serious.

Sat: I think that has definitely helped. The one thing is that as the weeks have gone by, Sheamus has become a much more of a legitimate contender. Problem is that this only started a few weeks ago.

Chad Nevett: You mean getting pushed down by a basketball team owner is what it takes to seem serious?

The Great Captain Smooth Writes:

Both roads, leaning low. High, because he is new and looks like he could kick somebody’s ass. Low, because he’s unproven. Even if he wins, people won’t buy him just yet. In the future, maybe. Finally, it has happened all too fast. Ventura’s tourney was a good start, but it should have been two weeks of matches and then the battle royal on the third week. It gives the fans more time to see him go over other wrestlers, would allow more non-RAW wrestlers to get a look from the fans.(Ryder, Yoshi, Escobar), and it looks like a much bigger prize than a cheap one-week win. It’s not that I hope he fails, but I just don’t know what to expect. I’ve never seen him in a championship match, let alone a PPV one.

Sat: He definitely looks like a legitimate contender, but the problem is that it is too soon.

Chad Nevett: I still don’t buy him a legitimate contender, mostly because they didn’t build him properly. He’s beaten up jobbers, civilians, and won a tables match, which, again, doesn’t make him seem big and tough and on the same level as John Cena or any of the other main eventers.

B.W.G. Writes:

High Road:

None of the young guns could be inserted into this match and look any more credible than Sheamus. Swagger’s treated like a joke, Kofi would get screwed by anyone in Leagacy, and Miz would have his earlier losses to Cena this year just rubbed in his face.Why not give someone who (like Swagger) is likely to end up right back in the midcard after the RR rematch (and loss) a chance to show his shit? He was highly touted and heavily pushed in FCW, so let’s see he can transfer all of that into justifying this current push (and any future pushes they might give him). Personally, I know I’m curious to see if he can go. Plus,it means that when, as someone else here has said, he does get into the Raw EC match, he can get pinned by someone other than the champion and look somewhat credible against that someone in the ensuing feud.

Sat: I can go back and forth on this all day and as I mentioned last week, I think you give him an opportunity and see what he can do.

Chad Nevett: Shouldn’t someone prove they can go before they get a shot at the title, though? That was the question that keeps popping up for me.

PK Writes:

High Road (conditional).

I think it’s really interesting that the item being described was Sheamus as the number one contender but the initial points felt more like an argument of Sheamus in a tables match. But really, the argument could have (maybe should be), who else is there?

If you look at the superstar roster on WWE.com, the heels (as being currently booked) are the Miz, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Chris Masters, Jack Swagger, Big Show and Legacy.

Big Show is tied up with DX. Randy Orton has a killer feud with Kofi Kingston. Miz’s recent “feud” with John Cena makes him a non-viable choice. And Jack Swagger is currently chasing the title being held by the Miz.

Now it is too soon for Legacy to breakup and there is no other way that a member of Legacy gets a shot at the title before Randy Orton.

So Chris Master versus Sheamus in a program? No offense to Chris Masters but Sheamus is the fresher and more refreshing matchup of the two. Especially since Sheamus looks bigger than John Cena and Chris Masters definitely does not. So Sheamus is the clear choice.

Now, I say High Road conditionally because if John Cena proceeds to squash Sheamus mercilessly, then this will only hurt Sheamus’ standing. But, if the match is done well, and Cena does a good job making “monsters” look good, then this could really help Sheamus’ standing even with a loss.

A lot of people forget how much the IWC loved Cena after his loss to Kurt Angle in 2002. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJdjeV3ZuA

Sheamus could definitely get a huge rub from this match. If he wins, as unlikely as that would be, it would shake things up tremendously and change the landscape. Again, very unlikely.

Sat: I think this is a every good point. It really depends on the match that Cena has with Sheamus. If it a squash, it is a low road, if it a competitive match, then a high road. Though, it is going to be difficult to have a competitive match because it is a tables match.

Chad Nevett: The match at TLC was good and helped put Sheamus over more, but I’m still not convinced, especially after the lackluster follow-up on Raw. That’s twice now we’ve seen Cena challenge Sheamus to a fight right there and then, and twice that he’s backed down. That’s fine for a cowardly heel, but Sheamus is supposed to be a big, strong monster of a heel. Either pull the trigger on that or try something else.

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Your reasons for taking the High Road, Low Road, or Both Roads and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road are welcome at [email protected] or in the comment section. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.