411 Fact or Fiction 1.28.10: AJ's Heel Turn, the Orlando Screwjob, the Royal Rumble and More!

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 01.28.2010

Will AJ Styles be able to prove his detractors wrong with his heel turn? Will Awesome Kong and Cheerleader Melissa end up in the WWE soon? Was the Orlando Screwjob a drastically bad move by TNA? Will this be one of the stronger Royal Rumbles of the last several years? 411's Chris Lansdell and Len Archibald debate these topics and more in the latest edition of 411 Wrestling Fact or Fiction!



Welcome once again, wrestling fans, to another edition of 411 Wrestling Fact or Fiction!. With the Royal Rumble just days away, the Road to WrestleMania is about to begin. We also have had a lot of other news and developments this week, including the Orlando Screwjob, a new addition to the Straight Edge Society, a TNA departure (and another possible one) and much more! This week stepping into the ring, we have the weekly author of "If I Can Be Serious For a Moment," co-writer of "2 Raw 2 Furious," Pay-Per-View recapper and brand-spankin' new Games Editor Chris Lansdell facing off withour resident god of arthouse and foreign films at 411, the Movie Zone's Len Archibald! Everyone's up to their respective podiums to speak and the questions are set, so without further ado let's get to it!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect WWE & TNA-related questions.

1. AJ Styles will be able to prove his detractors wrong and find new life as a heel under Ric Flair's tutelage.



Len Archibald: FACT. I think AJ Styles really don't have as many detractors as one may think – remember, here in the IWC, **everything** is blown way out of proportion when it comes to opinions. No, AJ isn't exactly The Rock or even Flair himself when it comes to mic skills, but one thing AJ is – is one of the hardest working wrestlers on the planet that always takes an opportunity to better himself. I actually think him being sided with Flair will say more about Flair's mentoring skills than AJ's ability to pick up on them – can the Nature Boy able to transfer his knowledge of how to sell a feud and match through mic work to AJ? I hope the answer is yes.

***caveat*** I do wish people; both those on the inside and the fans would truly allow the leeway for performers and wrestlers to find their own personas, as opposed to molding someone into "The Next..." anything. There was only one Jordan, one Montana, one Tiger, one Hogan, Flair and Rock, etc. The focus should be more on making these future stars be themselves and not emulating the past; all that does is bring to light to younger fans that the past was indeed better. THAT'S why neither of the major promotions have been able to emulate the heights of the Rock n' Wrestling or Attitude Eras, they've conditioned the fans into thinking that "older is better" - so they're looking back as well instead of looking ahead[/end rant]

Chris Lansdell: FICTION. Look, Flair is awesome. We all know this. But AJ just doesn't work as a main event heel. He has a babyface for one thing, which kind of necessitates being...a babyface. Plus his whole appeal as a wrestler is his athleticism, high-flying and non-stop action...all qualities that are rarely seen in a heel because they pop the crowd. I think someone with that style CAN be a top heel, but AJ is just not that gifted at the heel role. I understand not wanting to keep Angle as a heel, but TNA is not exactly lacking in people who could be heel champions with Angle chasing. With Flair's help I think AJ will make a good go of it, but he won't do enough to make anyone eat their words.

Score: 0 for 1

2. This year's Royal Rumble match looks to be one of the stronger Rumble matches of the last several years.

Len Archibald: FACT. I want to say "Fact" because there is a mild air of uncertainty over who will win on Sunday, and for me, the uncertainty of who will win is one of the selling points of the Rumble match. The 'E could truly go in any direction they want: Michaels winning creates the rematch of the critics' choice for best match of 2009, Triple H winning may have him go after Sheamus – or even creating that final rift in DX. Cena winning opens up the possibility of Cena/Sheamus...Or Cena/Taker (I find it funny that everyone's suddenly forgotten about that potential match...) Ted DiBiase could (not likely) win and thrust himself in the blowoff to the "Legacy" storyline if Orton wins the WWE Title on Sunday. We still have a few darkhorses, like Jericho (this could be his "in" to bring him back to RAW) or even a surprise (like...maybe a certain Rated R Superstar – again, that isn't likely – but neither was Cena in 2008.) I like not truly knowing what way the Rumble may go, and that has always been my selling point to whether or not it's "strong".

Chris Lansdell: FACT, if only because I have no idea who will win it. If I were to bet, it would be on Shawn Michaels, but with almost every major name in the company taking part and the Mania matches looking to be HBK-HHH and Cena-Taker, it could go pretty much any which way. Any time you have that sort of uncertainty going into a match that, in kayfabe terms, could see anyone win, it's a good thing.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Ending last week's Impact with "The Orlando Screwjob" was a drastically bad move for TNA.

Len Archibald: FACT. A bazillion, billion, million times fact. What did I just say about how the major promotions conditioning fans to think "older is better"? The one thing TNA does not need to do right now is draw comparisons to the WWE. As much as the TNA fanbase may not want to admit it, the WWE is "The Wizard of Oz" while TNA is "The Wiz". It's bad enough that any casual fan could click onto Spike and see the Nasty Boys and be like, "WTF? Didn't they die like around WrestleMania 8?!?!", but to emulate the BIGGEST wrestling story of my particular generation – while at the same time the TRUE participants are engaged in a potential storyline based on the same angle in the "other" promotion – isn't just stupid on almost every level, but juvenile in the sense that those casual fans who remember what happened in Montreal can look at this and think to themselves, "Hmmm, so these guys can't come up with ideas of their own, so they copy the other guys?" Like they say, why go for the imitation when you can have the real thing?

Chris Lansdell: FACT. Look, TNA is like my male cat. I love him to pieces, but he's evil a lot of the time. I will try and defend most anything TNA does, but I can't see how this is a good idea. I've been watching wrestling for a long time and there's just no way I can think of to turn this into something that feels fresh or cxan be made to feel fresh. Fans are so fed up with this sort of screwjob, but for some reason Russo, McMahon and Hogan don't seem to realise that. I'll say it again, I love TNA. Impact was my baby on this site for over a year and I was sad to give up the recap. I think a strong TNA is our best hope for improved wrestling. But this shit...man. Why? What can you possibly hope to accomplish? We already know Styles is a heel, we know Angle is a face. Are you trying to force-feed face Hogan to us? Because the reactions I've seen point to the fans wishing THEY had spit on Hogan, and not because he screwed Kurt.

Score: 2 for 3

4. Keeping Bret Hart off TV for the last two weeks was a good choice in order to prevent the Vince/Bret feud from burning out too quickly.

Len Archibald: FACT. We already have the detractors saying, "oh, they've killed the angle already!" and they're the ones that need whatever new medication is used to treat ADD and ADHD. From what I've been taught in "Storytelling 101" - this is called "natural, realistic progression of plot". Someone suggests Bret host Raw. Rumors start. Rumors are confirmed. Bret shows up and Vince disrespects him. Vince decides to ban Hart "forever". Vince is goaded on by various "Superstars" and his "bitch" card is played. Vince's ego (which has always been his character's downfall) forces his hand to prove he is not what his own staff thinks of him so he brings Bret back....and so on and so on. I'm pretty sure we won't see Bret on EVERY RAW starting next week up until WrestleMania as well, as this is the one feud that could realistically be turned on and off to give way to other angles leading into the big show as it has been twelve years in the making. People (maybe not everyone in the IWC, but others who – y'know PAY MONEY FOR VINCE'S PRODUCT) have been waiting to see this, so I'm sure they will get their money's worth.

Chris Lansdell: FACT...for now. I was at a loss for words when WWE wasted 5 of the 7 weeks between TLC and the Rumble and once again rushed their PPV storylines. With that said, the Road to Wrestlemania is almost always well booked for the major stories, and you can guarantee that Vince sees anything involving him as a major story. With over 2 months to go until Mania, the amount of material they can work with would be stretched mighty thin if Bret was on Raw every week. Maybe this will play in to the HHH/HBK match I want so much? That's beside the point though, which is that if WWE brings Bret in next week then has him off air for 3 MORE weeks, we get close to time-wasting again.

Score: 3 for 4


SWITCH!

5. Awesome Kong and Cheerleader Melissa are likely to end up in the WWE soon.



Chris Lansdell: FICTION. Melissa might, because she's much closer to the kind of woman WWE signs. She's cute, she can wrestle and she's marketable, which is a triple threat package that WWE may find hard to resist...IF she's interested. Kong has little to no chance. Look, I love her to bits, and at this point I am contractually obliged to point out that Kong kills bitches dead, but WWE doesn't care. You can't put her in a bikini to wrestle, she won't be appearing in many rap music videos, and not many adolescents are fantasizing about her. In fact she is more likely to appear in the kind of dreams that leave one's bedsheets wet than wet and sticky.

Len Archibald: FACT. Vince McMahon may be an egotistical asshole, but he isn't stupid. He may say that he isn't "paying attention" to TNA, but there is no way that he isn't remotely interested in showing up any remnants of "competition" if the opportunity presents itself. Awesome Kong has been the mainstay and the constant of TNA's Knockout Division. She is now unhappy and feels that she was mistreated. Kong is NOT a "WWE Original" - but she isn't an exile either. Neither she or Melissa have ever burnt any bridges with Vince. I'm sure Vince sees a chance to say to TNA, "yeah, you made these girls a little popular, but I can make them "SUPERSTARS". He did the same in the 80's when he gobbled up the territories. He did that with Austin, Jericho and Mysterio. I'm not saying he's going to bring about a "golden age" of women's wrestling (HA!) but the WWE knows when they have an opportunity to obliterate their competition and send their fans demoralized. Kong and Melissa will enter at some point, with much fanfare – Kong will kill bitches dead – we will catch a moment where she and Beth cross paths and it will fizzle quickly. All I care about is that Kong gets some Kash in recognition for being one of the premiere female wrestlers on the planet after years moving up the ranks.

Score: 3 for 5

6. Raw would have been a better choice to place Serena Deeb than on SmackDown as part of the Straight Edge Society.

Chris Lansdell: FICTION. Why? Presuming she gets to wrestle, there's more female wrestling talent on SmackDown which will give her a better chance of sticking on the roster. She can't show off against Kelly Kelly and Eve, but against Mickie and Beth she certainly can. Putting her in a stable that seems to be going places is probably best for her career, and I struggle to come up with one good reason to put her on Raw. If someone like Angelina Love or Lita were to sign, then yeah put them on Raw since they are well-known names. Serena Deeb is nowhere near that level.

Len Archibald: FICTION. Where would she have gone on RAW? Seriously, sit and think about that. The Divas tournament is almost over. Could she debut and take out Maryse after she (and I think it's a foregone conclusion) wins the Divas Title? That would kind of derail her momentum right off the bat, and it's obvious that the 'E LOVES the French hottie. Where would she go on ECW? Yeah. So that leaves SmackDown and a host of possibilities. Being part of the "Straight Edge Society" gives Deeb the one thing that NO OTHER "Diva" in the 'E has been given since Mickie James hopped the railing and started stalking Trish Stratus – an instantly recognizable and emotionally invested CHARACTER. People may come down on CM Punk, but he has been gathering some borderline nuclear heat for his "Evil Jesus" shtick and it has actually helped the profile of one former "Festus". Being the "hot chick that is so far above everyone else" helps CM Punk, helps Gallows and helps Serena Deeb stand out as more than just some random chick with a boob job. That would not happen on RAW.

Score: 4 for 6

7. No one wants to see a Nasty Boys/Team 3D feud in 2010.

Chris Lansdell: FICTION. Hulk Hogan does, and right now he's the only person that matters unfortunately. I'll be honest here: I hated the idea when I first saw it, but having seen that the Nastys are nowhere near as awful as I thought they'd be and given that there are no titles involved, I'm considering it harmless and a good excuse to get a nice stiff plunder match on the card. Sure I'd rather see the Nastys put over a young team, but having them do well against Team 3D might mean they can put over 2 young teams before losing credibility altogether. Bottom line: I've heard worse ideas.

Len Archibald: FICTION. I've seen some of the comments, and there are some people who are interested. They need a lobotomy – but still, just because I don't want to see two WAY PAST THEIR PRIME tag teams feud doesn't mean that there aren't others who are so delusional in their fandom that they convince themselves as they rock in a dark corner, "YES! YES! THIS IS WHAT TNA NEEDS! This is why they are the ALTERNATIVE! This will give COMPETITION!" Poor, ragged souls.

Score: 5 for 7

8. Inserting Batista into the confrontation between Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker on SmackDown sold Mysterio short as a contender to the World Heavyweight Title.



Chris Lansdell: FICTION. Dammit J-Thom, that joke is just too easy, but I'll take the high road...unlike Mysterio. Sorry. Seriously, how is this selling him short? Nobody thought he had a chance to beat Batista, and when he did people screamed fluke. It would be even less credible for him to beat Taker one on one, so if anything the addition of Batista gives Rey a better chance of winning. Rey is supposed to get beat up a lot, that's his schtick. It's what happens next that will speak volumes.

Len Archibald: FICTION. This is a trick question – simply because Batista didn't need to sell Rey Mysterio short, as Shawn Michaels on RAW did that all by himself with his "I'm gonna destroy the STREAK!" storyline with the Dead Man. Rey-Rey should have made a little special appearance this past Monday and verbally berated The Showstopper for overlooking the fact that if Michaels wins the Royal Rumble that it is possible that he may have to dial up the 619 in Arizona as he could wind up with the World Heavyweight Belt – but that would make too much sense and would actually be somewhat of a hard-sell of the Pay-Per View, and we can't have ANY of that in North American professional wrestling.

Final Score: 6 for 8

And there you have it. In one of the more harmonious Fact or Fictions for the Wrestling Zone in some time, Lansdell and Archibald go 6 for 8! Thank you very much to both of them for their answers, and to you guys who clicked on the link to read what they had to say! For Len and Chris, I'm Jeremy Thomas saying join us next week for more Wrestling Zone Fact or Fiction!

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