High Road/Low Road 09.08.06: Theodore Long As General Manager
Posted by Sat on 09.08.2006
Theodore Long has been the G.M. of SmackDown for two years. Should he stay the G.M. or should the WWE go in a different direction? You decide in this week's High Road/Low Road.
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road. Rajah will no longer be joining us, so I will take both the High Road and the Low Road. Please e-mail me to let me know how I did.
The Results for the SummerSlam:
High Road: 51%
Low Road: 49%
E-Mails:
Below are some of the e-mails that we received this week. We read every e-mail that we get, but we are unable to respond to all of them. That being said, keep the e-mails coming. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Manu Bumb Writes:
"First off, what does this say of what WWE thinks of ECW? I personally feel that ECW shouldn't even be included with WWE pay-per-views but if it was why would you place it so low on the card? "
Actually, I think that was the only spot it could go in. Taking a look at the PPV, and we've got 3 title matches, and 3 hardcore/no dq matches (with Big Show/Sabu being in both). Traditional wrestling booking dictates that you don't want back to back title matches. Also, now that the WWE has rules again (I miss the chaos of attitude), you don't want back to back hardcore matches. Looking at the order of the show, each title match was at least 1 match away from the others, and each hardcore match was one match away from the others. I tried to reorder the matches using these rules, and, assuming Cena/Edge was still the main event, Sabu/Big Show would have had to have gone on 5th (1 match buffer), meaning the Flair/Foley match and DX/McMahon match would have to be 1 and 3 (you decide which opens the show) that way the hardcore matches are all spaced 1 apart (1, 3, and 5). Can you really see either of those matches opening SummerSlam? Continuing...as a result of the placement of the hardcore matches, the Batista/Booker match would have to be match 2, making the title matches numbers 2, 5, and 7. This leaves match 4 and 6 for the Chavo/Rey and Hogan/Orton matches. Odds are Hogan would've been put in the semi main spot, since he's Hogan, and Chavo/Rey has no place on this PPV, and the Chavo/Rey match would be on 4th, giving you:
Do you really think Vince and HHH would be willing to go on BEFORE Chavo/Rey? Hell, HHH wouldn't even let Rey main event Wrestlemania after he WON the freakin' royal rumble!!! And would Hogan/Orton being the semi-main really be better? And the Flair/Foley bloodbath should never open a PPV, it might cause a riot. Well, online, at least.
Given that line-up, I think what they did Sunday was all they could do.
And speaking of riots, there are too many riot signs lately - "if edge wins, we riot", "if Kelly doesn't strip, we riot", etc. But now I want to take one to No Mercy that says "If we don't riot, I riot"
"I don't understand why a heel is never allowed a clean victory. Is this some sort of rule? "
Unless you're HHH. Although I think Angle, the Rock, and Austin all got clean victories as heels. Not certain, though.
"I have nothing bad to say. Isn't that something? Maybe you have a LOW ROAD on this match...e-mail it in!"
The build to the stipulation kinda sucked. I mean, first Lita attacks Edge with the belt back on raw a while back (January 30th, during his FIRST title reign), so he retains. then, on SNME, Lita gets Edge disqualified (July 15th). Those two events are far enough apart that we're going to ignore the first one, so that just leaves us with the July 15th dq. They never made a big deal out of it, and they never made that big a deal out of the stipulation, which should've been a VERY big deal. All they really had to do was get edge dq'd a few times, then name the stip so he cant use the dq to retain his title (or make it a no dq match), then, right before Summerslam, have Cena get Edge disqualified (hit his opponent with a chair, then toss the chair to edge, or something along those lines where Cena makes the ref think edge broke the rules), scaring Edge going into the main event of Summerslam. Hell, have Cena cut a promo about how easy it's going to be to defeat edge now that Edge can't cheat, because if he does, he loses the title.
But instead, JR announces it as an after-thought. They might as well have said "if Lita's boobs fall out, Edge loses the title"....actually, I like that idea, if Edge loses the title.....good thing Miss Jackie was never in a match like that. Girl couldn't keep her tits in for the life of her. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Sat: I wonder if the WWE used the exact same analysis that you did because what you wrote actually made sense. Maybe the WWE is doing some actual thinking…
A heel should only win cleanly when it is the end of a feud and King Booker/Batista is going to continue. You couldn't have Batista win, so Booker had to win. You needed another reason to have the feud continue, so you have a DQ finish.
The buildup to the stipulation was bad, but they did a great job during the match where Edge kept calling Lita off, so he doesn't get DQ'ed.
Scarry Larry Writes:
Hey guys, nice column. While I did not watch SS, it seemed okay, and I was happy w/ most of the outcomes. But I went w/ the low road, mainly b/c of the DX/McMahons match. Everything is wrong about this program, from the poor booking to the burial of all 3 rosters, not to mention the placement on the SS card (it could have opened the show and had the same effect). And I agree King Booker getting a clean pin would have made this a better fued. The King (and the title itself) deserves a big victory to further legitimize the title, considering he needed Chavo's help to take it from Rey. Why WWE insists non-Kurt Angle heels cannot get a clean pin (or even cleanish) is beyond me. Also, the lack of an IC or US title match was kind of lame, if not unexplainable. Oh and whether or not you like Orton, if the guy is going to be shoved down our throats, they might as well throw him a significant win every 9 months.
Sat: There was no reason for Kennedy/Finlay/Regal and Big Show to come out. They could have picked some nobodies from RAW or some random security guards. I don't see how you could have had a rematch if Booker had won cleanly. Randy Orton needed that win because that would have been is biggest win to date.
Uncle Trunx Writes:
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the column; great as always.
What I'll do for Summerslam is look at each match in turn and use that to decide which way to vote:
Chavo Guerrero versus Rey Mysterio
Great opener on paper which was irredeemably soiled by them using the Eddie storyline. Having Vicky Guerrero involved made it unwatchable for me; I felt like a voyeur at a funeral. These two don't need that storyline. Low road start.
ECW Title: Big Show versus Sabu
Enjoyable enough, and the right decision was made not to put the belt on Sabu because he blows more spots than a 16 year old nympho. With Big Show as champ and going over "Old School" ECW wrestlers, it becomes a no-brainer that he'll have to deal with RVD in future. I would've preferred that as a Summerslam match, but this was ok for what it was. High road.
Hulk Hogan versus Randy Orton
If Hogan really knew best, he would've fully retired from wrestling. Low road.
Mick Foley versus Ric Flair
Nasty, sick, brutal; in short, a classic! Didn't like the ending but the logic for it fitted because neither of these guys would quit under normal circumstances. High Road.
World Title: King Booker versus Batista
I was looking forward to this but it didn't live up to the potential, sadly. Low road.
DX versus The McMahons
Overbooked crap which took up space where they could've used some wrestlers in a proper match. Low road.
WWE Title: Edge versus John Cena
Great match. High road.
Well, the addition suggests low road but the card had enough highlights to make it less clear cut than that; with a few obvious exceptions, it certainly was better than I was expecting, if I'm honest. I'll abstain from voting.
Sat: I was thinking about adding a poll for each match, but I thought that would be making the column too poll happy. If you think that it is a good idea, then e-mail in. It is difficult to give a definite answer to a pay per view because very rarely do you see a pay per view that is very bad or do you very rarely see a pay per view that is very good.
Matt Short Writes:
Hey guys,
Really good column this week. Its kinda hard for me to judge this PPV as a whole, so I figured that I'd do a match by match list:
Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio: Low Road
Automatic low road in that this match was built off milking Eddie's name and this feud is just going to continue milked off Eddie's name. And ironically Eddie Guerrero will STILL be more over than either of these two guys when the feud ends. And I did throw up a little in my mouth when Vicki Guerrero first showed up on TV.
Big Show vs. Sabu: High Road
I'll go high road here on the idea that while the match wasn't amazing it served its purpose. Sabu is famous for blowing spots. I can remember his match with Sandman at November to Remember featured every spot being blown, including the finish. So as far as action wise, it wasn't anything that one wouldn't expect. And the finish was fine. Have Show wipe out Sabu through a table. They were counting on Angle being around to be in the title hunt, but I guess that's changed for now.
Hogan vs. Orton: Low Road
If there's anything else for this to be, then this its low road. Fuck Hogan. He's over the hill, he's manipulative, and I just plain don't want to see him on a wrestling program any more. Orton is boring as hell these days. He's been on a steady downhill slide since Wrestlemania and him jobbing to Hogan is just another step down. This match really had no steam as most fans saw through Hogan and realized that all he is an attempt to sell PPV buys. If they want to put Orton back in the main event picture a win here would have been good. Hell, even Hogan legitimately selling Orton's offense would have been good. But I think a lot of people did forget that Hogan neither jobs nor sells for anyone.
Foley vs. Flair: High Road
These two are great. They had an awesome match. I don't mind the finish all that much since it really is Foley's character to do what he did to protect Melina. It gives a nice closure to the feud for now, lets Foley leave the spotlight, and with Melina turning on him gives him a reason to come back. I wouldn't mind seeing these two go at it again and Wrestlemania would be perfect for them. Let Mick get a win back maybe. It's a shame that this match might not get remembered for what it is because of the finish and the rest of the unforgettable card it's with.
King Booker vs. Batista: Low Road
I love Booker. It's about time the man started getting some more respect in the WWE. And what he needed here was a clean win over Batista. But no, like Rajah said, it's like there's a rule that heels can't get those types of wins. I can understand wanting them to make Batista look as dominant as possible, but I'm also in favor of making the champion look strong. And you don't have his first PPV defense end in a DQ loss. It makes Booker look weak and even more like a place holder for Batista.
DX vs. The MacMahons: Low Road
Ok, fine. Overbook the match to hide the MacMahon's lack of in-ring talent. Overbook the match to the point where it barely resembles a match and makes DX look stronger than all three brands combined? That's just silly to me. I'm really starting to get tired of watching this every week. And there is no way this should be this high on the card. And what's worse, the feud is STILL GOING ON. I didn't mind DX at the start, but now that they've done nothing but interact with the MacMahons and its getting BORING. This is low road on so many levels...
Edge vs. Cena: High Road
I'll give this the high road, because yeah. There really was nothing wrong with this. They put on a decent match, the ending made sense, and makes for a good build in the feud. Cena not getting the title here is great because he just needs some time off from the belt. Have him feud for a number one contender's spot. Cena needs to chase the title now, because its actually going to make people care about him again. And giving Edge more time with the title this time prevents him from being the next Kane: a world champion, but only as a footnote.
Since it seems like the matches are a tie... well I'll go low road on the whole damn thing. The build for the PPV was terrible. There were almost no matches that I cared about, save Foley vs. Flair. Hogan and MacMahons/DX dominated the TV time building to this show and to be honest, I don't think many people cared about it. I know I didn't. I am amazed that none of the mid-card got a chance to shine here at Summerslam. It's such a shame because I think the smart thing to do would be to have them showcase their rising stars like Carlito or Lashley. They could have continued to have Carlito, Shelton, and Nitro battle over the IC title. Lashley could have faced Finlay for the US title. It really does amaze me that Lashley wasn't at Summerslam since the WWE has been so high on him for a long time. It was just so disappointing to not see the undercard being given a chance to shine.
To blatantly rip off The Simpsons, worst Summerslam ever.
Sat: After reading your e-mail and Uncle Trunx's e-mail, I am tempted to add a poll on each match. Here are a few of my thoughts. I had a lot of trouble taking the High Road on Hogan/Orton because it makes no sense for Hogan to win. I don't see how you could have had a rematch if Booker had beat Batista clean. The only way you could have had a rematch is the finish that they had or have Booker blatantly cheat and win. The build for SummerSlam was terrible. I thought that the build would be much better because this is the second biggest pay per view of the year.
This week's High Road/Low Road featuring...
Theodore Long as General Manager
High Road:
Theodore Long is perfect as general manager because of the fact that he doesn't favor any wrestler. Usually, we see a general manager favor one wrestler and make another wrestler's life a living hell. This is not the case with Theodore Long. Theodore Long is not out there to help himself or other wrestlers; he is out there to give the fans what they want to see. This is what a general manager should do.
Low Road:
Theodore Long does not favor any wrestler, but he does make life hell for the heels. By doing that, Theodore Long is doing the exact same thing that heel general manager do to the babyface wrestler. So, it just a swerve by the WWE. Granted, it is better than watching heel general manager versus babyface wrestler. Theodore Long is really giving the fans what they want to see. That's why we have to put up with Vito, Sylvan, and the Diva Search. If he is helping the fans, get this crap off my TV.
High Road:
A general manager should not dominate the show and the general manager should only show up when he is needed to make a decision. Another reason for the general manager to show up should be during a special contract signing (Batista/Henry and Batista/Booker). A general manager should not be on every show and the general manager should only show up when they are needed. Vince McMahon is on every show and he dominates the entire show. Theodore Long sometimes isn't even on the show and when he is on the show, it is for a contract signing or when his decision is needed. Theodore Long fits the above requirements and that is why he should be the general manager.
Low Road:
I need to start attending classes in Negativity 101. If you can think of a low road for this, e-mail it in.
High Road:
When you look at the former general managers of SmackDown, you see that there has not been a stable general manager at all. The general managers of SmackDown have been Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, & Kurt Angle and none of these guys lasted for a long time. During this time, RAW had a stable general manager (except for the few times that there were co-general managers). SmackDown was hurting because of the continuous change of general managers, but that has changed because Theodore Long has reached his two year anniversary has general manager.
Low Road:
The only reason why Theodore Long has lasted this long is because there is nobody to replace him. Also, having a stable general manager is not a good thing because eventually it will get repetitive. Why not change it up now by having Theodore Long turn heel? If Theodore Long turns heel it adds a ton of intrigue to his character because he has been doing the same thing for the last two years.
High Road:
The general managers that the WWE has had are Eric Bischoff, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Heyman, Kurt Angle, & Vince McMahon. All of these general managers have either been heel or "too close to call" (Stephanie McMahon). That being said, Theodore Long is the first face general manager since the beginning of brand extension. With a face general manager, we the fans get two things. These two things are that we are seeing a face general manager for the first time and we also don't have to see the heel authority figure versus some wrestler.
Low Road:
Again, we have been seeing the face general manager for the last two years on SmackDown, so it is time to change things up a bit. Granted we aren't seeing heel authority figure versus some wrestler, but we are seeing face authority figure versus heel wrestler. And eventually that will also get old if we keep seeing that over and over. It's better to keep switching things up.
High Road:
A general manager should not have any storyline revolving around them and the general manager should not be featured on their respective show more than the actual wrestlers. This is the case with Vince McMahon because his storyline dominates the show and he is featured more than the wrestlers, but this is not the case for Theodore Long. Also, when the general manager is dominating the show, it shows that you don't have faith in your wrestlers.
Low Road:
There has to be some type of storyline revolving around the general manager. It doesn't have to be a major storyline and the general manager doesn't always have to be involved in a storyline. Right now on SmackDown, we have a great storyline involving Theodore Long. Right now, Theodore Long is negotiating a contract with MVP. This is a great storyline because it is interesting and it is a storyline that doesn't need to be the main focus of the show. This is the type of storyline that a general manager should be involved in.
High Road:
The WWE has nobody else that can do the job that Theodore Long is doing. Coachman won't work because he is a heel and Eric Bischoff has the same problem. I would love to see Dusty Rhodes as the general manager, but I believe that Dusty would start to dominate the show if he became the general manager. The WWE could bring in somebody new, but who is really left after these three?
Low Road:
When Theodore Long became the general manager he was not that good of a choice for general manager. Most people will probably agree that at the time, they thought that Theodore Long was not a good choice. In the past two years, Theodore Long has shown that he is capable of being a good general manager. If the WWE wanted to they could easily go in a different direction. How about Christopher Nowinski? To say that there is nobody else for the general manager position is just stupid.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
Plugs
We are taking the high road on these articles so you should read them...
