Shining a Spotlight 12.21.06: 2006's Gifts For Fans
Posted by Michael Weyer on 12.21.2006
King Booker, LAX, Eric Young, Mickie James and the other great things wrestling gave fans in 2006.
Ah, Christmas time is upon us this week. Call me a softie at heart but I truly do love this time of year. Yeah, the work hours are killer, shopping's a nightmare but it's worth it all to hear the songs on the radio, see town squares in lights and putting up the tree with ornaments. I do love the feeling that goes around at this time of year and how it can bring out the best in people.
Now, I'm aware that as the year draws to a close, everyone is thinking back on 2006 and seeing the bad that came out of it. And yes, there was a lot of bad stuff this year. The new ECW, Vince Russo joining TNA, Trish Stratus retiring and so many, many bad angles, gimmicks and PPVs. So I'm sure a lot of people are looking at the bad that occurred in 2006.
Me, I'm doing something different. I'm looking at the good stuff wrestling gave us this year. Yeah, we got some lumps of coal but there were moments that really mattered. There were wrestlers who got their big break. There were pushes to guys who deserved it. There were moments that, on their own, were truly magical, not hampered by the messes that would follow.
So as Christmas comes to us, I want to look back at some of the great things wrestling did this year that rewarded us fans for following it. Call me more optimistic than most for recognizing them but I thought I'd throw them out anyway, in no particular order:
Trish Stratus goes out on top: Vince McMahon may get flack for a lot of the stuff he pulls on veterans. But every now and then, the man will show some true loyalty and reward a worker who's gone out of their way to give him their best. So it was when Trish Stratus announced she was going to be leaving in September. Vince could have had her buried, annoyed at how it would hurt the woman's division. Instead, he let Trish beat Lita to win the Woman's Title one last time and in her hometown to boot. Better yet, he had her do it by making Lita tap out to the Sharpshooter, balancing the scales a bit for the 1997 Survivor Series. It was a great way to pay Trish back for all she had done to help the state of women wrestlers in WWE and her fans who had followed her.
All Hail King Booker!: It seemed like Booker's career was in yet another stall as he lost the US title and then had a feud with the Bogeyman. When he won the King of the Ring tournament, it seemed another goofy gimmick. But somehow, Booker managed to make it work, taking the ridiculous idea of him being a "King" and selling it beautifully. Coming out in robes, talking in grandiose speech and adding a bit of class to his repertoire, Booker soon had the fans heating up for him. It culminated with him winning the World title and holding it longer than most expected. He enters 2007 more over than he's been in years and with a persona that can allow him to keep at the top for a while to come.
Kurt Angle's Surprise World Title Win: It's hard to surprise wrestling fans nowadays but WWE did manage to pull off a great one in the early weeks of the year. When Batista was forced to give up the World title and take his long break, it was assumed the battle royal would be won by a big SmackDown name like JBL or Rey Mysterio. Some feared Vince might go too far and have Mark Henry win the belt (remember, this was before Henry actually showed some promise). So it was quite the shock when Kurt Angle's music began blaring and he came out as the final entrant. Angle sold beautifully, from eliminating JBL right off to being slammed through a table by Henry. It came down to the two of them with Angle now the crowd favorite, managing to yank Henry over the top to win. It was easy to forget it had been over two years since Angle held a singles title as the sight of a belt around his waist was once again perfect. While WWE would spoil it by mentioning it on the website a few days early (no doubt to boost the ratings), it was a still a great "Heywhahuh?" moment, something we could use more of.
The Rise of Eric Young: It's fun to look back and see when Young was just a normal guy, a solid tag worker with Team Canada but mostly background. He began to build it up in late 2005 with stuff like in interviews where he'd go from confident to pessimistic to outright suicidal in ten seconds. But this was the year Young finally connected and was allowed to go loose. Playing him up as so paranoid that he'd be billed as "currently residing in an undisclosed location," it was the "don't fire Eric Young" sign in the crowd that launched him into the hearts of fans. Young played into it beautifully with his goofy mentality and mannerisms while backing it up in the ring. While the scripted stuff he's getting isn't as funny as the stuff he was improving, Young was one of the best reasons to watch TNA this year and hopefully that'll continue in '07.
The Fall of Batista: I could never understand the rush of love the IWC had toward Batista in 2005. So you can imagine how pleased I was when everyone else seemed to come around to my thinking on Big Dave this year. He was still hugely over when he was forced to give up the belt and it seemed WWE was just cooling time until he would come back and regain it. But something happened when he did. The fans didn't seem as hot for him and when word came of his fight backstage with Booker, folks started to see how egotistic the guy was. His ring work has been sloppier, almost injuring some guys with his power bomb and with Booker now hugely over, Batista is suffering. He may be the champ now, but fans aren't as hot for it as they were last year. I think it's an attitude overdue but maybe it'll get Batista to pick up the game a bit more as he try to regain his fanbase.
The Little Man makes it big: I have always been a critic of Rey Mysterio as a World champion. And I know some were upset at how Eddie's name was worked into it. And yeah, the match itself could have been longer. But it was still a great moment when Rey held that big gold belt over his head and the crowd went wild. This was a man who was the complete opposite of the type of wrestlers Vince liked to push getting his moment in the sun. After all the obstacles he'd had, from his mismanagement in WCW to injuries and more, Rey was given a longer run with the belt than most expected. It may not have worked out right, but to see a "little guy" with the big title was still a refreshing change of pace.
The Psycho wins the fans: Going into Wrestlemania, it seemed that Trish Stratus was certain to be the crowd favorite against Mickie James. However, during the match, a truly great women's match, James had the crowd backing her up big time. Even Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler had to remark on how the crowd was clearly on Mickie's side. She played into it big, laughing and screaming when she had Trish on the ropes, the crowd booing Trish when she'd mount an offense. Maybe it was just cheering for someone other than Trish, maybe fans identified with someone wanting to be with Trish but this match turned expectations on its ear, showing once again how you can't completely predict how fans will react. Bonus points go to the brilliant idea to have Mickie dress and act like Trish and Trish then dressing and acting like Mickie, both showing brilliant comedy and character moments that made the feud more worthwhile.
RVD finally makes it: We all know he would blow it big time only weeks later. But for one glorious night, Rob Van Dam finally achieved the goal many had thought he deserved for five years. In front of a rabid ECW crowd that was wholly behind him, Van Dam beat John Cena in a wild match to win the WWE title and was granted the ECW title days later. Seeing RVD carried on the shoulders of the ECW locker room while the fans went nuts was a terrific moment. Yeah, RVD would screw it all up for himself but at least he has that one night where the dreams of him and his fans finally came true.
The Game settles down: For years, fans have complained about HHH putting himself in the main event scene and cutting off anyone who threatened his spotlight. But in the same year in which he became a father, Hunter seemed to decide it was finally time to cede the spotlight. At Wrestlemania, he shocked everyone by putting Cena over big time by submission and did it again the following month. Then, rather than keep at the top title scene, he and Shawn reunited to form DX. Sure, they have had main events on RAW and a few PPVs but HHH seemed content to let Cena and Edge fight it out for the title most thought he considered his. It's a lesson one hopes Jeff Jarrett can take to heart.
The Hitman enters the Hall: For years, fans thought Hell would freeze over before Bret Hart had anything to do with WWE again. But after making the DVD a hit last year, Bret decided it was time to let some bygones by bygones and accepted the invitation to become part of the WWE Hall of Fame. His appearance was quite good, giving a heartfelt speech and making it clear this was for the fans more than himself. He also stuck to his guns to not take part in the Wrestlemania card itself. While having him be the ref for the Michaels/Vince fight would have been perfect, Bret decided to just let his legacy speak for himself. And in doing so, he showed once again why he's such a legend to fans.
Candice Michelle does Playboy: Do I have to say anything else on this?
The Phenomenangels and LAX revive tag team heat: As a huge mark for both guys, I was overjoyed when AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels became a tag team and more so when they turned in amazing matches with AMW. Getting the tag team titles was inevitable as both men gelled so well together, it seemed no one could top them. Enter LAX as Homicide and Hernandez clicked much better than many (including myself) thought they would. The result was one of the best tag team feuds in quite a while with both teams swapping the title and highlighted by the first-ever Ultimate X tag team match. While Styles and Daniels are now split, LAX has gotten over big time and have even won the crowd's favor (witness the boos when TNA tried to strip them of the belts). Thanks to these two teams, not only has the tag scene in TNA improved but it may cause WWE to step up their tag game which is a good thing for the whole sport.
WWE DVDs get even better: 2006 was a great year for DVDs on wrestling as WWE continues to showcase how owning a monopoly on the sport has its benefits. Sure, some were biased (the McMahon one for instance) but others were great showcases for performers and organizations that modern-day fans don't know a lot of. Brian Pillman was given an overdue spotlight to show how he changed the sport and the AWA disc has been hailed (even by Scott Keith) as a terrific even-handed look at the company, showcasing its shortcomings but also giving props for how great the AWA once was. Better yet, it seems WWE has settled something with Jesse Ventura as several discs (the WWE title history and the Hogan and Piper sets) have "The Body's" commentary restored to matches, making the collections even better. Judging by their slate in '07 (World Class, families and the Four Horsemen among others), WWE guarantees fans will be restocking their DVD shelves for a while to come.
Montreal forgives Shawn: For the last decade, Shawn Michaels hasn't been able to set foot in Canada without the fans letting him have it for the 1997 Survivor Series. But at Unforgiven, DX clearly had the crowd behind them as they battled the Spirit Squad and McMahon. The next night, they were crowd favorites again and Shawn took the mic to thank them for "at least one night, forgiving me." It's good to see the crowd finally let such a long-ago incident die down and recognize a man for his current achievements.
The Europeans bring class to Smackdown: The arrival of Fit Finley to active competition at SmackDown this year was a surprise. The bigger surprise was how well Finley got over, showing the roster there how to really bring the action to a match with stiff battles. His work seemed to invigorate William Regal, who also started to let his amazing repertoire loose after years of being held back. Both men benefited from being allied with King Booker but their own achievements were great, with Finley winning the US title. They've continued to keep up the great work and elevate the mid-card a bit while showing these young guys how it's done. If SmackDown sees more improvement in the coming year, these guys will have played a big part in it.
ROH continues to rise: The more I hear of Ring of Honor, the more I think they deserve a TV show more than TNA does. While WWE had its myriad problems and TNA has suffered from poor booking and pushes, ROH delivers incredible action with a fanbase that can rival ECW in terms of fanaticism. With Bryan Danielson at the head, the Ring seems set to take a bigger push in the fanbase and if they do get a TV deal, the fanbase will be changed drastically.
K-Fed and the Former Fed: Best Week Ever really hit it on the head: Kevin Federline decided that if you can't beat them, you might as well let them beat you up. His appearance on RAW allowed him to plug his album while getting FU'ed by John Cena. But WWE really lucked out when Britney filed for divorce, making Federline even bigger with the media, thus bringing more attention to WWE. Sure, the match against Cena is liable to stink but Federline has given WWE some great mainstream coverage that'll lead to bigger ratings, a bonus most of WWE's actual workers seem unable to provide.
The Champ lives up to his name: As the year began, John Cena was getting a lot of flack online and more boos from crowds. He was booed at Wrestlemania and the crowd was truly hostile at One Night Stand. But Cena still kept on, working through all the hate to give his best, getting great matches with HHH and RVD. He went back to his great trash talking raps, played off reactions and basically told the fans to do whatever they felt like. Somehow, that seemed to bring the crowds back to his side as he's the champion once more and has been getting good pops again. While The Marine may have failed, Cena is still the biggest star WWE has now and may be able to carry the company for a while yet.
Just my thoughts of course, feel free to throw in your own fond "gifts" of this year.
Also around 411:
That Was Then compares WWE to Iraq
The Ripple Effect debuts with a look at Jeff Hardy
High Road/Low Road takes a look at the Miz
WWE vs ROH imagines Benoit/Danielson, a match that would be a five star classic.
Just S'Pose returns with a scenario I've been dying for: If Magnum TA hadn't gotten into that car crash. Great twists, check it out.
The Fink looks at celebrity angles
Julian does the Top 10 Breakout Stars of the year.
Meehan looks at TNA in 2006
Don't forget Column of Honor, Triple Threat, 3 R's, Ask 411, Fact or Fiction and the rest.
Next week I'll think about what 2007 might have in store for the business and fans. For now, the spotlight is off and Happy Holidays to everyone.
