The Goodness 02.14.07: The Potential For Goodness
Posted by on 02.14.2007
As WrestleMania approaches, there is one feud that has Goodness written over it. Nope, not Batista/Undertaker, not Cena/Michaels, not even Trump/McMahon. It's the break-up of Rated RKO.
Tough break for the WWE this week and the dog show on USA Monday night. This was a bad week for Raw to be moved to Thursday with the arrival on Donald Trump. Makes you wonder why they wouldn't have held off on that until next week's Raw, which will likely get a good rating coming the night after a pay-per-view. I have a feeling that budding feud between Trump and Vince McMahon has serious potential and could get very, very interesting. I also appreciate, from the rumors (I haven't read the spoilers), that it won't be the two men wrestling but they will be seconding wrestlers. I like that. Especially with Hogan apparently out of the mix, it could give a youngster like Bobby Lashley or Mr. Kennedy some serious exposure. Just please WWE, keep Khali out of the mix. But there is another budding feud that has grabbed my attention...
The Goodness 02.14.07: The Potential For Goodness
The current feeling among wrestling fans is they are skeptical, but optimistic about this year's WrestleMania. For one, it's in a dome and rarely, if ever, has the WWE put on a dome show that hasn't been worth the price. Even the poorly built WrestleMania XIX used the atmosphere to springboard into quite the forgotten classic. Secondly, the two main events have been set in stone and no one can have too many problems with them. The Batista/Undertaker match is a beautifully built 'prove-it' feud with each men putting something on the line – a streak, a title – that puts the outcome in doubt. The Cena/Michaels matchup gives fans a new title match, light years more exciting than the rumored Triple H/Cena rematch. Additionally, the outcome is also in doubt as is how the massive crowd will react to two tweeners. Color me excited about both.
But as last Monday Night's Raw went off the air, it was a different possible match-up that had me excited. During the main event between Edge, Randy Orton and Michaels, Edge and Orton had subdued Michaels and were toe-to-toe in the ring. They shook hands and promised to work together. Like good heels, both men swung as the other turned their back. It was a beautiful set-up and work excellently with the character of each. Neither one can truly be a face tomorrow but the personal rivalry has been there between the two from day one.
I always complain about the poor set-ups to feuds and matches that I have no choice but to praise those in charge when a good one comes along. What I like so much about the impending break-up of Rated RKO, which I hope happens quickly to set up a one-on-one match at WrestleMania, is how realistic it has been. So many break-ups and heel turns have become a booking crutch for promoters to surprise an audience. Here, we knew what was going to happen from the beginning but decided to join the ride.
When the pairing was formed, it was out of necessity, both off-screen and on-screen. With DX running wild, Edge and Orton were two main event single wrestlers without suitable opponents. It only made sense to have the two pair up to take on DX. It also made sense on-screen since the two were constantly being outsmarted and beaten by DX. As the weeks went along, Rated RKO continue to get the short end of the stick and it looked for a while as if their pairing was set up only to give DX more and more easy victories. And maybe that was true, but fate intervened. In fact, Triple H's injury may have been a hidden blessing by the time WrestleMania rolls around.
With Triple H out of the picture, it only made sense for Edge & Orton to get the better of Shawn Michaels. The dominance of Edge & Orton in these situations put them over because they were finally treated as serious threats and, coincidentally, led to the resurrection of Michaels as a World Title contender as his babyface heat grew. By the time the Royal Rumble happened, all three men were riding this momentum and, by the final four of the match, it appeared any one of the trio could win the match.
The seeds of Edge & Orton's discontent for each other are pretty easy to see. They're both former world champions hell-bent on returning to that point in their careers. While they could team up for a time, inevitably a moment would come where their true intentions to become champ would surface. It happened at the Royal Rumble. It happened again in the Triple Threat match with Michaels. It will come to a head soon and the tag team will be broken in a perfect old-school wrestling sort of way: because of good ol' fashioned jealousy.
There is one twist to this break-up that makes it unique to the point I don't know if the WWE has pulled it off before. Rated RKO is a heel tag team breaking up and set to feud with each other. More often than not in these situations, one wrestler has to blatantly turn face for the break-up to work. Otherwise, why would two like-minded heels not get along? They both like to cheat, right? And that's the beauty of the desire to be champion; it's what's separating them. Neither man has suddenly gone straight and joined the side of good. They're still their very unique characters, they're both cocky as hell and they don't play well with others.
It is also because of the unique situation surrounding the impending break-up that makes it so compelling to watch unfold. What's going to happen? Will both men remain heels up to WrestleMania? At some point, the fans will decide to cheer one man, but who? How do you see yourself, caught up in the moment at a wrestling event, cheering on either wrestler, both of whom have been excellent heels in recent months? In fact, it will be just as interesting to watch the crowd react to the ongoing feud as the feud itself.
Logically built? Check. Two good wrestlers in the ring? You got it. A compelling storyline? Absolutely. Shades of gray? Too many shades to count. My wrestling friends, the WWE may have just stumbled onto something very, very interesting. And it's all our gain for the next two months.
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