The Ripple Effect 5.18.07: A Shift In Values
Posted by Zac Calhoun on 05.18.2007
This week we've got my predictions for Judgment Day, the return of the Clip of the Week, and look at what a difference two years makes.
Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, my friends.
I moved into my new summer apartment a few days ago, and boy does it feel good to have my own place again. I'd been in living limbo for a while but came out on the other side with a better place and a fresh start. I've been out of my element for the past month, which I feel has probably hurt important areas of my life, including the RE. But now I feel refreshed, creative, and ready to put my focus back where it belongs: a column on professional wrestling that I get no money for and I don't really tell a lot of people about.
E-Mail
Two pieces of mail for this week's column…first we've got Ian Austin, who wrote in response to my column from a few weeks ago:
Awesome column dude. Summed up why I watch wrestling in a great way. Good to see it picked you up during a particularly bad period. Done the same for me, even when Smackdown is at its most boring it provides a degree of entertainment and enthusiastic annoyance that few other shows can.
I'm telling you, when you feel like everything just sucks ass, watch some of your favorite matches. They can get you going in an incredible way. Hell, just thinking about the triple threat from WMXX usually puts me in a better mood. Thanks for the kind words.
And from John Reid, who chimes in with his thoughts on the topics of the day:
Thank you Zac, for being the only writer on 411 to call out the WWE for stupidly putting the Great Khali in a world title program against Cena. On PPV no less! While the critics and fanboys bag TNA for how they put Kurt Angle in their title program, I'm glad to hear that someone was willing to make sense of it all. I guess in order to get a WWE title shot all you have to do these days is attack all the top contenders in the shower or dressing room. Forget the old fashion way of earning it in the ring. It's typical though of Vince's ego and lazy booking by the creative team. I guess this is what happens when you know that people will flock to buy the WWE PPVs based on their name and history.
Speaking of Vince's ego, why do we have to see yet ANOTHER match involving Lashley and Umaga for the ECW title? Haven't they figured out by now that until Lashley either gets a mouthpiece or a mean streak that no one will take him seriously? I think the Burke/Punk match will be good, I just hate the way they rushed the whole New Breed angle. They should've let the dissention build in for a few weeks more. One can only hope that this will lead to bigger things down the line.
As for Smackdown I couldn't agree with you more. Edge will be a breath of fresh air and can finally have the title reign he should've had a long time ago. I like the idea of him facing Taker for the belt at WM 24. I'm not sure if they can say he's undefeated anymore but if they choose to that would be fine. Hopefully Kennedy will come back to beat him at Summerslam and then Edge could win it back.
Although I hardly think I'm the only 411 writer to complain about Khali, thanks for the compliment anyway.
I will never…E-E-E-E-EVER…stop thinking this: the Great Khali in a world title situation is completely ridiculous in every conceivable way. Wow, that was a lot of extreme language in one sentence. No one gives a damn about him, he has no marketing appeal whatsoever, he will never be a draw, and he is literally incapable of cutting a promo his audience can understand. I can't even begin to think what a guy like Regal or Kendrick must think of this shit. They've busted their asses to get where they are, and here comes Khali who never even has to leave his feet during his matches. It's just fucking stupid.
Anyway…
I agree that the New Breed implosion has happened too fast. It doesn't seem like long ago that Punk did the fake heel turn, and now he's fighting Burke on PPV? And Thorn's already out of the group? In any case, the match will most likely be good for both guys and for ECW as a whole.
I think the idea of Edge vs. Taker at WM24 is AWESOME. WWE has proven that they're behind Edge, and that match would bring perhaps even more question marks as to whether the streak will end or not. Even if they gave Taker the win, it would still be a great way for him to regain the title he never should've lost. Kennedy should factor into that equation at some point also.
Thanks a lot, and keep them coming!
The RE Wrestling Clip of the Week
I don't know if you guys have heard about this YouTube contraption, but it sure does give wrestling fans things to go when they get bored. The net is absolutely crawling with great wrestling material, and this is my invitation for you guys to take a look at it.
This is a "six-pack" challenge match to determine the number one contender to the East Coast Pro Wrestling title. Competitors are Corvis Fear, Ace Wylde, Mario Zuto, Gavin Quest, Archadia and my personal favorite, THE MACHINE. It's a well executed contest that develops some pretty nice psychology. I knew next to nothing about these guys (other than hearing Quest on a certain rival website), but I was able to determine that THE MACHINE was a Kane/Abyss type unbreakable monster, Wylde and Zuto were allies of some sort, and that Quest had at least some reputation for awesome moves. It's the type of workrate you just don't see in WWE anymore, in terms of both technique and innovation. And this match has something you won't see on Raw anymore: a good heel announcer. Jerry Lawler has been such a shadow of his former self that I'm shocked no one's suggested he be fired. Anyway, the match is cool and worthy of your attention. And Corvis Fear is a really cool fucking name!
A Role Reversal of World Heavyweight Proportions
As WWE hastily put together the card for Judgment Day, they booked a match out of thin air pitting brand new world champion Edge against the default number one contender Batista. It seemed almost like an automatic response, as the match was announced before the CW even aired Edge's title win. Edge and Batista have fought before (remember that), but they haven't had anything to do with each other in storylines since the Dave moved over to Fridays in the wake of the draft lottery. So essentially, we're going into a PPV, and one of our big three matches isn't really even a feud.
How is the match going to go? Well, I doubt many of us are predicting Batista to walk out with the belt unless he commits some nefarious act. There's a reason WWE chose Edge to bail SD out, and it's a giant statement that he was chosen over the man everyone thought would carry the brand through the year. Batista's bizzarely Warrior-like in-ring persona has motivated the booking team to anoint a new superstar with whom people can identify SmackDown.
As I sat down and thought about the looming Edge/Dave showdown, I couldn't escape how weird it was that Edge was the favorite in a match against a guy like Batista. The reason for those thoughts, I realized, was twofold: 1) Edge never seems to get big win on PPV (Foley notwithstanding), and 2) I had been conditioned two years earlier to think that Batista > Edge. It seems the tables have turned in the past 24 months, as Edge's career looks brighter than ever and Dave's future prospects are anything but secure. Travel with me if you will to the not-so-distant past as we take a look at how one man lost his fire while another ascended to the top of the business…and looks to actually stay there for a while.
I wish I had the guy from Conan's band to do the "IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND" thing…oh well.
The date was May 23, 2005, and Monday Night Raw went live from Green Bay (whose favorite son Mr. Kennedy would debut later in the year). On tap for the show was a handicap match – go figure – with Shelton against Muhammad Hassan and Daivari, a barn burner between Stevie and the Masterpiece, Jericho vs. Sylvan, the awesome interview with Vince, Heyman AND Bischoff, Benoit vs. Tajiri, and a match for the World Heavyweight title between champion Batista and Edge. Mr. Copeland had won the "Gold Rush" tournament from the week before that also included Kane, Christian, HBK, Shelton, Jericho, Benoit and HHH. The victory, which was facilitated by his unholy alliance with Lita, gave him a world championship match the next week and went quite nicely with the title shot he already earned in the first MITB.
Surely Edge's career had some hot prospects during this time, but would fans take him seriously as a world champion? Well, WWE provided us with an answer for that with the title match. Edge got in a pretty good amount of offense in, but the match itself was laden with interference. First there was Lita, who joined the fun early on with some classic heel shenanigans like distracting the ref. Then there was the involvement of Christian and Tomko, who had struck up an unofficial re-alliance since MITB. Then you had Flair, still a heel and with HHH, who was feeling some sympathy for his former Evolution partner and decided to join the fun. In the end, Batista was able to escape the clutches of three guys and survive an Edge spear attempt, as well as an attempted briefcase shot, to pick up the victory. His spine buster and Demon Bomb put a temporary stop to Edge's seemingly incessant push.
To be honest, the second the Dave kicked out of the spear, everyone knew the world title wouldn't change hands that night. Much like they had in the past, WWE hadn't booked Edge to be a credible threat to the title yet, despite his MITB win. Quite frankly, he looked a small step above mid-card compared to Batista, who was protected by lots of interference to overcome and a finish that left little doubt in people's minds who was more important to the company. And to make matters worse, he didn't even factor into the post-match storyline, as HHH (in a scenario I bet he just loved) returned from a brief hiatus to challenge Dave to a match in the Hell In a Cell and make his Canadian coworker look like a complete afterthought.
Now let's hit fast-forward and see where both guys have gone since that fateful match:
The then-champ Batista has seen his career do some strange things since his first run with the title. He was able to stay over after being drafted to SD through some pretty good feuds with JBL, Eddie and MNM before receiving the news that he would have to take considerable time off because of injury. His farewell address on SD that week was very emotional and helped create a huge buzz surrounding his eventual return. As soon as Batista put the blue roster on notice at WM22, you knew he was going to stick around the represent the brand well.
Then he decided to stop trying
Very gradually upon his return, the fans started losing interest in Dave. For some reason, he just didn't seem to have the fire and motivation he had during his feud with HHH, and his reputation both with fans and the top brass began to fade. Sure he won the world title from Booker at Survivor Series in November, but neither the victory nor the reign itself would capture the magic his first did. His interviews were uninspiring, his mannerisms were unoriginal, and his moves were much more sloppy than they were before. In my book at least, his second run earns the dreaded label of "transitional" and will be forgotten in a few years. Despite some bright moments along the way (the matches with Finlay and Taker), his career has only been hurt since May 23, 2005.
Edge…slightly different story. Due to his years of constant hard work in the mid-card and his rapidly developing heel skills, the Rated R Superstar saw his spot on the card getting better with each passing month. He came out on top in feuds with Kane, Benoit, even HBK during the rest of the year. Of course it all culminated at the second New Year's Revolution PPV, when he used his shamelessly smart heel mind to take the WWE title from John Cena. Of course, he lost it back to Cena just three weeks later at the Rumble, but unlike the Dave Edge saw his title loss as a stepping stone rather than a roadblock. That, in my opinion, has made all the difference in the world.
No WWE wrestler in 2006 had more good matches and intriguing storylines than Edge. He started the year with feud with Cena, followed that up with his legendary match with Mick Foley, main evented Backlash, served as one of the main WWE representatives at One Night Stand, won the WWE title again, main evented SummerSlam, main evented Unforgiven, formed a superstar duo with Orton, main evented Backlash again, and has now become only the second guy to win both championships in their WWE form. He's had good matches with just about everyone, and the fans absolutely LOVE to hate him. Simply put, Edge was more important to WWE last year than just about anyone, maybe even more so than Cena.
And now we're on the cusp of Judgment Day, where Edge will defend the title WWE saw fit to give him above the obvious choice of Batista…against Batista. Now all the momentum is on the other side, and Edge finds himself ready to carry SD just like he carried Raw last year. The dumbest thing the bookers could do at this point is find another reason to give Dave the belt. Edge is ready and able to lead the brand into SummerSlam, and judging by his apparent reaction backstage to the title win, he's very excited for the opportunity.
Bottom line: hard work pays off. Edge has put his body on the line night after night for this company and deserves this run with the most prestigious belt in the industry. I think we can all rest easy, because SD is in good hands.
Of course if Batista wins, my theory's fucked.
Sendoff
That brings us to the end of another edition of the RE. In case anyone's curious, my predictions for Judgment Day are as follows:
Flair over Carlito (just seems like what they would do)
HBK over Orton (not looking good for Randy)
Punk over Burke (heel finish is possible for Burke though)
MVP over Benoit (finally)
Lashley over Vince & the Gang (although I'd like to see Shane sneak in the win)
Edge over Batista (hopefully you gathered this by now)
Cena over Khali (or my ass will not watch Raw for the duration of Khali's run)
There you have it…we'll see how shitty my picks are some Sunday. Until then, let your fandom endure and get ready for summertime wrestling. It can be frustrating.
