Tim's Take 5.13.08: The Immediate Past and Future

Posted by Tim Livingston on 05.13.2008

In Part 1 of a 5-part series, I take a look at the major brands in the US and analyze where they are currently and what they are looking to do in the near future. This week: RAW.

It's been four months since the beginning of the year, and while many people believe that the true WWE "season" begins after WrestleMania, the fact of the matter is that people like basing what a company does during a calendar year as opposed to after the biggest event of the year. So that's what I'm going to do. We're going to go through WWE's three brands, TNA, and Ring of Honor to determine exactly what has happened and what it means to the immediate future of the respective companies. We'll do it one my one over the next five weeks. Of course, I'll be a bit more lenient with some more than others...mainly because there are some companies that get it right and there are others that suck on ice. I'm watching "Slap Shot." Therefore, the ice hockey reference. I might throw in a "I'm listening to the FUCKING song!" while I'm at it, too. So put on the foil, and let's look at the "A" show on the "A" wrestling brand in North America.

WWE - RAW

Champions During This Year
-Randy Orton (Beginning of the year until Backlash)
-Triple H (Backlash - present)

Randy Orton was really rolling once 2008 got started up. He first won the title at No Mercy after the John Cena injury led to the three title matches in one night scenario, including the two hour Triple H reign that served as a bridge to Orton earning the belt as opposed to just being given it. The win over Triple H really put over his toughness, as we all knew how swarmy and crazy he could be. The next series with Shawn Michaels was really well done. Michaels returned from injury and went right after Orton and they had a couple good matches. Orton then went on to a program with Jeff Hardy, leading to an all or nothing match at Royal Rumble that tried to get over Hardy as a legit force, but really, it didn't do much for either competitor. The return of John Cena that night automatically gave Orton yet another "return from injury" program. This time, with the man who was the face of the company for over a year before he got injured, Orton was able to get over on Cena through wit and, well, being the biggest pussy opportunist walking God's green Earth. He retained at No Way Out through nefarious ways, and then escaped with the belt at WrestleMania 24 when he took off Triple H's head in the Triple Threat Match. The Fatal Four-Way Match allowed for a title switch. It was the basic layered booking that WWE has been known for over the last few years. The early eliminations of JBL and John Cena allowed Triple H and Randy Orton to battle it out for about 20 minutes, and Triple H came up with the win. Now, Orton is looking for his rematch, and that'll take place this Sunday at Judgement Day. Chances are, this being a downtime until SummerSlam, they will have some type of screwy finish to set up a gimmick match at Night of Champions.

Everyone else not in the title hunt

Hardy has just gotten off his 60-day suspension for violation of the Wellness Policy. His suspension is getting into Rob Van Dam territory. once thought of someone who might be ready for the top of the card thanks to his crowd reaction, and he'll now be relegated to upper-midcard status. Considering what's happened in his past, who knows if he'll get a run even in an emergency situation.

JBL has returned to active competition and is now going into a program with Cena. Interesting to point out that JBL initially returned to the ring to fight with Chris Jericho, but that ended at No Way Out during the Elimination Chamber match, and this is starting to be a lot like that program. It's something that coule really turn out to be beneficial for both of them, mainly because Cena has been toiling since he came back, and JBL really wants to have a blood feud with someone like he did when he was wrestling against Eddy Guerrero. This has a chance to be that, and look for these two to pull out all the stops. Cena needs some new blood infused into him, because I have this feeling that people are growing stale on his act. If that's the case, he might need some type of repackaging.

Chris Jericho is still in that upper-midcard, and won the Intercontinental title after Hardy was suspended. Now, he was embroiled in the fallout from the Shawn Michaels/Batista mini-feud, and he and Shawn Michaels are going to have at it at Judgement Day. From there, who knows where Jericho could go, because at this point, Shawn is all about giving the rub to someone, and he and Jericho have had it out before. This might be the time where Jericho goes over.

William Regal winning King of the Ring as General Manager of RAW has been good and bad. The good has been his promo and subsequent brawl with Mr. Kennedy, who returned after shooting a movie. The bad has been this "lights out" gimmick that sees him turn out the lights whenever he believes the fans don't deserve something. Who knows what this is going to lead to down the line, but right now, it's an annoyance more than anything else, and it isn't leading to anything good. More on this later.

The tag division is in turmoil. The belts haven't really been defended lately, and the teams that have been together for any length of time are in danger of being split up. That being said, there are some intriguing things to come out of this. This seems like the perfect segue to the next section.

What to expect in the next third of the year

The Orton/Triple H feud can run into the summer, but if JBL comes out smelling like roses after dealing with Cena, he could get right there with Triple H and have a clubbering feud. Shawn Michaels can turn heel at any moment. He's been on the fringe of doing so ever since the Ric Flair situation, as his sudden turn to his retirement justified one of the best matches in the history of WrestleMania. In a sense, he's the most qualified because he hasn't been a part of the title picture for a while, and his entrance into the title picture could be most intriguing.

I don't think the IC title will be any more or less important than it is now. Chris Jericho hasn't really defended the belt that much, and instead is being feud fodder for the Michaels/Batista arc. However, Jericho works hard in every feud he's in to get it over, so I assume he and Michaels can make this work. When Jeff Hardy comes back, there's a natural opponent for him, but right now, Hardy would be best served as a returning top hand as opposed to a midcarder. An immediate impact followed by a slow regression would lead him to not losing that much heat.

The tag division will continue to flounder, mainly because there isn't that much time for it on RAW. There will be some advancement on places like Heat, but chances are, guys like London and Kendrick, Cade and Murdoch, and the like will have their tag teams used as propellers towards singles matches. Too bad, because there are times where great tag team wrestling can be better than singles matches. It's becoming a lost art, and the time that it was becoming a great art (back when London and Kendrick were WWE Tag Champs on SmackDown!) is closed.

I think William Regal's character is going to run out on appeal really fast. There will a time where people will be begging for him to get knocked off, and Mr. Kennedy is that man. I suspect those two will have a great run, and it'll be the type of feud that gets Kennedy to work a little bit.

The women's championship is going to bounce back and forth like it normally does. Everyone likes Mickie James as the champ, but the idea of a workrate related title hasn't fit in with the WWE mentality...well, ever. Chances are it'll go back to Beth Phoenix until the next diva to pose in Playboy gets her shot.

Next Breakout Performer

It's Mr. Kennedy. Without a shadow of a doubt, he's going to be the guy to make the most waves. With HHH, Cena, Orton, JBL, Jericho, and Michaels, that's a solid upper part of the card, but Kennedy has a chance to make some noise immediately, as his inclusion in that match on the 5/3 indicated. He's quickly getting face reactions, and I for one, really want him to suceed. There hasn't been a true charismatic guy in the WWE for a long time, and he'd be a welcome addition to the fold.

Next Man Poised for a Dropoff

I'm going to go with John Cena. Something tells me that he's going to fall off a little bit. I think he's great in the ring, he's great at getting people over, but his character has grown so stale that he needs a violent shift in one direction in order to really get a fresh start. He'd be a great cocky heel if given the chance, but chances are, he'll be left to be the third guy in line behind Mr. Kennedy, who I think they're really pushing hard to be the next face of the show. Hopefully, he can find a way to get back to the spot he was in 2006-07, when he was the man, but for right now, I believe he's best suited as set-up guy for the next big thing, and that's Mr. Kennedy.

Surprise Entry Into the Fold

CM Punk. I know there's a natural progression with Edge over on SmackDown!, but come on, wouldn't YOU want to see him show up one night and challenge for the belt, and then WIN it? That would be a great addition to RAW if that were the case, especially with him making all those runs at Orton, but that would entail Orton getting the belt back. It could happen, but who knows if the trigger will actually get pulled, or if Punk gets left on SmackDown! to be the next big face.

Overall Outlook

Somewhat positive. What RAW has right now is a bevy of talent that can scale to the top. While Triple H has the title, there are many waiting in the wings to take the top spot and do something good with it. As always, RAW is the stacked show, the flagship for the company, and counted on week in and week out to put on the best possible show to make the company come out on the good end of things. However, with ratings in the 3.2s, and looking to slip even further during what is supposed to be its hot time, they need to make a couple of adjustments. Look for those to occur gradually.

Next week, I tackle SmackDown! and figure out who other than Taker, Edge, or Batista could possibly challenge for the Big Gold Belt.