Let’s open with some indirect guest commentary from a 411 mainstay
I Know What You Read Last Week
During my usual scan of 411 material on Friday, I passed over this item in the411 News Report that certainly brought a smile to my face:
And another note that bothered me, why have the [HHH] stable come out and squash Tommy Dreamer, a guy who WWE attempted to put over last week? With an entire locker room full of jobbers and guys who are going nowhere, why sacrifice a guy who you JUST worked an angle for the week before? Little things like that must be corrected before this promotion can make strides in the right direction.
Well Ashish, I am very proud to see that you have been reading the column and have bought into its philosophy as well!
As for his point, it is very well-taken and something that I should have mentioned in my miscellaneous section last week. Tommy went from the symbol of the veterans in the locker room after punking out the TE3 winners to a punk himself at the hands of the HHH stable. This type of wild inconsistency in character makes us not care about that character, which is a real shame because there is certainly room for Tommy’s somewhere in this promotion.
Readers’ Picks I: Down with the Brown
Now in its 10th week, this column has adopted several characters as its standard-bearers. Characters who consistency do the little things to entertain the audience and demonstrate a true love for their craft. Goldust and Chris Jericho are two of the most obvious candidates, but this week two readers cast their votes for two superstars who aren’t getting enough attention for their hard work. Reader Bradley Jay writes:
D’ lo Bbrown is quickly becoming the king of little things. the way he shakes off his knuckes after a particularly wicked upper cut is a nice touch to an otherwise ordinary move. His facial expressions when selling a punch are priceless. Teddy, excuse me, Theodore Long’s insistance on raising his hand after a victory is classic. & he talks trash during the match. Monday nite, after slamming maven to the canvas, he yells at him to “stay down.” I’m getting more down with the brown each week.
Plus, don’t forget about the facial expressions. While is character is an easy one for the audience to boo, I still believe he needs a babyface rival to take his frustrations out on and to take his character to the next level of heel-dom.
Readers’ Picks II: Queen Victoria
Meanwhile, David Estrada is thinking pink:
I must give props to the main reason I watch RAW. Most will not agree with me, but I love her to death! VICTORIA! Is she not the most impressive female ring worker in quite a while that earned her reputation by wrestling and not by boobs! Her finishing move is absolutley scintillating! The addition of Stevie only helps in my opinion…what better way to get her over as a psycho heel then by pairing her with a nut, that and they make a cute couple. Her theme song (even if done by teen russian lesbians) fits her character perfect, and it is an unbelievably catchy song. It helps her so much in character fulfillment, because fans can attach the song to her, and this song is actually getting tons of radio play, so when they hear the song….they think victoria! Lastly, she does something that I wish all champions did. The belt shouldn’t be treated like a prop (even if it is one), it should be treated like their supply of oxygen, and without it they would die. Victoria personifies that from fighting every match to the fullest to regain her title (even if she has to cheat….that’s how bad she wants it) to the awesome promo pose she does before every match with stevie…it is just a great showing of someone who actually values the title they have worked so hard to obtain…I love Victoria and I can’t wait to yell from my fourth row seat friday in Houston…and tell her how f*cking awesome she is!!
Let it be known that this is just the reader’s opinion and not that of the column, which has no problem with teenage Russian lesbians.
All kidding aside, this is a very good laundry list for why Victoria has quietly been a very effective heel for the women’s division and a fine wrestler on top of that. And this may just be me again, but I really think that widow’s peak she has gives her an additional je ne sais quoi.
Let is also be known that while he is not getting enough mentions as he should, this column does acknowledge the greatness that is Rob Van Dam. A couple of readers, Andy Campbell and Nick Noel in particular, submitted items extolling the virtues of Mr. Monday Night. Do not fear, loyal readers, I’m working on a detailed piece concerning Rob that will show up soon.
As for now, let’s see how he and the rest of the WWe superstars fared in the 2.03.2003 edition of RAW:
1. Not So Fast
My attention span is just as short as anyone’s these days, so maybe I’m emphasizing something that does not need emphasizing. But when was the last time we saw a classic heel beatdown like the one Jazz delivered last night where the heel decides that instead of leaving the ring respectably, it would be a great idea to go back in and deliver more punishment? It seems like I hadn’t seen that in awhile and I’m glad I did. For a character like Jazz who had been on the shelf for awhile, it was a very effective tactic to establish her physical dominance in the women’s division once again. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, too. That bit and the one where she nodded her head after her rolling suplexes certainly seemed to suggest as much.
While I’m asking rhetorical questions, why is it that the women’s division seems like the hotbed for “classic†wrestling bits nowadays? Should I also read into the fact that the women’s division, pound for pound, seems every bit as interesting if not more interesting than the men’s division? Are these two facts related? Hmm
2. Announce Team Revisited
Like I said last week, WWe has been very effective in mixing humor with its required promotional spots. Last night, after JR was canned by Bischoff, Jerry the King had me laughing with a seemingly impromptu plug for his book. The added touch of it being JR’s favorite book as a plea to buy the thing was the touch needed to make it the funniest spot of the night in my opinion. Believe me, the guy has the inherent heelish personality and the chemistry with JR to be consistently funny if that is the direction WWe would let them take. And speaking of directions not normally taken
3. Put Me In, Coach
I won’t get into a technical breakdown of why the Jericho/Jeff Hardy match was an excellent 10 minute affair. There were lots of little things I could cover (Jericho demanding the ref to “ASK HIM!†while placing Hardy in submission maneuvers, Jeff blocking the Walls of Jericho by clenching Jericho’s boot guard, Jericho choking out Jeff with that damn hanky, you get the idea) to tell you why WWe should use matches along with vignettes/backstage skits to develop its characters. This match obviously accomplished its mission by creating the impression that Jeff Hardy is a frustrated wrestler who tries very hard, but never quite has enough to win. Or “conflictedâ€Â, if you must, but the grammarian in me is not so sure.
The key here is that instead of focusing 90% of his thoughts on Austin or No Way Out, Coach, in relief of JR, decided to sell the match as it was being portrayed by the wrestlers. The combined sell really put focus on the characters and amplified the intensity of the match to the audience at home. Granted, Coach had some mandated thoughts on the Austin angle and No Way Out, but when the time came, he was zeroed in on the match and it was very refreshing as a fan to have an actual play by play guy selling the action instead of merchandise.
The potential is there, I reiterate, if only WWe would use it. I felt it definitely showed in tonight’s broadcast.
She Knows How to Make an Entrance
Since I’m going to talk about smutty material in this column, I might as well mention the obvious. When Stacy Kiebler enters the ring, it is a highlight for just about every male viewer. It is a problem, however, when the pop said entrance garners is bigger than the one the wrestler she manages tends to get.
5. Don’t Cross the Boss
I’ll abandon the grievances this week, because as a fan, I really enjoyed the interaction between Boss Bischoff and Boss McMahon. Not just because of the history involved, but because some of the little things they do well really came to the forefront and made for an entertaining experience. The trademark “You’re Fired†catchphrase, the return of the Kiss My Ass club and Hot Lesbian Action, and a double dose of Eric’s insincerity towards the wrestlers he oversees was all excellent non-wrestling entertainment. In most cases, a 50 year old man running around and showing off his ass is not entertaining, but in the world of wrestling it somehow is.
It even set up a surefire comedy match at No Way Out that is probably reason enough to make me punch in a rare pay-per-view order on the 23rd.
All and all, a good mix of entertainment with some effective builds. Keep the comments coming and I’ll see you next week.
