The Little Things 04.22.03: Bischoff, Dudleys, Lita & More

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Things get back to normal this week, or as close to normal as they are going to get in an on-line wrestling column. You know the drill.

Readers’ Picks: Below The Belt

She did not win the honors last week, but returned to the spotlight this week. The most frequently submitted pick this week was Victoria’s pre-match pose sans her coveted women’s title. Reader Kyle Scribner who broke the tie that this spot had with Hurricane’s “Truth and Justice, Biaaaaatch” comment, explains:

Here’s a little thing for you, I didn’t realize this until I watched it again, but when Victoria came out this past week and Raw and went to do her entrance pose with Steven Richards she acted like she still had the womens belt!

Now this is good and simple enough on its own as a point that explains how such a pose helps get over her barely-keeping-it-all-together character. But the real point is:

Victoria [has] easily become a very watchable character, that and her music rocks!

No, not that teenage Russian lesbians sing her catchy theme music. The point is that by doing little things like this week in and week out, Victoria’s character is easy to accept and watch on television, even when booked against wrestlers who aren’t putting the work that she is into their character. Or when booked unenthusiastically or nonsensically as the case may warrant. If everyone were working on their character like her and putting in the requisite work in the ring, imagine how much more enjoyable WWe television would be. Victoria, though, is clearly the women’s champion of this column and can feel free to raise its imaginary title alongside her imaginary women’s title.

Readers Jeremiah, EvilInc, and Stephen J also dialed in their support for Victoria.

Not much else is going on in the wrestling world that warrants commentary, so let’s get right into the Little Five for the 4.21.2003 edition of RAW:

1. Table For Two

Character development is probably the biggest little thing I like to talk about and lo and behold it looks like we have flashes of personality coming from the Dudley Boyz. Well it took them awhile, but better late than never. Chief Morley’s character (major emphasis here) and some halfway logical booking (finally) has allowed D-Von to develop the character of the unwilling soldier while Bubba takes on the Company Man type. Could this finally break them up and launch their singles careers? This clearly demonstrates that when the Little Things are in place, better things can happen. RVD and Kane being way over is icing on the cake.

2. The Thong Remains The Same?

It was great to see Lita back, but like Goldberg missing the trickle of blood on his forehead, she was clearly missing that staple of her wardrobe, the visible thong. I mean it needed to be there for character consistency, not for my personal enjoyment er, ahem.

Aside from this, Lita’s dry promo style turned out to be an asset this week as it played off very well against one of RAW’s top personalities

3. Sleazy E

An absolute textbook job once again from Eric Bischoff on how to be a sleazy, manipulating asshole of a boss. His promo, which I’m sure had a degree of sincerity to it, was great as he walked around her, flipped her hair and put just enough of his hand on her shoulders to make it creepy and believable. The best touch, however, was his hand stroking her fingers while she held the microphone to talk. Perfect.

I’m also now just as big of a fan of the Eric Bischoff “You’re Fired!” as I am of the Vince McMahon version.

4. Sign Here

Seeing Gillberg again was an example of how to appropriately use nostalgia (i.e., logically within segments to help fan the flames of a feud). The absolute best part, and this may be one of those Little Things that is retired in the Hall of Little Things, is that dotted line tattoo mocking the more stylized Goldberg artwork. That not only gets over the Goldberg logo, but provides one of those nuances that one cannot stop laughing about.

5. The People’s Section

A stretch hummer? Wow. It’s easy for me to extol the virtues of the work of the People’s Champion, but I’m not sure I possess the vocabulary to describe what a perfect touch that is to his character. I didn’t even know they made such a thing.

This came on a night when he certainly was stepping up his act for the Hotlanta crowd. The bit where he had Lilian touch his bicep was great extemporaneous entertainment, I believe he was sipping Perrier instead of the usual bottled variety of water, the Braves choking comment was a great heat builder (Trust me, I’m a fan and it hurt because it is true) and that straightening/dusting off of the vest after he hits a spot is already catchy. Plus let’s not forget him telling Teri to watch the People’s booty as he walked away or those absolutely stiff chairshots. Enjoy him while he is still around, folks.

That’s it. See you next week.