Let’s Do This.
All apologies for no-showing last week. I’ll try to make this column good enough to compensate for the absence. Funny, seems like I’ve written that before
Reflections
Since it has been several weeks since I abandoned the all-RAW format in favor of jumping back and forth between RAW and SmackDown as my schedule from hell permits and since it has been well over 6 months since I started this column, I feel as if I have gained something new in terms of perspective.
For example, I don’t enjoy the last few RAW episodes as much as the ones from a few months ago. I can’t place my finger on it and I am trying really hhhard not to go with the obvious. The best answers always require a deeper amount of analysis and reflection anyhow.
Let’s start small as we love to do here and work our way up. Am I the only one that misses the wild and unpredictable Goldust character? Didn’t he just add a breath of fresh comedy air into each show when he and Booker were on the path to tag teaming? And what became of the dissolution of that tag team? It was supposed to be the launchpad for a major singles run for Mr. Huffman, yet somehow I don’t think a feud with Christian qualifies as a launch (no offense to Christian either, in fact, he made the list this week). Goldust moved on, developed a new gimmick with some potential and promptly vanished after an injury. Now he doesn’t even get an entrance.
And what was the deal with Stone Cold and Bischoff last night? Friendly co-managers trying to work together to create a good pay-per-view? Only if it leads to a humiliating doublecross, I hope. Bischoff is completely out of his element unless he is acting like a stuck-up egomaniac. I do not think it would be wise to take one of the more entertaining personalities out of their game.
Oh, maybe it was the Rock turning face last night that made things feel out of place. I of course owe it to the Great One to write about this in more detail later on, but let’s just say that the difference between the Rock in a sea of people asking them the answer to a question he already knows the answer to stands in stark contrast to the Rock that told a group of fans that they’ll never see as much pie in their lives as he sees in one night. We’re talking night and day.
Or maybe I’m just having a bad week. Of course, while it is helpful to look at little things lost, there are always those little things to be gained and my contention stands – they are always there. In fact, some never went away
Readers’ Picks: Hold On Tight
From the TakrFan, who caught something cool that completely slipped my radar:
Don’t know if you caught it, but in the beginning of tonights 6 man main event, when Orton brought Hurricane in to the corner to tag out, Flair was holding Hurricane’s tights. You could barely see it, and the announcers didn’t notice it, but he had his hand between the ropes and was holding the band of Hurricane’s pants. That is why Flair will always rule.
I know I have written this before, but Ric Flair does both the big things and little things to carry a match, feud, promo, the list goes on. Last night was no exception. The promo he cut against Shawn Michaels had a degree of sincerity to it that made you believe these two have a reason to fight. That he would resort to a tactic like holding a superhero’s utility belt in a match is even more hilarious. You just don’t see enough of that stuff these days. I remember William Regal in his WCW stint was especially good at showing the ref that he wasn’t cheating while simultaneously holding a leg over the throat of his opponent. Fighting dirty = funny.
While this feud is on my mind, I must say that I was as skeptical as any net wrestling fan about the split in pay-per-views. However, it looks like it just might work at least going in. One can argue that there isn’t enough talent to pull it off on either show, but that can both come with time and be made up for with the extra month alloted to tell stories and develop wrestlers. The card for Bad Blood looks like a pretty solid one from top to bottom and that is without the extra month to prepare off the bat. There are even a couple of showstealers lurking in spots, Flair vs. Michaels foremost on that list.
Let’s see if I remember how to do this. I apologize again, but the schedule will eventually work itself out and then I can get back to doing these babies on a weekly basis. I miss being in the grind to be honest and I miss the interaction with my readers, too. At any rate, the Little Five is as follows for the 6.2.2003 edition of RAW.
1. Spider Sense
Indeed some (little) things do not change. Victoria, the annointed women’s champion of this column, came out grimacing and spasming like her character is supposed to and has this tendency to screech during certain moves that is creepy which works for her. My favorite part is when she swung her opponent into the ropes and cocked her fist hard for the punch. Not that it connected, but just that extra touch to demonstrate some enthusiasm did not go unnoticed.
While I’m singing her praises, I need to take issue with what I believe are a few barbs from Eric S.’ direction about the physical appearance of my woman. You can take the 41′ legs if you like, but I’m always going to choose black vinyl and a woman that knows how to use her vocal chords over a pretty face. Not to mention a woman who is playing through pain (as denoted by the knee brace).
Every single time.
I’m so bad.
2. Freeze Frame
This is pretty simple. When Kevin Nash frames his opponent with his hands before ramming a knee into their gut, it’s cool. A simple twist on a familiar move. If everyone did stuff like this, wrestling would be that much more entertaining.
3. Don’t Count On It
This has already come out in the News section but I noted last night that a little thing like the ref knowing the end to a match can make a huge difference in the fans’ perception of a show. Earl obviously blew the ending last night and there was some audibly displeased fans waiting for an explanation as the post-match activities unfolded and became ignored. This takes me back to what I still believe is the most striking example – Starrcade 1997 between Hogan and Sting when Nick Patrick forgot to deliver a bogus count and blew Bret Hart’s credibility in overturning the result and consequently blew the credibility of Sting’s long-awaited victory.
Little stuff matters and it matters from everyone on the roster from the wrestlers to the writers back to the production truck and on through to the refs. It’s tough but it can make the difference between a good showing and a bad one.
While I’m on refs though, let’s put the good with the bad. MAJOR kudos to Little Natch for taking an absolutely vicious spear from Goldberg.
4. Strut Your Stuff
The part in the main event where HBK did the little dance on top of Randy Orton’s back and subsequently mocked Flair’s Fargo Strut right in front of him was classic HBK and the type of stuff that won me over to his Click or whatever it is called. Again, these two have an awesome feud in the works.
5. Bad Taste, fka The People’s Section
I had such high hopes for the Great One right out of the gate. He comes into the arena in a black Escalade with some pretty tight rims, looking and acting all Hollywood but by the time all was said and done I found myself shifting from the People to the Peeps! Even with that killer line about being addicted to crack, I just could not get into this segment.
The reason is very simple: As much as I want to deny it, the smarks out there are right on this one. Heel Rock is pure pleasure while face Rock is pure plodding. Christian, I believe, could’ve delivered some very funny dialogue in spots and even an interesting feud, but was cut off in favor of a lot of rambling self promotion and a live survey that just went nowhere. There is an interesting story here afterall; Christian, once motivated by the Rock, goes out and achieves some success and decides that his mentor is now a thing of the past. It just didn’t shine through like it should have though because of the above-mentioned items. This column hates wasted potential and the Little Things were there for a very entertaining and enthralling segment that instead turned into a schmozz.
Christian to his credit has something going with his Peeps. It’s funny enough to get over.
Keep the suggestions coming and hopefully I’ll make an appearance again next week.
