The Reality of Wrestling: HHH and Wrestlemania
By Phil Clark & J.D. Speich
We knew it had to happen at some point, but after four months of mid-card bliss (for the fans), HHH is back in the main-event scene. By virtue of winning the “Road to Wrestlemania” tournament, old Paul qualified himself for a WWE Title match against John Cena that will more than likely headline this year’s Wrestlemania. To say that this a match that few people want to see would be…well it would probably be accurate to tell you the truth. Yet, people will still be watching for the result as this is a match that draws a blank when people want to pick the winner definitively weeks before the show.
P.C. Says: HHH shouldn’t win the title
Wrestlemania is coming up and I guess it just wouldn’t be Wrestlemania without HHH in the main-event. Since both World Title matches are billed as main-events, HHH has shared main-event duties in the last four Manias, wrestling in the final match three of those times. The likelihood is that this year won’t be any different in terms of the placement of The Game’s title match.
My main reasoning behind Cena retaining the title is that he needs something to help rejuvenate his run at the top. It’s obvious that with Batista on the shelf that the E is going to try everything to try and get Cena over as the future of the company; something that the E not only wants, but will attempt to get at any cost. I look at it this way: only three people besides Hogan (Nash, Guerrero, & HHH) have retained World Titles at Mania; if Cena can etch his name into that group with the people aware of this fact, that may help. Not only that, but a win at Mania can be used as a catalyst for the rest of the year. I’m not saying Cena’s going to magically become a better wrestler (he won’t), but he needs this win against one of the last remaining “names” in the E to make him look good because quite honestly, that’s one thing he’s been lacking since coming to the main-event scene. For Cena, wins against Jericho, Angle, and JBL aren’t going to cut it because none of them are on the same level of prestige and name value as HHH is, as sad as that may be.
Another reason I don’t think HHH should get the belt back is the risk of having another John Cena situation on our hands. Look at how Cena was when he was the U.S. champ and in the mid-card: he was getting pops that would be blowing the roof off the arena. Once he came to the main-event scene and right away won the belt, the cheers began to stop and turn into boos. Why did this happen? Simple, the fans didn’t perceive Cena as a main-event guy. Whether the E wants to face it or not, ability does matter; a wrestler won’t be perceived as a main-eventer unless he can back it up in the ring. Look at the JBL debacle for a great example of why wrestling ability matters. The fans have been cheering HHH since he came back in October. Even when he was pummeling Flair into dirt he was getting cheered, even when he was beating up Big Show (a fan favorite this month) he was getting cheered, and he was doing it all in the mid-card. I don’t think this is a coincidence, I think fans know that HHH’s time as a main-event guy is done and that’s why they cheer him: he’s in the spot on the card they want him to be. Granted this isn’t an exact science, but I think this is a pretty cut-and-dry case. Putting the belt on HHH does run the risk of turning him heel not because he IS a heel, but because he’s got something the fans don’t want him to have (not in storyline, but in life): the WWE title.
J.D. Says: HHH should win the title back
At this year’s Wrestlemania we’re going to get the honor of seeing HHH Vs. John Cena for the WWE title. I think that HHH should come out on top, even though the odds are looking in the favor of the WWE’s poster boy John Cena. If HHH were to win the title back it would seem to work better in the WWE’s favor instead of having Cena retain at mania. It would work better because as of late HHH seems to be getting, for whatever reason, face pops. Ever since he returned he’s been getting face pops, even after he totally annihilated Flair at Survivor Series. This would be the opportune time to give him the belt back.
It is well known that HHH is practically booking his own fate in WWE, and so far he’s been booking himself well, so why not do the smart thing and give the belt to yourself. I really don’t see HHH losing this match because how often do you see lose at three Wrestlemania’s in a row? Never. I don’t expect Cena to win right now because he isn’t wrestling well and isn’t making anyone look good in his matches. Ever since Cena won the belt he’s been sloppy as hell, the only decent match he had was with Chris Jericho at SummerSlam, and that’s because Jericho carried the whole match.
Taking the belt off of Cena just seems to be the smart move right now because he keeps getting booed when he’s got the belt, but cheered when he’s chasing the belt. In a best case scenario, HHH wins the belt at Mania and you keep the feud going throughout the year, with the occasional filler feud of HHH Vs. RVD. Say what you want, but HHH holding the belt is what everyone’s used to and it looks like it would be the smart thing to do. So, I say that come Mania it’s going to be THE GAME coming out on top and not THE CHAIN GANG.
The Reality is…it’s a toss up here. The E could continue the Cena experiment and have him retain at Mania, or “The Game” could walk out of Chi-Town an 11-time champion. HHH booking his own programs and booking the majority of RAW would have many believe that it’s obvious that he’ll win at Mania. However, the E has vetoed old Paul’s ideas in the past and may do so again. A good rule of thumb: WHENEVER HHH is in a World Title match (or title match of any kind), it’s 50/50 that he’ll come out with the gold. Look at it that way and there is a legitimate curiosity in this match, even though from a ratings and a technical perspective, this doesn’t have much hope of being anything good.
This week’s “FUCK YOU!” goes to:
PHIL CLARK
Yes, I f*cked up last week. While MNM didn’t lose the tag titles at No Way Out, my point is still as valid. If the tag champs were going to beat Hardy & Tatanka anyway (as they did on the SmackDown! following the PPV) and the team was going to break up after TWO matches together, then why not give the champs the win when it mattered? Still, I f*cked up, but if I may pass the buck, if the E would make their product a little more interesting, I may not make these little mistakes.
