Let’s take a look at the live coverage from Inside Pulse before we go any further…
HHH (w/new music and video) vs. John Cena (w/entrance that has to be seen to be believed)
Apparently, HHH decided to buy the leftover sets from “Conan the Barbarian” – he appears on a stone throne with a battle axe next to him, wrapped with some kind of fur rope, and wearing a crown, necklace, bracers, and a belt with his symbol on them. That’s an… interesting choice. Cena also gets a new video: one that talks about the Depression, and Chicago gangsters, and how they pulled themselves up from nothing. “To survive, you needed 3 things”, and the words “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” appear. Then… oh my God, is this really happening? A 1930’s Ford rolls out, with two guys on the running boards holding Tommy Guns and dressed in zoot suits. More “gangsters” climb out of the car, and surround the ring, managing to overact without actually speaking a word. Cena’s music hits and the boos rain down. The man himself appears at the top of the ramp, in a fedora and trenchcoat, carrying another Tommy Gun. WOW. The crowd is SO not buying this… who in the FUCK thought this would actually work? This is how Creative reacts when the crowd doesn’t react the way they expect nowadays? WWE has almost sprained their shoulder trying to pat themselves on the back in their various DVD releases for how they “listen to the crowd”, and let them decide who’s supposed to be face and heel. Remember that, guys? Ya know, back in the 90’s, when you were actually popular? And now, you come up with ridiculous, overblown skits that might as well have subtitles saying “We are going to shove this down your throat until you see things our way”? Kudos to the Chicago crowd for telling the Creative team to stick this crap where the sun don’t shine.
With a few weeks between Wrestlemania 22 and today, I thought that maybe I wouldn’t feel the same way about John Cena and HHH’s entrances at the big show. I mean, the idea of HHH emerging on a throne is a pretty good way to get across the idea that he is the “King of Kings.” And the new Motorhead music is rokken. I do like the idea of having separate non-match music besides just the usual music for HHH. Kinda like the entrance/exit music Mankind had back when he was more “deranged” than “lovable.” But I digress.
What I perceived as the story behind the match (which wasn’t fully explained by creative so Jim Ross laid it all on the table before the match) was that HHH had opportunity and John Cena made opportunity. John Cena had to re-invent the wheel to get his way into wrestling and fought for every inch, while HHH walked into the wrestling business and everything was given to him on a platter. It had been a story that keeps cropping up with Cena too, as highlighted in his feuds with JBL and Kurt Angle, but it seemed to take a real shape in Cena and HHH. With JBL, too much attention was paid to Cena’s music career (does anyone remember Konnan’s music video and “music career”?) by JBL and he didn’t establish himself as a credible old school wrestler. Or as a main eventer.
Anyway, back to the entrances.
HHH is supposed to exist as he is without the crowd. Supposedly he doesn’t care about them, and he certainly showed that he doesn’t care about the crowd by walking out to the ring looking like the Bezerker. I almost liked HHH’s entrance if Cena had just walked out by himself with no special outfit on. This would have really shown the difference between the two, HHH going over the top lost in his own ego while Cena “kept it real” while “representing” himself rather than having CM Punk dressed as a 1930’s Chicago gangster protecting him from… from… uh… the crowd?
Cena had the right idea of shedding the ridiculous outfit as he left towards the ring. At least he didn’t leave his headgear on, unlike HHH who walked down to the ring in 2006 looking like a 1986 cartoon character. Cena shed his stupid outfit at the top of the ramp and you wouldn’t be any wiser if you tuned in after that. But the damage was already done to the live crowd and the home audience. After all, it’s hard to forget the WWE champion firing off a Tommy gun upon entering an arena. In a fedora. And a trench coat. If they were in the American Airlines Arena in Dallas he surely would have hit some fans who bought lower priced tickets.
The crowd didn’t buy any of it. Much like the rest of us, the crowd saw the entrances as a pile of garbage getting in the way of a wrestling match (and taking time away from it too).
If you missed the Goldberg vs. Lesnar match, then this would be your other opportunity to witness the crowd take a steamy dump all over one of the WWE’s ideas. And looking back, this was still a pile of garbage.
