One of my favorite expressions in Hebrew is “moron, but an optimist”. We use it to describe someone who has a positive view on something that is generally considered bad. Actually, the real expression uses a very non-PC term instead of “moronâ€, but I used a more subtle version. So why am I introducing you to that term? Because that’s what I am, an optimistic moron. I believe that the Iron Man match between John Cena and Randy Orton on Bragging Rights is going to kick some serious ass.
If you read the last two WWE roundtables, I was very negative towards the Orton-Cena feud and even if I didn’t use the exact words, it was clear that I wanted it to end. And all logic pointed to it ending in Hell in a Cell. Obviously, it didn’t (Which shows how WWE managed to devalue this once important gimmick match). But between the roundtables and the actual events, something happened. I enjoyed the “I Quit†and HIAC matches. Not just because the Smackdown title matches on the same events were pitiful. I enjoyed the matches because they were simply good.
Orton and Cena are not Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Hell, they’re not even the Triple H and The Rock when it comes to wrestling skills. But they are good storytellers. The know how to convey emotions (Or in Orton’s case, lack of emotions) and they can utilize the “no DQ†stipulation perfectly. Sure, they get the support and planning of WWE’s road agents, who are some of the best wrestling minds in North America, but at the end of the day Orton and Cena are the ones who go out there and perform. And the stories they told in their last two matches were dramatic, captivating and well told. We’ve seen handcuffs used over and over in wrestling, but what they way Orton and Cena took the handcuffs to another level in Breaking Point. We’ve seen Orton use the punt many times before, but unless I’m mistaken he never won a match with it until the HIAC which made it legal. And Lady Luck was also on their side – the punt was botched and looked kinda pathetic, but it ended up playing well into the planned storyline that saw Cena return to Raw the following night, while other people who took the punt needed weeks and months to recover.
Cena and Orton know how to play their roles perfectly. Many of us are tired of the “Super Cena†character and his constant winning against all odds. I myself thought that his comeback in the “I Quit†match was too short and should have been longer before he made Orton tap. But Cena is playing his role perfectly. We just have to keep in mind that we’re not Cena’s target audience. His target audience is 10-20 years younger than most of us. Orton, on the other hand, is a perfect heel. You don’t have a better cold blooded assassin in wrestling today. You don’t have anyone that can convey such lack of human emotion as well as Orton. Going back to breaking Point, his quick tap-out corresponded well with his character – he knew he couldn’t escape the STF so he made a calculated decision to tap out quickly rather than suffer any longer, knowing that the he had an automatic rematch.
John Cena said on Raw last week that the people know they will get something “amazing†when Orton and Cena enter the ring. That was probably overstating. But Orton and Cena have great chemistry together. Their last two matches far exceeded all expectations, and not just because the expectations were low. At least for me, they set the bar pretty high for their Iron Man match, and I’m confident that they will not disappoint. Even the fact that the outcome is telegraphed (Cena is not going to Smackdown any time soon, unless The Undertaker is retiring) doesn’t make expect the match any less, I’m still looking forward to it and think it will be very good. So you can call me a moron, but an optimist.
