Get your fill, ladies and gents. This is the go home edition of “Kue’s Korner†before the extravaganza or Wrestlemania graces our televisions and laptops (legally, of course. Right?). The begrudgingly handsome man on the keyboard is your host for the column, Jonah Kue, and yes, I’m a bit giddy about the event. And what’s not to be excited about? Honestly, I can be as nit picky as the next guy about certain builds (or lack there of), the overindulgence in nostalgia, or even Snooki, but honestly, the card is stacked with spectacles any fan would love to see. This week, I have a lack of structure on the Korner, so, consider this a number of rants and realizations I’ve had in the past consecutive 7 days.
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A Mask of Honor and One of Shame
I’m rather anxious to see Rhodes/Mysterio. Rhodes has an incredible story going for him, and this match has the potential to really push the hell out of him. There’s no question these two can work, and with ‘Mania’s adrenaline running through them, I’m expecting a hell of a match, possibly a show stealer. This, and the Bryan/Sheamus match, are making quite the midcard this year.
Middle to the End of the Road
It’s a bit intriguing that the midcard promoting has been a little lacking. Obviously, we can blame this on Cena/Rock?Miz, Taker/Trips, and, of course, Snooki taking the majority of recap time on the shows (seriously, this week’s NXT was nothing but recaps and one match). I suppose the endless spotfests of crammed-in-one-match midcarders that has been characteristic of MITB matches and the like seemed a bit more promotable than singles title and grudge matches amongst the midcarders. Still, so much more substantial good can come out of these singles matches for the individual wrestlers. The push that each of them can get from these matches is one that is more inclined to be steady and sturdy, as opposed to the quick jump to the top that MITB can afford to one superstar (which can easily lead to a crash and burn. Swagger, cough). But I suppose, where the build up to Cena/Rock?Miz, Taker/Trips, and even Snooki ends in ‘Mania, the build up for midcarders such as Rhodes and Bryan, can begin there.
Snaked and Straight-Edged All the Way to the Future
I’m going on the record in saying that a good portion of the year following ‘Mania will belong to two people. And they can thank the ‘Mania feud that’s culminated between them for it. Besides Cena, there really isn’t an established top face in the company. Orton’s organic face turn this past year has basically primed him for this spot. But, like I said in an earlier article, he just needed the right feud. And he finally has it now. Much like Punk, who has already established his persona as best heel, and all around best wrestler, in ‘E right now. All he needed was a feud to really establish himself, and he has it. There is no doubt this match will deliver, but look for it to really cement the coming future of the company.
Two Goals Over the Edge
Del Rio and Edge will have a good match, despite a lackluster build. What needs to come out of this match is two things. One is that Del Rio wins and establishes himself, and two is that Christian gets pushed to main event level. If these two goals aren’t met, then the entirety of this build will feel like a bit of a failure. Let’s hope creative has an eye for success.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
I’m sure the “millions†of eyes were glued to the television sets at the ending promo of Raw. Besides the typical critiques one can have on this build between Cena/Miz/Rock, I’ve found logic and realistic character build in how this feud has been approached. But this last promo….let’s break it down. The Rock came out, did his bit. Then, Cena comes out and completely twisted the entire gripe between the two. Rocky called Cena out due to Cena speaking of Rocky’s leave of the WWE. So, why did Cena come out and play the victim? The feud went to left field after Cena’s mic time. Then, Miz comes out, cuts a very good promo, and gets killed by the Rock. Something a bit off about the WWE Champ getting knocked out so quickly. I didn’t understand the logic of this particular promo at all. The next morning, however, Mr. Pulse Glazer explained a kind of symbolism that these three participants represented, and it was pieced together for me:
“Rock-Cena-Miz has a strong symbolic component to it, as well. The Rock is the Attitude Era fan, annoyed that the Cena era is too kid friendly, pretending to be something it isn’t. Cena, meanwhile, gets to be the voice of WWE – standing up and proud of what he and the product have become. Just because he and the audience are smaller than the Rock and his audience doesn’t mean they’ll backdown and be bullied. The Miz, meanwhile, comes in as the IWC. He hates everyone and knows everything, but really is just crying for attention. He can affect Cena, after all, Cena is the current product and much of the crowd turned on him, but he cannot affect the Rock – nostalgia isn’t clouded by this historical retrospective. That is why Miz can easily vanquish Cena and has for weeks, but the Rock took him out. Meanwhile, the Rock can’t handle Cena, who has the moral high ground on him, but can’t handle the criticism and attacks of the Miz. They’ve set up a Rock-Paper-Scissors between the three perfectly and the skill put into the build of this feud is absolutely worth buying Wrestlemania. “
Thank you for that, Mr. Glazer. And now, my anticipation for the feud blow off has returned.
All in all, folks, ‘Mania 27 seems to be coming full circle with fantastic matches, strong feuds, and celebrity appearances all around. What more can you ask for? I mean, besides Miz actually retaining the title (I know, miracles are in short supply, but one can hope!). As a fan, let me say I haven’t been this excited for a ‘Mania in a good while. And I have faith that it won’t disappoint. See you there.
Adieu.
