Last week, it was brought to my attention by fellow Inside Pulse Writer and esteemed Podcast guest Blair Douglas, that ever since he was a guest on Classy Ring Attire, every single article I’ve written has been focused on bitterness and complaining. (Cheap Plug alert: That episode of the podcast can be found here.) While the past several weeks have brought plenty to complain about and I stand by every single one of those complaints, this week I will be attempting to say, only good things about the current state of the WWE. Surely there are eight hundred or so words worth of good things to say about the WWE. We’ll just have to find out. And Blair, don’t worry, I most likely be back to complaining about things next week.
Dolph Ziggler: It’s easy to put Ziggler on a list of good things when he’s such an Internet darling right now. Why don’t I just throw Punk and Heyman on the list as well to really pander? (More on that later) But in all honesty Ziggler is maybe the only wrestler right now who’s matches I will not multi-task during, regardless of the opponent. Plus, this little stable that Ziggler has been building recently is quite entertaining. The more these guys are on TV as we approach Mania, the better.
It’s WrestleMania Season: Sure the bulk of my griping over the past few weeks has been about the apparent booking of WrestleMania’s main event this year, and how it’s starting to look more and more likely for twice in a lifetime. But one match does not a Mania make. And even the worst Mania’s were ones that I couldn’t help getting excited for. Plus with Jericho back, Brock back, Ric Flair back, Taker gearing up to defend the streak again (hopefully), and Mick Foley heading into the Hall of Fame, there’s plenty of options to make a really jam packed card this year.
CM Punk: Told you I was going to mention him. Punk is been a part of the gripes over the past weeks, but even still, I want you to think back for a moment. A year and a half ago, we thought that we might be about to lose Punk for good. And on his DVD, Punk talked about renewing his contract with WWE the day of MiTB. Can you imagine where we would be today if Punk had decided that enough was enough and left the company once his contract was up? So while I’m a little bummed that Punk is no longer champion, and really quite unhappy with the way that it happened, I still want to take a moment and be thankful that CM Punk is still on my TV every single week, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.
Team Rhodes Scholar: While I liked these two guys together, there was always the knowledge that this was a limited time tag team, and that singles careers would sooner than later call one or both of them away from this tag team. But the ending of this partnership resulted in a rare moment in WWE where a storyline was allowed to play out to its natural conclusion. The go to well for breaking up a tag team is to have in fighting break the pair up turning one face, one heel and getting a match out of it. This leads to one guy’s momentum being squashed, while the other now has to adapt to singles life. The proper dissolving for this guys ended up working great, as it played to the characters who hold themselves above the petty feuds of those they think less of were ably to remain dignified. Both get to remain heels, and best of all they still get to remain friends. Rhodes Scholar worked while it did, and now that it’s over, hopefully both careers will have been the better for it.
The Hall of Fame: I’ve been quite pleased with the Hall of Fame inductees this year, but beyond question, the one that I’m most excited about is Mick Foley finally getting that honor. I highly doubt that anybody else will ever take his place as my all time favorite wrestler. To this day, I react to some of his matches like I’m watching them for the first time. Mick Foley has always been able to get me invested in whatever storyline he’s in better than anybody else that I’ve ever seen. Even his biographies are some of the best that the company has ever put out. Foley will always have the top status in my personal hall of fame, and I’m glad to see he’s finally be recognized by the official one as well. Speaking of which.
DVD Release: Mick Foley is getting a DVD release this April! Man, I’m pumped about this one. Beyond the biography segment, And matches (which means I’m going to own another copy of that Hell in a Cell match) selected matches will have an alternative commentary from Foley himself something that I would be interested to see WWE start doing as a regular feature for their superstar DVDs.
