Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to your 18th edition of The Wrestling Den. You know… I was going to do a column this week about ECW coming back into TNA and I was going to break down all the logistics of why this is a bad idea, but every column, every radio show, everyone who has an opinion has all said their piece on the subject since it is, probably, the hottest topic in professional wrestling right now, but I will not add my voice to the pile on this one. I think that I am just going to pass and let others handle that perspective for me. Instead, I have something else I would like to gripe about.
The Whiter They Are, The Easier to Tell When They Get BurnedIf you couldn’t figure it out from the quirky headline, then I am talking about your current two-time WWE Champion Sheamus. Here is a man who has all the potential in the world to lead the WWE into a new era. The WWE has been scrambling to make new stars since the departures of Triple H, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Batista. Only the first two of those four will be back in the future so there is still a gap that needs to be filled.
But when Triple H and Undertaker do return, the question of how much longer they have in this business comes into play. Undertaker must be very close to retirement and with this being Triple H’s fourth quad injury (2 tears, 2 sprains) since 2000, you know that he has to be close to retirement as well. Then we have Kane, who may not have been presented as a main eventer, but he has been a staple in the WWE for decades, and he is ready to bow his head and take his leave as well.
This means that the WWE is in a position where they need to create new stars. John Cena may be the Superman of the WWE, but he can’t carry the company forever. Randy Orton has stepped up over the past year or so and has become quite the icon. Edge is very injury prone so we do not know the next time he will be put up on the shelf, and Chris Jericho is one I forgot to mention, that is likely to part ways for a sabbatical or even retirement once his contract runs out. This doesn’t leave many options for the WWE in terms of main eventers.
Cue Sheamus.
The man has garnered a cult following as of late. He has the look, he has the in-ring ability, his mic skills hurt a little due to his accent, but he can still cut solid promos, and he has, undoubtedly, replaced “Brother” as a catch phrase with “Fella!” The WWE seemingly are behind Sheamus as this is his second run with the WWE Championship, however, despite holding onto the title, the WWE have booked Sheamus to look weak on both of his championship reigns.
They eliminated Sheamus pretty early on during the Elimination Chamber match during his first championship run, and now Sheamus has been made to look powerless against Randy Orton, a bonafide main event, and The Miz, an upper mid-carder looking to burst through the upper crust into superstardom. If he’s not getting RKO’d, he’s getting planted face first into a briefcase. If he’s not doing either of those, he’s running away from The Nexus and siding with his arch-nemesis John Cena.
A lot of people have stated that this is because Sheamus is leaning toward a face turn, which, might mean that John Cena may finally go heel at Summerslam. Now, while we all believe this, there is one piece of evidence here that contradicts all of this, but I must warn you. What I am about to type is a Spoiler. It comes from the WWE Monday Night Raw tapings for August 2, 2010. So if you do not wish to be spoiled, do not read the next paragraph.
----SPOILER BEGINS----At the Raw tapings, just when we thought that Sheamus was starting at act like a fan favorite, he comes out and cuts a traditional heel promo by saying that he doesn’t care about the fans. So if Sheamus is remaining as a heel, why in the blue hell did they tease Sheamus as a face? Does creative not know what to do with Sheamus? Well aside from discrediting him as a valid champion, and getting the company behind him as an usher for a new generation of main eventers and superstars, they are making him out to be a complete joke that cannot be taken seriously and is made to look like he could lose the WWE Championship at any moment. I’m sorry, but burying someone like this in a time where your company needs help establishing news stars is not the course you want to take. Maybe in the future once you establish credibility in your newfound main eventers, but not now… it’s too soon to be doing so. So creative… make up your minds, come to a decision, and stick with it. I have absolutely no idea why Sheamus isn’t in Vince’s face at the moment.
----SPOILER ENDS----
HBK = The Heart Banned KidI had a column a couple of weeks ago where I discussed the WWE banning knife edge chops because they didn’t want their company to be associated with Ric Flair (the crowd will always do a Flair “WOOO” each time a chop is administered). I can understand why with him spitting in the WWE’s face after they went through great lengths to give him the ultimate sendoff at Wrestlemania.
But what in the blue hell did Shawn Michaels ever do to deserve the same treatment?
This one just came out of left field, appeared out of nowhere, emerged from the darkness, and any other analogy you can make to represent the situation. The only thing that I can think of that this is the result from is that right before it was announced that the WWE has banned using any footage of or mentioning the name of Shawn Michaels, is that Michaels went on record stating that he has absolutely no intention of ever returning to the business.
Perhaps Vince McMahon wanted Shawn Michaels to play a non-wrestling role. Maybe he wanted Michaels to be the mystery GM and Michaels saying he has no intention of returning was a spit in the face of Vince McMahon who probably thinks that even though Michaels is retired, he should still do whatever Vince wants since Vince made him what he was. Maybe Vince’s ego got so bruised he overreacted and this was the result.
But then again, that is all speculation on my part and if Bryan Danielson can get fired over a necktie, then my assumption isn’t totally in the realm of impossibility.
Then again, this may be a work just to get a rise out of the internet wrestling community. After all, Monday Night Raw was held in San Antonio, Texas, they used Michaels’ DX catchphrase for the Raw GM this week, and even Jerry Lawler said live on air, “Hey Michael, you know who is from San Antonio right?” Even thought Cole was hesitant to ask and seemingly avoided answering the question, that could have been a rib on us IWC members, or it could have been a rib on Michael Cole. Either way, something smells rotten in Denmark on this one and I don’t necessarily know that this one is completely true.
Until I see official confirmation from a credible source, I’m just going to think that this is a rumor or speculation that is being presented as fact because I cannot see the WWE blacklisting Shawn Michaels after everything he has done for the WWE and has kept his word about his retirement. It’s almost unfathomable.
The Inanimate Object ScorecardNo new jobs this week and unless a single show is an absolute train wreck, July will not defeat June as the new King of Jobs Month.
April - (3 jobs)
Douglas Williams jobs to a Volcano
Dixie Carter jobs to a ring rope
Batista jobs to Duct Tape
May - (7 jobs)
Eve Torres jobs to the Ring Apron
NXT Rookies job to various obstacles on the Obstacle Course Challenge
Kofi Kingston jobs to a letter
Bret Hart jobs to the turnbuckles
CM Punk jobs to Mysterio’s Knee Brace
Michael Cole jobs to confusion
Jimmy Uso jobs to the top rope
June - (10 official jobs, 1 guest job)
Matt Hardy jobs to the Sound System
Jerry Lawler jobs to Internet Lag
Roddy Piper jobs to Microphone Feedback
Bryan Danielson jobs to a tie
JJ$exay jobs to a microphone [SPECIAL ADDITION]
Michelle McCool jobs to high heels
Monday Night Raw jobs to a MacBook
Drew McIntyre jobs to his Work Visa
Wade Barrett jobs to his Work Visa
Jerry Lawler jobs to not realizing he’s still on air
Titus O’Niel jobs to a keg
July - (3 Jobs)
Maryse jobs to the steel ring steps
Chris Sabin jobs to a ladder
Bubba Ray jobs to the entrance ramp
-Culture Shock-Street Fighter x Tekken
Street Fighter x Tekken
STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN!!!!!!!!!
*marks out like a little girl*
Two of gaming’s biggest fighting franchises are finally coming together under one roof with one goal in mind: To blow your mind. The trailer did exactly that as Ryu, Chun Li, Kazuya Mishima, and Nina battled it out in tag team action. It will use the Street Fighter 4 engine to bring a graphical upgrade to the Tekken characters, but all of their moves and trademarks will remain intact aside from that!
Check out the Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQah6Q3tK9A&feature=fvst
Check out the In-Game Footage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6U7jZ-qMfI
Start your drool engines… NOW
Just on a side note for all you Rockman anime fans… Wolfpack Productions (http://www.wpp-fansubs.com) have FINALLY… after EIGHTEEN MONTHS… subbed RockmanEXE Axxess episodes 34, 35, and 36! Three episodes, people! If you have followed these guys, you know that this truly is the miracle of miracles… just 16 more episodes to sub and probably 5 more years to wait… *sigh*
That’s about all I have this week… it’s another dry week.. I mean.. I could talk about Starcraft II, but I’m not an RTS fan… so…. Yeah… sorry you zergheads, but you won’t get any comments from me out of this one.
-Quote of the Week-This quote of the week may not make sense to you all, but after recapping RAW on WNL, finishing up the recording on my podcast, making a new logo for FHTH, typing this column, gearing up for recapping NXT tonight, and coming down with another case of Insomnia which I suffer from time to time… this is how my head feels right now.
“…and it was all like BWAH!” – Masaomi Kida from Durarara!!
-Contact-If you wish to send me feedback: good or bad, or offer your thoughts, you can contact me using the following:
E-Mail: syscrash2002@hotmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/joshuapiedra
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JoshuaJPiedra
Also, you can hear me each and every Monday night on Wrestling News Live for the Official WNL Monday Night Raw recap. You can listen to the show at www.sundaynightshowdown.com every Monday night at 11:30PM Eastern.
