Well hello.
Welcome once again to The Live Wire, the column that just keeps on going, no matter what. Like a literary Ric Flair, but with less blood and hissy fits. Well… less blood, anyway.
Watching WWE television this week, including the Elimination Chamber match, and reading the latest WWE news, right here at WRESTLING101.COM (cheap pop, folks… the best kind) meant that my mind was full of notes and questions… these are just some of those things I pondered…
— John Morrison. Pull the trigger, push him to the moon. The fans are buying it. The Rumble moment started it, the Elimination Chamber continued it, now is the time to start the ball rolling. Maybe a meaningful match at WrestleMania? Mr. Money In The Bank? Another show stealing move or two in that match, and a victory would set Morrison up as a serious main eventer in my book. Hell, even cashing the case in after The Miz and Cena battle it out at WrestleMania would put him over HUGE. Depends how much faith there is in him from “upon high”, I guess.
— What will be the main event at WrestleMania? Yet again, we can easily rule out the Smackdown match. For whatever reason, Smackdown always seems to get the short straw at WrestleMania. Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio hardly conjures up images of that classic WrestleMania moment, when the show closes, one man triumphant as the fireworks fill the air. I’d say this match is pretty damn set in stone that Del Rio is taking the win, and for that reason, this is gonna be fairly near the middle of the card. With all the usual pomp and drama injected into the Undertaker’s ongoing streak, and the possible addition of the rumoured Triple H retirement stipulation, I could see that being the last match… were it not for the Rock’s involvement in the Cena/Miz bout.
If The Rock IS going to be involved in that match, somehow, maybe even as special guest referee, or enforcer, or whatever other rumour you want to believe, then that is the match that will spark the most interest, hands down. Already, The Rock’s involvement has dragged the most entertaining promo in months, if not years, from John Cena; it’s got the back up of “The most Must-See Champion in WWE History”, The Miz… and that’s just The Rock announcing that he’s hosting WrestleMania, not getting involved in their match. This is an intriguing build up, and I expect Rock to appear on Raw a few more times before ‘Mania to further stir the pot.
— Who’s coffee did Sheamus spill? The Celtic Warrior has been made to look pretty ridiculous in recent weeks. I mean, when you lose to Mark Henry, you have to be aware there’s something going wrong somewhere. Hopefully, he gets his head down, gets on with it and whatever heat he has passes. If he can accept this bizarre treatment without incident, then in this crazy wrasslin’ business, thast might just buy him some respect.
— Wouldn’t want to be sat in the front row during a Triple H entrance without waterproof clothing.
— Mistico, or Sin Cara. I think the WWE are on to a winner here. My son saw the news after 5 minutes on WWE.com, and told me about. I mentioned he could go watch some videos on YouTube of him in Mexico under his old name, and off he went. 15 minutes later, and after hearing “WHOA!” and “WOW!” during that time, he’s decided he likes this new guy and he’s better than Rey and Del Rio put together. That’s a hell of an impact. If they market him right, and push him with some highlight clips, this is the potential next big star in the making. Here’s hoping they don’t blow it. There’s a HUGE money match between Sin Cara and Rey or ADR depending which side of the fence he sits…
— What happened in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match? The Earth stood still, pigs flew, Hell froze over… why? Because Drew McIntyre was fun to watch! When he was released from his pod and went on his mini rampage, that was moment of the night for me. McIntyre showed a spark, and the ability to use it that I just haven’t seen in him before. Maybe there is that potential that Triple H supposedly sees in him after all. How he uses that moment in the spotlight to progress is the key though. His ongoing angle with Kelly Kelly is interesting, in that it differs from the norm. This could be a nice little springboard for both of them.
— For my money, the Undertaker and HHH segment on Raw this past Monday was nigh-on perfect. To get across the point of the segment, and effectively build towards a match at WrestleMania without uttering a single word between them? Amazing. Both men showed an incredible grasp of how to work a crowd with just facial expressions and a couple of gestures. Would it have worked as well with anyone else? I can’t see anyone on the roster just now that could. Maybe Jericho if he was still around…
— Jerry Lawler has been a great example to the younger guys on the roster over the past few weeks. Nobody is saying that Jerry is a Daniel Bryan-like wrestling machine; nobody is saying that he’s gone out and wrestled like a 20 year old and tore the house dow, but what he has done – and here’s where the younger guys can learn – is use what he can do to build interest. The fans totally bought into his match with The Miz, because between the two of them, they told a story with their match. Lawler didn’t need to throw in a thousand holds and moves, neither did Miz. They worked a simple match, but involved the crowd enough to maintain their interest. For me, it was a great example of old school storytelling in the ring, and a great exhibition of how to make the most out of what you’ve got to work with. Lawler is a master of that, always has been – and that’s why he deserves his bow at WrestleMania.
This angle between him and Michael Cole has been on the slow burner for months, booked beautifully. Cole’s heel persona has been gradually getting more and more OTT until someone HAD to step in and deal with him. Why not Lawler? Makes sense to me…. The only grey area with this is what it means for the commentary desk at WrestleMania. If Cole and Lawler wrestle, then one or both is gonna be unable to commentate at some point, perhaps for the whole show. That leaves… Josh Matthews – who is improving, but still not the finished article – or Todd Grisham. Grisham is nowhere near ready to call a WrestleMania, especially without some experience next to him. Could a one night only return for Good Ol’ JR be on the cards? Again, makes perfect sense to me, even if just to antagonise Cole even further.
There’s more than that rattling about in the old noggin, but I’m sure your head is hurting as much as mine is… so until next time… have fun, go mad.
