This week in pro wrestling...JBL is wrestling for the World Heavyweight Title on a major Pay-Per-View, another uninteresting TNA Pay-Per-View is heading our way, the growing possibility that Christian Cage likes to start fires in Cameron, North Carolina, and Vickie Guerrero…naked? Why the hell have you not clicked here?
Welcome wrestling fans to This Week in Pro Wrestling. After a brief holiday vacation, yours truly has returned completely rested and revitalized. There is no shortage of…um…interesting things to talk about this week, so without further ado…
It’s “mourning” in America once again
A week ago on Raw, JBL managed to win a four-way match contested to determine who would wrestle John Cena for the World Heavyweight Title at the Royal Rumble. JBL claimed victory after defeating Virgil…err…Shawn Michaels to win the right to face John Cena at the Royal Rumble, giving us all the opportunity of a lifetime…the opportunity to witness the epic return grudge match from the ‘award winning’ clash at the 2008 Great American Bash.
That’s right folks…Cena….JBL…don’t miss the opportunity to pay your hard earned cash to witness this one, LIVE, on Pay-Per-View in High Definition. Such a match should ONLY be viewed in High Definition on a bare minimum $1300 1080p television complete with surround sound system. Anything less, would be uncivilized.
Now, I know that title matches at the Royal Rumble play a secondary role to the actual Rumble, but could they seriously find no other way to make the Pay-Per-View interesting? They’re putting the biggest superstar in the company against an aging and physically limited wrestler involved in a feud that is building toward a match, barring some sort of swerve, at Wrestlemania that no one in their right mind wants to see (HBK vs. JBL) on the biggest stage of them all.
It’s bad enough that the WWE creative team watched every hour of WWE programming from the late 80’s and early 90’s, then turned around and handed Shawn Michaels a recycled and modernized version of the storyline used to turn Virgil into a face as a buildup toward a Wrestlemania appearance in HBK’s home state of Texas.
How was the build toward a huge Texas showdown at Wrestlemania between the two greatest active pro wrestlers from the state of Texas passed over for the “HBK loses his smile 2.0 and falls into a great depression” storyline?
By now, the seeds could have already been planted for an epic clash pitting the awesome Wrestlemania streak of the Undertaker against Mr. Wrestlemania himself, Shawn Michaels, a match that many fans have expressed a great deal of interest in seeing, but instead, we’ve been treated to a program that has given us a bunch of Shawn Michaels pouty faces, JBL’s bailout proposal for the struggling enterprise HBK, and a JBL world title shot that from all accounts has no one excited.
5 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Lewis Hennig 6 months ago
I'd just like to say your sentiments about HBK mirror my own. One other point I'd like to make is that why didn't he betray John Cena? The man betrayed the crowd, his fans, even himself in order to help his family, but SOMEHOW John Cena is the one guy he could not betray. Get bent, what history do these two have? Did John Cena save his life sometime in the past? What the hell makes Cena so special to Shawn? Maybe Triple H, but not Cena.
Secondly regarding Triple H on Smackdown, why did he even do that. When I watched it Vicki came out, and was happy, not only that she wished us a happy New Year and the title match for Royal Rumble. For once she didn't say "EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME!" and she was actually not a b*tch either. Then Triple H comes down and asks for her to reveal if he will be in the rumble or not. She says like everyone else he'll have to wait till later on tonight. This is where it gets confusing, Triple H, the face in the situation, begins threatening Vicki that she'll lose her job and that the fans will be upset and stalk her all night even to the airport and her hotel room. Just a sec, the airport? Why the hell would she be going there in the middle of the show? She's revealing the roster later that night, plus she's the GM responsible for overseeing the show. Anyways Vicki eventually caves in and lets Triple H know he will be in the rumble. Instead of leaving peacefully he then goes and reveals to everyone that she has nude photos online. How is anything that Triple H did last night not a heel tactic. It was totally uncalled for considering how nice Vicki was. Considering everyone else had to wait till later in the night it just seemed like Triple H thought he was better than everyone, something that echoes the characters of Jericho and Orton. I was not impressed by this.
One last note I agree with you TNA overview, but I may not put it as harshly as you did. Like you said, I want competition for WWE, it will stimulate the need for a better show. Unfortunately TNA is not anywhere near the level they need to be to compete with WWE. WCW matched and even overtook WWE in ratings for awhile, that is competition. TNA does not do that, it hardly beats ECW. TNA wrestlers have talent, I don't think you and I are saying they don't, but the booking is terrible as are the storylines. The shows format is to blame, not the able performers.
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Jason Le Blanc 6 months ago
Thanks for the feedback Lewis. The one attempt Shawn verbally made to get the fans behind him last night was something to the effect of, "The only reason I slept last night was because you two (Orton and Jericho) aren't wrestling for the world championship!" How are fans supposed to get behind that? It's not as if Shawn Michaels lost a match that turned him into a slave to JBL, he chose to do it, yet they're trying to book some sort of touching, heartfelt economic recession storyline. Orton and Jericho IMMEDIATELY buried the attempt of HBK to save face, make him look like the jackass Jericho has been claiming that HBK is, but low and behold, the power of John Cena makes him see the light? This storyline is awful, and I can't say as though I am made to feel too much better about Raw by the return of Vince in two weeks. Even my wife, a somewhat casual wrestling fan, doesn't even want to see that happen.
The last wrestler that I remember publicizing nude photos of another woman at a wrestling show was Macho Man Randy Savage when he, as a member of the nWO, was feuding with Diamond Dallas Page. He showed the world Kimberly's playboy spread, and he was clearly a heel.
The talent in TNA is off the charts, but the problem is the company doesn't have even the faintest idea of how to showcase it. For the amount of resources they have, the show shouldn't be as lowly rated as it is. I don't blame the performer for that at all...the brass is entirely at fault.
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Mina 6 months ago
I don't think John Cena has anything to do with Michaels' decision. I think the spotlight last night was on whether or not Michaels had any integrity left at all. Cena just happened to be the guy he was partnered with, in my mind, because it made the "consider my history" a potential both ways scenario.
Don't get me wrong, I hate this storyline. I am looking forward to the day when it is over. I don't think that they ever intended for Michaels to turn heel and the glaring plot holes in the storyline are frustrating. However, with what Michaels and JBL have been given to work, I think that both are doing an outstanding job. I am also impressed that Jericho, Orton, Mysterio, and Cena have all acknowledged and interacted with the storyline. It's not in a bubble.
That being said, despite the phenomenal acting skills of Michaels, I am definitely among the number that wants the storyline to just end, already. Perhaps at No Way Out, so we can move on to the 'Taker/Michaels match.
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Jason Le Blanc 6 months ago
I've had my eyes on a potential HBK-Undertaker storyline heading into Mania ever since it was announced that it would be in Texas. It would seem to be an ideal way for either one to call it a career.....last match....Wrestlemania 25.....their home state of Texas. With the way this storyline with HBK is going and Vince apparently feeling the need to come back to deal with this Shawn Michaels-JBL conspiracy issue....I wonder if Wrestlemania wont be the final swan song for either HBK or Taker. I doubt that it will happen, but the fan in me would just find a retirement match in the state of Texas between HBK and Taker to be incredible.
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jason wick 6 months ago
first things first JBL SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i stopped watching wrestling for a few years but got back into it after hearing about tna from my stepbrother sarted watching fell in love with what christian kurt angle aj styles and samoa joe (especially christian him and edge were my favorite tag team when i watched wwf) the more i watched tna the worse it got they are burying guys like chris sabin alex shelley(who has the it to be the next chris jehricho he just looks and acts like y2j did in wcw)and jay lethal they are totaly ruining there product (after a while i remembered why i hate jeff jarret and vince russo) i will not be buying genesis this weekend instead i will wait for the rumble and hope to see my favorite wrestler the instant classic christian cage!!!!!(even though it will probably go back to being captain charisma thats ok to)
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