Resetting The Standards & Thunderclapped!: How Close Is The Future?

Until Monday Night RAW last night the "future" that everyone drooled and babbled about for so long seemed so distant. Shots were fired into the pie holes of all of the folks screaming "Ted DiBiase Jr. vs Randy Orton!," shutting them up for the time being, a la Christian as Jeff Hardy's attacker earlier this year.

Kofi Kingston was attacked by Randy Orton on Monday Night RAW in frustration over losing his title, feud with John Cena, and future rematches against the chaingang commander.

His attitude wasn't adjusted, as Cena had set out to do, and attacking Kingston was a logical move. He chased Rhodes and DiBiase away with a steel chair in hand during his iron man match against John Cena at Bragging Rights.

Cody Rhodes blamed Kofi Kingston for Team RAW's loss though Big Show was obviously at fault turning his back on RAW thus Chris Jericho and Smackdown reigning supreme.

Big Show has done this before three years back when ECW first resurfaced betraying RAW to join the land of extreme and he was also partners with Chris Jericho as well as unified tag champions with him.

Degeneration X is truly at fault for trusting him, but back to the topic. Kingston received flak and a beat down at the hands of Legacy twice in two nights and also was on the receiving end of a massive chokeslam from Benedict Show.

He failed to get the dub at Bragging Rights, but he sizzled on RAW the next night finally snapping destroying Orton's Legend killer NASCAR vehicle.

He smashed it in with a crowbar shattering the windshield and poured orange paint all over it completely ruining the car.

"Is that a fly?! I got it Randy, I GOT IT RANDY!"

Poor fly, it must have been completely smashed as one shot apparently didn't do the job. For the first time there was trouble in paradise and Kingston wasn't in danger himself.

The Viper must now prove that his poison is still feared on RAW and he'll be slithering in the grass now that Shawn Michaels and Triple H have earned (not at all) their title shots for the WWE championship, meeting John Cena at Survivor Series.

Orton will be looking to have Teddy and Cody do his dirty work and stack the deck on the once-upon-a-time Jamaican star, but I believe the world's strongest jar of Kool-Aid and the the ballin' ex-convict will be on hand if needed.

There was definitely an SOS, but it was a signal for Kingston's big break. Kingston worked hard with a great U.S. title run that lasted most of the year before losing it to the Miz and now he's getting his payoff.

On the other side of the side, Sheamus somehow escaped the realms of the land of extreme faster than anyone I've ever seen. At first, I was surprised and then I became disappointed that Jamie Noble had to be squashed instead of regular jobber.

Apparently, it was Triple H who was responsible for it; I personally believe the move is possibly a triple threat formula of doom. The move may not been seen as critical to many, but holes are left and not filled and we're left without knowing if this was the right move to make, though I believe it wasn't.

Why would you bring Sheamus to RAW if Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger as still hanging around? The question will be where will he stand in the pecking order?

He should have stayed on ECW where the fans could become more familiar with him before dragging him to RAW. The same thing was seen with the Hart Dynasty and Evan Bourne; they're just hanging along for the ride.

If they had stayed on ECW longer their stock could have raised and they would have been a much bigger priority when being drafted to the red and blue brands.

Jack Swagger would be an excellent counter and executor to that theory, having been around in ECW for long enough and is struggling just to get a US title shot. Sheamus is talented, but his move should have been done at next year's draft.

This move, along with the "blockbuster" tri-branded diva and 15-man trades, makes it the third non-draft movement of the year. So much for brand extension. 

Sheamus had an on-going feud with Shelton Benjamin, which had an anticipated finish, feuding for over a month without a clean win for either of the stars. Sheamus was learning from an experienced vet and Benjamin was in the process of rebooting his face character and it was going well.

There is no pressure on ECW and all it takes is a slip up and he can join the Colons on Superstars...well at least one of them.

Shelton Benjamin is now left hanging after making great strides towards the ECW Championship and could end up on the back burner due to the big boys not having anything for him after this huge swerve transpired.

The ending to the feud would have benefited both stars if Benjamin had gone over banishing Sheamus from the land of extreme resulting in his RAW tenure, leaving the door open for future angles with the two with a good backstory.

The third threat is Hornswoggle. I always said all it takes is a Hornswoggle angle and Sheamus is finito. Obviously Sheamus isn't going to destroy him because he's popular amongst the children and is used for comedy, so add up the math for yourself and tell me what happens if Sheamus runs into him?

With both the WWE and US titles occupied, Sheamus will be squashing jobbers from local ones to Evan Bourne and he'll be one wrong encounter away from Monday Night Circus with the Masterpiece, Chavo Guerrero, and Hornswoggle himself. On the other hand, everything could turn out for the greater good.

Only time will tell, but with Escobar and McIntyre on Smackdown, Kofi rising, and possibly Sheamus rising on RAW, Yoshi Tatsu winning over the ECW crowd, and with Shelton Benjamin waiting in the wings, hopefully on the cusp of an ECW title run, the future may be not as far as it initially was with the current steps that have been taken.