My RKO-Inspired Piece: Part One, Intro, Optimism, and the Talent Point Chart

About two weeks ago, I got “inspired”, if you will, by one of Jason Le Blanc’s articles about Randy Orton, and what promo he should have cut on HHH the this week (see here). This, of course, got me thinking, just like anything here at B/R does.

Three weeks ago, all our predictions were completely changed because of No Way Out. Edge got switched to win the World Heavyweight Championship (Raw’s) and Triple H won the WWE Championship, switching Triple H to Raw, and the WHC to SmackDown. Confusing?

Yeah, but in addition to all this WrestleMania mist, the fact of the matter is that WWE just got a lot better, everyone, to the point where (uh-oh, shouldn’t say this) they can regain a good storyline.

People think about the WWE “playing” us with the same feuds, over and over again. Now, we’ve got a usual Orton vs. HHH feud, which of course, leaves many of the pessimists at B/R (almost all of us) groaning again with WWE’s way of making their storylines, right?

Wrong. Orton vs. HHH is a great feud to keep in WWE, and will probably carry Raw (according to other insiders I’ve read and spoken to) until SummerSlam. Both Vince and Triple H want Legacy to rise, although H still wants it to be kept way down over Evolution.

So if my predictions are correct, Orton wins at 'Mania.

But really, this is beyond the point. I know I don’t care about who wins at WrestleMania, and apparently, neither does Shane (see Shane's latest Gripe on WrestleMania), so this brings us back to the storyline.

We’ve seen Orton vs. H before twice (in a major grudge), once for a month or two in 2007, and of course, during Orton’s only unforgettable face run in 2004. During 2004, Triple H was in Evolution, and Orton played the young, smart, funny, and slightly confident guy going on a RKO Crusade to take out Evolution.

Then, in 2007, Triple H came along for a really short feud to challenge for Orton’s title, which he won at No Mercy. This was just short and sweet.

Now, this would be considered the third time Triple H and Orton have feuded, but there is a difference.

We’re getting the angry Triple H back again…

If anyone on B/R is a Triple H fan, they’ll know about his in-ring anger. We all love it, especially when he’s about to whip some RKO ass with a sledgehammer.

On Orton’s side, we’re seeing the IED-matic, Legacy-carrying, sadistic character that we usually see, but really, what happens when Orton meets probably his second-worst nightmare, other than the Undertaker?

Raw’ll lose the PG (at least in violence). Allow me to explain….

Vince is probably in conflict right about now, because Cena’s now on SmackDown, and Triple H is now on Raw again (thank God, great move). But, as this is WrestleMania time, and since last year’s didn’t go to Vince’s standards (other than the Flair/HBK match), he’s going to need to step it up again.

While he’s committed to making EVERYTHING, and I mean every single damn thing, PG, he’s going to need some violence in there.

A PG rating will NOT go up if violence is increased unless we get constant Attitude Era stuff, with chair shots in every match. The thing that bought the ratings up (both by the Feds and for the shows) was the promos.

If Vince wants better ratings on Raw, Orton and Triple H will go to war on Monday and after that. Triple H will keep his angry attitude, which means more weapons, and more assaults over live TV.

We’ll get some of those weapons back, more blood, and definitely more action. (Aren’t I sounding like a politician here, guys?)

The greatest part of all of this is NO MORE CENA on Raw. Although Cena’ll still be dominating some brand, wouldn’t it be better to see him with Edge (they have great in-ring chemistry) in a somewhat interesting feud with Vickie rather than him on Raw.

I think it would. It would probably create some little thing where Cena basically gets the whole brand involved.

Remember how in Cena’s feuds with Edge and Umaga in 2006, he got the Divas involved for some segments, a little love (ugh?), and surprisingly, some matches? Maybe, with Vickie, he could make other wrestlers (screwed by her) involved here.

I’m not saying the outlook is cheery, it really isn’t here, but even though we all hate the Edge/Cena picture, we could use a stable feud that doesn’t have to do with Undertaker. Maybe, for once in the last two years, Undertaker didn’t have to be going for the title, and we could use a different Main Event feud.

If you combined the powers of Triple H (I’m talking last year), Jeff Hardy, Batista, Edge, and possibly Shelton Benjamin and MVP, you didn’t have to have Undertaker in this picture.

WWE, Undertaker is getting old, and although he’ll be respected by all of us, he is too old for any Main Event picture, or even a feud with the Champ. He needs to now stick to the best storylines, and give us that old reason to watch SmackDown again.

In other words, Batista should have stayed on SmackDown, and if WWE thought that he and Trips couldn’t have shared the limelight, they’re wrong.

IF Triple H and/or Jeff Hardy stayed on SmackDown, by using a point system, I’ll prove everything will be even, and that will be part two of the article, which I think you’ll all find interesting.

Now do you see my rant?