Tuesday Morning Wrasslin' Thoughts
Tuesday Morning Wrasslin' Thoughts
That Shelton Benjamin/Shawn Michaels match last night may go down as one of the year's best. I don't know if this match was better than the Jericho/Benoit match they had to open the Raw from Tokyo recently. But Japanese crowds aren't as vocal as American crowds; most American crowds aren't as vocal as the Boston crowd was last night. So Benjamin/Michaels had the crowd into the match, feeding the intensity.
I liked very much that the finish came suddenly. If there's anything I wish that wrestling would get away from, in general, is the Mortal Kombat finish. Every Match ends with a wrestler calling a finishing move nowadays, and it's been that way for a long time. Which is fine, to a point. It's all story telling. But it's something I liked about guys like Benoit, Angle, Jericho, even Michaels. They can tell a story without needing the exact same finish every time.
That said, it's nice to see a match like Benjamin/Michaels end all of a sudden (albeit, Michaels did use the crescent kick, but it wasn't the called finisher, where he stands in a corner and stomps like a horse for a minute before finally kicking somebody in the face).
I like the intensity of a match that can end at anytime. And given the attention we've been giving Shelton, I was convinced that the match could have ended either way. The WWE needs more of that.
I can't argue with Michaels going over. I've gained a lot of respect for him as a performer and a showman that I may not have had in years past.
I'm a Bret Hart mark, and I can hold a grudge.
But I've moved on.
Moving on.
A brief word on the tournament itself. I like tournaments. I think it's a way to set up stories. My problem with the three or so tournaments the WWE has held in the past few months (two on Smackdown, and this one on Raw, that began last night), is that there hasn't been much coming out of the tournament beyond the end result. It's an opportunity to start a couple of months worth of story between somebody like Jericho and, say, Kane, who don't have much to do with each other, but could move forward together under the right circumstances.
The WWE did a little of this, with a small Christian/Flair angle after Christian lost to Kane. So I won't gripe much.
(While I'm on the subject of Kane, his story-wife Lita made me happy to be a heterosexual male last night....)
I surprised myself by admitting that I can't be ill at Triple H moving forward in this tournament thing. I wish it hadn't been at the expense of Chris Benoit. But I've come around to the school that Triple H has been set up much the same way Ric Flair was in the NWA of the 80's. A heel who was champion more often than not. It makes sense for him to be at the top of the title race.
Like I said, I wish it weren't at the expense of Chris Benoit.
Chris Jericho got something of the shaft, too, I thought. I'm not going to bitch about it, though. It seems like I've read that he's getting close to the end of his contract. Maybe the powers that be reason (correctly) that it's not worth pushing a guy who's not necessarily a given to re-up with the company. Especially when there's not a real domestic, monetary alternative, at present.
Last couple of thoughts:
I desperately would like one of these indie guys they're pulling out the crowd for the Chris Masters Masterlock Challenge to shoot on the kid. Drop out of the nelson, slap a drop-toe-hold on the guy. Wrench a knee. Pull him into an armbar. Something. I really want Chris Masters off my teevee.
Also:
I was all for the minor push of Viscera, especially if he's being funny. However, it struck me that we had a very similar turn of events in 1994 and 1995, leading even to Viscera (or Mabel, if you will) winning King of the Ring and getting a main event at a couple of the summer of 1995 pay per views.
There's a place for Viscera. It's called a 4 minute match on the undercard.
Trust me. You do not want Viscera vs. Batista at the July PPV.
I don't even want it main eventing Raw in the time of the Smackdown and ECW Reunion PPVs.
Them's the thoughts.
That Shelton Benjamin/Shawn Michaels match last night may go down as one of the year's best. I don't know if this match was better than the Jericho/Benoit match they had to open the Raw from Tokyo recently. But Japanese crowds aren't as vocal as American crowds; most American crowds aren't as vocal as the Boston crowd was last night. So Benjamin/Michaels had the crowd into the match, feeding the intensity.
I liked very much that the finish came suddenly. If there's anything I wish that wrestling would get away from, in general, is the Mortal Kombat finish. Every Match ends with a wrestler calling a finishing move nowadays, and it's been that way for a long time. Which is fine, to a point. It's all story telling. But it's something I liked about guys like Benoit, Angle, Jericho, even Michaels. They can tell a story without needing the exact same finish every time.
That said, it's nice to see a match like Benjamin/Michaels end all of a sudden (albeit, Michaels did use the crescent kick, but it wasn't the called finisher, where he stands in a corner and stomps like a horse for a minute before finally kicking somebody in the face).
I like the intensity of a match that can end at anytime. And given the attention we've been giving Shelton, I was convinced that the match could have ended either way. The WWE needs more of that.
I can't argue with Michaels going over. I've gained a lot of respect for him as a performer and a showman that I may not have had in years past.
I'm a Bret Hart mark, and I can hold a grudge.
But I've moved on.
Moving on.
A brief word on the tournament itself. I like tournaments. I think it's a way to set up stories. My problem with the three or so tournaments the WWE has held in the past few months (two on Smackdown, and this one on Raw, that began last night), is that there hasn't been much coming out of the tournament beyond the end result. It's an opportunity to start a couple of months worth of story between somebody like Jericho and, say, Kane, who don't have much to do with each other, but could move forward together under the right circumstances.
The WWE did a little of this, with a small Christian/Flair angle after Christian lost to Kane. So I won't gripe much.
(While I'm on the subject of Kane, his story-wife Lita made me happy to be a heterosexual male last night....)
I surprised myself by admitting that I can't be ill at Triple H moving forward in this tournament thing. I wish it hadn't been at the expense of Chris Benoit. But I've come around to the school that Triple H has been set up much the same way Ric Flair was in the NWA of the 80's. A heel who was champion more often than not. It makes sense for him to be at the top of the title race.
Like I said, I wish it weren't at the expense of Chris Benoit.
Chris Jericho got something of the shaft, too, I thought. I'm not going to bitch about it, though. It seems like I've read that he's getting close to the end of his contract. Maybe the powers that be reason (correctly) that it's not worth pushing a guy who's not necessarily a given to re-up with the company. Especially when there's not a real domestic, monetary alternative, at present.
Last couple of thoughts:
I desperately would like one of these indie guys they're pulling out the crowd for the Chris Masters Masterlock Challenge to shoot on the kid. Drop out of the nelson, slap a drop-toe-hold on the guy. Wrench a knee. Pull him into an armbar. Something. I really want Chris Masters off my teevee.
Also:
I was all for the minor push of Viscera, especially if he's being funny. However, it struck me that we had a very similar turn of events in 1994 and 1995, leading even to Viscera (or Mabel, if you will) winning King of the Ring and getting a main event at a couple of the summer of 1995 pay per views.
There's a place for Viscera. It's called a 4 minute match on the undercard.
Trust me. You do not want Viscera vs. Batista at the July PPV.
I don't even want it main eventing Raw in the time of the Smackdown and ECW Reunion PPVs.
Them's the thoughts.
posted by Tommy at
09:55
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