Corkscrewed
03-26-2004, 06:03 AM
Just a warning for UK readers... this "article" will discuss some stories that were developed during SmackDOWN! this past Thursday, so read at your own discretion.
Anyway, I really like this new beginning. The way SD's roster has been structured, now, more than ever, this is the brand that has the young and rising stars. This is the time for the WWE to make stars, with many of its past legends, like The Rock, Mick Foley, Stone Cold, etc... either not wrestling or not wrestling often. They've already begun to create new main event stars, as shown by Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benot's title wins, and hopefully, they can continue to parlay this work into another hot cycle.
Given the current situation on SmackDOWN!, I thought I'd share my views on what they can do longterm, establishing varied and exciting feuds and multiple storylines reminiscent of the glory days in the late 90s, when WWE programming was filled with tons of intriguing angles. So in short, here's me imitating Cynick. ;)
Main Event:
With Booker T coming to SD, he's obviously become the number one wrestling heel. Angle's injuries have forced him onto the shelf for a while, and his new GM role is the perfect way for him to stay healthy and still be able to entertain us on TV. Obviously, we have the makings of a Booker T/Eddie Guerrero feud, which could be unbelievably hot if booked correctly. This feud can also translate to a possible well-deserved title run for Booker T himself by the end of the year and pave the way for the creation of new main event stars.
The end of SD saw Bradshaw attack Eddie, much to the disgust and confusion of possibly every internet smark. Of course, as bad as Bradshaw is in the ring, the new conversion of his character into a modified 2004 version of Irwin R. Scheister has already proven to be a pleasant surprise. Bradshaw's promo was definitely effective, establishing him as a selfish and arrogant egomaniac with a huge superiority complex. It definitely fits his clean shaven and short haired image better to.
It appears that Bradshaw will feud with Eddie a litte bit before settling down into the midcard. Consider this a fodder feud, much like Brock vs Holly. With the next SD PPV two month away, they can definitely afford to carry out this small diversion before regrouping with Eddie vs Booker T. They'll probably have Eddie defend his title against Bradshaw a few weeks down the line, with Eddie getting the clean win but Bradshaw looking strong in the process.
Assuming Angle remains GM for at least four months (that's a reasonable guess for a minimum GM run), Eddie will probably have Booker T to battle after he disposes of Bradshaw. A more possible scenario, however, is to continue to build Booker up as a mega-heel while Eddie takes care of business with... Big Show.
I know, you're groaning because it's Paul Wight, but remember that Big Show defeated Eddie for the US Title. Remember also that they have tremendous storyline heat stemming from the "truck incident" on the SD before Eddie lost his title. Big Show is the guy who can always rise into main eventing whenever he's needed to, and a nice two month feud with Eddie would be great, especially when Eddie comes out clean over Big Show at the end, thereby establishing himself as an even more legitimate champ.
Eddie can then feud with Booker T after that. A two to three month feud sounds about right, and by that time, Booker will hopefully have been built into a very hated heel. The Eddie/Booker feud has the potential for some spectacular matches, as stated before, and by Summerslam, Eddie should have been champ long enough to firmly cement himself as a great champion. At Summerslam, Eddie and Booker T can hopefully climax their feud with a grueling match with several near falls, with Booker T pulling off the technically clean win at the end (possibly by cheating; or possibly after Eddie had hit the frog splash and had the match won but the ref was knocked out). This would put Booker T over as an accepted main eventer while Eddie loses no credibilty.
Post-Summerslam can see Eddie and John start a face/face friendly rivalry to serve as a main event side angle. This could end with a heel turn for one of them. Booker T would then feud with RVD in a storyline that could see Rob Van Dam as champ by the end of the year (people could hope). The second possibility would be to have Booker feud with Cena, who'd win the strap by the close of the year, while Eddie would feud with a heel RVD, possibly managed by Paul Heyman. That angle would of course have tons of heat due to Eddie and Paul's history.
Thus, by the end of the year, your main event class could reasonably include Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, John Cena, and Rob Van Dam. Four faces, three heels.
I know I omitted Undertaker. Frankly, I'm not completely sure what he CAN do right now. He could feud with the Big Show perhaps, but frankly, I'd like to see him out of the title scene. He's so over right now that he really doesn't need the belt. He could perhaps enter the main event scene by the second half of the year, serving as a third contestant to spice things up for some main events.
Mid Card:
Cena and Renee Dupree currently look to be involved in some feud, at least judged by last night's promo. Things could always change of course, but my optimism actually lies in the depth of the midcard currently. You have Cena as the champ, Dupree as the French Phenom who obviously will be pushed (and he's been pretty entertaining too). Bradshaw should also settle into the midcard after he's done with Eddie. Other great mid-carders include RVD, Billy Gunn, and Charlie Haas. With all this great talent, what you could have is a blazing hot US Title division, similar to the tag division of 1999, where titles changed hands often, but the changes still made the belt credible because the matches were high paced and awesome, and losers still looked good. I'd like to see Cena feud with Dupree right now, but other side angles between the other midcarders can develop. Haas and RVD might have something going. They could probably have a minifeud where they trade wins. Cena may drop the title but win it back later, as part of the flurry of the scene, but ultimately, by the time he drops the title for good, he should be ready to move up into the main event scene. As stated before, this would be around the end of the year, or at least late fall.
There's plenty of opportunity to make the midcarders entertaining. Two or three simultaneous feuds and/or storylines would add depth, and it would also bring back a characteristic of the WWE during its golden years: a very good midcard scene.
Tag Team Division:
There are currently three tag teams on SmackDOWN!: Rikishi and Scotty (champs), The Bashams, and the Dudleys. The tag division has been pretty weak over the past year or two, but with the current roster, that can be quickly remedied. Now is the time to introduce new teams and accustom the audience to their presence so that they can become credible. Billy Kidman and Paul London, who've been languishing in the Cruiserweight Division doing nothing, have nevertheless been putting up spectacular matches on Velocity, so I've heard. Put them together as a fast, high flying Cruiser team that uses their speed and agility to their advantage around the slower bigger teams. Bring in Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire as (Loopy, you can get ready to mark out or something) Natural Born Thrillers. They don't have to be involved in the title race for now, but they should be put together and appear on SmackDOWN at least twice a month. You also have Akio and Sakoda, who can team together in matches (perhaps start a feud with London and Kidman) when neither is involved in a CW feud. While the Bashams, Dudleys, and Dancers are battling each other for the titles, these other teams can be built up as legimate threats.
So you've just gone from an anemic three teams to a healthy six team division, which is a pretty good number in my book. That's about how many teams were prominently featured in 1999.
Another possible storyline in the future (may be good, may be bad) could involve Scotty and Rikishi having differences. I can't be the only one who's noticed that Rikishi has carried the team. Scotty is always picked on and exploited until Rikishi comes in, clears house, and saves the day. Scotty doesn't win when he wrestles one-on-one matches. Eventually, when Rikishi and Scotty drop the belts, Rikishi can start a program with Scotty. He would logically be heel, saying that Scotty is worthless and needs him for help. Book the big Kish as a big bully while Scotty is the worm, pun intended. Either person could win... I'd stick with Rikishi to make things rational. Rikishi could enter the midcard after that feud with challenge for the US Title. Scotty could possibly enter the Cruiserweight division (he is a former Light Heavyweight Champ).
Cruiserweight Division:
I really wish they'd let the Cruisers put on the moves they can do. Even though injuries have slowed Rey down, he can still do some crazy things if he was allowed to go his full speed. He and Chavo still have yet to touch the full potential of their feud, since Chavo has come off as a wuss who needs daddy to help him. I know they can put on some stellar matches: just look at Rey's debut match against Chavo Guerrero. It was amazing.
On the other hand, if Rey cannot feud with Chavo, he could feud with Akio. They've already done some cool matches, and they also have brilliant chemistry with each other.
You have tons of Cruisers, and there's really no mystery behind how to improve this division. Let them fly. Let them perform innovative manuveurs. Crowds are awed by new moves. Let them do that. Let them dazzle. Wait--does that sound a bit like the X-Division? It should. Remember that at least early on, the X-Division at TNA was billed as the place where new moves were being unleashed by the talented wrestlers every week. There's no reason SD! can't adopt that viewpoint. They don't have to use the same slogan, but for goodness sakes, make the Cruiserweight matches fast and exciting, not just slight improvements over the old Light Heavyweight matches.
Recent matches have been better. Since Wrestlemania, it appears that they've put more push behind the division. Hopefully, this continues. The CW division is another one that can be very exciting, where anyone can win the title at any time because everyone is so good. Any of the Cruiserweights would make believable champs, frankly, even Spike (his match last night was actually pretty darn entertaining). It's really not that hard to make the CW division shine; it's a matter of if the writers want to. However, the main eventers on SD! don't really have egos, so there shouldn't be a concern over if lower card wrestlers steal the show and make main eventers look bad.
So that's that. If the WWE follows that basic formula, you could see 2004 be a resurgent year that starts a new cycle of popularity.
This is where it all begins again. Lets hope they make this new start a successful one.
Anyway, I really like this new beginning. The way SD's roster has been structured, now, more than ever, this is the brand that has the young and rising stars. This is the time for the WWE to make stars, with many of its past legends, like The Rock, Mick Foley, Stone Cold, etc... either not wrestling or not wrestling often. They've already begun to create new main event stars, as shown by Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benot's title wins, and hopefully, they can continue to parlay this work into another hot cycle.
Given the current situation on SmackDOWN!, I thought I'd share my views on what they can do longterm, establishing varied and exciting feuds and multiple storylines reminiscent of the glory days in the late 90s, when WWE programming was filled with tons of intriguing angles. So in short, here's me imitating Cynick. ;)
Main Event:
With Booker T coming to SD, he's obviously become the number one wrestling heel. Angle's injuries have forced him onto the shelf for a while, and his new GM role is the perfect way for him to stay healthy and still be able to entertain us on TV. Obviously, we have the makings of a Booker T/Eddie Guerrero feud, which could be unbelievably hot if booked correctly. This feud can also translate to a possible well-deserved title run for Booker T himself by the end of the year and pave the way for the creation of new main event stars.
The end of SD saw Bradshaw attack Eddie, much to the disgust and confusion of possibly every internet smark. Of course, as bad as Bradshaw is in the ring, the new conversion of his character into a modified 2004 version of Irwin R. Scheister has already proven to be a pleasant surprise. Bradshaw's promo was definitely effective, establishing him as a selfish and arrogant egomaniac with a huge superiority complex. It definitely fits his clean shaven and short haired image better to.
It appears that Bradshaw will feud with Eddie a litte bit before settling down into the midcard. Consider this a fodder feud, much like Brock vs Holly. With the next SD PPV two month away, they can definitely afford to carry out this small diversion before regrouping with Eddie vs Booker T. They'll probably have Eddie defend his title against Bradshaw a few weeks down the line, with Eddie getting the clean win but Bradshaw looking strong in the process.
Assuming Angle remains GM for at least four months (that's a reasonable guess for a minimum GM run), Eddie will probably have Booker T to battle after he disposes of Bradshaw. A more possible scenario, however, is to continue to build Booker up as a mega-heel while Eddie takes care of business with... Big Show.
I know, you're groaning because it's Paul Wight, but remember that Big Show defeated Eddie for the US Title. Remember also that they have tremendous storyline heat stemming from the "truck incident" on the SD before Eddie lost his title. Big Show is the guy who can always rise into main eventing whenever he's needed to, and a nice two month feud with Eddie would be great, especially when Eddie comes out clean over Big Show at the end, thereby establishing himself as an even more legitimate champ.
Eddie can then feud with Booker T after that. A two to three month feud sounds about right, and by that time, Booker will hopefully have been built into a very hated heel. The Eddie/Booker feud has the potential for some spectacular matches, as stated before, and by Summerslam, Eddie should have been champ long enough to firmly cement himself as a great champion. At Summerslam, Eddie and Booker T can hopefully climax their feud with a grueling match with several near falls, with Booker T pulling off the technically clean win at the end (possibly by cheating; or possibly after Eddie had hit the frog splash and had the match won but the ref was knocked out). This would put Booker T over as an accepted main eventer while Eddie loses no credibilty.
Post-Summerslam can see Eddie and John start a face/face friendly rivalry to serve as a main event side angle. This could end with a heel turn for one of them. Booker T would then feud with RVD in a storyline that could see Rob Van Dam as champ by the end of the year (people could hope). The second possibility would be to have Booker feud with Cena, who'd win the strap by the close of the year, while Eddie would feud with a heel RVD, possibly managed by Paul Heyman. That angle would of course have tons of heat due to Eddie and Paul's history.
Thus, by the end of the year, your main event class could reasonably include Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, Big Show, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, John Cena, and Rob Van Dam. Four faces, three heels.
I know I omitted Undertaker. Frankly, I'm not completely sure what he CAN do right now. He could feud with the Big Show perhaps, but frankly, I'd like to see him out of the title scene. He's so over right now that he really doesn't need the belt. He could perhaps enter the main event scene by the second half of the year, serving as a third contestant to spice things up for some main events.
Mid Card:
Cena and Renee Dupree currently look to be involved in some feud, at least judged by last night's promo. Things could always change of course, but my optimism actually lies in the depth of the midcard currently. You have Cena as the champ, Dupree as the French Phenom who obviously will be pushed (and he's been pretty entertaining too). Bradshaw should also settle into the midcard after he's done with Eddie. Other great mid-carders include RVD, Billy Gunn, and Charlie Haas. With all this great talent, what you could have is a blazing hot US Title division, similar to the tag division of 1999, where titles changed hands often, but the changes still made the belt credible because the matches were high paced and awesome, and losers still looked good. I'd like to see Cena feud with Dupree right now, but other side angles between the other midcarders can develop. Haas and RVD might have something going. They could probably have a minifeud where they trade wins. Cena may drop the title but win it back later, as part of the flurry of the scene, but ultimately, by the time he drops the title for good, he should be ready to move up into the main event scene. As stated before, this would be around the end of the year, or at least late fall.
There's plenty of opportunity to make the midcarders entertaining. Two or three simultaneous feuds and/or storylines would add depth, and it would also bring back a characteristic of the WWE during its golden years: a very good midcard scene.
Tag Team Division:
There are currently three tag teams on SmackDOWN!: Rikishi and Scotty (champs), The Bashams, and the Dudleys. The tag division has been pretty weak over the past year or two, but with the current roster, that can be quickly remedied. Now is the time to introduce new teams and accustom the audience to their presence so that they can become credible. Billy Kidman and Paul London, who've been languishing in the Cruiserweight Division doing nothing, have nevertheless been putting up spectacular matches on Velocity, so I've heard. Put them together as a fast, high flying Cruiser team that uses their speed and agility to their advantage around the slower bigger teams. Bring in Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire as (Loopy, you can get ready to mark out or something) Natural Born Thrillers. They don't have to be involved in the title race for now, but they should be put together and appear on SmackDOWN at least twice a month. You also have Akio and Sakoda, who can team together in matches (perhaps start a feud with London and Kidman) when neither is involved in a CW feud. While the Bashams, Dudleys, and Dancers are battling each other for the titles, these other teams can be built up as legimate threats.
So you've just gone from an anemic three teams to a healthy six team division, which is a pretty good number in my book. That's about how many teams were prominently featured in 1999.
Another possible storyline in the future (may be good, may be bad) could involve Scotty and Rikishi having differences. I can't be the only one who's noticed that Rikishi has carried the team. Scotty is always picked on and exploited until Rikishi comes in, clears house, and saves the day. Scotty doesn't win when he wrestles one-on-one matches. Eventually, when Rikishi and Scotty drop the belts, Rikishi can start a program with Scotty. He would logically be heel, saying that Scotty is worthless and needs him for help. Book the big Kish as a big bully while Scotty is the worm, pun intended. Either person could win... I'd stick with Rikishi to make things rational. Rikishi could enter the midcard after that feud with challenge for the US Title. Scotty could possibly enter the Cruiserweight division (he is a former Light Heavyweight Champ).
Cruiserweight Division:
I really wish they'd let the Cruisers put on the moves they can do. Even though injuries have slowed Rey down, he can still do some crazy things if he was allowed to go his full speed. He and Chavo still have yet to touch the full potential of their feud, since Chavo has come off as a wuss who needs daddy to help him. I know they can put on some stellar matches: just look at Rey's debut match against Chavo Guerrero. It was amazing.
On the other hand, if Rey cannot feud with Chavo, he could feud with Akio. They've already done some cool matches, and they also have brilliant chemistry with each other.
You have tons of Cruisers, and there's really no mystery behind how to improve this division. Let them fly. Let them perform innovative manuveurs. Crowds are awed by new moves. Let them do that. Let them dazzle. Wait--does that sound a bit like the X-Division? It should. Remember that at least early on, the X-Division at TNA was billed as the place where new moves were being unleashed by the talented wrestlers every week. There's no reason SD! can't adopt that viewpoint. They don't have to use the same slogan, but for goodness sakes, make the Cruiserweight matches fast and exciting, not just slight improvements over the old Light Heavyweight matches.
Recent matches have been better. Since Wrestlemania, it appears that they've put more push behind the division. Hopefully, this continues. The CW division is another one that can be very exciting, where anyone can win the title at any time because everyone is so good. Any of the Cruiserweights would make believable champs, frankly, even Spike (his match last night was actually pretty darn entertaining). It's really not that hard to make the CW division shine; it's a matter of if the writers want to. However, the main eventers on SD! don't really have egos, so there shouldn't be a concern over if lower card wrestlers steal the show and make main eventers look bad.
So that's that. If the WWE follows that basic formula, you could see 2004 be a resurgent year that starts a new cycle of popularity.
This is where it all begins again. Lets hope they make this new start a successful one.