Chris Benoit's Current Direction (SPOILERS)

**Corkscrewed** · 01-27-2004, 04:05 AM

Okay, so on Raw, Benoit suddenly shows up and says he'll battle the RAW champ at Wrestlemania.

Lets examine Benoit's direction over the past few months.

At Survivor Series, he made Brock tap, thus officially starting their feud over the title. The following SD!, he receives a title shot but passes out to the Brock Lock. Afterwards, Heyman says that he will never get a shot against Lesnar again as long as Heyman is GM. Thus, you have the solid beginnings of a brilliant chase angle where Benoit overcomes all the odds to win the WWE Championship for the first time ever in his life.

Though this feud takes a secondary seat later to the Holly/Lesnar revenge angle, it continues to simmer, as it should according to smart booking. Heyman screws around with Benoit. Brock fears Benoit. Benoit quietly goes about his way trying to defeat the system.

As the Rumble approaches, Benoit outwits Heyman by gaining entry into the Rumble along with John Cena. Obviously, he's still going after the title. By logic, he's still going after BROCK'S title, since the chance to win it is what was taken away from him.

Heyman screws him over again and makes him #1. Of course, predictably but smartly, he wins the whole thing, setting RR records for longest time in the match and being the first person to enter at 1 and outlast all 29 other men.

Now, the way to cap off the feud is to have him challenge a confident and powerful Lesnar (coming off a win over Holly where he ideally reinjured him or even broke his neck again... making Lesnar a vicious monster) who hasn't lost for quite a while. The culmination of this would be Benoit defeating Lesnar at Wrestlemania, fulfilling his lifelong dream and establishing himself as the premier main eventer.

Results:
- Lesnar doesn't lose heat even though he lost due to the manner in which he lost (via a long, hard-fought match)
- Benoit is cemented as a main eventer
- You have a very well booked chase feud that lasts a few months but never gets stale
- The angle captivates audiences while satisfying what they want.

But wait! Suddenly, Benoit is supposed to go to Raw because Vince is orgasming for a Goldberg/Lesnar match to make up for the Goldberg/Austin dream match that can never happen because Bill would give Austin a concussion or something and paralyze him for life, ala Bret Hart (note exagerration). Well, if you insist, Mr. McMahon, because you did build the company and I'm just a stupid unAmerican internet fan who knows nothing.

Lets rewind back to the current time. Benoit is fresh off his win at the Rumble. Logically, what does he want to do? Face Lesnar and take his title away from him, of course. That is what this angle that writes itself demands. It's the obvious choice. He wants Lesnar.

So instead, on Raw, Benoit shows up out of the blue (sure, mark out moment for some, but this could have been saved for next week) and says he wants to fight Triple H instead. Because after working so hard to get the WWE championship, he's suddenly giving up and going after the World Title instead--a title that he technically has won before (though winning it again isn't really a problem or flaw). Why? It's like running a marathon, and just before you finish, you cut into the crowd and leave to go play a basketball game or something. Wouldn't logic dictate that Benoit continue to go after Lesnar, and that some circumstance out of his control force him onto RAW?

After all, Benoit's on the SD! brand. He has the chance to be the best wrestler on SD! in his reach. RAW, theoretically, shouldn't even be on his mind. Yet he voluntarily chooses to fight Triple H. It boggles the mind!

Now, if you want Benoit on RAW (to freshen things up, I guess), a MUCH better way would be for Benoit to show up on SD! and demand his shot against Lesnar. Lesnar comes out and cuts the whole heel "I'm not afraid of you (but I really am)" promo. Then Heyman comes out and reaffirms that Benoit will NEVER get a shot at Brock's title so long as Heyman is GM. Why? "Because in the words of Vincent Kennedy McMahon... 'YOU'RE... FIRED!!!'" Heyman and Brock laugh it over as Benoit is pissed. Yep, Chris got screwed big time.

THEN, on RAW NEXT WEEK, have Benoit show up out of the blue (still have your markout moment) and announce that since he was fired from SD! but is still an employee of the WWE, he has chosen to join RAW. And since he won the Rumble, he chooses to face Triple H. At the very least, that would make more sense than just choosing to face HHH spontaneously. Benoit wanted Lesnar, just like logic would suggest, but he was screwed, so he's going to do the next best thing.

Now, continuing with this, how would Goldberg go to SD!? Well, the following SD!, Heyman and Lesnar are patting each other on the back and sometime during the show, Goldberg shows up illegally and attacks Lesnar. Eventually, he's hauled off.

Have Goldberg stalk Lesnar for the next couple of weeks before having him set up a deal with Heyman. If he can win a super stacked gauntlet match (make it any match where Goldberg has to overcome impossible odds to win), then Heyman will sign him onto SD! and grant him a match against Lesnar. Then, either on SD! or at NWO, have Goldberg face FBI, Sean O'Haire (as much as I love him... I personally think that having him job on a PPV is still better than having him languish on Velocity), Matt Morgan, A-Train, Billy Gunn, and finally Big Show in the Gauntlet match. Heyman obviously believes that no one could possibly win under those scenarios. You can even play off of Heyman's ownership of ECW... so he's not really familiar with Goldberg and underestimates him.

At NWO, though, Bill DOES win. Voila, he gets the contract and is on SD! for the month before he goes and loses to Lesnar and leaves the company.

Meanwhile, on Raw, Bischoff can patch up the storyline hole by saying Goldberg left and violated his contract, so he's basically fired and he won't be paid what he was supposed to be, etc... etc...

There you have a perfectly reasonable brand switch that doesn't involve trading (rosters are still technically frozen, plus they should really wait until after all the storylines culminate at WM before starting any trades to freshen things up), and everything makes sense.

But I guess the WWE can't have that.

Comments? Suggestions? Agree or not? Post feedback please!

01-27-2004, 04:05 AM	#1
Corkscrewed Posts: 18,357	Chris Benoit's Current Direction (SPOILERS) Okay, so on Raw, Benoit suddenly shows up and says he'll battle the RAW champ at Wrestlemania. Lets examine Benoit's direction over the past few months. At Survivor Series, he made Brock tap, thus officially starting their feud over the title. The following SD!, he receives a title shot but passes out to the Brock Lock. Afterwards, Heyman says that he will never get a shot against Lesnar again as long as Heyman is GM. Thus, you have the solid beginnings of a brilliant chase angle where Benoit overcomes all the odds to win the WWE Championship for the first time ever in his life. Though this feud takes a secondary seat later to the Holly/Lesnar revenge angle, it continues to simmer, as it should according to smart booking. Heyman screws around with Benoit. Brock fears Benoit. Benoit quietly goes about his way trying to defeat the system. As the Rumble approaches, Benoit outwits Heyman by gaining entry into the Rumble along with John Cena. Obviously, he's still going after the title. By logic, he's still going after BROCK'S title, since the chance to win it is what was taken away from him. Heyman screws him over again and makes him #1. Of course, predictably but smartly, he wins the whole thing, setting RR records for longest time in the match and being the first person to enter at 1 and outlast all 29 other men. Now, the way to cap off the feud is to have him challenge a confident and powerful Lesnar (coming off a win over Holly where he ideally reinjured him or even broke his neck again... making Lesnar a vicious monster) who hasn't lost for quite a while. The culmination of this would be Benoit defeating Lesnar at Wrestlemania, fulfilling his lifelong dream and establishing himself as the premier main eventer. Results: - Lesnar doesn't lose heat even though he lost due to the manner in which he lost (via a long, hard-fought match) - Benoit is cemented as a main eventer - You have a very well booked chase feud that lasts a few months but never gets stale - The angle captivates audiences while satisfying what they want. But wait! Suddenly, Benoit is supposed to go to Raw because Vince is orgasming for a Goldberg/Lesnar match to make up for the Goldberg/Austin dream match that can never happen because Bill would give Austin a concussion or something and paralyze him for life, ala Bret Hart (note exagerration). Well, if you insist, Mr. McMahon, because you did build the company and I'm just a stupid unAmerican internet fan who knows nothing. Lets rewind back to the current time. Benoit is fresh off his win at the Rumble. Logically, what does he want to do? Face Lesnar and take his title away from him, of course. That is what this angle that writes itself demands. It's the obvious choice. He wants Lesnar. So instead, on Raw, Benoit shows up out of the blue (sure, mark out moment for some, but this could have been saved for next week) and says he wants to fight Triple H instead. Because after working so hard to get the WWE championship, he's suddenly giving up and going after the World Title instead--a title that he technically has won before (though winning it again isn't really a problem or flaw). Why? It's like running a marathon, and just before you finish, you cut into the crowd and leave to go play a basketball game or something. Wouldn't logic dictate that Benoit continue to go after Lesnar, and that some circumstance out of his control force him onto RAW? After all, Benoit's on the SD! brand. He has the chance to be the best wrestler on SD! in his reach. RAW, theoretically, shouldn't even be on his mind. Yet he voluntarily chooses to fight Triple H. It boggles the mind! Now, if you want Benoit on RAW (to freshen things up, I guess), a MUCH better way would be for Benoit to show up on SD! and demand his shot against Lesnar. Lesnar comes out and cuts the whole heel "I'm not afraid of you (but I really am)" promo. Then Heyman comes out and reaffirms that Benoit will NEVER get a shot at Brock's title so long as Heyman is GM. Why? "Because in the words of Vincent Kennedy McMahon... 'YOU'RE... FIRED!!!'" Heyman and Brock laugh it over as Benoit is pissed. Yep, Chris got screwed big time. THEN, on RAW NEXT WEEK, have Benoit show up out of the blue (still have your markout moment) and announce that since he was fired from SD! but is still an employee of the WWE, he has chosen to join RAW. And since he won the Rumble, he chooses to face Triple H. At the very least, that would make more sense than just choosing to face HHH spontaneously. Benoit wanted Lesnar, just like logic would suggest, but he was screwed, so he's going to do the next best thing. Now, continuing with this, how would Goldberg go to SD!? Well, the following SD!, Heyman and Lesnar are patting each other on the back and sometime during the show, Goldberg shows up illegally and attacks Lesnar. Eventually, he's hauled off. Have Goldberg stalk Lesnar for the next couple of weeks before having him set up a deal with Heyman. If he can win a super stacked gauntlet match (make it any match where Goldberg has to overcome impossible odds to win), then Heyman will sign him onto SD! and grant him a match against Lesnar. Then, either on SD! or at NWO, have Goldberg face FBI, Sean O'Haire (as much as I love him... I personally think that having him job on a PPV is still better than having him languish on Velocity), Matt Morgan, A-Train, Billy Gunn, and finally Big Show in the Gauntlet match. Heyman obviously believes that no one could possibly win under those scenarios. You can even play off of Heyman's ownership of ECW... so he's not really familiar with Goldberg and underestimates him. At NWO, though, Bill DOES win. Voila, he gets the contract and is on SD! for the month before he goes and loses to Lesnar and leaves the company. Meanwhile, on Raw, Bischoff can patch up the storyline hole by saying Goldberg left and violated his contract, so he's basically fired and he won't be paid what he was supposed to be, etc... etc... There you have a perfectly reasonable brand switch that doesn't involve trading (rosters are still technically frozen, plus they should really wait until after all the storylines culminate at WM before starting any trades to freshen things up), and everything makes sense. But I guess the WWE can't have that. Comments? Suggestions? Agree or not? Post feedback please!