Whew, it’s so exciting to be writing these more frequently, let me tell you. And, I got a few e-mails over the past week, regarding my column about “The Man”, Batista. They were great, guys, and I’m incredibly happy to get e-mails. Any comments, questions, opinions, criticism is ALL welcome, so be sure to e-mail me whenever you like. Don’t fret, if I don’t respond immediately. Sometimes I check e-mails, and don’t have time to respond immediately, but I will get back to you. But, I have a quick comment to make. As you know, if you read my column, I was trying to compare Batista to past talent. I said something like he could be the next Rock or the next Austin. But, an X-Factor reader by the name of W.K. told me he isn’t the next Rock or Austin, he is “the first Batista”! WOW! That is brilliant, and I wish I could say I thought of it, but I didn’t. That says so much, and the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s true. Batista is his own kind and his own talent, and if he pulls through like many hope, there will be guys down the line that could be referred to as the next Batista. Let’s hope if they are, it’s a positive thing.
Now that the intro is out of the way, I got plenty to talk about on Raw. Unlike last week, which clearly should have been called “The Batista Show”, this week focused on Batista, Edge, HBK, Triple H, Jericho, and surprise! Kurt Angle. In other words, it was Monday Night Raw, once again. There were a few high points, a few low points, and a few points where I was a tad bored. Before I go on, I must say that WWE is doing a pretty good job with the Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood promos, and I hope to comment on all of them, in my very special X-Factor Wrestlemania Weekend editions, where I hope to do a few columns for Wrestlemania Weekend. I know, a few columns in one weekend? Me? Nah, never. Well, I hope I can, because Wrestlemania is REALLY shaping up to be a big event.
Raw opened with a pretty impressive recap from last week. I love these recaps, and I wish they would do them every week, but it doesn’t seem like they do anymore. They are incredibly well-done. Triple H comes out in ring attire, and I just knew it was going to be someone that Hunter would toss around with ease. Sure enough, it was! But, first, Triple H had to say a few things about what happened last week. I mean it wasn’t THAT big of a deal, right Hunter? … okay, so it was. He is fuming, and he’s about to go so crazy, he may rip that silly looking facial hair off his own face. Maybe that’s what I would do. Seriously, is he auditioning for a western or something? Shave that off, Hunter, and go for the usual goatee thing.
After Hunter’s fit ends, The Blizzard tears through the arena, and sweeps up Triple H, before pulling off an upset win… but not really (I’m in an imaginative mood). The Hurricane swoops in, and is met with kicks, punches, and a pedigree on the steel. After some shaking, Hurricane is helped by some referees. Hunter makes a bold statement, saying if Batista was a third of his size, like The Hurricane, Triple H would pummel him into the ground. AGAIN, not really, but if some guy told me he would make an example of someone, and beat up some little guy that’s half my size, I wouldn’t think too much of it. If Hunter beat the hell out of Big Show like that, MAYBE I would be more scared. Hunter growls and shakes, then walks off, kicking off Raw.
The next part of Raw is the match between Chris Benoit and Muhammed Hassan. I think the match, for the most part, worked pretty well. I have the feeling Hassan may be getting a push for the IC title, but that’s only feeling. Nothing that I’ve read in the rumors section states anyone is in line after Shelton, but Hassan seems like a prime choice. I have to say the ending was pretty bad. I don’t know if Hassan didn’t know Benoit was coming at that time or what, but it looked fairly bad. Nice save in the end to go for a DQ, but it didn’t make Hassan look any better. Too bad. A piece on the next Hall of Fame Inductee aired, and it’s the man himself, Hulk Hogan. Or is it Hollywood Hogan? Whatever he goes by, I’ll be commenting on this on Wrestlemania Weekend. I told you, I have so much to talk about, and it’s going to be a real fun weekend, indeed.
Shelton and Snitsky have been having a mini-Raw feud the past few weeks, and it turns out Snitsky takes a T-Bone Suplex surprisingly well. A big guy like Snitsky looked like a small guy like Mysterio taking that move, and I was impressed. The match? So-so. I mean I like Snitsky as an entertainer, but the big guys are rarely special in the ring. Now that the painfully drawn out feud between Kane and Snitsky is APPARENTLY over, Snitsky is having a tough time finding someone else to feud with. I doubt it will look good to have Shelton lose the IC title after the past few weeks to Snitsky, but anything is possible, I guess. And talk about HUGE news! Roddy Piper is not only going to be at WM21 with the Piper’s Pit, he is going to have Stone Cold Steve Austin on the show!! That is big for me, because I love both guys a lot. Austin brings something special to any WWE event, so it should be a good segment, complete with a Stunner on someone.
Chris Masters: The Masterpiece. Is this a second version of Lex Luger: The Narcissist? I believe so. At least Luger was pretty interesting. This “Masterpiece” thing is nothing but boring. I can’t get into this guy. Maybe it’s all those corny promos for him. Perhaps he looks too smug and arrogant (one should have the right amount for people to “love to hate” them). Heck, it could be that Chris just isn’t all that great to begin with. Whatever the reason, I’m underwhelmed by this guy, and I think he would serve a greater purpose on Smackdown. Right now, we have Hassan who is the undefeated guy. Masters would be better with Smackdown, definitely.
How fun was Batista with The Coach backstage? Imagine, Batista being able to joke around, pretending to be looking around for Hunter. He was great. His in-ring segment with JR was also great. He was a bit hesitant to be talking like that, but he really came off extremely well. He played out their feud very well. He has respect for Hunter, and he proved that, but now it’s time for a new man to take over. Batista wants to be that man. I’m telling you, I was really shocked to hear those “BA-TIS-TA” chants break out multiple times. He really is over prety big right now. I can’t help but be worried. We’ll just hope ALL goes well.
Hunter and Flair come out, and pull off their trademark Evolutionary Sneak Attack, which resulted in Flair running in, only to be hurt pretty bad by Batista. Triple H saw this, and wanted nothing of it. He backed down, and allowed Flair to remain in the ring, to take a Batista Bomb. It would be a crowded slate of babyfaces if Ric Flair turned on Triple H. I really don’t know what will happen there, because right now, Flair and Hunter alone isn’t a very big team. But, if they brought someone else in to Evolution, things could pick up. If Evolution is dead, I don’t see why Flair would stay with Hunter. Then AGAIN, Hunter has rarely been on his own in WWE. If it wasn’t DX, it was the McMahon-Helmsley Regime. If it wasn’t the Regime, it was Evolution. Only a few occasions do I recall Triple H being on his own, once he got into DX. Of course, we’ll disregard that stage where he was Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and playing a pretentious ol’ fop.
Everyone wants to make in impact in the next three parts of Raw. First, Jericho takes care of Maven, only to announce he wants to have a six-man ladder match at WM21. How is this going to work? It will probably be a long one to have six men in the match. Just one is hard enough to win, since as soon as you start climbing, you’ll be met with your opponent ready to toss you and the ladder down to the ground. I can’t wait to hear the other 5 participants. Christy Hemme wants to make an impact in TNA! No no, wait… my bad. She wants to be in Playboy. My bad. Trish comes out, and does a little impact-making of her own, and spray paints the words “Slut” onto Christy’s back, after knocking her down. For NO reason whatsoever, Superstar Billy Graham is backstage, giving advice to Orton to follow his heart, and do a damn fine job at WM21. Well, ANYONE could have told Randy this. Why Billy Graham? It’s etched in stone that Orton and Taker will face off at WM21. Another interesting match idea.
Edge wants to have more attention. He wants more recognition. Hey, Edge! You got it. I’ve been reading the rumors, and I’ll comment on them in a little bit. First off, what a great match. I was scared that WWE would pair these two off at WM21 for ANOTHER confrontation, but luckily, this seems to be the last time these two will meet… for now. The Street Fight was amazing, even if we have a blatant blade job by HBK. Did you catch the special message to a certain organization in the crowd? I won’t comment on it. The match ends with an attack by… KURT ANGLE! He beats down HBK, and accepts his offer for a match. ANOTHER interesting match idea, that I am positive will deliver.
Now, the rumor of the week, that is pretty much all but 100% confirmed: an affair between Edge (Adam Copeland) and Lita (Amy Dumas). Wow, talk about my respect going way down for these two. I feel incredibly bad for Matt Hardy. I can only imagine the torment and frustration he is facing, especially now that he must return to Raw soon, with Edge on the same show, and eventually Lita returning there as well. If and when all three are on the same show, I can pretty much tell you one of them will probably leave WWE or head over to Smackdown by their own demands.
You know, I never really bought into a lot of these celebrity-style marriages/relationships. When Brad and Jennifer broke up, I didn’t really care. Sure, it was a shock, but it didn’t have a profound impact on me. Same with another recent split between Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Sure, it is a huge shock to see Denise divorce Charlie, when she just had a baby a year ago, and now is pregnant again. But, you could see the love between Matt and Lita. These two seemed to have “it”. So, I was taken aback by this news story. Is it confirmed? Seems that way, doesn’t it? Well, if it’s true, I hope you can overcome this all, Matt. I have a lot of sympathy for him, and I hope it turns out well for him, at least, in the end. As for Edge and Lita… I don’t know, really. Hate to wish anything bad on someone, so I’ll stick with hoping Matt will be able to overcome it.
Well, that’s all for this week on The X-Factor. How about I don’t make an appointment for everyone this week? Sure, I doubt anyone actually looks forward to this, but even if there’s one, I let ‘em down each week with my late columns. So, I’ll be back next week. When? Hopefully sooner than later. I got so much to talk about leading up to Wrestlemania, so let’s hope I get these columns out of the way early, and maybe have a weekend edition next week. Until that time, I am Mr. X signing off for this week, in hopes of a snowstorm tomorrow. None forecast, but if my X-aholics hope with me, maybe it will happen! Buh-bye!
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