A new week, a new editorial, and a new Raw to talk about! Wow, they sure are pumping up Wrestlemania? I think this is the first time where I am feeling it for more than the two main events for both shows. I’m dying to see Angle and HBK step into the ring, I’m anxious to see how they pull off Taker and Orton. Heck, you could say I’m awaiting the match between Christy and Trish! But, only because we can only see Trish vs. Victoria, Trish vs. Molly vs. Victoria, and even Victoria vs. Molly so many times. Ouch, Vince lost a lot with firing Jazz, Gail Kim and Nidia. So, I have a lot of hope that Christy can make a jump from “Eye Candy Diva” to “Wrestling Diva”. Maybe she’ll pull it off, and maybe she’ll sink like a stone.
But, the diva stuff has been talked about to death by me. I don’t need to go off on that tangent again, or I’ll bore all three people who read this, one of which is me. This week, we visited North Carolina on Raw, and what a show it was. The main event was great for the NC crowd, because homeboy Ric Flair was competing against Batista. The biggest shock of all? Well, I’ll talk more about that later. I also will not “gossip” too much about Lita and Edge this week. I got that off my chest last week, and there’s little else to say.
And you thought Kerry flip-flopped! Trying something a TAD different for this week. I find sometimes my columns are long, jumbled messes, and I think it would be better to give each section of my columns a little title. Any thoughts or ideas on how to improve my columns? Heck, why don’t you e-mail me, and help me out? Anyway, it looks like Randy Orton is on the verge of flipping back to a heel role, at the very least for Wrestlemania 21. You can tell even 10% of crowd noise were boos going into the segment, but once Orton dropped the bombshell on the 11 people who didn’t already know who he would face at Wrestlemania, that number went up to around 65-80%.
Now, I can see another turn in Orton’s immediate future, but then they go and have him RKO Eric Bischoff. Clearly, WWE is pushing Bischoff in a more babyface direction, but the crowds are NOT buying it at all. It’s sad, because I would like Bischoff to get some cheers. I’ve liked him since he started as General Manager, and I just think a change of pace would be nice. But, if the fans don’t take to it, a face push may not last, and they’ll end up making him a heel GM again, which is fine. But like I said, a new change of pace is more than welcome.
BACK to the Orton speech. I don’t see how this will benefit either wrestler at all. If Taker wins, he puts down Orton past where he already is, and makes him looker weaker than he did before. If Orton wins, this not only ends Undertaker’s Wrestlemania record, but it would be a poor way for Taker to spend his possible last Wrestlemania, if he does indeed retire sooner than Wrestlemania 22. It’s a tough call, and the only real benefit of this match is that it most likely will make Orton a heel, IF that is what WWE wants. But, who really knows what WWE wants anymore?
Chris Masters: The Narcissist… I mean, The Masterpiece You remember that, right? Oh, I know you old school fans remember when Lex Luger debuted in the WWE (WWF) as Lex Luger: The Narcissist. Nice job on WWE’s part to emulate a boring gimmick that only a few people will remember. Hey, maybe they can start bringing in some really big guys like Sycho Sid (Sid Vicious, Sid Justice), as these big, monstrous guys, with little talent and no personalities. One of them could interfere in an angle involving Kane and Lita, and their baby! Or they could bring in an Australian who plays an ex-criminal, who may or may not have a short fuse. Heck, why doesn’t WWE just bring back someone like Viscera? I should be working for WWE!
Masters, in his two outings in the ring on Raw, has everything to prove to me. I don’t see dollar signs when I see Masters, I don’t see longetivity. Hell, I don’t even see talent. I see someone else WWE has decided to throw into the ring, with an inflated gimmick, who will stand strong as undefeated, because he can pummel the likes of Steven Richards, The Hurricane and Maven, before getting into a feud with a mid-carder like Chris Jericho, who will end up putting Masters over, and just when you think this guy is going for the World Title, his TV airtime will be reduced to Sunday Night Heat matches. But, not the main events, just a match with some jobber. Then he’ll be sent back to OVW, where he’ll train a bit more, come back as a new talent, and we’ll forget there ever was such a “masterpiece”. Or, they’ll just forget he works for the company, and release him in a year or two.
Christy Hemme: WWE Women’s Champion? Or Women’s CHUMPion? Oh, I hurt me. So clever. Can you remember when WWE had real divas? Me neither. But, like I said, I won’t get into that tired, stale conversation again. Let’s look at the bright side of this: there is a new, fresh face in WWE called Christy Hemme, who still has the smell of smoke from Hugh Hefner's pipe on her, and she is on her way to Wrestlemania to defeat Trish Stratus for the Women’s Title. Trish has it all worked out, though. She calls Christy a slut every work, belittling her and hurting the Diva’s precious feelings, to the point that she walks into the ring at Wrestlemania, and just collapses to the mat, to have Trish pin her, 1… 2… 3! But WAIT! It looks as though the eye candy has brought in a secret weapon. How will Trish ever survive, with Christy’s new trainer… Lita!! Hilarity most definitely will ensue.
Sarcastic as I can be, Christy still has all the hope in the world from me to become a wrestler, who can carry out some real matches. Will she accomplish her goal, and make this Canadian happy? The odds are stacked against her. Heck, if I was a betting man, I would say that her wrestling skills are minimal, and will always be minimal. But, I really hope to be wrong. I also hope she doesn’t waltz into Wrestlemania as the eye candy diva, win the title, and make a COMPLETE mockery of the Women’s title, by defending it against the pure talent of women like Maria and Joy Giovanni in Bra and Panties matches. I can see that happening. Did you see that little mark last week on the Women’s Title? That is the title’s last bit of dignity. Let’s hope it doesn’t get washed away completely.
Where’s the money for my bank? So, the six man ladder match has been turned into a “Money in the Bank” match, where the winner can face the World Title champion at any time they wish, for 12 months. Knowing WWE, come June they’ll forget about this, and we won’t hear about it again. More important things have been forgotten, you know. I miss my Katie Vick. Katie, I hardly knew ye.
The six participants in this ladder match are Jericho, Edge, Christian, Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, and Kane. Was anyone else DYING to see Matt Hardy as the sixth man in this match? I know I was. It would have been an interesting night at Wrestlemania. Anyway, we all know Ladder matches equal fun matches to watch, bad matches to partake in. But, I am worried this is just WWE’s way to include the six main mid-card guys, just for the hell of it, in one match. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho are lost lately, without a solid feud or angle that lasts more than three weeks. These two both deserve more, and personally, I would like one of them to be traded to Smackdown, if we have another Draft Lottery after Wrestlemania. Edge and Christian have the high hopes of being World Title Champion some day, but they can rarely catch a break. Edge seems to be the go-to guy, if WWE wants someone to be in a World Title match, but just to put the champion (Triple H) over (Elimination Chamber, triple threat with Hunter and Benoit, against Triple H in Japan), while Christian does the same for the IC Title (enough with the matches against Shelton).
Kane had a LONG, drawn-out feud with Gene Snitsky, and it seemed Kane was still there, feuding with Snitsky even when he was out of action for a few months. It all ended a few weeks ago, and Kane emerged victorious, and with a brand new Babyface Badge, that he wears proudly and prominently. But, aside from a match with Simon Dean, I can’t recall much that Kane has done, and I think it’s a mistake to waste him away. Maybe some new blood from Smackdown? I think so. As for Shelton Benjamin, he’s luckily keeping the IC Title, but in the time (seemingly forever) that he has held the IC title, he has only really beat Christian and Gene Snitsky. This guy should be getting new, exciting matches and feuds every week, but it hasn’t happened. Now, he’s lumped in with five other guys, and this means there won’t even be an IC title match at Wrestlemania. How sad. But, when these six guys come together, it should make for an awesome match.
I’ll be as good as you in four weeks, it’s true it’s true Wow, Kurt Angle plans to accomplish EVERYTHING HBK has accomplished, in a short four week span? I’m impressed Kurt. I did not tune in to Smackdown this week, after I read the spoilers and saw nothing of interest to watch on the show, but all that happened was Angle had a ladder match with some nobody, and didn’t even use the damn ladder. Wow, impressive. Next week, he is going to beat Marty Jannetty, former Rocker and current jobber. We all know that Angle is going to beat Marty, but why? I would love to see Marty win, but he still has two weeks to accomplish everything that HBK did, so I doubt Marty will win, and he’ll probably fade back into the indy circuit.
This raises an interesting question: What will Angle do in the remaining two weeks that matches what HBK has done? Will he screw Bret Hart out of the WWE Title? Perhaps Kurt will win a Royal Rumble, eliminating Diesel, and then nearly strip for the crowd. Will he resurrect Degeneration-X for one week only? How about he retires for a few years, and comes back in a match at Summerslam against Triple H? Really, what else can Kurt Angle do, that will make him look good? Week one doesn’t look good, and I can’t imagine making Marty Jannetty tap after two minutes will make him look any stronger. We’ll wait and see, I guess.
What do you mean Batista wasn’t booed in Flair Country? That was big. Batista wasn’t even booed when he beat Ric Flair. How? How did that happen? This is all the more reason to think Batista is the real deal, but I still fear what may or may not happen to the ex-Evolution’s Animal. As for the match, picture Batista’s typical squash matches and Ric Flair’s typical Ric Flair matches, combine them, and have Batista win it. That was the match. Both great, talented guys (I’ve been reading Ric Flair’s book, can you tell by that compliment to Ric?), with possibilities of a great, talented match, but just a plain, mediocre match, mainly to cater to Batista’s fans and Flair’s fans. Now, this would be a great way for Orton and Taker to have a match. Both cheered, both putting on a good match, and the winner getting even more cheers! But, I sense Orton will be met with boos. Lots of boos at Wrestlemania.
And now, presenting a brand new edition to The X-Factor…
The MVP of the Week (unofficial name) I feel that I should reward someone everyweek for their work in WWE, whether it’s a wrestler, an announcer, a guest, or in this week’s case, a General Manager. The MVP of the week is Eric Bischoff. Appearing in a number of segments on Raw this week, Eric just seemed to be doing his job. But, when he stared down The Game and took away the sledge hammer, that was GOLDEN Bischoff. Unfortunately, that still went over the head of the crowd, and there was barely one guy cheering when Eric did this. Too bad. An aggressive Eric Bischoff is what Raw needs, but an aggressive babyface GM. If only the crowd could accept Bischoff.
Well, that is my column for the week. There were some BIG changes I decided to make this week, and I want your feedback. My columns usually consisted of big, jumbled messes, as I stated earlier, and it was usually harder to read than a page full of calculus homework. So, I’ve made these changes (in case you’re a first time reader): first of all, each topic I touch on starts with an unclever opening line, that may or may not pertain to the topic I am about to discuss. This breaks the column down into sections that are clearly more reading-friendly. The second change is that I stick with one topic at a time, covering four to six topics in each column (at least when I’m discussing Raw or Smackdown), rather than talk about everytime something new graces my television screen. And finally, I’ve added the MVP of the week, which I like myself, but it may seem too… I don’t know… lame. I’m really trying to make a relatively good column even better, and I need your help. If you like this new direction for The X-Factor, let me know! If you like the old way, let me know. If you have your own suggestions, and don’t mind a Candian taking the idea and fitting it into his column, then LET ME KNOW. E-mail me at carl_macqueen@ns.sympatico.ca and give me some feedback, I can use it.
That is all for this week, and I hope I can squeeze in a special edition this week, seeing as how I don’t have school for the entire week (March Break rocks). Until next time, I’m Mr. X saying keep watching the skiis… I mean skies. Buh-bye!
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