It's All A Work Posted by Matt Green
on 04/01/2007
We are mere hours from the biggest wrestling show of the year and it throws everything WWE has done since the Royal Rumble from their main events to the opener into sharp reflection. Every wrestling fan out there has an opinion on the show whether their going to order it or not, whether their favorite wrestler is main eventing or failed to get on the show. Tempers get raised and all hell breaks loose with people demanding WWE to recognize the technical great of Chris Benoit or the amazing antics of Paul London & Brian Kendrick as opposed to featuring Ultimate Warrior wannabes like Dave Batista or the seemingly universally hated by anyone who has a 'clue' John Cena. Have WWE got it wrong? Should Shawn Michaels be facing Chris Benoit instead of John Cena? Should Paul London & Brian Kendrick be going crazy in a TLC match against the Hardys? Anyone can book a fantasy and I'm by no means against thinking up creative ideas, but let's just remember: it's all a work!
If this business came down to who was the best, I'm sure Chris Benoit would be on the top of most shows. If this business came down who was the most artistically graceful, I'm sure Paul London & Brian Kendrick would be the biggest drawing tag team since the Midnight Express. Unfortunately, WWE has a business plan and the long & the short of it is to make money. You can examine WrestleMania from every angle whether it is Cena versus Michaels, Batista versus The Undertaker, or The Battle of the Billionaires; every one of those matches will put butts in seats and will end up being the most successful WrestleMania domestically since WrestleMania X-Seven.
Donald Trump may be the most nauseating human being I've ever laid my eyes on in my life, but it's been a long old while since WWE has gotten the potentially money spinning press his involvement has garnered. As of Tuesday night, it was already the highest grossing gate in North American wrestling history topping the $5,000,000 USD mark and was a mere (a word I use with a lot of latitude) $2,000,000 USD from topping the gate that Antonio Inoki and Don Frye drew in 1998 for Inoki's retirement show. Some people may be naive as they put this down as due to Shawn Michaels' renewed zest for being the best wrestler on the planet, which has no doubt contributed. But it's Donald Trump and Vince McMahon on CNN. Shawn Michaels superkicking John Cena on Monday was the pinnacle of the masterful build up for the most hotly anticipated WWE World Title match since The Rock versus Steve Austin six years ago. However, I once again must emphasize its Donald Trump and Vince McMahon on Yahoo top stories.
People get caught up in the wacky angles that Vince McMahon has produced since he lost his mind and went crazy with the XFL, C-Rate movies, and challenging God. They see Trump's involvement as another idiotic stunt to try and be controversial and a step away from traditional professional wrestling values. If the vast majority of people took notice, this show is possibly the most traditionally booked wrasslin' show WWE has booked since Survivor Series 1997. Donald Trump thought Vince McMahon was being a dick and Donald Trump called him out on it. They created seeds of dissension between Shawn Michaels & John Cena and teased a swerve that Cena would turn on Michaels, but delivered on Michaels being Michaels and turning on anyone who ever had his back.
Being true to those traditional pro wrestling values, McMahon has used a hot angle to build on a match that otherwise in the grand scheme of things would have little heat: Umaga versus Bobby Lashley. McMahon being the smart man that he is realized no-one would want to see two aging men who were never trained as pro wrestlers' slug it out to shave one another's head. They've become the classic pro wrestling managers and given the stage to two athletic hosses that have the potential to have a brutal hard hitting match. McMahon can still be a dick on the outside of the ring and take bumps for Lashley or have Trump chase an overzealous McMahon off.
As if this wasn't enough, to prove McMahon's resourcefulness (as if it needed to be proven), he pulls out a trump (no pun intended) card in Steve Austin to 'mediate' on this multi-faceted war when the spotlight is on him. This not only draws the huge return reaction, but builds on the long standing legacy of the hottest feud of the attitude era. Austin's return was met with the fanfare in the ballpark that Hogan's return five years ago received. Perhaps even more anticipation greets Austin's returns nowadays because he has been of television for so long and we never really got a goodbye match that fittingly capped such an illustrious career.
If I had to give a straight answer and my opinion mattered in the grand scheme of the wrestling business, I would prefer to have Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels main event WrestleMania. However, WWE have given us two compelling different feuds filled with hate and competitively driven with fantastic angles & brilliant promos. As wrestling fans, I don't think anyone can ask any more than this. The best North Americans matches are never the hour classics or the awe inspiring cruiserweight ones. I fondly remember the hate filled battles between Terry Funk and Ric Flair. Jealousy was the catalyst for the brotherly rivalry between Bret and Owen Hart, something which innumerable people can connect with. Jealous and loathing was also the contributing factor for the young punk badass Steve Austin against the established veteran Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, ten years ago.
One emotion can spawn a tapestry of color and WWE have given us two beautifully crafted tapestries for WrestleMania this year built with hatred, passion, & jealously and has once again proved that it's not always the best wrestlers that create the most enjoyable stories. If this business was real, it would be noticeably different, but Vince McMahon has worked a situation to draw upwards of $5,000,000 and he did it his way. People hate him with all the will in the world and he knows it and he turned it to his advantage almost ten years on from Montreal the biggest industry changing decisions ever. Love what he's done, hate what he's done; you can't knock success and just remember next time you're ready to whine about Chris Benoit wrestling MVP or Paul London & Brian Kendrick not being on WrestleMania, it's all a work! As long as you have one emotion between the two or four characters in a match, you can create a tapestry as rich as the one in Bayeux.
Quote Of The Month
Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules, and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence; in other words, it is war minus the shooting.
George Orwell - "The Sporting Spirit"
Any feedback you may have about the column can be sent to mattgreeniow@hotmail.com or you can contact me on MSN or AIM.
MSN: mattgreeniow@hotmail.com
AIM: mattgreeniow
Click here to let us know what you thought about this column on TWV's official discussion forums!
