Editorials
A Happy Anniversary?
Time flies by, doesnt it? It was one year ago around this time that CM Punk did the shoot promo that was heard all around the world. And that moment is marked one year later by the tremendous Royal Rumble PPV that GCB put up in his thread *applause*. This should be a moment of celebration. We have had a year of the semi-kayfabe era. But it is not. Why? Because the WWE has been as mediocre as it has never been before in the later half of this year. Storylines are ridiculous with no space for explanations, the Divas have been non-existent (with the exception of AJ), debuts of new superstars are photocopies of each other and getting suspended is the latest trend in town (see Jericho and Orton).
Around this time in 2011, CM Punk spoke a few words that shook the wrestling world to its core. He mentioned the grievances of himself and the IWC and became a favorite on the internet. He brought back the attitude into PG and gave us this semi-kayfabe era. He mentioned Paul Heyman, something that was taboo before it happened and he shot down all the McMahons in power: Vince, Stephanie and Triple H. He made use of some dirty words and he chopped down the crème de la crème, John Cena, something that we as Internet fans wanted to see for a long-long time. But along with all this, he made some bold statements that went unrecognized to a certain extent.
He said he was an agent of change. He said he was changing some things in the WWE. The way some people looked at him in the WWE Universe and in the management, the way people booked him, the way people booked Cena, the way people compared those two. And most of all, he said he was bringing back the ICE-CREAM BARS!!
And Ill give it to him, some of those things have been done. CM Punk is now a 2nd top face. He is the WWE champion and has had one of the longer reigns in the past few years and the management has recognized him as a money-drawing, dependable superstar.
But I ask, what has really changed? CM Punk was destined to do all those things. After all, it was just a semi-kayfabe rant that he made a year ago, it was written down for him. Punk made a name for himself. Well and good. But did he really topple Cena off the top? No he didnt. John Cena is still there. He is still the master of the universe. And by no means is he is going to fall off the top of the mountain. He is the cash cow and will continue to do so for eternity, at least it seems so. CM Punk is now a major face but he is still living in the shadows of Cena. He might be the WWE champion but Cena is the WWEs main guy.
Punk defends the WWE title at every pay-per-view and every damn match is a true wrestling fans paradise but then again, he still lives in the shadows of Cena. Punk does all those things but it is Cena who main-events every show, every pay-per-view. And I am not comparing the two, but that is the state of affairs in the WWE. Cena is the MVP while Punk is just a substitute. Cenas place is there while anybody else could take Punks.
And with that, the WWE championships prestige is fallen down so much that it has become an international shame. First, during the times of Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart and Steve Austin and even recently Randy Orton and Batista, championships made stars into superstars. Those wrestlers needed the championship. Now comes a time when championships need wrestlers. Yes, the most prized possession in sports-entertainment as they call the WWE championship has fallen down so much that it needs to be held by John Cena to be prevented from going into obscurity. He is the only guy who can bring it back to the main-event and prevent it from falling in his own shadow and according to the rumors, that is what we will see in the coming months. And the ice-cream bars are nowhere to be seen.
And whilst those two battle it out at the top, the mid-card is like a broken needle. Its missing a point. Santino Marella is the U.S champion and Im perfectly fine with it until he defends it, hell even if he carries it with prestige and brings a slight bit of seriousness in his comedy character. But thats the problem. The WWE doesnt allow him to. The goddamn U.S champion is facing off against a ring announcer in a Tuxedo match at a pay-per-view???? And Cody Rhodes might be a great superstar in line for a major push, but hes doing nothing for the Intercontinental championship that he brought back.
The tag-team and divas division has become non-existent and thats the most frustrating part of it. We get to see thrown-together tag-teams, 5-minute matches involving those teams and 2-minute Diva squashes. Whats the point of all this? Either you give us something you and we care about or you just crumple it all together and throw it in the bin. Dont let it stink under your dirty socks.
Brodus Clay has been a real entertainer with his catchy song and dance but he hasnt done much in the ring. He is either too good for somebody or just too bad (see Big Shows match with him from this past RAW). Antonio Cesaro has just disappeared completely and I dont seem to care about him anymore. Looks like he is destined to be the next Drew McIntyre. Lord Tensai, now just Tensai and next T-Plane too doesnt draw attention, heat, pops and I feel he is too bland for anybodys liking. Ryback, the most promising of the new crop, is being wasted as he has been given the same match every Friday for the past two months. If Randy Orton was the Legend Killer, Ryback is the Jobber Killer and I dont think that is something to be proud of. Come on guys, give us something to cheer about.
The World Heavyweight champion Sheamus I liked when he was that badass heel but right now, hes being forced to fill the void that is between the top faces and the mid-card ones and he really sucks at that. He is just another feel good guy with insignificant microphone skills and I cant get into his character. And it looks like the WWE are building him up to be the next John Cena but for what?! Cena is showing no signs of turning heel and I seriously do not want to see the WWE dominated by two cheesy guys or characters.
And not only the new crop, but the old talents are being wasted as well. Chris Jericho has done nothing significant since his return and he has been on a pay-per-view losing streak ever since arriving back to the squared circle. Randy Orton is not too happy to be the #3 face and recently got suspended meaning he falls further down the ranks and he is a talented guy. The Miz too is being fed to the likes of Brodus Clay just a year after he had that amazing title reign where he beat John Cena in the main-event of WrestleMania and not many do that.
The WWE did a really good job at building up John Laurinaitis as a major heel but just like many storylines in the recent years, the WWE threw up all over it and Big Johnny got fired even before he could do something significant. It took us time to get into Johnny and when we did, the WWE decided to wrap things up. Why? I still do not know.
But amongst those complaints, I have got something positive to write for as well. We have seen new talents emerging, old ones proving their mettle, the old guys coming back and some good in-ring drama. After the Kane-Cena-Ryder-Eve story, the Kane-Punk-Bryan-AJ story has got me interested. They have been doing a fabulous job at keeping me guessing whatll happen next and I commend AJ for doing a fantastic job. Daniel Bryan too is being used right after his 18-second loss at WrestleMania. He is now in the WWE title picture and in one of the better storylines prevailing in the WWE right now. I wrote an article earlier saying Vinnie Mac doesnt believe in Bryan but I guess Vince read that and he found back his senses *LOL*.
Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler have been getting a chance to showcase themselves and they are being used properly and being given chances at the world titles between storylines. But thats just a start. We have got something more to see from these guys in the coming years. Add Barrett, Ryder and Bryan to that group and we already have a well-established team of main-event talent after Cena, Orton and Punk don the roll that Triple H, Jericho and Undertaker play now.
And finally, after I guess 8 years, Brock Lesnar returned to the WWE with Paul Heyman and it looks like hes going to have a major program with Triple H this summer. And though many people would complain the two of them eating up the spotlight but that is good for ratings and for the young guys who can take their own time to reach that it level. Until then, lets have these two and Cena and Punk have the cake.
With all those things that have happened, this year of semi-kayfabe has been a roller-coaster and I have had some things to cheer about a lot (The Rocks WM win, CM Punks current job status, the amazing series of matches between Punk and Bryan, Lesnars return, Kanes masked persona, the return of the angry Big Show and the end of the People Power era) and some things to boo the hell out of (Cena beating Lesnar in the latters first match in the WWE in 8 years, Alberto Del Rio, John Laurinaitis and the World Heavyweight champion Sheamus??).
But it has been a great year for WWE and I as a crazy wrestling fan have enjoyed every bit of it. And though the booking has lacked substance, I know itll be good once SummerSlam gets around and thats not too far is it? Next stop is the 1000th episode of Monday Night RAW and it is sure to be a slobber knocker. Hush-hush. Lets not talk about it too much or the creative might shit on our hopes AGAIN in the name of unpredictability. With that, in the name of People Power goodbye and I hope you had a good read. The next article will probably be the build-up to the grand finale of the Euro 2012 and then the RTWM of GCBs WWE.