|
|
|
Badseed's Bottomline #314: Writing for Charlie Haas |
» Reported by Jon Minners of WrestleView.com
» On Saturday, January 1, 2005 at 11:18 PM EST
Badseed’s Bottomline
Hey yo! This is a New Year and I am trying to get it started right. Girls are trifling and they have been occupying a lot of my time. I went from one woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, to several hotties that I didn’t know what the hell I wanted from. So, I have neglected everything in my life and wrestling took a backseat. I just didn’t really know what to write about. The last WWE PPV was horrible. I have yet to see any of the TNA PPVs and I have actually replaced Smackdown for the OC, because I just can’t stand what is going on with Smackdown. I think Raw is the only show I still watch religiously and I just am not into it as much as I used to be where I don’t want to write about it anymore like I used to. So I decided I needed to change the column just a bit. Starting with this issue, I make suggestions like I used to on how to write for the various characters in the WWE. This week’s focus is Charlie Haas:
Charlie Haas was a promising wrestler who seemed to be going places when the WWE brought him in with Shelton Benjamin to form the exciting tag-team under Kurt Angle’s tutelage. At this time, Smackdown was the hottest show on television and the appearance of two more wrestlers who could go in the ring gave fans something more exciting to watch in addition to Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, Chavo Guerrero, Edge and Rey Mysterio, Jr. However, in the WWE’s never ending quest to ruin Smackdown and make it an inferior show due to some strange desire to force a real competition between the brands, they decided to get rid of all the good wrestlers on Smackdown and just leave a handful to keep the show afloat. Shelton Benjamin was brought over to Raw and he is a top athlete who got an immediate victory over HHH to cement his spot on the top of the roster. The HHH vs. Shelton Benjamin feud, if done right, could be the Sting vs. Ric Flair feud of the new millennium. However, Benjamin’s rise to the top had its faults, as Charlie Haas was left behind.
A great tag-team champion, the WWE did not have any idea what to do with Charlie Haas and put him into a tag-team with Rico and in a strange way, it worked, but just like WCW did not really want to see the Hollywood Blondes work, the WWE, in their infinite wisdom, got rid of Rico and left Haas by himself, only this time saddled with the usually lame valet-girlfriend storyline. So horrible was this storyline that even after it was revealed that he had an affair with Dawn Marie and broke off the engagement with Jackie, Smackdown never made the guy a heel; they never did anything with his character after that; just having him shake the hand of Daniel Puder in the locker room. Charlie Haas has been officially lost in the shuffle, placed in a tag-team with Hardcore Holly that isn’t really a bad team at all, but one that will do nothing for Haas’ career. The WWE is dropping the ball with this kid and before Creative can get rid of Haas with the usual “Creative has nothing for you” line that they like to throw around, I have two ideas that could work for Haas.
Over on the Smackdown side of things, they could take advantage of Haas’ past with Kurt Angle. Angered over Benjamin’s continued dominance on Raw, Haas could go to Angle and ask him for help in getting back in the spotlight. This could lead to Angle offering Haas a spot in his stable, but taking advantage of him, over time leading to Haas fighting back and entering into a feud with Jindrak, Reigns and Angle that would lead to a passing the torch type of match with Haas getting a big victory over his former mentor and cementing a spot on the Smackdown roster as a legitimate top-tier wrestler. Angle could continue the feud and eventually Haas can earn the respect of his former mentor. Throughout the whole feud, the WWE can highlight Haas rise in the ranks of Smackdown’s roster, discussing how he entered the ranks with his brother and pointing out how he continues to wrestle each match for his brother, who passed away several years ago. They could make Haas’ emotional story as poignant as Benjamin’s tragic story growing up. Haas would become an inspirational wrestler, much in the way Benoit was, and even after his feud with Angle, they could continue to use this type of angle as he realizes his goal for singles’ gold with a victory for the U.S. Championship, making the U.S. title have some more meaning, other than the prop it has become for Cena to spin around. Haas could move on from there or stay in the U.S. title hunt, but his worth to the Smackdown roster would mean a whole lot more.
Now, here is the other possibility. We can have Haas run an Angle with Kurt Angle and have Haas look important to Smackdown just to make it a big loss for the brand when Raw picks him up in the draft after Wrestlemania. This makes a lot of sense to me for a lot of reasons. I think they could run an excellent program between Haas and Benjamin. You have Haas get drafted to Raw and the next week when Benjamin is attacked by HHH, Flair and maybe Edge, you have Haas come down and make the big save, chasing out Evolution leading to an announcement that HHH (who will take a break from the top after Batista wins the title) and Edge will battle the World’s Greatest Tag Team at the next PPV. During the next few weeks, you see Benjamin and Haas reform their team and win some matches, but you see Benjamin talk about his singles aspirations and how he wants to win back the IC title (I figure he won’t hold onto it for that long, so by then, he will be a former champ.) During the PPV match, Haas turns on Benjamin, helping HHH and Edge get the win. The next night on Raw, Haas is introduced as the fourth member of Evolution and he gets mic time, attacking Benjamin for stealing the spotlight he deserved. This will set up a nice feud for some time. We will see some great matches with Benjamin and Haas, but we will see some serious showdowns between Batista, Orton, Benoit and Benjamin against Evolution. It will be the feud of the year with other players getting involved. If Heyman was running Raw, feuds would last so much longer and have so much more meaning. It’s a shame, because a Haas vs. Benjamin feud would be tailor made for Heyman’s genius.
Anyways, that’s what I got for Haas. I don’t know who I will write for next, but it will be cool, nonetheless. Here are some random thoughts for you all.
I like the Arab vs. America thing, because it makes sense and it could get headlines. It is true. This guy Sabah that used to own a store right next to the Carvel I worked at, lost so much business because of 9/11 and he did nothing wrong. Long before the war, he used to tell me how he couldn’t stand bigotry and how he loved all people and there he was being treated like garbage because he was an Arab in America. I was at work the other day listening to some girl go off on all Arabs, calling them animals for what they have done to this country and she refused to believe that not all of them are the same. I think a really good storyline could be created for this duo that would make them faces in the long run and thus let the WWE be the better person and show us that not all Arab Americans are the enemy, but right now, the duo is making sense in what they say and that is the harsh reality of this world. If you can’t stand hearing the truth, turn off your television set or change the channel.
Gene Snitsky is the greatest wrestler on Raw. He just makes my day. When wrestling gets all serious, they put him into the picture and I just have to laugh. That’s why the whole Lita angle was never that bad, because it was so over the top. They just don’t get ya Vince.
I miss Stephanie McMahon on television. I think she should rejoin HHH. We need to see her get involved again with the women of Raw.
The WWE really dropped the ball with Paul Heyman. I mean, you would think that if he could make them money and get them ratings, that it wouldn’t matter, but Stephanie McMahon’s ego is hurt, so they get rid of him. I hope he leaves the WWE and goes to TNA. He would really help them out. Maybe he could start his own company again and do it right. And since when did Vince McMahon cow tow to anyone, even his own daughter. What a p***y.
I saw the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD and I thought it was great, but I thought it was slightly choppy at points. They just glossed over some things, like the situation with the FTW belt and Tazz’s quest for the title. I would like it if this was just the groundwork for more elaborate DVD releases in the future. I would love them to make DVDs based on key points in ECW’s history like Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer or Tazz.
And that’s the bottomline cause Badseed said so. Peace.
Back To WrestleView.com
|
|
|
