Reality From Ringside #82
September 20, 2010
By: Doug Lackey of Wrestleview.com
WWE Night of Champions 2010: The Hangover
Looking back at all of my past pay-per-view hangovers, I usually start them off with a typical synopsis of what I thought about the show as a whole. As I’m sure most of you have gotten accustomed to though, that’s not the meat and potatoes of this column; it is to answer the questions we are left with following said pay-per-view.
After last night’s WWE Night of Champions, we are left with A LOT of questions. There is a very blatant pattern embedded in these questions and it may show how unimaginative and uncreative I can become… very TNA World Title program-like (“I can’t think of s#!t, let’s just make a mock ranking system and let that fuel our programs for the next 6 months”).
While I will admit my mistakes, I believe this kind of mistake will lead to the most interactive of results. I need your help in trying to figure out these answers. Night of Champions seemed to be all about finality. Programs that had been fostered for over 2 months, some for only a handful of weeks, all of them ending with a very convincing resolution. Clean wins aplenty, there were hardly any loose ends to be seen.
And so, for your consideration, I present the questions requiring answers…
Dolph Ziggler retains the Intercontinental Title over Kofi Kingston. What now?
It certainly feels like this was match #287 in a program that should have only lasted one month. It is nice to have Vickie Guerrero on-screen and out-of-the-speakers to numb the pain of attempting to comprehend Kingston’s offense.
In Indiana, my grandfather raised horses for show and regularly competed at the state fair. For 5 straight years, he won ‘Best in Show’. I imagine he could have won twice that many if he had shown videos of Kofi’s spritely cantor and whimsical trots to his specimens. Anyway, back to the task at hand, playing fantasy booker…
Where does Kofi go? Simple, Superstars.
Who should be pushed into contention for Ziggler’s Intercontinental strap? While a spot like this would be perfect for someone like Matt Hardy, he’s too busy pouting about not winning more fake belts on social networks and getting thousands of people to agree with him whilst tending their fake farms and pretend mafia families.
Christian? No. Unfortunate for Ziggler but very fortunate for us, he is embroiled in a slowly-percolating feud with Alberto Del Rio (I demand this match be on PPV. Make people pay to see this brilliance).
The only logical choices currently, barring any kind of Smackdown-Raw roster changes, are Kaval and Chris Masters. It is definitely too soon for Kaval to win any title. While Daniel Danielson has already gotten one, his program with The Miz had been brewing since March and people were already accustomed to him. Kaval is still very new to the regular viewers’ eyes and needs time. However, putting him in a program with Ziggler would be very refreshing.
Masters-Ziggler seems to be the easiest to put together but still farfetched to place the title on Masters. A reintroduction is still required of his character but not with the potential depth of explanation needed for Kaval’s. The best way to look at this: Which ever character would be the easiest to put over and explain to the viewing audience will get the Intercontinental program.
Big Show defeats CM Punk. What now?
This has been a great program; I don’t care what anyone says. Straight Edge Society involvement or not, seeing Punk spout his rhetoric without a care in the world while the jolly giant knocks him out is a welcome deviation from the tried and true wrestling feuds.
The bigger question now is what do you do with both of these great characters?
With Big Show’s new movie coming out soon, I would imagine he might need some time off for promoting and marketing. Giving him some time off to go on national television and do some cross-media promoting is a no-brainer. Take advantage of it.
For CM Punk, inserting him into the World Heavyweight Title picture seems a bit of a stretch. Kane-Undertaker is right now fine as is; inserting him would seem very out of place. For the time being, he seems to be stuck in purgatory like many other performers from the aftermath of this PPV.
Of all the performers who could benefit from a cross-brand trade of some kind before Smackdown’s debut on The SyFy Network, CM Punk looks to be the one who could the most.
Daniel Bryan defeats The Miz to become the new United States Champion. What now?
The streamers have yet to be picked up off the floor from this great contest. While I do stereotype the independent wrestling fans on a regular basis, I cannot stereotype this match. This was a great match and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
What needs to be understood about my opinions of Daniel Danielson though is… I only know what WWE has given to me. I’m not your typical member of the wrestling media. I have never seen Danielson’s matches in Ring of Honor. I have never scoured YouTube to find clips of him wrestling. The only match I have ever seen of Danielson was from PWG in a comedic match against Kenny Omega (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
But the question remains after the Cheetoh-munching, Mountain Dew-chugging, virginal masses have collectively climaxed, what do they do with The Miz and Danielson now?
For The Miz it’s academic: Trot him out on television for more of his fantastic interviews/segments, put him in occasional matches to refresh everyone’s memory of him, and then have him cash in ‘Money in the Bank’ at Hell in a Cell or beyond. The Miz is one of those characters that you do not need to put in a program for a very good reason… you want people to sort-of forget why he’s important in the first place before he cashes in. Remember how people were in shock when Edge cashed in his first Money in the Bank? That’s what WWE Creative is looking for.
For Danielson, there may not be a need to put him in a fantastically drawn out program for the time being. Time is still needed to establish Daniel Danielson’s character, as insane as it may sounds. Have him defend his title on occasion on television, insert him into random matches on both Raw and Superstars; give the audience more time to latch onto the character and build the momentum.
Kane retains the World Heavyweight Title against Undertaker. What now?
Hell in a Cell rematch, enough said. The bigger question: What do you do after that? Hell if I know, maybe you could help me with that.
Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre are the new Tag Team champions. What now?
Of all the complaints I hear from the ‘internet wrestling community’ (that I have somehow become a part of through my association with Wrestleview) regarding WWE, they revolve around the tag team component.
I read so many gripes and complaints about how the tag team division is non-existent and shown very little to no importance. Does anyone remember last year’s champions? Chris Jericho and Big Show? They were on television on a weekly basis at least, reminding everyone of how great they were. After that, Degeneration-X’s Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Following them, Big Show and The Miz.
The point of this is clear; the reason for WWE’s tag team awareness is not about the quantity of competition but the personalities of the performers holding the titles. There were occasional gaps of 2 weeks long where The Hart Dynasty was never shown on WWE television. No attention was given to them at all as champions because… quite frankly… and with much of the agreement of said ‘internet wrestling community’… they stunk.
Now that we have actual characters and personalities holding the titles, will they revert back to their glory from last year? Probably not. But it will certainly be more interesting seeing McIntyre walk to the ring with a horrible disposition with Rhodes in tow checking his eyebrows on the digital mirror than seeing three people prance down the ramp where the only reason you should react is because of their familial relations within the industry.
Randy Orton is the new WWE Champion. What now?
Orton-Sheamus, Hell in a Cell, enough said. For a side dish, you also have Barrett-Cena that could be put in the same stipulation match.
The bigger questions are what happen to Chris Jericho and Edge?
Jericho is taking time off, retiring, quitting, or finding a large rock to crawl under with his rock band according to all of the wrestling news websites and people who agree with anything fed to them. If he isn’t, then he can do whatever the hell he wants. It’s not like anyone is going to forget who he is.
Edge is a different case though. Remember what I said about Smackdown-Raw trades before the SyFy debut? (Nudge Nudge Wink Wink)
Whatcha’ think? Agree? Disagree? Entertain me! I would really like to make this an interesting segment on my accompanying podcast… I do have one, you know (cheap plug).
Until next time, mouth-breathers!
Annoy me with your assumptions and affronts… adore me with your adulations and acknowledgements: doug@wrestleview.com.
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