Hey all, greetings from Chennai! And welcome to The Hot Topic, from a very hot room, in a very hot country!!! India so far is great, I have done a gig here, Rode an Elephant, sprained my ankle badly… you name it…
First off, apologies for the lack of columns in recent weeks, there is a distinct lack of oppurtunity for me to watch any wrestling over here and when I am it’s delayed by a good 2 weeks… But a few things have happened that I think it’s worth talking about…
First off, Jeff Hardy… his resigning with WWE is not really a shocker, it’s been pretty much inevitable since the day he left… What is interesting is where it goes from here… There are all kinds of possible combinations, The Hardyz hit Smackdown and rule the tag divisions… Or they go on seperate brands…
There are two options which interest me and I think we might see… First off is that the Hardyz join DX…
With Shawn needing surgery and time away, DX is seemingly dead… much rumor has been made about a 3rd man for the team, why not 2… The Hardyz fit the DX bill perfectly, they can work in tandem, or with Trips or as singles but within the framework of DX… They have the attitude for DX… indeed the marketing potential in D-Xtreme (my idea incase it does happen WWE lol)is huge… DX survived and evolved the first time through revamping itself into a stable with X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws…
It also gives an interesting way for WWE to get Edge into the feud with Trips by the back door, or even Matt for the title, which EVERYONE still wants to see…Indeed if Lita is to leave WWE as rumored, what better for her last act than to screw Edge in favour of Matt for the title… Redemption? Guaranteed…
The Hardyz would help reinvigorate DX, and by adding a Diva (Ashley would be my pick) you have a new DX that can last for a good while, and if the wildy innacurate NWO rumors did come true…there is suddenly a dynamite feud…
The 2nd idea is for the Hardyz to reunite on Smackdown, while also persuing singles careers…
The Smackdown main event picture is so weak at present, that the Hardyz as a team are instant main event material…But also both guys have singles potential there… They hype of the Hardyz reunion is enough for Matt to leapfrog into the singles main event and Jeff will have the hype to go into the title picture right away… I could see a scenario where the Hardyz return in a 3 Man Tag match with Rey vs Booker, Chavo and some other wildcard (maybe they get to pick a partner and they pick Batista) Jeff wins the pinfall over booker and subsequently WHC around the Royal Rumble time…
Meanwhile Matt slowly moves into the title picture
by winning the US belt for a bit and beating guys like Finlay, Kennedy..culminating in a win for Matt in the Royal Rumble…setting up Matt vs Jeff for the title at WM!
This is not as outlandish as it sounds, WWE needs a dynamite story for Smackdown for WM as it could be it’s last one if they don’t and with the long term injuries they have, there are few options for an epic feud for WM other than the classic brother v brother match… Batista has few options for opponents who won;t come across as a squash. There is not enough time to push anyone from the NTI or even Mr. Kennedy into the true main event level by then… By doing it this way, they guarantee buys for WM, cos people would tune in just to see the “Wrestlemania Moments” the match would be sure to deliver…
As to what occurs, I guess we will wait and see but the Hardyz work right now… in whatever capacity, and if WWE is smart, they will use this to create their next 2 World Champions…
The 2nd thing is this “Injury” to Hogan… seems like one of 3 things has likely happened. Vince has told him he has to lose this one and he has balked… or he knows he cannot legitematly demand to be put over Orton in the shape he is in…3rdly WWE have decided not to have the match yet and leave it till Wrestlemania… either of them is valid, I personally thing the 3rd option is most likely… Hulk knows this is probably his last “money match” as the Austin match is seemingly never gonna happen and would be a car crash if it did… In Orton he has one chance to put someone over who will be meaningful to the future of the business… Why burn it at Summerslam when it can slow cook till WM… I wouldn’t be surprised if Brooke still appears in WWE without Hogan on screen, even as Orton’s “girlfriend” imagine the fuel to the fire of Orton “made a move” while he knew Hulk was hurt and couldn’t do anything about it…
What do you think? is D-Xtreme a crazy notion? Or spot on? Is Hogan faking or is it just an angle.tell me as always at robwilltaylor@hotmail.com
