Welcome back to another edition of Reading Between The Ropes. My oh my, I really went through the ringer this past few weeks with my computer, but fortunately I finally have just about everything back up and running. It’s been a while since I have written a column as a result of my computer issues, but it’s time to get back into the swing of things.
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Without further ado, let’s get to it…
The Winter Blues
The temperature has dropped, days are shorter, and the nights bring that bone chilling frost to the air. Yes, winter is upon us, but the weather isn’t the only thing that has been taking on a touch of gray.
The WWE seems to be getting more boring by the week. Just like the freezing winds of winter, I can’t quite find the source of the malaise, but the effect is potent nonetheless.
Raw has been promoting the big Elimination Chamber match coming up this Sunday at New Years Revolution, featuring arguably the six best stars on their roster, with Shawn Michaels thrown in as guest referee to turn the star power up to full blast. The past few weeks have been spent revolving around the six competitors, featuring a myriad of interwoven storylines like the tension between teammates Triple H and Batista, the struggle of Randy Orton to finally get another shot at the title, and the hatred brewing between Edge and the revenge-minded Shawn Michaels.
While it all sounds great, the pay per view as a whole still doesn’t seem to pull me out of this dreary winter gloom. The Elimination Chamber should be great, but is there anything else worth getting excited over?
Kane’s return was prematurely made on Raw this past Monday, blowing any shock value we would have received at the pay per view. If Kane’s return had been held off until the pay per view and he had perhaps a different physical appearance, then that would have added value to the pay per view. Instead, the WWE blew it by having the same old Kane come out to run off Snitsky.
Speaking of which, Snitsky doesn’t exactly have me doing cartwheels either. He achieves the ultimate goal of a heel by making you hate him, but it’s because of his horrendously over-exaggerated expressions and demeanor, not his skill as a performer. I feel embarrassed for him. A good heel is one who you love to hate, Snitsky I just hate.
Kane vs. Snitsky is supposed to be one of the big matches of the night, but between Kane’s return being spoiled and Snitsky’s bumbling nature, this match hardly has me on the edge of my seat in anticipation.
Likewise, the Women’s title match isn’t going to be a masterpiece either. Trish and Lita have already battled countless times, and it was obvious in their main event match on Raw a few weeks ago that while they may be the most talented of the women, they still have no ability to carry a show. It has gotten better in recent years, but the old equation still rings true, ” Women’s match = bathroom break”.
The recently announced pairing of Maven against Shelton Benjamin could actually become a very good match, but there is no storyline whatsoever. Maven has been building a feud with Eugene for weeks now, and then out of the blue on Raw he suddenly decides to go after Shelton Benjamin. WTF?
Obviously this was a mistake in scheduling by the WWE, and a bad one at that. They needed to free up Eugene so that they could throw together a last minute tag title match of Regal and Eugene vs. Christian and Tomko, so they leached Maven off onto Shelton Benjamin, who probably just happened to be the highest ranking superstar with nothing to do for the show.
Just to make things worse, Benjamin is the Intercontinental Champion. I would like to think that the second most prestigious title in the WWE would be more than just an afterthought, but apparently the WWE doesn’t think so.
Also, the tag team title match isn’t ranking high on my list either, primarily because, just like the IC Title match, it was thrown together at the last minute. It’s just poor planning that has lead to all these matches that have been strewn together, and I am getting sick of it.
Finally, the coup de grace, the WWE decided to allow Mohammed Hassan to have his first WWE match at the New Years Revolution. Hassan has gotten a decent amount of build up from cutting promos, and he has gotten a nice amount of cheap heel heat. However, the WWE sapped all the excitement out of the match by having Hassan take on Jerry “The King” Lawler. Don’t get me wrong, I love the King, but he should not be wrestling anymore, particularly not on a pay per view.
Just about anyone else on the roster would have been a better choice for the match. The WWE is trying to get Hassan over as a heel by having him take out the beloved King, but remember, they did the same thing with Tazz, and that didn’t exactly work out well.
I think what it all comes down to is one question. Is this pay per view worth $35? No, unless you feel that the Elimination Chamber is worth $35, because that’s really the only thing that is worth anything on this show. The WWE has spent a substantial amount of time promoting the chamber, and everything else is just filler. The WWE had an opportunity to put together a solid show, but instead it looks like the cold, gray winter will continue.
Quick Bites
I am going to step outside the wrestling world for a few minutes here and comment on a few things that I have seen lately in the entertainment world.
I went to see “Meet the Fockers” on New Year’s Eve, and it was…well, it was good, just not quite as good as I had hoped. Of course, I don’t really find Ben Stiller funny, so maybe I am a little bit biased here.
“White Noise” is coming out soon, and the topic of EVP seemed interesting, so I have been doing some research on it. Pretty freaky stuff going on there. Of course, a lot of it is explainable, but some of those clips sound pretty real. Still, I guess anybody can find something if they look hard enough.
Ok, I know this is a major tangent here, but since I was talking about “White Noise”, here is my theory on ghosts. All people give off energy, or an aura if you will. Human brains are capable of doing more than we realize, and picking up on someone else’s energy is one of them. Ever get the feeling you are being watched, or “sense” someone else when they are behind you? That’s the brain picking up on the energy of another person.
Here is the thing: the energy that people give off lingers around for a while, particularly if it was energy given off during a stressful time. Our brains are picking up on these lingering energy traces, and allowing us to “see” the apparitions of the person whose energy signature is still there. Cameras can also record photograph this energy, creating ghostly pictures.
As for ghosts moving object, lights being shut off, etc, as I said before our brains can do more than we realize. I think that everyone has some amount of telepathic abilities, and our brains are moving things for these energy signatures, or ghosts, just as they would if the apparition was a real person.
Ok, so that’s that. Is my theory flawed? Of course, I am sure you can all find tons of holes in it. It’s based on absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever as I have done no research to support my theory, but hey, it sounds like a possibility to me.
Moving on…
The Metal revolution has been growing here in the US, and with MTV2’s resurrection of “The Headbanger’s Ball” I have been seeing the latest and best metal bands out there. It seems that most of the bands gaining popularity right now fall into the “Hardcore” category, such as Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold. Their style is a mixture of punk and black metal guitar riffs, with vocals that at times mimic the deepest darkness found in black metal and at other times seems more akin to punk.
It’s an interesting mixture, definitely good to bang your head to, but I think that it’s becoming overdone very quickly. We saw bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne, Static X, Spineshank, Nothingface, etc lead the charge for the metal army over the past few years, and I still prefer their style to the “possessed punk” style that hardcore is bringing to the fold.
Ok gang, I know I jumped around a bit today, from wrestling to movies to ghosts to metal, but hey, it’s one of those days. If you want to send me some feedback, email me at Trevor@wrestlepower.com. Also, be sure to come check out my site, WrestlePower!
See ya!
Trevor Lane
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