Ahoy ahoy, WrestleZoners! Today I present to you the first edition of “Smark-Out Moment”, my column on the wrestling business. Seeing as how you all are familiar with wrestling and need no introduction to it, I feel it’s only correct to introduce myself a little so there’s some cohesion.
For two years now, I have been a member of the forums here on WrestleZone under the username “NoFate007”, and I currently help moderate the wrestling section. I’ve been a fan of the WWE since 1995, though I decided to stop watching for a few years due to disinterest in the product. Since returning as a viewer in 2006, I’ve caught up as best as I could, and they’ve hooked me yet again. There’s no need to delve into details as they will formulate themselves over time as we get better acquainted.
That being said, let’s dive right into this and talk about one of the biggest issues going on this week in the WWE: Chris Jericho’s mystery partner.
At a house show on July 3, Edge suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the midst of a match, leading to the unfortunate situation where Chris Jericho finds himself missing the other half of his championship duo. It was rumored that Jericho and Edge were to hold the tag team titles for a rather long time, allowing them to not only wrestle on all three shows to help ratings, but also to put over some other tag teams and the championship itself in the process. With a match against Legacy already scheduled for Night of Champions, what is there to do?
On Raw this week, WWE thought quickly and decided to go in the direction that Jericho had prepared for this by adding a clause in his contract which allows him to choose a partner at will to replace Edge. A bit simple, but effective nonetheless, and in reality, do they need to do something elaborate anyway? I think not, especially not so close to the ppv. According to Jericho, he has chosen a partner who is a straight shooter like himself – someone whom is worthy of standing next to him in the ring. The speculation started…who will it be?
When I’m trying to predict the upcoming events in the WWE, I like to step away from my personal likes and dislikes and judge things logically. I myself am a writer, so I can compare the intricacies of trying to fill plot holes and formulate clear ideas without grasping at straws. As we all know, though, WWE Creative is not Charles Dickens, and what is under scrutiny for some television writers does not necessarily apply to a wrestling show, so at times it’s a bit of a crapshoot to guess. Still, the way I see it, there are only two options for Edge’s replacement:
1) The Brian Kendrick – First off, this man has nothing to do right now, which leaves him open for choosing. Many people are throwing around the idea of Ziggler being the partner, but from last week’s Smackdown, he clearly has gone past his feud with Khali and is now starting to set his eyes on Rey Mysterio’s Intercontinental Championship. Adding Ziggler with Jericho puts too much on his plate for someone so fresh and would result in overabundance of a guy whose push is still in its infancy. Kendrick, however, hasn’t received that push. Recently, he was even on a quest to find a new tag team partner, but that story was abandoned in favor of a Legacy/Colons feud, which as we can see, was also abandoned. Kendrick has a strong foothold in tag team wrestling for his WWE career, so he’s someone they could trust to work the matches well enough to get the point across. He is also an arrogant heel, and let’s be honest, you’re more likely to see someone that acts like Jericho teaming with him than someone along the lines of Sheamus. The trick with Kendrick, though, is that management clearly does not want to give him the spotlight, so in my mind, if they were to put Brian as Jericho’s partner, it’s a one night only deal. He’ll be responsible for dropping the titles to Legacy and soon enough, Jericho will claim that Kendrick was never in the same league as him after all.
2) The Miz – I would be shocked to the core if this is not the man to replace Edge next Sunday. The Miz, like Kendrick, has no current feud, so he’s ripe for the picking. He also has a solid base in tag team wrestling since he and Morrison were the spine of it in the company for such a long time. The Miz seems to be done with John Cena, unfortunately, and with Jack Swagger taking on MVP and Kofi having his hands full with Big Show, who is there on Raw for Miz to lock up with? Furthermore, whom HAS Miz been locking up with recently on Twitter in a friendly rivalry? None other than Chris Jericho. The fact that these two are taking good natured shots at one another shows that they’re in good standing, so there are no problems backstage between them. Is Miz not currently on a straight shooter tour, so to speak, after his promos on Cena and Primo? Is he not arrogant like Jericho? Is he not someone that is in the crosshairs of a major push within the company’s hierarchy? And perhaps most important of all, is he not a reliable person that is not injury prone, nor has he had a suspension tacked to his name?
Some are speculating that Legacy will split, whether it’s due to how Rhodes turned on Hardcore Holly, or since DiBiase’s inverted silhouette is in the picture promoting the match, but I feel that’s too complicated for them to have chosen at such a short notice, especially when Cody Rhodes is working with a supposed neck injury. It appears to me as if Jericho and Miz will take the reigns of tag team wrestling in the WWE for the next coming months. Assuming Edge heals fast enough, we can still have our rumored Edge/Jericho feud, just without the slow face turn that would have been the rift that separates the unified champs. In the meantime, the Miz benefits and so does the audience, because after all, he’s the Miz, and he’s awesome. Of course, things change at the drop of a hat in the WWE, so we’ll have to keep an eye out at Night of Champions on July 26th.
This has been my smark-out moment, and frankly, I’m being counted out.
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