Christmas comes but once a year and now it’s here. I’ve made my lists, gotten Christmas presents for my family and friends and now I’m going to present my Christmas Wrestling List. There have been many things that I’ve wished for over the years, mostly from 2001 to 2004, but before that as well. Even though I watched WCW when it was around, I secretly wished that it would go under, I never really got the idea of John Cena being a thug, since he’s from Westbury, Massachusetts, and I certainly wish the WWE could rewind and end the InVasion before it even started. However, I’ve tolerated many of the WWE’s mistakes, but that’s why we love Vince and company, right?!
Anyway, I figured since I wish for many things during the Christmas (I’ve spelled Christian too many times now) season, wrestling shouldn’t be counted out. I know that I can’t get these for Christmas this year, but I’m hoping that next Christmas is the time. In this Christmas edition of the Widow’s Peak, I’ll be giving you my top 10 wishes for the WWE for the year 2005. So sit back with a cup of hot chocolate (or cocoa) and relish in the moment as 2004 comes to a close.
2004 was supposed to be a turning point for the WWE, but there have been too many misses than hits for the company. House show attendance is low (in turn wrestler’s complain about not getting the money they usually do), PPV’s are thrown together (which most of the time has been a bad thing) and the list goes on. 2005 is really just another year, but looking back at 2004 business isn’t really getting that much better.
I’d really like to see something or someone (not a McMahon) shake up Raw, whether it be a match or a comeback. Raw is in dire need (and so is Smackdown, but I’ll get to them later) and I have a few Superstars on my list that could shake up Raw more than they’ve been doing (What is Chris Jericho doing?).
Yes, Shannon Moore has been on Velocity for the past two weeks or so, but this isn’t where Shannon should be. Shannon (is he a face or a heel?) needs to be in the hunt for the Cruiserweight championship; I mean if Matt freaking Hardy can get it, why can’t Shannon f***ing Moore get it? I’d like to see 2005 be a kind and good year for Shannon Moore, he hasn’t been at the top, so he can’t really fall down. He has all the tools to be a great champion, but the WWE needs to risk it, they risk it all the time with stupid skits and contests (Diva Search and Tough Enough), why not actually risk it with Shannon Moore?
JBL has been the champion ever since he beat Eddie Guerrero and that’s been a good long time. However, JBL has really warn out his welcome as the champion, unlike Triple H (I’m not praising Triple H, but he is more creditable as a champion, but I’ll get to Triple H later) and it’s time for Taker to take it once again. What I’d like to see is Taker beating JBL at the Royal Rumble, keeping his title at WM 21 then losing it to someone like Booker T; this way Taker can retire gracefully, unlike Ric Flair(yes, I’m biased towards Taker, but I can’t help it).
Taker needs to keep his WrestleMania undefeated record in tact, that’s something that no one will be able to take from him. That hopefully what many people remember about Taker when he takes his leave from us.
I don’t want to see Edge and Christian back together as main fixtures on Raw. Every now and then, I’d like to see them tag together and actually get away with the fact that they haven’t tagged together in four years. Both men have an advantage over many of the tag teams on Raw, which is evident since everyone on Raw gets thrown together as a tag team with no rhyme or rhythm. However, I’m sure the WWE would put them back together full time and that’s in no one’s best interest. Edge is finally showing the potential he had back before his injury and Christian has more untapped potential that has yet to been seen.
It is also a risky move by the WWE if they reform Edge and Christian, but it could also help with the tag division scene, which has somewhat disappeared. With both men poised to take higher spots on PPV’s, it may be longer to see one of the most decorated tag teams back together again. I’m sure they’d agree.
When Matt Hardy came back to Raw after being on Smackdown, I was upset. I really like Matt as a heel; he has the perfect qualities of being one of the top heels in the company. However, it was short lived as Kane came along and the rest is history, which I really feel bad for him. I didn’t feel too bad because he is the one who wanted the move in the first place (Lita came back, you know the story). What I’d like to see is Matt coming back, turning heel (although that might be what people are expecting) and just forget everyone else.
The Matt Hardy on Smackdown was more entertaining than the Matt Hardy on Raw has been. I’d like to see the Matt Hardy that ordered Shannon Moore around, pissed people off and thought of himself as a god. That’s the Matt Hardy I miss and hopefully by the time he returns, he will find a new intensity that will make his character stronger.
Since the Walking STD and the Walking Kiss of Death had their title match last Monday, the buzz has been around Trish Stratus and Lita. I’ve heard every side of this, people hating it, people loving it and some tethering on the edge. I’ve heard this and that, the “suicide dive” by Lita, Trish’s nose “injury” not as serious and Lita becoming the new women’s champion after four years. I’ve heard so much about these women, that I don’t care to know anymore. The WWE fired Gail Kim, Jazz and Nidia and hired Christy Hemme, Maria, Candace Michele, Michelle McCool, Amy Weber, Joy Giovanni, Melinda and my question is: “What the hell!!”
So we have Lita, Trish, Molly and Victoria as the women wrestlers; two of which have the skills of a wrestler and the other two doing something. I know that I’m supposed to be happy that my girls are getting the attention they deserve, but Lita and Trish?! Uggh, I’ve had my fill and share of the Hardy chick and the model and yes, I hate them both (Trish not as much as I used to), but I digress. Anyway, Victoria and Molly never really settled their feud that started with Molly losing her hair at WMXX; I’d love to see the division settled on these two, no title involved just pure rage and hatred. I guess you have to be a blonde and take a dive you had no business doing to get attention, but what can you do?
The tag divisions on both shows are atrocious on many levels. Teams are thrown together with no reasoning behind it, characters are out of this world (not always a good thing) and the list goes on and on. I remember the days when a tag team had a reason to come together, when the belts meant something and that is definitely missing from World Wrestling Entertainment. When the World’s Greatest Tag Team disbanded (Shelton to Raw and Charlie staying on Smackdown), that was about the end of when the belts meant something. We had Too Cool coming back, the Bashams in some sort of a sick triangle with Shaniqua, the Dudleyz taking orders from Spike., Rene Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki teaming up, Flair and Batista teaming up, La Resistance having the talent sucked out of them, Chris Jericho and Christian battle, and Eugene and William Regal’s reigns.
I’d like to see La Resistance actually be able to defend their belts without losing creditability, Eugene and Regal actually stay together as a team, the Bashams leaving JBL and going out of their own, the Dudleyz dropping Spike and Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak becoming a tag team and becoming sort of like an APA type tag team, except with talent.
I know that Trips doesn’t have a belt now, but I’d like to see someone besides Triple H getting the World Heavyweight championship. We saw Chris Benoit actually get the chance to shine when he beat Triple H at WMXX, and Randy Orton get the title for a month, but other than that, Triple H has been the champion for most of 2004. There are plenty of people to see challenge for the title, Batista come to mind considering the WWE building up tension between Batista and Triple H; Chris Jericho, who hasn’t been doing much should be in the rankings of main event status and it’s time for Y2J to get the title back.
I don’t really mind Triple H being champion, but when something gets so old, it tends to drive me crazy. I’d love to see Randy not trying to force everything that comes out of his mouth, if he keeps that under control he could be an effective champion. There are quite a few wrestlers that can step up to the plate (i.e., Edge, Christian, Batista, etc) but as always, there is always that one person standing in the way: Vince McMahon.
Once again one of the best bookers in the WWE today has been let go from that duty. On Smackdown, there was something different and it was storylines actually had some purpose, wrestlers were being used right, then it all went downhill again. Paul Heyman has had quite a few firings from the creative team, but I question it every time I hear that it has happened. Heyman may not be a genius when it comes to money, but he is good at tapping into the limitless potential of wrestlers.
Instead of bring in Hollywood writers who wouldn’t know a leg drop from a drop kick, keep people like Heyman in the mix. He knows what he’s doing and it’s apparent that these outside writers don’t. Heyman has a good track record of having good ideas and many of them, the WWE has used. It’s about time that some stability comes back to the WWE.
There was once a time when Smackdown was my favorite show to watch. I never missed a Thursday night and I was actually enjoying wrestling again, but something drastically changed. Superstars left and came back just as quickly as they had left, Al Wilson showed up in his underwear, John Cena was a thug in wolf’s clothing, Kurt Angle went bald and, well….you get the picture. Smackdown this year has had its highs and lows, sometimes even beating Raw in the ratings, but even the slight changes haven’t been enough to sustain the show. With a stale WWE champion, the insurgence of diva search contestants and the creative team in shambles, Smackdown needs serious changes.
With stars like Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, John Cena, Undertaker, Charlie Haas, Kurt Angle, Paul London, Chavo Guerrero, Billy Kidman and so on and so on, it’s time for management to turn up the heat. The potential is there, but it has yet to be capitalized on and the year 2005 is the perfect opportunity to step back, look at the problems and fix them.
Well that’s my list and I hope at least some of them actually happen. Vince said in an interview that the hardest thing for the company is knowing what the fans what. To actually know what we want, listening to the fans is a good start and that’s what should have been done to begin with. I know that a company can’t always listen and give the fans what they want, but it can’t hurt to at least try out any of these above mentioned things.
I don’t want the WWE to get down into a rut they cannot get out of, but at the same time, it would serve them right! I’d like to see quite a few of them happen and some of them might happen (Taker getting title one more time as an example), but at least I got out what I’d like to see from the WWE. Maybe Vince should actually read what internet fans and columnist say, it would help him out tremendously.
Well that’s all from Central Illinois, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You can reach me by replying at the WZ Columnist Lounge or at hardyfan_2@hotmail.com. Until then, good night and have a pleasant tomorrow!
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