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Greetings fellow Torch readers and welcome to the Logic Check, a new feature here on the PWTorch website that specializes in looking at all things wrestling while keeping an ever watchful eye on our collective "suspension of belief." My goal is to produce one of these columns for each weekly TV show and whatever PPVs either company can compel me to purchase. (Full disclosure: It's been over three years since I've ordered an WWE/TNA PPV)
I'll be focusing on key moments, characters, angles ,and storyline progressions throughout each show and adding my perspective as to whether or not they make practical sense given the context that WWE/TNA have presented to us. And, yes, I know I have my work cut out for me.
Let's begin...
Monday Night Raw
August 11, 2008
Richmond, Va.
Mike Adamle did it for the kids
I wasn't too high on the move to make Adamle the GM but he's slowly starting to grow on me. His character has been consistent since the Big Swerve as the fair-minded GM whose only focus is on the presentation of compelling television; however, tonight was a bit of a reach. Forcing Kane to reveal the contents of his bag due to a fear of thousands of children showing up at school with burlap sack? I doubt Kane has that much of a hold on the youth of America. He also promised Kane a "normal life" as if all of Kane's psychoses would somehow be replaced by sunshine and rainbows upon handing over the mask. But Adamle's biggest blunder was letting Kane walk out of the ring after confessing to the murder of a fellow WWE superstar. In civilized society, it's best not to let admitted repeat felons out of sight, let alone, allow them to return to a densely populated backstage area.
Thoughts: Adamle is a bit of a paradox. They want us to believe that he is a credible authority figure yet he comes off as uninterested dullard. During last night's angle with Kane, not once did I ever believe that he believed what he was saying. I think his GM character has potential but Adamle has to bring something other than his usual "Welcome to American Gladiators" tone and inflection. It's hard to relate to someone who never displays an emotion other than feigned excitement.
Of all the masks in all the burlap sacks in all the world, you had to pull out mine:
The reveal that it was Rey Mysterio's mask in Kane's burlap sack was great in that it was a totally unexpected swerve that has me intrigues as to where this angle is heading. Unfortunately, I don't see where they can go from here as Rey being dead doesn't leave very many outs for creative. There are way too many questions here and quite frankly, I'm wary of their answers. Why did Kane go after Rey? Since we know that Rey isn't dead, why does Kane believe it? Why would Kane admit something like that on national TV? The part that has me concerned is that I don't believe creative knows the answers to these questions either. So the question remains, was this a swerve for the sake of swerving or is there actually a darker story behind this?
Thoughts: The reveal served its purpose as it provides a level of intrigue heading into next week, but given the previous 12 plus years of storylines they've run Kane through, do we really want to know how this ends? Given how WWE is trying to market itself to kids, the chances for a darker theme to this angle are very slim. This story needs a logical follow-up, though, as it has the potential to be very interesting.
Jack Daniels, if you please
This confrontation between C.M. Punk and JBL was exactly what their feud needed. For too long, Punk has been getting shafted on TV time, wrestling at the top of the second hour and not being given time for promos. Apparently, creative realized that he had a world title match on Sunday so we were presented with this drinking contest which, while a bit slow at times, got over exactly what it needed to. JBL is the brash old school grappler who doesn't respect what Punk represents and Punk is the defiant underdog champion, unwilling to compromise his beliefs to gain JBL's "respect." The contest made sense because it's precisely the type of one sided competition that JBL would conjure up to attempt to humiliate the champ. Punk proved he was a man of intergrity and came out looking a hell of a lot stronger going into his first true test as champion.
Thoughts: Just a fantastic piece of storytelling. Punk was given time to flesh out his character and he delivered big time. JBL was perfect in his facials and delivery, as is par for the course. The reason this segment worked so well was that you were given the sense that both men truly believed in what they were saying and not that they were out there reading from a script.
There is no "I" in team but there is a "Me":
The tag title reign of John Cena and Batista came to a screeching halt because both men are idiots. The best example of this came when Batista had Ted Dibiase up for the Batista Bomb and Cena came in to break it up, allowing Cody Rhodes to chopblock Batista from behind. After doing this, Cena hops back on the apron, waiting for a tag and then looks shocked when he gets slapped in the face. Instead of realizing that they were now even on slaps, Cena decides he wants to turn his back on their opponents which, surprisingly enough, leads to a pin.
Thoughts: It would have made more sense to have one of them attack the other and leave him laying, costing them the tag titles so that there is a real feeling of hostility between the two leading up to their encounter Sunday night. While this stayed in line with the hot-headed characters that Batista and Cena have evolved into, it still makes them look stupid since they couldn't wait until after retaining their tag belts to start pounding on one another. But that's what happens when you sign a "dream match" with only 3 weeks of build; everything seems rushed and unnatural.
Young, dumb, and full of...confidence:
The promo from Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase was very well done. Both are terrific at portraying the cocky, second generation stars who are ready to turn the establishment on itself. They are truly embracing their characters and both of them positively reek of authenticity. My only quibble is how Cody referenced the WWE 24/7 moment of week (Tito/Putski vs the Valiants). While Tito and Putski may have won the titles because they worked as a team, the Valiants also lost the tag titles...as a team.
Thoughts: There had to have been a better way to have booked their program with Batista and Cena so that the new tag champs could get a bit of rub. It doesn't seem like they really gained anything from two weeks of working with the two biggest babyfaces on RAW and that's a shame but Rhodes and Dibiase have tremendous upside and a bright future so they didn't really lose anything either.
Logistical Ruminations:
- Santino is the third best heel in wrestling today, only behind Edge and Nigel McGuiness. His speech, his mannerisms, his facial expressions, his victory celebrations all combine to form one of the most complete characters in the WWE.
- Did I really hear a pop for Kofi saying "Come, come?" Only in wrestling.
- Who were those guys in the kilts?
- Whatever happened to tag team finishers? I seem to remember having Cryme Tyme using the fireman's carry/flipping neckbreaker some time back. I can't think of any tag teams in the WWE with a regular tandem finisher.
- This is something that has always struck me as odd: Cena likes to play Marine. He dresses in camouflage garb, he salutes while wearing dogtags, and he expresses unwavering support for our troops overseas...so why isn't he a Marine? I'm not here to debate foreign policy or the war or civil service but everytime I see Cena tossing his pseudo-salute while his dogtags cling to his Marine symbol ripoff jersey, it begs the question of: Why isn't he serving?
VERDICT: A solid show that moved all the major, and a few minor, storylines forward without straining our collective credulity to the point of exhaustion. It didn't really feel like a must-see program that the "go home" show before Summerslam ought to be and it certainly didn't compell me to crack open my wallet on Sunday as none of the matches really stands out as an epic encounter. We'll see if ECW and Smackdown can change my mind.
Score: 6.0
ABOUT ME
My name is Alex Dunn, I live in Dallas, TX and I've been a wrestling fan for over 20 years. I prefer workrate to gaga and athletes who can actually go in the ring as opposed to big guys who look muscular. I also prefer wrestling that doesn't insult my intelligence.
I'm still working out a few tweaks for the format of this column so it might change a bit from show to show, nothing drastic, at least until I find the style I like.
Feel free to submit any feedback, ideas and 419 scams to adunn.torch@gmail.com.
I'll leave you with something my grandfather once told me:
"Keep a good head on your shoulders, boy. What makes sense will always make dollars."
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