CALDWELL'S TAKE CORNER CUBE TUESDAY 5/20 - Reaction to William Regal suspension May 20, 2008 - 11:17:47 AM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

Updated daily from the corner cubicle, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and other items of interest from around wrestling.

Updated Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The other shoe dropped quicker than I expected on William Regal news. One thing I've learned covering wrestling is that when something unusual occurs on TV or a promotion goes a completely different direction seemingly out of nowhere, there usually is a pretty darn good reason for it.

I scratched my head when Jeff Hardy randomly lost the Intercontinental Title to Chris Jericho three months ago. A few days later, Hardy was suspended 60 days. Last night, Regal's GM program was completely dropped after WWE seemed to find the right tone with his power-tripping character. This morning, we find out he's been suspended 60 days.

Reading the tea leaves is secondary, though, to Regal and Hardy's health in these cases. Hardy has made his comeback, and I certainly hope he's physically and mentally recouped after the suspension and the loss of his home. After watching the Hardys DVD to see Jeff's story, including footage of his imag-i-nation world in North Carolina, I saw how much that whole area meant to him. That's a very trying situation for anyone.

Regal's history of drug and substance abuse is well-documented. His book details his near-death experiences before the "happy ending" of cleaning himself up. Regal said in interviews over the past few years that he's been living clean and that it is possible for wrestlers to survive in the business without the need of painkillers, steroids, etc.

Without knowing the "what and why" on Regal's suspension at this time, I can't speculate on what specifically led to his second violation of the Wellness Policy. We do know that Regal wanted more of an opportunity to be a major player in the ring. He told the U.K. Sun earlier this month that he was practically driving Vince McMahon crazy trying to convince him that he could be a significant contributor in the ring.

The pressure of trying to live up to his own advertising might have cooked him. Hopefully he can write a better ending and get some help from WWE to handle whatever issues led to his second suspension. After all, that's what the Wellness Policy is there for.

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Updated Monday, May 19, 2008

Last night's WWE Judgment Day PPV will probably be remembered for three things. One will be the crowd response to Vickie Guerrero. Omaha was simply not going to allow Vickie to make her inevitable announcement. The other will be Beth Phoenix's double backbreaker. You think you've seen every possible move in a wrestling match, then Beth comes up with that spot.

The third will be Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho. The psychology of how this match came together was one of the highlights of TV the previous three weeks. But, it wasn't just Jericho's sarcastic award presentation, Michaels's superkick in the tag match, or Michaels's superkick on Jericho.

Batista teasing that he would attack Michaels at Judgment Day effectively lowered expectations. Instead of people anticipating a show-stealing classic, expectations were set at maybe ten minutes of great wrestling, then a run-in. The threat of Batista interfering might have cost WWE some buys, but as the match developed, and then ultimately finished with a clean victory, the match exceeded expectations.

It's not surprising to see Shawn Michaels in the top match of the show. He had arguably the top match at WrestleMania against Ric Flair. He's had arguably the best 14-month run of any wrestler in the business, dating back to last year's WrestleMania. Michaels is simply the best right now.

What makes him the best right now isn't workrate or flashy moves. What makes him the best now is how he can apply a TV storyline to a PPV match. WWE's wrestling formula is quite simple on paper, but difficult in execution, or else everyone would be at Michaels's level.

One of the key points during the match that exemplifies the point was Michaels slapping Jericho hard across the mouth. Michaels backed up and smiled, knowing he infuriated Jericho. Michaels didn't need to follow up with three suplexes and a powerbomb to get the point across. He simply let his facial expressions and body language tell the story of him being confident he could get away with a cheap shot and still come out with the upper hand.

By match end, Michaels was still one step ahead with the counter to the counter to the counter, resulting in a roll up for a win. But, that wasn't the end. Michaels had to keep Jericho strong, even after they had a four-star match that will be remembered more for how great it was rather than who actually won.

Michaels gave Jericho the position of control. The psychology was that Michaels didn't know if Jericho was going to repay his deceit with deceit. Jericho didn't repay with evil, but Michaels's guilt after deceiving Jericho and Batista left him with no choice but to be cautious.

Let's not forget Jericho in this equation. His "Second Coming" push hasn't set the world on fire, and he's lingered as a tweener character for the past two months. On this PPV, though, Jericho put himself in a position to succeed, and he forced WWE to give him a second look as a serious top tier player.

Three weeks ago, Mr. Kennedy seemed like the right choice for a babyface push on top of the card. Three weeks later, he was nowhere to be found on the PPV. Jericho still has a smarmy edge to him that will keep him a tweener, but putting in an outstanding performance against Michaels will over a portion of the audience.

As Jim Ross said, we could watch Michaels vs. Jericho every day of the week. With another PPV in two weeks, we might just get that quick turnaround on a re-match. And chances are they'll find another way to equal or top themselves with only two editions of Raw to write the next chapter of the story.

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