411 Fact or Fiction 02.09.12: Punk vs. Jericho, Rock & Cena Tweet, HBK at WM, More

1. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho is the most interesting feud heading into WrestleMania.

Chad Nevett: FACT. I’m torn between this and Triple H/Undertaker. This wins out because it’s something I haven’t seen before. Jericho coming back to, rightfully to a degree, call out various performers on aping his style is an interesting idea and plays well into some of the arguments wrestlers get into about who came up with what idea or move. I am a little concerned that their match at WrestleMania could be another Jericho/Edge, though, which dampens my enthusiasm. Jericho’s feuds tend to work best over the course of months and multiple matches with the first match being the weakest. I kind of wish that WrestleMania was the culmination of the feud, the blowoff… but, as it stands, it’s what I’m looking forward to most out of the three feuds that are pretty much guaranteed heading into ‘Mania.

JP Prag: FICTION. While Jericho has a… different… interpretation of his character this time around, it is hardly a compelling story that makes me say, “Oh, this match will be the culmination of many great things!” Sure, I’ll be glad to watch the match live in Miami at WrestleMania with Jeff Small (retirees unite!) from a workrate and interest in CM Punk and Chris Jericho in general, but nothing makes me feel like this is the emotional match that is going to be interesting from that perspective.

What match am I most interested in? Actually, I’m not sure of that yet, either. Perhaps we’ll see when I get closer, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy the vast majority of it live in house!

Score: 0 for 1

2.John Cena & The Rock feuding on Twitter interests you.

Chad Nevett: FICTION. I can see how the social media stuff would appeal to some people, but it doesn’t for me. I like to watch wrestling not just for the stories, but also for the actual wrestling. The combination of the two. And Twitter feuds takes only a small part of what I care about and does it in a medium that seems a little silly. It doesn’t help matters that I don’t generally care about the Cena/Rock feud considering there isn’t much else to do. We get it, they don’t like each other… the Rock left wrestling, Cena is lame to adult men… what else is there? Maybe if they did something close to original, I’d change my mind. But, I’d also hope they did that on TV rather than Twitter.

JP Prag: FICTION. Nothing on Twitter interests me at all, especially people pretending to act like petulant children. There is some underlying truth from what both John Cena and The Rock have been saying about each other over the fast year, which makes their feud believable, but we all know they are still working together and will follow the planned finish in the end. Because of that, this so-called Twitter war is just another work with some kernels of actual feelings. That hardly makes it that amazing and groundbreaking and I’d rather see it on TV than read about it with terrible spelling and grammar.

Score: 1 for 2

3. Shawn Michaels will be involved in the Triple H vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania.

Chad Nevett: FACT. The way they look to be building that match is to put it in continuity with the Michaels/Flair match and everything that followed. How do you make it even bigger than last year’s match while also reminding everyone of all that came before? Get Michaels involved somehow. Maybe it will be as a ref, maybe it will be as the special guest enforcer, maybe it will be standing in the corner of one of the men… who knows. It’s possible he’ll only be involved in the build to the match, but I think they’ll go a step beyond last year and have him play a greater part.

JP Prag: FACT. Assuming that is the match that is going to happen, sure. In what fashion is another question entirely. Guest referee, timekeeper, outside enforcer, in Triple H’s corner–these are all options. Could it be a three-way dance? I suppose anything is possible. Of course, I wish a few years ago instead of doing Shawn Michael vs. Undertaker II that they did DX vs. The Brothers of Destruction. Shawn couldn’t get the Undertaker to agree to a match, so DX should have won the tag titles and challenged Kane and the Undertaker and got the match that way. But now I’m retroactively fantasy booking, and who wants to read that?

Score: 2 for 3

4. The Miz deserves the heat he’s getting from WWE management for the Survivor Series buyrate & not catching R-Truth on a dive on Raw.

Chad Nevett: FICTION. He deserves the heat for the dive. I wasn’t entirely sure at first, but I went back and watched it and he was clearly in position to catch R-Truth and looked to have sidestepped it. That’s on him. But blaming him for Survivor Series’ buyrate when he was, at best, the third-most important man in that main event and probably less of a factor in people buying than guys from other matches like CM Punk or Randy Orton? That’s insane. Clearly, the WWE sold that show on the strength of the Rock and John Cena teaming up — they didn’t seem to care who their opponents would be and that showed in the build. In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, Miz and R-Truth continually looked weak and ineffective, unable to gain the upperhand on Cena. So, why would anyone take them seriously as a threat to Cena and the Rock? The result was obvious. I know that there’s more pressure on the Miz to show results because of the amount of media he does, but, at the end of the day, he plays the role of an obnoxious heel and was booked in a way where there wasn’t even the joy of finally seeing an obnoxious heel get his comeuppance. No, the WWE dropped the ball there.

JP Prag: FICTION. Nor the abuse he regularly gets from the commentary crowd down below. First off, how could the Miz get all the blame for Survivor Series when there were four people involved in the main event (including John Cena and the Rock) along with other matches on the card that were supposed to sell it. I think Cook said it best on Tuesday: you cannot just sell a show based on names; there actually has to be a compelling reason. Miz and Truth together could not take out John Cena, so why would Cena even need The Rock? There was just no reason to care because of what the writers did, not because of the Miz.

As for the dive with Truth, as of this time I have not seen it yet so I cannot say for sure, but I’m going with it takes two to tango. Miz would have the same amount of blame of catching someone as Truth would have of jumping correctly and the agents would have of figuring out the spot.

And as for the commentators below, just because someone was once something in the past, it does not take away from what they are now and how successful they can be. You don’t hear people going, “Oh that Hulk Hogan, he’s just some bouncer who shouldn’t have been wrestling. He should have gone back to watching a door instead of wrestling Andrea the Giant.” I used to work a register at a retail store, but none of my clients complain about my ability to get the job done today that is totally unrelated. Why can’t you do multiple things in your life well? Miz is a certain type of wrestler who works very well in the Sports Entertainment realm and I personally enjoy the work he does and that is where it ends for me.

Score: 3 for 4

SWITCH!

5. Natalya’s farting gimmick will help her get over with the WWE Universe.

JP Prag: FICTION. Although I haven’t been privy to SmackDown in some months, I only have to ask a few questions: What’s the payoff? Where does this go? Who does she feud with because of this? I don’t mind silly gimmicks if there seems to be a plan to go along with it, but this just screams of, “Let’s throw this stupid thing on screen and see what happens!” Without a plan of any kind, how could this amount too much?

Chad Nevett: FICTION. How would this get anyone over? I’m puzzled by the idea and would think that the sheer stupidity of this gimmick is so obvious that nothing more need be said.

Score: 4 for 5

6. Chris Hero will be a star in WWE.

JP Prag: FACT. Star? Sure. Superstar? That’s another story entirely. At some point he’ll be called up to the main roster and will appear on SmackDown for a while. Some people will know who he is and he’ll get some semblance of a chance. Will that chance amount to much is another story, but he’ll be more well known just by his appearances on SmackDown than his years in other circuits, and that makes him some type of star.

Chad Nevett: FICTION. I honestly have no idea. It’s a crapshoot when it comes to the WWE. I think he has just as good a chance as anyone else in developmental, possibly a little better given his in-ring and mic abilities. But, so much will depend on how the WWE sees him. I know a lot of people want to see the Kings of Wrestling reunite, but look at how the WWE treats its tag teams. That could be a quick ride to the eternal midcard. I’m saying fiction, because, most likely, he won’t be a star in the WWE. Not many people are — and those that become stars do so because of luck more than anything. Talent is a factor, but it’s luck that matters most.

Score: 4 for 6

7. Sting should have went to WWE last year instead of remaining with Impact Wrestling.

JP Prag: FICTION. This was one of the toughest questions for me. For those who don’t know, I was a huge WCW mark and therefore my loyalties do not lie with WWE. Part of me would have loved to see Sting do a match in WWE, especially at WrestleMania, even knowing that he’d lose to the Undertaker and WCW would be buried again. But the other part of me likes this: Sting will always be the biggest name to have never worked for WWE in any capacity. That is an amazing story unto itself and speaks volumes of how someone can be a great success in this industry without WWE or Vince McMahon. There’s almost a romance to being able to say he never did it and always went with the option that worked best for him and his loyalties, and that is something I respect.

Chad Nevett: FICTION. Sure, he would have gotten to wrestle at ‘Mania and made lots of fans cream their jeans… but it wasn’t what Sting wanted. I try not to second-guess personal decisions made by others. I know, that’s avoiding the point of the question, but that’s how it is. Sting thought TNA was a better fit for him and maybe he’s right. If it made him happy and satisfied, then who am I to say that it was a mistake?

Score: 5 for 7

8. TNA needs to hold more Impact tapings on the road.

JP Prag: FACT. This was another tough one for me. The businessman side of me says staying at home is the best option because it is cheaper, people work for TNA because they get to travel less, and they don’t have to move any equipment. But watching that show from England last week made me realize how different the product can be in other locations. Honestly, I have nothing against the iMPACT Zone crowd or the size of the arena; all of that works fine to me. But seeing and hearing a different crowd creates another type of product and forces TNA wrestlers and writers and work outside what they are used to. So if they can turn more house shows in to television tapings, all the better.

Will it suddenly increase ratings and give them that huge boost they are looking for? No, of course not. However, it will force them to create new presentations and listen to other audiences, and hopefully that will be one of the elements that will work in their favor to move the product into another stratosphere. As Eric Bischoff said before he came to TNA, they need to have a unique value proposition to make the product be something people want to invest their time and interest in. Well, I’m still waiting for that unique value proposition, so perhaps this will force their hand a little bit more.

Chad Nevett: FACT. One of the things that drove me away from TNA was the atmosphere of Impact. Holding tapings in the same venue all of the time for the same fans clearly develops reactions that don’t make sense and don’t present the show in the best light. They don’t always seem like they want to be there. When TNA goes on the road, it draws fans that genuinely want to see the show, that want to support it… and that makes a difference. A mixture of regulars and tourists isn’t the best environment for a wrestling show to exist in, particularly if that’s the public face of the company.

Final Score: 6 for 8

It’s always great to have JP & Chad around, and they’ve given us a lot to think about this week. Feel free to chime in down in the comment section with what you think about the various topics, who you agreed with more, or who you thought was completely off their rocker. Thanks to JP & Chad for their contributions, and we’ll be back here next week with more Wrestling Fact or Fiction!