Thoughts From The Top Rope 01.29.08: Feelin’ the Hate

Sometimes, situations change in an instant without any forewarning or anticipation. These things can be for the worse (a natural disaster, or a death) and on occasion they can be for the better. One such instance where a dramatic change has improved a situation drastically is John Cena’s return to WWE, and you had to know that that was coming.

The entire complexion of WrestleMania changed for the better with John Cena’s return on Sunday night and now what happens will be anyone’s guess. Here’s the card that I think is likely now we’re just two months and one pay-per-view away from the big show.

WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple H

Well before last night, I had this as simply Cena vs. Orton but apparently that’s not the way WWE rolls because Triple H has to be in the main event, which is a bit of a disappointment because Cena/Orton at Mania would have kicked ass. Now you have to believe that Triple H will win the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out and somehow both Orton and Cena go to Mania. Regardless, this has all the makings of another classic match-up and I’m already looking forward to it.

World Heavyweight Championship – Edge vs. CM Punk

Ever since May when Edge won the world title, people have been predicting Edge vs. Undertaker to be SmackDown’s title match at Mania this year and until recently I agreed with them. But I have other plans for Taker as you’ll see momentarily, and the fact is Punk needs some revenge on Edge or he looks like a complete joke, and we can’t have that. Edge has cost Punk the ECW Championship and also beaten him down on a couple of occasions. This could be build as another underdog story but it’s believable that Punk can be champion. The best thing here is Punk doesn’t have to win but it raises his profile so much simply by being in the ring with Edge at WrestleMania.

Interpromotional Match – Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Now here’s a match that fans have been salivating over since Royal Rumble 2007. The two renewed their feud this year in the Rumble and Michaels got some revenge by tossing Taker. It looked as if the two would get physical again before Snitsky tried his luck with the Deadman and Shawn Michaels made his quick exit. WWE would be making a mistake if they didn’t run with it because it would draw and neither guy has many years left. It’s now or never. It’s also pretty easy to set up after the events of this past Sunday and a potential cross-brand Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out.

Street Fight – Vince McMahon vs. Finlay

This was, until last night, going to be Triple H in Finlay’s spot because that would have been a thousand times better. This match benefits no-one and probably won’t be that good which is a shame.

Career-Threatening Match – Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy

If you can’t get a legend like Sting to come in and dance with Flair at ‘Mania, then this angle has to be used to put somebody over big time and this seems like the logical choice. They also teased the beginning of this feud at Royal Rumble I don’t know how good or bad this match may be but either way, Mr. Kennedy would get a well-deserved rub from Naitch in this match. It seems that Flair will win at No Way Out, but I think they should continue this feud by having Kennedy seek revenge and go all bad ass on Flair’s ass leading to a rematch at Mania.

ECW Championship – Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Where else is there for Rey to go? This is the next logical step and it will actually get people interested in the ECW Championship because with the way Chavo and Punk have been booked recently, no one could give a shit and that is a shame. This could also be one hell of a match, which Rey would likely win.

Batista vs. Big Show

I had nothing else for either guy to do, so this is it. With Show not redebuting at the Rumble it’s a little harder to set this one up, but on the other hand you only have to have Show return to SmackDown and the feud is easy enough to get going. It won’t be a technical classic by any means, but it’ll be all kinds of fun and a great spectacle.

Women’s Championship – Beth Phoenix vs. Maria vs. Mickie James vs. Candice Michelle

We are always guaranteed some women’s action at Mania and this seems like a good way to go. The playboy diva of the year will always get the nod to promote the deal but Maria in playboy sells itself, so we don’t need a one-on-one match that would be downright awful. Mickie James and Candice would make for two great additions to the match as both have a history with Phoenix. This would be very fresh as we very rarely get a multi-woman championship match.

United States Championship – MVP vs. Matt Hardy

This feud just has to have a chapter written at WrestleMania, even if it isn’t the final one. The feud has been too good for these two men to be thrown into Money in the Bank and I even think that they should get some sort of gimmick, possible a cage match. Hardy is ready to return any day now and these two should renew their feud almost immediately. If given time, this could well be a show stealer.

Money in the Bank – Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. JBL vs. Kane vs. John Morrison vs. The Miz vs. Chuck Palumbo vs. Shelton Benjamin

Simple enough stuff here, as these are the 6 guys who I think deserve a spot on the card and you can’t really argue against any one of them. Chris Jericho and JBL will feud where Y2J wins in a gimmick match (I’m calling ‘I Quit’ right now) and then both will qualify. Hardy will have nothing better to do now he’s clearly been relegated to the number 3 (4? 5?) face on Raw. Kane always gets on the card. Then of course we have MITB veteran Shelton Benjamin. Miz and Morrison seem good fits for this match and giving them both in will be a good dynamic. Palumbo is there to make up the numbers. Any of the three Raw guys could potentially win this match and have a great run as Mr. Money in the Bank, but I think that role would fir JBL the most.

And there we have it. Not a bad card if I do say so myself. Every match (except maybe Show/’Tista) has tremendous potential and could all be show stealers.

Going in, I really wasn’t as excited about the card as most people. Both world title matches had potential to be great but neither of the other matches looked too great on paper for me. JBL is not the kind of opponent I would want working with Chris Jericho as Y2J is not a great brawler and it showed here, I think. He didn’t bust out too many of his more exciting moves and the crowd wasn’t into it. They blew a bulldog spot and the crowd began to turn on the match, but Jericho salvaged it. Jericho’s blade job was very good and put him over as a guy who would go through anything to get his revenge. Y2J hanging JBL was also a tremendous visual but then they totally downplayed it by not having officials help JBL to the back. They even announced JBL as the winner and played his music as he left which made Jericho look like a complete joke as far as I’m concerned. I still have high hopes for this feud and I hope they can produce something more memorable at No Way Out.

The opening contest was what it was; nothing special. There was never any doubt who the winner would be and the crowd knew it too and were pretty much dead right from the get-go. Flair had one of his better performances and is actually looking in better shape than he has in years to be honest. What I did like is that they utilized the Figure 4 because it is likely going to need some credibility so Flair needs to start racking up submission victories. The match was decent for the time they got and MVP worked hard but Flair was pretty sluggish. Still, not a bad opener but the crowd really didn’t appreciate a thing they were doing.

While I’m on the subject of the crowd, they were pretty terrible all night long, barely coming alive and always sat on their hands. Only John Cena got any real emotion out of them and even that wasn’t what you’d expect in the circumstances. They didn’t care for any of the big eliminations in the Rumble and booed the likes of Mysterio and Hardy purely because it’s the cool thing to do. If I’m a higher-up in WWE, I’m marking which crowds suck and making sure the WWE go there less often so maybe they’ll be more appreciative when they do.

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio was a really fun match from what I saw of it, though I must admit I was out of the room during large portions of the match. The pair have always had great chemistry and it really showed here. The best part of this was Edge getting the clean win and for the first time in several years, we have not one but two really strong heel champs going into the big show, which is tremendous.

The WWE Championship had a big-time feel to it but again, the crowd killed it for me. Terrible crowd. They did some nice work but Orton did not get in a lot of offence and the finish came out of nowhere. Knowing now that Cena would be coming back, there was never any way that Jeff would go over here but he could have at least got a couple of false finishes on Orton. Alas, one quick RKO and it’s lights out. Decent match with poor booking and a bad crowd.

The Rumble match was pretty mediocre until the final few minutes. Taker and Michaels kicking us off was absolutely tremendous and a nice touch. I would have been happy had they eliminated everyone else until Cena came out. The ring quickly filled up and that’s when it really went downhill. Too many people in the ring and you can’t get shit done. It’s a cluster of guys in the corner clubbering each other. That’s not entertaining in the slightest. I also hated Finlay getting disqualified for something several wrestlers have done in past Rumble matches. All the big guys in the match kept the pace ridiculously slow and the crowd dead. Some of the spots such as the Piper/Snuka stand-off were amazing and really well done and were the most entertaining parts of the match. Of course, John Cena roll out at number thirty and the shit hits the fan. That was one of the coolest finishes I’ve seen to a Rumble match and I don’t think I have ever marked out that much. John Cena owns your mother.

Ric Flair vs. MVP – **1/4
JBL vs. Chris Jericho – **1/2
Edge vs. Rey Mysterio – ***1/4
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy – ***
Royal Rumble – ***3/4
Overall – 7.0

The Hate: John Cena only has his five moves of doom! He can’t wrestle!

The Facts:
– Every wrestler has a collection of signature moves that they will utilize in most of their matches.
– Said moves help to get the wrestler over with the crowd. Cena is very over.
– John Cena has produced many high quality matches with a variety of opponents in many different matches.
– John Cena has a plethora of signature moves including; FU, STFU, Five Knuckle Shuffle, Spinout powerbomb, throwback, diving leg drop, splash, DDT, clothesline, diving shoulder tackle, victory roll, fisherman suplex, belly-to-belly suplex, sit-out hip toss.
– Cena has received praise from not only his fans, but his peers as a tremendous performer.

The Verdict: This is one of the most asinine arguments there is against John Cena. From Bret Hart to Shawn Michaels to Triple H to John Cena, everyone has signature moves that they work into a match. What measures how good these moves are is the response they garner from a crowd. Cena steps into the ring and gets the biggest response of the night. He has had countless great matches with the likes of Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Edge and Bobby Lashley. He is one of, if not the best, performers in the business right now.

The Hate: There’s no way Cena can recover from a pec injury that quickly; steroids!

The Facts:
– First estimate on recovery time for Cena’s injury was 4-6 months.
– Within two weeks of receiving the injury, doctors said Cena was weeks ahead of recovery schedule.
– Soon after, the new estimate was 6-12 months
– Cena has claimed to have never abused steroids
– WWE has regular drug testings within the company
– Cena returned 4 months after the injury occurred
– This coincides with the original expected recovery time
– Recovery time for any injury can often vary from person to person
– You know as many facts as I do and have no reason to believe Cena has used steroids to recover quicker

The Verdict: You got worked and you can’t deal with it. Cena haters are looking for any excuse, any reason, to disrespect Cena and it’s pathetic. You don’t know the facts when it comes to Cena’s recovery and your accusations are based on nothing. It’s ridiculous that people are even making such claims. Get over yourselves.

The Hate: Cena has been pushed down our throats!

The Facts:
– John Cena won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21 and has spent most of the time since, on top
– Cena has main-evented the past three WrestleManias
– Cena rarely looses
– Cena’s storylines often involved the deck being stacked against him, only for the Champ to pull out a win

The Verdict: A champion should be the focus of the show. Maybe, Cena has been over-exposed but certainly no more than Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or The Rock ever were. This is another case of haters looking for anything to throw at Cena.

The Hate: Cena is a terrible promo guy!

The Facts:
– Cena first got over through his promos as a rapper
– Cena’s promo style has much in common with that of The Rock in that he frequently uses comedy, facial expressions etc.
– Cena has a slew of catchphrases

The Verdict: Cena is one of the best promo guys in the business. He possesses the ability to seamlessly move from comedy to seriousness with a twitch of the face. He keeps the crowd entertained and keeps them involved with his catchphrases including You Can’t See Me!

Cena haters, you can’t handle the truth! We live in a world that has businesses driven by money. And those businesses have to be promoted by men with honour and prestige. Who’s gonna do it? Brian Danielson? Takeshi Moreshima? John Cena has a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for ROH and you curse the Champ. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Cena’s title runs, while predictable, sells pay-per-views. And Cena’s existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, sells out arenas like Madison Square Garden…

You don’t want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want Cena holding that strap. You need Cena to be WWE Champion.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty…we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use ’em as a slogan. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who watches and entertains themselves through pro wrestling, an field that would not thrive like it does without the likes of John Cena, then questions the manner in which Cena does it! I’d rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you lace up a pair of boots and do it better. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to!

If John Cena wasn’t WWE Champion, you people still wouldn’t be happy. You’d find something else to bitch and complain about because that’s what you do. You’re the kind of fans who think that Vince McMahon should cater to your needs and your wishes despite what is good for business. And funnily enough, what’s good for Vince McMahon’s business is good for pro wrestling period.

I for one could not be happier, because the Champ… is back.