wrestling / Columns
The Cheers ‘n Jeers of Wrestling 8.17.08
Greetings and salutations! I’m Michael O, who you may or may not know from the dopest (or dopiest, depending on who you ask) Smackdown recap around, with the inaugural edition of the Cheers ‘n Jeers of Wrestling. If you’ve ever read a TV guide, you’ve probably already ascertained what this column is all about from the title, but just in case, here is a quick explanation:
I’ll take a weekly look at the happenings of the wrestling world and give a hearty “Cheers” to what was good and a disheartened “Jeers” to whatever left a bad taste in my mouth. First “Jeers” goes to my girlfriend. Just kidding sweetheart and I do hope you’re not reading this.
With the introduction and tasteless joke out of the way, let’s kick off the first installment of the Cheers ‘n Jeers of Wrestling!
CHEERS
to the WWE for putting out the swervy story of Randy Orton re-injuring himself in an alleged motorcycle accident. I realize that I could be wrong about this, but I feel confident enough to pre-emptively tip my hat. What I like about this is it casts a decently sized shadow of doubt over what was to be a fairly predictable Randy run-in during the Cena–Batista match and I’m all for the continued slew of surprises “The E” has been delivering this year. Even if, like me, you strongly believe that this Orton business is a complete and total work, you can’t say for certain what will happen.
If it is in fact a work, I also like the idea of modernized wrestling injury angles that actually have the ability to work even the online crowd, if even only a portion of it. Sometimes the ability to know the transpirings on the other side of the curtain can take away the fun of not knowing what will happen next and an Orton hoax or Cena lying about how long he needs to be gone are nice touches and kay fabulous, in my opinion.
CHEERS
to Mike Adamle for forcing Kane to reveal the contents of his bag and to “creative” for pulling off a surprise that is intriguing and, in a nice surprise, not stupid. I think it’s safe to say the majority of us were expecting a Kane mask and I’m pleased that they went a different, unforeseeable route. I believe Kane should and eventually will wear the mask again but it should be as the pay-off to angle, not the start of one.
Rey Mysterio‘s mask leaves all kinds of doors open and Monday Night Raw could do with a David meets Goliath adventure. Rey & Kane as a match up is fresh-ish and I’m sure Batista will become involved as we are all aware of his penchant for avenging his friends. And if the WWE had a side interest in gauging enthusiasm for a return to Kane’s earlier, maskier days, I think they got the response they were looking for…
JEERS
to the WWE for letting Stevie Richards, The Highlanders, Colin Delaney and Cherry go, along with a host of others last week, while retaining the services of Maryse. It’s not that the recent cuts are necessarily bad choices, but how the hell did Maryse keep her job over Cherry, who may not be great, but is still much more talented than Maryse. For shame!
CHEERS
to Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (jr) for regaining the tag straps on RAW and righting what was a huge wrong in them losing the gold to begin with. I don’t know that these second generation studs are going to be able to single handedly save the long-suffering tag division, but they’re the best hope we have at the moment and it was a smart move in not wasting time with their inevitable reclamation.
CHEERS
to Kurt Angle for putting AJ Styles over strong at Hard Justice and the following Impact. Maybe Angle shouldn’t have even been in these matches considering his condition, but he was, and in addition to turning in great performances, he provided a clinic on how to firmly establish younger talent as main event threats. If the man is going to literally put his neck on the line, we may as well appreciate it.
JEERS
to outer space for accepting the DNA of Matt Morgan. No offense to Matt Morgan, but you’re going to send DNA into space and you choose…Matt Morgan?!
CHEERS
to Matt Striker for making such a great addition to the ECW announce crew. I’m not thrilled over Mick Foley‘s possible departure, but if it goes down this would be a case of GAWD closing a door whilst opening a window.
JEERS
to Ricky Ortiz for referring to himself as “Ricky O”, causing at least one 411 writer to seriously consider a website moniker change.
CHEERS
to Killer Kowalski for still being alive following a heart attack last weekend. Kowalski had since slipped into a coma, but has been showing signs of improvement, and let’s all hope those signs are but the beginning of a legendary comeback.
Grabbing Death by the stomach and not letting go 
JEERS
to a certain well known (though not nearly as popular or sexy as 411mania) wrestling website that took it upon itself to high jack the Hidden Highlights concept, sans title and sans author, without so much as a second thought. I won’t give them a mention by name, but rest assured they know who they are and they know that we know, and that’s all that matters. Oh, and CHEERS to me for jeering them in my thoroughly original new column.
* CHEERS of the week *
to Edge for going all Jack Nicholson on his wife at the conclusion of this week’s Smackdown.
Edge and Vickie kept the “B” show afloat through a mainly uneventful first half of the year and I’m glad they remain the focal point, even after the arrival of Hunter and his bling belt. The turning of Edge’s character from the brash, cocky Rated “R” Superstar to the violent, paranoid lunatic that is stepping into the cell at Summerslam has been done perfectly and Edge has really proven himself to be multi-faceted in the heel department. It remains to be seen, but I think there is a great chance that we’ll one day be looking back at Edge as one of the true greats of his time and wrestling historians take note, a lot of what will end up on his highlight reel is happening in the here and now.
* JEERS of the week *
to the WWE for leaving Chris Jericho off of the Summerslam card and rubbing it in our faces with a crappy “Summerslam consolation” match against Kane on RAW. I don’t know what they’re thinking but the hottest feud of the year is in danger of cooling off and while I have no doubt that he and Shawn can crank the heat up in flash, I can’t for the life of me understand why Jericho, who should by all rights be enjoying exposure befitting of a main event heel, is sitting out the second biggest show of the year. I’m sure he’ll put in an appearance during Shawn’s announcement, but Jericho should really be facing Punk while JBL does commentary from a massaging chair.
Yeah, it wouldn’t be the most original scenario, but I’d prefer to see Y2J lose to Punk via Shawnterference in a hot match over the Raw sloppy second we’re getting and I know I can’t be alone in that thought. Of course, everybody’s buyin’, or at least watchin’ (tsk tsk), for Hell in a Cell and to see the Mega Powers of the 21st century collide, but c’mon. Even if Punk and Bradshaw manage to surpass the assumed expectations, how excited am I supposed to get for a match I just saw for free last month?
That about does it for this week. Anything make you cheer this week? Or jeer, perhaps? Feel free to share ’em in the comment section, and until next time…I got nothin’. Smell you all later.
