Same ole Heartbreak

As I watched RAW Monday night, awaiting Vince McMahon's "big" announcement, I actually saw a good wrestling match. Not totally surprising, as RAW has shown us a lot of good wrestling in the past few weeks, but it was a match that made me think. I'm talking about Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels going one on one in the Main Event. A good match that's part of a good storyline that really got me thinking.
The great thing about Jericho and HBK is that the two really click together. Jericho is admittedly a fan of HBK, and that showed in their match. Almost every time HBK came out ready to do a signature move, Jericho was prepared. HBK didn't really have anything other than his usual repertoire, and it cost him.
Here's my big idea: Make HBK find a new finisher, or some new moves to up his game.
Now, I know that no one in WWE is going to walk up to the guy who's dubbed "Mr. Wrestlemania" and force a new finisher on him, but it is a really logical thing to do. Part of what has kept Undertaker from getting stale is his various trademark maneuvers. He's got the Tombstone, Chokeslam, Last Ride, and now his "choke" maneuver. Not to mention that he's altered his standard offense as his character has changed.
Think about when Jericho came back. Y2J knew better than to teturn without something different, and he brought in the "Codebreaker" to give him an impact move that gave him an entirely new dimension to his matches. Now he doesn't have to work the back for the Walls of Jericho, he can also work the head and neck for the codebreaker. He doesn't have to wait for his opponent to tire out enough to slap on a submission or hit the Lionsault, he can also surprise them at any time with the knees to the face.
I'm not saying that HBK has to stop being the "Showstoppa," just that the show shouldn't stop as much for the Sweet Chin Music or the flying elbow like it once did. Every fan in attendance knows when HBK is going to kick someone, or when he's going to drop the elbow. Now that he's in his forties, many of the wrestlers on the roster grew up watching him. They should be able to anticipate as much as the "thousands in attendance and millions watching at home." All I'm asking is for Shawn himself to realize that and freshen up his in ring act.

To tell JJ that HBK will never change here.

To talk about Y2J vs. HBK, McMahon giving away a Million and more, click here.

(Pictures courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)

I CAN see you, but I don't want to.

Last night on RAW, John Cena showed me every reason that us "older" wrestling fans don't like him. (When I say "older" I use quotations because I'm in fact 25, but I'm already way out of the John Cena demographic.) It's not because he's being forced down our throats every week, even though he is. It's not because he used to come out and rap about "Deez Nutz." It's because he doesn't really know what or who he is, or what he's really doing.

When Cena first came out last night, I could have sworn it would be to defend Mickie James and her protests to William Regal. That would have made perfect sense. It would have helped Mickie James out, as fans would see that even Cena respects her, and it would have helped Cena out as he would come to the aid of someone who wasn't getting respect from Regal. Instead, though, we get John Cena escorting Mickie from the ring while he talks with Regal. Which is the wrestling equivalent of saying "get back to the kitchen, woman!" Even after that, we start to think "Oh man, Cena's going to give it to Regal" when what happens? Cena starts to lecture Regal on respect.

Now I know "respect" is just as important to John Cena's gimmick as pretending that starring in the Marine makes him a Marine, but lecturing Regal isn't the way to do it. This isn't World Lecturing Entertainment, it's World WRESTLING Entertainment. What does that mean, children? That means we solve our differences in the ring. This is John Cena's first mistake of the night. Instead of being a wrestler and doing something about Regal making the wrong decisions, Cena wants to talk about it. Can you imagine if Stone Cold just wanted to talk to Mr. McMahon about the bad decisions he made? How about instead of Laying the Smacketh Down, The Rock wanted to Cheweth the Fat with his opponents? To the older fans used to someone who knows that actions speak louder than words, John Cena is a waste of time.

Move on to Main Event, and we'll see another aspect to John Cena that irks the older wrestling fans: his in-ring style. Now, I'm not the kind of guy that believes "work rate" brings the ratings, but Cena is one of the few times where I think that what he does in the ring really hurts him, especially against someone like Randy Orton.

Now, I've watched this match three times just to make sure I wasn't making this up, but Cena's repertoire is, for lack of a better word, sloppy. Randy Orton starts the match looking as if he's mentally prepared. J.R. used that wonderful term "methodical" when describing Orton in ring. That used to mean slow, but with Orton's in ring style it's very accurate. He lays on every headlock, every punch, every back breaker with precision and intent. He wants to work on your head so that concussion kick really takes effect, or for that RKO to deliver a KO. Cena, not so much. If Orton is, as J.R. called him, a viper, then John Cena is a blind gorilla. Cena's every move in that ring looked as if he didn't really have a hold on what he was doing. His ring work looked sloppier than the Goodwin's overalls. Lots of flying through the ring while "holding on" to Orton when it was clear he didn't have a hold at all. Bulldogs, clotheslines, even a cross body that looked horrible in comparison with Orton's precise movements.

Now, I'm not saying Orton is the best in the business, but he looked like a million dollars compared to the Vanilla Gorilla Monday night. If you add that, as well as his confused gimmick, John Cena isn't at all connecting with the older fans. There's an old saying that Jim Cornette is fond of: "You can't polish a turd." Luckily from Cena, he's far from being a turd. But if he is to continue on the course he's on, he will be. The Great Khali has excuses for his lack of in ring prowess, John Cena has none.

To tell JJ that he can't be polished, click here.

To talk about John Cena's performance on RAW, click here.

(John Cena Picture courtesy of www.onlineworldofwrestling.com)