Posted in: Column of the Month April COTM - 'A View From The Rafters' by Stinger
By Stinger
May 16, 2009 - 7:18:54 PM
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Every month, the Columnist of the Month contest is held in the LOP Columns Forum. The winning columnist gets to have one of his columns posted on the main page. This month, we have an old hand at writing columns. He was a popular CF columnist a number of years ago, but recently started writing once again. For his efforts, he's been rewarded with his first COTM win. Please welcome Stinger and his column, A View From The Rafters.
"Who can I believe in when all my heroes are gone? / Does anybody out there know their right from wrong? / No I can't trust the president, I can't trust the cops / I can't believe my ears when the radio's on / I feel so lonely in your world / So disappointed in your world / I'm making my own way / Trying to learn from my mistakes / 'Cause I've got no role model / No footsteps I can follow / I'm making my own way..." H2O:Role Model from the album Go.
-- So the New Hart Foundation has finally arrived in WWE, on ECW, and they brought out the Hart Attack to boot? That was mark out city for me. If you ain't watching ECW, you need to start.
-- With each day, we're drawing nearer and nearer to June 23rd and the release of The Conduit for the Wii, and I cannot wait much longer. Game's going to kick ass.
-- (61) days until (500) Days of Summer and a bus load of Zooey's. Woot, woot!
-- Judgment Day is only a day away, and I'm looking forward to it. On paper, this looks to be a very good event and I can't wait to see some of these matches (Jericho/Mysterio, Edge/Hardy, Punk/Umaga, Morrison/Benjamin and Christian/Swagger).
-- Holy Hell, it's the Main Page! I am the Stinger, and this is the COTM edition of AVFR, A View From the Rafters #91: Stable Wars Pt. 1 - Building A Heel Stable!
Welcome wrestling fans to the ninety-first edition of A View From the Rafters. I am the man known as Stinger, coming to you for the very first time on LordsOfPain.net thanks to fine folks of the LOP Columns Forum voting me the April 2009 Columnist of the Month. I've been toiling away down in the CF, off and on, for coming up on five years, but this past month marked my first "regular and active" stint in the forums since November 2004. April really was a fantastic month for the Columns Forum, and I am honored that my peers down there voted me the best of the month. Certainly, there was a slew of competition and many great columns posted by the likes of Johnny Boomerang, lenjr04, James_A, cicero and NightofDay. To those 15 of you who voted for me and gave me this privilege, thank you and I hope this column lives up to your expectations. To those of you who are reading me for the first time, I am a 23-year-old lifelong wrestling fan from the beautiful state of Alabama. Also, Zooey Deschanel graces my column banner because she was crowned "Miss AVFR" in my last column, following several weeks of competition with Katie Lea. No need wasting anymore time on the intro this week, let's roll peeps.
Stinger: In the Columns Forum, there's winners and there's lose... oh right this isn't a parody of the WWE.com show. But if it were, I'd totally be John Morrison, 'cuz I'm awesome like that. Jimmy, welcome to the Rafters of the LOP Main Page.
The Jimz: I'm your chick magnet, The Jimz! Today Stinger has invited me to his palace of wisdom where we shine our light in the dark smelly depths of the WWE locker rooms. That is of course unless it's the divas locker room though security has already kicked me out enough times.
Stinger: They kick you out, yet they escort me right on in. That's why I'm the "shaman of sexy". Alicia Fox says hello by the way, apparently she likes it when you sneak in there.
The Jimz: I'm sure she does. Have you seen her in the ring? My God is she flexible! And the chick magnet digs chicks with flexibility. Also her skin is toasty as a warm summer candy bar yet as smooth as one too. Definitely a plus. But enough of my chocolate women, how were things from the rafters to the locker rooms?
Stinger: Ah, good day in the rafters, got lots of dirt. For example, did you know the general feeling is that, because John Morrison did not defeat Chris Jericho last week on Superstars, WWE is failing to follow through with establishing Morrison as a new star?
The Jimz: I don't think that hurt John Morrison's main event chances. John Morrison is well on his way up there. One win won't change the fact that the "top babyfaces" are question marks due to their schedules. Plus Jericho hasn't even won a match on Smackdown yet. He needs to win sometime.
Stinger: I have to cut you off there Jimz. We can't allow logical thinking on my Dirt Sheet. You can't argue with the general feeling of unnamed people. Morrison didn't beat Jericho on a lowrated show, obviously WWE isn't following through with pushing Morrison. That's the general feeling. It's true, I read it, er, heard it from many within the company.
The Jimz: There's no room for logic in the Palace of Wisdom? But do we wanna be a sleazy gossip show? Or do we just wanna bounce around the masses' opinions? I think the choice is obvious. Please excuse The Jimz earlier statements. He's obviously been smoking too many dirty sheets. Please carry on Shaman while I go lie down for a second.
Stinger: That you've been smoking too many dirty sheets is the general feeling within the Columns Forum. See, I can say that and it can't be disputed, that's why general feelings rule all. I think I hear Zooey calling my name Jimmy, so we're going to need to wrap this up. Any departing words for our main page audience, Mr. Chick Magnet?
The Jimz: In life, there are winners and there are losers. Not everyone who says to Stinger "Shaman, Shaman" will enter the Palace of Wisdom. You losers can try to approach him but in the end he will end up telling you "Away from me evil loser for I never knew you." Fear not however for I am living the dream of being invited to the Palace of Sexy Sheets. And be on the lookout for another upcoming visit once I sober up. Until then, I am your chick magnet The Jimz reminding you that in life, there are winners and losers and I am a winner!
Stinger: And to the rest of you, BE JEALOUS! Sorry, finish the reading the column, that's what I want you to do. Be jealous of nothing some other time.
Most people, like animals, tend to run in packs. We'll group ourselves together with a circle of friends, while the loner is looked as "not normal". This happens in professional wrestling too, and I have always loved a good stable. It just makes sense, you're in an environment that is perceived as hostile, and you have enemies and goals, of course you'd group together with others, if only for self-preservation. This flock mentality works extremely well in wrestling, which is why some of the best material has come from stables and stable wars.
In the 1980's, the Four Horsemen ruled the wrestling world in the National Wrestling Alliance. They were the top wolves, and they held the gold. Each had a role to play, each had their own feuds, but they were always there to ensure the other one was safe or had the advantage. They were a dastardly gang of heels, and people tuned in to see the Horsemen and too see them get their asses kicked. There were a lot of stables back then though, every promotion had at least one, usually a heel stable.
The mid-to-late '90's saw a few stables rise to the top of their respective promotions and completely dominate, pushing wrestling to new heights in the process. In World Championship Wrestling, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan struck gold with the formation of the New World Order. This group marked a changing of the guard, a new era, a new edge and a new attitude in WCW that would soon force World Wrestling Federation to make some changes in the same direction. The NWO was different than anything that had been seen in years, it was exceptionally well booked in the beginning and it made people tune in. The trio tore through WCW, causing all sorts of chaos and that just made for compelling television.
The problem with the NWO however, is that it got too big. Within one year, it encompassed most of WCW, everyone was NWO. It got so big, they had to split into two separate NWO factions. Once it stopped being fresh and became redundant, the whole company went downhill.
At the same time, WWF was really starting to run with the whole Attitude concept, and we had the Shawn Michaels led Degeneration X running rampant. Consisting of Michaels, Triple H and Chyna, with help occasionally from the New Age Outlaws, DX played a huge role in helping WWF turn the tide from producing mediocre shows, to kick ass, must-watch television. WWF would also see the formation of Vince McMahon's Corporation in 1998, led by McMahon, his son Shane and WWF Champion, The Rock. Eventually the Corporation merged with another vile group, The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, forming the Corporate Ministry, which ultimately watered down the concept of both stables.
Next came the McMahon-Helmsley faction, and the husband and wife duo of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, along with DX and a few others, made life hell for the superstars of the WWF. The group was a success, and they made the program more interesting.
The last truly great stable in WWE was Evolution, comprised of Triple H, Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton. This group dominated Monday Night RAW for two years, and in the process made Randy Orton and Batista into legitimate superstars. Between 2003-2005, Evolution ruled RAW and at one point, held all of the main titles on the RAW brand. They were as close to the Four Horsemen, as any stable has ever been.
Today, this seems to be a lost art. There's just not many stables around, and the ones that are, aren't all that great. TNA is doing a great job currently with a main-event stable of heels in the Main Event Mafia (Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Booker T and Scott Steiner), and it is certainly worlds better than the horrible Kings of Wresting they tried in 2004, which ripped off a lot of NWO stuff. RAW has The Legacy going, but no one takes DiBiase and Rhodes seriously, unfortunately. ECW now has the Hart Triology, and this is a great thing for the brand, but it's essentially a tag team. Smackdown, however, has nothing, and that leads us to this weeks main topic... building a heel stable on the Friday night show, a stable we shall call R.I.S.E: Requisite Indispensable Superstars and Entertainers (thanks to friend Dr. Chad Matthews for the stable name).
Every great stable needs a leader and a credible challenger for the World Championship. The Four Horsemen had Ric Flair, the NWO had Hulk Hogan and Evolution had Triple H. When it comes to creating a heel stable on Smackdown, one need look no further than the fantastic heel that is Chris Jericho to lead the group.
Jericho brings the credibility and respect required to bring together a successful, main-event level stable. He's second to none on the microphone, and since becoming a heel a year ago, has done a wonderful job of completely altering his character. This alteration has led to Jericho being a heel who rips on the fans and other wrestlers, yet deep down we all know what he says is 100% truthful. Because of this, it's easy to hate the guy, people simply don't want to hear the truth. Jericho brings the reasoning and skills to pull together a group that believes in what he says.
A student of the famed Hart Dungeon, probably the hardest and most successful school, Chris Jericho ranks near the very top when speaking of wrestling ability. There's simply no one on the roster that Jericho can't carry to a decent to good match. When he's on top of his game, as he currently is, he's as good as anyone has ever been. On Smackdown, Jericho is a legitimate threat to capture the World Championship, whenever he wrestles for it, and it's only a matter of time before he wears the big gold belt again. Jericho is the constant that ensures his group gets the respect it deserves, because he's the one guy who'll be bringing the World Championship home for his group.
The goal of any group should be complete dominance however, so simply having the World Champion in your ranks, just doesn't cut it. You have to have guys who can go out and acquire new precious metals to bring home. The Horsemen had Ole and Arn Anderson, NWO had The Outsiders and DX had the New Age Outlaws. Yes, we're speaking of tag teams here, and any great stable needs a tag team to represent it and bring in tag-team gold. Looking at the Smackdown roster, there's two guys who are oozing wrestling talent and just happen to be former tag team champions. Under Chris Jericho's leadership and direction, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, The World's Greatest Tag Team, can up their game and position themselves for future spots near the top of the brand.
Shelton Benjamin has been called "the most athletic man in WWE", and watching his performances for the last seven years or so, it's easy to agree with that sentiment. Benjamin has a natural, raw talent about him that has been molded into creating a well rounded professional wrestler. The former Intercontinental and United States Champion already has all the wrestling tools needed to become a future World Champion, what he lacks is promo ability. To be fair to Benjamin, since becoming The Gold Standard, his promo's have gotten better, and usually the more time you get doing something, the better you'll become at it. In a group with Jericho, he'll be rubbing shoulders with one of the best in the world on the stick, whilst getting the time necessary to improve his own promo skill.
Charlie Haas is a phenomenal wrestler, and when he is given a chance to show what he can do inside the ring, you have to be impressed. I've been a fan of this man since he and Benjamin busted on the scene as a tag team in Team Angle. He's an ultra talented wrestler and deserves the very best of opportunities. It's the joke of the IWC, the so-called "Haas Pop" when a wrestler gets zero reaction. But why should the crowd react to a man they've been given no reason to care about? Put Charlie in a spotlight in a group such as this, give him some promo time, and the fans will ultimately get behind him, either to cheer him or boo him. The fans just need to be given a reason, not thinking the reason for his being out there is simply to give the fans a piss break during the show.
Together, Benjamin and Haas made up the one of the greatest technical tag teams of the past decade. For a guy like Chris Jericho, there couldn't be two better guys to have join you and to acquire the tag team championship for the group. As the Unified Tag Team Champions, The World's Greatest Tag Team would get the opportunity to represent R.I.S.E. on every brand by defending their titles and preaching Jericho's message. As a tag team, they'd also be the perfect partners when your group enters into six-man tag matches, either teaming with the leader or teaming with another member. That other member usually ends up being the mid-card talent in the group, more so than the main player.
Whether it be the bringing the Intercontinental Championship into the group, as Randy Orton did for Evolution, or bringing in the United States or Television Championship as Tully Blanchard did for the Horsemen and Syxx-pac did for the NWO, you always need that guy in the middle who is brash and arrogant, yet can get the job done and still represent the group. For a group like R.I.S.E., Jericho should look no further than Dolph Ziggler to fill that role.
Dolph Ziggler is a cocky guy, but he is also a great athlete and has all the tools necessary to become a top guy in time. In the ring, he's constantly improving, and hanging around with Chris Jericho would definitely up his credibility a bit. One aspect of his character that he should change is repeatedly introducing himself. I know, I know, that IS his gimmick. Sure, but it's stupid and it makes him look study. In small doses, like backstage, it can be funny, but not in the ring.
As a member of R.I.S.E., Ziggler's job would be to feud with the Intercontinental Champion and bring that title into the group. With this accomplished, Jericho's R.I.S.E. would be dominating Friday Night's by holding all the gold, something no stable has done in WWE since Evolution. By going after, winning and then defending the Intercontinental Championship, Ziggler would be locking up with some of the top faces and up-and-coming talent on Smackdown. Working with the likes of Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, John Morrison and R-Truth would really help Ziggler hone his skills inside of the ring and do something meaningful and memorable.
Ziggler would need someone to watch his back at all times though, as would The World's Greatest Tag Team and Chris Jericho. They need someone who is mean as hell and just wants to hurt people, they need a monster to be their enforcer. Looking at the Smackdown roster, one guy comes to mind that would excel in this role and could really benefit from it. That man is Mike Knox.
There's nothing pretty about the 6'6", 293 pounds of Mike Knox. He's not a technical wrestler, and he doesn't have to be. He's a brawler, and any stable can definitely utilize a good brawler. Jim Ross refers to Mike Knox as "the next Bruiser Brody", and while I personally wouldn't go that far yet, he definitely could be if booked correctly. Bruiser Brody was a helluva talent, Brody sold tickets, so Knox has a long ways to go before reaching anywhere near that level. Knox has the look, and he's talented enough to get over as a monster heel if he's put in the right direction. Being the man who destroys people for R.I.S.E. would certainly draw plenty of heat for Knox.
Bruiser Brody worked heel and face though. After being the hitman for Jericho's group and upping his game and credibility with the fans, there's nothing the fans would love more than to see the big bad Knox turn on Jericho and his crew. For whatever reason, the fans love when a monster who has been helping evil bad guys, finally turns on them. Look how popular Batista got over when he turned on Triple H and left Evolution. That MADE Batista, and Knox is at least as talented as Batista and much younger, so he's a better investment. As the monster of R.I.S.E. though, Mike Knox's goal would be to ensure the others win championships and keep them, which in turn will help solidify his eventual face turn.
There's one final member that any stable needs, and that is a manager or valet. The Horsemen had JJ Dillon, Baby Doll and Woman. The NWO had Ted DiBiase and Miss Elizabeth. DX had Chyna and Tori. Evolution had Ric Flair. For Jericho's group, working with what the Smackdown roster has, they'll need a valet. The beautiful Alicia Fox is perfect for the group.
As valet, Alicia's job would be to stand ringside and look pretty, whilst distracting the referee and R.I.S.E. opponents, or sneaking weapons in for her guys to use. Fox does have managing experience, she was the valet for DJ Gabriel on ECW. As a diva though, and one who can be molded into a decent wrestler at that, Alicia could also go after the WWE Women's Championship, and then really bring all the Smackdown gold home. Of course that would be secondary for her, her main job would be to simply manage the R.I.S.E. members.
And that's Requisite Indispensable Superstars and Entertainers, a Smackdown heel stable. I think a group such as that would be very beneficial to the blue brand, which is already the best brand in wrestling. Of course whenever there's a good heel stable around, it's always nice to have a counter face stable on the scene for a little gang war, especially around time for Survivor Series. So in a future edition of AVFR, maybe even #93, we'll see the second part of the Stable Wars, with "Building A Smackdown Face Stable".
That brings us to the end of this, the ninety-first edition of A View From the Rafters. It was indeed an honor to grace the famous LOP Main Page as a COTM winner, especially when there is just so much talent down in the Columns Forum at the moment. Hopefully you all enjoyed reading it, if not, sorry. Until next time, this has been Stinger bringing you A View From the Rafters and reminding you that the sting stops here.
