Posted in: Fact or Fiction FACT or FICTION: HHH & Taker's Egos, Kofi Kingston and More!
By SkittleZ
Jul 16, 2008 - 5:13:19 PM
Welcome wrestling fanatics to the July edition of LoP‘s Fact or Fiction! We have an all star cast set to take the stage tonight. That list is made up of the Columns Forum Invitational winner, an intellectual being, a semi-retired Hispanic, an individual with super powers and the June Columnist of the Month. All joking aside, these five guys are here to lay down the law and brainwash you with their mindless nonsense. Anyways, let me go over the rules of this little shindig for those out there who may not be familiar with the structure of this column. We will be taking a look at five diverse topics and choosing either “FACT“ or “FICTION“, as well as give reasons for answering the way we did. But before we get things rolling, how about we formally introduce these grizzled veterans? Oh and feel free to click on the links below, in bold, to take a glance at everyone's most recent column.
FACT or FICTION: Kofi Kingston is in the early stages of a Bobby Lashley-esque push.
(Anthrax) Hmmm, this is an interesting question, but it’s FICTION. While Kofi is certainly in the middle of a pretty big push, it pales in comparison to the kind of success Lashley enjoyed in his short time in the WWE. In just three years, Bobby won the U.S. title once, the ECW title twice, and was involved in one of the longest and highest profile feuds at the time with Vince McMahon. In all honesty, I’ve never seen anyone pushed like Lashley was, other than Brock Lesnar.
On the other hand, it seems like Kofi is being groomed as a top mid card performer. He wins, quite a bit. But other than Chris Jericho, who has he beaten? In all honesty, it’s pretty safe to say that the only reason Kingston even won the Intercontinental Championship was because there simply wasn’t very many attractive options for the title at that point, but it still had to get out of the way of Jericho’s feud with Shawn Michaels.
Something needs to be said for the timing of this question though. Kofi hasn’t even spent a year with the WWE, so it’s still a little early to tell if this push he’s receiving will be as big as Lashley’s. But from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not even close.
(YourAyatollah) I'd call that one FICTION, as I really don't see the similarity. I mean, they're not pushing him as an unbeatable badass, nor or they trying to sell him as the "next big thing" or whatever. The fact of the matter is that they don't have to push Kofi like they did Lashley, because Kingston is capable of drawing a reaction all on his own. It looks more like they're trying to come with a new school RVD type character to me. He's Jamaican, so the ganja is just somewhat implied, he's got a really unique style and move set, and he's always cool. Dude talking smack, just lost a match last week, whatever, dude never loses his cool.
Could Kofi be a World Champion one day? Sure, I think he could. It'll be more as a result of him being unique and having earned it through just flat out getting over, as opposed to Lashley's megapush to cover up the fact that he was boring as shit. Had some cool moves, and I didn't so much dislike him, but he was really, really boring. Kofi isn't.
(aisce) Lashley-esque? Lashley-esque? You’re just saying that because he is black, aren’t you? You could have picked any one of a hundred other wrestlers: he could have been the next Ahmed Johnson, Booker T, or K-Kwik, for example. But, no, you had to label him as the next Bobby Lashley. Kofi Kingston has a right to be judged as an individual and not by the color of his skin, so I say FICTION. He is his own man.
(Degenerate) What, just because he's black he's being compared to Lashley already? Who are you, Michael Hayes? I'd have to say FICTION on this one. Kofi is obviously really athletic, somewhat different from most of the crowd, and seems to be headed in the right direction. But I feel like this is only a temporary thing, just something to get fans talking again in the short run. I'd say that after his Intercontinental Championship run, we won't see him holding gold for a long time. Unless he stops that "BOOP! BOOP!" thing he does. That's already getting to Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm levels of annoying.
(Andy_Savana)FICTION as fuck. Lashley came in and owned everyone left and right. They billed him as unstoppable and he had some sort of a crazy winning streak. Kofi is Jamaican.
FACT or FICTION: CM Punk's title win last month was the most exciting and well booked MITB cash-in to date.
(YourAyatollah) Once again, I say FICTION. Punk's title win was all kinds of exciting, and had me marking out like a little kid in my living room. It was also very well booked, I think, and was one of the most unexpected events to go down in at least the past year or two.
However, the question was if it was the best MITB cash-in, and it was not. The most exciting and fulfilling MITB cashing came at New Year's Revolution 2006, when Edge came out of nowhere, after almost a year with the briefcase, to beat John Cena after the Elimination Chamber match. Like Punk's thing, it was unexpected, exciting, and very well booked. However, given the dynamics of each character at that time, with Cena being booed out of arenas and Edge gaining the reputation of "best guy around to have not won the big one", it was just so much bigger a moment, if you will. Add to that the fact that Edge actually made a real go of it as a main event star shortly afterwards, and Punk's win is sitting in the number two slot at moment.
(aisce) Punk’s title win certainly had that swervetastic flavour with which the WWE is so enamored of late. It wasn’t quite up there with the original shock MITB cash-in of Edge in terms of a surprise, and the booking was the result of necessity (Hardy’s crackheadness), rather than long-term planning, so I am calling FICTION on this one. As an aside, I would urge all young, impressionable viewers out there not to follow the appalling example which the WWE is setting by having a ‘straightedge’ champion. Smugness and self-righteousness are so unattractive in a person, kids: just say no to anally-retentive self-denial and crappy tattoos!
(Degenerate) Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you people not see New Year's Revolution in 2006? No? Oh, I don't blame you. But that's the event where after John Cena spent almost 30 minutes getting beat up in an Elimination Chamber, down comes Edge unexpectedly, defeated by Ric Flair earlier in the night, to cash in his Money In The Bank. Less than two minutes later, he finally gets his first WWE Championship reign which in my opinion, he totally deserved at the time. C.M. Punk's cash-in was just a rip-off of the exact same thing - the champ was beat down, he ran down with a ref, hit his finished and won the belt. Plus, I might be in the minority, but I still don't think Punk was ready to be the champ. So due to Punk's win being a virtual replica of the same situation Edge was two years and a half ago, this is FICTION.
(Andy_Savana) Seeing as I was actually watching LIVE TV when it happened in comparison to reading about Edge's owning Cena, and Edge's Owning Taker being told, I would say FACT. We all joked it would happen and then it fucking did. Also Punk played it perfectly as he kept pointing to his wrist. Bitches now and days better learn to take commands quicker or else they might get choked.
(Anthrax)FICTION. No, just no. CM Punk’s MITB cash-in was entertaining, but nowhere near as entertaining as when Edge stormed out to the ring to cash in on his opportunity against an opponent who had just gone through one of the more grueling match types in wrestling today. That’s when Edge the main event asshole was born, and it was easily one of the more shocking events to transpire in wrestling in quite a while. Plus, CM Punk is a complete twit, so fuck him.
FACT or FICTION: With Triple H set to headline SmackDown for the foreseeable future, Undertaker will return to the RAW roster.
(aisce) Why? Are they unable to co-exist on the same plane of existence? Are they, in fact, the same person? Has anyone ever seen them both in the same place at once?
SmackDown seems to be becoming the brand of choice for the veteran superstar who wants a more family-friendly schedule and a bit of time off now and then. Having said that, ‘Taker can pretty much do as he likes in that regard so it may well be that he ends up on RAW for a while at some time in the future. I’ll give this one a tentative FACT, but with the reservation that it is by no means post hoc ergo propter hoc.
(Degenerate) Well, it would certainly nice to see The Dead Man back in Raw again. This run he's had in Smackdown seems to have rejuvenated him, and he's even better now than he was a couple of years ago. His popularity seems to continue to grow, although I thought it wasn't possible for someone who's already considered a legend in professional wrestling. The Undertaker going back to Raw would probably help the company more than it will help himself, as Raw is the flagship show, so by that standard alone, I would say FACT.
(Andy_Savana) This is the exact reason that people can't enjoy wrestling and an internet connection at the same time. I already know that people are going to build Taker as the man holding people down on RAW while HHH does it on Smackdown. Why not predict that Taker will hold down HHH on Smackdown while Michaels holds down others on RAW. I find it goddamn reasonable to predict that. Michaels was holding down people on the first episode of RAW just like Taker but Taker looks too good with the blue brand. So FICTION. Taker stays on Smackdown.
(Anthrax) Once again, I’m going with FICTION. The draft helped SmackDown fill out a very strong roster, but with the booking going the way it has recently, it’s safe to say that the blue brand could use all the star power it can get. Ken Kennedy isn’t ready for the main event yet, and Jeff Hardy will never be much more than a visitor to the main even scene, so the pickings are a little slim at the top with Edge, Triple H, The Big Show, and maybe Umaga being the only viable options. That leaves a pretty big void, one that Undertaker will fill nicely when he returns.
The question is, with the Undertaker’s impending return, will we see Triple H turn heel again? My gut says no, considering most of the top talents on SmackDown right now are heels. I also don’t think most booking agents would have a problem pushing a straight face vs. face program between H and Undertaker, seeing as how no matter what the circumstances are, these two will draw.
(YourAyatollah) Man, I'm just being Mr. Negativity today, but I gotta dub this one FICTION as well. Given the long and storied history of the Undertaker character, there's no way in hell that he's going to allow Edge and his Edge guys to slip out on what they did to him. I'm kinda clueless as to how they're even going to bring him back in any way that makes sense from a storyline standpoint, but that's really inconsequential. What matters is that the Deadman owes Edge a Tombstone or three, and based on what I've heard in the past, Death waits for no man.
Besides that, we've only seen a handful of Taker vs Hunter matches in all these years, and it'd be cool to see them take a run at each other.
FACT or FICTION: Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. will evolve into the next great WWE tag team.
(Degenerate) Does the WWE even know what great tag teams are anymore? It's been demonstrated that the WWE doesn't care about their tag team division for their long-term benefit. Why would they start now with two young guns who don't have much experience inside the WWE world? If I were part of creative in the WWE, I would use this opportunity to actually create a stable of young, second or third-generation stars instead. But a great tag team? Don't make me laugh. Totally FICTION.
(Andy_Savana) They already are a great tag team. Those little fucks are rubbing people the wrong way with every chance they get on the microphone. With Cryme Time here to own up on their asses and act as a solid polar opposite I believe that both teams are in store for many great things. Not to say that they won't be responsible for a shit load of the heat that they are generating. FACT for sure but not because they can do it by themselves.
(Anthrax) If there was a better way to translate yelling into written prose other than the exclamation point, I’d use it right now. This is a FACT, through and through. Ted Dibiase Jr. is a future mega star. He’s got the look, the attitude, and the skills to succeed at a high level in this business for a long time. His new partner is no slouch either. While Cody may a little behind his new partner in terms of cutting promos, young Mr. Rhodes has proven that he can get it done in the ring. Also, it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be much of a need for Cody to talk a whole lot, considering Dibiase Jr. has been doing a stellar job as a mouthpiece for a little while now. Together, the second generation wrestlers make an almost perfect combination, one that compliments each of them individually, as well as a whole. Even in this day and age, when tag team wrestling seems to be very much out of vogue, it’s hard to deny that Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase Jr. are destined for greatness.
(YourAyatollah) Looks like I'm going for the sweep, here. FICTION, yet again. Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase to have an excellent chance of becoming a solid team. They may run roughshod over the Raw tag division for a year or more, just dismantling motherfuckers left and right.
In the end, though, what would they have accomplished there? Even though they did nothing with them, Raw boasted a decent number of solid tag teams before the draft. Cade & Murdoch, Cryme Tyme, Holly and Rhodes, and Kendrick and London, while not exactly a group of future Hall of Famers, were a decent group of tags. Now, though, Cade is solo and Trevor's gone. Rhodes has turned on Holly, and I don't see Hardcore making a new friend to help him out anytime soon. Even if he does, who the fuck could it possibly be that anyone would really care? Kendrick's back on the Blue team for whatever scatterbrained reason. So the only team left is Cryme Tyme.
So even if Dibiase and Rhodes are an awesome tag team, how would we ever really know? You're only as good as your competition, and when said competition is composed of exactly one team, and an unproven one at that, it's kinda hard to make yourself stand out as something noteworthy. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on them, but I ain't expecting to see anything all that spectacular until they eventually split.
(aisce) Perhaps you should remind me what the last great WWE tag team was: Cryme Tyme? London and Kendrick? The New Rockers? The standard is set so ridiculously low these days, that being the next great tag team isn’t really too hard. That taken as a given, I would say FACT. They will be at least as good as The Bashams were.
FACT or FICTION: Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho's current feud is much better than their initial program was back in 2003.
(Andy_Savana) Any Michaels feud is a complete waste of time to view. It will end with him most likely winning via superkick. The wrestler involved will pretty much be at the same position he was in before and nothing will be gained. Only time will be lost and you people will cater to his "greatness" by claiming the match to be amazing. I answer FICTION because it is as pointless as ever. No one is getting the rub and the fact that they will 'steal the night' means nothing. I once seen two wetbacks 'steal' the night along with all the virginitis in the front row after the show was over.
(Anthrax) I’m going to have to say FICTION here. While I’m very much enjoying the current Jericho/Michaels feud, something has to be said for the beauty in simplicity. Back in 2003, there were no questions about a wrestler’s ethics, no morality plays, none of that. It was quite simply the story of Jericho, the young lion, trying to usurp the established legend’s position. It wasn’t exactly the most original story told, but no one told it better than Chris and Shawn. They knocked it out of the park, and came through with the feud of the year. Plus, anytime a feud can end in what is perhaps the greatest WrestleMania match of all time, it’s going to be hard to top. Really though, considering how completely different these feuds are, it’s not all that fair to compare the two.
(YourAyatollah) Yup, there's the sweep. HBK and Y2J II is not as good as their original go round, so this one is FICTION. That original run was great, as it was somewhat based in reality. Jericho had idolized Michaels in his earlier days, but had eventually grown weary of hearing himself described as the "next Shawn Michaels". He wanted to be the first Chris Jericho, and in a storyline sense, that meant that he had to prove himself as undoubtedly better than Shawn. So he did all those things to try and one up HBK, like starting the Royal Rumble that year (though he had to take number two because Shawn had sneakily garnered the number one spot out from under him). The build to the match was so good, and the match delivered on that build in spades.
This time around, though, is based firmly in storyline, and thus it seems more like they're acting, if you follow. While before Jericho could lace into him with promos that were at least partially based in truth, talking about real feelings he had about the dude, now it's all about Shawn faking and injury and being a hypocrite, blah blah blah. I'm digging the feud, mind you, but much moreso for the matches than for any amount of rolling on the floor while screaming what Shawn Michaels wants to do week after week. So yeah, it's a quality feud, and I grant that one of the matches they currently had may just overshadow that awesome WrestleMania one, but the overall program is, quite frankly, kinda hokey, and nowhere near as good as the one a few years back.
(aisce) I don’t really care for either wrestler. Probably the fact that they are not dissimilar has something to do with it. Y’know, when I agreed to do this, I was not told that I would be required to recall five year old feuds between wrestlers to whom I am indifferent. Really, I have no basis to make a comparison, but I need to break my run of FACTS, so this one gets called a FICTION by me.
(Degenerate) Hmm... This is a tough one. My man-crush for Shawn Michaels has been well-documented, and I thoroughly enjoy anything he's involved in - EXCEPT Playgirl, mind you. And Jericho is always a good fit in a feud no matter where he's stuck in. And this feud has been no exception to either rule. They're doing this really well now, very believable and it all feels like a personal issue. But their feud in 2003 also felt this way, perhaps even more. Jericho being jealous of a returning Shawn Michaels, and the back story of Jericho wanting to be Michaels when he was younger (and come on, who didn't?) was just gold in my book. Much more believable in my eyes. So I'd have to go with FICTION on this one. Oh, and I think Shawn Michaels is totally awesome, did I mention that?
Hey would you look at that... it appears like this month's installment of Fact or Fiction has wrapped up. No need to worry though. We shall be back in about four weeks time. Speak up. Tell us what you thought of this dribble. Just send your feedback to any of the participants via the links below and if you had a rootin' tootin' good time, the fun has only just begun! You can check out full length columns by these established writers as well as others in the LoP Columns Forum Hopefully, you dug this little number. Don't forget to keep an eye out for an all new Fact or Fiction next month, exclusively here on LordsofPain.net!
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