DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu #90 - Bad Blood Review, Extra PPV & A Hardyz Return
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 4:23 PM EST




THE WRESTLING MENU #90

Welcome one and all to the 90th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

It seems that I put a jinx on A.J Styles. Two weeks after stating that he lands his 'Spinal Tap' finisher on a consistent basis, he overshoots it. Oh well, a finisher like that just couldn't be hit perfectly all the time. Actually, the fact that he went too far is quite impressive in itself. Maybe it's the hexagon ring that threw him out.

The 'Dessert' section of my column this week is the topic that I will discuss emanating from last week's review of No Mercy '99. If you are yet to read that column, you can do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2004/articles/1086812814.php


APPETIZERS - Extra PPV

If you are yet to realize, the WWE is running 2 extra pay-per-views this year, bringing the total to 14 in 2004. They are doing this for our viewing pleasure... NOT!!! Actually, I think that the real reason why they have decided to do it, was to promote the brand extension. But I am thoroughly against it.

Firstly, I think the real paramount reason why the WWE have thrown in a couple of extra ppv's this year is to simply raise more revenue. I'm unsure whether there is an actual break-even point financially on ppv buyrates, but it's as if the WWE don't care if there is one. I'll explain why in a moment. But first, I should give my reasoning as to why the additional events aren't actually helping the separate brands.

I'm sure that one of the reasons given for originally splitting up the brands on pay-per-view was so that each brand would have more time to establish storylines, feuds & angles. This would have hopefully resulted in better depth & intensity to feuds & matches, as writers would be given more time to shell out the proper emotions of, and reasons, why a character did what they did to whom. I have to say that I agreed with this notion right from the beginning.

Now whether the WWE writers have or haven't done this is arguable. But the theory is there & I really don't mind having each brand's pay-per-views separated by 8-9 weeks. It gives that feeling of payoffs to ppv's (when a feud is written properly). Furthermore, the WWE compromised by continuing to have 4 joint-brand ppv's. Again, I was all for this. It gave the impression that there were supercards of sorts & would possibly dig a brand out of a hole if they were struggling to fill an entire ppv (EG: SmackDown at Judgment Day).

But the real negative here is money. Fans are not made of money & they cannot keep forking out more dollars. That is especially the case if the product is declining in quality. Hell, some people even budget their expenses a year ahead of time. If those people were wrestling fans, then they would just do what they have done for previous years & set aside for 12 ppv's. So when 2 extra are thrown in, then why should the fan be the one that compromises?

To cut a long story short, I am seriously thinking of not purchasing 'The Great American Bash' in 10 days time. And I'll admit that the main reasons are cost & principle. The cost factor is obvious, and the principle factor is simply that I just don't think that the WWE have thrown in these extra 2 events for the correct reasons. Bottom line folks: I'll be asking my brother to order the ppv (luckily it is the first day of his school holidays, so he may buy it). If he declines, then there may be no PPV Review in just over 2 weeks time. It's a shame, but my pockets only go so deep.


MAIN - Backlash Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F]
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: Judgment Day '04)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Royal Rumble '04 & No Way Out '04)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: Backlash '04)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: WrestleMania 20)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: WrestleMania 19)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: SummerSlam '02)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

CHRIS BENOIT & EDGE defeated LA RESISTANCE by Disqualification in a Match for the World Tag-Team Titles: Solid 10 minute opener. Both Grenier & Conway seem to be improving, and tag-team wrestling seems to mask their deficiencies well enough. Well paced with only one prolonged period involving a resthold. In the final 2-3 minutes, there was some genuinely good byplay between all 4 men. But then Kane came down to interfere causing the DQ. Disappointingly booked ending: (a) Grenier lasted longer than World Heavyweight Champions in the crossface, and (b) if Kane was to come down, why couldn't it result in a La Resistance win, so they could gloat about beating Benoit & Kane twice!?!?!? Match Rating...6

CHRIS JERICHO defeated TYSON TOMKO: I almost over-rated this match because of the fact that I was concentrating too much on whether or not Tomko made mistakes. There really isn't much to say about this bout. It was 6 minutes of decent big man vs smaller man action. Nothing special at all. Luckily Tomko did not embarrass himself & Jericho kept the pace up to an acceptable level. Match Rating...5

RANDY ORTON defeated SHELTON BENJAMIN to Retain the InterContinental Title: Firstly, I liked the idea of using an Orton promo to kick things off, as it added just that little more intensity that the feud needed. But my goodness, after the first couple of minutes of decent action, this bout took a long time to get going. There is just something about these 2 that doesn't click. There's just no 'wow' factor there. It really did need the appearance of Ric Flair and, of all things, an intense battle of swinging right hands to finally breathe some life into the match. While the final few minutes of the match were good, I did not like the booking of them. Benjamin dominated Orton. While Orton kicked out of numerous 2 counts, Shelton hardly found himself on his back. Yet, not only did Orton somehow get the win, but Benjamin really did nothing to super impress me. I'm possibly being a little harsh on 2 of the WWE's finest young superstars, but this feud better continue & improve, or else I will judge it as nothing more than average. Match Rating...6

TRISH STRATUS defeated LITA, GAIL KIM & VICTORIA in a Fatal Fourway Match to Win the WWE Women's Title: Ummm, I could swear that this match was supposed to be an Elimination Match. It would have been better as one. What we ended up with though was a fun match that was way too frenetically paced. The action was almost too hard to keep up with, if you can believe that with a women's match. Maybe the WWE thought some short-term harm for the long-term good of the division was what was needed. Don't get me wrong, this 5 minute match was entertaining, but it was pretty much just a series of spots. An elimination match with an extra 3 or 4 minutes would have come off better, in my opinion. The winner was almost unimportant. Match Rating...6

EUGENE defeated JONATHAN COACHMAN: This is the type of match that sometimes make me wish that I didn't do a PPV Rating column. I mean, how do you rate a match like this!?!?!? Basically, it was 7 minutes of letting Eugene be humorous/entertaining. Some of the spots that had been done before didn't have the same impact this time around, so the WWE need to be careful of repetitiveness when it comes to Eugene. But there were enough new spots here to have me chuckling. Even a very awkward Stone Cold Stunner!!! Very hard to rate, but definitely served it's purpose successfully. I suppose WWE does stand for World Wrestling Entertainment. Match Rating...6

CHRIS BENOIT defeated KANE to Retain the World HeavyWeight Title: Excellent wrestling match which had a little bit of everything. Kane hasn't had a match as good as this in years, and it's quality is a testament to the ability of Benoit. I loved the intensity at the beginning of the bout, and while there was a little quiet patch afterwards, it was all for a reason. Kane worked on Benoit's neck, while the champ worked on the challenger's shoulder & leg. What followed was very good psychological wrestling with Kane simply trying to use brute strength to win the title, while Benoit used a clever variation of technical skill to wear down the much larger man. The final few minutes were very well booked & performed with Benoit doing everything to make Kane submit. When he continuously was unsuccessful, he went for the surprise rollup which could, and did, legitimately catch Kane off guard. Benoit deserves to be champion for many months to come. Match of the night. Match Rating...8

TRIPLE H defeated SHAWN MICHAELS in a Hell In A Cell Match: Oh boy, I just know opinions are going to be divided over this one. Unfortunately, if you were looking forward to which side of the fence I was going to jump to, you may be disappointed as I am going to sit right on it. It was a bruising match with very good intensity & excellent work ethic. I find it very hard to be critical when 2 men put in as much as these 2 did here. Furthermore, I thought they did the little things correctly & with that extra bit of oomph that was needed. I'm talking of the foreign object shots, landings, etc... However, at 47 minutes in length, I have to state that not enough really happened. I can't say that I was expecting anything 'Foley-like', but I was expecting something new & different. That definitely didn't come & the main story that was told here was how gruelling a match this was (which is arguably the main purpose of the cell). In fact, it almost went out of it's way to set up the (well-deserved) time off that these 2 should be getting soon. When rated in isolation, this was definitely above average, but maybe it's time for the cell to have a long rest (about 2 years), until someone can do it a little more justice. Match Rating...7

PPV RATING (44/70) = 63

Looking at the key, I have basically given 'Bad Blood' a 'C+' grade & said that it was 'worth a watch'. It seems that the Raw brand is at least consistent, with this ppv scoring exactly the same as Backlash 2 months ago. This ppv could be looked at as a solid event. It had no failing match & a very good World HeavyWeight Title bout. Conversely, it could be seen as an opportunity lost. Better booked endings to the tag-team & InterContinental title matches, along with a more spectacular main event, could easily have nudged this ppv up to a B+ grade. So while this event has received the highest rating of all single-brand ppv's ever (by 0.35%), it could so easily have been a lot better. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. At the end of the day, this event was a worth a watch.


DESSERT

The Return Of Jeff Hardy?

Rumors have been floating around the web for about a month or so now that Jeff Hardy will shortly be making his return to the WWE, after over a year on the sidelines. Now, it is important to view this news as only a rumor at the moment. There has definitely been nothing official mentioned from the WWE, and in fact, I almost get the feeling that these rumors are not true.

In my opinion, one of the reasons why all this speculation began was because of a topic that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. That was the one where I basically asked: Where is this angle with Kane, Matt Hardy & Lita going to end up? Because there is no obvious destination to the storyline, some fans are presuming that something special needs to occur, for it to exist at all. That's an arguable point, but also don't be surprised if the WWE brush it off without a thought (I don't think they will, by the way). That 'something special' could well be the return of Jeff Hardy.

Now before I continue on, I should state that I was huge fan of The Hardy Boyz tag-team in their first few years with the WWE. They were an excellent, entertaining & hard-working team who deserved all the success that they got. Personally, I had no favorite. I viewed them as a team. A team you could build a tag-team division around.

But in the current professional wrestling environment, a team cannot stay a team. They just have to be broken up somewhere along the way, for the sake of, well, breaking up. Both Matt & Jeff initially struggled with their careers as singles wrestlers & reacted almost oppositely. Matt continued to work hard thinking of new gimmicks, catchphrases & improvements inside the squared circle. While Jeff basically started to not give a damn. He was turning up late to shows, losing fitness & genuinely not caring in the ring. Early in 2003, there was no option but for the WWE & Jeff Hardy to part ways.

So should Jeff Hardy return to the WWE...??? Well, that all depends on Jeff. If his motivation & fitness isn't back to where it was when The Hardy Boyz first entered the WWE in the mid to late 90's, then forget it. He should not be brought back for a short-term storyline & short-term pop. It won't do the WWE any good. It won't do the current WWE roster any good. And most importantly, it won't do Jeff any good.

However, if his motivation & fitness is back to where it was at the beginning of his career, I do think that the WWE should re-hire Jeff Hardy. Now, some (maybe most) will disagree with this, stating that his wrestling style would not do anything positive to any singles division right now, while a return to tag-team wrestling would simply drag an already underused (but talented) brother further into mediocrity.

While the singles argument is valid, it's not really a possibility anyway. After such a departure, the WWE are loathe to push wrestlers immediately upon return. Well, those without size anyway!!! But I disagree with the tag-team argument on 2 reasons. Firstly, the WWE have already had their chance with Matt Hardy. Face or heel, he has received a crowd reaction. Yet, with the exception of a decent cruiserweight championship reign, he has not received a push at all. I'm not saying it is too late for Matt to be a successful singles wrestler, but if the WWE wait any longer, the fans won't buy it down the track.

If the Hardy Boyz reunite, they would purely & simply bring (for want of a better word) stability to a division that desperately needs it. And that's on either brand!!! They were also an entertaining team who could bring that different style to the table. It could give the division a breath of fresh air.

But who said the Hardy Boyz had to reunite anyway!?!?!? How about a tag-team of Jeff Hardy & Shane Helms (with or without The Hurricane gimmick) on Raw. Or a tag-team with Paul London on SmackDown. Hell, they wouldn't even need a gimmick. Their gimmick could simply be the flashy moves that they perform in the ring.

So, that's my take. If Jeff is motivated & fit, then the WWE should welcome him back with open arms in one of it's 2 tag-team divisions. Of course, that's a big "IF". To read more about Jeff Hardy & where his problems began, please click on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2003/articles/1051101947.php


On that note, that's all I have for edition #90 of 'The Wrestling Menu. If you took a look at Bad Blood, please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of my ratings for each match. Also, what do you think of my opinion that the WWE does not need these extra 2 pay-per-views that will air in 2004. How about a return of The Hardy Boyz!?!?!? Or at least Jeff Hardy!!! As always, I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

What's on the agenda for next week's 'Wrestling Menu'...??? Well, because June was picked out of the hat to be one of the months that has 2 ppv's, it's already time to predict the next event. In this case, the return (WWE style) of The Great American Bash. I will also post a topic I held back a fortnight ago. It's an 'Oz Perspective' concerning a talented young singer & why the WWE should do whatever it takes to have the best talent on their roster. That, plus a whole lot more timely professional wrestling discussion, same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.













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