Breaking The Walls Down - Use It Or Lose It Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 4:37 PM EST
Breaking The Walls Down
Hello all and welcome to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. I believe I’ve caught up on all of my e-mails, save for a few that I will be responding to shortly. I just got done celebrating my anniversary, my wife’s 30th birthday, and Valentine’s Day all in the span of seven days so it was a busy, busy time. I am going to pass on Bits and Pieces this week due to my limited time and the rant I feel brewing. . . . And with that, onto the column.
Use It Or Lose It
Rob Van Dam he’s over, so very over. But, is The WWE noticing? I’m not sure, because I’m pretty sure I saw Triple H beat both him and The Big Show to go onto Wrestlemania. . . again. Look, no one is discrediting Triple H. He works his butt off in the ring and has earned what he’s received. But, Triple H has had his shot carrying the company. What is the problem with having RVD head to Wrestlemania and face John Cena? Is it because of Cena is considered a face? Is it because The WWE worries that their in-ring style will clash? I don’t know, but the answer is simple: The WWE needs to use what they have in RVD before they lose it.
I’m fairly certain I read that RVD’s contract status is coming up and that he fully intends on signing a new contract. Maybe it’s because RVD isn’t signed long-term that he wasn’t given a title shot at Wrestlemania. That could be a real possibility, but I don’t think that’s a real reason. If The WWE would really want RVD signed for the long-term they would have aggressively pursued him and had him sign a contract. I will concede that it’s possible they have done this, but I don’t think that’s the case. RVD has recently come back from his injury that we all knew he would come back from. The WWE had to know this and I would be willing to bet that they could have had him sign an extension with them while he was recovering from his injury. But, that didn’t happen.
Please don’t stress to me that The WWE is the master of contracts. If you sit there and tell me that, I’ll throw The Rock’s contract mess in your face. How in the world can The WWE “forget” that The Rock’s contract was up? Wasn’t The Rock, oh, I don’t know, one of the top draws in the company? Again, I ask, how could The WWE have let that happen? For that reason alone, I lack the confidence necessary to believe that The WWE has aggressively pursued signing RVD to a long-term contract.
After watching last night’s match and hearing how over he was with the crowd, I said to my wife, “RVD’s not winning tonight. Triple H is definitely winning.” My wife turned and looked at me and asked, “Why”. My simple response was, “That’s how The WWE is. It’s Wrestlemania time, so that means it’s Triple H’s time. I wonder if RVD will even be in Wrestlemania this year.” From what I’ve read, it’s possible that RVD will be involved in a feud with Shelton Benjamin for the IC Title. I guess I should be grateful for anything involving RVD and a title shot, but the IC Title again? Didn’t RVD already hold that and work past it? Wasn’t that RVD in the main even on RAW for a World Title shot at Wrestlemania?
Sure, you could say look what they’ve done with Chris Benoit. In order to make him a non-forgotten wrestler in the fans eyes, they gave him the U.S. Title. Great, that’s wonderful. Does anyone remember the days when the IC Title and the U.S. Title were used to elevate mid-card wrestlers into the sub-main event picture? To say that Chris Benoit is back in the sub-main event picture sure sounds like a step back to me. What would be an even bigger travesty is if RVD didn’t win the IC Title from Benjamin, and The WWE simply used RVD as a stepping stone for Benjamin. Do I see that happening? Honestly, I’m not sure. If RVD faces Benjamin at Wrestlemania, I can easily see either of the wrestlers winning the match, but RVD has far much more to lose if he does not win the match
The fans are backing RVD with a rabid passion. Did anyone hear how loud the crowd was on Monday night when RVD gave his signature “R.V.D.” statement? Did anyone see all the people in the stands stand up and take their thumbs and point to themselves just like RVD? I know I did, I know you did, but I’m not so sure The WWE did. In fact, I don’t know what The WWE is paying attention to these days anyway. Maybe RVD needs to marry someone in the company, or claim that because he’s in the business for so long he only has to sell to certain guys, or maybe he needs to claim a fallen wrestler from ECW and scream out that wrestler’s name when he needs help in a match? Is that what it takes these days to get a World Title shot in The WWE? Well, it shouldn’t.
I have a fear that the fans will eventually become numb to RVD. They will realize that The WWE is doing nothing with him and move on. He’ll eventually become yesterday’s news and we’ll never know what could have been. I suppose it’s possible that The WWE worries about RVD’s mic skills. While I won’t say it’s easy to confuse RVD with The Rock on the mic, I will say that RVD has mic skills that the crowd could develop. And, what I’ve been begging for years now needs to come to fruition, bring back Bill Alphonzo (sp?) to manage RVD. Who cares if faces don’t have managers? RVD and Bill Alphonzo were incredible together and could really do well together in The WWE. And, if this would ever happen, don’t have Alphonzo turn his back on RVD. Keep them teamed up. The move could pay off for The WWE in many ways.
It’s not as if RVD isn’t an offensive wrestling show-stopper. What RVD is able to do in the ring, few have been able to emulate. One would think that The WWE would want to build on that. Could it be that The WWE is fearful that very few would be able to compete with RVD in the main event spot. Is The WWE worried about bruising main-eventer’s egos? I’ll be the first to admit that I’ll buy a PPV with RVD defending the World Title in a “Hell In A Cell” match regardless of who he’s facing. Why, because RVD alone can and will make a match very entertaining. I’m not so sure The WWE is noticing the opportunity that has landed in their laps. Sure, this June when The WWE holds another ECW “One Night Stand” PPV, I’m sure RVD will have an incredible match with someone. But, my concern is that The WWE will fear that many of their main-event wrestlers will be up to that kind of a match. I say what’s the harm in a challenge?
I’d love to see RVD defend his World Title in a “TLC” match or a “Hell In A Cell” match against the likes of Christ Benoit or Randy Orton or Triple H, because I know those matches would be incredibly good. WWE fans, as a whole, are looking for a more exciting and diversified product. Having Rey Mysterio Jr. winning The Royal Rumble was great and it proved to be shocking, but The WWE ultimately took that from Mysterio. The WWE has tried having different wrestlers as champion to see how that helped their buy rates. The results were mixed and it was obvious who the fans wanted to see. But, I believe that RVD is the hot hand (and has been for a few years now) and the answer to a stagnant product, what is the harm in trying?
