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Submitted by Randomguy#5 on Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 6:21 PM EST
1) IF he drops the title to Randy Orton and loses all subsequent rematches, the WWE would be best served to turn John Cena heel. Aisce: The way that John Cena is perceived by the WWE audience has been out of the hands of the bookers for two years now. His mixed reception will continue whether he is booked as face or heel. In that respect, he is rather like HHH, who will always be hated or loved by certain sections of the crowd, no matter what his mannerisms or alignment are. Cena is deservedly the biggest thing in wrestling right now, and his character transcends the need for simplistic pigeonholing in order to determine and provoke a reaction. Ultimately, though, I would have to call FICTION on this one, largely because the corollary of attempting to turn Cena heel doubtless would be turning Orton face, and no-one with any sense would want to see that again. Jetsetpoker: As much as I want to say FACT this is totally FICTION. If John Cena turns heel who is going to be carrying the main event on Raw? Yes I know HHH is back and I know he will feud with Orton for the title but doesn’t it make sense to have HHH work his way up a little bit? In the meantime who would Orton feud with if Cena went heel? That would leave Orton with Jeff Hardy, The Sandman, and Cody Rhodes. Come on now there’s a main event I want to see. Sandman vs Orton! Terry: FICTION. They haven't turned him heel yet despite the fact that Cena a was heavily booed in some of his feuds. Hell, He might be turned heel by the fans if he get's the belt back, cause that'll mean the return of that spinner belt. (blech) Romans : I say this is FICTION. In my opinion Cena will be having mixed reactions until he hangs up his boots, whether he’s face or heel. If WWE turns Cena, the smarks and older fans, who now don’t like Cena much, will suddenly recognize John’s greatness, while at the same time Cena will lose the support of his younger fans, leaving him in the same situation he's in now. I think it’s the younger fans that spend more money on merch than the older crowd, so it’s in WWE’s best interest to keep Cena as a face. I say give Cena some time off to make whatever movie he’s going to be shooting after feuding with Orton, then have him return, win the Rumble and jump to Smackdown to defeat Undertaker for the WHC at Wrestlemania 24. Raw would still have a strong main event scene with Trips, HBK, Kennedy, Orton and Lashley, and Smackdown would have a big star in Cena who is actually durable to provide a real fix to its injury plagued main event. Random: First and foremost, I don’t think Cena is dropping the belt at Summerslam. I think it’ll wait until Unforgiven, and lead to a blow off match between the two at Survivor Series. That said, I’m going to say FACT. Cena has two mega-feuds left in him, and they are Batista and especially The Undertaker. Cena is obviously the guy the WWE wants to hang their hat on for the next five years or so, and I would propose that they seal the deal by putting him over ‘Taker at ‘Mania. People will LOATH him, male/female/adult/ or child. The idea that Cena will always have that mixed reaction is ludicrous. People boo him because he’s stale and they cheer him because he’s funny. If he was edgier like he was when he was heel, they’d all boo, and if he wasn’t funny or beating up monsters, they’d boo him. FACT-turn Cena heel sometime around the Royal Rumble, he’s done all he can as a face. 2) From a strictly match quality standpoint the WWE’s product is better now than at any point in the last five years. Jetsetpoker: I am not the best person to ask this sense I haven’t seen as much of today’s product as I did before. However I am going to go with FACT. 5 Years ago we had some major feuds such as Nash vs HHH and Big Poppa Pump vs HHH. Those were some quality match’s right there. I would say the overall talent has improved in the last 5 years. The only problem I see is that there’s just so much wrestling now. The edition of ECW has given a few people a chance to shine while also giving some duds like the Boogeyman and The Miz a new home to stink up. Terry: FICTION. No it's not. Aisce: I’ll say FICTION here, but in reality, I am going to avoid the question altogether. I find it impossible to consider ‘match quality’ in any strict sense whilst watching the WWE. If I wanted to appreciate matches purely for their display of OMFG mad mat skillz, then I suppose I would watch RoH, or something. I refuse to separate the ‘sports’ from the ‘entertainment’. I like promos and gimmicks, characters and storylines. If they are lacking then the match will bore me, no matter what. In short, I don’t have the faintest idea, and neither am I much interested. Random: This is absolute FACT and it’s only going to become more true in the upcoming months. Over the last six months the WWE’s in ring product has drastically improved, there have been far fewer squash matches (particularly on Raw and ECW) and for some reason the WWE seems to be willing to let matches go on a bit longer especially on free TV. The result has been an increased overness for Morrison, Matt Hardy, Finlay, Orton and others. People are so used to bitching about this they don’t see when it’s finally improved, it’s bitching out of habit. This is a FACT. Romans: Right now, I have to say FICTION, strictly because of the effect injuries have had on the roster as of late. In a few months when Trips, HBK, Edge, Undertaker, Lashley and Rey are all added into the mix, WWE has the potential to produce its best quality matches in years. But for right now I’d say that 2005 was the best in recent memory thanks to a really strong WM21, Vengeance and Summerslam. 2007 has been excellent though, considering all the injuries. 3) TNA would be extremely wise to bring in Brock Lesnar for a long-term deal. Romans : I have to say FACT, especially because of the cross promotional possibilities that would open up with the UFC. Reportedly once Lesnar has a few MMA fights under his belt, he will be entering the wildly popular UFC, another Spike TV staple. I think that TNA would benefit greatly if they were able to piggyback a bit off UFC’s mainstream success – maybe they’d get mentioned on ESPN for Lesnar as well as Pacman Jones. Plus, Lesnar would be a solid addition to TNA regardless of his MMA connections because he’s a respected star who is close to his prime, unlike Sting and Angle, and he is the only major superstar who has anything left in the tank, outside of Chris Jericho, that currently isn’t in either WWE or TNA. TNA would be wise to lock Lesnar up for the long haul. Random: This is a tough call because it really depends on what they’re getting for their investment. If Lesnar was coming back, committed to wrestling and anxious to bury the company that he (for some dumb reason) holds a grudge with, he could be an AWESOME edition to their roster. Christian, Jarrett, Sting, Angle, Abyss and especially Samoa Joe would all make great opponents for him. Then again, if he is just gonna be the whiny little girl that he’s been in other ventures since leaving the WWE, it wouldn’t make much since. I feel bad for Brock really, he’s a talented guy who just never figured out what he wanted to be when he grew up (have any of us?) Since he seems to be too busy stupidly calling out the winner of Couture/Gonzaka (which he's not even close to entitled to or ready for) I’m going to go with FICTION because it really hurt the WWE when Brock flipped on them and TNA just isn’t in a position to sustain that lack of commitment. Terry : FICTION. No. They would be wise to spend that money on long term solutions then short tern fixes. Brock doesn't seem to have a long term desire for things. Brief wrestling career, brief football career and who knows how long he'll stick with MMA/UFC. Aisce: This is a FACT. Aside from Hogan, Goldberg, and maybe Jericho, there is no bigger wrestling star who is not appearing currently for a major promotion. Moreover, there is no-one who left the industry with so much promise unfulfilled. In Lesnar they would actually have someone who could draw whilst burying Samoa Joe and the entire X-Division (which seems to be TNA’s #1 goal right now). Unlike Joe, Lesnar has a reputation and a following outside of those who watch the Indys; unlike Angle, he has been off TV for long enough for people to get excited about his return; unlike Sting, he is not well past his best; unlike Christian, he is a legitimate main eventer. In order to get a worthwhile return on their investment, TNA would have to smarten up a lot in terms of their atrociously messy and unappealing booking but, that aside, signing Lesnar is the single best thing they could do right now. Jetsetpoker: Well even if this is FACT you know TNA won’t do it. When’s the last time you’ve heard extremely wise and TNA in the same sentence? I always have loved Brock Lesnar and I think a return to US Wrestling would be great. The only problem I have with it is who is going to give Brock any competition in TNA? TNA already has a smaller sized roster as it is. Other then Angle vs Brock which we have seen a million times before and Abyss vs Brock, I don’t really see any potential for huge match ups there. I would love to see those X-Division guys take a F-5. He could throw them half way across the ring. This however is FICTION. 4) Fallout from the Chris Benoit Family Tragedy is the biggest reason the WWE is suffered a ratings and earnings drop-off last quarter. Aisce: This isn’t just FICTION, it’s BULLSHIT. We live in a world where prurience, voyeurism, and a craving for the sensational are the norm. If it were really thought that the WWE was a breeding ground for steroid-fuelled human time-bombs, their ratings would go through the roof as people tuned in to see who would be the next to crack (my money’s on Chavo). The very idea that thousands of fans are switching off and saying, ‘well, I don’t want to watch a show that once had a murderer on it’ is ridiculous. Is the WWE’s key demographic (white blue-collar males) really made up of such delicate flowers? The real problem the WWE faces as a result of the murder-suicide is the potential loss of sponsorship from corporations seeking to cultivate a wholesome image. Romans : I say FICTION, I place the blame more on the traditional post-Mania lull that the WWE goes through annually. The ratings fell from the low 4’s to the mid 3’s in May and June, a drop consistent with ratings drops over the past few years during the same time period, so I’m not going to blame the Benoit tragedy for that. It will be interesting to see if the WWE can creep back up into the 4’s, since most of the time Summerslam build up brings a ratings spike, but it really hasn’t this year. If ratings don’t improve soon, especially after the returns of the injured stars, I’ll be more willing to consider that the Benoit tragedy has hurt ratings. But for now, I say it’s too soon to tell. Random: You know what? It pains me to say this but I’m going to say FACT. I don’t think that it’s the sole reason, I think poor booking and the wrath of injuries are the major reasons, but I’d wager there are quite a few mis-informed parents out there who aren’t letting their son/daughter watch the WWE anymore as a result of what they’ve been hearing on CNN or Fox News. I don’t think it’s right, but I do think it’s hurting the overall ratings, just as it’s hurt stock prices. Jetsetpoker: FICTION, FICTION, and more FICTION. I have never bought into this whole Benoit/Ratings thing. Had Chris Benoit still not did what he did we would be having a drop-off in ratings. The real reason the ratings have gone down is because the WWE has lost some of its major stars to injuries. There’s been no HHH, HBK, Rey Rey, Edge, and Undertaker. When you loose that many major stars you’re going to take a hit. I am willing to bet that after Summerslam the ratings will go back up a little bit. Not much though as they usually tend to stay the same regardless of whose wrestling. If anything I would think that the Benoit tragedy would of spiked the ratings a little bit. Terry : FACT. Summer is usually a down time, but the fall out from the Benoit tragedy has hurt it more this year. Not only the fall out from just the tragedy, but how some have used it for their own benefit. 5) Triple H will be wrestling as a baby face at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando. Jetsetpoker: This looks to be FACT. I don’t really see Triple H coming back and staying heel. Triple H has been a heel for the past 3-4 years minus his time with DX. He was dominating as a heel but right now the WWE is in need of some top faces. With Cena being the only top face on the program right now the smart move is to make Triple H a face. With Triple H being face it will also give Cena some time to relax and not have to carry the show. If I was a betting man i would take the OVER that he will be a face. Terry : FICTION. I think he'll be a tweener. Aisce : This is similar to the John Cena proposition. I am calling it a FACT by default. So many people are salivating over the prospect of a HHH return that, short of him admitting that he had been slipping psychoactive drugs into Benoit’s energy drink, he is going to generate a huge pop wherever he goes. Once wrestlers achieve a certain level of impact on the audience’s consciousness (see also Austin and The Rock) it pretty much doesn’t matter whether they are nominally a heel or a face. Their reaction depends on who they are; rather than what they are. Random: Absolute FACT and it shocks me that others around the IWC are predicting HHH’s face turn to be shorter than one of Terry’s answers. This is largely the result of a history of temporary face turns for Trips, and the fact that he’s SO DAMNED GOOD as a heel. But, if Trips goes heel anytime soon, who is it exactly that he’s going to feud with? Lashley? Lame. Cena again? Lamer. Other than that, all the feuds for Trips including Kennedy and Orton would be as a face. Romans : I say FACT for this one. I predict that the Raw main event for WM24 will be WWE champion Triple H taking on the heel challenger Bobby Lashley. I see Trips feuding with Booker for a while after his return, then moving into a feud with Randy Orton that will culminate with H winning the belt at the Royal Rumble. I predict that Cena will be heading to Smackdown to face Taker, leaving H as the top face on Raw and H should have one more long face championship run before his eventual heel turn, which will occur sometime later than WM24. Raw is loaded with heels (plus I think Lashley will turn by Mania as well) and H is super over – there is no reason to turn him until further down the line. That’s gonna wrap up this edition of Fact or Fiction here on Lordsofpain.net. If you’d like to send any feedback to the authors the links are listed below, or you can check out their latest work linked at the top of the column. Enjoy Sumerslam and we’ll see you again next month. Click here to Email Random Click here to Email Jetsetpoker Click here to Email Aisce Click here to Email Romans *NEW GALLERY* Must See Hot Shots of the TNA Knockouts CROSSING THE LINE!
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