When in Rome XXIV - Cena Has Come! How the Champ Changes Everything.
Submitted by romans_3:23 on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 1:36 AM EST





Welcome to When in Rome, the column that can has cheezburger. I did have a nice cheezburger with pickles, BBQ sauce and tomatoes along with a heaping side of fries on Sunday, during the Royal Rumble. After getting myself significantly hyped for the Rumble, I decided on going out to see the big event at a local grill and I’m quite happy that I did. Nowadays in this internet age, I seldom go out for ppv’s because I can get instant results at home without spending an extra penny on watching it on TV or on buying food, but sometimes when the event seems good enough, I go out.

Going out to watch a ppv can either be great or annoying. I sometimes get quite annoyed because to get a good seat for a ppv at the grill you have to arrive at least two hours early. Wrestling ppv’s are long enough as it is, and I don’t really like having to give up an extra two hours just to watch. But, if you get a good seat, like I did on Sunday, I think its well worth the time. I just hate getting there early and still not being able to see or hear the event all that well.

So, how do you guys prefer your ppv’s? Do you like to go out in a crowd, or stay at home and watch? Would you rather watch an event in person or on TV? Drop me an email and let me know.

Well, before I get into my thoughts about the Rumble and its aftermath – it’s time for some…


Apocrypha


Super Bowl XLII featuring the unbeaten New England Patriots vs. the New York Giants is only a few days away, and I need to make a prediction for the big game at the end of the season. Last week I wrote that I was leaning towards the Patriots, but that the game would be closer than anticipated. Sitting here a few days away from the event, I have to say that I’ve changed my mind. I still believe that the Pats will win – that hasn’t changed. But, now I’m thinking that SB 42 will deteriorate into a super-blowout. And that’s ok with me, even though I hate the Pats. I do relish the chance at witnessing the historic event of a team going undefeated, even though I despise the undefeated team. It just makes for great theater.

Why do I think the Pats will win going away? Well, for one I don’t think Plaxico Burress made a smart choice by predicting that his Giants would beat the Pats 23 -17 in the Super Bowl. The Pats actually feed off these little perceived slights, as proven by their reaction to the previously anonymous Pittsburgh Steelers safety Anthony Smith’s guarantee of victory last November. Tom Brady, the golden boy quarterback, actually went after Smith after a New England touchdown to talk smack. Now, outside of San Diego, not many QB’s talk smack, but Brady did that day.

Brady talked a little today, seeming somewhat miffed that Burress predicted that the Pats would only score 17, saying that he would’ve felt better if Burress predicted a score of 45-42 Giants and didn’t diss the record setting Patriots offense, which includes the single season TD passer in Brady and single season TD receiver in Randy Moss. If Brady got so worked up by a comment by a nobody like Anthony Smith, how is he going to react to a name player like Burress “dissing” the Pats come Sunday? I just think that players would be better off in not saying anything that can the media can construe as a diss against the Pats. Burress, who undoubtedly just wanted to show that he believes in his team with his comments, might just end up eating those words.

Also, now that I think about it, giving Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare for an opponent is like giving Hulk Hogan creative control over his character – you just know it’s going to end badly for whoever faces him. Don’t forget, Belichick started this Pats dynasty back in 2001 when he coached the then underdog Pats to a win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, after having two weeks to prepare. Belichick will have his superior team ready to go on Sunday.

Lastly, I just think that in the perfect Arizona weather and on a neutral field that the Pats will play more like the juggernaut of the first half of the season instead of the Pats team we’ve seen during the second half of the year. The Pats have had to deal with the pressure of going undefeated for a while now, and even though they won’t admit it yet, it has to have worn on them. Plus with the weather getting colder and windier, the Pats offense slowed down and seemed mortal. But now the Pats only have to concentrate on winning one game, not 19, and they get to play in the sunshine, not snowy Foxboro. Taking all this into account, I now predict…

New England 38 New York 17

That’s enough football – let’s talk wrestling.


The Gospel Truth


Revelation 22:7a

And behold, I am coming soon.

The Apostle John records these words near the end of the book of Revelation, a book he penned to encourage and comfort Christians who were facing persecution in the early days of the church. John wanted to remind believers that Jesus Christ would come and establish his kingdom visibly on earth, ending all persecution and all forms of pain, sickness and death forever. The times of persecution were not the ultimate end for the Christian, but only a temporary moment in the grand scheme of things. Jesus will come, and by God’s perspective, come soon. Christians today can still latch their hope to these words in whatever times of trouble they experience.

The Bible is clear that Jesus is coming, but it does not lay out a timetable or state a date for his return. The Bible actually warns against trying to do such a thing as Matthew records Jesus saying in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Only the Father knows when Christ will come, and he does not share this information with anyone.

Well, all of us knew that John Cena was returning, but no one, except for a privileged few within WWE knew that Cena would be returning months ahead of schedule from a torn pectoral muscle to win the Royal Rumble match. If anything, the word we received from WWE and Cena led us to think that Cena would be returning sometime down the line, maybe during the summer, and not “soon” at all. Just look at what Cena recently said to SkyTV’s Sky Sports News about his injury and his return.

"I don't want to say 'never say never' but it looks to be about the six to twelve months that they thought, so we'll see."

We sure did see.

Cena’s shocking return turned what was a very good Rumble match into a legendary one. In my column leading up to the Rumble, I predicted that the Undertaker would win, and WWE sure hooked me by using my own logic against me by having the Deadman enter the Rumble at number one. In an earlier column I said that if WWE was to go the predictable route and have Taker win, they should have him go the distance and wrestle the full hour to at least make his victory interesting. WWE fooled me (and probably a lot of other people) into thinking that Taker was winning once he came out first.

Once Taker was eliminated, WWE smartly brought Triple H out at number 29 as the last big name entrant. It looked like he was going to win for sure. That is unless Batista, who was still lurking around after entering at number eight, would get the win after the 30th entrant (maybe a returning Big Show?) screwed the Game out of the win. WWE booked this match perfectly. You thought you knew exactly what was going to happen, the winner would be Taker, Dave or Trips, just as everyone predicted.

But then, number 30 turns out not to be the Big Show, but “The Champ.” John Cena has come, and soon! All of a sudden, everyone’s predictions are out the window. The Rumble eventually comes down to Trips and Cena, and Cena emerges victorious.

I can’t think of a better possible ending for the 2008 Rumble than what actually occurred. Earlier I wrote that I thought the best possible winner for this year’s Rumble would’ve been Shelton Benjamin because of the unpredictability factor as well as the fact that Benjamin winning could’ve elevated both a wrestler and a brand (ECW) to prominence. Some people thought this was a great idea; others spouted to me the tired anti-Benjamin arguments (he’s not that good on the mic, he can’t get over) without recognizing that the core of my argument for Shelton hinged on the unpredictability factor. Heck, if you wanted you could’ve replaced Benjamin with the late addition to the Rumble match, CM Punk, and still captured the spirit of the idea.

Of course I wrote that scenario of Shelton winning not having any clue that Cena would be able to wrestle this soon. Cena winning had that unpredictability factor that none of the other favorites possessed and it was much more believable than Shelton shocking the world. Also, Cena’s return upset the conventional wisdom that it was inevitable that Triple H would be facing Randy Orton for the WWE title in the main event of Wrestlemania. Cena’s return also explained away the only seemingly badly booked portion of the Royal Rumble card – Randy Orton’s clean pinfall win over Jeff Hardy after one RKO.

My loyal readers know that I had jumped onto the Hardy as main eventer bandwagon with both feet. I actually predicted that Hardy would win the title at the Rumble despite going against my better judgment. Hardy did enjoy/suffer from the “last advantage” syndrome, in which 99 percent of the time the wrestler who holds the upper hand going into a ppv title match on the previous Raw loses at the ppv. I completely ignored this (I didn’t even bring it up) as I made my predictions last week. I even thought it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to let him enter Wrestlemania as champ. At the least I thought he deserved the opportunity to run into No Way Out as champion and see what happens from there. It seemed like the live audience at MSG felt the same way, as the notoriously smarky NYC crowd, who in fact inexplicably booed the mega-face Rey Mysterio a few minutes earlier in the event, was solidly behind Jeff.

When Orton finished off Hardy seemingly so easily, I was upset. On the one hand, I understood the rationale behind making Orton look unstoppable going into Mania. It would be the first time he main evented Mania, and there had to be an element of suspense to his inevitable match with Trips. I figured that’s why Orton came out so strong, but I thought that WWE completely wasted a golden opportunity to elevate Hardy without suffering backlash from anyone with two eyes and a brain. Only the most shortsighted fools didn’t believe that Hardy morphed into a legit main eventer over the past few months. But here’s the rub – Jeff Hardy as World Champion does not make sense right now because of the return of John Cena.

With Cena back in the main event picture, Hardy is better served in not having a short reign at the moment. I think that Hardy has proven his worth over the past few months, and that he should win the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 24, if that match takes place, and that he should either headline Summerslam against whomever the WWE champion happens to be at that time. Or, Hardy should jump to Smackdown to cash in MITB and win the World Heavyweight title later this year. But, Hardy’s championship future must take a backseat at the moment because “The Champ” has returned.

And where should WWE go from here now that Cena is back? Well, WWE has gone and made Cena vs. Orton for the WWE title at NWO. Does this trash the tradition of the Rumble winner going to Wrestlemania to wrestle for the championship? I don’t think so, especially if you take into account the storyline logic that Cena would want to get his hands on the guy who injured him and forced him to give up his title, as quickly as possible. It would be a good bet to assume that Cena is going to defeat Orton for the WWE title at NWO and head into WM 24 as champion.

Triple H winning the Elimination Chamber match at NWO also seems to be a safe bet. I know that I am ecstatic over the very real possibility that Cena vs. Trips II will take place this year. Of course, it isn’t my ultimate dream match of Taker vs. Cena at a Wrestlemania, but that can always take place next year. Just having the option to have Cena in the main event has really spiced up Wrestlemania, which undoubtedly would’ve been good without Cena, but very predictable. Now, Cena vs. Trips is a match that is legitimately too close to call. Cena is the man who is the face of WWE right now, but Trips really isn’t all that far behind him. Plus Trips has lost the main event of the past three Manias he’s wrestled in – and you know that he just has to break that streak at some point. Doesn’t he? This is why Cena vs. Trips II is the best main event for Wrestlemania 24. Anything really could happen.

Cena’s return also leaves us wondering what WWE should do with Randy Orton, who seemingly was on course to be in the main event of Mania a few days ago. I personally do not want to see Orton involved in a triple threat match with Trips and Cena at WM 24. I do not like triple threat or four way main events at Wrestlemanias and I think they are a cheap way to book around having a real Wrestlemania worthy main event. I’m not completely opposed to triple threats in general, and that’s why I think Orton would do well to wrestle in a triple threat at Mania, but just not in one with Trips and Cena.

Orton would fit in nicely with JBL and Chris Jericho in a triple threat match, and I do believe that WWE has started to get the ball rolling in that direction if last Monday’s Raw is any indication. I do think that the tension between JBL and Orton has a real purpose, and that it will lead to something in the future. If the JBL/Jericho match from the Rumble proved anything, it is that JBL isn’t quite ready for prime time just yet (maybe he’d be better by Mania, but why take the chance?) and that Jericho just doesn’t seem to mesh all that well with the much larger JBL, who isn’t an athletic big man like Triple H or the Rock, two bigger guys Jericho has had great matches with in the past. I think it just makes sense to add Orton to a Jericho/JBL match at WM 24. It would help the actual match quality, keep the JBL/Jericho feud fresh and create a logical conclusion for all involved. (Jericho and Orton do have unfinished business from Armageddon to settle as well.)

So, in light of Cena's return at the Rumble on Sunday, I’d love to see

Triple H vs. John Cena
Jeff Hardy win MITB
Orton vs. Jericho vs. JBL

Anyways, I think I’ve prattled on about the Royal Rumble and its effects enough for one year. Before I wrap this column up, let’s read some…


Proverbs


It is good for a doctor to treat those who are sick, but if no doctor is available read Your Ayatollah’s All About the Game: Down With the Sickness

If one anticipates something greatly, experiencing a letdown can crush him. So read Uncle Joe’s Damn Baby, All Buildup and No Payoff; the Bill Goldberg Saga


Well, you’ve just read the uninspired, fallible, opinion only word of Rome. Take it for what it’s worth. I’ll be back in two weeks, unless I have some unexpected free time over the next week to write a column. My next column will not be primarily Royal Rumble related. I can promise you that. Enough is enough. Remember to check out the LOP Columns Forum . There are some real gems there – be on the lookout for them.

Also, don’t forget to email me, romans_3:23 , at romes_writings@yahoo.com.


Later all











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