The main criticism from last night's Extreme Rules PPV was that there were too many title changes. I didn't see the event, so I can't really comment on the action, but from all the reviews of people who did see it, the wrestling was good except for a few examples. Given that the WWE usually doesn't pull the trigger en masse on PPV, and that both the IC and US Championship were defended on the same PPV for the first time (excepting Night of Champions) in a long time, I have no problem with the five switches, especially since two of them happened to be satisfying title changes from where I sit (Chris Jericho's über-heel push being furthered by him unmasking Rey Mysterio and Tommy Dreamer getting his moment in the sun).
Well, I should say I have no problem with four of the five title switches. Batista winning the WWE Championship last night was baffling, given the condition of his health. Turns out he went into the match last night with a torn biceps and will require surgery to repair it on Tuesday. The win could have been in the cards for awhile, but given the injury, couldn't the WWE have called an audible? I mean, what has Batista done to deserve a loyalty reign other than buddy up with Triple H? Didn't he just come back from an injury?
In fact, Batista's history with the company has been riddled with injuries. He can't stay healthy for more than eight months at a time before he gets hurt again. He also injured John Cena at SummerSlam last year. And who could forget his backstage assholery, including mistreating of Divas and getting into a fight with Booker T, one that Batista was, by most accounts, to have provoked with his ego? Doesn't this all sound like all the stuff that got another guy future endeavored, i.e. one Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson?
It makes me wonder where all the heat on Batista is until I realize who his friends are backstage and what his perceived worth to Vince McMahon is. It's the sort of ass-backwards thinking that gets the WWE in trouble all the time. One guy fucks up repeatedly, but because he's rubbed the wrong people the wrong way, he's gone. The other guy is in a similar boat, and he's rewarded with a title reign that is going to end 24-hours after it begins and less than 24-hours before the surgery to repair an injury begins. Is a boring, roided, sloppy china doll special enough to further devalue a World Championship? I don't think so, but apparently the WWE does.
Again, because TNA is so toothless right now, McMahon has nothing to fear within his own industry, but if his hubris is left unchecked, it could end up eating into his built-in fanbase, the people who watch because they're loyal fans of American pro wrestling and the WWE and have been for a long time. It's so frustrating because the problems are fixable (albeit not easily due to the position of power Public Enemy #1, Triple H, is in).
Until then, we get to "enjoy" Batista's latest reign until Randy Orton wins it back tonight, as Batista heads off into surgery, no heat on his person whatsoever. If that doesn't make you sick as a wrestling fan, then I don't know what to say.
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