The WWE, the market leader in What Happened in 2009?
The best way to look at the massive happenings in the WWE this year is to look at the years of two select
After the jump...So, instead of being pushed as a face in his natural progression, Orton was shoehorned into being a heel that everyone just booed out of habit instead of the lusty, deserved boos that great heels of the past like The Rock, Yokozuna, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Ric Flair got. Sigh. And then, in the final stroke of this feud with family McMahon, his attempted punting of Stephanie McMahon brought out ZOMG REAL LIFE husband Triple H to defend the McMahon honor.
And of course, Trips put Orton over at WrestleMania, complete with the double-turn that made Orton as the stone face draw that the company could have used to supplement Cena and Jeff Hardy and gave him his own WrestleMania moment... ahahaha, no right, I couldn't finish that with a straight face either. What really happened was they rented out some cookie cutter house with a bunch of squatters inside as extras and gave Randy Orton some Lara Croft looking girl as his "wife". Trips did the home-invasion thing, which of course, got cheers and is totally something a face would do. And then at WrestleMania, Trips went over Orton like a steamroller.
Then of course, because beating Orton for the Championship at WrestleMania isn't revenge enough, Michael Cole told us that Triple H would finally be able to get revenge... yeah, that's where I checked out. Long story short, the fans were subjected to three more months of Triple H/Orton in some form before Orton just said "HERE FEUD WITH MY LACKEYS" and dosey-doed into a program with John Cena. The program slogged on until it ended "forever" at Bragging Rights with Cena beating Orton in an Ironman Match.
However, as promising as the year started for Orton, it ended just as good, even if he wasn't the one in the spotlight. After the Cena program, Orton was put in a feud with Kofi Kingston with the sheer purpose of elevating the
Counter that with the tale of CM Punk, whose year took a sort of mirror opposite turn from Orton's. Punk began the year as a non-descript face, just a guy who was out there doing moves and getting cheered because he was wrestling guys like JBL and Chris Jericho, and not really because of anything else (well to the regular fans... us smarks loved him because he's fucking CM Punk, bitches, but even we realized that he was just there). And then, WrestleMania rolled around, and Punk won Money in the Bank for a second straight year. The smarks were like "lolwut? again?", but see, I was all over that. I wanted him to win again and really start coming into his own. IT didn't seem like that at first, as he was shunted into a feud with the late Umaga, a sort of placeholder feud that you give someone that you're not quite sure what to do. It keeps the semblance that you have this guy in mind for something, but then again Umaga had been hurt and in hot water with the company for drugs, so with the amount of ass Punk showed in the beginning of it, you'd think "wow, what did he do to get that treatment?"
However, things would change for Punk. After teasing cashing the briefcase in against Edge on a random Smackdown, Punk really cashed in on Jeff Hardy, causing the legions of 9-year olds in attendance painted up like their hopped-up-on-X hero to boo the ever-loving shit out of him. And that was before Punk turned the smarm up to 11.
The best thing the WWE did all year was to unleash heel CM Punk. The Summer of Punk II: Jeff Hardy's Demise punctuated a banner three months for Smackdown where the brand was putting out the best wrestling television of the year by a wide margin. Rey/Jericho, the birth of JeriShow and the rises of John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler played out perfectly in the background for Punk's relentless rise to the top, assaulting Jeff Hardy's "free-spirited" lifestyle as reckless and irresponsible. Punk was the perfect foil for Hardy, moreso than his brother, moreso than Orton, moreso than Edge, moreso than any other person on the roster.
Then, what in the storylines would turn out to be Punk's biggest victory would in reality turn out to be the thing that stopped his momentum cold. After their summer-long feud, Hardy left the WWE to take a sabbatical (read: do drugs without violating Wellness). Punk on TV had vanquished the Charismatic Enabler and laid claim to the very top of the Smackdown heap. Problem was that there were no real main event challengers for him. Rey Mysterio was about to be suspended for 30 days for Wellness, Edge was hurt, Jericho was a heel and appearing on both shows because the WWE needs his heat desperately and John Morrison wasn't exactly an appealing name to ride the top of the card without some sort of back up angle. Enter the Undertaker.
What happened next to Punk, well, you could believe the dirtsheets and think that Punk got depushed because he didn't dress like a Champion while travelling. You could believe what Triple H said about Punk not being a star so he shouldn't be going over a star in the Undertaker. You could believe that maybe they just didn't want to have a prolonged feud and try to freshen things up a bit. You can believe what you want, but the fact is once Undertaker came back, Punk's momentum came to a screeching halt.
The focus of the program began to shift from Punk's preachiness in the face of his challengers to Undertaker feuding with Batista and Rey Mysterio and JeriShow (briefly for Survivor Series). Punk got shunted into a program with R-Truth. He got a sidekick, and he's still getting a ton of face time and high-profile matches against opponents like John Cena. And for all you snickering TNA fanboys who are starting to come out of the woodwork and laugh at Punk's position relative to Samoa Joe's, Punk never had a dong painted on his face.
That doesn't tell the whole story. RAW went with a guest host experiment after a wildly successful commercial-free show. The experiment has been met with mixed reaction, although I'd say most of the attention has been surprisingly positive. There seemed to be more good hosts than bad ones, although the bad ones (looking at you, ZZ Top, Osbournes and NASCAR douchenozzles) were really, really fucking bad.
Oh yeah, and the one thing you can use as a gauge for where the minds of the writers are, the one feud they seemed to have spent the most time on developing was one between a fucking midget and the washed-up nephew of their most beloved Latino wrestler ever. Oh, and a ginger won the WWE Championship within his first six months in the company, and the Internet, which had been screaming for someone new to get injected into the RAW title picture, bitched about it because of bullshit excuses like "Oh, Sheamus doesn't have any heat" or "Hey, he's big and tall, so I automatically don't like him, even if he is a great wrestler with a good amount of healthy stiffness".
Okay, I painted a bleak picture of what happened in the WWE this year. Is it fair? Well, yeah, it kinda is, seeing that the product that the market leader puts out there is middling at best and has elicited cyncism from more than just me. That isn't to say that 2009 was a total wash for the company either. The in-ring quality, both on free TV and especially on PPV, was at a particularly high level all year long.
What's the Forecast for 2010?
Well, first up, I think we're going to have to pay very, very close attention to the Royal Rumble, as for the first time in a long time, they don't seem to be telegraphing the winner for a WrestleMania spot. I think the odds-on favorite to win the Rumble depends on what happens with the various title scenes. If they plan on keeping the WWE Championship on Sheamus until WrestleMania, then that would probably telegraph a John Cena Rumble win. They've built up a healthy rivalry between the two in the close of 2009, but I also don't see them having the confidence to let a newbie carry the strap into their biggest event just to be a lamb at the slaughter. Option two would be Shawn Michaels. Vince McMahon on the last edition of RAW told HBK that he'd have to earn his WM rematch with the Undertaker himself if he wanted it, and as it stands right now, Undertaker is the World Heavyweight Championship. Even if Undertaker were to lose the strap to any number of contenders on Smackdown, his WrestleMania streak carries such weight on the card that I can see Michaels forgoing a title shot just to get a crack at Taker. While I admit that I don't want to see Michaels go that path, I'm still intrigued and it would be a fresh angle at least.
My pick to win the Rumble, though, would be Kofi Kingston. It might be the outside chance, and the WWE really rarely takes a chance on a guy who's just coming up to win the event, but then again, did anyone think they would have Sheamus not only win the contenders' battle royale let alone put John Cena through a table to win the WWE Championship? Kingston has gotten a godfather push in the last two months, and he's garnering enough fan support to take a test run in the main event. Imagine what a good faith push to a title win at WrestleMania would do for him? He's got enough charisma to be able to turn that into becoming the next big draw, which would free the WWE to do some things with their established guys, like say, turn John Cena heel?
As for his WM opponent, I can see Randy Orton sneaking into a title match at the Rumble with Cena and Sheamus and snagging the title in a three-way. Orton/Kofi would be a fitting WM co-main. As for the other two, Michaels/UT is inevitable, and I think it won't have title implications, which means Batista/Mysterio or Jericho/Edge will be your World Championship matches. Either way, you can't go wrong, although I'm hoping that the former is the case, as JeriShow vs. Edge and Christian for the Unified Tag Team Championships would be a pretty good showcase and the most logical end to the whole JeriShow angle. That would free up Triple H and John Cena to work a match with each other in a sort of dream match scenario, and of course, we get the requisite Vince/Bret Hart match, MitB and whatever Divas bullshit they throw at us this year. Speaking of MitB, I'm guessing John Morrison will be your winner this year.
As for the rest of the year, it'll be hard to say. There are three different brands (maybe two, more on that later), and the WWE writers like being unpredictable for being unpredictable's sake. However, I'd be utterly shocked if we're in the same position this time next year and there wasn't something to shake the order of things up. I think they know things are getting stagnant, or else they wouldn't have referenced it on television during the Ventura RAW. They know that Triple H may not have many more years left and that Michaels and Taker definitely don't have many more yet. They lost a draw in Hardy that even if he comes back won't be reliable in that he could flake on Wellness in an instant. Kofi Kingston and Sheamus are just the start, I think.
But, this is a forecast, not a copout, so I'm gonna give 10 predictions for 2010:
1 - Jeff Hardy will be back within three months after they throw his drug charges out for lack of evidence (it seems to be headed that way), albeit on a short leash.
2 - The guest host experiment will end 1 year after it began with another commercial-free RAW. Mr. T, The Rock, Randy Savage, Lawerence Taylor and *dark horse pick* Terrell Owens will all have turns behind the mic by then.
3 - Stu and Owen Hart are inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, along with Ted DiBiase, Sr.
4 - Undertaker retires after WM with his streak intact.
5 - Shawn Michaels, however, has a year left in him, and will get one more title reign as a thank you from Vince for his years of loyalty.
6 - Shocking face turn: Randy Orton
7 - Shocking heel turns: Triple H and John Cena
8 - Jack Swagger gets future endeavored (I don't want this to be true, but it's looking more and more like it by the day).
9 - Evan Bourne and Zack Ryder will end the year as your secondary champions.
10 - Chris Hero signs with the WWE by year's end.
Guys to Watch for in '10
Kofi Kingston - As I said above, Kofi's godfather push doesn't seem to be stopping after this last two month program with Randy Orton. If he doesn't win the Rumble, then he'll be a lock to win Money in the Bank. He'll be a World Champion before the year's over, that's a guarantee.
Zack Ryder - While most people groaned at him gaining Rosa Mendes as a valet, I saw it as a sign of faith. Mendes had been floundering as a heel challenger to Mickie James on RAW, and Ryder has been a revelation in ECW. I see him moving on to Smackdown after the Draft and making an impact, bringing his Long Island douche-boy act to the big time to rousing success.
Yoshi Tatsu - I don't think that Vince and Co. have ignored the way Yoshi has connected with the fans since debuting. I see bigger things for the Japanese import, although I fear we may have to suffer through some very stupid comedy to get our Yoshi fix in the coming year.
The Hart Dynasty - After WrestleMania, I see the Tag Team Championships returning to traditional teams in the midcard, and with Legacy's dissolution seemingly on the horizon, the Hart Dynasty will be the ones to pick up the belts and run with them after the dust has settled from the next draft. Whether it's against Cryme Tyme, the Dudebusters or a heretofor unknown duo, the Harts may be the most capable and cohesive team in the company.
John Morrison - He's another guy I think will be holding a major World Title before year's end. Losing the IC title to Scrooge McPoyle was one of those losses to elevate. He doesn't need the IC title anymore, and if Kofi Kingston wins the Royal Rumble, Morrison is almost a lock to take MitB (unless they have Miz one-up him one more time, which from where I sit ain't a bad idea at all!)
Three Things I Want to See in 2010
1. A return to an earnest tag team division rooted in building up guys in the midcard rather than just shuffling main eventers with nothing to do there. Despite having a barebones tag division, they got two bona fide main event prospects in Miz and Morrison from it in recent history. Think about what an earnest build could do for the stars coming out of it?
2. I want them to keep a third brand alive. I know they're going to rebrand ECW, but if they make it into another Superstars-type show, it'll be a mistake. ECW has been the most consistently good show in the entire country all year, and it's done a lot to build up new stars as well as provide a place for veterans to go and do their thing. Renaming it would be the best course, but shuffling it out would be a bad idea.
3. Bryan Danielson. Just get him on my TV, you assholes. NOW.
That's it for the forecasts. Keep your eyes peeled for other goodies, as even though we've breached the new year, reviewing the old one isn't quite over just yet...
