Paul Heyman may not have been telling the truth when he was right there on the screen, telling Brad Maddox all his diabolical schemes to keep the WWE Championship on CM Punk. Personally, I relish the idea of "Paul Heyman impersonators" as a cottage industry. I think one could make good money and meet a lot of interesting people. You'd certainly earn indie cred with several readers of the blog by knowing Dean Ambrose. But assuming that Heyman was paying The Shield to keep his client safe. It was brilliant strategy, because if he had to bring out The Sword, ooh boy, things weren't going to be so smooth for those who'd cross him.
See, Brock Lesnar's bad chest tattoo takes on a whole different meaning when juxtaposed with his now role in WWE as the mother of all bombs. I'd like to think he became unstuck in time for a little bit, was able to see what went down in his company of launching, and got his tattoo as a convenient story trope. Of course, that's probably not how it went, but indulge me for a second, please. The Sword, as he is now monikered, at least to me, is the perfect complement to Heyman's arsenal. The Shield was only to protect the Heart (Punk). The Sword? It lashes out preemptively or at the very least, reactively.
It's not like Vince McMahon didn't deserve what was coming to him. The man has been drunk with power that he theoretically isn't even supposed to have anymore. Either that, or the "I love you, Pops," from eighteen months ago doesn't really mean a goddamn thing. Not that I want it to, because if those were crocodile tears from the son-in-law, that'll save us from the most epic THIS BUSINESSing we ever didn't deserve to get but was dumped on with anyway. However inevitable though, it hasn't happened yet.
But you know what did happen? Brock Lesnar came back in the form of a means of attack. The game has been changed. What that means for CM Punk, The Rock, John Cena, Undertaker, Sheamus, or really anyone on WWE's roster really is unknown. As the rest of the show sat in stasis of its Royal Rumble feuds (really, is there any reason why Miz/Antonio Cesaro needs to continue to exist?), the one plot point that advanced was the one that needed to cut its swath across the landscape.
And that cut had to be made by The Sword. Nothing else at this point would have been sharp enough, at least given how WWE has framed their own narrative.
See, Brock Lesnar's bad chest tattoo takes on a whole different meaning when juxtaposed with his now role in WWE as the mother of all bombs. I'd like to think he became unstuck in time for a little bit, was able to see what went down in his company of launching, and got his tattoo as a convenient story trope. Of course, that's probably not how it went, but indulge me for a second, please. The Sword, as he is now monikered, at least to me, is the perfect complement to Heyman's arsenal. The Shield was only to protect the Heart (Punk). The Sword? It lashes out preemptively or at the very least, reactively.
It's not like Vince McMahon didn't deserve what was coming to him. The man has been drunk with power that he theoretically isn't even supposed to have anymore. Either that, or the "I love you, Pops," from eighteen months ago doesn't really mean a goddamn thing. Not that I want it to, because if those were crocodile tears from the son-in-law, that'll save us from the most epic THIS BUSINESSing we ever didn't deserve to get but was dumped on with anyway. However inevitable though, it hasn't happened yet.
But you know what did happen? Brock Lesnar came back in the form of a means of attack. The game has been changed. What that means for CM Punk, The Rock, John Cena, Undertaker, Sheamus, or really anyone on WWE's roster really is unknown. As the rest of the show sat in stasis of its Royal Rumble feuds (really, is there any reason why Miz/Antonio Cesaro needs to continue to exist?), the one plot point that advanced was the one that needed to cut its swath across the landscape.
And that cut had to be made by The Sword. Nothing else at this point would have been sharp enough, at least given how WWE has framed their own narrative.
The Shield and The Sword. Gold.
ReplyDelete...protecting the Heart and the Soul. Classic.
DeleteI am so bored by the idea of Triple H vs. Lesnar part 2 especially since I can't see Trips losing twice (and having it be three Manias in a row with a loss, just like I can't possibly see Cena losing for the same reason).
ReplyDeleteI want WWE to throw a curveball here. Book Brock vs. Punk for Mania. Now THAT'S a match I would be excited for.
That last segment was GOLD. Heyman is so goddamn good on the mic. His answer to Vince's question "Have you ever lied" had me LOLing.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this is just leading to a Triple H WM moment. :-/
This maybe the best way to set up the WM match against Triple H as Vinnie now has to call for his son in law for protection against Lesnar.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the decision to have to rematches with crystal clear outcome is a big mistake when you look at the alternatives available. Anyway, I am not interested in Triple H vs Lesnar so will skip that one. I hope they find a more interesting feud for Lesnar in the next year.
I'm pretty sure it won't happen because of THIS BUSINESS, but I kind of want to see Bork vs Rybork (That way the rematch can be Electric Borkaloo)
ReplyDeleteJust got around to watching RAW last night. A couple of thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) Heyman is on another level from almost anyone else in wrestling as far as promos are concerned (including Rocky, Flair, Anderson, Roberts & the rest of the usual suspects). His answer to the question if lying added more layers to his character in 2 minutes than most guys show in half a career. Seriously, it was amazing.
2) Imagine how amazing this would be playing out if they gave Brock the win over Cena at Extreme Rules last year and they actually put Cena on the shelf for a few months after the match. It makes so much more sense for him to be the guy to once again fight Brock at WrestleMania to defend the company. The Triple H story doesn't even come close to that. Plus it would be a poetic finish to Cena's year of failure after losing to Rocky last year at Mania and then getting destroyed by Brock. That is the easiest story in the world to book - can't for the life of me understand why they went a different direction.
3) As it stands - and I don't expect this to happen at all - the ONLY WrestleMania finish (considering the venue and the Rock/Cena main event) is to give Cena his Bash at the Beach NWO moment and have him go full heel as the guy behind The Shield. Again, I know it'll never happen, but it's really the only thing that makes sense if you want to book Cena to go over The Rock at this point. I know The Shield has beaten the shit out of Cena 100 times, but they can easily write around that as Cena taking one for the greater good. His revenge on The Rock would drive him to this extreme, especially after a year and a half with no title and listening to CM Punk while he does the heavy lifting. It makes perfect sense and gives perfect motivation to that heel turn that the fans are dying for. I know, I know, Cena sells a lot of merchandise and blah blah blah - so did Hogan. Hogan turning heel changed the industry - might be time to think in those terms rather than sticking with a middling status quo. Anyway, you book Cena over The Rock with the big Shield reveal (the end of the match is basically WrestleMania 17 again with Cena playing Austin) and the "send the fans home happy" moment is them actually getting to boo the shit out of Cena with justification. It plays to every strength WWE has right now. And you've got a built in Cena/Ryback program to follow it all up with. It couldn't make more sense, which is why it'll never happen.
4) Poor Ziggler is so getting lost in the shuffle here. As much as I am loving ADR right now, a match against Ziggler is doing nothing for me. As much as I hate rapid fire title changes, they should get the WHC on Jericho to set something up for Mania with DZ.
5) I love how The Big Show treating RicRod the exact same way Cena has treated him for years makes him the biggest heel ever.