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| The knave situated between the two allies Photo Credit: WWE.com |
I don't think the timing of this week's show was all too curious, however. Christmas is a little over one week away. All the mythological trappings of the holiday, whether religious or secular, point to one unifying theme - togetherness. The holidays aren't really about the birth of Jesus inasmuch as the Church wanting its patrons to get together to do it. Worshipping by oneself is creepy; doing it communally breeds community. In the same breath, receiving gifts is greed, but exchanging gifts promotes warm feelings.
While the main thrust of the show was building off the discord sown by last week's show ending segment, the meat of RAW was centered around men working together to engage in athletic contest against other men, or in one case, women waging battle against other women. None of these teams were first-time pairings either. Wrestlers building camaraderie with other wrestlers in another time and place would feel natural, but in WWE, when the seeds of hate and mistrust have grown into thorny, tangled weeds, the warmth and positivity of an extended network of fraternal bonding is new and at least in my opinion, welcome.
I would like to think the thematic structure of RAW was not an accident. Christmas is coming, as the dueling Santa promos for next weeks show gave warning. If the holiday season is about spending time with friends and loved ones, shouldn't a healthy tag team and budding friendships be the pole that each segment is tethered to? Even the main angle was a juxtaposition of two allies banding together to fight a common enemy, a dysfunctional family that seems to be one bad day from exploding.
I questioned the logic of John Cena speaking for Bryan to start the show, but my brain was switched into lizard position, looking for a way to reconcile the fact that Bryan wasn't speaking for himself was a sign of weakness. Granted, if he is to be a main event player, he can't let Cena continue to talk for him, but at the same time, Cena himself has been a loner. He's been the emblem for WWE's ronin-based hero structure. Why shouldn't I welcome him as a herald for Bryan, an advocate in a time when Bryan is in sore need of one? Isn't that what I've craved from Cena, to shed his tough exterior and let someone in to love him, whether fraternally or otherwise?
In true Goofus and Gallant style, Orton's fracases with the Authority made him the perfect foil for the unbeatable new best friends. His relationship with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon is built on entitlement, handouts, the superficial. He can't trust the Authority, and that relationship is unraveling before the audience's eyes in spectacular fashion.
Of course, the question must then be asked as to whether Bryan can trust Cena. Even though wrestling logic dictates that relationship has to deteriorate at some point, for this week, in the spirit of the holiday, on a show where every match of importance featured tag teams, I will choose to bask in the moment, that Bryan and Cena fell together as friends on the battlefield to the treacherous snake, a man who has to resort to totally-against-bro-code nut shots and surreptitious skulking to get his advantage because he doesn't have any friends to make up the numbers disadvantage he has. Hey, if you're gonna die, you might as well die knowing you weren't alone, right? Nothing is a more fatalistically pro wrestling way to celebrate Christmas.
