Into the Black

It was announced on Raw last night that Shawn Michaels was finally going to get his wish: Another shot at ending The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania winning streak. I think they went about it the right way, by having HBK cost Taker the title in the Elimination Chamber match; the only other option would have been to somehow get Michaels into that match, win the title, and tell Taker that if he wanted a rematch it would have to be at Mania. But since there’s no title on the line, Michaels had to put something equally as important as the Undertaker’s streak at stake: his career.

Now, this makes for some good drama leading up to Wrestlemania, but there’s just one problem: I don’t particularly want to see either of those things come to an end. Last year’s match was incredible, and I expect nothing less this year. Hell, if anything they’re going to have to step it up big time to top last year’s match, especially considering what all’s at stake.

The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania may seem superficial at first, but it’s really not. There are so few things in the wrestling business that last. Yes, streaks are meant to be broken, but I believe that depends on the streak. Some winning streaks were done right: Tatanka had a nice streak when he entered the WWE, and Flair had a great one at the end of his career, where all it took was one loss and he was forced to retire. It’s also generally a good idea to give a monster a bit of a streak upon his debut, so it’ll mean something when he’s finally toppled.

If you want to see how not to do a streak, look no further than what WCW did with Goldberg. In that case, all that mattered was the number itself, and how high it could get. Goldberg faced no name wrestlers practically every week, and I’m sorry, but there’s nothing impressive about 173 wins in a row when most of them are against such A-list stars as Mike Enos & Sick Boy. Sure, it was cool for the first few weeks to see this big new guy come down to the ring and destroy someone in under a minute, but after a year you’ve gotta change that shit up! There was no drama in it, because you already knew exactly what was going to happen every time his music played.

I like the Undertaker’s streak because it doesn’t make him invincible: It just means that there’s one day a year when the fates are on his side. It doesn’t mean that if he gets his hands on a title you’re not going to get it away from him. It doesn’t mean you’re yawning when the match starts because you already know who’s going to win. It just means that at Wrestlemania, that ring belongs to the Dead Man. And even though he’s 17-0, there’s still plenty of drama involved. Last year, there was a definite sense in the air that the streak might be coming to an end. And with the stakes as high as they are this year, the streak’s definitely treading on thin ice.

I guess ever since the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak became a big deal, I’ve wanted to see him retire with it intact. It’s such an impressive thing that’s completely unheard of, and it’d be a shame to see it fall. On the other hand, if someone’s going to do it, who better than Shawn Michaels? I mean, HBK’s done pretty much everything else in the business. This would be one of the last notches he needs to fill out his career. That said, if he’s going to be forced to retire, there’s no better place than on the grandest stage of them all, trying to do the impossible.

And nobody, nobody, does impossible better than the Heartbreak Kid.

WWE’s promo for the match is one of the best in recent memory. The song is Placebo’s cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” and it’s absolutely perfect for this (and has been stuck in my head and playing on repeat in my iTunes since I saw this.)

Apparently the WWE is going to retire the Survivor Series pay-per-view because the buyrate was down this year, and instead focus more on the gimmick pay-per-views (ie. the recent TLC & Hell in a Cell, and the upcoming Elimination Chamber.) Frankly, I think that sucks, because I’ve always been a fan of Survivor Series; it’s always been my favorite PPV after Royal Rumble & Wrestlemania. Part of the problem there is that they seem to have gotten away from the importance of the actual Survivor Series matches at the event in the last few years. I don’t think the problem lies in the event itself; it lies in the way they’ve been doing the promotion & build-up to it lately.

Anyways, WWE sent out an email to their fans yesterday asking for feedback about possible new WWE gimmick themed pay-per-views. I’m intrigued by some, excited by others, and apathetic about the rest.

Tournament Event: Single elimination “bracket style” tournament where Superstars would compete in multiple matches during the night to become the tournament winner.

• Yeah, see, I liked this when it was called “King of the Ring.” I hate the changes they’ve made where they do all but the final match at the PPV, or just do the whole thing on Raw. But if they put it all back on the PPV again, at least that would make it something worth watching.

Street Fight Event: Main events would include”street fight” matches where there are no disqualifications and pin-falls count anywhere. Superstars often compete in normal street clothes.

• Nah. Street fights are the kind of matches best used to settle a very personal score, which means having more than one on a single card is overload. Pass.

Legends Event: Match participants would include WWE Legends from the past.

• Unsure about this one. I like the idea of bringing back Legends for some matches, but it could turn out to be a train wreck. This is one that would all depend on the execution & build up.

Money in the Bank Event: The main event “Money in the Bank” match requires Superstars to climb a ladder and retrieve a briefcase hung high above the ring. The winner can “cash in” the briefcase for a championship title shot throughout the year. Qualifying matches earlier in the event will determine participants for the “Money in the Bank” match.

• I think it’s better to keep Money in the Bank limited to the one match per year at Wrestlemania. I think it fits better in that atmosphere, where it gives someone who isn’t in the main event (or even necessarily a main event star) a chance to shine.

WWE Draft Event: WWE’s annual Draft where Superstars and Divas learn which brand they’ll be a part of for the next year. The Draft is often the beginning of new conflicts and matchups.

• Nope, wouldn’t pay for it. I’ll watch it on Raw or Smackdown, sure, but that’s not something I’d pay to see.

Battle Bowl Event: Random tag-teams compete together – sometimes arch rivals – with the winning teams being put in a 2-ring Battle Royal. The winner could potentially receive a championship title match.

• Yes! I loved Battle Bowl. It was such an interesting concept, and made for some interesting possibilities. I don’t know that the battle royal at the end necessarily needs the 2-rings, but that depends on how many matches they put on the card. I’d say either give the winner a shot that night, or make this the new PPV lead in to Summerslam and let it be the Rumble equivalent for that.

Roulette Event: Main event match stipulations would be determined by the spin of a roulette-type wheel.

• This could be interesting. I liked when WCW had their “Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal” matches (I specifically remember the buildup for the Vader v. Cactus Jack match at Halloween Havoc in 1993.) This is another one that’d depend on how they set it up.

War Games Event: Teams of 5 collide in 2 cages. 2 participants begin the match with a new participant added every 5 minutes. This process is alternated between teams until all members from both teams are present.)

• Oh hell yes! War Games was by far my favorite WCW pay-per-view, and just the thought of WWE bringing it back gets me excited. I remember some really awesome War Games matches from the past, and more than any of the others, this is one PPV I’d definitely pay to see.

Watching WWE Pay-Per-Views used to be a regular thing for me, but it’s been about five years since I last ordered one; none of my friends in Valdosta were big wrestling fans, so that’s one of the things I missed out on while I was there. So to bring back old times, I went over to James’ last night with Nate & Sean to watch this year’s Royal Rumble (while texting back-and-forth with my brother in California & my friend Krissy who was actually at the event.) The Rumble has always been my favorite PPV, and this one turned out to be one of the best that I can remember.

Let me just preface all this with something: Matt Striker is now officially my favorite color commentator in wrestling. The stuff he came up with throughout the entire broadcast was comedy gold.

Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson
I’m a big Christian fan, but thought they were going to have him get beat by Jackson here. Great match; Christian took a hell of a lot of punishment and kept coming back from it (the clothesline to the back of Christian’s head was pretty brutal.) Real nice back-and-forth, and I loved seeing Christian slap the hell out of Jackson and then run like mad. But after a number of missed Killswitches, Christian finally nailed one with a great reversal for the win.

The Miz vs. MVP
Nice to see a bonus match added to the card; thought it felt a little light on matches. Not much to say about this match, other than I’m glad The Miz beat MVP. I’m not really a fan of MVP, and The Miz is at least entertaining.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
Loved the backstage intrigue with Legacy leading up to this match. It was very slow starting, but once it picked up it was pretty good. I fully expected Orton to win the title in this match, so he’d be going into Wrestlemania as the champ. But with everything that led up to it with Legacy during the show, I wasn’t surprised with the outcome. What I was surprised by was how much the audience was behind Orton both during and after the match. Face turn coming?

Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool
This match was exactly what it needed to be: Mickie destroying Michelle hard and fast. With all the torment she’s put Mickie through over the last several weeks, she got exactly what was coming to her. I still don’t understand why they ever went with a storyline where they continually called Mickie James fat; she’s by far the hottest diva in the WWE right now.

Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio
Holy crap. I love matches where Mysterio takes on a much larger opponent, and this was no exception. Mysterio busted Taker’s nose open early in the match while flailing to get out of a Tombstone, and just made him look even more feral. Mysterio’s 12-2-18 was pretty awesome, but of course the match could only end way one: a giant wedgie bomb to hell.

Royal Rumble Match
The main event! This had the best beginning of any Rumble match I can remember. CM Punk’s domination of the early part of the match, coupled with his preaching to the crowd when he was alone in the ring, was pure awesome. Beth Phoenix’s surprise entry was really cool to see, and I loved that she eliminated The Great Khali. I would have liked to have seen a stronger showing from some of my favorites (John Morrison, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy), but I suppose everyone can’t have multiple eliminations. Going into the match, I was worried that they would go the obvious route and have Shawn Michaels come out on top. For a while, it seemed like it was going that way with HBK taking out Triple H and five others. Now, I have nothing against Michaels, but I like Rumble matches that are unpredictable and where it feels like anyone can win. And that’s exactly what happened when Edge made his return. I was hoping he’d be a surprise entrant, but I’ve been steering clear of news sites to avoid possible spoilers. So when Michaels got eliminated and went nuts, and then Edge came out on top as the winner, I was geeking out like crazy.

Oh, and to top it all off it was announced today that next year’s Wrestlemania is going to be at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta! Now let’s just hope I can score tickets when they go on sale before they sell out.