...unfortunately he just didn't live up to the hype.
I got to watch a little bit of Raw last night. It was supposed to be the go-home show before Wrestlemania - the show that got everyone buzzing and the show that increased the buy rate of the PPV ($55 is a lot in today's economy). With The Rock making his first live appearance since his return a month ago, a confrontation between HHH and the Undertaker it was bound to be a can't miss show.
I actually got the pillows from my couch, laid on the floor close to the tv and pretended like I was a kid again as I waited for what the Great One had to say. In the end, I felt totally letdown. the first part I saw was the HHH-Undertaker in-ring showdown. It was a segment that in hindsight I thought was well done, but definitely one that was lagging as it went on. HHH and Undertaker talked about the respect that had for each other and both said they would win or die trying (still a phrase I'm not overly happy with in this situation). Then Shawn Michaels made a surprise appearance but instead of helping the segment take off he just added to the boring talk. In wasn't until his final action that I was excited. When HHH asked HBK why it was that he could beat the Undertaker, Michaels became silent, walked out of the ring and said he didn't think HHH could indeed beat the Undertaker. It was well done considering the friendship the two have - I definitely would have thought that HBK and HHH would have teamed up to make the Undertaker look weak, but instead the creative team threw a small curveball and made HHH look the weaker of the two. Normally the Undertaker is made to look at a disadvantage heading into Wrestlemania (this way his victory looks even more impressive), but now that he is in control, I wonder if this will be his first loss. You have to imagine it's now or never - there is no one left in the locker room who is worthy of ending his unbeaten streak at WM.
Fast forward 30 minutes and we had the long-awaited showdown between The Rock, John Cena and The Miz. The Rock came out first and from the get go something just seemed off. I know he was trying to portray that he was intense, but the heavy breathing made him look really out of shape and pouring water on himself did nothing for me. I mean, I don't need to look at a t-shirt sticking to your pecs. It was totally gimmicy and just didn't work for me. Then John Cena came out and cut what I thought was a great speech. He talked about why The Rock didn't like him. He addressed that he is proud of who he is. He said he was addressing The Rock like a man. All of it was great stuff. Now I know that The Rock couldn't just do a 180 and suddenly like Cena, but I wish he had said something besides he was going to kick Cena's ass. I know most adult fans in the arena booed Cena but I thought he simply won the war of words. Then as the two stared each other down, The Miz came out to remind them that he was WWE champion. He berated The Rock and then tried to beat the Great One up. The Rock fought off Miz and delivered a People's Elbow...but then was hit with an Attitude Adjustment by Cena. So in one segment, WWE crushed the Miz, made The Rock look weak and had Cena come out on top. Seeing that Miz is the champion and he has had his way with Cena the past 4 weeks, I just didn't like how it was done. I'm not sure what the creative team has up it's sleeve, but you have to think that The Rock is now going to be somehow involved in costing Cena the victory...or as originally predicted by me some four weeks ago, he does a Mike Tyson and actually helps Cena win even though they appear to be enemies. One thing is for sure - I hope this is the start of what turns Cena heel....
Anyways, hopefully this will be my last wrestling post for a while. It's just that this is the best time of the year because the writing as a whole is always so good (barring the occasion bad episode). I have never ordered WM, but if you plan on ordering it, live in Seattle and are a friend, let me know so I can come crash.
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