JC's Take: A Look at the WWE News of the Week

JC’s Take: My Take on the WWE News of the Week

Hey everyone, welcome back. I finally have my weekly schedule back on track, so I’m back covering all of the newsworthy topics from this past week in the WWE.


-I already touched on this in my last posting, but I guess I should touch on it again. In case you’ve been living under a rock (no pun intended) in the last week, The Rock and John Cena have agreed to fight each other at next year’s Wrestlemania 28. Yep, only 355 more days to go. I like the WWE for taking a chance on booking a main event so far in advance. We always beg the WWE to try something different, and they finally did. Now their main focus will be how to make sure people still care about this match in a year.

For now, I think the WWE needs to completely take The Rock out of the equation. He’s not going to be around the whole time. Heck, I wouldn’t even mention his name on WWE TV for the next few months. I know that’s not going to happen, but that’s what I would do if I was in charge. Have John Cena re-focus on the WWE Title, even thought he didn’t seem too upset about losing his chance at it on RAW this past Monday. Cena is going to win the WWE Title sooner rather than later, so it’s best to put it on him quickly and get it over with. I think there’s a good chance Cena wins it at Extreme Rules. Surprisingly, I think the WWE needs to put the WWE Title on Cena soon or risk losing his kid fan base. Just a hunch I have. I saw a lot of disappointed kids at Wrestlemania. You can’t have them feeling down forever.

I’m guessing Rock doesn’t make another appearence on WWE TV until sometime this summer. He needs to stay somewhat fresh and on the minds of WWE fans. There’s always the possibility he could wrestle before Wrestlemania. I could easily see a match with Miz at SummerSlam, or maybe Cena and Rock teaming up to take on Miz & a partner, or the Corre. Or Rock could just comeback and cost Cena the WWE Title at some point. The Rock/Cena match at Wrestlemania doesn’t need, and shouldn’t have the WWE Title involved. The WWE has kind of booked themselves into a corner. Cena can’t win the Rumble. So I guess he will probably be holding the Title come January/February, and either lose it at the Rumble or Elimination Chamber PPV. No matter how it turns out, we have an interesting year of WWE TV ahead.

-Another big news item this week involves John Morrison, Melina, and Trish Stratus. According to reports, Morrison was apparently giving Trish the “cold shoulder” before, during, and after their match at Wrestlemania. Morrison was supposedly sticking up for his off-screen girlfriend Melina, who believes Trish “stole” her Wrestlemania spot. Stratus confirmed the reports in a radio interview. She said it as politely as possible, saying Morrison wasn’t very receptive to her ideas for the match, and when she went to hug him after the match, he turned away from her. Some reports also say other WWE Divas in the locker room were upset with Trish and Snooki for being on the Mania card while they weren’t.

Where exactly do you start? First of all, Trish has done more for the WWE than every active Diva on the roster combined. So they have absolutely nothing to complain about. I’m sure every Diva on the roster gives it their all every time they perform, but they’ll never compare to what Trish did. So until a current WWE Diva steps up and makes a name for herself, they’re just another dime-a-dozen diva.

And as for Morrison, he is just an idiot. I’m sure he wants to keep his girlfriend, but there comes a time where you have to put business before certain things, and this was one of them. Melina is not exactly the greatest girlfriend. If you recall, she has openly admitted to having a sexual relationship with Batista while Morrison and her were dating. Morrison never did anything about it, which caused him to lose some of Vince McMahon’s respect for him. I don’t get that, but then again I don’t get a lot of things Vince McMahon does.

Morrison is in no position to be pulling a powerplay like this. He’s on the cusp of a main event push, and I honestly thought he was going to be the next “1st time” WWE or World Champion on the active roster. He’s not the strongest promo guy in the world, but his in ring work makes up for some of that. At this point in his career, he doesn’t want to be rubbing people the wrong way politically. Especially someone with the stature of Trish Stratus, who has done so much for the WWE. I’m sure we will see how this affects Morrison starting with tonight’s RAW. But I really think he may have put himself in a hole here. As far as Melina goes, I think we will soon be wishing her the best in her future endeavors.

-Steve Austin said in an interview this week that if he wanted to, he probably could wrestle another full time schedule for about 2 years. Of course, the second that news came out, it cued up the return rumors. Austin got more involved than normal on RAW this past Monday, hitting all of his signature moves on Alex Riley instead of just delivering the typical Stunner. This was before the interview came out, but now people are looking back at it as a possible test to see if Austin could still go in the ring.

I think the Rock coming back to wrestle again might have made Austin think, “Hell, if he can do it, I can do it too.” Of course both men left for different reasons. Rock left for Hollywood, Austin left because his body was beginning to wear down, specifically his neck. But Austin is a smart guy, and he wouldn’t say he could wrestle again for 2 years if he didn’t think he could do it. Do I think he will be around for a full 2 years? Probably not. Is it possible he could wrestle another match or two? Absolutely.

Of course with talk of a comeback, the questions start of possible opponents. Miz is a possibility after this past week’s RAW. But I think that was a one time thing. Cena had to focus on Rock, so they needed to have Miz do something on RAW. I think the best, and most likely, option would be C.M. Punk. First off, Punk and Austin exchange verbal blows on Twitter almost weekly. Second, Punk is the kind of wrestler that could get a good match out of Austin while still working to protect Austin’s neck and mask his limitations that he would have. Third, and perhaps the best reason, is that they are two contrasting characters that almost seem like ready made rivals. Austin is a beer drinking, loud talking, raise hell rule breaker. Punk is the straight edge, calm talking, cult leader who is not afradi to preach his beliefs. If this match does take place, I think it would have to happen at Wrestlemania, maybe SummerSlam. Again, just like with The Rock, the WWE would work around whatever schedule Austin has to make this match happen.

If this does happen, who would have thought that ten years after the Attitude Era, we’d see Rock, Austin, Undertaker, and Triple H ALL wrestling at Wrestlemania.

-I just kind of skimmed through Tough Enough this week. I plan on watching the whole episode this week. But thank god they eliminated that Ariane girl this past week. If you haven’t seen the clip of her elimination, I’d go out of my way to find it. When Stone Cold asks her what her favorite match of all time was, she answered with “Melina vs Alicia Fox.” Austin’s reaction was priceless. If you believe her Twitter, she signed a developmental deal with WWE. I really hope that’s not true, because it’s clear she doesn’t have the long-term passion for the business like some of the others. She’d also be just like the current crop of Divas: all look and no experience. My early $$$ is on either Martin or Luke.

-There was a small news item this week saying that the long-term plan for Miz is to turn him face. I can see that happening. Miz is a great PR guy for the WWE. Vince loves all the work he does and all the TV and other media appearances he makes. He also received a very strong “Miz is Awesome” chant on RAW this past Monday. Now I don’t think this change is happening anytime soon, especially with the Miz feuding with John Cena. But maybe sometime this summer, especially if Miz changes brands, I could see it happening.

For people who have been clamoring for a Cena heel turn, Miz may be just the guy who could make that happen. Vince loves Miz’s media appearances. He’s a great representative for the WWE. If the Miz can affectively get over as a face, it may change Vince’s mind about not turning Cena. No matter how much the WWE tries, he’s going to get more boos than The Rock come Wrestlemania time. So if Miz can get over as a face by then, they may pull the trigger on Cena and just let him go all-out heel heading into Mania.

I think Miz can get over as a face if booked properly. You can’t book him as the always over coming the odds, superhero type like John Cena is. I actually think you have to book him like he is now, except give him more credibility. Give him more clean wins and that will garner him more respect in the eyes of WWE fans. How do you turn him? Easy: Have him beat up Michael Cole, his biggest fan. Cole is not getting cheered in that situation, or almost any situation for that matter. That would be the easiest way to get Miz over as a face.

-I liked both of Sin Cara’s spots on WWE TV this week. Of course he almost killed himself on RAW trying to make his entrance. But that wasn’t his fault, he didn’t put the trampoline so close to the ring. He’s only showing a small sample of his awesome move set. I didn’t fully follow his Mexican wrestling career, but I’ve been looking up and have watched enough clips to make me a believer in the guy. Of course, he might have something against America. First attacking the United States Champion Sheamus, then the All American American Jack Swagger. He’s not going to be catapulted into the main event right away, so starting in the upper mid card will be a good place to. I could see him winning the United States Championship in the near future. Oh and if that does happen, can we please get a Daniel Bryan/Sin Cara PPV match?

Random Thoughts

-Who did the Corre piss off? Losing in 2 minutes at Mania, getting out-smarted by Rock and Cena, then losing again on Smackdown. These guys have the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles, but absolutely zero heat. The WWE better do something fast to save them, especially Wade Barrett. The guy was arguably the best worker in the company late last year, and now he’s just another mid-carder.

-There’s expected to be another round of talent cuts after the upcoming European tour. With no more Superstars, and the WWE having young guys they’d like to bring up, it’s expected. Basically, anybody on the list below is vulnerable.

-David Hart Smith, The Usos (Jimmy & Jay), Melina, Alicia Fox, Primo, Yoshi Tatsu, Chris Masters, Curt Hawkins, JTG, Trent Barreta, Tyler Reks

-Superstar Billy Graham ripped into Vince McMahon and apparently wants out of the WWE Hall of Fame. He has a problem with Abdullah the Butcher getting in. So wait, he doesn’t like Abdullah getting, but is cool with Drew Carey? Sure thing Superstar. When Uncle Vince starts paying you again, I’m sure you will change your tone.

-Anyone who watched the Hall of Fame ceremony can’t see that it was way edited. As a Media Production graduate, I would even say it was poorly edited. While Shawn’s TV speech was still good, you need to get the Wrestlemania DVD to get the full effect.

-Alberto del Rio is fighting Edge in a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules for the World Heavyweight Championship. This could be where Christian turns on Edge, but I think it still might be stretched out a bit longer. I think maybe a Triple Threat at the next PPV, Over the Limit, then do the turn.

That’s all I have for today. I’ll have an NFL Mock Draft up in a week or so, as well as an early look ahead to a predicted Wrestlemania 28 match card.

Until next time,
Justin C