This Week in Wrestling

Craig Wilson & Jamie Lithgow

Triple H and Stephanie may be at the forefront of WWE TV but neither are getting the level of heel heat you’d expect (Image courtesy of http://www.zimbio.com)

I’d be lying if I was to say I was a fan of the whole authority figure on TV thing. Sure, after the ‘Montreal Screwjob’ Mr McMahon was great and was at the forefront of the WWF finally overcoming WCW in the Monday Night Wars. But you’ve got to agree, since then it’s been done to death, right?

Of course, it’s Vince’s daughter Stephanie and her husband Triple H that are the authority figures in the WWE at the moment as they run roughshot over the WWE in their quest for what is ‘best for business’. However, I can’t help but think that neither of them is getting anything like the level of heel heat that you’d expect from such a position.

Take Vickie Guerrero for example. Love her or loathe her – and I quite like her work – she at least draws heat from the crowd. Sure, maybe it’s the grating “excuse me” and the voice but it gets heat. Her music hits and it’s jeered. That’s what you want from an authority figure in wrestling. You don’t want a friendly old guy that hits the ring and turns any scuffle into a tag team match, playa. Nor do you want the apathetic reaction that Stephanie McMahon gets.

When her music hit and she interrupted the, as always dreadful, Miz TV on Monday it should have been met with jeers. Heck, her music alone should result in a mass of boos. Instead, it didn’t. My problem with Stephanie has always sounds like she’s just reading her lines out. Her delivery lacks enthusiasm and believability so I seldom care what it is she has to say.

As for the “best for business” line, I quite like it. Especially if it’s backed up by heel actions as good guy after good guy are unfairly punished. Instead, however, it’s backed up by conflicting actions. On Raw Curtis Axel was admonished for his actions and The Shield – essentially Triple H and Stephanie’s henchmen – were fed to a team made up of 11 faces.  Vince McMahon wouldn’t spend his time telling off heels or feeding three members of his Corporation to a team made up of 11 of the company’s faces.

In his sit down interview with Michael Cole, when pressed as to why he put The Shield in that 11 v 3 match he said it was to be fair to the faces. What’s that all about? It just seems really confusing and you’re left wondering if Stephanie and Trips are heels. When you are left wondering like this it’s difficult to really buy into the act.

What Wrestling Taught Us This Week

Now that’s a WWE Championship belt
(Image courtesy of http://www.wwe.com)

• CM Punk is quite popular in Chicago.
• Despite it being common practice in regular tag team matches, nobody really bothers to interrupt pin attempts in elimination matches.
• WWE.com has posted an image of what the WWE Champion should look like.
• Triple H and Stephanie’s wedding is now on DVD. Who in the blue hell is going to buy that?!
• Big Show needs to get booked on more talk shows. There are several presenters that I can think of who are more deserving of a punch in the face than The Miz.
• R-Truth or Zack Ryder could be the next “face of the WWE”. Haha, wait, he was serious….?
• By a lucky coincidence CM Punk and Ryback had a scuffle in the exact place the crew had decided to lay a section of carpet.
• When showing highlights of what has transpired during a commercial break WWE has replaced the term “during the break” with “on the WWE app”. Honestly, how did we ever cope without this glorious app?!
• When JBL says “Michael” he sounds like the Kiefer Sutherland character from The Lost Boys.
• Goldust wears face paint when he’s in street clothes.
• Brie Bella is Daniel Bryan’s girlfriend. If I were just a casual fan who doesn’t watch Total Divas this would be brand new information.
• Considering the beating he took last week and how “banged up” he claimed to be, The Miz scrubbed up pretty well on Monday. Loved the suit.
• Tattoos and sideburns aside, with his un-styled hair, shorts and hockey jersey, CM Punk looks like a child.
• It doesn’t matter how over the babyface is or how much the heel deserves it, I will always back an underdog. As soon as Ambrose was eliminated on Raw I immediately switched sides and rooted for Rollins. Odd dynamic or not, it was still a good match though.

Next Week on The Blog

Craig reviews the final episode of Raw is War ahead of In Your House: Badd Blood, Jamie and Craig right about a raw match from history pitting WWF Champion Triple H against Taka Michinoku, the team list their five least favourite gimmicks and Brian writes about Chris Benoit.

All previous ‘This Week in Wrestling’ columns can be read here.