Alberto del Rio Is Only Telling You Things You Already Knew

Baaaaaht... chu already knew that
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Hey, did any of those backstage segments with Alberto del Rio look familiar to you last night? Y'know, the ones where he was going up to Christian and Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler and trying to get them to do his dirty work against John Cena? If they didn't, let me introduce you to Sean O'Haire...





In case you missed it for that short time back in the early Aughts, O'Haire was telling people what they already knew, much like del Rio did last night. He was an Internet favorite who really didn't get the juice that other guys at the time were getting, and his character (and eventually job) was scrapped. Shame, because it could have been something. Then again, was he doomed to fail from start? He was saying things that would have made him very popular with crowds, but what was his endgame? He really wasn't programmed with anyone to start, and no one had a real reason to like or dislike him other than the stuff he was saying. Having interesting things to say is good in wrestling, but I think emotional attachment is needed, and in wrestling, conflict equals attachment.

That's where I thought WWE succeeded with del Rio. If you remember back to his debut vignettes, they had somewhat of a similar vibe to them. However, when he debuted, instead of just talking to people without really getting any kind of conflict going, bam, he attacked Rey Mysterio. Simple, to the point and right there, the crowds started to attach themselves to del Rio as someone they hated rather than some guy who was persuasive with no real conflict attached. Furthermore, when del Rio was going around playing the devil's advocate to Christian, Barrett and Ziggler, it wasn't just for jollies like when he convinced Dawn Marie to flash or Brian Kendrick to streak. It was to further his own agenda, to have minions of sorts to soften up John Cena for Night of Champions.

To that end, WWE finally got that character archetype right. While Sean O'Haire was telling people things that they already knew for no apparent reason other than hey, he found it amusing, del Rio is using that manipulation to further his rep as an evil genius. Conflict is key, and storyline progression, even if it's entertaining, is only going to be effective if there's an endgame. While it may have screwed over O'Haire back in 2003, at least another intriguing character type has now been proven effective and can provide some sort of variety to the cast of characters in a company that needs to have it to reach its full potential.

Christian Vs. Orton: The Weirdest Feud Ever

A feud that shouldn't have worked, but strangely has
Photo Credit: WWE.com

As we were reminded last night, Christian and Randy Orton have wrestled six times. Twice they went at it on Smackdown, four times on PPV. All six times, they produced critically acclaimed singles bouts. I was able to view four of those, and yeah, they were all the goods. If you looked at the feud in the context of just the match results, you'd wonder why it continued. Orton kept winning and doing so in relatively definitive fashion, excepting Money in the Bank. If you looked at it through the out-of-ring stuff, it started out great when they were both babyfaces and then deteriorated as Christian was continually degraded as a chickenshit heel rather than someone who deserved Orton's respect. However, just watching each match, it was clear why both of these guys were slotted against each other.

Even last night, when it was obvious that Orton was going to win, they both played off the match so tensely and so perfectly that there were spots where I really thought Christian might have won. They made me forget about the overarching storyline, of Mark Henry lookin' to split him the wig of a Viper and the past history of the two where Orton always won and that was that. I think that's the mark of a good feud, that the two guys get along in the ring and make it look like it could go either way.

That's the thing, this feud isn't a good feud. It's a WWE-classic, warmed over, babyface-almost-always-wins (and when he doesn't, it's due to an EXTRAORDINARY circumstance), milquetoast feud where it's clear that it's just a placeholder until someone else, whether it's Cody Rhodes or Wade Barrett or whomever else is ready. (even then, the way that Barrett was treated last night doesn't really bode well for him) By any other sane metric, Christian/Orton has gone on too long and is pretty much a failure. But for the reason that the matches are so damn good, it becomes less and less infuriating that the two are announced together as opponents.

It is weird, but I think it's worked overall. Christian really hasn't been enhanced other than being moved into a token main event heel spot. I mean, you could argue he's at least getting shine and promo time, and that's good, but it really hasn't been as entertaining as a lot of people, myself included, would want it to be. But every time he's in there with Orton, at least I forget about everything else.

I guess it's what good wrestling can do for a tepid at best feud. It can spark legitimate interest. That's why I feel that the Christian/Orton feud in the long run wasn't as bad a failure as it may seem even in the light of context. It's weird, but then again, this whole year has been weird in WWE so far. It's just par for the course.

I Want Miz vs. Mysterio

Pictured: Potentially a great in-ring feud
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Rey Mysterio is one of the best workers in the world. This has been repeated and repeated ad nauseam by some folks, including myself, but I really don't feel like he works a bad match ever. Simultaneously, The Miz, I feel, is highly underrated as a worker. He's still got kinks to work out, and he's not perfect, but he can at least hold his own in there with someone who isn't way worse than he is. So, with that in mind, I wasn't surprised when the two had a tremendous match on RAW in the sham tournament finals two weeks ago, and then were the star workers in a solid tag match on RAW this past week. Mind you, last year when Miz was WWE Champion and visited Smackdown he had at least one really good match with Mysterio then too.

I think we've come to the point where we can say that Miz and Mysterio have good in-ring chemistry with each other. That might be a cop out term at worst and an intangible at the very best, but hey, when two guys click in the ring, they click, and they should be featured against each other as much as possible without going into overkill mode (see, Ziggler, Dolph v. Kingston, Kofi). Steamboat and Savage had chemistry. Michaels and Hart did. So did Rocky and Austin. As do Cena and Punk. All of them produced a ton of great matches in WWF/E history, and I feel like the next pairing are Rey and Miz.

The thing is that a prolonged feud between the two will only serve to make Miz stronger and more well-rounded. Miz is already at a point where I think from a character standpoint, he can carry a feud. He needs to go to finishing school in terms of being a complete main event-level worker. That's where Mysterio comes in. He doesn't have bad matches with anyone, and he has a lot of really good habits that translate well into a WWE ring, e.g. his big time bumping, knowledge of how to set up big spots and where in a match to perform spots to pop the crowd.

I also feel like a good worker will learn things from other good workers. Miz has spent a career busting his ass to make sure that he is THE guy WWE goes to when they need a big performance, whether it's representing them in media events, coming through with a big promo, being the best guy in the company at garnering heat through attacking people in out-of-match situations or carrying himself as a WrestleMania main eventer. You can't tell me that he won't be learning things from multiple meetings in the ring from Mysterio and applying them to his own game between the ropes?

I don't know about you, but if I'm in the WWE's front office, I'm probably half-way to a mental home right now because I can't really take the kind of horrors that the writers are reputed to go through then I'm booking a long term, main event-level feud that may or may not involve the Championship belt between Miz and Mysterio. Forget the fact that Mysterio as a sympathetic babyface is one of the most effective characters in the company, and Miz's arrogance actually plays well against someone like Rey. I believe that I'd end up with a string of classic matches that would go down as one of the best in-ring feuds in WWE history. You can call me crazy, but from what I've seen, it would be one of the surest things in WWE right now.

This Is the Feud That Doesn't End: Kingston Vs. Ziggler Vs. Eternity

Stop me if you've seen this one before, but...
Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you had an intense feeling of déjà vu last night watching Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler, well, yeah, it was justified. Over the last couple of years, the two have had televised wrestling matches against each other a mind-boggling 16 times. That's a large number of wrestling matches in that period of time. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if both guys had moved on since their first meeting. However, neither Kingston nor Ziggler really have been pushed further outside of a cup of coffee in the main event since then. If I remember correctly, their first match happened after Kingston's push to the top failed when his feud with Randy Orton ended abruptly. Ziggler himself had a brush with the main event against Edge, but he's since come down to earth.

In the interim, both guys have had other feuds. Kingston battled against Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett. Ziggler had run-ins with John Morrison and Daniel Bryan. Still, their roads always seem to intersect with each other, most probably with a secondary title on the line. How does a feud last that long anymore? I mean, we all marveled that TNA/Impact kept the Kurt Angle/Jeff Jarrett feud alive for 8 months, but as poorly-booked and unentertaining as I found it, at least it was at the top of the card and had several wrinkles to it. This one? Well, yeah, I like feuds over titles, but the way WWE goes about booking any feud sub-the main event can get way, way boring at times, mainly because they rarely know what they have with their Intercontinental and United States Championships.

I'm not really complaining about the lack of elevation here either. I mean, I'd love to see both guys tangle with main eventers more often, but at the same time, as long as they're wrestling or promoing, I don't mind where they are on the card. I just want to see what they can do against different opponents. I think this is more an indictment of WWE for their lack of midcard rather than speed of elevation. I mean, other than his feud with Edge, what can you say about any feud that Ziggler has had since starting his never ending series with Kingston? Well, the matches were good, especially against Bryan, but other than that, the midcard is usually treated with the same care and attention that the kid with halitosis gets at the school dance. Matches are great, but I need a story too.

If there were two or three distinct stories involved here, then I wouldn't mind the overkill between the two wrestlers. That being said, usually, the angle is one of them is a secondary Champion, and the other is getting a title shot. Only recently did either one of them actually ACCENTUATE that the title meant something to them. That's why this "feud" has seemed so boring.

If the story is interesting, two guys could wrestle a million times and not have it get boring on serialized wrestling television. The problem is that WWE rarely makes a good midcard story anymore. That's why Kofi and Dolph have been eliciting groans for their matches being announced, not excited cheers for the chemistry that they have in the ring.

Because believe me, that chemistry is pretty good.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Diamond Dallas Page's Tribute to Macho Man and Feud Retrospective

DDP was one of the many guys Savage had epic feuds with
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Randy Savage touched a lot of guys in his time in the business. Yesterday, I posted the Warrior tribute, which was jarring for several reasons. Today, it's Diamond Dallas Page's tribute. Again, it's really unusual to see a grown man come to tears, which Page has to fight back, but it's still very touching and very heartfelt. Page really is grateful for what Macho did for him, and really, that whole feud, which really was one of Savage's last big ones, did so much to make DDP. Here's the tribute:



After the jump, there'll be more videos taking a look at the feud from 1997 between the two, including the infamous DDP-disguised-as-La-Parka match.

Uncensored: The feud begins with the reveal that DDP and Kimberly are married, posed for Playboy and a final attack


Spring Stampede: The first match (3 parts)






I loved the story in the tribute video where DDP was telling the story about how they came up with the finish to the match.

Road to Great American Bash - Savage goes apeshit


Great American Bash: (3 parts)






The Nitro match vs. "La Parka":


Thanks to Matt "Lucius" Jones for finding all these Youtubes and sending me the links.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

Wrestling Six Packs, Macho Week: Macho Man's Greatest Rivals

Two natural rivals going at it.
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Randy Savage had an epic career. I think that's pretty much academic. However, in wrestling, you don't have a great career solo. You need to have guys to play your foil, or guys you play foil to. Savage had some great feuds, and here are six of his best rivals.

1. Jerry "The King" Lawler

When Savage left his father's ICW and went to work in Memphis, you could argue he really came of age. It's natural, as Lawler's run in Memphis may have been the most important singular draw to one region, and working with him would be seasoning enough for anyone. It was here that Macho got prepared for the big time. This list really isn't in any order, but you could make the argument that Lawler may have been Savage's most important rival.

2. Ric Flair

...then again, when you feud with perhaps the most decorated and important wrestler of all-time over the WWF World Championship at WrestleMania, that counts for a lot more than going at it in a regional promotion. The first clash between Macho and Naitch was so heated, so edgy for the time. Flair claimed to have racy pictures of Elizabeth, something actually right out of the Memphis playbook actually. The interplay between the two felt so natural, so right. It was an iron they'd strike several more times in WCW, and even though they really didn't go up against each other at all until the '90s, it felt like they were rivals throughout eternity.

3. Hulk Hogan

Yes, the feud was one-sided for the most part. Yes, Savage was always portrayed as Hogan's bitch. However, Hogan and Savage were both inexorably linked if only for the Mega Powers angle and the watershed WrestleMania V match. It was a feud that lasted both in and out of character for a long time, eliciting the infamous Be a Man rap album from Macho that was somewhat of a nadir for him, but hey, no one's perfect.

4. George "The Animal" Steele

ON the total opposite end of the "importance" scale is Steele, who was more of an ancillary feud, an annoyance than a legitimate feud. I mean, he was a big doddering, slobbery beast, and he basically lusted after Liz like King Kong did after Fay Wray. But in a way, he was the perfect foil for Savage and Liz as a couple. What better way to accentuate the fact that Macho really didn't deserve Liz than having this slovenly old man, a slovenly old man who was a super fan favorite, creeping after her?

5. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

This is a no-brainer. I think Bill Simmons hit the nail on the head in his excellent Savage tribute column today. Wrestling's peak kinda began with Savage crushing Steamboat across the larynx, and their match at WrestleMania III was THE first ever WM marquee match. Seriously, Shawn Michaels as Mr. WrestleMania? Austin and Hart? Taker and Trips this past year? Hart vs. Hart? It was a tradition begotten with this match. It arguably made the Intercontinental Championship, and thus it's a rivalry that belongs on this list.

6. Diamond Dallas Page

This was his signature WCW-only feud, but man, what an intense and critically acclaimed one it was. These two went at it, and it really did a lot to make DDP, much in the way that feuds with Steamer and Hogan made Savage in the '80s. You really got the feeling that both guys were looking to kill each other. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were both probably somewhat legitimately crazy, but hey, that always adds to a great feud.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!