The Fink’s Payload 07.03.08: The Post-Draft Push

Welcome to the Fink’s Payload. Yo, I’m Andrew Clark, your party host.

No filler this week, folks. Last week I asked you to give a WWE superstar involved in this year’s draft a nudge in the right direction, so to speak. The draft is a great time to get excited about new feuds and up-and-coming superstars taking their place in the main event. Who do you think is the next big thing?

Opinion #1: lwcmvp
“Getting the Greaser Out”
Before the submission, I have a slight gripe, this week you included everyone moved in the draft but Layla and Maria. I understand that, female wrestlers can only go so far, but you also included Triple H. How in the hell can Triple H get over more? By simultaneously pinning everyone in the WWE?

Deuce debuts on RAW in a match against Hardcore Holly. He puts up a great effort but in the end loses. Despite that, he attacks Holly after the match and hits him with the running boot (Crack em in da mouth). This goes on for a few weeks, Deuce faces someone loses but attacks them after the match. Over the two months this is stretched out for, Deuce is gradually losing his “greaser-ness”, he is quickly becoming just another generic wrestler with simple black trunks and generic music, the only 2 things that do not change are his name and the crack em in the mouth. His hair gets longer as well. One night on Raw we see Deuce backstage and he is approached by Randy Orton. Orton tells him that he needs to find his identity, but if he sticks with Orton, he will reach the next level. At the end of the segment he even throws in “I see big things in you, kid”. Orton takes Deuce as his apprentice, this causes Deuce to return to elements of his greaser gimmick, the ring attire and speaking style, but he keeps the hair long. Orton begins a feud with some main event level face (not especially important who it is, I will go with Batista), Deuce interferes in Orton’s matches for him, but always gets left hanging by Orton, when the Batista gets the advantage. Finally one night on RAW, Orton is facing Batista in a cage. A cage to prevent the interference of Deuce. Batista wins the match by pinfall, but Deuce gets in the cage after and attacks him. Orton and Deuce double team. Deuce holds Batista in place for Orton to hit him with a chair. Batista moves and Deuce gets hit. Batista takes out Orton with a spinebuster. Even though the chairshot was an accident, this is the tipping point. Deuce nails the crack em in the mouth on Orton. He gets ready to leave the cage through the door, but he stops, looks at Orton laid out in the middle of the ring then looks at the cage. Deuce pulls of his white t-shirt, throws it out of the cage and begins to scale the cage. When he finally reaches the top of the cage he turns around, flashes the signature Jimmy Snuka hand signal and dives off onto Orton.

The next week on RAW (possibly on a Pipers Pit) Deuce rechristens himself as Jimmy Snuka Jr. This will lead to a face run against Randy Orton. They could play up the history between the fathers (if there is no distinct history, they could invent some).

Jimmy Snuka Jr.: “For so many years, I have tried to stay away from sponging of my father’s legacy, I have tried to burn my own path, but damn, it feels good to say that I am Jimmy Snuka Jr.”

Jimmy Snuka Jr. could then return to the black trunks that he had been using before he joined Orton, which would be a way of saying that before he joined Orton he was becoming Jimmy Snuka Jr.

What Do I Think?: To answer your question, I’m sorry about excluding the women. I should have. I just didn’t think anybody would decide to tell a story about one of them. If someone had sent me an illustration of their ideas for one of the women, I would have put it in the column. But nobody did… so, moot point. As for your decision to push Deuce as Snuka Jr., I gotta say, I’m not a fan of the guy. The doo-wop thing was so dumb. But I could come around to him if things happened this way. I think Randy Orton would make an interesting mentor-type figure and then a feud with Orton would test whether or not the Legend Killer can carry a program with a younger talent. I like it.

Opinion #2: Brad
“Striker’s Squadron Supreme”
Ok, this is my first time to write and first time to attempt to fantasy book. I’m going to take a huge gamble and take not one, not two but THREE new draftees and use them. Well four kind of, but you’ll see….ok here goes.

June 30th RAW: During the show, Matt Striker comes out decked out in an all black suit. He doesn’t have his “school’ setup and is looking very serious. He begins to tell the history of managers in the WWE, from Heenan, Blassie, Dillon and Jimmy Hart. He states that is has been a very long time since a manager has ruled with an iron fist. He goes on to talk about how there is strength in numbers. He mentions the 4-Horseman, NWO, DX and more recently Evolution. So as of this day forth, he will begin scouting wrestlers on RAW and he will sign 4 men to begin a new era in the WWE, the era of “The Rapture”.

Over the next couple of weeks Striker can be seen watching matches, both singles and tag teams and taking notes.

July 21st RAW: Striker comes to the ring and says today is the day that he begins to assemble the most dominant group in the WWE. He says he signed his first member. He realized he needed a veteran, someone who gives us instant credibility, an “enforcer” if you will. This individual will be going directly after the Intercontinental title. Please welcome the first member of “The Rapture”…KANE. Kane comes out and puts over Striker’s vision and intelligence and says that he is being well paid and he won’t rest till the IC title is his and every belt on RAW comes to “The Rapture”.

July 28th RAW: Kane challenges Jericho (or whoever the title holder is) and with interference from Striker, wins the IC title. Post match, Striker gets on the mic and delivers a scorching promo about how he told everyone and they better take notice, ‘cause this is just the beginning. He directs his comments to the WWE Tag Team Champions. He says he looked at every tag team in the WWE and even looked at creating a new one. But after doing some soul searching he found exactly what he was looking for. He found a team who was hungry, underappreciated and capable of being the greatest ever. He found two men who exude confidence, personality and have showed him a new found viciousness. Please welcome the next WWE tag team champions and the second piece of the puzzle to “The Rapture”…Cryme Tyme. Shad and JTG, come down to new music and a new look. No more gangsta outfits, but much more reminiscent of a Harlem Heat/Hart Foundation look. They grab the mic and talk about how the man was holding them down and made them be total clowns. They say how Striker promised one title and delivered, and at Summerslam, they are challenging the WWE TT champs and they will deliver the next one.

In the couple of weeks leading up to Summerslam, “The Rapture” continues to dominate in and out of the ring. Jumping people in the back who they feel aren’t showing them respect. Striker also begins telling John Cena that he has found the man to take his title and if he makes it out of Summerslam with the title it won’t be long till he loses it. The RAW before Summerslam all three members of “The Rapture” squash three jobbers in a six man tag match. Afterwards they individually address their opponents for Summerslam. Then Striker warns John Cena that the time is nearly at hand and soon he will come face to face with the next WWE Champion. But he won’t get to find out till Summerslam.

Aug. 18 Summerslam Indianapolis, IN: “The Rapture” makes their presence known as Kane defends his IC title and Cryme Tyme wins the WWE Tag Titles with help from Kane and Striker. Finally the main event comes around and after a hard fought match a bloody and battered John Cena has his hand raised in victory over (Im assuming) Batista. Then “The Rapture’s” music hits and out comes Striker. He says he has done everything he said he would and now it’s time for the final step. The step that makes “The Rapture” the most dominant group in all of wrestling. He needed someone talented, cocky, underappreciated and someone who can reign for a long time….”It’s time for you, John Cena, to meet the man who will come down there and take your title. I give you the final member of “The Rapture”…CM PUNK. Punk comes out very smug and smiling. Cena is still in the ring sitting with his title in his lap, bleeding and looking very much out of it. Striker says “John, Oh John, stay with us here. You’ll notice Mr. Punk is no longer carrying the Money in the Bank Briefcase. That’s because we cashed it in mere moments ago. Which means your title match begins NOW!!!” Punk charges the ring. Pummels Cena. Cena begins to come back, but the blood loss and pain is too much and Punk catches the GTS. 1, 2, 3. Striker and the rest of “The Rapture” come out to celebrate and we fade to black as they hold their belts high and stand over a beaten John Cena.

What Do I Think?: Well you took the stable idea from last week and infused it into your booking, I see what you did there. Striker is a good mouthpiece for this group but I question why Kane would be so concerned with the Intercontinental title. It’s not exactly something that people are yearning for these days and Kane was so recently a “world” champion. Another thing… this is a heel stable, right? It’s a little strange to me that you decided to compose it entirely of current good guys. However, when it comes to stable composition, you followed a pretty basic formula that has worked in the past: main event guy, big guy, two tag team guys. I question how you got there, but I think this would do big things for Punk and so well done.

Opinion #3: Matt W.
“Oh, That Shifty Straightedge”
Week 1: On Raw, I’d have Jericho and Cade come out, cutting a promo about their alliance, basically rehashing everything for any new fans. HBK again walks out, and he charges the ring again just like last week on Raw. He has the early advantage, but it’s 2 on 1. HBK starts to get beat down, when CM PUNK comes out for the save. The heels clear the ring, and Punk checks on HBK. He grabs a mic, and says he might not be friends with HBK, and he might not’ve been enemies with Jericho or Cade, but he’s not going to sit back and let a legend like HBK get beaten down for trying to do the right thing.

He challenges Jericho or Cade to a match later in the night. It goes to commercial, and comes back with Jericho and Cade in their locker room. Jericho tells Cade that he can take the match with Punk next week, and Jericho will make sure HBK doesn’t run down to try and get revenge again.

Later in the same night, Punk swings by HBK’s locker room to see if he’s alright. HBK thanks him for helping him out, but that he didn’t need anyone to save him from Jericho and Cade. Punk just cocks his head a little, smiles and nods his head, in apology and simply walks out.

Week 2: The match with CM Punk vs. Lance Cade still happens. Chris Jericho is at ringside, just like he said he would be. Punk is quickly on top of the match, but Jericho interferes, turning the tide, leaving Cade to take control. Punk eventually makes the comeback, firing up, but everytime he tries to hit the GTS, Cade reverses. Punk finally wizens up, and instead of going for the knee, he pushes Cade up and onto his feet and IMMEDIATELY nailing a Sweet Chin Music. Jericho tries to break up the pin, but before he can, the ref counts the 1-2-3 and Punk rolls out of the ring, victorious.

Punk walks backwards up the ramp, soaking in the cheers from the fans after his victory, but he doesn’t see HBK standing at the top of the ramp, and is pretty startled when he sees him. HBK looks mad, and says something inaudible and Punk follows him to the back.

Later in the night, a cameraman gets to the locker room, and HBK is berating Punk for stealing his finishing move. Punk is stating his case, that he was paying homage to a legend and trying to give Cade a lesson in respect. HBK says it’s not his place, and that Punk needs to mind his own business. He says he has a match with Jericho next week on Raw, and that if Punk interferes, he’ll regret it.

Week 3: Throughout the night, Punk is seen talking to various wrestlers who’ve had a history with HBK. He runs into Batista, who tells him that HBK can’t be trusted, and he’s wasting his time trying to kiss his ass and suck up to him. He runs into Ric Flair, who tells him that HBK is vicious, cold and calculating, but he’s not a liar or a back stabber. If he’s thinking something, and you ask him, HBK will tell you word for word, thought for thought, what’s on his mind. Right before the main event, he runs into Jericho and Cade. Both men try and convince him that HBK is the lowest form of scum that WWE has, and that he’ll do anything and use anybody to get to the top and stay at the top. They remind Punk about his sordid past, which conflicts with Punk’s straight edge beliefs. They walk away as Punk just stares off.

The match between HBK and Chris Jericho is the main event. It’s a back and forth contest, with Jericho eventually taking over, targeting the back. Everytime HBK starts to get momentum, Cade is there to help his mentor out, cheating every chance he gets. HBK makes his usual comeback, but as he’s tuning up the band, Cade grabs a chair and LAUNCHES it at HBK’s face, knocking him down in a heap, the referee calling for the bell. They begin a massive beat down, busting HBK wide open and leaving him in a pool of his own blood. The crowd switches back and forth between chants for HBK and CM Punk. CM Punk does not come out for the save.

Week 4: Jericho and Cade start Raw off, running HBK down, saying they finally put him out of his misery. Punk is out, and he says that he’s not out for HBK. It was made very clear to him that HBK’s business is not his own. What he’s out to do, though, is to show Jericho that there’s consequences when you open your mouth one too many times. Jericho thinks he can get in the head of anyone, that his word is the final word, but Punk is gonna show him that words don’t really mean much if you can’t back them up. He challenges Jericho to a match at Great American Bash. After a minute or two of the usual Jericho trash talking, he accepts, and the match is made.

Great American Bash: The match is on towards the middle/end of the PPV. The crowd is very solidly behind CM Punk, and very solidly against Chris Jericho. No one man gets the advantage for too long, as it’s a very even match. Down the final stretch of the match, both men come very close to winning, only for the other man to kickout. The end comes when Jericho has the Walls of Jericho locked in tight on Punk, who is trying to get to the ropes but Jericho keeps pulling him back to the middle. Punk FINALLY breaks it, and uses his leg strength and adrenaline to push Jericho off. He rolls up onto his feet, turns around and charges at Punk, but Punk gets him up onto his shoulders and hits the GTS! He’s slow to the cover, crawling as he clutches his back, and in the background we see Cade climbing to the top rope. As Punk is about to make the cover, HBK runs down the ramp and the crowd erupts, as he hops up onto the apron and pushes Cade off the top rope! But he pushes him RIGHT onto Punk as he’s covering Jericho. The ref looks up to see HBK on the apron, and he knows that HBK pushed Cade, but that Cade was trying to interfere anyways. This causes him to call for the bell, and rules this match a Double DQ.

Week 5: Punk confronts HBK early on Raw, and asks what the hell he was doing. HBK says he was getting payback for the beat down they gave him, and he didn’t feel bad about it. Punk asks HBK why he couldn’t have waited until after the match, why he had to get into HIS business. HBK says it had nothing to do with Punk, and that he needs to let his ego deflate and not think it’s all about him. He does let Punk know that he respects him, just that he doesn’t need his, or anyone else’s, help. He tells Punk he has a match with Cade later on, and if he wants to come to ringside and make sure Jericho stays out of the match, he’s free to. The match goes off without a hitch, and the end of the match comes when HBK nails a super kick on Cade, and goes for the cover. Jericho slides in and goes to break the cover up, but Punk grabs his leg and trips him up, causing him to fall onto HBK! The ref looks out and sees Punk with Jericho’s foot in his hands, and calls for the bell, calling for another Double DQ. Punk slides in and mounts Jericho, raining down punches, but HBK pulls him off and gets right in his face. They have a war of words and get in a few shoves before some refs run down and break it up.

Week 6: Vince starts Raw off and says he’s been watching the happenings between HBK, Punk, Jericho and Cade very closely. He’s decide to give all four men the night off to help cool down a little more, but next week they would be competing in a tag match. HBK and Punk vs. Jericho and Cade. (This is just way too long and I’m not even to Summerslam yet)

Week 7: The match comes, and everything is actually going very well for Punk and HBK. It breaks down for them, however, when HBK refuses to tag out, keeping Jericho in the ring and trying to inflict as much punishment as he can. This causes him to lose focus, and Cade sneaks in and attacks HBK from behind, blind siding him, and swinging the momentum of the match. Punk is just a bunch of energy on the apron, getting the crowd to continually support HBK and try and give him some adrenaline to make the tag. After a good 7-10 minutes of working HBK over, he uses his flying forearm to cause the double down. He nips up, and the crowd erupts, and Punk has his hand outstretched as far as he can for the tag. But HBK ignores it, like he doesn’t even remember he has a tag team partner, and he’s jumping around the ring, getting the adrenaline to wind up for the Sweet Chin Music. When he passes his own corner, though, Punk sneaks in a tag, and picks Jericho up to hit the GTS. HBK looks on, his eyes now wide with anger and fury, but the ref tells him he has to go to the apron since Punk made the legal tag. Jericho slips out of the GTS, though, and goes to hit his step up Enziguri, but Punk ducks it. Punk goes to hit the ropes, setting up to hit Jericho with a Shining Wizard, but HBK makes the blind tag to Punk as he comes off the ropes! HBK scales the ropes and comes off with the Flying Elbow Drop! The ref is pushing Punk to his corner, telling him he needs to go out on the apron. HBK starts circling the ring again, and AGAIN Punk makes the blind tag! This time when Punk gets in though, HBK grabs him by the shoulder AND SPINS PUNK AROUND BUT PUNK NAILS HIM WITH HIS OWN SWEET CHIN MUSIC! The crowd lets out a very loud “OOOHHH”, followed by boos and jeers. All of this has given Jericho enough time to crawl to his corner, and the ref sees him make the tag to Cade. Punk exits the ring and walks up the ramp, the crowd still booing loudly. In the ring, Cade comes off the top rope with his own Flying Elbow Drop, and the 1-2-3 is academic. Cade and Jericho win.

Week 8: The show starts out with CM Punk already in the ring. He has on a vintage HBK shirt, from the mid 1990’s. The crowd is just unmercifully booing him, and Punk has a mic in his hand. He talks about how he can’t believe the crowd is booing him, if they’d watched the same things going on as he had. He tried to do the right thing and help out someone he looked up to, when he was getting beaten down 2 on 1. HBK refused his help, and Punk listened. Without him, HBK got beaten down. He gets a match at the PPV, and HBK sticks his nose in his business, and costs him the match. The fact that HBK would tell him that he had an ego was, for lack of a better term, ridiculous. Everyone knows HBK has the biggest ego in the business, bar none.

HBK comes out around now, and says nothing other than that he wants a match, at Summerslam. Punk accepts, and says if HBK hadn’t interrupted him and tried to steal the spotlight again, he was about to propose a match between them. Later in the show, Punk will be in his locker room, and Jericho and Cade will try to be buddy-buddy with Punk, and Punk will rightly say that he wants nothing to do with them. He didn’t turn on HBK because of those two. He did it for no one but himself. It’s just a shame all the people who used to be his fans don’t understand that what he did was necessary.

Summerslam: I thought it through multiple times, and I just don’t know who I’d want to win, and can’t decide on a reason why for either one. It’d obviously be the first of many matches, so you couldn’t have HBK win clean, but it seems cliché that Punk would win the initial encounter. Whatever. I’ll just leave it off here, as there’s plenty more gas left in a feud like this.

What Do I Think?: Dude, great job with this. You do what the WWE has been doing all along with this storyline… Flair, Michaels, Batista, Jericho, and (the way you see it) Punk… they’re all just kind of doing what they do. Anybody on the ‘net will tell you that the “Ric Flair Retirement” angle is doing big things for blurring the lines between good guy and bad guy. The great thing about the Punk heel turn here is that it happens, much like the Jericho turn, because the crowd boos him for attacking Shawn Michaels after HBK acted like a jerk. I can’t find enough to say about this entry – I love it. It’s a fantastic continuation of the Flair storyline and, if it were to happen, I would start thinking that they were trying to get every main-eventer embroiled into this feud somehow. HBK/Flair created HBK/Batista, which created HBK/Y2J… which created HBK/Punk? Crazy. Thanks for writing!

Opinion #4: Tony P.
“The Mr. Kennedy Route”
Start it off even this Friday for Smackdown. The show can open up with the Cutting Edge segment. Edge is in the ring announcing the most decorated champion to ever appear as a guest on his show, the Game, Triple H. Edge can once again play the suck up heel to Triple H. Triple H once again isn’t buying it, throws some insults at Edge, and Edge looks legitimately ticked off. He goes on a rant of all he’s done and how Smackdown is his show, and it’s been that way since the first night he debuted and cashed in his Money In The Bank shot. This brings out a Smackdown re-debuting Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy gets on the mic and starts getting in Edge’s face reminding him of his taking advantage of an injured Kennedy to take the briefcase over a year ago in the first place. As far as Kennedy’s concerned, Edge is wearing his title. Triple H, playing instigator in his sarcastic demeanor suggests a match. Kennedy is all for it, until Vickie comes out and nixes the idea. She says Kennedy has done nothing on Smackdown to warrant a title shot let alone a match with a superior wrestler such as Edge. However she will give Kennedy a match tonight against Chavo Guerrero, if he wins she’ll consider giving him the shot at Edge. She also informs Triple H that the contract has arrived for him to sign for his rematch against Cena announced Monday for the Bash. To prepare him tonight he’ll be facing the Great Khali.

Meanwhile during the night shots are shown of MVP in his locker room, plotting and thinking to himself with a look of frustration. The main event of the night ends up being Chavo vs. Kennedy. Just as Kennedy hits the Mic Check, the ref is pulled out of the ring by MVP. Kennedy starts jawing at MVP from the ring only to get small packaged by Chavo and lose his opportunity to face Edge at the Great American Bash. Edge looks on from the ramp smiling until CM Punk makes his entrance. Edge still standing on the ramp next to Punk stares down Punk, as Punk announces he’s cashing in his Money In The Bank shot at the Great American Bash and bringing the title to Raw.

The following Smackdown we have the VIP Lounge and Kennedy is the guest of honor. MVP explains his actions, as not being personal, but a way of 1) showing La Familia he deserves better treatment and 2) showing he’s not going to let a minor leaguer come around and start stating claims to title shots he hasn’t earned. He does the whole highest paid Smackdown schtick, Kennedy responds with a smirk and a right hand with a microphone. MVP is out. Kennedy then calls for the mic from the ceiling, sits on the couch, and does a comedy bit acting as if its his how and interviewing the fallen MVP. Finished with a loud Mr. Kennedy… Kennedy… yell in MVP’s ear, and the crowd eats it up.

The feud between two potential future stars begins, with a game of verbal sparring. For the most part other than a tag match, they are kept from physicality until Summerslam. At the Great American Bash they are kept in non wrestling roles. During all of this the Undertaker would have done one of his electrical wonders to ruin Edge’s wedding without actually appearing. At the Bash, Triple H loses his title to Cena giving Cena and Raw a title and the decisive win in their feud. CM Punk who previously kept on gaining the momentum over Edge was given a NO DQ match at the Bash. CM Punk fights off Edge, until La Familia interference predictably makes its entrance. Undertaker returns only to accidentally cost Punk the match. Punk goes back to Raw and slowly becomes a bitter heel. Triple H returns to Smackdown beltless and begins a transitional feud of respect with Jeff Hardy. Edge and Undertaker aim to finish their feud in a Hell in a Cell for the title.

Summerslam will host a match between Mr. Kennedy and MVP.. They get a good 15 minutes of ring-psychology filled wrestling and in the end MVP sneaks out a win, but not a decisive win. MVP returns to Smackdown to gloat over his victory, and MVP makes Mr. Kennedy work his way towards a rematch. Kennedy ends up earning his rematch and at Unforgiven the two collide in a rematch where Kennedy gets the roll up win in a better match than their first one.

Kennedy has been getting promo slots on a weekly basis, getting over on his mic skills, and wrestling mid-card to upper mid-card talent, improving his ring skills as well during the feud with MVP. After Unforgiven however the feud becomes more personal with vicious attacks by MVP, and Kennedy retaliating. At No Mercy the two do battle in a 2/3 falls match. The first fall goes to MVP after a Yakuza Kick in the corner. Kennedy nearly gets the second fall with the running kick to the downed opponent in the corner but MVP gets his foot on the tope. Kennedy however gets the reverse figure-4 submission hold he’s been getting over the last couple months to get the tap out and even it up. The final fall goes to a double countout when their tempers flare and they take their fight around the arena. MVP stands tall after a low blow and an unprotected chair shot to Kennedy. Cyber Sunday is the one on one culmination however as the feud continues to get more personal. Hopefully by this time the feud is getting super over and at Cyber Sunday the fans vote the two into a street fight. This has transitioned to a blood feud by the two self-proclaimed futures of Smackdown, and after MVP tries to inflict more punishment rather than take the cover, Kennedy hits a Mic Check into for the pinfall. Kennedy stands tall but in the process MVP still looks strong for having it won, but not taking the cover.

At Survivor Series MVP leads the team of Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison and the Miz against the team of Mr. Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, Brian Kendrick, and Evan Bourne. It comes down to Kennedy, Hardy vs MVP, Morrison. Kennedy and Hardy work together to take the match. A face/face match is set for Armageddon between Hardy and Kennedy, once again Kennedy outsmarts his opponent and picks up the win.

The Royal Rumble comes around and features Edge defending the title against Triple H in the blow off to their feud that started at Survivor Series. Edge defends the title clean for once, and the Rumble later in the night is won by none other than Mr. Kennedy.

Kennedy wastes no time choosing to face Edge, and the feud writes itself on the Road to Wrestlemania, where hopefully a mega over well built Kennedy takes his first world title home.

The majority of the build I put into Kennedy/MVP simply because they are relatively in the same spot. I remember a mid-card feud in 98 between the Rock and Triple H getting both guys mega over and that is what I see this feud being similar to. Neither have proven yet to be up to par with those two, but of the potential stars of today, these two are two of the brightest. A back and forth feud between both should catapult both into the main event scene, all the while keeping a potential Kennedy/Edge feud for down the road. Kennedy was a better wrestler during his Smackdown run, and Smackdown has been known to get more ring time than Raw. This move should improve Kennedy as a wrestler to the fullest and help his character to develop more as well.

What Do I Think?: You do the right thing by giving Kennedy a slower build to the world championship. He was damaged goods on RAW just a few months ago and, though the Regal firing situation did a little to improve his stock, he’s done little of note in the past year. He needs this feud with M.V.P. like Rock and HHH needed their feud (as you mentioned) and Y2J and Benoit needed their feud to put the world on notice that they were moving into the main event. Not every main eventer needs this transition period – John Cena, for example, seemed to move almost directly from defending the U.S. title against Renee Dupree to taking the championship from J.B.L. But for these guys I think an extended feud, complete with the really cool Survivor Series match that you mentioned, will give them plenty of opportunities to put on fantastic matches with a quality opponent time and time again. Sweetness.

Opinion #5: Matt Pitt
“A Little Bit on the Side”
Big fan of the site, so keep up the good work and all that. Just thought I’d respond to your challenge of planning a push for a recently-drafted Superstar. The guy I’ve chosen has been one of my favourites ever since I got back into watching WWE 18 months ago – none other than Misterrrrrrr Kennedyyyyyyy…..Kennedy! I believe there’s a lot of money in the slow build, so it’s a long one that ends at WrestleMania XXV. Here we go – it starts from next week’s SmackDown onwards.

SmackDown, 4th July 2008: The show opens with Vickie Guerrero and La Familia standing in the ring celebrating, much like they did after retiring The Undertaker at One Night Stand. Vickie asks the SmackDown crowd to welcome her fiancé, the Rated R Superstar, and the only World Champion on the SmackDown roster (since Triple H lost his WWE Championship to John Cena at Night of Champions)….EDGE.

Edge enters to huge heat as always, and proceeds to cut another fantastic promo, about how he has proven time and time again that he can do what is necessary to not only win, but retain, a World Championship belt when necessary. He points out that unlike Triple H, Batista, or Kane, who also lost his title at Night of Champions, he had the ability it took to make sure that the title came home with him. As a result, the World Heavyweight Championship stays where it belongs – around his waist. It doesn’t matter who’s been traded to SmackDown in the Draft, it doesn’t matter who’s on the roster. It doesn’t matter who wins the scheduled Number One Contender Battle Royal later in the night. There isn’t anyone in the WWE who can stand up to the power of La Familia.

Then, out of nowhere, we get LIGHTS OUT in the arena – teasing a replay of Edge’s “prank” on the fans after One Night Stand – but instead of the familiar bell tolling, there is a long pause, before we hear…..

…..KENNEDY!

Mr. Kennedy’s music hits. A single spotlight shines onto the entrance ramp, where Kennedy stands, soaking up a huge pop for his SmackDown return after a year’s absence. He extends his hand skyward, and the trademark microphone drops down from the ceiling into it.

“Edge…..I’m sorry to interrupt, but you better stop running your mouth down there, because I got something damn important to say up here. I’m coming home to SmackDown, and Edge…I AM COMING…FOR YOU.”

(Vickie interrupts) “Wait a second, Kennedy. You might be back on SmackDown now and everything, but on my show, you play by my rules, you don’t just come out and mouth off to the World Heavyweight Champion whenever you feel like it. Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Well, Vickie, I’ve got a few questions for the crowd that’ll help you answer that, ’cause I think they know who I am. Who’s the guy who Edge SCREWED to get his World title shot against the Undertaker last year? (crowd: KENNEDY!)

Who’s the guy who got unfairly beaten for the Money In The Bank briefcase, and NEVER got a rematch? (crowd: KENNEDY!) Who’s the guy who’s been aching for revenge ever since? (crowd: KENNEDY!) And who’s the guy who’s gonna take that World Heavyweight Championship from you the first chance he gets? (crowd: KENNEDY!) You’re damn right that’s who, because I…AM…MISTEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYY …..(Edge tries to interrupt)…..KENNEDY!” (Kennedy leaves)

Later in that show, the Number One Contender Battle Royal is held, with Kennedy winning after eliminating Umaga last, in your usual “big man runs toward ropes, little guy pulls down the top rope and big guy goes over” spot. Kennedy will get his WHC shot at the Great American Bash.

The following few weeks are full of your usual La Familia shenanigans – Kennedy is forced to face Big Show and the Great Khali in successive main events. Then comes the Edge-Vickie wedding, July 11th, 9 days before the Bash. It’s all going swimmingly until the important bit – Edge says “I do”, but Vickie, in a shock turnout, says “I don’t.” She grabs a microphone and starts venting…

“Edge! I hope you meant it when you said “I do”. You know why? Because I want you to hurt as much as possible for what you’ve done to me. (Edge looks confused) I know what you did, Edge! How could you do something like that? HOW?!”

“Baby, what are you talking about? What’s wrong?”

“You slept with her! (points into the crowd of guests) You slept with our wedding planner!”

“Baby, no, it’s not true!”

“She admitted it, Edge. There’s no use in lying. After all we’ve been through, was I not enough for you? Was the World Heavyweight Championship not enough? You had to have your “bit on the side” too? Well, you’re gonna regret it. Mark my words, you’re gonna regret it.

(Edge realises his wedding is ruined, and gets desperate)”Baby, what do you mean? Can’t we talk about this, work it out? I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you. Please, let’s just talk about this.”

“It’s too late for that, Edge. You’re gonna pay for what you did. Starting right now. I invited someone else to our wedding, baby – someone you know very, very well…”

LIGHTS OUT! BELLS! UNDERTAKER IS BACK! The Deadman marches out to the biggest possible ovation. Wedding guests are fleeing the scene left, right and centre. ‘Taker’s throwing chairs and destroying decorations as he reaches the ring. Edge tries to flee, but the security guards hired for the wedding by Vickie slow him down, and the Deadman catches up with him. Edge cowers in a corner of the ring, as the Deadman approaches him, but ‘Taker stops. He stands stock still for a moment, then makes his trademark throat-sitting gesture…and then we get LIGHTS OUT again. No ‘Taker. Vickie stands on the entrance ramp and shouts at Edge, while he sits in a corner of the ring, a mixture of terror and despair on his face.

On SmackDown, two days before the Bash and his match with Kennedy, Vickie has Edge face the Big Show in the main event. The match ends by DQ when Kennedy runs down to get him some – Edge flees the scene up the ramp, but is stopped by the arrival of ‘Taker in the entranceway. He makes the throat-slit gesture once again, and disappears again via lights-out.

Edge reverts to good, old-fashioned cheating to retain his title at the Bash – with the rest of La Familia still intact, Kennedy is overcome by the numbers game and loses. ‘Taker’s bells sound at the end of the match, terrifying Edge and prompting him to run away. The next week on SmackDown, Vickie announces that Edge’s next opponent for the World Heavyweight Championship will be The Undertaker, at SummerSlam. What’s more, the match will be a Buried Alive Match, and if Edge loses, he will not get a rematch. The buildup continues as usual, but Kennedy remains involved in the main-event angle despite not being in the title picture directly.

The match goes down at SummerSlam, with ‘Taker overcoming interference from the Rated R Army (La Familia not being appropriate any more), thanks to a hand from Kennedy, and winning his eighth World title. Edge takes a month or so off following his defeat, and, knowing that he cannot go after the Undertaker’s title again, seeks revenge on Kennedy for helping ‘Taker. ‘Taker feuds with Triple H, Jeff Hardy and Umaga throughout the SummerSlam-Survivor Series period, with Edge and Kennedy enjoying a short feud – a singles match at Unforgiven, a tag match (Edge and Chavo vs Kennedy and a partner of his choice, doesn’t really matter who) and in a viewer-chosen Street Fight at Cyber Sunday. The big story of this one, however, is Chavo turning on Edge, and helping Kennedy to defeat him. Chavo turns face in doing so, and feuds with Edge through Survivor Series.

The Chavo-Edge feud comes to a head at the Royal Rumble, with Edge winning in an intense Last Man Standing Match. Hopefully a feud like this against a really over heel would get Chavo over for once. Kennedy, meanwhile, has been desperate for another title shot for months – after treading water for a while, and maybe getting the odd title shot against new World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, who defeated The Undertaker at Survivor Series, Kennedy finally wins the Royal Rumble, and gets to go to WrestleMania against the Champion of his choice.

By this point, Edge has forced his way back into the title picture on SmackDown following the ousting of Vickie Guerrero as General Manager – Hawkins and Ryder are WWE Tag Team Champions, and Bam Neely is still their hired gun, while Edge earns himself a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H at No Way Out, with the winner going on to WrestleMania.

Edge and the Rated R Army manage to screw Triple H out of the title at No Way Out, setting up both an epic clash between Edge and Kennedy at WMXXV, and a future feud with Triple H. Kennedy wins at ‘Mania despite the interference of the Army, and a new star is born.

THE WINNER, AND THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION……….MISTEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR KENNEDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY……………KENNEDY!

What Do I Think?: You accomplish some of the same things as the opinion #4 above and should see those parts of the response for my feedback. Kennedy winning at WM 25 seems about right to me if they do things right between now and then. You delve more into the progression of the Rated R/Familia stable and I like that because its kind of soap-opera storytelling all the way through. I like how the Kennedy “revenge” is kept on the back-burner but it eventually happens months later… oh so sweet. Thanks for the thoughts.

Which newly drafted superstar do I think will rise to the top?

I’m going to keep it really short this week but I am not, under any circumstances, keeping it sweet. That’s because the focus of my main event push is none other than the nastiest of nasties, the Samoan Bulldozer, UMAGA!

Umaga is the perfect example of how a brand transition could reignite a spark that has grown dim because the superstar simply ran out of competition where he was. This guy had fought everybody on RAW, and lost to each of them, all the while trying to maintain the aura of an “unbeatable monster” who could demolish anyone at any time. It just wasn’t working for me anymore and I think most of the fans were with me. So let’s see what we can do to bring him back to where he was in the early months of ’07 – and maybe even beyond.

On the SD before Night of Champions, Umaga showed a bit of an alliance with La Familia when he helped them demolish Batista. To save his friend, Triple H showed up chased off the Samoan Bulldozer. I’m going to work with that. The SD tapings this week indicate that Umaga squashed Funaki, so, to a certain extent I assume he is going to continue smashing little guys in-between programs with the big boys.

Next week on SD, Vickie Guerrero takes the ring (without Edge, since they are fighting and called off the wedding and all that) to make a change to the WWE Championship match, previously announced as Triple H vs. Edge, at Great American Bash. She says that she no longer believes that Edge deserves a one-on-one shot at the title but she can’t remove him from the match now that it has been signed. She can, however, introduce a new competitor to the match to prevent both her estranged lover and the new beefy blonde guy from walking out as WWE Champion. Chavo Guerrero then comes to the ring (w/ Bam Neely) and hesitantly asks Vicki if she is sure that she wants to enlist the services of this guy… if she thinks she can trust him, and all. The hot-tempered and stubborn SD GM shoves her nephew-in-law aside and proudly announces that her hand-picked contender in the new WWE Championship Triple Threat match is none other than UMAGA.

The build to Great American Bash consists of a few key things: Edge and the Rated R boys being banished from La Familia, which is now a Vicki/Chavo/Bam/Umaga foursome. Triple H and Edge find themselves facing a common enemy but they still hate each other; Umaga hates both of them. The thing I want to accomplish is putting a mouthpiece on Umaga like Vicki to serve as his hype machine. That’s what Armando Estrada did so well and I have missed it ever since. The actual match results in a Triple H victory, probably by pinning Umaga, but that kind of thing won’t hurt our boy.

The week after GAB, Umaga comes to the ring with Vicki, Chavo and Bam as they usually do. Vicki announces an eight-man battle royal that night to find a new number one contender for Summerslam. Umaga will be in the battle royal and so will Edge. The other competitors don’t matter because the last two men in the match will be the Samoan Bulldozer and the Rated R Superstar. Is Edge a good guy because he is fighting La Familia? Is he a bad guy because he wants Triple H’s belt? That’s the fun! Edge wins the match because Ryder and Hawkins were able to counterbalance Chavo and Bam’s interference and he uses Umaga’s own savage momentum to send him over the top rope.

Edge versus Triple H for the WWE Championship is set for Summerslam, and Vicki is furious. The next week, on August 1st, she decides to throw a special ceremony to celebrate her accomplishments as SD GM. It’s a cheer-herself-up tactic and Chavo and Bam are bending over backwards to make it work. Chavo makes a top five countdown of Vicki’s accomplishments – disregarding the rest, #1 is the banishment of the Undertaker (not ironically enough) two months ago to the date. While the four Familia members are gathered in the ring, a few moments after the mention of the top-ranked accomplishment, the lights in the arena suddenly and mysteriously darken. Could it be…?

The next two weeks are spent investigating the not-so-mysterious phenomenon. Vicki announces, to anyone who may be listening, that if they decide to show up at Summerslam or anytime in the future they will have to deal with Umaga and La Familia! All signs point to a match between Umaga and the Undertaker at Summerslam, but I think they’ll save that for a later date and call this something like an “encounter” or a “confrontation” in the ring but not a match. With Chavo and Bam and the SD GM behind him, Umaga is a force to be reckoned with and doesn’t need to stray much from his hired-gun status… he’s just doing it better now and he has a purpose. La Familia is fighting a multi-pronged war now: against Edge (and Hawkins/Ryder) for the Vicki mess, against Triple H because he’s the top face, and against Undertaker because Vicki (not Edge) is taking credit for “banishing” him from SD two months ago.

Summerslam comes and goes without much change in the status quo. The clash between Edge and Triple H ended when Hawkins and Ryder turned on their “boss” and HHH capitalized on the distraction with a pedigree. Vicki, Chavo, Bam, and Umaga are in the ring before the main event and they call out the Undertaker, saying that they knew he was not going to try to come back after he was “banished” over two months ago. Of course, ‘Taker returns and the crowd prepares for him to demolish everyone in his path. The only problem is… he doesn’t. After a strong first effort that drives the three men from the ring, ‘Taker focuses on getting revenge Vicki and lets his guard down just long enough for the numbers game to overcome him. In a shocking twist on the Undertaker’s return he is left bloody and beaten after a brutal attack, mainly by Umaga, while Vicki laughs maniacally.

From here you have Umaga established as a big heel threat, Undertaker still technically “banished” from SD, Triple H as face champion, and Edge as lone wolf ‘tweener challenger. Excited about how her gang performed at Summerslam, Vicki offers ‘Taker a deal: if he can defeat Umaga in a street fight at Unforgiven, his “banishment” will be lifted. Of course, that’s exactly what happens… but a big program with the Undertaker is just the start of Umaga’s successful run on Friday nights.

Next week’s homework… due Tuesday, July 8st at 11 PM EST
Just recently, Chris Jericho turned his back on the fans because they booed him for doing the right thing. This is an example of one way that a “good guy” becomes a “bad guy” through the storytelling aspect of professional wrestling. I want you to come up with a scenario where another WWE or TNA superstar goes from the light to the darkness (or vice versa, if you prefer) and explain what the superstar hopes to accomplish with this new outlook on life. Did he turn on the fans, or did they turn on him? Did he suddenly decide to go out of his way to please the fans, or did they just gradually come around to realizing how cool he was all along? Go into a little detail on his dastardly activity post-heel-turn or his do-gooder deeds post-face-turn, if you want.

As always, send your thoughts and ideas to [email protected]! Thanks again to everybody who participated this week and in the past… we’re doing a real good job.