The Katz Files – Arnie Katz
Nobody Asked Me, But…
The Kingfish Arnie Katz continues a “Katz Files” tradition with answers to some ticklish questions that no one asked him.
I was thinking about all the wrestling I’ve watched this week and…
Nobody asked me, but…
… As great a moment as it was when Chris Jericho staggered to the ring at Unforgiven, wouldn’t it have been magnitudes greater if he was a babyface? Jericho has done an admirable job in his feud with Shawn Michaels, but this was a big moment that could’ve been so much bigger if the storyline had gone slightly differently. For example, what if they got the fans to turn on Michaels for exactly the character and conduct flaws Jericho has whined about so many times?
… Are you buying Sting as a villain? Is anyone buying Sting as a villain. Is Sting selling</I himself as a villain? Sting’s heel turn is the worst since Goldberg’s heel turn. If he’s not willing to make an effort to draw heel heat from the fans, he should do the honorable thing and simply refuse to turn (and maybe retire). I assume he’s getting paid for this, so it would be nice to see him stop kissing up to the fans with all the old Stinger mannerisms and catchphrases and start alienating the crowd in earnest. He can do it; the big question is: Does Sting want to succeed at this?
… Did anyone review the Vickie Guerrero-Undertaker-Big Show storyline for logic and consistency? A few little changes would’ve really smoothed out the plot and eliminated some huge problems in motivations. Examples: The McMahons, not Vickie, should’ve reinstated Undertake “for the good of WWE” or some such. That way, the Dead Man wouldn’t look like such an ingrate for attacking her. At worst, they were basically even.
… Didn’t Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne look great together as a tag team on RAW? Bourne is clearly the best rookie to come up through ECW since CM Punk and Mysterio’s style complements his very well. Rey will be battling Kane, possibly ending in some kind of mask-vs.-mask match, but after that he and Bourne would make great opponents of DiBiase and Rhodes or even as champions on Smackdown.
… Didn’t Mickie James do a good job putting over Beth Phoenix? It’s a shame they had to use James, probably the most exciting woman in WWE wresting, to set up Phoenix for her feud with Candice Michelle, but it’ll be necessary to pull Beth back from the comedy spots a little if they expect fans to be excited by that program.
… Wasn’t it a nice touch to have William Regal walk out, arm-in-arm, with Layla after Noble dropped the “tie-breaker” to him? Of course, it doesn’t do much for Layla’s image, but she is probably not going to be a long-term WWE performer.
… Did anyone think a match as poor as Michelle McCool versus Maryse should’ve been on the pay per view? I remember the good old days of WWE wrestling when women who wrestled as badly as this had much bigger breasts.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another installment of the Internet’s fastest-rising wrestling column. I hope you’ll join me – and I’d be especially grateful if you tell your friends about it.
— Arnie Katz
[email protected]
(9/11/08)