Shades Of Gray #14

In this week’s column, I’ll discuss the recent changes made in WWE, particularly to the “Raw” brand. Over the last few weeks, “Raw” has had a different vibe to it, one that has many fans thinking back to the glory days of the “Attitude” era. I’ll also discuss the release of Trevor Murdoch and speculate on his future in professional wrestling.

The “Links of the Week” will recap all of the major happenings from the past week, including CM Punk’s surprise victory over Edge and his subsequent defense against JBL. “Extras” include Ultimate Warrior’s return match against Orlando Jordan in Spain, the WWE debuts of Great Khali and Tazz, and much, much more.

Shaking things up on “Raw”

In my last column, I wrote that the one redeeming quality about Ric Flair’s surprise appearance on “Raw” was that it could be the first step toward more unpredictable programming - and it has been. “Raw” has been must-see TV over the past 3 weeks, including Vince McMahon’s collapse to end the show 2 weeks ago; J.R. and Edge’s surprise appearances last week, followed by the biggest surprise of all: CM Punk winning the World Heavyweight title by cashing in his MITB briefcase.

I loved how WWE placed Punk’s win at the beginning of the show. It contributed to the feeling that “anything can happen.” Certainly, no one expects the World title to change hands within the first two segments of the show. I even watched the following segment, Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall, just to be sure that I didn’t miss anything (although Hall’s hilarious singing may have had something to do with it too).

Even the main event was unpredictable. I was wondering, “was WWE really serious about having Punk as their champion?” Based on the overrun, I wasn’t the only one interested in seeing if Punk could hang onto the gold. Overall, “Raw” scored a 3.5, a major improvement over the 2.9 from a month ago.

In addition to Punk’s victory, it appears as if WWE is serious about giving “Raw” a younger, fresher feel. Kofi Kingston as Intercontinental Champion, Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes as Tag Team Champions, and Lance Cade’s push alongside Chris Jericho are further examples of WWE shaking things up. And I like it. Although there is one storyline that I don’t like, and that’s the latest stunt involving Vince McMahon.

There are number of problems with the stunt. For one, it’s a repeat of last year’s exploding limo storyline, including a family statement being the first development in continuing the storyline. At the start of “Raw,” Shane McMahon said that he’s respecting his father’s privacy by not revealing his physical condition. Another problem was how bad the stunt looked in execution. Re-watching it made it look obvious that there was no way the falling set would have hit McMahon (although the promo recap made it look a little better).

Another problem: to say that the stunt was done in bad taste is an understatement. A TNA crew member died due to collapsed scaffolding following Slammiversary, and WWE even reported on the incident in the Industry News section of their website. Even reporting McMahon’s injury as a “tragedy” is in bad taste considering all of the legitimate wrestling tragedies that have occurred over the past few years.

Maybe they’ll just drop the storyline altogether. It’s no longer a top story on wwe.com, although McMahon is mentioned in the preview for this week’s “Raw.” In the end, it’ll probably be nothing more than a way to end McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. I’m just hoping for a better payoff to the stunt. And I hope Hornswoggle has nothing to do with it.

Trevor Murdoch’s release

When discussing Lance Cade’s recent push on “Raw” in Shades of Gray #13, I wrote, “I’d liked to see Murdoch get a similar oppourtunity as his former tag partner, even if it comes on another brand.” Clearly, Murdoch won’t be getting that oppourtunity, because as D.J.B reported on Tha O show earlier this week, Murdoch has been wished “the best in all future endeavors.”

Maybe his release shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did to me (and apparently others in the fed were shocked too, such as J.R. who said so in his blog this weekend). Murdoch had the potential to be a major player in WWE. He has the in-ring talent, charisma, and sets himself apart because he doesn’t have the cookie-cutter look of the typical WWE Superstar.

I would even go as far as saying (like others at Tha O Show) that Murdoch has more potential than his former tag team partner. So why would WWE release him? I’m sure the details surrounding his departure will come out shortly, but I have a couple of ideas. The first scenario could have involved Murdoch asking for his release, being upset with his lackluster role in the company. Perhaps he was confident that could find work in Japan or land a spot in TNA, where he wrestled for a short time as Stan Dupp.

Or the second (and more realistic) scenario could be that WWE released him because his singing gimmick wasn’t getting over - and because he’s no longer teaming with Cade, the creative team ran out of ideas for him. (Note: I don’t know why they expected him to get over as a babyface with his singing gimmick. He’s been a heel his entire WWE career, and just because he’s a mediocre singer, the fans are supposed to like him? I don’t get it.)

This sort of thing happens all the time, though - workers are given the excuse: “We don’t have anything for you.” Well, figure something out! It’s your job to be “creative”! Regardless, Murdoch can land a spot in TNA if he so wishes. It’s unfortunate, though, because I think he would have had a better shot of making an impact on “SmackDown!” than on . . . er, “iMPACT!” “SmackDown!” is in need of some mid-card talent, whereas TNA struggles to fit everyone on their show every week. But hopefully TNA’s hard-on for former WWE Superstars will work in Murdoch’s favour.

What do you think, O-sters? Would you like to see Murdoch on “iMPACT!”?

Links of the Week

1. J.R's farewell address on "Raw" - damn, he got a Road Warrior pop

2. CM Punk wins the World Heavyweight Championship (with a bit of help from Batista)

3. CM Punk vs JBL for the title

4. The latest installment of Rough Cuts, on Matt Morgan's time in OVW and WWE

5. Hector Guerrero needs to shut up

6. Sting makes an appearance at the end of "iMPACT!," after Joe and Nash's victory over Beer Money Inc.

7. Triple H on MVP's V.I.P. Lounge (Part 1; Part 2)

8. July 4th Fatal Four-way between Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Mr. Kennedy and Chavo Guerrero - I could have sworn that Hardy was drafted to "ECW"

9. The Edge-Vickie Guerrero wedding is off

Extras

10. A chapter from the new "Nature Boy: The Definitive Collection" DVD, about his switch from WCW to WWF

11. Miz and Morrison on Tom Green's late night show - I think you'll be interested in seeing who answers Layla's cell phone

12. I know it's been a couple weeks, but here's Ultimate Warrior's return against Orlando Jordan

13. One for the ages: Khali's WWE debut

14. Here's another debut: Tazz's WWE debut at Madison Square Garden

15. The Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-7, with Mene Gene and Bobby Heenan at ringside (Part 1; Part 2)

16. The peak of WCW's popularity: Hulk Hogan vs. Sting at Starrcade '97, which includes Bret Hart's botched WCW debut (Part 1; Part 2)

17. The late, great Eddie Guererro beats Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship (Part 1; Part 2)

Share |