At
last, we can rejoice. WWE have done what they teased for so very long and
turned Randy Orton heel. Of course, we could all see it coming as soon as Orton
came to the ring at SummerSlam to cash in the briefcase. After all, Triple H
wasn’t installed in the match for nothing you know. The whole McMahon saga
which has been done before is beginning to repeat itself for a new audience and
new generation and instead of The Rock at the helm, this time it’s Randy Orton.
For
those not old enough to remember the last time The McMahon Family were the
centre of the company in a storyline then it began properly at WWE Survivor
Series 1998 which was held at the Kiel Centre in St. Louis, Missouri on
November 15th 1998. The idea on the night was to do two things. The first crown
a new WWE Champion in the Deadly Games Tournament and the second was to make
The Rock a bona fide main event star in the process. Both goals were
accomplished on the night even though Stone Cold Steve Austin was the fan
favourite to win the tournament rebelling against The McMahon Family who had
sought to depose ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’.
Entering
the tournament Mankind was the supposed Corporate darling who had McMahon’s
backing to step up and become the headline star. As we would find out that that
was a ruse and to be honest, anyone who didn’t see it coming needed their eyes
testing. The Rock was always earmarked to win the tournament and the WWE
Championship, only along the way he was also going to turn heel on Mankind and
side with Vince McMahon. For the main players in the story, they advanced
through the first round with ease as Mankind went over Duane Gill in a pathetic
thirty second burial, Stone Cold Steve Austin eliminated the Big Boss Man by
disqualification in a paltry three minute twenty second affair and The Rock who
was due to face a mystery opponent in the first round was also handed Big Boss
Man in what was meant to look like The McMahon Family trying to stop ‘The
Brahma Bull’ reaching the final. The Rock bested Boss Man in three seconds.
The
whole idea of the Deadly Games tournament, as stated was to make The Rock a
star. Vince McMahon was going to do this by trying to feed us a red herring.
Trying to stop The Rock reaching the final whilst all the time helping him
advance in each match was a master strategy which worked on the night and the Boss
Man was only the beginning. Made to look like the tables were stacked, were
told at a later date that Boss Man had been told to lay down for The Rock and
make sure he was to advance to the next round. By supposedly pitting The Rock
against all Corporate opponents on the night, in the storyline, McMahon had
ensure The Rock’s place in the final. It wasn’t to be the last time the Boss
Man intervened in The Rock’s progress, though his intervention was meant to
look like an accident as he was supposedly helping his Corporate buddies.
The
Quarterfinals of ten Deadly Game Tournament saw The Rock pin Ken Shamrock,
another Corporate drone, in a good eight minute and twenty second match when
the Boss Man ran in and threw the nightstick to Shamrock. The Rock intercepted
the foreign object and nailed Shamrock with it to score the pin. To the onlookers,
The Rock had bee clever in foiling the Corporation’s plans when in reality Boss
Man had passed the nightstick to The Rock; Stone Cold Steve Austin advance
through a bye into the Semi-Finals thanks to a double count out in the match
between William Regal and X Pac and Mankind best Al Snow in a three minute and
fifty five outing which is best forgotten. After the quarterfinals had transpired,
there was huge hype that The Rock would face Austin in the final. The pair had
already done battle over the WWE Intercontinental Championship the previous
year and in the eyes of the WWE fans both men were ready to be main event
stars. In hindsight, WWE need not have tried so hard in pushing The Rock, the
hype that he would meet Austin in the final did all the work for them. But then
in those days Vince actually planned things out in advance.
A
question mark hung over the fate of the WWE Championship as far as the fans
were concerned when Mankind pinned Austin to eliminate Stone Cold in the
Semi-Finals. As far as everyone was concerned Austin was shoo-in for a place
against The Rock who had already advanced thanks to a victory over The
Undertaker by Disqualification when Kane injected himself in the bout. Another piece
of evidence that the Corporation were aiding The Rock, without our knowledge.
Suddenly with Austin gone it was Mankind vs The Rock in the final of the Deadly
Games Tournament and really, there could be only one logical outcome.
At
the time, Mankind wasn’t WWE Championship material. Anyone with eyes could see
that McMahon was going to double cross Foley on the night and The Rock was
going to side with the McMahon’s. The match was very good and the ending which
was a perfect replay of the Montreal incident from the year before only served
to help The Rock get hated and despised by the fans. The reason I’m recapping
events from fifteen years ago was because it was almost a perfect heel turn,
akin to Randy Orton’s at SummerSlam.
We
all knew it was coming. Months ago WWE touted a Randy Orton heel turn yet every
time they got near one, the company held off pulling that trigger. When Orton
hit Bryan with an RKO before Payback, the seeds had been sown and when he
captured the Money in the Bank briefcase in July it was almost a foregone
conclusion that he would cash it in when Bryan defeated an injured John Cena at
SummerSlam. When Triple H was added to the mix, the picture was complete.
People not in the know may not have seen it, but we certainly did. I remember
reading on forums before SummerSlam, people saying that if Orton cashed in and
defeated Bryan then they would go mad and not watch anymore, but what they don’t
realise is that WWE had to prepare for the future.
Vince
and WWE creative knew that John Cena was leaving for surgery after SummerSlam.
The company had fair warning and they knew that without their figurehead star
to guide the ship they had to prepare for life with someone else at the helm. Undoubtedly,
Daniel Bryan could have carried the company but what then? With Bryan as WWE
Champion all WWE could have done was have him defend against heels. There would
have been no driving story for fans to tune into. This way, with Randy Orton as
Champion, Daniel Bryan and his fans have something to hold onto. Daniel Bryan
is now in the Stone Cold Steve Austin role and Randy Orton occupies The Rock’s
role of 1998. It was a perfect plan by Vince to have this crescendo at
SummerSlam as now we have a feud which could easily last until WrestleMania 30.
There
is a worry hanging over this heel turn and new alliance however. The last time
Randy Orton sided with Triple H, Hunter selfishly outshined him and shamelessly
stole his spotlight on purpose. Even in their singles feud, it was Triple H who
had to have the majority of the limelight regardless of what it did to Randy
Orton. This time around, Triple H cannot do this. Triple H has to stand back
and allow Orton and Bryan to flourish at the top of the card. If he does then
he could be credited with stabilising the future of a company he will run and
co-own in the future, instead of being blamed for not doing enough to prepare
it for Vince McMahon’s exit.
History
is repeating itself again, but it’s something we haven’t had for at least 13
years which means WWE have had ample time to tweak each role and add a new
depth to the story. I have no doubt that Vince, Triple H or Stephanie will
break away from the faction and side with Daniel Bryan before its all said and
done and Bryan will defeat Randy Orton for gold at the end of the feud. For now
though we have another identical feud which was so enjoyable the first time
around. As long as Orton, Bryan, Triple H and the McMahon’s keep it fresh and
moving then it should be not only one of the standout feuds of the year but
also turning Orton at SummerSlam should be one of the best decisions WWE has
made in the last five years.
We Can’t See Him
The
news that John Cena will be on he shelf for four to six months was a welcome
one to everyone’s ears. Except those Cena fans of course. This doesn’t just
mean no more crap main event matches where the star no sells everything thrown
his way, it means so much more for the WWE. Sure, they’ll lose viewers in the
time Cena is out of action but that’s a necessary evil right now.
John
Cena has been at the front and centre of everything that happens in WWE’s main
event scene since 2005 which has meant WWE have failed to create new headline
stars, instead relying on John Cena to do the business at the top. His presence
has meant that even if WWE tried to make stars then he would inevitably ruin
their image with his shoddy work. Wade Barrett and The Miz are two fine
examples of why WWE were unable to create stars when John Cena was on top. Now
though, the company has no such limitations. Randy Orton is more than capable
of putting over wrestlers in the right way and making them look stars in the
process.
In
John Cena’s absence WWE can now make two or even three new headline stars and
plant them in the main event scene before Cena returns. If these stars can get
a hold of the audience’s attention and be booked and seen as true headliners
then not even John Cena can ruin it when he returns. This course of action will
not only ignite WWE’s main event scene once again but it will also create much
needed fresh feuds at Pay-Pay View events and for the one man career killer.
Six months is a long time in wrestling, now Vince McMahon has to take the bull
by the horns and prove to us that he’s willing to make changes and give us what
we want to see.
Onwards
and upwards...
