Random Thoughts from the Office: July 1, 2011

Wow. We're finally updating? It's been so long since we had an update I was beginning to think there'd never be one and up until Wednesday I had no idea what I was going to write about. See, I've slacked off a bit from my duties as a wrestling fan. Not because the product has gotten worse or anything, I mean the WWE are at least trying to make new stars, like R-Truth's push, that's been a great step in the right direction. TNA is still a hopeless failure but a never ending source of material, which provided there's another update before the next vernal equinox I will get to.

No, the main reason I didn't have a column idea is because since the last update I have gotten hold of a creature I had thought to be a myth up until about 5 weeks ago: A girlfriend. So wrestling had kind of taken a backseat for me.

Then CM Punk came and saved the day for me.

So this "Worked Shoot" promo got a lot of people talking, and really for all the scripted things in there you couldn't fault Punk for his views. I mean the WWE seems unwilling to gamble with the main event stars. There's only two the company has any faith in whatsoever, John Cena and Randy Orton. Woe betide the WWE if one of them gets injured.

Now the WWE are trying but they always run into this catch-22 scenario they seem to impose on themselves. Basically it breaks down to this: You can't get a big star until you've won a feud and looked strong against an established big star (Cena or Orton) but you can't go over and look strong against an established big star because you yourself are not a big star.

Look at the two most recent examples that have come down the line for the WWE in terms of who they're trying to move into the main event. R-Truth and Christian. R-Truth has been the hottest thing going on in wrestling in the past month, his heel promos about Little Jimmys and Johnnys and his ascertations he's been in a conspiracy have made him by far the hottest heel the WWE had. The stage was set at Capitol Punishment where the time was right for Truth to at least get a run, maybe a one month, two month thing leading into Summerslam, but instead we had the glorious spectactle of Truth jobbing to a cup of soda; what momentum he had was squashed. All hail the last son of Krypton.

But as bad as Truth has had it, there ain't NOBODY who has been screwed over as much as Christian. Remember the feelgood moment we all shared when Christian grabbed the brass ring and won the World Heavyweight title in that ladder match. One of the guys who'd given us so much entertainment had finally got his time to shine! Remember the horror we all felt two days later when we read the Smackdown Spoilers? It had to be a joke right? He lost to Orton already? That can't be right. Of course it WAS right and the IWC collectively lost its shit.

Now there's two ways you can go about this and try and make money.

1) Have Orton feel sorry that the match was sort of sprung on him, offer Christian a rematch at the pay per view, then when Christian wins, have Orton snap and beat the everloving crap out of him, turn heel and you have a hot feud that can take you to Summerslam.

2) As much as the IWC wouldn't like it, turn Christian heel, have him win the belt back at the Pay Per View and give Orton something to chase, Christian meanwhile plays the cocky yet cowardly heel, constantly sneak attacking, constantly setting up roadblocks for Orton, anything to avoid getting back in the ring with him until finally at Summerslam he has no choice but to put it all on the line against Orton. Orton wins, fans go home happy, both are bigger stars and you have a new main eventer to put in your back pocket when you need to go there.

But of course the problem with that is (Say it with me here) Christian isn't a big star, so they go through the early steps of turning him heel and setting him up for the pay per view, they don't pull the trigger and there's nothing but Orton and the associates left on Smackdown.

It's not rocket science, in fact it's Booking 101. Create new stars, and new talent that the fans will pay money to see fight and watch the cash roll in. Put it this way if Zack Ryder was the WWE champion right now. The WWE would do better buyrates.

The time has come to create new stars, and the time of relying on the Big Two has to stop and if the Idiotic Daughter and the Doofus Son-in-Law don't realize it and convince the old man to change, there may not be much of a company left for them to take over when the old man dies.

Clarence "Showstealer" Mason

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