Summerslam, the first Big Four pay-per-view in the lead-up to WrestleMania, is this weekend and there's one match in particular that I am very curious to see. . .
And before you ask: NO, it's not the Team WWE versus Team Nexus 7-on-7 main event I'm speaking of. Rather, it's the WWE Championship bout between Sheamus and Randy Orton that I'm looking forward to.
As you may remember, these two faced off for the same title at Royal Rumble in a lacklustre match-up. Back then these two men were on different paths to the ones they are on now.
Firstly, Orton was still a heel! Quite hard to believe it was such a short time ago. Secondly, he still had The Legacy tagging along with him. Thirdly, this was Sheamus's first title reign, so he was extremely green both in the ring and on the mic.
Looking back, and it's very easy to be wise after the event, but I think it was fairly obvious at the time that Orton wouldn't be taking the title off The Celtic Warrior on this particular night. We all knew that the triumvirate he had with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. was nearing an end, so what sense would it have made to put the title on him so close to 'Mania? He certainly didn't elevate Rhodes and DiBiase to main event level, so there was never going to be a face-off between the three for the championship. It's never a good sign for what should be a big match when one can work out the finish with relative ease.
And lo' and behold, Sheamus won via disqualification after Rhodes attacked him.
The idea here, of course, was to speed up the division between Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase, while keeping the belt on the Irishman. Now, I've no problem with trying to progress an on-screen storyline, but I was seriously pissed off at the time with how WWE went about it in this instance. I don't think anyone buys a PPV to watch crappy finishes to headline contests such as these. It did nothing to generate heat with the audience for the Legacy feud and it certainly didn't give Sheamus any credibility as a champion, despite his squashing of the Viper afterwards. All I could think was, "this has transitional champ written ALL OVER IT."
Subsequently, Sheamus dropped the title to John Cena at Elimination Chamber,thus setting up a feud with Triple H, while Legacy finally split from Orton in the same match.
Sheamus lost to Trippers at WM, and while he eventually beat The Game at Extreme Rules, a win on the 'Grandest Stage Of 'Em All' would have given him the push of a lifetime -- nothing builds up a character quite like a victory over an established superstar at 'Mania. The Triple Threat match on the same card was enjoyable, as Orton gained the win by pinfall, but it wasn't the kind of ending that this rivalry deserved. Not looking great for these supposed main eventers so.
Fast forward five months, Sheamus holds the WWE Championship once again and Orton has since turned face. So, what's changed in the meantime? What's the difference between then and now?
Well, it would definitely seem as if Sheamus has grown in confidence as well as stature in the intervening months. He's become a lot smoother in the ring than he used to be and can now create genuine heat from the audience. He has undoubtedly improved since his first title reign in my estimation.
Orton, on the other hand, has been treading on new ground -- he's been living life as a fully fledged babyface! This was unthinkable after the ill-fated face turn following his split from the super heel faction Evolution. The lesson learned from that storyline was to keep The Legend Killer a bad guy -- until now.
There were many sceptics who predicted that he would not be able to cut it as a so-called good guy, that he was just too hateable to make it work. And truth be told, he did struggle to connect with the fans at first and I felt this would end up much like Edge's short lived face turn earlier on this year. Over the past few weeks, however, he's been receiving huge pops from the crowd each and every time he steps into the ring. I reckon it would be fair to say that he hasn't been this over in quite a while. As a face, it would seem, Randy is loved by the fans.
But what does all this mean for their encounter this coming Sunday?
It's been asserted by other writers I've read and podcasters that I've listened to, that Sheamus is simply keeping the belt warm for Triple H, who will no doubt be looking for revenge after being attacked by The Celtic Warrior at Extreme Rules. If this is the case, I imagine the Irishman will gain the victory here, but it all hangs on the finish for me. If it ends in a non-finish or another DQ, it could potentially ruin a perfectly good contest. Hopefully it won't come to that.
My best case scenario is that Sheamus wins cleanly. Ultimately, though, these two guys need to have a good match. This PPV and their year almost depend on it.
The idea here, of course, was to speed up the division between Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase, while keeping the belt on the Irishman. Now, I've no problem with trying to progress an on-screen storyline, but I was seriously pissed off at the time with how WWE went about it in this instance. I don't think anyone buys a PPV to watch crappy finishes to headline contests such as these. It did nothing to generate heat with the audience for the Legacy feud and it certainly didn't give Sheamus any credibility as a champion, despite his squashing of the Viper afterwards. All I could think was, "this has transitional champ written ALL OVER IT."
Subsequently, Sheamus dropped the title to John Cena at Elimination Chamber,thus setting up a feud with Triple H, while Legacy finally split from Orton in the same match.
Sheamus lost to Trippers at WM, and while he eventually beat The Game at Extreme Rules, a win on the 'Grandest Stage Of 'Em All' would have given him the push of a lifetime -- nothing builds up a character quite like a victory over an established superstar at 'Mania. The Triple Threat match on the same card was enjoyable, as Orton gained the win by pinfall, but it wasn't the kind of ending that this rivalry deserved. Not looking great for these supposed main eventers so.
Fast forward five months, Sheamus holds the WWE Championship once again and Orton has since turned face. So, what's changed in the meantime? What's the difference between then and now?
Well, it would definitely seem as if Sheamus has grown in confidence as well as stature in the intervening months. He's become a lot smoother in the ring than he used to be and can now create genuine heat from the audience. He has undoubtedly improved since his first title reign in my estimation.
Orton, on the other hand, has been treading on new ground -- he's been living life as a fully fledged babyface! This was unthinkable after the ill-fated face turn following his split from the super heel faction Evolution. The lesson learned from that storyline was to keep The Legend Killer a bad guy -- until now.
There were many sceptics who predicted that he would not be able to cut it as a so-called good guy, that he was just too hateable to make it work. And truth be told, he did struggle to connect with the fans at first and I felt this would end up much like Edge's short lived face turn earlier on this year. Over the past few weeks, however, he's been receiving huge pops from the crowd each and every time he steps into the ring. I reckon it would be fair to say that he hasn't been this over in quite a while. As a face, it would seem, Randy is loved by the fans.
But what does all this mean for their encounter this coming Sunday?
It's been asserted by other writers I've read and podcasters that I've listened to, that Sheamus is simply keeping the belt warm for Triple H, who will no doubt be looking for revenge after being attacked by The Celtic Warrior at Extreme Rules. If this is the case, I imagine the Irishman will gain the victory here, but it all hangs on the finish for me. If it ends in a non-finish or another DQ, it could potentially ruin a perfectly good contest. Hopefully it won't come to that.
My best case scenario is that Sheamus wins cleanly. Ultimately, though, these two guys need to have a good match. This PPV and their year almost depend on it.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment