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I must admit, because quite frankly it doesn’t happen often nowadays, but I was excited for the Armageddon pay-per-view. The card had at least a handful of matches that I could look forward to, including the PPV return of one of my all time favorite workers, Chris Jericho. So, for the first time in a while, I was more than happy to plunk down $40.00 of my not so hard earned money on the WWE product. I mean, what could go wrong with this show?
Well, it took roughly fifteen minutes after the start for me to realize what could go wrong. With the track laid out perfectly for a memorable night of wrestling, the WWE quickly reminded me why I’ve been so disenchanted with their PPV product lately…the finish. Or should I say lack thereof. It seems that the WWE has decided that there can’t be a pay-per-view produced without a weak, lame, or non-creative finish sprinkled in. Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get more than one! Unfortunately, that was the case with December’s offering.
It’s my belief that Smackdown has consistently turned out the best wrestling show on television for a while now and some of that can be credited to MVP. MVP has progressed in the ring, but it’s the little things within the Matt Hardy/MVP feud that left people thinking that Porter could be a major player for the years to come. Yeah, it was disappointing when Hardy went down, but head writer Michael Hayes and company quickly recovered by slotting in Rey Mysterio during Hardy’s vacancy.
Without missing a beat, the Mysterio and MVP feud became something to look forward to every Friday night. The build up between these two for Armageddon was well done and I couldn’t wait to see who would get the best of whom on Sunday night. Well, obviously the creative team didn’t share my eagerness. I sat in disbelief, scratching my head, when MVP nonchalantly walked away from the match, forcing a count-out. Weak.
If that wasn’t bad enough, I got squarely kicked in the nether regions during the Jericho-Orton WWE Championship Match. Now to say I was caught off guard wouldn’t be accurate. As the match went along, I felt that screwy finish knot in my stomach when Jericho sailed over the Smackdown announce table and onto the lap of JBL. That knot only twisted tighter when Jericho pushed the former World Champion out of the way, as he continued after Orton. No, please, they couldn’t. Just don’t let JBL get…Damn it! What do you know, there’s JBL kicking Y2J in the face while Orton was just about to tap. Official crappy finish count: 2.
Now, some might include the World Championship Match as screwy finish #3, but I was actually entertained by Edge’ heelish tactics towards victory. Furthermore, at least there was a pin involved. Which couldn’t be said for the aforementioned and that is what infuriates me as a fan. Finishes like we saw in the MVP-Mysterio match should be relegated to free television. Same goes for the WWE Title match.
People who purchase pay-per-views, myself included, do so, because there’s the belief that matches will end decisively. Does this mean there can’t be any screwy aspects? Of course not, which is why I enjoyed the triple threat. But, there should be a pin involved most of the time, by any means necessary. Basically, fans didn’t pay $40.00 to see MVP walk out. They didn’t pay $40.00 to see a former wrestler turned commentator get in the ring and ruin what was a damn good title match up until that point, even if that commentator is going to go back to wrestling.
What irritates me is that there are alternate finishes that can be used. Yeah, it’s been seen a million times, but how about MVP grabbing the ropes for the pin? How about just grabbing the trunks of Mysterio? Or a ref bump followed by a cheap shot with the title to the face of Mysterio for the three count? During the Orton-Jericho Championship Match, why not have JBL just distract Jericho right after he applies the Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring? Jericho gets up and punches JBL off the apron, when it looks like the former champ is about to get involved. Then, as he turns around, wham, RKO. Orton leaves the ring, and as Jericho gets up, bam, clothesline from Hell.
I understand the reasoning for the finishes; I just don’t agree with the timing of the finishes. If you’re planning on extending the feud, why go the cheesy count-out route? To have MVP just quit is a TV segment that is, quite frankly, a bail out. That’s the kind of finish that should result in a PPV match being booked, not a PPV match being ended.
If you want Jericho and JBL to be in a feud, fine. But why not allow your champion to get the pin, while setting up the feud? Instead, Orton looks like a champion who couldn’t beat a guy who’s been out for two years. Yeah, he nailed Jericho with the RKO, but after he was about to tap and after JBL’s interference. What’s that say about your champion? Answer: Not much.
The shoddy booking for the above two matches, once again, made a WWE pay-per-view good instead of being great. Even though there were great moments, like Jeff Hardy’s win, there was still a bad taste left in my mouth after the show was over. My anticipation for a great night of wrestling was weathered by the feeling of disappointment towards 25% of the night’s finishes.
If WWE truly wants to turn the corner with their pay-per-view product and get back to bigger buy rates for their “non big four”, they’ve got to stop the weak finishes. They’ve got to realize that it’s ok if someone loses by pin, because there’s always a way to extend feuds and get heat back. They’ve got to understand that hardcore fans, like myself, will continue watching their TV, while purchasing fewer pay-per-views. They’ve got to take advantage of great cards and turn them into great pay-per-views, instead of turning great cards into good pay-per-views.
-Nick Cattles
You can contact me with feedback at Nacfresh@hotmail.com
