FATP: Raw – It’s All About The Game
What’s up guys? I’m back with another edition of “From Across the Pond”. To be honest, after all the writing I’ve been doing lately I’ve begun to feel a little bit burned out, so I thought I was gonna struggle for something to write about this week, but that was before I watched the last couple of Raw episodes, so thanks for that WWE!
You can probably guess from the title that this article is gonna be about the overwhelming presence of HHH on Raw over the last couple of weeks and how WWE has booked his loss to Lesnar. Let me start off by saying that I’ve no problem with the fact that Lesnar beat HHH at Summerslam. I think Lesnar should’ve won cleanly and he did, which is fine. It’s the aftermath that’s starting to piss me off. Let’s look at it. First of all, he lost to a beast in Brock Lesnar and their match at Summerslam was an intense, physical affair that, when you look back at it, could have gone either way. HHH wasn’t booked to just take an ass-kicking. He looked stronger than Lesnar at times and it’s important to make Lesnar’s opponents look as if they have a chance.
I understand that WWE has to make HHH look strong despite losing to Lesnar, I really do, but I can’t help but feel that they’ve gone a TAD overboard with things. I mean with their reaction on Raw over the past couple of weeks, it’s as if HHH has died. Seriously. All that’s happened is that he’s lost a match. That’s it. He’s not dead, his career hasn’t (despite what they’re trying to make us believe) ended and he’s going to be a part of the WWE until the day he does actually die. The WWE’s reaction almost makes you forget that Lesnar won the match. It’s become all about the game (pun intended).
You can tell sometimes that WWE over-reacts to things, especially when the announcers bust out the serious voices. Summerslam is a perfect example of that. After HHH eventually tapped out to the Kimura Lock and he stood up, selling the loss (which is fine), I think he was trying to evoke sympathy from the crowd. Instead, there was a loud “You Tapped Out!” chant, which was hilarious. He brought out the crocodile tears and the crowd bought into it, before the wounded warrior made his way to the back.
On Raw the next night, this “reaction” began. From the announcers, to Shawn Michaels, to the endless recap videos, Raw was all about HHH, instead of building towards the next PPV. That’s OK though. It was the night after the PPV and less people order PPV’s than watch Raw, so it’s fine for them to recap what happened at Summerslam. The thing that really pissed me off was watching Raw last night. I live in Scotland, so for me to stay up and watch my weekly wrestling fix without interruption, I’ve got to stay up until 4am to watch Raw for three hours. Last night, including his in-ring promo, there was an hour of HHH on Raw. One hour, for one man on a three-hour show. It’s too much. Especially for someone who we know isn’t gonna retire from the ring any time soon.
How do I know that? Simple. In March this year, WWE published details of HHH’s new in-ring contract, which started in January 2012 and it expires in March 2016. He’s limited to 180 dates a year and gets paid a MINIMUM salary of $1million per annum. You can read details of the deal here at wrestlinginc.com. We know that he’s going to be a part-time wrestler for at least another 3.5 years, so it’s not exactly a secret.
There’s just been a complete over-reaction on WWE’s part to HHH’s loss at Summerslam. We’re supposed to believe that after one match (and two broken arms) against Brock Lesnar, HHH is done from in-ring competition. This is despite the fact that HHH has faced Undertaker in TWO equally physical matches at the last couple of Wrestlemania’s and that hasn’t been enough to force him to “retire”.
We’re talking about a man, HHH, who’s suffered two torn quad injuries to both of his knees and that didn’t force him out, but a broken arm and a loss to Brock Lesnar will? Please. That’s just propaganda and bullshit. Let’s face it. Do we really miss HHH when he’s not there? He’s as much of a part-time performer as the likes of The Rock, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker and to be honest, I don’t really think he can add much to the product these days.
I’ve got a funny feeling that this over-reaction to HHH’s loss is a way to feed his ego after taking a loss to Lesnar. That’s pretty immature. He doesn’t need to do that. HHH’s legacy stands up there with the best of all-time. He’s a 13-time World Champion for crying out loud. He’s won everything there is to win and he’s a guaranteed Hall-of-Famer. He’s got a job for life and is probably gonna be running the company one day, so does he really need to remind us of how good he is? No. It just goes to show that even now, he’s unable to put his ego aside for the good of the business.
On Raw last night, HHH’s name was mentioned more than any other superstar and when he finally came out to the ring to cut his promo and get the sheep to follow his lead, the damn commentators gave him a standing ovation and busted out the serious voices. I mean honestly, it made me sick. HHH “faking” a retirement speech is an insult to men who’ve had their careers cut short by serious injuries. Can you imagine what Edge or Darren Drozdov were thinking, sitting at home watching Hunter say that “he didn’t know if he could do this any more”? Those men loved this business just as much as HHH, difference is that they didn’t have a choice about retiring. For HHH to play this up as a gimmick sickens me.
Last night, HHH basically said he was retiring without actually saying it, so where does he go from here? Like I’ve said before, he’s NOT retiring, so it seems like we’re gonna get a re-match with Lesnar somewhere down the road, but where? This is just my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth, but I don’t see HHH and Lesnar doing battle at Survivor Series. It’s not a “big enough” stage for HHH to get his win back, which is inevitably what all this is leading to. Survivor Series hasn’t meant anything for at least 15 years.
Lesnar reportedly signed a multi-million dollar one-year deal to return to WWE in April. If he’s only back for a year, then it makes sense to think that his last appearance will be at Wrestlemania 29. WWE can build a story around the fact that Lesnar almost took HHH “out of the game” (see what I did there, two puns in one article!) and if HHH wants a rematch, Lesnar accepts it on the basis that if HHH loses again, Lesnar gets “control” of WWE. If HHH wins, Lesnar is gone. It’s not difficult to build the story. Here’s the critical thing though. If these two fight again, it’s VERY unlikely HHH loses two straight. He’ll want his win back. It’s an ego thing. This whole thing over the last two weeks has been about feeding the ego of a 43-year old man who can’t quite accept the fact that he was never as big a star as Hulk Hogan, The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin.
I could go on and on ranting about HHH, but I think I’ve made my point. Despite losing, HHH has made sure that over the last couple of weeks, Raw has been all about the game and how he plays it. It’s sickening that instead of using a 3-hour show to develop younger stars, WWE has used their machine to feed HHH’s ego. Next week’s FATP will be more positive than this, because it’ll be about TNA. A company that I actually enjoy watching for the most part. See you back here for that next week.
Peace out,
George
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I heard they’re nixing Survivor Series after this year.
Hope so.. I dread that PPV..
The “Big Four” is now the “Big Three” in my opinion because Survivor Series doesn’t feel like a major PPV any more. I think PPVs like Night of Champions or Money in the Bank has become better PPV events.
Totally agree with you Tony. Survivor Series is just awful. Hell, they should bump it off the schedule and add KoTR back in there somewhere
Awesome rant. And I don’t really care for rants on HHH, but this is the most well written and informative one I may have ever read. Watching Cole and Matthews give HHH that standing ovation was hilarious. It was like they both had a gun pointed to their temple (or Vince’s voice in their headsets) and looked so fake. The whole thing was just too much for me. HHH’s announcement last night couldn’t touch the genuine crowd emotion of the Ric Flair and Edge farewell addresses.
At the end of the day HHH will never have the respect, popularity or enduring legacy of the big four in wrestling- Austin, Rock, Flair and Hogn.
Thanks Jeuron! Appreciate that man. Yeah, it was totally fake and a complete and utter joke. Apparently, WWE did it this past Monday because they weren’t happy at the reaction HHH got after the match with Brock ended. Is it a surprise? Really? Come on WWE!
Completely agree with you about HHH. He’ll never be in the same league as Rock, Austin, Flair or Hogan, despite the fact he’s married to Stephanie. Immature, insecure moron that he is.
Actually, I wouldn’t be shocked if this has something to do with Brock throwing a fit after he debuted. Brock wants to be presented as beyond big and HHH saying that it took Brock in order for him to question whether he could go on or not sounds like something done to stroke Brock’s ego more than HHH’s.
It might be, but I doubt it. Everything about the last two weeks of Raw has been to stroke HHH’s ego. Shawn Michaels called him one of the best of all time. HHH is NOWHERE near the best of all-time. Cole & Matthews give him a standing ovation and put him over like he’s dead? That’s all to put Hunter over because he took a loss. To add salt to the wounds, he even had the WRONG arm strapped up! Work, work, work and it’s too much.
After Brock came in, he legit threatened to leave unless they made him MAJOR. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s acted like a diva.
As for it being a work, I’m sure it is. And unless he can cry on cue, that was a real tear I saw on RAW while the fans were chanting for him. Sure, he has a big nose…I mean ego, but I’m sure there is real emotion as well.
where did you read that? he does have attitude, but you can’t just blame him for that. WWE knew what they were getting when they offered him a deal, so they’re as much to blame as him IF it happened.
There’s no doubt it’s a work and of course HHH can cry on cue. He’s an actor!
Not all actors can.
It was right after the Cena match is when he threw a fit. WWE had to give him about twice as much as he originally asked for just for him to stay. He wanted to be bigger than the WWE and HHH saying it took Brock’s ass-kicking could be a part of that. That’s one reason Paul E. Came in; to help calm Brock down.
i meant where did you “hear” that Brock threw a fit? The only sources I’d trust are Wrestling Observer and PWTorch. I heard rumours on dirt sheets but nothing concrete. As much as there were rumours out there, there were counter-rumours saying the fit was a work, to make people think Brock was acting like an ass. I also heard through PWTorch that Heyman was brought in so that WWE didn’t use all of Brock’s dates early on.
I think it was originally on Torch, but then it spread around to other sites as they got word from the source.
Best video I found of the entire post Raw YES! fest. I love that every time he hits anoyne during the match, they chant YES! And every time he gets hit, they chant NO! Awesome.[sorry if this was already posted, 2700 comments are tough to weed through](turn your volume way down)
Looks like a good rant! I’ll be on tomorrow to leave my thoughts. Too much to do so from phone.
Btw using WordPress app… It’s really neat.
come on Ray, I’m waiting for your weekly appraisal of my WWE rant!
It’s worth 7.50.
£7.50?
Here comes the money!
I’ve not even watched Raw. I don’t care about Triple H. Seriously. If he wasn’t married into the family he’d be in TNA just now. I’m disappointed over how much WWE is telling their wrestlers to push Triple H on twitter. I mean even Jericho put out a tweet saying that Triple H was a warrior and whatnot.
It’s like WWE only know how to push 3 groups of people: John Cena, Triple H and Triple H’s friends *cough*Sheamus*cough.*
What about DB, Sandow, Orton, Del Rio, Ziggler, Santino, Kofi, Truth, Kane, Ryback, Rey, Show, Taker, etc. All of these people are either over and being pushed now or they could be pushed bigger in order to get into a major feud.
Yeah, that’s a fair point, but all those guys don’t need the focus on them. On that list, I’d say Bryan, Ziggler, Ryback and Sandow need it more. Del Rio is just awful. The others don’t need pushes. They’re over enough already. I think the point Michael’s trying to make is that VERY few people get sustained pushes in WWE anymore, unless you’re Cena, HHH or you go to the gym with HHH.
Well, there’s only so much room. I would say the midcard to upper midcard is very deep right now. They have so many guys who could step up without a problem.
I’d put Cena, Punk, and Orton at the very top level as far as being stars goes. But, all three have been around for 6 to 10 years and have built up that “top guy” trust with the crowd for those sustained pushes. Others are building that as we speak(Sheamus, Del Rio, Ziggler, DB, etc.). You have people who have been around and could slip in easily(Show, Kane, Rey, etc.), but they might not want a sustained mega-push for whatever reason.
True, but there was only so much room in the late 90′s – 2006, but WWE still built mid-carders as legitimate threats to the main-event. doesn’t seem to happen now though for whatever reason
I don’t think the IWC and the IWC culture had solidified until the mid 2000′s to be honest. We know EVERYTHING(still have to give props to WWE for being able to hide Cena’s return before the 2008 Rumble), plus as a society, we are so cynical about everything.
not really sure what the IWC has to do with WWE pushing mid-carders. Fans were talking about things like that for a long time. I know I was with my mates, years before I started writing. The IWC doesn’t have anything to do with WWE being reluctant to create new stars.
Yeah it does, The IWC has changed the way we talk about, think about, and watch wrestling. WWE has seen this, so they know what will get a good response and from what type of fans.
Sounds like a pretty bad cough you got there michael! Haha! I don’t think he’d be in TNA if he hadn’t married Steph, but he’d have been nowhere near as powerful as he is now. As for HBK calling Hunter one of the best of all-time, he’s not even close to that. It sickens me.
Can you really criticize WWE for showing some emotion and drama in their storyline? Because that’s all they’re doing. By doing this it leads to the ”rematch”. Rocky had a rematch with Apollo Creed and Anderson Silva had one with Chael Sonnen. What I’m trying to say is…what’s wrong with a rematch?
The idea of the two broken arms was to show that a WWE wrestler can be as tough as a UFC fighter. It shows legitimacy. It shows Triple H (WWE wrestler) is a tough SOB. He took a ‘beating’ from the former UFC heavyweight champion. Non-wrestling fans don’t see wrestlers as legitimate athletes, they are, WWE just showed this with Triple H. We know Brock Lesnar is a big deal.
”Last night, HHH basically said he was retiring without actually saying it, so where does he go from here?” – Well that’s the point, isn’t it? It leaves you wondering. So what if his name was mentioned more than any other wrestler throughout Raw, we probably won’t see him for a couple of months anyway. It left the story open.
I agree younger stars need to be pushed more. Triple H didn’t set this match with Lesnar for him or because of his ego, it was created because fans wanted to see it. If SS buy rates were a success, then that will be proved.
Good column!
*hits fake “like” button*
Plus, aren’t they “selling” it?
I know, a like button would be awesome! When the site changes down the line it will be possible to have one!
There’s a difference between “selling it” and overdoing it. Are you telling me that we needed an hour of HHH on last week’s Raw? Did we need to have the announcers stand and applaud him like he’s the best of all-time and never wrestling again? No, we didn’t. Perfect way to “sell it” would’ve been to have HHH disappear after Summerslam ENTIRELY before coming back down the line.
They waited a week before his speech. I think the reminders of his speech were part of WWE filling up that extra hour. HBK’s return got that. Rock got it. I do think they will go away over time as WWE learns to better fill out the hour.
No, we didn’t “need” the applause, but we don’t “need” plenty of things, like wrestling itself. We may not need it, but where else am I gonna see things like Kane cracking me up like he did this Monday?
There was no need to use an hour of a three-hour show for that. It’s his ego that won’t allow him to let others shine. The only reason why HHH made that speech on Monday is because some of the fans at Summerslam sh*t on him after the match. That should’ve told WWE everything they needed to know.
We’ll never agree on this, so let’s call it a draw until Tuesday’s TNA column, yeah?
Only smark were chanting against him. There is a real division between smarks and marks right now. They react to different things and in different ways.
But, I’ll go for a draw. E-handshake?
definitely! e-handshake sounds good to me! some fine debating again this week!
Yeah, ever since Daniel Bryan won the World Heavyweight Championship in December and turned heel shtorly afterward he’s celebrated before and after every match (and some of AJ’s) with exaggerated, meant-to-be-annoying YES! s accompanied by thrusting his arms in the air with his index finger raised to signify he’s #1. It had gotten over with his fans somewhat before Wrestlemania, with people bringing YES! signs to Smackdown most weeks, but Wrestlemania was the biggest show of love for it. And then his match happened and people felt robbed so they took it up as a protest of sorts. YES! YES!! YES!! . It’s a beautiful thing.
And if you’re not down with that, I’ve got two words for ya: I win!
Yes, because they’ve overdone it. They’ve spent the last two episodes of Raw (at least) putting HHH over. He’s insecure and more concerned with making himself the star than putting time and effort into full-timers.
I don’t wonder about HHH. We know there’s gonna be a rematch, more than likely at WM where HHH “gets his win back”. Great. Can’t wait for another HHH love-in then.
Sorry, but HHH has earned this type of reaction. You may not think he’s an “all-time great”, but many do. Honestly, I don’t even classify people as “all-time greats”. There are too many types of fans who would disagree about too many wrestlers for a bunch of reasons. The highest group I can put a single wrestler in is not whether they belong in the HOF, but whether or not they are a “headliner” and HHH is one. He’s on that level.
I didn’t say he wasn’t an all-time great or that he doesn’t deserve to be in the HoF, just that he’s not the greatest of all time. To be fair, he hasn’t earned this reaction – YET, because he’s still actively wrestling (even though it’s not full-time). When he actually retires, he’ll deserve this kind of reaction, but right now? No, he doesn’t because he’s not retiring!!
But how does a casual fan know unless they take it to the limit?
Who is the greatest of all-time? You can’t really answer. There are too many people on the “greatest” level to really say.
Great article dude! So he’s not dead?
I’m not sure, apparently, he is in the eyes of WWE. What will we do without Hunter? It’ll never be the same again. Oh wait, it’ll be the same as it normally is, cos he isn’t there every week.
I never really got into the Lesnar/HHH feud at any point since it started. Now, this HHH retirement angle is just annoying and out right stupid. The fact they had to have him cut the retirement promo last week, because fans didn’t buy into their storytelling, is pathetic, and should have told them something. No one honestly believes he’ll retire this way, if he ever will officially retire. Everytime I hear anything about it, I cringe.
Totally agree J. It’s a complete and utter joke and shows their storytelling with this feud hasn’t been effective in any way, shape or form. You know when people ACTUALLY started to care about this? When Shawn Michaels got involved. Why? Because Shawn’s a great storyteller. Hunter isn’t. It always has to be about him. Just like when he took on Punk last year and killed his momentum.
It didn’t help that Brock has barely shown up, but there are only so many dates he can.