If you are a pro wrestling fan, last Monday's Raw was one of the most eventful shows in recent history.
On the other hand, if you are part of the WWE creative team, you have to be scratching your head and wondering what can be done for an encore?
The company changed the WWE title not once, but twice on the same show, which makes it four changes in eight days when you go back to the MITB pay-per-view where both Raw and Smackdown championships switched hands.
Bruno Sammartino once held the belt for almost eight years and for almost four years in a second reign. Granted, society does not have much of an attention span these days and such reigns might not be feasible with even the most compelling cast of challengers and innovative booking of said talent.
However, what is a title's value if it is tossed around so indiscriminately? It becomes a relatively worthless prop when its purpose needs to be the complete opposite. A championship needs to be hard to come by, prestigious and worthwhile precisely because not everyone can win it, not a hot potato commodity that everybody gets to hold for 15 minutes of fleeting fame.
Nothing against John Cena. By all accounts he is one of the hardest working guys in the company and one of the most accommodating wrestlers outside the ring, where he spends an incredible number of hours making the day for wrestling fans, most notably with so many sick children through the Make A Wish Foundation. But, WWE could have let Mysterio hold it a little longer.
With the modern approach to booking, Cena is now a nine-time WWE champion and has passed Pedro Morales for fourth place on the list of such kingpins for most total days spent as champ with 1,028 according to a piece on pwinsider.com by Leon Peters, who, with all due respect and appreciation for his research, has too much time on his hands.
Peters also notes that Bruno is number one with 4,040 total days as the champion, which looks to be relatively untouchable unless Cena works into his 60s like Hogan and Flair. As great as it might seem to have the so-called 10 pounds of gold, getting through airports and keeping track of it during the course of travel and even at arenas might not be what it is cracked up to be.
Raw featured not only the final of the title tournament between Rey Mysterio and the Miz, during which Rey capture his first WWE heavyweight championship complete with backstage champagne-spraying celebration from the boys and a very believable promo about the sacrifices it took to get there with the promise to bring home the gold to his wife and kids, but also saw the return of popular announcer Jim Ross.
During his state of the WWE address, Triple H announced the Ross return after teasing the fans a bit about bringing somebody back, which led to a C.M. Punk chant before the traditional Oklahoma fight song brought out good old J.R. to join Jerry Lawler at the announcers table. Michael Cole was dispatched to the back to put on Triple H gear to come out for a quick match with the popular Internet sensation Zack Ryder.
HHH also made the announcement that poor Rey would have to defend his newly won title in the main event against John Cena, which ended Rey's brief reign at the top in a rare face vs. face encounter. Cena pinned the diminutive one after a fairly good bout that seemed to test certain ring skills Cena may not have quite yet perfected.
Lost in the shuffle was the return of John Morrison from a serious neck injury that has kept him out of the line-up for extended rehabilitation that was chosen over surgery, which would have ensured a considerably longer hiatus. He quickly went after R-Truth, who had been doing a comic routine with Triple H that was dying on the vine.
The big return of the night for wrestling fans was when C.M. Punk strode out with his WWE championship belt to confront John Cena immediately after he had helped up the dejected Rey Mysterio upon winning the title from him in the main event. The two held up their respective belts to the delight of the crowd as the show went off the air, setting the table for the main event at SummerSlam with a month's worth of booking ideas inhaled in a single night.
Naylor targeted
Rob Naylor, formerly of Coal Township, was the target of several insults by indy wrestling sensation Kevin Steen while announcing at this past Tuesday's Evolve wrestling event at the famous B.B. King venue in Manhattan. Naylor also had the opportunity to call the main event between former WWE star Fit Finlay and Sami Callahan that received rave reviews.
Noted tough guy Finlay reportedly sported an extra firm handshake and opened a Corona bottle with his eye socket backstage in one of those remarkable moments that defy adequate description.
Current wrestling free agent Mick Foley, who is rumored to be in talks with WWE about a possible return to the fold, was spotted back at Knoebels this past week, at least his third visit there this season. He did an autograph signing for staff a couple of weeks ago following a visit to Williamsport for a Crosscutters game, where he threw out the first pitch and signed for fans at the game.
(Shamokin's Bill Gilger 'arranges' the interview each week with The Insider)