WrestleManiAmnesia
By Ben Miller
The 2001 Invasion pay-per-view is the largest non-Wrestlemania buyrate in pro wrestling history. This fact has been mentioned before in this space, and it will probably be mentioned again. I remember that fact because it’s a fact that I love. I remember that fact because it illustrates a point that a great wrestling mind (Raven) used to make: All that matters is the finish.
The build to the 2001 Invasion pay-per-view was abysmal. DDP took cartoon bumps, WCW guys were squashed and there was no credible leadership figure guiding the invasion. Then, with just six days remaining before the show (and it’s near-certain embarrassing buyrate), the WWF creative team found their onions and let Paul Heyman cut arguably the biggest money promo in the history of the business. (There have been other promos for shows that have drawn more money than Invasion, but the difference in money before and after Heyman’s promo is larger than any other, I’d argue.) Heyman put together WCW and ECW, a ten-man main event featuring Steve Austin was solidified and the Internet wrestling community spent the next six days abuzz at the possibilities.
Though the Invasion as a whole petered out quickly, the build is the quintessential example of that storytelling truth that Raven explained so well on a long-ago Wrestling Observer Live. Many other shows – for well or for ill – have illustrated this truth with either fantastic or flat late builds. And with a superb go-home Raw on Monday, WWE may have pulled off a last-gasp increase again.
The final Monday Night Raw before The 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania was great. It lacked continuity and the wrestling was weak, but the show did what it needed to do. It put a band-aid on all of the damage that had been done on the previous week’s shows.
Fixing the main events was done beautifully. In each case there were flaws and in each case those flaws were fixed.
Main Event #1: Cena vs. Big Show vs. Edge. The flaws were that the central story (Vickie’s dual suitors) had no plausible crisis that could lead to a climactic match and that the babyface had no meaningful part in this story. They fixed things by essentially ditching the central story. (Perfect!) Vickie was scarcely mentioned as they instead built a crisis around Cena. Now as we enter Wrestlemania Cena has to decide between the opposing evils of losing the match because Show can’t be STF’d or teaming with Edge.
Main Event #2: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. The flaw is that nobody (and I mean NOBODY) thinks that Michaels has a chance to win. For hardcore fans, this simple cannot be overcome. Everyone believes that Undertaker will either retire without a Wrestlemania loss or lose to a young star. They can’t fix that one, but they’ve at least built a tempered, plausible storyline around the idea that The Undertaker has been flummoxed because the typical head games have been reversed.
Main Event #3: Triple H vs. Randy Orton. Whoa daddy, have there been flaws here. The angles were too corny. The Orton character is beyond plausibility. Their motivations don’t make sense. And to top it all off Orton spent ten minutes reminding us of these problems during his promo on Monday. But they fixed it. I don’t know why this worked and I probably never will, but having the McMahon males strut on stage and charge the ring with Hunter fixed the previous five weeks of bizarre booking. The crowd turned giddy and it reminded fans of what this feud should be: a fight in the ring for the honor of a wronged family.
Of course, for all of this to translate into a large buyrate, fans will need a healthy case of amnesia. They’ll need to forget the love triangle. They’ll need to ignore the implausibility of an HBK upset. And they’ll practically need to re-enact the movie “Paycheck” to get excited about the HHH vs. Orton feud. But all that may have happened. Just as fans eight years ago forgot about Shane and Tacoma and Austin gone AWOL when they ordered Invasion, fans may forget about Steph and St. Louis and Big Show in love when they order WrestleMania XXV.
Whether one week of well-booked television is enough to overcome five weeks of rudderless bile won’t be known until the buyrate numbers come in. But I do know one thing: the show will rule. The great workers will produce great matches, the bad workers will be in matches that are gimmicked to be great and the heat will be enormous. For at least this wrestling fan, that's enough to give me the selective amnesia I need before I leave for Houston.
*************************
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Twitter: http://twitter.com/benjamiller
Send us a news tip: newstips@wrestlingobserver.com
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news from this site or from our newsletters, please include a link to www.wrestlingobserver.com
For the most in-depth and detailed news and analysis on pro-wrestling and MMA, always turn to Wrestlingobserver.com/Figure Four Weekly Online, the #1 website of its kind on the Internet. Members receive online access to both the Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Weekly newsletters and growing archives, Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer three times per week, the popular Bryan and Vinny Show twice per week, additional radio shows including Figure Four Daily with Alvarez, Mike Coughlin's Five Star Radio, the Dr. Keith Lipinski Show, The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare, Tough Talk and the Karl Stern Wrestling History Show, the infamous BOARD, and more! Members also have full access to the thousands of hours of audio in our radio show archives which date back to 2005. For your convenience, we offer secure online payments using your VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover card or PayPal account. Don't miss out on the fun, sign up now! Don\'t miss out on the fun, sign up now!
Want full access? QUICK AND EASY $10.99 SIGNUP!
