WWE changes coming
With the change of the seasons comes the changing of characters with at least three major WWE superstars on the verge of changing their personas, with two going heel and two turning babyface.
Let me first tell you I’m fired up about our first apparent face change as my favorite wrestler, Misssstttterrrr Kennedy, fresh off his layoff while he was making the movie ‘Behind Enemy Lines III’ (soon to be in a video store near you) reappeared at RAW this week and got into the face of RAW’s newest heel, none other than your King of the Ring Lord William Regal.
The fact that Kennedy, after his fall from grace during last year’s Signature Pharmacies scandal, had sputtered in midcard heel status since that time was very disappointing, since he is one of the most dynamic performers in the business.
However, his turn to what will be a rebellious, authority defying face, kind of like what Stone Cold Steve Austin did so well during his career, is going to be great so long as WWE sees it through. I’ve long said Kennedy is one of those guys who can play both sides, meaning both face and heel, and we’re about to see if I’m right as he will be tested by Regal, who is being groomed as the psychotic, egotistical General Manager of RAW.
As for Regal, his turn is opposite but has been a long time coming. While most General Managers are assumed to be heels due to their being authority figures, Regal has been more of a face in past months, even playing the good guy two weeks ago in challenging Orton for the title during their European tour. However, it has been obvious Regal has been acting more and more insane over the past months, slowly building his complete heel turn which happened Monday when he attacked the director of RAW and caused the show to go off the air prematurely during what was a very good Triple H versus Orton bout. The reason he won King of the Ring was to build his heel character and account for his erratic actions.
Meanwhile, during all of the drama between Kennedy and Regal, we have the continuing signs of a heel turn by Chris Jericho, who Monday night humiliated the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels by claiming he had suckered Batista at Backlash by faking a knee injury to get the win with Sweet Chin Music. Actually, the best reports I have is that HBK was not injured and that the ploy at Backlash was a work. Regardless, I foresee Jericho continuing to push HBK’s buttons until there is a feud there, thus sending Jericho fully on the heel side, where frankly, he belongs.
Jericho has long made a better heel than hero, aside from his insults back in the day of Stephanie McMahon (who is pregnant with another Triple H baby and will be off television for some time). Jericho plays the egotistical ‘RAW is Jericho’ act very well. This is especially true given the fact he was brought in for a short feud with Orton not long after the John Cena injury and has since been left to languish in the midcard with no apparent direction. Turning him heel would make him among the top heels on RAW joining Orton and JBL.
I omitted Umaga from the top heels on RAW because there are strong indications he will be turning face in the near future given he good guy cheers he’s been getting lately. It was especially obvious at Wrestlemania 24 when the fans were firmly supporting him over Batista. His direction will likely influence what direction Big Show will take as I foresee a showdown between those two monsters, a showdown much more watchable than the Big Show/Great Khali train wreck from Backlash.
Now, for the local wrestling scene, don’t forget the return of wrestling to Warren County at 6 p.m., May 10 at the Mega Market over in Westwood as Fusion Tradition Wrestling will put on a show. Trust me, even in the days of high gas prices I drive to Cookeville often to see them because these guys put on a great show. Now we get them in our backyard so I encourage all you wrestling fans to turn out so maybe we can get a somewhat regular show here.
With that said, here’s your chance to win two free tickets to the May 10 FTW show here. To enter, answer the question correctly then do one of the three things; either call and leave your answer on my machine here at 473-2191 (with your phone number), send your answer by mail to the attention of Duane Sherrill to Southern Standard, P.O. Box 150, McMinnville, Tenn., 37111, or drop off your answer to our front desk with it addressed to me. The drawing from those with correct answers will be held Tuesday so make sure to include your phone number in case you win.
The Question: What current WWE Hall of Famer was in the corner of Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff at Wrestlemania I in their match with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T?