Monday Night Mayhem World Wide 365

So here it is -- the middle of May. It's been almost two months since WrestleMania XXV, and already the WWE creative brain trust has contracted senioritis. No, the entire staff doesn't have osteoporosis, nor are they becoming Hispanic . You see, senioritis is when you're in high school, on the threshold of graduation, about to leap gleefully into the world of unfamiliar genitalia & alcohol poisoning that is college. If you've played your cards right, you've become accustom to the academic twists & turns that high school has thrown your way, so stressing over top grades is not a big deal. You just want to get through the next couple of months, go to the prom, awkwardly copulate with your date with whom you didn't even want to go with in the first place, and become a full-fledged adult. In summation, you don't give a f*ck, and hence, you don't really try.

I hate to say this about the WWE, since I'm sure the stress involved in producing fresh & enticing programming every week is not an easy task. However, this past Monday on RAW, the lack of motivation to create viable new stars, particularly in the heel department, must be addressed. Case in point: Randy Orton takes on Edge & his mystery partner (Ted DiBiase) in the main event. Ted needs all the help he can get when it comes to getting over as a dominant heel. Now granted, I don't see this transformation happening overnight, and if there is another virtue that the WWE lacks, it is patience. Earlier in the night, Ted paid off the reunited team of the Colons to beat down R-Truth in his match with William Regal. When he returns at the end of the night, Ted has all the momentum, as he was heinous earlier, and should continue to be heinous now. So what happens? He eats an RKO and is pinned clean. R-Truth came out to distract him, and I'm OK with that...just not at that time. If you're serious about building characters for the fans to invest in, why not have R-Truth cost Ted a match next week? Even more so, why is Ted getting beat clean as a sheet? He was nothing more than a sacrificial lamb in the slowly failing experiment that is the Randy Orton face turn.

Chew on this for a moment: Why is Randy Orton suddenly invincible? Did he grab a magic star from Super Mario Bros. or something? He is not "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and will never be Austin. For two weeks in a row, Orton has gotten the better of Edge, although I will expect that in the "go-home" RAW in Toronto, Edge will get some serious heat. But think about this -- When is the last time you remember Randy Orton being laid out? I mean, out cold & defeated to the point that you believe that his opponent has a legit shot in beating him in an actual match. If I recall correctly, it was just before Survivor Series, when Kofi Kingston leg-dropped him through a table in Madison Square Garden. Since then, Orton is seemingly unstoppable. The fans seem to buy it, but how long this Super Randy Orton push will continue remains to be seen.

Thankfully on SmackDown, the attempts to usher in new talent have been increased since the WWE Draft. It's always the case where pundits say that SmackDown takes a sh*t-kicking when it comes to the talent swap. While it is not heavy in bona-fide, main-event talent, the seeds are being sown for the stars of tomorrow. Drew McIntyre's tumultuous power struggle with Teddy Long, combined with his character's willingness to exploit his Vince McMahon-endorsed status is a tremendous angle, in my opinion. While he may not be flashy in the ring, McIntyre is efficient. He provides the ultimate foil for whoever's in charge, which could only lead to McIntyre overstepping his boundaries while playing his McMahon trump card. Once you piss off the boss, there's no going back.

I'll be keeping an eye on these situations and plan to get more in-depth in my observations as to how the WWE landscape evolves (or doesn't). Don't forget to check out my blog throughout the week at www.FutureEndeavored.tumblr.com. Until then, thank you for reading, and remember: Above all things -- be a man!