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The Anatomy Of An Elevation
By: Todd Vincent ("The Chairman Of The Board")
A
few years ago, a major creative media company saw that one of its main properties
had grown stale. Fan apathy was at an all-time high and revenue was at a disturbing
low. This wasn't helped by the competition producing work of a much higher and
consistent quality that fans were gravitating to in droves. So what did this
company do with that property?
They
took what was considered to be a big risk and allowed its top creative mind
to drastically alter it. The Chief was allowed to move top characters out of
the limelight and was allowed to bring in mid-card types into the main events.
The Chief was given the leeway to use an innovative and controversial storyline
to bring about this roster upheaval and change. He had a clear vision of what
needed to get done and how to get there.Sentimentality and safety
nets were going to be thrown out of the window, and it was going to be one hell
of a ride.
And
how did the fans react when this was first reported? Some were PISSED. Some
stated that they felt the people who were rumored to get elevated weren't good
enough, and it would never work. Some fans bitched about their favorites getting
moved out of their usual spots. Some fans JUST KNEW that the rumored story-line
direction wasn't going to work. And many fans loudly declared that they were
leaving and not coming back. AND THEY MEANT IT!
So
what was the result?
The
once mighty property rebounded in a major way. The storyline
(and subsequent ones) were praised by both critics and fans.
New characters emerged and became major players. This created
fresh interactions and captivating match-ups. The writers
had new avenues and more options for where their scripting
could go. A slew of new fans flocked over to see what the
buzz was all about.
To
this day, those fans have stayed (and multiplied), and Marvel Comic’s Avengers
franchise is now their top property, taking over from the long-reigning X-Men
line. For me, this is a sterling example of how to elevate a creative property
and, when reflected against today's wrestling product, a spotlight of what both
the WWE and TNA are failing to do to strengthen and elevate their companies
specifically, and the industry in general.
For
the attempted revival of The Avengers, Marvel realized they would have to take
a chance by altering their normal Modus Operandi. The definition of insanity
is to do the same thing over and over and still expecting to get a different
result (And I'm REALLY looking in your direction TNA….. but that’s a future
column waiting to happen).Marvel allowed Brian Bendis the leeway
to try things that were (up until that point) unheard of in the Avengers Universe.
He was allowed to use characters in ways that had never been done before. Characters
(with wrestling storyline similarity attached) such as Luke Cage (not proven
as a main-event character as he was previously one-half of a team up until then),
Spider-Woman (a character with a past that left a lot of room for development
and story-line opportunities), and The Sentry (a new player with a "main-event
look," whose back-story was also wide open). Included in this was the tweaking
of Spider Man. Up until that point, Spider-Man had never been a part of a team.
When Spider-Man rejects Captain America's initial invitation by explaining he
wasn't a team guy, Captain America asks "How's that working out for you?" (For
all of you non-comic book fans, for years, Spider Man has been having his ass
handed to him every time his enemies have teamed-up to oppose him).
So
how does this relate to pro-wrestling, you ask??? It's simple.
In looking at how Marvel Entertainment (and now a brief
column interruption for this important public service announcement:
When any niche media entity diversifies across other platforms,
their last name becomes "entertainment.")...where were we...ah
yes, when Marvel Entertainment successfully revitalized
The Avengers by taking calculated risks, they also created
a template by which ANY wrestling organization could borrow
from. Actually, I'd rather see them ADAPT than borrow as
I see waaayyy too much borrowing already in TNA.
Look
at the above-mentioned characterizations from The Avengers revamp and ask yourself
this: Who fits the templates and how could they be used to create new characters
and storylines that freshen up the TV shows and PPV's? To reiterate, the templates
are: a.) someone not proven as a main-event character, as he was previously
one-half of a team up until then, b.) a character with a past that left a lot
of room for development and story-line opportunities, and c.) a new player with
a "main-event look," whose back-story was also wide open. The criteria are as
follows: 1.) You are looking to create a new star/top-tier player or, in trying
to freshen up an existing top-tier guy, you are looking to add/twist an element
to their persona.
(At
this point in the column, "The Chairman Of The Board" contracted a vicious respiratory
infection that side-tracked him for about three weeks. In that time, the WWE
mixed up their upper-tier on SmackDown and elevated the role and usage of various
people on both RAW & SmackDown. What have we seen happen in those last three
weeks and how does it relate to what we will refer to as Column Part I?)
In
the time between Backlash and Judgment Day (and, surprisingly to me due to my
low expectations, as a result of the Draft), a couple of scenarios have begun
to play that are freshening up the booking sheets. On SmackDown, there seems
to be a new mix in the upper-tier with Edge, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Chris
Jericho, CM Punk, and Umaga. Also, I'd list John Morrison and Mike Knox as guys
who should be elevated. However, the shocker to me so far has been on the RAW
side of things.
On
RAW, The Miz has been put into the mix with John Cena. His schtick has been
to call out Cena, while Cena is at some sort of an obvious disadvantage. Going
in to the Cena-Big Show match-up at Judgment Day, The Miz has been an added
element to what would otherwise be a more-of-the-usual, we've-seen-this-before
John Cena vs. Big Show match-up. Yes, I know...this time, Cena is injured from
that spectacular chokeslam into a spotlight at Backlash AND he can barely walk
down the ramp. But let's be straight about this, the entertainment factor in
their run-up to Judgment Day match-up has been provided by someone who ISN'T
EVEN IN THE MATCH. As my friend Malik said, "The Miz went RAW Dog on the stick
with that Rock script comment." And lets be honest with ourselves,
Now
the big question is will this lead to The Miz ending up
playing with the heavy-hitters on a regular basis. The odds
and history say "no." If we use the past as a reference
guide, the most-likely scenario has The Miz taunting Cena
throughout the summer before finally getting destroyed by
Cena on PPV (or more likely, RAW).
But
what if the WWE takes this storyline in another direction?
Now let's assume that the entire time, The Big Show is still
in the mix. Let's also stay with the idea that Cena is taking
a slew of punishment from The Big Show the entire time.
What if The Miz gets a tainted pinfall over a beat-up Cena
in their first match? Or Cena goes in pissed off and very
over-confident, but underestimating this young, cowardly,
loud-mouth punk, and The Miz wins the match by cheating.
He could use a foreign object or a low blow while The Big
Show distracts the ref. This would continue the string of
"fluke" wins that The Miz was getting over Cena. And while
this is going on, I'd like to point out to WWE Creative
that this is a great time to strengthen Mike Mizanin's character
with some solid character development and back-story additions.
How about adding that foreign object into The Miz's repertoire...kind
of like what they seem to be doing with Matt Hardy's cast.
How about adding something to The Miz character that lessens
the gap between him and the current top-tier guys?
Ultimately,
the whole point of this should be to elevate The Miz into a position to make
money for the WWE. Six weeks ago, I would've thought this to be highly unlikely.
My initial reaction to the splitting of The Miz/Morrison tandem was that Morrison
would rise quickly on SmackDown while I stated in my last column that I believed
that Mizanin was well on his way to becoming "enhancement talent." So far, I've
been wrong. Now in the long term, that may be true, as The Miz ends up having
a nice run that parallels the departed Eugene's vs. Triple H.
I
know of people that HATE his character and want to see him annihilated. They
think he sucks and can't wait to see him have his ass handed to him. And that’s
the point! But before Cena gets his much-deserved revenge on The Miz, The Miz
should be developed in a way where he doesn't fall back to being just another
guy on the roster. The mic work shows that the potential is there for The Miz.
His ring skills need further development and his size works against him, but
this is where solid writing and the willingness to take a calculated risk comes
into play.
Bringing
this full circle, The Miz's current storyline ties into the "someone not proven
as a main-event character, as he was previously one-half of a tag team" scenario.
I'm glad to see this template is being utilized. I just never thought I would
be speaking about The Miz instead of John Morrison.
Now
let’s see where else the WWE takes all of this. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels
look to have a bout 12-18 months left in the tank. And rumblings seem to strengthen
those thoughts. Triple H seems overexposed again. Dave Batista is on the wrong
side of 35. And John Cena keeps taking hiatuses to make movies. If there is
ever a time to take a calculated risk in an attempt to long-term elevate new
players into the top-tier, it is now. In doing so, World Wrestling Entertainment
can learn a lot from Marvel's revitalization of The Avengers.
As
always, "The Chairman Of The Board" welcomes all counter-opinion and feedback,
as long as it's coherent, thought out, and spelled correctly. Don't force me
to send Vito, Carmine, or Tiny to straighten you out. Contact me, via e-mail,
at MNMChairman@aol.com. Until next time!
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