Black Widow
01-24-2008, 03:27 PM
THERE is a whisper that there be might a wind of change blowing through WWE.
For wrestling companies, the elevation of new stars has always been necessary in order to keep business flowing.
It was one of the key reasons the WWE won the Monday Night War.
While WCW trundled on with the same ageing grapplers, the WWE pushed The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley and Steve Austin before signing Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko to bolster the roster.
And after a bad 2007 full of injuries, sliding PPV buy rates and the Benoit tragedy, the WWE again need a new face in the main event mix to get that feel of 10 years ago back.
While he’s not new to the promotion, the man to lead the revolution could be Jeff Hardy.
Since returning to the WWE from TNA — and surviving a run-in with the Wellness Policy — Hardy’s impressive performances culminated in a win over Triple H at Armageddon to become the No1 contender.
But is the Rainbow Haired Warrior just the traditional weak Royal Rumble challenger with no chance to win, or is he here to stay?
The first variable is Hardy himself.
His in-ring style, while unique and captivating, is high-risk to say the least.
The whisper in the wind from the top of a cage on Raw was a phenomenal piece of athleticism that very few other than Jeff can pull off.
Hardy has also shown a somewhat rebellious streak and a worrying habit of getting himself in hot water in both the WWE and TNA.
But if he can avoid those pitfalls in the future, only two things can hold him back.
The first is keeping up his fine in-ring performances.
At the age of 30, he should be at his physical peak. His recent matches have frequently been among the most entertaining features of WWE broadcasts and he is even being given more time to hone his admittedly weak mic skills.
His character is unique, which also aids his cause.
The last obstacle which Jeff must ultimately avoid is that of the fickle nature of the WWE creative team.
We have seen the likes of Rob Van Dam and Jericho — darlings of the Internet fans and supremely talented individuals — never really given their chance to shine on top.
For this reason, it is my belief that Hardy will not win his match with Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble and will likely never hold a major world title.
If he does, then it will probably be as a transitional champion in order for the belt to pass to someone else — just as Van Dam was.
However, should Hardy put in a solid performance against the Legend Killer at Madison Square Garden later this month, we may well be seeing the name J Hardy further up the card than ever before for some time to come.
I for one hope we do.
TheSun.co.uk
For wrestling companies, the elevation of new stars has always been necessary in order to keep business flowing.
It was one of the key reasons the WWE won the Monday Night War.
While WCW trundled on with the same ageing grapplers, the WWE pushed The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley and Steve Austin before signing Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko to bolster the roster.
And after a bad 2007 full of injuries, sliding PPV buy rates and the Benoit tragedy, the WWE again need a new face in the main event mix to get that feel of 10 years ago back.
While he’s not new to the promotion, the man to lead the revolution could be Jeff Hardy.
Since returning to the WWE from TNA — and surviving a run-in with the Wellness Policy — Hardy’s impressive performances culminated in a win over Triple H at Armageddon to become the No1 contender.
But is the Rainbow Haired Warrior just the traditional weak Royal Rumble challenger with no chance to win, or is he here to stay?
The first variable is Hardy himself.
His in-ring style, while unique and captivating, is high-risk to say the least.
The whisper in the wind from the top of a cage on Raw was a phenomenal piece of athleticism that very few other than Jeff can pull off.
Hardy has also shown a somewhat rebellious streak and a worrying habit of getting himself in hot water in both the WWE and TNA.
But if he can avoid those pitfalls in the future, only two things can hold him back.
The first is keeping up his fine in-ring performances.
At the age of 30, he should be at his physical peak. His recent matches have frequently been among the most entertaining features of WWE broadcasts and he is even being given more time to hone his admittedly weak mic skills.
His character is unique, which also aids his cause.
The last obstacle which Jeff must ultimately avoid is that of the fickle nature of the WWE creative team.
We have seen the likes of Rob Van Dam and Jericho — darlings of the Internet fans and supremely talented individuals — never really given their chance to shine on top.
For this reason, it is my belief that Hardy will not win his match with Randy Orton at the Royal Rumble and will likely never hold a major world title.
If he does, then it will probably be as a transitional champion in order for the belt to pass to someone else — just as Van Dam was.
However, should Hardy put in a solid performance against the Legend Killer at Madison Square Garden later this month, we may well be seeing the name J Hardy further up the card than ever before for some time to come.
I for one hope we do.
TheSun.co.uk