By Jon Cudo, PWTorch Specialist

True - The Mark Henry Push Works

As Smackdown viewers have discovered, the Mark Henry push works. Unlike C.M. Punk, Triple H, and the feud over power, insider jargon, and titles, the signature main event angle of Smackdown (Henry) is drawing ratings.

Watching the mess that was Monday Night Raw on Monday night was even more jarring as the three-minute vignette on Henry’s feud with Big Show-Orton was recapped. It made perfect sense. Bad scary heel. Guy in the white cowboy hat (actually green stocking cap) seeks revenge. Interesting. Well played. Nothing inside. No corrupt power struggle needed. It was the most compelling three minutes of the show.

In the midst of COOs and Votes of No Confidence in WWE and Clown Stings battling retiring Hulkamaniacs over on Impact, the two best storylines are good guys, bad guys, and a fight in the middle of the ring (Henry and Roode’s push).

And, this isn’t just my subjective opinion. Ratings are up for Henry and Smackdown, while the summer’s hot power struggle hasn’t caught on at all.

False - The Battle for Power Storylines Work

I read a great Tweet this week, which I think was sarcastically in response to the NBA lockout news coverage. “Labor law is why I fell in love with sports.” (@hardwoodhype.) While watching Raw, I thought this was sarcastically fitting as well. Who watches wrestling for legal maneuvers and backstage power struggles? It would seem clear from TNA’s three-year run of backstage power battle storylines with flat-to-falling ratings that this just isn’t what makes the masses tune in.

Monday on Raw, the entire story was built on terms like “Vote of No Confidence,” “COO,” and “Board of Directors.” None of which means much of anything to the PG audience WWE is purportedly targeting. So, this floats above the heads of the 13-and-under demo (and probably others as well). Worse is that the battles lines weren’t draw between heels and faces, really just between Triple H and everyone else.

Next in their quest to interject all of this high-brow drama, WWE made everyone look silly or impotent in the process. Triple H is apparently the babyface who fans are supposed to cheer, but to make him sympathetic, he’s been made to look like a fool. He’s incapable of controlling the “chaos” and everyone walks out. In the limited “chaos,” the wrestlers who are complaining rightfully look lame for complaining (as pointed out by the always dominant Hunter). So, Hunter is a half-wit for not being able to control things, and 55 Superstars are pansies for not being able to hack it.

These power struggles rarely, if ever, effectively lead to a match people pay money to see, even with surrogates for the power brokers. TNA has engaged in a three-year battle for “power” and, other than determining which old person (who doesn’t wrestle) talks the most, I can’t figure out what “having power” means.

As C.M. Punk eloquently put Monday night, “this Industry is built on solving problems between the ropes.” Yes it is. And finding out who is working with John Laurinaitis to become the Raw G.M. just isn’t as interesting as two guys fighting for a title in the middle of the ring. And it never will be.

TBD - Raw Walk-out is really just a “Do-Over”

After recent storylines were forgotten (the Raw GM), casually-dropped (Who texted Triple H?), or resolved with a quick and dismissive resolution, I was expecting the walk-out to be resolved with everyone coming back and agreeing to work. Big mysteries in wrestling tend to be an oxymoron, being neither big nor mysterious.

What might be worse is that Monday's Raw appeared to be yet another “do-over.” The last three months of TV had set a new course in WWE. New faces in power, a new structure, and some new angles... but none matters now. If you want any proof there is no long-term plan, nothing from WrestleMania 27 is relevant now. No feuds or angles that were happening then would add back story to current feuds. None.

With Monday night’s power shift (and WWE pushing the panic button), WWE backed up to a time just before Money in the Bank to start over, only they have neutered C.M. Punk’s character motivations, added a cold Triple H character to the main event slot on Raw, and interjected John Laurinaitis into the Raw G.M. spot. I don’t see one part of current storylines drawing more interest than the sum of the pre-Money in the Bank parts.

Perhaps the storytellers have a place they are headed, but looking back four weeks, it's difficult to see the threads that tie anything together. Mysteries are dismissed or ignored, players are twisted into illogical pretzels (nothing has changed, but Punk is now siding with Cena and Triple H), and what happened Monday probably won’t matter in three weeks. At some point, WWE may have to cease calling Raw the longest running “episodic” television show in history, since it hardly feels episodic with these fits, stops, and starts.

WWE may be heading somewhere with this story, but I am losing faith quickly. What may be a storyline twist sure looks like a “Do Over,” and that stands to be determined.

Jon Cudo is the newest PWTorch Specialist, presenting the "True-False-TBD" format. Jon has worked in the sports entertainment industry for over 20 years, including major league sports teams and Nike. He has been a life-long pro wrestling fan and has attended WWE, WCW, and ROH events in person, including backstage access at multiple events. He grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Cleveland. He runs his own business, www.GameOps.com, a web site designed to connect sports teams and event producers with ideas and tools that will enhance the entertainment value for fans attending their events.

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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