Undie's Latest Title Win: Why Am I Not Feelin' It?

Well, curiosity (and a hankering for wings) got me out to one of the local watering holes May 19th to watch Judgment Day on PPV.

After about 3 hours of a so-so show, much of which abandoned in favor of bullshitting and drink sampling (note: Buffalo Zoos rule it) from the bar, the main event started up: Undie v. Hogan.

My first reaction was "what the fuck is that?' when I heard the music. It's "Man from the Darkside" gone bluesy. Just glad to hear that it's not a final thing because while Rollin' needed to roll its ass out the door, it was better than whatever-the-hell-it-was.

Okay, outside of the music and all that, Undie won the belt. I figured it would happen, since someone had to get it off Hogan and for some reason they picked Calaway for the job. So much for that "passing the torch to that hungry up-and-commer " thing. But my reaction to it even surprised myself.

Now even though I rip into him on occasion, I'm still a fan/mark of Taker's. Always have been, always will be. And that markdom is shameless at times. But when he won the title, I didn't care. I guess I should care; after all, I've bitched about him looking at lights so many times and being passed over for the belt. I thought it might have been the result of being tired, or due to being buzzed from alcohol, or a combo but I honestly didn't care. My general reaction was something like, "Yay- he won: let's go home" as I watched Hebner put the belt on him as I put on my coat to leave Bw3's.

Fast-forward to the next day and the RAW the night after. Still didn't care one iota. In fact, as much as I hate to say it, I marked more for that split second I thought they were going to give the belt to RVD but knew deep down it wasn't happening since they set it up to be another "foot on the rope" thing.

Why do I feel this apathetic about Taker's title win, when I should be one happy bitch? While the rest of the Taker fans are on cloud nine and singing the praises of his title win, I'm sitting around, arms crossed, saying, "yeah whatever." And that feeling is the result of a few things, which I think make up the whole picture.

I think part of it was, for months now, I really am not into his feuds. Of course, this is a WWF-wide thing, which is why I don't watch much anymore. For me, it's not worth the time if there's not a hot feud behind it to give those two guys a reason to beat each other's ass. And feuding over bikes, being a whiny bitch, and shit like that doesn't cut it.

Another thing that is a contributing factor is I'm not into the BikerTruckerRedneckTaker. And with that being said, I just can't get into him winning the title. Now UNDERTaker is another thing. I can still watch WM 13 and mark out because it was such an amazing thing to see that captivating, deep creature show a wonderful side of him and the genuine look of happiness on his face as he won. Yeah, I'm a sap deep down but I dug it, okay? I even got into the Ministry Taker's win, probably because he still carried that belt around with an air of importance. I guess what I should say is if I'm not feeling it from the character side (the importance of the title and the hard work to get there to win it) I just can't feel it on this side.

I also read today that Undie's battling more injures, which is something else that concerns me regarding his title reign. I hate to see the man injured and I know if he has the strap, he has to defend it. Lately it's not like he has to go out every show to defend but by the time the PPV comes around, many expect to see a guy who can credibly defend it and that his name and postion, along with skill, will be bankable enough for the PPV to ride on it. And I worry about Undie, with his hips and messed-up sciatic nerve, having to work a match that might need to hover near the 30-minute mark.

How he won it was another thing. Every single fuckin' title win has been a screwjob. Ric helped out in '91 with a steel chair. Bret helped out in '97 when Undie faced Sid. Shane McMahon helped out in '99 when Undie faced Austin. And Vince helped out in '02 when he won it from Hogan. That whole thing just takes some of the thrill out of it for me. Then add in the fact the match blew donkey dick and my interest definitely wasn't piqued.

And, finally, the fans' general reaction is also something that affects how I look at all of this. Frankly, they're really not into him much either way. Well, as much as I think they should be regarding their champ, either face or heel. This leads to my final thought, regarding the situation.

In my hope of hopes, I really wish he would have won the belt again but not right now. I envisioned something I felt more befitting for a man who has given 12 years to the WWF and 16 to wrestling, in general. I wanted to see him have the fans completely behind him in gimmick, cheering his every appearance and in a way, reliving some of that pageantry and that belt having the meaning of "I've fought some hard as hell battles to get here but now I stand before you on top of my opponents." I think my hopes were dashed.

 

 

 

Date 5-23-02