NoDQ.com > Columns > Blood On The Canvas: Missed Opportunities - Pt. 1 Posted by Derek Ruttle on 11/12/2009 at 06:19 PM
It's a slow Thursday afternoon at the office, which can only mean one thing - another edition of Blood On The Canvas. This week, I wanna take a look at some of WWE's missed opportunities; mistakes made with either wrestlers who died way too soon, quit the WWE to go somewhere else or were 'future endeavored' by the higher-ups in Stamford. Basically, I'm gonna play God with each man's respective career and veer things the way I'd want to see them.
So today, I'll start with those that have passed on. Far, FAR too often in this business we read of wrestlers dying in a multitude of ways. Drug overdoses, sudden heart attacks and even suicides have plagued the industry for years, but the last decade or so has been absolutely unreal as far as the number of deaths in wrestling. Allow me to lighten up this somber fact, as this week's BOTC is all about ignoring the fact that they're gone and coming up with ways to incorporate them into today's current WWE programming.
The Dearly Departed
Owen Hart - Owen was an incredible star. He had everything, a complete package. I've read that he only wanted to wrestle for a couple more years around the time of his death in 1999, so here's how I would've had the youngest Hart go out in style. Had Owen not tragically died the way he did, I'd have kept him in the IC Title picture for most of 1999 before giving him a monster face push against WWF Champion Triple H, culminating in a few PPV matches where HHH just manages to sneak out with the win. Owen would stay in the midcard range, maybe teaming up with someone else to go for the Tag Titles, but I'd finally have him win the big one against HHH and The Rock at Summerslam 2000 (Owen taking Kurt Angle's place). He'd have a solid run with the belt, defeating challengers like HHH, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit at the next few PPVs before dropping it at Armageddon back to The Rock. From there, I'd have Owen perform solidly in the 2001 Royal Rumble before having his final match at WrestleMania 17 in Houston. He'd retire at the height of his career.
Brian Pillman - I was a big fan of Flyin' Brian. His work with Steve Austin in the Hollywood Blonds was really entertaining and underrated in the long run, since Austin would of course go on to become Stone Cold. Pillman doesn't really get the credit he deserves for helping usher in the Attitude Era in the WWF, as his Loose Cannon character really blurred the lines between shoot/worked shoot and fiction/reality. I highly recommend picking up the DVD set WWE released on his life and career. His death at 35 on the night of In Your House: Badd Blood (why there were two D's in bad I still don't know) really hit a nerve with me and I remember crying when watching the ten bell salute on Raw the next night. If Brian were alive today, I know he wouldn't be wrestling because even in his last year or so alive, he was in so much pain with a shattered ankle that he had to down painkillers almost hourly. However, I'd definitely see him in either a backstage announcer or even color commentator role on either Raw or Smackdown. Anyone who saw him and Vince call an episode of Raw knew he had the gift of gab and a great mind for the industry.
Test - The most recent mainstream death in wrestling, I think Test was really underrated by both management and fans alike. He had the look, he had the attitude, all he was really lacking was personality on the mic. His work rate was pretty solid; nothing spectacular but he moved fast for a man his size. If he were alive today, I'd have him as the third man in the Hart Dynasty as the group's official muscle. DH Smith just doesn't look the part in my book. Test had a longtime affiliation with the Hart family and was a proud Canadian, so I think he'd fit in well with the group and give it some authenticity. I'd stick him in there and give him a mic fairly often, and in the future perhaps an IC Title run if the stable got over enough.
Rick Rude - I loved this guy. He looked like he was chiseled out of stone and had more attitude than a gym full of frat boys. On top of that, he was a ring general who was an expert at working the crowd. Rick Rude was one of the guys who Vince had work with the Ultimate Warrior on his push to the top, and even though there was a personal dislike he had towards the juiced up meathead, Rude was a professional and went out of his way to make him look good. In addition, he was the only guy who stood his ground and actually quit the WWF for good after the Montreal Screwjob when a bunch of others were only making empty threats. In today's WWE, Rude would make for the perfect heel GM on either Raw or Smackdown. I'd start building a specific program between him and maybe John Morrison in a battle of past and present Intercontinental Champions, with the payoff being a match where Rude comes out of retirement for maybe Summerslam or Night Of Champions. A guy like Rude, you wouldn't even have to write his promos.
Mike Awesome - Ask any fan of the old ECW what some of their favorite feuds were, and they'd more than likely mention the often-revisited wars between the late Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka. I was a big fan of Mike, and I really enjoyed his time in the main event spot when ECW started airing on TNN. The one word that comes to my mind when I think of him is "dominance". The guy was like a Mack truck with legs. The bell would ring, he'd throw his opponent around like a pitbull with a poodle and if the helpless schmuck was lucky, he could walk right after a week's recovery. On top of that, Awesome was highly athletic and took to the air more often than not. As I mentioned, his wars with Masato Tanaka were always something that had fans on their feet and eyes glued to the action. These two ripped each other apart with each meeting, even though there was an air of respect between them. You know what I was doing on Christmas Eve 1999? Watching Mike Awesome plunge Tanaka half-way to Hell with a sitdown powerbomb off the top rope! In-f***ing-credible. So what would I have Mike do in today's WWE? GM of ECW, no question. And no babyface or heel role, either; straight tweener. You argue with his decisions? AWESOME BOMB! Beat up an official? AWESOME BOMB!
Davey Boy Smith - The British Bulldog. Loved him. Though he was no ring technician by any stretch, the Bulldog was a huge favorite among longtime WWF/WWE fans. He's been one-half of some of the most memorable matches in wrestling history; Summerslam '92 against Bret Hart, the '95 Royal Rumble, IYH: Canadian Stampede in '97, etc. In today's WWE, I think he'd be a great enforcer/manager type for the Hart Dynasty. Maybe even the odd match or so in tag action with the young upstarts.
Mr. Perfect - One of my all-time favorites and the greatest wrestler to have never won the WWF Championship. I'm convinced that if he never started having back problems he would've had a nice, lengthy run with the Title. So, if the infamous Plane Ride from Hell in 2002 never took place and he was never fired from the WWE, here's how I'd book his last couple of years of his in-ring career. First, with the reaction he got in the 2002 Royal Rumble, I'd put him in a nice midcard feud with the likes of guys like Edge, Rob Van Dam and others. Kinda like a "I'm gonna show these young guys how it's done" sort of thing. He'd be a heel at first, but then a confrontation with Kurt Angle would result in a huge feud during the summer of 2002 heading into the fall, where he and Angle would trade TV and PPV wins heading into Summerslam, where Angle would win. That week on TV, Perfect would come out and offer to shake Kurt's hand, but Angle attacks him and puts him on the shelf. Perfect would return at Armageddon and attack Angle, who at this point is the WWE Champion. Perfect would go on to win the 2003 Royal Rumble and it'd be him and Angle for the Title at Mania 19, which Perfect would finally win. He'd have a lengthy run with the belt, ultimately dropping it at No Mercy and staying in the upper card until he'd have his last official match at WrestleMania 20 at MSG. From there, he'd take a break for awhile before becoming a color commentator on Smackdown. Ultimately, I'd have him as Dolph Ziggler's manager in today's market.
Chris Benoit - Yes, I'm including him in this. I was debating on whether or not to include Benoit, but his death was arguably the most tragic to ever hit the wrestling industry and he was undoubtedly one of the top ten, if not top five ring generals to ever step foot in the ring. I thought of myself as one of Benoit's biggest fans and always pulled for him having better feuds and angles after his rocket push in 2004. However, he broke my heart when he did what he did in June 2007 and I've since erased him from my memories. I can't watch a Benoit match or even look at a photo of him without feeling knots in my stomach. That's hard to say when I was such a huge supporter of his. Regardless, one can't deny the legacy he left in the ring. So, if the events of that weekend never took place and all was peaceful in Benoit's world, I would've had him become the ECW Champion at the Vengeance PPV he missed. From there, he'd keep the belt for most of that year before dropping it to CM Punk at Survivor Series. His role in ECW would've basically been that of teacher and mentor to all the up and comers, but I'd move him over to Smackdown after Armageddon and he'd have a World Title program with Edge, with matches at the Rumble and No Way Out, respectively. He'd come up short in those but ultimately win Money in the Bank at Mania 24 and cash it in against Edge at The Great American Bash, winning the World Title. He'd defend it through the next few PPVs before dropping it at the Rumble and staying in the mid to upper card area. He'd make an open challenge to the absent Undertaker for a match at Summerslam and it'd be an epic, Match of the Year quality war.
Eddie Guerrero - This was probably the most heart-wrenching death in the world of wrestling, simply because Guerrero had struck a nerve with the entire fanbase of the WWE and was such a common name among any age group. People are still talking about him like as if he had just passed and You-Tubing clips of the tribute shows WWE produced that week on Raw and Smackdown. As for what I'd do with Eddie, it would be similar to Benoit's push but with a few modifications. I'd have put the World Title on Randy Orton when Batista hurt his back in late 2005 and with Dave out of the picture, an Orton/Eddie feud would be the focal point of Smackdown for some time. I'd throw Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio in the mix for a Fatal Fourway at Mania 22 where Eddie would win the Title, and then feud with Angle and Orton at the next few PPVs. Eventually, I'd move Guerrero to Raw where he'd feud with Edge over the WWE Title but never quite grab the win. After Cena would win the belt, I'd have Eddie turn heel and go after him. He'd win the WWE Title at Survivor Series 2006 and start a feud with Shawn Michaels after the Royal Rumble, with HHH out injured. They'd have a Title match at WrestleMania 23, with Eddie retaining and turning face afterwards with a handshake. Those are basically the bigger points of what I'd do with Eddie if he didn't pass away. Today, I'd have him back on Smackdown and in a solid feud with CM Punk.
There you have it. Nine men whose lives were cut short all too soon brought back to life. Obviously, I could've gone into much greater detail, but I don't have the hours and hours it would've taken me to plan out. With guys like Guerrero, Benoit and Perfect, I really wanted to do their legacies justice and give them a much better swan song. Others like Pillman and Rude were just great personalities who deserved ample TV time to spill their words of wisdom and use their gifts for the greater good of WWE programming. Who wouldn't love to see the Loose Cannon calling the action on Smackdown with Good ole JR?!?!? It's nearly enough to say 'Screw the wrestling, I'm closing my eyes and just listening to these two talk!'
So this has been Part One. Tomorrow, I'll talk a look at the list of men who've either been pink-slipped by the WWE or decided to take a break from the ring. Keep those emails coming! I'm amazed by the feedback I'm getting and I might have to start listing your questions here in the column.
See you at ringside,
Derek
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