Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Mercy Side: A Golden Curtain Call

Hey there, I haven’t done any writing on wrestling for around six weeks now which is a shame. I just haven’t really found much in wrestling to write about, most of the stuff that’s happening is covered by other people already, and while I know I can write nearly as well as other people out there, I don’t really know what my opinion can contribute to on the grand scheme of things. So I just waited for a topic that was less likely to be covered by other people, or at least something that won’t be pinpointed as a huge talking point.
And then this morning I boot up the computer as always. Eat a jam donut. Drink some water from plastic bottle. Spit it out in the air and start posing like Triple H. Pretend there’s a camera in my face and growl at it. Make sure there’s enough water in my throat to spit at the camera and then proceed to do so. Now there’s water over my screen. Anyway, after wiping the spit and water off my screen, something caught my eye as I do my morning wrestling news and rumours gander. Goldust is campaigning for a match against his half brother, Cody Rhodes, for the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania. Now I know what you might think about that. It’s not a big deal. It probably won’t happen. Why would Cody Rhodes want to wrestle Goldust, who’s barely been relevant for many a year and not been on TV for months due to injury and working backstage? Well there’s a lot to gain from this match, and I’m putting my entire 18 stone frame behind it to happen.

You see, Goldust doesn’t want a normal match. He wants a title vs career match. Goldust is 42 now, he’s had many injuries recently and he seems happy backstage helping out the divas (with their matches, not physically, well I suppose it is physical but it’s not sexual... oh you get the idea) so he’s obviously on the foot end of his career. Goldust has many times hinted at retiring. You still might be thinking that this might be a bad idea, and I can understand if you do in a certain way. But believe it or not, Goldust can still go. I remember him having some great matches on the ultimately unsuccessful WWECW programme at its end. By great I mean great TV matches, not five star classics. He had very good matches with Sheamus, Zack Ryder (who was a heel at the time), William Regal and Paul Burchill. I know that on the grandest stage of them all, for a good 10 or maybe 15 minutes if they allow it, they could put on a great match. They’re both gifted wrestlers, Goldust has always been underrated as a wrestler, and can both tell very good stories in the ring.
Cody Rhodes’ light has never shone brighter than it has at present. With the charming gimmick, he had a good run, the gimmick wasn’t great but he made it work. Then he had a good feud heading into Wrestlemania with Rey Mysterio and started donning a mask to hide his ‘disfigured’ face.  The feud however fizzled out with a small pop rather than a bang, and so did Rhodes’ push towards the top. He never went down the card but he did temporarily stop moving upwards. While he wasn’t moving up the card he was doing good promos, and putting paperbags on people’s faces. It worked, it got him good heat and he started changing his voice to come across as creepy and condescending. His promos excelled. And then he got the Intercontinental title on August 9th, or the 12th as it was shown on TV then. Since then the man has been on fire, he’s had a very good feud with Randy Orton, despite Orton being occupied with Mark Henry, Orton helped Rhodes out immensely by putting him over a few times. The feud from what we can tell has now finished and Rhodes has lost his mask. He’s now got new music again. The time Rhodes stood out the most for me was at Hell in a Cell, October 2nd, when he started using the old style Intercontinental title. It was a huge move, and it made a great statement. It shows that Rhodes really cares about representing the Intercontinental title, a title that’s been passed around like mud recently, when it should representing a hot young wrestler on the up. That’s exactly what Rhodes is, and at 26, he’s got as much potential as anyone.

So Goldust wants a title shot at Wrestlemania for the Intercontinental title, and wants to put his career on the line. If Rhodes still has the title by then, he’ll be champion for nearly eight months. Eight months. Long title reigns are a rarity in today’s WWE, and this would be a heck of a statement. But I’m fully behind this. Rhodes needs that long title reign. I don’t think he should be WWE champion before Wrestlemania. I think it’s too soon. And you have Mark Henry, Sheamus and Orton to contend with, and at the moment I don’t think Rhodes has quite made it yet. There are a lot of rumours going around that Booker T will be having a feud with Rhodes soon. I say let that happen, let Rhodes go over Booker, and then prepare him for Goldust. Goldust can return at the Royal Rumble, and immediately start his feud with Cody Rhodes. He can easily be disrespected by Rhodes, for being a has-been, for being ugly, for being weird, for being ashamed to be his half brother. Goldust can make his TV return, and win a few matches against some lower card wrestlers like JTG, Primo and Heath Slater, while Cody Rhodes comes out and attacks him post match or runs him down with his excellent mic skills. Eventually Goldust explodes and beats up Cody Rhodes. They can go back and forth for two months and Goldust can request a title vs career match. I think making it personal, and making the audience aware that they’re half brothers adds spice to the feud. Maybe Goldust, the week before Wrestlemania, can wear no makeup and show the world what Dustin Rhodes is, and Cody can continue to mock him and call him ugly, before Goldust beats him down, ending the night on a high.
It’s a no brainer that Cody Rhodes should retain at Wrestlemania if this feud happens. It also should be a no brainer that after Wrestlemania, Rhodes should eventually lose the title and move onto the top of the Smackdown card. If Daniel Bryan actually cashes in at Wrestlemania and somehow wins, I’d love for Bryan and Rhodes to be the main event of Smackdown for Extreme Rules. That would be awesome. As for Goldust, he’d have a fantastic ending to a very odd career. A career that had some ups and many many downs, and a career that was overshadowed by a flashy gimmick rather than a wrestle who could actually wrestle well. But against his half brother, he will be putting over a great young talent and hopefully himself. He can wrestle. Rhodes/Goldust can work. And I think it is the perfect golden Curtain Call on Dustin Rhodes’ career. Thanks for your time.

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