As long as his in ring game isn't affected, i'm ok with the creative experimenting with orton. It might result in a slump in his push, but he can come back any day. Plus that gives way for emerging heels like cody, mark henry and shamus.

I wouldnt go that far w/Randy.He also had his 'Legend Killer" days ego back in his promo before the Henry match and also after he did the fist pump he spread his arms out like he was just so cool.

Even Cole mentioned his 'big ego" during his walk to the ring for his match.

Hello, Mr. Eck,

You may want to disregard this, seeing as I'm one of the only IWC fans of Cena as a face... but I think softening Orton's character will help a bit. I've had a really hard time accepting him as a face given his history and given how many of his "face" characteristics dovetailed with his heel stuff -- kicking folks in the head as a face??? My guess is that at this point, he's got enough ring time and promo skills and camera time to be able to go back and forth as a heel and face the way Edge and Jericho did. Or Triple H, I guess, or Flair or Batista. I guess we'll see.

We all know that Jerry Lawler is in a definite win situation. They are never going to let the King give up his ring. What I want to know is what did they put all over Cole's foot to make it look like that. Cena has only been champion for a month so they he will keep the title, and come on I quit match, look what Cena did to Batista in the same match, face it Miz is no Batista. The Diva match, you know they will try to switch for Brie to keep her title, but I think Kharma will come out and help Kelly Kelly, and she will be the new Champion, even though Brie has more talent than Kelly. I am so hopefull that Christion wins his title back, but in the past two Smackdown's Randy orton has dropped us a few hints that he will be jumping back to the heel side. This is kind of a difficult situation for me since both Randy Orton and Christian are my top 2 favorites in the WWE. I do wish that those 2 stay face, But something does have to happen there.

Yeah that Orton jumping split was almost as bad as when we saw the "Kane-a-roonie" years ago... I really think Daniel Bryant is not working as a face, he's lost his whole "NXT underdog" thing he had working for him. And the IWC won't care if Bryant turns heel if it means he gets a push. I think he needs to link back up with Wade B., since he was orginally going to be in Nexus before Tie-gate.

I told you he was going down the Cena path Eck. In fairness, I was talking about his stupidly fast recoveries, but I guess that the camp air splits, and stupid fist pumps was just the next step. You're spot on though when you suggest that the older male fan base will be turned off by this. I'll be honest, I wasn't too pleased with Orton becoming a babyface in the first place, and it seems as if my initial reaction was not wrong. Truly awful idea, well done WWE creative. Does anyone else reckon that Russo's less talented younger brother is working in that department?

Again, I'm not watching and relying on Eck reportage...
From what I've read now that the incident is a couple of weeks old--WWE was apparently surprised about the fan reaction to Christian/Orton, and Orton received mega-backlash---could this be a continuance of trying to cool people off and not ruin Orton's "marketability"?
Or will we still assume that the reaction was all part of the plan and that WWE is still following a pre-scripted track? Personally, I feel like from what Mr. Eck reported that some scrambling has been done--hence the sudden departure for Orton in character.
I only ask because if changes were made because WWE DID do something disrespectful to Christian, did not anticipate fan backlash and are trying to band-aid the situation---WWE fans that are not happy with the product should start realizing that they do indeed have the ultimate power. They don't have to let McMahon shove action figures down their throats. They simply need to be active and participatory.

I found it kind of ironic that WWE, after taking wrestling out of their name, opens a show with a very solid wrestling match, while TNA, with Impact Wrestling, opens the show with another long NWO promo.

But another very solid Smackdown. Was that 7 matches I counted? This week's show reminded me a lot of old school WWE, filled with matches and only punctuated with short interviews and promos and a couple of video vignettes and story recaps. They even did a pre-match in a box promo with Sheamus! Having no skits and backstage drama segments is a great change of pace.

I thought of this on Monday too, but I wonder from which Final Fantasy game they ripped off the music from in the Miz montage video.

Bella's roll up of Natalya looked totally weak...

I agree, Michael Cole was kicking all kinds of ass this week on Booker - even Josh Matthews was laughing out loud at how bad Booker was losing the arguments.

And 2 roll-ups in one show. WWE is trying to attempt to show that the wrestlers can also win without hitting their finishers every single time. I think it's a good thing.

At least the Daniel Bryan - Chavo match was good. And hey, at least Chavo GUARANTEED that they'll have a five minute match.

And please. Someone take the microphone away from Ezekiel Jackson. Please.

The Orton split thing looked like something I'd see from the Spirit Squad or Melena. Good thing Orton didn't have a video interview denouncing doing those types of things with his character; that would have been embarrassing.

I'm a big fan of Booker T, but he's not all that great on commentary. I think it'd be a cool idea to see him in a manager type role with Ezekial, who could use a little help on the mic. I wouldn't be all that upset if we got to see Booker in the ring for some tag matches too.

What do you think? Also, is there some reason Booker stopped wrestling?

Bill H, I speculate that Booker's age is why he isn't wrestling. He is far from a young man, and although I don't doubt that he can still work a match, WWE may not have any plans for him in that role. Reportedly, Vince McMahon wanted Finlay removed from the active roster due to his age, even though Finlay was still (in my opinion) delivering in the ring.

I actually laughed when Orton jumped around. It was a nice little rewind to his cocky blue chipper times. He use to bounce around and show off that he was younger and more athletic then the bigger names he targeted. Remember an old RAW match between him and Christian? He jumped over the Unprettier and hit the RKO for the win.
As for softening the backlash, this can also be used as a lesson to the kids they pander to these days. If someone takes a toy or something like that from you, don't have a fit or punch things. Remain calm and plan a way to get it back.

It would be nice if WWE would explain the change in Orton's character.

2010 was the best year I've seen orton, he rko'ed every1 and had a dark personality, basically a heel that won a lot and had cheers. now he shakes hands? That's what splits orton from gay cena fans :(.

Could Orton be setting everyone up for a heel turn? Everyone things Christian is bound to turn heel, but what if it's Orton? I can only hope, as that leap was flat ridiculous. Ugh.

Randy Orton needs some sort of further character depth. His "anti-hero" persona is paper thin and grating. Hist fist-stomping in the ring, his RKO'ing anyone at any time - all too familiar and uninteresting. He has never evolved and certainly is no Stone Cold. While the face persona he showed this week was awkward at best, hopefully he will be able strengthen his charater without corrupting it. Perhaps Christian could win the belt and by doing so push Orton more into more of a "tweener" role... which he is far more suited to.

When is Booker going to get the boot? he has never improved - nor, it seems, will he. The one reason to look forward to the season finale of Tough Enough, is to hopefully send him packing. Perhaps CM Punk could transition into that role - especially with his future as an in-ring performer is in question.

Natalyia looked off at every turn. It actually looked like she was being carried throughout the match

totally agree w/ you on the Ezekiel Jackson/Corre feud. it isn't that big of a deal to the audience because they weren't together that long for it to be a big deal and that's a real shame for Ezekiel because he is a valuable talent they have. he's doin as much as he can, but it's the creative team droppin the ball in not gettin the fans behind him enough. some ppl may say that long-time WWE fans may complain alot, but come on! it's common knowledge: don't change a formula wen it doesn't need to be. if it's worked in the past, it'll probably work in the future. the thing is: for bein named the "creative team", they sure don't show much creativity. if you was really creative, then you would find a way to do different things to change it up and still make it pleasing to the audience. some fans know how to run the WWE better than WWE does and i will go on record in saying that. it's like come on, it's not that hard.

i seriously do not know why Booker T doesn't wrestle. i mean i've never heard of somebody returning in a competitive state and then later that week get on commentary duty and you're not even claimin retirement. that's like Aaron Rodgers wantin to become a football commentator after winning the superbowl just because. it's like "dude you can wrestle so get out there and wrestle!" i'm black so i'm very accustomed to how he speaks and that is not suited for commentary.

after all these things, we've seen some interesting things happen this year so far so i would not be surprised if these things get situated throughout the rest of the year.

I actually had to rewind that when I saw Orton do the splits & the awkward fist pump too, I was like WTF!? If he becomes anything like Cena, I'll quit watching the WWE. I've been a fan since 96, & WWE's product is just getting worse & worse. Terrible booking, awful characters, trash storylines, & EVERYTHING is predictable - especially Cena. To hell with the kids & their ignorant parents, bring back some attitude!

@ Mr. Eck--(last time--I promise)

One more important kick to the horse, and then I'm done with WWE including even reading the reportage.
According to Meltzer, who I don't often read---(but there just seems to be something going on, and you're not talking about it)----the original plan in all of this was to take the title off Christian because Vince doesn't want him in the main event picture. He and the WWE were actually shocked that there was a fan reaction according to Meltzer's report.
Digging deeper, I found that Del Rio was actually first booked to get the title and drop it to Orton--but because of the quick hit Vince thought he would get out of hanging it on Christian in terms of sucking EDGE sympathy dry--he figured they'd let Christian have it for a day or two. It was all about building the Smackdown "brand" around Orton from the beginning---and Christian became the interim jobber to suck some more life out of Edge's in-ring end.
Point----the fan outrage is justified. We're seeing a strange, babyface Orton because WWE is scrambling to avoid fallout from their actual, not storyline disprespect for the fans and for a veteran wrestler who has arbitrarily been held back from the main event. I get the feeling that if WWE didn't hold their cards so tight that it's rare to even get some of the Meltzer-type stuff out of them--that outrage was bigger than they admitted to--and that saying Orton got hate mail is probably an understatement.
Mr. Eck---sorry, dude, all respect--but you were wrong--and your column's continued insistence in ignoring the larger implications and casually reporting everything from this to Over The Limit as part of the WWE script--is missing and obscuring a bigger issue. I feel it's my duty as your audience to point this out.
People had a right to be pi##ed. What WWE did was wrong--and they are so arrogant that they were actually surprised. Now they are band-aiding---and while Christian is getting a few more minutes of prime-time--it is obvious he will be buried as soon as Vince can distract people from their near-victory as actual active, democratic humans and participatory fans. It's doubly disgusting that to keep a job in an increasingly unstable industry with only two job markets right now--that Christian had to last week cool off his own goddamned fans---and say that all is peachy.
You need to cover this dude--sorry--but you do. It's not tabloid dirt or some inconsequential crap. Vince is brainwashing his audience and he disrespected them and a fan favorite--and is now trying to cover it up. For the little corner of the world here---I think we're better off not having silence on the matter--or some pretend story that this is all part of a pre-planned scheme, and that yes, Vince is God--just trust him.
Otherwise--as you are getting more prominent--due to your skill--we'd have to assume that you wouldn't want to ruin your chances of perhaps securing a WWE job eventually. That ain't journalism. What Vince did here is a big deal. This is what's killing wrestling---WWE and TNA are corpse-ships. They need to hear the voices of the fans if wrestling is to have a mainstream outlet. A wrestling journalist is the voice of those fans, just as a political journalist is the voice of the people. That sometimes nowadays a lot of them aren't shouldn't prevent anyone from upholding integrity by joining the other lemmings. I try to uphold that integrity at my job---and you should too. I'm DumbSmark on here and I've been a fan for a loong time--but out there I sacrifice quite a bit to uphold integrity, so I'm not asking you to do anything that I don't already. And that's all I'm ever going to say about it.

RESPONSE FROM KE: One thing I will say is this -- if Christian doesn't turn heel, who is the No. 1 heel on Smackdown? Sheamus? Henry? Khali? Rhodes? Had Edge not retired I still think Christian was going to turn heel and be elevated into a main event program. He was introduced into the Edge-Del Rio feud for a reason, don't you think?

Has anyone mentioned that softening Orton's character may be because of his movie role. He is promoting it right now and it is about bullying...

Booker T is really bad on commentary every week. It's actually depressing how bad the commentary in general in WWE is every week on all shows.

@ Mr. Eck ( you did ask...)
Okay...I respect someone who sticks to their guns with valid questions...although I think the heel question gives too much credit to McMahon again. Sheamus especially has been used as a tired, over-exposed heel before--as has Khali. Thinking that it doesn't make sense to have originally planned to use one of them might make sense to intelligent observers like yourself---but this is the same company that just put over John Cena as Superman for the umpteenth time in a row at the expense of making to look weak a wrestler who has the potential to be one of the biggest players they have going into the future.
So, yeah---I find it completely possible and indeed probable that WWE was originally planning to use a dupe like Sheamus or Khali to begin with. Take a step back from WWE for a moment---they pushed Shaemus to the title at one point---I respect any wrestler for the hard work they put in--but this red-haired action figure for six year kids--what has he been pushed anywhere for? As I said--the idea that Christian is the only wrestler with enough talent and charisma to pull off a top spot if one assumes Orton as top face is a credit to YOUR acumen and intelligence----however it is an overestimation of what WWE has factually proven capable of over the past few years.
Also, there is the fact that apparently this isn't dirt sheet gossip---Del Rio was booked first--it was changed to Christian semi-late in the game--and WWE were completely shocked that there was negative fan reaction----those three things are known. In that context--things like Orton being a smiling babyface or indeed even his decision the week before to help Christian--or the fact that the same week Christian addressed the fans telling them basically to calm down is suspicious. More suspicious when this very reason--holding back real wrestlers and pushing premade action figures--is what drained away Vince's ratings over the last ten years in the first place. It's the real reason older fans don't watch---so we're not talking about something he isn't known for--we're talking about the straw that apparently broke the camel's back. There are many people who have actually stopped watching WWE, or at the least Smackdown--(which is kind of sad that they pretend that RAW is different)
Rod the Barber left an interesting note there at the end---but I think assuming that they're softening Orton up because he's in some sort of anti-bullying movie coming out doesn't work. WWE has shown little interest in the past in changing an onscreen character to sell a movie role. I didn't see HHH driving buses or bringing kids to the ring with him when his wretched film was smeared all over the DVD rack.
Anyway---yeah---Vince is following a business model which is dangerous for our sport that we all love--(do not doubt that wrestling belongs to us, not to him---people have been trained to be complacent consumers--but it doesn't change this fact)---Did you know that financial analysts are calling Domino's Pizza actually listening to customer complaints and changing their pizza to match a "risky move", and a couple of the news sites actually used the term "Maoist self-criticism"? Wrestling is not removed from overall culture--we are becoming a fascist dictatorship---and businesses are following that model. Domino's actually employing democracy, (gasp!), is called insane--(although their sales numbers are way up--imagine that) Vince is in step right down the line with the dictators.
Somebody, I feel, needs to do something about this--before it's too late----interesting news story from a couple of years back from my corner of the world---look up Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne. In 2005 she had enough balls to stand up and confirm something that non-embedded journalists had known since it happened in 2003---The U.S. Army--claiming an attack that never happened--opened fire on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad---which was full of journalists who were not embedded or in league with the major networks--because many of us were getting pictures and stories about the human cost of war and some of the things we had been lied to about concerning what was actually going on there---so the U.S. military decided to teach everyone a lesson about who owns the media. A couple people were killed--a lot were wounded--and while Spain, France and a few other places reported it as major news--in the U.S.--not a peep----Have you ever seen the equivalent of the little naked girl burning with napalm from the Vietnam era on the news here as far as this war goes? Ever seen pics of the thousands upon thousands of wounded and disfigured troops on our side? Look hard enough--and you'll find that they exist--lots of 'em--and digital photography and advanced techniques have produced some very haunting images--but don't expect to see them in corporate media--their agenda is not telling you truth--- People don't get upset about what they don't know or don't see. That pic of the little girl was one of the things that sparked the outrage that ended an unjust war in Vietnam and indeed even spread the general knowledge that it was unjust in the first place---All we see now is patriotism and flag-waving and rah-rah-rah at the end of TEN years almost of these wars, because people are NOT shown the truth. And it is NOT going too far to draw comparisons of McMahon's manipulation of the truths presented in wrestling to these larger ones. All corporations follow the same model--and it is the REAL enemy of democracy. Since that 2003 attack on independent and foreign journalists--there aren't even accurate estimates anymore of how many have been assassinated and killed afterwards--perhaps hundreds--perhaps thousands---but there are still some brave enough to try to break the silence that demands that we sit and consume and take no active role in approving or denying what we are fed to consume. Vince likes consumers too---and consumers do not equal a free and democratic people--AND you must have democracy everywhere in order for it to thrive. It's not "just entertainment"--it's our entertainment. We spend more time watching T.V. in this country than we do talking to each other---that is hard to change at this point--so we'd better damned well make sure we're monitoring what we're watching.
Wrestling is an escape from the world--where we can all be together and see the good guys win, the bad guys do despicable things but ultimately fail--and see our hopes and fears elevated to high drama---in that context what Vince has done is doubly wrong--and it's part and parcel of a larger problem---this is how corporate Amerika handles business--and it's killing us. Okay--done. (Except to tell you to look up who owns all the NBC networks--It's GE--one the world's largest defense contractors---I wonder which point of view gets put over there?)

Hopefully DS will keep watching and offering critical commentary about the WWE. He has some interesting perspectives.