You are here /wrestling
/guests
/Mixdorf
Guest Columns

Gregg Mixdorf

Main

BLAH

GREGG'S RANT
Being Worked

Once again it is time to get back to my most beloved subject of the main event of WrestleMania and continue to point out to you, the reader, why Mick Foley will be in the main event. Of this I have just about no doubt. The only thing that gives me doubt is that I am writing this for everyone to see and if I'm wrong then I will look like an idiot. Well maybe that will put me in my place. Onto the discussion.

First I want to touch on the one thing that keeps popping up when it comes to the 'retirement' of Mick Foley. Several Emails I received kept pointing to the fact that supposedly Mick is a man of his word or seems like such a man and would never break his word. None of us know Foley that well to be able to make such a statement. It is a testament to Foley that he is so incredibly over and in touch with his fans that they will believe just about anything the man has to say. This is to the point where everybody is buying the company line the Mick is retired because he would never break his word. Hello but WE ARE ALL BEING WORKED!!!!!

This is a work and a damn good one. Just think of when it started way back before Foley's book came out he was on TSN talking about retiring. Then he stepped back from those statements about retiring in the weeks following. Saying how he never wanted to play the retirement card. From then on that became the line when he talked about retiring. How he never wanted to come back from retirement establishing the fact that this is what he believed in.

Let us consider the fact the 'Retirement Card' was played. He put his career on the line for a shot at WrestleMania. He was even fired once before that and discussed his plans for retirement on Raw. I know I went over most of that last time, but please bear with me. His retirement story was now a story line in the WWF. This is a beautiful working of the public. Broadcasting what comes off as a very emotional shoot interview lends to the believability what Cactus has to say. Then we get the combining of the real facts of Mick's eminent retirement into a believable story line that has everyone buying what the WWF is spewing. Now that he is retired we all believe the retirement fact with a certain confidence because Foley has been saying this for many months now in an emotional fashion. None of us really seem to consider that Foley is still a wrestler and wrestlers, for better or for worse, work the people and the media. I also believe that this work was a necessary one. Look at all the attention Foley is receiving on the Internet. Everyone and their dysfunctional drunken incestual brother has a tribute column of some sort up on some website. His absence only makes the crowds grow fonder of him. Especially since Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are doing a good job of reminding everybody that Mick is still gone and he is still missed. If he was really retired and never going to wrestle again why would they say that he is still missed and keep mentioning that Triple H retired him? Plus all those Chef Boyardee commercials being run constantly on WWF programming aren't hurting the situation either.

Now comes the question how the hell do you get Cactus Jack back into the main event at WrestleMania? Well I've come up with four possible and plausible (except for the last one) scenarios considering the current state of the main story line. With Triple H and Big Show having formed a tenuous alliance with each other because of the McMahon siblings against the Rock. Currently the story line seems to be building up the tension between these three individuals. Then in the future this would how you could work Foley in.



Scenario One:
As stated before Triple H and the Big Show are tenuously aligned against the Rock. It becomes to much for the Rock. He takes to much punishment and snaps. So whom does the Rock turn to for help? At first Rakishi Fatu helps him out, then either Rakishi turns on the Rock or his help is getting the Rock no where. Then the Rock in utter frustration turns to his one friend within the WWF that he knows can get the job done. Cactus Jack, his tag team partner. Cactus comes out of retirement for the sole reason of helping the Rock get to WrestleMania. But while helping the Rock he manages to get in the main event also thus forming the first Four way match for the WWF title at WrestleMania.

Comments:
I know many of you aren't going to like that one. But lets just realize that the Big Show is going to be in the main event weather we like it or not, and so is Triple H. The Rock is also going to be in it. There is no way they leave him out unless they are building to a yearlong story line with the Rock culminating in next years WrestleMania.



Scenario Two:
This one involves the return of Shawn Michaels passing his helm of all-powerful commissioner to Foley. Because Foley now has the power he puts it all on the line for that one last match against Triple H. Attempting to realize his dream of winning the title at WrestleMania.

Comments:
This one is a little more far fetched but could be easily done. This way you get to transition Foley into his out of the ring role and he has the power to put himself back into the main event without anyone really being able to do anything about it. He does this to get back at Triple H for firing him.



Scenario Three:
The return of Vince McMahon to WWF television. He detests what has gone on between his two children while he was busy forming the XFL and is here to set things right. He immediately strips Big Show of his number one contender status because of Shane's interference in the match. But instead of reinstating the Rock as the number one contender he bestows the honor on Foley because Foley once promised Vince that he would bring home the WWF championship for him and he wants him to finally make good on that promise. Mick always a man of his word agrees and the main event is set.

Comments:
This is the scenario I like the best. It involves all the intertwined story lines involving Vince and Mick throughout the career of Foley into one neat and beautiful package at the end. He finally brings home the championship for Vince taking it away from his main rival Triple H.



Scenario Four:
O.K. This one is not the best but after the three hour production of WrestleMania there is going to be another hour of stuff. Why? Maybe it is going to be another weird surprise main event kind of thing like when Hogan inexplicably came out and won back the title from Yokozuna in an unadvertised main event after the advertised one. Look I think this is probably the worst thing they could do. Although if done right it could be one of the coolest things they could ever do. I just think this is something that the WWF would do. Pulling a surprise ending on WrestleMania and sending everyone home happy, they have to it is just the way the biggest show of the year has to end.

Gregg Mixdorf
freelance

Mail the Author

BLAH

Main

Design copyright (C) 1999, 2000 Christopher Robin Zimmerman & KZiM Communications
Guest column text copyright (C) 2000 by the individual author and used with permission