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| Guest Columns | Pitbull 3 |
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WHO IS HHH? It occurred to me the other day that I was not quite sure what HHH's character was supposed to be and how it fit with the current storyline. On top of that, I could not see how it would fit into my preconceived ideas regarding the outcome of Summerslam's main event, namely that Austin walks out with the title. To even further complicate things, I am not sure how it would fit into the other choice that most on the net seem to like, namely HHH walking out with the title. The added wildcards that are Chyna's loyalties and Mankind have given me some leeway as to making the pieces fall into place. To start out, let's look at the evolution of HHH since his heel turn at WM 15. Having joined the Corporation, he seemed to be the new number one guy after the failure (and face pops) of The Rock to defeat Austin. I was there live, and I must admit that I marked out like crazy for the (face) reunification of Chyna and HHH. And later on, I marked out big time for their turn against X-Pac, making the double-turn brilliantly complete. He got great heel heat against D-X, and rightly so. Soon after, HHH had a few matches against X-Pac and Road Dogg. On the Smackdown pilot episode, Shane pulled together the Corporate Ministry. With that, he seemed to push HHH into the roll of "Second Man," behind Taker. This, of course, caused some friction, but HHH moved on to a mini-feud with Rocky. By Fully Loaded, HHH had been primed for a shot at SummerSlam and earned that shot with his win over Rocky. It was around this time that HHH started his "My Time" gimmick. For lack of a better term, it seems to me that HHH had become some sort of martyred person. He was held back due to his friendships and the celebration of that friendship upon the exit of Hall and Nash from the WWF. He was punished and buried as a result. Since then, he has kicked and clawed his way to the top with no one there to help him and everyone against him. I am not quite sure what to make of the punishment portions of his character, but his rise to the top seems to be a heel-ish twist on the classic "comeback kid" character. It is reminiscent of HBK's rise to the title at WM 12 after enduring those career-threatening kicks from Owen. Shawn, the babyface, was pushed as this hard working, dedicated guy whose life dream is to be champ. He beat whoever got in his way on sheer will alone (tm Arn Anderson), and did not care how small he was. All along, we were supposed to get the feeling that it was, in fact, HBK's time to reign as champ. We did, and he did. And that was a special moment because it was the fulfillment of all his hard work. With HHH, it seems a bit different. HHH wants us to believe that it is his time. He has worked very hard to get where he is, and deserves this shot. The difference is that HHH is a heel and has flagrantly cheated to not only get to where he is, but to get the shot in the first place. It does not feel the same to me because I do not identify with HHH's stories of dedication as I did with HBK's. I do not like HHH's character partly because he is a heel and does heel-ish things. Chyna pinning HHH last week shook things up in this matter as well. It adds another layer to HHH's "held back" aspect of his character. When/If he overcomes this (yet another) setback in his quest, is this just another piece of proof at how tough and deserving HHH is of the title? Some would say that this is just another obstacle that he will overcome on his way to the top. I say that that is fine, but as a heel, do I really want him to get to the top over the most over man in wrestling history? As a fan of wrestling, I love Austin and enjoy seeing him with the title. I hate HHH for being such a bad guy, and I don't care how many obstacles he has to get over, as long as Austin beats him up and stuns him for the pin, I will be happy. Now I realize that this sounds very mark-ish, but so what? Isn't that the best way to be a fan? Isn't that why everyone had so much fun with Jericho's entrance? Isn't that what we all were once and look back at fondly? Mark rant aside, let's assume that Austin does walk away with the title. If he pins Mankind, then HHH's current character is unchanged. He is left with yet another plank in his "screwed" platform. All this would do is serve as a holding pattern for HHH. If HHH is pinned and Austin retains, then where does that leave HHH? His feud isn't so much with Austin, as it is with overcoming everything to win the world title. His goal isn't revenge on Austin, it is securing the title. So, after all that hype, he falls short. What then? Does he simply get up, dust himself off and make another go at it? Theoretically, he would drop down the ladder a bit and be forced to work his way up again. The problem is that most do not want to see him get more shots. He is someone we do not like and he had his chance. He got beat by Austin, and that is that. Much like the Andre's, Earthquake's, Bundy's, etc of the 80's. When the heel lost, that was it for their chances. Maybe they could secure a return match, but aside from that, nothing. This seems like a dead end for the HHH "My Time" character. Just to get it out of the way, let's assume Mankind wins the title. If he beats Austin, then HHH's character is unchanged. The object of his attention shifts from Austin to Mankind, but he is, again, in a holding pattern. If Mankind goes over HHH to take the title, then I think, more than before, he is buried in his defeat and has an even bigger hole to climb out of. If HHH wins, then he has an obvious feud with Austin waiting as Austin will demand to get the belt back. But what of HHH's character? If he wins, it will be the fulfillment of his work. The problem is that no one will care. There will be no lauds of praise or gushing of emotion. There will be no screams of joy or breaths of relief at his last ditch effort putting him over the top. People enjoyed HBK's title win over Hart because of the love for the character. They wanted to see him defend and keep the title after that. With HHH, it seems that there would be a sense of apathy there. He is a character that wants and even needs others to accept that he will take the title based on his strengths. He needs that acceptance to have closure to his character. The problem, again, is that everyone wants to see him fail because of his status as a heel. HHH is a character who, if he was a face, would have no other option but to win the title at SummerSlam. He is receiving a push tailor-made for babyfaces. The content of his character directly opposes that sort of push. Is HHH destined to win the title? Is he some sort of underdog just fighting his way up the ladder to his destiny? Or is he just a punk heel who cheats to win, doesn't deserve a damn thing, and has an overinflated ego that I can't wait to see deflated when Austin stuns him? Even if he does pin Mankind to take the title, has he fulfilled his destiny in gaining the richest prize in the game (tm JR); or is he just a paper champion with a belt he didn't really earn by downing Austin? I know what I want to see. HHH may be the better, smarter, faster wrestler. But ask anyone out there, and they will tell you that Austin is the better man. As is the case with the WWF, the better man is the one the fans cheer and the one the fans WANT to have the title. And the WWF gives the fans what they want (usually). Pitbull 3 freelance Mail the Author |
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