The Final Cut – 2004 Predictions

Hello and welcome to another edition of The Final Cut. I know that every column writer has covered a prediction of 2004 in some capacity and this hack is no different. But rather than offer you a prediction list of wrestlers to look out for during this coming year, I have gone down another avenue.

Chris Benoit

Poor old Chris must have ran over a leprechaun or two in the last year or so. I have never seen a man with so much obvious professional wrestling talent buried so badly amongst the mid-card blurb.

I believe that this is going to be Chris Benoit’s year. Handing him a United States title run may boost the championship but it will be a complete waste of his talent.

There really should be no doubt that Chris Benoit will become a world champion before the end of 2004 is out, the main debate will be whether he will have a Raw world championship title run or whether it will be the Smackdown world championship for the Rabid Wolverine?

Scott Steiner

If Chris Benoit ran over a leprechaun or two then Scott Steiner must have saved a dozen or two, brought five rabbit’s feet and carry a whole bag full of horse shoes around with him!

When Steiner was brought into the World Wrestling Entertainment it was done so with huge fanfare, for weeks they built him up with very impressive vignettes and what not. Once he had arrived and we realised he was in fact rubbish, he was still pushed and given a total of two world title shots.

This is a guy who was in his prime was about five years ago. And although he has been relegated to the mid-card platform I still believe that he is being pushed too high up the card when there are people who should be pushed instead of Steiner. Yes I am talking about the Chris Benoit’s, the Maven’s, the Paul London’s, the entire cruiserweight division etc.

When wrestling fans consider Scott Steiner’s biggest contribution to World Wrestling Entertainment being when he slipped off the apron whilst attempting to punch Test, then he really should pack up and go home.

I really can not see World Wrestling Entertainment paying this guy for much longer and we could see him out on his ear by Summer Slam, never mind the end of the year!

Test

Every single year every single column writer and journalistic hack predicts that this year will be the year that Test makes his big breakout move. This is never going to happen as far as I can see. His best gimmick was pairing him up with Lance Storm and Christian with the Un-Americans.

Planting Scott Steiner by his side will not help him or Stacy Kiebler. Scott Steiner is the weed to Test’s stifling flower (I love that saying!) and in order for Test to make any kind of progress he needs to branch out on his own instead of relying on other people to help him get over.

I do not think that Test is in and danger of being released by World Wrestling Entertainment, he does have a lot of talent, he just needs to channel it correctly. Expect Test to do the same old motions as last year, and the year before.

The Women’s Division

Last week I wrote what many would call a venomous piece about the state of the women’s division. Well exactly four hours after I wrote that piece I sat down to watch Raw (which is shown here on a Friday) and I saw one of the most enjoyable female matches that I have seen in a long time.

Trish even did what I was moaning about, she added some nice looking moves to her bland arsenal, which shocked me.

As I said in my last editorial offering there is a simple way to gain interest in the women’s division is to simply give us what the majority of wrestling fans want to see – good matches and story-lines.

If the women’s division is pushed correctly and is given enough airtime then I see no reason why the division can not progress to a much higher level.

But if the World Wrestling Entertainment continue in their old habits of pushing the female division as they have been then it will end up an even bigger joke than it already is.

Cruiserweight Division

The cruiserweight division has, for the past year or so, been relegated to minor shows that are only watched by the hardcore wrestling fan element. World Wrestling Entertainment still believe that professional wrestling is for the big man around the house.

But it does look like the tide is finally turning for the little men. Rey Mysterio and Tajiri have sparked interest in the cruiserweight division with their fast paced matches and Paul London and Spanky have helped the cause with their great matches on Velocity.

I think the success of the cruiserweight division this year will follow a path not all that different from the women’s division. If World Wrestling Entertainment decide to listen to what the fans want then this could be a huge year for the division, but if the World Wrestling Entertainment think otherwise then I can see a mass evacuation of the division by the end of the year.

WWE’s Fortune

The year 2003 was a rather baron spell for the World Wrestling Entertainment. They saw countless big names arrive and then promptly fall flat on their faces. (or in Steiner case off the apron and onto his ass!) And they saw a major chunk of their wrestling fanbase walk away from them.

But just as the curtain was falling on the year 2003 it looked like World Wrestling Entertainment has started to turn that corner that looked so far away six months ago.

Attendance’s for house shows have started to rise once again, the ratings for the main shows are increasing and it seems that the fans that were so ready to walk out on World Wrestling Entertainment forever are starting to skulk back in with their hands in their trouser pockets.

So, what do I predict will happen to World Wrestling Entertainment this coming year? I think they will carry on as they have been doing since November and then suddenly they will accidentally come across a great angle that will spark the interest in them again.

Randy Orton will be at the centre of this spark of interest that is for sure.

Well that is all for this week.

Until next time.