On February 2, the man of many faces wrestled the last match of his career… or so we thought.
It was a failing effort.
And then a couple weeks later, it was announced that what was supposed to be a triple threat match for the title would now be a four-corners elimination match between champion HHH, Big Show, Rock, and the returning Mick Foley
Yep, that’s right. Mrs. Foley’s baby boy was coming out of his barely month long retirement and is finally getting his Wrestlemania main event… and I honestly could not care less.
Don’t misunderstand me; I tip my hat off to the Foley; he was one of the craziest – maybe even wreckless – wrestlers that I’ve seen in my short time following this show. The risks he takes to give audiences a good show and the costs he pays to maintain that level of believability and commitment is something that I don’t believe anyone would go far to take. What he brings to the table is something that can’t be contained with a sock puppet. And when he won his first World title, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that he deserved… no, scratch that. He earned the right to be on top of the mountain, even for the briefest periods.
Whether it’d be the sadistic hardcore legend or the funny man with the sock, whether it’d be laying it all on the canvas or in the written word, I tip my hat to Foley and all he has given.
But with that out of the way, was I really looking forward to his coming out of retirement to do this one Wrestlemania main event?
His last two matches were where he had awesome main event battles with champion HHH, both of which he had lost. His last PPV match, taking place weeks ago within the Hell In A Cell, was perhaps the best note he could end a career on. His last chance, his final bow, his going down fighting and in a blaze of glory. All capped with a standing ovation from an audience who not only admired this man, but respected him for his accomplishments and his sacrifices.
Is it really worth killing that moment for a one-off Wrestlemania main event for Foley? A main event that he will no doubt lose yet again?
The more I think about it, the more it makes my head hurt… because at some point, it dawned on me that this match isn’t about the four guys in the ring. It’s about the people outside. It’s about the stupid McMahon.
What was that tagline again? “A McMahon In Every Corner?”
Why would I care about that? Why can’t I just have a regular one-on-one match between Rock and HHH for the title and be done with it? Why do we need Big Show in there? Why do we need Foley in there? What’s the point of all this?
So here we are. A few days away from 2000 and a four-way that I should be excited about, but not really. All of a sudden, this feels like it’s going to suck hard. And that’s not a good feeling.
dtm666 