Was the Assassination of Dusty Rhodes by the Coward Stephanie McMahon (using Big Show as a proxy) done on the same night that the second half of his namesake finish was carried out done by design, or was it serendipity? The way the web has been woven towards a potential War Games match, or at the very least a traditional Survivor Series bout makes me think the former was the case for the show tonight. Tommy Young was split into Scott Armstrong and Triple H. Rhodes himself shrunk and turned into the bearded dynamo. Ric Flair was Randy Orton, and I feel so dirty making that comparison.
As his construct was used to cruelly rip a dream from the one man on the roster who cherishes the WWE Championship more than life itself, Rhodes himself would lay his flesh on the line. Some might say he was only a pawn in continuing Show's story of the conflicted company man trying to avoid skid row. Some might say he was there as a symbolic nod towards son Cody's absence. I say he was there to do what Big Dust has always done best.
Rhodes has been one of the greatest babyfaces in wrestling history because he can rally a crowd behind him with fire and passion, but also because he's always been willing to get the tar beaten out of him. Each individual scar on his forehead marks an instance where he was willing to bleed to squeeze every last bit of pathos out of every fan sitting on the edge of his or her seat, whether at the Omni or at some high school in Bumblescum, Tennessee. He chews scenery like no one else. Did you think Hard Times was starting a feud or gleaning resolution? No, that promo was meant to work a crowd into a frothing, seething frenzy. Exposition is not the enemy, and any observer of Big Dust in his career knows that.
Rhodes did not appear to bring either Cody or Dustin back tonight. He didn't come on the show to start something of his own; he has a full-time job minding the kiddies down at Full Sail. He came back to chew scenery, to joust with Stephanie McMahon, to slump into Big Show's waiting arms after he refused to make the pro graps equivalent of Sophie's Choice, to act as a symbol for the Mordorian wasteland Triple H had made WWE in the last month under the guise of what was "best for bidnass" as Dust would say.
Then again, maybe the Bull of the Woods was meant to be a signpost, a rallying cry if you will. Or maybe that was Mike Mizanin, getting brained, Pillman-style, as his parents looked on in disgust. Or maybe Bryan being stripped of the title after clearly being set up by Scott Armstrong, be it in collusion with Triple H (remember, whenever an authority figure says he's "going to take care of you" insistingly, he or she is not sending you away for good) or out of instinct to save his own ass, was the roster's "enough is enough" moment. Either way, the cavalry came out at the end of the show, eradicating the stigma of the Dusty finish that kicked it off.
Rhodes leaned on his signature finish and other screwjob finishes not unlike it too hard, and he helped create an environment that fostered the attitude of strong baddies and eternally frustrated heroes. Rhodes may have never had the book during the nWo days, but the fact that WCW didn't show much of a fight against the rogue group until six months after their formation, in an era with weekly TV no less, was a direct descendent of the idea that Ric Flair should always have the belt and the fans should always have their payoff wait another month. Months turn into years. Years turn into epochs.
Whether WWE will follow up on all this with Bryan triumphing for real over the tyranny of business is still a mystery. However, one month to a watershed moment, to a roster realizing that they, the sheep, outnumber the wolves in a big way, is an improvement over half a year. Now the war begins in earnest. Now, sides have appeared that are more than just overbearing corporatist scum using every trick in the book to keep the rank and file down. A fair fight has appeared.
Even if that scenario has come about as a result of tearing down everything Rhodes represented, both philosophically and in the flesh, the show tonight belonged to Big Dust more than anyone else, a testament to his presence with how dynamic Bryan, Orton, Show, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Paul Heyman, and even the Miz were. No matter what though, no one can deny that Big Dust chews scenery like no other. I'll be happy if they roll him out three or four times a year to do just that.
As his construct was used to cruelly rip a dream from the one man on the roster who cherishes the WWE Championship more than life itself, Rhodes himself would lay his flesh on the line. Some might say he was only a pawn in continuing Show's story of the conflicted company man trying to avoid skid row. Some might say he was there as a symbolic nod towards son Cody's absence. I say he was there to do what Big Dust has always done best.
Rhodes has been one of the greatest babyfaces in wrestling history because he can rally a crowd behind him with fire and passion, but also because he's always been willing to get the tar beaten out of him. Each individual scar on his forehead marks an instance where he was willing to bleed to squeeze every last bit of pathos out of every fan sitting on the edge of his or her seat, whether at the Omni or at some high school in Bumblescum, Tennessee. He chews scenery like no one else. Did you think Hard Times was starting a feud or gleaning resolution? No, that promo was meant to work a crowd into a frothing, seething frenzy. Exposition is not the enemy, and any observer of Big Dust in his career knows that.
Rhodes did not appear to bring either Cody or Dustin back tonight. He didn't come on the show to start something of his own; he has a full-time job minding the kiddies down at Full Sail. He came back to chew scenery, to joust with Stephanie McMahon, to slump into Big Show's waiting arms after he refused to make the pro graps equivalent of Sophie's Choice, to act as a symbol for the Mordorian wasteland Triple H had made WWE in the last month under the guise of what was "best for bidnass" as Dust would say.
Then again, maybe the Bull of the Woods was meant to be a signpost, a rallying cry if you will. Or maybe that was Mike Mizanin, getting brained, Pillman-style, as his parents looked on in disgust. Or maybe Bryan being stripped of the title after clearly being set up by Scott Armstrong, be it in collusion with Triple H (remember, whenever an authority figure says he's "going to take care of you" insistingly, he or she is not sending you away for good) or out of instinct to save his own ass, was the roster's "enough is enough" moment. Either way, the cavalry came out at the end of the show, eradicating the stigma of the Dusty finish that kicked it off.
Rhodes leaned on his signature finish and other screwjob finishes not unlike it too hard, and he helped create an environment that fostered the attitude of strong baddies and eternally frustrated heroes. Rhodes may have never had the book during the nWo days, but the fact that WCW didn't show much of a fight against the rogue group until six months after their formation, in an era with weekly TV no less, was a direct descendent of the idea that Ric Flair should always have the belt and the fans should always have their payoff wait another month. Months turn into years. Years turn into epochs.
Whether WWE will follow up on all this with Bryan triumphing for real over the tyranny of business is still a mystery. However, one month to a watershed moment, to a roster realizing that they, the sheep, outnumber the wolves in a big way, is an improvement over half a year. Now the war begins in earnest. Now, sides have appeared that are more than just overbearing corporatist scum using every trick in the book to keep the rank and file down. A fair fight has appeared.
Even if that scenario has come about as a result of tearing down everything Rhodes represented, both philosophically and in the flesh, the show tonight belonged to Big Dust more than anyone else, a testament to his presence with how dynamic Bryan, Orton, Show, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, Paul Heyman, and even the Miz were. No matter what though, no one can deny that Big Dust chews scenery like no other. I'll be happy if they roll him out three or four times a year to do just that.