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PWINSIDER Q&A: BOOGEYMAN, MONEY IN THE BANK, CENA & BATISTA LEARNING NEW MOVES AND MORE

Answered on 12/28  

WWE has had a bit of trouble trying to get over Batista and John Cena over (to the level that they would like!) since they won the titles at WM21.  By that, I mean that Cena and Batista have not exactly inspired any boom periods since WM21.  Yes, Cena sells merchandise, but ratings for RAW and SD have been unimpressive so far.  If memory serves, the highest rated RAW last year was the 3 weeks that Edge was champion in January.  Either way, a case can be made that both men are not "totally" accepted by the fan base.  For various reasons like;

1) Cena's inability to appeal to the 18-35 demographic, WWE's main audience! 
2) Batista's inability to WRESTLE. 
3) Batista's lack of understanding of ring psychology. 
4) Cena's mild promos centering around lame sex humour (not so much lately, but mainly throughout 2005 and midway thru 2006) 
5) THIS is the important one; Both men's unevolved MOVE-SETS. 

So now to my question, which focuses on the last one.  To me, it seems like the improved move-sets are the EASIEST of these problems to fix, especially with the crew of agents in WWE.  Sorry, producers.  When you look at it, both guys are are not exactly Bryan Danielson or Kurt Angle in the ring.  John Cena has officially added one move to his list this year, the STFU.  Dave Batista has 3 moves in his whole move-list, a powerbomb and two spinebusters.  Why don't guys like Dean Malenko go up to these two and say "Hey John, Dave, tonight, lets throw an inverted suplex or a Falcon Arrow in their just to pop the rest of the fans who are actually watching for wrestling".  Why doesn't Steamboat go up and say "John, try a middle-rope springboard cross body block".  Why can't these guys get some more moves is what I'm saying.  What do you think?

I couldn't agree with you more.  While I feel Cena has improved in terms of working with the crowd and showing a lot more fire in the ring, he definitely could add a few new moves to his repertoire.  In a lot of ways, I think Cena is becoming a bit of a "Rock Jr." in that he has the charisma and the fire, but not the moves.  The difference, of course, is that Rock may have had the most charisma of any wrestler in the industry, so he could get away with only a few moves.  Batista reminds me of Hulk Hogan, in that he is a three-move wonder.  However, once again, Batista doesn't have the charisma and intensity that Hogan had during his prime.  In fact, Batista doesn't have the charisma that Hogan's pets have on his reality show.  I think both men could benefit from learning a new move or two, and if I had to place a bet, I would think that we'll see Cena work on something before Batista will. 

How did the Big Bossman pass away?

Ray Traylor, who wrestled as Big Bubba Rogers, the Big Bossman, The Guardian Angel, and The Boss, as well as under his real name, passed away on September 22, 2004 from a heart attack at the age of 42.  

What happened to the Boogeyman's teeth?

From what I understand, the teeth were knocked out while he was training in OVW, during a practice match.  He decided that the missing teeth added to the "Boogeyman" look (and the Boogeyman in OVW did look a little different than the WWE version) so he hasn't had replacements put in. 

Do you think we will see another "Money In The Bank" match at Wrestlemania this year?

I have heard of no plans for another "Money In The Bank" match at Wrestlemania this year yet, but I fully expect there to be one.  Personally, I like the concept, since I have always preferred that wrestlers "earn" a title match, rather than just having it handed to them.  Plus, it gives several wrestlers a spot on the Mania card, and sets up a future title match.  Both Edge and Rob Van Dam's wins later resulted in title changes, so they can even play up how big an advantage it is for a challenger to have the "Money In The Bank" win. 

Was any duo in all three Crockett Cup tournaments?  I think the Road Warriors were the only one. 

You are correct, only the Road Warriors competed in all three Crockett Cup tournaments as that unit.  There were other wrestlers (Tully Blanchard, Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson) who were in all the tournaments with different partners, but Hawk & Animal were the only duo to wrestle in all three tournaments as that team.

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