Retirement Rumble 2012: The Flop

It seems like not matter how much things change, they constantly remain the same.  Take for example the push of young talent to title positions within the WWE right now - CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Beth Phoenix, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Epico and Primo.

Who would have though 5 years ago that two Ring of Honor alumnus would be sitting atop the WWE as their World champions?

This all sounds like progress, right?  A wrestler doesn't have to be based on their size so much as what they can provide to the company as a character, a performer, and as a worker.

Then Sheamus went and won the 2012 Royal Rumble match.  A guy who is liked because of his looks alone, despite the fact that his looks work sharply against him because of his lack of pigmentation.

There are a number of things working against Sheamus, such as his lack of character and his weak charisma instantly spring to mind.  He lacked the intimidation factor to carry himself over as a heel, but as a face he is somehow gaining steam with the crowds for reasons that are unknown to me.

What also hurts Sheamus, at least in my mind, is the fact that he's a Triple H guy and is notably being pushed because of his ties to the new COO of the WWE.  Instead of naturally getting over with the crowd because he has been honing his craft as an athlete and as a performer he's being pushed, continuously since his debut, as a result of his friendship with a man that has the power and pull to ensure a spot for him on the card.

Some would argue that's not true because Drew McIntyre is also a Triple H guy but is currently struggling to get time on events and is locked in a storyline that has him being defeated by just about everyone and their grandmothers.  What's missing from that equation is the fact that these two aren't the only examples of Triple H's influence aiding their spots, because Dave Batista and Randy Orton also showcase just how much pull he has.

So why do I have a problem with Sheamus?  Aside from his weak look and weak character, I take great offense to him being shoved down my throat simply because he is a crony of Triple H's.

This demonstrates the same lesson we've learned before back in 2004 - that it's not about how hard you work but rather who you know that gets you ahead in life.  That goes against everything we're taught growing up.

Remember when you were told, "if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything you put your mind to?" This goes right in the face of that and reminds us that this world is cruel, unfair, and unjust - that only with the right connections can you truly achieve your goals.

At the moment, it's likely that Sheamus will be facing off with Daniel Bryan for the championship at Wrestlemania XXVIII - what sickens me about is here is a prime example of going in the face of hard work.

Daniel is a hard working performer who has struggled and conquered the biggest hurdle of his career to even receive a contract with the WWE - his looks.  He's too small, standing in at 5'10", a far cry from the Hulk Hogan's and Randy Orton's the WWE is so used to pushing as their stars.

He lacks quite a bit of personality, as well.  Coming off as stiff in his delivery and dry in his presence, it's hard to imagine fans getting behind him when it's time for him to speak.

Sounding familiar?  It should, because these are all the same qualities that best described the late Chris Benoit.  Both were respected because of their dedication to their craft as athletes more so than their character.

What's also disturbing to me is how both men's title reigns are just as comparable as Benoit was never given much room to grow as a main eventer, constantly stuck in a feud with Shawn Michaels and Triple H throughout most of his reign - thus far Bryan is also stuck having to face off with The Big Show and an injured Mark Henry.

This isn't to say I think Daniel should be off and about defending his title against everyone, but if his only notable feuds surrounding his title are going to be rematches against the former champions then there's not really room to see him grow in the main event.  This was problematic for Benoit, as well, as he was never placed near the WWE or World Heavyweight titles since dropping to Randy Orton.

Personally, I'm not willing to buy a pay-per-view that features one of Triple H's friend again in a position to take a title from a person who has been working against the industry and its standards to get to where they are.

Things aren't really changing if we're falling back into the same pattern we've already lived out not even a decade ago.

All that's missing for this full circle is CM Punk having a feud with a long time tag team champion mid-carder that is suddenly flung into the stardom of the main event scene.  Thankfully there hasn't been much of a tag team division for the past five years to raise this concern. Read More!

How You Can Help Grow the SAINTofSINS Channel

The YouTube gaming scene is notable for being a nice way for people to try and earn money for various reasons through their gameplay, commentary, or variety of original content.  For some this is a nice incentive to continue sharing in their favorite hobby of gaming, for others its the driving reason behind their every contribution to your subscription inbox.

One way a person can truly stand out in this heavily competed market of entertainment is a varied selection of content, typically being a wide selection of game play footage.

My goal for providing you with a wide range of content is to do more than just record a wide variety of game play footage, but rather to create original content.  Such original content in mind would be a year long baseball podcast featuring my close friend, Big Guy.

Other ideas to provide for your viewing pleasure would be digital art projects ranging from speed art to tutorials.

But focusing solely upon games for the sake of this article, the way you can help grow my content isn't by PayPal donations.  Quite the contrary, money donated directly to me via PayPal are looked upon as funds for future video projects - namely buying royalty free music, stock footage, stock photos, etc.  These donations are your way of encouraging video projects such as music videos and video packages that benefit you directly rather than supplying me with a means to buy the latest game releases.  So for every dollar you donate you help the channel's library of resources to be more creative than your standard gaming director's content.

Instead, to help aide me in obtaining new games you can donate nothing more than a little bit of your time.

For me, your time is a better donation contribution to my cause of obtaining new video games for your viewing benefit thanks in large part to websites such as SwagBucks, iRazoo, Lockerz, and Bing Rewards Program.  Simply signing up under my referral links for the following digital currency websites helps me out almost as much as a donation to any other YouTube director would.

The beauty of this suggestion for help is it can also help you out.  Referrals are considered a really good and quick way to accumulate points for earning items such as Amazon gift cards.  Every time you earn points for searches, your referral gets an equal amount of points based upon the site's rules.

By simply following the directions below you can help me out for every successful search result you are rewarded with points.

Click the link on your left hand side and follow the registration instructions.  After registering with the site, perform two searches every twelve hours.  For each successful search you are rewarded 10 or more points you help me gain an equal amount for my own account.

Click the link on your left hand side and follow the registration instructions.  After registering with the site, perform as many searches as you wish during the day.  You can earn points for searches every hour, but you are almost guaranteed points for searches every two hours.  For each successful search you are rewarded any amount of points I earn an equal amount for my own account.

Click on the link on your left hand side and follow the registration instructions.  After registering with the site, you do not have to do anything more as I will have received points for your registration.  However, you can earn points for searches and redeem them for Microsoft Points.

Beyond all of this, simply watching my videos, reading my blogs, and clicking on the advertisements helps me out just as much.  It costs almost nothing of you but a little bit of time and you don't have to do anything that would compromise your personal information.

I only ask of you to do this if you enjoy what you see on my channel and feel up to helping me grow.  If I'm not doing a good enough job of entertaining you then obviously I shouldn't ask of you to waste more of your time for me.

So if you enjoy what kind of content I put out and want to see more of the same, or want to see new things then jump on board and help out.  Every minute helps.

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