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Book It
3-18-02
Before I get started with this week's Book It, I want to apologize. Regular readers of this column will know that the last column that was published on the site was a part one of two involving a DX/ NOW feud. I typically write this column on Sunday night for publishing on Monday. I'd finished the second part of the column last Sunday but due to a computer error, I lost the file. So, pissed off about it, I decided that part two would have to wait. Someday when I have more time I promise to type up the second part. I still have my notes. For those of you that can't wait, I'll tell you it ends with Vince McMahon turning control of the WWF over to me and Stacy Keibler being my sex slave.
But enough fantasy booking, it's time to get back to what this column is really all about.
Each week in Book It we help the struggling WWF creative team with a few ideas on how to get talent that has been stuck in a rut over with the WWF fans.
What do Triple H, Undertaker and Mankind all have in common? Yes, the WWF world title, but that's not the only thing. Here's a hint: it's the same thing that The God Father, Gangrel and Bastion Booger all had. In fact, most wrestlers in the '80s and '90s had it, and even a few today. Heck, Even Gypsy Rose Lee had it. A gimmick.
Wrestlers can live or die by the gimmick. Triple H started out as the British snob Hunter Hearst Helmsley, yet he broke out of that persona in order to become a main eventer. Undertaker didn't need to get rid of his "dead man" gimmick in order to become a world champ, he just doesn't use it any more because it's passé. Glenn Jacobs didn't have any success as Christmas Creature, Doomsday, Uni-bomber, Isaac Yankem D.D.S. and Diesel 2. It wasn't until he became the monster known as Kane that he became a true WWF Superstar.
Some gimmicks will never succeed. Can fans really get behind such wrestlers as That 70s Guy Mike Awesome and Duke "The Dumpster" Drosse? I doubt it. But most of the time it's a wrestler's job to embrace the gimmick and show the fans that they are more than just a guy in a lame costume. Which brings me to this week's Book It subject…The Hurricane.
When light-heavy weight wrestler Shane "Gregory" Helms came to the WWF and started cutting promos about how his favorite superhero Green Lantern inspired him, fans thought it was unusual but nothing more. It wasn't until he donned his own cape and mask and changed his name to The Hurricane that things got interesting. Is he a real superhero or a wrestler that only thinks he has super powers? The writers aren't sure. He can't fly and isn't very strong, but there is an odd "woosh" sound every time he enters or exits a room. Is he a heel or is he a face? The writers aren't sure. The fans certainly cheer him, but he's also stolen babyface Spike's girlfriend Molly and twisted her mind so that she now acts as his sidekick.
In order to get The Hurricane back on track, he needs to embrace his gimmick. At the very heart of the gimmick, I see a guy who honestly believes he has super powers, yet actually has none. His mission in life is that of an ordinary superhero: to fight injustice wherever he sees it. So it's back to basics for the Hurricane. No Mighty Molly and no secret identity…yet. Instead he needs to start a feud. It needs to be one he can win so that we can establish some wrestling credibility and start getting his gimmick back in to the spotlight. Who better for the Hurricane to feud with than another wrestler with a lame gimmick, Goldust?
Hurricane comes out on Raw and says that he has seen a man in the WWF that is pure evil and it's up to The Hurricane to put an end to him. He calls out Goldust. Hurricane plays the face while Goldust plays the heel. The two have a match that ends up without a clear winner. Count out, DQ or your favorite screw job ending. It doesn't matter as long as the duo have a good solid five minute match in which neither man has a clear advantage over the other.
Hurricane and Goldust continue to build towards a pay per view feud. Hurricane can cut promos about Goldust being evil and Goldust can cut promos in that odd way that lets the audience know he wants to molest Hurricane without really saying it. They can interfere in each other's matches, scuffle back stage, etc… All those things you learn in Feud Booking 101. Eventually they lock up at a pay per view and Hurricane wins.
Now we've gotten Hurricane back in the spotlight, given him a pay per view win and can begin to really have fun with his character. On the following Raw, Hurricane goes to the ring and begins to gloat about how he crushed Goldust and put an end to his evil doings. Goldust enters at the top of the stage and says that Hurricane may have won the battle but he has yet to win the war. Goldust has something to show the Hurricane on the Titan Tron.
The GTV logo flashes and we see a black and white hand held camera outside of someone's house. The window is open and the GTV camera catches Molly Holly sitting on her couch talking on the phone. She is crying and it's clear that she's leaving a message on someone else's answering machine.
"Gregory, why won't you call me back? Are you mad about what happened at Wrestlemania? I'm sorry. Please call me back…I love you." She hangs up and continues to cry.
Hurricane isn't sure what to do so he attacks Goldust, who runs off. On the following Smackdown, Coach finds Molly wandering the backstage area looking for Hurricane. She is in street clothes, but is holding her Mighty Molly costume. Coach asks her about what we saw on Raw and Molly admits that it's true. She loves Hurricane but that he won't return her calls for some reason. At that moment, Hurricane in his "Clark Kent" disguise enters the scene. He tells Molly that Hurricane has requested that Molly stop calling him. Molly tells him to stop pretending and that he needs to talk to her as Gregory, not the Hurricane. He plays dumb and pretends that he doesn't know what she's talking about. Molly gets mad, slaps him and walks off.
Later in the show we see the GTV logo flash again and another hidden camera scene unfolds. In it Helms, now in Hurricane costume, and Molly are arguing. He tells her that she can't be his sidekick anymore. She tells him that she loves him. He says that her mind has been taken over by evil. She tells him to stop pretending that he's a superhero. He tells her that her evil words are making him mad. She yells that Helms is crazy and that he needs to get professional help. Hurricane grabs her by the hair and throws her to the ground. Bam. Heel turn.
This is followed up by more interviews with Molly about how she thought it was all just a game and that she really only played along because she had a crush on Helms. More GTV footage can show us how there is always someone just off camera when ever Hurricane cuts a promo and that their job is to make the "woosh" noise as he exits. All of this builds towards a rematch at the next pay per view between Goldust and Hurricane with Molly in Goldust's corner. Hurricane cheats to get a second win over Goldust but Molly gets revenge after the match by hitting Hurricane with a chair. While he's knocked out, she rips off his mask and spits on his face.
From this point forward, Hurricane plays the heel to the extreme. He no longer uses the secret identity gimmick because he believes his identity has been revealed to the general public. He doesn't say, "what's up wit dat" because heels don't have catch phrases. Instead he devotes himself to fighting evil. There is a twisted logic to the feuds he has next. He singles out wrestlers that he perceives as evil but are in fact experienced fan favorites. Coincidentally they all have comic book style names such as Edge, Kane, Rhyno, Raven, etc… Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses, but he is always the guy that thinks he's a good superhero but in fact is just another bad guy in a costume.
The "Hurricane" gimmick works best in one of two ways. Either it's played for comic relief, as it is now, or it's an evil ironic parody of the superhero genre. Currently the Hurricane is played for laughs, but comedy is hit and miss in the WWF as evident by Hurricane's lack of consistent television time.
Helms is still young and lacks real experience. It will be easier for him to play the heel at this point in his career. Put him in feuds with experienced wrestlers, other gimmicked wrestlers or wrestlers the "Hurricane" character would logically feud with. By building on his gimmick, giving it time and thought, there is no reason Helms and "The Hurricane" can't both enjoy long careers in the WWF.
