Venting:

Well, the resentment has been building underneath my usually placid facade for some time now, and I might be working toward a heel turn again.

Actually, I'll get to the blind rage and the traditional spewing of venom in a minute. First, I need to launch into somw glowing praise that will sound suspiciously like blowing a little thing all out of proportion.

That kiss last night between Matt Hardy and Lita was remarkable for a lot of reaons. For one thing, it broke new ground. I don't ever remember seeing anything like it before. The closest thing I can think of would date back to Macho Man and Liz, but nothing they ever did was close to this. It was so well done on so many different levels, I almost don't know where to begin. Almost.

Let's start with the character development and storytelling. The problem that the Hardys and Lita present to the creative team is that they are over with the fans based on their look and tremendous in-ring abilities, yet are still so green that they represent a bit of liability on the microphone. They are getting better, but are still experiencing growing pains and can definitely kill their own heat a little whenever they open their mouths. What the WWF did last night was elevate Matt Hardy and Lita, with a really emotional moment, by having them open their mouths without any sound coming out. Amazing.

Not only that, but the moment played perfectly into Lita's fan base of idolizing girls, and maybe for the first time ever in a wrestling show (or at least since the Stephanie love traingle, which was never this sexy), really have them an angle designed specifically to please them. And did you hear the screams from the girls in that crowd? I think they liked it. Lita was hugely popular before, but the way went straight from her girl-power feuled fight with Dean Malenko (who helped a lot here by making her look really good in the match), to having Matt complicate their friendship with an overzealous victory celebration, to Lita finally taking control of the situation, chasing him up the ramp and kissing him back... this is what I'm talking about in all those columns when I said the WWF was revolutionizing the business with the way they treat their female performers. All the power was coming from Lita so that she reacted to, and then drove the angle. This is a little of what I mean when I keep saying that wrestling is only scratching the surface in what it can do and what it can look like.

It seems like a little thing I know, but it's not.

As for the performers, working without mics, Matt and Lita were both terrific in this angle. You knew exactly what was going on in the minds and hearts of their characters that whole time, and that made the payoff moment something special. Lita is now an even bigger star because of that angle. But I'm more intrigued with what they are doing with Matt.

For a long time, it's been a foregone conclusion that Jeff Hardy is destined for huge stardom if he wants it. Matt was always mentioned as more or less of an afterthought. But, for the last several weeks, Matt Hardy has been receiving a pretty good solo push, both in singles matches, and especially from this storyline with Lita. Having Matt Hardy actually get over as a babyface, and maybe even more ovef than his brother, would be a tremendous set up for a Jeff Hardy heel turn. Having Matt seem bigger BEFORE his jealous brother super-kicks him through the window, might just create two new singles stars instead of one.

Wrestleline.com, February 20, 2001