The storyline featured in last week’s article about Strategy #3, Borrowing the Sword to Kill the Man, came to a conclusion this past Monday on RAW. Triple H is out. Laurinaitis is in, albeit on an interim basis. Laurinaitis’ use of this strategy succeeded, and he was named by the Board of Directors to manage RAW. Staying in this position may require more machinations by Laurinaitis, as Triple H will likely not walk away quietly.

This week, we’ll be talking about another classic strategy that was recently used and is commonly used in certain situations.

STRATEGY #5
CHEN HUO DA JIE – Loot a Burning House

In ancient Chinese military terms as explained by Sun Tzu, Looting a burning house refers to physically defeating an enemy that is already weak, exhausted, and/or depleted. In terms of political espionage or taking over a neighboring city-state, it was always easier to succeed against cities that were dealing with internal conflicts, natural disasters, disease, and social problems.

Successful WWE Superstars often use this strategy, either to deliver a gratuitous beat-down or to gain glory off of a diminished opponent.

Recently, Hell in a Cell was the scene of such a gratuitous beat-down. After Alberto Del Rio won the WWE Championship in the Triple Threat match, the Hell in a Cell cage was raised off the floor enough for an angry and locked-out Cena to reenter the ring. At the same time, the Miz and R-Truth entered the ring, wearing hoods. The cage was then lowered behind them. The Awesome Truth then administered a severe beating to anyone on whom they could get their hands. They attacked CM Punk, new Champ Del Rio, Cena, the referee, and the cameramen, administering power-moves and finishing holds. While melee was going on inside the ring, melee was also going on outside the ring, as Triple H was at ringside frantically trying to get the re-opened, with a good portion of the WWE locker room also at ringside. Eventually, the cage was opened and the two heels were dragged out, but the damage had been done, and carnage remained in the ring. The following day, the Miz and R-Truth issued an apology to the WWE Universe, claiming that they did what they did because they’re just trying to get their jobs back. Regardless of whether their actions had anything to do with that goal or not, they succeeded in looting a burning house at Hell in a Cell.

The most effective uses of this strategy have been seen when wrestlers cash-in their Money-in-the-Bank briefcases and win either the WWE Championship or the World Championship, and RVD remains the only WWE superstar to cash-in his briefcase without using this strategy. Edge pioneered the use of this strategy and became known as “the ultimate opportunist” because of the way he “looted burning houses.” Edge, the first Money in the Bank winner at Wrestlemania XXI in 2005, was told that he could cash in the briefcase for a title match of his choice at any point prior to the following Wrestlemania. Everyone was thinking that a match would be set up in advance at a pay-per-view of his choosing, but what Edge did was absolutely brilliant. Edge interpreted things more loosely, and a title match whenever he wanted meant exactly that—whenever he wanted. Immediately following WWE Champion John Cena’s Elimination Chamber victory in a brutal match in January 2006, Edge appeared at the entrance ramp, with briefcase in hand and referee by his side. Edge proceeded to mop-up an already-weakened John Cena and pin him to earn his first WWE Championship. On Smackdown in May, 2007, Edge cashed-in the Money in the Bank briefcase that he earned by defeating Mr. Kennedy on RAW the previous night by pinning a severely weakened Undertaker. The Undertaker had just battled Batista to a draw in a steel cage, and Mark Henry added a post-match beat-down to further weaken the Deadman. Edge then strolled in, speared the Undertaker, and walked off Smackdown as the new World Heavyweight Champion. These two major title reigns solidified Edge as a dominant main-eventer in the WWE and solidified his reputation as a man who had no rival, when it came to maximizing opportunities.

One of the most famous instances of looting a burning house took place when CM Punk cashed-in his Money in the Bank briefcase at Extreme Rules in June 2009. It was famous because one babyface cashed in against another babyface, and this led to a heel turn for Punk. Punk, who had looted a burning house against Edge to win the World Championship in 2008, was hoping to cash-in against Edge in 2009. However, two attempts to cash-in were disrupted by Umaga. At Extreme Rules, Edge defended the World Championship against Matt Hardy in a ladder match. Matt Hardy won this grueling event, struggled to get to his feet after winning…and then CM Punk appeared and handed his briefcase to the referee. Punk delivered two GTS finishes and won the World Heavyweight Championship. In the aftermath, the WWE Universe had wanted Hardy as the WWE Champion, and Punk was made to feel as if he should not have cashed-in his briefcase against Hardy. Punk tried to justify his actions, claiming that no one would have had a problem if he had cashed in against Edge; so people were being hypocritical. Ultimately, Punk granted Hardy a rematch on the condition that Hardy had to leave the WWE if he lost. Hardy did lose, and he then left the WWE. Punk was solidified as a heel, was solidified as a main event talent in the WWE, and the Straight-Edge Society was born…and all of this was born out of looting a burning house.

The Royal Rumble is another major event during which people try to loot a burning house. Usually, the most pronounced of these attempts fail in the Royal Rumble. In the 2011 Rumble, Santino Marella slid under the ropes and hid outside the ring for most of his time in the match, biding his time before re-entering at an opportunistic moment. Near the end of the match, when Alberto Del Rio eliminated Randy Orton and thought that he had won, Marella re-entered and snuck up on Del Rio and tried to eliminate him. Del Rio managed to fight him off and then proceeded to dispatch of Marella, once again beginning a victory celebration. One year in the 1990s, then-heel Jerry Lawler was the first to try to use this tactic at a Royal Rumble, and he too failed. The only one to succeed at using this tactic at a Royal Rumble was Vince McMahon at the Royal Rumble 1999. McMahon drew #2 and was knocked around by #1 Stone Cold Steve Austin for a couple of minutes. Once more superstars began to enter the Rumble, McMahon ducked out of the ring to find safety. Aside from re-entering for just a moment mid-match, McMahon stayed safely away from Stone Cold for the remainder of the match, until the very end, when only the two of them remained. McMahon had hoped to loot the burning house by being fresher than Austin, who had fought off other Corporation members for almost an hour. McMahon succeeded when WWE Champion The Rock came down to ringside and climbed the ring apron to taunt Austin. Austin ran to The Rock to lunge at him, but an opportunistic McMahon ran behind Austin and dumped him over the top rope while Austin was distracted. By looting a burning house, Vince McMahon, who should have never been able to defeat Austin or get the better of him, did defeat him to win the Royal Rumble 1999.

In conclusion, Looting a burning house is a staple among strategies of WWE Superstars in their storylines. Lesser opponents are able to use this strategy to defeat more formidable opponents, wreak havoc, or gain championships. Some superstars even built their entire WWE persona on taking advantage of these kinds of opportunities.

Follow me on Twitter @VanillaMandarin

Source: wrestlingtruth.com