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Every Tuesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring. Every Monday a brand new Book It.
Chairshots
3-01-02
Smackdown Thoughts
If Monday night Raw this week was a train wreck then Smackdown was a bruised knee. It was a much better show with far fewer flaws. Still nothing outstanding but it went down much easier. It started off with an action packed six man tag match between the Dudley Boyz & Jazz vs. the Hardy Boyz & Lita. The WWF is really pushing Jazz as a monster heel but like most of the other mid-card wrestlers they are pushing, I've yet to hear her give an interview. Until I do, she's just fodder.William Regal vs. Big Show was a bad match with an amusing ending. I can live with that. There is just something about Regal trapped under an unconscious Big Show that makes me giggle.
APA vs. Chuck and Billy was great! Not because the match was any good but because we don't have to see it at Wrestlemania! That gave Smackdown a thumbs up no matter how stupid the other segments were.
Speaking of stupid segments…we finally get to see the pay off of the lame setup on Monday with Booker T auditioning for the Japanese shampoo commercial. This was the second to worst segment of the show. First, if you read last week's Book It, you'd know that I think Tajiri is a wasted talent in the WWF and last night sketch did nothing to help him. Why would Booker T ask Tajiri for advise on auditioning? Because Tajiri is Japanese? Wouldn't Goldust have made more sense? The WWF might as well play up Goldust's Hollywood gimmick because it's pretty clear they have no plans on pushing him as a wrestler. I think the stroll down memory lane is over and Dustin can go back to wrestling Jake the Snake for the booth seat at Dennys. Meanwhile Tajiri just happens to have a director's chair and beret. I'm all for an Edge vs. Booker T feud, but did we have to take such an back asswards route to get there? If anyone liked this segment, please email me and tell me why because I just don't "Get It" anymore.
The worst segment of the show was of course Austin firing a net gun at Nash in order to attack Scott Hall. When did Austin become Wile E. Coyote? Nash can't sell a punch. Why does anyone think he can sell a fishing net? Did you notice that once he realized how easily he could get out of it, he just ran off rather than attack Austin? Sad, truly sad.
Pandas Win Again
The WWF (World Wrestling Federation) lost to the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) in a London court this week as their appeal to be allowed to share the "WWF" trademark in the UK was denied by The Court of Appeal. Last year the High Court ruled in faro of the WWF (pandas) that gave them exclusive rights to the WWF name in the UK due to a breach of an earlier deal between the parties by the Federation. The main point of contention is the use of the "WWF" name on the Internet. The Wildlife Fund doesn't want people who click "wwf.com" to find the wrestling site instead of their information. It's a nit picky thing but I've seen my mother in law use the computer so I know she would wonder why those panda loving people are selling Stone Cold tee shirts.
A Reuters news article stated, "The World Wide Fund for Nature -- formerly the World Wildlife Fund -- claims that the wrestlers' use of the WWF initials could lead to youngsters surfing the Internet being unwittingly exposed to sights such as 'Debra's sexy photos'. How many kids do you know that are looking for the World Wildlife Foundation on the Internet. If anything, they are looking for photos of Debra and are confused when they find pandas. The WWF sent out a press release saying that they would appeal this decision as well. They received a stay, which will allow them to continue to do business as they have been. If the WWF does lose this case in the end, they could be forced to give up the WWF.com domain name. On a positive note StoneColdLovesYou.com is available.
Ratings
The 2/24 edition of Heat scored a 1.6 cable rating. It was the highest rated show on MTV that day. The Heat replay did a 0.7 rating. The 2/23 edition of Excess scored hours of a 0.8 and 1.1 and was the highest rated show on TNN that day. For the second week in a row, Raw scored a 4.7 rating. There has not been a ratings drop for Raw since before Royal Rumble. Smackdown was not as lucky this week. Up against a new episode of Friends and the premier of Survivor, Smackdown scored a 3.8 rating. That's way down from last week's 4.5. Bad sign just two weeks before Wrestlemania.God Bless Sunday
Sunday Night Heat will be reworked and given a new look. The show will now be taped each week at the Smackdown arenas, as it has been for the last two weeks. It will no longer air from WWF New York. It will go back to the old "matches from the arena" format that is used in the past. There will also be more of an emphasis on wrestling during the show than there has been in the past. Yay to that.
More on Raven Writing Spider-Man
The editor of Marvel's "Spider-Man" titles, Axel Alonso gave an interesting interview on Comic Book Resources.com recently regarding the upcoming issue of Spider-Man co-written by Raven. How did the partnership of Brian Azzarello (author of 100 Bullets) and WWF star Raven come about? "Raven's a big comic fan," said Alonso. "He's been pitching us for a while and struck up a friendship with Brian Azzarello and essentially it all sort of dove-tailed. I was talking with Brian about characters and wrestling stories seemed apropos." As for the somewhat controversial decision to bring in a wrestler to write a comic, Alonso wasn't deterred by possible negative public reaction. "There are always going to be people yelling and screaming, 'How dare you hire a WWF Wrestler blah, blah, blah.' Why not? Raven obviously was a creative consultant and co-writer on the story who helps the team realize what it's like to be in a wrestlers boots."Scott Hall Speaks
Scott Hall was a guest on StoneColdLovesYou.com's Byte This today. He talked about his return to the WWF, his backstage reputation, the fall of WCW and more. Here are the highlights.
On returning to the WWF: He is feeling good. It is fun to be working here again. Scott could see himself returning to the WWF. He feels that he didn't burn a bridge when he left for WCW. He feels blessed to have this opportunity. On all of the backstage comments about him: Having been around the business for a long time, you have to build calluses or you will not last. This is a business environment. You don't have to go out to dinner with your opponent but you have to be able to work with him. They are in this business to make money. The fans ultimately decide who should be on top. Scott does not consider himself an Internet savvy guy. He does not read the sheets. He considers himself an old timer, which he used to hate when he was younger. He feels that the heat has lowered a bit.
On WCW's failure: They were not equipped for the success that came to them, kind of by accident. They were able to handle the situation. The fans at MSG were right when they chanted that he sold out. He felt that he had paid his dues and wanted to live comfortably. On the younger guys in WCW who said that the older guys held them down: Hall talked about getting in trouble a few times for putting guys over when he wasn't supposed to do it. He always had younger guys involved in the things that he did. He mentioned guys like Louie Spiccoli, Disco Inferno and X-Pac, who he was involved with. So, he does not feel he was part of holding anyone down. On the politics in WCW: If it had gone on, he wasn't aware of it. (What??) He didn't care at the time because he had his own personal stuff going on. Going to the ring was a sanctuary to him, where he didn't have to think about his problems. (Except when he took the beer to the ring.) Thoughts about coming into the WWF and being positioned against a guy like Austin: Scott considers himself a lucky guy. He is a single father so he cannot work on the road full time. He did not think he could come back and work for Vince McMahon. When he heard that Kevin was talking with him, he wished Kevin luck. Vince called him and mentioned that they were negotiating with Nash and that perhaps they could bring him in as well. Then, he was informed that he would be working with Austin at WrestleMania. It is kind of cool to be involved with anything successful. He thinks back to working in front of very small crowds. On his personal demons: He hasn't drank so far. Those who have been in treatment know that they just try to make it through each day. He hopes to be able to continue being successful. When Scott Hall doesn't drink, everybody wins. He just worries about today and he hasn't had a drink. He isn't proud of everything he has done. He earned his reputation. The way that he broke in, if they didn't drink with the boys, they weren't trusted. Times have changed and he feels that he can change with them. How many years left in his career?: He thinks that he has 2 years left in wrestling. He wanted his son and daughter to see his dad work and he is getting that chance now. Is there paranoia running rampant backstage?: Controversy is good for this business. If you can get the boys excited, then the fans will love it. However, he feels that the heat that he had with the guys that really mattered is gone. He is here to make money. He is flattered to hear that guys think that he is smart enough to hold anyone down, which he feels that he is not. On the current WWF compared to the WWF he left: "This is an MTV type crowd. It is much more adult oriented. When they were here before, guys weren't allowed to curse, do hand gestures, hit anyone with objects or many of the things that they regularly do now. Vince was smart when he was going against WCW because he used all of the tools at his disposal to win the war. " On the impact of the nWo on wrestling: "The bittersweet feelings that the Outsiders had was after their last match at MSG. He feels that they had great matches. Shawn's idea for them to come out into the ring together turned into this big thing in the business. They left for a company that was second rate but paid well. Vince McMahon's checks were nice as well but you never knew what you would get when you opened it. He felt bad that he was leaving the people he knew. They had no idea that the New World Order would take off. " On WrestleMania 18: He will be psyched up for his match with Austin. Working in front of a crowd this large is very different. They have never wrestled each other before. He does feel tons of pressure for this match. That's about it for today. Kind of a slow news week. Join me Monday for an all new Book It. Until then…
