Every Tuesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring.

Goodson has no "f" to get out.

Chairshots
5-21-02

Judgment Day
The first pay per view with the new WWE name was overall not a good one. Then again, no one expected it to be. Matches like Edge vs. Angle and Jericho vs. Triple H both delivered as expected, but none of the matches we thought would suck stepped up and delivered.

In addition, for the third pay per view in a row, I scored 7 out of 9 on my predictions. The matches I missed were the lowest matches on the card, which means that the WWE upper card isn't doing anything surprising or entertaining.

Chris Jericho and Triple H had an outstanding Hell in the Cell match that should be considered for match of the year. Like the two previous Hell in a Cell matches, it was a bloody brawl. It did surprise me that Triple H dominated most of the match and then pinned Jericho. I'm not sure what Jericho gains from having such a one-sided match but Triple H sure did look good.

Was anything gained by having Paul Heyman involved in the Hardys vs. Brock Lesnar match? Lesnar dominated the match anyway without help from Paul. Wouldn't Lesnar have looked like more of a killing machine if he'd won against the Hardys in a handicap match? I vote yes.

How many of you were expecting Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake to make his WWE debut and get involved in the Edge vs. Angle hair match? I know I was.

Austin vs. Flair & Big Show was pointless. Once again the writers booked themselves into a corner. No one cares about Big Show when what they really want to see is Flair vs. Austin. Dull and pointless as expected.

Hogan lost the title to Undertaker as expected. Lame match but again, expected. As long as the title is off the orange goblin I'm happy. Now who's going to get it off the Undertaker?

Add the women's title match and the tag team match to the list of the lame. Why have the Dudley Boyz fight at the pay per view if they can't follow it up on free TV since they are on different rosters? Why have Rico and Rikishi be a team? Why, why, why?

Overall a few good matches couldn't save the pay per view from mediocrity. Where has my beloved wrestling gone?

Raw Thoughts
When the WWF changed their name to WWE, it was heralded as a new era for the company. In reality it was the same garbage with a new name.

Last night may have been the first clear sign that the company recognizes that it has problems and is trying to do something about it. Undertaker and Steve Austin both started feuds with younger up and coming stars Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero. Both feuds had their good and bad points.

The Undertaker vs. RVD feud has the better start of the two. Undertaker's heel character is just a big, bad badass, so when RVD stands up to him it makes RVD look tougher. RVD also feuding with the current WWE champion also helps him out.

My only complaint was that RVD should have won the title. It would have shown fans that the WWE is interested in pushing its younger talent rather than the older stars like Hogan. Giving Hogan the belt made some viewers stop watching Raw and Smackdown. Giving RVD the belt could bring them back. Also, no one expects RVD to win the title from Undertaker. It creates one of those "holy s**t" moments and brings back some of that unpredictability the WWE has been lacking. The false finish to their match has been done to death and always feels like a cheap way out.

Next, Eddie Guerrero and Steve Austin started a feud. When I first noticed the two hanging out in the bar, I thought that it was an awesome match up for a feud. Unfortunately, the setup of the karaoke bar was lame and dragged out for too long. Both men are coming off badly booked feuds and need a strong storyline. I'm skeptical that they are going to get it from the current crop of WWE writers.

The rest of Raw was the same sub-par wrestling that Raw has delivered lately. The NWO is feuding amongst themselves and is made up of mostly mid-card jobbers? Where have we seen that before? Kevin Nash's return at least gave a little focus to the NWO, but they really needed an impact segment at the end of the show. Nash and X-Pac aren't happy with their booking, either, as you'll read below.

Raven: King of the shoot commentating. It must be spring because Jerry Lawler is getting his yearly feud. Was no one else available for Raven to feud with? I understand that Tommy Dreamer is busy eating his own hair but puh-lease…

So the WWE splits the roster because they have so many wrestlers that they can't highlight them all? So, why do the Hardy Boys have to fight twice on the same show? Maybe they are just pissed off that they can't win the title belts since you have to be on Smackdown for that.

I demand new writers, cruiserweights and a smattering of new main event stars now.

Davey Boy Smith Dies
In case you missed the announcement on Raw, Davey Boy Smith, well known for his days as the British Bulldog in the WWF, died Sunday night of a heart attack. He was 39 years old. Smith was on vacation with his girlfriend Andrea Hart. Smith was one half of one of the greatest tag teams of all time, The British Bulldogs. He worked for both WCW and WWF but gained most of his fame in the WWF. He was the first WWF European Champion, a WWF Intercontinental Champion, a WWF Hardcore Champion and a multi Tag Team Champion.

At present, no official cause of death is known, though published reports have suggested a heart attack. The Calgary Sun posted an article today featuring comments from Hart family members including Diana Hart (Smith's ex-wife) and Bruce Hart. The article hints that Smith's death may have been due to painkillers, which he was using to help him return to the ring.

I'll pass on more information as I get it but for now I'll just say goodbye to an entertaining wrestler I liked and respected.

Unhappy Campers
The fans aren't the only ones pissed off about the bad booking decisions by the WWE writers. Last night X-Pac and Kevin Nash reportedly threatened to quit due to the booking direction of the NWO. Neither Vince nor Stephanie were backstage so Shane had to deal with the situation.

Much of the NWO stuff last night was rewritten and that's probably why the NWO looked interesting and cohesive for the first time in months. As much as I've hated the backstage power struggles that the NWO and Klique members have caused in the past, if it now results in better television I'm all for it.

Right now I'm up for some videogames, booth babes and alcohol, so I'm going to E3. There will be no Chairshots on Friday but I may have Roddy Piper autographs for the FanboyPlanet staff. See y'all Tuesday.

Michael Goodson