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

I'm toning down my wardrobe and shrillness.

Chairshots
7-19-02

Smackdown Thoughts
After a huge surprise on Monday, Smackdown was kind of a let down. It was still a good show, but with Eric Bichoff's return on Monday how could Stephanie McMahon's return not pale in comparison? I guess she's playing the good girl now as they've toned down her wardrobe and shrillness. Bischoff is promising a "new era" starting on Sunday with Vengeance. For his sake and ours, I hope he's right.

I don't mind the feuding General Manager's plot line even though we just saw the feuding owners storyline tank. But I would like to see a little more logic and realism put into it. We all know that Triple H is a WWE employee and already has a contract with them. If Bischoff wants to talk about signing Triple H to an exclusive Raw only contract then we need to find out what incentive he's using and what rights Triple H has as an employee.

Can Triple H just jump from one show to the next? Why couldn't he do that before Bischoff appeared? Is Bischoff promising fewer work dates and title shots for joining Raw? That's an angle to this I'd like to see explored. Stephanie could counter Bischoff by going to The Hardy Boyz and trying to sign them to Smackdown where the tag titles are defended. There are several aspects to this situation the writers ignore or haven't thought of that might give it more punch.

One match I unexpectedly enjoyed was Hurricane vs. Chavo Guerrero. As it started, I figured it was an easy win for Hurricane since we rarely see Chavo. Instead Chavo used great match psychology to get a win over Hurricane and cut a good promo on Rey Mysterio for Rey's debut next week. Very entertaining.

On the flip side, I didn't expect to enjoy the tag match with Hardcore Holly and Val Venis teaming up and I was right. Hardcore has enough leftover heat from his Tough Enough 2 role that I don't mind watching him, but Val Venis just bores me. He's pretty high on my list of people the WWE can cut from the roster. Sorry, Val. Blame Russo for ruining your career.

Kurt Angle has the slowest growing hair on the planet.

The Angle vs. Rock main event did a nice job setting up the pay per view on Sunday. It's pretty clear that the real match will be between Rock vs. Angle with Undertaker jumping in every now and then with some punches, but the match should still be good. Nice ending to an enjoyable no-frills show overall.

Ratings
This week's edition of Raw scored a 3.8 cable rating. That is up from last week's 3.7. The real test for Raw will be next week. The WWE will have had one week to get the word out that Bischoff has taken over Raw and they will be fresh off Sunday's pay per view. If they can't raise that rating a few ticks, then the problem may be worse than we thought. Smackdown scored a 3.4 broadcast rating compare to last week's 3.3. Again, up only a slight tick. I would have expected a better rating given the three day span between Raw and Smackdown for fan interest to generate.

I wonder where my name is on the list of "people to bring in to save the company." My guess is right under Koko B. Ware.

Adios Losers
The WWE has officially dropped Heartland Wrestling Association as one of their 'minor league' territories. Ohio Valley Wrestling will take over as the primary training ground. Among the wrestlers cut were Jason Sugarman, Race Steele, E.Z. Money, Steve Bradley, and Mike Sanders. I've only ever heard of Mike Sanders. You may remember his brief appearance as Commissioner in WCW shortly before WCW collapsed. NWA has already expressed an interest in Sanders.

Vengeance Predictions
For those of you keeping score, I totally blew the last pay per view predictions. After going months with a very good average, King of the Ring broke me. Let's see if I can get back on the horse to rectify that.

The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker
WWE Undisputed Championship
Keep in mind that the Champion will face Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and there is only one possible choice for winner here. Undertaker should have lost the title at the last PPV and would have if not for Triple H's injury. Angle is still the biggest heel in the WWE right now, but a Lesnar vs. Angle match isn't going to sell tickets. That leaves The Rock as the winner. There is money to be made in Lesnar vs. Rock (not as much as there would be if the WWE writers had read my Book It from Monday). Also, with The Rock as champion he can be on both Raw and Smackdown and that is a good thing for the WWE. Winner and new champion: Rock.

Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar
Intercontinental Championship
This match confuses me. Lesnar already beat RVD at King of the Ring. Since I assume the WWE isn't going to book Lesnar to lose the last big match before his feud with The Rock, he must defeat RVD for the second PPV in a row. Why would the WWE have RVD, one of their biggest starts on Raw, lose two PPVs in a row? Seems like bad booking to me. Winner: Lesnar.

Hollywood Hulk Hogan & Edge vs. Christian & Lance Storm
Tag Team Championship
The names of Hogan & Edge tower over lower card jobbers like Christian & Storm. I like the Team Canada thing but I suspect that they will be squashed by Hogan & Edge. The only hope I give team Canada is an old Bobby Heenan expression, "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat." Winner: Hulk & Edge.

Bubba & Spike Dudley vs. Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero
Tag Team Table Match
As Hogan & Edge are to Christian & Storm, Benoit & Guerrero are to Bubba & Spike. Remember that Benoit & Guerrero were both ready to break into the main event level over the last year. I can't see them losing to the new Dudley Boyz here as it would really damage their credibility if they did. Winner: Benoit & Guerrero.

Booker T vs. Big Show
No Disqualification, No Count-out
Big Show = Zzzzz. Booker T is getting over with the fans and Big Show is getting over an all you can eat buffet. The under card of this PPV is filled with mis-matched wrestlers. I'd rather see Benoit vs. Booker T and Big Show vs. Bubba & Spike than this. Oh well. Winner: G.I. Bro.

Jamie Noble vs. Billy Kidman
Cruiserweight Championship
Kidman has no charisma. I like Noble and Nidia's redneck shtick and I like the way the Noble talks about the belt being the most important thing to him. Winner: Noble. Hey, I just realized I've been spelling Jamie's last name "Knobel" for the last few months. My bad.

Triple H's Decision Announced
I bet in the time it takes for this announcement to be made, they could have had another match. Instead guys like Bautista, D-Von, Hurricane, Tajiri and Tommy Dreamer will sit in the back and watch the show. What a bummer. Prediction: Triple H joins Raw because Raw needs him.

Michael Goodson