|
| |
|
must...stop...watching
...RAW
...gasp ...choke ...wheeze
|
Chair Shots
11-5-02
Raw
Thoughts
The worst I can say about RAW is that at times it was a bit
boring and very predictable. Considering the past two weeks,
the WWE should consider this a homerun.
Last
nights show reeked of on the fly booking. The necrophilia
stunt they pulled two weeks ago and followed up on last week
has not garnered ANY outside media attention and has caused
a drop in the already abysmal ratings. Consequently, Raw had
nothing really of note happen. Maybe they are too busy scrambling
for a new plan to boost ratings to really put any effort into
the show.
Rosie
and Jamal (now named "Three Minute Warning") opened the show
with a fair opener against Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray. I still
don't see the logic in keeping Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley
on separate shows. Both guys have failed to become singles
superstars on their own. Just reunite them and get it over
with. Jeff Hardy can't reunite with the red hot Matt Hardy,
so instead he just gets to wear different boots. What a push!
The tag
ranks are a mess in general on Raw. Jericho and Christian
are the champs but Christian wrestled RVD last night and Jericho
teamed up with HHH in the main event. Long term booking? What's
that?
Booker
T was the star of Raw last night. His mic work showed why
he is ready to be in the main event and yet he's held back
again and again. Hogan, Rock and Austin are AWOL and yet the
WWE isn't doing anything to fill their spots on the main event
roster. Maybe they don't want to give him the world championship
because then he'd take up too much time saying, "six time,
six time, six time, six time, six time, six time world champion!"
Maven
returned to liven up the Al Snow vs. Chris Nowinski feud.
Nothing wrong with that, but prior to his injury, he was on
the Smackdown roster. Does that mean he was part of the Big
Show trade deal? What about Torrie? She and Maven were hitting
it hot and heavy last time we saw him. Another dropped storyline…
It's amazing
what a new valet, new hair cut and frequent use of the word
"testicles" can do for a guy's career. Test looked good last
night. His match was still a sleeper but if booked with a more
exciting wrestler in a good feud, he could really get over.
Why do managers (these days we call them agents or marketing
people, but they are managers none the less) only manage one
person? Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart and Bobby Heenan all had a stable
of wrestlers that they managed. If pairing Stacy up with him
gets Test over, why shouldn't she have three or four guys she
also does makeovers with? Then Test has someone to tag team
with or help interfere in his matches.
Other
boring developments: Batista debuted on Raw and got a first
name (David). Victoria went insane. Lance Storm and William
Regal continued to bore fans. Goldust confessed to have once
had sex with a dead body. Terri showed some butt crack.
Shawn
Michaels cannot save Raw and ho hum booking can't help either.
Survivor
Series Special
UPN will air what is being called a "WWE Smackdown! Special"
next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Right after Buffy! One match
was taped last night after Raw went off the air. The match
featured Triple H & Rosey & Jamal & Christian & Chris Jericho
vs. Booker T & Kane & Rob Van Dam & Bubba Ray Dudley & Jeff
Hardy in a traditional Survivor Series match. Another match
will likely be taped at tonight's Smackdown taping.
Ultimate
80s Tag Team
A new 10-10-220 commercial featuring Hulk Hogan and Alf has
started airing. Rumor has it 1-800-CALL-ATT is trying to get
Randy Savage and Elmo to fight them in a tag team match for
charity.
HHH
Comments on Tough Enough 3
"It's decent as far as it goes. I wish people could see
the whole story. People look at that show and think they have
an idea of how tough wrestling is, but it's just the tip of
the iceberg. That's just a bunch of kids getting roughed up
in training a couple of days a week then going back to their
nice home and having good food. Try getting beat up for real
in the ring four nights a week and sleeping in hotels and
eating room service for 10 years."
Life would
have been so much different for Triple H if his dream of being
a professional ballet dancer had worked out.
I
Comment on Tough Enough 3
Ratings for Tough Enough 3 dropped 33% last week and yet remained
the most watched show on MTV for the day. The show only did
a 1.0 rating compared to the 1.5 it did the previous week.
I used
to comment every week how Tough Enough was progressing but
once Sarah Stanek started writing her excellent weekly recaps,
I found it to be overkill. However, I do think that one factor
in the ratings decline for Tough Enough 3 (aside from the
quality of other WWE shows) has been the lack of interesting
competitors.
No one
this season looks or acts like someone I'd want to see on
WWE TV. Chad is tall, but he looks like a dork. Scott wouldn't
last 3 minutes in a WWE locker room with the way he steps
on people's toes. Jonah has a good look but lacks an entertaining
personality. Nick would be my pick but he has a lisp he'd
have to get rid of before he could cut a decent promo. Most
of the women don't have that "Diva" look the WWE goes for.
They really
need to find independent wrestlers that have struggled for
years and give them a shot rather than picking these losers
off the street. Actually giving a guy who has struggled on
the independent circuit a shot at his dream rather than Joe
"armchair wrestler" would be more compelling television.
Due to
a lack of anything more compelling to comment on, I'm signing
off. Back Friday with more venom.
|
