Greetings everyone! You’re reading News and Analysis, weekend edition. There wasn’t a midweek edition this week, as simply there wasn’t much to report on and the latest update was posted a bit late. With No Way Out this weekend, I figured it’d be best to wait until the weekend to do the next update. After that not-so-needed intro, let’s get this bad boy rolling.
World Wrestling Entertainment presented Monday Night RAW this past Monday, as it was the last show for the RAW brand before WWE No Way Out, which airs live on PPV this Sunday. The program had one goal really, that being promote No Way Out as much as possible and get things set for the PPV. It did its job in my opinion, and RAW was an enjoyable show to watch. Booker T scored a pin over Triple H in the main event, and all signs are pointing to a feud between these two, but more on this later. Elsewhere on the program, the Dudley Boyz were suspended, Chris Jericho and Christian fought Jeff Hardy and HBK, and Rob Van Dam defeated Lance Storm as Storm and Regal defend their titles at No Way Out against Kane and RVD. RAW’s rating is in, and though the show faced some very tough competition with “Joe Millionaire” airing their awaited last episode (which by the way drew an overnight score of 22.1!), RAW managed to draw a 3.9 rating. Rumors had it that the number for the second hour was much higher this time which helped for the overall rating, but I haven’t had time to get that confirmed. A 3.9 is a solid score though, having in mind the tough competition.
The gears shifted to the ever-so-popular SmackDown! brand on Thursday night, and it was once again a great show in my opinion. Storylines advanced, with Hulk Hogan and The Rock getting the most time as they should, more specifically a rather important segment with The Rock where he officially turned heel in a way (not that he hasn’t been one). Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle continued their saga as well, as WWE is starting to put the tease on its audience for a match at WrestleMania XIX between these two great athletes. Johnny Stambolli faced Rikishi and Nathan Jones was introduced via a short “interview” segment with Michael Cole, as these two storylines moved along as well. Of course, the No Way Out pairs continued to work on their programs as well, as Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore faced the former Filthy Animals — Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio — in what I thought was the best bout of the night. Chris Benoit was also in action with the A-Train, and so was future Playboy cover-girl Torrie Wilson, who faced Nidia in a paddle on a pole match. SmackDown!’s rating is not out yet as I’m writing this, but will surely be up on the headlines board, so check there. The show was pre-empted in Dallas, TX due to a Mavericks game.
I’m going to change the format a bit this week. I’m going to give you the latest off-TV news first, and talk about them for a bit, and I’ll then take a look at No Way Out and some storylines leading up to WrestleMania XIX will be included in the No Way Out analysis. Let’s see how it all works out…
First off, 1wrestling.com is reporting what could be some potential huge news, as the site stated WWE is now seriously considering to further their roster split. How one might ask? It’s been a long plan in the making, but WWE is finally thinking of going through with the separation of PPVs, as each brand will have four PPVs to air per year. The two brands will come together at Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. King of the Ring will be a RAW-exclusive. Dave Scherer broke the news and added that this could very much happen as early as this June’s PPV — King of the Ring. Now, nothing’s been confirmed by WWE, but folks, this is what Vince and Linda McMahon ultimately wanted to do upon buying World Championship Wrestling back in 2001. Create two shows, or two brands of sports entertainment, that will be totally separate of each other and run their own PPVs. However, that couldn’t quite work out in the past two years, so after everything we’ve gone through it seems that now will be the time for this “further split” to occur. I personally think it’s a great idea if WWE is seriously going to go with the “two brands idea,” (and they are since McMahon is a strong supporter of his idea) then this is the way to do it. Vince expects PPV buys to go down a bit for the short-term, but is looking for results in the long-term future of the company. I’m sure there will be more to come on this in the future, but keep all this on mind for now.
Some very bad news broke out during the week concerning WWE SmackDown! Superstar Edge. Apparently, the young Canadian is having troubles with his neck. He recently had tests done to him, and has been working shows, but last weekend he had to miss house show action as he was injured. The tests have returned and the results are not good, as Edge will need surgery and will probably be out of action for a while. As it stands right now though, out of two choices possible for his operation, they will go with the lesser-tough one, which means Edge’s neck will be operated on from the front. Not much is really known about the injury, but some people even questioned if Edge will be able to compete at No Way Out. It seems to me that he’ll be able to pull through the show, as he’s involved in a 6-Man Tag which means he doesn’t have to be in there the whole time. Some say Rhyno may take his place if WWE wants to run a surprise storyline, which could also make sense. We shall see, but in my book, Edge will appear at the PPV, and then go home to nurse his neck. It’s really unfortunate he’ll miss WrestleMania XIX and that this is happening now when he’s on top of his game, but hopefully things will work out. We wish him a speedy recovery.
In news I like to call “dragging,” there’s nothing new on Bill Goldberg. The latest that I guess I need to inform you of is that WWE is willing to have him work 10 dates per month, yet at the same time not more than 100 dates for the year. Goldberg wants to be able to take vacations when desired and have “creative control” of his storylines. If WWE and Goldberg don’t make a deal soon, I would expect this to be dragged even further into the future, as WWE won’t need him as bad since WrestleMania will be done without him. In another piece of news, Hulk Hogan’s contract with WWE is valid for all the way up to WrestleMania XIX. Following that, Hogan and McMahon will sit down and reevaluate where they are and come down to the agreement of what’s in the future. I’m glad to see that Hogan and the company managed to secure a deal and the Hulkster is back for what seems to be his last run. There is a possibility he’ll stick around for a bit after ‘Mania, just like last year, but whenever this ends, it’ll probably do so with a retirement speech.
With that said, let’s take a look at No Way Out and WrestleMania. No Way Out airs this Sunday on PPV and WWE has built it up as a great event that could definitely set up WrestleMania XIX to indeed be the best PPV WWE has aired. I will be talking about this every week until the big showdown, so let’s get to it all.
No Way Out — RAW brand
Scott Steiner faces Triple H for the RAW-exclusive World Heavyweight Championship, and it seems that this is the last we’ll see from their feud. Scott Steiner quite frankly did his job, which was to fill in the time from his entering in the company up until WrestleMania in providing a solid opponent for Triple H. While many (including myself) will argue that his wrestling isn’t exactly the best there is, WWE has been very wise about his character and managed to hide his weaknesses good. They were disappointed at the Royal Rumble, and due to some house-show works decided to keep the belt on Triple H. I think the decision was good, and I would expect Hunter to once again keep his title at No Way Out. I would expect for his buddies to make the save, more particularly Batista, as Steiner seems to be headed to a feud with the youngster. Triple H will then move to feuding Booker T for WrestleMania, as it stands right now. Booker T has been due for a big push for quite some time now, and if most of you have forgotten, he was the WCW Champion upon entering the company. He’s main-event material and has proven that many times in the past. WWE has went from total heel to total face with him and have done a good job in the process. Thank you Goldust. Anyway, so yeah, I’m going for Triple H on this one, with probably an interference by Batista.
Stone Cold Steve Austin makes his long-awaited return to WWE this Sunday, as he goes one-on-one with RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. I wouldn’t expect this to be a serious match. Austin comes out, beats the crap out of Bischoff, hits the Stunner, drinks his beer, the fans go home happy is the scenario that comes to mind. However, I can definitely see Chief Morley used in this segment in a quite significant role too, as probably he’ll be helping out Bischoff. This way, Austin’s return will have an even bigger of an impact as he’ll be able to beat up Morley as well. Entertaining, no? From what I saw with my own eyes back in the Staples Center when RAW went off the air two weeks back, trust me — Austin is in the best shape of his life. The man is seriously working out and staying on top of his game. Open up a cold one and relax. As far as WrestleMania XIX goes, it looks like Austin is headed to a one-on-one bout with The Rock unless WWE signs Goldberg. I just can’t see Austin fighting anyone else really, as the card seems to be stacked!
RVD and Kane will face William Regal and Lance Storm this Sunday for the World Tag Team Championships. Van Dam and The Big Red Machine have been stuck in some mid-card feuds ever since both guys were defeated by Triple H in the year 2002, and now seem to be rebounding back. With the card for WrestleMania all but stacked, I would expected the two to face off with each other in a one-on-one encounter. If WWE decides one should be heel, I would expect Kane to be the man (I can’t see RVD as a heel right now). However, I think they’ll be both kept face probably, and some kind of a mess-up at No Way Out might be the setup for their WrestleMania encounter. There’s also another scenario where Van Dam and Kane win the titles to only lose them on RAW within a week or two (if not even the next night) and from there setting up their feud. WWE likes to do that once in a while to get the fans happy, but we’ll see what happens. I’m personally going with Storm and Regal on this one and some kind of mishap between RVD and Kane will be the reason behind it. Or maybe a pair of brass knucks, or a flag, who knows?
Chris Jericho faces Jeff Hardy at the PPV in what to me seems to be either the midst of a Hardy push or his last run. Test was the original opponent for Y2J, but since Test and Stacy couldn’t make it to RAW last week due to weather problems (kind of their fault as they didn’t leave early for the show — that made WWE pissed and obviously they took Test out of the match), and WWE a bit mad over it, has changed the match. I would expect HBK and Christian to also show up in one way or another, but for Jericho to gain the win, as he’s headed to a ‘Mania match with Michaels. Unless the plan is for HBK to lose at ‘Mania, then we might see Hardy pull up the win thanks to Shawn. With what happened this past week on RAW, I’m going with Jericho though.
No Way Out — SmackDown! Brand
I expect WWE to go with a match full of spots at No Way Out in their SmackDown! main event, which is a 6-Man Tag Match, featuring Team Angle going against Lesnar, Edge, and Benoit. With Edge’s injury, he probably will be the guy to take the least beating of everyone, and I would expect more attention to be put on Lesnar as well, but not by Kurt Angle, rather Benjamin and Haas. I’m also thinking WWE will want to have Chris Benoit score the pin here in order to still have him as an approved main-event player, but that’s not needed if you think about it. Another possibility that comes to mind is to have Lesnar pin either Benjamin or Haas, or if the heels were to win, for Angle to pin Edge. We’ll see how it plays out, but I expect this match to be of top quality and have plenty of good spots in it! I’ll go with the faces on this one.
The Rock faces Hulk Hogan in what WWE has dubbed as “the most anticipated rematch in PPV history.” There’s so much to say about the change in The Rock and so little to mention on Hulk Hogan. It just seems that Hogan has simply picked up his old act exactly where he left it off and all these months of him being gone didn’t happen. That’s how old, and at the same time effective, his character is. The Rock has gone Hollywood on the other head and one might even say is sort of the modern-day Hogan, only much more advanced. I can’t say anything bad about The Rock as his work amazes me every time and he’s just incredible. Not too many people can walk out to an arena where half the people boo you and half the others cheer for you, and at the end of your segment have them all boo their lungs out, and at the same time realize how much they loved booing it that they give it a round of applause. I think that’s enough said. As far as a winner goes, I am still sticking with the original plan, where Vince McMahon will help The Rock win, setting up for Hogan vs. McMahon at WrestleMania and either Goldberg vs. Rock or Austin vs. Rock, with the latter one being the more likely one to happen. The sing-along with The Rock is over.
The Big Show goes one-on-one with The Undertaker, as the Dead Man finally gets his revenge on the big man through a match. I don’t at all expect much out of this match, as Undertaker recently had an elbow surgery and hasn’t wrestled in a while now, whereas Show is having a bad back, and when you also add these two guys together, it’s not exactly the brightest match you’d expect. This one is tough to predict. Nathan Jones’s promo suggested that he is going after The Undertaker and one would suggest that this will make a great WrestleMania match, but with Jones’s skills I highly doubt ‘Taker will be happy having to face him, plus I also doubt WWE will ruin ‘Taker’s perfect WrestleMania record, so I’m not sure if they’ll go with a rematch with The Big Show at ‘Mania, or a one-on-one bout with Jones, but we’ll find out soon.
Billy Kidman defends his cruiserweight championship against Matt Hardy this Sunday. Until I saw SmackDown!, I was all but sure that the founder of Mattitude will score a win, but he did so on SmackDown!, so I have no idea what to think now. Matt Hardy’s introduction to the cruiserweight division has done plenty of good, as Shannon Moore is also with him. Rey Mysterio has been finally placed where he should be as well, which also always helps writers. The Filthy Animals reunion on SmackDown! kicked ass for me, and believe me guys, I’m looking forward to more great high-flying action from all cruiserweights. Don’t forget that Tajiri is around as well. Not sure what to think now, but I’m going to go on a limb and change my mind to Billy Kidman winning, only for Hardy to later on grab the belt.
With that my friends I say good-bye. I’ll have more next week, and I’ll probably have an update for you on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for readings and feel free to contact me at any time.
Before I forget, make sure to check out Michael Blaszkowski’s newest project which will deal with No Way Out. I, myself, am looking forward to it, and in my book it’s definitely a great addition to TBL.
My Two Cents
What is it about Torrie Wilson and Japanese guys? First Tajiri, now… Funaki?
Is Hugh Heffner Japanese?
Does anyone realize that they’re booing The Rock while supporting a man, Hulk Hogan, who left wrestling to shoot movies several years ago?
Was that actually beer that Bischoff drank at the end of RAW and am I the only one who can’t wait to see what kind of beverage Austin is going to drink at No Way Out when he’s not allowed to have any alcohol (by law!) due to the happenings with Debra?
Non-alcoholic beer should be making a huge push soon.
Kudos to Chris Jericho for doing Mr. Perfect’s gum trick (“the gum swat”) on RAW. That showed a lot of repsect, and it’s sad to see that not a lot of people caught that.
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
