Yo. You’re reading your favorite section of this site — News and Analysis. My name is Eddie and thanks for checking out this report! Just a reminder that all feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time! Now let’s get to the report…
WWE presented RAW on Monday night, and it was the first night of the Bischoff/Austin era. I’ll have to agree with most of the thoughts I’ve read on-line and in my mail box about the show, and saw that no doubt, RAW was the most entertaining show WWE has aired in quite some time. The show was great and I truly enjoyed it. A hot crowd, more talking but entertaining talking than wrestling, and definitely good storylines were the backbone of RAW. If WWE can run shows like that more often, things will not only go back to normal, but I’m sure new fans will join the “wrestling community.” Highlights included Steve Austin hiring back Jim Ross, Kevin Nash beating Triple H to a bloody pump in a super-long segment, and a Stone Cold Beer Bash that saw Steve Austin and Goldberg meet face-to-face for the first time ever, but ended with two bald guys drinking beer. Nice or not, it was the highest rated segment on the show as it scored a 4.3. Speaking of that… Ratings are in, and RAW scored a 3.5 final rating, down 0.4 from last week. Like I said two reports ago, if this week’s rating was high, this would have proved Goldberg’s return and Austin’s new role were pluses for WWE. Unfortunately I can’t say that right now, but seeing as the show was pretty entertaining on Monday, things may change around next week. We shall see.
Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff, as RAW’s Co-General Managers, have no choice but to coexist, and Monday night was the first test of that “relationship.” I don’t know about you, but I thought not only did the two click well together, but they were amazing at their job. I laughed at all of their segments and was entertained. Yes, they did take a lot of time off the program, but I think they had every right to do so. Why? Simply put, they had to! It was the first night the two had to deal with each other, so that’s enough of a reason from storyline point of view. But not only that, it was just hilarious to see them interact! From the opening of the show (with the images of both Eric and Austin flashing on the screen after the RAW video; then the segment they did), to the firing of Morley, all the way to the Beer Bash, the two were simply great in all their segments. Again, wrestling is sports entertainment! You’re probably used to hearing every Internet “analyzer” saying that WWE needs to cut on the talking and focus on wrestling. That’s needed only when the “entertaining” part of it is bad though, and not at all entertaining (i.e., Katie Vick). When you have something good going on, there’s nothing wrong with giving it more time because it entertains! Take the “This is Your Life” segment between Foley and Rock. It lasted nearly an hour, but it ended up being one of the best segments in RAW’s history. Why? It was hilarious and it entertained big time! Big ups to WWE for their Austin/Bischoff ideas on RAW, they were great!
I feel like this storyline could really work! Steve Austin stepped it up on the mic big time on RAW. The hot Halifax crowd helped, no doubt! Steve was great though and as weird as it sounds, though we’ve seen his “attitude” and his “hell raising” plenty of times before, they just seemed new and fresh to me. I guess it’s simply because we know that now Austin is in a new position, playing a new role, and sort of giving a new meaning to it. We also know it’s not just temporary, since he can’t wrestle. Having Bischoff as your partner to work this storyline out is also very helpful. In all, it was a great night for these two.
Steve Austin made several decisions on RAW, one of which was to bring back the IC Championship. There were rumors WWE would bring the title back a few days ago, and they came true. I’m definitely up for the idea, as this belt shouldn’t have been taken off TV in the first place. Not only does it signify so much, and not only does it have so much history, but on RAW (especially!) it’s needed big time. Guys like Kane, RVD, Booker T, Christian, and all the other strong midcarders are stuck with nothing to do, and with the Triple H Effect in power, it was obvious they couldn’t be pushed to Championship level. By having the IC belt, WWE is now free to give the belt to a strong mid-carder and have the division up again, allowing them to elevate more people and not touch the main-event guys like Goldberg, Triple H, Nash, etc.
Another thing Austin did was rehire Jim Ross. Not much to say here, but just to point out that it was nice to have J.R. back. The segment for his return was also done very well! I also have to say that I enjoyed the Chief Morley vs. Jerry Lawler match. The crowd was into it, and both athletes prove that a mat-based bout with more storytelling then high spots can sell over big time. They were great at it, as well. Speaking of Morley, he was fired on RAW. I don’t know where this is going but my guess is that he’ll either remain a wrestler on the RAW roster, or he’ll simply go to SmackDown!. We’ll see what’s up there, but WWE should definitely use Sean Morley, because he proved ever since returning to RAW as the “Chief of Staff,” that he has a lot of gas left in the tank and is in a great shape.
The only problem WWE seemed to have on RAW was the fact that they were in Nova Scotia, which resulted in a lot of people cheering for the Canadian Superstars. Nothing wrong with that, but a brutally long segment between Kevin Nash and Triple H turned into a disaster when the crowd started chanting “Diesel sucks,” after Nash’s altercation with Canadian Chris Jericho on his “Highlight Reel.” It looks like the Nash-H segment was also the one segment that not a lot of people seemed to care about. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence that when the only bad thing on RAW on such a great night involves Triple H, or whether it’s a fact, but I think it gives you a lot of things to think about and ponder over. The latest in this feud is that Triple H has requested it lasts longer, at least through SummerSlam, so I would tend to guess that WWE might decide to give the belt to Kevin Nash for a while, as Triple H would definitely job to his buddy. I won’t even start saying what a furthering of the Goldberg-Triple H feud might mean and why Triple H is doing it. I was way too happy with the rest of RAW to waste my time on this crap. I can just tell you that no matter how much blood he lost or no matter how “badass” the beatings he takes are, I would rather switch the channel when he pops up.
Bill Goldberg had his first official match on RAW this past week against Christian… Well, kind of. WWE used the segment to build Goldberg as an even bigger monster and in the process give 3 Minute Warning (but mainly Rico) some good air time. I didn’t mind it, as it did build Goldberg’s character well, and it furthered the push for Rico as a possible singles competitor in the future. As far as Christian goes, WWE needs to turn him around a bit. They have a good idea going about having a “reborn” version of him, and The Rock gave him a good rub, but it looks like they’re a bit stuck on what to do. Then again, seeing as he was Canadian and even he was cheered, maybe it was the right thing to do to keep him away from Goldberg, as they wouldn’t want anyone booing Bill right now. I’m pretty sure Goldberg will be feuding with Jericho for a while, but WWE might choose and go on with the Christian combination as well. Stay tuned.
Other RAW thoughts… Nice to see Lance Storm get a loud pop. WWE can really work on his singles career now (FINALLY) it’s about time. I think turning him face would be Step 1… Booker T is once again stuck with nothing to do. How long before Jericho and Christian team up again to take on Booker and Goldberg?… Does Teddy Long need new shoes or does he need to learn how to balance himself?… Does the women division need something refreshing?… How great were Eric Bischoff and Steve Austin?… Don’t you think it’s about time Rico gets a push?
Well, it’s getting late, so I’ll end this here! Have a great week guys!
Thanks for reading. See Ya.
Eddie
