Yo. You’re reading News and Analysis, and my name is Eddie. Thanks for checking out this section and thanks to everyone who has e-mailed me in the past with your comments or thoughts. To everyone who hasn’t but would like to, feel free to do so. Any type of feedback is welcomed and you will get a response from me for sure. Well, just thought I’d remind you.
WWE presented RAW this past Monday night, and the show was a good effort, however, seemed to fell short from the one on the previous week. Highlights included Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff continuing their Co-G.M. gimmick with each making decisions, the most important of which seemed to be the insertion of Booker T into the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal at Judgment Day. Goldberg defeated Christian in a Steel Cage match but WWE basically ruined everything they built following Backlash. We’ll get into that later. The Dudley Boyz and Tommy Dreamer both made an appearance in Philadelphia on RAW this past Monday, while Freddie Blassie and the Legion of Doom also made a surprise appearance. RAW’s rating is in and today it gets its own paragraph.
WWE RAW shocked everyone today when the ratings came out. The show did a final rating of 4.4, which is up 0.9 from last week and is the highest rating WWE has seen in more than a year I believe. This comes off of hours 4.3 and 4.5, and with a share of 6.7. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m guessing that WWE got a good rep from last week’s RAW, as the show was truly good. With Goldberg aboard and with Austin and Bischoff doing a great job last week, obviously people started talking and RAW scored a huge rating with a very big jump (almost 1.0). That’s very impressive and definitely good news, but it does seem a bit weird. The ratings were released at a later time this week, as well, so there might be a mistake. I’m not trying to be negative, don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy they scored such a good rating. I got to wonder if they’ll be able to keep it next week after this week’s show though, which brings us to the analysis part of this report.
It’s funny how in my highlights of RAW topic in the first paragraph I didn’t even mention Triple H and Kevin Nash, as their ongoing feud continues. It shows you how much I care about it. Unfortunately for WWE, the fans have turned on Diesel, as Nash hasn’t really gotten the response expected. I’m going to blame this on the Canadian fans who started the whole deal, but WWE’s booking in Nova Scotia is also one to blame. I’m really happy that WWE is putting Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair into some role as well, because otherwise, the match between Hunter and Kev would be horrible. House Show reports indicate that the two aren’t exactly working well, and I don’t know about you, but I almost fell asleep during Nash’s match with Jericho, as hard as Jericho tried to get Kevin over. Ric Flair, on the other hand, had a very solid match on RAW to the point where I was in awe of the great shape Flair was in. With his ass out, and his pants torn apart, he kept on and performed with a great will. I always respect that about Flair. Unbelievable. As far as the PPV goes, whatever happens, happens, but expect the Clique buddies to extend their feud. At least that’s what it looks like for now.
Another thing I liked on RAW was how that made the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal at Judgment Day seem so important. It’s a good way to get the belt back on TV by showing that it’s of a big importance. That was about the only spot they did on RAW which TRULY hyped up Judgment Day. The addition of Booker T to the match was also a great idea, but the segment with Theodore Long and Steve Austin was horrible. Austin basically did what Long has been saying all this time — the White Man used his power and more specifically, he used ‘the black man to his advantage.’ It wasn’t Mack that Austin chose for the Battle Royal, but Booker T. It’s like saying “Yeah Teddy Long, I get your point, but it won’t be this black man, it’ll be the other one.” Horrible writing.
How great is Classie Freddie Blassie after all these years? It was great to see him again, and no matter how old he is, he continues to shine. The hilarious WWE legend left another bright spot on RAW. While we are on that segment, it was great to see the Dudleyz back though they seem to get suspended and return every other month now. And what better place to do it than in Philly in front of the ECW-loyal crowd? What Rico said to Eric Bischoff in the backstage segment could also be used as the beginning of his singles push. Don’t know what will happen, but WWE needs to repackage 3 Minute Warning, push them a bit, or give Rico a singles push. Or maybe all three at once.
Test and Scott Steiner continue their tag team gimmick, and things seem to have gone downhill for them lately. Several weeks ago, I truly enjoyed Scott Steiner’s work, and I think I wasn’t alone. Steiner improved in the ring, and in his short run with Chris Nowinski, he definitely was getting cheered by the crowd. Pairing him up with Test has kind of made him more of a heel, and it’s obvious that WWE is trying to keep him face, so that’s why they put him in a storyline against La Résistance. In the end of this tunnel, I’d expect Steiner and Test to finally fight it out for Stacy (Don’t be surprised if Steiner gets her!), and as far as La Résistance goes, they’re going to find themselves as the Acolytes, and they’ll be in the need for protection… Ok, I won’t be a smartass, but I’m just hinting that La Résistance vs. APA might happen very soon.
The ladies did well in their Hardcore match. They didn’t seem to click here and there, but other than that, they performed well. Nothing much to say here. The match at Judgment Day didn’t have much of a buildup to it, but I’ll give them credit for trying to somewhat keep things fresh by making if a Fatal Four Way bout. Seeing Trish vs. Jazz part 59, or Trish vs. Jazz vs. Victoria 38 wouldn’t have been fun. Just like with the Dudleyz, it was very nice of WWE to give Tommy Dreamer some TV time last Monday, even though his role wasn’t big. They were in Philly after all!
News time…
For those who didn’t know, Booker T was hospitalized Sunday night in Philadelphia, PA. Apparently, Booker wasn’t feeling well and got too ill to the point where he had to check himself into the hospital. The plan was for him to skip RAW on Monday night and instead fly back home to Houston, TX, on Monday. Word had it that Booker never made the flight, and in some bad news, doctors weren’t even able to diagnose him with anything. However, it has been reported and documented on WWE.com that Booker had a pneumonia, and was very sick. Booker is reportedly in high spirits and feeling a bit better, but his participation at Judgment Day is not 100% sure as of this writing. I’m sure he’ll make it to the PPV, but look forward to more news update on him.
Speaking of injuries, WWE had no luck at the SmackDown! tapings on Tuesday. Chavo Guerrero wrestled a Velocity match but apparently with the first move into the match, he tore his biceps muscle. He’ll have a surgery later this week, and is expected to miss about six months of in-ring action. As far as the Judgment Day match between Los Guerreros and Team Angle goes (a Ladder match for the tag team belts), word has it that Eddie Guerrero will have a new tag team partner for the match, since Chavo can’t wrestle with his condition. We certainly wish Chavo a lot of health, and a speedy recovery.
My 2 Cents
A lot of mixed feelings on the return of the Legion of Doom. It was great to see The Road Warriors back, but I think their match with RVD and Kane proved one thing — they’re way past their prime. The same rule should go for Hogan, Piper, and all the other old-school legends Vince is planning on bringing back. It’s just a proof that nostalgia doesn’t do much! I felt pretty said for Hawk and Animal when they were obviously struggling inside the ring and couldn’t keep up with RVD’s fast pace, or with Kane’s energy. Then again, Ric Flair proved otherwise later in the same night. Nonetheless, the prime of all these guys is in the past, and unless they’re used to elevate young talent, they’re just not needed on the show for more than one or two appearances in my opinion. You can still prove me wrong by saying RAW scored a high rating this week. And you’d be right, it did!
I love Steve Austin’s new role. He’s obviously used to give the rub to other talent. First, it was Goldberg, now the Dudleyz. I must say, he wasn’t as successful in his role this week as he was last week, but he still did a good job. He just forgot to roll Freddie Blassie to the back right after the segment.
Thanks for reading everyone. See ya.
Eddie
Note from Web Manager, Martin… TBL has several positions open, so if you are interested in becoming part of the staff as an opinion writer, news writer, or anything else, click here.
