Yo. You’re reading the 33rd edition of News and Analysis, written in 3:33 on the 3rd day of the weekly calendar in the year 2003.
WWE presented RAW this past Monday night, and I thought the show was enjoyable. Some good in-ring action, alongside storyline progression did the trick for the night. The focus on the show was the “turn” of Ric Flair, who rejoined Triple H and the Evolution seems to be starting all over again, as Randy Orton returned to action as well. Elsewhere on the show, Rodney Mack continued his victorious ways, Christian lost to Goldust in a non-title match, La Resistance earned a tag team titles shot at Bad Blood, and other storylines progressed. Steve Austin’s presence on the show continued to be felt, as Austin was yet again great in his role and helped the show out in my opinion. No ratings as of yet due to the Memorial Day holiday, but I’m sure we’ll have them soon on the news board, so keep checking on that.
Kevin Nash will take on Triple H at Bad Blood for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Hell In A Cell match. WWE decided to go ahead and continue the feud between the two men, rather change their plans and bring a returning-to-action Ric Flair into the main-event picture. To tell you the truth, that’s probably for the best. RAW isn’t that big on heels right now, and Triple H by himself, with only Chris Jericho as the other STRONG heel, would have been a tough spot for the company. With Flair back with Hunter, WWE can also go ahead and continue their Evolution storyline, as Randy Orton returned to action on RAW. I think it’s a good move and Natch still gets his, as he’s booked in what should be a great match with Shawn Micheals at Bad Blood. Had WWE changed plans, Kevin Nash would be left with nothing, as well, and that’s another thing which I doubt WWE and Nash would want. I guess it’s all good here, and the Nash vs. H feud is now actually a bit more interesting than it was.
WWE is obviously considering the Bad Blood PPV to be of a big importance, as they have started building up their storylines and setting things up for the event already. I saw some opinions on-line saying that there was no storyline progression on RAW, and I simply can’t agree with that. There was progression in almost all feuds announces — Nash/H, HBK/Flair, Booker T/Christian, Steiner/Test, La Resistance/RVD and Kane, Jericho/Goldberg. Yes, there was nothing over the top happening, but WWE still did a very solid job of reminding every one of the PPV and constantly hyping it up. They definitely need more of that in my opinion. The Steve Austin/Eric Bischoff stuff was also very helpful in that area. Austin has taken his character to a whole new level, as he’s back to working on his mic skills since he can’t wrestle, and I am entertained by everything he does. He’s also given the rub to Superstars (drank beer with Goldberg, than with Dudleyz), and I feel that this is simply the perfect way for WWE to use him at this time. Austin makes a great opposition for Bischoff! They have done a great job with his character and they should keep it up. Steve also deserves a lot of the credit!
One feud that stood out on RAW was Bill Goldberg and Chris Jericho. I felt that after doing somewhat of a crappy job with the “run-down” of Goldberg, WWE really picked it up. The legitimate heat those two have in real life has me on the edge of my seat sometimes. When Jericho did the talking I was affraid at first that the fans are going to turn on Goldberg again, but Chris forcefully made them boo, which was a smart move. Bill also tried his best on the mic, but he’s never been the best guy in the world in that area, so I won’t give him hard time. The spot with the Spear and then Jericho dunning was done great. It didn’t hurt Goldberg so bad because Chris used a ‘spray’ to sort of “bring the monster down” so to speak and make him vulnerable, and then immediately ran away, knowing that even though harmed, Goldberg is still dangerous. I expect a lot out of this feud.
I can’t help but wonder why WWE had Goldust defeat Christian on RAW. I certainly didn’t see that coming. As much as Goldy has disappeared from the scene, so to speak, WWE still considers him a strong mid-carder, and a Christian win over him would have done a lot for Christian character-wise, especially after winning the IC belt. I guess WWE gave Goldust the rub and there might be a feud with him and Booker once Booker gets the IC belt. I’m pretty sure The Rock will be appearing on RAW next week, but I don’t think he’ll do the Highlight Reel only. He’ll probably have a segment with Christian and I would definitely look out for that. As far as the Booker T/Christian feud is going, it needs something added to it to get the spark going and WWE will do that next week in my opinion.
La Resistance are one of my favorites right now. I will admit it, their gimmick is sucky and not morally right at times, but these guys are amazing. It’s really hard to take a gimmick, and make the best out of it, and in the process look good, but they have done so and I admire them for that. Their in-ring presence is great and I think that once they develop more and get more TV time, they’ll be even better. As bad as their gimmick can be with some people, I think they’re doing a good job of it, and rightfully deserve to face RVD and Kane at Bad Blood. WWE needs more teams like that! La Resistance can also feud with the Dudleyz later on, but I keep thinking that the APA will reform on RAW and face those guys eventually.
Other RAW thoughts… So now Test is the jerk. That’s kinda like Goldberg’s motto — who’s next?… Val Venis.. Chief Morley.. Val Venis.. Chief Morley.. Val Venis.. Chief Morley.. What does Trish have to do with anything?… Steven Richards wrestled on Raw! Yayyyy!… It was great to see Steve and Lillian sing “American the Beautiful,” as well as to see WWE honor our military by giving them free tickets. That’s a very nice gesture by the company… Let me holla at ya playa — where’s Theddy’s boo, Jazz? She only is the women’s champion… I had some kid e-mail me complaining Bubba Ray is getting the push instead of D-Von for singles, in competing with Rodney Mack. Newsflash — it’s called a “WHITE Boy Challenge” for a reason… And if you want to outsmart me, that’s where you ask then what is Rodney Mack doing in accepting help from a “White boy” in Chris Nowinski?
That will do it for this week. Thanks for reading everyone! Your feedback is always appreciated!
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
