Hey everyone. I hope you’re all fine, or at least better than me. Welcome to another edition of N & A. I thank you for reading and taking the time to sometimes write me an e-mail. It’s unbelievable how one line makes my day sometimes. Just knowing someone took a few minutes off their time to e-mail me, some kid writing about wrestling, means a lot to me. It’s one of the few things I have that still make me happy. Thanks to my supportive readers. I’d be nowhere without you.
WWE presented Unforgiven this past Sunday night. It was the RAW brand’s second exclusive PPV. Overall, it was an all right show. It wasn’t anything huge, but it was definitely not horrible, either. Highlights included Goldberg defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship, but not giving him the rub as much in the process; Shane McMahon pulling yet another ‘holy shit’ moment on all of us while giving Kane the win; The Dudley Boyz capturing the World Tag Team Titles, and Christian retaining his Intercontinental Championship. Also, Lita was successful in her first official match, Test defeated Scott Steiner, the Coach and Al Snow beat King and J.R., and in what I enjoyed a lot, Randy Orton “defeated” Shawn Michaels.
RAW aired the next night, and it was a good show. I’m not quite sure if that’s the way to put it, but it was certainly not a bad one. Poor commentating and a few misses here and there were the reason. Otherwise, the show was a solid effort, and definitely better than recent weeks, which would make it good. The rating is in, and the numbers keep sliding, as RAW scored a 3.6 this week. With all the Monday shows back on TV, let’s say if they’ll be able to reach the 4.0 mark again.
Bill Goldberg is the new World Heavyweight Champion. Amen! However, Mr. Honeymoon himself, Triple H, made sure to tell the whole world that this is nothing significant. It’s really not that Goldberg is the new Champion. It’s that Triple H’s isn’t the champ anymore. That’s how it is, if you ask The Game. You also need him more than he needs you, and you know that as well.
I don’t know when exactly (there are rumors circulating it could be next week), but Triple H will be leaving the wrestling for a while pretty soon. The reason being is WWE wanting his groin injury to heal completely, and of course his marriage to Stephanie McMahon (who will soon get ‘fired’ on SmackDown from what I hear). The couple is expected to go on a honeymoon as well, so Triple H won’t be around for a good month or so. You may want to skip the next few paragraphs if you dislike reading rumors…
It’s been well-documented online what the plans of the WWE for their Survivor Series event are for this year. Word has it that Randy Orton will be in the main event, and will possibly be the next World Champion, and will be moving away from Evolution. He will create his own Evolution stable, alongside partner Maven. What we’ve been seeing on RAW in the past several weeks (all the goofy segments that Maven ends up being in) is what we like to call “wrestling foreshadowing.” It’s WWE playing with the fan, and building a storyline before it takes place. At any rate, the plan is for Orton to ultimately become the World Champion and then go on with Maven to feud Triple H, who will return as a face. (I have no clue how that will work out.) As far as Flair goes, I believe the plan is for him to still be sided with Triple H, but that’s not been set in yet. At the Survivor Series PPV, or shortly after, Triple H is expected to win his belt back from Orton, who is then supposed to go on and fight The Rock at WrestleMania XX in a Third Generation Superstars match. Take all of this for what it’s worth!
I usually don’t talk about rumors in this space, but this one has been confirmed by way too many people to pass by. If that’s the current plan WWE will go with, I can see a lot of gaps in this story. First off, Orton as World Champion might work, but I don’t think Maven is ready for such a high position yet. Although, I’d be glad if they pulled a youngster to the top and gave him the opportunity. My bigger problem is Triple H. How will they turn him face? The common wrestling fan still cheers him, so they’re covered there, but the Internet users might have a tougher time “buying” it. Stay tuned, I guess.
The main event at Unforgiven ran a bit too long. Then again, I didn’t expect for Triple H to give Goldberg any rub. There’s a huge difference between Triple H and his idol Ric Flair. When Flair had to job his belt to somebody, he did it in an incredible way putting them over like nobody else can. Triple H, the top man on the program, felt that he still had to look good, instead of give the rub to Goldberg. This isn’t anything new with Hunter, so I’m not going to waste my time discussing it. I’m just glad we have a new World Champion.
Chris Jericho and Christian are amazing. I absolutely love both guys. Unfortunately, WWE is doing their thing of not utilizing talent the right way with those two. Chris Jericho pulled a great match out of Goldberg on RAW, and Christian had a great bout with RVD before the b.s. ending. Yet the two are currently in a goofy storyline against Steve Austin where there will obviously be no wrestling involved since Austin’s retired. There’s the hope that Jericho (who’s the primary guy that’s “feuding” with Austin) will end up outsmarting Austin, which I feel will be a nice move. Big props to Jericho, RVD, and Christian for their performances on both Unforgiven and RAW.
Shane jumps. Lands through a set. Breaks it. Next day he’s doing fine and dandy in the hospital. Kane comes over. Beats him up. Shane is walking next week. Sound familiar? Kane sets a dumpster on fire. Shane counters. Kicks Kane. Kane falls in burning dumpster. Mysteriously survives the next week. Still not familiar? Kane takes out jumper cables the next week… Ah, forget it.
There was definitely one bright spot on Monday’s RAW and that once again proved to be The Rock. It’s just incredible what this man does. The one thing he’s had heat for from the crowd — acting — was the point of his segment, and he still managed to turn it into a fun spot. He also seemed to be very sincere and from the heart when he spoke, so I thought it was a great moment. I wish The Rock all the success possible in Hollywood, and from what I read, The Rundown has been getting tremendous reviews so far. Congratulations to The Rock. As Dave Scherer put it, “our lost is Hollywood’s gain.” Best of luck to The Rock and I hope we’ll see him soon.
Other thoughts… Lita looks great, but is still very rusty inside the ring. She couldn’t even run on RAW, and had to slow down her paste big time. I think it’s clear that Trish, Molly, and Victoria have picked things up and have far surpassed where the former Team Xtreme member is at. But I also know she can catch up without a problem… 17 Times Tag Team Champions. Congratulations to the Dudley Boyz. They deserve it and have earned it. Now is the time to bring in a new team and let La Resistance cool down for a bit… Man, were Coach and Al bad or what? Damn. I tried to get into it so many times, but I just couldn’t. It’s like there’s something about them that makes you feel bad inside. Also, having two heels (no matter who it is) commentate is never a good thing. It often gets under the skin after an hour, or so… Did Steiner ever get Test’s bags for him? I’m so into this feud. Ugh… They need to realize that the more Hurricane and Rosey wrestle, the more their silly gimmick gets over with the crowd. Rosey is pretty agile for a man his size. They need to use that better… Tremendous job by WWE on showing support and American pride by having the injured US Soldiers at ringside, as well as for those little promos. That was a very nice touch… I thought it was cool to see the three youngsters step up to Evolution and fight it out with them. That’s the way to build stars, but it’s been one year since the Roster Split took place.
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
