Hello my children. You’re now my children, and I look at you as such. I’ll be your father. I always try to please you in any way possible. Sometimes, however, the things you like aren’t necessarily good for you. You see, that’s where I come in to look for you. OK, that’s as good as a Vince McMahon mockery you’ll get out of me…
Before I start off, I’d like to thank everyone who’s in some way involved with this website, from staff to readers. You’re all great people and you’re the reason why this site is still going forward. What can you expect from us in 2004? Plenty of great things… Remember, this is an Internet Original!
Speaking of original, Shawn Michaels wrestled Triple H in a wrestling classic this past Monday night on RAW. It was the last edition of the show for 2003, and WWE gave the two buddies a forty-minute time slot for their world title match. And boy, did they deliver. This match was great on a lot of levels. Shawn Michaels has always been able to tell a story like no other. In his hometown of San Antonio, TX, he proved that aspect of the game to STILL be one of his best attributes. Let’s give credit where credit’s due — Triple H sold like crazy for HBK, and put him over in a huge way last night. Triple H looked very well in the ring himself. It just kills me to see it, because just like last night, The Game doesn’t have to lose to put people over. This is what has hurt the RAW brand so much over the past year. They failed to establish new baby faces due to the lack of a push. And if one was present, they’d get rather buried by Triple H, which brings us to today in a way…
This Monday’s RAW hammered one point down — HBK is the strongest face on the RAW brand as we speak. Ever since the Survivor Series PPV, Michaels seems to have found a successful formula that allows him to perform consistently, something which wasn’t present in his wrestling career of past years, to be quite honest. With the exception of a singles match against Batista at the latest Armageddon PPV, the Showstopper has been at an all-time high wrestling wise. The crowd has sided with him pretty strong, and giving him the forty-minute classic in San Antonio was a great move, as it elevates him back as a serious #1 contender. A rematch has been scheduled between HBK and Triple H, and it’s expected for it to be either at next week’s RAW, or at the Royal Rumble PPV. The TBL Poll (make sure to cast your vote! It’s at the top of this page) tells a similar story, as almost all of you want to see a rematch.
A good question to ask here is whether or not Shawn Michaels should win the World Heavyweight Title at this point in time, having in mind the way he’s been over with the fans as of late. I think that they should have done the title switch on RAW. I know it would have been a hard thing to do, since they just began a storyline involving all the belts belonging to Evolution but on the other hand, I haven’t seen much of a progression on that so far, as they’ve taken each title holder and given him a certain role with others. Especially this past Monday night on RAW, we saw nothing involving all of Evolution’s members. Orton came by himself. Flair came to his music, and Batista, the other tag champ just helped him out at the end. Triple H came out to his music, although Flair at ringside. Bottom line is, I think they can benefit from Michaels winning the belt and having a lengthy face run at this point in time. Several people have pointed out that the main problem with RAW is the lack of top faces, and HBK has that role at this point in time.
Steve Austin is back on Monday nights, in a role that should be explained next week and he should be given the title “WWE Sheriff.” (Hence him saying “There’s a new sheriff in town” on RAW.) I don’t know what to say about that. I expected for them to get a bit more creative with the way they brought Austin back, but they didn’t do that. They once again wanted us to believe that there’s actually a Board of Directors of a company that would gather at 10 PM at night to solve issues, while their #1 show is running on TV. They also wanted us to believe that someone who’s trying to get re-instated back to his/her position after losing it, is able to put up their own restrictions, terms, and conditions. I know it’s Steve Austin, but the way they’ve done his return only shows how ridiculous his retirement speech two months ago was, and the way Jim Ross put it over. I didn’t mind it back then because had his return been done right, it would have meant that much more, but that didn’t happen. How they expect us to believe the words Austin says next time I don’t know.
As far as his new position of “Sheriff” goes, from what I understand it’s supposed to be pretty much the same old role he had as Co-G.M., but there are some rumors that Bischoff can’t overrule his decisions this time around. It’ll be interesting to see what they’ll do with that storyline because Bischoff and Austin have proven in the past that they make quite a duo when booked right, but you can only run with the ball for so long. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll go about this storyline in the near future, as well as on the long term.
I don’t like what they’ve done with Mick Foley on RAW. I felt that he should have been on the show last night to explain the gimmick. If you haven’t been following the news, the plan is for him to return strong after the “coward” storyline, in a wrestling capacity. The current idea is that The Rock’n’Sock connection will be back in action at WrestleMania, as we’re expecting Rock and Foley to team up against two members of Evolution, possibly Randy Orton and Batista (with Orton’s spot all but guaranteed). I have nothing against the storyline itself, I just like to think of Mick as a hardcore legend, and in a way they’re crapping over his legacy. I do have to admit that when he gets his heat back, it’ll be a good moment though, so I’m looking forward to it. An important point to make is that he should show up soon to cut a good promo and explain his actions, because otherwise he might be forgotten by the fans if they take their time with that one.
I liked the segment between Trish and Jericho on RAW. It was good for what it was, and at least it did help further their storyline. It’ll take something similar to that on bigger scale to get the momentum going again, however, the important thing is that I once again felt a spark watching it, and that’s a good thing for me.
I did not like Christian’s bitching to Jericho. It felt like he was a little kid, however, I’m sure there’ll be more to it, so stay tuned.
Other RAW Thoughts:
Dudleyz vs. Batista and Flair? This can be very interesting. What happened to La Resistance anyway?
Did anyone catch the irony that Bubba got DQ-ed by Flair right as he was doing the Bionic Elbow of all moves?
Should you know your wrestling history in order to catch what I meant in the previous line?
The divas looked hot! But it’s obvious that this division isn’t respected on RAW. The sad part is, that it used to be just a month ago.
How dorky was Victoria?
What happened to Spike?
Why the hell did I bring him up after Victoria?
Mark Henry’s spot with Booker T didn’t do much for me. I hope they come up with something good for his favor he’s going to ask from Bischoff. If booked right, Mark may at least do something good for once.
I wasn’t kidding.
How damn good is Bischoff at what he does? Look out for the best 2003 reviews/year end awards/coverage here on TBL! We have a lot to offer, so stick around! I’ll have more soon!
Thanks for reading. See ya.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Eddie
