I didn't see Unforgiven. I'll get a tape from a friend of mine on Friday and will watch it then. From what I've been told in emails and in reading at other sites, it wasn't any sort of blowaway show. That's pretty much why I avoided it on Sunday. I actually didn't mean to avoid it. I just had so many other things to do that I completely forget about it until I logged on to check my email at like 10:30pm and I had emails asking me about it. Other than that, can't really comment on the show. I don't expect to write any sort of recap on it.
This week I've got the Raw recap, some news things, three very quick takes in the Three Count and then we'll bring it home with the emails. This is going to be kinda short because I'm hoping to have a new column later this week, so I need to get this done before I can work on that.
Raw Recap for 09/19/05
For the first time in about three weeks, I didn't fall asleep at the end of Raw this week! Actually, Raw was a nice alternative to the crappy football games on Monday night (although Washington/Dallas was good by the end after Raw was done).
I liked the opening without the video and with the announcers hyping what matches are to come. They should do that all the time.
Bischoff is out with the old (as in the one that JBL had for too long) WWE title on his shoulder with Angle's name written on it. Angle comes out. Bischoff is about to hand him the belt until Vinny Mac comes back. I think Vince needs some new theme song. Maybe that "Stand Back" song that he danced to back in the '80s. Anyway, he tells Bisch that he can't just give Angle the title. Then he makes the announcement of Foley, HHH, Hogan and Austin being back. Austin got the biggest pop, which is always a good sign. Then McMahon makes a match for two weeks as Cena vs. Bischoff as the Bisch looks like he wants to pee himself. Fun segment. I like Vince being on screen making big announcements.
Trish was shown warming up backstage. Good. That let me know to get the VCR ready.
Bisch sucked up to Vince to try to get out of the match. Vince says he'll think about it, goes in the limo, rolls the window down and then says the match is still on.
With the VCR ready, my girl Trish beat that girl Torrie in about a minute and a half. Post match, Torrie and her bitch trio of Vicky and Candice beat up on Trish and Ashley. I'll take any Trish I can get, but I always like her better as a heel. Plus, she dresses better as a heel too. I sure did like Victoria's outfit, though. Damn.
Trevor Murdoch beat The Hurricane. Pretty good match actually, since the Hurricane sold his head and shoulder injury from the night before really well. Even though it was four minutes, the story was told nicely with Hurricane being all aggressive, then Murdoch countering by focusing on the shoulder and ultimately winning the match with a DDT. So now who are the challengers to the tag belts? Nobody comes to mind.
Carlito claimed he didn't tap, he was just reaching for the ropes. A heel would never lie, would he?
Next was a good segment backstage with Edge talking to Bischoff about how he wants Hardy fired. Then Bischoff suggested a "Loser Leaves Raw" match against Hardy on October 3rd. I LOVE that. I can't believe it's been three years since the brand extension and this is the first time there's been any sort of "loser leaves" match. I think it's a GREAT way to end a feud. The match being a ladder match is pretty cool although I think ladder matches are overdone a bit. Still should be around four stars or so with a lot of drama involved.
Tomko beat some jobber with a kick. I guess this is a way to fill two minutes.
Flair beat Carlito in a 20 minute match. It was probably five minutes longer than it needed to be, but I've been known to complain about not enough in ring action, so please consider that just a minor gripe. The match wasn’t any sort of technical display, but what it gave us was a crafty veteran in Flair working his ass off to try to pull off a good match with a less experienced wrestler in Carlito and I think it worked quite well. Flair's eye was looking nasty after he took a shot there, swelling up and obviously causing him problems. Like the true pro that he is, Flair worked through it. I love how Flair gets cheered for cheating blatantly because the fans love him so much. As much as I like heel Flair, at this point in his career he's more effective as a babyface. The finish with Flair holding onto the ropes as Carlito taps out was a good idea since it gives Carlito something to gripe about for the future. By the end of the match I was surprised they were able to have such a good match. It wasn't epic, but for a TV match it was pretty damn solid. I'll rate it about *** or so.
Another highlight was the promo with the babyface team that would be facing off with the heels in the main event. First Hardy spoke, then Michaels spoke, then Show spoke and then Cena came in as the big star of the group to speak for them all. Fun stuff. Then Cena continued to be like the Rock by making fun of the robot-dancing Todd Grisham although it did fall a bit flat. I enjoyed the segment and you could tell the crowd did too.
Flair was talking backstage, Carlito interrupted and then got his new buddy Masters in there to beat the crap out of Flair with the Masterlock. Maybe Masters is the next IC champ. We'll see.
Main event was fun. When the intros for the main event start at 10:35 it's a good thing. Well, it's a good thing when there's some good workers in the match and in this case there was. I'm all for eight man or six man tag main events. This was like the one on Smackdown a few weeks back when the babyface team beat the heel team in the six man tag main event. Lots of action here. Of course Michaels played face in peril much of the match and it's always good to see him in there with Angle. I thought Masters did a good job when he was in there too, showcasing his power. I'm glad Snitsky was in there for very little. I loved how Michaels was finally able to make a tag, but no teammate was there to tag him since they'd all been knocked to the floor, most notably Cena on a spear from Edge.
The best part came at the finish when they really built up Big Show. From Angle dumping him over the top to Show "hurting" on the floor, then getting up and showing rage, it was really well done. One thing about Show is he's always been good at using his face to show emotion. Once he tagged in, the crowd was going nuts for the guy and I think it's fair to say it's been years since he drew that kind of a reaction as a babyface. The way he dominated everybody was really cool because it really made sense due to him being pissed off, as well as his obvious size advantage. I was a little shocked that Edge was the one that got pinned out of that group, but I enjoyed the visual of all four babyfaces pinning him at the end with Michaels sitting at the top. The crowd was into it, so obviously it worked really well. I've got the match rated at ***1/4, which is more than acceptable for a main event of Raw. A feel good ending to a strong show.
Good show. Two long matches, a couple of very good promos and not a whole lot of crap makes this a very good edition of Raw.
7.5 out of 10.
The News
- Looks like we can add more names to the Raw homecoming on October 3 to go along with Foley, HHH, Hogan and Austin. The following people, from the Wrestling Observer, have been added as appearing on the show: Jim Duggan, Jimmy Hart, Hillbilly Jim, Billy Graham, Iron Sheik, Roddy Piper, Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Harley Race, Jimmy Snuka, Jay Strongbow, Greg Valentine, Nikolai Volkoff and Koko B. Ware. Don't be shocked if the likes of Ted Dibiase, Sgt. Slaughter, Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat, Pat Patterson and some other backstage WWE employees appear on the show too. I think this is a good idea. It's a three hour show. Plenty of time to fill.
- The two main matches for Smackdown's No Mercy are Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero for the World Title and The Undertaker vs. Randy & Bob Orton. I like the title match a lot. I'm not a huge fan of the handicapped match, though. Last I checked, nobody was clamoring for Bob Orton Jr. to come back into the ring.
- In the last edition of the Wrestling Observer, Dave Meltzer touched on how at the end of the month there will be some more roster cuts coming due to Heat and Velocity ending once Raw goes to USA Network. He said there will still be dark matches that will be in front of the live crowd before Raw and SD, but they may be PPV bonuses (like extras on the DVDs of PPVs) or just not on TV at all. He also added at the end that roster cuts are likely at the end of September. Sucks for anybody to lose their job, but with their being less TV time for WWE it makes sense to let some people loose.
The Three Count
1. The "Loser Leaves Raw" stipulation for Hardy/Edge is, as I said, a good one. Who's going to win? I think Edge is the safe bet. I think Edge is a guy that really should be in the main event right now, but due to the whole real life situation with Hardy it's been put on hold. Not that I have a problem with Angle or anything. I just thought by now they'd have had Edge in main events. There's still time for it. That probably means Hardy ends up on Smackdown, which would mean ANOTHER switch for the guy. Oh well. It seems like it's for the best for those two to be separated because even though they are working together, that doesn't mean they're back to being friends or anything.
2. In the near future, Jamie Noble and Brian "Spanky" Kendrick are coming back to WWE. Spanky actually showed up on Velocity a few weeks back to beat Paul London. I honestly have no idea why WWE finds the need to re-hire guys who they barely use to compete in the cruiser division they never book right. If they're smart (and they mostly are not), then they'd put Spanky with London as a babyface tag team in the mold of the Rockers as opposition to MNM. Not only would you have great matches, but you'd actually be utilizing talented wrestlers. Sadly, London is one of those people that might get fired come the end of the month. Where does that leave Noble and Kendrick? I just don't get it. To hire people for the purpose of NOT letting them go to TNA is bizarre.
3. Every September I start to think about the awards I'm going to write about at the end of the year. Most years, the Wrestler of the Year award is something that comes to me very easily. This year I'm not so sure. I think it's a three horse race with Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero, while Rey Mysterio sits a level behind those three. I'm torn on who I'd pick. One day I think Michaels, then the next it's Angle and the next it's Guerrero. It's so very close. I think the next three months will be big in determining my winner of this battle. Right now if I had to pick I'd probably say Michaels due to the matches with Angle, plus his work in the Hogan feud in giving us those awesome heel promos for a month. Angle was hurt a bit by that crappy feud with Booker T. while Eddie has to show me some more against some opponents not named Mysterio. Right now I pick Michaels. Who's your pick for WWE wrestler of the year so far? Doesn't have to be one of those three. Could be somebody else. Email me your thoughts on it.
Reader Questions & Comments
As always, reader comments in yellow and mine in regular font.
I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on what happens if Vince is somehow taken out of the picture in the WWE (would probably have to be an unexpected death as I don't think that man is ever going to be willing to let the company go to his kids or others until he's dead). Who would fill the role of Vince better, Shane or Steph? (or even HHH), and do you see any of those people changing Vince's "he's huge so he must be talented" policy, or making that the company line for a few more decades?
Anthony from Washington
The thing about Vince is he's in such amazing shape. He eats well, he trains and he lives as healthy a life as any 60 year old on this Earth, I bet. I don't know specifics, but that's just from what I've read. Now, in the event that he did pass away I believe that Stephanie and HHH would be the ones that would take over the creative aspect while Shane would handle the business side that Linda McMahon has focused on during her career. If you'll recall, McMahon tore both of his quads back at January's Royal Rumble and at that time Stephanie was mostly in charge. Some people were shaky about Stephanie in charge, at least that's what I read, but in her defense she's still in her late 20s and is only a few years into her job. Obviously Vince has her there for a reason and that's to be his successor for when he can no longer do it. I think that's a good decade away from now at the earliest. Maybe twenty years. I don't know if Vince could ever stop.
How do you evaluate the 5 - year period we are coming to the end of now from WM17 - WM22?
I think its generally agreed that 17 was both a high watermark and the end of an era and I would argue that with the possibility of Hogan-Austin and Rock-HBK (maybe even Flair-Foley) as well as Bret Hart more than likely getting inducted into the Hall of Fame (the last of the true outstanding 'greats' to get in?) then WWE will have exhausted its options as far as going back to the past is concerned and will have to rely on the stars that they have been developing over the last five years as they prepare to move forward from Chicago.
With that in mind - I wondered what you think they've done well and what they've done badly? For my part I can't help thinking that despite arguably the biggest disappointment of the last 5 years not being their fault (Lesnar leaving), there doesn't seem to have been any consistent planning and far too much has been done on the fly.
Obviously new stars have emerged but I don't think anyone could be said to be on a level with HHH - who was already there in Houston. Angle is the closest I guess, but Cena and D-Bat in particular lack the credibility that a few years in the main event gives a guy but JBL still fails to benefit from. Will their method of giving the big push and then forgetting about someone (best example being Benoit) come back to haunt them? Will Edge's briefcase hold out for a year - and if it does will anyone care (what price the return of Matt Hardy?) Enough! It'll be interesting to see what will happens once they run out of past to plunder is all...
James
Really good question. I think that, as you said, WMX7 was the end of a really great time for WWE. In my opinion, the best period in WWE history in terms of making money, putting on great matches, having star power and generally doing a good job on a consistent basis over the course of 3-4 years. This era is different largely because the climate has changed. You look at the names you mentioned like Austin, Foley, HHH, Hart, Hogan, Flair and throw in Benoit, Guerrero, Mysterio, Jericho as well and you've got people who all worked for both WWE and WCW at one point. You've got people who were either fired or left to flounder or never used properly at one point. This era really has none of that.
What you've got with this era of wrestlers are people who get pushed sooner than they would have a decade ago and people who have shown they aren't as ready to be a top guy as the previous generation was. Like you said, Lesnar leaving was a huge disappointment because of how natural wrestling seemed to come to him. Obviously Angle is the most natural of any wrestler that started this decade (he started in '99 on TV, but 2000 was his first year), but Lesnar was the other one. After those two, who is there? I think Orton has the chance to be really good and at times he is. Still, who's to say he would have been pushed as a world champion if the likes of Rock, Austin and Foley were still around.
I think the tough thing about getting new people in there and trying to elevate them is it's harder for fans to relate to them. When you see Chris Masters wrestling in main events I think everybody knows it's being rushed. Whether he deserves it or not is something we can answer in two or three years if he's impressing us the way Lesnar did. With Rock, Austin and Foley, for example, we watched them all climb the ladder before our eyes at a pace that was perfect. None of them became World Champion or a main eventer in three months. They all took a couple years to get there. It proved to be the right thing. When you mention Cena and Batista, I think what you've got there are simply two guys who McMahon felt had enough talent that he could push them to the moon rather quickly instead of waiting those two or three years to build them up. In some ways they waited with both, although in Batista's case he got there because he was against HHH while in Cena's case it was largely because he connected with the crowd so good while most other wrestlers were unable to do so.
To finally answer the question, I'd say this era has been a transitional phase more than the money making, star making phase that preceded it. If everything works out then in two or three years from now we'll be seeing those ratings back in the high 5's instead of the high 3's. This is what wrestling is now. Until a company like TNA can prove to be profitable (and they might) then I don't think it's going to change. WWE will reign supreme, they will continue to push people too soon, watch some of them fall flat on their face and hope that they can find a few diamonds in the rough to be this era's Austin, Rock and Foley.
Dear John,
I have been doing some serious thinking over the past couple of weeks about where Batista should go after his feud with JBL. The matches between them for the most part have been ranging around par, and I think that this feud needs to end soon. I also kind of think that though Batista is a mark for the fans being the face champ of Smackdown, I think some new blood needs to take over the strap. In your opinion, who do you think should succeed Batista as the new champ of Smackdown? And who would be the next viable face to challenge that new heel champ if it were up to you?
In addition, keeping in mind the thought that Angle will win the title against Cena sometime in the near future, how long do you think his reign will last, and aside from Cena, who do you think the most logical candidate is to challenge Angle for the title after his feud with Cena ends?
Ben
I'd love to see Eddie Guerrero beat Batista for the title. I don't know if it'll happen, though. I think Eddie deserves another run with the belt after last year's disappointing run, so this is the time to do that. As for a babyface challenger, I think Rey Mysterio is a good choice. Obviously they've had enough matches with one another, but to have those two in a World Title feud would be wonderful. I actually think Batista drops the belt to Orton, who then feuds with Mysterio.
As for Raw, it looks like Cena vs. Angle will headline Raw's Taboo Tuesday on November 1, so Angle could get the belt there. If not, I think Edge is the guy to challenge and beat Cena. After Cena, I don't know about faces. I think he'll be around the title for a long time. I wouldn't mind another run for Michaels.
Truthfully, I have no idea and no hunch as to when Batista or Cena will lose their belts. I think both are due for a loss because face champions get boring. Heel champs (as long as they aren't named JBL) are mostly fun.
How You Can Be Here
Email me a question with regards to anything WWE related. Ask me what I think about a wrestler, something from the past that you were wondering about, what I think about a match from the past (I can give you a star rating and thoughts on it, for example), a storyline going on or anything else. My only request is no fantasy booking. I know people like to do that. I just don't want to do that in this column. Another option is write me a commentary that's around 500 words at the most and I'll consider posting it.
Send all comments and/or questions to me at oratoryjohn@gmail.com and throw in a name for me to reference to as well. I won't post your email address, but a name would be nice. A location is fine too. That's up to you. Remember this too: The better your grammar, the more likely it is that you'll be in the feedback section.
I really enjoy answering your questions and hearing your ideas for stuff. It's a lot of fun, so please keep them coming.
Column Flashbacks
In this section from now on I'm going to link you to a column from my archives. Over the six years I've been writing online there's been plenty of things to write about, so I thought it would be a good idea to mention a column in this section during the News & Views that's available for you to peruse if you are so inclined.
I mentioned awards earlier. Here's my 2003 Johnny Awards column that will give you a good idea on what's to come at the end of this year. Wrestler of the year was Kurt Angle.
In Closing…
That's it for this week. I'm hoping to have a column done either this weekend or early next week. I've said that sort of thing in the past and never wrote, so we'll see. I can't help it. Life is hectic. It's just that I have an idea now, so it's just a matter of sitting down to write the thing.
A reminder just like last week to check out TheWrestlingBlog because myself and other writers from the internet are posting daily short commentaries there. I took a break from blogging over the summer, but am back now and enjoying it.
Also, I've had people email me about the TV show "Lost" based on what I wrote at the start last week. I love it. Keep it coming. I'll never get tired of that show. It's too good. So if you want to write me after tomorrow's season premiere then go ahead because I'm more than happy to chat with people about that show.
Smell ya later,
John C. - oratoryjohn@gmail.com
Links to check out:
The Oratory - The Best Wrestling Columns on the Net!
The John Report Archives - Missed something that I wrote? That's the place to go.
