What an incredible week on the 411 landscape. Talk about the balance of power in the “Internet Wrestling Community†shifting. Hyatte vanishes with no notice and Scott Keith appears in the wake. Widro should change the splash page of the page to read: “Give us your poor, huddled masses whose websites shut down and cast them off.†I’d like to welcome Scott on board and say it’s pretty cool to have him writing for us. The slow 411 take-over of the entire Internet is beginning!
I would also like to thank 411’s forum for reminding me why I stopped going to message boards. As for the actual 411 columnist fearing Nemesis’s column submission, as he seems to think, I have a feeling it will go like most other “one-time†columns. The first one will be really good and then the quality will go to shit, until it vanishes altogether. The only people who put out consistently good consistently weekly columns are Gamble, Nason(when he’s writing), and Rivett. None of the rest come close to weekly. I know “Cheap Heat†got to be a weak column basically because I had nothing to talk about. Nemisis calls going around the forum insulting writers and posters and giving his opinions “writing.†Which, in a sense, it is but doing that and writing a column are two entirely different things. Take one idea and go on about it coherently for two or three pages, and present your viewpoint in an uninsulting way THAT’S real writing not paragraph length blurbs on why SM and Morse suck. And just because someone doesn’t get paid for something doesn’t mean they’re not good at it it just means they like to do it Neither Grut nor I have sold a single piece of fiction, but I don’t consider either of us bad fiction writers Assface.
Bad wrestling writers, on the other hand
I switched over to “The Week In Wrestling†for two reasons. A) I have something to write about every week, using the WWF’s material, which is a hell of a lot easier than coming up with my own and B) I get to do a sort of a recap which I like doing better than writing a column anyway. I get more feedback from a single week subbing for PK or Beany than I do for 4 weeks worth of Cheap Heats.
Oh yes, and Grut and I are considering starting a “Net Feud †just so everyone can get their fix in the post-Hyatte era.
On to the week.
I didn’t see Raw this week as I was playing a session of Ultimate Geekfest ((some of you know it as D&D)) and the guy who was supposed to tape Raw for me taped Angel instead. Not that Angel is a bad show, but I was a little disappointed to see vampires rather than wrestlers. Luckily, I still got my fix of man-pretty people for Monday. So, I’m depending on SM’s recap of Raw to fill in the gaps.
I don’t know who worked on Nidia since she finished up with Tough Enough, but I give her four out of five stars for the way she looked on Smackdown. Never again will I doubt the powers of a professional make-up job. In fact, I believe they could even make Grut passable. ((SO IT BEGINS!!!!! BRING IT, BITCH!)).
I figured they’d let Maven sneak in a single win before they send him to OVW obscurity although I still don’t understand the reason to send him to the minors. Obviously, they don’t want him to get a big head, but disregarding possible new stars at this point, just because they haven’t “paid their dues†yet, is something the WWF can’t afford. Starting a guy over just so you don’t piss your other workers off is not necessarily the best business decision. So you piss off the D-Lo Browns and the Scotty 2 Hotties of the world. Big deal. Let them be pissed, but they’re not going to go anywhere and if they do, where are they going to go? I’m not say make the kid world champ, or even let him on PPV’s but starting him from scratch when he already has some heat and some pretty good heat is just a silly idea. People dig an underdog, and that’s exactly what Maven is right now an underdog. It worked for the 123 Kid, didn’t it?
I still have a hard time buying that a seven-four monster is never in the world title contention. Is it THAT tough to put a monster over. Andre the Giant and Big John Studd got by for years and years by being six-ten or so and not possessing a quarter of the ability the Giant does. The Giant needs to walk around and choke slam everyone in sight, not hang out in the tag team ranks. Can you please tell me why it doesn’t bother him that people half his size are up in the world title picture, who he could flatten with little effort, and he’s content to hang out with Spike Dudley? This week, he was able to just about beat the WWF Tag Champs without much effort, and then decided to team with ANOTHER little guy for the gold. Big surprise The Giant lost. It absolutely baffles me that you can’t manage a guy like him into the upper tier and keep him there. The believability factor is simple if you don’t have to feed your top-carders need to fellatiate themselves by beating guys they’d have no realistic chance of beating. I can buy the Rock Bottom puttind down Austin or HHH for three I don’t buy the Rock even LIFTING the Giant.
If you’re wondering, I refuse to call him the Big Show anymore and I think the WWF should, too considering they own the rights to “The Giant†now.
Regal is the WCW commissioner now. Here’s a big “who cares?â€Â
The Rock/Jericho stuff was probably the most compelling television the WWF writers had come up with as of late. In fact, I’m sorry to see it end. There was some classic fued stuff going on this week. Jericho protecting the Rock’s reign on Monday Jericho using Rock’s catchphrases Rock getting some cheap Rock Bottoms in all the way to the match at No Mercy, which was the only thing that didn’t earn a “blah†on the entire card I actually gave it a “bah,†but Widro knocked it all the way down to a “blah.â€Â
I don’t WANT to start thinking of the WCW World Title as secondary to the WWF World Title, but Vince has managed to do just that. It’s almost with a “big deal†that Jericho gets his first title reign. I was a fan of WCW, but they’ve completely managed to book the belt into being the IC Title 2k1. It’s the world title people fued about when they’re too busy to fued for the WWF World Title. Of course, if Rock doesn’t keep fueding with Jericho, I really don’t know what he’s going to do for the next few months.
The catapaulting of Rob Van Dam continues as he beats the Rock on Monday and then gets the last laugh on Thursday including having the backing of Vince McMahon. You know, I have to laugh when people bitch about RVD being stiff. Vince knows a superstar when one is handed to him. RVD can be stiff as he wants. In fact, I’m pretty sure RVD could actually decapitate Kurt Angle mid-match with a stiff kick to the throat and Vince would be like – “eh, there’s always 2004 to find another Gold Medalist.†Vince wouldn’t fire RVD if he murdered someone. Sorry I think Vinnie Mac is pretty sure he’s got his hands on the official “next big thing.â€Â
I’m pretty sure Christian became one of the most evil heels of all time ((Well, right after Hogan dumping a crippled Bagwell out of a wheelchair)) by using his and Edge’s mother as fodder to lead Edge into an ambush. Edge was pretty well Christian’s bitch all week, with Christian ambushing him everywhere he tried to go. I will also say that the Edge/Christian ladder match was not the “SlobberKnocker†I was promised. It’s getting harder and harder to impress with a ladder match, mainly because guys like Edge, Christian, and the Hardys have raided the bar so high. Jericho/Benoit was the last really good ladder match. Edge/Christian, compared to what they’ve done in the past, was bland. Not to take anything away from those guys. I will say, though, Christian does a much better job in the ring and on the mic than Edge does. I could see Christian holding a world title someday, regardless of his size. Edge, I just can’t.
The Hurricane could they possibly decide what they’re going to do with him? Are they going to make him a comic jobber, or a legitmate threat? They seen to build him up one way, only to have him utterly destroyed by Bradshaw and Kane. I think his idea of being Gregory Helms on the side and pretending he’s not the Hurricane absolutely rules it would be even better if Molly Holly was still Spike’s girlfriend, but pretended she didn’t know him when she was Mighty Molly. So, after they finished destroying Hurricane’s credibility as a singles wrestler, they threw him back with Lance Storm, and immediately jobbed them to the Hardys. The Hardys are getting completely boring as a tag team and really need a break up or something to stir the pot. People love Jeff, and Matt has Lita they both win.
If the WWF isn’t going to let Booker T be a legitmate singles competitor, why don’t they just bring in Stevie Ray and let them be Harlem Heat again? At least we’d get to hear Stevie say “yaks†and Booker might not be the bitch in EVERY SINGLE MATCH HE’S IN! As soon as Booker pinned Taker on Raw, did anyone have any doubt Taker would beat him at No Mercy?
I was sort of expecting Vince to help RVD win tonight, but it makes more sense to have RVD finally bust and turn on Austin on Raw and built to Survivor Series. With Vince back around Survivor Series time, I get a sneaking sense were going to see another “Survivor Series Screwjob.†That doesn’t necessarily bother me, but it makes me wonder where they’re going in regards to Wrestlemania. If RVD wins the title at SS, what happens from there. HHH comes back in December Diesel and ‘Da Bad Guy come back in January there’s SO many things they can do from here.
I’ve decided I want to spend my writing career writing for “One Life to Live.†Those guys come up with some messed up stuff.
The whole Torrie/Stacy fued has been fun, but I have to say I wasn’t too impressed with the lingerie match. That could have been SO much better. Why did they bother making the yaks try to actually wrestle when no one really gives a damn. They’re there to make young guys in the audience horny not to entertain them with wrestling. Save the wrestling for the yaks who actually can do it, like Lita and Molly. I’m sure the talented wrestling women get annoyed every time the non-wrestling women get in the ring, because it sets women’s wrestling back 10 years every time it happens.
I’m glad to see Kidman back and getting some face time. I personally think he should have beaten X-Pac for BOTH belts, but that’s just me. Instead, I think X-Pac may be waiting in the wings for something big when Hall and Nash return. Think about the possibilities. Diesel, Ramone, Michaels, and HHH all back in the same federation and all absolute superstars now. Pac and Credible hanging around. Assuming, at least, some mediocre writing, next year could be a very good time to be a wrestling fan.
By reading the recap, it really seems like Foley’s opening segment on Raw was thoroughly useless. SM certainly made it sound that way, and I know Keith agreed on his Raw Rant over at that other site he used to work for. What was it called again?
Final Thoughts:
Raw: I didn’t see it, so I can’t really comment.
Smackdown: RVD introduced as discussing things with Vince. Jericho/Rock finally explodes. Good for storylines, bad for meaningful matches but it’s the show before a PPV, so that’s to be expected.
PPV: Everything was pretty well predictable when I get only two matches wrong on the Roundtable, something’s amiss. Nothing fun and different with the tag team titles, which pretty much leaves the entire division at the status quo. Kane vs Test would have been just a sufficient on Raw, and there was no reason to waste valueable PPV time on it same with Taker/Booker. Of course, a dead crowd didn’t help the show any either. Rhyno seems to be starting on his own Path of Rage, which would be fine. People seemed to be getting behind Rhyno, then they took him out of sight and out of mind. Jericho/Rock ruled and, if you took the McMahon’s out of the main event, that ruled, too.
I certainly hope the build toward Survivor Series is a little better, with 75% of the card not being thrown together in the last ten days before the PPV. But, I’ll give a fine thumbs up to this week and hope for some good resolutions tomorrow.
Till then.
End Transmission.