The WWF put on what I thought was one of the best shows of the year last night with Raw is War. It was just an amazing show all around. First off, I can't begin to tell everyone how much I was marking out during the entire Tazz segment. As soon as he went over to the announcer's table and started talking to Jim Ross, I knew it was going to be good. Now THAT was definitely my favorite segment of the year (at least from what I can remember). The only "bad" part is that I think he sort of "oversold" the Lawler punch, getting knocked down way too hard. But hey, I'm sure Tazz is definitely well over as a heel now. I loved it. Anyone else notice how vicious that powerbomb was from the Goodfather on the Ho through the table? Jeeeeez. Overall, I give this week's Raw an A+. Yup, an A+. Something about the show being in Madison Square Garden really got me into the show from the very beginning.
On the WCW end, Nitro put on a pretty good show as well, which I felt was highlighted by a kick ass match between Lance Storm and Booker T. When Lance pulled Booker to the middle of the ring with the Maple Leaf submission hold, did anyone else think he had a chance to win the World title there for a split second? That match definitely stole the show and this once again proves my theory... Lance Storm RULES. Overall, I give last night's Nitro a B, since nothing else really stood out much. I'll have more news and thoughts on the Monday night shows later on in this report.
As for the ratings, Raw is War scored a decent 6.3 for last night's show, off hours of 5.5 and 7.0. Nitro did a 2.5 off hours of 2.7 and 2.2, down from last week's 2.7 overall rating. The Tazz promo did a great 7.0 rating for Raw, only behind the Rock vs. Benoit match, which did a 7.1. However, the highest rated segment was, as always, the overrun, from 11:00 and over, which did a huge 7.8 rating. Nitro's highest rating was a 2.9 for the Russo interview and Sting vs. Steiner match.
In other ratings, ECW dropped to a 0.8 rating this week, down from last week's 1.0. Sunday Night Heat did a 2.6, Livewire did a 1.1, Superstars did a 1.1, and WCW Saturday Morning did a way below average 0.6.
To check out results of the matches you didn't see on last night's Raw, including dark matches and the Jakked/Metal tapings, click HERE. Big thanks to HiTmAn 5427 for sending those results along.
Here's what happened after Nitro went off the air... Thanks to Fracture99 for sending this along:
When the show went off the air, Nash, Steiner and Goldberg were all brawling in the ring.
well, after the cameras stopped rolling, a bunch of wrestlers ran out from
the back to help split the 3 up. I remember Kanyon, MIA, and a few others
were out there. After awhile, they managed to pull steiner out of the ring,
and he walked away, watching Goldberg and Nash still going at it. Eventually
they stopped struggling, and Goldberg walked out peacefully. Nash stayed in
the ring until goldberg was through the curtain, then he played to the crowd
and they hit the Wolfpac music to end the show.
Fracture99 also sent along this tidbit concerning the Pipe on a Pole match between Scott Steiner and Sting... "During the Pipe on a pole match between Steiner and Sting, The pipe actually fell off of the pole. Early in the match, when Sting was whipped into the ropes near the pole, the clip holding the pipe just gave out, and dropped the pipe to ringside. When Rick Steiner came in, he simply grabbed the pipe from the ringside floor, instead of climbing the pole and grabbing it, as the announcers would have you believe. I watched the match later, on tape, and the camera crew actually did a very good job keeping the cameras pointed away from the pole, and using no wide camera angles, so that the fans watching at home couldn't actually tell that the pipe fell off."
One angle that I really didn't like from last night's Nitro was the Kidman-Torrie "Torrie Appreciation Day" angle. I thought it was just... stupid. It made Kidman seem like he was a heel during the angle, even though I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be playing the face role. People were noticeably booing, and the angle actually got ME hating Kidman. A few interesting side notes from that angle... The girl in the video tape actually WAS Torrie... except, it was a pre-taped segment where Torrie Wilson had makeup and all that other stuff put on her face to make her look that way. Sort of reminds me of the Nutty Professor movie. And in another side note, Torrie actually did have an eating disorder when she was younger, so there's another reason why this angle was just plain bad.
You may have noticed that last night on Nitro, Kanyon did not do the Diamond Cutter "Bang" gesture with his hands, but instead crossed his arms in an X. The reason, according to Dave Scherer, is that Diamond Dallas Page apparently requested from Kanyon, who is a real life close friend of DDP's, that he not do the Diamond Cutter sign. We can only assume the reason for Page's request. In a side note, DDP has apparently been having problems lately with WCW management, as he is apparently ready to come back and work, but WCW is reportedly in no rush to bring him back, for whatever reason. Hey, Page may be one of the older guys, but he CAN still work in the ring with the best of them, and he is definitely over with the crowd. Why isn't WCW bringing him back?
Horace Hogan has reportedly been released by WCW. As many of you know, Horace is Hulk Hogan's actual nephew. Hmmm, this Hogan situation is getting more and more interesting each day. I've also heard that Brian Knobs and Alex Wright may have been released from WCW, although those are just rumors at this time.
Moving on to WWF news, a Perry Saturn & Terri vs. Al Snow & The Kat match was originally scheduled for last night's Raw, but was scrapped for whatever reason, most likely due to time constraints. If so, this is the second time in recent weeks that one of Saturn's matches have been taken off Raw, most recently Saturn vs. Crash Holly from a couple of weeks ago.
The XFL Orlando team has announced Galen Hall as their head coach, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinal. The Orlando XFL franchise will be known as the "Orlando Rage." Big thanks to Yankee2385 for sending along that news.
Next year's WrestleMania 2001 at the Houston Astrodome is expected to break the all time attendance record for the Astrodome, which is currently held by a KC Chiefs vs. Houston Oilers playoff game in 1994, a game that drew almost 66,000 fans. According to a recent article on WWF.com, an estimated 70,000 fans are expected on hand for WrestleMania 2001. Wow. Tickets go on sale Saturday, November 11. And of course, for your chance to win two FREE tickets to Wrestlemania, click HERE for more information.
Three stars of the upcoming movie "Highlander: Endgame" are expected to appear on this Thursday's Smackdown!, which will be taped tonight in East Rutherford, New Jersey. I believe Edge has a role in the Highlander movie as well, which hits theaters on September 1.
MTV has announced that The Rock will be a presenter at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. The event will take place September 7 in NYC at the Radio City Music Hall.
Chyna filmed a commercial for Stacker 2, "The World Strongest Fat Burner" this past week. The commercial is expected to air on the August 21 Raw. To check out pictures and videoclips from the commercial shoot, check out the article on WWF.com.
According to several reports, ECW is extremely close to signing a deal with USA Network. In fact, a final deal may be announced sometime in the next couple of weeks, according to Dave Scherer. Late September isn't a long way away, so if a TV deal will be announced by ECW, it will definitely be very soon. As of now, if ECW does in fact land a deal with USA, their expected day and timeslot would be Saturdays from 6-8PM. Notice that the show would most likely move to two hours. This is definitely GREAT news for ECW and I'm crossing my fingers that the deal happens.
And finally, as if you haven't heard already, presidential candidate Al Gore has chosen Senator Joseph Lieberman as his potential vice president. What does this have to do with wrestling? Well, Lieberman is an active member of the Parents Television Council, which of course has been attempting to control what people watch and the way people live. Do we really want someone like that running our country? Not a good choice for Gore. It looks like George "Dubbya" Bush will be our next president.
That wraps it up for today's report. In case you missed yesterday's update, I've added three new WCW themes to our Entrance Themes section, including Lance Storm, Vampiro, and the Great Muta. Also, Corey Silvia is back with another great edition of Jerichoholics Anonymous, which is always a great read. Corey's Wrestling Q&A; will also be posted soon. Until next time, later.
Triple A
TripleA99@aol.com