Too much of a Soap Opera..

Last night as I was watching RAW, I realized just how much change has occurred in WWE since the late 90's and early in this decade. Not just in the presentation of the product, but in the product itself. Long gone are the days when watching WWE felt like watching a bunch of characters enjoying making a name for themselves. There's no unscripted humor, no unscripted interviews, and no unscripted anything, really.

Take the Cryme Tyme vignette last night. JTG and Shad are backstage showing us what they stole from people at Wrestlemania, in a mock shopping channel set up. They've got some soul in a shaker courtesy of "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson, an autographed Playboy from Maria, and panties that belonged to Mae Young. Funny stuff, but it's in no way shape or form connected to ANYTHING else in the show, as it would have been several years ago. Someone would have figured that if they bought that shaker full of Rocky Johnson soul, the might be able to "shake" (pun intended) off a losing streak or somehow improve their game. Maybe Al Snow would have coughed up some cash in order to improve Steve Blackman's hard headed personality. You could have even had someone incredibly gullible pay for it, only to find out later that the shaker had nothing but pepper in it, giving them sneezing fits and costing them a match which would lead to a feud with Cryme Tyme for selling fake products.

Later on in the show, someone like Funaki would have approached Cryme Tyme for the Playboy to see Maria, and then snuck away with Mae Young's panties. If not that, then Maybe someone like Val Venis would have picked up the Playboy, and he and Santino would start a feud as Santino would chastise Venis for looking at Maria naked (great idea for a feud, as Santino and Maria are no longer together, so it makes him even more of a jerk. Venis, being a former porn star, has seen many women naked and probably doesn't think that much of looking in Playboy. The misunderstanding is more than enough to start a decent mid-card feud).

Another thing that really made me consider that WWE has changed was Kane's obviously scripted promo on ECW following Wrestlemania. The man beats 23 other men to earn a title shot, and then beats Chavo in 8 seconds for the ECW title, and comes out cutting a promo that not only sounds like something Randy Orton might say, but is delivered in the way Randy Orton would say it. This is Kane we're talking about. The same Kane who was once a monster that believed he was hideously scarred by a fire that killed his parents. The same Kane that once he started speaking, did so with the sound of violence deep in his heart. The same Kane who now sounds nearly identical to a snotty twenty something who goes around beating up old men and calling himself a "Legend Killer."

What's wrong with this picture?

Now, I realize I may just be looking for things to complain about, but these things may just explain why WWE is getting lower ratings than they were eight to ten years ago. It may explain why there are a lot of guys like me getting their wrestling fix from independent companies like ROH, FIP, Chikara, and NWA's Showcase show on Colours (Which SamoaRowe LOVES to review, by the way). It's not like these things are hard to fix, but they might be a little too hard for some people in high places to admit.

To tell JJ how right or wrong he is, click here.

To talk about WWE's shows, and how they're overly scripted, click here.

Draft thoughts, part 1

With one of the most conversation worthy weeks behind us, I want to take a look at the so-called draft that WWE put out. I’m not even going to mention how I think that having computer generated picks is a mockery and insult to legitimate drafts(Well, I just did), but I will give my opinions and thoughts on the picks that the computer “randomly” generated.

Tri-Brand Draft, part 1-RAW

Out of all the brands, RAW got the best deal coming out of the draft, and that’s no surprise. Let’s take a look at how this worked out for WWE’s flagship show:

RAW Loses (in order):

The Great Khali, Torrie Wilson, Chris Masters, Ric Flair, Kenny Dykstra, Viscera, Victoria, Eugene, Johnny Nitro

Basically, what we have here is RAW losing a limited monster, eye candy (and I use that loosely), a muscle head, an old man, a talented up and comer, the world’s largest lover, one of the best women wrestlers, a mentally challenged character, and a cocky rising star.
Sounds like a mixed bag, huh?

Well, in my opinion losing Khali, Masters, Wilson, Flair, Viscera and Eugene really helps RAW. You lose a monster in Khali, but that opens the door for Umaga to return to form as a smashmouth killing machine. The pre-taping of Smackdown also ensures that Khali won’t pull an Iron Sheik (random f-bombs) as he has done in the past. Masters switching brands only helps him, as he has a fresh group of Cruiserweights to lock into his full-nelson “Master-lock,” and the promise of fresh feuds with guys like Matt Hardy, and possibly Hardcore Holly. Master’s loss, however, make one less heel on RAW for the recently crowned Intercontinental Champion Santino Marella.
Flair leaving is great for RAW, definitively killing the Carlito-Flair feud and any possibility of a re-occurance with either Carlito or Foley. It does hurt the brand, though, as that’s one less wrestler who could make almost anyone look good. Val Venis is probably stoked to have his RAW jobber duty back. The losses of Viscera and Eugene aren’t that pivotal. I will say, however, that I thought Viscera and Val Venis were one of the most under-utilized tag teams in recent years, as I believe they could’ve had quite the impact. Like Torrie Wilson, the switch of Eugene will have basically no effect at all. Eugene has been used in recent months as a dark match crowd warmer, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

RAW gains (in order):

King Booker & Queen Sharmell, Bobby Lashley, Snitsky, Ken Kennedy, Paul London & Brian Kendrick, The Sandman, Daivari, William Regal, Jillian Hall

There are two picks here which make no sense to me, and that’s the Sandman and Daivari. Why anyone would move these two from their previous brands is a loss to me. The Sandman is only with the WWE because of the re-birth of ECW. Though I’m sure he’s loving the larger paychecks, I’m not so sure taking him off the brand serves any real purpose. The Sandman’s best work these days, and honestly ever, is done in “Extreme Rules” matches in which weapons are illegal. Barring the DDT and the Heineken-Rana, he has a very limited moveset without a Singapore Cane. Not to mention his status as an “ECW Original” maintained what little credibility the new ECW had with old-school fans. Daivari, while being a good wrestler, is limited in possibilities on RAW. He’s much better suited on ECW with some smaller roster members, like Little Guido or Matt Striker, or on Smackdown with the Cruiserweights. But it’s likely he was forced to RAW to prevent any question of why he wasn’t translating for the Great Khali. Even though a Khali attack on Daivari could have led to a great face turn and a possible Cruiserweight title reign.
When it comes to the other choices, there is nothing but benefit for RAW. King Booker, when he returns, is a solid heel who could hold his own with Cena both in and out of the ring. Booker’s reactions to Cena’s stale sexual preference jokes might actually freshen up the Champ’s bad jokes. Bobby Lashley has somewhat proven his ability to win over a crowd. The question is whether or not he can do it against a lesser presence than “Evil” McMahon. His arrival on RAW allows him the chance to feud with other young up and comers like Randy Orton, or even the recent acquisitions like Ken Kennedy and William Regal. Kennedy will be a breath of fresh air for the show, as we haven’t seen a true rising star on the show since Cena switched brands and his character fell flat on it’s face. Hopefully, Kennedy will follow a different path. Regal, on the other hand is a versatile wrestler capable of seamless movement throughout the card. I could see him feuding for the IC title, or teaming up with King Booker or even helping Armando Estrada with Umaga.
London and Kendrick are possibly the best of the draw for RAW, as their devil may care style will mesh perfectly with Matt and Jeff Hardy, if WWE continues to ignore that Matt’s actually on Smackdown. Even so, L&K are well suited to work with the RAW tag scene, and the possibility of a feud with the World’s Greatest Tag Team could take both teams to new levels.
This leaves us with Snitsky and Jillian Hall. Snitsky has very little promise, in my opinion, but I could see him feuding with John Cena after a few months of build. Like so many before, I could also see Snitsky feuding for the Intercontinental Title. Honestly, if Santino were to overcome the challenge of Snitsky or Regal it could do wonders for his in-ring credibility. Fans might begin to take him seriously. Jillian Hall, in my opinion, is a waste of airtime, but we may see her latching onto Carlito or another mid-level heel to try and spice up the character. I predict she gets more airtime than she’s worth. Much like Miss Brooks in TNA.

Overall, RAW gets a fair cut from the “computer-generated” draft. They lose some young guns, and a couple of big men. While Snitsky will basically replace Khali, RAW does get some versatility in Regal and Booker and some depth in the middle with London & Kendrick, Lashley & Regal. Not to mention they get the fastest rising star in wrestling today with Ken Kennedy. If the booking is as exciting as the roster, RAW will be quite the show. But that’s a big if.

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