15 November 2004
Good news...
- The WWE creative is said to be very happy with the way Gene Snitsky is getting over with the fans. The feeling backstage is that they have hit a homerun with the Snitsky character, despite what many thought at first. Snitsky is said to be well liked amongst the other wrestlers backstage.
...and bad.
Big injury note coming out of Survivor Series - Gene Snitsky's cut was legit, and he was even being looked at for a broken orbital bone (eye bone), which would put him out of action if that's the case. He did require stitches for the cut.
Fuck, I really hope that's not the case. Maybe I should obsessively search for Snitsky's address and send him a get well card.
Anyway, here's tonight's RAW spoilers!
Fucking hell, that was one awesome show. One of the best RAWs I've seen in quite a while.
Well, my dream came true tonight, as Edge and Christian reunited! Granted, the reunition wasn't a happy one, but at least they still worked together. Somewhat... As for the pre-match intreview I loved when Edge gave the camera the finger, only for Spike TV to suddenly show a match graphic and then cut to commercial. I wonder if that was planned. The post-match beatdown was fun, too. FUN FACT: They never referred to Edge and Christian as "brothers" at any point in the show.
While I'm sure the HHH/Maven match isn't going to be earning high points from online fans, it was a heaping helping of excitement. After Orton's run-in, I actually thought Maven was going to win the belt! I was also a bit afraid that Snitsky wasn't going to show up, but there he was.
The show angle--"Will Maven Join Evolution?"--was pretty cool, but I wish they had a better conclusion than Maven walking out and simply saying, "Well...Sorry, but not tonight." Maybe he could have shook HHH's hand, then pulled him into a clothesline. Or suckered Benoit and Jericho out, then joined Evolution and attacked them.
Anyway, I give the Maven push only another few weeks before he's in the tag team division with some other chump. We can look forward to Maven and Stevie Richards vs. Rhyno and Tajiri real soon!
Actually, the opening tag match was fun. I'm glad to see Regal win a belt (even if it means he has to act like a retard in the process), and, although I dislike Eugene, I don't think he's a bad wrestler when he's not doing all that "flying around the ring like an airplane" shit. His bits with Tajiri were excellent, and I'd actually like to see a tag match next week pitting Tajiri and Rhyno against Eugene and Regal. I'm also glad they took it off La Resistance; they're not the most exciting team in the fed, and I'd downplay them and build up a new heel team. Such as Maven and Richards. (Actually, Tajiri and Rhyno would fit the bill nicely.)
The Coach has every right to be mad at Maven. I don't see how you can get "JR" from "RKO"... (FUN FACT: I just realized that RKO are Orton's initials.)
I never thought I would live to see a day in which a graphic stated "RAW General Manager MAVEN." Actually, he wasn't that bad. He was no Gene Snitsky, though.
I'm starting to lose interest in Simon Dean a bit, although hopefully that'll clear up once he starts wrestling.
One major gripe I have is with the Middle Eastern wrestlers. My problem is that the vignettes are obviously portraying them as a heel; they're snide, degrading America and subtly implying that THEIR culture is superior (particularly with the Muslim translator), a major no-no with American audiences. However, their claims are justified and real. I remember hearing about Muslims that were actually beaten to death right after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, just because they happened to be of Middle Eastern desent! So does it make them bad to be angered about persecution in a land that was raised by immigrants seeking shelter from religious persecution themselves? Or should we cheer for them, even though they're disgusted at the good ol' USA, the one American audiences chant the name of seemingly everytime someone comes out wearing white trunks and red boots.
I'm sorry, kids, but while realism may work in a TV drama, it has no place in wrestling. There's no place for "shades of grey." Wrestling fans cheer the faces and boo the heels. The heels may have perfectly reasonable arguements for their actions (the face cost them the title, they got booed in their hometown, etc.), but something as real and as strong as prejudice and persecution should be left to something more intellectually stimulating than professional wrestling. We're obviously not meant to cheer for them, but isn't booing them for their beliefs a form of prejudice itself? And besides, the last time they played the race card, Booker T ended up proving Triple H's beliefs to be correct by choking at WM 19.
Maybe I'm interpreting this all wrong. Maybe the characters will turn out to be successful. I'm just getting a bad feeling about this.
Still, despite that, good show tonight. Hope they keep it up.
Night, kids!
- The WWE creative is said to be very happy with the way Gene Snitsky is getting over with the fans. The feeling backstage is that they have hit a homerun with the Snitsky character, despite what many thought at first. Snitsky is said to be well liked amongst the other wrestlers backstage.
...and bad.
Big injury note coming out of Survivor Series - Gene Snitsky's cut was legit, and he was even being looked at for a broken orbital bone (eye bone), which would put him out of action if that's the case. He did require stitches for the cut.
Fuck, I really hope that's not the case. Maybe I should obsessively search for Snitsky's address and send him a get well card.
Anyway, here's tonight's RAW spoilers!
Fucking hell, that was one awesome show. One of the best RAWs I've seen in quite a while.
Well, my dream came true tonight, as Edge and Christian reunited! Granted, the reunition wasn't a happy one, but at least they still worked together. Somewhat... As for the pre-match intreview I loved when Edge gave the camera the finger, only for Spike TV to suddenly show a match graphic and then cut to commercial. I wonder if that was planned. The post-match beatdown was fun, too. FUN FACT: They never referred to Edge and Christian as "brothers" at any point in the show.
While I'm sure the HHH/Maven match isn't going to be earning high points from online fans, it was a heaping helping of excitement. After Orton's run-in, I actually thought Maven was going to win the belt! I was also a bit afraid that Snitsky wasn't going to show up, but there he was.
The show angle--"Will Maven Join Evolution?"--was pretty cool, but I wish they had a better conclusion than Maven walking out and simply saying, "Well...Sorry, but not tonight." Maybe he could have shook HHH's hand, then pulled him into a clothesline. Or suckered Benoit and Jericho out, then joined Evolution and attacked them.
Anyway, I give the Maven push only another few weeks before he's in the tag team division with some other chump. We can look forward to Maven and Stevie Richards vs. Rhyno and Tajiri real soon!
Actually, the opening tag match was fun. I'm glad to see Regal win a belt (even if it means he has to act like a retard in the process), and, although I dislike Eugene, I don't think he's a bad wrestler when he's not doing all that "flying around the ring like an airplane" shit. His bits with Tajiri were excellent, and I'd actually like to see a tag match next week pitting Tajiri and Rhyno against Eugene and Regal. I'm also glad they took it off La Resistance; they're not the most exciting team in the fed, and I'd downplay them and build up a new heel team. Such as Maven and Richards. (Actually, Tajiri and Rhyno would fit the bill nicely.)
The Coach has every right to be mad at Maven. I don't see how you can get "JR" from "RKO"... (FUN FACT: I just realized that RKO are Orton's initials.)
I never thought I would live to see a day in which a graphic stated "RAW General Manager MAVEN." Actually, he wasn't that bad. He was no Gene Snitsky, though.
I'm starting to lose interest in Simon Dean a bit, although hopefully that'll clear up once he starts wrestling.
One major gripe I have is with the Middle Eastern wrestlers. My problem is that the vignettes are obviously portraying them as a heel; they're snide, degrading America and subtly implying that THEIR culture is superior (particularly with the Muslim translator), a major no-no with American audiences. However, their claims are justified and real. I remember hearing about Muslims that were actually beaten to death right after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, just because they happened to be of Middle Eastern desent! So does it make them bad to be angered about persecution in a land that was raised by immigrants seeking shelter from religious persecution themselves? Or should we cheer for them, even though they're disgusted at the good ol' USA, the one American audiences chant the name of seemingly everytime someone comes out wearing white trunks and red boots.
I'm sorry, kids, but while realism may work in a TV drama, it has no place in wrestling. There's no place for "shades of grey." Wrestling fans cheer the faces and boo the heels. The heels may have perfectly reasonable arguements for their actions (the face cost them the title, they got booed in their hometown, etc.), but something as real and as strong as prejudice and persecution should be left to something more intellectually stimulating than professional wrestling. We're obviously not meant to cheer for them, but isn't booing them for their beliefs a form of prejudice itself? And besides, the last time they played the race card, Booker T ended up proving Triple H's beliefs to be correct by choking at WM 19.
Maybe I'm interpreting this all wrong. Maybe the characters will turn out to be successful. I'm just getting a bad feeling about this.
Still, despite that, good show tonight. Hope they keep it up.
Night, kids!