The Wrestling Menu - No Way Out & Raw Reviews + The Montreal Crowd
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 4:27 AM EST




THE WRESTLING MENU #36

Welcome one and all to the 36th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

It's been a hectic last week or so for DaveyBoy. The fact that I have found the time to view No Way Out & Raw, reply to all e-mails & still get this column posted on time, is nothing short of a minor miracle. As Vince McMahon said to Eric Bischoff a couple of weeks ago on Raw, time is the most precious commodity there is. With that in mind, let's get straight into the column:


APPETIZERS - The Montreal Crowd

I'll warn you now that this section might come off as a little contradictory. The reason for this is that it's arguably true. But I think this is an excellent discussion topic, as well as relevant & timely to speak about. I'm not sure if it was just me, but as great & loud as the Montreal crowd were this past Sunday night, there were so many mixtures of cheers & boos, that I didn't know whether I was Arthur or Martha.

Now I've got into trouble on a similar topic before, because I have admittedly contradicted my own statements. It was after last year's SummerSlam, where I personally believe that the New York crowd should not have booed The Rock & cheered the heel Brock Lesnar. I'll get back to that match in a moment. Firstly to Montreal though, who are admittedly one of the most involved crowds in the world for professional wrestling. Being the site for the infamous '97 screwjob, only added fuel to the flames at No Way Out.

The first thing that I noticed was the mixed reaction that Chris Jericho received. Understandable, but strange. I would have thought it would be one way or the other. HBK's predictable short run in was received the way I expected it to. Later on, the reaction to The Undertaker also surprised me, but that was pure & simply because I continuously underestimate his fan support. The main event went as planned concerning the fans' reactions, but it was what happened during the Triple H vs Scott Steiner match that baffled me.

Now like I insinuated before; At the end of the day, I believe each individual fan can cheer & boo whoever they want. They paid for a ticket, so why can't they cheer a heel & boo a face, if they feel the want to. I'll never win this argument because that statement alone can always be thrown back into my face, and I cannot disagree with it. But what happened in the Triple H vs Scott Steiner bout astounded me.

Firstly, Earl Hebner was booed & got the usual "You screwed Bret" chants. That was always going to happen. The face in the match, Scott Steiner, was pretty much booed every time he had an offensive flurry. I can only presume this was a message from the so called 'smart' fans at the arena, that Steiner needs to improve in a number of areas, before he is handed a main event role in the company. Now if that is the main reason, then why did those same fans cheer everything that Triple H did? Not only is he just as unpopular with this group of fans as Steiner is, but wasn't he practically the first man that came to save Shawn Michaels after the screwjob in '97. Very contradictory if you ask me. Maybe Montreal fans love Triple H so much that they wanted to see him in a 30 minute segment the next night on Raw!!!

Going back to the Rock-Lesnar SummerSlam match, I know that most of the booing of Rocky was done because he was just about to go film another movie. But what that one match caused in my opinion, was the rushed face turn of Brock Lesnar. I still believe that Brock should be a heel to this very day. His character was progressing very nicely indeed. But the reaction he got that day resulted in the rushed turn, maybe even because WWE management believed that Lesnar was doing a bad job as a heel, because the fans were cheering him. Cause & effect, my friends.

Oh well, hopefully Steiner turns heel shortly because of the reaction he got at No Way Out. That might add that intense edge to his character that he currently needs. Furthermore, hopefully the WWE ignore the cheers that Triple H received. Heaven knows what will happen if they don't!!! To conclude, I'm not being negative on the Montreal crowd. Their enthusiasm & involvement was top notch as per usual. When a group of people act like this, sometimes things will appear to be contradictory. If that is a side-effect of an overall improved product, then I can take that.


MAIN - No Way Out Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key (of sorts), that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F]
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: UnForgiven 2002)
55-59: Average. [C]
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: No Mercy 2002 & Armageddon 2002)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: Survivor Series 2002 & Royal Rumble 2003)
70-74: Very good. [B+]
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: SummerSlam 2002)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

CHRIS JERICHO defeated JEFF HARDY: Good opener that was an improvement on their Raw match from 2 weeks ago, mainly because it was given more time. Nothing really special happened, but it was entertaining enough to watch. The correct man won, and while it would have been interesting if HBK interfered during the match, the aftermatch free-for-all involving Michaels & Christian was sufficient. Bring on WrestleMania for what could be the defining moment in Chris Jericho's career. Match Rating...7

LANCE STORM & WILLIAM REGAL defeated ROB VAN DAM & KANE to Retain the World Tag-Team Titles: Good tag-team bout that ended when Storm rearranged Kane's mask so that he couldn't see clearly, thus resulting in him choke-slamming RVD. Interesting idea, as it leaves plenty of room for flexibility & unpredictability in the RVD-Kane storyline. I'm not as critical of the Storm & Regal teaming as most people are, but I can't see them in their current personas holding the titles until WrestleMania. Give them the microphone for goodness sake. Match Rating...7

MATT HARDY defeated BILLY KIDMAN to Win the CruiserWeight Title: Hate to be boring folks, but this was another 'good' match, that was nothing special. It threatened to spark into a great cruiserweight bout at various times, but never really did. Kidman did his job, as did Matt. But something between the 2 just didn't click. Maybe it was the lack of animosity or a feud. The ball is with the entertaining Hardy now. Let's hope he can run with it, so that some much needed enthusiasm can be planted into this division. Match Rating...7

THE UNDERTAKER defeated THE BIG SHOW: Here was the surprise of the night. This match was genuinely 'good'. There's that word (& rating for that matter) again. I had no idea of TBS' injury prior to this match. The story that was told was excellent though, as The Undertaker consistently failed to lift TBS in a number of different ways. The crowd was right behind the freshened up Taker, and he seemed invigorated by it. The arsenal of moves varied sufficiently enough, resulting in a decent ending involving a triangle choke. Match Rating...7

CHRIS BENOIT & BROCK LESNAR defeated KURT ANGLE, CHARLIE HAAS & SHELTON BENJAMIN: It's so easy to get complacent watching these guys perform. At the end of the day, this was still the match of the night. A little strangely paced at times, it was slightly hurt because of the absence of Edge. But all 5 performers did what they had to do very well, resulting in an overall very good match. Benoit is almost there as a main-event face, and it is for this reason that I really fear Austin going to SmackDown. Match Rating...8

TRIPLE H defeated SCOTT STEINER to Retain the World Heavyweight Title: Here I go again, calling it the way I see it & probably being in the minority. The Royal Rumble match between these 2 was better than this one. There was just no entertainment value to be found here. So what if Steiner is a little fitter now and this match was a little shorter. At the end of the day, I got a few laughs out of their initial encounter, while this bout was almost a duplicate, and added nothing but confusion from the crowd. While it may end the feud, nothing was furthered here. A further point off the rating for not having Booker T run in at some point. Match Rating...4

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN defeated ERIC BISCHOFF: This wasn't so much a match, but rather a segment. Why on earth Vince made the stipulation before the match that anyone who interfered would be fired is beyond me. It would have been more entertaining if Austin stunned numerous wrestlers, rather than just squash Bischoff. The return was effective I suppose, and the crowd ate it up. It will be interesting to see if Austin tweaks his character a little when handed the microphone. Match Rating...5

THE ROCK defeated HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN: A very hard match to rate, this started off strangely with that weird helicopter intro that Rocky now has. I've never been a huge fan of The Rock's wrestling repertoire, but he basically carried Hogan in this bout. I like the way he's added just enough of a twist to his previous heel character. This results in freshness, even if it is only a perception. The match itself was pretty average, but entertaining enough. I didn't mind the screwjob ending involving a new referee & Vince McMahon. It made sense & adds to The Rock's heel persona, without really taking anything away from Hogan. Vince came out afterwards to show us his muscles & hype his match with Hogan at WrestleMania 19. Match Rating...6

PPV RATING (51/80) = 64

Looking at the key, I have basically given No Way Out a 'C+' grade & said that it was 'worth a watch'. I'm happy with that overall grade & comment. You see, No Way Out's position on the calendar should never make it a stand-out pay-per-view. This is because that properly setting up feuds for WrestleMania will predominantly mean that some matches at this event will not have an opportunity to deliver the quality that us fans always expect. Having said that, this was a solid show that is definitely worth watching. It succeeded in doing what it was supposed to do. The only real things it lacked, was a standout match to boost the rating, and appearances from the always entertaining Rey Mysterio & Booker T.


DESSERT - Raw Review

Most may recall that I like to review Raw the night after a Pay-Per-View, as I often feel that the 2 shows which come just 24 hours apart, are inter-linked. It is also when many shocking & surprising things will happen. I was looking forward to this Raw, especially since we are now officially on the 'Road To WrestleMania'. As per usual, my Raw review is not as serious as the 'PPV Review' & I will often throw in the odd sarcastic comment. I also do it in point form so that I don't rant on too much.

- You would have got about $1.05 back for your $1.00 if you bet that Eric Bischoff would start off Raw with an in-ring segment.

- Bischoff introduces 'The Great One'; The Rock. Rocky takes an eternity to get to the ring & speak, but when he finally gets started, he delivers a near-classic & original promo. It practically achieves every objective it set out to do. Yes, it went a little too long. But when quality is involved, too much quantity isn't really a problem.

- Jazz beats Jacqueline in 2 minutes. Actually, she almost killed her with one botched move. Victoria was doing commentary during the match, and if anything, did her character more harm than good. Trish came out after the match to start setting up what could be a good triple-threat match at WrestleMania 19.

- DaveyBoy turns as green as The Incredible Hulk & openly states: "I hate you Test, you lucky bastard".

- It looks like the WWE are going to play this Goldust with Tourette's Syndrome gimmick seriously. That, in itself, surprises me a little. It will be interesting to see where this leads.

- Next, Kane pretty much squashes Lance Storm in 3 minutes. The match was actually progressing fine, and then it just ended. The bout did nothing for either performer, and RVD wasn't even used while at ringside.

- Good 8 minute handicap match next as Booker T defeated Randy Orton & Batista. Booker had some guy with big biceps cheering him on in his corner. Actually, if I could be serious for a moment; I didn't mind at all how this bout turned out. Booker came out of it strong, and the young team didn't look too bad.

- Stacy comes out in a maple-leaf top for the next tag match against Jericho & Christian. The top must be to match the 4 leaf clover that Test obviously found. Have I said how much I hate that lucky bastard!?!?!? This bout lasted all of a minute. Afterwards, Test is handcuffed, Stacy is brutalized & Jeff Hardy is unprettied. HBK finally comes out to remind us what a great match he & Jericho will have in 5 weeks time.

- Nowinski calls Hardy a failure. Jeffrey retaliates by pinning him in 30 seconds. Mr Glow-In-The-Dark then snaps & gets disqualified. So far for the night; 5 matches for a total of approximately 15 minutes. Maybe The Rock did talk for too long.

- Speaking of The Rock, he even has the time to sing us a song. Great hijinx afterwards involving Hamburglar. Oops, I mean The Hurricane. Funny stuff, especially the references to The Scorpion King.

- Memo to the WWE: Any match involving Jim Ross or Jerry Lawler as a competitor wastes our time. The Dudleyz run in from through the crowd to interfere in this surprisingly serious match. Nett result; The King causes the upset.

- It's Battle Royal time baby!!! And one that means something, as the winner will get a shot at Triple H's World HeavyWeight Title at WrestleMania. Holy cow, individual entrances for everyone. Nope, saved by commercials. You won't get me saying that too often.

- I'm not so sure if Jericho eliminating himself so early was wise. Are The Rock & Maven twins, or what!?!?!? I didn't even know that Rodney Mack was in there until he got eliminated. The Rock graces us with some commentary before he re-enters the match with only Kane, Christian & Booker T remaining. The predictable, but good finish, sees Booker getting the win & his long-deserved push to the main event.


Well, well, well. Could 'The Great One' be the saviour of Raw...??? This was far from a perfect show, but looking back on it, it was a good show that achieved it's objectives. How much credit can The Rock claim...??? I would have to say a fair chunk. Sure, a very good main event will always help, but scanning the remainder of the 2 hours, The Rock stands out. I suppose this should be expected in the short-term. We can only hope that it continues in the long-term.


That's about all I have for this edition of The Wrestling Menu. I'm really interested to hear any feedback this week. Anyone who was at No Way Out might want to elaborate on the crowd support in Montreal on Sunday night. Maybe I missed something. For those of you that feel strongly one way or the other about what I will call 'against-type cheering', please don't hesitate to let me know of your thoughts. I won't get into any arguments, as I basically have defeated myself in contradictions anyway. Furthermore, your thoughts on either No Way Out and/or Raw would also be appreciated. As always, I will reply to every single e-mail that I get. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Next Wednesday in The Wrestling Menu, I am probably going to end my Reviews mini-series that I've been doing over the last month or so. At least 2 reviews will be included, and I will further elaborate on a topic coming out of one of them. Look out for the column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is Davey Boy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.












*NEW GALLERY* Must See! Torrie Wilson Out PARTYING HARD in the Clubs!

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