The Wrath of Tito - RAW review, Unforgiven predictions, WWE trademarks, more
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 5:49 PM EST
What I've felt, what I've known, never shined through in what I've shown. Never free, never me, so I dub thee WWE Unforgiven. Welcome to today's edition of the Wrath of Tito. I'm delivering TWO columns this week, as I'm still putting the finishing touches on the "Winner's Curse" column, as it relates the possibility that Viacom made a bad investment in the WWE. Shall be fun...
-The BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK is that WWE Unforgiven is this Sunday, believe it or not. I don't know about you, but I remember a time where people got PUMPED UP for every Pay Per View. Hell, I remember a time, just last year, where I watched every WWE Pay Per View. In addition, I remember a time where I watched every wrestling Pay Per View possible during the Monday Night Wars. And let me tell you this, the WWE Pay Per Views during 1995-1996 were some of the worst pieces of shit I've ever laid my eyes on! However, I had more interest in seeing the likes of Diesel or Mabel in the main event than I do with these current wrestling Pay Per Views. Outside of the Fab 4 (Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam, and Survivor Series), I seriously don't care if I miss a PPV show. If a friend wants to go in and buy a show, I'm game. But as far as myself ponying up the bulk of the money or hosting one, no thanks...
I have some interest in Unforgiven, but that's mainly because my favorite wrestler (Kurt Angle) will likely make John Cena look like a million bucks. Flair vs. Carlito COULD be interesting, but I'm relatively interested in how Chris Masters and Shawn Michaels mesh. I believe that Masters is developing nicely and may add a little to the usual "Michaels can make anybody look good" stigma. But we'll see... this match is his first huge test, for he has the size and athletic ability to be a major heel in the WWE for years. It's a matter of seasoning the guy correctly, which the WWE failed to do with Randy Orton overall and with Batista and John Cena's wrestling abilities. Oddly enough, the whole Victoria/Torrie/Candice Michelle versus Ashley feud has fascinated me. I don't know whether it's the hot looks or if the storyline is actually meaningful? Adding Trish Stratus amps up the looks part tenfold...
While I believe this show has been promoted better than recent non-Fab 4 Pay Per Views, I don't see a big buyrate coming from this show. Probably 300,000 buys at most, but that's mostly due from September being a very busy time of the year. If this show were, say, in Columbus or Pittsburgh, I'd consider attending. Seriously.
Here are my predictions for the show, if you will......
-Trish Stratus/Ashley vs. Torrie Wilson/Victoria: I figure that Trish Stratus will do damage to Torrie Wilson, enabling Ashley to get a pin over Torrie. Maybe a failed attempt at cheating by Candice Michelle? Trish isn't losing in her first match back. If Trish/Ashley loses, it would be from Victoria pinning her and setting up a feud over the Women's title. Winners: Trish and Ashley.
-Hurricane/Rosey vs. Trevor Murdoch/Lance Cade: WWE never took Hurricane/Rosey seriously as champions, so Cade/Murdoch will win. Plus, tag titles are BETTER when heels hold them. Unfortunately, I see Hurricane and Rosey being the victims of the upcoming cuts once Heat/Velocity are gone. I'm sure Hurricane won't mind getting the trademark legal letter about never using the Hurricane gimmick again. Winners: Murdoch and Cade, who need a team name.
-Big Show vs. Gene Snitsky: WWE should throw a screwball at us and let Snitsky pull the upset win. Snitsky deserves it, for he's paid dues by putting over many wrestlers recently. Giving a younger star an opportunity is illegal in the WWE, so I'll pick the Show. Winner: Big Show.
-Edge vs. Matt Hardy: Edge will win. Matt's burial will continue and it's the most expensive burial known to man. But avoiding any politics regarding Hardy, Edge still has a title shot to use before Wrestlemania 22 that he won at Wrestlemania 21. He can't lose and look bad before receiving the shot. Winner: Edge.
-Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Masters: I'd like to see Masters pull the shocking upset by making HBK pass out to the Masterlock, but HBK is likely to be rewarded for putting over Hogan at Summerslam. Plus, HBK is a fantastic wrestler and looks like he can win any match. If Masters loses, it's no problem. He still has some growing up to do. Winner: Shawn Michaels.
-Carlito vs. Ric Flair: Saying Flair has never won the Intercontinental Title, as Carlito has said, only builds up Flair for the win. That's right, he's joining the triple crown club with HHH, Rock, Austin, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and a handful of others (???). I figure Carlito will win it back eventually. Winner: Ric Flair.
-Kurt Angle vs. John Cena: Kurt Angle has looked very strong lately and would be a more fitting champion than John Cena. However, Triple H is coming back in October and I sense that HHH vs. John Cena is the "drawing feud" in HHH's eyes. Angle, however, has been a stronger heel in one month than Triple H has been for the last 3 years. Winner: John Cena.
-The whole WWE Trademark thing has become ridiculous. The WWE, fearing a rise from potential competition, is attacking its former employees trademark violations. It's mostly from former ECW wrestlers, too, who failed to file the copyright paperwork on their gimmicks before entering the WWE. The Dudley Boys, Spike Dudley, and Justin Credible have all fallen victim to the WWE legal team. The WWE is threatening the folks who put together the Hardcore Homecoming shows and threatening lawsuits over anything that purposely resembles the old ECW or is advertised as an ECW-like show.
For those of you who are hardcore ECW fans, I would purchase the Hardcore Homecoming DVD as soon as possible! I figure that the WWE will find some legal loophole to have that DVD pulled from various outlets. If you're an ECW fan, buy that DVD! If you're looking to make money, buy that DVD in bunches and throw them on Ebay. I 100% guarantee that the Hardcore Homecoming DVD will get pulled due to threats by the WWE legal team. The WWE is combing through the DVD, the captions on the box, and the advertising of of the DVD as we speak. The WWE will get that DVD pulled and the upcoming Hardcore Homecoming shows will be severely neutered due to legal threats.
Amazing... the precedent created by the Monday Night Wars has reered its ugly head. The WWE is using copyrights to prevent any future competition from benefitting from a major free agent acquisition. For example, you won't hear an advertisement for Dudley Boys vs. America's Most Wanted in TNA. The Dudley Boys gimmick cannot be use outside of the WWE! I also believe that the precedent of the WWE lawsuit against WCW is giving the WWE jurisdiction for their threats. The WWE won the case against WCW when they made it appear as though Razor Ramone and Diesel were still WWE employees invading WCW. It's a precedent that enabled the WWE to have the ability to match any offer made to WCW for a buyout during 2000 and 2001. It helped lead to the WWE purchase of WCW, but it seems as though no former WWE wrestlers can use their personas in other federations for potential fan confusion or rubs from their days in the WWE.
Billy Kidman, too, is the victim of the WWE legal department. He's no longer allowed to use the name "Billy Kidman", which he had years before entering the WWE in 2001. I figure this legal threat will cause two things to potentially happen. Torrie Wilson will head out the door, too, or by her staying with the WWE, a divorce between Kidman and Wilson will happen over differences in their workplaces. The latter would be a shame, but it appears likely with Torrie seeming like she's staying in the WWE.
-So long Daniel Puder. It's safe to say that the "Tough Enough" experiment has greatly failed. The only winner still around is Johnny Nitro from MNM on Smackdown. That's IT! Every other winner or participants lucky to get a job with the WWE are gone or on the disabled list (Chris Nowinski?). What a failed experiment. What's worse is that we never saw any positive progress from the contestants after Tough Enough. Part of the fault is with Ohio Valley Wrestling, which isn't developing wrestlers properly. The other comes from the fact that Tough Enough wrestlers don't pay dues. If those guys really wanted to be wrestlers, they'd go to a wrestling school and bust their ass for years to earn a WWE roster spot. That's how most of the WWE guys did it and the fact that most Tough Enough are gone now proves my point.
-Keep an eye on September 15th, which is this Thursday for those who can't read calendars. It could determine IF Brock Lesnar returns to the WWE or not. Simply put, if the WWE's no-compete clause holds, he's returning to the WWE. If the judge rules that it denies Lesnar work, it could potentially destroy the WWE. Not only will Brock Lesnar be a free agent and a guy who TNA would offer a lot of money, but it could potentially defeat WWE's no-compete clause. Knowing that Lesnar might win in court, this could be the main reason why the WWE has been tightening up on copyrights.
I'm running out of time this evening... on to RAW!
RAW is TITO
The opening match was Edge/Snitsky vs. Big Show/Hardy... a total carbon copy of a "Pay Per View" hype. Oddly enough, Edge pinned Matt Hardy. Normally, that would indicate that Hardy was losing, but this is Matt Hardy.
Next, we had Shawn Michaels talking about Chris Masters. HBK still has a little of his heel voice in his promos, which I like very much. Giving HBK a much needed edge has greatly freshened up his character. Ric Flair would later come out and say he'd take care of Chris Masters tonight. Flair buddying up with HBK only tells me that a swerve is coming. Flair never breaks away from HHH! Never!
The next bout was Shelton Benjamin vs. Kerwin White. Decent bout with two very underappreciated wrestlers. Chavo is in a dead-end gimmick if he hopes of going above the midcard. Meanwhile, Shelton continues to prove to me that he did something backstage to put himself into the WWE doghouse. What happened? Chavo eventually lost the match via disqualification. So.... Benjamin will remain in the midcard? Just great... the guy who has put on some of the most fantastic wrestling displays of this calendar year is being completely shit on. He's getting paid well, WWE, for you paid him a lot of money to sign the dotted line during the Monday Night Wars. It's time you realize that and push him like the many other wrestlers whom the WWE actually overpays for.
Kurt Angle cut yet another great promo. Give this man the title! He's hitting major strides as a heel and is looking very credible as being title worthy.
Next, we had Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle calling Ashley out and wanting her to get into the ring. Torrie pronounced that she "pass her test" and should come to the ring and be welcomed. Ashley said she wasn't falling for it and she was bringing a surprise. The surprise turned out to be Trish Stratus. Any explanation on how she went from a huge heel in the Women's division to suddenly being a face after returning from injury? What, did she find God or something while hurt? These little things are killing the WWE storylines. Ashley and Trish ran down to the ring for a big ol' catfight and it set up the Pay Per View feud nicely. I've actually liked this feud, yet I can't pinpoint why, besides the sight of very beautiful women.
Ric Flair vs. Chris Masters was pretty good, as Flair did pretty well working with a relatively new wrestler. Masters seems to be stepping up to each new challenge, week by week. The match ended in a predictable fashion once Masters was locked into the Figure 4 with Carlito running down for the attack. Shawn Michaels would make the save, but be placed in the Masterlock. Yep, Masters is losing the match.
Odd pairing of Eugene and Tajiri. Anyway, they took on Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch, to which Cade/Murdoch eventually won in an easy fashion. Tajiri and Eugene both don't have much going for them right now, but that could be a good tag team for the future since both are very strange wrestlers.
I'm really getting bored of Edge vs. Matt Hardy already... the summer was over-saturated with their backstage news, and since Matt Hardy was signed, the WWE has been over-saturated with this feud. I honestly can't wait until this feud ends, which has failed to live up to predictions of being a draw.
The main event was John Cena vs. Kurt Angle/Tyson Tomko. The latest edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated suggested that Tomko and Snitsky become a tag team. That might work in terms of goofy looks... Again, the stereotypical Pay Per View hype match, with Tyson Tomko taking the pin. Angle destroying Cena afterward only reminds us that John Cena will definitely retain at Unforgiven. I sooooooo don't want to live through a Triple H vs. John Cena feud.
LAST WORD: A usual Pay Per View hype show, though I don't believe this show added that much to Unforgiven. RAW better amp up their show a bit more, for Monday Nights will be competitive with NFL and UFC around from now on. The show bored me with repetitive nonsense on parts, which merits a [ C ] in my gradebook for this week's show. I'm kinda getting tired of certain wrestlers getting buried every week.
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Amazing! RAW's KATIE LEA Looking The Hottest Ever!
