Welcome folks to another delightful editon of the Phat Daily Column. We are kicking it daily in full gear now, and free from the annoying class that was burning me out badly. Oh by the way, I got my grade in from that class yesterday, and it was an A. So for all of you who were yelling at me for taking days off, I'd say it was worth it for that end result.

There has only been a few times where school has nailed me in terms of writing this very column. Usually, I write this thing in between classes or before classes, with an occasional late at night writing. But say I take a big exam or if a really large paper nags me. Or, if a shitload of homework everynight attacks me, I can't even think straight to put together a column.

On the Phat Pharm front.... I've recently completed some hiring for some new writers, who should be debuting soon. Thanks to everyone who applied, and sorry if I rejected you or whatever. It's just the internet, and if you are mad, note that you're mad at someone with a made up name called Mr. Tito.

On to the Week in Review!

This week was nothing but one big hype for Summerslam, with lots of promos cut and backstage scenes done. Especially on the live Smackdown, which did raise some eyebrows. I know a lot of oldschool wrasslin' fans are pissed off at the WWF, right now, for their lack of attention to matches within the ring. Ya know, those 2 minute matches just don't cut it these days. I can tolerate it as long as the matches have good build up BEFORE the match begins, and not just the usual Stephanie McMahon filler matches.

As for the shows themselves.... how did they do? Well, RAW dropped, again, in the ratings by a small amount of points. Smackdown, on the other hand, went up slightly, with their new set and all. I'm wondering if non internet fans understood what UPN meant when it was announced that Smackdown would be live for the first time in a long time. One thing about this week's ratings: THE SPOILERS DO NOTHING TO THE RATINGS!!!!!! So the WWF's thinking that those darned satellite feed or reader contribution reports actually hurt their shows is totally wrong.

In business news, the WWF has announced that Smackdown will be the last WWF Pay Per View on DirecTV. Now wrestling fans with DirecTV, never fear. I agree with Mr. Blake Wolfson, whom I was talking to earlier about this news, in that DirecTV will have to give in to the WWF's demands to carry the shows. Why? Well, the WWF is the leading industry using Pay Per Views, and they actually carry a good share of the Pay Per View numbers. The WWF won't even need kryptonite to bring DirecTV to their knees! I doubt that DirecTV will hold off after seeing the massive number done by InVasion.

And finally, MECW continues to slowly grow in the wrestling industry. Joey Styles and Cyrus have signed on as commentators, and Tod Gordon has joined to be part of the management or whatever the administrative role is. It's funny that Styles turned down the WWF offer, but quickly joins MECW in a heartbeat. The Cyrus signing is understandable, especially since the WWF won't even think of making him an offer after the Jackyl garbage. With Tod Gordon, Mr. John Collins better keep an eye on that man. Back in the Spring of 1997, Gordon led the way for several ECW superstars to head on over to WCW. Wrestlers such as Perry Saturn, Raven, and Stevie Richards all followed the words of Gordon, and jumped as soon as they could. Gordon was hoping to get some sort of position within WCW if he made X amount of ECW wrestlers jump, which didn't happen. Again, Collins better keep an eye on on him.

Ehhh, sort of a slow newsweek. I think some of the jealousy has died down since the WWF wrestlers HAVE to work with the WCW/ECW wrestlers at Summerslam. Yeah, they only act nice they the chance of possibly becoming physically hurt comes around from a stiff shot.

On to the Weekly Awards.............

-Match of the Week-

-Kurt Angle vs. Rob Van Dam-

Although this match ended in absurdity with run ins galore, it was exciting while it lasted. While some of the tag matches, this week, may have been better overall, this match had great appeal to it. In one corner, you have an overachieving former Olympic wrestler who has really carried the WWF shows while some superstars have been either hurt or making movies. In the other, you have an ECW legend who is proving himself during his transition to the WWF.

Both guys are hideously talented in more ways than one that you can't ignore either. So with that, why not put these guys together? Why not see what kind of crowd reaction that a match like this could get? Well, it pumped up the crowd on RAW, especially since it was a match never seen before. Never imagined that it would happen, etc, etc.

RVD and Angle, in the short time that they had, hit each other with everything that they had. They went for high risk, brawling, or just flashy spots. Simply amazing when you compare this to anything that the remainder of the WWF could put on. Could imagine if this match was given AT LEAST 15 minutes? Holy cow. But we can't do that, oh no. We must have dinosaurs like the Undertaker stinking up the show, and Austin must have his million segments to cut into proper match time. Oh yeah, the Rock hogs up television time now too.

But just think about it..... What if Angle and RVD could have a full length match? Man, it's something to think about in the future, especially if RVD stays on track with his attitude and if both guys remain healthy.

-Best Tag Team-

Rhyno and Partner X

Partner X being either Booker T or Rob Van Dam. Rhyno was simply booked on the right teams this week because he won both matches. First, he was in the main event on RAW, tagging with Booker T to defeat the Rock and Chris Jericho. Rhyno even made the cover via schoolboy to get the win.

Next, on Smackdown, Rhyno tagged with RVD to defeat Jericho and Jeff Hardy. Although Rhyno didn't make the cover this time, he was still 2-0 in tag matches for this week. In a dying tag team wrestling world, you take what you can get, and clearly, Rhyno and Partner X win the award this week.

-Surprise of the Week-

Tazz Swerve

Well, I didn't really have any legit surprises to use, so this is it. I sure as hell didn't see it coming, as I figured that the WWF would keep Tazz as a face to make him a full time announcer. However, something changed, and Tazz showed his loyalty to the Alliance by attacking Kurt Angle. I didn't see it coming.

But I really do wonder if the WWF had the swerve in mind when they had Austin "belt" Tazz on RAW. It just seemed like one of those Russo swerves, if you ask me. At any rate, Tazz finally got to wrestle some better competition in Kurt Angle on Smackdown, which is much better than nothing.

-FINGER OF SHAME of the Week-

Too Many Promos on Smackdown

The average WWF show has at least one 20 minute interview and one interview that lasts 15 minutes. However, this one had 3 long-ass interviews, with two basically combining to resemble one extremely long interview. Where's the action? Where's the drama of actual wrestling?

For me, I like a good mix of storytelling and wrestling. If it's just pure wrestling, then it's boring. If it's just pure storytelling, then what the fuck is the ring doing out there? Put them together in a good way and you'll get a good show. If one overlaps the other, badly, then it's a bad show. For Smackdown, there were too many interview segments, which hurt the show for the first Live Smackdown.

That simple of an explanation.

Thanks to the man, Mitnik, for the Jackson 5 banner. I sort of had a vision for what I wanted in a banner, and Mitnik caught it perfectly. Oh, but wait, there's another Mitnik Jackson 5 banner for next week to anticipate!

5. Rhyno: The man on Tag matches this week.

4. The Rock: He's had a good return, but something completely original to his wrestling style or interviews would grealy help.

3. Rob Van Dam: Proving his talent every week.

2. Kurt Angle: The man. Need I say more?

1. Booker T: See down below.

-Wrestler of the Week-

Booker T

Can you dig it suckaaaaaaah! That's right, as Booker T keeps proving himself within the WWF ranks these days. His interviewing skills are improving, his ability to adapt to WWF rings is occurring before our very eyes, and he's really drawing heat from the WWF crowds. Of course, feuding with the Rock certainly helps a lot, but he was improving during the Kurt Angle feud. Angle is good to work with too, now that he's a face.

But the thing about Booker T is that he's showing to be a very good rival for the Rock. Before the WWF buyout of WCW, a lot of comparisons were made about the Rock and Booker T. Both had the same finisher, both somewhat had the same look, and both guys used a lot of catchphrases, although Booker T is no where near the Rock in terms of talking. Now, the two are combining for an exciting feud, and it's helped refresh the Rock coming off his return, along with helping to elevate Booker T up the WWF ladder, which is only good for future matches with other WWF superstars.

Booker T is improving by the week, it seems, and he's very happy to be where he is today. Keep it up Booker T! Make the constant hyping by myself and Coolbeans prove to be true!

CLICK HERE to listen to the latest show, as the WrestlePalooza.com crew discuss their recent roadtrips to the Pillman Memorial show and the MECW show at the ECW Arena! This Sunday, Bill and Shawn will have a Summerslam hype show for you to enjoy. Note that new Wrestle Palooza shows are produced every Sunday and Wednesday of the week. Be sure to check regularly for any announcements concerning possible guests on the show. Also, listen to the archives, which features interviews with Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, Harley Race, Daffney, Spike Dudley, Dr. Death, Dusty Rhodes, Lenny Lane, Kid Kash, Madusa, and more!