Yes, I've heard about Drowning Pool's lead singer, Dave Williams, dying recently. It's a shame, indeed. The future of Drowning Pool is uncertain. But who knows? They could be back, in time, with a new lead singer. The point I wanted to bring up was about the WWE. Why? What other entertainment organization has gone out of their way to help this band, especially after 9/11? After 9/11, "Bodies" was banned from the airwaves and Drowning Pool could not capitalize on the success of their first big single. It pretty much labeled them as one hit wonders. But give credit to the WWE. They featured Drowning Pool on their "Forceable Entry" CD and they let them play TWO songs at Wrestlemania 18, which says a hell of a lot on how much the WWE respected their band and services. Give credit where credit is due.
If you didn't hear it in yesterday's column, the August 30th column will be the final official Phat Daily Column.
On to the PDC.
Wow, Eric Bischoff ended the 24/7 Hardcore Title rule. It's about time. The joke has run its course many, many times, and I hated it when someone would win that belt in a regular match, only to have several wrestlers run down and beat him for that title. The best time for the 24/7 gimmick was when Crash Holly started it, and would get ambushed at the airport or his hotel room. Those were some great days there... All of the former "hardcore" champions were out there, and it was similar to the Hardcore brawl at one of the recent Wrestlemanias, especially with Bradshaw blasting everyone with the cookiesheet. Poor Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley seemed out of place in this brawl, considering that the WWE was trying to push them in the storylines lately. Dreamer would retain after the madness. It was OK, but I prefer the one on one battles, such as the 2 recent bouts between Richards and Dreamer lately.
Not that I have a problem with very beautiful women wrestling in the mud with panties on, but the WWE writers are seriously fresh out of ideas. Instead of making improvements to the Women's division, the writers also had Eric Bischoff say "nobody wants to watch women's wrestling". Ouch. I'm sure many female viewers, which probably make roughly 15% or slighly more of the WWF audience, didn't like hearing that comment. I'm sure there have been some females who have admired Trish Stratus for becoming the good women's wrestler that she has become in 2002, too, to have her around to hear that from Bischoff. Trish won the match, which by the way, won't get you ratings in 2002. Maybe in 1998 or 1999 when shock value worked, but not here in 2002.
The Rock backstage segments were WAY too long tonight. And you wonder why many midcarders have problems getting over... THEY HAVE NO FREAKIN' TIME TO DO ANYTHING ON RAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like anyone watches Heat anymore?
Next, Triple H comes down to bore us, once again. It's Triple H making this feud or storyline very boring. He just went on and on, putting me to sleep. It's a shame that someone more interesting on the mic at least isn't banging Stephanie. Chris Jericho for some reason would interrupt. These interruptions of wrestlers not involved with each other has to stop. Well, I guess Jericho and Triple H are both fighting washed up wrestlers, although I'd say that Flair is still better than nearly all of the WWE superstars, with just a few exceptions. Flair would attack Jericho to end this segment, with Triple H still standing in the ring.
Next match was Test, Christian, and Lance Storm against Undertaker, Booker T, and Goldust. I don't know if it was my perception or not, but the sold out crowd seemed very quiet for this match. Not much spark seen in this tag match, in my opinion, as opposed to the better 4 on 4 match last week. The Unamericans won again, with Christian pinning Goldust. Test beat Undertaker last week on RAW, so it tells you the outcomes so easily at Summer Slam. I DARE the WWE to pull a swerve on us by having Test beating the Undertaker cleanly. DARE them!
Backstage, Rob Van Dam and the Big Show talking to Eric Bischoff. The Big Show called himself the "Giant" several times here. CHANGE HIS NAME TO THE GIANT! Rob Van Dam was actually good in this segment for a change, making sure to call the Big Show a "tool" not once, but twice. Bischoff was good here, too, as he stuck well with the storyline of wanting Rob Van Dam at 100% for Benoit this Sunday.
Next, it was Rob Van Dam vs. the Big Show. This match did nothing but undermine Rob Van Dam, heading into his Intercontinental titel match at Summerslam. The Big Show so easily hit his finisher on RVD, and then tried to attack him with the steel steps. LAME! Big Show's 3 minutes were up, and the Island Boyz attacked the Big Show with some weak offense. They hit the double elbow. In the local backyard fed I know, the VWF, there's a team called White Trash, and that's their finisher called the "Welfare Check". Ah yes, the wonders of creativity. I was hoping they'd pick his fatass up for something.
I don't see the need for giving Rock 2 long backstage segments. This one was bad, as the Rock's promos just haven't been funny lately. It's going to be a hard sell to hype the Rock vs. Brock Lesnar match.
Now, I do think that Chris Jericho is talented on the mic and his band plays well. It's just that his type of music is not in my tastes. Still, he should give all of the thanks in the world to the WWE for letting him play here and for promoting his album. Flair would attack Jericho and destroy his set, which was fueled from an earlier backstage attack by Jericho which busted Flair open. Yikes!
Our main event was Rock vs. Triple H. While nothing compared to some of their Pay Per View or previous matches, it was still decent for television. I'm serious in saying that Triple H just doesn't "have it" anymore. Why? Rock has been putting on great matches with everyone, despite taking several months off, while Triple H has had over 7 months of WWE matches, and he has yet to even get close to his 2000 or early 2001 form. Match ended in a No Contest, but it was a good one for a change. The referee was knocked out, so Brock Lesnar tried to come in. Then, out of no where, Shawn Michaels ran down to a massive pop and started to punch Triple H. He still has the good punches. HBK would take a clothesline, to which he looked to bump well. Rock would save HBK, Brock would come after HBK, only to get eventually superkicked over the top rope. Wow, I guess someone pulled a fast one backstage move, as that just made HBK vs. Triple H as the featured Summerslam match and NOT Rock vs. Brock with that one superkick. You can't make your World Title contender heel look bad before the event, although I have a feeling he won't be winning the title. Lots of pull-aparts would occur to finish out the show.
LAST WORD: What can I say? Too much promo time this week, as Triple H and Undertaker dragged on with their promos, while the Rock had 2 extremely long backstage interviews which were not funny or entertaining. The wrestling, this week, was much weaker than the previous weeks, although I understand you want everyone rested and healthy for Summerslam. Still, I can't have any favortism in mind, so
FINAL PHAT DAILY COLUMN: August 30th, 2002. After that, Mr. Tito will produce a newly titled Weekly column on Tuesdays, mostly consisting of the famous RAW review.
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