But first..........
Well, congrats RAW. This night shows how stale you've truly become. Only a 6.2 unopposed? Sure, a 6.2 is good on a normal Monday Night, but without Nitro there, they pulled in a dismal rating in my opinion. When RAW used to be unopposed, it used to blow the roof off with SUPER-high ratings. Now, they just get a 6.2 rating. The 5.8 rating in the first hour is uncalled for though, and I'm sure the WWF is looking into this(at least I hope). This rating proves that there are casual fans out there who just tune into both shows every night. I guess with only RAW around, they got bored and said 'hell with this'.
As much as they are stacking Heat, it doesn't seem to help much. A 2.7 is the highest rating I've seen for that show in a while, as it used to pull in numbers over 3.0. I believe that the overall WWF product is to blame for the lower ratings for the BEST WWF show in my opinion.
Both Livewire and Superstars have also bottomed out in the ratings, as they can't get above a 1.4 anymore. Why? The whole product is stale! These shows will remain at the same ratings or lower if the WWF remains in the state or shell that they are currently in.
WCW Saturday Morning did a rating of 0.9, which isn't bad since it's still sort of new. I believe that WCW needs to add some actual matches to this show, and to end it from being a boring recap show. Those Powerplant wrestlers need a starting point somewhere.
ECW on TNN, after two straight weeks of 0.9 ratings, suffered this week with a 0.7 rating. Hopefully, this week's rating does not stop some great cable network from picking the ECW show up, since Paul E. is in California negotiating a deal with someone. It's needed, because if they have no cable deal, they might not have a federation(yikes!).
Sure, I rip on Lance Storm, just because he has NO charisma and terrible mic skills. Like Benoit, he just proved his talents tonight by wrestling. Yes, wrestling. Did I say he proved himself tonight by WRESTLING? Apparently, he's got a decent angle going with him. This isn't like the Bret Hart stuff in 1997 where he full blown Canadian, and ripped on Americans..oh no, not that. Lance Storm is a very angry man when anybody disrespects his native country, and instead of bitching about the bad parts of the USA, he just stomps a mudhole in his opponents. Even funnier, is that he said he'll rename this title the "Canadian Heavyweight Title", which gained him lots of heat from that crowd.
This US tournament was something though. You had little interference, and some cheating. But for the most part, we saw some pretty clean wins. You saw the Great Muta defeat Vampiro CLEANLY, and then Mike Awesome defeating Muta CLEANLY! Hell, even Lance Storm defeated Buff, Shane Douglas, and Mike Awesome CLEANLY! Every match was thrilling to watch as well. The Muta matches were something though. He STILL has it after all of these years...in fact, they showed some highlights of his involvement with WCW in the early 90s.
Now if this show was centered around just this tournament, with no other matches lowering the grade, it would have been an easy A+. However, shit happens. I did like the build up with Jeff Jarrett and Stevie Ray, as Jarrett came out of no where in the crowd and jacked Stevie with that guitar. However, we were forced to see Stevie's horrible wrestling ability in a match later that night against Jarrett. Gee, I wonder where all of the talent went in that family. Also, the Jung Dragons and 3 Count ladder match was kinda corny. I still wonder how Tank Abbott really feels about being a part of this angle?
We then had a very stiff match between Scott Steiner and Bill Goldberg. Oh by the way, did anybody else see how hard Steiner punched Ralphus? Ouch! But anyway, the match itself was pretty good and they were both taking the stiff shots. These guys should wrestle the most, because both of them "rage" more than any other wrestlers. That way, they could "rage" on each other and not harm any other wrestlers. I was hoping for some kind of clean win or just a win in this match, but it was ruined thanks to the Steiner Recliner being banned, and Cat refusing to call it. So Steiner attacked him, and Booker T came down, and then Kevin Nashcame to the ring and Jacknifed Goldberg and Steiner. Bad ending to a good match in my opinion, but I guess we gotta save these guys for a Pay Per View, right?
Finally, why did WCW give the "Fat Woman Thriller" gimmick to Mike Awesome? Argh!!!! That's one of the worst gimmicks or angles you could give to such a talented wrestler like Awesome. Of course, with his size, and MULLET, he does look like the type who would say "I like to have some meat on them" or "there's more to love" for this gimmick. Who knows, maybe that's why he lost this tournament, so he can further hsi gimmick?
And guess what, my FAVORITE rap group in the whole entire world returned tonight. In fact, the Insane Clown Posse returned with Vampiro having a new gimmick. Ok, I'll reserve all thoughts here, because I have a SPECIAL PDC Guest today...his name is Mr. Juggalo, and he will be covering ICP on Nitro today. Mr. Juggalo, how are you on this fine Wednesday?
Mr. Juggalo: Im fukin fine Tito. U aint no juggalo.
I never said I was. I'm the guy who is always against the involvement of ICP in wrestling, remember?
Mr. Juggalo: Oh yea. All of the juggalos will come and kill U. You suk!
I what? Now don't get me wrong son. I'm just against their involvement in wrestling, and I'm NOT against their music. Sure, I might have ribbed them about it in the past, but that was just "cheap heat". They can sing whatever they want for all I care, but I feel they are just a disturbance in wrestling. Remember their WWF reign? They angered many WWF wrestlers because of their stiff shots during beat downs, and they had bad egos backstage. They also refused to wrestle in any matches, stating they wanted to perform more. In WCW, they wanted more for their wrestling careers than just performing. They were also causing trouble backstage at WCW, which led to their departure. Now, they are back..and I feel they could cause the same problems all over again.
Mr. Juggalo: Yes Tito, butt ICP brought in the most largest ratings when they were 1st wit Vamp.
Who else could WCW impress viewers with? They were bottoming out during that time, and it was Vampiro's great wrestling ability, pushing him to interesting matches. Vampiro was growing during this period, and many viewers enjoyed it, thus the higher ratings during this segment.
Mr. Juggalo: Still tito. U aint know Juggalo! ICP rulz!
That's your opinion. So what did you think of ICP coming out during Vamp's match, and then attacking Demon?
Mr. Juggalo: I luved it!!!@#@ KIZZ Sukz!!! ICP RULZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, that again, is your opinion. I thought it was sort of ironic and made a lot of sense for ICP to attack Demon. After all, I heard that ICP wasn't too thrilled with KISS from their "Psycho Circus".
Mr. Juggalo: U R dam rite Titos. KIZZ SUKZ!!!
So what do you think of Vampiro pairing up with ICP again. He was in full blown clown gear for his LOSS against the Great Muta. Do you think ICP will influence Vampiro like they did last time, almost making Vampiro quit WCW several times?
Mr. Juggalo: Screw U TITO!!!! Juggalos rul da world! ICP is our Gawd. Nuttin can stop US!!!!!!!!!!1
Umm, you didn't answer my question. Do you think the pair of ICP and Vampiro will really work this time, by having no mess ups or any backstage problems?
Mr. Juggalo: Know, because ICP rulz!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vampiro will bee the next WCWWCWW world champ. Juggalo Championshit Wrestling also rulz!!!!
Ok, that's all I needed from you today. Thanks for your interesting analysis, and now you can go home and listen to your Eminem CDs!!!
Mr. Juggalo: ARGH! Die tito! U R a dead man! ICP will kill Slimanus if they eva cee him again!
Ok Mr. Juggalo, I was only kidding. It was a joke. Like the whole Eminem and ICP feud, IT'S A COMPLETE JOKE!!
Mr. Juggalo: Oh.
Yes my good man, lighten up every once in a while. You should also remember, from the reasons listed above, that I'm not a big fan of their involvement in wrestling from past experiences, and that I'm NOT ripping on their music. Understand?
Mr. Juggalo: Yes Tito. Can wee bee freinds?
Sure. Lunch on me!
@That's all for me today, as I have to take Mr. Juggalo to lunch. Hehe. I'll be back tomorrow with WCW Day and Nitro ratings analysis. Oh, it should be such wonderful fun.
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