The rest of the show...well, it was garbage. It's easily the worst Smackdown I've seen in a while, as Smackdown usually features some good wrestling even when the storylines get sort of strange. This week was just terrible. Worse than the RAW of last week, as none of the matches were any good, and the matches were rigged as hypers for the Pay Per View.
The ratings are totally reflecting this as well, so don't bitch at me for saying anything. RAW unopposed was not significantly great, as a 5.8 in the unopposed hour was uncalled for. It seems that the WWF is just slowing down for..............
The Month of August. This is the month that the WWF has been waiting for, ever since they had word of Stone Cold Steve Austin returning. This could be a major factor of the staleness of the WWF, as the WWF kicked it in cruise control, storyline wise, to make sure that no storylines were interfered with when Stone Cold arrives. If you think the show just centers around main eventers now....just wait until Stone Cold arrives.
Remember 1998?? Stone Cold and Vince McMahon took up a ton of television time back then. However, back then, everyone enjoyed the Vince vs. Stone Cold feud. Ever since that was a success, the WWF has pushed for wrestlers to mimmick this, and have allowed them extra time in the angles. Ever since this feud, Stone Cold has always had extra television time for his angles. Nowadays, the Rock and Triple H get the most time of anybody. So what will happen when Stone Cold returns?
Possibly much more time wasted for interviews, you name it. Back in 1998, however, the WWF midcarder structure was very weak. Sure, they had a few wrestlers to help the shows, but not much. Now, the WWF is loaded with so many great midcarders, that they are now forced to make Heat and Jakked great shows. But with Stone Cold now added, and I bet Vince McMahon returning, what will happen to that RAW or Smackdown showcase of the midcarders?
Well, if you look back on WCW in 1998, the main eventers really started to hog the time at Nitro. Hogan's ego was way out of control then, and the same group of 40 year olds had a strong grasp on the control or format on Nitro. That held back the great midcard talent that WCW had at that time, and thus shoved all of them on Thunder, but it was too late. Wrestling fans were sick of seeing the same guys who were their heroes in the 80s hogging the show, so they turned to a fresher product, the WWF. WWF slowly grew into what WCW was in 1997: good main event action with great midcarder action. The WWF talent pool just began, and great shows came about in 1999, and early 2000.
Now, we have the McMahons, Triple H, and the Rock taking up a good bit of time on television, with many great midcarders hanging around and shaking their heads because they have to wrestle on Heat or Jakked. Again, maybe the WWF has been slacking off like this on purpose. For one, WCW has been very week competition this year, and for two, the ratings are always decent without Stone Cold.
The ratings are now lowering themselves, and the competition, WCW, seems to be improving for the first time this year. So what are you going to do about this? Remember when Vince Russo left the WWF? The WWF had some terrible storylines right after him, including that embarassing Cancer angle, and just outright stupidity. Then, as the ratings started lowering and going up in WCW's favor, the WWF unleashed that marriage angle, and the WWF fans were hooked all over again, and the competition destroyed themselves.
It seems to be the same way this time around too. I guess Stone Cold will be the savior to dull and uninteresting angles. WWF better hope so, especially when funds sometimes rely on the Stock Market and especially with the new deal with Viacom. Stone Cold COULD be the answer, but he might not be. Only time will tell.
Speaking of the stockmarket, the WWFE stock is always on the rise lately. The Viacom deal really helped out, but it could really explode once word gets out that Steve Austin is returning to action. I can remember how well it jumped when he was "rumored" to return, and then when he actually did on the Smackdown before Backlash. It's odd that the ratings haven't really reflected the stock's rate, especially from last week's terrible 4.0 rating on Smackdown.
So let's look at the Fully Loaded card:
Tazz vs. Al Snow
Edge/Christian vs. Acolytes
Val Venis vs. Rikishi Phatu
Possibly another Bull Buchanan vs. Godfather match
Possibly a match between Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn(maybe with Malenko too)
Trish and T&A vs. Lita and the Hardy Boyz
Chris Benoit vs. the Rock
Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle
Triple H vs. Chris Jericho
This pay per view could either be really good, or really bad. It depends on the triple main event. Rock and Benoit, and Triple H and Jericho should have good matches, if past performances dictate how they will do here, but Kurt Angle vs. the Undertaker is an uncertainty. Also, the Rikishi vs. Val in the cage could be an important match, as past cage matches can help ruin a show **cough** Undertaker vs. Bossman at Wrestlemania 15 **cough**.
Well, we are close to August, and many predict that Stone Cold will return on the RAW after Fully Loaded, even though there is no proof of that. This month could either make or break the WWF, and if it breaks, then fans will either stop watching wrestling, or start watching WCW. It's their choice since they are kings of the mountain, still.
@That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow with ECW day, which means FULL BLOWN ECW on TNN results, along with my thoughts on ECW.
Phat Pharm: New "Bad Wrestling View", along with a BRAND NEW Column entitled "Distracted Ref"! Click HERE to enter!!!
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.