But first....another proud moment, as there was a sign at Nitro too!
-The numbers say it all, as this really shows that WCW is in trouble. They went under 3.0 for the first hour...ouch, that truly hurts. I've been nice to WCW on my grades. For the past few weeks, you've noticed a constant B-. It never went higher, and it never went lower. Well, consider me a nice guy for that, as I had some hope it would get a little better. But it didn't. That lower rating proves that by having wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Sid, and Ric Flair as MAIN attractions on the card, you will definately fail. Oh yeah, Hogan is really saving WCW now. It's funny how they did way better ratings last week when he was doing those 80s-like interviews, but when he shows up live, they ratings go down! The time is now for something to be done at WCW, or it will only get worse.
-Since Jim Ross alluded to it in his Report this week, I figured I'd add Nitro vs. Heat to the "In Comparison" section. It's pretty sad when your 3rd ranked show pounds on a 1st ranked show. Not good at all. On the ECW vs. the World front, ECW had a bad week and the other ones had a good week. Livewire shot up by a whole 0.4 points, and Saturday Night jumped 0.1, while precious ECW on TNN got a 1.1(still only 0.2 away from their first ever rating of 0.9). So I guess ECW isn't near being the #2 federation yet, right?
HOWERVER, since many readers wanted me to discuss this, there have been early reports of the ECW buyrate, a buy rate which comes from very late booking of anything from the 0.2-0.3 range. Which either doubles or triples the buyrate for WCW's Superbrawl! My gosh, that's truly sad. I figured Living Dangerously's numbers would be in the toilet after not hyping their pay per view very much, but they are beating WCW! But, he's my rebuttal: Could ECW put on a Pay Per View every month? Could they keep up a decent buy rate like 0.2 or 0.3? See, ECW puts on their pay per views every so often, WCW has to put one on every month. If Paul E. struggles to book one pay per view, imagine it every month.
-They are saying that there will be indeed a program with Sting and Vampiro after Sting defeats Luger at Uncensored. That could get very interesting, as they could make a great tag team, or have them feud. It would be interesting to have a situation where Sting would put over Vampiro in a big match, just like Flair did for Sting WAY back, during the original Clash of the Champions. You never know, but anything with those two would work, because those two are a few reasons why I watch every week.
-My gosh, WCW is going through another stage at Nitro/logo change for Nitro once again. Oh joy, another lame logo to put up with. I don't really like the current logo. If you didn't know what you were looking at, the current logo would confuse you. It has those wierd points to it, and the letters are hard to read out. Logos are meant to be recognized, and not to be ridiculous. As for the stage, yeah, I'm glad they are changing it. It just doesn't look like it matches up with WCW's program, as those television screens everywhere make the stage look strange. Of course, if they do get a new logo and set, I hope the management backstage doesn't get cocky like they did when the current logo came out. I remembered Bischoff guaranteed a ratings victory that night!
-Readers were saying that TSN really hammered down on the recent RAW, with censored chants and by not showing the horrifying Mae Young Spot. If you think that is bad, just wait until if RAW becomes a part of TNN. Just look at the straps that they put on ECW. Of course, RAW will adjust. Just look at Smackdown. It's a spectacular show with somewhat clean angles and good matches. That is what RAW would pretty much become if this CBS/TNN deal comes down. You see, RAW would adjust to TNN's restrictions, whereas ECW continually complains about them, and uses them as an excuse for still low ratings.
-Good old Vince McMahon is about to release a statement on WWF.com concerning the reasoning for NOT promoting Behind the Mat on his television shows. That's cool, as now it will be his time to fire back at everyone bashing him for not promoting the film. I've seen press coverage everywhere, as Barry Blaustein made it very clear to bash Vince on each and every one of them. Vince has remained quiet, until the statement comes out later today. Vince will give everyone his own batch of apples then.
The modes are just about the same as WM 2K, expect for a few things. The storyline feature is rather interesting, and a first in the video game business. Props to THQ for this. Also, you can play extended seasons, in terms of years. That looks to be very addicting! The create a wrestler is pretty good, with some rather interesting looks you can give for your wrestler, but I prefer the one on Wrestlemania 2000. The menus are very well organized, and loaded with features on every screen. My gosh, wrestling video games are getting so real anymore!
Now for the gameplay, which is the bread and butter of the Tito grade. Now I must say, I am not a big fan of the Playstation controller, especially for being an N64 player. I was getting confused on what button did what, but I'm sure that's easy to over come. In ring action is very explosive, as the in ring camera moves in and out constantly to give some excellent angles of the action. The computer is very tough in this game, as it seems that THQ loves to step up the AI when it comes to WWF games. Overall, the in ring action is good, but a little shakey at times.
Last Word: Alright, this game is probably the best wrestling game ever for the Playstation, but in terms of best ever, IN MY OPINION, it slightly falls short of Wrestlemania 2000 for me. Wrestlemania 2000 just seems more stable and solid to me. Since Wrestlemania 2000 won an A+ in my book, Smackdown will receive the grade of an
I just want to take time out right now and give major props to THQ. I can remember back in their SNES days, they were one of the worst video game companies around. I would have never thought that they would rise to the occasion and become the "bar" in wrestling video games. From WCW vs. the World, to WWF Smackdown, they have been excellent, and each game gets better. Now you see poor companies like Acclaim and EA Sports crying in their boots because a company that was laughed at a few years ago, is now destroying them on sales.
@That's all I have to say for today. I'll be back with more terror, as I might just see if Thunder is slowly becoming the top WCW show. Well anyway, it seems like a nice day around here, so I'm out of here. 2 Weeks until 1 year of Consecutive Columns!
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Take Care, and Thanks, as Always, for Reading.