Well, it looks like the competition from the Olympics and football nailed WCW more than it did the WWF....by just a little bit. But, I won't go further into that because I don't know exactly what the viewers watched Monday Night. I think if you look at the numbers without thinking about the competition, it looks like a RAW that slightly down in the first hour and the second hour was lower than normal. Nitro's numbers looks like the Nitro of old, with the OK rating in the first unopposed hour, and then getting smacked around by the opposition.
The real intriguing thing is who drew the best ratings and worst ratings of the night. For example, the opening match of Nitro, which I thought was a hot opener, was the lowest rated segment of the first hour. I guess hearing Mark Madden calling Tygress "Mama-cita" turned viewers off? By the way, I know a lot of readers aren't thrilled with Tygress going over the Natural Born Thrillers. They claim that the NBT is a joke. Well, let me tell you something. The Natural Born Thrillers wouldn't be in a group if they weren't going to be held down. As a unit, those wrestlers can't shine like they would on their own. Wrestlers like Jindrak and O'Haire must have scared some individuals in the back for this group to be put together. Therefore, who really cares of Tygress got the win or not. It's not like Chuck Palumbo, Shawn Stasiak, or even Mike Sanders are THAT GOOD. Many complained about Rey Mysterio beating up the NBT during that match. Hello?!? Mysterio is one of the best Cruiserweight champs ever, and he has wins over the likes of Kevin Nash, Dean Malenko, and Bam Bam Bigelow. So for anyone to question how Rey could do so well, then you better rent some tapes then.
Wait, where was I? Head to head, Nitro pretty much got pounded. None of the matches were really drawing, with a slight rise from the main event on Nitro. WWF was hitting the high 5s during this whole hour, with the exception of the first 15 minutes...which was ummmm, oh what was it.....oh yeah, the opening interview!!!!! Of course, you could blame those who don't start watching RAW exactly on time, and we could them make 5 other excuses.
Then, with RAW on their own, they did about par with the ratings, UNTIL the main event. Yes, the HUGE, GIGANTIC, COLOSSAL match up between the Undertaker and the Rock drew a super low rating compared to the rest of the show. I'm sure many fans knew what they COULD be getting with the Benoit vs. Kane match they saw earlier...OR, they decided to watch that very close Redskins vs. Cowboys game(by the way, anybody living in Washington DC, could you please send me what some of the newspapers are saying?). Nah, this just goes to show you that the Undertaker and the Rock DID NOT draw ratings tonight. Now that is scary.
The opinions of both shows were very mixed online, as I do go around to those wonderful message boards, I check out the other columns on the Monday Night Shows, and I read what comes in the mail. Yes, I'll admit that. Anyway, I thought that RAW was all talk with nothing special, and that Nitro was great action and a well booked show(besides Russo putting himself over, again!). Now, probably more than half agreed with that notion. The other half or so, thought that RAW was hysterical and that Nitro was just another bad week at the office.
Hmmm, I don't know? You could make a case for either side with the ratings, since the Olympics and Monday Night Football screwed things up. But what I do know is that next week will be the one to watch for the REAL Monday Night War. I've received many emails about not having TNN. Well, kinda welcome to my world without UPN! Funny though is that TNN isn't in certain parts of New York City! Holy cow! Well, I'm sure that in the long run, TNN will eventually show up. Phone calls will be made, and cable networks can't avoid the channel with the hottest show on Cable, even though it is wrestling.
Plus, factor in the confusion of the switch, and the Monday Night War should be fun next week. Especially since Nitro is attempting to put on a blockbuster show! Drunken Scott Hall will be returning, along with a possible return of Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch. By the way, didn't Razor Ramone(Scott Hall) give a little turdly present to Sunny(Tammy Sytch) on a plane during the WWF days? Uh oh. That's if either of them will be on WCW next week. Getting back to the subject, Nitro is going to give us a Battle Royal, a Miss WCW contest, and I guess the main event with Russo and Booker T. I'll let it be known now... Fs go out if the NWO reunites or if Vince Russo becomes World Champ. Don't try those two things, and it should be a good show.
ON THE LOWER END OF THINGS, it looks like ECW on TNN will have one more crack at Livewire/Superstars. It should be interesting to see if many will tune in for the final ECW show on TNN, or if everyone tries to watch Livewire or Superstars for any tributes to the long relationship with USA Networks. I'm hoping for a big turnout for ECW on TNN to beat Livewire and Superstars as a way of saying "kiss my ass" to TNN.
Oh yeah, the ratings. Heat's 2.8 is decent and normal, along with Livewire and Superstars. I do remember a time when Heat was always getting 3.4 ratings, and Livewire and Superstars were pumping out 1.8 ratings. That just goes to show you the demand for the WWF just isn't what it used to be.
ECW on TNN did their summer average of 0.8, which is down from the past few weeks of their shows. They've been pulling in 1.0s for the last 2 or 3 weeks, and then they get that. I thought the show was OK in the beginning, but the boredom of the main event would really lose viewers. Usually, ECW on TNN spikes the second two quarter hours in the ratings to drive up the lower opening quarter hours, but this week it didn't. Why? Boring main event with a certain world champ looking bad in the ring, as usual! But that's just my opinion, and ratings don't speak for themselves, do they?
Oh, by the way, last week's ECW on TNN show was the final time doing results for the show, as I won't be in town Friday night/Saturday to do the results for the show. I just want to say that it was an honor and a lot of fun doing recaps for the show. I also want to thank many of the ECW fans for their support of the column, as if you've read this column in the past, you'll know that we haven't been eye to eye on certain ECW issues. Thanks once again!
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Finally, major props to Svnplagues81, Neon Peon, Chiznip, and even Wrestling-X for the tough political debate on the Free For All last night. That was some good stuff.
@That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow with the usual WCW day, discussing top issues of WCW, Thunder, and the Jackson 5. So until next time, just chill.......till the next episode!
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Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.