Leftovers: Great feedback from my Rock question:

Msk2g wrote:

I would say there are lots of reasons for this. Number one would be that the internet pounded Rock's matches mercilessly for a very long time and some people probably still have that in their minds. Lots of people will say stuff like, "Rock has improved a whole bunch but he is no Angle or Benoit." Now, the Rock might not be Benoit in the ring but i have read some interviews with Angle where he says Rock calls almost the entire match when they are in the ring together. This was right after those two had a very solid No Way Out match. Jericho on Byte This said he most likes to work with the Rock because they have great chemistry in the ring. Outside of Foley, HHH's best matches have been with the Rock. And every single person on your list except Austin has been elevated by Rock. Benoit had his first true main event run against Rock (Along with a false title win). Jericho beat Rock for his first true world title, and beat him on three consecutive ppv's. Angle also got his first world title from Rocky.

I also remember many internet folks being upset because Rock never tapped out to the crossface when he was against Benoit. Nevermind that Rock never taps out to submissions, or that he was main eventing against Benoit. People remember that he didn't tap to a man that is beloved by the internet. Maybe that is still in their minds.

I defend Rock a lot online. Heel Rock vs. Foley and Austin is why i started watching wrestling again. By the time i had the internet he was a face, and i remember being shocked at how many people hated him online. And for a little while i listened to them. I started thinking it too. Then I went to a show (don't remember if it was Raw or Smackdown) and Rock and Benoit were both on. When Benoit came out i leaned over to my friend, who has internet access but doesn't bother with anything wrestling related on it, and said, "You know Benoit is the best wrestler in North America, right?" He looked at me like i was crazy and asked what i meant. "Well people, experts, whatever on the internet say his matches are the best and most believable, so therefore he is the best," was my reply. "Have they heard of The Rock," he asked in disbelief? At that moment I realized it wasn't all about technical ability, or who the experts said was best. Rock has been my favorite again since that night.

Maybe people can't get by the fact that he gets such a huge reaction on

the microphone. Maybe noticing how good Rock is would take too much time away from complaining about glass ceilings, politics and McMahons. Maybe it's because he isn't white. Who knows? But he doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves and I'm glad someone noticed. Sorry if i rambled on. Good article by the way.

BrewGuy sez:

Hey Dropster - just wanted to say I dug your column this week - couldn't have said it better myself. You know me, I'm always an optimist, and always look for the good things, but I liked your line about the fans having responsibility to be open to the show put on by The Fed. Easier said than done, perhaps, but here's some food for thought:

I'll bet that if a fan was really upset about the programming on a show which had nothing to do with wrestling, they simply wouldn't watch it anymore. However, the wrestling fans seem to come back again and again and again, regardless of how much they liked or disliked the show before. Interesting, eh I'll use me as an example - I once watched one episode of The X Files. I really didn't like it, and I haven't watched any X-Files show since - probably to my detriment, since the rest of the world continues to tell me what an amazing show this is. I guess it says something about the wrestling fan that they continue to tune in week after week, no matter what. Our loyalty is unswerving; I guess we just gotta open our minds a bit. I'm certainly not saying The Fed should be free of critizism - I think it's also our duty as loyal fans to tell The Fed what we think is good and what we think is bad. One thing about the Fed - nobody pays more attention to it's fanbase, period.

Feel free to email yours truly if you have a retort for Brew or msk2g.

Feedback Question of the Week: Can RAW be consistently better than SmackDown! given the talent discrepancy (at least on paper) caused by the draft? I mean, SD! has a roster that is 60% of every workrate mark's wet dream, but RAW sure was the hotter show last week. WHAZUPWITDAT?!?

Welcome to another 10 minutes inside my brain. Enjoy the ride. Or not.

The People's Show

After watching SmackDown!, I came to the conclusion that seems to be fairly prevalent on the Net this week: RAW was the better show. Now, I could get al critical and start dissecting the inadequacies of the WWF's Thursday night effort, but after the reaction from last week's call for positivity (and the lack of desire to have CRZ call me a hypocrite again), I've decided to put it all into perspective. You see, just because DrOp, former jaded Internet smark, didn't enjoy the show doesn't mean that NOONE enjoyed it. In fact, I'm sure more than a few people found SmackDown totally enjoyable. And that's okay.

See, SmackDown! isn't my show. I'm not the only guy (or gal) watching these two hours every week. Vince and the rest the of the writing crew don't script SmackDown! solely for my viewing pleasure, although I sometimes wish they would. Nope, they script it for the People. Two SmackDown!s ago, Rock dubbed our Thursday edition of WWF entrees the People's Show (as opposed to the Rock's show), and this has certain ramifications that each and every viewer must accept. Ramifications that I need to realize if I'm going to avoid growing an ulcer while watching wrestling sometimes. And you do too. What realization, you might ask? I'll tell you:

I'm not the People.

You're not either.

At least not but myself (of yourself) I'm (you're) not. You see, it takes a multitude of unique individuals to comprise the People. Each one of those individuals has a set of likes and dislikes that the WWF (as any good company does) attempts to cater to each and every week. Groups of individuals with similar tastes can be clumped into Segments. Together these various segments comprise the WWF viewing audience. Each segment's tastes should be as valued as the next. Everyone's likes and dislikes have merit.

In order to cater to the diverse audience of viewers, RAW and SmackDown! often take on the resemblance of different television shows or movies. Sometimes they are part ER or Practice. Other times they are part Sopranos or Bloodsport. Then they can be part Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Buffy, Dawson's Creek and even Queer as Folk. And that's okay. Each one of those shows carries unique merit and a targeted audience all its own. I had to realize this when I watched on Thursday.

I had to realize that every fan that watched this show wasn't watching for what I watch for, just as I am not watching for the exact same reasons as CRZ, Joe, Scaia, Y-Pac or Hyatte. Everybody didn't sit in front of their television expecting the same things out of RAW and SmackDown! Every fan isn't a guy in his late twenties like me. We're all different and we all deserve to be catered to at some point. And I think the WWF is trying. At least, I want to believe that they are. That's why, in my belief, we saw: