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THE EXECUTION
June 24, 2002

I am so aggrivated. I had 3/4 of a realatively long column written on Thursday night and somehow, Yahoo mail screwed up and I lost the entire thing. It was a really good one too, but I didn't have the will to rewrite it so I guess you will just have to do without.

Anyway, the main things I talked about were the Vince Russo situation and why I didn't think he should be hired. I talked about loyalty and how that used to be important to VinnieMac, Russo's dismal track record since leaving the WWF and about Russo's situation with Hulk Hogan. All of this seems to be inconsequential now, with reports circulating that Russo's control over the booking will be minimal. Good, I do not want to see any more offspring of Mark Henry and Mae Young, no matter what body part Russo decides will be funny.

Credit: 411 Wrestling, The Smarks

REAL WORLD

In the 'lost column', I also continued my assult on the cast of the Real World, with this victim being Theo. Well, this one is too good to pass up, so I'll attempt to recreate the magic of the first one.

Theo, Theo, Theo. What can we say about Theo? At first I thought he was the coolest guy in the house. Remember when he brought all of those chicks home, made a mess and woke everybody up? I thought he was a true badass and wasn't going to let the people at the house stop his lifestyle and enjoyment of that life. Then, he started to whine.

And whine, and whine and whine. What a complete dissapointment. This guy is just asking for dissention among the housemates.

But my biggest problem with this guy came about when they were discussing ideas for their Halloween play. One idea brought up involved a hanging. Every one liked the idea... every one but Theo!!! Theo=Partypooper.

Theo had a big problem with the hanging because he is black and some of his ancestors died by hanging. Now I am not a biggoted person; I am tolerant of every single race, creed, sexual orientation or whatever teh hell you are. But I think Theo is being a little hypersensitve. I am of Jewish decent, and I don't think that the people that work at gas stations are making a refrence to the Holocaust because they sell gas. (Nazi's used gas to kill Jews during WW2). I had an innocent female civillian ancestor that was killed by the Russian army by way of bayonette (sp?) back during World War 2. When I see knives or other sharp objects, do I become offended? Hell no!

Maybe I am way off base and if I am, I apologize. If you think I am being insensitve, let me know and I will take it all back. But I think that Theo is being a little too whiny about this and used this situation as a way to gain sympathy for himself and cause more trouble in the house.

I feel I need to stress again that there is not a prejudice bone in my body. I just think that his problem with the hanging had more to do with his own personal interests and gain than with a true aversion to the subject.

POST KING OF THE RING AND RAW

One of my biggest concerns that I addressed in my 'lost column' was that the WWE was going to change directions because of continued low ratings even thought it was putting on shows that are receiving mostly positive critical reviews. I thought that the hiring of Russo was the first change that they were going to make that did not need to occur. Well, with that situation mostly defused, and a pretty decent King of the Ring PPV, I was hoping ane expecting more of the same quality going into Raw.

Raw started out with all of the wrestlers in the ring and this aroused my worst fears: Vince Russo is going to walk out and reorganize the company or do whatever he does to screw shit up. Well, he didn't and Vince proceeds to cut a pointless promo. There was really no reason for the lockerroom to be cleared for this; I think VinnyMac did this to scare all of us internet fans that shit ourselves at the thought of Russo having any control whatsoever.

The opening did more for Booker T and Goldust than anyone. Booker is getting over as a great face that I love to root for and Goldust is lucky to be getting the rub from him. This unlikely pair has been getting over on their skit chemistry alone and now is beginning to add some aggresive tendencies to their personas and the total package works out well. The last thing the WWE needs is more generic top tier faces and these two are both very unique. I like the things they are doing and their development as a team is the best thing the WWE has going for them. Their feud with the NWO is also the best storyline the WWE has at the moment. I especially loved the Crocodile Hunter promo as it was funny and mocked what looks to be one of the worst movies ever made, right up there with 'Liar Liar' and any movie starring Hulk Hogan. The only problem is the face pop the NWO still gets. HBK's presence is making it very hard for the fans to boo the NWO and being an HBK mark, I can understand that.

The feud between RVD and Brock Lesnar is looking great, and I love the fact that the WWE made their IC title match the main event. I love the chemistry these two have together; the big silent behemoth Lesnar beating the crap out of little RVD, then RVD hacking away at the giant monster. Their match on Raw was great in my estamation and did a good job of solidifing the two as main event stars. I would not be surprised to see an RVD/Brock match at the next PPV for the IC Belt AND the title shot at Summerslam. I loved the near falls at the end and how Brock and Paul put RVD over without losing by pinfall. This was the highlight of the show.

I have always been a fan of the idea of pushing a new star to the moon with out having him 'pay dues', but only every once in a while. While the locker room might get pissed, I have always been interested to see how a person who's credibility is not tarnished by months spent jobbing gets over as an unstopable charatcer. Brock has the skill to back up his position within the WWE right now and I love how the fans chant Goldberg during his matches. He and RVD are elevating themselves together and doing a great job of taking the WWE and the RAW brand by storm.

Even the Raven and Tommy Dreamer match had me interested. The match was nothing spectacular, but I do wonder what plans they have for Raven now that he is off Raw. He will probably show up on Smackdown, but for what reason?

While the show was good, the problems were still apparent. The Undertaker with the belt sucks, and what sucks even more is having the Hardy Boyz feud with the World Champion. It is no secret that I dislike the Undertaker and his no-selling ass as champion and hate the Hardy Boyz and their psedo-homosexual ring gear. They are a very weak part of the roster. Their high spots are nice, but they really cannot carry a good match without Edge and Christian filling up the time between the spots with actual wrestling. Jeff's risky style has taken a toll on his body and his performances have suffered quite visably. Even before all of this, they were not credible opponents for the Undertaker, even if he does squash them every time they get in the ring. No one is impressed with the Undertaker killing the Hardyz every time they get together; it's like the Undertaker is really pissed off and deciding to beat up some little kids. It does nothing to elevate him or the belt he wears and there are many more people on the Raw roster whom he could feud with instead of the Hardyz.

This was the thrid consecutive Raw that I have really enjoyed and am interested in how the ratings pan out coming off a decent PPV. The real problem the WWE has is Smackdown. Besides Kurt Angle, there is nothing on this show that makes me want to watch it. It is evident that Chris Jericho's heel turn was a failure in that nobody wants to boo him. Even his comments on his website scream 'work' in an attemt to get the internet fans pissed at him. Just turn him face again and let us all be happy. He was a great heel in WCW but face it, that magic will never be rekindeled again.

They could kill two birds with one stone. Havie the Undertaker drop the belt on Smackdwon. That will bring interest to the show and get the belt off of his waist.

Smackdown's problems are deep-rooted and does not entirely have to do with the talent or the writing, but that does have the majority of the blame. It could be that wrestling fans are conditioned to watch their main show on Monday, whether it be RAW or Nitro, and anything else just doesn't compare.

E-MAIL

I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to the last Execution and especially for those who helped me with my Internet Explorer problem. You guys really made me feel like a complete idiot when I realized the soultion was so simple. Thank you for the messages and if you have anything to say, just e-mail me at the link at the bottom. If what you have so say is any good, I'll post it.

Later,

ZIM81
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