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9/8 WWE Raw review: Guttman's "Alt Perspective" Review

Sep 9, 2003 - 3:41:00 AM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY


By James Guttman, Torch Columnist

WWE Raw Alt Perspective
September 8, 2003
Live from Huntsville, Alabama
By James Guttman, Torch Columnist


Stamford, CT - 9AM

Shane McMahon enters Titan Tower and casually strolls past the receptionist to the elevators. He goes up to the fourth floor where he finds a bouquet of red roses. Perplexed, the young McMahon lifts the flowers and examines them. He assumes they were sent by his cooking oil queen, Marissa, however when his cell phone rings that all changes.

Here comes the money…

"Hello. Shane-o Mac here."

A deep ominous voice answered.

"Hello, Katie. You like flowers Kane send you?"

"Pete Gas, stop playing around. I already told you to call Stephanie. There's nothing I can do for you."

"Not Pete Gas, Katie." The Voice continued "This Kane. Kane send you flowers to show how happy Kane is with Jumper Cable Love he give you on Raw."

Shane's face turned pale. It was the monster that had attempted to electrocute his testicles last week. While Mac had thought this to be an attempt to hurt him, it was quite the opposite, which was even more chilling. Shane took a deep breath and answered.

"What do you want, Kane? What do you want from me?"

"Katie, Kane thinks that maybe this week you give Kane Jumper Cable love as thank you for last week. Kane thinks you have real purdy mouth."

"Uh, Kane. I think we should end this conversation. If you want to fight, that's cool. Anything else, I'm not interested in."

"OK, Katie. This week you give Kane love. Kane will bring all his jumper cables, and all his shoes…so he has them."

"Leave me alone, Kane! I'm not giving you love!"

The monster continued, undaunted by Shane's rejection.

"OK, Katie. This week you bring handcuffs and car battery so you play with Kane's little Red Machine. Kane will see you on Raw and you wear something sexy."

Shane hung up, scared to death. This was far worse than any pain that could be threatened upon him. While he didn't fear a match with Kane, the last thing he wanted was to give him "jumper cable love." He sprinted down the hallway and out of the building, screaming of how he quits and would never return to the company.

From his office, Vince McMahon peered around the corner just in time to see his son making a mad dash for the exit. Once Shane-o had left, Vince turned his attention to the guest in his office.

"Stephanie! It worked! He's gone! Great job, honey!"

The Billion Dollar Princess smiled and hung up the telephone receiver.

"Kane like jumper cable love. Hee, hee. Did I do a good job, Daddy?"

"Yes, Steph. I knew your freaky voice would come in handy one day!"

***

Oh love is in the air. From Greenwich to Hell, everyone is overfilled with excitement for this week's Raw. Will Triple H's war with the animalistic Goldberg reach new heights or is tonight the night that Hunter gets his padded pants kicked? How do the Damn Dudleys plan to counterattack the sparkly French duo of La Resistance and their new "partner" Rob Conway? Where do things stand in the battle between the Raw Announce Team and the Sunday Night Heaters? What cool merchandise will Scotty 2 Hotty have for sale when he returns? Gear up, kids. The answers to all these questions can be found as we tune in to Spike Lee TV. Like I said in the Saturday Notebook, the new slogan of Monday Night Raw - "Vince may be crazy, but Shane's nuts."

Raw Theme Plays. Randy Savage does vocals with Chyna on drums.

A steel cage hangs above the arena. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler warn us of the brutality that is about to unfold. This crowd is electrified! S.R.O. signs went out early! The intensity is so thick you can cut it with a knife!

Recap of Jumper Cable Love.

(1) Kane pinned Rob Van Dam in a steel cage match Ironically enough, the first JG Note from 10/7/02 when Raw opened with Booker T meeting Big Show in a cage. It was: "I don't remember any live broadcast beginning with a cage match. (JG Note: Don't write to me telling me about how it happened this time or that time. I said I don't remember - I didn't say YOU don't remember.)" Well, this is another show that opened with one. Crowd was solidly behind Van Dam in the early goings and rang out with an "RVD" chant. Best part of this one was the extreme close-up of Rob Van Dam apparently blading. I've never seen a more blatant camera shot of one. With Dr. Yankum pressing his heel against RVD's face, shoving him into the mesh of the cage, a camera zoomed in. Rob took two swipes at his forehead, causing more blood with each slash. Not a good move for the production team. I know a certain Raw cameraman that needs a trip to Low Ki University. The match goes back and forth and gets a pretty good reaction from a hot crowd. After catching Robby V in a slam position, Kane tosses his body into the cage wall, causing it to break open and send Rob to the floor. Apparently Mr. Monday Night has just gotten a Monday win.

"No, no, no, no. Stop right there. RVD is not the winner of this match. The rules say that the winner can either escape through the door or over the top of the cage, not through the cage. Now out RVD back in that ring. Fix that cage. This match will continue!"
Eric Bischoff, 9:12pm

We forget about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre cage match and watch in horror as the Big Red Machine smiles. Rob Van Dam gets scraped up and shipped back in…right after this commercial break.

Commercial Break. No TNA commercial in the New York market. We do get a commercial for Subway's new Rib Shaped Processed Meat thing, though.

We're back for about two minutes before Kane ends up on the top rope with Van Dam. He wraps his Katie Vick meat hook around RVD's neck and nails a falling choke slam for the pin. Trainers and EMTs come in to tend to RVD's injuries. I hope he's still healthy enough to participate in his big match at Unforgiven. Oh wait, never mind.

Still to come tonight, Steve Austin gives the State of Raw address. (JG Note: If it's really the state of Raw address, Austin should come out, throw up on the podium, and then change the channel.)

Commercial Break. Now that Triple H has the YJStingers commercials, do you think he'll start using his political pull to bury Castrol GTX and Snickers Crunchers?

Recap of Kane harshin' RVD's mellow. EMTs cart a twitching Van Dam off to the back. I get the eerie feeling we're never going to see him again.

OK, families! I'm happy to announce that the block party teams are all set. Jack Headly and his wife will be bringing the potato chips. Mr and Mrs. Arsell will bring the hamburgers. Diamond Dallas Page and Kim will buy the cake. And Mr. Bischoff is bringing…hookers and 151?

Yup, Uncle Eric Bischoff has arrived and he's got a whole lotta something to say. (JG Note: Thanks to Ellen Cohen for this one, Check out the author of this book..) First things first, considering that the Big Red Fake Diesel, Kane, just made mincemeat out of the Whole Dam Show, why not give him a reward? How about a match against his electrified friend, Shane McMahon? But wait, there's more! You all know that match between Jim Ross and the Coach? Let's spice that ish up a bit. No singles match. This one's going to be a tag match! JR will join the King to meet the Coach and Al Snow! (JG Note: You didn't have to be Dionne Warwick to see that one coming). You know why Sleazy E is making this match? According to Bisch, it's because the current announce team of the King and Ross "suck." Blatantly honest, Eric denounces the Puppies and the Barbecue and offers a quick fix to his stagnant play by play pair. The tag match at Unforgiven will be for the honor of announcing Raw. But while excited over the prospect of losing JR and Lawler, the thought of losing Goldberg make's Eric's brown eyes blue. If Billy G is going to be forced into retirement after losing to Hunter, Schoff best get his money's worth while he can. Tonight it'll be the Goldenburgler and the H Man in tag action. Their partners? Surprises of Eric Bischoff's choosing. (JG Note: I get the feeling it might be Jay Leno and Dennis Rodman.)

Retro Commercial Break. For all of you who remember those milk commercials where the little kid would say "I'm drinking milk and getting stronger" and then proceed to flash forward to their future where see them as solidly built adults, think about this. The kids in the commercial are grown up now. Feel old? Good. Why should I suffer alone?

Cue Rico.

Who's Rico? Oh, you mean Ric. You added an "o" to it.

No, I mean Rico.

Oh ok. Who the hell is Rico?


We shoot to moments ago backstage. Goldust is trying to instill some sort of charisma into his Lethal Weapon, Lance Storm. Lance is concerned that the fans might think of him as boring. Goldy calms his Canadian Experiment and tells him to relax. Stormy makes attempts to do just that and tries to emulate Dustin's deep breath and mannerisms before going off for his match. The teach me charisma angle is played out, but these guys do a good job with it.

(2) Lance Storm pinned Rico after a missile dropkick Before the match, Rico grabs the microphone and taunts the Stormy One with chants of boring. The Bookmark responds with a big punch to the noggin that sends Adrian Street Version Jobber to the outside. This brings in Goldust, who retrieves the microphone and leads the arena in a chant of "Rico Sucks." Not a bad match, but nothing really behind it. If anything, Lance needed to get a semi-squash match in and also needed to have it with a heel performer. This one accomplished both. Big Lance laid a lip lock on Tough Enough II's Jackie before springing off the buckles and hitting Sensational Queen Rico with a missile dropkick. Three seconds later, Storm was doing his victory dance.

Still to come: Triple H and Goldberg both have mystery partners! (JG Note: For two such popular members of the dressing room, I'm sure allies won't be hard to come by! I'm thinking Hunter can team with Ric Flair and Bill can team with one of his dogs.)

Eric Bischoff is just strolling along backstage when he's confronted by the Game, the Cerebral Assassin, the American Blueblood, Triple H. Hunter inquires as to who the mystery partners might be for tonight's tag match. Come on, Hunter. You know that if Bischy tells you that, it might ruin the surprise. You like surprises, don't you? Come on, Gamy. Where's your sense of fun? Easy E declines comment and Trips tells him that it best be a good surprise or someone might get hurt - namely Bischoff himself. (JG Note: Hunter threatens to release the YJStinger bees on him.)

Commercial Break. Lugz - boots and shoes with attitude. That's not good. I don't want them bullying my socks.

Hi there, Miss Stratus. What brings you to the WWE Lost and Found?

Well, Murray, I need a tag partner. Who you got back there?

Let's see. We have Essa Rios, Mantaur, Sean O'Haire, Oscar, The New York/New Jersey Hitmen, Kronik, and Jacqueline.

OK, let me get Jacqueline


(3) Gail Kim & Molly Holly defeated Trish Stratus & Jacqueline when Gail pinned Trish Lance Storm put a commentary on his website this week that I partially agree with and partially don’t. In it, he said that the divas deserve more credit in their matches. He went on to say that they're not just "puppies." I do agree with him that the WWE women's roster is more talented ring-wise than any other crop the company has seen. However, it's things like on-again/off again Jacqueline or Occasional Ivory that bring the whole group down. Jacqueline is used once every blue moon and her absence is never explained or hyped. It's just another day at the office for a competitor that appears to work once every two months. Where's the title hunt? Where's the desire to make the women in the roster seem goal-oriented? If the female roster is treated like and afterthought, that's how the fans will see it. That being said, this wasn't a bad match. The finale saw Trish take a sick bump from the arms of both Molly and Gail over the top rope backwards and awkwardly to the floor. Sick looking, seriously. Stratus rolls back in and is pinned by Miss Kim. Following the bell, Mad Molly and Kimberly hit a Stratus-DDT and leave the fitness model laying.

Still to come: Goldberg and Hunter with mystery partners (JG Note: I'm crossing my fingers that one of them will be Tito Santana). Plus Stone Cold gives us the "State of Confusion Raw" address.

Commercial Break. Burger King has "Off the Hook Taste." Word, chow down on that burger, yo. You'll get mad cholesterol - crazy, phat, stupid, fresh cholesterol, nephew. Ya hear?

What?! What?! Damnit! What!? What?!

Wow, Steve Austin really sounds mad back there.

That's not Steve Austin. The mid carders just saw their house show payoffs.


FOCK Fear. It's the Texas Rattlesnake, Steve Austin. Stunning Steve approaches the podium that's been set up in the middle of the ring and tosses it from the area. The GM has more important issues at hand tonight. First things first, come Unforgiven, Goldberg meets up with Triple H. We all know Triple H's MO. He's going to try to get himself disqualified or counted out. Well, eh eh! If Trips drops this one by d.q. or ring-out, the title will change hands! (JG Note: What's the point? Oh, I get it. So now everyone can start their predictions that Hunter will lose by countout or disqualification at Unforgiven. The conspiracies will run rampant and when Trips does the clean job at the pay-per-view, everyone will applaud him. Hmm…Things are pretty transparent around here lately.) But what about Kane? You all saw the electric nut show last week. How does Steve Austin deal with that? He ponders giving a Rattlesnake ass whooping, but alas he's powerless to attack the Big Red Machine. Stone Cold then leads the crowd in a crusade to overturn the rule that he can only hit a performer if he's provoked. Steve-o asks the crowd to lend their support so he can "beat a man's ass" whenever he feels like it. (JG Note: That's a pretty cool luxury to have. I wish I had permission to do that without going to jail. Waiter takes to long to refill sodas…punch! Someone in the movie theater talks too loud…pow! Trick-or-treater with a crappy costume wants candy…hyahh!) Hell yeah? Hell yeah!

Hey guys, this is the same script you gave me last week and the week before. Seriously, look. 'I'm the Intercontinental Champion. Intercontinental Champion here. Where's my apology?' Can we do something new?

No, Christian, don't worry. This is new. It's totally different. Last week you weren't wearing a shirt and this week you are.


Christian comes out and he's dressed like one of the stars from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Seriously, I can't even describe what he was wearing. It was like picture day for the class of 1972. Look, Austin, it's obvious that you all are trying to keep the Peepmeister down. But hear him out. How about a way to give both Christian and the Peeps what they want? Why not add a new talk show to Raw? The Peepshow! You see, Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel is yesterday's tomatoes. Nowadays, the Peeps want their Peepshow! Before we can get a Stone Cold answer…

Sanctimonious: (adj) hypocritically pious

Son-of-a-bitch: (n) male offspring of a female canine

Out steps Chris Jericho, who is one step closer to babyfaceland. Y2J goes nose to nose with Christian. When, the IC champ started to rundown the Highlight Reel, Fozzy beat him down and tossed him from the ring.

When Stone Cold congratulated Moongoose on his Christian beating, Jericho took offense. He accused Steve of patronizing him and once again called someone a "sanctimonious son-of-a-bitch." (JG Note: For those of you playing the Raw Scavenger Hunt at home, you can cross off "sanctimonious son-of-a-bitch." I think I'm winning. All I need is a McMahon, a Triple H promo, and something that's been set on fire.) Y2J+Almost4 goes on to call the Hollywood Blonde a loser and voices how he wished Austin had been fired. How could you, Rattlesnake? How could you consider canceling the Highlight Reel? What about Goofus and Gallant?

Easy, Lionhart, what the hell's wrong witcha? He wasn't going to cancel the Highlight Reel. Steve likes the Highlight Reel. Guess you done beat up Christian for no reason, son. Tell you what, how about joining the General Manager without hair in a beer drinking sesh mid ring? Jericho is obviously apprehensive. He takes a few jabs at the crowd by claiming not to be a stupid "redneck." (JG Note: Are they turning him face or what? What the hell are they doing with Jericho? Is it an experiment to get people to cheer him as much as they can and then have him kill the whole thing with a few lines?) He shows that he's been paying attention the last few years when he points out that they chugging contests usually end with a Stone Cold Stunner. Chris does relent, however, and agrees. Beer me!

Stone Cold tosses the first can to his new friend, but Chris drops it. Funny stuff with Steve crouching right in front of Jericho and giving a slight toss. The two eventually pop the tops and drink em up. But the happy mood turns dark when Y2J pats the Ringmaster on the back causing him to spill his beer. Uh oh. You don't have to be psychic to figure this one out. (JG Note: Let's look in the crystal ball and see what Madam Ruby sees. I see a Stone Cold Stunner. It's ok. It's ok. It's in the Alamo….in the basement.) Yup, Stunner. Didn't really like this segment. Kind of long for the minimal amount that was accomplished. What's that? You say you want some commercials? Well, ok…

Commercial Break. Spike TV is the fist network for men. Incidentally, this is the first Raw in three weeks where I didn't want to spike the TV into the wall.

The Nation of Domination and The Fabulous Rougeaus are in the ring waiting for their opponents.

Stand Back! There’s S.H.I.T. coming through!

D-VON! Get the Seasonings!

(4) Renee Dupree, Rob Conway, Mark Henry, & Rodney Mack defeated The Dudley Boys, Hurricane & Rosey when Henry pinned Bubba Ray Match gets started early before the Duds even hit the ring. Rob Conway also wears different trunks than his La Resistance buddies, which is a good sign. I thought he was just going to be an interchangeable member of the Team (JG Note: The "Crush" of the group, if you will) Apparently not, which opens up more opportunities for him. This was a good addition to the card. For weeks the Duds-Resistance feud was getting stale. Adding a four way match was a change from the normal storyline and did a lot for interest in the feud. It also made me miss the old Survivor Series set-up. Strange bump saw Ruben Studdard's and Malcolm Jamal Warner's long lost sibling, Mark Henry, set up Helms on the second rope and run in for a vertical splash. He ran in and totally missed, going straight through the ropes and landing awkwardly on the floor. Despite being the legal man, Henry stayed out of the ring following that. After a few minutes, Big Mark snuck back in and leveled Bubba Ray with a power slam for the pin.

Post-match shenanigans saw the Ambiguously French Duo use their tag titles as weapons to take out their foes. Sickest bump of the night followed when Renee and Sylvan lifted Spike Dudley up and attempted to toss him from the ring and through a table. Spike missed the wood and instead came straight down, slamming the back of his head on the side of the table before hitting the floor. As the Runt of the Litter rolled around in agony, the tag champs used Hurricane to break the still-standing table. Sick looking bump. Seriously, insane. Add another clip to the "Don't Try This At Home" commercial.

Eric Bischoff is chillin the locker room with his favorite announce duo, Al Snow and the Coach (JG Note: I think Head had more personality than the Coach). Easy E laughs along with his Heat friends and tells them of his new idea. At Unforgiven, it'll be La Resistance and Rob Conway meeting all three Dudleys in a Table Match! Johnny C and Big Al think it's a great idea but remind Bisch to stay tuned because they have something in store for JL and the Sooner. Before we can get any more dirt on the sitch, Gail Kim comes in to the room. She needs to talk to Uncle Eric in private. She sits on his lap and he dismisses the Snow Man and Coachman. Wow, how'd Eric get that assignment? Linda, Mae Young, Gail Kim's got to be like an early Christmas present. Easy E prepares to go "Gold's Club" on her as we hit the…

Commercial Break. I heard you can get Cabin Fever from a toilet seat.

Triple H is backstage with Terri (JG Note: Checked Hunter promo off the Scavenger Hunt list). He shows the clever art of product placement by comparing Goldberg to a can of YJStinger. While the Stinger has pretty packaging, it can still deliver. Goldberg can't. Same stuff Hunter's been saying every week. He calls BG Gold nothing but "hype" and promises to leave him a bloody mess. You think Hunter's going to write "YJStinger" on his back in magic marker before his matches? Buy the Hunter Book too!

Jerry and Jimmy recap Rob Van Dam's beat down at the hands of Kane. They then rundown Unforgiven and introduce Shane McMahon. (JG Note: Check. The only thing left is something that's been set on fire.)

Shane is in Connecticut hiding from his Jumper Cable Lover, Kane. With all the intensity he can muster, little Mac promises that as long as Kane is breathing, he'll seek revenge. However, the McTirade is interrupted by the Stay-Puft Bischoff Man who throws a wrench in the works. You know why Shane is in good shape this week? Bischoff'll tell ya. It's because he has no testicles! Tell you what, nutless. How about we make your Unforgiven match with Dr. Kane a "Last Man Standing Match?" Shane-o Mac offered no reaction other than to tell Eric "Screw you." Bischoff replies "No Shane, I just screwed you." (JG Note: Last week he gets Kane rubbing his groin with wires, this week he gets screwed by Eric Bischoff. )

Commercial Break. I went to the bathroom. Sorry. That's what commercials are for.

Gail Kim meets up with Betty Rubble Molly Holly backstage. It's all a go, Mighty Molly. Gail talked to Eric Bischoff and everything went well. It wasn't as great as she thought it would be, though. In fact, according to Miss Kim, it was much "quicker" than she though, too. (JG Note: Should have known that the McMahons wouldn't let Eric get with a diva without some sort of shot on his manhood.) Mad Molly shows off her amazing acting skills and exclaims that Trish Stratus will be finished once and for all. She then runs off to prepare Barney's dinner before his meeting of the Grand Poobahs.

Recap of Scott Steiner's issues with Test. We'd show you the whole feud, but it would last for months. I feel like these guys have been working with each other since the Reagan Administration.

(5) Scott Steiner pinned Stevie Richards after a Downward Spiral Test was at ringside for this one. Nothing special really. Awesome displays of power by Big Poppa Pump, coupled with Richards's selling ability made this a notch above a regular squash. When the ref was diverted, the head Testicle ran in and gave Freakily a Full Nelson Slam. It wasn't enough, though, as Dancin' Stevie ended up on the receiving end of a Downward Spiral for the pin.

After the bell, Scotty took the mic and pointed out how Stacy doesn't belong with Test. She belongs with a real man. Only one way to settle this. Another match with Kiebler on the line. Andrew tells the Big Bad Booty Daddy that he's after his "sloppy seconds." (JG Note: TNN bleeps "sloppy seconds." I watched Joe Schmo last week and they said "asshole" about a hundred times.) You want your girl back, Scott? Here's what we'll do. One more match. But if Testicle wins, you become his property as well. Test promises victory and solidifies his point by licking his leggy manager's face. I say that the only fair way to really end all of this is to cut Stacy in half and let both of them pick one. Sorry guys, it's the only solution.

Commercial Break. Kids today have Gameboy Advance for long road trips. We had those little workbooks that listed the age as "From 8-80." Remember? They came with a little marker thing that you used to rub on the paper and reveal the answers. God, did we have crappy toys or what?

The Coach and Al Snow are standing in the ring and they’re here to antagonize Jim Ross. With Johnny C playing the role of mouthpiece, he introduces a slide show of prospective careers that J.R. can move on to following his loss at the upcoming pay-per-view. Jim's head is shown on the bodies of a bodybuilder, a sumo wrestler, a ballet dancer, and a donkey. That old gag. Nothing we haven't seen before. They did this same segment with Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Kurt Angle. But one person doesn't think it's funny. That person is Jim Ross and he's pissed! As Coachman eggs the Sooner from his seat with taunts about his "fat ass," Ross walks up the ramp with Jerry Lawler closely behind for back-up. Face to face with the big Okie, Johnny Coach gets a burst of testosterone and knocks the cowboy hat from J.R.'s head. When Coachman calls him a redneck, that hits a nerve. Jim rears back and lays him out with a punch. As Al Snow goes to check on his broadcast partner, Ross knocks him from the ring with a kick to the posterior. The King and the Ross Reporter celebrate. Good segment. Short and to the point. It would have been an easier sell had this been done before Jerry and Jim started to burn out, but it still increases interest in the announcers of the show I suppose. Who's next?

Goldberg towers over Terri and tells her that his mystery partner isn't a concern. He responds to Triple H's claim that he's nothing but hype by saying to "believe the hype." I'm officially cheering for Goldberg in this feud now simply because he didn't try to sell me any energy drinks during that promo.

Commercial Break. The YJStinger commercial is honestly one of the dumbest ads I've ever seen. Hunter drinks bees?

(6) Triple H & Ric Flair went to a no-contest with Randy Orton & Goldberg This match was a disappointment. I thought for sure they'd have at least one surprise name out of the two mystery partners. As the night dwindled down and I realized that we hadn't seen Evolution yet, I started to figure it out. Very anti-climatic. Not really a match, per se. It's more of a mugging on da Man. The DeEvolution X Horsemen beat down BG Gold when the cage suddenly lowers. Enclosed by steel, the heels continue their assault until Bill momentarily gets the upper hand.

Following a Spear on Randy Orton, Billy G turns into a vicious Helmseley chairshot, busting Goldy wide open. Hunter then drags his challenger to the center of the ring and botches a Pedigree something awful. Seriously, Goldberg got in position and then just collapsed. To his credit, Trips just picked him right up and did it again. Triple H poses for his many fans and stands atop the cage as we fade to black.

All in all… Eh. I hate reviewing shows like this. The really good shows are fun to recap for obvious reasons. The bad shows are fun because there's so much to pick on. The average shows just leave you a bit empty.
That being said, as a fan, tonight's show was a definite improvement. Nothing insulted my intelligence more than usual and the storylines were believable. There were a lot worse things they could have done.

(From the Roundtable) One thing I have to remember when grading these shows is the difference between rating the episode and rating the direction of the company. While I would rather have actual matches on pay-per-view instead of the announcer match and Shane McMahon, it's a moot point. Those matches are made. The show is set. Now WWE has to build towards them. I think they did a fairly good job with that tonight.

The biggest letdown had to be the mystery tag team partners. There were an infinite amount of choices to add intrigue to this match, and they use the most predictable one. Other than that, this was a fairly good showing on WWE's part. Hopefully this is the start of some good momentum and not just a temporary switch from the norm.

That's it for me, folks. By the way, we've had some issues with e-mails here in the last few weeks. If you dropped me a message, I may not have gotten it. But I will within the next week or so. It's late now and I must rest. Tomorrow is a new day and I need to buy some YJStingers and unleash the power of the bees!

James Guttman has been writing for the PWTorch.com website since last September. The 26 year old Long Island native has made it a point to see the wrestling business from every angle possible. He doesn't like jumper cables anywhere near that area, even if it is "fake." His Twisted Altered Review can be found each Monday here on PWTorch.com. His Takes can be found 2-3 times a week by clicking on the menu to your left. You can send him your thoughts at Jguttman@PWTorch.com




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PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.

He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.

He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).

He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)


REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
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PWTORCH STAFF

EDITORS:
Wade Keller, editor
(kellerwade@gmail.com)

James Caldwell, assistant editor
(pwtorch@gmail.com)

STAFF COLUMNISTS:
Bruce Mitchell (since 1990)
Pat McNeill (since 2001)
Greg Parks (since 2007)
Sean Radican (since 2003)

We also have a great team of
TV Reporters
and Specialists and Artists.

PWTORCH VIP MEMBERSHIP

PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.

Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.

The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...

-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars.


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