By Jeremy Maes, Torch Team Contributor

WWE HEAT review
October 19, 2003
Reported by: Jeremy Maes, Torch Team Contributor.


Welcome everyone. This week’s Sunday Night HEAT had a distinct Smackdown flavor. Seems there is a little old pay-per-view going on tonight so the Smackdown brand has taken over the show in one last-ditch effort at convincing people to buy. I guess this qualifies as what they call a “very special” episode. So onto the endless hype and recaps!

Before the credits or the action begins the WWE shows a portrait picture of Stu Hart and his time here on Earth. It was short and safe but I expect a follow up on the pay-per-view or on Raw.

As the picture fades a long tan leg appears on the screen. As the camera follows the leg we see it is attached to some sort of space alien with a small resemblance to the woman formerly known as Sable. The alien creepily rubs her leg and says that Mr. McMahon has commandeered Sunday Night HEAT for the evening. It than immediately hypes the father/daughter match for later. The hype has already begun!

After the opening credits Josh Matthews and Rue (um, who is she?), introduce us to the show and shortly thereafter go into..….

Video package #1: Kurt Angle/John Cena. The video began with John Cena getting over his issues with Kurt and his subsequent attacks on the Olympic Hero. The focus then shifted to Kurt and his attacks and mockery of Cena. Calling Cena out for being white not black and the dwarf angle from last Thursday. The video accomplished its primary goal, which was making Cena look on par with a true main-eventer in Kurt. Thumbs up!

Back from commercial the Black Mist attack by Tajiri on Nidia is shown. Josh and Rue do their best at getting the Black Mist over as best they can. Matthews said Jamie Noble is at a medical facility with Nidia 24/7 as she recovers. He also says that only God and Tajiri know what is in the Black Mist. They segue then into a brief announcing of Tajiri defending the cruiserweight belt against Rey Mysterio.

Then for some inexplicable reason the WWE production staff decides to waste time and show highlights of the “Passport to Pain” European tour. I say it is a waste of time because no one in the friggin’ States cares what the people overseas saw. There is a PPV that they should be hyping not wasting time on something that has no bearing on current events! Sheesh!

Anyway, Josh Matthews starts insinuating he wants to ask Rue out for next Saturday so they can watch a special edition of HEAT next Saturday night at 7:00 eastern standard time. She says no of course and, wait a minute, I have to watch HEAT on a Saturday night. Oh that is crap, as if this show was not lousy enough usually I now have to watch on Saturday night? What kind of person sits at home on a Saturday night and reviews pre-taped wrestling programs no one cares about when they should be out on the town picking up the ladies?

Video package #2: This was not really a video package more so than a recap of events. “The boy” narrated over the past two weeks’ events between Big Show and Eddie Guerrero including the hilarious sewage truck incident. Funniest part about the segment was the fact that Matthews said it happened three weeks ago when it clearly shows on the bottom of the screen it happened two weeks ago. It ended with Big Show’s dismantling of Eddie from this past Smackdown. Afterwards Michael Cole asked Big Show a set of easily answerable questions furthering Show’s mad acting skills. He said he has had sh*t coming out of his ears for two days and that tonight he will take Eddie’s Latino Heat as well as his United States Championship.

Video package #3: Surprisingly enough this video package was not placed in the final slot for hype. Of course I am referring to the Vince McMahon/Stephanie McMahon saga that has gripped our collective conscience for weeks and packed out house shows across the country. As if I should be surprised this was the most complete video of the night. The history between Steph and Mac Daddy was covered in good detail from the on set of this feud and ended with snippets of Stephanie’s interview with Michael Cole we all loved. I personally loved the video because I always appreciate a well-intentioned, nightmare, wrestling segment that I can creepily laugh about at work the next day.

After the Video ended, Tazz and Cole blubbered on about the importance of the match and its outcome. Cole actually said he thought he would arrive today and find that Mr. McMahon had called off the match. Nuff said.

The Rap Battle: Okay this is going to be short and sweet cause the company just got here to watch the PPV. Cena was walking in the building and some dork accosted him with an awful rap. Basically, the skinny redneck kid baited Cena with an awful rap and Cena retaliated with a good rap that turned the crowd in his favor. It was a good showcase of Cena’s talents but he is the heel who turned the crowd on his side. So I am confused.

Match 1: Billy Kidman defeated Shannon Moore. Moore started the match with a quick go behind and continued dominating the offense for a good 4 minutes. Kidman finally fought back and landed a back heel kick but Moore composed himself and planted Kidman on the mat with a jumping swinging neckbreaker. Cool move that if done right could be his finisher. Moore went for a cover after a nice corkscrew moonsault and got only a two so he pulled a trick out of Christian’s past and threw a mini tantrum. The crowd laughed so I guess it was effective, for what though I do not know. Back to the match, Kidman fought back and put Shannon to the mat and he climbed the top rope. Moore sprung to his feet and tried throwing Kidman off but Billy fought back and connected with a sloppy spinebuster for the three count.

Talking points: A decent match that the crowd seemed to like. I was not into it basically due to the fact Billy Kidman looks like the local butcher out on a Sunday stroll. Billy boy needs a severe makeover and he needs it lickity split. By the way, when did Shannon Moore get all those tattoos?

Video Package #5: Finally at 7:56 they get around to hyping the Undertaker/ Brock Lesnar title match. The video was the shorted of the match and does that surprise anybody? If it does, you are a moron. Anyway the video got over the major selling points of the match and the history between the two men. But, due to its short length it was not an effective tool for selling the PPV.


I welcome any comments, oversights and opinions you have to share. Drop me a line at jeremymaes@yahoo.com or if you are a VIP Member, as you should be by now, I can be reached at Jmaes through the messenger service! Also, my Lounge articles are posted sometime every Wednesday. Make sure and check it out. Until this Wednesday, have fun!

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