Raw Thoughts #2 Slackerz Edition! 23.1.2003 by Big D

Well, after a PPV that delivered good and bad, it was interesting to see how they could follow it up. Don't forget, though, that by and far, it was a forgettable PPV for the Raw brand. Not only did they *not* win the Rumble, they delivered one of the absolute worst "main-event" caliber matches I have ever seen on any PPV.

On a side note, since unemployment rate in Oregon sucks the big one, I decided that it might not be time to hang up the spatula yet (I did restaurant work to get myself through school). I went to a local chain restaurant and applied. I had an interview with the kitchen manager before I left, and was virtually assured on the phone about an hour later that I was "in" and to come for an interview today. So, I showed up today.and, indicative of the luck that I have been having, it turns out that I was supposed to be showing up for a second interview with another manager. Would have been nice to know about that ahead of time, and the only explanation they could offer was that "it was the first interview that "employee x" had ever conducted. So it kinda looks like I'm back to square one.which may or may not be a bad thing.

Here was one of my unofficial predictions that either may or may not have made it onto the Rumble preview:

"Storm/Regal will win the tag titles back within 2 weeks"

How did that pan out? Read a results page. Want to know how I felt about it? You probably know the section to head to.

The Good:
Je(ff) Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam: Jeff looked better than he has in awhile, but.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PUT THE BELT ON RVD OR BOOKER T!!!

Randy Orton: I wonder if his rehab percentage will stall out at 99, especially if they sign him into a match against some monster (like there are any left). Just classic stuff.

Austin as "The Bombshell": This one is only conditional-they should have had him in attendance instead of a ploy to increase PPV buys, and if he goes back to the "WHAT" gimmick, I may just come back and move this to "ugly". And use the Alliance version of his music, beyotches!

The Bad:
Batista vs. Steiner: What there was sucked. I almost moved this to the "good" side, but I reserve my rights there, since they'll probably just turn Orton and Batista into cheap lackeys for HHH rather than build their own characters.

Mixed tag match: I HATE MIXED TAG MATCHES! THEY HAVE TOO MANY OF THEM. I think Victoria and Trish are on the "better" side, but these matches, and women's matches in general are overdone and clichéd by now.

Chief Morley: This kind of gimmick has got to stop. PLEASE.

The Ugly:
Tag Title Match: Well, this was pretty obvious. And well within the 2-week timeframe. By logic, I can see their reasoning by putting the belts on the heels and jobbing them at WM. If that's NOT their logic, I'm going to stop watching the WWWhatever forever. Well, maybe not. But they fail to realize that Regal's character is DONE. I'd much rather see Dudleyz vs. Booker/Goldust. In fact, I'd like to see Booker wrestle for the Raw title at WM. Actually, I'd rather watch just about anything else than Regal. Pfffft.

Man, this was not the way they needed to go after the Rumble. Even if they bring Shane-O-Mac in, they still need some fundamental changes with booking and character development before this thing goes anywhere.

Comments? You know where to send 'em.