by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

• Tonight's RAW has the unenviable task of trying to salvage top storylines just six days before a big PPV...  last week's show was lackluster in just about every way, so this is the RAW brand's last chance to get its PPV matches hyped up to the same level as the SD! brand's.
   
  There's certainly enough to work with.  The PPV's main event title match will pit Hulk Hogan against the Undertaker.  I'm not sure how, but there's gotta be a much better way of pumping this thing up than doing silly heavy machinery skits.  Last week was a major step backward in the feud between these two, so here's hoping for a couple forward steps...
   
  And RAW owner Ric Flair turned heel last week, to the shock of just about no one.  But this week, he'll have a chance to explain himself, which could be intriguing.  Is Flair pro-nWo?  Or is he just anti-Austin?  Might Flair be working a one man operation to infiltrate the nWo in an attempt to bring it down from the inside?  Just about anything is possible, and we get our first look at the answers starting tonight.
   
  RAW will also be supplying the PPV with an IC Title rematch between Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero.  Luckily, most fans await that match enough as it is...  they don't need to dick with the formula there.
   
  Other storylines that may be prepped in time for the PPV:  Booker T and Goldust seem ready to start a full-on feud (with Booker as the babyface)...  Bubba Dudley and Steven Richards have had a few amusing hardcore schmozzes, and it might be time for them to tangle in a more traditional one-on-one setting (Trish and Jazz could also be involved)...  and it seems like new Euro Champ William Regal may get some opposition from D'Lo Brown (who also fancies himself the greatest Euro Champ ever).
   
  Check out RAW tonight...  but if you can't, then you all know full well that OO's got your back.  CRZ's detailed recap (complimented by Lee's off-the-cuff SCJ) should get you fully up to speed on Tuesday afternoon.
   
  
• Jim Ross had a bit to say about potential free agent signings in his latest WWE.com column and in other interviews...
   
  "Preliminary talks" have taken place between the Fed and Bill Goldberg's representation.  No direct contact with Goldberg has taken place, however, though the Fed hopes to sit down with Goldberg at some point.  
   
  And on the issue of Scott Steiner: the Fed would be very interested in a healthy Steiner.  Contrary to reports, Steiner has NOT received a clean bill of health from a WWE-sanctioned doctor, so there are still hurdles to clear.
   
  About the ill-fated Euro tour, JR notes that a handful of wrestlers over-consumed and acted badly, and that such behavior should not happen again in the future.  He also noted that the buck stops with him when it comes to managing the talent...
   
  The rest of the news from JR is pretty much an injury update, which didn't seem to feature any major alterations from the timetables we already know about.
   
  
• The final rating for last week's SmackDown! came in at a 3.6, which is way up from the previous week's series-low.  Since the overnight rating this week was actually the same as the week before, I'm sure there are people in Stamford breathing a sigh of relief, now that the final rating has rebounded a bit.
   
  
• The Rock's "Scorpion King" dropped to #4 at the box office this weekend, and it's current four-week total is right about $80 million.  In contrast, the Randy Savage-powered "Spider-man" has made over $220 million in just two weeks.  So temper your enthusiasm when throwing around terms like "blockbuster."
   
  
• A couple readers mailed in, following up on the apparent introduction of a new storyline for The Hurricane...  the note Hurricane received on Thursday said something along the lines of "I know who you are."  
   
  Well, apparently, the "Superman" comics did something along these very lines a few years ago.  Clark Kent started getting messages saying "I know," and eventually, a new supervillian named Conduit was introduced as the source of the messages.
   
  Given that Hurricane is a big comic fan, I wouldn't be shocked if this storyline was inspired by the Superman/Conduit thing...  but if the source of the Hurricane's note turns out to be Shannon Moore in the role of "Conduit," OO Reader Sam notes that in the comic books, Conduit ended up dying.
   
  D'oh.
   
  
• As always, any help you folks can provide in terms of a report from TV tapings will be greatly appreciated.  I take your on-site reports, and I turn 'em into spoiler reports on Wednesday.  Can't do it without your help!
   
  See you again on Wednesday...   

E-MAIL RICK SCAIA
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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH.  He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.

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