by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

• Tonight's RAW is going to be a very telling one.  Is the re-structured creative team getting started on a mini-Renaissance here, after last week's strong shows?  Or were we just the beneficiaries of one week's worth of hot-shotting PPV main events on free TV?
   
  In the case of RAW, I'll actually drop my usual cynicism and say that could be gearing up for some very interesting TV here in the next few weeks.  The return of Chris Benoit -- and the fact that he's apparently set to do it for RAW, despite having been drafted by SD! -- not only bolsters the RAW roster's star power, but also creates myriad story opportunities.  
   
  Obviously, Benoit has targeted Steve Austin, which I'm sure will be attributed to the fact that Benoit wrestled Austin in his final match last year before being sidelined by a neck injury (though the injury was pre-existing, I do believe the Fed played it up as though the injury took place during the Austin match).  It's the simple motives that are most convincing, I find, and this one couldn't get much simpler.
   
  Then you've got Benoit's apparent partnership with both Eddie Guerrero and Ric Flair.  By being in cahoots with both those two, you'll leave fans speculating about all kinds of factional  possibilities.  The Horsemen, the Radicals, something entirely new...  I hope they let this simmer for a bit.
   
  And since Benoit's not cleared to wrestle, yet, that means our focus will also be firmly on an Austin/Guerrero feud, which should be good.  When your marking-time feud is that solid, you've got nothing to worry about...
   
  There are other storylines that also seem to be headed in the right directions, things that'll keep TV entertaining even after the PPV main events aren't being given away for free anymore.
   
  One is the nWo's fractured interpersonal alignment.  Kevin Nash is holding the group together right now, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of evidence for Booker T, X-Pac, Goldust, and the Big Show being on the same page.  How Goldust found himself into this mix is perplexing, but to be honest, he's at least as entertaining as the Big Show is, so that's cool with me...
   
  Another is who'll step up to be the first challenger of Rob Van Dam's second IC Title reign.  Former champ Guerrero's got his hands full, so somebody new will have to rise to the occasion.
   
  And finally, I can't be the only one looking at the calendar, wondering when we're going to get the King of the Ring tourney started.  Even if we just do an 8-man deal, with only the semis and the finals on the PPV, shouldn't we at least have gotten some sort of announcement about the field and how it'll be broken down between RAW and SD! rosters?  And I don't think you need me to tell you that I would personally be annoyed if they -- with the roster depth they've got right now -- limited the KotR field to 8.
   
  Think about it:  assuming Taker/HHH and Angle/Hogan are two set-in-stone singles matches for the PPV (and then throw in a tag title match, Hurricane vs. Mysterious Nemesis, and something with the divas), that could still leave an absolutely star-studded roster to have a killer tourney, including THREE rounds on the PPV instead of just two (which I like, since it underscores the tourney concept of having to wrestle multiple times).
   
  Get Austin and Eddie in there and have 'em show down at some point.  Make sure Bubba and D-Von advance (that seems to be about the one no-brainer of a cross-roster feud).  Lesnar could spoil the Dudley show-down by eliminating Bubba (just to swerve all of us who though we had everything figured out).  Edge could be in there, trying to do what Angle couldn't last year (become the first back-to-back King).  If nothing else could be cooked up for RVD, get him in here, too.  We're talking about a lot of cool options if you stock the brackets with this level of talent...
   
  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Perhaps we just sit back and wait for the Fed to announce the first step of the KotR tourney before making bold proclamations.  Hopefully, we'll get some sort of indication tonight.
   
  Whatever gets indicated tonight, you can count on OO to have Full Coverage on Tuesday, so come on back for recaps and commentary galore.  
   
  
• The final rating for last week's SD! came in at a 3.3, which is down a few tenths for the previous few weeks.  It's the first indication that the audience erosion that has hit RAW might be affecting SD! significantly.  
   
  It's too bad, because the ratings dip came during a week when the Fed put together noticeably stronger programming...
   
  On the other hand, the season finale of Tough Enough 2 drew a 2.8 cable rating, the strongest number the show did for the entire season.  So of course, everybody's already all fired up for TE3, which closes it's casting call this week, I think. 
   
  Al Snow, in a recent interview, revealed his suggestion for making TE3 really special:  ALL MIDGET CONTESTANTS.  Of course, he was shot down (because MTV and WWE bigwigs aren't interested in producing a show that the prestigious Rick Scaia Demographic would find hilarious), although it has been confirmed that he'll return as the lead trainer for the show.  Ivory will return, too.  Hugh Morrus will be the third trainer.
   
  
• Some notes for Jim Ross' weekend WWE.com column:
   
  Harry Smith -- teenage son of Davey Boy Smith -- will get serious consideration from WWE once he completes high school...  Edge suffered a shoulder injury during the cage match with Kurt Angle last week; an in-depth diagnosis reveals Edge may require surgery...  Heat will use a rotating series of color commentators for now...  both TE2 winners will probably end up in OVW for their training...  Rey Misterio Jr. is very close to debuting on WWE TV, specifically, he will be on the SD! roster, according to JR...  and Mark Henry is in training for another World's Strongest Man contest.
   
  
• Scott Hall has landed on his feet, and will be back on PPV before the end of the month.  He's signed on with Jerry Jarrett's NWA-TNA group, and will be a part of the "Gauntlet for the Gold" match to crown a new NWA Champion on the June 19 debut PPV.
   
  An as-yet-undetermined number of wrestlers will enter the "gauntlet" style match at 90 second intervals, and the match will continue Royal-Rumble-style (over the top rope eliminations) until only two men are left.  At that point, it'll be a standard one-on-one match to a fall.
   
  Joining Hall in the match will be Ken Shamrock, Buff Bagwell, Brian "Grandmaster Sexay" Christopher, and Jeff Jarrett.  More names are to be announced, but I'm guessing these are probably about it for marquee names.
   
  
• The other big "Scott" on the market right now is Scott Steiner, who last week re-iterated his hope to land in WWE.  During a radio interview, Steiner said talks are on-going and that he should end up on WWE TV eventually.
   
  
• Again I forgot to set the VCR for "Confidential" this week, and again, lots of people wrote in to say it was a good show.  The main focus this time was on Davey Boy Smith, and the Fed did a great job weaving in tons of old footage with present-day interview clips and stuff like that to paint a clear picture of what the Bulldog accomplished, and what he was going through as his career and personal life started crumbling, and how he was hopeful of coming back as good as ever to prove his critics wrong.
   
  And also for a second week in a row, Shawn Michaels got a few more minutes in the spotlight...  this time, he was talking about how he was really content with life after wrestling, though Vince McMahon was then quoted as saying he'd love Shawn back for at least one big match.  Apparently, Shawn's response to that was that "Shawn Michaels" is gone for good, but that maybe "Michael Hickenbottom" could be coaxed into an appearance or two.
   
  Hey Shawn:  just one guy's opinion, but just cuz it worked for Mick Foley doesn't mean it'll work for you, alright?
   
  
• OK, so how's this for good timing?
   
  Last Friday, when attempting to fill up space, I did sort of a half-assed "The Rick Says" (answering a handful of recently asked questions)...  one of 'em was about Rico and whether he was the same "Rico Constantino" that once competed on American Gladiators.
   
  Of course, the answer to that was "Yes," but that was about all I could contribute.
   
  Well, today, as I put the finishing touches on this column, OO Reader "Bob" mailed in to say that American Gladiators is now being re-run on TNN afternoons at 2pm.  And a contestant on today's show:  Rico Constantino.  Spooky.
   
  Check out this screen capture from Bob, too:  www.bacontaco.com/images/rico2.jpg...  Whoever taught Rico everything he knew about personal styling apparently had a thing for mousse.  Fear the extraordinarily poofy, feathered mullet!  [And thanks again to Bob!]
   
  
• I'm outta here for today... as usual, I hope to hear from some of you attending this week's TV tapings.  Send in a report, and help me make sure that spoilers for SD, Heat, and Velocity are as accurate as possible on Wednesday!  
   
  Thanks in advance...

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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