by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

No need for pleasantries... you know the post-PPV Monday column drill:

• Nothing really fresh to add about last night's King of the Ring PPV, at least, not from me.  I thought RVD/Jericho and Hogan/Angle came out as the clear highlights of the night; both were very entertaining for admittedly different reasons.
   
  On the other hand, Eddie/Flair was a huge disappointment, and both of Brock Lesnar's KotR tourney matches were fairly bland affairs.  And if not for the post-ref-bump portion of the match, the main event would have been right up there with Taker/Austin (from 2 months ago) in terms of boring PPV matches, too.
   
  But why settle for a few quick summary sentences when you can just go back and read my entire immediate post-PPV Recap from last night?
   
  And if you find that I come off as too optimistic, then here's Scott Keith's PPV Rant.  We SORT OF seem like we watched the same show... except for when it came to Hogan/Angle. 
   
  
• As far as opinion from those who AREN'T writing columns for OO, the opinion was mixed, but skewing towards having been entertained.  About a half dozen "that fuckin' sucked" e-mails (which is the standard, no matter what the show), about a dozen very positive e-mails from people marking out for Brock or the Rock or whoever their favorite is, and then everybody else writing in to talk about their particular best and worst part of the show while taking a more middle-of-the-road stance.
   
  The one exception: being based in Dayton, OH, and somehow having cultivated a strong readership around here, I got a ton of mail from people in the region who were at the show live.  Without exception, they all had a good time, even if they also noted some of the same slow points on the show that I did.  No dissenters there.
   
  Another thing everybody seemed to agree upon:  the Rock/Booker/Goldust promo as a surprise non-wrestling highlight of the night.  I wasn't sure if it was just my resistance to silly backstage BS being worn down by the Miller High Life last night, but I sure did get a kick out of it.  Hearing everybody else thought it was hilarious, too, makes me feel good that I was not alone. 
   
  Of course, even if most of us who watched the show were pretty well entertained, the real test may be with the less serious fans who aren't shelling out for monthly PPVs...  they'll just hop on the 'net, read that Hulk Hogan lost (boo!), that Brock Lesnar is the King (just like everybody expected), and that the Undertaker is still the Champ (oh no, not him for another month!).  With that newfound knowledge, will they be lining up to check out tonight's RAW?  To be honest, I don't know...  I know Taker as the champ leaves even me cold, and I'm supposedly one of the more loyal variety of fan.
   
  
• And that brings us to the other traditional part of any Monday column: some quick RAW preview...
   
  It seems obvious that the Rock and Undertaker will be the RAW brand's primary feud for the next month.  [Taker and HHH will probably continue their hostilities on SD, too, setting up a three-way match for the next PPV main event.]  By going this route, the Undisputed Champ can have IMPORTANT things to do on both shows, rather than having one show be his main feud, and having mini-story-arcs with guys like Tommy Dreamer and the Hardys on the other. 
   
  I'm still not exactly clear on the specifics of how and why the Rock (having been drafted by SD!) is appearing on RAW, but to make up for the loss of Steve Austin, there's no question as to RAW being the place he belongs.  If we don't have a Rock/Taker feud fully in place by the end of tonight's show, I'd be shocked.
   
  In the meantime, Brock Lesnar's got 2 months to kill before his SummerSlam main event.  That time will be spent further building him up.  But I don't think more matches against marginal mid-carders is gonna help him out any.  I talked briefly about this on Friday, but I like the idea of doing a full-blown IC Title feud between Lesnar and RVD; Lesnar defeated RVD last night (though RVD could claim that he was mostly hurt by Jericho's sneaky post-match attack), so you could have motivation on either side to continue that rivalry.  Lesnar wants it because he wants to beat RVD with the title on the line, RVD wants it to prove he can best Lesnar.  
   
  If they're gonna go balls out with the Lesnar push, I say don't hold back anything.  Let Lesnar win the IC strap next month on PPV, and having him go into SummerSlam looking to be the first man to unify the two titles since Warrior at WM6.  Don't make this push just a Big Thing, make it a Ridiculously Huge Thing.
   
  Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Eddie Guerrero seems to be a new feud that'll be starting up, too...  and if it happens to expand to include Ric Flair and Chris Benoit (as soon as Benoit is cleared to wrestle in the next week or two), all the better.  Flair and Bubba is kind of an oddball pairing, but Bubba plenty good enough in the ring to make these tag matches a very promising proposition.
   
  Coming out of the PPV, the only other RAW brand storyline that seems a lock is the continuation of Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus with the women's title in the balance....  maybe they'll do something with the Raven/Richards thing from Heat, too?
   
  Check out RAW tonight on TNN (or TSN, or whatever the appropriate channel in your country happens to be)...  but also be aware that OO's got your back.  On Tuesday, we'll have full RAW coverage, including CRZ's detailed recap and Lee's SCJ (or should that be CJ^2?).
   
  
• Lots of rumors and disinformation about Vince Russo and his ever-changing status with WWE...   apparently it's true enough that Russo had his first round of ideas soundly dismissed by the existing creative team.  Or at least, that's one thing most people seem to agree upon.  But rumors that he's already been fired or demoted or whatever are spurious.
   
  Russo's job description never gave him the power to push his ideas through.  He was intended to be a casual contributor to the creative process of both RAW and SD brands, not an integral part of either team.  From what I can gather, that's the position he still retains.  And the creative teams for both shows still retain to options to either use or discard the ideas he contributes.
   
  Of course, with Russo's job looking cushier and cushier ("Hey, send us a page of ideas every now and again... maybe we'll use 'em, maybe we won't...  no pressure!"), there is, of course, ample speculation that WWE decided to rehire him mostly just to keep him from publishing a "tell-all" book about his first tenure in the then-WWF.  I have no idea what level of truth there might be in that speculation, nor do I have any idea exactly what kind of all-telling Russo might have been capable of spurring such a move by the Fed.
   
  
• The final rating for last Thursday's SmackDown! was a 3.1, down yet again from the previous week.  That's as poor a rating as I can recall SD! ever receiving, short of Thanksgiving and holiday editions of the show...
   
  
• Tomorrow on TNN, the Fed is presenting a "Divas Undressed" special.  The idea is pretty much similar to the swimsuit special that aired on UPN earlier this year:  equal parts tits, ass, and pointless filler.
   
  The show was actually taped over the weekend at The World (formerly WWF New York), and from what I gather, these are the highlights....
   
  Trish, Stacy, Torrie, Terri, Dawn Marie, and the three female Tough Enough winners (Nidia, Jackie, and Linda) were the 8 contestants in a three-round competition.  They were judged by Paul Heyman, Al Snow, Maven, Edge, and Jazz.
   
  After the first round of outfits, Jazz attacked Trish with a crutch, eliminating her from the competition.  After the second round of outfits, Mae Young was carted out for brief skit that I'm sure somebody, somewhere thought was hilarious.  At some point during the third round of outfits, Molly Holly tried to crash the party, but was escorted away.
   
  After all the ladies (minus Trish) had displayed their three outfits, Jerry Lawler announced the judge's decision for a winner:  Torrie Wilson.  The other ladies weren't too happy about this, and a catfight broke out to end the show.  
   
  Oh, shit!  I guess I should have put some sort of SPOILER WARNING in front of that...  eh, who cares?  If you tune in tomorrow night for the drama and not for the thongs, there's something wrong with you, anyway.
   
  Me, I'll be boycotting the show.  Why?  No Ivory, of course!
   
  
• NWA-TNA, in addition to moving their primary base of operations to Nashville, TN, has also reached an agreement to have a local TV presence in Nashville.
   
  USA Wrestling had previously occupied a Saturday morning timeslot on Nashville's UPN affiliate, but now, the group will include NWA clips as part of a co-branded show.  The hope is that this will keep ticket sales and interest in the NWA-TNA brand high in Nashville.  
   
  Since NWA-TNA is not scheduling any shows besides its twice-monthly PPV tapings, they will essentially be giving away the PPV content for free during their segments of the Saturday morning show.  In exchange for basically killing the Nashville market in terms of PPV sales, the group should enjoy a much higher profile, and should be able to get more fans to their live events.
   
  Bert Prentice, who heads up USA Wrestling, will be joining the NWA-TNA team as part of the promotional effort for the twice-monthly shows at the Municipal Auditorium.  In exchange for that job, Prentice's own USA shows will be greatly scaled back so as not to compete with NWA-TNA's on a weekly basis.
   
  
• ECW just won't die...  through Pioneer Home Video, the group will be releasing two more video/DVD titles this fall:  WrestlePalooza '97 (memorable for the ECW Arena appearance by Jerry Lawler, alongside Sabu and RVD) and CyberSlam '99.
   
  The two releases probably won't help ECW escape bankruptcy or anything, but will give fans a chance to get two more major, non-PPV ECW events to add to their libraries.
   
  
• Alright, so Brock Lesnar's finisher isn't "unnamed," anymore...  I know the dot-com recaps have called it the "F-5" (after the most violent class of tornado), and I have this bad habit of talking over the commentary quite often as I watch wrestling with friends and housemates.  Since the dot-com content is not part of the Canon, and since I must have missed it on TV, I chose not to acknowledge the move's ad-hoc name.
   
  I apologize.  All hail the F-5!
   
  
• Late addition here:  Chris Jericho's gone on tilt!
   
  Well, not really... his outrage is fairly easily understood, actually.  But in a commentary posted early this morning, Jericho has basically sworn off the internet and its pompous jack-ass fans.  And I don't think he's just "trying to be a heel."
   
  I won't spoil too much of it here, but Jericho apparently got wind of some less-than-stellar feedback about his match with RVD, and it upset him.  Y2J's claim about it being an easy Match of the Year candidate is a bit of hyperbole, but it was definitely one of the night's highlights, and should have been immune to most criticism.
   
  Check out Jericho's commentary right here.
   
  
• Alright, so I lied about my reason for boycotting the Divas special tomorrow night...  truth is there's a big ol' Rock Show on Tuesday night, and my band just happens to be a part of it.  Being the master of cheap plugs, here are the details:
   
  The Cherry Valence (from North Carolina) are passing through town, and they're awesome.  You also get to see the Jackalopes, The National Drink (my band), and the debut performance of Bang Tale.  Tell me the last time you heard of that much cool shit all in one place on a Tuesday frickin' night.  That's right:  you can't, cuz it's never happened before!
   
  The venue?  Elbo's (the corner of Fifth and Jefferson in Dayton).  The time?  Around nine-ish should be good.  You, as a member of my supposedly Ohio-centric audience?  Are invited.
   
  Me?  I'm back here again on Wednesday with full TV spoilers for the rest of the week, plus all the other news that's fit to print.  Till then...

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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