If anyone can bring up a good reason to not watch Raw this week... it would hardly surprise me. On this board (i don't go to others BTW. Loyal weiner) it seems that at the mere mention of a must-see segment on Raw, that being the HHH V Kane match-up, the overwhelming concensus was apathy from most, while some others quickly started writing the WWE's plan C and D, and a scant few thought that either the title would change hands or Kane would be unmasked.
This didn't seem like a different response to most of WWE's recent efforts, can i blame anyone for that? no. Some of the WWE's offerings of "entertainment" have been deplorable at best and some of their best efforts have somehow felt hollow to the point that we have come to believe that nothing can truly entertain us beyond the Hurricane's latest foray into the realm of comedy among other small highlights.
But i return to the main issue and my point (in case you thought this had none) in that while we apply the wait and watch our expectations be dashed game, we are denying ourselves enjoyment of what we are watching. It has been said so much that the WWE's recent efforts are sub-par that it has become tedious and pointless, however that is where i can't fathom the reaction to the prospect of this weeks main event. Where people reiterate their own personal expectations of this monday ending in a schmoz with neither promised result coming through i keep flashing back to last week and what Bischoff said. He said if Kane didn't win the title his mask comes off. Not if he doesn't win the match but the TITLE. This flies in the face of all the theories thrown around about schmoz endings and no-contests. We WILL see one result or the other. Both results are exciting AND interesting, and fly in the face of "recent efforts" as the WWE's current trend is called.
This is something different, this is a must-see Raw with the potential to give us an exceptional moment no matter which outcome. Yet the apathy still made its way onto the board as people decided to not get truly excited about a shockingly important Raw. They have damn well gauranteed us a memorable night and it barely registered.
I don't plan on sitting through that match on Monday thinking of ways for the WWE to get out of this promise, i plan to finish my football training having anticipated this match all afternoon, come home, watch and enjoy it. I am anticipating enjoyment or at least surprise either way. I am NOT anticipating the evolution to come down to the ring and take away my enjoyment because i will still get to see Kane unmasked if he can't wrap that big gold belt 'round his waist.
I stand firm in the faith that i have for them to give us one of these must-see moments that i'm willing to put my status on this board on the line. I may not even register on the grand scale of these things here at Wienerville but i BET that Kane will unmask and/or HHH will lose the title to Kane on Raw. If neither comes to pass then i will not post here again and i'll ask CRZ to kill my account here. See you all on Tuesday
"Mmmm. Beer and night-swimming, a winning combination!" - Lenny
Wow. I appreciate your dedication, and I think your point is well made. However, don't forget that everyone has a different way of enjoying things. For some people it's a lot of fun to come up with crazy schemes on how the WWE is going to get itself out of what it promised. And for some people it can even be fun to hate what they watch and bitch about it every week. I mean, if that weren't true why would half the people on this board continue to watch? Just a thought.
Originally posted by miknightThis is something different, this is a must-see Raw with the potential to give us an exceptional moment no matter which outcome. Yet the apathy still made its way onto the board as people decided to not get truly excited about a shockingly important Raw.
Without picking on you, I'll simply leave this as an open question: When was the last time that the WWE actually delivered an exceptional, shockingly-important, must-see moment on RAW? (Or on Smackdown, apart from the ring going kaboom last week during an otherwise typical Big Slow vs. Lesnar match; a great visual, to be sure, but not carrying what I'd call career-shaking implications.)
I may not even register on the grand scale of these things here at Wienerville but i BET that Kane will unmask and/or HHH will lose the title to Kane on Raw. If neither comes to pass then i will not post here again and i'll ask CRZ to kill my account here. See you all on Tuesday
The theatrics are unnecessary. If some sort of screwjob goes down tonight and you continue to post, nobody will say a word about it. There's nothing wrong with being optimistic -- it's just dangerous to invest too many emotions in a show that has a lengthy track record of disappointing AND saving anything interesting for the PPVs.
"You may be wondering why I have been making so many references lately to Fox News. The reason is that it is now my cable news network of choice -- because if I’m going to watch the news and be lied to, I want it to be ridiculously obvious that I am being lied to." -- Center for an Informed America, Newsletter #34
Eh, when you come down to it, it is still HHH vs. Kane. Speaking solely for myself, I couldn't really care less about the match. I find Kane extremely boring, so I'd rather they keep the belt on HHH, if for no other reason that I have (political) reasons to hate HHH.
Well said Miknight, but here is where I'm sure some people are coming from:
We have been burned by the WWE and wrestling too much in our lives. Stipulations like "If I lose, I will retire...FOREVER" are routinely broken. Still, we sometimes suspend our disbelief and pay good money (or invest TV watching time) for an interesting stipulation match. As we have seen, there is always a way that the WWE can weasel out from under a stipulation they claim that they will deliver. Add this to the fact that the match involves a certain hated wrestler (not Kane), and you can see why some Wieners are going to be skeptical.
That being said, I am very interested in this match and the outcome. I think the WWE is going to honor this stip. And all the possible outcomes are intriguing to me. If Kane wins the title, hey, good enough for me. And we will get a series of possibly good rematches.
If HHH wins, Kane's unmasking will be a big deal. Either Kane's face will be "disfigured" through makeup and we will finally get to see it (after over 6 YEARS). Kane's face might also be fine (as has been speculated here on the board in the past), and that could lead to several interesting storylines. Was Kane lying all of his life to us and Paul Bearer? Was Kane so psychologically damaged that he believed that he was disfigured even though his face has healed?
The point is, I'm very interested in the outcome to tonight's main event. But there is always the voice in the back of my head that wonders if the WWE will screw us. It's not unhealthy to feel that Vince could throw us a screwjob.
Oh, and please don't resort to the ban me mentality. That just makes people roll their eyes and most wonder if you are just using this as a plea for attention. I admire your attitude, but don't let any of us determine your continued presence here. That's up to you to decide.
(edited by Torchslasher on 23.6.03 1023) Molly over Trish on Heat? WWE, you're the best. And don't let anybody tell you any different.
TS, the greatest Wiener rated 6.4894 ever to live!! Oops, I mean 5.5...4.5?? Oh, dammit! I guess Notorious FAB was right.
Damn straight, Miknight! I've been one of those people who have been weary thanks to the WWE's choice of entertainment for the last year. Somehow, I stuck around despite my best efforts, so I figured, if they care about their (and our) future in the biz, they had to improve EVENTUALLY, right? It wasn't easy for me to put up with their bullsh#t, it was the hardest thing ever. But, it's the last month or so (outside of a few bits) that really remind me why I stay. Not to mention the fact that we get to see matches that about five years ago we never thought remotely possible. I'm excited enough for RAW (tad more than Smackdown for some reason) tonight as it is, so I'm not doing the theory thing. I've been burned by Camp McMahon so many times, that if I get hit again tonight, I won't even feel it, if you get my meaning. Call me a naive mark if you want for saying all this, I don't care, I got seniority!
I thought the whole angle last Monday from start to finish was excellent and it created good interest in tonight's show. However, I can't help but think past tonight and who this benefits?
Does Triple H gain anything from being the man who unmasked Kane? What does Glenn Jacobs gain? He's already gone through several failed unmasked characters. He wouldn't be where he is today without Kane. Without Kane, he's just like every other hoss, IMO.
If Kane is unmasked by Triple H, will he ever get revenge? Will he beat HHH in the end for the title? It doesn't appear like they're heading in that direction for SummerSlam. This just reeks of a hotshot angle to try and pop a rating.
I think that's where a lot of the 'expecting a screwjob' mentality comes from. Add to that the fact that they've backed out of unmasking Kane several times in the past but they've never gone quite this far with promising an unmasking if he loses.
Not to spoil the whole `anticipation' thing, but it would be cool if wwe.com put up on their website tonight:
How would you like the Kane-HHH match to end? Triple H unmasks Kane 9.2% Triple H, Ric Flair unmask Kane 11.3% HHH, Randy Orton, Ric Flair unmask Kane 12.7% RVD unmasks Kane 18.1% Kane unmasks himself 7.6% Kane defeats HHH 44.1% (We meant by DQ, obviously) 0%
Lawler: "I'm voting for Kane right now on WWE.com. Woo hoo!" JR: "Hope you're not putting money on that, King!" Lawler: "Woo hoo! Puppies!"
Everquest Online Adventures - more satisfying endings to feuds. (but run-ins can be a bitch)
I'm assuming that we're not gonna get a finish tonight. Let me rephrase, there will be a finish. But it will involved old people swinging makeshift weapons.
-- Asteroid Boy
Wiener of the day: 23.7.02
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
The problem is that on this board people come up with all these cool ideas and things that would actually benefit the company in the long term. Then WWE gives us something that is usually the worst option. That being said, tonight I will watch, but knowing in the back of my head that it will not be remotely close to what anything people wrote on this board.
The usually more painful thing is when WWE starts something really cool, then totally drop the ball. So you see a little light at the end of the tunnel, but it ends up being a train full of suck coming at you head-on.
(edited by dskillz on 23.6.03 1500) January 4th 1999 - The day WCW injected itself with 10 gallons of Liquid Anthrax...AKA...The day Hogan "Defeated" Nash to win the WCW title in front of 40,000.
You've got the two most boring persononalities in the WWE who at the same happen to be two of the most boring wrestlers in the ring.
Who cares what the stipulations are?
You can spray all the perfume you want on a pile of shit, but in the end it will still be a pile of shit.
Either way when it all ends we have 2 worthless outcomes:
1. We have a boring wrestler without a mask on. 2. The belt switches to an even worse champion (who would have thought that was possible outside of Nash?)
Originally posted by dskillzThe problem is that on this board people come up with all these cool ideas and things that would actually benefit the company in the long term. Then WWE gives us something that is usually the worst option. That being said, tonight I will watch, but knowing in the back of my head that it will not be remotely close to what anything people wrote on this board.
The usually more painful thing is when WWE starts something really cool, then totally drop the ball. So you see a little light at the end of the tunnel, but it ends up being a train full of suck coming at you head-on.
(edited by dskillz on 23.6.03 1500)
Well that's true too, no doubt. I dare not guess when that next train is coming, but I'll already have a cushion in place--hours of joshi, tee hee. But, you have to also think that they know that they can't play us for suckers forever, and that we will be the end of them if they don't watch themselves. Still excited about tonight though...
Your contradictory point pretty much sums up why its not a work. If they turned round in a couple of weeks and had D'lo and Bull run in Big Red Rodney MackDog match who the hell would care?