Why oh why must the "Ineptitude" era continue? Besides totally ruining whatever possible impact the return to RAW Austin may have had on the ratings the past few weeks, now the creative braintrust (for the lack of a better term) have decided to take away whatever payoff we.. the long suffering and highly devoted viewers might have recieved had Austin made an appearance or if they would have at least gave us something to look forward to next Monday (ie: Axe the Bisch,actually start the feud between HBK and Y2J or at the very least not give us the same reheated crap from past storylines.)What possible reason do I have to watch the next 2 episodes of RAW? They've made it clear that Austin absolutely won't return till nWo, and I'm sorry at this point I don't know if I'd lay down 39 clams just to see the WifeBeater vs. the Wifeswapper. Lokks like it's just more of the same from the WWE.
"You go ahead and talk about your psalms and your "John 3:16", Well "Austin 3:16" says I just whupped your ASS!!".
What reason do the Austin marks have to buy the PPV if they blow all their load on RAW? They've been selling the angle for a month now, with the pay-off coming on the "big show", which is exactly the kind of booking that the WWE needs if they're going to sell PPVs.
Good for them.
RAW Satire 2/10 Buffy 7.13 gets a 5.0 Three subplots and the BEST one featured Giles getting groped by Andrew. Egh.
Originally posted by asteroidboyI think they've done an okay job of selling the undercard of the show, which is smart, because people aren't gonna pay more money for HHH/Steiner II.
This is the first time I truly said this and mean it, but who cares about HHH, Randy Orton didn't say a word! What's up with that?!
Ringmistress
Proper planning prevents piss poor performance" William Regal
That, and there was NO 20 minute HHH promo. HLA AND the Kiss My Ass club were used in a fairly decent manner. Neither HHH nor Steiner had a match - THE UNDERCARD WAS GIVEN A CHANGE TO SHINE. Booker of all people got a squash. Jericho got 10 minutes (And more "promo" time than HHH). I really have to ask- WHAT MORE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT? If you have not learned by now that you should ignore the show hype (because they will ALWAYS overdo it), you will always be disappointed...
Originally posted by asteroidboyI think they've done an okay job of selling the undercard of the show, which is smart, because people aren't gonna pay more money for HHH/Steiner II.
This is the first time I truly said this and mean it, but who cares about HHH, Randy Orton didn't say a word! What's up with that?!
Ringmistress
If only Orton started whacking guys over the head with a sack full of "get well" letters....
"My brother saw the Undertaker walking through an airport." - Rex "Was he no-selling?" - Me
"...release the dogs, or the bees, or the dogs with bees in their mouths, and when they bark, they shoot bees at you?" -- Homer Simpson
Originally posted by asteroidboyI think they've done an okay job of selling the undercard of the show, which is smart, because people aren't gonna pay more money for HHH/Steiner II.
This is the first time I truly said this and mean it, but who cares about HHH, Randy Orton didn't say a word! What's up with that?!
Ringmistress
If only Orton started whacking guys over the head with a sack full of "get well" letters....
The problem is it was a one hour bait and switch. Nothing happened, when they promised something would. The Austin return, if he's going to return at NWO, that's fine. Don't tease him on RAW every koddamn week.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship.
The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.
Originally posted by kazhayashi81The Austin return, if he's going to return at NWO, that's fine. Don't tease him on RAW every koddamn week.
Well Austin kinda did return from what I hear last night for the live crowd at least. That way the crowd went home happy, and it might even help attendances in the future if the crowd keep getting off-camera stuff like that.
Honestly, there was no way Austins tv debut was gonna be anywhere other than a ppv cos the WWE wants to maximise buy rates. All the teasing is, as excalibur already mentioned, just to further sell NWO.
"You dont appreciate a lot of stuff in school until you get older. Little things like being spanked every day by a middle aged woman: stuff you'd pay good money for these days."
From what I read on other sites, Austin returned just after the cameras stopped to a MONSTER pop. He stunned Bischoff. I would imagine they did this for two reasons: 1) as dMr said, to increase live attendance and 2) to show us all that YES, Stone Cold REALLY WILL be back at nWo so PLEASE BUY IT PRETTY PLEASE
Austin returning after the cameras went off the air was a sweet move. I like the fact that the television audience doesn't have to be catered to. I'm sure if I were there I'd have been gone home really happy. That said, I get the feeling Austin will return next week in some manner. Instead of Austin just showing up, he has to compete in a match which should mean he gets some air time.
The show was disappointing at the end. Eric should have been fired and a new commissioner should have been named. I still don't understand how Eric got his job back if Vince thought Austin wasn't going to save his job. It made no sense then again this is the Raw writers we are talking about. I guess Vince watching Eric control Steve was the only reason he got his job back, I don't know. So, nothing changes besides having Austin back who will now fued with HHH while Booker T has to do the mid-card work. I love Austin, but Raw is not where he belongs.
Originally posted by A FanAustin returning after the cameras went off the air was a sweet move. I like the fact that the television audience doesn't have to be catered to. I'm sure if I were there I'd have been gone home really happy. That said, I get the feeling Austin will return next week in some manner. Instead of Austin just showing up, he has to compete in a match which should mean he gets some air time.
Maybe they'll air the "After the cameras stopped rolling..." footage next week? That way they can actually have Austin appear on TV before the PPV. It would certainly be more a step up from the "Celluloid Rock" pretaped promos we've been getting on SD! for the last few weeks.
I think the big problem isn't so much the buildup, it's everything else. The WWE and the writers are doing a pretty good job in teasing Austin and in drawing it out for a PPV buy. The problem is, when you couple that with Steiner nearly injuring people, Booker and RVD getting main-event pops with mid-card treatment, Jim Ross as your top face, 2 minute squashes and Test and Stacy acting, it makes you want Austin (or ANYTHING) more. People would be cool with the Austin build if there were other feuds to look forward to on RAW, but when your best workers and feuds are consistently the people who inspire the "We want puppies" chants, you know there is something wrong.
Actually, I don't know why they didn't do the Hart/Austin fued with Austin this time. What would have been wrong with Jericho or even Matt Hardy (if he wanted to go to Smackdown) call out Austin before the Royal Rumble, and just have weeks and weeks of him badmouthing him (he could even use the Stunner as a finishing move) until Austin gets sick of him and comes out and fights him (preferably at WM). You've created a star and have all the buildup that you have know. I know, that scenario wouldn't have put the focus on Vince, Eric or any other non-wrestler, so THAT wouldn't do, but hey, sometimes the simplist things work.
By the way, Storm's gimmick includes 1.) telling the audience to shut up, and 2.) occasionally making everyone stand for the Canadian national anthem. You know they don't know what to do with a wrestler when he's making fans stand for a national anthem. It's like waving a white flag and saying, "This guy has no personality -- we give up."
Originally posted by DirtyMikeSeaverI think the big problem isn't so much the buildup, it's everything else. The WWE and the writers are doing a pretty good job in teasing Austin and in drawing it out for a PPV buy. The problem is, when you couple that with Steiner nearly injuring people, Booker and RVD getting main-event pops with mid-card treatment, Jim Ross as your top face, 2 minute squashes and Test and Stacy acting, it makes you want Austin (or ANYTHING) more. People would be cool with the Austin build if there were other feuds to look forward to on RAW, but when your best workers and feuds are consistently the people who inspire the "We want puppies" chants, you know there is something wrong.
Actually, I don't know why they didn't do the Hart/Austin fued with Austin this time. What would have been wrong with Jericho or even Matt Hardy (if he wanted to go to Smackdown) call out Austin before the Royal Rumble, and just have weeks and weeks of him badmouthing him (he could even use the Stunner as a finishing move) until Austin gets sick of him and comes out and fights him (preferably at WM). You've created a star and have all the buildup that you have know. I know, that scenario wouldn't have put the focus on Vince, Eric or any other non-wrestler, so THAT wouldn't do, but hey, sometimes the simplist things work.
I was going to nail you with the old... Wrestling Bylaws 101: Statute of Angle Recycling. "A company cannot recycle an angle/distinct match finish for seven years" ... but the Hart/Austin thing WAS in '96, and being that we're in '03, I guess it gets the pass. That actually could've been a pretty sweet angle, especially given the full-circle aspect, with Austin being on the receiving end of the constant bashing by the up-and-coming star.
(Hey, I'm not usually on this side of these discussions. Feels weird!)
Originally posted by Excalibur05It's called "selling the PPV".
What reason do the Austin marks have to buy the PPV if they blow all their load on RAW? They've been selling the angle for a month now, with the pay-off coming on the "big show", which is exactly the kind of booking that the WWE needs if they're going to sell PPVs.
Good for them.
I'm totally with the concept of "selling the PPV" -- no problem. I certainly would never have expected Steve Austin to come out & actually do much of anything. Walk out on the stage at the very end, sardonically raise a beer at Vince, walk off, end show. (Come back out for the live crowd after the cameras stop rolling.) I don't see how having him appear (briefly, tantalizingly) does anything but help buyrates among the Austin marks. I don't see how "OMFG he's really gonna be there really really really!!!" keeps them from buying the PPV. If anything, I would think that it radically boosts ratings for next week's Raw. (We might be a bit more inclined to tune in & see if we get a little more tease.) And I can't for the life of me see how actually producing him can do anything but help buyrates, both among Austin marks & more casual or skeptical viewers. Its like a classic striptease -- it doesn't hurt a bit to "give them a glove" or a shoulder strap.
Originally posted by Pool-BoyHLA AND the Kiss My Ass club were used in a fairly decent manner.
I didn't know it had gotten this bad but when we are reduced to these kind of statements, well, it's pretty damn bad.
Yep, 'fraid so. Since I left the room the moment the words "Hot...Lesbian..." were uttered, I have absolutely no idea if they did that in a "decent" way, if such can exist. ;-) I wouldn't have come back at all if my husband hadn't kept yelling play-by-play match results up the stairs at me (I didn't want him to wake up the kids!)
Frankly, I'd rather skip No Way Out entirely. Not that it's going to diminish their buyrate, which I am sure will be jacked up by the beer-swilling jackass. If he comes back to Raw, all I'm going to know about his segments are what I can make out from the play-by-play coming up the stairs.
Unless of course his first segment is something on the order of him giving up both women and alcohol in repentance for his sins. ;-)
Originally posted by asteroidboyI think they've done an okay job of selling the undercard of the show, which is smart, because people aren't gonna pay more money for HHH/Steiner II.
This is the first time I truly said this and mean it, but who cares about HHH, Randy Orton didn't say a word! What's up with that?!
Ringmistress
If only Orton started whacking guys over the head with a sack full of "get well" letters....
Yeah, or used them as throwing stars. THUNK! UGH!
Although it WOULD make for the worst killing spree ever... (duck)
Originally posted by Pool-BoyThat, and there was NO 20 minute HHH promo. HLA AND the Kiss My Ass club were used in a fairly decent manner. Neither HHH nor Steiner had a match - THE UNDERCARD WAS GIVEN A CHANGE TO SHINE. Booker of all people got a squash. Jericho got 10 minutes (And more "promo" time than HHH). I really have to ask- WHAT MORE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT? If you have not learned by now that you should ignore the show hype (because they will ALWAYS overdo it), you will always be disappointed...
Well, I'd sure like to be entertained, and that sure as hell didn't entertain me.
He needs to bring back the sky-hi chokeslam he was using towards the end of his WCW run and when he debuted. Anyways, it seems like his 'punishment' with the stretcher match and all got to him and he's not mailing it in as much.