Every Tuesday and Friday we give you the scoop on what's happening in and out of the wrestling ring. Somedays it's even funny!

"I can't even afford a full torso."

Chairshots
10/30/01

Raw Thoughts

If a bad idea is well executed, does that make it ok? After two hours of build up, Kurt Angle revealed himself to be the WWF traitor and joined the Alliance. Shane McMahon masterfully told everyone that someone would join the Alliance at the start of the show. This gave the entire two hours of Raw focus, an overall plot line, and probably helped keep a few viewers tuned in just to see who the heel would be. The angle itself was executed perfectly, with the writers throwing out several red herrings to throw us off track. The only problem with the entire angle was that Kurt Angle is the last person that would join the Alliance. The plot holes in this are big enough to drive Stephanie’s breasts through.

Didn’t Angle fight Alliance leader Steve Austin at the last three PPVs? Didn’t Austin throw Angle's Olympic medals in the river? Didn’t Angle have a huge feud that started this whole Invasion to begin with? Didn’t Alliance member William Regal cost Kurt Angle the WWF title a few weeks ago? The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, or The Rock would have been better choices. Then again, if it turns out that Angle is really working as a WWF spy, then I take it all back and will just call the idea dumb.

The rest of Raw was equally compelling. Rock and Jericho continue to build towards the feud of the year with unique and clever booking. Edge beat Rob Van Dam cleanly in their match. That surprised the hell out of me. Is Rob’s push over or is this just a little punishment for his recent sloppiness in the ring that has tweaked the nipples of a few wrestlers? Shane vs. Vince was a sloppy brawl but it served its purpose by helping the plotline. Overall, good show that was overshadowed by one bad idea (if the heel turn is really a true turn).

UK Only Pay Per View

The WWF will have it’s annual UK-only PPV, Rebellion, this Saturday. Here are the matches you’ll be missing:

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (World Wrestling Federation Championship)

Kurt Angle vs. William Regal (U.S. Championship)

Edge vs. Christian (Intercontinental Championship -- Steel Cage Match)

Stacy & Molly vs. Lita & Torrie (Divas Tag Match with Special referee: Trish Stratus)

Dudley Boyz vs. APA vs. Big Show & Tajiri (WCW Tag Team Championship -- Three-team elimination match)

Hardy Boyz vs. Lance Storm & Kanyon

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. The Hurricane

Billy Gunn vs. Hugh Morrus

Damn. I’ve been waiting my whole life to see Hugh Morrus vs. Billy Gunn. Those lucky Brits. They get all the 5 star matches. Actually that steel cage match with Edge and Christian should be pretty cool.

Mick with Katie

Mick Foley will be a guest Wednesday on NBC's "Today" which airs from 7 to 10 a.m. ET. Mick is tentatively scheduled to read from his new book, "Halloween Hijinx", at approximately 8:30 a.m. You can (and should) buy the book here.

Later in the show, Mick may sit in on the “tips for carving patriotic pumpkins” segment and show how useful barbed wire and trash cans lids can be.

Ratings

This week's rating for Raw was up slightly from last week, scoring a 4.1 cable rating for the night. Excess scored a 0.6 cable rating and Heat scored a 1.4. Sad, so sad.

Crash’s Movie Review

I guess when the WWF writers don’t have anything planned for you, you go out and review movies. Crash Holly recently posted his review of Training Day on WWF.com. That is so surreal to me. You can read the review here. Please note that at no time does he express my personal opinion that Ethan Hawke should be ground up and fed to lions.

Kanyon Injured

Kanyon suffered a knee injury in his dark match with Randy Orton at the Raw taping last night. He was in a lot of pain and the fear was that he blew out his knee. If I had to wish a knee injury on someone, who better than Kanyon?

HHH’s Return Imminent

Triple H's return from a leg injury is apparently in the near future. He is featured in the advertising for the December Vengeance PPV, both on the poster and in television ads.

Guerrero News

Chavo Guerrero Jr. has not appeared on WWF TV recently due to the WWF giving him time off because of his wife's health conditions. Eddie Guerrero has returned from rehab treatment and is wrestling in HVW to prepare for his return to the WWF.

Hell, I Could Do That!

The WWF posted a new job ad on HotJobs.com last Thursday. It's interesting to note that the writer doesn’t have to have any knowledge of wrestling in order to be a writer. Now you know why we get so many of those lame “straight out of a sitcom” backstage skits. Here is the ad:

TV Writer / Producer
Stamford,CT

WWF Entertainment produces the last of the great variety shows on television combining all the elements of entertainment: sitcom, talk show, soap opera, action-adventure and drama. With 52 weeks of original programming with never an off-season or re-run, it is quite a creative challenge to keep characters and story lines interesting and compelling. That's where you come in!

Qualified candidates should possess:

BA / BS in Film, TV, Drama, Media Studies, Communications or equivalent

5+ years of professional TV writing, producing and directing required. Episodic / Soap Opera writing experience is preferred.

Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a team environment Position travels weekly

The ability to say “yes, Mr. McMahon” or “Great idea, Stephanie” at the drop of a hat.

If you think you've got what it takes to succeed in the World Wrestling Federation, then please submit your cover letter, resume, a writing sample, salary requirements and email address for return correspondence. Refer to TV Writer / Producer in your correspondence.

WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION ENTERTAINMENT, INC. Email: [email protected] Fax: 203-359-5151 Subject: TV Writer / Producer Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

That’s it for today. Join me again on Friday. Until then, I’ll be polishing up my resume.