By Scott Bowden
October 6, 2005
Homecoming Week: With RAW’s return to USA Network, Vince McMahon and WWE prove you can go home again
“Don’t forget who you are and where ya came from, ‘cause we all gotta go home sometime.” --Tommy “Wildfire” Rich, rasslin’ philosopher, circa 1983
Vince McMahon and WWE Monday Night RAW returned home to the USA Network this week, armed with a lot of memories, plenty of attitude and WWE Superstars past and present—though many fans undoubtedly wish the rest of the McMahon clan wouldn’t have made the trip. (Don’t e-mail me about the McMahon segment being the highest rated of the show—you can attribute that to Vince/Austin…a nostalgic pop if there ever was one.)
For those still questioning why Monday’s RAW homecoming show was better promoted than most WWE PPVs in recent memory (especially SMACKDOWN!’s NO MERCY this Sunday, which is aptly named, given the lineup), you have to understand that USA holds a special place in the hearts of the McMahons. After all, WWF ALL-AMERICAN WRESTLING, which replaced Joe Blanchard’s wild-as-all-git-out Southwestern Championship Wrestling (SCW) show on USA in 1983, planted the seeds for the now-infamous mid-’80s expansion, with Vince using the program to air videotape of regional stars he planned to sign away in an effort to kill off the NWA territories and the AWA. Years later, when it was McMahon himself facing extermination from Ted Turner, who was using Vinnie’s own eye-gouging, talent-raiding tactics against him, it was RAW on USA where new characters like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock slowly evolved and hammer-locked the imagination of fans nationwide, saving the company and putting Turner and Eric Bischoff down for the count.
SIDE-NOTE SLAM: SCW, which had been on thin ice with USA over their liberal use of blood, among other things, got the loaded boot in the early ’80s following an angle in which Scott Casey dumped a bucket of manure over Bobby Jaggers’ head. Fairly tame stuff compared to modern-day WWE. Vince, who was slowly taking over the company from his father, Vince McMahon Sr., then commandeered the USA timeslot, soliciting tapes from regional promoters like Bill Watts and Verne Gagne, who forwarded tapes of their top stars (JYD and Hulk Hogan, respectively) free of charge—they were just thankful for the national cable exposure. Little did the poor bastards realize that Vince Jr. was merely familiarizing his audience with the stars he planned to sign and promote nationwide. Notably, Vince was extremely high on the Von Erichs and their World Class promotion, which had created rock-star-like celebrities out of Fritz’s boys by taking the music videos that Memphis wrestling had pioneered with the Fabulous Ones and others to another level. Vince even featured Kerry’s NWA title win over Ric Flair in WWF VICTORY magazine, as he was confident of a future working relationship with the Von Erichs. Some even speculate that Vince was eyeing Kerry as Backlund’s replacement before deciding on Hulk Hogan, who had far fewer hang-ups.
Monday’s homecoming show opened with Mick Foley calling down “Rowdy” Roddy Piper to host Piper’s Pit. Once they put each other over, plugging each other’s outside-the-ring projects, it was angle time. (During the initial ego stroking, I almost expected a reading from the SCOOTER book jacket and/or a screen to drop from the heavens for a clip from Piper’s new flick.) The Ortons came out and attacked both stars, which was reportedly done to set up a match between Piper and “Cowboy” Bob at Survivor Series. (No, really.)
While it’s hard to argue having two microphone legends like Foley and Piper kick off a show, this segment seemed out of place on RAW, especially on the intensely hyped kickoff/return show on the new/old network. (I realize we should all give up on WWE taking the brand split seriously, which is why the angle that transpired later won’t be as effective as it could have been. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) The crowd was ready to pop for just about anything, and they certainly did respond to the angle, as Piper and Foley were sharp, and Orton is wonderful on the stick when he’s inspired. Not a bad start, but a bit of a letdown. Truth be told, I liked it better on the second viewing; however, my initial response was something like, “Out of all their options, they opened with this?” A sharp contrast to TNA’s debut show on Spike TV, which stiff-kicked off with an AJ Styles bout. (But then TNA’s got Jeff Jarrett as World champion, so what do they know anyway?)
Which is not to suggest that WWE should have opened with the Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle 30-minute Iron Man match (which followed the Pit), either. Today’s WWE fan wouldn’t have had the patience to sit through an opening segment centered on a bout that’s designed to go a half hour—a bit sad. Overall, I suppose I have to agree with Creative’s decision to go with Piper’s Pit first, offering big stars from the last three decades, in theory delivering something for everyone. You have to imagine, given the varied lineup, WWE was desperately trying to recapture the attention of the casual wrestling fan who has long since abandoned the product as WWE became more like a bad sitcom or WB teen drama over the last few years.
Still, Michaels and Angle was as good as expected, though the Olympic gold-medalist should have gotten the win in OT. I think most fans felt cheated by the time-limit draw, as the whole concept of an Iron Man match is a battle of endurance, one that provides a clear winner. In that sense, WWE failed to deliver. The finish wasn’t quite as lame as a Tony-Schiavone-“fans-we-gotta-go” (during the JCP days) moment, but it was close. Angle and Michaels are phenomenal pros, so again, it’s hard to complain.
At this point in the show, I was fairly pleased with its pacing. And then they introduced Kevin Von Erich, the lone surviving sibling of the family that seemed destined to own the entire wrestling world in the ’80s, which seems tragically preposterous in hindsight. I was almost nervous for Kevin, hoping the Dallas crowd would remember—and they did in a big way. Kevin, now a grandfather, looked great and appeared happy waving to the adoring fans—almost as if it was the barn-like Sportatorium of years gone by. Thankfully, we were spared Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold,” Kevin’s old entrance music—and, more important—Bill Mercer’s commentary. (And you thought Coach was bad.)
I’m torn about the McMahon/Austin segment that followed. I probably would have booked something similar, as their entertaining feud in ’98 on USA was the deciding factor in KOing Turner and Bischoff…but Monday’s segment dragged. Badly.
Ideally, the segment would have ended following the Stunner on Shane, who at the very least, the crowd is interested in because of his past daredevil antics. But Stephanie? You’re pushing it. And Linda? OK, so Creative wanted to include almost the entire immediate family, given the history of Austin and the McMahons. But Austin attacking Linda, who Jim Ross has often described as a classic “Southern belle”-type, was bad TV—and I’m not even stressing the point that the Stunner missed by a country mile.
Unlike most Internet writers dissecting the biz, I really do hate to second-guess here, especially with Steve, who understands his character more than any WWE writer or I will ever know. Um…however. Rednecks, in my experiences, are a lot of things. They’re often brash, and the ones who know how to fight, certainly kick ass. But most rednecks—at least the ones who are likeable—are rough around the edges, while still showing respect for women, especially older ladies. If Linda had to be included, why not have her gaze around the ring, admire Steve’s handiwork (given her own frustration with her family in past), and say “job well-done,” as Stone Cold escorts Mrs. McMahon away, beers in tow.
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For the record, I wrote this criticism of the angle before reading these comments from the WRESTLING OBSERVER’S Todd Martin, who wrote “…considering Austin has gotten into trouble in real life for abusing women, I don’t think he should be abusing women as a face spot on national television. Joking aside, there is something really wrong about that.” Scoff all you want, say it doesn’t matter because it’s just a wrestling angle, but Martin’s right.
The Ladder Match followed, and Hardy and Edge came through with a great match. As I wrote months back, the Ladder Match gimmick is nearly dead, as most performers in such a bout seem more concerned with creating innovative spots involving the ladder than working a great match. Besides, the novelty of the ladder spots, at least for me, now pales in comparison to my genuine concern for the safety of the performers. That being said, Hardy and Edge rose to the occasion on Monday, combining a street-fighting style that best suits their angle with the high spots that earned both stars notoriety years back in TLC matches.
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It’s too easy to bitch about the finish. So I’ll do it for you. Ostensibly, yes, it sucks for Hardy, who is loaded with star potential. My issue with Edge going over has nothing to do with personal reasons for justice—it’s based on my belief that Hardy has been misused for years. While WWE has done a beautiful job building up Edge as a money-drawing player, they could have created a new top-level superstar in Hardy. In my opinion, they didn’t have the balls to pull the trigger on the push for Hardy, who the fans are dying to love and believe in. Edge is such a hot heel that he could have lost and gone to SMACKDOWN! without missing a beat.
But I expected Hardy to be dispatched to SMACKDOWN!—and that’s before I even learned of the Internet reports of a change to upcoming RAW house shows, with Big Show replacing Hardy in bouts with Edge. (No wonder they announced the sub ahead of time—or there would have been a near riot among the fans expecting a good match.) Still, I was hoping the company was attempting to swerve us, maybe the revamped local ads were a smokescreen and not a spoiler. I realize now that I was giving WWE far too much credit, furthering confirming that this whole thing hasn’t been an elaborate angle all along.
Triple H returned next, in one of those angles that even the densest mark speculated on the last two weeks. As I wrote two weeks ago, I understand programming HHH with Ric Flair; however, I think the company missed the boat by about a year, as they continually teased the split to the point most don’t much care at this point.
But if anybody can get fans into a feud, it’s Flair, who will probably deliver one of those classic promos of his in response to the savage beating he took from Trips on RAW. Like others, I wonder why Creative didn’t have the legends in the arena, all longtime peers of Flair, step in and surround the Nature Boy to protect him—could have been an effective, poignant moment. Oh, well.
From this point on, it seemed WWE was running behind with the broadcast, but that didn’t stop them from airing a silly segment with Jimmy Snuka and Mae Young backstage. The legends also came to the ring, with Dusty Rhodes the ringleader, putting over only a few of the wrestlers he’s close to like Superstar Graham and Harley Race, while ignoring everyone else—just like the good ol’ days. Rob Conway got knocked around by the legends, even taking the feared Iron Claw from Kevin Von Erich, which got a pop from the crowd.
I ignored the Bra and Panties match, despite the fact that the three hottest women in the company (and I’m not talking about Ashley) were involved. I’m just over it.
The SMACKDOWN! snub made more sense later, but it sure made the boys in the ring look foolish and second-rate.
Hogan and Austin will do great business at WRESTLEMANIA, but I sort of wished the Rattlesnake had been the instigator, with the Hulk playing the reluctant legend stepping back in the ring once again to answer a challenge from a younger star who achieved fame while he was away. Hulk gloating about the win over Michaels and then challenging Austin turned me off a bit from the angle. The mark in me was saying, “Hey, old man, you survived against Michaels—don’t push it with Austin.” It appeared they were running so far behind that they actually cut Hogan off, playing his music to his surprise.
Cena and Bischoff was mercifully short, but I don’t think it was a good idea to showcase the WWE Champ against a poor opponent on this night. If WWE truly believed that fans from the past were going to tune in to get reacquainted with the product, why have Cena, who needs to be carried to look passable in the ring, work with Bischoff? Don’t get it.
And I’m sure the rumble between the SMACKDOWN! and RAW rosters looked good on paper, but it just didn’t come off like a big deal—maybe because the brands haven’t been portrayed as equals in the eyes of the fans, most of whom don’t take the brand split seriously to begin with. If the brands had truly been promoted as different entities all this time, WWE would have a shot at doing some serious business. But they haven’t, so I’m thinking the program won’t be as successful as WWE is hoping.
I liked the show overall…but I sure wanted to love it, y’know? WWE programming has its moments nowadays, but there are still far too many nonsensical booking decisions for my taste. But as Jim Ross said on the RAW special that followed the homecoming show, “You watch Raw and say, ‘This isn’t the wrestling I grew up with.’ Exactly. And we don’t want it to be.” Well, mission accomplished, Jimbo, but a little old-school psychology and common sense is just what your product may need right now.
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