411 Fact Or Fiction 06.02.05: RAW Vs. TNA, Christian, Triple H, More

Posted by Ashish on 06.02.2005

It's week THIRTY SEVEN of Fact or Fiction with Don Bishop, JP Prag, and Lita's acting skills....

Welcome to the always important WEEK THIRTY SEVEN of Fact or Fiction! Joining us today on the Fact or Fiction battle field:

- The master of the Ying and Yang, Don Bishop!
- And another of 411’s 2005 crop of rookies, JP Prag!

Let’s get it on!


1. Going up against WWE on Monday nights will be suicide for TNA.

Don Bishop: FACT. But only because of the network they're on. WWE is still very weak right now. On a better network, TNA might stand a very good chance of competing against Vince's empire, but that's not going to happen.

JP Prag: FICTION. TNA is losing money right now, but has very solid financial backing from Dixie Carter and the Panda. Should they get the Monday night timeslot of 8-10 on WGN, it will still draw higher ratings then a Friday 4pm timeslot on FSN that often got pre-empted. Also, they will be paid for that spot instead of paying, so no matter what it's a move in the right direction. Just the fact that they were the highest rated show on FSN proved that they can draw. And I don't believe that they share 90% of the RAW audience. Don't forget that from that Nielson study, RAW and SmackDown! don't even share 50% of the same audience, and that is why they started to do cross-brand promotions. Now think of all the disenfranchised WCW fans out there who don't even watch anymore. Think of my father who watched BTW growing up and went to the Boston Garden every week to watch wrestling and now can't stand wrestling because it is all talk and ridiculous TV storylines. Remember when Paul Heymen gathered the disenfranchised audience into ECW. TNA can make a nitch for itself, do well on this network, and complete on some levels. Will it be Monday Night Wars? Not yet, but the Monday Night Wars wasn't a war at the beginning either.

Score: 0 for 1


2. The Eric Bischoff vs. ECW angle is bringing back memories of the InVasion angle.

Don Bishop: FACT. Like inVasion, many things are being handled incorrectly. Unlike inVasion, ECW is being kept away from WWE TV. The two will interact on pay-per-view and we'll have to pay to see it. That part is good, as is bringing in the big names like Sandman and Sabu, which is more than happened in the inVasion already.

JP Prag: FICTION. The beginning of the InVasion was very cool because it was outsiders showing up on TV and causing trouble (Mike Awesome taking the Hard Core title was astounding!). Then later on, it was more outsiders when RVD and Dreamer showed up, and for a while it was interesting. Then the InVasion became about WWE turncoats and ended with the Rock vs. Austin. Bischoff vs. ECW doesn't feel like any of those things. The ECW PPV feels like insiders taking a side job and having some guest stars. There is a whole different flavor going on that is, yes, interesting, but in the end an extension of Bischoff's comments on the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD. And more WWE inserting itself where it didn't need to go.

Score: 0 for 2


3. Christian has what it takes to be a main eventer.

Don Bishop: FACT. They've made main event stars out of less talented people. Christian will be a World/WWE Champion one day.

JP Prag: FACT. If they would just let him win matches! Let's see: can wrestle, can cut promos, can sell merchandise (Captain Charisma T-shirt was about #7 last week on ShopZone before everything named Cena and ECW took over the top 10), can sell angles, can take risks, can work on the mat, can cut his hair, can bleed. Looks like he's got it all. My only qualm is that the WWE thinks they can just push someone up the card to the title without giving them wins (see: JBL) and then establish them as a force afterwards. I'd like to see Christian get some high profile wins before he moves to SmackDown! (I still don't know why he didn't get wins over Shawn Michaels, but beating Benoit, Jericho, and Flair could help out quite a bit in the short term), or get the wins anyway if he stays on RAW and make enemies of everyone for thinking he was leaving (like he gets drafted, burns bridges with everyone on RAW, then gets traded right back). Christian has what it takes, but the E needs to get behind him and stay behind him for at least six months instead of the yo-yo rollercoaster ride they seem to like to do with people before they move into the main event.

Score: 1 for 3


---SWITCHAROO!---


4. Triple H's repetitive gimmick has become the most boring thing on RAW.

JP Prag: FACT. This is tough because there is the Masterlock challenge, but I'm at least giving that a chance to turn into something. The exact point on Raw when I started to tune out and just do some reading this week, though, is when Triple H started talking. Now, I'm not a Triple H hater who wants him gone from wresting, I think he adds a lot to the show. But it's time for him to give back. I was very interested in Triple H when he started to get pushed down the card and was feuding with mid-carders, just fighting them and cracking jokes and being frustrated. But his Main Event promos... he rarely SAYS anything anymore. Sure, he's talking, but he's not saying anything. There's been no development in anything he does, and he rarely makes sense. Why is he the #1 contender? Hassan is right: he lost two title matches and then he lost in the Gold Rush Tournament. The guy should be about the #7 contender at this point, at the most.

Don Bishop: FACT. Triple H needs to do something different and quick. Everything he does lately is predictable, and his "quitting" of Raw didn't last nearly long enough.

Score: 2 for 4


5. Lita plays the slut gimmick well because she is basically playing herself.

JP Prag: FACT. The most successful people in wrestling (Hogan, Rock, Austin, Flair, Rhodes, Race, etc...) have been so because they have been extensions of themselves, not characters like a Wrestling Golfer or Motorcycle Gang, with a few exceptions (most notably the Undertaker). Now, I cringe while watching Lita and Edge make out on TV, but you can tell that she believes what she says, and that makes a great heal. The best heals are the ones that think they are right and say the truth that people do not want to hear. Any heal that is just "evil" for the purpose of being "evil" rarely can do anything, but when they believe their character and find the motivation, it comes across as good as Lita's current rendition.

Don Bishop: FICTION. If you're suggesting the woman really is a slut. She's happier with Edge than with Matt Hardy, but that doesn't make her a slut nor a good actress. Outside of making out with her real-life love interest, Lita still can't act for crap if you ask me.

Score: 2 for 5


6. Moving to Fridays is the beginning of the end for Smackdown.

JP Prag: FICTION. It's then end of SmackDown! on UPN, that's for sure, but not the end of SmackDown!. WWE has a year to find it's second brand a new home, and I'm sure they will work something out with NBC/Universal. Forty people are not going to lose their jobs, and the brand extension is not a failure and not coming to an end. SmackDown! is seriously going to suffer from being on Fridays, but don't forget the deal they have with UPN. It's structured much like their future RAW deal: they get paid flat fee and UPN sells the advertising spots. UPN is shooting itself in the foot in the short term for giving up the add revenue it's going to get with the lower ratings, but the WWE isn't that much affected (except for probable lower SmackDown! PPV buys).

Don Bishop: FACT. This is the curse of death for just about every TV show, except those lame sitcoms on the ABC Friday night lineup. Remember those? Anyway, SmackDown will continue to suck, it'll just suck with even less people watching.

Score: 2 for 6


And these two finish a horrible 2 for 6! Join us next week for more Fact or Fiction!