411 Fact or Fiction 02.23.06: SNME, WM22, Carlito, More

Posted by Ashish on 02.23.2006

It's week SEVENTY of Fact or Fiction with JP Prag, Dino Zucconi, and whether The Rockers should return at WrestleMania...

Welcome back to another week of Fact or Fiction! This week, JP Prag (In Defense Of; Hidden Highlights) takes on Dino Zucconi (Marking My Territory)!

Let's get rolling!


1. With the wrestling audience now older and more likely to not be home Saturday nights, WWE Saturday Night's Main Event will be a ratings flop.

Dino Zucconi: FICTION. Diehards like me will still give the show a chance, and as long as it's better than an episode of Thunder, we'll be there. Plus, there are still kids watching, and the chance for some nighttime wrestling that's on before it's their bedtime will keep them watching. SNME will be fine.

JP Prag: FICTION. Hey, no bashing Thunder! I already won that case! But anyway, as TNA has shown, an unknown promotion can go on at 11pm on a Saturday night and get a 0.8 to 1.1 rating, so a branding machine like the WWE can get a much higher one on a larger network (with probably some crossover SNL stuff beforehand). A flop? No. Not as good as the '80s? Well sure! But there's also a lot more programming choice now. Check accumulated ratings sometime. Individual programs may not get as high of ratings as in the past, but the TV viewing audience is bigger then ever, even on the so-called "out nights" of Friday and Saturday.

Score: 1 for 1


2. This year's WrestleMania is shaping up to be one of the worst ever.

Dino Zucconi: FACT. And I say that with a heavy heart, cause I still believe in the mystique of WrestleMania. But... Cena / Trip? Angle / Orton? What are Show and Kane doing? Michaels / McMahon? Ugh. At least Carlito mentioning Money in the Bank sounds good, but this card is looking bad so far. I don't think a card has been this weak since Mania 15. Ouch.

JP Prag: FACT. You know, I hate to be caught in a negative statement like that, but it's not looking that great. When I think Wrestlemania, I think the end of a six month to year feud/story or the beginning of another long one. But what is going on this time? Cena/Triple H - forced on the audience with some seeds laid last year but never followed up on. The focus has been Edge, but now he's pushed into a program with Foley which came out of nowhere. Last we saw Foley he was fighting Carlito who in turn was supposed to be fighting RVD, but RVD killed him in a throw-away tournament, so there went that match. SmackDown!? Well, their show got hurt by injuries and death, but Angle/Orton does not sound like the money match to me. What's the story between them? Why would they want to fight except for the title? Orton/Taker for the title at least made sense, as did Rey/Anyone. Undertaker/Mark Henry? No offense, I have nothing against Mark Henry, it's just too predictable. And what's going on with the US title now? Honestly, the only match I'm looking forward to that I think is on the card is Trish Stratus/Mickey James, and even that might not happen! It looks like they are just throwing together a card that has big names and a lot of people instead of building a program up to it.

Score: 2 for 2


3. Like Edge last year, Carlito will be WWE's breakout star in '06-'07.

Dino Zucconi: FACT. Carlito's awesome. People seem to forget that he's like a legend in Puerto Rico. Vince probably told him to calm down his usual offense until he learns "WWE style," then he could make a mix. We're starting to see the effects. Carlito's gonna be ill.

JP Prag: FACT. Anyone who reads Hidden Highlights knows my thoughts on Carlito. The guy is hilarious, is a heat machine, has taken the silliest gimmick and made it awesome, and can wrestle when they let him. Given the right program and some wins, Carlito is easily the future of company. But I was very tempted to answer FICTION to this one because I don't believe the WWE will get behind him, or they'll get behind him and then drop him (like they have before). I don't think Carlito is the next Edge, but more likely the next Christian: the breakout star that they refuse to acknowledge is a star.

Score: 3 for 3


---SWITCHAROO!!!---


4. WWE should go with The Rockers vs. Vince & Shane McMahon at WrestleMania over Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon.

JP Prag: FICTION. What is Marty Jannetty going to add to this match then could already be accomplished? And didn't they just fire Jannetty because they couldn't think of anything to do with him? The bottom line is, the story has been Vince wants Shawn to be the old HBK, and Shawn cannot throw away his life and family for Vince. If this is supposed to lead to a match between the two, or a match of Vince and Shane vs. Michaels, then so be it. But why have two Rockers? Two wrestlers already can beat two non-wrestlers. Where is the drama? And what do you do with Jannetty when it's all said and done? I mean, aside from have him turn on Shawn, help the McMahons win, and have the blowoff match to a feud that ended fifteen years ago...

Dino Zucconi: FACT. My associate is missing the huge equation with this match: Marty Jannetty + Shane McMahon = a WrestleMania match worth watching. Marty's the talented Rocker, Shane's the talented McMahon. This match would RULE. Frankly, I say get rid of Vince and Shawn, and just do Marty vs. Shane. Then we'd have ourselves a card worth watching.

Score: 3 for 4


5. WWE's mid-card is the worst it has been in years.

JP Prag: FICTION. That depends on what we mean by years, and I tend to think long term. Now, I'm not going to go into naming eras because chances are I'll end up defending one of them or some angle they were involved in, but both mid-cards of RAW and SmackDown! are very solid with competent performers who can wrestler and/or connect with the crowd. If the question was if they are using them to their best potential, then you have a different answer.

Dino Zucconi: FICTION. It's the most underused in years. The midcard has guys like Conway, Eugene, Carlito, Paul Burchill, Regal, Booker, Benoit, Finlay, Lashley, Boogeyman... these guys are either good wrestlers, or are connecting with the crowd on some level. If they actually got some- gasp- time, they might not seem as weak as they do. But no, we absolutely MUST have that 15th interview with Cena, or Trip, or someone else who gets plenty of time. The midcard's fine. JP's got it with this one.

Score: 4 for 5


6. Impact will draw consistent 1.3 ratings and up on Thursday nights.

JP Prag: FACT. With a qualifier. It won't automatically be Thursday gets you a 1.3 rating. Impact on Saturdays usually gets around a 0.8 - 0.9, and the replay gets a 0.5 - 0.6, so together you would think that would be a 1.3. But that's not necessarily true as some people just might watch the show twice, or Thursday still may not be a good day for them and Monday does it. Impact on Saturday has been able to draw a 1.1 rating, so I see at least a 1.0 rating the first month, slowly increasing to a 1.8 -1.9 by the end of the year. That means Impact for the year would probably have a 1.3 average, so I'll still say Fact.

Dino Zucconi: FACT. I say this more based off the usual whining against the WWF that a lot of fans do nowadays. Here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is. It's NOT on during a time where you'd usually be out (like a Friday or Saturday). It's NOT on when you'd either be going to bed, or getting ready for another beer (like at midnight). So, you don't like WWE anymore? Cool. Enjoy your TNA, get them some high ratings, a new time slot (by October) and enjoy The Monday Night Wars v2.0!

Score: 5 for 6


These two finish 5 for 6! Join us next week for MORE Fact or Fiction!