High Road/Low Road 07.14.06: Saturday Night's Main Event
Posted by Sat on 07.14.2006
Saturday Night's Main Event returns to NBC after a horrible show in March. Will this edition of Saturday Night's Main Event be better or will be it be even worse? Find out in this week's edition of High Road/Low Road.
Welcome to another loaded edition of the column for Gods—the High Road/Low Road! No Rajah this week because he has gone to be an R.A. for some freshman experience, so that means that I will be taking the High Road and the Low Road.
The Results for the Rob Van Dam's Suspension:
High Road: 53%
Low Road: 47%
E-Mails:
Below are some of the e-mails that we received this week. We read every e-mail that we get, but we are unable to respond to all of them. That being said, keep the e-mails coming. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Natedogg Writes:
I am taking the Low Road for RVD's Suspension. Yes RVD was an idiot for getting caught but seriously. Its RVD. Like you said, How the hell did Vince not know that RVD was smoking the silly Cigarettes. I do understand that they need to adhere to the Wellness Policy and RVD should be punished but only because he got caught. RVD is truly the "Whole Fucking Show" and with him, Sabu and Kurt Angle gone ECW has no entertaining talent at all. I was going to attend an ECW house show at the end of the month but now that RVD and Sabu or Angle won't be there I sold my ticket for $50 (it cost me $30). I live in NH in a small town and a lot of other people who were going to go to the event are pissed to the point of not wanting to go because RVD, Sabu and Angle wont be there, the only reason really to go to a house show. I'm not going to be too upset that I'm going to miss seeing Mike Knox, Kelly's Exposet and This "Has-been" a Test.
I think you might have done this one before but an idea for a High Road Low Road could be the whole Brand Extension because in my opinion its one thing that if ended could help the WWE. Or at least have a draft lottery for the year. Both brands are getting stale.
great columns keep up the great work.
Sat: I believe it was Csonka, who broke down the wellness program bit by bit and the WWE doesn't test for marijuana unless they have cause. That's the RVD clause right there. Of course, the WWE knew but they threw this clause in there to avoid testing RVD for it, but now they have cause. I feel for you about the ECW house show, now there is no reason for you to go. Hey, at least you made a profit. Thanks for the suggestion for a future High Road/Low Road; look for this in the next few months.
Dan Watson Writes:
First off I have to say you guys do an awesome job of writing the articles showing both sides. I have to go High road here. Drug use, steroids included, have become a huge problem in American Society. Now some can say that oh its only good old mary jane that RVD had, well in this country its still illegal. I agree 100% with what WWE did. The only problem I had was giving titles to Big Show and Edge. Edge is awesome on the mic and his ring work is good but couldn't they have done something like they did with Orton. They let him fight the PPV and the following week or two before he suspension was official. This kills the triple threat match for SNME, which will kill ratings and bring them lower than last time if that is possible.
As for ECW they could have done something crazier like since RVD lost the WWE title, he is stripped of the ECW title and now there is a tournament, or create a storyline for big show to get it. Having the story of I am taking this title shot was horrible. Give it to someone that will bring in ratings, give Angle a rematch since he lost the previous week to RVD.
thats about all I got thanks for the time.
Sat: Keeping RVD around for a while would have been a good idea because you could have drawn more fans for SNME if the fans knew the title was going to change hands. I also like your idea of stripping RVD and then having a tournament because it gives ECW something to get the fans interested in a show that is going to be without RVD.
Craig McNicoll Writes:
RVD embarrassed the boss by being caught with pot?
Well what do you think JBL did when he violated German law and nearly caused a riot? How embarrassed do you think Vince was when this caused JBL to get fired from the television show he was working on?
How did Vince 'punish' JBL? By giving him a run with the World Title that lasted for months, one of the longest runs in recent memory. Then he gets a US title run. JBL wasn't nearly as big at that point as RVD is now.
RVD will be pushed when he returns because that's how Vince deals with his screwups, by pushing them to the moon.
Sat: Excellent point about JBL, but I believe there is a difference between what happened with JBL and RVD. The Associated Press did not pick up JBL's story, while RVD's story was picked up. Therefore, Vince had to punish and RVD and not JBL. Also, the wellness program requires that a wrestler be suspended, while there was no written rule for JBL.
Tenchi Masaki Writes:
Hey guys I'm back again, still on notice and with some thoughts.
I went low road on the RVD suspension/drug bust situation for most of the reasons you mentioned but also for a few others that weren't exactly mentioned or only in a roundabout sort of way.
You mentioned that ECW as a brand is lacking in legitimate main-event contenders with Angle desperately needing time off to heal, RVD and Sabu being suspended (I'm figuring the suspension for Sabu will be coming sooner or later), and the only remaining option being the now reigning Extreme Show. You also mention how RVD and the others being off of the program doesn't really allow you to push what new talent they have to offer like Knox, the re-debuted Test, CM Punk, etc. etc... but these two points dance around the real issue RVD's suspension points out about ECW. They have nobody on their roster! Go to ECW.com..check the roster page...there are only 22 profiles listed there, of which 7 are non-wrestlers like Tazz and Joey Styles and Paul himself or women like Kelly Kelley and Francine. That cuts you down to 15 people. Now remove Angle, RVD and Sabu from the equation: 12. Now remove Terry Funk, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer as they are not really full-time, fully-capable wrestlers anymore: 9. Now count the wrestlers we have seen but are not featured with profiles yet, like CM Punk, Mike Knox, Little Guido, and Test: back to 13. And that's it. ECW has 13 guys on the roster, which is counting Al Snow, Justin Credible and Balls Mahoney. There is no way in hell that can even remotely work long term. Even if you forget about the fact that ECW on Sci-Fi only has 9 shows left and RVD is going to be gone for 5 of them and pretend that ECW is supposed to be run long term a la RAW or SD! or even Heat when it was still on...you can't sustain a brand extension with only 13 guys. AND! They have developed all of 1 story in the 4 weeks its already been on: Dreamer vs. Extreme Show! They have only just now begun the story between Knox and Kelly to make him more heelish but ultimately ECW has 1 clear cut face (RVD), 2 heels (Show and Knox, not counting Heyman) and a bunch of also rans who have no personality or are beyond over and doesn't make one bit of difference if he was heel or face (Angle). That screams cancel me now. The only way any positivity can come out of RVD's bust for ECW specifically (WWE as a whole likely won't be affected that much anyway, Vince will always have a way to make RAW save the day) is if this serves as a catalyst to add more upper-midcard talent to ECW itself. Guys like Super Crazy, Matt Hardy, Aaron "Idol" Stevens, "Rabid" Charlie Haas (cuz you know he looks like a poor man's Chris Benoit right now), Joey Mercury (if he ever gets back) and...Lucifer help us...half the Spirit Squad, need to be added in so they can actually make a go of competition and some storylines for fuck's sake. Of course the drawback to this is you have to practically throw SD! under the bus to take what little talent they have left, RAW would go over relatively unaffected, and OVW...well it'll still be OVW so it'll still be better than this abortion of a brand called WWECW. But instead of brand jumping you're likely to see what you also mentioned in the low road, more and excessive cross-promotional run-ins. Instead of trying to build ECW up on its own it will now be 100% dependent on RAW for name talent to get people to tune in, and as much as I like Edge (yes I'm in the minority on that one but I still said it!) I can't stand to see him show up every week to spear Dreamer or Sandman just because he can. Neither do we want to see Cena show up to prove "he's hardcore" or DX to make the X stand for "Xtreeeeeeeme". And you were dead on, who is going to tune in to see Sandman vs. Snitsky, or even more likely, Mike Knox vs. Val Venis? I don't know about you two or all the people that regularly read your columns, but I stopped watching ECW after the 2nd show altogether. How many more who didn't get out then will get out now when we see Extreme Show make his first title defense against Roadkill? Low road all the way, NBC pull the plug now before you have XFL v2.0 egg all over your faces...oh wait.. I think it's already too late.
Still another good column gentlemen, keep it up.
Sat: That is one of the main problem with ECW, they have no storyline what so ever. They only have two storylines and I am not really interested in them. Let's remember that ECW is only one hour, so you don't need as many people as RAW or SD, but you need more than thirteen guys. The rating for the 7/11/2006 show for ECW will tell a lot about the future of ECW.
Uncle Trunx Writes:
Hi Guys,
A great column again this week, well reasoned on both sides. On this occasion, I take a reluctant high road, reluctant in that I wish the whole sorry incident had never happened. However it did, and I think the punishment fits the crime in this case for the following reasons:
1. 30 days suspension (unpaid), whilst hitting RVD in the wallet and showing very publicly that even main eventers found violating the rules will be punished, is short enough that ECW will not be killed off because of it. It's only 4 shows, they can get around that with a little creative booking and some anticipation of his return in the last two. This implies some degree of ability on the part of the writers, but that's another debate.
2. Having fought so long and hard to get through the "glass ceiling" to Champion status, taking the belts off RVD is possibly the harshest part of the punishment. The chances are he'll have another run with the ECW title, probably before the end of the year. However, I just can't see him winning the WWE title again. The suspension hides a larger punishment I feel; RVD is once again below the glass ceiling and it's his own fault. He managed to prove those who said he'd fail as champ right very fast, although probably not in the way they expected. The knowledge of this, which will be eating away at him during every one of those 30 days, is a bitter pill for him to swallow.
I can't accept the argument that this somehow advances the case for a two hour ECW show: the reverse would be true to my mind, as having fewer performers for whatever reason will dilute the product. It may give someone else a chance to step up in his place, but there is no obvious contender among the midcarders in ECW, and 30 days isn't really long enough to establish them anyway.
So in this case, I think the powers that be have got it spot on. On his return, RVD will have to work his nuts off to get anywhere near where he was previously whilst 30 days without him is not that huge a loss for ECW.
Sat: Yes, RVD's suspension does not advance the case for a two hour show. The reason that I had for putting the two-hour show was that people were saying that the suspension of RVD will kill ECW, but I believe that the hour show is what is hurting ECW. Like you said, ECW can survive without RVD.
James Jackson Writes:
I am taking the HIGH ROAD ON RVD'S SUSPENSION.
RVD is an idiot. Some guys are their own worse enemy and I think Rob Van Dam is one of those guys. It seems like this guy just can't get out of his own way. The weed thing I guess was okay when he was a star in the anti-establishment ECW. But once he moved up to the big time he should known that he can't get away with the same immature ish he did in ECW. Rob Van Dam has had pushes sabotaged by recreational drug use, by injury (blowing out his knee), by carelessness in the ring (injuring HHH in the Elimination Chamber match when he almost collapsed H's throat), and also by just being RVD an UnMcMahon style and physiqued wrestler.
Out of all of that the weed smoking is the most under his control, which makes him even that much more of an IDIOT for doing it. Throw on top of it all the new WWE Wellness Policy and RVD's history as a Paul Heyman/ECW guy and you have to know that McMahon would have him on a short leash with indiscretions. Stupid, freakin idiot but maybe I'm being too hard on the guy. He is a freakin "POTHEAD" after all!
Sat: I actually agree with you completely. This is one thing that he had control over and he went ahead and screwed that up. The other stuff was just bad luck, but he could have prevented this.
This week's High Road/Low Road featuring...
Saturday Night's Main Event
NOTE: NO RAJAH THIS WEEK, SO I WILL BE TAKING THE HIGH ROAD AND THE LOW ROAD
High Road:
Saturday Night's Main Event is the perfect opportunity for the WWE to promote the Great American Bash. This pay per view has not done that well in the last two years and you need to add some meaning to this pay per view by going all out to promote it. You need to have SmackDown open and end this show and these matches need to promote Great American Bash.
Low Road:
The WWE isn't going to promote the Great American Bash. It is a SmackDown pay per view. If this was a RAW pay per view, it would have been heavily promoted. Just look at the matches on Saturday Night's Main Event. There are three RAW matches and one SmackDown match. That right there shows how much the WWE cares about SmackDown and the Great American Bash. The Great American Bash will get one mention and it will be during their one match.
High Road:
During the attitude era, the WWE had way more fans then they do right now and that was because of Stone Cold Steve Austin and D-Generation X. D-Generation X will be a big part of Saturday Night's Main Event because they are scheduled for a match against the Spirit Squad. Saturday Night's Main Event can be a perfect opportunity to bring these fans back into the mix by showcasing D-Generation X.
Low Road:
Once these fans see two 40 year olds doing crotch chops, these fans will leave in a heartbeat. Also, while you are trying to get these old fans back, you are losing you current fans because these fans are sick of D-Generation X dominating RAW. Also, these fans are not going to come back just for D-Generation X; you have to sell these fans on your entire product.
High Road:
One of the fundamental problems with the Saturday Night's Main Event in March was that it had only three matches and it was loaded with segments. This really hurt the show because in a wrestling show, you have to have some matches. Thankfully, the WWE seems to have figured out their problem and this time they have five matches (I am not including that Bikini Bull whatever thing). The WWE also has one segment advertised and it is a huge one. This Saturday Night's Main Event is shaping up to be better than the last one.
Low Road:
The last Saturday Night's Main Event had four matches advertised. Then, Booker T got "injured" and we lost a match. This will probably happen again. The matches do look better, but that doesn't mean they are actually going to be that good. The matches will also be kept short because of one reason and that reason is Vince McMahon. He has not been mentioned at all, so expect the matches to be short to give us a few Vince McMahon backstage segments.
High Road:
This time, Saturday Night's Main Event is offering a variety of matches that will cater to everybody. You have the divas, a hardcore match, a mixed tag team match, a six-man tag match, a handi-cap match, and a WWE title match. That right there is just about every match the WWE has to offer. With the variety of matches, the WWE is showing that they are serious about putting on a good show.
Low Road:
The variety of matches is a good idea, but there are problems with the variety of matches that we have this Saturday. 2006 has been the year of the handi-cap matches and that gimmick has been killed. The hardcore match could have been interesting, but it will be kept short because it involves Sabu. Cena and Edge will be kept short because this feud is not going to end this quickly. This match will definitely have some type of screwy finish. What the hell is a Bikini Bull Riding Contest? That is definitely going to be bad and also the Diva Search contestants will definitely make an appearance. The only matches worth it are the mixed tag match and the six man tag match.
High Road:
There is one man that is known around the world that will be making a special appearance at Saturday Night's Main Event and this man is Hulk Hogan. Whenever Hogan is involved in a match, the buyrates are through the roof (Michaels/Hogan). Let's also remember that Hulk Hogan was a big part of the original Saturday Night Main Event and that was when Saturday Night's Main Event was the most successful. Like him or not, Hulk Hogan will always draw the fans in.
Low Road:
Stone Cold Steve Austin has the same popularity than Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin was at the last Saturday Night's Main Event. What happened? The rating was awful and its hard to believe that Hulk Hogan can also help the rating when Stone Cold was unable to. Also, does anybody even want to see Hulk Hogan? We already know what is going to happen. Orton will start flirting with Brooke, Hogan gets mad, Hogan kicks Orton's ass and completely buries him. Most fans are sick of Hulk Hogan because he always has to win and most likely, he is starting to draw the fans away.
High Road:
Saturday Night's Main Event will be one of the few events that the WWE puts together that will feature RAW, SmackDown, & ECW. Currently, RAW and SmackDown get together for the four big pay per views and one or two specials. Whenever the two brands get together, the shows have a great feel to them and they are usually successful. Add ECW to the mix and Saturday Night's Main Event will have a great feel to it and it will also be successful.
Low Road:
The RAW and SmackDown superstars and ECW extremists will be in the same arena, but the interaction will be at a minimum. At the last Saturday Night's Main Event, we had one interaction and that was during the opening match. Again, we have one inter-promotional match and nobody cares about that. Also, the interaction between the brands needs to be kept to a minimum to keep the concept fresh.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
Plugs
We are taking the high road on these articles so you should read them...
O'Dog has a look at the The New Foundation vs. The Orient Express from the Royal Rumble 1992 in the Forgotten Goodness and also has a look at why Hulk Hogan should just go away in The Goodness
