2 Raw, 2 Furious 11.10.09

Posted by Chris Lansdell on 11.10.2009

Byers and Lansdell are back to tear down the latest episode of Raw, and to question why any pro sportsman would eat a full English.

Welcome back one and all! After a short break (remember, we only promised it would be semi-regular), Byers and Lansdell are back to walk you through Raw from a casual, real-time and often cynical perspective. Since we've been gone Raw has seen the elevation of Kofi Kingston and a court document served on a midget. What a mixed bag is out beloved sport! What will we see this week? Find out, right after the…

BANNER!



Pre-Raw scuttlebutt

Lansdell: BURNING HAMMER ON MY TV!
Byers: Good evening to you too.
Lansdell: Sorry, you timed that perfectly. You popped online just as Rasche Brown was dropping Rinauro on his head
Byers: Good to know Rinauro is good for something.
Lansdell: Man, I've been watching a lot of Danielson's Final Countdown tour...dude was emotional
Byers: Well, it's certainly understandable. He's in theory giving up what was a major part of his life for the last ten years or so.
Lansdell: So, you're a WWE booker. Do you debut Danielson in the Hammerstein?
Byers: Do they have any shows upcoming at the Hammerstein, or do I have to schedule one specifically to do that?
Lansdell: Yeah, that's a good point. Because really, you could debut him in any ROH city and he'd be over. It's just that the Hammerstein pretty much set CM Punk on his way, and the couple thousand fanatics who will scream for him will sound so much better in a smaller building.
Byers: I don't think they'll be running anytime soon now that they're using the same HD set for all their shows. No way that thing fits in the ballroom.
Lansdell: Probably not. Which is a shame, with all the history and character in that building. Just another example of technology trumping tradition.

Lansdell: So have you heard what Hogan is now saying?
Byers: That he's coming in to run TNA but not work?
Lansdell (10:28:29 PM): Well not that. Allegedly, he's working on bringing in Austin, Savage and the Nasty Boys.
Byers: Bwahahahahahaha
Lansdell: And that pretty much says it all. Raw?
Byers: Raw.

Cue pyro

Byers: The last time we'll hear Papa Roach opening the show, from what I understand.
Lansdell (10:32:04 PM): That's Papa Roach?
Byers: Yes. Word is they're switching to a Nickelback song next week, proving once again that, musically speaking, WWE is ten years behind the rest of the free world.
Lansdell: NICKELBACK??? Well on the bright side, they can use a different song every week and nobody will be able to tell the difference.
Byers: Did you ever get sent to the website that played one Nickelback song out of the right speaker and another Nickelback song out of the left?
Lansdell (10:34:37 PM): I did not.
Byers: I forget what the songs were, but there was quite literally no difference aside from the lyrics.

Enter Ricky Hatton, M…B…E!

Lansdell: So do you need subtitles for this guy?
Byers: Nope, I've understood everything he's said so far.
Lansdell: And he hasn't tripped over anything yet. His accent is pretty strong, but he clearly knows how to talk on a mic.
Byers: Once again, we see the difference between people who are fans hosting and people who are not fans hosting.
Lansdell (10:36:59 PM): Classing Hatton as a non-fan?
Byers: Classing Hatton as a fan. Reportedly a huge one.

Enter JeriShow

Lansdell: Are you aware of the contents of a full English breakfast, Mr Byers?
Byers: I couldn't recite them, but I am aware that it's very large, very heavy, and something that would kill most vegans.
Lansdell: Vegans? It would kill anyone with slightly clogged arteries. Bacon, sausage, eggs, fried tomatoes, fried bread and blood pudding. Some versions add fried mushrooms and baked beans
Byers: Perhaps that explains why Mr. Hatton seems to have a bit of a gut for a pro athlete.
Lansdell: I find him altogether unimpressive physically. He says, from the safety of the internet.
Byers: I'm digging the callback to the original Show-Mayweather angle, here.
Lansdell: As long as Hatton doesn't make threats to break Show's jaw…forty-seven times. I also have no interest in seeing Big Show fight another welterweight,
Byers: "Dentally hygenically challenged" says Jericho.
Lansdell: I'm still laughing at "parasitic tapeworms", as opposed to non-parasitic ones

Hey look kids, degenerates!

Byers: I would've thrown in a comment about incest in the royal family, but I guess that's not quite PG.
Lansdell: Not really, no. It's also likely to get a pop that far north of London in an arena full of wrestling fans.
Byers: Triple H's comments are underlining a point I was getting ready to make …how many times are we going to have to watch the exact same opening segment with the host, Jericho/Show, and DX?
Lansdell: Depends...how long until Edge comes back?
Byers: I think three or four months.
Lansdell: Another 15 episodes or so then
Byers: Oh, the guest host used D-Generation X's catchphrase! Unique and different!
Lansdell: What next, crotch chops?
Byers: By the way, how are those PG?
Lansdell (10:47:07 PM): I'm not one to blame all WWE's woes on the switch to PG, but this is not PG. Would a little consistency kill them? I don't particularly care about crotch chopping or people yelling invitations to the masses to perform fellatio, but I just don't see how it fits the image WWE want to portray.
Byers: I agree that none of WWE's problems are related to any policy of being more family friendly…but contradictions of the policy like that have been jumping out at me lately for some reason.

Kelly Kelly vs Alicia Fox

Byers: Oh wow . . . they're doing the women's Survivor Series match under elimination rules this year. In the past they've done tags but often made them one fall.
Lansdell: So it gets 8 minutes instead of 3
Byers: Basically.
Lansdell: Why is Gail Kim accompanying Kelly squared?
Byers: To set up a run-in, of course!
Lansdell: Was Alicia trained in WWE?
Byers: Yes.
Lansdell: So I'd put her up there with Candice as second to Trish
Byers: Oddly enough, she and Kelly were hired at the same time when Johnny Ace saw them both modeling in swimsuit catalogues.
Lansdell: Alicia > Kelly
Byers: I don't know, that match was pretty damn ugly right there.
Lansdell: Sure, but who's better in terms of WWE trainees?
Byers: Alicia's obviously a good athlete from some of the things she does in the ring, but she's still learning how to apply her athleticism to the context of a wrestling match.
Lansdell: Not an unreasonable failing in someone with so little experience. Look how long it took Jeff Hardy to learn that, and some would argue that Shelton Benjamin is still struggling with it.
Byers: Off the top of my head, I would say Michelle McCool is a better WWE-trained woman than Alicia.
Lansdell: Hmmm...yes, but she has an unfair advantage
Byers: How's that?
Lansdell: She's been around a lot longer, and I'd bet she's had some training from her man that others haven't. And I mean that in the clean way
Byers: Actually, McCool's only got about a year's head start on Alicia...I'd call that negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Lansdell: Geez it seems like a lot longer than that since we saw her coming out with a ruler.
Byers: As far as the Undertaker relationship is concerned, being romantically linked to a wrestler doesn't mean squat in terms of ability. See, for example, Stacy "The Kat" Carter, ex-wife of Jerry Lawler.
Lansdell: True, but all else being equal... Kat never had the athletic ability of Michelle or Alicia, and who knows if she had the inclination?

Winner: Alicia Fox via pinfall (axe kick)
Lansdell: Umm…wow. Both these girls are capable of putting on decent to good matches when they are in there with a seasoned wrestler. I get the feeling that this could have been an audition for one or both ladies to determine if they could carry a match. If it was, they both failed. This was a lot like trying to watch HQ YouTube clips on dialup…herky-jerky and hard to follow. At least nobody looked like they almost died. *

PPV Match announced: Team Miz vs Team Morrison

>Team Miz: The Miz, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler
Team Morrison: John Morrison, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin

Byers: I'm digging the linueps for these Survivor Series matches. If given time, they all have the potential to be pretty damn great.
Lansdell: That match right there could be all sorts of awesome. All 10 guys can go.
Byers: It's pretty much the same case in the Team Orton-Team Kofi match they've put together.
Lansdell: When the weak wrestling links on your teams are Miz and Matt Hardy, you're doing OK.

Sheamus vs Johnny Babaganoush of the Brothers Babaganoush

Lansdell: Did the jobber even get an intro?
Byers: Nope. I guess we just have to refer to him as "This Englishman."
Lansdell: Not if you used to watch Heat when Al Snow was on it!
Byers: You know how I would debut Bryan Danielson?
Lansdell: As a nameless jobber who beats someone?
Byers: Dye his hair red, spike it up, and bring him in as Sheamuscito, the mini version of Sheamus.
Lansdell: Bite your tongue. Don't give anyone any ideas.: And was I seeing things, or was that a four count?
Byers: I believe the ref's hand hit the mat on his way down, but that wasn't supposed to be part of the count.
Lansdell: Well no, but it sure seemed like it.
Byers: Also, I am amazed that it's taken them this long to recycle the Razor's Edge.
Lansdell: It didn't. Mordecai used it:



Byers: Still, even that was five years ago.
Lansdell: Good grief, seriously?
Byers: Seriously.
Lansdell: What a shame they ruined that gimmick. It was all sorts of awesome
Byers: Hell, it's been two years since we've seen Mordecai in his second gimmick as Kevin Thorn.
Lansdell: Now I just feel old.

Winner: Sheamus via pinfall (Celtic Bomb)
Lansdell: Ouch. Just a demolition here by Sheamus, and one in which he looked deadly and violent. He was confident and clear on the mic beforehand too. There's a future for this guy, if only because HHH and HBK like him. *¼

Ricky Hatton backstage with Bellas…and the Goof Troop.

Lansdell: Oh look Ryan, Santino and Chavo are interacting with the guest host
Byers: In a ... dart game?
Lansdell: Sure, but "Cinco dart mayo" is all sorts of fun. Ooooh, Hatton gets in the ring?
Byers: Hatton gets in the ring. Color me unexcited.
Lansdell: That has potential.
Byers: I disagree.
Lansdell: At least he can handle himself. And he's a fan
Byers: I just don't like boxer vs. wrestler matches on wrestling shows that the wrestler loses. If wrestlers are inferior to boxers, why am I not watching boxing?
Lansdell: One wrestler losing to one boxer does not mean that boxing is inferior to wrestling, any more than an NBA team losing to a Euroleague team means that the NBA is inferior to the Euroleague. Besides, it's Chavo. It's not like he's beaten anyone this year.
Byers: It just sends the wrong message. The fact that it's Chavo makes it less stupid than it would be otherwise . . . but it still rubs the the wrong way.

The Miz and Jack Swagger verbally joust

Lansdell: So why exactly are we setting up a Miz-Swagger feud?
Byers: Because they've run out of face-heel pairings with the midcard guys.
Lansdell: And history tells them that heel-heel sells?
Byers: I don't think that any match between anybody in the US Title division is selling anything, regardless of whether they're heels or faces.
Lansdell: OK fair enough, so they just give up? Say what you will about Russo, and I have, but he ALWAYS had stories for the midcard that made a few people care
Byers: The problem being that he did (and still does) TOO MANY stories for the midcard. Sometimes you need matches that are just matches.
Lansdell: Sure, but when you completely ignore the midcard it's worse than micro-managing it. These guys are supposed to be your future main-eventers, some of them anyway, and to treat them all as unimportant is rather short-sighted.

Jack Swagger vs Evan Bourne

Byers: Speaking of things we've seen a million times before, I could go without seeing Bourne-Swagger or Primo-Swagger ever again, no matter how talented I think the three guys are.
Lansdell: That's exactly the point I was going to make. Do you think creative even realises that Swagger's streak has seen him beat 2 people repeatedly?
Byers: Having read the spoilers for tonight's show, I am actually going to say "yes" in response to that question.
Lansdell: It's both lazy booking and a desire not to put Swagger over anyone higher-up, then

Miz makes his way to ringside

Lansdell: Are those pops for The Miz?
Byers: Indeed they are.
Lansdell: Ummm...what just happened?
Byers: Yeah, you just saw that. Winning streak gimmick dropped out of nowhere, in theory to set up a feud that not a person will care about.
Lansdell: As McNew would say...that just happened? OK I disagree that nobody will care...history has shown us that a reaction in one city can turn a guy. It hapened with the Rock, for example. The pop for Miz here COULD turn him, and then people would care. ESPECIALLY if Swagger walks out on him at Servivor Series, leaving him to beat a couple of people on his own before succumbing
Byers: There was a pop for the Miz, but if you thought that was a pop big enough to mean anything other than that people in the UK like him a little bit more than people in the US, you and I are watching different feeds of the show.
Lansdell: If it was big enough to come over on TV...well, don't rule it out is all.

Winner: Evan Bourne via pinfall (Airbourne)
Lansdell: Pretty good for the time it got, but the result is bewildering. Why start the gimmick of the win streak if you're going to end it so soon? There's a difference between "keep the audience guessing" and "book like a headless chicken with ADD in a room full of strobe lights". My optimism above is more along the lines of wishful thinking regarding a Swagger-Miz feud, and honestly I have no idea what they're doing. I hope they do. **

PPV Match announced: Team Kofi vs Team Orton
Team Kofi: Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, R-Truth, Christian
Team Orton: Randy Orton, Legacy, CM Punk, William Regal

Lansdell: Ooooh damn that IS a strong match for Team Kofi vs Team Orton
Byers: Hopefully they don't add anything to the card other than the five matches already announced, otherwise they'll get to the point that at least one of the men's elimination matches has to get rushed. And both could be awesome if given time.
Lansdell: You speak the truth. I ‘m pleasantly surprised at the makeup of the teams we've had announced.

VIP Lounge with Kofi Kingston…and uninvited guests

Lansdell: Ah, THERE'S the interruption
Byers: I was beginning to wonder where that promo was going.
Lansdell: I was going to suggest they went to a motel room at the rate they were going.
Byers: "Low class street thugs" is the first sentence out of Orton's mouth . . . did we really have to go THERE?
Lansdell: Because nothing says "I'm higher class than you" than saying "ain't nothin" and racial profiling.
Byers: Okay, the "hood" comments really need to go. It would be one thing if this company didn't already have a couple of black men dancing around as "Crime Time" and embodying every negative stereotype of black men available…
Lansdell: There's one part at least of Team Kofi that isn't "from the hood". And last I heard, Sillsby TX wasn't exactly "ghetto".
Byers: I hear Christian is from a pretty rough part of Kitchener.
Lansdell: Ummm...RANDLE is from Kitchener. The roughest it gets is when someone steps on a new lawn and is politely asked to watch their footing.
Byers: I have it on good authority that Randle will cut a bitch.
Lansdell: That is quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever read.

Mark Henry vs Randy Orton

Byers: So remember when they had Henry pin WWE Champion Orton and there was absolutely no follow-up?
Lansdell: Sure do. It was clean too. Is this the rematch?
Byers: I don't think they've been in a singles bout since.
Lansdell: Of course the wisdom of giving Orton this match now, when he's about to feud with Kofi, is questionable if the point was EVER to elevate Henry. Which of course it wasn't.
Byers: I think it may have been initially, but they just gave up on it. Similar to what we saw happen with Swagger's undefeated streak tonight.
Lansdell: Mr Potato Head. The feuds, the positions, the quasi-pushes are all interchangeable. When we say that, we don't mean any of the wrestlers look alike. We just mean that there is no effort to distinguish them from each other, to make them stand out or to give us any reason to remember anyone not in the main event
Byers: The funny thing is that, ever since they've brought him over to Raw, they've "protected" Henry on paper. He usually looks good against main eventers and has rarely if ever lost. However, just because he's been associated with the nothing-happening MVP for so long, he's not come off as a main eventer for quite some time.
Lansdell: He's also missing the credibility of the "former world champion" tag that you can throw on Kane, Khali and even Big Show when you need to promote them as monsters and credible championship threats.
Byers: Fortunately it seems like they're trying to break Kofi out …but if he ends his feud with Orton and goes right back into the mix with Miz and Swagger and Bourne and the Colons, it will all be for naught.
Lansdell: There are NO main event heels on Raw except Orton...so who else can he fight?
Byers: If I had to fantasy book it, I'd make him into John Cena's best friend and have them feud with Jericho and Show.
Lansdell: See, if anyone in WWE is reading this I fear they will pick up your Sheamuscito idea and ignore this one.

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall (RKO)
Lansdell: Can't argue with the result of this one, but I wonder why Henry was chosen and not MVP. Unless there's a stronger likelihood of an MVP push than a Henry one, I think I'd have preferred to hold off on Orton getting his pin back. Then again, I have a soft spot for Henry so this could be my bias talking. Average match either way. **¼

Revelation of…THE NEW THEME!!1!~1!!

Lansdell: OK so that theme does NOT sound like Nickelback
Byers: I usually consider a song not sounding like Nickelback a good thing.
Lansdell: Very true. It also doesn't talk about wanting to be loved, which struck me as kind of weird for a show where everyone fights.

Ricky Hatton vs Chavo Guerrero. Not a typo.

Byers: This is a MIXED MARTIAL ARTS MATCH.
Lansdell: They couldn't do this in the US They also should NOT be announcing him as Ricky Hatton MBE
Byers: Why couldn't they do it in the US, exactly?
Lansdell: Wouldn't it have to be sanctioned if it were announced as an MMA matched?
Byers: Not necessarily. Individual states regulate sporting competitions like MMA. They're not regulated on a federal level. Some states have strict regulations, some states have virtually no regulations at all.
Lansdell: Gotcha. I stand corrected.
Byers: Plus, regardless of what they announce it as, it's a work. If I shoot an episode of a sitcom and announce that there's a "mixed martial arts match" occurring as part of a scene in the sitcom, it's not subject to regulation if it's fake.
Lansdell: I still hate the MBE part. That's an honour awarded for service, not something to brag about on TV
Byers: I don't even know what MBE means. I'll admit it.
Lansdell: Master of the British Empire. Either one or two steps below being Sir Ricky Hatton, I forget which.
Byers: I see.
Lansdell: It would be like having Obama host and announcing him as "Nobel Prize Winner, Barack Obama!"
Byers: I don't think we want to bring up Obama's Nobel Prize . . . that's opening a whole new can of worms.
Lansdell: Sure it is, but he DOES have one
Byers: Indeed.

Winner: Ricky Hatton via knockout
Lansdell: This wasn't abominable. That's about all I can say. ½*

Cena, Hornswaggle and DX backstage, plus random observations

Byers: Odd observation: CM Punk has feuded with everybody on his Survivor Series team.
Lansdell: So he has! Well, the Legacy feud was short and not-so-sweet
Byers: Well, it was pretty sweet if you were in Legacy.

Cena/DX promo

Lansdell: So are they really basing this triple threat match on the cease-and-desist order DX filed on Hornswaggle?
Byers: I have no clue what they're going for here. I think they're of the belief that they can put the top three faces on the show in the same match and that it will draw no matter what they do in terms of the buildup.
Lansdell: Because the match that needs Hornwaggle in it is the one between the three biggest names in the company. Hornswaggle is fine when he's making low-card humour. He does NOT belong in a main-event story.
Byers: Regardless of where he is on the card, he's overexposed. He'd be funny if he showed up every two or three weeks, but giving him at least one segment if not two or three every week grew thin quite some time ago. As much as I hate to wish for somebody to get injured, if anybody could use it, it would be him.
Lansdell: I just wish they'd put him on ECW where I can't watch him. Or restrict him to interacting with the guest host.
Byers: Or at least TNA, where I would refuse to watch him.

Raw's Got Talent recap

Lansdell: So after his breakout performance last week, no Masterpiece this week?
Byers: Sadly, no. Per the spoilers, he was relegated to Superstars.
Lansdell: What a waste. They had so much to build on.

Piper is announced as next week's host

Lansdell: OH HELL YES
Byers: Meh.
Lansdell: Not a Piper fan?
Byers: I'm a huge Piper fan. He'd be great in this role if they actually had a serious angle for him to put over.: But they don't…he's just going to be doing the same lame comedy as Ozzy Osbourne or the NASCAR geeks.
Lansdell: He might get punted
Byers: I don't really see how that would relate to anything in the curren storylines, but ok.
Lansdell: I dunno, but I'll give it a chance. Piper can do goofy comedy one minute and deathly serious the next, so I'm fine with both
Byers: I'm fine with both, but I don't see how it will wind up being both. NOTHING on the show is serious right now.
Lansdell: Kofi-Orton. That's about it
Byers: Even that isn't really a blood feud that could benefit from a wicked Piper promo. One guy keyed another guy's car. It's a feud based on a minor annoyance, not a life or death struggle.
Lansdell: Well, I know quite a few people for whom that WOULD be a life or death issue. Besides, Kofi also cost Orton the title by chasing off Legacy during the Iron Man.
Byers: Which is not really what they've played up.
Lansdell: No indeed. For some reason,.
Byers: Between Orton seemingly not caring about losing the title and Cena-HHH-HBK being played up for jokes, that belt is at a very low point in terms of its importance. The Tag Titles almost seem more prestigious. And THERE is a sentence I never thought I would type.
Lansdell: Which is bewildering since they have absolutely NO heel challengers...shouldn't they be using this time to build one up?
Byers: They should have been building up title contenders six months ago. Hell, a year ago. Now that it's clear they have none and they're still not doing it, my mind is boggled. The best prospect that they've got in that regard right now, believe it or not, is probably Sheamus.
Lansdell: It's not just Raw either. Nobody is coming through on SmackDown either. Despite all the talk from the internet about how awesome they are at building people. Raw has Kofi at least, whereas SmackDown's best hope is the IC champion. And if Sheamus is the next top heel, they've got some serious building to do.
Byers: As much as I think the guy is overrated by ROH fanboys, I think the move that would create the most compelling, fresh programs at this point would be putting Punk on Raw and letting him be a player. We've never really seen Punk/Michaels, Punk/HHH, Punk/Cena, or Punk/Show. Like you said, Punk/Orton technically existed but was aborted early.
Lansdell: And really, he's out of stuff to do on SD except Jericho and Batista
Byers: And, even though they've never really been in "feuds" per se, he's had a lot of matches against those two guys.

DX vs JeriShow

Lansdell: I can't be the only one smelling HBK - HHH leading up to Mania
Byers: I definitely see it as a strong possibility. The only thing else I can think of for Raw that hasn't been done to death is Shawn-Orton, and even that has done before, just not really as a main event level program that I can recall.
Lansdell: Wasn't it a title feud?
Byers: If it was, I've completely forgotten it.
Lansdell: I really want to see Kofi work with HBK for a few months
Byers: The only problem being that Shawn reportedly doesn't want to be a heel and I can't see Kofi taking well to that role.
Lansdell: Do it as face-face. That works
Byers: Face-face is good for a one-off, but it's hard to maintain for several months without the crowd turning one of the guys.
Lansdell: Oh wow. That's a HUGE match next week. MSG-worthy
Byers: Good thing they're in MSG!

Winners: DX via pinfall (Michaels on Jericho, Big Show's right hand)
Lansdell: Pretty standard outing from these four, and I'd be shocked if Shawn and HHH don't have some sort of mix-up next week that costs them the match. I'm kind of enjoying the build here as we don't know if we're heading to Jericho-Big Show and HHH-HBK, or DX-JeriShow. That's not to say it couldn't be better, and really nothing here will be in my memory by this time tomorrow. **½

Final Thoughts

Lansdell: So umm...did we have a single GOOD match this week?
Byers: Nope.
Byers: We didn't even have a good promo, if you think about it.
Lansdell: Anything you'll remember tomorrow, except that main event and the PPV matches?
Byers: I'll remember the lineups for the Survivor Series matches, but that's just because they're awesome on paper and not because anything memorable was done to build them up.
Lansdell: Truth. And that triple threat tag next week is memorable only because of the people in it, again not because of any build. So effectively, this show was sort of just...there
Byers: Which is NOT what they need at all to build this PPV, especially since it's the same weekend as a UFC.
Lansdell: The thing I don't understand is why. They clearly know how to build people, they know how to make compelling storylines. They have done it a few times in the last year. Granted they can't make every feud and story an epic one, but right now we have ONE feud that makes you actually watch.
Byers: I can't even figure out which one you're talking about.
Lansdell: Rey-Batista
Byers: Even that isn't working given that their supposed heel is getting face reactions and vice versa.
Lansdell: But it's at least a sensible story that is trying to be serious
Byers: That is more than you can say for most of what they're doing these days.
Lansdell: Exactly. And get this: they're billing Survivor Series as "second only to WrestleMania" in terms of being a WWE staple and a tradition
Byers: I think it is the second oldest show . . . but, in terms of being a consistently important card, I think the Royal Rumble pretty clearly trumps it. And this year's SS lineup certainly isn't doing anything to change that impression.
Lansdell: Sure, and I would argue SummerSlam is bigger too. It's just the way they're advertising it. And no matter how good the matches look on paper, they need to make the casual fan want to buy it. For that to happen, they have to care about the matches.