TV Doing What It Can to Keep Fans Interested
The last week of WWE TV focused away from the tragic events of the past week and a half, and tried once again to get back to the action in the squared circle. I thought the decision, a rather obvious one when you put two and two together, to drop the McMahon angle was a wise move. The company is and will continue to take a lot of slack over what took place in Atlanta a week ago Monday, and the last thing they need riding over their heads is a lame duck angle with the premise being the "death" of their chairman. It was sort of amazing to see Monday night how they acted as if the whole McMahon thing never even happened. As if the last three weeks of TV was just a waste of time.
As for RAW, I liked the show for the most part, and I liked the ending enough to give it a thumbs up. The thought of having to sit though a waste of time like Booker vs Cena was not sitting well with me, and that really was the direction it looked as if it was going as the night moved along. It was nice to see the curveball thrown in at the end with Lashley beating Shelton Benjamin to win the spot for the title shot at the Great American Bash on July 22nd. The last segment with Lashley giving Cena the spear was even better, and it right away gets some heat between the two going. I can say its a for sure next week we'll see Cena and Lashley vs Booker and Ken Kennedy.
I also like the interaction of Dusty Rhodes and Randy Orton, that will lead to a match with the legend and the legend killer next week. The obvious setup is for Dusty's son Cody, who has been in training for sometime, to come in and get revenge for his Dad. I am thinking we'll see an Orton win next week with Cody doing a run-in at the end, and then the Orton vs Cody angle will lead us into SummerSlam.
They pushed HHH as well, as the return date of SummerSlam will be here before you know it. New song for "The Game" as well in the background, which makes me wonder if DX is just dead and gone or what. Nevertheless, look for HHH to have a big comeback with a match or at least an appearance at SummerSlam.
I am also glad they finally did the right thing and get the IC belt off of Santino Marella, and back on a real wretler with potential in Umaga. I think we've finally seen the end of the Marella push, and it couldn't have come sooner. He was a waste of time in my opinion, and while I am sure he'll stick around, I think him with the IC belt from day one was a joke.
On to ECW, only two matches, which was fine for an hour show as they build towards the ECW title match at the GAB between Johnny Nitro and C.M. Punk. What I like about the direction of the show is the fact they spent the time on the guys that matter in the matches, not some sluts dancing, and not on guys who never will be like Matt Striker and Balls Mahoney. Keep the TV time to those that count.
So, in closing I think the company is doing whatever it can to continue to shift the focus of last weeks tragedy away from the product in the ring. While it's not easy, it's about the only thing they can do right now.
