This is going to be quick and dirty.
The IC title tournament was a real good idea for a live Raw and it
came off fairly well. None of the matches were, understandably,
given a lot of time to develop but there were still a few of them
that make it into the worked category. The best one was the main
event 'cos you had two of the WWF's best in the ring and there
was a little bit of a story to the match. I liked the subtlety in
the finish of having X-Pac tap out immediately upon being dragged
back to the centre of the ring instead of dragging it out longer.
It was the perfect way to sell the ankle lock. The other two
tournament matches that worked for me were Mankind vs. X-Pac and
Shamrock vs. Venis. The former just because I like both guys so
much and it was passable. The latter because Venis is great for
a guy with so little WWF experience and the post-match kick in
the balls by Goldust was a good angle.
The cement truck/corvette angle worked really well visually and
McMahon's evil genius in a wheelchair angle was as good as it
gets. His insane interview from the rampway ranks among his best.
The only bad thing here was the attack dogs barking at each
other and Austin having to pretend that he was intimated.
The clusterfuck that opened the show to give an excuse for two of
the matches at the PPV was borderline ok because of blood on TV
and the nixing of two going nowhere angles but a close analysis of
the actual wrestling content drags it down here.
The first round IC tournament matches were all lacking something
but since they were first round it didn't kill the tournament.
Shamrock vs. Blackman was decent in that they kept it in the ring
and it was a clean finish but nothing more than that. Venis vs.
Mero was one of those matches that I forget about as soon as its
over. Mankind vs. Mark Henry almost made the grade on account of
Mr. Socko alone. And Jarrett and X-Pac were close too but aside
from the bronco buster block there was nothing you haven't seen
before.
I don't get to see Pacific Blue in this utopia we call Canada so
I can't attest to Michael Cole's praise of Sable's performance
on the show but I suspect he's a fucking liar.
It would be tenous at best to say that the main event worked but
add on the screwjob finish and it fails. Too much Rock. Too much
Kane. I like the idea of Ray Traylor getting another push but he
better make the most of it.
Ollie
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