Monday, March 30, 2009

Wrestlemania XXV: The Week Ahead

So here we are once again, just a few days away until Wrestlemania XXV on Sunday night! The W.W.E. is in the home stretch to get people to buy their pay-per-view as they try to reach one million buys which seems to be a layup for U.F.C. these days, but is still the number necessary for Wrestlemania to be considered a success. I’m not sure in this economy (and with W.W.E. jacking up the price to $55) if that will be possible, but I do think that this is a very solid card. All week on this blog I’ll take a look at the big show on Sunday; the W.W.E. Hall of Fame inductions on Saturday night; and I’ll post some thoughts on past Wrestlemanias, as well.

The W.W.E. needs a solid Monday Night Raw tonight, I think, to give a little extra pop going into Sunday’s show. Tonight is what is called a “supershow” with all three brands being part of the card in Dallas. I was just over at WWE.com and they announced that the show will start at 6:30 in the arena, which is a half hour earlier than normal. That doesn’t impact the usual t.v. start time of 9 p.m. here on the east coast, but it is one indicator that the W.W.E. recognizes they need to go all out this week.

The last few weeks the rating has declined for Monday Night Raw, which is a bad sign going into the biggest wrestling and one of the biggest non-wrestling pay-per-views of the year. I’m not sure of the reasoning for the decline, perhaps the disappointment with the direction of the Chris Jericho storyline in which he won’t be facing Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin on Sunday, but rather he will be taking on the over-the-hill trio: Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Rick Steamboat. Right now you could also take the W.W.E. to task for including Kane, Mark Henry and Finlay in the "money in the bank ladder" match. What about Evan Bourne or John Morrison or R-Truth? Speaking of Morrison, I am very much looking to the winner-take-all unification tag team title match between Morrison/The Miz and Carlito & Primo Colon.

Nonetheless, I’m excited for Raw tonight and am very much looking forward to this weekend’s festivities. There’s a ton of pressure on the W.W.E. right now and with the draft coming up on April 13, you can bet some jobs are on the line.

Stay tuned…

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Raw really didn't deliver for me last night. I mean I loved the ending, but they ended it too early! I still think Santino will be in the Divas Battle Royal (LOL!).

I like the card as well. I am a little disappointed in the Jericho Storyline, but I guess that was the best they could do. It remains to be seen where the WWE goes, but I'm ready for some shakeups.

I still think that either R-Truth or somehow could have gotten Bourne in there! Ehh. I guess we're stuck lol

~F.O.X~

Sean G. Kilkelly said...

Hey Nick good morning,

See above post about my thoughts on Raw. I'm still looking forward to 'mania, but last night was really bad. The build to Wrestlemania has been lacking something, but I think the show itself will be good. The divas thing is a waste of time.