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CALDWELL'S TAKE
THE CORNER CUBE MONDAY: The Raw talent roster tonight, WWE's new magazine for children Dec 10, 2007 - 4:25:12 PM
Updated throughout the day, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and issues from around wrestling.
Updated Monday, December 10
4:25 p.m. From the Cube inbox - Torch VIP member Joe Crowe asks...
When I heard tonight’s Raw 15-year anniversary would have stars from the past, some questions arose: How many "stars of the past" aren’t in TNA? Or dead? If these "stars from the past" are able to perform to some degree on Raw tonight, why can’t they have regular jobs in WWE? That’s rhetorical; I know why. The WWE has no further use for them, for political reasons, or the stars have "personal demons." But still, it would do an '80s and '90s wrestling fan good to see some of their old favorites contribute meaningfully again.
JC: I don't know how much "performance" we're going to get from old stars being brought back for the show, as most of them are not in peak physical condition. But, I believe a good handful of the older stars can still contribute. WWE already has plenty of older wrestlers contributing off camera - Mike Rotunda, Arn Anderson, and Ricky Steamboat are backstage agents/producers. Dusty Rhodes and Michael Hayes are on writing staff. Would it be nice to see more appearances like Michael Hayes confronting MVP to deliver great TV? It sure would be.
But, there aren't too many older stars who aren't currently on staff with WWE or in TNA who are capable of delivering the entertainment value expected on WWE TV. Tonight could be considered an informal try-out to see what everyone can contribute. Who's in good shape? Who can talk? Who has a good attitude? Who can share nuggets of information with younger stars and be on the road 200 days per year as an agent? A lot of it depends on schedule, stamina, and a willingness to work with younger talent from a completely new generation of wrestling stars.
1:35 p.m. Here's a rather interesting business development for WWE. A gossip website Jossip has a story on a WWE seeking an editor for a new WWE magazine aimed at children.
The job description reads, in part: "WWE is seeking someone to be a part of a magazine launch, sister magazine to flagship WWE ... Candidate should have a strong knowledge of children based subject material. Wrestling knowledge is also a plus. ... Requirements: 4-6 years experience as a magazine editor at a children’s publication and/or have worked for other various children’s related media."
***
11:45 a.m. Midway Games released a new trailer for the first TNA video game, set for release in the spring of 2008. The new trailer opens with real-life footage normally reserved for PPV video packages, then showcases various signature moves from A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Christian Cage in the video game. It shows some additional arenas beside the Impact Zone that matches can be contested in. Gamershell.com streaming video link.
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11:10 a.m. WWE Raw's 15-year anniversary show tonight is getting considerable buzz on mainstream news outlets today, especially in TV listings. The announcement of the two-year cable TV deal with USA Network was timed perfectly late last week, as every major entertainment news outlet has reported on the deal and plugged the show tonight.
WWE was also helped by the writer's strike talks breaking down over the weekend. Doing a quick Google search for WWE, many newspapers are reporting details of the talks breaking down, and segueing that to WWE having original content tonight with the anniversary show.
The regular two hours of Raw should do a very strong rating against a weak Monday Night Football game, and be helped by broadcast television airing re-runs or holiday specials without original content available. The first hour at 8 p.m. EST will drag down the overall three-hour rating, but I'm predicting an average of 3.8 for the second and third hours in the normal timeslot.
- WWE Smackdown from Friday night was a strong show with two very strong confrontations on the mic. Teddy Long was terrific matching Edge sentence for sentence in the opening segment. He appears to be very refreshed and eager to be in his authoritative role after being off TV for several months. Again, it provided more evidence that any TV wrestling personality needs a break from time-to-time to recharge and come back with more energy.
MVP and Michael Hayes had the promo exchange of the year for Smackdown. MVP has really grown into a legitimate star the last four months, beginning with the Matt Hardy program. Hayes played a very strong protagonist, but did so in a way that put the spotlight on MVP, not himself.
Of course, the PSA messages of "Don't Do Drugs, kids!" or "drugs were only done in the '80s, but everyone is squeaky clean now!" were almost laughable, despite there being a good message in the World Class story on drug prevention.
But, outside of that, I haven't seen a better ten minutes of TV on Smackdown in some time. Besides plugging the DVD, they effectively built up Matt Hardy's return to chase down MVP, and they built up Rey's challenge to MVP for the U.S. Title without Rey having to talk on the mic. This seemed to be a one-time deal for Hayes, but I think he could be a very strong character as a part-time manager/adviser. We don't need the return of Dok Hendrix, though.
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