Tag: Raw Homecoming

The end result of the most important weekend for television in this industry in more than four years told a few things about a few companies.

As it turned out, the biggest story of the weekend was not the ratings, but the game behind them. One of the key elements of the Monday Night Wars, going back-and-forth, was the “dirty tricks,” and both sides did everything they could legally and on occasion, bordering on illegally, to one-up the other. The only “dirty trick” that actually happened was Spike’s buying time in many markets, most notably New York and Chicago, during the live Raw, plugging the Ultimate Fight night special going on at the same time. USA or WWE also bought time locally in some cable systems, including some in New York, during Spike’s Ultimate Fighter show to tune into Raw. However, that paled in comparison to the one that Vince McMahon nearly pulled off.

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Unforgiven, the first WWE PPV event ever held in the state of Oklahoma, on 9/18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, was a show that will likely most be remembered for Matt Hardy’s legdrop off the top of the cage in his match with Edge.

What appeared to be the blow-off match of their unique feud, is actually the next to last match of a feud that finishes with a loser leaves Raw ladder match on the 10/3 “Homecoming” show. Poor Shane Douglas should have trademarked that term. The plan at this point is for Hardy to lose and then go to Smackdown. The match was both the show stealer and show saver. It was overall a predictable show featuring a repeat of the Great American Bash main event finish just two PPVs later, with John Cena being caught using a foreign object and disqualified to set up a rematch at Taboo Tuesday with Kurt Angle.

The show drew about 8,000 fans paying $485,000. From all early indications, the show will probably fall in line with the 230,000-235,000 bottom figure the company has been doing with the recent singular brand PPV shows. Our level of response to this show was at the same level as the Great American Bash, which did business in that range.

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