If you would like to submit any questions or comments for the Dot Net Mailbag, write to dotnetjason@gmail.com.

Just read your blog on the sign confiscating during Raw in Minneapolis on Monday. It seriously doesnt shock me. A few weeks back I made the treck to Milwaukee for a Smackdown taping and noticed pretty much the same thing. I was sitting on the hard camera side one row off the floor and watched a production assistant take several signs from people in the crowd.

One of the signs read, "My Grandma could Smackdown the Great Khali." I'm not sure why thats offensive, and the signs was being held by a younger kid so I don't think their was any malice involved. My only rationale was that the kid was holding it up during ECW and that was a Smackdown wrestler, but then again WWE has made it know that ECW is a WWE product and Khali's been on the show several times so what's the problem?

Another sign: "Elder Taker." I'm not sure exactly what the sign even meant. Maybe Undertaker's old? Maybe he's the Elder Statesman of WWE? The funny thing is that where the guys were sitting was one of the least likely places to be seen on TV. The PA ran up to the 18 to 20-something guys (you know...the ones their having a hard time keeping) holding the sign and just snatched it out of their hands and they seemed none too happy about it. Why piss off your target demo when you don't have to?

I also remember attending the Raw at Allstate Arena the day after SummerSlam and watching a production assistant telling people to sit down and not wave behind the announcers when they were doing an on camera.

I guess this leads me to my question. Why has the WWE sanatized their product so much? I sometimes will go back and watch some late '90s Raws I have on tape and it's like a party atmosphere, Signs everywhere, people seem like they are having a great time. They react to almost everything. These days, WWE crowds more often than not seem like they are at a funeral and not a wrestling show. I can't think of any reason why, but it almost like the WWE wants fans to sit on their hands. Are Vince and Steph such control freaks that they only want fans to react the way they want when they want?

I honestly think that if WWE could regain some of their audience they've lost if they just loosened up a bit. Let people react. Base what you are doing on those reactions. Make your shows seem like a happening. Ever been to a party where people just sit around and there's not a lot of laughing and joking going on and no one seems to be having that good of a time? Thats where WWE is now, and thats just not much of a party is it?

Tony Kelly
Homewood, Ill.

Powell's POV: I thought Vince McMahon was anti censorship. I understand why WWE confiscates some signs, but it really seems like they are going overboard with some of their restrictions.

***

I live in New England, yet my Comcast system doesn't have MYNetworkTV. It's funny because they aired ads for it during Raw and even Impact, saying it would be on one of the channels, yet when I turned that particular channel, they had some local town meeting on. Strange.

Mike
Mass.

Powell's POV: That is odd. It sounds like you were watching a public access channel. I know MyNetwork isn't big, but they are bigger than that.

***

I thought last night's show was pretty good. It was everything I expected it to be. I expected Triple H to win and I expected him and Jeff to turn on one another in the end.

Well, you asked if we had trouble finding MyNetworkTV, so I will tell you my story. When they first said they were moving, I thought we got the channel. I had never heard of it, but I just thought we got it because I didn't think Vince would put one of his shows on that much of an unknown or hard to get station.

I have DirecTV and they don't provide the channel in Columbus, Oh. I didn't know what to do because no one provides it in our area. It is a local channel, but not a regular one. It is a digital sub-channel that comes from my local ABC station. Instead of being a regular number like 64, it is sub-channel 6-2. How much more complicated can that get?

I searched the Internet for what I needed to do to get the channel, and it said I needed a digital antenna. It was telling me I needed a pretty expensive one to get the channel where I live, and I didn't really want to pay for it. So, I decided to go to Radio Shack and ask a person who worked there what to do. He showed me an antenna they had on their TV, and he showed me that it got channel 6-2. So, I bought the antenna for only about $17.00, and now I get MyNetworkTV.

I can't record it or anything, but I do get it. I had the hardest time trying to find this horrible channel that Vince put his show on. It is still something I don't understand. I had no idea there were digital sub-channels. I know a lot of people get a regular channel for the station, but some places use these sub-channels. I almost gave up on it completely because it was so frustrating.

Angela Rhoades

Powell's POV: Apparently, your local affiliate doesn't have a deal in place with DirecTV. I would call the station and ask when/if you'll be able to pick up their programming on DirecTV and see what they have to say.

RECOMMEND THIS ARTICLE: