Monday, November 3 – 1:30 P.M. (CT)

-WWE Raw takes place in Tampa, Florida tonight. Of course, this is the second version of the 800th episode and as a result, the WWE Universe gets a third hour of (hopefully) quality programming. By the way Dot Net Members, yes, the WWE Universe thing is wearing very thin. As I do every Monday, I will focus on three key elements heading into tonight's episode.

-Of course, tonight's main event is the first thing that pops into my mind regarding the show. New World Heavyweight Champion Batista will defend the title against former champion Chris Jericho in a steel cage match. When Batista first won the title, I figured Vince McMahon made the switch in an attempt to pop a rating the next night on Raw.

Unfortunately, after the treatment Batista was given on last week's show, I feel as though he will somehow retain the title tonight. I thought Jericho made a great top guy on Raw and was disappointed to see him lose the title. Batista is one of the most over guys in the company and does great business with overseas fans. However, I loved the work rate that Jericho brought to the title matches and especially loved his brutally honest heel character.

-With the Survivor Series around the corner and WWE's desire to have at least one traditional elimination match on the show, I am hoping that the obvious does not happen tonight; that being Degeneration X absolutely squashing John Morrison and The Miz.

Despite not having the tag team titles, Miz and Morrison are still the most over tag team in the company. Some would say that the honor of having them work with DX on such a high profile episode of Raw would be enough of a rub, but I disagree. Triple H and Shawn Michaels would not be affected by a loss, but Miz and Morrison would definitely benefit from a win. Perhaps Miz and Morrison pull off the upset, which would lead to an elimination match at the pay-per-view with these four being involved.

-Finally, with tonight being the 800th episode (do not get me started) and a three hour show, one has to wonder who from the McMahon family will show up to answer Randy Orton's ultimatum that Mike Adamle be fired. Randy called out to Shane McMahon or Stephanie McMahon, but I would not be surprised to see Vince himself return to television.

If Adamle is fired, that would leave a vacancy for the position of Raw general manager. Jason and I talked about this on DNW and while William Regal would be a solid replacement, Shane McMahon would be the most desirable choice. If not Shane, we both agree that leaving the position open for awhile would be just fine. I guess the only other thing going into tonight is whether or not The Twilling will drop a certain name into his report. Stay tuned and follow along with me (or Jason) as we cover the show live tonight...

Sunday, November 2 – 11:47 A.M. (CT)

-WWE Champion Triple H will be defending his title soon against relative newcomer Vladimir Kozlov. Kozlov, like others before him, has quickly risen through the ranks to become a main eventer. However, one has to wonder if he belongs there and who exactly is happy to see him there.

Since Kozlov has begun this second run (I am counting his "interview from the crowd" days as his first run), he has been absolutely unstoppable in the ring. He proved for weeks on end that he could look dominating in squash style matches. While he was promoted to his current main event level status alongside the aforementioned Triple H and Jeff Hardy, he still has yet to work an extended program with anyone.

I continue to wonder if Kozlov is coming across as impressive and intimidating in his matches. Sure, he has looked good at times, but his offense is of the slower variety and thus, may not be intriguing to some fans. On top of that, can he carry (or be carried in) a long term, main event program? I predict he will win the WWE Championship. If he does, he will have to actually work a series of matches with top guys.

-Two other former WWE Champions who won the title in their first year in the company were Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. I compare these two men to Kozlov and frankly, there is no comparison. When Angle came in, he had a legitimate background that made him someone worthy of the push he received.

He was impressive on his way to the title by also capturing the Intercontinental and European Championships. He actually held those titles simultaneously. By the time Angle wrestled for and won the then WWF Championship from The Rock, he was believable as a top guy. He had been impressively booked and quickly worked his way from the bottom of the card up to the top.

-Speaking of being booked impressively, Lesnar came in the night after Wrestlemania 18 and made an immediate impact. In terms of making a first impression, Lesnar could not have been any more impressive than he was. Of course, both Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy put him over multiple times. Coupling those early, high profile victories with having Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece, it was clear that Lesnar had a rocket strapped to him.

Lesnar was Bill Goldberg with in-ring skills. While North America had seen some big men that could move (Vader comes to mind), Lesnar's combination of speed, overwhelming strength, agility, and destructiveness was truly something that needed to be seen to be believed. Lesnar's trip to the top took significantly less time than Angle's.

Leading up to SummerSlam in 2002, Lesnar earned a championship match with The Rock. WWE produced some fantastic training videos; showcasing both Lesnar and The Rock in their various regimens. More times than not, these produced video packages in WWE are extremely well done and these were no exception. On top of that, they made both men look like absolute beasts. Lesnar had truly arrived and the match at SummerSlam was one of the most anticipated title matches of the year.

For those people that remembered the match, it was very good. What you may not have remembered was the fans turning on The Rock and actually cheering for Lesnar. Perhaps even more surprising is that Lesnar hit the F-5 and won the match cleanly. No run-ins, no screw jobs. Lesnar pinned The Rock and became the champion a mere five months into his WWE tenure.

-Vladimir Kozlov is not Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar. I am sure WWE would love for him to be, but he just has not been booked to be strong enough to win the title as this point. I was excited with Angle and Lesnar winning their first championships. However, I cannot say the same thing if/when Kozlov is wearing the gold. If he does win the title, hopefully he will smash the spinner belt to pieces and "demand better belt."

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