Monday, JUNE 15 – 11:11 AM (CT)

-Opportunity is knocking for WWE tonight as they present a three hour edition of Raw. In the recent past, whenever Raw was given the third hour, the show featured some sort of theme. Tonight's show is no different as all three top championships will be defended on tonight's show. The reason I see this as an opportunity for WWE is because of the trickle down effect.

What is the trickle down effect? If you listen to Dot Net Weekly, you know we talk about Raw being the measuring stick by which success is looked at for the rest of week. Generally, if Raw is a strong show, fans will be more excited for ECW and Smackdown as well. If Raw is a weak show, fans might tend to skip the rest of the week.

Until a couple of weeks ago, Raw has been a very weak show. The last couple of weeks have provided some moments of hope, but the announcement of tonight's WWE Championship match may have set them back a bit. Triple H vs. John Cena vs. Big Show vs. Randy Orton has a "same old thing" feel to it.

Hunter, Cena, and Orton belong in the match. I think an opportunity was wasted however with that fourth spot, because having someone like MVP or The Miz in the match could have been a huge step in building a new star. One or two nearfalls and just like that, the fans give credibility to someone new in the main event scene. It does not take much.

Whereas that opportunity was missed, where WWE has a chance to shine is through the attention they give the other two title matches. ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer will defend the title against Christian. Obviously not all of the people that watch Raw tune in to see ECW on Tuesday night. Give the people a reason to tune in. Make them think they are missing something by not watching ECW. This title match gives them that chance.

Moreover, while Smackdown is on the worst television night of the week on a flailing network, more people should be watching this show. Tonight on Raw, C.M. Punk defends the World Heavyweight Championship against former champions Jeff Hardy and Edge. For those fans that watch Raw but not Smackdown, they are in for a treat. They are also going to think, "Why am I not watching Smackdown?"

I am guessing most people will remember the Smackdown title match more than anything on this show and that is both a good and a bad thing. It is good because like I said, those people that may not be exposed to Smackdown will now know what they are missing. It is bad because next week on Raw, there will not be a Smackdown triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Maybe the WWE Championship match will be better than I am expecting. However, when it is all said and done, regardless of who wins, not much is going to change. Smackdown and ECW are fresher shows with fresher talent. Maybe being on tonight's show will get the Raw brass to see what needs to be done to shaken up their show.

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