Holy hell, how three weeks can change the landscape. Thirteen days before Summerslam, Raw was rockin'. They had a goal to shoot for, they had serious storylines to advance, and they faced the wonderful problem of having too much to jam into a single two hour show. Talent jumps were becoming a little commonplace, but the thrill of seeing a new face was still somewhat intact, and the entire federation seemed to be on the verge of capturing the aura they'd aimed for with the brand extension. People legitimately thought of the two as separate promotions, and were shocked to see stars from one show appear on the other.

Guess that's all shot...

Just two weeks after RAW slammed to a close amidst an all-out war between Triple H, The Rock, Brock Lesnar and Shawn Michaels, the show is all but on its last legs. Even after a clean pinfall put Rob Van Dam over Triple H, I just wasn't excited. I honestly don't care about the program's direction, and considering the kind of optimism I showcased a couple weeks ago, that's a very bad sign. It's almost suitable that Triple H is holding the defunct WCW World Title nowadays, since the whole of Raw just seems like a collection of also-rans... just like WCW. Trips lost a major match at Summerslam, but now holds the World Title anyway. His first defense isn't against Booker, who deserves a shot at Brock Lesnar's legitimate World Title much more than Hunter or The Undertaker. No, it's against Ric Flair.. a man thirteen years past his prime, who didn't even appear on last week's episode. What a joke.

The two put on one hell of a match, and there was a glimmer of excitement when RVD cleaned house after the finish, but it faded just as quickly as it arrived.

I need to get off the subject of Triple H. I need to move on to something optimistic, so I don't seem like just another disgruntled web columnist. But there's nothing else to move on toward. I honestly didn't give a damn about one segment of last night's show. Intergender table match? Great... why don't they just roll out a set of Intergender Tag Title Belts? That division's certainly getting enough attention to merit it. Lingerie Pillow Fight Match? Cute... anybody get a Lawler "puppy" count last night? If I want to see porno, I'll go rent a porno. God knows there are women I'd rather see in skimpy clothing than Terri Runnels. If I want to see wrestling, it's looking more and more like I'm gonna have to go rent some wrestling.

Inexcusably bad, and dangerously close to a rating worthy of Tiger-Rape.