So in this case, you have an episode with the opportunity to be taken in a completely different direction than ever before with Trump in the driver seat. And truth be told, they started out doing good things. It felt like a nice shake up, which is always good for business. Whenever they have someone in a position of control that isn’t necessarily a “part of the business” (Adamle, Vicky, now Trump) it gives them free reign to book with outlandish ideas. So that potential, I believe, kept people hooked too.

Also take into account the fact that Main Event took place at the end of the first hour. A main event that should have, by all means, headlined this transitional PPV. So I figure people, myself included, were feeling “hell, if they put this on now then something Even Bigger just has to happen!”

I’ve had people who know how much of a dirty smark I am ask me if the Trump buyout was legit as well, so there was some basic intrigue and curiosity that bubbled up for casuals in that respect.

But yeah, overall, I share feelings with the people here. The show did not live up to the hype for the most part. Smackdown, once again, sadly, had some of the more interesting bits on a Raw show. I honestly can’t believe they weren’t ballsy enough to let the angle pan out for at least a few weeks. Which makes it seem like the ultimately jumped the gun in the first place. I don’t know, maybe it’s a part of an Even Larger angle. We’ll see I suppose.

They booked the show as important. It was advertised fairly well. Let’s say that’s worth .1. Vince McMahon in his first real appearance back is always good for a couple points. Let’s say he’s worth .2. Let’s say Donald Trump is worth .2.

That’s still only .5 points and I can’t see how that rating shot up a full point. The lack of commercial breaks would’ve meant nothing to me as a viewer. The thing that kept me watching was Vince’s comedy.

So I’m still suspicious. I’m looking forward to seeing the breakdowns.

As for GG – if you are right and the real number comes out any lower than 4, WWE will be in tears

Paul – If it were 2000, I’d agree 100%. But with that crappy, boring show, they gave people tons of time to switch it off.