[RESULTS/OPINION]Monday Night RAW/Monday Nitro (1/8) Monday Night RAW: Taped 12/18. - There's a new intro to the show. They went back to the rockin' music they had last year with new graphics. The rooftop rumble footage has been dropped altogether. (An improvement, IMO.) If you look closely at the clips, you can catch Vader and Sunny included in the batch of Superstars. The show also staerted with a warning for the upcoming Hart/Bulldog match. - "DOUBLE J" JEFF JARRETT vs. HAKUSHI Not much of note to say about this match. Jarrett, only a day back into the WWF was stiff rusty, and Hakushi's "Americanization" is apparently complete seeing as how he's lost most of his workrate. Hakushi submits to a Jarrett Figure Four. - Jim Ross with the Rumble update. Latest additions: * Doug Gilbert * Jake "The Snake" Roberts * Jerry "The King" Lawler * Fatu * Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. * Henry O. Godwin * Marty Jannetty * Kama * Skip * Takao Amori Ross then turns it over to "Scheme" Gene, who claims to have info on a surprise Rumble Participant. More to come later. - AHMED JOHNSON vs. JEFF GRETTLER Jobber Grettler is attired in the ugliest tights ever worn in the squared circle. I swear, they must have been made from the curtains in his hotel room. Ahmed splats him with the Pearl River Plunge. Jeff Jarrett then comes to the ring and tries to whack Ahmed with his guitar (given to him by Garth Brooks, sayeth Jerry Lawler.) Jarrett misses and Ahmed smashes the guitar on the ringpost. Man... those were ugly tights! Long and baggy - loose at the ends. They had every color on the visible spectrum splashed over them. Imagine Alex Wright wearing a pair of Isaac Yankems tights into an exploding paint factory: That's what they looked like! - Brother Love interviews Ted DiBiase who introduces his ne Million Dollar Champion: The Ringmaster. Yes, it's Steve Austin. - Brief comments from referee Earl Hebner as to why he didn't stop the Hart/Bulldog match at IYH. - GOLDUST vs. ALDO MONTOYA Montoya falls victim to Goldust's ever evolving finisher, the Reverse Drop Them On Their Head In A Really Nasty Way maneuver. Goldusts seems to be losing some weight (though it seems to be accumulating in his groin area. Maybe Grettler would let him borrow his tights for the Royal Rumble.) - Jim Ross with the "Slam Jam" report. Shawn Michaels held his press conference on Monday. As expected, he has announced he will be in the Royal Rumble. We'll wait and see if Gorilla Monsoon concurs. Also, "Scheme" Gene, with some prompting by Ross, announces his "insider info" on who the mystery participant for the Rumble is: "It's Vader time!" Sorry "Scheme" Gene; a week late and a $1.99/minute short. - Comments from a few WWF superstars (Diesel, Ramon, Owen Hart) on Michaels' return. - BRET "THE HITMAN" HART vs. "THE BRITISH BULLDOG" DAVEY BOY SMITH This is their match from In Your House. Being this was my first time seeing it, I was surprised how good a match it actually was. Oh sure, Hart bleeds a pint, but that aside, there were some excellent moves, bumps, and spots. I particularly liked the one where the Bulldog bounced off the ropes upside down and landed squarely on top of his head! That had to hurt. (And just on a side note: There has been some talk about a mysterious white object lying at ringside that has been incorrectly identified as a plastic knife. It looked like a tassel off the Bulldog's boot to me.) - Comments from the Undertaked. *Bong... *bong... *bong... - "Billionaire Ted's Wrasslin' Warroom: Round Two." This time around they're looking for a new slogan. "How about Uncut, Uncensored, and Uncooked?" "Nah... we've stolen that one already." "How about a take off on 'Unbelieveable.' Like... 'we're Not believeable' ?" "Now, this is no time to start telling them the truth." "How about 'This is where the Big Boys play?" "Yeah, that's just dishonest enough to work!" Also the Nacho Man asks what if they have to take a steroid test. "Don't worry Brother, we're not in the WWF anymore!" Says the Huckster. Funny, but heavy on the irony. The last bit came off as really flat, and ties in to something they were going to be doing on AOL regarding their drug testing policies. - Next week's main event: Undertaker vs. Dr. Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. Comments: Yet another solid RAW, even though it's matches were three weeks old. The new intro was good. The Rumble is shaping up to be an excellent (potentially) pay-per-view. Monday Nitro: Live. - "CRIPPLER" CHRIS BENOIT vs. "DAS WUNDERKIND" ALEX WRIGHT I'm no fan of Wright, but it seemed to me that he was at least trying in this one. An okay match, though nothing special. Benoit with a suplex (Dragon? Perfectplex?) - "LORD" STEVEN REGAL vs. EDDIE GUERRERO For the second week in a row, Regal delivers an excellent match. It almost looked like they were using some of the often reversed pin attempts that took place over in the Hart/Bulldog match. Almost. For a bit, I actually thought Regal might get the win. Luckily, Eddie comes through with the pin. Good match. - "Scheme... er.... Mean" Gene interviews Sting & Lex Luger. Sting wants to know why Luger prevented him from winning the Triangle match at Starrcade. Luger says he was just hurt, and needed help. Maybe things would be better if they became a regular tag team? Good thing they've got a match scheduled with the Blue Bloods at Clash of the Champions. - STING vs. "DIAMOND" DALLAS PAGE Yet another good match. Page has lost a good deal of weight, and as such is becoming more cardiovascularly fit for these more competetive matches. Sting with the Scorpion Deathlock. - HULK HOGAN/RANDY SAVAGE vs. RIC FLAIR/ARN ANDERSON Geez... do I have to talk about this one? Okay, after Hogan pins Arn, the Horsemen rush in - followed by the Dungeon of Doom. A big brawl in which nothing happens breaks out. Zodiac seems to be turning face, but WCW is so slow at playing out their angles that they'll probably forget what they were up to before they're done. - Next week's main event: I couldn't tell you. Did they mention one? Comments: This show was proof positive that even good matches can be killed by a show with no heat. There were no surprises (disappointing considering they were live.) The crowd was dead. They just trotted out the matches with little fanfare. McMichael was deplorable, and Bischoff (who made a comment to the effect that he enjoyed 'other's' attempts at imitation) spent all of his time yelling "We're number one" and "Where the Big Boys play!" He's become the best parody of himself. Heenan had an off night. Bischoff and McMichael spent a lot of time harping on "the other guys'" PPV prices. Ironic considering WCW PPV's cost more in all the cable systems (not count- ing mine, which doesn't carry PPV) in this part of Minnesota. They pointed out that the "competition" has just raised the price of theirs (apparently forgetting that they did the same last year.) Bottom line: The WWF is just putting out a more interesting overall product right now, in my opinion. The Rumble is shaping up to be great, while WCW's Clash only looks so-so. Konnan, the Public Enemy, and the 3 Horsemen who wrestle should do okay, but the main event will be terrible. This week's winner: RAW.