Featuring Many Current and Past OO Columnists 
Ratings Compiled by Rick Scaia

OOficial Brand of the Week:
RAW
RAW: 3.53  --/-- SD!: 3.37

RATING SYSTEM: Rather than go with the standard 1-10 integer scale for rating shows, OO has selected a 0.0-5.0 rating scheme.  Not only does this allow the reviewer to more precisely award points, but more importantly, it is our belief that our ratings will, in a way, be comparable to the weekly Nielsen Ratings.  Our ratings are based on show quality, however, whereas Nielsen's are based on eyeballs.  Just as WWE hasn't reached the real world 5.0 mark in a long, long time, it will take a monumental effort for a show to earn the highest OO World ratings...  but piss us off in a given week, and we'll be rating you like you're Nitro and it's 2001. 

RAW (2/23/03) vs. SMACKDOWN! (2/26/04)  
OOFICIAL RATINGS

Adam Gutschmidt 
RAW: 3.4
SmackDown!: 3.3
It was a virtual deadlock this week.  Both shows had some lengthy interviews and some inoffensive but not great matches.  Both shows seemed to be by-the-numbers shows that filled in pieces that we already had figured out for Wrestlemania.  I'll give RAW the slight edge because they gave an ending that I wasn't expecting.  The Brock attack was a bigger surprise than what I was expecting to come: stunners to Vince and Eric, drink beer, end show.  Wonderful to see heel Kurt back, he always knows how to bring the goods.

Adam's year-to-date averages: RAW (3.6), SD! (3.2).

Matt Hocking 
RAW: 3.6
JR:  I'm not sure what to think.
JL:  What do you mean?  8 Puppies!
JR:  King, what the hell are we pushing Chris Benoit for?
JL:  I dunno.
JR:  And what was with the "main event".
EB:  I NEVER LOST!
JR:  That you didn't.
EB:  And Brock Lesnar showed up on RAW, even though he's not supposed to.
JR:  Well, yeah but...
EB:  So shut up.  You liked it you chubby little boy.
JR:  I guess.  3.6.  Mostly Entertaining.
JL:  2..4..8 puppies.  AHAHAH
EB:  Hunter, what the hell is he talking about?
HHH:  Uh, nothin', Eric.  Just don't pay attention to Lawler.  Like
everybody else.
EB:  Isn't it supposed to be a 1-5 number?
HHH:  Uh...Yeah.  And King gave it a 2.48.
EB:  Oh.  I'm going to give it a 2.48 too.
CB:  I'm going to win at WrestleMania, YO!
HHH:  Isn't he the cutest?

SmackDown!: 3.4
MC:  Michael Cole and Ta....
TZ:  Shut it up, Cole.
MC:  Why?
TZ:  I'm wicked drunk this week.  Misterio is an enigma applied to himself.
MC:  Huh?
TZ:  Whatever.  Main event, cruiserweights.  It's all rocketbustas to Tazz.
MC:  You didn't think the Mania stories fell flat?
TZ:  Cole, all our Mania stories are on RAW.  Except that one.  Eddie/Angle.
NZ:  Eh!  Who wants to bet on that one, huh?
TZ:  Nunzio is our guest?
NZ:  Eh!
TZ:  All right.  That's it.  Tazz is leaving.
UD:  I'll bet!  $50,000 on Ultimo Dragon!  Dragon Title win!
NZ:  Huh?  You're not even in the match.
UD:  Listen, punk, if I'm losing one title I'm gonna win an...I
mean...Uh...Dragontastic logic.
MC:  Can I ask...
NZ and UD:  NO!
NZ:  The odds for you winning have just increased.
UD:  Dragontacular!
NZ:  1:3.4
UD:  Pfft.  What do I care.
MC:  I give it....
NZ and UD:  NO!

Matt's year-to-date averages: RAW (3.6), SD! (3.3).
 

Rick Scaia  
RAW: 3.6
Could I find faults?  Yeah, and in fact, I've already spoken at length about them.  But for all my bitching about made up concepts like "climactic dissonance" and how RAW didn't quite pay off in the final segment, the simple fact is this: RAW felt big, it felt important, and at the end of the night, it felt like if you'd missed it, you'd actually kick yourself.  The Foley save was the highlight of the night for me, but more quality in the HHH/HBK/Benoit feud, plus the surprises in the closing Vince promo/match (notably Lesnar F-5'ing Austin) made for an entertaining show.

SmackDown!: 3.4 
In the battle of main event promos, I actually liked SD!'s a bit better; it did a better job paying off on what it promised (in this case, a compelling reason for Kurt Angle turning heel), instead of distracting us with all kinds of unexpected bells and whistles (like RAW's cross-promotion-a-thon taking precedence of Vince vs. Bischoff).  SD! even featured two wrestling matches that topped anything on RAW, with the opening Cruiserweight Four-way and then again with Rey's double duty in a tag match with Cena against Chavo and Big Show.  But even with that much good stuff, SD! still had vast tracts of forgettable content, and simply didn't have the same aura of importance as RAW.  This is a week where, purely on paper, RAW vs. SD! might be a push... but the live atmosphere and associated intangibles give the edge to Monday Night.

Rick's year-to-date averages: RAW (3.3), SD! (3.7).

FINAL OO RATINGS, WEEK ENDING 2/27/04

RAW average: 3.53
Actual Nielsen Rating: 3.3 (converted to broadcast rating)  
RAW OVERdelivers versus actual rating this week.

SmackDown! average: 3.37 
Actual Nielsen Rating:  3.5    
SD! UNDERdelivers versus actual rating this week.

BATTLE TO DATE TALLIES

Average OO Rating for RAW:  3.20 
Average Nielsen Rating for RAW: 3.11 
RAW is OVERdelivering, on average, versus actual ratings since the start of the Battle.

Average OO Rating for SD: 3.36 
Average Nielsen Rating for SD:  3.35 
SD! is OVERdelivering versus actual ratings since the start of the Battle.

Rounds Won by RAW: 15 
Rounds Won by SD!: 22  
Current Streak: 1 by RAW (Since 2/27/04) 
Longest Streak: 7 by SD! (6/27/03 thru 8/08/03)

BROWSE PAST WEEK'S BATTLES OF THE BRANDS  

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