Last week I couldn't figure out why WWE had asked Kyle Busch and Joey Lagano to be guest hosts. Waste of money, I was thinking. Then Monday night it all became clear. There were race cars involved, along with WWE's sponsorship of said race cars.
WWE has sponsored a race car or two in the past, but they've seldom sponsored cars that would be in one piece by the end of the race, much less make it to the front of the field. Sponsoring drivers who are consistently at the back of the pack is not a good investment.
But somebody did their homework this time. While Kyle and Joey were woefully inept at their hosting duties Monday night, they are both exceptional drivers who are usually leading whatever race they are in. WWE could very well end up in in Victory Lane.
And what better investment could WWE get for its advertising dollar than to "buy" three hours of TV time and put millions of eyeballs on the cars with Raw and Smackdown paint schemes. However, WWE needs to realize that not everyone will "get it."
While NASCAR fans are notoriously loyal to the sponsors of their favorite race cars, that usually applies to shave cream, Budweiser and car parts. Not sure if it will be applicable to a one-time sponsor of a race.
While it was apparent from a smattering of boos Monday night that 'rassling fans don't give much of a hoot about stock car racing, I'd be willing to bet that race fans won't give a flip about the "rivalry" between Raw and Smackdown. Keeping in mind that the Texas race is still two weeks away, it's entirely possible that the only people who will be watching those Raw and Smackdown race cars will be the race fans who would tuning in anyway.
Isn't it time Raw had a real general manager? I think viewers have been patient long enough. The Army doesn't have guest generals. Companies don't have guest CEO's. Raw needs a consistent leader who knows something about the wrestling business, not a different celebrity every week.
As much as Mister McMahon would like his product to be a variety show, it's not.
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Thanks for reading and see ya next week.