What most stood out about last night's Raw has to do with what Kenneth Burke referred to as Scene. 'Twas interesting, to say the least, to witness the Raw spectacle taking place in Manchester, England. The fans were excitedly rotating signs in front of the cameras all night long, rather than holding only one consistently, as we see fans do in American cities. What this showed was that Signholding as the Wrestling Fan's Mantra is a signature trademark of Vince's show that is recognized throughout the world. And moreover, Mrs. Harrogate was a bit appalled, and rightfully so, to see a little boy, who couldn't have been more than 8, doing John Cena's "You Can't See Me" Hand-Wave. Indeed, Vince's diplomatic move seemed overall a huge success, as the building was sold out, the fans performed rowdiness in a convincing way, and the seventeen foot WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sign they stretched across the front row during Ric Flair's match was, for Harrogate, a testimony to the imperial power of low culture that even McDonald's cannot match.
Yet by just about any account, Readers, last night's installment of Raw was one of the worst in a while. In terms of actual wrestling, there was only one good match, wherein Jeff Hardy reclaimed the Intercontinental Title from Johnny (A-List) Nitro. There was a more significant title change, as the nostalgiac run of Roddy "I'm all out of bubble gum" Piper and Ric Flair came to an end at the hands of Edge and Randy Orton(depicted here, left to right.This "match," like the majority of the program, reached heights of stupidity that exceeded even Harrogate's increasingly tenuous expectations of what Vince will bring on a given night. There is nothing wrong with ring interference and shenanigans as this is after all part and parcel of the sacred ritual--but knocking Piper out of the match before it starts, then having Flair double teamed and pinned, was pretty lame. And then, after the match, having DX storm the ring and beat up--not on Orton and Edge but on Security Guards!!!!--well, it was just so petty it hurt. Throughout the night we had to endure at least 45 minutes of DX skits, some of which Harrogate admits were almost funny: but there ought to be a point to all this attention, and the point ought to culminate in more than beating up security guards.
Which brings us back to Burkean Scene. The only aesthetic justification for last night's program would be that Vince determined that DX is the most popular, most recognizable tradermark, and that as WWE is exporting, the only thing that matters is for Brits to get lots of DX. To hell with the program itself, just pander to your expectations. It was bizarre, Vince. Harrogate loves Triple H and Shawn Michaels as much as the next wrestling fan/literary critic, but really, let there be a point next time. Just putting DX out there to put them out there is Bush League. And we all saw what Americans think of Bush League these days.
UPDATE: Immediately after issuing this post, it occured to Harrogate that as a New Historicist, and as a 21st Century literary critic/rhetorician in general, he is not supposed to believe in distinctions between "High" and "Low" culture. Nevertheless, Harrogate does indeed believe in such distinctions, and will invariably carry said belief to his grave. He does not offer a GOP-like soundbite definition of these distinctions, however. He winks, and defers instead to the Kerry model of "nuance." Or perhaps the famous Supreme Court Justice's declaration re pornography, paraphrased here as "I knows it when I sees it," applies best of all.
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