2 hours of full on entertainment. Guaranteed. (WWE Raw)

Member Name: DaChild

Product:	WWE Raw
Date:	02/09/01 (302 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A wide variety of matches, entertaining interviews with top wrestlers, very professional and well presented

Disadvantages: Occasionally a show just isn't as good as it could be

WWF RAW is WAR is broadcast in the UK on a Friday night on Sky Sports. It starts between 9:00 and 10:00 (it varies from week to week), and is quite possibly the best way to unwind after a hard week at work or school. Forget clubbing, this is far more fun!

Now, I'm not going to continue the great debate about how wrestling is fake. If you don't like it, and don't want to watch it, I'm not going to try and convert you. But if you want to know what makes this programme worth watching, read on, read on.

WWF RAW is WAR currently showcases all the top talent in the WWF, WCW and ECW, due to recent storylines meaning all 3 promotions now run on the same show. RAW will usually feature 6-9 matches between a variety of wrestlers, as well as some entertaining skits backstage and some heated interviews between top stars. Matches will usually be a mixture of singles encounters between two wrestlers, sometimes with one wrestler's championship up for grabs, Tag-Team matches where teams of 2, 3 or sometimes 4 men wrestle another team, or occasionally 3 or 4 wrestlers will mix it up in a winner takes all contest.

Tune in on the right night and you may also have the chance to see one of the WWF's entertaining gimmick matches, including hardcore matches, where wrestlers can use a variety of weapons to aid their chances, the table match where you win by putting your opponent through a table, a cage match, where the match takes place inside a solid steel cage, or the infamous ladder match, where a prize hangs from above, and you must climb a ladder to grab the prize and win the match.

Mixed in with these matches are interviews with top stars. These interviews are always entertaining, as two or more people hurl creative insults at each other, which can make for very funny viewing. A variety of interesting things also go on in the ring and in the back. Recent skits have included the wife of the WWF Champion having sour milk empti
ed over her, WWF Superstar The Rock making fun of his rival Booker T by using a 3 foot midget to imitate him, and the whole of the WWF\WCW Alliance paying tribute to their leader Stone Cold Steve Austin by singing a terrible version of "Wind Beneath My Wings" to him in the middle of the ring.

The whole show is commentated by Jim Ross and Paul Heyman, and these two work incredibly well. Jim Ross (JR) generally supports the 'good guys', whereas Paul Heyman roots for the 'baddies' so to speak, so these two often get into fun arguments which are great to listen to:

Paul : Oh yes, Stone Cold just attacked Kurt Angle from behind! What a move!!
JR : Oh, so when Austin gets beat down, it's the greatest travesty in history, but when Austin does the same to Kurt Angle, all's fair and happy?
Paul : JR, I'm glad you are finally adjusting to my way of thinking.

If you like the soap opera show that is the WWF, RAW is WAR is a no misser on Friday nights. If you don't like wrestling, but haven't watched it, I urge you to give it a go. We've all watched programmes we didn't like before, haven't we?

But with every show fresh and entertaining, RAW is WAR sucks you in and keeps you glued to the set for 2 hours.

Summary: