Pros and Cons of Monday Night Raw's Weekly Guest Host

I've received a lot of questions and feedback lately on my opinion on this whole "Guest Host" gimmick on WWE's Monday Night Raw program recently. For the last few months WWE's Monday night cable icon has had a different celebrity guest host every week for the past several weeks. There are, as with any concept, a number of pros and cons with the whole idea. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the overall thing. I think if you're going to have a guest host, then you at least need to have someone who knows something about the business, and is aware of the names of the talent and has some understanding of the current storylines and things that are going on.

I have no problem with past WWE superstars being included in the guest host list, because they know what's going on. But when you bring in people like Jeremy Piven, who mispronounced half the roster AND the premier pay per view event the summer (it's not SummerFest, it's SummerSlam!), then it disgraces every person who has tried to make it in this business. I haven't busted my backside for almost a decade to have the very business I love embarrassed by somebody who can't even correctly pronounce half of the names. It's not a direct bash on Piven, because I think he is a genuinely entertaining actor. But I think had he hosted Raw by himself, and not with Dr. Ken, the night would've been better. Kudos to The Hurricane for training Piven for the turnbuckle leap onto John Cena during the episode.

The guest host spot is supposed to build a connection between the WWE and Hollywood, as WWE is trying to emphasize the ENTERTAINMENT aspect of World Wrestling Entertainment. It seems they're focusing less on the wrestling and more on the press and publicity. Personally there should be a different way to publicize the entertainment world without having the overkill of having them in nearly every segment of the show. It's a major reason why I'm so into TNA right now. With WWE, you're lucky if you see 45 minutes of actual in-ring action. The rest is all talk. With TNA, if you have a 2 hour program, you're guaranteed wrestling. A few interviews or promos and one or two backstage segments, but you see solid wrestling action.

I've been a fan of the WWE since I was little. But the idea of a guest host just kills me. If you're going to bring someone in, bring someone that has clue what's going on. Floyd Mayweather was a good choice because he's been there, with the match between him and Big Show at WrestleMania 24. Cedric the Entertainer was an epic fail because he had no business in the ring...PERIOD. Personally, I like the idea of having past WWE or wrestling personnel as the guest host. I completely marked out for Dusty Rhodes, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, and most recently Trish Stratus.

Nancy O'Dell is the next celebrity on deck to run Raw this Monday. All I can say is good luck, you're going to need it. Following last week's Rev. Al Sharpton disaster is no easy task, so I hope WWE and the Access Hollywood ladies can resurrect some form of interest. Well that's about all I've got for this episode. Comments, opinions, and feedback are always welcome.