Hello guys and girls and I trust everyone is well, or as well as they can be in a time where interest rates have been slashed and unemployment is at its highest since 1994 and is steadily increasing.  Good times.  But there is hope!  On Wednesday morning at approximately 4am in the morning UK time this blogger squealed in delight as Barack Obama was confirmed as the next US President.  Can you smell that hope in the air?  The highest voter turnout since 1960, the first time in 40 years that Virginia went blue, the first Senator to win since Kennedy and the first African American to be voted into office is a monumental feat only 44 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed, it truly was a wonderful moment.  OK so Obama is not my President althought if he wants to swap with Gordon Brown please be my guest.  But there is no denying the inexplicable links the UK has with the US.  As the old saying goes America sneezes, Britain catches a cold.  Don't ask me who said it, it was one my old politics teacher told me.

Another old saying is 'It's the economy stupid' and I'm certainly feeling the pinch.  Having spent years in education notching up some impressive qualifications as the moment they are not helping this blogger out.  Unfortunately companies don't want to train up fresh graduates which is a bit of a bummer but perserverance and resilience my dear friend.  I was offerred a job in London though with the 'liveable' salary of £10,000 however but at 10k I feel I will be in more debt than previous, especially with those student loans to pay off.  So the job hunt continues and I hope to have attained one by the time the next quarter comes around in which the dreaded R word will be confirmed.  You know I really hate knowing about this stuff.  Maybe JBL could give me some get rich quick tips?

But with all this strife and woe at least I have my wrestling to take my mind off it for a few hours a week which is lovely.  Nothing like grown men solving their problems with violence to take your mind off things is what I say.  Of course the WWE have been feeling the pinch of the economy as well so I'm not alone.  In the quarterly finance report Linda McMahon announced that profits have dropped signifcantly this quarter, attendances are down, PPV buyrates are down and this is no surprise whatsoever.  Times are tough and people are spending less and I will admit I haven't bought any PPVs in the last couple months as I can't afford it.

The three hour RAW was very entertaining and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  Whilst some complained about DX winning against the In Crowd I personally thought it was brilliantly done.  Morrison's effortless Superkick against HHH was fantastic.  I was as shocked as anyone and HHH was knocked out.  It proved that Morrison and the Miz had the match won cleanly and it was their egos and showboating that cost them the match.  It did more for them than a cheap heel win in my personal opinion.  Also are we seeing a sibling rivalry feud from Shane and Steph?  Say what you will about the McMahon's they are entertaining and I would like to see them back on TV.  There is rumours that Steph will be turning heel and if this does happen the question of whether she will reunite with HHH on TV is one that will want to be answered.  However the ratings over the past couple of months have proved that the product needs an overhaul and something new and exciting.  I still absolutly love it but even I will admit that it isn't 'unmissable' anymore and something does need to be done as it has arguably gotten 'stale'.  I think it is safe to say that Smackdown has surpassed RAW in terms of quality although I could do without the frequent DQ and cheap endings.  Smackdown has managed to get almost the same ratings it did on CW which is quite a feat on a ridiculously small network that I know a lot of people don't get.  One of the nicer things about living in the UK and having it on Sky Sports, no change of networks, hurrah.

What about the latest wrestling 'news' huh?  Supposedly leaked memos, Superstars being called entertainers, MVP's lack of push because of a flippant comment, rampant pot use etc.  You do have to love some of the ridiculous stories on 'news' websites.  In the end of the day these 'backstage' scoops come down to people believing them or not believing them.  Personally none of us work for the WWE, how the hell do we know what goes on backstage and why in the end of the day does it matter.    

Next weeks RAW/SD/ECW emanates from my little wonderful country.  I'm sure that people will be keeping an extra eye this week on the newz websites to see what incidents the wrestlers get up too next week.  There is always one on the UK tours! Unfortunately I'm not going as all the dates are too far for me to get too which is why I have bought tickets for all the tapings in London in April.  The SD taping will be a great way to spend my 23rd birthday in which I pray the Khali segment will have ended as I'm eight rows from the front.

So here is my $0.02 for the day.  Feel free to comment/insult/send job offers too!

Soph x