Ranking the Raw guest hosts
A reader suggested that I do a list ranking the guests hosts of Raw, and since I’m a list fanatic, I have obliged.
1. Bob Barker: The iconic game show host clearly was having fun interacting with the WWE talent, and the “Price is Raw” segments were quite entertaining.
2. Shaquille O’Neal: Shaq Daddy proved to be a natural for pro wrestling. He held his own in verbal and physical confrontations with The Big Show.
3. Seth Green: The diminutive actor was all over the show but never got in the way. He delivered his lines well and was knowledgeable about the product.
4. Dusty Rhodes: “The American Dream” had some funny moments with DX – including a Shockmaster parody – and then he did a surprising heel turn at the end of the show.
5. Ted DiBiase: “The Million Dollar Man” had a great scene with his son in which Ted Jr. delivered a hard slap to his father’s face.
6. Freddie Prinze Jr.: He handled himself well in a verbal confrontation with Randy Orton and then took a beating from Orton like a champ.
7. Sgt. Slaughter: The sarge has always been a great heel, and he did a good job of getting heat from the Calgary crowd with his anti-Canada antics.
8. Trish Stratus: The former diva looked great and it was nice to see her back in the ring, but there wasn’t anything really memorable about her appearance on the show.
9. ZZ Top: The band spent almost the entire show backstage doing comedy skits with Santino Marella that weren’t very funny.
10. Batista: He was the first guest host, and from what I recall, he didn’t do a whole lot.
11. Floyd Mayweather: “Money” was pretty worthless, as he didn’t even show up until late in the first hour.
12. Cedric The Entertainer: An opening skit that was incredibly lame. Cowboy Bob Thorton. A “match” with Chavo Guerrero that was a complete farce. Need I go on?
13. Jeremy Piven: I might have been able to forgive Piven for referring to SummerSlam as Summerfest, but I will always hate him for bringing Dr. Ken to the show with him. That guy may be the most obnoxious person to ever appear on a wrestling program. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
Comments
Your ranking are pretty good for the most part but for me, I'd rank any of the former/current WWE Superstar guest hosts over any of the celebrities.
Rhodes and Teddy by far had the best shows. To me, their shows had that classic old school feel to them which I loved. As for "entertainment", def Bob Barker and Shaq. You and I are spot on with Piven. I absolutely hated him and Dr. Ken...I could have literally choked him to death that night.
Posted by: Tenechia | September 23, 2009 9:35 PM
Kevin, I appreciate you as a fellow wrestling fan for doing this. A lot of people won't give Piven and Dr. Ken credit, but I think that they deserve some shred of credit. After all, they were the first guest hosts to be fan favorites and then be heels at the end. I also read somewhere that Piven had to learn how to do a crossbody before attempting it and Ken, as annoying as he was, took a nasty header when he was press-slammed by John Cena onto Carlito and Chris Masters.
ZZ Top, Floyd Mayweather, and Cedric were not as great, but WWE gave them a chance and for what the creative staff gave to them, they did the best they could. Even if the guest host concept does not work, a lot of fans can admire Vince McMahon because he's never been afraid to fail at anything. Remember, this is the same guy who tried running his own football league. Now, what was it called again...
And for the record, Trish did do something memorable. She competed in a match and picked up the pinfall victory for her team. Not bad for someone who's been out of the game a while, wouldn't you say? I know that people will point out the Cena/Trish vs. Santino/Phoenix match as the last match she competed in, but Cena was the one who got the pinfall and Trish looked like she hadn't missed a beat. This might have lit a fire under Beth, who will most likely work herself back into contention for the Divas Championship.
Posted by: Nimesh S. | September 23, 2009 10:21 PM
DiBiase and Dusty were way better than Seth Green. Stop trying to run from your roots.
Posted by: Elevation | September 23, 2009 11:13 PM
Thanks Kev!
RESPONSE FROM KE: Thanks for the idea.
Posted by: rob the barber | September 23, 2009 11:30 PM
My favourite was Shaq so far, he was awesome and I agree with u Kev when he leaves Basketball he certainly would have a big future in Wrestling, if he wanted it. Bob Barker turned Raw for me in to a cheesy corny kids show. I dont think to many people will disagree with you that Piven and the Dr were the worst so far.
Posted by: Seamus | September 24, 2009 1:40 AM
Sorry Kev, I can't agree with you that ZZ Top was better than either Cedric or Jeremy Piven.
Floyd as far as hosting would definitely be last since he couldn't be bothered to be on more than 7 mins.
I would also rank Sgt Slaughter lower only because the Canada mocking got old fast and I was PRAYING for a Hart Dynasty confrontation that would have put them over bigtime.
Outside of those points, I think you nailed the rest on the head....and again I got a newfound respect for Prinze and Green for taking the bumps they did.
Thx for the time.
Posted by: Daryll B | September 24, 2009 9:19 AM
Al Sharpton should be in the Top 5 if booked correctly.
Jericho: "When I heard the most influential reverend in the civil rights movement was hosting RAW, I assumed it was Jesse Jackson. Instead it's you?
RAW audience: [Silence as they have no clue who Jesse Jackson is]
Posted by: Hank | September 24, 2009 10:27 AM
I had an idea for another post - what would you do if you were (kayfabe) the guest GM? What happens on Raw is Eck?
Posted by: Matt H | September 24, 2009 11:28 AM
Other than the Summerfest slip up, Piven did well as the guest host. Dr. Ken was extremely annoying and therefor really made Piven look bad.
Posted by: adam | September 24, 2009 4:06 PM
You're pretty spot on with the list. But while I agree with you Dr. Ken was the worst thing, by far, to happen to this whole guest host idea, to call him the most obnoxious person to ever appear on a wrestling program is covering alot of ground. Lest we forget Jameson, David Flair, Brother Love, The Gobbledygooker, David Arquette, The Ding Dongs, Vince Russo, Michale Cole...Aw! I could be here all day.
Hey maybe that could be you're next list. Most anoying gimmicks, personalities and/or storylines.
Posted by: Andre the Midget | September 24, 2009 7:07 PM
for the most part bob barker was lame... shaq was racist... Rhodes and Dibiase were the best... and Batista didnt do anything? he put Orton thru the Gauntlet! having to face Bourne, Swagger, then Mark Henry.... but i agree about dr. ken... ugh he made me sick... and the rest i might agree with as well
Posted by: Jonathan | September 24, 2009 9:38 PM
ZZ Top was garbage...in fact, there shouldn't even be numbers for these 5:
Slaughter
Piven
Ced
ZZ Top
Floyd
Posted by: Voice of USM | September 25, 2009 9:12 AM
This is my Top 5, in no specific order
Ted DiBiase
Dusty Rhodes
Shaquille O'Neal
Freddie Prince Jr
Seth Green
Aside from Green, none of them were promoting anything.
Bob Barker would be far lower on my list, I did not enjoy that weeks.
Posted by: SteRDLK | September 25, 2009 3:22 PM
Wait...no one said that Latoya Jackson would be the perfect ratings draw as guest host!
Posted by: rob the barber | September 25, 2009 8:14 PM
The top two spots could go either way. O'Neal had his moments as well.
Posted by: Jack Windham | September 25, 2009 8:46 PM
I like your ranking list. But what about John. I like his show. They have so much entertainment. Well thanks for this great post here as I am a big fan of WWE shows.
It is nice to post here. I like this site.
Posted by: omega-3 | September 30, 2009 4:56 AM