Corel Centre show one to remember

By MR. X -- Ottawa Sun  PARTS UNKNOWN -- All the World Wrestling Federation had to do was listen and look at the Monday night RAW at the Corel Centre.

 And if it did just that, there would be no doubt it made a mistake leaving Ottawa off its itinerary for more than four years.

 The fabulous crowd got a less-than-fabulous show, but it was still a night to remember.

 Smackdown in Montreal the following night was an extension of the developing feud between The Rock and Chris Jericho.

 And Rob Van Dam was spotted emerging from a limo with ... Vince McMahon.

 The show ended with RVD apparently turning his allegiance to the WWF, after landing his five-star splash on Stone Cold Steve Austin. The elder McMahon was given a rousing ovation from the Montreal crowd, an audience which had a shorter memory than perhaps expected, taking into account the infamous Bret Hart screwjob of four years ago at the Survivor Series.

 NO MERCY: Tonight's No Mercy pay-per-view is headlined by a three-way encounter between Kurt Angle, RVD and Austin. Other matches include: The Rock vs. Y2J; Edge vs. Christian (ladder match); Torrie Wilson vs. Stacey Keibler vs. Trish Stratus (lingerie match); Undertaker vs. Booker T; Test vs. Kane; Dudleys vs. Big Show and Tajiri; Hardy Boyz vs. The Hurricane and Lance Storm.

 AROUND THE RING:

 Unfortunate news for internet surfers. WrestleLine.com has ceased operations. It really was a super site for wrestling fans ... William Regal has a partially torn bicep which will sideline him from the ring for a couple of weeks. He'll stay busy in his newly appointed role of Alliance commissioner ... We can only hope the WWF stops plugging its storylines along at a snail's pace. Ratings are dropping and the shows are becoming too predictable. We either need some new faces or some more imagination.