Tonight we are in Texas which is usually a hot crowd. Just to get me in the mood I watched an old WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas if you didn’t know!) match between The Von Erichs and Fabulous Free Birds. Good times.
We start the show off with a contract signing between Randy Orton and John Cena. I was happy with the segment. Usually these things drag on for a bit but Cena showed his determination for the belt by signing right away. Mark Henry comes down to interfere when Randy Orton STRIKES LIKE LIGHTNING hitting the RKO.
Looking back WWE really has done wonders with Orton. They have made him a brutal heel and his RKO is the most over finishing move in the WWE for a heel by far. Also nice touch with him shaving his head…he looks more…(pinky to mouth) evil?
As for Henry coming from Smackdown with NO Explanation, well that just sucks. I have always preached that there is a lot of money to be made with the brand splits actually being separate brands. Where mixing and matching could only be done by trades, treating it like three sports teams. Fans would watch ECW just to see if a Raw/Smackdown guy has been traded and believe it or not, if done correctly, Mark Henry showing up on Raw could actually be a big deal.
Kelly Kelly and Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix and Victoria
For some reason I decided to watch this match. Besides Kelly the other three ladies are actually properly trained to wrestle. Wasn’t anything special, but it got the point across. Mickie James can beat plenty of women…but not the Glamazon.
In the back William Regal insults Hornswoggle for not joining the greatest club in the history of mankind.
Back in the ring Shawn Michaels comes down for some microphone magic. JR explains that Triple H isn’t here because of a family emergency. For Triple H not to be on Raw it HAS to be serious…so best wishes to him and his family. Funny promo by Michaels when he is interrupted by Chris Jericho! Wow, the ring is oozing with charisma! Jericho stumbled through a promo which kind of disappointed me when Jeff Hardy joins the fun!
If my ears are as good as I think they are, Hardy got a bigger pop than Jericho and almost as loud as HBK in Texas… that’s pretty good no? Hardy explains that Jericho and HBK both main evented WrestleMania, now it’s his turn. Good point, but not a chance in hell. With that JBL comes out and creates some marvelous heel heat. He’s good. JBL explains he has bought services of Umaga. Kind of like Ted Dibiase buying the services of Andre “The Giant” right? While Umaga and JBL figure out their issues Snitsky comes down and says he wants a shot at The Chamber. Not a chance in hell. This ends up in a brawl with William Regal making it official later in the night, six man tag!
This segment was fun with the highlights being Michaels and JBL. With Triple H not at this show and Raw being taped next week, I guess he won’t have much build going into The Chamber.
Mr. Kennedy squash of the week, this time against Super Crazy. Good idea having him beat Super Crazy with a figure four variation to prepare for Flair. But seriously, has this guy been lost in the McMahon shuffle or what? Hopefully they have something nice planned for him at Mania, probably money in the bank…….BANK.
Santino and Carlito vs. London and Kendrick
Very short match, my guess is London isn’t fully healed yet but they wanted him in front of his home town. Another win for Carlito and Santino, and oh my is Maria hot.
Backstage Mr. McMahon is having his ass buffed with ass cream. I’m AMAZED he didn’t have a diva do it. I guess Vinman is losing his touch huh.
Mr. McMahon is in the ring and defends his actions saying Hornswoggle just needs some tough love. He rips into the parents in the crowd saying their kids are spoiled brats. How true, they are up way too late on a school night. All McMahon is doing is disciplining his bastard son. Mr. McMahon could sell me on anything! Out comes Hornswoggle who looks frightened. He should be honored. He’s ungrateful like Bobby Lashley! $250,000 not enough money my ass!
After Mr. McMahon literally yelling at Hornswoggle to kiss his ass Finlay comes down to make the save. If I hear Michael Cole call Finlay ‘the great protector’ one more time I’m going to assassinate him. Finlay tells Hornswoggle a secret, which leads to Hornswoggle biting the ass of Mr. McMahon. They stole that from Foley! More on that in a minute. Mr. McMahon looks humiliated and tells the crowd if they think that’s funny next week it will be Hornswoggle vs. Vince, and if Finlay interferes…he’s fired. Fiiiiirrrreeeddddd. Well there goes my WrestleMania prediction. I knew it was coming though.
As for stealing Foley’s idea, in his latest book ‘The Hardcore Diaries’ (decent read at best) Mick Foley explained his idea on how to get Terry Funk over to today’s fans. Terry was about to join up with Tommy Dreamer against Edge and Foley at the ECW One Night Stand ppv. Foley basically believed that having Funk join the kiss my ass club, but at the last second biting Vince’s ass, would make him a huge baby face. WWE didn’t like the idea of Vince getting involved with Funker (since Vinny was busy with DX), so it was axed. Guess they liked the ass nibbling plan though huh?
Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes vs. Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade
Apparently Murdoch and Cade stole vests from Rick Rude and Sean Ohaire. What were those things? Odd, anyway another short tag team match that has Cody Rhodes win with a DDT. Someone for the love of God get this kid a finisher. After the match Carlito and Santino announce they are the #1 contenders for the tag straps. This has been a nice little storyline for the tag straps. Actually, probably the best storyline since Cade and Murdoch wrestled with class against The Hardyz.
Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga, JBL, and Snitsky
Interestingly enough, both Hardy and Jericho early in their WWE careers were labeled the next HBK. Now they are all teaming together! Isn’t wrestling magnificent. This match was very entertaining and I marked out like a hulkamaniac when all three dove over the top onto their respected opponents. Pretty obvious Snitsky was going to lose the match, but it’s good to see Hardy getting the pin fall. His loss hasn’t spoiled his popularly, so as long as they keep cheering the push will keep pushing onward.
Arm Wrestling Extravaganza- John Cena vs. Mark Henry
Honestly, I know John Cena is a strong man…but Mark Henry in real life would have thrown him through the titan tron. Orton runs in during the manly arm wrestling match but can’t attack Cena again, so Cena decides to hoist up Mark Henry and give him the F-U. That was sweet. The Texas crowd is actually behind Cena which is amazing. Nice way to continue things between Orton and Cena tonight. Remember WWE really can’t afford to screw this feud up…if you think about it these guys will be main eventing for the WWE for the next 10-15 years. Don’t want to move backwards do we!
The main event saved the show from a wrestling standpoint (six man tag main event*) but not from an overall standpoint. Show lacked something really exciting, especially with Jeff Hardy tearing it up over the last month on every Raw. Looks like they are just passing through the motions until No Way Out and hopefully after that, BIG push for Mania.
We start the show off with a contract signing between Randy Orton and John Cena. I was happy with the segment. Usually these things drag on for a bit but Cena showed his determination for the belt by signing right away. Mark Henry comes down to interfere when Randy Orton STRIKES LIKE LIGHTNING hitting the RKO.
Looking back WWE really has done wonders with Orton. They have made him a brutal heel and his RKO is the most over finishing move in the WWE for a heel by far. Also nice touch with him shaving his head…he looks more…(pinky to mouth) evil?
As for Henry coming from Smackdown with NO Explanation, well that just sucks. I have always preached that there is a lot of money to be made with the brand splits actually being separate brands. Where mixing and matching could only be done by trades, treating it like three sports teams. Fans would watch ECW just to see if a Raw/Smackdown guy has been traded and believe it or not, if done correctly, Mark Henry showing up on Raw could actually be a big deal.
Kelly Kelly and Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix and Victoria
For some reason I decided to watch this match. Besides Kelly the other three ladies are actually properly trained to wrestle. Wasn’t anything special, but it got the point across. Mickie James can beat plenty of women…but not the Glamazon.
In the back William Regal insults Hornswoggle for not joining the greatest club in the history of mankind.
Back in the ring Shawn Michaels comes down for some microphone magic. JR explains that Triple H isn’t here because of a family emergency. For Triple H not to be on Raw it HAS to be serious…so best wishes to him and his family. Funny promo by Michaels when he is interrupted by Chris Jericho! Wow, the ring is oozing with charisma! Jericho stumbled through a promo which kind of disappointed me when Jeff Hardy joins the fun!
If my ears are as good as I think they are, Hardy got a bigger pop than Jericho and almost as loud as HBK in Texas… that’s pretty good no? Hardy explains that Jericho and HBK both main evented WrestleMania, now it’s his turn. Good point, but not a chance in hell. With that JBL comes out and creates some marvelous heel heat. He’s good. JBL explains he has bought services of Umaga. Kind of like Ted Dibiase buying the services of Andre “The Giant” right? While Umaga and JBL figure out their issues Snitsky comes down and says he wants a shot at The Chamber. Not a chance in hell. This ends up in a brawl with William Regal making it official later in the night, six man tag!
This segment was fun with the highlights being Michaels and JBL. With Triple H not at this show and Raw being taped next week, I guess he won’t have much build going into The Chamber.
Mr. Kennedy squash of the week, this time against Super Crazy. Good idea having him beat Super Crazy with a figure four variation to prepare for Flair. But seriously, has this guy been lost in the McMahon shuffle or what? Hopefully they have something nice planned for him at Mania, probably money in the bank…….BANK.
Santino and Carlito vs. London and Kendrick
Very short match, my guess is London isn’t fully healed yet but they wanted him in front of his home town. Another win for Carlito and Santino, and oh my is Maria hot.
Backstage Mr. McMahon is having his ass buffed with ass cream. I’m AMAZED he didn’t have a diva do it. I guess Vinman is losing his touch huh.
Mr. McMahon is in the ring and defends his actions saying Hornswoggle just needs some tough love. He rips into the parents in the crowd saying their kids are spoiled brats. How true, they are up way too late on a school night. All McMahon is doing is disciplining his bastard son. Mr. McMahon could sell me on anything! Out comes Hornswoggle who looks frightened. He should be honored. He’s ungrateful like Bobby Lashley! $250,000 not enough money my ass!
After Mr. McMahon literally yelling at Hornswoggle to kiss his ass Finlay comes down to make the save. If I hear Michael Cole call Finlay ‘the great protector’ one more time I’m going to assassinate him. Finlay tells Hornswoggle a secret, which leads to Hornswoggle biting the ass of Mr. McMahon. They stole that from Foley! More on that in a minute. Mr. McMahon looks humiliated and tells the crowd if they think that’s funny next week it will be Hornswoggle vs. Vince, and if Finlay interferes…he’s fired. Fiiiiirrrreeeddddd. Well there goes my WrestleMania prediction. I knew it was coming though.
As for stealing Foley’s idea, in his latest book ‘The Hardcore Diaries’ (decent read at best) Mick Foley explained his idea on how to get Terry Funk over to today’s fans. Terry was about to join up with Tommy Dreamer against Edge and Foley at the ECW One Night Stand ppv. Foley basically believed that having Funk join the kiss my ass club, but at the last second biting Vince’s ass, would make him a huge baby face. WWE didn’t like the idea of Vince getting involved with Funker (since Vinny was busy with DX), so it was axed. Guess they liked the ass nibbling plan though huh?
Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes vs. Trevor Murdoch and Lance Cade
Apparently Murdoch and Cade stole vests from Rick Rude and Sean Ohaire. What were those things? Odd, anyway another short tag team match that has Cody Rhodes win with a DDT. Someone for the love of God get this kid a finisher. After the match Carlito and Santino announce they are the #1 contenders for the tag straps. This has been a nice little storyline for the tag straps. Actually, probably the best storyline since Cade and Murdoch wrestled with class against The Hardyz.
Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga, JBL, and Snitsky
Interestingly enough, both Hardy and Jericho early in their WWE careers were labeled the next HBK. Now they are all teaming together! Isn’t wrestling magnificent. This match was very entertaining and I marked out like a hulkamaniac when all three dove over the top onto their respected opponents. Pretty obvious Snitsky was going to lose the match, but it’s good to see Hardy getting the pin fall. His loss hasn’t spoiled his popularly, so as long as they keep cheering the push will keep pushing onward.
Arm Wrestling Extravaganza- John Cena vs. Mark Henry
Honestly, I know John Cena is a strong man…but Mark Henry in real life would have thrown him through the titan tron. Orton runs in during the manly arm wrestling match but can’t attack Cena again, so Cena decides to hoist up Mark Henry and give him the F-U. That was sweet. The Texas crowd is actually behind Cena which is amazing. Nice way to continue things between Orton and Cena tonight. Remember WWE really can’t afford to screw this feud up…if you think about it these guys will be main eventing for the WWE for the next 10-15 years. Don’t want to move backwards do we!
The main event saved the show from a wrestling standpoint (six man tag main event*) but not from an overall standpoint. Show lacked something really exciting, especially with Jeff Hardy tearing it up over the last month on every Raw. Looks like they are just passing through the motions until No Way Out and hopefully after that, BIG push for Mania.
5 comments:
Awesome blog as usual man. I missed RAW for the first time in a couple of months... but I guess I didn't miss much. You're right about the roster splits. The way things are going... they should just drop the splits all together.
-Rko
Bad show IMO. A Kiss My Ass and Hornswoggle segment mashed into one
Then!!!
we have an Arm Wrestling contest as the main event?
Monday Night Football, save me.
How can Mark Henry still be billed as the World's Strongest Man now? His career my finally be dead.
Once again another great blog, I really appreciate reading them. Raw overall wasn't great but good in my opinion. The open segment with the contract signing between Orton and Cena came off pretty good with Mark Henry causing the distraction which allowed Cena to get blasted by the RKO. Also with Cena coming out to quickly to sign the contract, they kept things moving and illustrated this match and rival has some serious heat in it. With Orton being a bonafide heel who can generate "good heat" and Cena playing the anti-hero babyface, the chemistry between the two really shows. They really should do a hell of a job at No Way Out.
As far as the brand splits, I totally agree they need utilize trades and contract negotiations to bring about mixing and matching the talent. It would make things seem more legit and interesting for the business and the fans alike. For the women's match, I basically ignored it to be honest. Moving right along, the segment that led to six man tag was good despite Jericho's struggling a bit through his promo.
Mr. Kennedy vs. Super Crazy?! WTF?! No disrespect to Super Crazy but was Kennedy was being to main event material instead he's relegated to squash talent to lower card perfomers. Something's really wrong with that picture, let's see if the boys and girls in Stamford, CT can figure it out shall we? He's a former US Champion and Money In The Bank winner for crying out loud! Santino's pretty clever and hilarious so I don't mind him on TV, Carlito deserves a bigger push. Maybe he should've headed out the door when he had the chance. And yes Maria's hot, I totally agree.
Witnessing Vince get his ass buffed with ass cream is a bit much but then again, it's pro wrestling I guess everyting's a bit much. But the buffing of his ass?! Come on now. Joining Vince's "Kiss My Ass" club doesn't exactly have a long line of folks looking to get in it to say the least. Anyway, Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes made quick work of Cade and Murdoch. How about putting these two teams in a feud to reignite tag team wrestling in the WWE? It's a suggestion.
HBK, Chris Jericho, & Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga, Snitsky, & JBL was my highlight of the show. I really enjoyed the match particularly since Jeff Hardy was obviously the one to watch in that match which was evident from the promo the six guys cut in the ring earlier in that night. Overall the six performers pulled off a match worth watching.
Of course there's the arm wrestling showdown between Mark Henry and John Cena. Mark Henry could've easily defeated Cena in this one. Don't get me wrong Cena is pretty damn strong himself but at least they sold it to make it look like that Cena was that much stronger. Which in turn leads to Orton attempting to run in only to prove ineffective and having Mark Henry getting F-Ued in the ring.
Overall it was a good show despite the Hornswaggle biting McMahon's ass, Kennedy wrestling Super Crazy in a squash match, another lackluster women's match, and the growing evidence that either the WWE use trades and contracts to "justify" the mixing and matching of talent. When it appears that they should do away with the brand split since it looks like that's where they're going with at this point it seems.
One more thing, Triple H was rather conspicious from his absence and with no build this week for his part in the elimination chamber at No Way Out.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Safe to say this Raw wasn't anything special...but on the bright side we got to see Vince's ass once again.
-Mike
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