Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
No surprise angles. No big turns. Just same old, same old. Yawn.
Some thoughts:
"Reunion?" If not for the Arn Anderson and Money Inc. "Legends" appearance, there was nothing for us as viewers to reunite for. And did you notice once they showed up, it was clear that was all they were going to do. Don't spend the money to bring in all these "Legends" if they are not willing or physically able to do more than just stand there and wave (hint, hint!)
The women's "match?" 4 words: I miss Trish already.
The DX shtick is as worn out as Vinnie Mac's appearances. There's absolutely nothing of substance there. Nothing. Just the same broken record of catchphrases and sophomoric humor that the live audience is misleading creative into thinking we at home still care about. We don't. Really.
Lance Cade has obviously started (or in this case, stopped) training with Trevor Murdoch. I don't see the appeal of two out of shape lard asses (really, J.R., I don't.) Release both of these guys. . .now. And use that money to rehire Mark Jindrak and Maven Huffman. At least they took the effort to stay in shape while they were jobbing.
The SmackDown 8 man tag or whatever the hell that was. Ba-doop, ba-doop, ba-dooop! (That was the sound of my TiVo fast forwarding once again.)
Edge and Orton together? Okay, so what this means is that they both get DEMOTED from singles stars to being a tag team (Edge, especially, must be THRILLED about that!) If that was going to happen, why not attack DX tonight, and then explain why next week, rather than just talk and make Orton look bad.
And that "Main Event" with Cena and Taker. Was anyone else surprised to see the run-in? I thought the point of the video package from the night before was to hint at a Taker heel turn, but no.
They easily could have done this debacle in the normal 2 hours, rather than 3. As it was, this show was further proof that wrestling really IS in a sad state right now. My sincere hope is that TNA eventually does find a way to challenge WWE on Monday nights. If the quality of this show is any indication, they need all the competition they can get.
-Robert Larimore
Los Angeles, CA
**********
To: An open letter to WWE management.
Re: Your RAW Family Reunion
To Whom it may concern:
As a wrestling fan, I very much looked forward to your 10/9 edition of RAW as it would feature three hours of programming. Forgive me for being a smart, internet mark; but for such a hyped show, I expected more than I got.
While the matches seemed hastily thrown together, I got the impression that the wrestlers gave performances worthy of a Pay-per-view. The only problem is that I dished out $40 for a PPV 24 hours earlier and saw absolutely no difference between what I paid for and what I got for free.
I guess the biggest thing I was looking forward to was the "Big One". The earth shattering surprise that accompanies a show that was this hyped and promoted. Instead, I watched five 50-somethings make cameos in a four minute Ric Flair match. As a 36-year old fan, I enjoyed seeing Piper, DiBiase, et.al. but am I really the demographic you are looking for here? I don't eat at Burger King and I don't play XBox so I am not influenced by your advertisers. And are those that you want to influence really swayed by a fat Mike Rotundo and Arn Anderson?
The show was centered around a PPV that is still a month away and contingent on a match involving all three champions. Surely you could have made better use of this airtime than to hype matches that are still a month away?
Perhaps you should focus on new ideas because the ones you have are stale and outdated. Because every minute I don't watch your show, I am watching TNA or purchasing ROH.
But, I am just a 25 year wrestling fan that has never seen anything, right?
Heath Jacobs
Baton Rouge
**********
I really enjoy the RAW show tonight. In fact this is the best RAW this year in my view all 3 brand were well represented and it make you want to tune in next week. One other thing - John Cena does a damn good Englishman voice.
8/10
Next Stop ECW tomorrow
Peter Siddorn
21 Bristol England.
**********
“Season Premiere?†No way.
I enjoyed a good amount of the opening promo between the Three Kings of The Sports Entertainment World. I thought the movie talk was funny, and I had forgotten about “Ready to Rumble!†The physical action came just as I expected it, when Cena got serious. However, I think I could have done without the shot at Andre.
Thank god Long nixed the idea of Cena vs. Miz!
The final Kane vs. Umaga match was fine for what it was, but I don’t know if Kane can be a top draw for Smackdown or ECW. And why didn’t he acknowledge the crowd as he left?
Didn’t care about the DX “apologies.†I wish this would end, but as long as the marks are popping, Creative will keep the silly segments coming.
Show vs. Jeff Hardy wasn’t much, but then, did ANYONE ever think Jeff would topple a 500-pound giant? And uh, Nitro, thanks for coming! Show did look like he’s returned to his top form, and I commend him for that.
Why couldn’t they have just started the 9:00 hour off with the street fight, and spared us the long-dragging DX-joking-about-what-Vince-loves promo. I think the street fight was pretty much in the bag for DX to win. Some of the spots did look sweet though.
We finally got some excellent action with Benoit vs. Benjamin, even though I think the match could have gone longer. I do hope that Smackdown pushes Benoit like crazy.
I don’t get the segment with Super Crazy and the GMs. We all know that right now, Raw is the dominant show.
Wow, Maria and Ashley look STUNNING in that magazine! Which reminds me, it’s 9:30, and we haven’t had an Extreme Strip Poker promo yet. Is that bad?
The Smackdown six-man was fine, and had some pretty good action. Whoa, did Batista really hit a JACKHAMMER? Hope nobody tells Bill Goldberg about this, or his head will explode!
This has been a weird women’s tournament. First a 10-second win, then lingerie, now lumberjacks? Of course, the purpose it served was to promote you-know-what. And why did Torrie get more attention than the one who is much hotter, can wrestle, and won the match? I’m sorry, but Torrie Wilson doesn’t thrill me anymore. Anybody wanna buy a used Playboy? On the other hand, Trinity’s outfit was the bomb!
King Booker vs. RVD was pretty much what I expected. Interference from the Queen leads to a tainted win. Sigh.
Gee, Vince looks like brand new! What’s it been, three weeks? Anyway, I like the idea of all three champions in one match, but why on Cyber Sunday. Couldn’t they have saved it for Survivor Series?
I still think we can do without the Spirit Squad vs. Ric Flair feud. On the other hand, I was so cool to see Flair backed up by his pals! And it was so awesome to hear the Horsemen music again! That spells Homecoming right there!
So, Edge is forming an alliance with Orton? And Orton says it’s over between him and Triple H? Do you know what this means. It means the whole stupid feud between DX and the McMahons is over! Yeah! Or, I hope it is, but I can never understand Creative. Oh, and is it just me, or did Lita’s breasts look bigger than usual?
I was hoping for a great match between Taker and Cena and got nothing, thanks to the interference. The main event of a special Raw had no ending. Very poor timing.
Raw Family Reunion seemed like just another episode of typical WWE stuff. I wasn’t jumping out of my seat for much. So I think that, just like MVP’s debut (which I didn’t see), the show didn’t live up to the hype.
Overall Grade: C+
Ken Kibby
Benicia, CA
**********
What's up everyone! I'd just thought I'd weigh in with my thoughts on last night's RAW Family Reunion. First off, the opening wasn't that bad @ all. Cena and Booker did well in their roles, with Big Show not doing too bad. Obviously they weren't going to have this three way match on the show. The segments with Teddy, Coach, and Heyman were good also. Nice to see that interaction. The loser leaves RAW match between Kane and Umaga was ok. Seeing that the WWE is slightly short on talent, they couldn't afford to loose Kane, but most likely, we would probably see him on Smackdown! What a tough year 2006 has been for Kane (anyone remember that horrible angle with the Fake Kane?). Note to the Highlanders: DON'T get in the way of someone like Kane after he loses. Show absolutely SQUASHED Hardy like a bug. Next. The street fight with DX and Cade and Murdoch was ok, nothing too special. DX's jokes weren't that bad, but it's becoming old @ this point. Shelton and Benoit could be a CLASSIC match, but instead we had it on RAW. Shelton loses again, as I wonder how much credibility this guy has left. The 6 man SD! match was good. The women's match was enough to put me to sleep but it didn't. Booker and RVD could've had a great match, but the announcer's bickering prevented that. Nice to see the legends. The main event could've been better. Overall, a fairly good show.
**********
I had a blast watching Raw.
Except for the Smackdown commentary and DX burying the Masterpiece in their apology promo, I thought everything was great.
The interviews and promos were all good for the most part, and a lot of the attempted humor actually got me to laugh. King Booker was enjoyable for me for the first time, as were Cena and JR's reactions to it. "That accent is ridiculous, he's from Houston."
I popped for Money Inc. and especially for Double A. Too bad we didn't get a spinebuster.
I enjoyed the Undertaker's work, and he's looking pretty lean, in my opinion.
I liked how Edge and Randy united instead of being stuck together. Now hopefully they put DX in their place. And Triple H's adlib during the Game Cocks chant was very quick.
I'm going all over the place, but that's mostly because when I think back, there was a lot that I liked.
I even liked the Diva parade and am finally curious about what we'll see tonight.
Awesome show, at any rate, although the lack of clean finishes was a bit of a bummer.
