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After watching tonight’s Raw, I feel like the air of unpredictability that once highlighted WWE programming is gone. From beginning to end, there was nothing that once surprised me. I was bored at the beginning of the program, and I was bored at the end of the program.
Armando Alejandro Estrada vs. John Cena was a waste of time. Not once did the possibility of Estrada winning come to anyone’s head. Estrada gets the mess beat out of him, and everyone cheers. It’s the cheapest form of heat imaginable. Johnny Nitro kicks John Cena in the back of the head, so we set up a match for later in the night. Boring stuff if it ever existed. (By the way, how can Jim Ross berate Nitro for his cheap shot when Cena was mauling a semi-unconscious Estrada after the match? It seems like a double standard to me.) So Cena is facing Nitro tonight as the main event, Federline on the first day of the year, and Umaga on New Year’s Revolution. Are there really no legitimate competitors on Raw for the WWE Championship?
The match between Chris Masters/Viscera vs. Lawler/Carlito was insanely boring. Viscera never wins; why should we expect he (and his partner) to win tonight? Oh, and once someone breaks the Masterlock, it’s all over for Chris Masters. Seriously, will anything differentiate him between, say, Rob Conway?
The night of predictabilities went on as DX (ft. Ric Flair) defeated Rated RKO (ft. Kenny no-last-name Doane.) DX isn’t going to lose two consecutive weeks. DX isn’t even exciting; it’s two of the biggest names in wrestling beating up every competitor that comes their way. If anyone ever wondered if they were going to put over talent, tonight should definitely prove otherwise. They almost single-handedly sent five new boys back to OVW, they destroyed three tag teams as a preliminary fight of the evening, and they (along with the Hardyz and CM Punk) sent perhaps WWE’s five up-and-coming heels to the locker winless at Survivor Series. Today’s match against Rated RKO was no different. DX wins, making you wonder that when the two of them hang up their boots, who’s going to be left to entertain us on Raw?
Although Victoria defeating Wilson and Umaga pummeling Jeff Hardy to the point where the referee had to stop the match were predictable, it legitimately set up both number one contenders as viable threats. Is Umaga going to beat John Cena at New Year’s Revolution? Who knows, but after tonight, WWE said that it’s definitely a possibility. And as for Victoria? She looks better than ever. Is it sad for me to say that I am legitimately excited for a women’s title match that doesn’t involve Trish Stratus?
I couldn’t believe that Cena vs. Nitro was the main event, but I could believe it was more of the predictable same. Cena destroys Nitro without anyone really thinking vice versa was possible. Other than Nitro’s corkscrew moonsault and Melina’s plastic-looking breasts, there was nothing new to be seen. Cena’s beaten Nitro before, and with no stipulations or anything, Nitro was just the “jobber of the day.â€ÂÂÂ
I would love to see Raw really change things up. At Armageddon, I’d love to see either Cena or Batista turn heel. I’d love to see Kenny actually win a match and not just get kicked around. I’d love to believe there’s more than two reasons for watching Raw, but at this point, I don’t really see any of that. In a mix bag of a show, there were some good things (Victoria’s push, the RKO on Shawn Michaels to continue the match = kind of a novel idea) and some bad things (the Masterlock on Wilson was some cheap heat if there ever was cheap heat) but at the end of the day, Armageddon’s tagline says it best for Raw if they don’t clean their act up: the end is near!
Wyatt Angle
Bowling Green, OH
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-Nitro kicking Cena looked great, I wouldn't be surprised if Nitro apologized to him later for getting a little too much of Cena's head.
-Carlito/Lawler had the typical Carlito match. Unfortunately, Carlito's matches have become paint by numbers and personally I'd like to see him try to expand his moves and really show me he's a main eventer in waiting. Masters is horrible.
-The Haas/Cryme segment in the back was pretty funny. Reminded me of when WWE had genuinely funny stuff happening a few years ago. Reuniting the world's greatest tag team is fantastic, if done right. Get back into matching tights, only do tag matches, etc. Haas is really the fireplug of these segments/matches. He's really bringing his A-game. The "I didn't know Charlie Haas was black" line even had my wife laughing.
-I knew we wouldn't have a real Edge/Triple H match, it was too good to be true. This should start the build to a singles feud between these 2 for WM. And they should have Michaels/Orton. I'm actually tiring of these 4 in tag matches. Flair is great, but it's a slippery slope when they have Kenny "The future of this business" selling for him alot.
-So Umaga crushes an opponent who just happens to be the I-C champ and had tons of heat going? They could have easily thrown him someone else. Keep Hardy strong. I know he still will be, but this does nothing for me. I would have liked a Matt run in or something.
-The Cena/Nitro match was well-planned out. They both told their stories well. I love Nitro. He gets better literally every time I see him. He's not a good interview, but that kid is going to be huge in 2 years. The match kept them both strong. That spinning moonsault headbutt to Cena's knee is going to kill Nitro one of these days. He was clearly on dream street.
A solid B+ show.
mpenland2@comcast.net
