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I thought it was a very good show. I didn't care much for the early stuff but the main event was awesome and made the night.
Both Michaels and Cena put on a great performance and the match told a great story. Will this fine display by John Cena silence his critics? Of course not, but the guy continues to work hard and I for one admire his efforts.
Nice to see wrestling back on Raw at last!
Gerard Doyle, Dublin, Ireland.
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All I have to say is can we all (self included) stop giving Cena trouble. If your watched tonight and don't think Cena can work the get your eyes checked. Cena is my vote for most improved wrestler ever.
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Wow, lets break this down. Four "matches" in two hours. One was a squash by Khali. One was a quick women's match. One featured jobber turned #1 contender who miserably failed the Canadian Destroyer. And lastly, a hour re-match of HBK vs. John Cena. How this is called "Match of the Year" is beyond me. I was bored by the first commercial break. What another waste of Raw... I'm almost regretting buying a ticket for when Raw comes to MSG (my only hope is they put on a huge show there since its their first time back). My grade for tonight's show: A [for Awful].
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Well, all I can say is that I'm still no John Cena fan, but if WWE is trying to change the minds of Cena's critics, last night's match was a good foot to start on. That match was a lot of fun!
Everything else was kind of the same. Carlito's character has gotten , I actually enjoy watching the Great Khali (call me crazy!), Shane was fun to watch (I always love coast-to-coast), and man did that Brookside guy get obliterated. Did Murdoch really try the Canadian Destroyer? And Maria ... well, she's always hot.
Overall, I give Raw a B. An A+ for the hour-long match, and a low C for the monotony of the first hour.
Wyatt Angle
Bowling Green, Ohio
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Tonight's Raw comes to us from the UK. They're obviously happy WWE came to town, as it is a sellout crowd and is nuts from the start.
We begin with Shane McMahon's promo, he challenges any fan to a No DQ match. This plant however isn't going to be as lucky as Santino Marella. He does his usual spots, coast to coast, dancing like a moron, then he brings out Umaga to assist in layin' the job-down. Splash, brings out Vince to get the pin. I found this kind of pointless. My guess is it's Vince putting himself over as a fan abuser. I can hear naive concerned mothers canceling their children's tickets to Smackdown once they're back in the states.
Tomorrow on ECW on Sci-Fi We will have Umaga versus Lashley and a "fill up an empty card" match
Nicely produced Wrestlemania Video package. I wonder however what exactly the special film version was shot for.
Matt Hardy Vs. Murdoch - Obviously trying to put Murdoch over.
Obviously not working either. He looks bowling shoe ugly.
Randy Orton Vs. Edge? Finally?
Melina Vs. Maria - Todd Grisham sounds like he's in slow motion still, Maria gave some false offense only to lose to a facebuster. All the more proof WWE isn't putting much into the Women's Matches.
Carlito Vs. Khali - I'm tired of Khali. I'm not sure if he really isn't able to do much in the ring, or WWE isn't letting him. The big man was able to run and pound the hell out of quarterbacks in the Longest yard, yet the man in WWE can't even lean down for a pinfall? All is matches are Punch, punch, scoop slam, roar, punch, punch, roar, choke drop, foot on chest, one-two-three. WWE needs to let him move around a little more and not be afraid he's going to kill somebody on accident again.
Mick Foley promo - That Michael Pena kid must be really popular on the playground now.
Alright lets stop delaying and get right to the main event.
Michaels vs. Cena - As soon as they made their entrances I took a look at the clock. "10:20?" I said. At that point I had lost all predictability points in my mind and legitimately didn't know what was to come next. This match was amazing for a match on Raw, and I say that because usually Raw is a 2 hour long commercials for pay-per-view's and movies. Well not tonight. These guys had an amazing match, which was comparable and maybe better than the Wrestlemania match. It was a shame that it was a non-title match but it had to be one of the best TV non title matches I have ever seen, and it was great to see a really long match on Raw that isn't an Ironman match.
Overall great show. Here were some random notes however:
More Condemned. Not just the given away DVD extras but WWE certainly paid for their commercial time. 6 times out of 10 the first commercial into a break was The Condemned. It's building some interest for me to see the movie, but the overexposure is ruining most of it for me.
Todd Grisham cannot announce. He sounded like he was in Slo-Mo all night.
Once again we're overseas and the crowd was 3/4 anti-Cena. Something needs to change because a Face getting heat for this long doesn't really make sense.
Mark Davis
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
