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THE BAD: The Jericho Save_Us videos is getting old. Even when he shows up, it won't be as exciting as it would've been the 2nd week the videos started, dragging this only bores fans...
THE UGLY: Hornswoggle/Coach segment was ok, but in the words of Joey Styles "OH MY GAWD", Coach looked like a chubby Gene Simmons...
SCHOOL LETTER: C...
"Mr. TNA" Nathan,
St Louis, MO.
**********
Thought it was an interesting start to have Smackdown's Batista come out. Couldn't figure out where they were going with that.
Then I discover Batista is here to bury the RAW tag team champs along with Taker.
Granted you can say there is no shame to losing to Taker but why the hell would you bring in a non-tag team from SmackDown and let them work over your champs? Plus, that non-tag team are pitted against each other at the next PPV in less than a week, and they have had issues over the last few months? Why not let it go to a DQ on either side and protect both? It would be easy to do. But we're still supposed to think Cade and Murdoch are worthy? What about the dissention between Cade and Murdoch? Tons of story you could play up and didn't.....
God I miss the old NWA when the underdog COULD win and then go on to have a career......
Beth vs. Maria was pretty good at the very beginning when Maria was in control (wha? But I'm serious). After that it seemed to slip into squash land. I think they missed something in the Phoenix build cuz it was pretty good there for a few weeks and now it's stagnant.
I love the Santino character. I really do. I'm so happy they found something for him after the Austin bashing story. I know a lot of my friends winced at his blatant rip at JR's Palsy but I think that was worked. Even JR has praised him for his wit THIS week. But if he did it "on the fly" without JR knowing that might be in bad taste. That's really JR's call not mine. Regardless, even though the whole "King stands up for JR" bit has been done a million times I still enjoyed it. They may be on to something here for Santino.
Matt, Jeff, and Rey win over Finlay, Kennedy, and MVP. Awesome match. VERY good match. Pretty intriguing stuff considering Matt and MVP were on other sides; and they do play that up in that dynamic. Plus Jeff pins Matt's tag team partner? They have to be going somewhere with this. If not then they're missing out on a wide open tangent to the story line they are doing.
Orton vs. Michaels face-off segment... pretty stagnant and long winded for me. It was very good at first but seemed to degrade after that. Yeah, hahahaha (sarcasm), I get your joke Shawn. A submission hold on the anniversary of the Screw Job. Blahhhhh whatever. That has been ran into the ground. PLEASE don't recreate that, WWE. I can just see Randy winning by a screwjob. But even more so I can see Shawn winning by a legit submission and Orton complaining it was dirty; and using the Montreal ScrewJob as evidence, thus it's over turned.
Divas match I didn't watch honestly. So I won't comment on it.
Santino Vs. Lawler confused me. They built an angle that could've lasted at least a couple weeks if not a little more and killed it in the same show. They probably will carry on this angle but it won't be the same. Lawler got the upper hand in the first segment; Santino should've got the upper hand in this one (my opinion). Then again they also (amazingly) decided to show the footage of the Doink humiliation of Lawler on the same show they wanted us to take him serious! Go figure.
I love Regal. I have for a very long time. He is an incredible technician when put in the ring and he also has personality that stretches for days. Yet he's stuck in this silly Hornswoggle promo? I didn't think it was funny. Maybe I'm in the minority. I'll find out tomorrow.
Lumberjack Match was awesome. It was absolutely predictable, but it really delivered never the less. This match brought (once again) Umaga back up to a main event contender (if not a monster, but close). Will he stay that way post Survivor Series? Umaga has impressed me since he returned to the WWE under that gimmick, and he isn't slowing down. He just keeps getting better. He not only hung with HHH; he had his moments that were all his own.
That's just my opinion of course
So I guess in the end... Good RAW for me. Hope everyone else enjoyed it too!
Ju$tin
**********
This show actually was pretty good. The storyline progressions for Orton/Michaels and Triple H/Umaga were well done, and most of the matches were fairly entertaining. Seeing Batista and the Undertaker open the show was a pleasant surprise, although I wonder about booking them against Cade and Murdoch- wouldn't a match against an Orton/Michaels team have made more sense and gave opportunity for a greater impact? Not a match of the year candidate, but solid for what it was.
The 3 man tag match of Hardy/Hardy/Mysterio vs. Finlay/Kennedy/MVP had the potential to be a barn burner, but actually was fairly tame. I guess I expected some more in the way of high flying exploits with both Hardys together plus Mysterio, but it seemed more of a ground and pound kind of match. I would like to see both Hardys make a run for the WWE or World Heavyweight belts; Matt especially has earned it. His rivalry with MVP has been one of the best parts of Smackdown for the past few months. Good match all the same.
The Santino Marella segment and match didn't do much for me. Santino is annoying in a good way, but it doesn't do much for him to be beaten by an almost 60 year old Jerry Lawler. Is his character supposed to be a joke? Another Eugene perhaps? What a waste.
The Diva with Beth Phoenix and her cannon fodder for the week was a yawner. The other match with the women teams was good- always nice to see Mickie James shine a little. Is it just me or has Melina been missing in action for a while now? And what happened to the primal scream? The ending was a surprise to say the least- are they reviving Mickie James' lesbian character in time for the holidays? How quaint.
The Hornswoggle training session is 10 minutes of my life that I can't get back.
The face to face with Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels was cool- I like that Orton didn't get his face kicked in for the sixth week in a row, but do hope that with Monday night's outcome, Michaels will win the title this Sunday, like he should have at Wrestlemania against Cena. The crowd doesn't seem to really react to Orton as champ- as a heel, they should despise him. I can appreciate the effort he has made this year as his matches are improved and with the exception of too many reverse chinlocks, he is turning out to be a solid wrestler.
The main event for the night, a lumberjack match of Triple H vs. Umaga was very well done. Umaga has been successfully repositioned as an unstoppable monster, and the match degenerated into chaos as expected. Did anyone else notice Rey Mysterio wearing a Jeff Hardy pullover shirt? I guess its a bit hard to grasp that Kane would be able to be part of a team that includes two men with which he has had feuds with in the past (storyline wise): Triple H and Matt Hardy. For a man that is considered demented, he seems to have an awful short memory. Big Daddy V is just repulsive- put a moomoo back on!! Man-titties are not cool ever! Despite his grotesque appearance, I am glad to see Big Vis get some TV time, even if it is on ECW.
One more week until Jericho returns- I can hardly wait! Looking at the WWE title picture right now, I would expect that he'll be brought back as a heel to give Shawn Michaels a legend of nearly equal stature to feud with. I've noticed that each promo for Survivor Series shows Edge but as of yet, he's not announced on the card. I wonder if he'll interfere in the Batista/Undertaker Hell in the Cell match? It will be nice to have him back as well.
I hate to say it, but with the lack of talent depth at the main event level, its clear to me that WWE would be vastly improved by consolidating down to one, at most two, shows. Most of the wrestlers that took part in Monday's Raw have the demonstrated ability or potential (MVP, Kennedy, both Hardys, Finlay) to be main eventers- seeing them concentrated on one show made for good television. Hopefully more of the same next week.
Dan Masters
Whitehouse, Ohio
