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Alexander Tejeda
Brooklyn, NY
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I was really, really surprised they did the Jericho return angle the way they did. It came off so-so to me. Not because I already knew it was going to happen, but because of the way the angle paid off. He clotheslines some guy on his way to the ring? His entrance should have been more grand than that. If they were going to do this, he should have just ran out, no music or intro, and took the little guy out on the way down the ramp, or maybe grabbed the torch from the guy, and pretend to be him when he ran out. It would have been more of a surprise. Kind of a letdown, and not to be too harsh, Jericho bored the shipoopii out of me…….Hopefully this will get better next week.
As for RAW itself, Hardy and Umaga were having the match of the night until Creative realized they had the crowd in the palm of their hands, so of course, instead of ending it with a cliffhanger, like Hardy knocking himself out, thus allowing him to keep the strap and his tremendous momentum, and making Umaga look even more of a monster. Instead, we get a very lame run-in, by someone every one hates, and not in a good way, capped off by Hunter “feeding off other people’s well earned popularity†Helmsley making everyone buy himself look weak. What retarded booking. If this is the way it was going to go down, HHH should have ran in, then got double-teamed until HARDY made the save, making the team look more passable. Not to mention that idiotic HHH interview afterwards…..
I cannot even fathom what the hell the women’s thing was all about. Melina seemed to think something was funny when whatever that was grabbed the mic from her. Jesus, she should never be allowed to talk again. Glad TNA’a women’s division is (very) watchable.
Little Vince v Carlito was a joke until Finlay came out. Hopefully this will go somewhere for Fit, like maybe an IC run…..
Otis,
Effingham, IL
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The big moment of the show was possibly one of the worst kept secrets in the history of the WWE. There were a couple of items during the return of Chris Jericho that stuck in my head. The pop Jericho got 6 years ago when he came from WCW (which also was a poorly kept secret) was intense and truly amazing at a time of the "Attitude" era. Tonight it was there, but not even close to 6 years ago. However Jericho did look happy and pleased, refreshed, and ready to have a good time. His smile did seem sincere, and this could lead to his positive return. As his promo went on the crowd felt his joy and got more into it, welcome back Chris Jericho and please...save us.
DJ
Madison, WI
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Well, tonight was the big night! And creative tried to everything they could to ruin it for us. But the difference is that the wrestlers must have felt the big atmosphere and made this one heck of a show.
Opening with the Shawn Michaels/Mr. Kennedy was real good stuff. I wasn't thrilled with the finish of the "match" but I guess that Kennedy is still doing his time for his suspension. I thought his old school "it wasn't my fault" heel promo was off the charts!
I pretty much decided to suspend belief, and history, and watch Umaga/Jeff Hardy and hope they had a good match. And boy did they ever! I can't remember the last time I was this entertained for an hour of RAW in quite some time. Of course, a great match these days has to be accompanied by a traditional Hootie McBoobs ending. WHY IS SNITSKY ON OUR TV'S? Why not Matt Hardy? Why not MVP? Why is this non-wrestling machine even employed? Even after the HHH save, I was still left with the bad taste of the fact that someone cares enough about Snitsky to not fire him before the holidays.
Randy Orton is boring. The whole torch thing, done under different circumstances, could have really been good. But Randy Orton is boring. In case anyone doesn't speak fluent English...R-A-N-D-Y O-R-T-O-N I-S B-O-R-I-N-G! But we all know what was coming....
Why isn't Cody Rhodes being mentored by his father? And what's with the ugly Dusty comments? Looks like a rib to me. But I have to appreciate Sparky doing the job.
Women's match: Isn't it about that time of the wrestling year that we are awaiting which diva will appear in Playboy? I not only nominate Mickie James but I demand that she be this year's poster girl for soft core porn. And I do have to admit, the Jillian Hall stuff was good because it gave Lillian some serious face time; never a bad thing!
Poor Carlito.
What a promo by Y2J. I just hope, or fear, that creative doesn't kill his momentum for any reason whatsoever. Jericho looked good, sounded good, and brings a much needed infusion of excitement to not only WWE but to all of wrestling.
Philip Jacobs
Baton Rouge
Elite Member
**********
Random thoughts:
*I hope they didn't make that guy run all that way.
*Well, they had to drop the Orton-HBK feud quickly, so they randomly start a Kennedy-HBK feud instead. But I think it could work.
*Jeff Hardy and Umaga were having a very, very good match. Then it all seemed to be flushed down the toilet by bringing in Snitsky, of all people. But, they redeemed it by having HHH make the save and giving Hardy the rub. I liked that. It makes sense given the Survivor Series Elimination finish and elevates Hardy, I think. He held out for a full match with Umaga and got props from (arguably) the brand's top guy. Good stuff.
*Santino Marella is a better heel than Randy Orton. I said it.
*Jillian had more heat and was better on the mic than Randy Orton.
And that's it. Oh, some guy returned and cut a promo ("Hold number seven hundred and twelve, ARMBAR"), but I would have liked to see some kind of physical confrontation at the end. Maybe an exchange of blows and than Jericho's supposed new finisher, or maybe Orton sneaking away at the last second to avoid it. Either way, the roof would have blown off the place even more than it sort-of did. It was kind of underwhelming, but that is partly because we had to wait forever to get it and everyone knew what was happening. In a vacuum, it wasn't half bad, and there is a ton of promise in Y2J's return.
Jeffrey O. Gustafson
P.S. Goodbye Carlito, nice knowing you.
