Black Widow
02-10-2009, 07:21 PM
by Buck Woodward @ 2009-02-10 11:03:32
After watching last night's Raw, I had to check my calendar to be sure No Way Out was this Sunday. For whatever reason, WWE just didn't bother hard selling the PPV, other than pushing Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels? A quick angle with Mark Henry and JBL pretty much repeating his promo from last week (and inviting Shawn's wife to the show). The Elimination Chamber? Throw all the participants in a six-man, and make John Cena a background player who gets no mic time a week before putting his belt on the line against five other men. Does WWE really believe Shane-O-Mac is all they need to get people to buy the PPV? Or do they figure everyone ordered a "Road To Wrestlemania" package, so we're all locked into getting the show anyway?
That's not to say the non-PPV oriented stuff on the show was bad. They set up next week's title match with Phoenix and Melina, gave us a decent tag match, and a fantastic, but brief, Regal-Punk bout. We also had a fun Jericho-Flair exchange to kick off the show. As an episode of Raw, it was perfectly fine. As the final push for a PPV, it was weak, and it looks like it will be up to Smackdown to try and get people to part with their money this weekend.
Onto my thoughts on the show, as it happened:
I loved the Ric Flair and Chris Jericho segment to kick off the show. Jericho got to be the smarmy heel, and did it to perfection. I think part of what makes Jericho's heel act so effective is the elements of truth he sprinkles into his mic work. Ric Flair has gone from Wrestlemania to autograph signings at indy shows. That's the truth. Whether this is degrading to Flair's legendary status, of course, is a matter of opinion. Flair got to deck Jericho, getting the big pop, and Jericho walked off, setting up... well, nothing yet. I assume Jericho will get his revenge on Flair in the future, leading us towards something at Wrestlemania involving someone who probably has the initials MR but won't cop to it until after the Oscars.
Lately, I've come to the realization I'm not exactly young anymore. Part of that is because I find myself saying things like "Back in my day..." For example, back in my day, tag team matches actually had tags! It seems a lot of the Diva tag bouts lately don't even bother with the "tag" part of tag team match. Melina and Beth Phoenix had some nice exchanges, then Rosa tripped up Melina on her springboard, which wasn't looking good anyway, setting up the Glamazon getting the win. Kelly Kelly? She got her paycheck for standing on the floor staring at Santino instead of going to break up a pin. At least Jillian Hall got active from the apron. As a tag match, this was a waste, but for storyline advancement, it made sense, as Phoenix now has the win going into next week's title match.
Another reminder I am not young, I remember watching Wrestlemania III. As a kid, seeing all those people at a wrestling event was just amazing. All these years later, it is still amazing.
JBL is putting his employee Shawn Michaels in a match with Mark Henry to soften him up for No Way Out. Makes sense, but if JBL was really evil, why wouldn't he put HBK in a few matches, or maybe a handicap match? On the bright side, this was the first thing on the show that had anything to do with Sunday's PPV.
Randy Orton's promo was solid, if a bit long. I did like the line about how if the Undertaker can't beat him, what chance does Shane McMahon have on Sunday?
Priceless vs. Cryme Tyme, which it had to be, because there are no other babyface tag teams on Raw. Um, why are they doing this match on the go-home show before a PPV? The match was good, but was the finish ever in doubt? One team is pushed, the other isn't. I liked Shad throwing away DiBiase on the kick attempt, and Cody's Crossroads finisher is fine, but this felt like filler on a show that should not have had room for it.
Hey, it's the Elimination Chamber participants! All jammed into one match, which is WWE standard PPV hype practice. Except they didn't bother having any tension between partners until AFTER the match was over. Kofi got to look strong against Kane for a bit, then Cena beats around Mike Knox, because Knox is a monster against everyone except Cena. Jericho hit that nice DDT counter to the Attitude Adjustment again from last week. Cena gets beat down a bit, then he gives Kane the Attitude Adjustment and makes the hot tag to Rey, which I think was only the second tag the babyface team made the whole match. Things break down, and we end up with Kofi eating a mid-air Codebreaker so Jericho can get the win. The finish made sense, seeing as Jericho is the only possible winner on Sunday other than Cena, and he lost clean last week, so he needed the victory. Kane and Knox seemed upset over Jericho winning, which makes no sense. It's not like getting the pinfall gives Jericho a better spot in the Chamber or anything. The bizarre thing about this match was that John Cena was a total background player during the end of the match and the aftermath.
We interrupt these Raw Thoughts for a little rant.
This Sunday, World Champion John Cena is going into a match where he has a 1 in 6 chance of losing the gold. Kofi Kingston is getting his first opportunity to be World Champion. Rey Mysterio is in a match with two men, Kane and Knox, who have been trying to destroy him for the last five months, and now stand between him and the title. Did WWE not think any of these men warranted a little bit of mic time on the last Raw before the PPV? How about Kane and Knox facing off over who the true monster of the Elimination Chamber will be? It absolutely is mind boggling that WWE took all the participants in their feature match on Sunday, shoved them in a six-man tag, and that was it. I understand that because Shane's last name is McMahon, he is more important than anything else in the company, but to make JOHN CENA an insignificant part of Raw this weak? Really? Who thought this was a good idea?
We now return you to Raw Thoughts.
Stephanie McMahon talking on the phone with someone who cares about her and is worried about Randy Orton trying something. Well, that person didn't have to worry, because ... nothing happened. Seriously, why was this segment on the show? Just so Stephanie could get camera time? This segment was more important than having John Cena talk about having five men coming for this title on Sunday? Seriously?
Shawn Michaels vs. Mark Henry, while not the best use of Henry, actually made a lot of sense. Michaels attacks, makes Henry eat a ringpost, then hits the Chair Superkick for the DQ. Hey, why would Shawn let Henry maul him in a long match, when it is obviously all being done by JBL to soften him up? JBL then pretty much repeated his promo from last week, but then throws in the twist that Shawn should bring his wife to the show. Yeah, that makes sense, as if Shawn won't have enough to deal with on Sunday, bring your wife so JBL can bother her. This storyline went from being really intriguing to pretty dumb in a short period of time. I liked it better when it was all about JBL wanting a Wrestlemania main event. Instead, it is about JBL wanting trademark rights. So, now JBL will have an enraged Shawn Michaels wanting to beat him up. I guess JBL's master plan is Shawn will screw up and get himself disqualified on Sunday.
William Regal vs. CM Punk was great ... and short. Regal lays in the stiff shots, and was just vicious in his assault. Punk tried to comeback, and Regal does the nice spot of blocking the sunset flip with a headbutt. Regal then delivers the suplexes, sets up for the running knee, and Punk blasts him with a kick. One padless GTS later and it was over. Great action, but ridiculously short.
I cracked up when they showed Rock (who had a boring match with the Sultan), Triple H (who got squashed by the Ultimate Warrior) and Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. Well, out of three ain't bad, and Austin vs. Hart is still one of the best Wrestlemania matches, if not the best, ever.
WWE shows Mickey Rourke winning his British Oscar, but they cut out the best part of his speech, where he talks about how great it was to look at a naked Marisa Tomei? That was lame. Actually, don't we have a PPV on Sunday to promote?
Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker, a match that is taking place because ... Kane asked Undertaker to do it so he could get in a PPV main event. Whatever the reason, it was a good match. Undertaker pounds Orton at first, then Orton comes back with his headlock based offense, which Undertaker battled out of. The bout really heated up at the end, with big shots and nice selling by both men. Priceless, predictably, comes in. Hey, nice of Kane to run out and help his brother, seeing as he got him in this match in the first place. Oh, that's right, Kane didn't run out. Instead, Shane McMahon runs out, because only a McMahon could save the Undertaker. Shane and Taker clean house, Orton heads for the hills, and Shane does the Coast-To-Coast on DiBiase, while Undertaker ... disappears. Wow, Undertaker and Cena are background players this week. What a strange show. The show ends with a very long Orton-Shane staredown, and I'm wondering how WWE believes Orton-McMahon is going to produce PPV buys.
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After watching last night's Raw, I had to check my calendar to be sure No Way Out was this Sunday. For whatever reason, WWE just didn't bother hard selling the PPV, other than pushing Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels? A quick angle with Mark Henry and JBL pretty much repeating his promo from last week (and inviting Shawn's wife to the show). The Elimination Chamber? Throw all the participants in a six-man, and make John Cena a background player who gets no mic time a week before putting his belt on the line against five other men. Does WWE really believe Shane-O-Mac is all they need to get people to buy the PPV? Or do they figure everyone ordered a "Road To Wrestlemania" package, so we're all locked into getting the show anyway?
That's not to say the non-PPV oriented stuff on the show was bad. They set up next week's title match with Phoenix and Melina, gave us a decent tag match, and a fantastic, but brief, Regal-Punk bout. We also had a fun Jericho-Flair exchange to kick off the show. As an episode of Raw, it was perfectly fine. As the final push for a PPV, it was weak, and it looks like it will be up to Smackdown to try and get people to part with their money this weekend.
Onto my thoughts on the show, as it happened:
I loved the Ric Flair and Chris Jericho segment to kick off the show. Jericho got to be the smarmy heel, and did it to perfection. I think part of what makes Jericho's heel act so effective is the elements of truth he sprinkles into his mic work. Ric Flair has gone from Wrestlemania to autograph signings at indy shows. That's the truth. Whether this is degrading to Flair's legendary status, of course, is a matter of opinion. Flair got to deck Jericho, getting the big pop, and Jericho walked off, setting up... well, nothing yet. I assume Jericho will get his revenge on Flair in the future, leading us towards something at Wrestlemania involving someone who probably has the initials MR but won't cop to it until after the Oscars.
Lately, I've come to the realization I'm not exactly young anymore. Part of that is because I find myself saying things like "Back in my day..." For example, back in my day, tag team matches actually had tags! It seems a lot of the Diva tag bouts lately don't even bother with the "tag" part of tag team match. Melina and Beth Phoenix had some nice exchanges, then Rosa tripped up Melina on her springboard, which wasn't looking good anyway, setting up the Glamazon getting the win. Kelly Kelly? She got her paycheck for standing on the floor staring at Santino instead of going to break up a pin. At least Jillian Hall got active from the apron. As a tag match, this was a waste, but for storyline advancement, it made sense, as Phoenix now has the win going into next week's title match.
Another reminder I am not young, I remember watching Wrestlemania III. As a kid, seeing all those people at a wrestling event was just amazing. All these years later, it is still amazing.
JBL is putting his employee Shawn Michaels in a match with Mark Henry to soften him up for No Way Out. Makes sense, but if JBL was really evil, why wouldn't he put HBK in a few matches, or maybe a handicap match? On the bright side, this was the first thing on the show that had anything to do with Sunday's PPV.
Randy Orton's promo was solid, if a bit long. I did like the line about how if the Undertaker can't beat him, what chance does Shane McMahon have on Sunday?
Priceless vs. Cryme Tyme, which it had to be, because there are no other babyface tag teams on Raw. Um, why are they doing this match on the go-home show before a PPV? The match was good, but was the finish ever in doubt? One team is pushed, the other isn't. I liked Shad throwing away DiBiase on the kick attempt, and Cody's Crossroads finisher is fine, but this felt like filler on a show that should not have had room for it.
Hey, it's the Elimination Chamber participants! All jammed into one match, which is WWE standard PPV hype practice. Except they didn't bother having any tension between partners until AFTER the match was over. Kofi got to look strong against Kane for a bit, then Cena beats around Mike Knox, because Knox is a monster against everyone except Cena. Jericho hit that nice DDT counter to the Attitude Adjustment again from last week. Cena gets beat down a bit, then he gives Kane the Attitude Adjustment and makes the hot tag to Rey, which I think was only the second tag the babyface team made the whole match. Things break down, and we end up with Kofi eating a mid-air Codebreaker so Jericho can get the win. The finish made sense, seeing as Jericho is the only possible winner on Sunday other than Cena, and he lost clean last week, so he needed the victory. Kane and Knox seemed upset over Jericho winning, which makes no sense. It's not like getting the pinfall gives Jericho a better spot in the Chamber or anything. The bizarre thing about this match was that John Cena was a total background player during the end of the match and the aftermath.
We interrupt these Raw Thoughts for a little rant.
This Sunday, World Champion John Cena is going into a match where he has a 1 in 6 chance of losing the gold. Kofi Kingston is getting his first opportunity to be World Champion. Rey Mysterio is in a match with two men, Kane and Knox, who have been trying to destroy him for the last five months, and now stand between him and the title. Did WWE not think any of these men warranted a little bit of mic time on the last Raw before the PPV? How about Kane and Knox facing off over who the true monster of the Elimination Chamber will be? It absolutely is mind boggling that WWE took all the participants in their feature match on Sunday, shoved them in a six-man tag, and that was it. I understand that because Shane's last name is McMahon, he is more important than anything else in the company, but to make JOHN CENA an insignificant part of Raw this weak? Really? Who thought this was a good idea?
We now return you to Raw Thoughts.
Stephanie McMahon talking on the phone with someone who cares about her and is worried about Randy Orton trying something. Well, that person didn't have to worry, because ... nothing happened. Seriously, why was this segment on the show? Just so Stephanie could get camera time? This segment was more important than having John Cena talk about having five men coming for this title on Sunday? Seriously?
Shawn Michaels vs. Mark Henry, while not the best use of Henry, actually made a lot of sense. Michaels attacks, makes Henry eat a ringpost, then hits the Chair Superkick for the DQ. Hey, why would Shawn let Henry maul him in a long match, when it is obviously all being done by JBL to soften him up? JBL then pretty much repeated his promo from last week, but then throws in the twist that Shawn should bring his wife to the show. Yeah, that makes sense, as if Shawn won't have enough to deal with on Sunday, bring your wife so JBL can bother her. This storyline went from being really intriguing to pretty dumb in a short period of time. I liked it better when it was all about JBL wanting a Wrestlemania main event. Instead, it is about JBL wanting trademark rights. So, now JBL will have an enraged Shawn Michaels wanting to beat him up. I guess JBL's master plan is Shawn will screw up and get himself disqualified on Sunday.
William Regal vs. CM Punk was great ... and short. Regal lays in the stiff shots, and was just vicious in his assault. Punk tried to comeback, and Regal does the nice spot of blocking the sunset flip with a headbutt. Regal then delivers the suplexes, sets up for the running knee, and Punk blasts him with a kick. One padless GTS later and it was over. Great action, but ridiculously short.
I cracked up when they showed Rock (who had a boring match with the Sultan), Triple H (who got squashed by the Ultimate Warrior) and Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. Well, out of three ain't bad, and Austin vs. Hart is still one of the best Wrestlemania matches, if not the best, ever.
WWE shows Mickey Rourke winning his British Oscar, but they cut out the best part of his speech, where he talks about how great it was to look at a naked Marisa Tomei? That was lame. Actually, don't we have a PPV on Sunday to promote?
Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker, a match that is taking place because ... Kane asked Undertaker to do it so he could get in a PPV main event. Whatever the reason, it was a good match. Undertaker pounds Orton at first, then Orton comes back with his headlock based offense, which Undertaker battled out of. The bout really heated up at the end, with big shots and nice selling by both men. Priceless, predictably, comes in. Hey, nice of Kane to run out and help his brother, seeing as he got him in this match in the first place. Oh, that's right, Kane didn't run out. Instead, Shane McMahon runs out, because only a McMahon could save the Undertaker. Shane and Taker clean house, Orton heads for the hills, and Shane does the Coast-To-Coast on DiBiase, while Undertaker ... disappears. Wow, Undertaker and Cena are background players this week. What a strange show. The show ends with a very long Orton-Shane staredown, and I'm wondering how WWE believes Orton-McMahon is going to produce PPV buys.
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