Black Widow
05-26-2009, 08:40 PM
by Buck Woodward @ 2009-05-26 12:22:29
If you happened to pass out from eating too much at a Memorial Day BBQ, or were more interested in watching the Land Of The Lost or Phineas & Ferb marathons, or Star Wars on MTV, or the Lakers-Nuggets game, or just forgot it was Monday, don't worry. WWE gave us one of the most "missable" Raw's in quite some time last night. Here's what you need to know from the show:
- Kofi Kingston is challenging MVP for the U.S. Title next week.
- Santina Marella and Vickie Guerrero will have a Hog Pen match at Extreme Rules.
- Mr. Kennedy is wrestling again.
There, I just saved you two hours. WWE's decision of focus more on the Lakers-Nuggets situation (which, granted, did give them a lot of publicity last week) gave us a show that many WWE fans just didn't care for, based on feedback I have received. Now that it is all over, let's hope WWE gets back on track next week with the build for Extreme Rules.
Here's my thoughts on the show, as it happened:
I've always liked how WWE has recognized things like Memorial Day in a classy way, and kept it separate from the rest of the show.
The "bad impersonator" portion of the show kicked things off, and to be honest, if I didn't have to watch the show, I'd be reaching for the remote and fast forwarding. I'm not a basketball fan, and if I was, I'd probably be watching the game and not Raw. So, since WWE already got all the media attention they are going to get out of this, why not just try to win over any new viewers (if there were any) with a strong opening segment showcasing what WWE is all about? On the bright side, at least Vince was able to laugh at himself with the "XBA" comment. I guess that's a positive. The rest of the segment was typical Vince McMahon ego stroking and third-grade humor. Miz came out to get some heat, and we end with a big brawl to set up the ten-man tag later in the show. Not sure why MVP wasn't invited to this party. It would have been nice to have him standing with Cena and Batista at the end of the segment.
Kelly Kelly and Maryse was pretty weak, but without one of the stronger female workers in the ring, you couldn't expect much. Maryse, while having great heel mannerisms, just hasn't developed the move set in the ring. With Kelly, for every good move, like the double handspring elbow, there is an ugly move, like her dropkick attempt. The finish was atrocious, since I can't recall a wrestler ever getting disqualified for shoving someone over the ringside table before. The lack of reaction from the crowd said it all.
The Bella Twins are impressed by a Jack Nicholson impersonator that doesn't look like him. Seriously, I could put on dark glasses and look more like Jack. Goldust and Hornswoggle want acting lessons. Goldust being electrocuted and developing a stutter? Talk about bringing back things no one remembers!
Batista wants Ric Flair to wait until after he has softened Randy Orton at Extreme Rules before calling him out. Yep, Batista (and the rest of us) are supposed to now pity the greatest wrestler of all time and worry that he can't handle himself in a fight one year after retiring.
I always like seeing wrestlers "earn" title shots, and I also like the idea of having a match this week on Raw lead to a bout next week, so the U.S. Title contender match worked for me. I liked Matt Hardy biding his time on the floor and then trying to take advantage of a weakened William Regal and Kofi Kingston. It seemed a little bizarre that MVP wasn't at ringside from the start of the bout. Maybe WWE Creative forgot about him again, like they did during the opening segment. Regal going after Hardy's injured arm made sense, and I liked the back and forth with each wrestler trying to take advantage when the other was occupied. MVP referencing that he was right about Matt Hardy all along was a good nod to the past. Kofi getting the win was a bit of a surprise, since it sets up a face vs. face match, but it works for me, since it will be something we haven't seen before.
The Nature Boy calls out Randy Orton, leading to a pretty heated promo exchange. It was actually a really nice change to see Orton deliver a more fired-up promo as the segment went on, telling Flair it was over. Orton then beats down Flair, and Batista hits the ring ... and things really take an embarrassing turn for Flair. Batista holding back Flair by the belt looked like something out of a Scooby & Scrappy-Doo cartoon. Is that what the Nature Boy is in 2009? Scrappy-Doo? Kennedy then enters, and everything stops so we can all listen to his promo. Orton just stands there, I guess Batista is still holding Flair by the belt in the ring, as they never go back to them. Yes, Flair is Scrappy-Doo, and he and Scooby Batista are now background players too, I guess. Kennedy announces he is in the tag match later ... and Randy Orton leaves. Um, okay.
Santino Marella & Mickie James vs. Chavo Guerrero & Beth Phoenix in a match to determine the stipulations for Santina vs. Vickie Guerrero at Extreme Rules. Why? Why would Vickie, as GM, not just make stipulations that favor her, instead of even giving Santino/a a chance to decide the match? Hardly a match, and Mickie "What has my career come to?" James scores a win on Beth Phoenix, allowing Santino to set up the stipulation. Vickie says she will have Chavo in her corner, and Santino says we're going to have a Hog Pen match. Great, Vickie, Santina and Chavo in a pen of mud. That's going to sell PPVs.
Big Show intimidates Miz, Miz smarts off at Big Show. At least they have continued the idea that even other heels don't like Miz, and they were plugging Show and Cena in their submission match at Extreme Rules with the segment.
Festus in a Clippers jersey, a leprechaun, and a stuttering Goldust ... Brian Kendrick has to be thrilled to be on Raw now. Oh, and the Colons are on commentary, because apparently these are the two teams the champs need to worry about. The fact that Horswoggle, with no assistance, took down Kendrick is embarrassing. Goldust and Kendrick have about 15 seconds of good wrestling, then Festus refuses to tag in, and Kendrick gets beat. Tag Team wrestling, alive and well on Raw! That was a joke, for the humor-impaired. Festus, with the help of the bell being rung by Primo, chases off Kendrick.
I get the whole basketball theme WWE was going for, but did we really need to drag out the introductions for what seemed like forever? And given that Miz was wearing a Cleveland jersey at the start of the show, why was he now sporting Den... you know what, I don't care. Batista apparently decided to really get in the spirit of things and wear shorts and sneakers too. How cute.
The match itself saw Miz get beat down for a while, then Kennedy got tagged in, and he ended up getting beat down for a while. Seriously, did WWE think this match was the best place for Kennedy to make his in-ring return? At the end of the Kennedy beat-down, we have a flurry of moves, which the crowd did appreciate, and MVP getting the pin on Rhodes, so they didn't actually do a finish that connected to any storylines (which is probably just as well). Hey, you notice they never did a Cena-Miz face off? If you are going to go back and watch this match, just FFWD to the end to see the big spots, because there isn't anything else to see here.
What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show: Watch the three-way match, I guess.
PWI
If you happened to pass out from eating too much at a Memorial Day BBQ, or were more interested in watching the Land Of The Lost or Phineas & Ferb marathons, or Star Wars on MTV, or the Lakers-Nuggets game, or just forgot it was Monday, don't worry. WWE gave us one of the most "missable" Raw's in quite some time last night. Here's what you need to know from the show:
- Kofi Kingston is challenging MVP for the U.S. Title next week.
- Santina Marella and Vickie Guerrero will have a Hog Pen match at Extreme Rules.
- Mr. Kennedy is wrestling again.
There, I just saved you two hours. WWE's decision of focus more on the Lakers-Nuggets situation (which, granted, did give them a lot of publicity last week) gave us a show that many WWE fans just didn't care for, based on feedback I have received. Now that it is all over, let's hope WWE gets back on track next week with the build for Extreme Rules.
Here's my thoughts on the show, as it happened:
I've always liked how WWE has recognized things like Memorial Day in a classy way, and kept it separate from the rest of the show.
The "bad impersonator" portion of the show kicked things off, and to be honest, if I didn't have to watch the show, I'd be reaching for the remote and fast forwarding. I'm not a basketball fan, and if I was, I'd probably be watching the game and not Raw. So, since WWE already got all the media attention they are going to get out of this, why not just try to win over any new viewers (if there were any) with a strong opening segment showcasing what WWE is all about? On the bright side, at least Vince was able to laugh at himself with the "XBA" comment. I guess that's a positive. The rest of the segment was typical Vince McMahon ego stroking and third-grade humor. Miz came out to get some heat, and we end with a big brawl to set up the ten-man tag later in the show. Not sure why MVP wasn't invited to this party. It would have been nice to have him standing with Cena and Batista at the end of the segment.
Kelly Kelly and Maryse was pretty weak, but without one of the stronger female workers in the ring, you couldn't expect much. Maryse, while having great heel mannerisms, just hasn't developed the move set in the ring. With Kelly, for every good move, like the double handspring elbow, there is an ugly move, like her dropkick attempt. The finish was atrocious, since I can't recall a wrestler ever getting disqualified for shoving someone over the ringside table before. The lack of reaction from the crowd said it all.
The Bella Twins are impressed by a Jack Nicholson impersonator that doesn't look like him. Seriously, I could put on dark glasses and look more like Jack. Goldust and Hornswoggle want acting lessons. Goldust being electrocuted and developing a stutter? Talk about bringing back things no one remembers!
Batista wants Ric Flair to wait until after he has softened Randy Orton at Extreme Rules before calling him out. Yep, Batista (and the rest of us) are supposed to now pity the greatest wrestler of all time and worry that he can't handle himself in a fight one year after retiring.
I always like seeing wrestlers "earn" title shots, and I also like the idea of having a match this week on Raw lead to a bout next week, so the U.S. Title contender match worked for me. I liked Matt Hardy biding his time on the floor and then trying to take advantage of a weakened William Regal and Kofi Kingston. It seemed a little bizarre that MVP wasn't at ringside from the start of the bout. Maybe WWE Creative forgot about him again, like they did during the opening segment. Regal going after Hardy's injured arm made sense, and I liked the back and forth with each wrestler trying to take advantage when the other was occupied. MVP referencing that he was right about Matt Hardy all along was a good nod to the past. Kofi getting the win was a bit of a surprise, since it sets up a face vs. face match, but it works for me, since it will be something we haven't seen before.
The Nature Boy calls out Randy Orton, leading to a pretty heated promo exchange. It was actually a really nice change to see Orton deliver a more fired-up promo as the segment went on, telling Flair it was over. Orton then beats down Flair, and Batista hits the ring ... and things really take an embarrassing turn for Flair. Batista holding back Flair by the belt looked like something out of a Scooby & Scrappy-Doo cartoon. Is that what the Nature Boy is in 2009? Scrappy-Doo? Kennedy then enters, and everything stops so we can all listen to his promo. Orton just stands there, I guess Batista is still holding Flair by the belt in the ring, as they never go back to them. Yes, Flair is Scrappy-Doo, and he and Scooby Batista are now background players too, I guess. Kennedy announces he is in the tag match later ... and Randy Orton leaves. Um, okay.
Santino Marella & Mickie James vs. Chavo Guerrero & Beth Phoenix in a match to determine the stipulations for Santina vs. Vickie Guerrero at Extreme Rules. Why? Why would Vickie, as GM, not just make stipulations that favor her, instead of even giving Santino/a a chance to decide the match? Hardly a match, and Mickie "What has my career come to?" James scores a win on Beth Phoenix, allowing Santino to set up the stipulation. Vickie says she will have Chavo in her corner, and Santino says we're going to have a Hog Pen match. Great, Vickie, Santina and Chavo in a pen of mud. That's going to sell PPVs.
Big Show intimidates Miz, Miz smarts off at Big Show. At least they have continued the idea that even other heels don't like Miz, and they were plugging Show and Cena in their submission match at Extreme Rules with the segment.
Festus in a Clippers jersey, a leprechaun, and a stuttering Goldust ... Brian Kendrick has to be thrilled to be on Raw now. Oh, and the Colons are on commentary, because apparently these are the two teams the champs need to worry about. The fact that Horswoggle, with no assistance, took down Kendrick is embarrassing. Goldust and Kendrick have about 15 seconds of good wrestling, then Festus refuses to tag in, and Kendrick gets beat. Tag Team wrestling, alive and well on Raw! That was a joke, for the humor-impaired. Festus, with the help of the bell being rung by Primo, chases off Kendrick.
I get the whole basketball theme WWE was going for, but did we really need to drag out the introductions for what seemed like forever? And given that Miz was wearing a Cleveland jersey at the start of the show, why was he now sporting Den... you know what, I don't care. Batista apparently decided to really get in the spirit of things and wear shorts and sneakers too. How cute.
The match itself saw Miz get beat down for a while, then Kennedy got tagged in, and he ended up getting beat down for a while. Seriously, did WWE think this match was the best place for Kennedy to make his in-ring return? At the end of the Kennedy beat-down, we have a flurry of moves, which the crowd did appreciate, and MVP getting the pin on Rhodes, so they didn't actually do a finish that connected to any storylines (which is probably just as well). Hey, you notice they never did a Cena-Miz face off? If you are going to go back and watch this match, just FFWD to the end to see the big spots, because there isn't anything else to see here.
What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show: Watch the three-way match, I guess.
PWI