And so I ask of you, WWE fans… what can you truly expect after the June 30th edition of RAW came across so well? If history is any indication you would have been inclined to save energy by turning your TV off for the past Monday’s RAW. Creative never ceases to amaze me with their inability to continue strong programs. Funny how such a small time period between shows can change so much.
Let’s get started on a positive note before the SLAM session begins- Jericho and Michaels continue to be gold. Hands down their feud is one that I can really get behind and sink my teeth into. It’s so simple, yet complex. It’s so black and white, yet so colorful. It’s so dry, yet so juicy! If Chris and Shawn never wrestled to end this feud but only continued to cut the best promos in the business today, then my heart would be more content than a prepubescent teenager watching a Hooter’s Swim Suit contest on Cable TV!! But that’s just it. They will wrestle! I can see this program lasting until WrestleMania 25, maybe with Batista revisiting the angle during December to liven it up some. It appears that we could be seeing the next generation of immortal enemies unfolding right before our eyes. And at the end of the day, it’s not Y2J or HBK that benefit the most from this, it’s not us fans, nor even WWE’s pocketbook, but rather Lance Cade. Mark my words: barring an unforeseeable circumstance, Lance Cade WILL become a World/WWE Champion before the end of 2009, maybe sooner!
Begin SLAM session.
First, what on God’s green earth is CHARLIE HAAS doing on RAW? Why is he all of a sudden battling Kofi Kingston? Is it because now that Kofi has the title and Jericho is in a program with HBK, that automatically means that any other program takes a back seat? By the same token, what in the BLUE HELL is SNITSKY doing wrestling CM PUNK?! You’re supposed to be helping to make the champion look good, NOT pitting him against former Sunday Night Heat mid-carders! Haas and Snitsky have been off of RAW for quite some time, and for them to be placed into matches against the top two champions on RAW is absolutely absurd (regardless if they are non-title matches or not)!
I wasn’t fond of the Mysterio/Santino bout. I know the two were quite comical the prior week, but I still think we should have seen another week of banter between them, if even having Marella wrestler and Mysterio join on commentary. Save Rey’s wrestling return for the Bash as an added value.
The divas match was nothing to rearrange your schedule for, but I would like to give Kelly Kelly some credit. She really IS looking better in the ring and I think with time, she will become considerably more comfortable. My problems with this is #1- I really hate, hate, hate that Melina got injured. And #2- Where in the world is Beth Phoenix? She apparently went from riches to rags pretty quickly.
And finally, for RAW at least, we have the antics of John Cena. The opening segment involving Punk, JBL, Cena, and Kane was painful to watch, and even worse when we were treated to a replay of it. As I pointed out in our X-Forums:
If there was EVER a question about order needing to be restored to RAW, last night would be the perfect example. I’m talkin’ limousine vandalism, an out-of-control Kane, Charlie Haas getting a match on the show, and worst of all… JOHN CENA making decisions! OH MY GOD! Somebody…… ANYBODY come quick!!
The immature name calling by Cena made me question if it’s about time that I outgrew wrestling. I mean, come on- Mr. Poopy Pants?! You have got to be kidding me! There was not one bit of Cena’s tirade that received even the slightest grin or chuckle from me. Why? Because I’m not 7 years old.
I did appreciate the way Kane’s character took a turn. He’s always been better utilized as a legit monster but for some reason, creative decides to soften him up into some kind of big teddy bear. See Big Show.
And lastly, I’d like to leave with a total blast of ECW. I hate the new talent initiative by Teddy Long. To me, it makes absolutely NO sense to create such a concept when the draft has literally just ended a couple of weeks ago. Are you telling me that the ECW wrestlers have become that stale so quickly? The highlight of my hour spent watching ECW has been Evan Bourn. Watch out for this kid. He is looking sharp in the ring and he’s a thrill to watch. I would suggest to work on the mic skills a little bit, and then he’ll be primed and ready to go for Matt Hardy‘s US Title.
In all honesty, I’m surprised I was able to eek out a column this week. It’s been a roller-coaster ride already and it’s only hump day. Please take time to support the newest addition to the XHeadlines staff, Neil Bhatia. He’s got some great thoughts and his work is a great read. You can click HERE and read his latest entry. Also, be sure to visit his blog regarding wrestling AND poker by clicking HERE.
Much thanks for taking the time read and Take care!
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