Hey yo. You’re reading yet another edition of News & Analysis for which I thank you. This one will mainly focus on RAW, as I was present at the event (which if you’re a reader of TBL, you might have gotten sick of reading about), therefore I have some notes and observations to share with you as well. So, what I’m going to do is combine my usual way of giving you thoughts about the show, and add in some live observations here and there. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
WWE presented a very anticipated edition of Monday Night RAW this past Monday night, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. After a two-week buildup, Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels fought in a WrestleMania rematch, which was definitely the highlight of the night. Elsewhere on the program, Linda McMahon made her expected appearance and she gave Steve Austin an ultimatum — if he wants to remain the Co-G.M. of RAW, he’ll have to stop “beating up the other WWE Superstars unless physically provoked.” Linda McMahon was also involved in the main event, which saw Kane take on RVD. The Big Red Machine went bizarre again and ended up crashing RVD into RAW’s set, beating up several WWE referees and road agents, and to top it all off, at the end of the program he tombstoned Linda McMahon on the steel ramp!
RAW’s rating is in and the show scored a 4.2 rating, which is higher from last week’s 3.8. That’s definitely a good sign and something the company can learn from. When you hype up an event the way it should be hyped up, you’ll always get the payoff. I just wish they’d hype up their PPVs and bigger free shows the way they hyped RAW last night.
Then again, I’d also wish that the payoff on TV would be better from what we got on RAW. Don’t get me wrong. I thought that the show was great and it was a lot of fun to see it Live, but I think that it wasn’t “over the top.” Certainly, there was a mix of good and not-so-good on the program, which I’ll get to below. Overall, I’d give RAW a thumbs up, as it was a nice effort.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho’s match was definitely the “highlight” on RAW. The King of Bling Bling and the WWE legend put up a great match. Yes, it was great, but it was nowhere near their WrestleMania bout, I’m not going to lie to you. The first part of the match was probably boring to some of you, as it was more of the mat-based wrestling which these two seemed to do a very good job at. I found it entertaining because it was well-done. There were two to three high spots in the match and the rest was pretty much long pins and counters. No matter what, it was a great match in my book.
The finisher was a bit weird. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that Randy Orton and Ric Flair interfered, as obviously WWE is starting up an Orton vs. Michaels feud to culminate at SummerSlam. It’s also good to keep giving Orton the heat he deserves to make it big. However, HBK kicked out after Orton delivered the RKO, and then tapped out to the Walls of Jericho after almost two minutes of the move being locked in on him. People are arguing that this was the first time Michaels has put someone over since his return last year, but let’s face it… He didn’t put Jericho over clean. He had Flair at ringside as a distraction, and he had Orton deliver his finisher move on a steel chair … and he still kicked out. Just a thought to throw out there. Other than that, I’m glad Jericho won because he deserved the win. Again, the match was very good and the LA crowd loved it.
Triple H’s confrontation with Goldberg was also very interesting. I was very surprised, maybe even shocked a bit, to go on-line and read that many people thought it wasn’t the best beginning of their feud. I thought it was the perfect way to do it, but I was hoping that Triple H would talk more about himself in the promo he cut. Sort of like saying “I’m the man, I’ve defeated everyone on this roster. With my skills and leadership, Evolution will rule this show for the future, and nobody will be able to stop me, or this group!” I guess that’s what I was expecting, but the one time when we needed Triple H to brag about himself, he didn’t do it. Seeing Goldberg interrupt and face Triple H big nose to big nose LIVE was an experience. The whole arena cheered Goldberg, and the fans were totally behind him. There was one asshole in the front row who had something to say to him. I didn’t catch what happened but I also saw that the TV camera caught this — Goldberg flipped him off as they went to commercial and then posed for the crowd.
Goldberg vs. Triple H will be a very solid program. It seems that the fans are behind Goldberg. Even those who don’t like him, cheer for him because they want the belt off of Triple H. Then again, there’s those who still hate Big Bill, so the booking is going to be very important here. This program can go either very well and be one of the best feuds they’ve put up in a while, but it can also turn into somewhat of a disaster. Often times, big feuds in wrestling end up in one of those two options.
I thought that I’m going to start this report with Linda McMahon, but that was not to be. Why? Because I expected way more than what happened on RAW. I thought that Linda will make the big decision or make the big change, but instead she ended up giving Austin one week, and now that she’s been tombstoned I don’t even know what will happen in one week. If you think about it though, with so much going on last night, maybe it was a good decision to leave the “GM” problem for next week. It’s also something that allows fans to look forward to next week’s program. On the other hand, we expected something to occur, and when nothing did, Linda got booed.
After going to RAW Live, I now can definitely say where I stand with Kane’s character. It’s been foggy in my mind to decide how I feel about him for weeks now. When he unmasked there was this cool edge to him, but then due to poor booking, WWE just lost it. Since he set J.R. on fire, things were back on. So one week I liked him, the next one I wasn’t behind him. Now it’s clear…
Seeing Kane come out with the cops, and then after what he did to Linda, I can definitely say that they’re booking him well right now. He’s indeed a monster and I’m willing to suspend my disbelief about it and go along with what they’re offering. I said that in the Live Notes, but if you haven’t had the chance to read them (Shame on you if you haven’t! Shame!), during the commercial break, right after Kane’s entrance, he cut a promo. He said that people laugh at him, and we shouldn’t get him mad. He acted it out well and he got pissed. He then grabbed a member of the audience (obviously someone planted) and chokeslammed him. It just gives a cool feeling overall if you’re there. As far as how he got over on TV goes, the things that he’s done are definitely worth calling him a monster. I think Kane really got over last night. “Holy Sh*t” chants could be heard, since Linda never gets hurt.
On the other hand, WWE’s explanation of some things is just really pathetic on this storyline. I guess the best thing to do is ignore the stuff they say and just go along with it. For example, is J.R. an idiot? He’s not pressing charges after being set on fire?! And how is it that Kane’s under house arrest but yet he can continue to do the thing that he got arrested for in the first place — go to work where he hurt people? And if he’s under house arrest, how’s he able to leave the state he lives in? Unless he lives in California all of the sudden. There’s a lot of holes and gaps here, but again, after thinking about it and seeing it live, I’m willing to go along with this because it’s an interesting story.
Other RAW thoughts and notes:
– Booker T’s act is getting old already. I didn’t realize this until seeing him live. He needs something fresh. His wrestling is also the same set of old moves. Mostly high kicks, and chops. He needs a new storyline or something new and fresh to add to his character. He has the IC belt, so that should help him out somehow.
– So much for Rock showing up.
– Something just didn’t feel right last night with Gail Kim. She seemed uneasy throughout her match. I don’t know if it was the fact that she was teaming up with Trish or not, but I thought for the most part they did well together as a team. Kim got booed big time for the screwed spot she had, which I thought was a bit unfair from the crowd. Then again, they have the right to do that. In either way, I guess we’re headed to a Gail/Trish program based on the finisher of the match, but time will tell.
– I miss Goldust on RAW. Since his return to WWE, he’s always been entertaining. RAW was no different. Hilarious segment.
– The Hurricane’s popularity is growing huge. Since Rock jobbed to him, this guy has skyrocketed and I’m very happy about it. There were a bunch of people dressed up like him at the event, and many Hurricane fans. Almost everyone popped for him on the screen and some were upset that he stayed backstage.
– Here I will note that I’m still behind a push for Rosey. He just has that weird draw feeling to him that makes him follow his stint. Let’s see if he’s indeed the S.H.I.T.
– Finally, they aired a WrestleMania XX package before the show started. They’re really hyping up ‘Mania. Nothing wrong with that. I enjoy watching the little vignettes that they show but if they continue at this rate, when the actual PPV arrives, nobody will give a damn since we’ll be all sick of it.
That will do it for me. Before I go, make sure to check out our RAW Coverage, as well as the Vengeance coverage we hope to have this week. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Oh yeah, also make sure to read Roland G.’s RAW Rage report. He’s very entertaining and his writing is great. Plus, his mom tells me that his fanbase is decreasing since his little sister can’t get on-line anymore. She wants to keep herself and his other two readers happy, so please go check out his stuff. 😉
I’ll be back with Vengeance Predictions and Preview later this week. Have a great week!
Thanks for reading. See ya!
Eddie
