I didn’t know if there will be RAW Thoughts in N & A today, as I sat there watching RAW last night. I just… I didn’t know. I knew that I’ll be here and definitely give my views on SummerSlam, but what was I to do about RAW? I saw the show again today, and just decided that I will go through with it after all. I know there’s a lot to get to today, so bear with me.
First things first… I thought SummerSlam was good. I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, I saw a bunch of video clips, but from what I saw and have read, I was satisfied. I do think that WWE should have went ahead and changed hands of at least one of the four titles that were on the line. I think it should have been done in the La Resistance vs. Dudley Boyz match, but we’ll get to that in a bit. As far as the Elimination Chamber finish goes, I do think it’s a shame that Goldberg didn’t win since he had so much support from the crowd, but I have no problem with Triple H winning. Yes, you read this right, and I’ve said it before — Triple H winning the Elimination Chamber isn’t a problem. But that’s if, and ONLY IF, H jobs the belt to Goldberg next month at Unforgiven. Speaking of which…
I thought that the beginning of RAW this Monday was easily the segment of the night. Triple H and Goldberg worked well on the mic, and setting up the main event for a PPV so early is always a great plus. It just lets the fans know how important the match itself is, and it gives it a special feeling. As far as the stipulation goes, it was pretty much done to piss off the Internet folks. What I mean is that basically now speculation may begin that Triple H has lobbied to win the match and that based on this Goldberg has decided to leave the company, therefore they went ahead and did the stipulation. It’s WWE’s way of saying F You to the marks. I think (for now) that Goldberg is a definite champion next month, but we shall see.
I didn’t have a big problem with the ending of RAW. I had a bigger problem with something else and that was during Triple H’s promo. Not only did The Game decide to go ahead and bash SmackDown because well, they’re the much better brand anyway wrestling-wise, but he called Kurt Angle a “paper champion.” You can forget about the McMahon drama and crap, and you can leave Shane/Kane alone for now. What Triple H did on RAW was the worst thing that happened on the show in my opinion. And what’s even scarier is that as several sources online have reminded people, Triple H has a real-life jealousy of Kurt Angle’s success in the company.
When you see things like that go down on RAW, you really can’t help but be disgusted with what’s happening. Not only did Triple H have no business bringing up SmackDown in the promo, but he did it in a very tasteless way by taking a personal shot at Kurt Angle, when he knows that the two won’t face each other anytime soon. If he had to put over the match with Goldberg and the RAW Title, why couldn’t he stop after bashing SmackDown? Or if he felt he had to take a shot at someone, why didn’t he do it at NWA-TNA, or maybe even Pride? Or maybe even Japan, where Goldberg is known for working?
Let’s face it. Kurt Angle is an athlete. Kurt Angle is a wrestler. Kurt Angle is a champion! Kurt Angle is someone who came back from a possible career-ending/life-threatening injury only after three months to recapture the WWE Championship and be on top of his game, entertaining his fans like no other. Kurt Angle is a former Olympic Champion. Kurt Angle is the guy who in one year won the WWF European, Intercontinental, and Heavyweight Championships when these belts used to mean something and weren’t compared with the likes of Coach, and Eric Bischoff in one segment. Kurt Angle is the guy who in the past two years alone has lead the SmackDown brand and has had the best matches the company has seen with the likes of Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, and hell, even The Big Show. Kurt Angle is the guy who had the match of the night at SummerSlam. Oh, and most important of all — Kurt Angle is the guy who on Triple H’s best day as a wrestler is at least two times better than The Game!
You see, there really is a paper champion in the WWE, but it sure as hell it ain’t Kurt Angle. Triple H took it upon himself to take a personal shot at someone who he knew was better than him and had no way of getting control over. I guess The Game has been either reading a lot of online reviews lately, or he for the first time let reality set in and could no longer hide behind Vince McMahon or his future wife. Or maybe, just maybe, Triple H decided to expose himself for once and reveal the world that he is nothing but a man with a large ego, who loves having power over people. Hearing his puny voice bitch about Angle was embarrassing. You see, if Kurt was in Hunter’s position right now, the Internet wouldn’t blast Angle. Why? Because every night he steps up to the challenge, and is that damn good (pun intended). He deserves a long reign, and he also may go over other guys, but he makes them look better than they actually are in defeating them. (Remember what Angle has done for John Cena, and even Rey Mysterio, and why they’re where they’re right now!) Yeah, at least we know how Kurt wins his matches, don’t we Hunter? Several people have told me that Goldberg will not make a good champion. Well, I’ll be damned if he only knew three moves, I’d rather see a champion who has some charisma, doesn’t injure himself every month, and who cares about the fans at least one bit. I’m not saying Goldberg is a Saint, but if he loses and “retires” at Unforgiven, the RAW brand will pretty much go where Kane went at the end of RAW. It’s a shame that a great promo like the one on RAW had this random comment thrown in it.
Speaking of Kane, the backlash of the RAW’s ending has been very mixed. A lot of people see what went down as “unrealistic crap” to quote certain individuals. I don’t really agree. I think that it’s too early to say what WWE is doing. If Kane goes out next week with no scars, or untouched from what went down, then I’ll have a major problem with this angle. I hardly doubt this will happen, if it does WWE really thinks we’re that stupid. There’s really only two realistic ways to go here. One of them is that Kane is dead. He’s no more. I don’t know what that means for Glenn Jacobs, but it’s a way out of the Kane storyline one and for all. The other way out is to have Kane really live up to his previous character now and be “burnt.” I guess that will require him to wear the mask again or a new suit. I really don’t know. All I know is that I’m looking forward to next week, and to the explanation of all this. Until then, I’ll just let it be.
That was one the most bizarre editions of Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel ever. I am not going to comment on it. I just think that Linda was shooting when she said Vince needs help. He really does. I just can’t understand what was it that Shane did that he got involved in this mess? It’s sad. The guy wanted to stay out of the crap that WWE programming has been in the past two years. He returns and his own family kills him. Horrible. Just horrible.
It’s like WWE wants to ruin everything good they do. I can’t help it but be pissed. For three weeks, Christian went out and performed at his best. He brought his best game to the table and though it was at a low-level program, defended the IC Championship in great matches that actually featured wrestling. Why the WWE had to go ahead and kill that on RAW, I don’t know. Guess big Steve-O had to get his heat of the night. God, that really pissed me off. Coach and J.R. bickering while yet another good match from Christian (against Jerry Lawler) took place just absolutely killed the IC Championship. This was probably the second lowest point of the show, next to Triple H’s bitching.
Good to see Mark Henry back. I don’t think putting him in Long’s stable was a bad idea. I can’t say it was a good one either yet. I think we should give them more time before commenting.
I also liked Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton‘s stare-down. That was pretty cool.
I admire Maven for trying his hardest. One day he’ll be a legit superstar. He just needs to work a bit more inside the ring. With time, he’ll perfect his skills.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Jonathan Coachman surprised me on RAW. The Coach showed a great heel side to him that got over really well! I’m surprised how someone who’s so good on the mic sucks as an announcer. I think I know why now though. It’s because he has Vince yelling in his ears every two minutes and because they make fun of him instead of let him be himself and get some heat of his own. I can’t really blame the Coach that much anymore. Michael Cole wasn’t all that before either, but now that nobody makes fun of him and he’s allowed to get over as a commentator with Tazz, he’s done a great job and is a legit guy.
I really enjoyed Molly’s bit with Gail Kim. Molly deserves to be the champion and to be in a good storyline on TV. Her talent is definitely something to admire.
Well, this has turned into a rant, but I hope I covered most things on RAW. I’ll probably add more SummerSlam thoughts in my SmackDown edition later this week. For now, I’ll say have a great week!
Thanks for reading. See ya.
Eddie
