I expressed concern last week that the WWE creative team might look past this week’s Raw and focus solely on next week’s WWE homecoming show. And while they took every opportunity to hard sell the three-hour spectacular (even going so far as to mention the USA network by name on more than several occasions – which weren’t censored for us UK viewers), it was clear that the WWE knew the best way to draw an audience for the show was to put on a good broadcast this week. For those of you who have suggested in the past that what the WWE needs right now is competition (myself included), we’re reaping the benefits of that even before the company’s opposition is out of the blocks.
The only thing we got from the opening segment was confirmation that the Iron man match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle is going ahead on next week’s show. And to be honest, that’s good enough. To have verbally rekindled their feud anymore than a reference to how it was five months ago would have seemed rushed and they did the right thing by leaving it until the other end of the show to give it the nastiness it deserved. I enjoyed the interaction between Carlito/Masters more than the bit with Bischoff/Cena, but with our WWE champ in full whoring mode that was always going to be the case. I was a little disappointed that to win the main event required only one member of the team to go through a table, and not both members as is customary, and I felt this hurt the match slightly. But luckily not enough to spoil what was a fine tv gimmick match finale and a further step in the right direction for two credible heels working their way up the roster. I’d single out Carlito for his performance this week. For me, Masters turned his corner when he stopped having to do the Masterlock challenge and I wondered if Carlito would be able to do the same if the emphasis was placed on his ring ability and not on his promo skills in the Cabana. He’s beefed up his offence, quickened his speed and seems to be wrestling more like he wants to, not how he’s been shown to. Cena is still doing all that is asked of him with ease, but he’s the WWE champion and he should be the standout performer in almost every match he wrestles. And he came fourth out of four in this one. I’m not blinded by hatred for his gimmick, but I am surprised that his face popularity in arenas has stayed the same while his workrate has dropped so much. The Angle/Bischoff dominated aftermath was expected but still carried enough weight to finish the show on a high-note and make the next Raw more eagerly anticipated and aggressively marketed than any WWE PPV so far this year.
Edge had another strong showing, even dragging Lita to an entertaining vocal performance. I guess just like in horror films where the slutty insomniac in a flimsy night-gown wanders around the haunted house asking if anybody is there, Edge saw nothing potentially flawed with sitting atop the ladder proclaiming his superiority over Matt Hardy with the lights dimmed in the arena. But then if no one did anything dumb on these shows then I suppose it would be a lot less interesting. Suffice to say that Hardy ran-in, Edge fell off and Lita was probably already selecting which unsuspecting lap she could bounce up and down on next before Edge’s chin had even speared the canvas. It should be a cracking match next week, and quite an indicator for the futures of these two wrestlers.
Shelton Benjamin and Kerwin White put on a tidy but meaningless match, which seemed to do more for Kerwin’s new Caddie Nick Nemeth than anyone else. If breaking golf clubs and constipated facial expressions are a sign of greatness then Nemeth has a big future in the WWE. At least Benjamin is showing no trace of the clumsiness that blighted his mid-year matches and Chavo appears to be liking his new found occidental hue. But neither are getting a push and look to be feuding just to give eachother something to do while the writers concentrate on other, ‘more important’, matters.
I felt it was a strange move to have Cade and Murdoch ‘bitch’ to Val and Vis seeing as their gimmick seems to stem from their unquenchable desire to fight all the time. I would rather see their matches descend into all-out brawls rather than have them cheaply getting disqualified, especially in a non-title match where the ramifications are lessened. It was also the first time since their debut that they’ve had to wrestle at their opponents pace, presumably because Vis is unable to break into a run, and the match suffered greatly whenever Val wasn’t in the ring.
Rob Conway continues to look good, despite the gimmick, and managed to circumnavigate Eugene’s comedy routine without sucking too much heat out of the arena. Even though most fans were contented to wave goodbye to Eugene on two separate occasions over the last six months it seems as though Vince hasn’t finished with the character yet and either has something in store for him or intends to keep him going until we’re all really sick of him. A horrific injury was sustained during the course of the match and my sources tell me that the cuddly toy has an appointment with Dr James Andrews at the weekend and should be back in action by the end of the year (I wonder if white fluff bursts out of Eugene if you rip him in half?)
Not content with ruining straight wrestling matches, Big Show and Snitsky tarnished the good name of streetfights with a mediocre effort that did less for the stipulation than Undertaker/Boss Man did for the Hell in a cell match. Though the chances of these two putting on a good brawl were limited at best, the real villains were the bookers who took a gimmick match normally associated with passion and settling a heated rivalry and bastardised it into a few cheap whacks with aluminium garbage cans to cover the technical inadequacies of two overused performers.
Another watchable segment from the women this week and the match between Trish Stratus and Victoria was the legitimate injection that it needed. My only reservation is that the ‘wrestling’ portion of their night seemed to be wholly overshadowed by the intention to incept and promote next week’s lingerie (I can’t bring myself to say the ‘B’ and ‘P’ words) handicap match. I’m not against sexually-orientated gimmick matches (see how I say that with a straight face?) but the balance has to be maintained and I would hate to see the wrestling part of their business used as a ‘wait for it’ in between the clothes falling off. I was worried that Candice Michelle was going to be the useless third leg in the trio (with Victoria being the muscle and Torrie Wilson being the spoilt princess) but she seems to be developing into the emotional leader of the group from a character point of view and the ‘go-to-girl’ when a promo is required. Though she’s far from the finished article, her confidence, coupled with faith from management, could lead to a competent performer in a similar mould to Sunny, somewhere down the road.
A special mention for the guy who held up the signs at ringside. Especially the ‘IT’S THE BOSS (TRY TO LOOK BUSY)’ sign, which could be my new favourite of all time (beating ‘FAROOQ’S HOOKED ON EBONICS’).
Seeing as promoting next week’s WWE homecoming event took up a good deal of the show, it makes sense to preview it briefly. You’ve either got to be deceased or an exclusive TNA supporter to not be excited by how the show is shaping up. PPV quality matches, appearances by legends and returning superstars abound, with only Hulk Hogan and the Cena/Bischoff idea to possibly drag the show down, should make for an entertaining and memorable three-hours. However, Vince should be wary that this one show isn’t going to determine how successful his second run is on the USA network and the WWE will have to put as much enthusiasm into week #101 as they have in Raw’s return home.
Lee
