Happy New Year to all of you. I have to tell you for a while Raw was not exactly winning me over last night, but there were some very good segments and one segment that really REALLY kept me going so all in all I liked the show. In fact I liked certain parts so much that I could not wait to get this column out. Oh and I’m giving the East Rutherford New Jersey fans a big THANK YOU for reacting to certain things the way that they did. My God have I got some thoughts for you.
I really liked the opening match with Kane vs. Shawn Michaels. You could not ask more from these two, that’s how good it was. I will say I could not get into Vince McMahon. Now here me out. This whole HBK/Vince feud started way to fast for me. Instead of building it up it last week in 15 minutes the feud just hit. And then last night Vince was already to punish the hell out of Shawn. It didn’t work for me. I mean how many times have we seen Vince go out there put down the fans and say that he’s only concerned about Vince? Plenty of times, and instead of Austin vs. Vince, or Cena vs. Eric Bischoff, it’s now HBK vs. Vince. So as of now I’m not quite feeling this feud. I thought Vince sucked the life out of Shawn last night. But in the ring it was the HBK that I love to watch. So the opening only worked for me thanks to Kane and Shawn Michaels.
Vince did make me happy by informing Shawn that he would be the number one entrant for the elimination match. That I can live with. Now I think Gregory Helms is one of the better wrestlers on the roster, and I also believe that he’s very comfortable on the mic. But I can’t say I am happy about Helms vs. Jerry The King Lawler at New Year Revolution. How I wish this would have been maybe a Helms vs. Shelton Benjamin match now that I would have liked. Kurt Angle and Daivari along with Vince set up the First Blood match for the main event fairly well. We again saw the whiney Angle bitching about being screwed by referee Mike Chioda. I think Kurt was hoping to get his buddy Daivari in there, but Vince wasn’t bending. He figured the troops would like to see Angle get his ass kicked and the man that loves violence reminded Angle that he wanted to see a lot of blood. Angle promised that and he also promised Vince that he would make HBK tap out and New Years Revolution. This was a short segment but as I said it made us or at least me more interested in that First Blood match.
I loved the Mickie James and Trish segment. Mickie surprising Trish in the shower and then complimenting her on her boobs was perfect. As much as I thought Trish was turning I really believe James will turn heel on Sunday. Mickie is playing her role so well that I expect things to be quite entertaining during their match. There’s not much to say about Victoria losing to Maria, just that it kind of tells you how Vince feels about a woman that can wrestle, not much. But this was a match to set up a bra and panties gauntlet match for all you hot blooded guys on Sunday. Everything that I mentioned above after the opening match was fair to good. Nothing really hyped me up. Ah, but that is about to change. Oh yeah this is when the East Rutherford fans and WWE really got things going. It started with Edge imitating Ric Flair. Oh my God, Edge was phenomenal in this video making fun of Flair. This was a “reinaction” of the road rage incident that Flair was involved in. Edge was hilarious; he was so good as Ric that I could not stop watching or wanting more. At times he sounded so much like Ric and that wig that he wore was hysterical. Yeah this segment really turned things around in a positive way. And again since Ric Flair can’t discuss this case or his divorce case, having Flair come out at the end and attack Edge and give Lita the figure four was done very well. This was one segment that the crowd just loved. You could hear their reaction from beginning to end including those infamous “Lita has herpes” chants, oh yeah this was the beginning of more to come from this hot crowd.
It seems like the crowd decided to lay low during this next match. But for me I would have cheered like crazy. I thought Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin was excellent. Benjamin has really shined in the last few weeks and this was no exception. While I wasn’t happy with Masters against Chavo last week, he certainly looked good against Benjamin. If these two were to start a feud I would be one very happy fan. This was one of my favorite matches of the night. The next segment is where the fans again came alive, and that was with Triple H. I have to say I heard the Triple H chants and I heard the huge pops that he got. Hunter was totally ON HIS GAME when they showed the wrong video and he said that he would have to wing it, that’s when the fans really popped for him. I thought Hunter’s promo about Big Show was excellent and I loved how Big Show came out and displayed his new weapon, the cast on his hand. This was another segment that didn’t go on too long and it was just done perfectly. This feud has come off so well. Both men have really given their all and I’m hoping that their match on Sunday will also be a winner.
I’m not sure what to say about Shelton Benjamin’s “mama.” She certainly isn’t sweet like me, although my son might disagree on that one. This one is too soon to call; I will say that Shelton’s interaction with her was very natural so maybe this will all work. There’s one thing that I know and that is Shelton’s losing streak is coming to an end he’s got mama now. Okay this is the reason why I couldn’t wait to write my column. I loved the main event, LOVED IT. Mostly because Kurt Angle and John Cena were excellent out there, but also because the boos for Cena were off the charts. Last night’s fans were just like the crowd at Madison Square Garden, you know the ones that turned Lita from face to heel with Matt Hardy chants. This fans last night might help decide if John Cena’s days are numbered as a face. I was laughing so hard when each time Kurt Angle took out Cena he would get cheered, and when Cena retaliated the boos took over the arena. This crowd was on fire, and they helped make this one hell of a main event. I noticed before the match they had Cena rap about some of his opponents on Sunday in the Elimination Chamber match. Unfortunately the rap was sub-par; it was like out of desperation that Vince let him do what he used to do so well. As I said both Angle and Cena delivered in the ring, but it was the reaction from the crowd that just made me so glad that I didn’t miss this main event.
This was a Raw that I will remember for a long time and you can bet I’m now looking forward to Sunday’s pay per view. It’s on to Smackdown and brace yourself a Mark Henry/Batista feud. Yeah the rumors have these two going against each other at the Royal Rumble, okay you can all close your mouths now. I’m not sure what to look forward too, but I have been reading that Mr. Kennedy……Kennedy might be on. And I’m sure hoping that the whole “rape” angle is over with. Let’s see if the Wilkes-Barre, Pa. fans can top those East Rutherford fans from last night.
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