There is a definite pattern with Raw; it has good spots and bad spots. I still can’t get that GOOD feeling about the show as of late. I will say that the Charlotte, North Carolina crowd was hot, they certainly added to the show. With last night’s Raw being the final show until the Royal Rumble I didn’t quite feel things were hyped up enough for Sunday’s show. Okay let me get right to the show and I think you guys will be a little shocked and wonder where my mind is when you read about one of the things that I liked.
Let me get the Vince McMahon segment out of the way first. He sure loves to hear himself talk doesn’t he? The whole thing with Shawn kind of bored me; I guess we should all get ready to turn back the clock 10, 20 or 30 years when business was sex, drugs and rock and roll. Oh yeah Vince wants to live it up, but all his talking did nothing for Shawn Michaels. Now while I would love to see the old Shawn return, you know the rebel, cocky Shawn I don’t see that happening and again I wish Shawn would have really let loose on Vince, but I’m sure that will happen soon enough. Anyway Vince just went on and on like usual and until Shawn comes to life this feud still does NOTHING for me. But this segment was super compared to watching Jerry The King Lawler vs. Coach. I knew as soon as we found out they were going to wrestle for a spot as one of the thirty guys for the Rumble we were all in trouble, and yes that match was just as bad as expected.
As much as I like Mickie or as I like to call her Sickie Mickie she flopped for me last night. She over did it but not in a good way, I think maybe like the Shawn and Vince feud this storyline with Mickie and Trish has gone on too long with very little advancement. This thing also better take off Sunday at the Rumble because if it doesn’t this will be another feud where the creative team dropped the ball. And really there’s not much to say about that so called match with Big Show throwing Gregory Helms, Garrison Cade and Rob Conway over the rope. Now finally last night Lita not only played the slut of the century but this one time independent woman is now just a ditz. Watching her seducing Big Show was more than I needed to see. While I know she is just doing what she’s being told to do, I’ve reached the point where not only am I tired of her “HO” act, but I feel absolutely no chemistry between her and Edge. And while Edge can wrestle, talk and is really an all around performer, his “pimp” character to Lita’s “skank” character has run its course. And you want to talk about a promo that seemed to never end? It was John Cena’s opening promo. My God again I’m sure this all came from creative but after a few HO jokes the whole thing got boring and predictable. I understand that we now have an R rated Superstar but I am hoping that Edge can find some new things to “shock” us with.
What pleased me a lot? Shelton Benjamin reporting Shawn Michaels to Mama. Mama got into her role from the start, and last night Shelton just fell into his character, I loved the pouting and that he needed his mama to re-assure him that he isn’t a mama’s boy. His match against Shawn wasn’t as good as their other matches, but I still thought it was very good. Shawn took a beating and again with Vince threatening to keep Shawn out of the Rumble if he lost to Benjamin, you just knew HBK would win. And like his little interaction with his mama backstage, I enjoyed watching Shelton close to tears after losing to Shawn. The Benjamin’s so far are still fun to watch and again I can’t wait to see how things go with them in the next few weeks. Kane vs. Carlito was okay, nothing great but I will say both men worked well together in the ring, and I liked this lot better than I thought I would. Now I have to say this right off. Ashley cannot wrestle. But I don’t blame her at all. She does her best which isn’t exactly something to see, but as long as Vince continues to throw her in matches, I expect to see the Ashley that we saw last night. Her match with Trish vs. Victoria and Candice was okay. And even though Mickie on the mic got to me having her come out from out of nowhere to beat on Ashley again worked for me. It was nice to see Hunter come out for more than 30 seconds last night and hit the fans with a meaningful promo. My favorite part was where he said he was done making stars and standing at their side. This time I felt he had passion about winning the Royal Rumble, even though I don’t see it, but it was a sharp promo by Triple H. The main event with John Cena and Ric Flair vs. Edge and Chris Masters was good NOT GREAT. Again Masters looked good out there because he did not talk and just wrestled. Cena was Cena, Edge was okay, but it was Ric Flair and the fans that made this worth watching. And with Cena getting the win over Masters and Edge it makes me think that Edge will win on Sunday, but I’ll talk about that when I do my predictions over the weekend.
And now what made me laugh? Yes it was the Spirit Squad. Sure they are pathetic, and sure they are cheesy, yet I found myself laughing at their lame routine. This could be funny then again it could be a big DUD, but after last night I say “BRING THEM ON” I want to see more from them, for some reason I just feel they are going to be real Sob’s and that’s what might make this gimmick work.
So not a WOW Raw, but one with enough to make it a good show. And now I’m all set for Kurt Angle’s Smackdown. Maybe I’m way off but I bet Smackdown will build up Sunday’s pay per view a lot better than Raw did, well at least I hope so. I will be back over the weekend with my Smackdown Thoughts and those difficult Royal Rumble picks. And for all of you that can help out I have two requests from readers. Is there any DVD on sale now that has the TLC match on Smackdown in its entirety? It’s the match in which Edge and Christian face The Dudley Boys, The Hardy Boys, and Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. I think Benoit and Jericho win the match you can email me at captjackp@yahoo.com. And where you can watch OVW or Deep South in the St. Louis area or a good place online? My email Robster_man2003@hotmail.com
