RAW was a much better show this week, as right now WWE seems to be most focused than they have been in recent times. The quality of the in-ring work has decreased a bit, unfortunately, but nothing is more important than the fact that there’s more build and logic applied to storylines this week. Although the company is doing far from “good” right now, it is clear that there’s hope, as some rays of light have hit the darkness that has been WWE for the past few months.
RAW started out with Edge and the Booby Prize (as Triple H went on to refer to Lita later on) coming out to the ring, and the young Canadian said that he’s glad to be in the main event feud once again. He belongs there, and he reminded us of all his recent success. Edge vowed to become a 2-time champion at Backlash, which brought WWE Champion Cena out. The usual response of boos and cheers, although the cheers were a bit louder this week. It got interesting when Edge established himself as the heel by turning on the audience, and put Cena on the spot by saying he cares about the fans yet they still boo him. This was important, because it was the first time Cena actually addressed the booing formally. He mentioned that the people who boo him want to see a different side of him – one that is ruthless, and dark. Someone’s been reading the Internet reports over the last few months. Cena added that if he lets that get to him, and go against the audience, than he’s simply going to turn into Edge. And if he simply ignores them, at the same time, he’s just going to become some crazy ego-maniac, and call himself “The King of Kings.” Cue God. Not Shawn Michaels’ partner at Backlash. The other one. The only one on the roster with two entrance theme songs, and Motorhead facial hair. Hunter carried on to burry both his opponents, and mentioned the fans respect him, though they boo him. Cena played little bitch yet again, and added that he respects him too. Triple H then added that his daddy in law called him to tell him what the main event is, and it’s going to be HHH and Cena against Edge in a handicapped match. So what, Cena and Edge don’t get a phone call but Triple H does? Unreal. Anyway, Edge bitches that he was the star of WrestleMania by destroying Mick Foley, but HHH, like an idiot, buries that too. This was a good opening segment, and the only thing that has helped keep this feud fresh is the ridiculous reception to Cena. The man continues to get booed and cheered at the same time everywhere he goes, which has to be the most split response anyone has ever gotten. They have had some interesting interaction with all three guys, and although Triple H comes out on top in all his promos, there’s an interesting twist there – he always fails when it comes to the bottom of it. They did give him the win last week, but that’s ok, as it seems that each guy will get him some before their match at Backlash. Cena’s slap on Triple H was also a nice touch.
We were then shown what happened on WWE.com Unlimited, and as Rob Conway made his way out to the ring and showed off to Triple H, God punched him out, too. I don’t like this WWE.com Unlimited idea, since I live on the West Coast, and I basically can’t be a part of it. If I log in to WWE.com at 8:55 PM Pacific (before the show has come on the air here), the results and just about everything else are already up. Yeah.
RVD defeated Rob Conway in a squash, after hitting a frog splash. They announced RVD as Mr. Money in the Bank, which is not a smart role for him to have, considering they just did this with Edge. WWE is the master of recycling. Shelton Benjamin came out to do commentary, once again without Mama, and once again looking spiffy. This is a much better role for him, so kudos to WWE for dropping Mama. Shelton basically said he’s going to challenge RVD for his Money in the Bank title shot at Backlash, but RVD responded that the only way he’ll let that happen is if Shelton puts his IC Championship on the line as well. RVD, trying to memorize his script, then added that he will then go on to become IC and WWE Champion. More on that later on in the report.
Maria interviewed Mickie backstage, as Mickie acted like Trish again, saying this was her best WrestleMania ever (she’s only competed in one) and that she’s going to go back home to Toronto (she’s American) to celebrate. Maria pointed out that she’s not from Toronto, and Mickie tripped out, but with a psycho smile informed Maria that she’ll get a title shot tonight. Maria was happy. This was solid, and Mickie is very good in her role.
We were supposed to have an interview with Kane about his See No Evil movie, but after showing a preview of it, Kane disappeared before he could be interviewed. He was shown in the back and was hearing some voices telling him “May 19” (release date of his movie), as he was hallucinating. Apparently, we’re able to hear the voices too. Go get yourself checked out, folks. Big Show then got him to calm down, which led to…
The Spirit Squad defeated Kane and Big Show in what seemed to be a lifetime. This wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The Spirit Squad worked on Kane for the longest time in their corner, until The Big Red Freak went insane, and started throwing chairs in the ring, which he either got disqualified for, or counted out, as the bell rang. Kane then proceeded to choke slam the Spirit Squad members in the match, the referee, and finally The Big Show, as he turned heel. Yes, it was only because of his movie promotion, and yes, very sad. They have to be careful with how they book Kane, as we’ve already seen the “freak heel” before. Hopefully they can add more depth to it this time, but their Hollywood writers will probably go down the same path as before. I think the audience is actually getting used to the Spirit Squad. As I mentioned before, these guys have the potential of doing something really cool down the road when they drop this gimmick.
A weird, and controversial vignette followed, as Vince and Shane McMahon went to church in their quest to find Shawn Michaels’ tag team partner at Backlash. Vince was doing sacrilegious things by the minute here, as Shane was playing the sidekick, laughing and shaking his head at most of it. It was somewhat funny, I’ll give them that, but if you’re very religious, it wasn’t. Vince drank some holly water and spat it like Triple H, then had Shane “sign them in” and offered to “pay” with a credit card. “They only take cash,” said Shane. Vince then compared himself to God, and in the same interview managed to squeeze a Ted Turner reference in, proving to us all what this is really about. After saying he has better work ethic than God, he added that Shawn’s partner has forsaken him, and told God to strike him now. A thunder followed, as Shane moved to the side, which was pretty funny. I really don’t have much more to add to this storyline from what I’ve already said – they simply need to end it. There’s no purpose, or return from it. The days when McMahons would be used on TV for feuds and the company would actually make money off of it are long gone.
Umaga defeated Colt Cobana in a squash match. I don’t know about this Umaga character. I just don’t understand why.
Carlito came out for a promo, and was pretty entertaining as he said that he went on a diet and has lost 275 pounds of dead weight in Chris Masters. The people cheered him, but did not take him in as a face. Like I said in my last report, the turn was a good booking decision, but was not fully taken advantage of and done the best way possible, and this is becoming obvious now. Carlito complained that Masters is simply not cool, which is why he turne don him last week; not so much what happened at WrestleMania. Masters came out and reminded everyone Carlito screwed him at the Royal Rumble, and at New Year’s Revolution. Carlito played the weasel, which confused the audience a bit. The Masterpiece said that he lost the match at Mania on purpose to get even with Carlito. Caribbean Cool said that’s as stupid as the Masterlock, and we had the Masterlock Challenge. Carlito fooled Masters using his apple and gave him a chair shot to the head. There’s some good interaction between the two, as Carlito always outsmarts Masters. They should keep that going, and it’ll also help cement Carlito as a face.
Mickie James beat Maria in a short stinker, seeing as Maria is still not on the level of Mickie and Trish. Mickie continued to act like Trish the entire time. After the match, Stratus came out dressed like Mickie and did an amazing job of imitating her. As Mickie acted shocked as hell, Stratus strutted around and jumped a la Mickey wearing her clothes and a brunette wig. She got on the mic and said Mickie James is the greatest women’s champion of all time, and her grandpapi used to love watching her, collaborating on the earlier James promo. She said Mickie is her favorite wrestler and raised her hand, after which she pulled her for a kiss. James ran out of the ring shocked. This is easily becoming the best storyline on RAW. The interaction between the two due to their tremendous acting, their similarities, and the good booking added together have created for a fun, and interesting storyline. Hopefully they’ll keep it going the right way. I don’t remember the last time the fans have gotten into a women’s feud as much as they have with this one.
John Cena and Triple H defeated Edge in a Handicap Match for the main event of the evening. This was well-booked, as the idea before Backlash is that each man gets the better of the other two. It’s Edge’s turn next week. Triple H managed to get a pin on Cena last week, and Cena made Edge tap out this week, which makes me believe Edge should pin/submit Hunter next week. The dynamics between these three have been good. Although the feud has many flaws, the fans have gotten behind it and are enjoying it. The reason for that is because WWE is giving them something fresh. That was also the only reason Edge’s title reign actually drew so many people. Every time you put something different than HHH and Cena (who had gotten stale at this point in time) on TV and give it the right time to develop, you get the return. It doesn’t even have to be all that good, as long as it’s consistent. Which brings us to our next topic.
It looks like Triple H will be getting the championship before June, as WWE has released the promotional poster for the ECW One Night Stand PPV. The poster consists of many ECW superstars, but in its top portion it has Rob Van Dam and Triple H with the words “1 Contract Forces an Outsider Into the Extreme.” It also blatantly says “WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Rob Van Dam.” It is way too early to announce that main event, as this kills the heat on Backlash. However, I guess this makes a few things clear, as far as who’ll be winning the WWE Championship soon. It’ll be interesting to see if they find the balls to give RVD the belt, but I guess I’m just dreaming. At least we know that this year’s ECW Devil will not be Eric Bischoff, but Triple H. Amen to that. They also have advertised other ECW talent appearing on the show, such as Tommy Dreamer, Tajiri, Terry Funk, Sabu, Little Guido, The Eliminators, The Sandman, and Super Crazy. Looks like it’ll be another interesting show this year. Something to look forward to.
The Ultimate Fighter 3 debuted last week on SpikeTV, and the ratings came out today. It’s good news for UFC. Very good news in fact. The debut episode scored a 2.0 rating, making it the highest rated original series debut in the history of SpikeTV. Ultimate Fight Night, which followed, scored a 1.6 rating, which is also pretty solid. This, of course, is also great news for TNA, as UFC will serve as their lead in on Thursday nights before Impact. I have to note that I saw the first episode of Ultimate Fighter, and it was a great one. This season looks very promising, because it’ll introduce us to the new fighters, but also give a lot of depth on Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. Particularly interesting is the heat on Ortiz, who’s hated by a lot of people for his attitude and lack of professionalism. The first episode has already shown a different side of him, which creates an interesting dynamic. Very similar to that, the more loved Shamrock (who is controversial in his own way) is so far coming out as the one with more attitude. The tension between the two is also quite interesting. It’s great to see UFC doing so well with this series, as so far it looks like all three seasons will be a success.
WWE is at it again. News got out earlier today that the Survivor Series 2007 PPV event will be held in… Montreal, 10 years after the 1997 Screwjob. Wow. That gives them exactly 19 months to get Bret Hart to appear, which I doubt will happen, but you never know how the McMahons can sweet talk you. I can’t wait for the “Get over it Canada” program, mixed in with all the reference and continuous bringing-up of the ’97 event that WWE will be doing. You gotta love it.
A few people asked what happened with John Cena in Chicago last week, as he caused some hell at the O’Hare Airport. We reported about this on TBL, so check out this page – Click Here. Cena just got a bit out of line, but things were dealt with effectively. Kind of helps you realize what all this traveling and crazy scheduling does to a man’s head.
I think that will do it for this report. I should have more later this week. Drop me a line on whatever the heck you want. Thanks to those who have already shown support through e-mail! You really help me develop topics for each report, and it’s just fun to see what everyone out there thinks.
