Okay I wanted to even the column out with Vengeance and Raw thoughts but after a certain segment last night, I think I’ll spend a little more time on that and just touch base with both shows. I missed three out of five predictions, not bad but I really thought I was going to get them all right. Confident in myself wasn’t I? I was very happy with Vengeance and also thanks to one outstanding segment and a few other good segments Raw was a hit with me too. So on with my quick thoughts on the pay per view and then my thoughts on Raw.
I am very happy that I ordered Vengeance with the exception of two matches this was a show that I had no problem spending $40.00 to see. Yes the two matches I’m talking about were the following. Umaga vs. Eugene and Kane vs. Kane. I will say that the Kane match was decent but because of the way this story really never took off the interest for the majority of the fans just wasn’t there. Doink the Clown, Kamala and Hacksaw added nothing to the Eugene/Umaga match, but thank God it was fast, and I mean fast. Other than these matches everything else worked so well. My match of the night had to be the IC triple threat title match with Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Johnny Nitro. Talk about a hard worked match. Wow these three guys were just awesome and while I know what Shelton can do in the ring, Carlito and Nitro showed me moves that I never expected to see. Carlito and Nitro were outstanding and Nitro’s win was a shocker for me but a win that I definitely can live with. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton was good but it wasn’t the match I expected. I thought they put on a great match at ONS, but Sunday’s didn’t compare to that one. This took a while to get going but as the ending was getting closer things definitely picked up. John Cena vs. Sabu in an Extreme Lumberjack match was a winner as far as I’m concerned. I’ll tell there were two things that I didn’t like but not enough to wreck the match for me. I liked the pace of this one and Cena again took a lot of abuse from Sabu. I didn’t like how WWE’s lower card guys out powered the ECW guys. Again it’s Vince’s way of making his WWE guys look strong and unbeatable, yeah right. While I had no problem with Cena’s win at all. But it killed me that Sabu tapped out to that STFU. For a guy that’s been through hell and back I really would have preferred Sabu’s loss to come from maybe being slammed through a table, knocked unconscious and thrown back in the ring by the WWE guys and Cena then getting the pin. The tap out really pained me.
Ric Flair vs. Mick Foley was good not really because of the match itself but because the hard core beating that Flair got from Mick just keeps this feud going and I really believe with more of a buildup we will get a hell of a match at Summer Slam. Edge vs. RVD was excellent. There’s really not much I can say about this one because it was just as I thought it would be. But I didn’t expect the RVD win that was a pleasant surprise for me. This way RVD can hang on to t hat title just a little bit longer. And the main event with DX vs. the Spirit Squad was very good however as I said in Sunday’s column we’ve seen so many matches with all of them that there wasn’t any major surprise to makes this fresh. But I did like it, and I understand why this was the main event. Vengeance was built around DX reforming. I would have put the WWE title match here instead but again I understand what the reasoning behind it was. So there you have it a very good pay per view and now let me get right into Raw.
I was glad to see Trish Stratus back wrestling last night. Her match for the women’s title against Mickie James was quick but I believe that was to set up a Melina/Nitro feud against Carlito and Trish. At least that’s what I’m thinking. It kind of bothered me that Mickie won and then was off and Melina came out to get in Trish’s face. With Beth Phoenix out and Victoria hardly used I guess right now there’s not many opponents to give to Mickie. Also I have to say since I’m a big fan of Trish and Carlito’s I enjoyed their little interaction backstage. I really like Carlito as a face and if he is paired up with Trish on and off I think the fans will also enjoy that. Umaga vs. Kamala? There are no words to describe this. Well there are but I’m too much of a lady to use them. Edge was totally on fire last night with his bitter little promo about not winning and then walking out with Lita. I loved this segment a lot. I like Edge this way not all cocky and smiley. This pissed off heel is just how I like watching him. While I would love to see Charlie Haas in a good strong feud, I guess I can take him as a heel and putting moves on Lillian Garcia to piss off Viscera. At least this gives him on air time. Cade and Murdoch do nothing for me. When they were first brought up I felt they might have something but after splitting them up so soon and now bringing them back together I see nothing in this tag team. Ric Flairs at home promo on Foley was good. I was so glad that Flair read from Foley’s book where Foley knocked Ric for not directing his career in the right direction. This feud is so real that I’m looking forward to more. Now here’s a little rumor going around, although it sounds like this could be very true. First Kane vs. Randy Orton again was okay but Kane is stuck in such a horrible rut thanks to the creative team that I just can’t get into his matches. However, he did come alive when he took out the imposter Kane. And the rumor is since the match was such a dud at Vengeance; we saw the end of this fiasco last night. Imposter Kane is no more. Hmm now if real Umaga could join imposter Kane. We got the Brook Hogan’s video and the Diva search, with the Miz. Next please. You know week after week I have forgotten to mention the Highlanders, but for some reason I’m thinking of them now. I just wanted to say that I saw them in a dark match at Raw the night after Wrestlemania. They looked good in the ring and I liked them instantly. I have enjoyed their vignettes each week because they come off very natural. Lasts night’s vignette might have been a little bit much but I’m big on these two and hopefully they will do a nice job on Raw.
Up until Edge popped out last night and left the building with Lita I really thought John Cena was winning back the title from RVD. But once Edge left I immediately knew that Edge was coming back and screwing Cena out of a win and that’s just what happened. And I was very happy with the results. I would have hated to see RVD win on Sunday and on free TV lose it back to Cena. This way Edge interferes, RVD is still the champion and now it’s official. On the next Saturday Night Main Event on July 15th, it will be RVD vs. Cena vs. Edge for the WWE title. So I would assume tonight not only will Edge be at ECW but so will Cena. But back to the main event. Is it me or have you all noticed a new and improved RVD in the ring? I loved the match last night and I have to say there is chemistry between Cena and Van Dam. In fact, Cena seems to have chemistry with Sabu too. I said this last week but ECW has really brought the best out of Cena as far as his in ring work goes. Again I liked the main event and the run in by Edge.
But the segment that had me laughing so hard with tears just streaming down my face was Hunter and Shawn Michaels imitating Vince and Shane McMahon. I’ve watched this segment four times already. Okay once for me and then once with my son and once with my husband and each time I laughed like it’s the first time I saw it. Hunter had so many of Vince’s characteristics, especially when he would get that gruff voice; it was so much like Vince. Shawn never changed his facial expression at all. He had the same look on his face even when dancing. And his dancing? I still can’t stop laughing. I don’t know how Hunter kept a straight face although at times he looked like he was ready to break up. The wig on Shawn was even funnier than Hunter’s “Vince†wig. This segment was absolutely outstanding. It’s nice to see two guys having fun and it really does seem like they are both enjoying what they are doing. As far as crap covering Vince, Shane and the Spirit Squad? While I normally hate that kind of stuff and I do it really was a typical DX stunt so it all kind of went together. But it was the imitations of Vince and Shane and that hilarious Stand Back video with Vince that had me doubled up in laughter. Between that video, Hunter and Shawn dancing to it and Hulk Hogan on guitar believe me it doesn’t get any funnier than what we got last night. Without a doubt this was THE highlight of last night’s Raw.
I’m already for ECW, and the main event is RVD vs. Kurt Angle. I guess it’s safe to say that Cena and Edge will show up during this one. If I can I’ll put up an ECW column this week if not I’ll be back with my Smackdown thoughts over the weekend. I will leave you with a request from a friend and reader. I don’t know if anybody knows about the situation here or not, but Utah’s local UPN affiliate has ripped all UPN programming, including Friday Night Smackdown, from their schedule. Meaning the people here in Utah will not be able to watch Smackdown until the CW Network debuts in September. I was wondering if there is somebody that could tape, or has taped, the Smackdown episodes from June 2 till UPN no longer airs Smackdown. And if nobody has that or can accommodate that request, I only request for now somebody tape the July 7 episode, when Batista returns. If you have any questions, my email address is RaulCBK@comcast.net. I greatly appreciate any assistance that you can provide in what has been a very uneasy situation as of late.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
