Raw’s first hour was just excruciating to watch, but the second hour made up not only for the first hour but for a lot of weak Raw’s that WWE has been giving us in the last few weeks. Matt Hardy vs. Murdoch was a good match but that’s all I can say about that first hour. I want to spend my time talking about the main event and my thoughts on both John Cena and Shawn Michaels. What I would love to do is at the end just list some of the things that I didn’t like about the first hour. They are not worth taking time out to even discuss if you get what I mean. Also if you go to WWE.com they have a very small front page picture of Randy Orton and they acknowledge that they have taken action against his unprofessional conduct. And now it’s time to discuss that fabulous main event.
First off I have to hand it to the London, England crowd. They sat through a miserable hour of garbage but they were totally ready for the Michaels/Cena feud. It not only woke them up but I believe it really let these fans go home feeling they got their moneys worth, especially when things started out so badly earlier on. The feedback that I’m getting from so many of you and what I’m reading on different sites express exactly how I feel. The close to one hour match with Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena was not only the savior of the show, but in my opinion the match of the year. I want to talk about what John Cena’s performance last night meant to me, then I will talk about Shawn and finally let you know if this match changed my mind about ordering Backlash.
John Cena last night did something in the ring that I have been waiting to see for over a year. He wrestled like a heel, like an aggressive heel out for blood. He showed me so much last night and it would make me extremely happy to see this side of Cena start showing up each week. He wasn’t Mr. Smiley, Mr. Layback, or Mr. Kindness. His attitude during the whole match was screw you Michaels I’m tired of you F’n with me week after week. Cena spent all of his time last night showing that you can get a strong match out of him; he can wrestle and wrestle with a lot of heart and anger. When I read the spoilers yesterday and saw that this match was almost an hour long I really didn’t know what to expect with Cena. In fact in a way I was dreading such a long match with Cena doing the same moves. Well he certainly showed me that he can do it and that he’s not all charisma and mic work. After watching him last night I would be totally shocked to hear this man get any boos on Sunday and on. I think Cena turned the corner last night and his critics me included will think twice now before putting him down. Now I would like to add this. If I can see Cena wrestle this way and act this way I’m good but if and when he goes back to what we usually get then I might not be so positive about him, but no matter what, I know he can bring it and for what he showed last night I have a new respect for the man.
And then there’s Shawn Michaels. I’m giving him a ton of credit for getting all of this out of Cena. I feel Shawn took Cena under his wing and was the driving force for this change in Cena’s in ring work. This match was SO much better than what we got at Wrestlemania and I think both of these guys wanted to prove that they could have a show stealing match. Shawn again worked so hard and I say this lot but what the hell I’m going to say it again. HBK hasn’t lost a beat since he returned back in 2002. The man can do it all and he killed himself out there selling Cena’s moves like crazy and taking some great bumps. I am in awe week after week watching Shawn give the fans 5 star matches. I would imagine that after last night’s match Shawn and Cena looked at each other smiling from ear to ear and congratulating each other for one of the best matches ever on free TV.
Now did this match change my mind about ordering the show? No it didn’t. I feel that after Shawn’s victory last night, he’s definitely not winning on Sunday, and since Edge had very little to do on the show I can’t see him winning. And as much as I would like to see Cena lose the belt, after what I saw last night I could definitely handle THIS Cena hanging on longer, oh yeah this guy that I saw last night I could live with holding on to the championship. It is the “I want to please almost everyone so I will just smile and be funny Cena” that I don’t want to see with the title for a long time. And even though I won’t be ordering the show I have no doubts that Taker vs. Batista and The Fatal 4-way (if there is a four way now) will both deliver, it’s all the other matches on the card I don’t want to spend $40.00 on. Let me quickly tell you what I did not like last night.
1. The opening, seen it too many times to care
2. Why didn’t they bring Mickie out to go after Melina?
3. Foley and Edge’s segment did nothing for me
4. Carlito getting squashed by Khali was worthless and while Flair and Carlito have had a good thing going; it went absolutely no where last night.
And there you have it, a FANTASTIC main even. And that main event made Raw a must see show, well the second hour is a definite MUST SEE. I will be back over the weekend with my Backlash picks and I cannot wait to share them with you. Feel free to start sending your predictions to me.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
