Let’s see we have less than three weeks before the Great American Bash, and last night’s Raw set up the main event for that pay per view. I wasn’t in love with the show but there were many things that I did like. The Dallas crowd was one of them. I always know anytime WWE puts on a show in Dallas the crowd is going to be hot, and last night was no exception. Let me start with a few things that I wasn’t too crazy about and then on to the highlights.
Now as much as I was thrilled to see John Cena on ECW last week I wasn’t even a tad thrilled to see or hear him last night. While the show started on a positive note with Mr. Kennedy, things really went downhill fast when John Cena came out and did I guess what was supposed to be a comedy promo. It was so bad and so juvenile that I was really embarrassed for Cena. It was just too bad that Mr. Kennedy wasn’t able to do more mic work and Cena less mic work. But I think even more embarrassing was Bobby Lashley claiming his right to the title. Instead of Lashley’s mic work improving I think it’s getting worse. This opening wasn’t one of the best even though Randy Orton and Booker T and Sharmell were also a part of it. But I did like the appearance by William Regal taking over Coach’s spot for the night and making the Beat The Clock Matches. I have always liked Regal’s mic work and last night he showed that he would probably give Raw a big lift by becoming Raw’s GM. All in all this was a fair opener but an opener that was used to set things up for the GAB main event.
I guess it’s safe to say that the surprising push of Santino Marella didn’t work out. I’m not sure if this character will remain on TV or not but with the loss of the I.C. title to Umaga I’m thinking that Santino might get some kind of character change, then again maybe they feel without the title they can use him in a different way. Well whatever happens to Marella his match against Umaga really didn’t interest me. I think maybe it’s because Umaga is the same in every match and maybe his character is the one that needs the change. It wasn’t a bad match but it wasn’t much. And the Booker T vs. Val Venis match was okay but again nothing special. As soon as Venis came out you knew that he was jobbing. These two matches were really the only ones that I didn’t care for.
But after all of the above there was plenty that I liked. Like the Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy match. Even though I knew Jeff wasn’t going to win I was crazy about this match. Yes it started out slowly but once it picked up it was just awesome to watch. That very short segment with Randy Orton, Dusty and Cody Rhodes came off well. From everything that I have read about Cody in OVW this guy has the charisma and I’m kind of anxious to see just what Cody can bring to Raw. Melina vs. Maria came off very well and it’s kind of cool to see Candice as the new Women’s champion. Although she was not the most talkative at the announce table with JR and the King she made up for it by the way she showed so much pride in holding up the title. First I enjoyed Kennedy talking Super Crazy into just laying on the mat so Kennedy could win his match. And of course Crazy seemed to go for the idea however once the match started everything changed. I got a kick out of Super Crazy rolling Kennedy up for the win just as Mr. Kennedy was about to talk. This was fast and humorous.
As so many of you know I’m a huge Triple H mark so when I saw those two videos about Hunter oh you can bet I just smiled from ear to ear. He’s on his way back and for me it couldn’t be soon enough. Carlito vs. The Sandman appealed to me very much. Again I think because it’s something and someone new for Carlito and The Sandman on Raw is definitely something different. I’m still not sure if Raw and The Sandman will work but so far I think against Carlito he’s working out just fine. I liked the main event with Shelton Benjamin vs. Bobby Lashley. I have always thought the world of Benjamin and I feel that he got a hell of a good match out of Bobby. In fact I wish they would just take the mic away from Lashley and let him wrestle. That’s how I would handle things. I have said this for a while give Lashley a manager and le that manager do all the talking. But I did like the main event and it was no surprise that Lashley won the Beat the Clock contest and become the number one contender to go against John Cena at the Great American Bash. The Cena and Lashley contract signing at the end was just a way to have Lashley take out the champion. I really want to get into this feud but there’s just something holding me back and I think it’s the fact that Vince pushed Lashley so much these past few months that in many ways I’m turned off by him. But I will see how things go in the next few weeks.
So Raw wasn’t a bad show at all, and I’m looking forward to tonight’s ECW with CM Punk vs. Kevin Thorn and Johnny Nitro vs. Tommy Dreamer. Granted it is only two matches but Punk and Nitro offer a lot in the ring. I will leave you with two requests from readers. Happy 4th o f July to those of you here in the States, and I will be back over the weekend with my Smackdown thoughts. Here’s the first request. Where can I find a video of Opie and Anthony where they talked about Stephanie McMahon‘s appearance on RAW? I am from the UK and all I find out about the USA is what I read on the net. So could you or your readers either tell me or link me to the video. Please email me at rockandrobbie@aol.com. And here’s the second request. Would anyone be interested in WWF Coliseum video tapes and WWF/E home videos and a couple of wrestling DVD’s that I have? I have quite a few, and I am selling off some of my collection. You can email me at bigredpoppie@yahoo.com
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
