I was going to go through all the matches from No Way Out and then go right into Raw, however, because of the way things turned out at No Way Out and then carried right into Raw I would rather focus on a few things that came out of Sunday and Monday’s show. If this sounds confusing to you just think how confusing it is to me to type this. Seriously let me tell you my thoughts about both shows without going through every single detail. By the way I’m proud to say that I did very well with my predictions. I haven’t been able to say that for a while. I just missed the Cena/Orton match since I went with Orton, but I did say that Orton wouldn’t lose the belt so at least I got that part right. So onto my thoughts from the last two days.
First of all No Way Out was one of the best pay per views ever, I’m not kidding you. The matches ranked from good to just outstanding. The Smackdown Elimination Chamber match turned out to be a five star match. I have to say that The Undertaker and Batista kept this match going very well. The chemistry that these two had a year ago was just as strong Sunday night and they really held this match together so very well. There was one segment that absolutely played out flawlessly. And I’m talking about the return of the Big Show and his abuse to an already injured Rey Mysterio and boxer Floyd Mayweather stepping up to help his friend Mysterio. Before I go on, I have to give major major props to Rey Mysterio for gutting it out and working a nice match against Edge. I give this guy so much credit. Now back to the Big Show segment. Mayweather landed one very hard punch breaking Big Show’s nose, and causing Show to bleed like a fountain. I can’t remember when a segment on WWE came off as solid as this one did. I think one of the reasons why this was so good was that Mayweather had his “posse” with him and they added so much just by being with him in the ring and then running out of the ring after the punch. Between all of this and the outstanding Las Vegas crowd this segment was out of this world. And finally the Raw Elimination chamber was even better than Smackdown’s match. I can’t tell you how fantastic this one was. Shawn Michaels gave his heart and soul the whole time he was in it. Every guy that participated came through and came through in a big way. As I said this was one hell of a GOOD show.
Now from both chamber matches, we got Undertaker headlining Wrestlemania against Edge, and Triple H headlining Wrestlemania against Randy Orton. However that one wasn’t a definite at least to me it wasn’t. After the odd ending in the Orton/Cena match with Orton slapping the ref’s face, and Cena winning on a DQ, I was 100 percent certain that Cena would get into the main event along with Hunter and Orton. And that’s just what happened on Raw. I found Raw to be a pathetic show. I’ll tell you why. The opening with Hunter, Orton and Cena served its purpose because it was a way to get Cena in the main event at WM. As soon as Regal came out to make the main event with Orton vs. Cena, and a win by Cena secures a spot in the main event I think we all knew the out come. So I was okay with the opening. I thought the matches with Jeff Hardy vs. Snitzky, Val Venis vs. Kennedy were a big disappointment. You know a match is really bad when you have Jeff Hardy in there and the fans aren’t making a lot of noise. Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy wasn’t losing to Val Venis so that was just a total waste of time. I can’t even say that the wrestling amounted to much. I was not even a little into the Burchill/Super Crazy match this week. Beth Phoenix couldn’t have looked more ridiculous in that outfit she had on. And that outfit kept me from even caring about what was going on in the ring with Beth and Maria. Also we all know that Maria posed for Playboy so like Hardy and Kennedy, Maria wasn’t going to lose. I will say that it was nice to have Candice back. The main event had me waiting for a complete Triple H heel turn. The match was okay and Cena’s winning was no surprise to me, what surprised me was that the heel turn didn’t happen. Sure Hunter not only pedigreed Orton at the end but Cena got it too, but the show ended with Hunter no more a heel than he was Sunday night.
The Mayweather/Big Show angle continued, and while I thought it was good, it didn’t have what we saw Sunday night. It was a little dead in some parts, yet it still worked well with Mayweather not taking any crap from Big Show. Mayweather is doing a very good job, and the thing that hits me is, he seems to be anything but a fan favorite, the boos Sunday night and last night were quite loud. I’m wondering if it’s possible to get him over as a face or if they will have rethink their idea and turn Big Show face and keep this guy a heel. Now the original plan was for Rey to tag with Mayweather and take on Big Show and Shane McMahon. However, according to one site, Rey is having biceps surgery on Friday and will not be able to wrestle for 4-6 months. I don’t know how true that is, but if it is a fact and they want to keep Mayweather a face I think I would partner him up with Batista. Well whoever tags with Mayweather I have to say that this angle is one very nice highlight for the WWE. Also, I don’t know how to tell you this, but even though I know that it’s not real and that it is entertainment, I was very upset to see what JBL was doing to Hornswoggle.
Between the brutal beating that the little guy was taking and a handcuffed Finlay screaming for JBL to stop this one really got to me. I was wondering how the little kids in the audience were reacting to what was going on. I would imagine if I had a hard time, it couldn’t have been easy for them. Finlay was just fantastic out there, and JBL did a super job last night with the way that he just took the orders from Vince and never changed his expressionless facial expressions as he battered poor little Hornswoggle. This was another very strong segment; one that I never ever thought would come off this well. I was so sure it was going to be a Finlay vs. Vince match at Wrestlemania, but I guess it’s safe to say it will now be Finlay vs. JBL. By the way WWE is playing up the Hornswoggle injury very well if you go there they are giving updates on his injuries.
I would love to know where was Chris Jericho last night? The show could have used him. So while Raw was so below average with the exception of a few very good segments, No Way Out was just off the charts. It’s a pay per view that I would definitely recommend anyone to see if you missed it. Now I found out that we are getting Smackdown Saturday night, because of the Chicago Bulls basketball game. I will not be home Saturday night so I will have to tape the show, which means I might not have a column over the weekend. I will see if I can watch it early Sunday and talk about it. If not, I will be back next week with my Raw thoughts. Okay I have a reader’s request. Any help you can give him I would appreciate it. And thank you in advance. Hey Linda I was wondering if you or any of your readers would know the name of the songs on Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton’s video’s at Royal Rumble last month. Thank you for your help. You can email me at golfadvantaged@hotmail.com. And finally you can hear me on the following station Saturday nights. “You give us 22 Minutes, We’ll give you the World” (1010 Winds AM) and think “We’ll Give you All the Wrestling Knowledge That you’ll Evvvvvvvver……. Need in 60 Minutes” From Over The Ropes. Every Saturday Night from 10-11 PM EST only on www.mywcwp.com. And to call in here’s the number 516-299-2030.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com