I don’t know where to begin. That’s because Raw absolutely rocked last night. We got a hell of an opening segment, an off the chart main event and some really good stuff in the middle. This was a show that I would have loved to have seen live. Raw had that up beat feeling last night. In some ways it reminded me of the way the shows used to be when I first started to watch. Let me get right into the show and I will start with just a couple of negatives and then it’s on to a very hot show.
Hey do you guys remember way back when Candice was something to see in the ring? And by that I mean she went from eye candy to a very good women’s wrestler. It’s unfortunate because after back-to-back injuries Candice doesn’t seem to have it anymore. And if you notice she’s either not on TV or if she is, nothing is really made of her. And last night creative decided to make Candice a bonehead and I couldn’t believe what they had her come up with. We see her talking to CM Punk about Vince’s return and then creative has her say one of the most idiotic statements of the night. She thought Vince was dead. Well not only would you think she would have known if he died since she works for him, but CM isn’t even listening to her he has earphones on. Poor Candice she’s back to being an airhead and what do you want to bet her days are numbered in the company.
Now as far as the Punk/Regal match goes, I didn’t like the ending at all, but because Punk will be in front of his hometown next week, I think that’s when he’s going to beat William Regal and get the title. So I will put this mini disaster as another negative, but again I feel Raw in Chicago was the reason for this poor ending. And let me end with one more very minor thing. Let’s see Candice was made to look brainless, and a very qualified wrestler, Mickie also came off senseless by complaining to heel Cody Rhodes about the snow in Iowa. Hey if you can’t give Mickie something really good to do, then I say keep her off TV. So as you can see my lowlights are few and very minor and the rest of Raw was just awesome.
I have said for years when you have Stephanie interacting with someone she comes off so much better than when she just goes out there on her own. Words can’t tell you how much I loved watching Chris Jericho and Stephanie battle it out on the mic last night. This was one very hot segment and Stephanie really came off like the Stephanie years ago when she was with Hunter. Jericho was so damn good not only on the mic but his facials were excellent. And this opening segment definitely set the tone for a very good show. The first match of the night was with Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz. And let me tell you this was a terrific match. I think this was the best match the Miz has ever been in. Mysterio really brought the best out in the Miz and this was one of those matches that I wish would have gone on a few minutes longer. I think we all knew that Mike Knox would come out and go after Mysterio so that wasn’t a surprise, but it might surprise many of you that I like Knox. He’s one of the few big guys that Vince has that I feel produces in the ring. Next week I am very anxious to see how he does against Mysterio. I think that match will make or break the guy.
And even though I’m one of the fan’s that complains about too much Vince on TV, I thought it was kind of cool the way they kept showing videos to hype up his return next week. Last night anytime the McMahon’s were shown it definitely worked for me. And believe me it’s not often that I can say that. And I’m ecstatic that Stone Cold Steve Austin was named the first Hall of Fame Inductee. My God if anyone deservers it, it’s Austin. I got goose bumps when this segment came on. I unfortunately didn’t get to see Austin when he first started because I came in around the middle of 1998, and that is why I loved the video. I got to see the Austin that I knew and the Austin that I missed. Last year I was thrilled with Ric Flair being inducted and this year the Hall of Fame is already my number one priority to watch thanks to the Steve Austin induction.
Again Shawn Michaels and JBL came through in a big way. I thought their locker-room segment was a good one. The face on HBK said it all, and JBL has never come off better than he has since he got involved with Shawn and this storyline. As of now HBK has no chance of being in the Rumble. I loved how JBL just added salt to the wound by telling Shawn to consider his match against Cena as HIS Wrestlemania match. HBK then showed some emotion by telling JBL if this is his Wrestlemania match he doesn’t need JBL in his corner. And one thing that JBL said to Shawn last night makes me wonder if things might turn around when Vince returns next week. JBL asked Shawn if he thinks Stephanie would be running Raw when they get to Wrestlemania. He then told Shawn that she fired Jericho, but she can’t fire Shawn because he works for JBL. I wonder if Vince will see it that way next week. Again this was another super segment between these two. For some reason I didn’t expect to like the Kane vs. Randy Orton match, but I did like it. It came off much better than I thought, maybe because it didn’t drag. However with that said the ending with Kane lifting his shoulder to avoid a pin, but losing to Orton was just weird. I thought Kane screwed up, and then I thought the ref did, and then I read that the ref is a second-generation guy and he’s probably in with Orton’s group so I guess that it all makes sense now. Sunday I mentioned a rumor about someone joining the Legacy. The rumor was that D.H.Smith was joining the group and that made me very happy. I figured put him in there with Rhodes and hopefully Ted Dibiase and then the Legacy would be a hell of a stable. Well there was no Smith last night, but I was so happy to see DiBiase back with Orton and Rhodes. I have no idea what they are going to do with Manu and Snuka, but they sure made them look foolish again last night when DiBiase turned on them after they thought he would help take Orton out. I really don’t see the need for either guy right now. But then again if creative can be creative they might be able to come up with something for these two tossed out Legacy guys.
I loved he beating that Melina too from Beth Phoenix. Phoenix came off very well here, but I will say this, Jillian really looked out of place. This is another diva that creative has basically dropped the ball with. But Melina took the beating well and I really want to see these two go at it at the Rumble. And finally I loved and I mean loved the main event. It was Shawn Michael’s Wrestlemania match against John Cena. To be honest with you I rate this match right up there with their one-hour match from last year. Both of these guys were outstanding and JBL added a lot as well. Having JBL just stand there watching his “employee” Michaels was brilliant, I say that because JBL never screamed our tried to interfere with Cena he just had a serious expression like he was taking this all in and it just worked for me. Cena shows me so much when he wrestles like this. There was no cutise actions he was all business. Man the chemistry between these two is just outstanding. Also I have to say I loved Cena’s interview with Grisham. At first I hated the way he was going over the top about the Rumble, but once he started talking about Shawn and their match Cena again was serious and you know I like that, and his interview turned out really strong.
I loved this show as you probably noticed and next week I will be there with my son and his girlfriend and I am sure you can tell I can’t wait. I just hope our weather holds up because we have gotten snowstorm after snowstorm. This is one Raw I don’t want to miss. Okay I will be back over the weekend with my thoughts on Smackdown and here’s hoping the show will be as good as what we got last night.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
