Mr. Boffo
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| #1 Posted on 24.1.05 2232.10 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2240.49 | * The 6-man tag at the beginning was good to get the crowd into it. Never thought I'd see the day when Raw begins with a 20 minute match ever again. * The annual "JR gets beat up in Oklahoma" segment. Danny Hodge was quite spry for a guy who by my calculations must be about 70. * They're pulling out all the stops with Orton, huh? He does the saving the diva routine, then he gets the pinfall over Flair. * A pair of squashes, which leads to two big men in the Royal Rumble. Viscera will probably end being the guy they do the "8 men trying to eliminate" routine. With Flair being in the Rumble now, I'm predicting Flair eliminates Batista (under orders from Triple H). * Tajiri and Regal: I have no idea what that was about. I guess we'll find out next week. Or maybe Sunday. * If the bruises Kane and Snitsky had were real, they must have been pretty badly hurt. Kane's bruise on his shoulder was all purple. Maven can't beat two obviously hurting guys. Just put one of them in a submission that works the shoulder, man. That's all it takes. * Breaking Stone Cold news from last week. Yippee.
Raw Rumble participants then: Batista, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Christian, Edge, Gene Snitsky (at least for now), Jonathan Coachman, The Hurricane, Kane (see Snitsky), Muhammad Hassan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Shelton Benjamin, Simon Dean, Viscera. Promote this thread! | | shinstrife
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| #2 Posted on 24.1.05 2236.11 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2240.50 | I was trying to figure this out all night but..when did Benoit get a spot in the rumble? I mean I might of missed something but did he win it at a house show or just randomly give it to him?
Batista=More and more the man every week. Down to the last mannerism I'm enjoying him. His vocal tone is low and just a good change from all big wrestler's screaming. | Mr. Boffo
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| #3 Posted on 24.1.05 2245.47 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2245.48 | Batista was given the opportunity to qualify last week if he wanted. Tonight, he told Triple H that he was going to take that opportunity. So his handicap match against La Resistance was his qualifying match.
More info about Raw's Rumble participants:
Previous apparences in the Royal Rumble match 0: Jonathan Coachman, Gene Snitsky, Muhammad Hassan, Simon Dean 1: Batista (2003), Chris Benoit (2004-winner) 2: Ric Flair (1992-winner & 1993), Shelton Benjamin (2003 & 2004), The Hurricane (2002 & 2004) 3: Chris Jericho (2000, 2003, 2004), Edge (1999, 2000, 2003) 4: Christian (2000, 2002-2004) 5: Viscera (1994-1996, 1999 as Mabel, 2000) 7: Shawn Michaels (1989-1990, 1992, 1995-1997, 2003-two time winner) 8: Kane (1996 as Isaac Yankem, 1997 as Fake Diesel, 1999-2004)
(edited by Mr. Boffo on 28.1.05 1322) | redsoxnation
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| #4 Posted on 24.1.05 2247.49 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2247.50 | Once they announced it was Jim Ross day, the only question was who was going to be the one to do the beatdown of Ross. I thought it was going to be Jim's Arab friends, but I guess they believed that was the only way to get Flair boo'ed and thus Orton cheered. Now that he aligned with Stacy on TV, Orton's career should be in the shitter within 6 months. And, Orton holding the belt at the end of RAW before a PPV should ensure Trip walking away with the belt. Surprised they threw the six man at the beginning. Seemed more of a start of second hour match. Tomko is really starting to look like an ugly version of Ox Baker. | geemoney
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| #5 Posted on 24.1.05 2255.42 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2255.48 | RAW Thoughts:
The opening six-man was very good. Each guy had his working boots on tonight....I thought the Jim Ross segment was well done, except for having JR get beaten up in Oklahoma AGAIN. I thought Triple H's mic work was pretty good here, too. Nice bump by the elder Hodge, except when he threw the punch at Hunter, it looked like he was going to fall over from the force....
Nice subtleties of Batista not being impressed by them beating up three people who couldn't challenge them anyway....I just don't get the constant in-ring push Coach gets....The tag team division gets more dirt shoveled on it's grave, as Batista beats the champs two-on-one....Who has Viscera beat to deserve a shot at being in the Rumble?....Hassan v.s Venis was a bit of a bore. Man, if only Venis had a different gimmick....
Great job getting Flair in the Rumble, with Trips saying it covers all the bases if Batista gets tossed, obviously miffed that Batista was doubting him in his match with Orton earlier....I could've done without the Maven/Snitsky/Kane stuff....Another great moment: Batista staring at the guilty Trips as he was being ordered to the back....I thought the main event was pretty good, too. And with Orton's knee injury, he'll still have some heat if he loses at RR because he wasn't 100%....Real strong show. | I Breastfeed John Madden
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| #6 Posted on 24.1.05 2302.58 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2303.05 | Star of the night: Danny Hodge.
Granted he didn't fall off the Titan-Tron or anything, but I felt more empathy for him in a five minute segment than I have felt for pretty much anyone, ever, in pro wrestling.
They didn't even make that big a deal about Hodge getting beat down and left for dead by HHH. If it had been Mae Young, they would've shown the replay at least three times.
Everything else was pretty "meh".
Flair still bumps like a motherfucker though. I can't imagine someone going out every night for nearly thirty years and taking that many back landings...or in Ric's case, hip landings.
The La Res/Flag "in the ass" thing was a good visual, but it was pretty far fetched.
Green Mist Viscera Face is money.
| Stilton
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| #7 Posted on 24.1.05 2312.20 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2313.20 | Originally posted by geemoney Who has Viscera beat to deserve a shot at being in the Rumble?
Apparently tossing Tajiri over the top rope like a ragdoll is all it takes. | Freeway
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| #8 Posted on 24.1.05 2333.29 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2337.11 | Even money says that we get a La Resistance vs. William Regal & Tajiri match as a result of, well, everything. | Cerebus
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| #9 Posted on 24.1.05 2335.07 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2337.19 | I gotta say, that was the best use of Maven yet. He actually showed some acting chops in there with Kane and Snitsky. I thought for sure they'd have him win by count out as to allow some other RAW wrestler get in the Rumble, but they buried Maven and made Kane & Snitsky look like bad asses.
Orton/Flair was pretty decent but not what I'd call a main event for the show before the Rumble. They should have had the six man tag as the last match to push the Rumble match, not push Helmsley/Orton.
If the whole Regal/Tajiri thing leads to them getting a tag match for the Rumble during Heat Sunday, I'd be happy cause that's a good way of getting the belt BACK on Regal and could lead to a couple of somewhat decent matches with Tajiri/Eugene down the line... at least I'd be looking forward to that.
I don't know why, but I like the idea of Coach being in the Rumble. Call me crazy and stupid (You're crazy and stupid!) but for some god awful reason, I enjoy watching Coach in the ring. I think with some training and practice, he'dmake a decent low-carder/curtain jerker or even a good Barry Horrowitz type character; let him lose most of the time and when he finally wins one, make a big to-do about it... did I just type 'to-do'? | geemoney
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| #10 Posted on 24.1.05 2341.34 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2343.53 | Originally posted by Cerebus I don't know why, but I like the idea of Coach being in the Rumble. Call me crazy and stupid (You're crazy and stupid!) but for some god awful reason, I enjoy watching Coach in the ring. I think with some training and practice, he'dmake a decent low-carder/curtain jerker or even a good Barry Horrowitz type character; let him lose most of the time and when he finally wins one, make a big to-do about it... did I just type 'to-do'?
I wouldn't have a problem with Coach if he got some sort of training and actually BECAME a wrestler....I too have been mildly impressed with his ringwork.
However, as of right now, he's an ANNOUNCER. And a second-string announcer at that. How does that make the RAW brand look, when one of the 15 cherished spots at one of the biggest events of the year goes to an announcer not named Jerry Lawler? And there's not even some sort of angle behind him being in the Rumble.
It would make more sense if Bischoff rewards his loyalty with a RR qualifying match, and, by some fluke, Coach pulled out a win. But when other WRESTLERS have to qualify to be in it and he gets a free spot....I just don't get it.
I mean, doesn't Bischoff want a RAW wrestler to win the rumble match? This IS RAW v.s Smackdown, straight up. He should want to show up Smackdown, especially since they've had the winner 2 years running. You'd think he'd want to make sure all 15 spots were solidified with guys who are at least wrestlers. | HMD
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| #11 Posted on 24.1.05 2345.53 Reposted on: 24.1.12 2349.18 | There had to have been a way to make Batista look good without making the tag-champs look like garbage.
Nice to see the racist hicks were out in force. "Qusay, Saddam, and Hassan...you're next." Tasty. And let us not forget "Muhammad Hassan stole my tablecloth." Kind of hard to promote Hassan and Daivari as heels when your audience helps prove them right.
Does JR shudder when they're in Oklahoma or what? If he isn't going to be beaten up, or sexually assaulted, he's going to be likened to "crap" and "puke" on a day named after him. Sometimes I think Vince genuinely hates Jim Ross.
The opening six-man was good, and Carson with Hulkster was also quite hilarious, appreciated the clip. That backstage poontang who interviewed Tajiri, Maria, needs to be fired. She is by far the most retarded human being ever employed by WWE. How she can't belt out these simple one sentence lines she's being given is beyond me, but she certainly doesn't deserve to get a paycheque if she can't master basic human communication most five-year-olds could handle.
Orton/Flair? Glad I skipped that. I can't stand the sight of Flair anymore with his shirt off. His matches are terrifying in their crappiness, and Orton isn't the guy to hide his deficiencies. | GodEatGod
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| #12 Posted on 25.1.05 0013.53 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0014.44 | Batista is just owning Raw anymore. He's actually an amazingly natural actor and performer, something you don't expect from a big slab of beef like him. They're just doing everything right in building tension between him and HHH. While I've been predicting a Cena win for months, I'd be much happier if Batista plowed through everything in his path at this point.
I don't really care if La Rez got squished. They were a joke BEFORE he crushed them. The belts were reduced by being put back on them in the first place. Here's another hand hoping Tajiri/Regal take a shot.
Nice to see Orton only saves women who kiss him. Old men and announcers getting beaten down by his arch-nemesis apparently doesn't bother him. Way to go, hero-boy.
I actually enjoyed Maven's cowardly attempts to pin Kane and Snitsky as they beat each other down. It's too bad he's being totally buried, since he's actually a decent little heel.
Can Daivari wrestle? While I'm okay with Hassan so far, I think the mouthpiece has far more potential as a snarky, nasty little piece of crap heel.
Opening six man was awesome, duh, although I wish everyone other than Edge/Michaels weren't treated like an afterthought. What're they gonna do with those guys come Wrestlemania?
I really wish Orton would've tapped to the Figure Four after taking so many shots to the knee, but I guess he had to 'stay strong' going into his lame duck challenge. | Dr. Ed Powers
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| #13 Posted on 25.1.05 0051.34 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0057.22 | Originally posted by redsoxnation Tomko is really starting to look like an ugly version of Ox Baker.
I haven't watched RAW thus I haven't seen Tomko, but uglier than Ox Baker is downright ugggleeee! | Sobriquet
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| #14 Posted on 25.1.05 0109.07 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0109.54 | Sad to say, but when Orton pulled his Hulkster routine, inviting chop after chop then punch after punch from Flair, I started laughing. I had this visual of Flair chopping Hulk back in the early 90s and it absolutely RULING, because it was HULK and it was FLAIR and they were AWESOME.
But this was orton... and flair, because frankly, flair isn't a big capital letter guy anymore. And it sucked. SUCKED. And I changed the channel, and by god, how does anybody anwhere buy Orton as anything more than a midcarder when the following personas on Raw all look, act, and sound more badass than him: Kane, Snitsky (Snitsky??), Edge, HBK, Benoit, Jericho (sometimes), Batista, and HHH. That's eight guys that I, as a viewer, consider far more legitimate than Orton. And yeah, Snitsky is craptacular, but he's entertaining craptacular, which is more than I can say for Orton's wooden speech and awkward in ring performance.
Instead of pawning off a mish-mash of old stuff on Orton, maybe they should let him develop a schtick of his own.
Maybe he can't.
Hulkster my ass. | Peter The Hegemon
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| #15 Posted on 25.1.05 0115.09 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0118.08 | Could they possibly have made Tajiri look any worse? Not only does Viscera beat him in about three seconds, but he even completely no-sells the green mist. Yuck.
They could have taken the "over the top rope" stip and made it an interesting match, where Tajiri gets his offense in but then can't figure out how to get the big guy out. Too bad.
OTOH, the Carson tribute was very welcome. They certainly didn't have to do that, so give them credit for showing class. | BigDaddyLoco
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| #16 Posted on 25.1.05 0526.54 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0529.01 | I'm guessing Coach gets punk'd before the Rumble leading to a 'surprise' entry.
Maven as a chicken shit heel is really starting to work for me. Sure he is getting squashed, but his mic work is drawing him more and more heat every week.
Big Vis in the Rumble is great, but I feel that he is just going to be cannon fodder for Batista.
Flair may take the worst RKO ever.
Orton has some of the worst theme music. He'd probably get over a lot better if he had something half way decent.
| Toast Jr
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| #17 Posted on 25.1.05 0528.16 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0529.02 | Originally posted by Peter The Hegemon Could they possibly have made Tajiri look any worse? Not only does Viscera beat him in about three seconds, but he even completely no-sells the green mist. Yuck.
While that does totally suck, if we get Regal + Tajiri out of this mess then it will be worth it. The two of them were the only good thing to come out of the Invasion angle, and I would love to see them in action together again. | PostModernBoy
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| #18 Posted on 25.1.05 0725.48 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0726.53 | Originally posted by BigDaddyLoco Maven as a chicken shit heel is really starting to work for me. Sure he is getting squashed, but his mic work is drawing him more and more heat every week.
Maven would work pretty well in the cowardly heel/big man he hides behind tag team formula. Snitsky could use a program if they ever end his feud with Kane. Who else is available? | Mayhem
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| #19 Posted on 25.1.05 0739.34 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0739.42 | I thought that that play-by-play on the opening 6 man tag was one of JR's best in a while. He did a really good job.
Ah, are we going to get some Tajiri/Regal shenanigans? *crosses fingers*
I knew it was a matter of time before big Vis was put into the rumble. | oldschoolhero
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| #20 Posted on 25.1.05 0753.59 Reposted on: 25.1.12 0754.01 | Agreed on the JR point-this was the strongest he's been in a good long while. Some of the ME calling was awesome. I guess getting a day named after you is a good motivational tool.
Solid show this week, nothing too spectacular but a good way to lead into the Rumble. I like the tease of Regal and Tajiri reuniting-a tag title match at RR seems in order-and the Snitsky/Kane tickled my funny bone for God knows what reason. And Batista is over HUGE. It may not work as well as they hope in the long run, but with the crowd reactions he's getting you can totally understnd them giving him the megapush. |
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