Originally posted by DahakI not only managed to guess the ref, but the opponents in four out of six matches. Which clearly means the show was far too predictable, but it sure was fun.
Originally posted by Mr Heel III not only managed to guess the ref, but the opponents in four out of six matches.
I know the RAW roster ain't exactly numbered in the hundreds, but how didja guess 4 of the 6 opponents? Except for Jericho and Christian, weren't they pretty random opponents? I didn't guess any of them, although I was SURE Regal was going to be HHH's opponent. I was SURE wrong...
Originally posted by CANADIAN BULLDOGStill, I agree that HBK being the guest ref was kind of a given.
Originally posted by The Great ThomasAlso, we all knew Shawn Michaels was the Guest Referee from the start.
Not sure how you guessed this one either, as I am in agreement that it makes for total overkill. I guess in hindsight there is skewed logic there, in the way that Bischoff was speaking in a friendly way to someone "flying in". As lagboyz posted, I was thinking in terms of Austin, or someone else making a return to the WWE.
A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything. Give you an example, show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.
I liked the show had a running theme to it. I did think HHH beating Benjamin was kinda lame, not one face went over to knock Flair away from the ref, WTF?! Well, HHH finally got his jobs from Shelton, but it was cool to see even Batista smile when Shelton's music hit. Batista is really starting to become the star that want Orton to be.
I think putting HBK in the chamber sets up HHH/HBK at the Rumble again. Shawn counts 1,2,3 on Benoit or Jericho after Batista or Benoit eleminates Orton. HHH is smug over having Shawn raise his hand then Bam! Sweet Chin Music. I was at their last RR match and it kinda sucked, so if it gets both of them away from the Rumble match thats ok with me even if Orton is going to win no matter what.
I can see Maven/Shelton, Regal/Eugene vs. Random tag team and something to do with Hussien being added to the PPV like Lawler vs. Hussien about an island away from Guantuma Bay that sounds like a good plan.
"All faith reguires is giving into the possibility of hope."
Jericho-Christian was a really good opener, and as seems to be the trend around here, I am jumping onto the Christian bandwagon. And that entrance music is pretty sweet.
I liked the Benoit-Viscera match a lot too, given the story it told and the improved performance by big Vis. I'm still not sure why Viscera is on the roster at this point, but I guess that's a rant I should save until he has a stinker of a match.
Batista is the man now. I liked his interaction with Triple H after his match with Rhyno. "Rhyno was pissing me off....and now you're starting to piss me off, too." That's just gold right there.
Say what you will about the Hassan character, but I thought his promo was very well done. If they give him a gimmick where he could get over the right way, i think he might have some potential.
I didn't like how Triple H had to squash Benjamin. He could have beaten anyone on the roster, but he had to beat Benjamin. I guess you can say Benjamin got the visual pinfall and the "moral victory", but for 90% of the match Triple H was dominating, and that's not cool.
The HBK announcement was a letdown, even if everyone knew it was gonna be him. To say that no one would be happy about him as ref was a bit of an overstatement, I thought.
After the last few weeks, let me say that I am pulling big time for Batista or Edge to win the Elimination Chamber. Jericho, Benoit, or Orton would be fine, too. But why do I have this sinking feeling that Triple H is gonna win the title again. As good as tonight's show was, if he is the champ again, and the last six weeks of building to crown a new champion is all just thrown away, I think I'm gonna have to give Raw a vacation from my TV.
Jesus, am I the ONLY one who heard the ref tell Vicera "DONT TAP YET"? when he was first in the crossface?
And, what is with JR calling Shelton's move the Stinger Splash? Slip up? or just more of JR going senile?
I like the Hassan bit, and him bitch slapping JR and drawing blood (was that the numb side of his face?) was awesome.
I also especially liked the "Now YOU'RE starting to piss me off" line from Batista. He is gold I tell ya! I hope he walks out with the title.
As for HBK being the special ref, I assume they wont replay his last major "special ref" gig and have him clock somebody with a chair, giving the "wrong" guy the strap. But, if it leads into a nice HBK v Batista Hell in the Cell, then I might forgive them for recycling material.
JR has been calling Shelton's splash the Stinger Splash for MANY weeks (and months) now. Including last week. Just thought I'd point that out. I'm amazed that so many people just heard it for the first time this week. That's just weird.
And he can call it the stinger splash because Shelton uses it as a tribute sorta to Sting..he's a big fan. So it makes sense too. Sounds like quite an interesting Raw..gotta wait a few more days to see it here...oh well.
I don't think we'll see Batista walk out of the chamber as champ. I don't think HHH will win it either..unless.. defying all logic HBK helps HHH. Hey, it's the only thing they haven't done together since Shawn came back, and ten seconds of DX poses doesn't count.
I like the touch of HHH facing Benjamin. After all, he never beat him. Though you knew in this case Hunter would win, since taking him out of the chamber match might be funny but not realistic. (Since he is the last recognised champion)
Everything was great about Raw last night. Except for the "divas" (I was gonna make a sly comment about how Maria was wooden in her delivery, but that Randy was probably more wood, if you get my drift - oops, guess I DID make that remark) and the AngryArab schtick.
Christian's dive to the floor was just beautiful. And that new "Captain Charisma" tshirt that Tomko was sporting was cool (except for the stuff on the back - why must the back of tshirts suck?).
The Simon Dean segment was kept short (good, says I) and there wasn't much talking done by him. So my urge to channel-surf was nullified.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeAs for HBK being the special ref, I assume they wont replay his last major "special ref" gig and have him clock somebody with a chair, giving the "wrong" guy the strap. But, if it leads into a nice HBK v Batista Hell in the Cell, then I might forgive them for recycling material.
Actually he's had at least two special ref gigs since then, both of which interstingly enough some him award HHH the title. He superkicked The Rock while he was going for The People's Elbow on the first Smackdown to give HHH the match, and then he disqualified The Rock at the last second due to Undertaker interference at Judgment Day 2000 to give HHH the win in their ironman match.
It seems the consensus is growing. Christian is the man. He kisses his finger and points at his peeps. He winks. He knows we love him. He knows we idolize him. He knows his music is sweet. He is gracious enough to acknowledge it, cuz that how he rolls.
Is Christian the new HBK, or is Shawn Michaels the old Christian?
I couldn't help but feel, well, a little grossed-out when I paid attention, for the first time in years, to the lyrics of HBK's theme song. How much longer are we supposed to believe this middle-aged, devoutly religious man is a "sexy boy" and a "boy toy"? He's now closer to the age Sherry Martel was when she was supposed to be a hag.
Oh yeah, and I guess Batista is the man, too. This is proof that a nicely timed, well-plotted, and gradually executed angle is MUCH more rewarding for the fans than a rushed, rationalized, and more-or-less disposable one designed to fill in the blank at the next PPV. Take note, WWE Creative.
The Goal: SLACK The Method: The Casting Out of False Prophets The Weapon: Time Control The Motto: "Fuck Them All of they Can't Take a Joke"
Chalk me up as another who thought this was a strong RAW. The 'beat the clock' gimmick was easy to follow along with, and gave kind of a real-sports vibe to the show. If they could find some way to fashion a beat-the-block belt, it might be a nice addition to the overall show.
I was disappointed that HHH finally beat Shelton, without any recognition of the fact that Triple H had lost every time he had faced the kid in the past. It might've even been worth an HHH countout or DQ win, or at least they could continue the angle with HHH never having pinning Benjamin, but them's the breaks, I guess. The match itself seemed really rushed, probably due to some poor time management (on the beat the clock show! Nyuk nyuk!) early on. The Simon Dean match, for example, could've been cut entirely.
Batista is just continuing to kick ass in his role every single week. If they have to keep Viscera on the roster, could they please feed him to Dave so we can see the world's biggest BatistaBomb? I'm calling it right now; the Royal Rumble comes down to Orton, Batista and Cena. The crowd heat will be off the charts.
I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you? One last thing: while you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tight-Ass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits." --- President Jed Bartlett, The West Wing
Batista smiling when Shelton came down was great, but even better was Batista rubbing his chin with this smirk saying "AWWWW YEAHHH" when the thing hit zero made me realize that Batista has arrived. I cracked up when he talked about Rhyno. I have to agree that he really has jumped from Generic Hoss #3 to interesting, layered character.
My brother was watching with me for about 10 minutes and asked me who the guy wrestling Orton was. When I told him it was Maven he looked and said "Jesus, that dude must be doing enough 'roids to kill a horse" and went on to say he's put on his guess about 40 lbs.
It is nice to finally see people coming around on Christian as more than a "perennial IC contender". I wish that T-shirt didn't have all that stupid shit on the back b/c it would be all mine otherwise.
I wouldn't mind Viscera hanging around, he looked pretty good out there tonight compared to his last run a few years ago (he looks a lot smaller). He gives you that big ass dude who can get over a little guy they want to look like a bad ass (see what he did for Benoit last night). I wouldn't mind him and Gangrel coming back for awhile as a tag-team.
Anyone who is dissing Maria, if you are even listening to one goddamn word that is coming out of her mouth you are crazy.
"I know a great deal about the Middle East because I've been raising Arabian horses for over 20 years, I've researched the culture for most of my life."--Patrick Swayze on Iraq
Originally posted by stiltonIt seems the consensus is growing. Christian is the man. He kisses his finger and points at his peeps. He winks. He knows we love him. He knows we idolize him. He knows his music is sweet. He is gracious enough to acknowledge it, cuz that how he rolls.
I know I was one of the people who was saying that Christian didn't have it to get to the next level, but he's improved greatly since spring of this year. It's all little things he's doing better, but it's working. Plus the outfit and the new theme rule Papa New Guinea. Although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Simon Dean was wearing the greatest bowling league shirt ever.
I'd still love to know who in the WWF locker room was orginally dubbed (sarcastically, I'm sure) Captain Charisma in the first place.
(edited by Blanket Jackson on 28.12.04 1513) "If you've got a Corvette that runs into a brick wall, you know what's gonna happen." -Shaquille "The Wall" O'Neal
Originally posted by Packman V2Why not use the Simon Dean thing, to give Rosey a fresh start, maybe as Dean's own personal testimonial guy, who swears by the Simon System.
I keep waiting for someone like this to show up and bail Simon out of a jam. My list of candidates, however, begins and ends with The Blue Meanie.
"Is Christian the new HBK, or is Shawn Michaels the old Christian?"
Shawn Michaels is a new Christian as of 2002.
p.s. That's the first funny HBK religion joke that's been told since he came back. (Or, wait, I've got another one. "Hey Shawn Michaels, it is breaking the 10 Commandments to be wrestler!")
"Christian's dive to the floor was just beautiful."
I think that was an accident. He realized if he went for the backdrop rotation, he would die. So he was like uh-oh, and managed to get his hands down to prevent eating it directly on his face. I was like =-0
I'm going to go ahead and weigh in on the Muhammad Hassan situation... the worst thing about that promo last night was that it illustrated just how moronic the WWE fans (read: average Americans) are. A guy is talking about legitimate things that are wrong with your country, and you start chanting "USA"? Idiot sheep.
Originally posted by sentonBOMBI'm going to go ahead and weigh in on the Muhammad Hassan situation... the worst thing about that promo last night was that it illustrated just how moronic the WWE fans (read: average Americans) are. A guy is talking about legitimate things that are wrong with your country, and you start chanting "USA"? Idiot sheep.
The lesson would be "Even if the character of your Evil Foreigner is more multi-layered of an angle than something like 'USA, HAH! *spit*', don't have him cut his first two live promos in Alabama and Mississippi if you're trying to get that point across to the live audience".
(edited by Blanket Jackson on 28.12.04 1522) "If you've got a Corvette that runs into a brick wall, you know what's gonna happen." -Shaquille "The Wall" O'Neal
Originally posted by DahakI not only managed to guess the ref, but the opponents in four out of six matches. Which clearly means the show was far too predictable, but it sure was fun.
Originally posted by Mr Heel III not only managed to guess the ref, but the opponents in four out of six matches.
I know the RAW roster ain't exactly numbered in the hundreds, but how didja guess 4 of the 6 opponents? Except for Jericho and Christian, weren't they pretty random opponents? I didn't guess any of them, although I was SURE Regal was going to be HHH's opponent. I was SURE wrong...
Well the reason I guessed Eugene, Christian (who was really obvious), Maven, and Shelton was pretty simple. They had to be close to a JTTS level. The if the opponent wins he gets in the main event stipulation cut out all the Hurricane level opponents. Eugene, Christian, and Shelton all have had recent mid level feuds with the big 6 wrestlers. Maven is being pushed pretty hard lately so he had to be in there. Of course if I picked Viscera I would be bragging about it but the 4 I picked out weren't really that big of a suprise. Oh and I did think that Regal would be in there also. HBK was really obvious to me. It had to be a main eventer. SCSA is out because of his attitude and constant legal problems. Rock is busy. Foley made no sense. So unless they go really crazy and brought in someone new who could in be?
(edited by Dahak on 28.12.04 1247)
Marge I am just trying to get into heaven not run for Jesus.
Originally posted by Packman V2Why not use the Simon Dean thing, to give Rosey a fresh start, maybe as Dean's own personal testimonial guy, who swears by the Simon System.
I keep waiting for someone like this to show up and bail Simon out of a jam. My list of candidates, however, begins and ends with The Blue Meanie.
I think Steven Richards is the right candidate for the job. Put a one of the 27 new divas with them and you've got an instant tag team/stable.
Yeah, I know it's the Bodydonnas all over again, but it's not like old things haven't been rehashed a bajillion times anyway.