Wow. That ending was just "wow". It looked like both men were supposed to go through all three tables, but only did two (and wound-up taking the third right on the head).
The rest of the show was pretty good, too. I mean, HHH as a desperate man (who acted a lot like a girl who just knew she was gonna get dumped) was pretty good.
It was a pretty entertaining show, with a bang ending.
No Vince voiceover tribute this year? Shocking. And I agree, keep the dream alive. Dusty Rhodes must be kept alive at all costs. Edge getting cheered in Toronto? All it took was a heel turn for the Canadians to embrace him. Why is Trip liked in Toronto though? They need to bring back the old Maple Leaf Gardens wrestling entrance. Jim Ross proves himself to be a fibber yet again by stating Snitsky/Kane could only end via pinfall or submission. Unless the match is going to continue through eternity, he lied. I guess beating Lawler wasn't Flair's retirement match after all. When La Resistance has the tag titles, they might as well just put the belts in storage. Considering the fans seem convinced on Maven's sexual orientation, perhaps now would be a good time to fit him in some of Adrian Adonis' old clothing. Fine match between Benoit and Jericho, should have been the main event. Was waiting for a run in throughout due to the earlier incident during the HiLite Reel.
The ending was sort of killed. Right after they went through the tables they had a close-up of Kane & Gene and it looked as if they were lying there having a conversation with one another.
Overall, I really enjoyed the show tonight. Jericho/Benoit was good, the Shawn/Christian/Edge segment was good, heel Trish just keeps getting more entertaining, and it looks as if they really have a direction for now.
The answer to WWE's financial problems...
Never 'Wiener of the Day', and is actually quite bitter about it.
I thought Hassan was kinda reaching for heel heat with his explanations about how Canadians are bad....The six-man was okay- sad that La Resistance is the best tag-team WWE has right now. Actually, I'm surprised WWE hasn't broken them up yet...Stacy kissing Orton was just so awkward-looking....Stone Cold press conference? Interesting, for sure....I actually liked the Triple H interview, but there were some ironic parts in there about how Orton says the same things all the time....
Michaels/Christian was a bit disappointing....I'm surprised Viscera got that much offense against Batista....Wow, Jericho over Benoit. I thought Benoit would win that one....Trish was gold on the mic again....I really hope that's the last time we see Snitsky for a long, long time.
That ending was weak. I mean, that fall wasnt all that spectacular compared to half the shit Foley used to do. The crowd seemed so confused as to who to cheer in that match too. They wanted to boo Kane for killing Trish, but they didnt wanna cheer Snitsky either, so they were just sort of making noise and chanting for Batista (or was that a Go Leafs Go?).
Also, sign of the night: HHH Fears Divorce.
EDIT: For those who didnt read any sites yet, the Stone Cold news is about a 3 movie deal he signed with WWE. The first movie he is doing sounds basically like a remake of Running Man (1987 Arnold movie).
Seems pretty clear that something went pretty wrong at the end there. Well, okay, not pretty clear, but a possibility, anyway. If it was actually planned, that's a crappy ending. Kind of inevitable that one of those bumps would go wrong. Let's just hope Kane and Snitsky come out okay.
The chokeslam on Trish was completely awesome. I'm glad to see that, face or not, they're not going to totally neuter Kane's character.
Benoit and Jericho were gold, of course, and I was shocked that it actually ended clean. I was waiting for Hassan to run in at any time.
I'm glad they're keeping Batista/HHH separate from Orton/HHH. Good mic work tonight from Trips and even some good from Orton (although "most greatest" made me wince). The way Trip lured Orton back was the smartest thing his character has done in a while. Cerebral assassin indeed.
Good to see Maven getting a lot of heat. I have nothing else to say about that match.
I was rather disappointed that Shawn couldn't lay down for Christian. I mean, not even by Edgerference. C'mon, Shawn, it ain't gonna kill ya. Let the guy win in his hometown, for chrissakes.
(edited by GodEatGod on 18.1.05 0029) "All I ever asked for in life is an unfair advantage." Microchip, Punisher Annual #2
-I'm okay with Hassan's cheap heel heat at this point. He's pretty good on the stick and he gave me 1980's evil foreigner flashbacks. He will have truly made it when he gets pelted with his first beer cup or crumpled up piece of paper.
-Batista and Big Vis was a perfectly fine big man vs fat man match-up.
-Why is Ric Flair playing the village idiot here? He's not Bobby Heenan he's Ric Flair.
-HBK really killed his Canadian heel heat by addressing the fans from the get go. He should have enjoyed the 1990's DX Canadian heel heat for all it was worth.
-Benoit popping up and getting in Jericho's face after a slip-up type loss was great way to show the pissed off rage of somebody who has their opponent where they want them only to have the tables turned on them in the end.
-Trish is a doll and I love her heel mic work more and more every time I hear it.
-Hopefully this is the end of Snitsky for a while.
-This was a good show with an always hot Canadian crowd. Ross and Lawler should have just shut up and went with it instead of commenting on how 'different' they all were.
Originally posted by Kane Is UglyThey wanted to boo Kane for killing Trish, but they didnt wanna cheer Snitsky either, so they were just sort of making noise and chanting for Batista (or was that a Go Leafs Go?).
My guess was "Both-o' you suck" but "Go Leafs Go" certainly has more (Canadian) logic to it. Also, truly courageous technical direction to keep the WAVE off the television screen.
I was thoroughly disappointed by most of RAW. I don't know why they couldn't allow Edge to hit the spear on Michaels during the match. It's not like Michaels would take that great of a hit from being beaten due to the interference of Edge's finisher.
I'm surprised the ending of the show is getting praise from other Ws. It's just the further continuance of a feud that absolutely nobody wants to see or cares about, and it's not like it made for that spectacular of a visual either.
WWE can complain about the Toronto crowd all they want (both on and off-camera), but they continued to put themselves in situations to have to explain away the crowd. Trish Stratus got cheered as a hometown girl, played face with the exception of trashing Lita, and gets chokeslammed by Kane. This leads to Kane getting heavily booed, and the crowd not knowing who to cheer for in the main event. Last I checked, even though he shouldn't be, Kane WAS being pushed as a face for the time being. Just stupid.
On a side note, I felt that HHH getting cheered was more due to the fact that the crowd hated Orton. Same deal with the Eugene character at Summerslam.
At 10 p.m. I glanced at the clock and thought "it's only an hour into the show?!" Cripes ...
A big, big RAW this week as the crowd makes it a much more interesting show.
Boo to lawler for blatantly lying after the Batista/Vicera match that the former picked up Vicera and Demon-bombed him. He did no such thing. This, by the way, was hardly a "Brock F5s Rikishi" moment to get Dave over. I was underwhelmed that he won with a spinebuster. No, he can't Demonbomb Vicera, and he shouldn't have tried, but how rigging a strength move by leveraging Vicera off the turnbuckles?
Whether the rumor is true or not, bringing in the Shane Twins could hardly hurt the RAW tag scene. La Rez beating mixed doubles for another two months doees nothing for me.
If Christian can't win in Toronto with Edge and Tomko helping, he has to give it up. Come on, WWE, let him turn that corner. Same for the missing Simon Dean. If he only wrestles every other week and either wins with a cheating roll-up or by simply runs away, he's hardly more a detailed timekiller.
Mohammad is doing a great job of getting heel heat, but they have to something with it. You have to move him over to Shelton for a title feud.
I like the writing on the show recently. The feuds are building well, and I'm actually tempted to buy the PPV.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
It looks to me that the thing tonight was to setup Jericho vs Muhammad at some point. Jericho will probably be expected to give him the rub that Jerry Lawler didn't.
NOTE: The above post makes no sense. We apologize for the inconvenience.
It looks to me that the thing tonight was to setup Jericho vs Muhammad at some point. Jericho will probably be expected to give him the rub that Jerry Lawler didn't.
It's a feud that makes for a lot of gainsaying, but not much sense for either character.
Jericho puts over a heel and his manager who then have to again go somewhere. Jericho, meanwhile, is placed in the position of getting a new guy over just like Batista. While one might look to the current Batista popularity and say it's because Jericho sold him as a badass, I'd argue it was Batista's ring persona that made him successful, not him continuously giving the Russian sickle to a guy much smaller than he. And yes, a guy going over someone the level of Jericho means more than say Hurricane, but it continues to devalue the Jericho currency (same for Edge, the bad guy who doesn't win big matches). I think Jericho's current popularity can do more good than putting over the evil-foreigner gimmick.
And Mohhamad hates Jericho because ... he's there? At least give me some more motivation for him. Tell me he thinks beating a former world champ puts him in the hunt for the belt and holding the title can give more credence to his philosophy. I don't think he right now BELONGS in the hunt, but that can still be his logic.
I want to see both guys used well. I don't think this is it.
(edited by Matt Tracker on 17.1.05 2116) "To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
I can't say the ending blew me away. I was thinking "chokeslam off the stage" the moment they went up there -- c'mon, they've only done it a billion other times. And Snitsky pretty much killed the bit by lying there afterward grinning broadly and muttering to Kane.
Speaking of chokeslams, though, Trish took that one from Kane like a champ. Yay her.
Ling-Ling into battle go Fulfill destiny of the soul Sever skull of adversary Shove it in the poo-poo hole
All the children sing: Kill kill kill kill die die die Kill kill kill kill die die die....
Chris Benoit is 38 in May. He's wrestled for nearly 20 years. Chris Jericho is 35. He's wrestled for 15 years.
At this point in their careers, it only makes sense for them to teach younger guys how to work and get them over. Benoit & Jericho can stay over by reputation alone, so how does it hurt to give the rub to young'uns? You could argue that Benoit & Jericho working with them constantly helped establish Batista, Orton, Eugene & La Resistance, among others.
"Illusions, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money...or candy!" - G.O.B. Bluth, Arrested Development
Originally posted by Freeway420Chris Benoit is 38 in May. He's wrestled for nearly 20 years. Chris Jericho is 35. He's wrestled for 15 years.
At this point in their careers, it only makes sense for them to teach younger guys how to work and get them over. Benoit & Jericho can stay over by reputation alone, so how does it hurt to give the rub to young'uns? You could argue that Benoit & Jericho working with them constantly helped establish Batista, Orton, Eugene & La Resistance, among others.
That's a great point Freeway420. I only wish much more of the OLDER veterans like the Undertaker would be more willing to do that. That is instead of just stinking up the main event scene on Smackdown.
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
Snitsky lying there at the end smiling and talking to Kane was the worst thing I've seen on WWE TV in a while, and that's saying something, especially given all the Diva pillowfights and stuff lately. And that was the show ender? Yeee-ikes! I think at some point he tried to make his smile look like a wince, but he couldn't hold it. I think he thought they were off TV. Maybe one of the refs who raced in to check on them told him they were still rolling and he went back to wincing, but sheesh... bad news.
The Captain was looking good in Peep Country. There was absolutely no reason for him not to go over Bretscrewer with a little help from Edge and Tomko. Although having Edge apply the modified sharpshooter after the match was a little taste of redemtion... or was it?
I didn't get the feeling that going over Viscera, even with a crappy-looking spinebuster, did anything for Dave's cred. What I would have liked to have seen was a match with a lot of give and take and some, uh, wrestling in it. Maybe something with some, uh, story to it. I'm loving Dave lately, and while this match didn't weaken him, I don't think it all that much for him.
Jericho over Benoit? The usher may now see Mr. Benoit to his seat... right next to Bob Euchre.
Oh yeah, and was there a six-man tag match tonight? I don't remember caring.
(edited by Stilton on 18.1.05 0125) 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"
Ooohh, you beat me to the punch, man. I for one am excited to have Saturday Night's Main Event (hopefully!) back. Finally, a wide-ranging opportunity to build stories and wrestlers like the WWE used to do properly.