They made the right decision to keep Edge on RAW. He made that feud. Hardy had the fanbase and the enviable righteous-anger position. But Edge had the better promos, ring work and gimmick. Everything Edge did since they brought back Matt made me root for him more and more. He challenged Matt openly and, unlike many WWE heels, didn't slink away in abject fear. We saw a crafty, vicious character, and that's one I want to see on RAW. Not the well-intentioned face who can't quite get his head in the game. After, all, RAW already has Eugene.
The rest of the show? Eh. My Panthers were devouring the Packers, and nothing on RAW demanded my attention when 9 p.m. rolled around except the ladder match. And the Triple H swerve would have been more shocking had USA not advertised him as the cerebral assassin for a month. You think that guy's gonna be a face? Same with Cena. He's gonna lose the belt after months of presenting him to the USA audience as the champ?
(edited by Matt Tracker on 4.10.05 0644) "To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
The Iron-man match was good, but the ending was a letdown. The ladder match was nice, but too short. The HHH beatdown went on too long (didn't need two segments of it). The Austin segment was just utterly unwatchable (unless you LIKE long, drawn-out kick-wham-stunner-laden drawling).
Raw had a chance to impress me, to draw me back, and they dropped the ball. Of the three hours, I maybe watched half. Mind you, there wasn't even anything else good on television. From now on, any wrestling I watch on Mondays will be purely coincidental.
The intelligent discussion has come to a close. Now get back to work.
I have to wonder why, if they actually plan on moving Hardy to Smackdown, they didn't have him come out at the end to fight on Smackdown- perhaps recruited by Long to do so. That would have made for a pretty good transition. Maybe that would have made too much sense.
I was at American Airlines Center last night. I had a great time. I haven't yet had a chance to see what it looked like on TV.
I know everyone who has attended a live show has said it, but man that pyro is loud. My seat was next to the stage and they moved everyone in the row in front of me somewhere else because that was to close to the pyro. So six inches further back is safe?
From my seat I could see part of the back stage area. During the Austin - McMahon segment there were a lot of people standing back there watching. I could make out Johnny "Ace", Michael Hayes, Bruce Pritchard (sp) (maybe), Fit Finley, and a host of others. Finley actually climbed up on the seating area to get a better look.
I was also impressed how the limo driver got JBL's limo into the backstage area. There was no room for maneuvering whatsoever. It took the stage hands about five minutes to "JBL" it up. Took off the Wynn 8 license plates, put on the JBL stickers and plates and of course the horns. They had it back to normal before the Main Event started.
I also saw Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch backstage during the final five minutes or so. Murdoch looks much more "normal" in street clothes. In fact, I might not have recognized him if he hadn't been with Cade.
It will be interesting to see how it played on TV.
Originally posted by Lord of the ManorI have to wonder why, if they actually plan on moving Hardy to Smackdown, they didn't have him come out at the end to fight on Smackdown- perhaps recruited by Long to do so. That would have made for a pretty good transition. Maybe that would have made too much sense.
I thought that initially, but it would have meant he would have to return to RAW to join the SD gang, and his loss prevented him from doing that.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Originally posted by Lord of the ManorI have to wonder why, if they actually plan on moving Hardy to Smackdown, they didn't have him come out at the end to fight on Smackdown- perhaps recruited by Long to do so. That would have made for a pretty good transition. Maybe that would have made too much sense.
I thought we would see Teddy Long approach Matt as he was being escorted out of the arena.
And how about that Dr. Death ... really nice to see him.
Re: the Ironman tie, I'm assuming that because Bischoff stated the match would go a long way towards determining who faces Cena, that the main event at the PPV will be a three-way between Cena, Angle, and Michaels. Or heck, let Edge use his MITB to make it a Fatal Four-way. He's not doing anything now, so they can use this to re-start the Edge-Michaels feud from long ago.
In all the Linda talk, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the "wet tshirt contest" ending, where Austin put his arm around Linda and poured beer over the front of her blouse. I couldn't tell if it was accidental or not, but Linda looked legit pissed about it.
Originally posted by Hokienautic>In all the Linda talk, I'm surprised no one has mentioned the "wet tshirt contest" ending, where Austin put his arm around Linda and poured beer over the front of her blouse. I couldn't tell if it was accidental or not, but Linda looked legit pissed about it.
Really? Does anyone have pictures of this as I would love to see her face. She is the worst actor so i am assuming if she looks pissed, she must of been pissed.
You can do it Otto! You can do it Otto!
Make this spare, I'll give you free gelato!
Then back to my place where I will get you blotto!
If Linda's Stunner was gonna look that bad, and they had to know it would, why didn't they just book it as he stuns the other three and then says "WWE CEO, a damn classy lady, and the only McMahon worth a damn, Linda McMahon!"
She did look surprised as the beer was poured on her. Maybe Austin was legit drunk?
As far as the Ironman tie, who else was just waiting for Angle to accept overtime then Bret Hart come out and screw Shawn? Think about it.
Bret got screwed in Canada, he would have been able to screw Shawn in Texas.
Bret and Shawn once went to overtime in an Ironman match
It would have made sense. I guess that's why WWE didn't do it...
Originally posted by PsychoticMidgetThough, I swear to God, if Austin loses to Hogan in a match I'm done. Under no circumstances should this happen.
I've had the exact same thought since when Da Meltz first began talk of this match during the Hogan/Michaels program. No "visual pinfalls with a bumped/distracted ref" for Hogan either. Austin must absolutely beat Hogan with no ambiguity, or really, I feel completely cheated for watching since 1996.
Originally posted by PsychoticMidgetThough, I swear to God, if Austin loses to Hogan in a match I'm done. Under no circumstances should this happen.
I've had the exact same thought since when Da Meltz first began talk of this match during the Hogan/Michaels program. No "visual pinfalls with a bumped/distracted ref" for Hogan either. Austin must absolutely beat Hogan with no ambiguity, or really, I feel completely cheated for watching since 1996.
Ain't happening. While Austin helped save the company and became a prominent mainstream star, he didn't become as cultural an icon as Hogan. If this is a battle of marketing powerhouses, Hogan wins. I do not see a repeat of Rock/Hogan simply because Hogan's loss helped him see the light and become a face again. If both guys go into this as a face (something else I don't see happening; Austin's never been a full-on babyface), the only question is how badly will Hogan botch the Stunner.
Don't forget, both guys have literally walked out on angles in the WWE. It's entirely possible this match won't happen.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
My buddy came over to watch the show last night. Neither of us had watched a RAW in at least 2 years (he has no cable, I dont get Spike), and we both thought the same thing when it was over: The first 45-90 minutes was cool TV and it felt big & important. The second half felt like the same old boring RAWs I was watching 2 years ago.
I'll probably keep watching though, mostly for the "God forbid something cool happens & I miss it" factor if nothing else.
*[Diva chick who's name escapes me, mostly because this was the first time I've actually seen her] wearing the homecoming dress (complete with the "HOMECOMING QUEEN" strap thingy on her shoulder) was cool.
*HHH looked HUGE. It was almost like he put on all the muscle mass he always puts on when he takes time off, but then added a layer of thick flub over it all for good measure.
*Linda looked more suprised than pissed to me when she got the beer poured down her shirt.
*Was it the Austin/McMahon StunnerFest that ran so long that everything else after it got cut down so short? I was really disappointed that all of the Hallofamers didnt get seperate introductions or anything. I kept thinking they were one of the reasons they added the extra hour, but I guess not.
*WWE.com was posting photos of all of the HoFers arriving back stage a couple hours before RAW started & added more photos of other stuff as the afternoon went on. When I left work, there were 33 photos up. When I checked again during the show, there were only 21. Whats up with that?
I'm so glad I DVR'd this and watched it this morning. (Though I feel like I wasted way too much time with it.)
-It didn't feel like they were back home, but I'll chalk that up to USA's changes since they left. Plus, they didn't bother to overhaul the look of the show for the relaunch. That bugged me a lot.
-The brawl at the end lost any impact when they chose Cena and Angle as guys to attack. To me, and probably to many others, those guys are still closely associated with Smackdown.
-So...what is HHH's motivation for attacking Flair?
-Maria stole the show with a throwaway sight gag. (Probably not her idea, but still...)
-The Lita crucifixion was cool, if only, as someone mentioned earlier, because we haven't seen it before.
-The McMahon segment had me, and then immediately lost me. Good to see Shane, though.
-Would have liked to have seen Taker rescue Mick. Them standing side-by-side would have been a moment.
-All those Legends, and they have DUSTY do the talking?
All in all, the whole night ended up feeling kinda pointless. I guess it's the opening shot in the Raw vs. Smackdown war, but was anyone really clamoring for that?
One other thing that I found interesting at the show, everyone continued to sell backstage. Even though the performers were well off camera, I guess they continued because they knew that there were people that could still see them.
All night there was no break in character once they got to the back. The best example was after the Smackdown non-match, everyone (faces and heels) came off and started complaining and questioning the stage hands like they really didn't know what was going on. Eddie just kept going on and on with one girl. At that point he started doing his Eddie Guerrero flirting with the ladies shtick. They left together, Eddie looked back at us with that Eddie smile.
Originally posted by britishilesAs far as the Ironman tie, who else was just waiting for Angle to accept overtime then Bret Hart come out and screw Shawn? Think about it. It would have made sense. I guess that's why WWE didn't do it...
Owen Hart costing Michaels the match was about as plausible an option for WWE.
Originally posted by Matt TrackerIf both guys go into this as a face (something else I don't see happening; Austin's never been a full-on babyface)
Steve Austin isn't going to play heel against Hulk Hogan just to get the big match with him like Shawn Michaels did. And he's not going to do a match just to cement Hulk Hogan's legacy either.
Don't forget, both guys have literally walked out on angles in the WWE.
And they each have creative control now. Hogan has full control and Austin at least has it to some degree.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroSteve Austin isn't going to play heel against Hulk Hogan just to get the big match with him like Shawn Michaels did. And he's not going to do a match just to cement Hulk Hogan's legacy either.
Why would Hogan do a match to cement Austin's? This isn't like the Goldberg, Sting or Rock matches. This is a stand-alone clash of icons.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroAnd they each have creative control now. Hogan has full control and Austin at least has it to some degree.
I can only see someone losing clean if they are guaranteed some big win later on, like a last run with the belt. Austin hasn't had the title since Dec. of 2001 when Jericho beat him. He hasn't had ANY title since then. Hogan has won two: the world belt in April 2004 and the tag belt in July of that same year.
Would someone lose if they would get the win back later? Maybe, but I'm not sure we can get these guys to stick around for two of those matches. I also doubt if the WWE wants to put Hogan's knees and hip in there with Austin's neck twice.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
They've got excerpts from the Foley interivew on the Wob, and the deal sounds a mite more structured and complex than "do a coupla promos to shill the book".