Overall, not a bad Raw considering there were some short matches or matches that ended in no-contest.
I was hoping for a Stunner or two but I don't think that ruined Raw; after all, the WWE had to keep focus with WM 26 in less than 2 weeks and if Austin was the "normal Austin", last night's Raw may have been focused solely on Stone Cold than what is happening at WrestleMania.
I was glad to see Show and Cena be the first match as these 2 normally have matches that could put anyone to sleep but it wasn't too bad last night. The match lasted around seven and a half minutes and Batista coming down wasn't a bad touch either. I was kinda glad to see Superman (aka John Cena) go down and out even with the appearance of Batista.
The way Evan Bourne and Sheamus ended didn't surprise me(almost a CM Punk moment with him hitting Bourne with the mic while in the middle of his speech...but not nearly as funny or as good). I normally don't care for non-contested matches, but in this case I will make the exception. Sheamus has a reputation for putting guys away so this actually went and goes with Sheamus' character.
Jericho and HBK was pretty good for what it was worth. HBK got the count-out win but Edge got some retaliation from Smackdown. I wish HBK would have made a bigger "statement" by at least giving Jericho some Sweet Chin Music after Edge got done with Jericho (the only reason I say something like that is because HBK said he was going to do something but just got a count-out win).
The Triple H and Orton match was solid. No surprises with Legacy and then Sheamus coming out to leave Orton and Trips out cold.
Batista and Kofi was good for a 3 minute match (I think if these 2 had a feud, it could actually work).
I will agree with Geemoney to say that I am surprised not see Kofi at WM (maybe he will be the 10th and final person for the MITB...it is already overcrowded).
Very good segment to end Raw with the contract signing and a lot of peoples' speculation came true when the leg injury was just a fake to lure Vince McMahon into some false sense of security. It was good how Bret "told" Vince about his injury as Vince turned around and his cast was on the table. Since it is now a no DQ match, I am guessing Bret will not only slap on the Sharpshooter but hold it on for a awhile like when he did it to Jerry Lawler when Lawler and Bret Hart had a feud and "The King" faked what was a leg injury I believe. Anyhow, good way to end Raw and I honestly am not looking forward to Pete Rose (though I am curious what he will do or say).
When Austin was standing in the back with HBK and Jericho, two guys not known for their size, did he look thin and a lot smaller or what? He looked to be in pretty good shape, better than when he first left and was fat, but man has his slimmed down.
Good show. Seeing Austin look so fit really made me miss him. I am glad he didn't stun anyone, that wouldn't help anybody. It always bugged me when he was the authority figure who got to beat up everyone, but never had to take a beating himself.
Batista no selling the towel for the blood from the ref at the end of his match was awesome. As is he, these days.
The contract signing was as a great payoff. Bret's smirk was perfect.
(edited by kentish on 17.3.10 0806)
(edited by kentish on 17.3.10 0807)
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Pretty good show for the most part. I really enjoyed Austin's segments and the fact that he didn't what it up(It's annoying) and loved the last segment with Bret and Vince to close the show. I hate how Kofi's been boked the last few months and I didn't like that HHH had Orton beat before DiBiase and Rhodes ran in.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoMy one random thought on Raw -
When Austin was standing in the back with HBK and Jericho, two guys not known for their size, did he look thin and a lot smaller or what? He looked to be in pretty good shape, better than when he first left and was fat, but man has his slimmed down.
What I noticed more than that was that Shawn looked a lot shorter than Jericho in that segment, which I'm pretty sure isn't the case. Not sure what that was about. Austin was slimmer but he still looks to have some serious muscle tone. No need to carry around 30 pounds of useless, absurd muscle mass if you're out of the ring for good.
I thought it was good, glad for the payoff of Bret's injury. You kind of knew it was going down when Vince said the contract would be iron-clad, and it sort of negates Vince kicking Bret's crutch out when you consider, Bret lay there and sold it all to lure Vince in. Nothing else really stood out. Only lowlight for me was Seamus' promo. I can't say I blame him entirely, but it's just the same promo everyone else cuts. It really goes to the point of them scripting promos that all sound like the same guy talking. Even with the accent, it sounded cookie-cutter.
I was thinking about this...they could get rid of OVW and just use this new fed as a training ground. Have some vets on it (Dreamer, Richards) and some underused talent (O'Haire, London).