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The W - Pro Wrestling - RAW #754 11/5/07
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geemoney
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Since: 26.1.03
From: Naples, FL

Since last post: 3 days
Last activity: 1 hour
#1 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.55
TONIGHT: WWE hits the wayback machine to 1999 with the return of DX and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Does Jericho finally return tonight too?

-“In Memory of ‘The Fabulous Moolah’ Lillian Ellison: 1923-2007.”

-WWE Open.

-RAW Open.

-RAW is LIVE from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, chock-full-o’ WWE fans (over 17,000) and we start off with the music of DX. Triple H and “Cowboy” Shawn Michaels come out, glowsticks in hand (why not sell some merch while you’re at it?). JR brings up the fans’ “unbridled enthusiasm” of the fans, and it reminds me of Billy Mumfry and that manuscript Kramer read (it was, after all, his downfall). Both guys have mics in hand, but the crowd is too hot to let them talk. Triple H asked, “are you ready?” He was about to give the “Let’s get ready to suck it” line, but HornswOggle’s music interrupted. The little tyke came from under the ring and did the DX chop several times while chasing Michaels around the ring. Trips tried to shoo him back under the ring. HBK managed to plug all their merchandise, then takes out a “run sheet” for the show (“I always carry it in case I forget my lines” said HBK). Triple H showed it to Hornswoggle and says he’s not in the first segment.

Horny put Shawn in some sort of arm-bar that Triple H called the “short-arm scissors.” HBK says for one night, he’s in. But Horny won’t go. He said there’s a monster under the ring. HBK had to check and something dragged him under the ring. He got back in the ring with a mouth full of worms. The Boogeyman’s music hit and he made an in-ring appearance. The Boogeyman said, “I’m the Boogeyman and I’m coming to....see if I can join DX.” Well, there goes his mystique. HBK said he was in too. Trips finally tried his catchphrase, but The Great Khali’s music hit. He came down with Runjin Singh, his handler. HBK wanted to ignore Trips, and HHH told Khali that if he wanted to be a part of DX, get in the back. Triple H talked in an Indian accent and as Trips was about to hit the catchphrase, Coach came out. He was ready to shut things down. Triple H, trying to get at Coach, whispered to Singh what Coach allegedly said about Khali. Singh told Khali and the big man looked none too happy. He gave the overhand chop to Coach, which sent the errand boy outside the ring. Khali went up the aisle after him. Boogey and Horny disappeared too. HBK said this was the worst debacle since the Katie Vick thing. Triple H made a writers on strike joke. WTF is going on here? Triple H finally got the catchphrase out. Everybody’s having a good time, according to Lawler. I’m not, so much.

-DX faces Orton & Umaga later tonight. Also, Stone Cold returns to RAW tonight.

[Break]

-Some stars in the crowd: Tom Green and Luke Perry.

-Clips of last week’s Divas Halloween Battle Royal aired.

(1) Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix
Kelly was not in a hurry to get this match started. Beth grabbed her arm and clotheslined her. Suplex by Beth, with the leg hooked (not quite a fisherman, though, IMO), she floats over and gets the pin.

Winner: Beth at :40

-Backstage, Santino Marella addressed the camera. He said Austin would not be there tonight. For the slight chance he does show up though, Santino has a paper bag: So Austin can try to act his way out of it. Oh, snap!

[Break]

-Tonight, Finlay and Mr. Kennedy face Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy! Inter-promotional warfare abounds tonight!

(2) Carlito vs. Joey
Both men were already in the ring. Carlito said he found a replacement for him...and it was Snitsky. So Carlito doesn’t want to face a jobber? Snitsky hit an elbow in the corner after throwing Joey out of a lock-up. Big boot off the ropes followed that up. Pump-Handle Slam and it’s over.

Winner: Snitsky at :35. Carlito was going to spit on the jobber, but Snitsky booted him and slammed him. He got a few cheers, but I’m still not sure the point of this segment.

-Video package for Jeff Hardy aired. Backstage, Jeff and Rey talked about their match.

[Break- Amazingly, I looked up who that jobber was during the break, as I’d read it was “Kaos” from WSX. I checked Wikipedia, and his bio was already updated to include his loss to Snitsky.]
-Kennedy was at the end of his promo out of break.

(3) Mr. Kennedy & Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio & Jeff Hardy
Before the match, JR and King plugged the five-on-five traditional Survivor Series match that was announced earlier today on WWE.com. Finlay and Jeff started things off. Jeff countered a chancery by Finlay and got a near-fall. Jeff slapped Finlay, then Kennedy got involved and ended up getting knocked off the apron. That distraction provided Finlay the time he needed to knock Jeff over the top rope. The heels were in a stare-down outside the ring as the show went to break.

[Break]

Back live, Kennedy and Rey were in the ring. Rey hit a springboard cross-body, then a spinning headscissors. He then dropped the dime, but didn’t go for the pin. That proved costly, as Kennedy dropkicked the knee of Rey. Finlay tagged in and went to work as only he can. He smelled blood and went after the left knee. Rey took out Jeff to make sure Rey couldn’t crawl over for the tag while Finlay had Rey in a half-crab. Kennedy was brought back in and he continued going to work on the knee. Apparently the ref didn’t see the tag, so they had to do it again. Rey came back and countered a wheel-barrow with a bulldog. Hot tag to Hardy. He hit his signature moves but Finlay interrupted him and threw him out of the ring. Rey knocked Finlay into Kennedy, hit the 619 on Kennedy and jumped onto Finlay on the outside. Jeff came in and hit the Swanton for the win.

Winners: Hardy and Mysterio at 10:13

-Santino was on his phone backstage when Maria came back and said there was a rumor that Austin was in the building. Santino said Hollywood is full of rumors. He headed to the ring to do his thing.

[Break]

-A video of fans waiting overnight for WrestleMania tickets.

-Santino Marella and Maria came out. See, now everyone is expecting Austin to come out. Wouldn’t it have been a cooler moment to have him come out last week, when at least it wasn’t confirmed that Austin was going to be there? Marella said Austin wasn’t going to be there. He likened Austin to Kobe Bryant. Santino introduced the director of “The Condemned,” who was in the front row. The fans booed, but Santino said not to clap because he saw the movie. Scott Wiper, the director, did not look happy at Santino’s jokes. As Marella finished saying Austin wouldn’t be there, you bet your ass the glass broke. Austin introduced himself to Marella. He was upset at Santino for mis-quoting him, most famously, the “ass-whip” and the “mud-pie.” He explained the real phrases. “It’s the bottom line, not the bottom lines.” “But sometimes, Santino likes to say more than one thing.” Priceless.

Santino admitted to watching The Condemned once. He asked Santino what he thought of the movie. Marella thought it was too violent. “That’s 90 minutes of my life I cannot get back.” Austin said you don’t come out and make your name off Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin said he just wanted to drink a beer with Santino, happy that he could get his opinion. Marella said he’d prefer a glass of red wine (beer burns his throat). Austin said okay, he just wanted to come down and give Marella a copy of what he thought was the best action movie of the last ten years. Marella dropped the movie to the ground and stepped on it. Austin finally hit the stunner and Santino sold it like a champ. He thought Santino looked thirsty, so he sat Santino up and put the DVD in his mouth. He then went backstage....and came back with a Budweiser truck. The beer hose came out too, with much of it getting sprayed into the crowd. But Santino got the brunt of it. Austin punched him and then drank some beers. Austin then approached Maria, and got the hose. She got sprayed (and tried to keep her top on at the same time), and Santino got some more as well.

[Break]

-Another Save_Us video aired. “The Code is The Answer” and “The Answer is the Code” were spliced in.

-Clips of what happened moments ago.

-Vince McMahon talked to Hornswoggle about parenting. He said there’s a time when everyone needs to stand on his own two feet. Hornswoggle may think that size doesn’t matter, but at Survivor Series, it might, when he faces his opponent, The Great Khali. Khali threatened applying the vice grip, but he didn’t. Hornswoggle acted sad.

-JR and King previewed the four known Survivor Series matches. I hope there’s more traditional SS style matches.

-Triple H was backstage and said he was sent out by management to kill time because they needed to clean up Austin’s beer act. HBK came onto the screen and started stumbling.....apparently, it was HBK’s responsibility to get the time-killer. He got the D-Generation X dancers, which was Big Dick Johnson all greased up. Trips was disappointed and took things into his own hands- he brought in a few Playboy’s Girls Next Door (King knew them by name) and they danced with Triple H.

[Break]

(4) Cody Rhodes vs. Lance Cade
Hardcore Holly came to the ring with Rhodes. Backstage, Cade and Murdoch were coming to the ring and Mickie James stopped to wish Murdoch good luck. Cade is playing the ultimate cock-block here. I think Lillian announced Cade as Rhodes’ opponent. Rhodes did his brothers lay-down punch when the opponent put his head down for a back-body drop. Murdoch snap-mared Rhodes over and applied a front face-lock. Rhodes flipped out of a suplex and delivered a dropkick to Murdoch, then hit a bulldog. Scoop slam by Cody, then he dropped the knee. Rhodes got the boot up on a Murdoch charge as Holly and Cade argued on the outside. Cade tried to get at Rhodes on the top, and Murdoch charged. Rhodes jumped out of the way and rolled up Murdoch for the win.

Winner: Rhodes at 2:40

-JR and King, on camera, discussed the passing of Fabulous Moolah. JR said the first women’s match he ever reffed was a Moolah match. A video package aired in tribute.

[Break]

-Also in the crowd: Dusty Hill of ZZ Top and Jamie Kennedy from “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.”

(4) Jim Duggan and Super Crazy vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team
Haas went after Crazy to start, after an attempt by Duggan and Crazy to get a chant going failed miserably. Benjamin tagged in and slammed Crazy. Another slam and another. And another. Okay, that’s about a dozen slams of Crazy now. Benjamin mocked Crazy’s crawl to tag Duggan, then he tagged Duggan himself, with a right hand. Surprise roll-up by Crazy got the win.

Winners: Duggan and Crazy at 1:54. Bizarre match, but nothing new tonight.

-Next, a one-night only reunion of DX as they take on Orton and Umaga.

[Break]10:54:40

(5) Umaga & Randy Orton vs. Triple H & Shawn Michaels
The four men started going at it immediately. Of course, the heels were the ones that ended up on the outside. HBK went over the top and took out Umaga while Triple H went to the opposite side after Orton. Back in the ring, Trips tagged HBK, who worked the left arm/shoulder of Orton. Randy was able to tag Umaga and the big man missed a sit-down splash. In came Triple H, and even his DDT hurt Umaga’s head. Umaga caught Triple H with the swinging Rock Bottom. Last, late break.

[Break] 11:10:30

Umaga continued pounding on Triple H in the corner. Umaga missed the running splash though. Orton tagged in and Trips got a boot up on a corner charge. Both men were down in the middle of the ring. HBK tagged in and hit a chop, then a flying jalapeno. Inverted atomic drop, then he nailed Umaga. To the top, he hit the flying elbow, but Umaga came from behind and turned Michaels inside-out. Umaga came in legally and greeted HBK with a headbutt. Michaels tried to come back, but Umaga out-punched him. Orton tagged himself in and hit a standing dropkick. JR named RVD as one of the people the Legend Killer has put out. Nerve hold by Umaga on HBK. It’s 11:05 and this match shows no signs of ending. Michaels got to his feet, but didn’t stay there long. Flying headbutt by Umaga missed. HBK couldn’t reach Trips for the tag, but an enziguiri allowed him some extra time. Trips and Orton both tagged in and a high knee caught Orton. Trips threw Umaga from ring post to ring post, the hit the spinebuster on Orton. He was about to hit Orton with the pedigree, but Umaga got Trips with the Samoan Spike. Both men are down again. Umaga splashed Trips in the corner and then took out HBK on the apron. Umaga tried a butt drop, but Trips got the knees up into the groin. Orton stalked HHH and was ready for the RKO. Nothing doing, as Triple H blocked it and pushed Orton into Umaga. Michaels came in and out of nowhere, hit the superkick. Goodnight.

Winners: Trips and Michaels at 15:50. Wouldn’t you think that if Vince was re-uniting DX for one night only, he’d have some super-secret plan to make sure things went his way? Then again, this was a strange show to say the least.



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BoromirMark
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Since: 8.5.02
From: Milan-Ann Arbor, MI

Since last post: 3262 days
Last activity: 3262 days
#2 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.77
I was entertained by this RAW more than I have been by wrestling in a long, long time...only by the first hour, however.

The DX opening skit was awesome. Hornswoggle coming out initially threw up some red flags for me, but that turned out fine culminating in H's "Yes, that's a midget between my legs." comment. People can say what they want about Trips but the man is gold on the mic. I wasn't bothered by Boogeyman either, as his busting out a soft voice to ask to join DX in the midst of his "comin' to get ya!" schtick was gold. Khali really didn't add anything, but that hardly matters when we had the priceless Katie Vick and Writer's Guild strike mentions.

The Hardy/Mysterio-Kennedy/Finlay match was good as well. The crowd was into it, it was a bit above the paint-by-numbers most Double Double E matches are nowadays, and it was a good build for a Survivor Series teaser.

Santino f'n Marella. What more is there to be said? Not much but throw in Maria in a smokin' hot dress and add a little badass Stone Cold Steve Austin to mix, and you have yourselves a recipe for greatness. There was too much funny, too many little things to recall but it all reinforced in my mind that a) Austin is/was the best in the business and b) Santino is the future of the business if he can show any ability in the ring whatsoever.

Unfortunately, that was the high point for me. I appreciated the passable "let-down" match and the classy Moolah tribute. Where I drew the line and flipped to my Steelers routing the Ravens was the GOD AWFUL Super Crazy/Hacksaw-Haas/Benjamin mess. What the hell!?!? First off that "Si! HOOO!' nonsense was obviously not working and annoying as sin. Secondly, why on earth are Haas and Benjamin jobbing so frequently and for no good reason than to try and establish horrid gimmicks and pushes for the WEEE? Shelton has shown far more ability and talent in the ring than Cody Rhodes, and as a team Haas and Benjamin have proven they are more than just credible as champions; they truly ARE championship material. Their Team Angle runs were sights to behold. Where are their pushes?! Why isn't Shelton a force to be reckoned with?? But instead of re-establishing them, the plan is apparently to try and cement an obviously-in-need-of-polishing Cody and a infantile comedy gimmick in Crazy and Hacksaw? That's more than just sad; it's an insult to the viewers and to Haas and Benjamin. It's an insult to Crazy as well - yes he got over in ECW mainly because the fans took to him, but that wasn't through wacky antics and a dumb catchphrase. It was through his ringwork. All in all, that match sickened me and I couldn't stand anymore. I flipped before the main event even came on, and that's something the WEE should be working against.

(edited by BoromirMark on 5.11.07 2339)
Wpob
Bierwurst








Since: 21.11.02
From: Williston Park, NY

Since last post: 1444 days
Last activity: 1210 days
#3 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.26
Santino Marella IS Raw now. He probably has been for a while but he has officially converted me with the "And JR will have an orgasm" line. He cracked me up the whole time but that line killed me.

He held his own in the ring with one of the all time best and did not come across like he should not be there. The only problem I had with that skit was the video in his mouth (it should have fallen out or Maria should have taken it out) and the camera caught Marella peeking when Austin was setting up the beer blast. But they are minor complaints.

He was gold and I hope that SOMEONE is training him during the week because if he could even hold his own in the ring, he will be the Champ very soon.

The rest of RAW was eh for me.



Fry crack corn and I don't care
Leela crack corn I still don't care
Bender crack corn and he is great
Take that you stupid corn!

"just because you ARE a character does not mean you HAVE character.."
JoshMann
Andouille








Since: 17.11.03
From: Tallahassee, FL

Since last post: 5726 days
Last activity: 5724 days
#4 Posted on | Instant Rating: 9.00

    He was gold and I hope that SOMEONE is training him during the week because if he could even hold his own in the ring, he will be the Champ very soon.


At the very least he deserves a heel run with the IC belt which should coincide with Jeff Hardy continuing to (pun slightly intended) climb up the ladder into the main event scene that looks imminant at this point. You don't give video packages like that unless your intent is to make someone a big star.






2006 Time Man Of The Year
yamcha
Mettwurst








Since: 21.6.07
From: ....here?

Since last post: 5029 days
Last activity: 4987 days
#5 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.33
I loved the opening. It goes to show you that every one wants to be in DX. Giants, Freaks, and midgets. All that was missing was Kali saying suck it.
emma
Cherries > Peaches








Since: 1.8.02
From: Phoenix-ish

Since last post: 435 days
Last activity: 157 days
#6 Posted on | Instant Rating: 7.70
Live from Los Angeles ...

Weird crowd. Weird show. Wierdness abounded.

Immediately noticed the absence of the Raw ramp. Maybe I've been to too many live shows, but right at that point I had a pretty good hunch that Austin would be driving something in.

Dark / Heat:

-- Vladimir Kozlov squashed a local jobber. Kozlov actually promos pretty well, & moves very well. Hopefully he'll get a useful program. Jobber did well making the squash interesting.

-- Mickie James d. Melina. I've said before that I think Melina is actually a pretty decent worker. Mickie at least isn't actively scaring me as much as she used to.

-- Ron Simmons d. Aaron Aguilera -- is this the same Aaron Aguilera that was Jesus in an early Carlito angle? Short squash. Long dramatic pause working the "Damn."

-- Loooong segment of T-shirt cannon.

-- London/Kendrick vs. Highlanders: This was the only opener worth calling a match. The guys were all working really hard, but the crowd was being so ... rude. I couldn't follow the flow of the match at all for all the people clambering in & out, getting food, urchins randomly waving signs & glo-sticks. Uh, people??? There's a match going on. And it's probably a really good one! Yeeesh.

-- Lot of sitting around, a fake "now we're going live" at 10 min before the hour -- general weirdness. I loved Lillian's national anthem when she used to do it a capella. For a while now, they do a version with an orchestral backing; it doesn't kick my ass nearly as much as the a capella version did. I'm not even sure she's not lip syncing.

-- Finally get to the opening DX segment. I usually love HHH & HBK segments, but this really wasn't very good. Much too contrived. They made a certain deal out of "one time only DX reunion", but with all the other garbage (Hornswoggle, Boogeyman, Khali, Coach, ...), it didn't feel particularly special.
Really, the "who's writing this crap?", "worst mess since Katie Vick" comment was the highlight of the segment. Weird.

(At this point, since we'd had Boogeyman worms all over the ring, we get to watch the *first* ring canvas change. At least all they had to do was strip the top layer.)

-- Beth squashing Kelly Kelly: The entrances were longer than the "match", & not even an excuse for a promo. I'm pretty sure they could use Beth better than this.

-- Live, we got Jillian screeching at us during a Kiss-cam segment. How is screeching entertaining?

-- Kaos got a decent amount of recognition from the savvy locals. He had to stand around through the Jillian screeching. OK, he gets Carlito. No, we get another squishy-squash. Not even an interesting one. Is Sntisky providing Carlito with a face full of boot supposed to be some sort of face turn for Snitsky?

-- One thing that totally amused me, unintentionally: Kennedy comes out & does his thing with the classic mic. They lower that mic straight down to him center ring. "Misterrrrr Kennedy!" Go up the turnbuckle, & the guy up in the rafters tightens up the slack in the mic cable. "Kennedy." And Kennedy casually tosses the mic over his shoulder, back toward center ring. Guy up in the rafters is *supposed* to immediately start to reel the mic back up. He didn't. And pendular motion being what it is, the mic eventually swung back up & thunked Kennedy in the back of the head as he was still posing. Kennedy totally no-sold it, although I suspect there may be a tech hiding up in the rafters all night.

-- So, Kennedy/Finley vs. Mysterio/Hardy: Crowd dead for Finley's entrance. Big pop for Rey & Jeff's entrances. And then the crowd goes back to milling around & getting beers & not paying any attention at all. WTF?!?!?

-- OK, top of the second hour. Clearly this will be the Austin segment. Crew scampers around with ladders taking down some curtains around the entrance area. Uh, yup. Santino rambles. Austin appears. It was a big pop, but not nearly the "crowd goes totally apeshit" that you get when it's less telegraphed. They were trying to keep the audio in the arena up high, but you could still hear the truck starting up & getting into position. This seemed like the least entertaining I remember hearing Austin talk in forever. "Buy the DVD" -- yeah, we get the message. Finally when he went to get the truck, that was fun. I doubt that he was actually supposed to hit the ring & shove it a couple of inches back. I don't think the hose was probably supposed to be spraying while he tossed it into the ring. Front row center got drenched -- "Save the cell phones & cameras!" The people in Santino's corner were a little more prepared, but I was still suprised how wet they got. ("Take your mama for a ride on Splash Mountain.") Maria was having double wardrobe difficulty. Not only was she trying to keep her top on, the back was also sliding down once it got soggy. She didn't look like she was enjoying this.

Massive cleanup effort ensues. Towels & mops galore. Significant focus on the announcer's table, which had also gotten quite soggy. And this time, they had to do a full replacement of the canvas, since they'd already had to strip down the extra layer earlier on. When HHH came on saying he was stalling for time, the really were still cleaning up the mess.

And live in the arena, they were *still* swabbing while Todd Grisham came out to do "Show your Signs".

-- Finally, we get back to a match ... And it's Cody Rhodes vs. Trevor Murdoch. Not exactly a match to get the audience back into the show after the interminable cleanup process.

-- The Moolah tribute piece was very well done, & well received in the arena.

-- Crowd totally dead for the Benjamin/Haas entrance. Duggan & Super Crazy got a much better reception. I assumed the whole "Ho-o" / "Si-i" thing was while y'all were away on commercial. You mean they showed that??? Weird & useless throwaway waste of Shelton & Charlie. And seriously bad booking decision to waste this space, rather than trying to get the crowd back in before the ME...

-- Umaga & Orton vs. DX :The crowd hadn't given a crap about wrestling all night, so why start now. Last chance to get your sign on TV! Better leave early to beat the traffic! I had trouble seeing the match, & it was totally impossible to follow it. And, as geemoney said, wouldn't you think there'd be some blowoff for the "one night only reunion"??? (I figured all the nonsense at the beginning about "executive decision -- he's in DX" would payoff somehow.) Apparently not.

-- No particular after show. HHH & HBK posed & played around a bit. At one point HHH even said, "I don't even have anything to say." They both worked the crowd around ringside & the non-ramp for a really long time though, which was great for those people. (I'm thinking most of the rest of the crowd didn't deserve any after-show goodness.)

Weird, weird crowd, show, everything ...
I Breastfeed John Madden
Head cheese








Since: 13.4.04
From: Des Moines, IA

Since last post: 3344 days
Last activity: 2949 days
#7 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.12
Santino fucking rules.



Malone.
Ex-Cop, Ex-CIA, Ex-plosive.
It's False
Scrapple








Since: 20.6.02
From: I am the Tag Team Champions!

Since last post: 2190 days
Last activity: 572 days
#8 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.60
    Originally posted by emma
    Live from Los Angeles ...

    Weird crowd. Weird show...


My supervisor was among the atendees at tonight's show. I was surprised to see him back at the office around 9-ish, telling us that the show stunk and wasn't worth sticking around for.

Something must have been in the air tonight. I mean, they had STONE COLD there, for God's sakes!




"Wocka Wocka...who wants to hear a funny-ass joke?"
The Guinness.
Potato korv








Since: 24.4.05
From: San Diego, CA

Since last post: 2134 days
Last activity: 42 days
#9 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.53
    Originally posted by emma
    ...the mic eventually swung back up & thunked Kennedy in the back of the head as he was still posing. Kennedy totally no-sold it...


I didn't catch it the first time. DVR is great. Yep, that happened. You can even hear the thud of the mic when it hit him.

Good Raw. Santino is good Raw. No save us promo? Or did I miss it?
Big Bad
Scrapple








Since: 4.1.02
From: Dorchester, Ontario

Since last post: 1917 days
Last activity: 1486 days
#10 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.09
This week's SAVE US promo featured 'The Code Is The Answer' and 'The Answer Is The Code.' It's the debut of Allen Iverson?

The one-night DX reunion was unusual in a storyline sense since, technically, nothing is keeping HHH and HBK from reforming DX permanently. They were thick as thieves in January, but after returning from injury, they just decided not to reform as a duo? I guess this is asking a lot of logic given that they reformed last year after spending the previous four years in a blood feud, but hey.

Shawn Michaels, WWE title contender at the next pay per view, was taken down and arm-barred by a midget leprechaun. Sigh.

Maria's dress might have been her hottest outfit yet, and that's high praise. I'm glad they didn't again book wifebeater Austin to deliver a stunner to a woman in the ring like he did years ago with Stacy.

WTF was up with the agent who laid out that WGTT/Crazy Hacksaw match? 90 percent of the moves were scoop slams. Aside from Shelton's awesome lying-on-the-mat mocking of Crazy reaching for the hot tag, it was just an inexplicable waste of five minutes.

BigDaddyLoco
Scrapple








Since: 2.1.02

Since last post: 318 days
Last activity: 318 days
#11 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.34
Stone Cold is looking pretty rough these days.

Si/Ho just isn't going to get over is it?
djp
Morcilla








Since: 16.2.07
From: 3rd Floor, NW window

Since last post: 2624 days
Last activity: 2527 days
#12 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.07
Poor Umaga can't catch a break. JR has downgraded him from Samoan Bulldozer to Samoan SUV. Sheesh.
Spaceman Spiff
Knackwurst








Since: 2.1.02
From: Philly Suburbs

Since last post: 1327 days
Last activity: 1 hour
#13 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.05

    b) Santino is the future of the business if he can show any ability in the ring whatsoever.


    He was gold and I hope that SOMEONE is training him during the week because if he could even hold his own in the ring, he will be the Champ very soon.

Stop. Just...stop. He's a good low card comedy heel, but "future of the business" or "champ very soon"? C'mon.


    I'm glad they didn't again book wifebeater Austin to deliver a stunner to a woman in the ring like he did years ago with Stacy.

Yeah, instead he only blasted a woman w/ a high-powered beer hose for no reason whatsoever, and then gave her another blast as she was kneeling down. If that isn't "respect for women", I don't know what is.



kentish
Andouille








Since: 19.8.05
From: My Old Kentucky Home

Since last post: 3405 days
Last activity: 1416 days
#14 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.56
The DX opening was hit and miss, but at least ended on a good note with the writers strike joke. Shawn acting like the goofball after playing the Ted Nugent like bad ass for weeks may have been a step backward.

I don't know if Santino is the future of the business, but he is the reason I watch Raw right now. I don't think I am alone, and that counts for something. He was selling the beer bath like a champ, so he can at least take an ass kicking, even if his offense is blah. Remember, Honky Tonk Man couldn't wrestle for shit either.

It may have been said before, but I think Beth Phoenix would make a great Wonder Woman if she dyed her hair. At least in appearance.







"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

-- Mahatma Gandhi
Mayhem
Scrapple








Since: 25.4.03
From: Nashville, TN

Since last post: 2429 days
Last activity: 242 days
#15 Posted on | Instant Rating: 5.05

Solid RAW last night ... I got a few chuckles from the opening segment, even if it did run a bit long.

Why the heck can't Haas & Benjamin get even a minuscule push?

Wpob
Bierwurst








Since: 21.11.02
From: Williston Park, NY

Since last post: 1444 days
Last activity: 1210 days
#16 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.26
Spiff,

If not him then who? What young up and comer has the charisma to be the next champ or even compete for the title? People love AND hate Santino all at the same time. Learning to wrestle is the easy part - mic work and working the crowd is much, much tougher. Santino is already better on the mic than 95% of the roster. If he could become a better wrestler over the next six months or so, why wouldn't he be in line for a title shot? Who else do they have?

As for the future of the business, that is partly because of what they currently have now on their roster. If Kennedy and Santino become better workers that they are now, then you have two monster heels that can work a mic. Who else can do that? Umaga is just a monster with no mic skills so eventually, he will fade away. Orton blows on the mic and shows no signs of ever getting better. Finlay is good but he is a mid card guy due to age. So who else is their?

If I were Vince, I would have some of the older talent (Malenko for one) work with Santino all week and get his in work skills better pronto. As long as they do not feed Santino to HHH, he will be around a long time as a ME heel.



Fry crack corn and I don't care
Leela crack corn I still don't care
Bender crack corn and he is great
Take that you stupid corn!

"just because you ARE a character does not mean you HAVE character.."
Spaceman Spiff
Knackwurst








Since: 2.1.02
From: Philly Suburbs

Since last post: 1327 days
Last activity: 1 hour
#17 Posted on | Instant Rating: 4.05

    If he could become a better wrestler over the next six months or so, why wouldn't he be in line for a title shot?

Because his whole schtick is comedy. People don't pay to see the top champ do comedy. He would have to completely overhaul his character & severely cut back on the comedy before I'd even consider him a viable title contender.

I realize the Raw roster is pretty slim on ME heels, but I just don't think Santino is the guy to fill the position. At least, not now & not in this gimmick. People just jumping all over the guy because he has some funny lines is just getting a little annoying. I find him pretty hit or miss - this week he was decent, but last week was just terrible, which didn't stop people from proclaiming it his best stuff to date. People just need to dial the praise back a bit.

Personally, I'd give serious thought to turning Lashley heel upon his return, with an eye towards Cena/Lashley at the '09 Wrestlemania. I know Lashley isn't very good on the mic, but he'll be a monster, he won't need to cut 20 minute promos every week.



KJames199
Scrapple
Moderator








Since: 10.12.01
From: #yqr

Since last post: 217 days
Last activity: 7 hours
#18 Posted on | Instant Rating: 6.45
    Originally posted by Wpob
    If not him then who?
Well, that's the problem - there really isn't anyone else on the way up, but that doesn't mean that Santino is going to get a chance (or that he deserves one)

Santino is quite funny, but he's already been locked into WWE low-card hell and once someone's there, it's REAL hard for them to break out. Furthermore, I don't know if I can really complain about this, since he's the drizzling shits in the ring. "So was Hogan," you might say, but Hogan was six-and-a-half feet tall and 270 pounds of tanned muscle, while Santino is short, covered in trashy tattoos, and doesn't have the WWE main event body. Fair or not, that's going to seriously hurt his chances, no matter how great he is on the mic (he's pretty good) or how great he may one day become in the ring (probably not going to happen, but you never know).



JK
Wpob
Bierwurst








Since: 21.11.02
From: Williston Park, NY

Since last post: 1444 days
Last activity: 1210 days
#19 Posted on | Instant Rating: 3.26
KJames and Spiff,

I completely agree that Santinois horrible in the ring, but a turn from comedy to straight heel IS pretty easy. All he has to do is throw Maria under the bus (not literally but with the WWE, who knows?) and you will have a serious heel turn. Cut back on the schtick and go for the throat.

Realistically, I know he probably has no shot at a top heel, but with the rash of injuries that happen in the WWE, I would think they would like him to be as ready as possible that if there is more trouble and they need a two month arc of a ME heel, he could step in for the short term.

IF, and this is a BIG IF, Santino could hold his own, I would love to see him go mic to mic with Cena just to show Cena up because I do feel Santino is way better on the mic than Cena (but that might be because I am sick of Cena). A mini Cena/Marella feud over the summer would be fine with me. But I know this will never happen, at least not that soon.

As for Lashley, a heel turn is NEEDED for him, but it will not last long. He is HORRIBLE on the mic and unless someone is working with him the entire time he has been out on his mic skills, I do not see him coming back any better. For me it seems to be easier on the mic to be a face than a heel as the crowd will always cheer along with cheap pops from a face but will call out a heel if they can;t deliver on the mic. Mic work is SO necessary for a heel. That is why, even though his wrestling is lacking, Kennedy will eventually get a shot at the title because he CAN carry a verbal war and get the crowd against him AND behind the face.

Regardless, I love Santino now and consider him the only strong point of RAW. Yes he is hit and miss, but unlike DX/HHH/HBK, it is not the same schtick each week. DX was back for all of 5 minutes and I was tired of them and hoping this was REALLY a one shot deal. Santino was so gold last night I will actually tune in next week to see where he goes with it.

So, even though he is not wreslting, he is still drawing fans like me back to the TV. That is saying something.



Fry crack corn and I don't care
Leela crack corn I still don't care
Bender crack corn and he is great
Take that you stupid corn!

"just because you ARE a character does not mean you HAVE character.."
kentish
Andouille








Since: 19.8.05
From: My Old Kentucky Home

Since last post: 3405 days
Last activity: 1416 days
#20 Posted on | Instant Rating: 2.56
Even though it will not lead to an in ring payoff, being paired up with Stone Cold (Or Cone Stold, as I believe he called him last night) is a huge step for Santino. I think that shows the WWE is willing to give him a shot at a much higher position on the card.

And Spiff, why should people dial back the praise for him if they really dig the guy? Lord knows we need something to be positive about when it comes to the WWE these days.




"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

-- Mahatma Gandhi
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Probably trying to rehab Haas after he lost his own squash match on PPV.
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