-Randy Orton video package opened things, leading to Orton in the ring live (well, taped, but you get what I mean). He's got the spotlight on him in the ring, talking about being the champion in '08. That led to Jeff Hardy coming out. Jeff said Randy doesn't have momentum, seeing as Jeff pinned him three weeks ago. Orton got face-to-face with Hardy and tried an RKO, but Jeff turned it into a Twist of Fate.
-A Flair video package aired, splicing past clips with current mic work. He faces Triple H tonight.
-HBK is walkign backstage, set to face Mr. Kennedy next.
[Break]
-Next Monday: Raw Roulette.
-Backstage, Jeff met up with his brother Matt.
(1) Ken Kennedy vs. Shawn Michaels A little mat wrestling got things started. HBK worked on the left knee, even removing the kneepad. Half-crab by HBK, then Kennedy speared HBK through the ropes. HBK made it in at nine, then we took a break.
[Break]
KK had the advantage out of break, hanging Michaels in the tree of woe. KK suplexed Shawn off the middle rope. That got two. HBK kicked at the injured knee, then hit a flying forearm. Elbowdrop from the top missed. Oklahoma roll by KK got two. A series of roll-ups for near falls followed. Superkick was missed and Kennedy hit his finisher for the win.
Winner: Kennedy at 12:32.
-Todd Grisham was backstage with Triple H. He talked about the dilemma of facing Flair. Trips said Flair was right, saying if he went out he'd go losing to the best. Oh, gag me. Vince then interrupted with Regal and said that if Trips lost his match in any way, he'd get no spot in the Royal Rumble. That adds some intrigue.
[Break]
-Big Dick Johnson, Ron Simmons and Jillian Hall wished us a Happy New Year.
-Backstage, Vince and Regal were talking and Vince said he was worried about Regal's new year. Vince didn't like him slithering away from Trips a few weeks back, so he said he'd put him in a match with Hornswoggle tonight.
-A review of Tribute to the Troops.
-JBL arrives on RAW tonight.
[Break]
-Courtesy of WWE 24/7, video aired of Jim Duggan winning the first Royal Rumble.
(2) Jim Duggan vs. Umaga- Royal Rumble Qualifying Match Umaga pounded at Duggan and then hit the running butt splash. Duggan appeared to have some internal bleeding. Samoan Spike finished it.
Winner: Umaga at 1:20.
-Flair got some good luck wishes from the tag champs when Vince barged in. For some reason, Ric was wearing a DX tee. McMahon didn't give Flair much of a chance in his match tonight.
-Clips of Armageddon two weeks ago, when JBL cost Y2J the title. He arrives on RAW next.
[Break]
-JBL came out. He spent the first few minutes posing as fireworks went off. He said he's on RAW because he loves domination. In the middle of his promo, Jericho attacked and they brawled. Refs and agents (I spy: Mike Rotundo, Barry Windham, Tony Garea and Sgt. Slaughter) broke it up.
[Break]
-Clips of what happened moments ago.
-JBL yelled at the refs and agents backstage.
(3) Melina vs. Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix- Triple Threat Match for Women's Title Melina stood in the corner while Beth and Mickie went at it. Melina slapped Beth after she broke up Melina's pin attempt. A double-enziguiri put Beth down but the other girls fought over the cover. Seated senton by Melina on Beth got two. Some more double-teaming and Beth was thrown out of the ring. DDT by Melina got a two count when Phoenix interfered. Mickie was then thrown to ringside and Melina was pinned with the Fisherman suplex.
Winner: Beth at 4:19.
-Flair vs. Trips is coming up soon.
[Break]
(4) Wiliam Regal vs. Hornswoggle Vince was out with Regal. Couple of collar-and-elbow tie-ups started things. After a take-down by Regal, Vince got on the apron. Regal was ready to punch Horny, but didn't. Vince told Regal to give his boy some tough love. Horny kicked at Regal's hamstrings and Regal got ready to punch him again but couldn't. Vince went into Regal's coat pocket and took out some brass knuckles. He gave them to Regal to use. Regal couldn't, letting go and Hornswoggle ran out of the ring. Vince came in and slapped Regal. Vince said that was a test of Regal and he failed. He then sent Regal to the back.
Winner: No contest at about 4:00.
-Hardy vs. Santino is next.
[Break]
-Earlier tonight, Jeff beat up Orton.
(5) Jeff Hardy vs. Santino Marella In a clever spot, Santino went for an armdrag, but Jeff pulled his arm away. Jeff hit all his signature spots and went to the top but Randy interrupted on the video wall. He had already kicked Matt in the appendix, then kicked him in the head. Jeff ran backstage to check on him.
Winner: No contest (no bell), in about 3:00.
[Break]
-We see what happened moments ago.
-Backstage, Trips wished Ric good luck. Flair said he feels like he's looking into a mirror from 20 years ago. Ric said they'll still be friends no matter what the outcome. But Trips has to put Flair away to be the man.
[Break]
(6) Triple H vs. Ric Flair Ric did some showmanship early on. Hip toss and knife-edge chop by Naitch. Lots of heel heat for Triple H. Slow offense from Trips and a pedigree was countered into a backslide for two. Trips went back on offense with a sleeper. Flair went to the top and hit an elbow for two. Chop block followed. Trips kicked out of the Figure Four, but Flair then applied it in the middle of the ring. Trips almost got to the ropes but Flair pulled him back to the middle. He finally got to the ropes, then hit the pedigree but couldn't cover immediately. As he crawled to cover, Regal came out and hit Flair with the brass knucks for the DQ.
Winner: Flair at 13:10.
-Trips helped Flair to his feet and they embraced.
Was there really nothing better to put on besides JBL standing in the ring forever setting off fireworks every couple of minutes? That was lame. I missed a lot of the Smackdown days where he was the champ, and right now, I gotta say, I'm feeling good that I did. He can talk, but his promos just seem to cover the same thing, he's rich, he's powerful, he's a wrestling god. Yawn.
Originally posted by Packman V2Was there really nothing better to put on besides JBL standing in the ring forever setting off fireworks every couple of minutes? That was lame.
Some what agree...I sort of loved how it went in some weird way though.
JBL in ring looking blankly around. *raises arm* TONS OF FIREWORKS!
JBL in ring looking blankly around. *raises arm* TONS OF FIREWORKS!
JBL in ring looking blankly around. *raises arms* TONS of KURK ANGLE FIREWORKS!
Grabs mic, *knows how to talk* Jerchio interupts and huge brawl breaks out where JBL gets his nose slashed by one of Jerchio uncut finger nails.
I thought the appendix jokes were funny; even if they weren't supposed to be.
Matt Hardy (to Jeff): "At least I don't have to worry about that [having my appendix out] anymore."
RKO (also to Jeff from backstage): "I kicked him [Matt] right where his appendix USED to be!"
The HHH/Naitch match was very, very good. Best match from HHH since the Orton LMS match. I'm still not sure how the Naitch win-or-retire thing is going to play out. If it's set up for a loss at WM, he may run out of interesting opponents by then.
HHH/Flair was really good and that show was really good, but man, if you're not even going to let Ric Flair win a match on his retirement tour in his last appearance in Greensboro on New Year's Eve, you suck. This is some winning streak he's on, which consists of nothing but him on the verge of losing to dudes before sneaking over on flukes.
The biggest moment was Kennedy beating Shawn clean. I was shocked for two big reasons:
1) Shawn lost cleanly by pinfall without the prior-injury excuse. 2) He lost to f-ing deadweight, sandbag, nothing-without-the-mic Kennedy.
Now they have to do something with Kennedy. He can't simply hover around the IC belt or eat a Pedigree in tag matches. But with JBL emerging as the new top heel, what do you do with Ken? A Shawn rivalry angle already seems lop-sided in Michaels's favor, and Hunter would have to step down to feud with Kennedy.
It's baffling.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
Originally posted by Matt TrackerThe biggest moment was Kennedy beating Shawn clean. I was shocked for two big reasons:
1) Shawn lost cleanly by pin-fall without the prior-injury excuse. 2) He lost to f-ing deadweight, sandbag, nothing-without-the-mic Kennedy.
Now they have to do something with Kennedy. He can't simply hover around the IC belt or eat a Pedigree in tag matches. But with JBL emerging as the new top heel, what do you do with Ken? A Shawn rivalry angle already seems lop-sided in Michaels's favor, and Hunter would have to step down to feud with Kennedy.
It's baffling.
Your question about Kennedy reminds me how they never should have moved him over from SD! in the first place.
I think the Flair angle has been booked perfectly so far. We can't realistically expect him to beat everyone on his own by pin-fall. He has to have some luck (count out win over Umaga) and some help from his friends (Jericho). No matter what city it is, it is a stretch to believe that he would beat HHH. I can't believe I said that about HHH, but it it true. Ric is too old and slow to win every week based on his own skills at this point. It seems the E agrees, based on the booking. I just can't figure out who his WM opponent will be. I will guess Batista, as I can't see any other option for Dave at this point, with Taker-Edge the obvious main event for SD!, and I assume Orton-HHH. Maybe Shawn?
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Originally posted by kentish I just can't figure out who his WM opponent will be. I will guess Batista, as I can't see any other option for Dave at this point, with Taker-Edge the obvious main event for SD!, and I assume Orton-HHH. Maybe Shawn?
Jeff Hardy. They can do the whole "Jeff grew up idolizing Flair in the Carolinas" angle, it would give Jeff something important for WM, and the crowd would probably take kindly enough to it and it could end with the feel-good moment of the two of them hugging in the ring.
Originally posted by kentish I just can't figure out who his WM opponent will be. I will guess Batista, as I can't see any other option for Dave at this point, with Taker-Edge the obvious main event for SD!, and I assume Orton-HHH. Maybe Shawn?
Jeff Hardy. They can do the whole "Jeff grew up idolizing Flair in the Carolinas" angle, it would give Jeff something important for WM, and the crowd would probably take kindly enough to it and it could end with the feel-good moment of the two of them hugging in the ring.
I like it. I was hoping to have HBK-Hardy at Mania, with the whole "idolizing" angle, but this would work too. But what do they do with Shawn and Batista?
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Originally posted by kentish I just can't figure out who his WM opponent will be. I will guess Batista, as I can't see any other option for Dave at this point, with Taker-Edge the obvious main event for SD!, and I assume Orton-HHH. Maybe Shawn?
Jeff Hardy. They can do the whole "Jeff grew up idolizing Flair in the Carolinas" angle, it would give Jeff something important for WM, and the crowd would probably take kindly enough to it and it could end with the feel-good moment of the two of them hugging in the ring.
I like it. I was hoping to have HBK-Hardy at Mania, with the whole "idolizing" angle, but this would work too. But what do they do with Shawn and Batista?
Yikes...this seems dangerously close to fantasy booking, but perhaps if I call it prognosticating, attempting to divine the intentions of VKM it can avoid that filthy label. My best guesses for WM24 would be: HHH vs. Orton (champ) UT vs. Edge (champ) Jeff Hardy vs. Flair Matt Hardy vs. MVP (champ) Chris Jericho vs. Kennedy MitB: HBK, Punk, Morrison, Carlito, Kendrick, London, Benjamin, Guerrero. (I say this because I could see HBK winning the MitB, so that he could hang around the upper card, and then if they need a big angle they have him use it.) Hogan vs. Khali VKM vs. Hornswoggle Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix (champ)
I was thinking that if they wanted to do one last championship run for Flair, they've set themselves up for it perfectly. If you have Flair win the Royal Rumble, then you set up a title vs. career match for Wrestlemania, which I think would be a pretty good angle.
Originally posted by kentishI think the Flair angle has been booked perfectly so far. We can't realistically expect him to beat everyone on his own by pin-fall.
He can't fluke past everyone either, or else that means he really is too old to compete and should retire. If they're too self-conscious to put him over any of their top guys, then don't book the matches against the top guys, since you know you can't/won't do a satisfying ending. Let him beat Santino and Miz and Carlito and then move up to Kennedy and then get to the big matches with real intrigue and jeopardy.
I think Jericho's Wrestlemania opponent is JBL. No clue on who Flair would do his last match with.
I was hoping Triple H would hurt his knee on the Pedigree and roll out of the ring, either getting counted out or not being able to climb in soon enough to get the pin.
The all acronym brawl was pretty vicious and genuine looking.
If Flair's last opponent ain't HHH it;s got to be Orton. Legend Killed, right?
I was hoping it would be Arn who would punch Ric to save his career, with the added twist that he was actually somewhat upset with Flair calling someone else his best friend. It would have been worth it for Regal to lay out Hornswaggle just to get the payoff of Regal and Finley stiffing the living shit out of each other for our amusement. Vince is no longer 'snapped' but just his usual dick-heel self? I would have liked to see him continue on the Snively Whiplash path he started a few weeks ago.
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoI just like the fact that Shawn Michaels gave Kennedy a clean pin ... on probably one of the least watched Raws of the year! No really, I like that.
(edited by BigDaddyLoco on 3.1.08 0803)
Do you really think the only reason he did a clean job is because less people were watching? I guess anything is possible, but would assume quite a few people saw Survivor Series.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Hey, if Flair enters the Rumble, but doesn't win it, does that constitute a career ending loss?
I always thought that Arn Anderson was Flair's best friend. At least, I recall that being mentioned in a promo years ago.
I'm wondering, however...what did Ric have against appearing on Smackdown?
I've seen 18 movies so far this year: Because I Said So - (2*); Borat - (5*); Children Of Men - (4*); Die Hard 4 - (5*); Enchanted - (5*); Evan Almighty - (3.5*); Fantastic Four 2 - (4.5*); Hairspray - (5*); Harry Potter 5 - (4*); Knocked Up - (4*); The Last Mimsy - (4*); Mr. Brooks - (4*); Resident Evil: Extinction - (3.5*); Shrek The Third - (3*); Simpsons Movie - (3*); Spiderman 3 - (3.5*); Superbad - (1*); Transformers - (2*)
Originally posted by BigDaddyLocoI just like the fact that Shawn Michaels gave Kennedy a clean pin ... on probably one of the least watched Raws of the year! No really, I like that.
(edited by BigDaddyLoco on 3.1.08 0803)
Do you really think the only reason he did a clean job is because less people were watching? I guess anything is possible, but would assume quite a few people saw Survivor Series.
Monday night was the second Raw in a row I missed since I started watching again this Fall.
I was out getting drunk and celebrating the new year with friends (and x-mas the week before that) and I'm sure a few other people were doing that too. And no, I didn't tape it. I forgot, not that I intended to do it anyway.
-- 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year --
"Let me see if I can get inside his mouth." -- Michael Wilbon on PTI August 28, 2007
Originally posted by OliverHey, if Flair enters the Rumble, but doesn't win it, does that constitute a career ending loss?
No. During the 15th Anniversary special, during the 3/4th of Evolution v. Rated RKO/Umaga match, Lawler mentioned the "Lose again and YOU'RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRED!" clause only counts in one-on-one matches. Flair would be safe in the Rumble.