Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[chasingamy]

Amy’s LATE take on Raw 09/22/08:

Opening Segment: Jericho atop a ladder called Michaels on his statement about revolutionizing the ladder match last week. Jericho pointed out his own impressive ladder match history. He said he’d still be the champion after No Mercy.

Orton came down, told Jericho he wouldn’t have the belt if not for him, and said whoever the champion is after the PPV is living on borrowed time. Jericho said Orton talks a lot of trash he can’t back up and questioned punching him. Orton said he’s untouchable per GM Mike Adamle. Jericho said he’s done wasting time on Orton and left.

Punk came down and went nose to nose with Orton before slapping him twice. Adamle rushed down and broke it up. He suspended Punk for defying his edict. Shane McMahon danced his way out and overruled Adamle. He then booked the night’s first match, Punk vs. Rhodes, and the main event, Jericho & JBL vs. Batista & HBK.

*A good segment to kick off the show, but it was a little busy with five guys and several storylines involved. It was a nice touch having Jericho cut his promo from atop a ladder. As always, he was solid on the mic and did a nice job setting up the WHC ladder match. Orton delivered another good promo and made reference to being a third generation star. Orton’s arms are covered in tats now and he looks very thin. I’m also growing a little concerned about the tweener reactions he’s getting. The segment picked up the Punk-Orton feud albeit a week late. Punk tried to look/act pissed but it came across forced. Shane McMahon’s appearance was a surprise but should have been explained (with it being the 800th episode). He added a dose of fun to the segment but made GM Adamle look like a fool.

Match #1 CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes: Slow, tentative start. The two traded forearms and punches. Punk got in quite a few kicks the first couple minutes. Rhodes escaped the GTS and ducked outside going to commercial. Rhodes had a modified ankle lock applied after the break. Punk on one leg delivered several knee strikes then locked in the ankle lock. Rhodes got to the ropes but Punk didn’t release the hold until the count of four. Punk followed with back fists, enziguiri, kicks, high knee, and GTS for the win. Post-match DiBiase and Manu attacked Punk and Kofi made the save.

*Good 10½-minute opening match. Punk looked good here. Rhodes continues to oversell a bit. The post-match stuff continues where Unforgiven left off.

Backstage with Shane/Adamle/Kane: Adamle felt embarrassed for being overruled. Shane told Mike he’s doing a good job as GM. Kane thanked Adamle for giving him Bourne tonight but he wants Rey. Adamle gave him a 1-on-1 match at the PPV. Kane told Shane to say hi to his mom and Shane explained their history to Adamle.

Backstage with Kelly/Beth/Santino/Batista: Beth told Kelly she asked for the match because she laughed at Glamarella last week. Santino was wearing a face guard because Tista “brokeded” his face and called her Kelly Kelly Kelly. He mocked Tista’s entrance but the Animal was behind him. Beth warned Tista to not interfere tonight. Lucky for Santino, his music started and he rushed off for his match.

*Fun segment. I laughed aloud at Santino doing Tista's intro. After that segment, I can understand why Tista’s unhappy with how he’s being used though.

Match #2 Santino Marella vs. Deuce (non-title): Before the match, Santino gave us a Honk-a-meter update: Honky Donkey Man 64 weeks, Santino 5 weeks. Deuce came to the ring and Santino called him Fonzie and said the happy days were over. Deuce overpowered Santino, but the two bumped heads and Santino won with a sunset flip. Post-match Santino said that was one win for team Glamarella and Kelly Tripled would lose tonight to the woman who makes him buy the contraceptives. Beth met him on the stage with a kiss to his injured face.

*More funny lines from Santino, but a meh 1-minute match. So much for Deuce getting a makeover.

Match #3 Kane vs. Evan Bourne: Before the match, backstage Rey told Evan to stay focused and tear it up. Early on, Bourne used his quickness to evade Kane. He connected with an enziguiri on the 7-footer (very nice spot). Bourne landed several kicks then did a top-rope moonsault to Kane on the outside, but Kane didn’t step up enough so it only partially connected. Bourne hit the double knee drop for the first cover. Kane tossed Bourne up in the air and hit him with an uppercut in mid-air (nice spot). Kane dominated the rest of the match and chokeslammed Bourne for the win. Kane looked to deliver a post-match chokeslam., but Rey ran out for the save. Kane got the better of the exchange and chokeslammed Mysterio too.

*Very entertaining 5-minute match. Bourne got in plenty of offense and looked good in defeat. Kane needed the win and post-match one-up on Mysterio leading up to their PPV match.

Backstage with Shane/Noble/Ziggler/Orton: Noble asked for another shot at Regal. The new guy Dolph Ziggler introduced himself to Shane and Jamie. Shane dismissed Noble when Orton approached. Randy said he respected Shane but what he did earlier wasn’t cool. He noted they are the most powerful 3rd generation stars and it’d be a shame to get on each other’s bad side. Shane agreed it’d be a bad thing but corrected Orton that he’s 4th generation.

Match #4 Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix (w/Santino) (non-title): Beth overpowered Kelly early with a side headlock, punches, forearm, and Irish Whip. Kelly fought back and worked Beth’s arm including a new sit-down springboard armdrag move. Kelly went for a hurricanrana, but Beth caught and slammed her back first in the corner. Beth worked Kelly’s arm. Candice was shown watching the match backstage. Kelly rallied with a dropkick, clothesline, and blind crossbody. Santino tripped her up but she moved to avoid Beth from behind. Kelly scored another roll-up win on the Women’s Champion. Post-match Beth held Kelly for Santino. Tista came down for the save. Santino got in a cheap shot before Tista snapped his face guard then delivered a spear.

*Pretty good 3-minute match. How many times has K2 beat Phoenix now? I’m not liking how they’re using the Glamazon. I guess they have to make Beth look weak so that Candice can look strong at No Mercy. Kelly’s new springboard sit-down armdrag move looks awkward, takes too long to setup, and reminds me too much of McCool’s 2nd rope backflip armdrag…I don’t like that move either.

Miz & Morrison Dirt Sheet vs. Cryme Tyme’s Word Up: A video package highlighting both wwe.com shows aired in which the two teams mocked each other. Miz and Morrison called Cryme Tyme losers. Cryme Tyme told Miz and Morrison to get a room and called them posers. Miz and Morrison said Cryme Tyme were boys from the suburbs, not street, and Shad’s dad wears a sweater vest.

*That was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. I was laughing out. I replayed it six times, it was that good.

Backstage with Adamle/Jericho with Cade: Jericho said he had to discuss the night’s ME with Adamle.

Match #5 Miz & Morrison vs. Cryme Tyme: At the start, Morrison mocked JTG but it was JTG that scored a nearfall off a neckbreaker despite Miz’ shot from behind. Shad tagged in and gorilla press dropped Morrison. Miz tagged in and met Shad’s reverse elbow and big boot. Shad launched JTG over the top onto the heels at ringside as we cut to commercial. Back from break, Morrison had JTG grounded with a headscissors/armbar combo. Morrison and Miz took turns working over JTG for the next few minutes. Late in the match, Shad got the hot tag and overpowered the heels. He hit a snap slam on Miz for a nearfall, but Morrison made the save. Morrison fought JTG on the outside. Shad hit a delayed vertical suplex into a faceplant. Morrison delivered a kick to Shad’s head that allowed Miz the pinfall.

*This is my match of the night. A very good 10-minute tag match. I enjoyed it more than Cryme Tyme vs. Priceless at the last PPV.

The Perfect Tribute: From Dave and Busters, Charlie Haas introduced himself, put on a curly blonde wig, and presented The Perfect Tribute to Mr. Perfect. He was shown missing baskets and pool shots, losing at air hockey to a kid, colliding with a waiter trying to catch his own football lob, and swatting his gum away into a woman’s salad. He said there was only one Mr. Perfect and held up the DVD.

*The impersonation was just OK this week. The WWE finds an interesting way to plug the recently released Mr. Perfect DVD.

Match #6 Jericho, Lance Cade, & JBL vs. Batista & Shawn Michaels (Main Event): Lillian announced the match had been made into a 3-on-2 handicap match. Cade and Michaels traded punches. Michaels got the better of Cade and took a shot at Jericho on the apron but got clotheslined by JBL. Jericho wanted in and delivered a series of punches, back suplex, and enziguiri. JBL came in and continued with punches, neckbreaker, and elbow drop. Cade back in briefly for some punches and kicks in the corner. JBL tagged in and hit a big boot for a nearfall. HBK countered a fall away slam into a DDT. Tista and Jericho got the hot tags. Tista unloaded on Chris with shoulder blocks in the corner, spinebuster, and running powerslam. He tagged to Michaels who hit the flying elbow drop. Jericho avoided Sweet Chin Music. HBK avoided the Walls of Jericho and the Codebreaker. JBL and Tista started fighting and took it outside. Jericho hit a bulldog and tagged to Cade. Michaels was looking for the superkick again but Jericho ducked outside and Cade caught Shawn with his sit-out powerbomb finisher for the win.

*Good 8½-minute main event match. I honestly can’t remember the last time Shawn worked a Raw match, so this was a pleasant surprise. The same goes for Cade. He hasn’t had a match in a couple months and is turning into Jericho’s ‘Bam Neely’. His pin on Shawn plays into the Jericho-HBK storyline. Tista and JBL were decent but just kind of there.

Overall Thoughts: The show opened strong with Jericho and Orton. Wrestling-wise, we were treated to several good, longer than average matches. Several storylines progressed. Lots of funny moments. Shockingly, I don't have any major complaints this week. A surprisingly good show after the last few weeks.

 

[C4Mahdee]

I for one was very glad to hear Chris Jericho call out Michaels on the whole "innovator" of the ladder match. Sure Michaels had a number of them and did have the first high profile ladder match at WM10, but the last time I checked it wasn't HBK who "innovated" the match in the WWF/E. I wonder if it was a concious thing to leave out that it was Bret Hart who brought the ladder match to the "Big One". Maybe they figured it was enough to just insinuate a mention of Michaels' all time greatest foe. I certainly chuckled a bit when Jericho said it.

 

[Darkshot77]

Darkshot77's review of RAW 9/29/08

Pyro and a match lets get things going the right way.

Batista v. Santino Marella- The Intercontinental Champion, brought up the Honk-a-meter and the Brain Barometer. Both men did what they do best, Santino was funny and Batista beat the living hell out of him. JBL after the match hit a clothesline from hell.

Next we go back stage with Grisham and Michaels who teases a Hogan, Hart, and Austin for his mystery partner, and we all know none of those would happen.

JTG v. The Miz-Fairly good match, Both JTG and The Miz performed very well. After Morrison’s distraction, Reality check and Miz gets a clean pin.

So Jamie Noble needs a partner for this mixed tag match, he asks Jillian but gets rejected, Ziggler comes up and introduces him self to them both, Jillian is taken, Noble is offended

Jamie Noble and Mickie James v. Paul and Katie Lea Burchill-This was bad, accept for the fact I got to see Mickie and Katie again, they were ok. It was the Paul and Jamie stuff, that was the worst northern lights suplex I have ever seen, nothing a against Jamie but you want me to believe he can do that to a much bigger Burchill. And Paul needs to learn how to tap out, don’t do it instantly and don’t roll into the arm bar to tap, rolling in is how you relieve pressure on the arm.

Boys you’re young so you don’t know the rules around the arena. #1 don’t go talk to Kane, if he wants to talk he will come to you, don’t go looking for the man. Cade did some promo work and it was ok, but what was it for, other than to show of his promo abilities?

CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne and Rey Mysterio v. Priceless, Manu, and Kane-Didn’t like how they did the face entrances, Kofi needed a televised entrance cause his theme rocks! In the end the Punk took all the pain and the Jamaican jobs to a very nasty Chokeslam. What was the thing on Mysterio’s head a half mask it looked very weird.

Adamle is out and announces the stip that is Mysterio loses at No Mercy he removes his mask. Then Orton Comes out and wants Punk to be re-suspended. Then JBL comes out and starts shooting off at the mouth, but he is eventually leveled by Batista as payback. This segment has two purposes, one to mention the new stip and two for Batista to get pay back. Ortons appearances was pretty much worthless. He nees to just start wrestling again its getting annoying

Santino is on the phone with someone but hangs up when he sees Phoenix. She doesn’t want him to come to the ring cause he ruins her matches, Tension builds.

Kelly Kelly and Candice v. Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall-I was about to say that Candice wasn’t all that bad in the ring till she botched that Irish Whip. It was bad, very much so. Glam slam on Kelly and Phoenix wins.

Deuce v. The Great Charli-Everybody was cracking up Lillian included. Charli goes for the Charli Bomb but Deuce drops him then he Hulks Up, hit’s a flying clothes line and gets the pin. Khali came out for a “congratulation” and Charli was dropped with a chop. Khali was smiling that’s something new.

Chris Jericho and Lance Cade v. Degeneration X-Turns out the Mystery Partner was The Game Triple H. Good match on all sides, eventually after a 2 on 1 beat down of Shawn we have a DQ. Jericho wants to bring a ladder into the ring but HHH brings in a sledgehammer and clocks Cade who gets a Superkick and Pedigree for his troubles. Shawn then climbs the ladder and splashes Cade, Reminiscent of Wrestlemania X

Final thoughts:Solid show but I am no more interested in No Mercy now then I was coming in. But I’m no less interested either.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

HK's Assessment Review Corner Blog Doohickey (SmackDown, September 26, 2008)

Yeah it's back or something. No frilly intros here, because my name, as you may know, is MISTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...HK? Uhh, yeah. Let's just get to it.
_______________________________________________________

Video Package: Vladimir Kozlov crushes Jeff and Hunter

We're given yet another recap on how Kozlov destroyed Jeff and Hunter last week with the headbutt of doom. One thing I've always hated about WWE programming are the constant recaps. Having to watch it on Raw, ECW AND SmackDown is too much. Oh well.

Match #1: Triple H and Jeff Hardy vs. MVP and The Brian Kendrick

We start off the show with a main event type of match. Cool. Very good tag match from virtually everyone here. Everyone gets in balanced offense and looked pretty good out there, hell, even Triple H seemed for 15 minutes to slip out of his usual stagnancy. After the heel team gets the upper hand during the closing minutes, Triple H eventually Pedigrees MVP. No surprise there. Would be nice to see TBK NOT job, but meh. Good opener match.

****

Segment #1: Shelton Benjamin calls out R-Truth

We're greeted with our charismatic enigma...Shelton Benjamin? Whoops. Either way, Shelton cuts a pretty good promo for being Shelton Benjamin about R-Truth and his sordid past. R-Truth appears in the crowd and does his WHASSUP routine again. Man, that's getting old fast. He comes to the ring and after a staredown asks Shelton "WHASSUP!?" Hmm, didn't know R-Truth was a spokesperson for Budweiser. Shelton looked legitimately weird throughout the entire segment...it really looked like he knew and hated the fact that R-Truth is getting his push and spot. Weird stuff. Good segment, but I seriously wish the Truth would stop the rap thing. It's getting on my nerves.

***

Match #2: Maria and Brie Bella vs. Victoria and Natalya

Pretty good women's tag match here, with Victoria and Natalya looking impressive, Maria not so much. Brie's a pretty good wrestler though. After a balanced match, the twin switcharoo got botched, with everyone seeing clearly Nicole appearing before Brie could disappear entirely underneath the ring. Screwed up finish though...Maria looked like she was going to get the pin, but Brie did. Oh well. Good match, but I think Victoria deserves a win soon.

***

Match #3: Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Great Khali

Next up is the first big test for Vlad. He enters and waits in the ring for Khali. His expression never changed. Khali enters and wastes our time. The match starts, with Kozlov managing to carry Khali quite well. Despite that, it was a horrible match. This should have been where Kozlov went clean over Khali to establish superiority. That would have been cool. What they did, was not.

Triple H interfered in the match while Khali looked like he was getting counted out, but there was never a ring bell so I guess it became a no-contest. Triple H saunters to the ring and confronts Kozlov who actually looks a bit intimidated. However, he receives the Brain Chop from Khali and takes a nap on the mat. Jeff runs to the ring to make the save but is also Brain Chopped. However, Hunter brings in his great equalizer, the Sledgehammer, causing Kozlov to remember that he left his oven on at home. Khali gets crushed by the sledgehammer. Kozlov refuses to fight a Hunter with Sledgehammer and just plain says no. He looked weird pointing his finger. Either way, a bonafide abortion of a match. Kozlov should have just crushed him. Post-match stuff was predictable but enjoyable, although it did not save the match from being bad.

**

Match #4: Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

After some more backstage stuff with Vickie, Big Show and Chavo where we had to watch that goddamn footage from Unforgiven again (Did I tell you how much I hate recaps? This is losing its effect faster than the goddamn Big Show/Mayweather punch we had to watch 25,000 times.) Chavo enters the ring, looking less than as cocky as he usually does. His opponent? Jimmy Wang Yang. Yang's a good performer and these two have meshed well in the future.

Good, fast-paced cruiserweight match with a merciless counter by Chavo on Yang's airborne attack early on. Fast counters and quick moves all the way, good stuff! It looks like Yang is gonna win but Chavo eventually gets him in the proper situation for the Three Amigos. However, the third Amigo didn't wanna as Yang counters. However, Chavo gets in a kick and pins him. Good match, I really miss the cruiserweight division. SmackDown needs Wang Yang back at the level he was at in January this year. He was one of the best performers SmackDown had at that point. Too bad he messed up with the wellness policy...it's probably gonna be a while until he gets a push again.

*** 1/2

Match #5: Carlito & Primo Colón vs. Curt 'n' Jerk (at the behest of Hurricane Helms) [WWE Tag Team Championship]

Here comes our main event of the night. I've always liked shows to end with segments rather than matches, it just works better. Glad they're doing it again this week. Anyways, Carlito gives us his usual declaration of spitting in the faces of people who are not cool and enters with his brother Primo. The Worst WWE Tag Champions of All Time, the Super Major Bros. enter shortly thereafter.

Very good tag match despite Carlito taking damage for the majority of the match. The Major Bros. actually looked a little shittier than useless, but not good enough to not warrant releases. Carlito takes the pain and has the crowd on his side - he actually gets more reaction than any recent tag champion I can remember. It wasn't a fantastic wrestling match but I was incredibly into it for some reason and sometimes, that's what really matters.

He eventually gets the tag to Primo who executes a series of acrobatic moves. The Super Major Bros. are on the ropes, and Carlito tags himself in and Backstabs either Brian or Brett, err, Hawkins or Ryder. And our new WWE Tag Team Champions are Carlito and Primo, the Colóns! FREAKIN' SWEET! I marked. They should have won it their first night on SmackDown though, to maintain Carlito's title winning streak. Well, at least we finally have good WWE Tag Team Champions again, but as far as I'm concerned, Morrison and Miz could well have held those titles forever. Ah well, hopefully the Colóns will restore glory to the championships.

****

Segment #2: Vickie, Big Show and Chavito confront the Undertaker

Vickie, Big Show and Chavo appear in the ring to a huge heat reaction. They call out the Undertaker. Eventually, the lights go out and Chavo is gone! He's shown getting choked out by Taker on the big screen. Ouch. The lights go out again and Taker appears in the ring. He takes Vickie's soul (I think) and Tombstones her. Ouch. Rest in peace Vickie, not very nice knowing ya. Predictable and unoriginal segment, but who wouldn't mark for seeing Vickie get her due? Okay, so I wouldn't. Eeeeeither way, a good way to end the show.

***
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An enjoyable 80 minutes to say the least! Nearly all the matches were consistently good and the same goes for the segments. I enjoyed myself thoroughly for the entire show and basically there was never a moment where I felt bored. I got a little apathetic during the Khali/Kozlov "match" but it did its job. I don't like how Jeff/Hunter takes second stage to yet another Taker/Big Show feud though...but I guess there really wasn't any more need to build the match tonight.

Very consistent quality here. A good show. Raw should really start to go the same way SmackDown do. Hell, if Kennedy wasn't injured, I would declare Raw dead. But he is, so they've still got a fighting chance. Chyeah!

Final Score:
****

 

[Mighty NorCal]

The NorCal NightCap

Fucking superb edition of SD! tonight. if you missed it, you really missed out. Three PPV quality matches, and a fun 8 man tag.

That promo between R Truth and Funaki was fucking laborious. It still jegs me so badly that this is how they are using him, but, he is sounding like he is getting more and more over every week. SO I guess its working.

The crowd popped BIG for his entrance tonight, easily the biggest he has had. He had a VERY good, intense match with Shelton Benjamin. Although their timing was a LITTLE bit off, they still didnt fuck everything up. It was mildly nerve racking watching them, becuase they looked like they were *thisclose* to a fuck up during every spot. But they kept it clean, and had a fine match, with a cool, old school wrestling styled finish. This match wouldve been far superior to put on at No Mercy. than some of the SHIT that was on that card.

Bri Bella is fuckin sexy. both of her. Horrid in the ring. just totally putrid. but she is hot, and moves VERY well to her entrance. So I guess its tolerable.

I was utterly shocked the WWE was able to put together an 8 man tag comprised of at LEAST three official tag teams. Amazing. Boggles the mind. A fun 8 man tag were everyone got to do a lil somthin somthin.

Kizarny looks like he is gonna SIZUCK. What the fuck WWE. What the fuck.

Jeff Hardy and MVP put on a VERY good match, that saw Jeff take the clean win. Both very good work by both men, although it deeply saddens me to see what has happened to MVP. Not on PPV anymore, and loses more often than not. Its amazing to see what has happened to he and Kennedy, the two guys who everyone ballyhooed as the two next huge stars.

Kozlov is a bad motherfucker. LOVE him. I enjoy how back when he had no theme music and everyone was shitting all over the guy, I was the first person to say "no fuck that, that guy is awesome"...now look at the bandwagon filling up. Dont worry everyone, there is room.

Once again proving...If NorCal says it = THE TRUTH

Now onto the match of the night, which was The Big Show and Trips putting on an excellent WHC bout. I found this far more entertaining that this last weekends WHC title match, which I payed to watch. Perfect phsycology throughout, with Big Show being a dominant monster, and Triple H selling the character like a crack dealer. Seriously, Show basically just whipped his ass for 12 minutes, with Trips getting very little to no offense in. Awesome match.

In the end, Triple H is on the verge of losing, when he is SAVED by The Undertaker. Taker whips Big Show's face to the back. Kozlov comes out, and PWNS Triple H, followed By Jeff Hardy coming to save him, and then they double team Kozlov to just get him out of the ring. Then Jeff Hardy takes a turn PWNING Triple H, giving him an out of nowere twist of fate, laying him face down like a bitch.

So by my count, that 4 people who Trips put over tonight. Show beat the fuck out of him. Taker SAVED him. Then Kozlov whipped his ass. Then Jeff Hardy SAVED him. The Jeff Hardy whipped his ass.

And we close out with Triple H face down, whupped. Goodness. that bastard and his shovel.

An excellent SD!. Sadly no Kendrick ...but still a great SD!. I wouldve been much more pleased had I payed 40$ for this, and not for that abortion that was No Mercy.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Man, I couldn't disagree more. I thought tonight was an atrocious episode. If you eliminated all the video packages, rewinds, and repetitive commercials (seriously, I don't give two shits about Michael Polinko and his Bowflex story), you'd eliminate an hour's worth of the show.

The 8-man tag I thought was ok except it was so incredibly short. Primo and Jesse didn't even get in the ring and mostly everyone just did a few kicks, tagged someone else, and then lost. Maria is a TERRIBLE announcer, too.

R-Truth annoys the hell out of me. He has a good look, but I can't get behind anything he does in the ring. He's just so slow. Everything he does makes him look like he's just exhausted - except for his only two "different" moves, which are both ridiculous. Why spin AFTER you've hit the guy? The Axe Kick and the forearm or whatever that he does, he spins AFTER he hits them. I'd understand if you spun BEFORE it to "build up steam" or whatever....but spinning afterwards just makes it look like you're flash for nothing. People like to talk about "spot monkeys", well this guy has only those two moves that differentiate him from everyone else and they're nothing but a spot that is all flash and no substance. He doesn't even do them off the middle rope lol. And I'm SOOOOO F'N TIRED of hearing that "whatsup" song!!!! I was so happy that Shelton was kicking his ass tonight, and then of course he had to lose.

Brie is hot, though, I do agree, and she does suck in the ring. Natalya is also annoying to me. That laugh and the fists like she's saying "yes!!!" or something....I just hate it. She doesn't look menacing or like, evil...she looks ******ed. Natalya should just come out all serious and whoop some ass. Also, when are they going to quit with the twin thing and just get along with it already? Its not fooling anybody....although Tazz is trying his hardest (poor guy) to make it seem like he's fooled. Well, maybe he is. He's quite an idiot. He'll probably automatically be "a big fan of" Nicole as well.

Kizarny? Really? Seriously? No, I'm actually asking....seriously?? Wtf kind of name is Kizarny? Good lord, WWE. "Dolph Ziggler"..."Kizarny"..."Jack Swagger"......are we honestly reverting back to 95 where everyone was a garbage man or named something like "Red Rooster" or whatever?

Hardy/MVP was ok, but still, the crowd wasn't even that into it, and these two are good performers. It just seemed to me like they took the easy way out and put on a generic match that "got the job done" but did nothing outside of the ordinary. If you'd replace these two with two guys from FCW I bet it wouldn't have been any different.

I'm still not a fan of Kozlov at all. I think he has a shit finisher and he bores the shit out of me in the ring. Why does he have this fascination with making 20 steps to a 2-step move? I know, I'll pick up the guy, put him on the ropes, kick him, catch him, position him for a body slam, but then let him go to his feet again, and then give him a reverse DDT. He doesn't even headbutt anybody in the gut anymore. He just pushes them and they tell us its a headbutt.

Speaking about the other "big guy"....Khali.....we see another repetitive video package....and then we have to see him chop some no-name in the head...and then watch him debate about kissing some terribly ugly woman for a few minutes, then do such. I didn't want to see ANY of that.

When it was around 9:15, I was getting so tired of it that I was twitching in my seat. And I'm the furthest thing from a guy that can't sit still. Then I had to sit through, if I remember correctly, a video package about HHH, a video package hyping Cena (for the second time in the night), a Raw Rebound, another set of commercials...finally it got to the time for the main event (which was advertised AT LEAST 4 TIMES IN THE SAME NIGHT) and I just couldn't take it anymore. I had felt like I had already seen it by the amount of times they were shoving it down my throat like I had the memory of a 3 year old. I just decided to shut it off not even 1 minute into HHH's entrance.


Wasn't Helms supposed to show up tonight? Instead, he said some of the worst written jokes of his whole "I'm just saying" gimmick yet. They couldn't give us Helms vs Kendrick instead of one of those 50 promo/video segments?

 

[mcflyboy]

Perhaps it is just me, but the 10/20 episode of RAW...sheesh. To borrow a line from The Office (The american one), it made me want to vomit from boredom.

It was a night full of...well, really nothing. A bunch of matches that made no real sense, served no real purpose, furthered no feuds or storylines. I guess it just shows how little RAW really has going for it right now. There was a decent number of matches overall, I will admit that...but the overall in ring action seemed lackluster and almost forced, and even the outcomes there were no real surprises except how quickly regal was squashed.

Anyone other thoughts?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The most uninspiring 3 hour Raw of all time. Nothing of intrest happened. I hold out hope that the main event is at least entertaining. But I won't hold my breath.

I think I witnessed one of the most cringe worthy moments in wrestling history. And that's saying something. There are moments when I really wonder why I watch this sport. And I could never defend a moment like that to anybody, not even a fellow wrestling fan. I wish I was blind, because that was just terrible.

Who thought that booking all of WWE's shitty gimmicks dancing in the ring would be a good idea? I was moderately amused by The Boogeryman, for all of ten seconds. Then I started to feel my skin crawl. What if I'd been watching with a friend? I'd have had to try and defend that.

 

[The Todd]

Well they missed a trick by not letting Miz and Morrison beat DX. It would have promoted them in to the big time, but of course, no. HHH will never allow someone into the main event status by beating him.

But well done wwe for the last match. It was sloppy, the usual for when Batista takes part, but the result was for the good of the company. Jericho, along with orton, will be carrying raw for a while.

 

[Fizzy]

I thought Raw was perfect. All the matches who and the winners were perfect and i was really enjoying it until the main event. I think it's bullshit that they had Jericho take the title back. I admit I am a Batista mark, but I really do enjoy him as champion. I know he has no mic skills, but he gets me so fucking pumped when his music hits, and he gets out there that ive grown to become a hugh fan of the guy. I also really don't like Jericho. I think he is much better as a face. So now I must wait until SS for Cena to save me from the Jericho title reign. So overall I thought Raw was good until the end. I don't agree with Jericho as a heel champion.

 

[Joehaha]

jericho winning the title back is exactly what raw needed.
things like that will get ratings back up, just the fact that the world championship changed hands on raw for starters is a huge shock. and then to have batista who we all thought would hold it for a while now, drop the title to jericho again is fantastic.

in my opinion they need to have the title switch hands on raw a few times each year to make u want to watch it. if your watching raw and the title match is batista vs random heel, your always going to think batista will retain. tonights way of thinking is the way forward in my view.

i personaly hope jericho retains at ss now too against cena, i love jericho but i think his days are up with both batista and cena hunting the title lol unless he recreuits orton and they form y2rko! haha

 

[Sicko]

Y2J! Y2J! Y2J!

I personally would rather see Y2J drop the title to maybe Orton or Cena, I don't want to see another Batista run as Champion, nothing against him but lets be honest he is boring

don't know exactly what the long term play is, maybe Y2J will drop the title again next week you just never know

but I love what I am seeing from Orton and I was a little shocked how much of a pop he was getting and the RKO chants, I think if he can stay healthy it is Orton's time for another run probably not right away but in the next month or so especially if they do the stable thing which it looks like they are planning to do I certainly hope so


but overall yet another average show nothing special, that entire dancing thing was LAME and felt at times they was just trying to kill time, it felt like they had too much time and not enough entertainment to fill it

 

[scsu01]

That Divas match was the worst one in Divas history. The 2nd most popular divas wasn't even in the match, and the top Diva didn't get solo ring time. They were all made to look bad by an 85 year-old woman, who gives better offense than most of the faces. The monster heel Beth as well as all the heels was made to look like weak ass losers. I don't know how they won or why they did. More importantly, why have the match at all. It would've made more sense for a bikini contest, because it's obvious that's where the Divas belong, and the WWE just showed us and told us literally. Plus this match really showed how much Melina is missed.

I'm glad Jericho won, but Batista looks mad weak. So he needed other guys at CS to beat Jericho yet couldn't get the job done one on one in a cage match? Weak. Now Jericho is going to have another short title reign to pass it over to lukewarm Cena. I guess the WWE thinks he's gonna save the ratings. Uh..no WWE. And can they please stop with these videos chronicling Cena's life!!!??!! I mean has he been in the WWE for that long? Has he been out with some life threatening injury for a year or something? Total garbage.

I'm so glad Orton is back. He was sorely missed, though the fully sleeved arms are kinda weird on him.

 

[8five]

1 - Why is it that everytime Regal is in a battle royal, he wins after hiding on the outside for the whole match?

2- Why did Raw kickoff with ECW/Smackdown v. Smackdown/Smackdown?

3- Why did they reference Vince like he is dead?

4- Why was that Divas match necessary?

5- Why did all the bad gimmicks randomly dance, and more so why was Dusty in the ring?

Even with all those negatives this had to be the best Raw in months. Orton looked very good in his return and you can see how down the road if not soon he and Ted are going to get involved in an intense rivalry much like the Orton/HHH rivalry after Orton got kicked out of evolution. Taker v. Michaels was briefly teased which is a good sign. Miz/Morrison looked like solid competition even though they lost, why they couldn't just go over there boggles my mind, if you want to end up pushing them might as well put them over main eventers in a spot it wouldnt hurt the main eventers. Finally Jericho being clever to win back the title makes him look ridiculously strong and negatively Batista the strongest face currently is made to look extremely weak. I'm all for constant title switches and a hectic main event scene but the guy did go a year without the belt you might as well give him one win. Also, I hope that wasn't the end of Punk/Orton cause if it is thats so weak.

If the new Raw GM isn't going to be Shane or Stephanie they should make it a former wrestler. They need a stronger GM cause they are gonna get tv time and after Adalme something needs to be done in a big way

 

[mauihaole69]

They need to do away with the door for the steel cage matches. It makes the match look way too fake. There were tons of times where Batista or Jericho could have easily just walked out the door. Also, if someone were to start climbing to get out, why not just walk to the door. It takes longer to climb over than it does to simply walk out the door. That being said, I can see Stephanie turning the SS main event in a triple threat between Jericho, Cena, and Batista. Batista will likely exercise his rematch clause at next week's RAW and it seems that Stephanie will be the next GM when all is said and done. They seem to be building towards a power struggle between her and Shane

 

[Joehaha]

i agree with one of the posts orton looked on fire last night, the segment where he was screaming in cody and manus face was awesome.
and also i do think it'l be a triple threat match at ss, and i think jericho will retain probably, im assuming its all going to lead to a wrestlemania match for the title between cena n batista. but then theres orton too so i dont know what the plan is really

 

[Dragonslayer]

Hm an interesting turn of events, but I think it is a good thing that the title changes hands on a regular show. That happens so scarcely, that whenever you see a title match on a weekly show (especially for one of the "big ones"), you can be almost certain the champ's gonna retain. The fact that Jericho managed to snatch the belt off Batista, of all people, on a weekly show sure does a lot in terms of unpredictability and potential excitement of the weekly shows.

On the other hand, it seems a little pointless to give Batista the title, only to have him lose it again the next night. Of course, it could set up a rematch between Batista and Y2J due to Batista's rematch clause... maybe even lead to a triple threat between Cena, Batista and Y2J at Survivor Series; in which Y2J could even snatch away the belt yet again. At some point, though, Y2J will have to drop it to either Cena or Batista, so we can have Cena vs Batista for the WHC at Wrestlemania.

At least, an interesting turn of events. I'm kinda curious as to where they go from here, I must say.

 

[image1986]

I think raw was good but I think the best part was when orton kick the sh*t out of dibiase and he got the rko chants. He comes off as the coolest heel right now. What was the true purpose of this pointless title reign 4 batista. Even if he use his rematch cluase he got beat clean(sort of) by jericho. If this was irection wwe was going u could of had hbk go over jericho in the ladder match then jericho beat him the next night it makes batista look like trash. The diva thing was terrible and the khali face turn was just weird. The best part of raw was orton hands down

 

[Darkshot77]

Darkshot77's review of RAW 11/3/08

3 hour RAW, 800'th episode sounds like a good show but we know what WWE creative does with good shows. We start off with some pyro and then we have the Moment Killer Randy Orton. He takes a saeat at ringside to wait for the McMahons. And then we have a match.

The Hardy Boys vs. MVP and The Brian Kendrick-Decent match. So it semes that the ref also cannot see heel tags and the Hardy's pick a strange victory that dose nothing for no one.

8 Man Over The Top Battle Royal-Very standard, bland battle royal won by Regal who will lose in his home town. Chalk up another week for the Honk-a-meter.

So we have Ademle resigning, which saddens me cause i thought he was good an accual Non-biased GM but no one ever gave him a chance which is sad. Then orton gets a match with CM Punk. Look for those two teams at SS.

Vladimir Koslov v. Bret "The Hitman" Hass-They looked for some reaction from Bret's music, but got none, this was a poor follow-up from The Hassazon. Koslov squash, again Acheiving no end...see a trend here.

We have a standard DX promo which was very funny. HHH called Lillian a horse which suprised her and she chuckled. DX called them Miz and Morrison gay and showed the Miz/Big Dick Johnson business. But as we go on we accually have a match.

John Morrison and The Miz vs. DX-The match was good, Morrison needs to use superkicks more often his sweet chin music looked good. BUt in the end DX won, like they were suppposed to. I see really no help that could have given Miz and Morrison. They are alredy one of the beast tag teams, and a win here would not have elevated their solo status. They were basicly interuping both Triple H and HBK's respective feuds. This match was only to show off DX and nothing else.

16 Divas Tag Team Match-Way to fuck up creative, Mea Young replaced Maria...let me repeat that

MEA YOUNG REPLACED MARIA!!!!

Seriously this could have been good but they ruined it so, this really had no place in the show.

CM Punk vs. Randy Orton-Finally a match that means something and it wasnt half bad. Lots of good action. Good to finally see Orton again. But at the end Dibiassi comes in and ad DQ's Orton. You mess with Orton...you get a fucking concussion. Dibiassi gets punted and orton trys to explin himself to the rest of Priceless

Ademle then grows a spine and tells of Steph off, Shane says he has another big anouncement, which is the WHC will be defended at SS against Cena.

JBL vs. The Undertaker-This served no purpose as well as most of the other matches tonight, in the end JBL is counted out but HBK thouws him bak in for a tombstone.

Kane and Mark Henry vs. Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston-Kofi is only in this match to take the job. This match was pointless as well. Execpt Kalhi came out to make the save. I wanna see more of this Mystero/Kalhi team.

Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho v. Batista-The match was good, or would have been but batista dosent like to try in his matches on RAW so he was sloppy. And then Jericho won the title back. which makes me wonder why he lost the title in the first place, it is most like ly bacause they are saving Batista/Cena for the title for later.

Final thoughts:The show was good but it seamed uninspiring and kinda pointless, but over all the show had it good points.

 

[RVDgurl]

I actually enjoyed the DX segment on RAW last night. I think that's the first time that has happened in 10 years. I think the skit was funny as hell and it was nice to see that Trips and HBK could poke some fun at themselves. The match served to put over Miz and Morrison even more as a great heel tag team. Very well done by Vinnie Mac and his crew.

 

[Richard]

Very good RAW today (It's on Wednesday afternoons because of time differences in Aus), first time I had said it in a while.

The DX segment was comedy gold and made me laugh with HHH and HBK making jokes about each other, HBK's jokes about HHH's nose and HHH's jokes about HBK's hair.

I don't know why people complain about Kung Fu Naki's dancing segment, I thought it was pretty funny seeing Goldust dance with Michael Cole? and try to kiss him.

Seeing my faveourite wrestler of all time win the World Heavyweight Championship just made RAW all so much better aswell.

 

[Rusty]

I actually enjoyed this weeks Raw. It was very entertaining, and that is exactly what Raw is about. I missed the opening first half hour, but I saw the rest of the show. Adamle being fired/resigning was a suprise to me personally. I thought the guy played his role well. The DX vs John Morrison and The Miz match was good, but I was expected a 15 minute match, and we only got half of that. Nobody thought Morrison and Miz would win anyway. But the match did put them over quite well. I still mark out every time DX reunions together for one night. They are still entertaining, I don't care what anyone says.

Charlie Haas was gold again. The Kozlov squash wasn't needed on Raw though. The divas match was horrible. I heard Mae Young almost got injured too. Why she was even wrestling in that match was beyond me. Maria should have wrestled on Raw. Mae Young isn't funny nor entertaining. Horrible match. The dancing segment with Michael Cole, Goldust, Kung Fu Naki, Festus and many others was entertaining, but rather pointless.

When I saw the CM Punk vs Randy Orton match announced, I marked out. I knew it was too good to be true though. Short but entertaining match. Orton was getting ready for the RKO but Ted DiBiase interferes and unfortunately causes a disqualification. So Randy punts him in the head. Amazing. I like Orton as a tweener much better as a heel. I still can't get used to Orton's new tattoos though. Stephanie McMahon is still hot. That is all.

JBL vs The Undertaker was average. After the short Punk/Orton match, I expected this one to be longer. I was obviously wrong. It didn't accomplish anything and shouldn't have taken place. Just a random match. The Kane/Mark Henry vs Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston was fairly good, but once again it was too short. Thats 3 weeks in a row Henry teamed with Kane. Kingston is one half of the tag champs, yet he's tagging with a totally different partner. Where's the logic in that? The Khali save was good, and I like where his character is going at the moment.

The Steel Cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship was very good. I'm glad Chris Jericho won the title back. I wasn't expecting it. The match itself was a good 15 minute match. The last 5 minutes were 'on the edge of your seat' entertaining. I don't know why they took the title off Jercho in the first place. The match didn't make Batista look weak though as Jericho had to use a weapon the 'cheat' his way to victory. A good TV match nonetheless.

Overall, it was an entertaining show. I loved it even though the wrestling matches weren't long enough for my liking. But why did we need a celebration when the 800th episode took place a month ago? The show had it's positives and negatives but one can't deny that the show delivered on its purpose, and that was to entertain the viewers.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

For the first time in a long while, I really, really enjoyed last night's Raw.

The opening forum segment was rather entertaining as it addressed some legitimate issues rather than just turning into a stare-down between two people that are shoved into meaningless feuds. The matches themselves were decent except for CT vs. JBL/Kane (but that served a useful purpose in allowing CT to look decent but also give the win to the heels) and Hardy/Regal was just stupid....Kelly/Victoria wasn't good, but the end to the match was fun to see how Jillian and Beth were with the faces. That was a refreshing "Wtf?" type of moment.

I loved the way Morrison and Miz defeated HBK & Mysterio. That was great. I really hope that we get a Morrison/HBK feud real soon.

Punk/Orton was something different and it really felt like it not only told a pretty good story, but both men looked like they were legitimate competitors in it, rather than just having one person look dominant over the other like they do way too often. For some reason, the WWE thinks if X beats down Y, Y is the underdog, and everybody will immediately be surprised when he wins, but its been used so many times its lost its value, so its great to see X and Y stalemate but one of them just get the upper hand for a moment and steal the win. Orton impressed me in that match by being a truly good heel.

Batista/Manu...meh...but Manu was at least able to get some good hits in. That helped his image.

Does anybody else get the feeling that when Evan Bourne comes back, he'll be getting a midcard title? They seem to have taken notice that we like this guy. I hope he becomes IC champion soon after he heals up (and I really do hope that he's back before the Royal Rumble. He'd probably be a great, great addition to my favorite gimmick match out there).

Very nice episode of Raw. If they continue this with ECW tonight and Smackdown on Friday, I'll actually have changed my mind about this year's Survivor Series and I'll be excited for it.

 

[mcflyboy]

So I watched the 12/05 episode of smackdown. And basically we have edge in his comeback match take out funaki. Then vickie comes down and says it would only be fair if jeff and HHH have to compete too, and she enters them into some tag team gauntlet set while edge nods his approval and vickie cackles evilly.

Ok I get it, edge/vickie are a power couple and this is done to make us hate edge more and give them both heel heat. But as I watch this, all I can think of is this is the EXACT same thing that we've seen before ad nauseum. What was the point of the edge/vickie coupling, followed by the breakup, if they are just going to recycle this old tired storyline again?

Sure, it works for what it's intended to do, but seriously...nothing is new or changed here since the last time edge had the title. Throw some new twist or something into the mix. It's too soon to recycle this storyline, it's stale just one episode in.

Just my two cents.

 

[Kyphael]

I agree, actually. Pity, SmackDown had been really good since moving to the CW. We got some really awesome main events and like I said in another thread, I expected to see a tweener Edge return to feud with Big Show and Vickie Guerrero by now. Instead, we get same old opportunistic Edge steal the title and re-group with Vickie to re-form the same old storyline that had run its course prior to his hiatus. This of course, may be due to Jeff Hardy still being ridiculously over and actually behaving. WWE might have had plans to put the belt on Big Show and have Edge return to feud with him but when they thought of Hardy/Edge for Wrestlemania 25, those plays may have been scrapped. After all, Michael Hayes is the lead writer for SmackDown and he is a big Hardy supporter.