Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[The Todd]

I have watched the 12/12 episode of Smackdown. I thought it was a solid show, leading nicely into Armageddon. Without Show and Taker going at it the show seems so much better. It had R-Truth back on TV after a break since Survivor Series, although he seems out of the US championship picture now. He had great crowd reaction for the first month, and creative seemed to give up on him. The finniest part of the night was Primo saying to Carlito "Why didn't you say anything?" to which Carlito replied "i was going to slap the big guy." For some reason, i lolled at this bit. Carlito and Primo have potential and need a proper tag feud to elavate themselves.

Overall, good show, and hopefully an Edge defence on Sunday.

 

[Kyphael]

Did anybody enjoy The Brian Kendrick vs. Primo Colon as much as I did? Great, solid match from both men. Every week, Kendrick becomes more and more natural in the ring. We all know the man can fly as well as any cruiserweight in the world but judging by the match, you won't know it. He has totally turned his game around, taunting and wearing down his opponent, all while garnering heat from the crowd. It just shows how versitile he can be. Primo, on the other hand was actually getting "Primo" chants. I have to admit, when he first debuted on RAW, I thought he would end up a jobber but moving him to SmackDown was the best thing WWE could ever do for him. Teaming with Carlito really gave him a rub and the crowd actually got behind him chanting his name and don't forget; years ago, crowds were chanting Carlito during his singles matches. Maybe they chanted for Primo because Kendrick is such a prick and plays the heel so well, more credit to him but Primo has really impressed me as well. He's not as charismatic or technically sound in the ring as Carlito but he's as enthusiastic as Kofi Kingston.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Hurricane Helms had me excited but the abrupt finish and add to the fact it looked botched (I can't tell who botched it but I imagine it was Helms who is still showing ring rust) left me with a sour taste. I still hope these two can improve and have some good matches together, as Benjamin/Helms is a feud that immediately came to mind when I heard Helms was returning, but only if Helms can get back to the level he was before.

 

[Kyphael]

Seeing Trish Stratus back tonight was a throwback to the golden days of the women's division. She looked hot as always, still well in shape (that yoga really pays off) and hardly showed any ring rust for her time in the ring. She hit all her moves to a T without botching any, even though I expected her to from her time in the ring and sold all of Beth's moves really well. When a diva is the first person mentioned in any RAW review, it just goes to show how much Trish transcends the current women's division. She was the highlight of the night. If she wrestles at least one match every time WWE is in Toronto, I won't mind if she stays retired. Being a record-breaking 7-time Women's Champion, she has nothing left to do or prove, anyway.

Orton cut one of his best promos tonight. He went over his lengthly grudge with Batista and the tittering on sadistic notion that he dreamt of kicking Batista in the skull for the last four years because he dropped him on his back the night after Summerslam was simply great. When the fans cheered and chanted RKO, he glanced downward and shrugged it off like nothing. Brilliant. At his age, Orton is years beyond himself; this is hardly the Orton from even a year and a half ago. I can't believe how much he has improved his character. It's like he's gone through a transformation. Either that or he started watched Jake The Snake Roberts tapes; arguably too, one of the best heels in WWF history.

Shawn Michaels' segment with HHH was a nice touch of realism but I feel that instead of telling Hunter the way he lives his life doesn't always makes sense but it's how he wants to do it or however it was exactly phrased was a poor excuse for him going to JBL instead of HHH. He could have easily said "you know why I went to JBL? Because at least I'm going to work for my money. I'm going to earn it and I can live with that but I can't live with myself if you just gave me the money because I don't know if I'll be able to pay you back and I can't have that cloud hovering over our friendship. I don't want to be a handout case." If he had said that, it would have been just his pride shining through and not his foolish pride and it's not like HHH could have said "Ok, work for me then." That would be even worse and HHH wouldn't offer it anyway because he knows of Michaels' pride. Other than that, this storyline is going well. They're not rushing it. When Michaels ran down to ringside during JBL's match and slapped him, I went "oh fuck, they went and ruined it," but when the announcer declared JBL the winner and a grin sprawled across his face, I grinned too. Touch of gold.

Other than these noteable events, a decent episode of RAW. Trish, Orton and story development for Michaels is broke were highlights of the night for me.

 

[Harthan]

Okay, let's see.

Opening Promo

Pretty funny bit to open the show, with nefarious Santino trying to spoil Christmas and heroic Cena saving all the kiddies. Goldust popping up again was amusing. Of course, the end result of this was entirely predictable, but Santino shone with his comedy once again. I just wish they'd let him back things up in the ring sometime.

Kane w/ Kelly Kelly vs. Shawn Michaels

Excellent opening bout, I thought. On paper this doesn't seem like it would turn out that well, but it seemed like it all came together. HBK got a mixed reaction, probably caused somewhat by the Canadian fans, somewhat by the JBL angle, and also he drew huge boos with the Crossface. Is it Benoit? I've seen Triple H use the move to no problems. Then again, Benoit was Canadian, so maybe the Canadian fans were just really pissed HBK used the crossface. Nice Sweet Chin Music to end it. Overall an entertaining contest to get things rolling.

Kofi Kingston vs. Manu

I am more and more entertained by Manu every single week. Really strong bout with Kofi here. Manu's performances over the last several weeks have just been better and better. I absolutely see an IC reign in his future, with tag team gold with Cody Rhodes probably sooner. Kofi looked a little off of his game tonight, stumbled a bit on the Boom Cubed shuffle/splash, and also slipped a bit on the ropes. Still managed to get it together for a strong match here.

Melina and Mickie James vs Jillian and Layla

Layla looked absolutely smoking tonight. I mean, damn. Mickie wore the same outfit she wore at SummerSlam, which I only know because I happened to be watching that DVD today. Melina looked a little odd, but still good. Jillian was the hag she always is, and her ring talent is still being wasted. She's Santino without balls. Good ring work gets wasted by comedy gimmick. Sigh. Decent women's match, Mickie took a hard spot that has me a little worried. Maybe it was just good selling, but at the end of the match she looked like she was crying a bit. I hope she's all right, as she's definitely a highlight of the women's division nowadays, probably overall the best Diva on the roster. Would be cruel to give us back Melina and take away Mickie. Nothing special here, but not horrible either. Anyway, I'm also calling Melina's finisher a ****set flip now, try and stop me.

Rey Mysterio vs. JBL

Now, listen. I was entertained by this match. It was not fantastic by any means, but it was not the most horrible match of the year as so many were trying to make it in the LD. I saw good work by both men, with JBL especially shining as he worked absolutely flawless heel psychology in there. Slow, methodical dismantling of his smaller, weaker opponent. He performed brilliantly tonight, and had several nice moves with the fallaway slam sticking out as a nice one. Mysterio did all Mysterio can be expected to do, although he was a bit off. Weak hurricanra stuck out for me, and a ridiculously poor sunset flip. The HBK angle is interesting - first he was full out heel with the JBL save, then back to face with a bitch slap? He cost Mysterio the match anyhow, so it looks like he's going more toward tweener. Kudos to WWE for actually keeping an intriguing angle moving week to week, filled with twists and turns.

Randy Orton vs. Batista

Nonexistant. Just a promo from Orton about how much he hates Batista and how much he wanted to put him out. Batista is gone till June at best now, so. Sadness. A highlight of Raw is lost, as is Raw's best possible main event at WrestleMania. Can't wait for a big return angle, though - if fate plays the cards right, we could see Cena vs Batista II at next year's SummerSlam.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Excellent match. The PPV quality confrontation that never got to main event a PPV as it properly should have. Jericho was ridiculously over with Canadia, and Punk was muchly hated. But still an excellent and entertaining match, and the real main events of the night. Both men had shining performances here and contributed their fair share - I see plenty of gold for both of them as time goes on. Punk is certainly the next IC champion, and frankly, after Punk/Regal is done, Punk/Jericho for the IC Title is a main event quality feud that could do huge wonders for that program. Definitely want to see more of these two against each other.

Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix vs. John Cena and Trish Stratus

Fun match all around. Nothing great in the ring, but who cares. It was a fun little bit that provided some entertaining promos between Santino and Cena, and Trish coming back was definitely awesome to see again. I miss her a lot. I wonder if she's actually considering a real return? Would be wonderful. She still looks great and got a massive pop from the crowd. So, all around, fun, good to see Trish, and a good way to close out Raw.

Overall, this was an excellent Raw, with every single match coming out if not great, at least good. Everything flowed seamlessly, and just overall a brilliant Raw when it all came together. This is what the WWE needs to put on more of, and it will definitely bring ratings up if they can maintain this on a consistent basis.

 

[Darkshot77]

Darkshot77's review of Monday Night RAW

I'm pretty sure I have a reputation of being very negitive in my review, pointing out all the bad, never hilighing the good. well as a change of pace i was finally given an entertaning episode of Raw to review. I was not bored, everything went smoothly and there was at least 1 PPV quality match on the show, lets get going.

HBK vs. Kane-Good job to both. The match was good and shawn looked like his self again, good SCM at the end, very solid.

Kofi Kingston vs. Manu-Have to say Manu did look good, but where was the outside Cody interfearance, he is a stablemate in a heel stable help him. Kofi was all over the place slipping on the legdrop but the ending was beleiveable countering a Samoan Drop into a Crucifix Driver. Good match. But again where was Cody, if I was Orton I would have been more pissed at him.

HBK/Triple H back stage segemt was good it helped the HBK/JBL feud along and added an aspect of realism, but i still cant wrap my head arround the HBK is poor idea.

Mickie and Melina vs. Jillian and Layla-Solid divas match. I am a little worried for Mickie but there is no injury fallout so as of right now good selling. Melina looked good as always and picked up another win on her way to the womans title.

Rey Mysterio vs. JBL-Suprisingly good considering it was two lackluster guys like JBL and Rey Rey. The match wasnt boreing but it wasnt fantasic. The ending with Michales was very well thought out. Props to creative.

Orton Vs. Batista-Batista is out so Orton wins by default, he cuts a good promo, albeit kinda creepy/stalker-ish. Dreaming the same dream about a guy for 4 years..yea not creepy at all.

Jericho vs. CM Punk-My goodness, why did Creative not get this drift before. Punk has much better chemestry with Jericho than any other title contender he fought in his reign. This was a Middle to Uppercard PPV match near falls everywhere and the ending was beleiveable. Punk didnt make a jump to nowhere and Jericho countered it realistcly amazing match.

John Cena and Trish Stratus vs. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix-There really was nothing to this match as ar as wrestling goes. Trish hit some moves, took punishment from Beth, Cena gets hot tag hit the 5 moves and pinfall. But it was good to see Trish she looks smoking as always. It was funny at the end Cena pointed at Trish cheers, Trish points at Cena boo's.

Final thoughts: Overall a very good episode of RAW, Now if the WWE could make their PPV's this quality then we'd be set.

 

[8five]

I haven't even finished the whole show yet but just wanted to say I hope this helms/shelton feud doesn't simply end. That may have been the best match on Smackdown all year. Personally there was only one moment when it slowed down at all. Numerous false finsihes, ridiculous counters just overall an amazing match. I hope these two get to put a rematch on at the Royal Rumble cause that match would lift the undercard immensely and let these two shine on ppv

 

[Rusty]

Rusty's Review of Monday Night Raw - January 5th 2009

Why not? I've got nothing else better to do. On with the show...

I missed the first ten minutes of Raw due to being at work, so when I turned on my TV, all I saw was Stephanie's fine legs. Anyway the tag team match being announced for later in the night was interesting at the very least, and I thought it was great how HBK isn't booked in the Royal Rumble match, but Jericho and Orton are. It's a nice little twist, but it's just a shame they used it last year with Triple H.

Goldust & Melina vs Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix (Mixed Tag Team Match)​

I liked this short bout. It served it's purpose by having Melina win cleanly over the Womens Champ, and it further progressed Goldust and Santino as comedy characters. I still have no idea why Goldust is even wrestling though. I'm not a fan of him and he seems sloppy in the ring. After Melina won, that Rosa chick tried to attack her but was escorted out of the building by security. I just want to see her hurry up and debut already.

After Punk cuts a decent backstage interview, it's time for an Intercontinental Title Match!

Intercontinental Championship Match: CM Punk vs. William Regal ​

Well, I wasn't expecting a 2 minute match so I wasn't too impressed. I was eating dinner while this match was on so I was sitting fairly far from my TV, so when Regal got disqualified, I had NO idea why the referee called the bell as I didn't see him grab the ref's shirt while being hoisted up for the GTS. The rematch next week should be much better and hopefully it's a feature instead of a filler. The stipulation for next weeks match is that if William Regal is disqualified, he loses the belt to Punk. I'm looking forward to it personally.

After the commercial break we see Randy Orton talking to Sim Snuka and Cody Rhodes. He tells them that if they win their match later on in the night, they are officially part of Legacy. Manu walks up and wants another chance to be in the stable. Orton denies him the chance before Manu mentions that Orton also lost last week. It didn't sit too well with him, so Randy tells Manu that he will never, ever be apart of Legacy again. I really have no idea where the direction of Manu is currently going. But it is interesting and I certainly won't deny that.

Dolph Ziggler introduced himself to Mickie James right before the commercial break. Who knows where they went after that

John Morrison and The Miz vs. Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio ​

This was the match of the night in my opinion. It was a great tag team match. Kofi Kingston played the partner in trouble for quite a while. But once Mysterio was tagged in the match, the crowd was nuts and so was I. All four men are great in terms of in ring ability, and these four truly showed me why they have bright futures. Especially the 3 that haven't won a World Title yet. Miz and Morrison win after the Miz interferes after Rey hits the 619 on Morrison, which allowed Morrison to kick Rey in the ribs when he was going for the splash. The pinfall was then academic.

After the match Mike Knox once again attacks Mysterio. Seriously, when is this feud ever going to end? It feels like it's lasted for an eternity. And the worst part is, they haven't even competed against each other in a singles match yet!

Shawn Michaels and John Cena then had a little backstage promo where Cena asked HBK what to expect tonight. Cena obviously doesn't trust HBK since he's working for Bradshaw. Nothing really noteworthy occurred.

Kelly Kelly vs. Jillian Hall ​

I thought this match was shit, personally. The whole singing gimmick needs to go. It's not funny, not entertaining and it makes you want to change the channel and grab something to eat or drink. It was slow paced, and both divas weren't very impressive here. Kelly Kelly nails a rather cool looking finisher for the victory. When was the last time Jillian won a singles match? Yeah, I can't remember either.

After the match, the Big Red Bore otherwise known as Kane comes to the ring. He tells her that because she got rejected by Orton last week, that it doesn't feel good being rejected. He's been through that too he said. He said next week, he's going to do things that make him feel happy, like destroying people. He tells Kelly he has a match with Randy Orton next week on Raw and would love her to be at ringside.

So since he's been drafted to Raw, I have no idea where Kane is going. One week he's full face, the next week he's full heel. The week after that he's a tweener. Creative has no idea what to do with him. And I'm beginning to think that ECW is actually the best place for him at the present moment.

Cody Rhodes and Sim Snuka vs. Cryme Tyme ​

Another short but decent match here. Rhodes sure is underrated. I think he's a great young talent who definately has potential to be something big. As for Sim Snuka, I haven't decided whether he has potential yet. He still needs to show me more. Cody wins the match with an inverted DDT. This was the final phase of the "Legacy" try-outs.

After the commerical break we see Rhodes, Snuka and Orton in the back. Randy congratulates Cody for winning his match and tells him he's officially part of Orton's team. Sim smiles but Orton tells him that's he's out of the group though because he didn't win the match himself. Snuka tells Orton that it was a tag match so only one man can get the pinfall. Orton is aware of this and says that he wanted to find the weakest link of the group. Snuka asks Cody what he thinks about this, and Cody replies with "All I know, is that I won my match". Orton and Rhodes then walk off much to Sim's dismay.

Interesting, very interesting. I have absoutely no idea where the WWE is going with this, but I guess it's a good thing.

Backstage Stephanie tells Glamarella that Rosa Mendes is now banned from WWE events. They then leave while Chris Jericho walks in Stephanie's office and tells her that in 2 weeks time, Vinnie Mac is returning to Raw! Steph was shocked by this and she didn't look impressed. Hopefully Vince is returning as a babyface as I'm sick of the old grumpy heel character he's played for so long now.

It's main event time!

Randy Orton and Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels and World Heavyweight Champion John Cena ​

A very good 20 minute match here. Cena was in the ring for about 95% of the match while Orton and Jericho took turns beating down Cena. At one point, Orton raked Cena's eyes while HBK took out Orton & Jericho while Cena "couldn't see", so Cena thinking that it was Orton, Cena blindly lifted HBK up for an FU. HBK quickly retaliated and both then looked very confused. Later in the match, Cena leaps from one side of the ring to the other to tag in HBK who pumped up the crowd despite getting mixed reactions. Shawn hits the Sweet Chin Music on Orton and Jericho and looks as if he was going to hit Cena as well with it, but it never happened.

So Shawn covered Jericho for the pinfall victory. After the match, HBK looks confused and depressed while Cena approves of Shawn's decision to do the right thing by winning the match and by not attacking Cena. Then quickly backstage JBL announces that next week, HBK will go one on one with John Cena on Raw with himself being in Shawn's corner.

Overall, it was a decent Raw. Nothing special, but most of the storylines seem to be intruiging. Next weeks show should be interesting as we are seeing 3 good matches in Cena vs HBK, Orton vs Kane as well as CM Punk vs William Regal for the IC title. This is the best time to watch wrestling. I personally love the Road to Wrestlemania. We had two good tag team matches this week, but nothing else was memorable. I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10 mainly because of storyline development.

Hope you enjoyed.

 

[mcflyboy]

So I watched the 1/09 episode of smackdown, and it seems to me that this episode served no other purpose whatsoever than to once again, make HHH look superhuman. Even JR mentioned during the final match that if it was anyone besides HHH, he wouldn't still be able to keep going.

Ridiculous. And unnecessary. Seriously, what did that episode really accomplish? Sure, there were a few other things that happened, but nothing of note. Michelle McCool attacked someone showing her cruel side, we've already seen that. We saw yet another interchange between MVP and kennedy that pretty much copied the last few exchanges, so nothing new there. We saw 15+ combined and unnecessary minutes of the jeff hardy being sideswiped, something that could have been accomplished in 30 seconds with just a quick jeff hardy interview.

So we end the night with HHH being made into an unstoppable monster yet again. True, he didn't win the final match, but considering how long he lasted, how he definitely was made to look better than big show, and the number of times he managed to stand back up, his not winning in the end didn't really matter. I guess in the end, I'm just baffled at what the whole point of his series of matches were. It's not even like it's the first time he's ever been put through a gauntlet of matches all in one night. So why did we need a night of HHH matches?

 

[JackAttack]

I like to think of myself as a Taker fan, but lately he's been extremely disapointing. His match with Shelton was terrible, and completely unnecessary. Taker has become so slow that its actually become painful trying to find enjoyment in any of his matches. I enjoyed his cage match with Show, but that was about it as of late. Overall, I just didn't see any need for him to beat Shelton in an ultimately pointless match.

Also, hopefully they can get their main event organized, because they can't just constantly give us Jeff against Edge. They need to get Kennedy back in there, utilize Taker more often, and hopefully give MVP the push he already has coming towards him sooner rather than later.

 

[Brizziville]

Smackdown has been run so poorly the last few months that I can't even stand it. You think that they will turn things around when Edge came back and won the title, but he had to fight HHH and Hardy, which is understandable since HHH just lost the belt, but then Jeff Hardy wins. WOW, what huge moment, a chance for Smackdown to turn around and take the spotlight off of HHH, so let's give him three matches in one night. Real cool. The tables match with Morrison could have been sweet, if it didn't last five minutes, the handicap match was a joke, and I had a hard time staying in my seat and not just leaving the room to watch the Last Man Standing Match. By the way, did anyone else notice how awkward the ref looked counting the Last Man Standing Match? If you have ever watched a LMS Match, you know what it looks like when a ref counts, and this was just weird. Go back to the tape and check it out. You fire Jimmy Kordaris, but you have Scott Armstrong (I think that's who it was) reffing the main event? What is going on?

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'take' on Monday Night Raw: January 12th, 2009:​

Opening Segment: Stephanie McMahon comes out and announces that her Father will be at Raw, live next Monday night. She seems excited to see her Father return, but everything gets suddenly interrupted by the guy who originally broke the news to her about it in the first place, as Chris Jericho comes out.

Jericho says that Stephanie is nothing but a hypocrite and scared of her Father's return, because it'll mark the end of her days of running the show. She basically boils it down to that all happening next week, but for tonight, she's still in charge. She tries to put Jericho in a match, but Jericho refuses and says until he's given another title shot, he isn't competing against anyone.

Stephanie then says not only will Jericho not get another World Heavyweight title shot, not only will he not be competing in the Royal Rumble, but he also won't even get the opportunity to talk with Mr. McMahon next Monday night, because as of this moment.. Stephanie McMahon has officially FIRED Chris Jericho!!!

The Matches:

1. The Miz v. Rey Mysterio: This is your typical opening match. Mysterio hits a couple regular high-flying moves. Miz controls a small portion of the match. In the end, it's Mysterio hitting the 619 and picking up the meaningless victory.

The interesting (I say that with a yawn) part of the match was the interaction after it was over. Mike Knox, once again, hits the ring and attacks Mysterio from behind. Knox seems to have the upper hand, like he's always had, but Mysterio finally fights back and gets the upper hand, causing Knox to retreat.

2. Intercontinental Championship: William Regal (c) v. C.M. Punk: Very short match with a somewhat predictable outcome. Punk and Regal evenly controlled this match, but in the end it was Regal winning via DQ after Punk hit Regal, in the lower mid-section/groin.

The official couldn't see properly, but felt it was the groin. Punk tried pleading his case, and Regal did his part to just play along with pretending that it truly was in the groin.

3. Kane v. Randy Orton: In the "Who forgot the storyline" match of the night, we get a match that's taking place because of a female.. a female, who's NOWHERE to be found anywhere near this contest. She didn't attempt saving Orton, nor did she side with Kane.. she simply wasn't there, at all. So either the storyline is over, or someone allowed a T.N.A. writer to have their way with this one.

The match itself was crap, and the other underlining story was when and where Manu and Snuka were going to strike, as Cody was pacing like a caged animal outside the ring the entire match. In the end, we get another "WTF" moment, as Orton hits a dropkick on Kane, as he's coming off the top ropes. Kane gets pinned for a 3-count, but his shoulder clearly comes up and the official just apparently realized the match sucked so bad.. he just gave Orton the victory.

After the match, Manu and Snuka came out. They toward Cody he'd have to decide and said they weren't coming alone. Out comes Ted DiBiase Jr.. the trio make their way to the ring, and surround Orton. Orton then realizes Cody is covering the 4th side of the ring, as all of the younger stars enter and surround Orton.

In what would typically be called a shocking moment, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes attack Manu and Sim Snuka, helping Orton instead of siding away from him. Thus, it looks like the group of Legacy will be Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase Jr.

4. Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall v. Kelly Kelly & Melina: Raw sucked badly for matches tonight, and this one didn't even happen. Beth & Jillian were already IN the ring, then we cut to commercial. When we come back, we get Kelly's intro, then Melina's.. and before anything else could even happen, the Beth Phoenix fan jumps Melina. After the stalker gets carted off, Beth and Jillian attack Kelly & Melina. Then pretty much randomly leave.

Promos/Segments:

Punk/Candice: Candice is showing the world how badly her facial reconstruction is deteriorating, while also trying to score some type of pity date with Punk, who's trying desperately to claim he didn't hear a word she said, and claimed it was due to listening to music and preparing for his match.

Cody Rhodes/Manu/Sim Snuka: Mickie James is rambling to Cody Rhodes about the snow outside, and the possibility of being stuck. (another possible pity date set-up) while Rhodes gets interrupted by Snuka and Manu, who tell him he has to make the choice of either them or Orton.. and they also mention another Superstar, like them, will be coming with them to attack Orton. (wow, I wonder who that could be. )

Regal/Stephanie McMahon: Regal, still for some reason trying to play off being hit in the nuts, is told by Stephanie that he'll once again have to defend his Championship against C.M. Punk, in a No DQ match.

Steve Austin Inducted into the Hall of Fame: It's announced that the first inductee into this year's Hall of Fame, will be none other than Texas' own, Stone Cold Steve Austin. A fairly nice video package is shown.

J.B.L./Shawn Michaels: J.B.L. and H.B.K. had a segment to kick the show off, and this was basically nothing more than a repeat of the same thing. J.B.L. said that this is H.B.K.'s Wrestlemania, because he won't be going to the Rumble, or Mania, he's J.B.L.'s employee and his only focus should be on helping his boss. H.B.K. says that if tonight is his Mania, then he can do it alone.

Cena: Grisham randomly finds himself being a backstage announcer again, dispite being a Slammy Award Winning announcer on E.C.W. Hmm.. they hype the Rumble, and Cena says that it's going to be tough and dangerous because J.B.L. has gone out and bought himself, the best.

Legacy: Orton said that he kicked DiBiase in the head, to kick some sense into him. DiBiase said the past is where it is, and the future is the Rumble, in which all of them are apparently in.. yet only one could win.

Random Jobbers: A camera shows a handful of Superstars all lined up outside of Stephanie McMahon's office, likely waiting to get in on some early Hall of Fame/crotch inductions. I kid, I kid. They wanted Rumble spots. Goldust, Cryme Tyme, Jamie Noble & Dolph Ziggler are all waiting, but it's Santino Marella who walks out with the apparent "final" spot.

Main Event: John Cena v. Shawn Michaels (w/ J.B.L.): Just like every other Cena/H.B.K. match, this one didn't fail to disappoint, albeit it wasn't anywhere near their Mania encounter, or their post-Mania (1-hour) encounter. The match went back and forth, and ended in a rush with finishers being used and kicked out of. In the end, it was H.B.K. seemingly getting help from J.B.L., and landing the Superkick to pick up the victory. After the match, H.B.K. instantly went to the back, while J.B.L. stood over Cena to end the show.

Overall Thoughts: The reason I didn't add a lot into each little segment, or match, is because I'm going to start giving my thoughts in this part of my reviews. So here goes.

I think tonight's Raw was complete shit. From beginning to end, they didn't have one match (outside of the Main Event) that had both meaning and a worth wile' finish. They had a diva's match that didn't take place, and two weirdly ending matches that didn't truly connect to anything.

To start with the top of the show, I'm beginning to hate "You're Fired" storylines. Obviously Chris Jericho isn't really fired, and if he is, I fully expect him to replace Christian in T.N.A. But yet, he's not, so it's pointless to even assume. My only true question is, what is Chris Jericho? Face, Heel, Tweener? What is Stephanie?! And most importantly.. when Mr. McMahon returns, will they continue the storyline of him almost being killed.. again?! A lot of questions are popping up, and chances are some won't even be remotely close to being answered.

Why the fuck is William Regal being forced to defend his Championship, again, this time when he technically won the match instead of lost? I figured Regal would lose via countout, and thus a No DQ/countout match would be set-up.. instead, it was the other way around and Punk ends up weirdly DQ'd.. so his reward.. ANOTHER fucking title shot.. why? How does he earn that right? Stupid storyline, and a complete dropping of the ball in my opinion. Way to further fuck Punk over.

Last week, did they NOT say Rosa Mendez was perminately barred from all W.W.E. events? Is security for their company so fucking horrible, that they can't figure out she's wearing a damn hat?! Seriously.. it's time to let Mendez either become a wrestler (like that'll get over well, cause it worked incredibly well for Tori and Santino) or just dump her completely. Enough is enough.

I'm happy and thrilled all in one to see Ted DiBiase back. I'm even more happy to see not one, but two solid tag teams have been formed. Manu & Snuka should make a worthy tag team.. granted, I doubt they'll win much, but still. Meanwhile, Legacy consisting of Orton, DiBiase & Rhodes should become a great mini-faction.

I'm happy for Steve Austin that he's being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He deserves it. My only issue is, he doesn't truly deserve it this soon, and the only reason it's happening is because Wrestlemania is in Texas. If it were in New York, then Austin might not be in this year.

While I'm semi-happy to learn Santino will job in the Royal Rumble, is there even a solid purpose to this mini-segment? I mean, will Santino truly do anything more than Bushwacker himself in and out of the Rumble in a new record time?!

Have they completely scrapped Kane/Kelly Kelly? If so, what was the fucking purpose to even start it? To give Legacy an introduction point? The match was brutual, the ending was horrible, and I'll be glad if I never see another Kane/Orton match again.. but the least Kane deserves is a female counter-part, and he isn't even seemingly getting that. I hope they do something further with Kane/Kelly Kelly, but leave Orton out of it.

I think the J.B.L./Cena/H.B.K. storyline went along nicely. My only complaint is going to continue to be J.B.L. actually wrestling at the Rumble. If I were him, I'd just "force" Shawn Michaels to compete for me.. and if he wins, then J.B.L. would "get the title". (kinda like a Million Dollar Man/Andre the Giant storyline) And if H.B.K. loses, he'd be fired from J.B.L.'s services. As it stands, I'm more than sure the storyline will end with H.B.K. Superkicking J.B.L. at the Rumble, then feuding up until No Way Out.

So, from start to finish.. Raw truly was forgettable. 2 outta 10, and that's barely even worth it. Infact, fuck it.. Raw isn't even getting a rating. 0 outta 10.

 

[Taker_fan_92]

Will have to agree with Brizziville here. Lately, the Smackdown shows have been really, really boring and last weeks main event was completely over-powered by the Big Show who really made it very boring. Fair enough, HHH fought back as a top face would, but come on a punch and that's it. Where was the chairs? Tables? sledgehammer? To be honest, one of the worst, if not the worst, Last Man Standing Matches I've ever seen which is NOT helping Smackdown's reputation. And as for the commentary, why bother having it? I like J.R but him pairing with Tazz is like chocolate cake with ketchup. I really liked Tazz when he was paired with Cole, he took the piss out of everything Cole said and always thought he was right. Now, the atmosphere is so awkward between them, they hardly speak calling for main-event matches. I think there was more silence than words at last weeks m/e. You can even tell when WWE put on a good match when J.R's voice crackles with excitement. Has he ever done that on Smackdown? I still think he wishes he was on RAW and I think he needs to be put back with King. Poor choice by the WWE, sort it out for the 2009 Draft.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'reflection' of the Smackdown Spoilers:

Well, I'll be damned. If I can't watch Smackdown regularly on television, I guess I can youtube the important parts, huh. So this obviously is NOT going to be a normal review but instead my opinions based on youtube videos and the overall spoilers. (as I didn't watch the likely stupid matches)

Swagger's 1st Loss: Albeit not in a Single's match, to have him lose in any way just 3 days after winning his biggest match to date.. is very piss poor and badly done. Matt Hardy was the individual who defeated him, which I suppose if I tried really hard I could understand.. but I shouldn't have to try hard, and Swagger's first defeat shouldn't of came like this.

A couple things come to mind in this issue. The first is, Mark Henry could've easily taken the pinfall loss instead. Swagger wouldn't of won the match, but wouldn't of lost it either. The second is having Finlay take a pinfall loss to Swagger.

This is obviously how they've chosen to set-up the Rumble rematch, instead of just randomly giving Hardy his "rematch" apparently.

Triple H. storyline/M.V.P.'s streak: Okay, so the first thing I have to say is.. I wouldn't be shocked if this "victory" for M.V.P. gets reversed. Why? Because in a segment earlier at some point in the night, Vickie Guerrero tells Triple H. he's banned from ringside.. yet M.V.P. gets a victory off the Big Show, thanks in-part to Triple H.'s help.

Albeit H.H.H. attacked Show, from behind, on the staging area.. where exactly is the grey-area that is considered "ringside".. especially when you'd assume based on where the match moves to, "ringside" would move with it.

As far as the Triple H. storyline goes.. I'm convinced 1 of 2 things will solidly happen. 1. Triple H. will overcome all the odds, that are being set-up against him, and win the Royal Rumble. (I surely hope not) Or, 2. Triple H. will end up entering #1. in the Rumble, only to be eliminated by the Big Show in some manner.. (legally or illegally) setting up a Triple H. v. Big Show Mania match.

Jeff Hardy's Pyro Mishaps: Well, I think we've all learned a very valuable lesson. Jeff Hardy failed at his one and only attempt at being the next Goldberg.

This segment would've been amazing if not for two reasons. First, if Hardy got burned truly badly by his pyro, I doubt he would've flipped and flopped around as much as he did. He likely would've rolled, but not "over-sold" the way he did.

And Second, this was nothing more than a glorified way to get random jobbers television time. While youtube is blurry, I believe I could make out R-Truth, Gregory Helms & Jimmy Yang. Outside of Helms, what the fuck does Yang & Truth have to do with Hardy? Neither have been mentioned in storylines, or "stories" in general, about being friends. And maybe I didn't see him, but where exactly was Matt Hardy in all of this?

That's making me believe more and more than Christian is NOT behind these attacks, but instead.. Matt Hardy.

 

[The Todd]

TheOneBigWill's 'reflection' of the Smackdown Spoilers:

Jeff Hardy's Pyro Mishaps: Well, I think we've all learned a very valuable lesson. Jeff Hardy failed at his one and only attempt at being the next Goldberg.

This segment would've been amazing if not for two reasons. First, if Hardy got burned truly badly by his pyro, I doubt he would've flipped and flopped around as much as he did. He likely would've rolled, but not "over-sold" the way he did.

And Second, this was nothing more than a glorified way to get random jobbers television time. While youtube is blurry, I believe I could make out R-Truth, Gregory Helms & Jimmy Yang. Outside of Helms, what the fuck does Yang & Truth have to do with Hardy? Neither have been mentioned in storylines, or "stories" in general, about being friends. And maybe I didn't see him, but where exactly was Matt Hardy in all of this?

That's making me believe more and more than Christian is NOT behind these attacks, but instead.. Matt Hardy.

I realise you haven't seen some of the segments so I will fill you in on some of the things you complained about. Last week, they interviewed Jeff about the hit and run and he said he was coming back from a party that Helms and R-Truth also attended. He may have mentioned Wang-Yang as well, but I don't think he did.

Matt Hardy was one of the people rushing to his aid, the youtube quality is awful at times, and it was hard nough tot make it out anyway.

Hope that explains why these events occured.

 

[The Todd]

YES!! What a Raw. The ending was brilliant. Although maybe Orton should of just stared at Vince instead of being shocked. The punt looked vile.

Overall, busy, busy episode. Maybe a little too much happened, which cut down on actual Wrestling time, although, they are trying to sell a PPV wthout giving away Wrestling and they did that.

The only problem is Orton looks a certainty to win Rumble now..... which means he won't as WWE like surprising us.

 

[La Mascara]

I agree with edge-head. Orton should not have looked shocked. It would have elevated his character even more. We'll see how it plays out.

One thing I was upset about, was the cryme time vs. m&m match. It was decent and I'm glad crime time is finally going after the titles (probably cuz its MLK day) but I was dissappointed that morrison was cleanly pinned. It should have been miz. Granted it did give more credibility to Cryme tyme, but still.

Oh yeah, Mike Knox lost the scary credibility with his voice and that stupid promo he cut. He should have remained silent.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Very good RAW last night, and the last two weeks. The matches all sucked last night, but those were EXCELLENT promos, and you had a very good match two weeks ago with HBK/Cena.

Orton is a main draw, with a HUGE future.

 

[Blizz]

I disagree. I loved how Orton looked suprised after the punt to the head. Think about it. Instead of doing the expected heel like stare after, he looked like he couldn't believe what he had just done. It makes it look like he just realized that he no longer has control of his temper....he looked like he went freakin'crazy. Its as if he no longer can control himself and is now going as far as to kick his boss in the head. Amazing. Isn't it?

 

[SuperKick36]

The reason why I believe they had Orton look shocked is for a couple reasons:

1. They can try to put him on a face run, which I strongly believe Orton could pull off now with his massive improvement in the ring and on the mic. HOWEVER, why destroy such a strong, still growing character/storyline by starting him all over as a face, and having to recreate a new character?

2. He waits to be fired/punished, and after not being fired for booting Vinny Mac in the head, he tests the limits and eventually turns into an Austin-like character (with a psychotic Orton twist) who doesn't give a shit and beats up on the boss when the boss gets in his way. (Thus possibly leading to another John Cena v. Randy Orton feud, of course with Cena as the super hero and Orton as the arch villain, but then Orton gives Cena the punt kick and accidentally takes off Cena's head, thus inadvertently turning face. Except for the little kids who love Cena.)


Or, maybe Orton really did injure Vince. I mean, come on the replay on that punt was pretty crazy looking.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill’s ‘take’ on Monday Night Raw: January 26th, 2009:

Opening Segment: Randy Orton opened the show in the ring with Legacy, as well as his lawyers. Orton said that he’s suffering from a disease that causes him to lose control of his actions when pushed. He said that Stephanie’s slap, followed by McMahon’s attempt at firing him triggered this violent out-burst.

He mentioned that because he won the Rumble, he would bring forth a lawsuit against the company if they fired him and denied him his rightful opportunity at the title. Furthermore, he said he would bring up an alternative lawsuit because the company knew of his “disorder” and didn’t take it into factor.

Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes threatened (through Orton) to leave the company, if Orton were to be fired. To end the segment, Orton read from a letter that he was sorry, and apologized to Mr. McMahon and the Family.

The Matches:

1. Tag Team Championships: John Morrison & The Miz © v. Cryme Tyme: This was a match-up that was made as a result of last week, when Cryme Tyme defeated Morrison & Miz to earn this shot. The match started in control of the champs, only to later turn to Cryme Tyme.

The ending came when Shad seemed to have everything locked up, only for the Miz to make the save. J.T.G. & Miz fought outside the ring, while Morrison hit his finisher on Shad to pick up the victory and retain the titles. Winners: John Morrison & The Miz

2. Elimination Chamber Qualifying: Kofi Kingston v. Kane: Kane controlled most of the contest, but it was Kofi Kingston who ended up capitalizing on a great opportunity. Kane went for a choke slam, but it was countered. Kingston ended up rolling Kane up to get the surprising victory and become the first man to qualify for the Elimination Chamber. Winner: Kofi Kingston

3. Elimination Chamber Qualifying: Shawn Michaels v. John Cena: It was announced that J.B.L. would gain entry to the Elimination Chamber match-up, if Shawn Michaels won the match. In a backstage segment, it was explained that H.B.K. Superkicked J.B.L. to get Cena to lower his guard.

This match-up went back and forth, and was very similar to their contest two weeks prior. Cena locked H.B.K. in the STFU, only for Shawn to reach the ropes. When Shawn had an opening to go for his Superkick, he opted to go to the top rope instead. J.B.L. didn’t like the decision, and ultimately was up on the apron and then shoved into Michaels, resulting in Cena capitalizing and gaining the victory. After the match, Bradshaw just glared down at H.B.K. in disgust. Winner: John Cena

4. Diva’s Tag Match: Melina & Kelly Kelly v. Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall: Beth & Melina started the match. I can’t honestly remember Jillian even being involved. In the end, the Phoenix fan ran down and pulled Melina off the apron, allowing Phoenix to hit her finisher on Kelly to pick up the victory. In the back, after the contest, Phoenix told Santino that they could “keep” the Phoenix fan. Winner: Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall

5. Elimination Chamber Qualifying: Rey Mysterio v. William Regal: In what seemed like the longest match of the night, Regal controlled the opening bits with power, but it seems that the company is utterly lost as for what to do with Regal.

Mysterio gained control of the match and wouldn’t lose it, as he ultimately hit a 619 on Regal to defeat him and become the 2nd entry into the Chamber match for No Way Out. Winner: Rey Mysterio

6. Elimination Chamber Qualifying: C.M. Punk v. Chris Jericho: In what I’d consider the match of the night, but default, Jericho & Punk put on yet another seeming classic. (I use the term classic, loosely) Punk seemed to control most of the match, yet in the end it was a great series of counters leading to yet another Y2J victory over Punk, to gain Jericho entry into the Chamber. Winner: Chris Jericho

Ending Segment: The running theme throughout the night was “What would happen to Randy Orton?” Well, Stephanie McMahon came out and called Orton out. Orton brought out Legacy as well as his lawyers, and practically begged her to fire him. Orton said if he gets fired, he’ll bring forth a lawsuit so big it’d cancel Wrestlemania. He said he’d bring the W.W.E. to it’s knees. This brought out the entire locker-room, minus most of it’s bigger stars. Stephanie said that what “they” had planned was better, and not as easy as simply “firing” Orton.

Shane McMahon came out at this point, and a brawl began between Shane McMahon and Legacy. Nothing major happened at this point, as Orton back-tracked up the ramp way, with the show ending on a Shane McMahon beating up Kofi Kingston note, demanding to know where Orton went.

Overall Thoughts: Overall this was mainly what I expected from the Raw following the Rumble. They’ve already begun building the Raw Chamber w/ Kingston, Jericho & Mysterio. I would half assume that obviously because it’s a title match, John Cena would be involved, along with what I’d assume to be J.B.L. as well as Shawn Michaels. If neither J.B.L. or H.B.K. are involved, then I wouldn’t know who could take their spots.

I’m highly and very interested in the situation regarding the actor who played “The Wrestler” in what seems to be a build-up to a Mania match against Chris Jericho. They also mentioned Ric Flair and Roddy Piper as being two of the guys who helped train him, so my guess is they’d be in his corner at Mania, against Jericho.

While I’m not thrilled about Kofi Kingston being in the Elimination Chamber match, I have to say at least the company is trying to help promote their younger talent. C.M. Punk was the big push last year, followed by Jeff Hardy (albeit I’d hardly call him young) and it seems Kingston is gonna get a random push in the Chamber. Can’t say I’m shocked about Mysterio or Jericho being involved though.

The J.B.L./H.B.K. storyline took a major twist, as it looked like it was completely over. I have to say I’m semi-scared now that this storyline may go beyond No Way Out, but we still have a few weeks before then, so I won’t jump to conclusions.

I’ll be the first to admit when I’m wrong about something, and I was wrong about the 12 Rounds movie that will be coming out soon. While it looks like it could arguably be a sequel to the Marine, it does look much better than the Marine. I’ll reserve complete judgment for when it comes out to DVD though, as I still wouldn’t pay $8.00 to see it in the theatre.

I have to say I’m highly disappointed in Shane siding with his sister, and Father. Especially after the last time we seen Shane, he was seemingly being ‘owned’ by his sister. I guess this means either Stephanie (I hope not) or Vince will be siding with Orton. I’d laugh my ass off if it ended up being Linda though. That would truly be a twist and a shock. (not by any means a good one though)

In the end, I’d give Raw a 6 outta 10. Only because I think the Chamber build-up is looking incredibly weak right now, and the only other up-side to No Way Out seems to be a Shane McMahon against Randy Orton match-up that is likely going to be a shitfest.

 

[pyrusane]

Ok, I didn't get to see this weeks RAW because I just moved into a new apartment, but I did read the results, and I have to say, this is getting stupid.

Jericho vs. Rourke? Really? I posted my thoughts on this in the Mickey Rourke thread, I won't rehash.

Um, doesn't a qualifying match mean that the winner goes into the chamber? If this is the case, then the HBK/Cena match makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I can buy that HBK is fighting for JBL's spot in the EC...but why the hell is he fighting Cena??? Seeing as how Cena is the reigning champion, shouldn't his spot pretty much be guaranteed? Having the reigning champion fight in a qualifying match for a championship match for the title he already holds is a poorly thought out way to further a storyline.

Not seeing the match, I'm having trouble determining if the tag team title match tonight was the blow-off to the feud between CT and Miz/Morrison. If so...waste of time. If not, then it just seems vaguely unsatisfying. It doesn't, however, capture my interest and make me want to see more. What ever happened to the tried and true formula of building tag-tam feuds by having the various tag team members fight each other in singles competitions? Bah...

Kofi??? Yeah, he has a shot at winning it...

Rey??? See above...

So, Rosa comes out to help Beth win a tag-team match, but not to help her retain her title? Not much of a #1 fan, if you ask me. Oh, wait, this is the diva's division. I forgot not to care.

Randy Orton has a disease that makes him lose control when he's under pressure. Well, let's just put him in a world title match at the biggest freakin' show of the year. On it's 25th anniversary, no less. No pressure there. Whatever.

IDK, maybe if I had seen the show I would feel differently. But as it is...please, educate me if I missed some subtle nuances that made this all make sense...

 

[kid chameleon]

in my opinion the weeks raw had simply the best ending i have seen in a long long time.
orton vs shane o'mac does indeed look like its guna turn into a complete and utter brawl.
i'll admit i was waiting for shane and/or stephanie to bring up the fact that they are 3rd generation and therefore entitled to a spot in legacy.
overall this edition of raw certainly kept my intrest.

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I didnt watch all of SD but I can say its amazing that its been what, about ten years since we've seen Undertaker and Triple H team up correct me if im worng, but it was a truly wonderful thing to see..reminds me of their days in the corporate minstry and the days of HHH/Taker vs. Austin/Rock..another good thing about the main event was we saw Four wrestlers from the attitude era, I am truly proud that wwe allowed us to see that. and as for the rest of sd I cant comment cus i really didnt watch

 

[mcflyboy]

I'm not really sure where else to post, but some thoughts I had with respect to this whole orton angle. I do understand some elements of disbelief have to be allowed in just about any wrestling storyline. So let's ignore that this whole orton threatening to sue is ridiculous in that there is no way he would ever win. Especially after his unprovoked attack on stephanie and shane last week. His threatening to close down wrestlemania was also ridiculous, as is his continued employment.

But let's ignore all that. Like I said, some disbelief is a given. But what I don't completely understand is dibiase and rhodes role in this. Yes, they are his enforcers, to help him out when he wants to attack someone and have numbers in his favor. But what is up with the "if stephanie fires orton, dibiase and rhodes will walk".

First, would they be missed? Neither of them have accomplished enough yet in their careers that their leaving would really strike much of a blow to raw. Especially since they seem to be hanging around orton more often than actually being involved in wrestling matches.

Second, why in the world would they agree to walk if orton was gone? If they are hanging around orton because he'll be good for their careers and they can learn from him, etc., then what good would it do to their careers if they just up and quit too? Kind of seems like the opposite of why they associate with orton in the first place.

So just some random thoughts I decided to post. I'm don't really care too much one way or the other because at this point I'm not really into this storyline. I really couldn't care less how the match with shane turns out at no way out.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Since I'm not 100% sure how often people read my reviews anymore, I'm just gonna cut back on them being as in-depth unless someone (or rather multiple someone's say otherwise).

So, the final show heading to No Way Out. I'll be honest, it built everything as nicely as it could've been done.

The 6-Man Tag Team match was likely what I'd consider an exact preview of the Raw Elimination Chamber to be. Minus the outcome. Mysterio & Kingston will hit early and often high-risk, high-flying moves.. but quickly be grounded and likely eliminated by the trio of Jericho, Kane and Knox.

Knox won't likely do anything, and he'll end up being the first guy out (assumably) when Cena comes in. That is, if he even lasts that long. Cena will clean house upon entry, but get stopped by the heel trio, or duo depending, and it'll likely end with Jericho against Cena.. with Cena getting the 'W'.

Out of this match though, I felt Kingston impressed more than anyone, and I love that Jericho is finding new ways to his the Code-Breaker.

So it was learned that next Monday, we'll have a Women's title match on Raw. Beth Phoenix against Melina. Apparently they either don't have enough room on the 6 match card Sunday, or they simply felt a rematch on the following ppv was too much. Either way, tonight's diva's contest wasn't anything rememberable.. and the only headlining story is they're still heavily talking about Santino's mystery crush.

Ric Flair opened the show, but in all honesty I have NO flippin' clue why he was even there. To slap Chris Jericho? I think Jericho has been involved in enough slapping issues this passed week to last him a lifetime.

So in the end, Jericho was ironically telling the truth. Flair is nothing more than a pathetic puppet/sellout, who'll do anything for a dollar, even dispite claiming to be retired. If this leads to a Mania match, I have no doubt Flair will win. Why? Because someone in the front office seemingly feels Flair should go out with a victory, instead of a loss. That is until he sells out to another company and ends up losing there.

Does anyone else feel that Cryme Tyme would make for a better heel team than a face team? Watching them tonight, I got the impression that they'd be tremendous thugs and assholes, if they were heel.. but as fan favorites, they're always gonna be exactly what they seemingly were tonight.. two weak guys who get beat up by a couple of future stars.

So, I guess it was mentioned to happen, but I completely forgot. Either way, C.M. Punk defended his belt in an Intercontinental title match against Regal. Why are they still fighting? Especially since outside of last week, Regal can't even remotely come close to winning.

I think holding Punk off the up-coming ppv is a mistake. Especially since he's the new fresh face to the I.C. title. I think him defending would've been nice.

The J.B.L./H.B.K. storyline is all set to seemingly finish on Sunday, but I'll give them this much.. they are at least trying to make it seem like J.B.L. has a shot in the dark. They've changed it from being J.B.L. owning H.B.K. to the point of retiring, to J.B.L. merely controlling what H.B.K. does in the industry. Regardless, I firmly believe H.B.K. will walk out of No Way Out a free man.

The McMahon/Legacy angle seems to be going right on track. I have zero clue who Stephanie was talking with, especially since Shane was obviously in the building.

Speaking of, having Shane completely destroy Legacy, again, is such a ******ed thing to do. And he almost completely botched that coast-to-coast. Infact, he did botch it, but his feet kicked up at last second to barely hit the trash can. I question if he'll get the chance on Sunday to do that, or if they'll work around it and have it to where he won't.

The Undertaker on Raw got me to thinking. Since the brand extention, the Undertaker has never been a mainstay on the flagship show. I think if a draft happens this year.. that'll change. I think it's definately time for The Undertaker to come to Raw.

I think that about wraps it up. If I missed anything, sorry. I'll give it a rating of 7 outta 10.