411s WWE Raw Report 02.18.08
Posted by Arnold Furious on 02.18.2008
The Wrestlemania main event picture becomes clearer and the undercard too...
411's Raw Report 02.18.2008
The Wrestlemania main event picture becomes clearer and the undercard too
Good evening ladies and germs. I caught the PPV last night so I'm suitably prepared for this evenings show. Not only that expect detailed thoughts on it shortly. Or maybe not too shortly but detailed and thoughts. Those two words were both accurate. I'm giving up the opportunity to read the second book of the complete Age of Apocalypse to review this show you know. You lucky people. Because you're here you might as well get to read a few things I've done lately.
A not very good PWG show. I like the comment about me not understanding SoCal matches when they get a bad review. All the good reviews I gave them were probably just blips on my part then? Not simply this wasn't a good show?
Furious on Film. Another round of movie related hijinx courtesy of yours truly. So what if I like Tom Cruise? Since when was that a crime?
We're in Anaheim, California. Hosts are Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler.
TONIGHT:
Floyd Mayweather makes an appearance to explain why he sucker punched Big Show and broke his nose at No Way Out.
Hornswoggle v Mr McMahon in a steel cage match.
Maria gives Santino Marella her answer to his "Playboy or me" question.
First qualifying match for Money in the Bank.
First inductee into this years Hall of Fame is announced.
PROMO TIME Triple H. He's the #1 contender for Wrestlemania's main event dontcha know. He's in a good mood as a result. He says last year he was in a wheelchair watching 80,000 fans at Wrestlemania from backstage. "The Game is back" claims H's before telling us he belongs in the main event at Wrestlemania. He's aiming to win his 12th WWE title. He's about to do his King of Kings thing when RANDY ORTON comes out here to interrupt. Crowd tell him he sucks. Orton says this is full circle as it was Cena, Hardy, Jericho, Michaels and before them it was HHH who lost to Orton first. Orton claims H's is jealous of him, which is why he kicked him out of Evolution. And now he's that much better so H's is even more jealous. I hear an "RKO" chant from the minority. He continues to talk but out comes JOHN CENA. The usual mixed reaction for him. Cena calls Orton a liar and a loser. He claims Orton has an asterix next to his name after he lost his way into Wrestlemania. He wants a re-match, tonight. Orton tries to bully H's into siding with him in the Wrestlemania main event club. H's says he doesn't give a crap who he faces. This brings out WILLIAM REGAL to bestow his decision on the matter. Regal tells us H's is a lock for Mania but Orton got himself disqualified on purpose so that doesn't reflect well on the Raw brand and books Orton v Cena tonight in a non-title match. Cena gets to compete in a 3-way at Wrestlemania if he wins. Crowd actually BOO that. Oops, looks like the crowd don't want to see a 3-way dance. H's doesn't either. Regal makes it interesting by booking H's as the referee for tonight's match.
Money in the Bank qualifier - Jeff Hardy v Gene Snitsky
New music for Jeff. About time after 9 years of that Hardy Boyz music. He's all growns up now. The band that recorded it are at ringside. JR claims every winner of the MitB match has gone on to win the WWE title. So I guess Mr Kennedy didn't win it, which is strange because I saw him do so. Snitsky starts with the usual size and power and Hardy clocks him with the corner dropkick. Jeff up top but Snitsky crotches him and boots him out of the ring. Ad break. We return with Snitsky working at a bearhug. Hardy elbows out. Crowd is quiet all of a sudden. Snitsky is very methodical with a series of elbow drops. Snitsky works at a chinlock for a while. He's really sucking the life out of this match now. Snitsky with a slam but he misses a legdrop. Hardy comes back with a crossbody for 2. Whisper in the Wind wings Snitsky for 2. Sign of Hardy's move up the card; people buy that as a finish now. I heard gasps at the kickout. Snitsky avoids the Twist of Fate into a big boot. He goes for the pumphandle but Hardy counters into the Twist of Fate and the Swanton bomb finishes.
Winner: Jeff Hardy via pinfall. ½*. No issues with Hardy, fake tan aside, but Snitsky just bored the hell out of me there.
POST MATCH Jerry Lawler shills WWEMobile voting. Tonight "Should Maria pose for Playboy"? Gee, I wonder if that'll come back in the positive?
BACKSTAGE We see Floyd Mayweather chatting to Rey Jr.
HALL OF FAME Shawn Michaels comes out to make the announcement. He's in good spirits despite losing last night. He says it's an honour to introduce the first inductee. He's idolised this man his entire professional career and the reason why he became a wrestler. He's the greatest wrestler of all time. And he's my friend RIC FLAIR. We get clips of his history complete with bits from promos over the years. WOOOOO! JR points out that Flair deserves his own wing in the Hall of Fame. HBK says no one deserves it more than Flair. WOOO!
SHILL Top Ten Slammy Moments of all time. On WWE.com this Saturday night. Some great stuff in there.
Paul Burchill w/Katie Lea v Super Crazy
Paul gets a little promo time inset to talk about how the guys are all looking at his sister. Crazy doesn't even get music. Jobber. He starts fast but Burchill boots him in the chest. "Paul the pirate" chant the crowd with better memories. Burchill starts stretching Crazy on the mat then clocks him with a lariat. Crazy is finished already but Burchill adds in a Curb Stomp for the pin.
Winner: Paul Burchill via squash . He needs to make his stuff look stiffer if he's going to get over. That lariat isn't hard enough.
BACKSTAGE Big Show chats with Shane McMahon.
ELSEWHERE H's is on the phone saying it doesn't matter who he gets. Randy Orton arrives to discuss said matter. He's opposed to a triple threat match because Cena doesn't deserve it. And in the process reminds H's that Cena made him tap at Wrestlemania two years ago. H's reminds him that he taught Orton how to play mind games so he's calling this match to favour himself not Orton.
CLIPS Big Show & Floyd Mayweather. We'll likely see this a lot before Wrestlemania.
PROMO TIME The Big Show. He looks upset. Less jovial than last night certainly. He says he was asked to come out here and apologise for antagonising Floyd Mayweather. He knows Mayweather is in the building so he invites him out here so he can formally apologise. Mayweather comes out here and he has that massive entourage again. Smattering of boo's in his reaction. Excellent. Floyd says he loves publicity and has been a WWE fan for several years. He's sorry things happened last night but he's the best fighter in the world (BOOOO). When someone calls him out he has to retaliate. Show says he didn't call him out he was just trying to get a little publicity because of his size advantage. Show says he's sorry (BOOOO). He offers a handshake. Floyd is cautious but accepts. Show isn't happy with the segment ending that way though. He's done what he was supposed to do but now he's going to get something off his chest. He says the only way Floyd could hurt him was on his knees but even on his knees he's still bigger than Floyd. And if he wanted to he'd take Mayweather out in 2 minutes. Show wants him one on one. "The Greatest fighter in the world versus the biggest athlete in the world". Floyd runs down here accompanied by about a dozen guys (BOOOO). Floyd accepts and makes Show flinch with a ghost punch.
Ok, let me talk about this a bit. Why does Show have to apologise? He was in the ring being the performer. A fan, Floyd, jumps into the ring and repeatedly punches him. Then runs away like a coward surrounded by 12 guys. And this makes him the babyface? I'm also thinking he's the one who owed the Big Show an apology for a) getting in his ring and b) sucker punching him like a coward. Oh and c) taking liberties. His big shot attitude is about on a par with Kevin Federline. I've never liked Floyd Mayweather and I like him even less now.
SHILL Wrestlemania 24. 41 days away.
Money in the Bank qualifier Mr Kennedy v Val Venis
JR remembers what happened to Mr Kennedy last year during this match. Kennedy looks upset as well because he failed to beat Ric Flair last night and end his career. He works over Val's arm from the opening bell. Kennedy blocks a clothesline on that bad arm. Apparently Val had elbow surgery recently. Kennedy stays on the arm but Val gets a swinging neckbreaker. Val charges into the Mic Check and that'll do it.
Winner: Mr Kennedy via pinfall. Squash. Kennedy has a shot at repeating his achievement last year. Although he's lost momentum since then.
Steel cage match Mr McMahon v Hornswoggle
Finlay comes out here with Hornswoggle complete with shillelagh. Vince isn't best pleased to see him. "This is wrong" shouts Finlay. JR says something about tough love going too far here. JBL promptly appears out of nowhere and rams the cage door into Finlay's head. He handcuffs Finlay to the ropes and wails away with kicks and punches. Vince decides to administer tough love with his belt. Hornswoggle takes a shot and he's whimpering like a dog. Who'd have thought beating a leprechaun with a belt would get booed? Vince has had enough and after half a dozen shots he walks out of the cage to win. JBL is still in there though and he wants to make a point by strangling Hornswoggle and running him head first into the cage. He's looking to get under Finlay's skin. "TAKE IT OUT ON ME" screams Finlay. JBL kicks Hornswoggle in the head. They've really created some strong emotions with this match and its not what I expected. FALLAWAY SLAM INTO THE CAGE! JBL = midget killer!
Winner: Mr McMahon via escape. Even Vince felt the conclusion of that beating went a little too far and he calls for help. You can hear him saying he's sorry and he sounds upset. Nothing compared to Finlay who's steaming mad. "Both of you will pay" he's shouting. JBL walks off. What a bastard.
POST MATCH JR calls the previous segment "disturbing".
PROMO TIME Santino Marella & Maria Kanellis. We get the mobile answers; 94% said Maria should pose for Playboy. 6% of people wasted their money. Marella says he has great news; Maria is going to be in Playboy. More good news; Maria gets to wrestle Beth Phoenix right now.
Maria Kanellis v Beth Phoenix
Maria is actually wearing high heels. This match is somewhat of a surprise for her. Santino stops off to say in the contract with Playboy says she has to beat Beth Phoenix tonight. "Someone play a joke on us" claims Santino. Beth dominates, as you'd expect. Maria tries to come back with a whirl but she gets slammed. Maria with body shots but she's powered up again. CANDICE MICHELLE is out here and Maria uses the distraction to get a fluke roll up win!
Winner: Maria via pinfall. Santino's fist biting reaction is priceless. As well as his smiling while he raises Maria's hand then grimacing whenever she's not looking. Awesome reaction shots.
Randy Orton v John Cena
Special referee is Triple H. Orton gets in a quick closed fist and continues along those lines with repeated punches. HHH lets it go. Cena figures he might as well punch too but Orton catches him with a dropkick out of nowhere. Cena gets knocked off the apron and bounces off the announce table. H's is reluctant to start counting as we head into the ad break. We return with Cena getting fired up and he elbow drops Orton for 2. H's cadence is normal. He's just ignoring most of the rules. They head outside and Orton wants a weapon but Cena bounces his face off the announce table instead as a receipt. Heading back inside Orton gets his rope DDT but Cena landed flat off it. Pin gets 2. "RKO" chant is growing. Cena fires up again but gets caught in a loose powerslam. Orton with the Garvin Stomp. He specifically aims at the ankle, which was a target last night. Orton with a headlock but Cena back suplexes out. Boo's from the Cena haters once more. Cena misses a corner charge and gets rolled up for 2. That wasn't terribly clean either. Cena fires away with punches to booing. Shoulderblocks and Cena is getting no height on those suggesting his ankle really is hurt. Five Knuckle Shuffle. Orton grabs the ropes to avoid the FU and hangs Cena up on the ropes. Outside and Orton uses the environment by whipping Cena into the steps. That leads to Orton's stalking. Cena sells it and slowly gets up. RKO blocked into the STFU. H's is down to check. Orton tries to break the grip but can't. He edges over towards the ropes like he did last night. H's remains neutral. Orton just barely gets the rope. H's points out to Cena he was a little slow to release the hold. Cena eyeballs him but Orton charges into an FU for the loss.
Winner: John Cena via pinfall. *1/2. An unusual misstep for these guys. Loose and sloppy at times and had none of their usual chemistry.
POST MATCH H's shows his cerebral assassin mentality by jumping Cena and Pedigreeing him. Because Orton is lying around doing nothing he gets a Pedigree too. H's poses with the belt.
That's your show. Very loaded with content this week. We're truly on the road to Wrestlemania.
If Vince Russo booked the Hornswoggle angle, Mr. McMahon would tell Hornswoggle and Finlay that none of that was planned and that JBL was getting too far into character, mainting the "Everything is fake except for what you're watching RIGHT NOW" mentality.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:16 AM
Big Show apologizes for getting jumped.
HHH is in the main event, again.
Super Crazy gets buried for a Stupid Angle.
IC belts don't mean a thing.
Announcers wrestle Champions.
Abuse of a midget.
Orton v Cena XXXIII.
Yup. Just another repeat. Didn't miss much.
Posted By: Brad McLeod (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:19 AM
you guys need a special copy and paste detector whats with wrestlezone copying and pasting your every word?
Posted By: jords (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:24 AM
this show was lame and the crowd was bored beyond belief. that midget angle was weak.
Posted By: houston's finest (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:25 AM
Holy hell, lets just change his name to Super Grande.
The "paul the pirate" chant had me laughing.
Is Mayweather or Show supposed to be the face? I'm telling you, the mixed crowd reactions are odd, but at least they are caring about something. I could've sworn they were in Philly or NY, given some of the crowd reactions.
Posted By: Burton (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:31 AM
Damn Furious, why were you so critical on Mayweather? It's just a work for God's sake. It's not Mayweathr legitimately sucker punched him and ran away. It was scripted, chill out. Anyway, the crowd completely killed that angle.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:33 AM
Damn Arnold, why were you so critical on Mayweather? It's not like this whole thing is a shoot.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:47 AM
RAW's MVP tonight goes to the banging blond chick with the massive rack in the purple dress in the crowd. Good God almighty was she hot. The camera flashed to her once for a split second. That cameraman knew what was going on.
Posted By: Guest#4968 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:00 AM
Why do Hardy or Kennedy need to be in the MITB match? Neither one needs the crutch of having a guaranteed contract for a title shot. The match should be used to promote talent which wouldn't normally get a title shot.
When was the last time the IC title was defended? My belt serves more purpose than the IC belt.
I'm not liking the idea of Orton losing the belt because I think they'll relegate him back to the upper mid-card after the loss.
JBL and Finlay equals superbrawl '08. This will be fantastic stuff. JBL gets the instant heal heat Orton should always have. Maybe if Orton got to beat up on midgets...
Why is HBK and Flair a good idea? Flair's retirement should help push somebody who would benefit from the match. HBK needs the rub like HHH or Cena do. On the other hand, who else is there?
I am guessing Jericho is also going to make his way into the MITB match. If only his in ring time was as exciting as his 'code' promos.
Candice is looking more and more plastic everytime she's on television. Seriously, her face can't show any expression.
In a perfect scenario, Big Show would kill Mayweather, then eat him. This angle should somehow involve Big Show turning into the Incredible Hulk. I hate Mayweather.
Who are the tag champs again?
Posted By: superfan101 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:05 AM
Um actually he pretty much did JJ. There was nothing scripted about Big Show's broken nose after all.
Posted By: Craig (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:08 AM
The crowd completely killed the Mayweather angle? Yeah if by killed you mean WENT COMPLETELY BATSHIT. What show were you watching, JJ?
Posted By: MP (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:08 AM
I am totally on your side on the Mayweather crap. Yes it's a work but it's working all wrong. This is ridiculous booking at it's finest. How much of a threat can that little punk Mayweather be to the Big Show? He sucker punches the Big Show then runs like a little bitch and we're supposed to buy that he's a bad ass? Total waste of TV time and totally botched Big Show's return.
Posted By: Jason (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:13 AM
Arnold he didn't just jump over the railing Big show came over and challenged him to get in the ring with him. Sucker punch? Do you know what that is big show sat on his knees and dared him to hit him which he did thats not a sucker punch. Ugh I thought you actually saw the ppv?
Posted By: uh ok Arnold (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:24 AM
Yeah he sucker punched him except big show challenged him to hit him and then when Mayweather actually did he threw a fit. Since there appears to be so many confused marks on here listen to the promo again and as usual just ignore Arnold.
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:26 AM
Yeah he got down on his knees expecting Mayweather to be pulling his punches. Then Mayweather proceeds to punch him full force three or four times and breaks the guy's nose as a result. I'd consider that a sucker punch.
Posted By: Craig (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:28 AM
It was an accident you clueless clown mayweather I doubt did it intentionally or Big Show would have been even more angrier about this whole thing. If you go by storyline its not a sucker punch if you challenge the guy to hit you especially one of the top fighter in boxing. Wasn't Shamrock a little stiff when he was in the company.
Posted By: thats nice craig (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:35 AM
It just seems that WM is so diluted to me now. The builds and hypes are nothing compared to back in the day like WM 14 or 17. I found tonite's RAW to be very boring. I am completely uninterested in this Mayweather, Big Show angle. I am also burnt out on the Hornswoggle McMahon angle. I love how important the IC and Tag Titles are now.
Posted By: Captain_Snackpipe (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:36 AM
I just remembered that Cena actually used the phrase "cotton-picking." God he's such a fucking nerd.
Posted By: MP (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:44 AM
hey Cena bashing is my specialty besides whining a lot. Anyone want to hear me rant about stupid things? No? Oh come on. Fine.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:46 AM
What pisses me off about WWE is Triple H. He has been in Manias event from 00, 02, 03, 04, 06, 08, where ass Jeff Hardy could actually be a great champ. everytime he gets a nice push, he is depushed. Orton vs Hardy, wouldnt hurt at mania! But now for the second year, Hardy is back in the undercard. HHH is a politcal beast, Cena has no talent [whatsoever] and Orton is RHO: Really Krazy Overrated. TNA sucks now, and WWE is leaning toward it. Let Hardy shine.
Posted By: Marc (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:50 AM
Jeff Hardy's new music hurts my ears. Kennedy's music is just as bad. Mayweather looked like he was really nervous and his facial impressions reminded me of another athlete who sucked the entertainment out of sports entertainment.. Bobby Lashley
Posted By: Dgnr8fox (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:02 AM
when was the last time the ic title was defended?who even remembers who the tag team champs are?i remember it's hardcore holly and cody rhodes but they might as well hand those belts to janitors.remember when wrestlemania had important tag title matches and the ic title too.
Posted By: Ed (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:35 AM
Thing is you moan about the IC championship it still means more than the x division champion i still watch tna as am hoping it will get better hint TNA FIRE RUSSO but nearly all the reasons i used to watch tna are going AJ doesnt look anywhere as good now he is a heel daniels is curry man and TOMKO is the best wrestler they have at the minute that should tell you something nothing against him but he is upper mid card material not main event
Posted By: Rob Kirk (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:09 AM
i have a feeling mayweather was the kind of guy who used to punk arnold back in high school. calm down guy
Posted By: Guest#5410 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:18 AM
Maywhether attacked big show because he was attacking rey mysterio. You know..an injured fan favourite. If you're gona do this at least pay attention.
Posted By: Dudemeister (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:22 AM
No interest at all here in a Cena-HHH-Orton main event at Mania. Why am I not suprised to once again see HHH not only write himself into the main event at Mania, but also ending the first RAW on the "road to Mania" with pedigrees and standing over all holding the title?
Meanwhile Jeff Hardy gets all the glamour of a money in the bank qualifier. Joy. I guess that's what he wanted to do anyways. I really hope it's 6 guys and not 8 though. Give fewer guys more chance to show their stuff.
Hardy's new music is OK, but I don't care much for Kennedy's. His old music seemed to suit him better.
Big Show/Mayweather, the crowd did seem dead to me for most of the time. Otherwise I heard lots of boos for both guys. I'll cheer for Big Show, the guy who doesn't have an entourage of about 15 guys at all times while trying to act tough.
Very surprised to see Vince/Finley playing out as well as it is though. Somehow that was the best segment of the show. Finley did great selling it.
Overall though, Mania with this card is not looking to be worth my cash (at this point)
Posted By: Omni (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:57 AM
"No interest at all here in a Cena-HHH-Orton main event at Mania. Why am I not
suprised to once again see HHH not only write himself into the main event at Mania, but also ending the first RAW on the "road to Mania" with pedigrees and standing over all holding the title?"
So did HHH "write himself" to lose clean at 3 straight Manias to Benoit, Batista, and Cena, plus win the title at No Mercy just so he could lose it at the end of No Mercy to Randy Orton (so that Orton could beat the reigning champ) and lose clean to Jeff Hardy at Armageddon? Or is someone else (like, say, Vince McMahon) making the decisions when HHH loses? Plus, when building to a triple threat match, doesn't each guy lay out the other two at least once?
On a side note, HHH is known to hate the Diva Search and has wanted WWE to do a War Games match for years, yet no War Games and an annual DS. So, maybe, just maybe that Vince guy still calls the shots.
Posted By: Guest#4018 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:42 AM
So Cena beats Orton clean with special ref HHH doing nothing at all?
I think Orton is being booked worse than Mysterio...I mena having a title match on PPV end in DQ, then the challenger win a non-title match the next night cleanly?
Posted By: Curtis (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:52 AM
HHH the tosser is going to mania yet again
makes mania a dud already
Posted By: Blech (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 06:09 AM
Wow...After a pretty damn solid PPV offering, we get served with this CRAP!
Hardy/Snitsky was possibly the most boring match I've watched in months...even the humor that was the clearly obvious phantom Whisper in the Wind didn't make that watchable.
Crazy is too talented to be wasted on Burchill and this "incest" angle.
Mickie James (who can ACTUALLY wrestle) is made out to be Beth's BITCH the last three months or so...and Maria pins her!!!!!???? Look...Maria is HOT AS HELL!! But she's terrible in the ring...why job your dominate female champ to her? Maria's ASS is goin to sell the playboy, not a fluke win over Beth.
That Hornswaggle/Vince stuff is so horrendous . As bad as TNA's booking can be, and as "cool" as it is to reem that company out...I always find comfort in knowing that when I turn them on Thursdays I won't have to watch anything concerning a midget and a old fart with a god complex.
Kennedy is fine...I like him, him bein in the MITB is ok with me.
The main event was WAY off key. Were they drunk or something? Sloppy is the word....
Overall...slow moving, lackluster, uninspired, uneventful, sloppy...pick which one you like best. actually, they all descirbe this show.
Posted By: Pat (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 07:17 AM
Anaheim = Worst Crowd Ever.
Posted By: Guest (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 07:18 AM
I can live with the three way dance at Mania. It will not be the highlight of the show and I just hope it doesn't go on for more then 20 minutes. I'm bored of excessively long Cena matches.
The IC Title and Tag titles on raw have virtually no meaning. Because of the ECW cross over Smackdowns Tag titles actually get a lot more exposure then RAWs. Perhaps they should just drop RAWs. They could combine the US and IC title (in MVPs hands) too. The trouble is they have too three world titles, 2 minor titles, a ladies title and two tag titles.
Plus you have Vince's insistence on having a constant high card angel and Raw ends up top heavy with big name veterans (HHH, HBK, Flair, JBL) who can't always play for the world title, but are too big for the minor titles.
I don't have anything against the veterans, but they do cause Raw a problem. No wonder the younger performers seem to prefer SD!
Of course the best option would be for Vince to stop his insistence of having a constant story line. Doing it all the time makes it have less of an impact and gives them nothing to fall back on.
But I guess Vince loves the lime light.
Posted By: Fenris (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 08:45 AM
Got to give credit to WWE - the Hornswoggle angle was surprisingly effective this week. I actually gave a flying fuck, mainly because I wasn't expecting Hornswoggle to take a beating. Very well done.
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on February 19, 2008 at 08:49 AM
Also, may I suggest that 'Marc' refer to himself as 'Smarc' from now on? Useless, useless man.
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on February 19, 2008 at 08:52 AM
A few things:
1) Stop complaining about Maria pinning Phoenix. It was the distraction by Candice Michelle that allowed the pin. Hmm, sounds familiar... oh yeah, Hurricane vs The Rock, when Austin distracted The Rock, allowing Hurricane to get the pin.
2) For all complaining about Super Crazy jobbing, lets be honest. The guy is lucky to have a job with WWE. Who would of thought that he'd still be around almost 3 years after the Mexicool angle.
3) Finally, Hardy-Snitsky has been done to death already. It's hard to take Snitsky seriously when he's become Jeff's personal jobber.
Posted By: Jamie (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 09:22 AM
Where was Jericho?
Posted By: av1 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 09:31 AM
I'm relly happy tat Big sho had a good pice wit that lame boxer. Cena ruled and is the best wrest;er in the world. I can't wait to see mania. Cena and sho are my favoright wrestlers and I'm happy they are back.
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 10:07 AM
I'd much rather see HHH than Orton or Cena. I liked the Hornswaggle beatdown. I'm interested in seeing if Vince or JBL faces Finlay at Mania. Paul The Pirate has been so watered down by his OVW training its pathetic. Triple H shoving 2 fingers in Orton and Cena's face everytime he made a 2 count was pretty funny.
Posted By: Da_Bad_Guy (Registered) on February 19, 2008 at 10:13 AM
I don't think Arnold was looking at the angle as if it was a shoot at all. I agree with him totally that Big Show's character apologizing is stupid because if anyone should be apologizing it's Mayweather. Thus this apology thing makes little to no sense!
At least Burchill didn't use that crappy finisher he used on Kendrick last week and instead nailed the Curb Stomp for the pin.
I'm excited for Wrestlemania's main event too. Say what you will about the three men in the match but you just know the atmosphere will be absolutley immense.
Posted By: Midget Killer (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I'm glad to see Burchill using the curb stomp as a finisher. It's unique. Sort of. I'm sure SOMEone else does it in a nother promotion, but nobody in WWE does it. Sure beat rolling the damn dice. I really analized Kennedy's match and I liked how he's taken to working a body part all match and taking it away. His real last name IS Anderson. About time he started wrestling like one. My only beef is that all the time spent working the arm didn't factor into the finish at all. JBL might have tried to look more like a dick with better facial expresions when he beat up the damn lepruchan, but I'm excited to see what evil things Finlay will do to them both. If any. I'll probably be disappointed. Now, I like looking at Maria as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Pat Patterson) but she has no business going over the women's champ. I like Maria, and I'd certainly nail her, but she's not a good wrestler. She tries hard, but she just doesn't have "it". And if I were Big Show, I wouldn't have shook Maywheather's hand. Did y'all see him? He was wiping his face, his nose, his chest, hell, he did everything but pick his ass in the middle of the ring! Then he shook hands like a bitch. Shake his HAND Floyd, not his damn fingers. And learn to fucking talk. "I HAVE to retaliate" oooo, scary. Ask him "How's your nose, asshole?", or something like that.
Posted By: the Mad Redneck (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Give Orton(and as much as I hate to admit Cena) a break about their "bad" match lastnight.Man they had a tough 15 minute match the night before and Orton just finished up a 2 week tour overseas(Alaska,Korea,Japan and Hawaii and a few Cal. shows) so maybe he was tired.For that matter if you noticed all the guys from the tour looked bushed lastnight and I can see why.Orton desrves tons of credit just for working the show(and Hardy and others who did the FULL tour-Cena and HHH not on that list).
Posted By: Gary (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 10:54 AM
......but on a brighter note, did anyone else see the girl with the GIANT KNOCKERS in the front row during the Cena/Orton match
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 10:59 AM
I tuned in during the Big Show segment, so I missed the whole first hour. But I actually enjoyed that hour. I though Show came off great, and Mayweather was a ham, but I liked it. I'm hoping for a Big Show/Mayweather boxing match, but I guess the tag team match is more likely, hopefully with Show going over either way.
I'm very happy to see JBL inserted into the Finlay/McMahon/Hornswaggle angle. It means that Finlay won't wrestle McMahon at Mania, I hope, and the JBL/Y2J is over. (Unless there's a tag with Finlay and Y2J vs. JBL and Vince.)
It'll be interesting to see what Jericho does at Mania. He COULD get in the MITB, but there's only 6 people this year, and you'd think they'd do 2 from each brand. But they hate ECW and Smackdown, so maybe they'll do 3 from Raw and 3 from the Smackdown/ECW merger.
And, Hardy's push is far from over. You don't kick out of a Pedigree just to get depushed. He'll be in, possibly, the most entertaining match on the card, and will likely win it, securing a title shot in the future (as he moves to Smackdown...)
The triple threat at Mania? Triple H and Cena are the biggest names in the business, and have been for a while. Orton is up there, too. And, really, ANY one of them could walk out of Mania with the belt.
Posted By: thegoat (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 11:04 AM
So with Hardy in the MITB I guess the IC title is not defended at WM- what a shame
instead of rumoured Flair vs HBK, I'd have Flair win MITB and then challenge for the title at the end of the show. Either against the winner of the 3 way or by turning it into a 4-man match. (in his second match of the night it takes three champs/ex-champs to beat/retire him.
and where is the Jericho-JBL bullrope match to blow off the feud. (it should have been at NWO instead of the chamber) If JBL is now fighting Finlay what of Jericho.
Wrestlers always lay down for celebrities. Big Show's return is wasted if he has to lose in his first program back. I don't see how they can make him seem like a monster while dropping a match to Mayweather even by DQ.
Finlay - face of RAW, heel on Smackdown, interesting
Posted By: CK (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:11 PM
I'm shocked -- SHOCKED -- that HHH is in the main event at Wrestlemania.
I guess that what nepotism will get you...
Posted By: DG_W (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:28 PM
All you haters will find something new to bitch about when Orton retains the title at Mania and Jeff Hardy comes out immediately to cash in his money in the bank shot and win the gold in a WM shocker. HHH and Cena will not win the gold.
Posted By: Patrick (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Paul, I thought I was the only one. She was craving attention, and that she got. -sweats-
Great Raw show by the way, the road to Wrestlemania is paved gold indeed.
Posted By: -7- (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Dont be so sure its going to be HBK vs Flair at mania...I am thinking Flair vs CM Punk could be the way to go. Tonight on ECW could be the setup
Posted By: Punk fan 08 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 01:19 PM
well, that was IMHO the best raw in awhile, 2 returns to TV in Big Show and Candice, Santino is just amazing, 2 new songs for 2 diffrant superstars, (Both of hich occured during a MITB qulafing matchs,and both superstars one i might add) 2 guest stars in Mayweather and endeverafter (3 if you count Lohan Backstage) We have WWE Mobile voting which i love, its like a small piece of Cyber sunday once a week and can really help the WWE in the long run, Trips is ref, but still tapes up, resulting in pedigress for all.
And don't forget, Its Live, Its In HD, and its not TNA. It feels like in 2008, the WWE is a whole new company and it feels like a whole new era. a more contempoery one. the new shirts are more modern, as is the set, Everyones healthy, they have HD which is awesome even if you don't have HD, the only bad thing the WWE has right now is the Hornswoggle angle, but the rest of the shows are awesome, and everytime i feel Hardy gets screwed the next night it feels better some how, its funnybecause i never thought that when i was in pittsburgh watching hardy fight HHH, i never saw his future being so good. I love the E, and there is no way you can even compare TNA and WWE! they are in 2 tottally diffrant legues, i'd compare TNA to are states local wrestling show, Pro Wrestling Ohio, were the best wrestler is Hobo Joe and people cut promos about sticking a Subway Sandwich down someones througt, and up thier ass, actully kinda surprised Vince Russo never thought of that...
Posted By: Tyler (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:20 PM
Thegoat, your post is way too reasonable and sensible to be on this board. Please add some hysterics and pointless bitching to fit in with the rest of the clueless maggots who post here.
Posted By: MP (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:30 PM
I don't think changing Hardy's music is a good idea. There are guys that don't need that as their entrance music has become synonymous with them. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Jericho-- they are all good examples of this. WWE should change it back or the pops Jeff gets will suffer.
Also, I don't know why, but Cena's return has left me completely disinterested. I'm not a hater-I actually like the guy and appreciate his hard work. But this really is way too forced. The problem is--I realized I didn't miss Cena one single bit during his absence. His character has gotten really stale and simply isn't interesting anymore. I think the crowds in general are also getting a bit restless about this. I think a heel turn is a necessity at this point not because of the crowds, but because it's just desperately needed. Imagine a heel Cena going one on one with Jeff at WM. That would do huge business IMO. The people really got behind Jeff Hardy to unexpected levels and obviously wanted him to main event WM. His pops are constantly the biggest of the entire company. It's something new, fresh and it's something that people just flat out want to see. Why not give it to them? Because of plans? When Cena healed sooner than believed, plans obviously changed so they could use him. Why not deviate from the plans one more time to deliver something that would be truly memorable? I think Hardy/Cena would blow the damn roof of at WM at this point.
And furthemore- where do you go after WM? It's obvious Cena or HHH will win at WM and they can feud with each other probably for a few months, but once again--is there really a desire to see that program? and meanwhile--there is literally NOTHING for Jeff to do, so his momentum will inevitably go down the drain.
I like WWE. I think for the most part, they know what they're doing. But I think they're really missing the boat with Jeff. When they finally decide to have him win the belt, it may be too late.
Personally, I find it really disappointing that WWE is so inflexible when it comes to capitalising on opportunities like this.
Posted By: Peter Bielik (Registered) on February 19, 2008 at 02:42 PM
"Ok, let me talk about this a bit. Why does Show have to apologise? He was in the ring being the performer. A fan, Floyd, jumps into the ring and repeatedly punches him. Then runs away like a coward surrounded by 12 guys. And this makes him the babyface? I'm also thinking he's the one who owed the Big Show an apology for a) getting in his ring and b) sucker punching him like a coward. Oh and c) taking liberties. His big shot attitude is about on a par with Kevin Federline. I've never liked Floyd Mayweather and I like him even less now."
OMG...you think this stuff is real, don't you?
Posted By: Kenny (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:48 PM
Jesus, talk about a Mayweather hater. Relax Furious! Sucker punch? The storyline is that Show was gonna beat the hell out of his friend, so he stepped in to defend him. Big Show patronised him cos of his size so Floyd laid him out. Then he ran because Show is twice his size. You wouldn't be complaining if Rey had been the little guy running away after kicking Show in the head.
All the same, this is a bit dumb by WWE. Obviously the WM crowd will be backing Show and Mayweather will be the heel.
Posted By: John (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 02:48 PM
This is shaping up to be the greatest wrestlemania everrrrr!!!
Posted By: PUMP (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:27 PM
I LOVE!!! the Big Show & Mayweather story line. This is so like HUSTLE. Hopefully it is played out right. I love that Big Show apologized. It will lead to a severe Mayweather beatdown.
As for the Hornswoggle angle. It was hilarious. Who doesn't love a little midget tossing. And I ain't talking bout no masterbation.
Posted By: Dyslexik (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:30 PM
No one saw Cena's return coming at Royal Rumble. No one saw The Big Show returning to feud with Mayweather. No one saw Orton retaining at NWO. And no one will see Hardy winning the belt at Mania thanks to his MITB match. WWE has done much better than people give them credit for.
Posted By: Patrick (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 03:49 PM
let's see, they can't find anyone in the back to wrestle show at mania, so they bring in mayweather n they HAVE to keep cena n hhh in the main event at mania? thank you for writing these detailed reports of all the shows so I dont have to watch this crap.
Posted By: shamus rex (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:04 PM
"So did HHH "write himself" to lose clean at 3 straight Manias to
Benoit, Batista, and Cena, plus win the title at No Mercy just so he could lose
it at the end of No Mercy to Randy Orton (so that Orton could beat the reigning
champ) and lose clean to Jeff Hardy at Armageddon? Or is someone else (like,
say, Vince McMahon) making the decisions when HHH loses?"
It's all about being in the Main event itself. Not even HHH would book himself to win it every single time. He's also won the title there, so it's not he goes out just to job in the main event every year.
But just being just one of the guys in the Mania main event is a big deal. It means your at the top of the business. And HHH will make damn sure he's in one of those slots.
As for the No Mercy thing, that's just another notch in his title run numbers on his chase to pass Flair (which he'll do). Losing to Hardy? As long as he gets it back soon, which he did at NWO. He doesn't have to worry about that loss or not winning the Rumble (where he still has to be runner up of course) since he already knows he'll get the wins when he needs to and be going to the Mania main event anyways.
I think the guy has way too much say in his own booking, and it's evident all year round, not just at Mania. But come main event time at Mania, if he's not injured you know he'll be in there. Hell, just to make a point, I can make a prediction right now that next year, come Mania time, barring injury, he will once again be in the main event. And not only is that not far fetched, I think most people would see it as fairly likely. What other wrestler can you say that for with the same degree of certainty right now?
Posted By: Omni (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:17 PM
boy what the fuck is with people bitching.. i mean jeez it's just WRESTLING. let's calm the fuck down and enjoy itfor goodness sakes
Posted By: matt (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:32 PM
HHH doesn't care if he wins at 'Mania as long as he's in the main event. Just so everyone else knows that he's more important than any of them.
I cheered JBL last night for what he did to that little bas**rd!!! He deserved worse!!!
Posted By: Guest#8992 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 04:50 PM
"It's all about being in the Main event itself. Not even HHH would book himself to win it every single time. He's also won the title there, so it's not he goes out just to job in the main event every year."
Actually, at recent WMs, he HAS been there to put people over. Benoit beat HHH, not Shawn Michaels, clean. Batista and Cena defeated him clean, too, which helped those guys big time.
Also, the guy is over with the crowd. He would be in a big match anyway, even if he wasn't with Steph.
Plus, think about this: HHH was a 4-time WWE champion, a 2-time IC champ, a 2-time European champ, and a King or the Ring before he even started dating Stephanie. Vince McMahon obviously thought highly of him long before HHH became his son-in-law.
Posted By: Guest#4274 (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 06:08 PM
Arnold, Show should say he is sorry! He attacks Rey for no reason at all. If your friend was being attacked, you would help stick up for them. Then Show starts to provoke Floyd, daring him to hit him. What cracked me up was Show flinching on RAW.
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 07:05 PM
thank you jbl.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on February 19, 2008 at 09:09 PM
This whole storyline with Mayweather and Show is gonna backfire. NO ONE will root for a guy with an entourage, it's just that simple - having 12 big dudes around you all the time makes you look like a pussy. Anyone remember what happened when the "face" Master P feuded with Curt Hennig? Hennig got over like gangbusters is what happened.
Now Show just needs to cut a country single about how much he hates boxing...
Posted By: Al Lawson (Guest) on February 20, 2008 at 01:06 AM
Glad to see Burchill use the Curb Stomp as the finisher this time. Don't care much for the angle their going with but like the wrestler.
Posted By: Mac (Guest) on February 20, 2008 at 04:29 PM
