WWE’s version of All My Children
Some thoughts on last night’s Raw:
As far as entertainment value, I think the show got back on track after a rather dull episode last week. There was a nice mix of soap opera and comedy along with a heated beat-down and a good main event with a hot crowd.
The Vince McMahon illegitimate child story line has me intrigued. Depending on which direction this goes in, the payoff could be really good. Mr. Kennedy is rumored to be the wrestler that ends up being Vince’s son, but I don’t know that a final decision has been made. The fact that McMahon took a long look at Kennedy as he exited the ring last night and the announcers questioned whether it could be Kennedy makes me think that they might be going with someone else.
I think it makes more sense if McMahon’s son — I’m assuming it’s not going to be a woman — is a babyface, because that would give the story more legs. There would be an initial conflict, as the son would be disgusted at the revelation that McMahon is his father, and eventually the son could do a heel turn, embrace his bloodline and join forces with the old man.
The only negative from McMahon’s performance last night was that he still had to get in his shots at Congress and the media. On a day in which another wrestler died — 44-year-old Brian Adams was found dead by his wife in bed — I wish he could have shown some restraint. …
WWE Idol wasn’t as hilarious as last week’s Dating Game, but it was funny, nonetheless. Santino Marella is must-see TV, and Ron Simmons is more over for having a one-word vocabulary than he was for being WCW world champion. …
King Booker was great again in his segment with Jerome, er, Jerry Lawler. Yes, Booker will probably be putting over Triple H at SummerSlam, but I’m still looking forward to the match. …
The main event of John Cena and Umaga vs. Randy Orton and Carlito benefited from the crowd being so into it, especially when Cena was in. I still think the buildup for the Cena-Orton main event at SummerSlam is lacking, however. I was very interested in the matchup when it was first announced, and I still am, but WWE hasn’t done anything to make it a can’t-miss confrontation. Next week’s Raw is the final one before the pay-per-view, so hopefully WWE has something planned to get some heat on Orton. The “Legend Killer” videos just didn’t do it for me.
Comments
The return of the Iron Sheik was the biggest attention grabber last night. With his recent unstable actions, I was waiting for him to go off uncensored! I stood for the Soviet national anthem per the Fink's direction. You can admit that you did too!
Posted by: Matt Crow | August 14, 2007 8:49 PM
Mr. Kennedy seems like a candidate to be McMahon’s illegitimate son, but it may too neat of a tie-in as “Kennedy” is Vince’s middle name. Too clean of a fit, maybe?
Keep up the good work with the column, Kevin. I’ve lessened my WWE watching over the past couple years, but you allow me to keep in touch with a Cliff Notes version each week — plus there are a lot of personalities I know who are now in TNA.
Posted by: Kevin on Shore | August 14, 2007 9:52 PM
I think it would be a bad move to use Kennedy in that capacity. He's certainly carving out his own niche and I think this would certainly set him back in terms of development.
I think you are right with a babyface getting the nod. I could easily see a Shane vs. New Son as a Survivor Series match.
In any case, I think you have to elevate someone on the roster, like a Kenny Dykstra, perhaps. Paul London or Lance Cade wouldn't be bad choices either. More than likely, it'll be Snitsky or Chris Masters that will make you stop and scratch your head.
Posted by: JTK | August 15, 2007 11:19 AM
Raw still isn't that great. It seems like there is almost no buildup to Summerslam at all. I'm also kinda ticked at Regal using the game show thing since I had just started using that gimmick in an e-fed about one month earlier and this is just a really weird coincidence.
Raw was better than it has been in recent weeks, but still not that great.
Posted by: Sean C. | August 17, 2007 4:38 AM
With Mr Kennedy (and several other potential candidates) in trouble due to the drug probe, I wonder how (or if) they're going to continue this storyline.
Posted by: Jack | August 31, 2007 8:55 PM