A tale of two fathers
A little later than usual, but here are my thoughts on Monday’s Raw:
The main thing we learned from this episode is that you would rather have Mr. Cena for a father than Mr. McMahon.
While I am disappointed that Randy Orton didn’t win the WWE title from John Cena at either of the past two pay-per-views – and I especially disliked how their match at Unforgiven was booked – I do like how the feud has played out on Raw. My complaint when the Cena-Orton program first started was that it was lacking intensity, but that definitely has not been the case since John Cena’s father was written into the story line.
Orton, Cena and even Mr. Cena (who works on the indy scene as heel manager Johnny Fabulous) have been terrific in their respective roles. As good as the angle has been in establishing Cena as a sympathetic babyface and Orton as cold-blooded heel, however, the majority of fans are still booing Cena and cheering Orton. In the past, that would usually mean someone was turning, but that’s most likely not happening here. I think a lot of the backlash would subside if WWE just got the title off Cena for a while. …
While Mr. Cena was willing to risk life and limb for his boy, Mr. McMahon was not as loyal to his newfound son, as he unsuccessfully tried to put Hornswoggle up for adoption. I find McMahon entertaining even when he is given bad material – and this was pretty bad – but I just don’t have any interest in this story line. I hope it doesn’t drag on too much longer. …
The best part of the McMahon stuff last night was Triple H’s involvement. As I have said before, Triple H is best suited for the smart-aleck babyface role that he is currently playing. His comedic promo with McMahon wasn’t as funny as some of The Rock’s classic bits – or even some of Santino Marella’s – but it still was good for a few chuckles. …
The part that I didn’t like with Triple H is that he single-handedly buried the tag team champions and the No. 1 contenders all in one segment. I don’t care if it’s a superstar like Triple H or not, one man should never be booked to defeat the tag team champions. It was bad enough that Triple H beat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, but then after Paul London and Brian Kendrick helped him ward off a three-on-one attack, he laid both of them out, too. I’m all for Triple H playing an anti-hero babyface, but it really made London and Kendrick look like fools, which was unnecessary. …
Jeff Hardy and Shelton Benjamin had a really good match. Why Hardy was squashed by The Great Khali last week I’ll never know, because he would be a fresh face at the top of the card and the fans want him there. Benjamin has been buried so much in recent months that it’s easy to forget how talented he really is. …
Nothing says the roster is a little thin right now more than Hacksaw Duggan wrestling on Raw.
Comments
Yo, Eck -
Raw was weak. I like the Orton-Cena bit, though I couldn't figure out why Cody Rhodes came out only to get beat down. I mean, if they are angling for a tag match next week, I suppose that works, but just to fetch a beating. Weak build for the kid.
Also, I don't think the only reason Cena gets booed by anyone who isn't a female or ten years old is because of a lingering resentment for how he was shoved down our throats like he was the new Rock and had about a fraction of the in-ring talent at that point. He didn't have the feel in the ring at all, but Vince put the belt on him. I think it traces back to that and his promos are so overblown. We need a couple of weeks without him trying to drop sort of weak catch phrase on us. These past couple of weeks should have had him being silent and violent, some razor cuts here and there and you have some powerful visuals. When they get him rambling on the stick, posing for the cameras, I don't care how long he has had the belt, die hards are going to boo. I booed Trips when he had the belt for too long. Cena I just don't like - it's harder to put a finger on, but he just rubs me the wrong way and has been shoved down my throat like he's the best since the Rock and Hogan as one godawful entity.
In an unrelated note, I was watching ECW last night (I know, I deserve what I get). However, I noticed Elijah B. doing the three belly-to-back suplexes. Joey Styles attributed it to someone obscure, but it struck me as a little too soon to be busting out a signature Benoit move so prominently. Thoughts?
Posted by: JTK | September 19, 2007 11:55 AM