High praise for Raw, even in low definition
I have to admit that I felt like a real outsider watching Raw last night.
No, I wasn’t sitting around in a faded nWo t-shirt, doing a whole lot of nothing and getting paid a whole lot of money. That’s a different kind of Outsider. I was watching the much-hyped high-definition debut of Raw on my low-definition television. So for those of you saw the show in HD, let me know if I am missing anything by being stuck in the Dark Ages.
As for the show itself, I thought WWE did an excellent job of selling the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, especially the WWE title match between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. After the two previous episodes of Raw climaxed with Hardy executing death-defying moves, last night’s ending was much more subtle, but it was effective.
In a face-to-face confrontation, Orton acknowledged that he initially wasn’t worried about defending the title against Hardy, but that Hardy now had earned his respect. Hardy showed good intensity in his response, and the segment ended with Hardy refusing to shake Orton’s hand and then laying him out with the Twist of Fate. A fired-up Jim Ross closed the show by saying, “He’s been waiting his whole life to become WWE champion. My God, ladies and gentleman, can you only imagine what Jeff Hardy will do to become the champion this Sunday!”
I have enjoyed every step along the way in the build for this title match, and the video packages on the careers of Hardy and Orton last night were a nice touch. WWE does a fantastic job of putting videos like that together, and I think the company should do it more often because they can really help with getting someone over.
The Orton video was especially good because I think it might have reminded people of just how much Orton has accomplished despite being just 27. It surprises me every time I see a comment from a fan who thinks Orton isn’t deserving of his push. He had “star” written all over him from Day One, and he absolutely is one. The only thing that prevented him from realizing his full potential the past couple years was his immaturity.
Other thoughts on last night’s show:
Shawn Michaels and Mr. Kennedy had their third really good match. Kennedy was more aggressive and more fluid in the ring than I had ever seen him. Working regularly with Michaels has definitely had a positive effect on him. …
WWE made good use of Vince McMahon. He was in several segments, but he wasn’t the central figure in them so he wasn’t overexposed. …
As soon as it was apparent that Chris Jericho was going to feud with JBL, I said that it would be entertaining just on the promos alone. They haven’t disappointed me. Jericho, who has a charismatic and often-humorous personality, shifted gears and cut a deadly serious promo that hit the mark. …
The seed was planted for an angle that leads to Maria being this year’s Playboy cover girl (it has been reported on various wrestling Web sites that she would be posing for the magazine). There’s potential here for some comic gold with Santino Marella, who had the line of the night when he said that he didn’t need a subscription to Playboy because you don’t “buy the cow when you have someone at home to milk you for free.” I’m sorry, TNA fans, but that one line is much funnier than 10 fish puns …
The move of the night was Umaga tossing Brian Kendrick in the air and then catching him and hitting a Samoan Drop in one motion. …
Ross made a rare mistake when he said that Hardy was trying to become the third person to simultaneously hold the WWE and Intercontinental titles, joining Hulk Hogan and Triple H. It’s actually the Ultimate Warrior (who defeated Hogan to hold both belts) and Triple H. …
Ross also made a Hogan reference earlier in the show when he and Jerry Lawler were plugging an article on wwe.com about celebrity families in need of tough love. “Are the Hogans on there?” he asked. Ouch. That was a little stiff, brother. …
Mickie James and Beth Phoenix had a good match. James is the most “over” of all the women – including Phoenix – but I still think that Phoenix holding the title is the right call because of her Amazonian look. I have been hoping that WWE would recognize James’ popularity and at least give her some kind of story line, and it looks like an angle with her might have started last night when she was distraught backstage after failing to defeat Phoenix. …
Did anyone catch Stacy Keibler’s cameo during the Orton video? It’s always good to see the Rosedale native on television, even if it is in low definition.
Comments
Hey Kev,
Gotta agree re: Hardy. I think it would be wise at this stage to give him at least a short-lived WWE title reign. I even agree with you more about Orton. A great worker, good mic skills from someone so young. You gotta think if he was a face, people wouldn't be so damning of him. And I personally feel he makes an effective bad guy
I know you like Triple H as the anti-hero face, but I much prefer his heel turns, particularly the McMahon-Helmsley era. When do you think he will turn heel again?
Keep up the good blogs!
Posted by: Wayne | January 22, 2008 5:50 AM
that was me sitting around in a faded NWO t-shirt doing a whole lot of nothin' , watching the Discovery Channel instead of wwe . go shark boy !
Posted by: jack in hebron | January 22, 2008 8:28 AM
Yes I did see Stacy in the Orton video and miss seeing her on TV.I also wish they would come up with a better ring entrance for Mickie James because it reminds me so much of Trish Stratus" entrance. I wonder if Mickie will turn heel now that she appears to be frustrated. I missed Melina last night and wish they would have something for her next week.The HBK-Mr.Kennedy storyline is geting hotter and they should go a step more and determine the winner of the feud the #1 contender to face Orton next month. I think because of the way Raw ended last night means that Orton will retain the belt as Jeff Hardy as gotten the better of Orton the past couple weeks but we'll see how it plays out Sunday. As good as Vince is, I wish they would let the wrestlers have more of the spotlight instead because I think too much of Vince would mean that the ratings would go down.
Posted by: Dave | January 22, 2008 8:45 AM
I love reading your blogs about wrestling. I have a question for you when is Lashley comming back? and when he does come back will he be on raw or smackdown or ecw? I noticed in the openning credits on raw that he's not on their any more. I was just wondering thanks.
Posted by: Steven | January 22, 2008 9:01 AM
The fact that Mickie is so "over" with the fans should be pretty telling. With the exception of Mickie and Beth, the women's division reminds me of the "juggies" from the Man Show. The Man Show jumped the shark after two years and was finished in four. The WWE however has been giving us the "Divas" since 2002. The whole shtick has grown tiresome, honestly. It feeds a stereotype that a lot of wrestling fans find insulting.
Posted by: Lee | January 22, 2008 9:42 AM
All in all it was a good show. I was a bit disappointed though beacause I live in the Hampton, VA area and they have been advertising a Jericho/Hardy vs JBL/Orton match for 3 weeks and then none of them were in any real action.
Posted by: D. Marsh | January 22, 2008 12:18 PM
I think JR said "Are the Lawler's on there?" which prompted The King to reply with "WHAT?". I didn't hear mention of Hogan.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Ross actually mentioned both the Lawlers and the Hogans.
Posted by: Eric | January 22, 2008 1:55 PM
Its painfully obvious that the JBL-Y2J match will end in a DQ.
They can't have Jericho lose 2 straight decisions, and it wouldn't make sense to have JBL lose his debut.
I just hope the match is short so we don't have to see Bradshaw without his shirt on too much.
Posted by: John | January 22, 2008 3:00 PM
I don't think Raw was as exciting as the past two weeks in terms of storyline advancement or the matches, which is to be expected on the final show(s) before a PPV. However, seeing it in HD for the first time was a nice touch.
There were some technical issues with the video, like tiling and slowing down, which happened a few times throughout the show. I'm not sure if this was WWE's fault or not. When the tech issues weren't occurring, the video was superb. There were no tech issues with the 5.1 audio, which was noticeably louder and more crisp. The commentary and in-ring action were locked in the center channel, with the music and crowd noise spread throughout the surround channels.
Overall, I consider the switch to HD to be a huge improvement. It definitely adds more clarity to the presentation and helps to translate the live atmosphere for the fans watching at home.
Posted by: Sean | January 22, 2008 6:13 PM
As for not understanding why Orton gets a push... personally, it's because whenever he opens his mouth I get this strange urge to pop my own ear drums. Him trying to be "intense" tends to come across closer to "constipated" and I've even seen Funaki promos with better command of the English language.
Seriously, last night he said Jeff Hardy made a "conscience" decision to do that crazy move last week.
There's just something about the guy that inspires dislike. And not in the good-for-ratings "I want to see his butt kicked" way, but in the "when he comes on TV, I start flipping around for CSI re-runs" way...
Posted by: Pat | January 22, 2008 7:07 PM
Stacy is hot!!
http://www.factory-publishing.com/stacy-keibler.html
Posted by: Michael regina | January 22, 2008 9:08 PM
"I just hope the match is short so we don't have to see Bradshaw without his shirt on too much."
You can say that again. Heheh...
Posted by: Khael | January 23, 2008 10:58 AM