Murphy’s Law takes over Raw
One of the great things about live TV is the sense of spontaneity. One of the not-so-great things about live TV is that you only get one take and there is no post-production to fix miscues.
For Raw last night, it was the latter scenario. Speaking of which, it’s a good thing there wasn’t a “ladder scenario” last night, because there’s no doubt that someone would have slipped while climbing. It was just one of those nights in which nothing seemed to go right. As isolated incidents, none of them were that bad, but they added up.
Here’s a look at some of the lowlights:
*Raw general manager Mike Adamle seemed to lose his train of thought during the opening segment, and then he missed his cue during the ill-conceived double gauntlet match between Chris Jericho and Batista. I decided to keep an open mind after Adamle got the GM role, but this just isn’t working.
*There was no heat for the gauntlet match, which wasn’t a surprise because the object of the match was not explained well. It was so nonsensical that I thought Vince Russo was back writing for WWE.
*When hyping Sunday’s Undertaker-Big Show match at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, Jerry Lawler forgot that the voting for the match stipulations is being done on wwe.com and not by text. Lawler was confused, and after an uncomfortable moment, Michael Cole jumped in to make the save.
*CM Punk slipped coming off the top rope during the tag team match pitting Punk and Kofi Kingston against John Morrison and The Miz. Punk did manage to land on his feet, however.
*When Santino Marella smashed a guitar over Hacksaw Jim Duggan’s head, Duggan ended up without a scratch on him, but a splintered piece of the guitar hit Marella in the face and cut his lip wide open.
*Comedy promos by Morrison/Miz and Marella were met mostly with silence. And Charlie Haas – as “Stone Cold” Steve Haas-tin – wasn’t nearly as funny as he had been in previous weeks.
The absence of Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton also hurt the show. Unless I missed it, there was no explanation given for them not being there.
The rating for Raw reflects the quality – or lack thereof – of the episode, as it did a 2.9 rating, according to pwinsider.com, down from last week’s 3.1. I blame it all on that horrible Jackass segment from last week.
Other thoughts on last night’s show:
Raw actually did get off to a good start. It’s never a bad thing when Kelly Kelly is on, and the women’s tag match was decent. That match was followed by a fine promo by Jericho about him being shown a lack of respect. His verbal assault on Lillian Garcia was a nice touch.
Jericho’s interaction with Batista was good, as well. I could have sworn Batista was going to use Jericho’s old “Would you please shut the hell up?” line, but he instead said, “Would you please shut up and stop whining?” The Miz, however, did steal one of Jericho’s former signature phrases when he referred to himself as “The Highlight of the Night.” …
I know that William Regal is never going to be a money player, but he deserved better than to be squashed so quickly in the gauntlet match. I wasn’t wild about Mark Henry being in the match and getting pinned, either. Why not throw Snitsky out there? …
Jericho has suffered pinfall losses to Punk and Kane on consecutive shows, so shouldn’t they be in line to face the winner of Sunday’s Jericho-Batista match? …
Speaking of Punk, WWE certainly hasn’t done him any favors over the past couple weeks. Last night he did the job to The Miz – of all people – in the tag match, and two weeks ago on ECW he was pinned in an eight-man tag. He did pin Jericho last week on Raw, but only after Jericho had him beaten clean, and Batista laid out Jericho with a Batista Bomb. I wonder if Punk is doing one of those losing streak gimmicks, perhaps leading to a heel turn? …
Marella was very close to committing gimmick infringement. With the makeup on his face and the blood pouring out of his mouth, it appeared as if he was doing Gene Simmons’ schtick. …
When Hulk Hogan’s music played last week, there was a tepid reaction from the crowd. However, when Steve Austin’s played last night, there was a huge pop. Either everyone knew last week that it was going be Haas doing a Hogan impersonation, or else people just doesn’t care about Hogan anymore.
Comments
That Main Event was horrible. It served no purpose other then burying guys for no particular reason.
Things are so bad on Raw right now.
WWE needs to hire Flair to be Raw's GM, before he goes through with his match in Japan. He would be great in that role.
Posted by: Elevation | October 21, 2008 9:51 PM
There seem to be lots of very nice John Cena segments being played. It doesn't look like you are going to get your Cena heel turn, Kevin.
Posted by: Bob Buscaglia | October 21, 2008 10:37 PM
Kevin,
I generally agree with you that it was an off night for Raw, but the night's highlight was Stone Cold Steve Haastin. And that is not only my opinion, but all of those that I know saw the show last night. His gait was dead on as he walked to the ring and to each post. Hilarious stuff!
Posted by: Brian | October 21, 2008 11:07 PM
I thought the double ganutlet match was a really bad idea. I guess the point of it was to reinforce how dominant Batista is and how weaselly Jericho is, but I think what it really did best was bury the opposition. As you mentioned, Regal got absolutely buried by quick pins by Batista and Jericho. Henry at least was hit with the title belt right before his pin, but Kane was basically pinned after getting hit with a spear, which isn't even Batista's finisher. It reminded me of the tag team vs. the entire RAW roster match a few months back, which just served to make the mid-card talent look weak.
And with Batista looking that unstoppable, it seems pretty clear that Jericho will escape with a cheap win at Cyber Sunday, at least if the old "last laugh" theory holds up.
Posted by: Glen | October 21, 2008 11:10 PM
Kevin,
One thing (and I can't believe I am typing this) that WAS refreshing on Raw was actually.....Duggan! It was actually his interview style that has been terribly missed on any of the wrestling shows. I miss the shouters! THe guys who sound like they blew out their larynx years ago. I miss the guys who have tobacco juice running down their face (Stan Hansen, Blackjack, etc.). They need more excitement in their interview style. Make me care! Jim Ross and the KIng are the only two guys who fluctuate in their speaking patterns in any way shape or form.
Watch some youtube guys and get some talent on the microphone. These guys all sound like Erik Watts!
Posted by: David S. | October 21, 2008 11:36 PM
Seeing Hogan in "real life" on the "Hogan Knows Best" and "Brooke Knows Best" shows has undoubtedly change people's views of him. And not for the better.
Posted by: Jimmy Bellamy | October 22, 2008 12:36 AM
Actually, I have to say that Kelly Kelly on the show is always a very bad thing. Candice Michelle just makes it worse. I'm so tired of watching untalented women when I could be watching Mickie James and Beth Phoenix. Also, I think the writers for WWE (and TNA, for that matter) would benefit from some lessons on status. Clearly they've missed the fact that wrestling is all about power transactions. I really hope it improves - my long-term, fervent love of werstling is being tested (though watching Jack Swagger always helps :-).
Posted by: Micah | October 22, 2008 12:45 AM
Very interesting thoughts on Raw.
A few points:
At this point, I cringe every time I see Kelly Kelly coming out to the ring. Luckily, I think Vince & co. noticed her last few matches and just had her do a few awkward clotheslines.
Katie Lea is the girl you need to start noticing, Eck. I don't care if she's dating her brother, she's hot.
I was in mid-pop for Batista stealing Jericho's line, but then I calmed down.
I think the problem with Miz & Morrison is that they're better when ad libbing. Not every edition of their wwe.com show is brilliant, but the good moments far outweigh the bad moments. And, for the most part, it's them doing whatever they want off the top of their heads.
I've noticed that lately, they've been scripted to do their Dirt Sheet jokes during the in-ring promos. I can tell that they're recycled jokes and they come off poorly.
They had a few lame jokes when they were on commentary making fun of Cryme Tyme a few weeks ago, but a lot of their jabs were brilliant. On Raw last night, they came off very forced, evidenced by Morrison accidentally interrupting Miz a couple times.
They're much better off creating their own promos. It worked for Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, etc.
Posted by: Chris Slater | October 22, 2008 1:39 AM
Eck, worse RAW show i can ever remember...you are going up against MNF and lead off with a DIVA match...please...
Posted by: KZ | October 22, 2008 9:13 AM
The highlight of the night for me was the Miz/Morrison v. Punk/Kingston match. Great action, the match had a nice flow to it...yeah Punk had one really noticable error, but it wasn't enough to ruin the match. Kingston is so charismatic, but I can't remember if I have ever heard him speak before. Lawler had the line of the night when he took a run at Miz's hair. The end to the match was absolutely brilliant. Miz and Morrison have been billing themselves as the greatest tag team "ever" recently and I guess the powers that be are going to let a tag team get over on the singles wrestlers this time. Punk got Morrison in the GTS, but it really doesn't matter if he isn't the legal man in the ring. Sneaky rollup by Miz...ball game! I am sure I disturbed the neighbors when they won, but to me that match was truly outstanding. Morrison is a truly great wrestler, but Miz is legit now also. If he could only wrestle with the hat on, it would be better.
Fear the Fur and the Fedora!
Posted by: Lee | October 22, 2008 9:14 AM
I agree RAW was a train wreck Monday night.
Also, didn't RAW have it's 800th episode on Sept 22nd? I'm confused by the 3 hour special coming up for it's "800th Episode" in Tampa, Florida on November 3rd...
Posted by: Steve | October 22, 2008 10:18 AM
Santino looked good with the makeup on and the blood coming from his lip, he actually went from looking like a comedic heel to a full fledge heel with the look in his eyes that he was going to hurt someone.
Posted by: jt | October 22, 2008 11:07 AM
I'd have to agree that the whole show seemed flat. Keeping with the Cyber Sunday theme, it's almost like they texted this one in.
It just seems like it's right back where it was before there was supposed to be this shakeup. There are zero new stars. MVP, Punk and all of them are still buried. When Cena and Edge get back it will be even worse. They won't be trying to elevate anyone. They'll both have huge programs to re-establish themselves and it's business as usual circa 2007.
Do you think the mistakes could be from wrestlers losing faith in the direction their going? The same could be said for TNA. I can't imagine Joe feels inspired to pick up the ball when he's given the run sheet for the night. The ceiling seems to be more mirror than plain glass anymore.
Posted by: James C | October 22, 2008 11:59 AM
"Jericho has suffered pinfall losses to Punk and Kane on consecutive shows, so shouldn’t they be in line to face the winner of Sunday’s Jericho-Batista match? …"
That's an assumption that would, well you know, make sense. We wish there was an actual internal logic on how title matches and such are distributed. Make those mid card matches actually mean something. But no, it seems the best way to get ahead in the fictional world of the WWE is to just accost other wrestlers when they aren't expecting it.
Posted by: Adam and Matt | October 22, 2008 12:59 PM
Did anyone else hear Lawler give away the results of the Jerricho match at the end of the broadcast? It was accidental, but too obvious!
Posted by: Adam B | October 22, 2008 1:29 PM
Just a short comment today Kevin - despite not knowing much about you other than that you like wrestling, I think you should apply for the position of Raw General Manager!! Even if it didn't work out, you'll be safe knowing you will have no trouble following the current act!
Posted by: Rob | October 22, 2008 5:09 PM
i want to see another jack in hebron smart allick response, that always gives me a good laugh
Posted by: tito | October 22, 2008 9:46 PM
"Actually, I have to say that Kelly Kelly on the show is always a very bad thing. Candice Michelle just makes it worse. I'm so tired of watching untalented women when I could be watching Mickie James and Beth Phoenix."
PLEASE, no more Mickie vs. Beth matches, especially after their awful one in September. They both deserve TV time but feuding with others. Their feud has been done to death.
I liked the tag match with Candice/Kelly vs. Katie-Jillian. The Rock Bottom across the knee by Katie on Candice was a pretty cool move.
Posted by: chris | October 22, 2008 10:35 PM
I thought the RAW main event was biggest joke I've ever seen. Batista buries everyone with 1 or 2 moves, while the same opponents (apart from Regal) were dominating the World Heavyweight Champion (who was made to look like a midcarder). Is Batista married to Stephanie and Linda simultaneously? Why else would he get such treatment?
I used to be a huge fan of Batista long before he was a face (e.g. 03/04), but I'm really starting to get sick of him in the way people are of Cena - because of overexposure and the Superman appearance.
Posted by: David Worsley | October 23, 2008 3:48 AM
Please , Tito , - it's "the artist formerly known as jack in hebron ". I'm just havin' fun the Eckster .
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | October 23, 2008 5:42 AM
"...but the night's highlight was Stone Cold Steve Haastin."
That was true...up until the time he opened his mouth. Didn't work.
Posted by: Marko50 | October 23, 2008 5:48 AM
P.S. Tito , check your spelling . :-)
(how's that )
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | October 23, 2008 5:53 AM
If they really wanted a gauntlet match, couldn't they just do a tag team gauntlet match? They could have used Miz & Morrison, Team Priceless, Kane & Henry, etc.
Posted by: Din | October 23, 2008 6:04 AM
Micah,
I am going to side with chris on this one. If you are suggesting Mickey v. Beth, I think we need to rest that one a little while. If you are saying bring back Mickey and let her get involved some more...I like that idea but against Katie Lea instead of Beth. Katie Lea and Mickie has the potential to tear the house down without even a belt being involved. We already have the tension from when Katie punked Mickie after a match in Richmond in front of her dad! Beth is already involved with the "Glamarella" bit right now, so she is still around. I am eagerly awaiting Melina's return to the ring!
Posted by: Lee | October 23, 2008 12:14 PM
lol, thanks jack, oops , sorry i meant "the artist formerly known as jack in hebron".
Posted by: tito | October 23, 2008 4:23 PM
Its been a pleasure conversing with Tito Santana !
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | October 23, 2008 6:54 PM