Two for the price of one: Thoughts on Raw and ECW
I apologize for not blogging about Raw yesterday, as I usually do every Tuesday, but watching the Ravens-Steelers game on Monday night threw my schedule out of whack. I taped Raw and watched both it and ECW last night.
Before going any further, I want to say that I appreciate those of you who e-mailed me and expressed concern about my well-being due to the lack of posts the past few days. Yes, I am feeling fine (just a little overworked), and no, I was not “future endeavored” by The Baltimore Sun.
Now that I’m all caught up, here’s my take on Monday’s Raw, and as a special added bonus, last night’s ECW (try to contain your enthusiasm).
RAW:
Overall, I thought the show was entertaining, but as the go-home show for Sunday’s No Mercy pay-per-view, it seemed a little flat.
The main angle was that Shawn Michaels needed a tag-team partner for his match against Chris Jericho and Lance Cade. After hinting that it might be Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or Bret Hart (now that was funny), Michaels said he would try to find someone who actually liked him. I’m betting that a few people watching thought Kevin Nash was going to show up (he reportedly has not signed his TNA contract and his picture has been removed from the company’s Web site). It was pretty obvious, though, that it was going to be Triple H, especially when considering he, Jericho and Matt Hardy are wrestling in a triple threat match Friday on Smackdown.
I’m always happy to see DX reunited, but this time I thought it took away from Michaels’ feud with Jericho. Their conflict has been so intense and personal that seeing Michaels crotch-chopping in his DX t-shirt seemed out of place. …
Randy Orton’s promos are becoming one of the most anticipated segments every week. It’s been interesting how he gets a babyface pop for interrupting a heel (or in this case, an inept Raw general manager), but then cuts a heel promo and turns the crowd against him. …
Speaking of heel promos, I thought Cade did a pretty good job on his. The more I see of Cade, the more I think he has the tools to become a star, but I don’t know if he has the “it” factor to become a breakout superstar. …
The eight-man tag match (Kane, Ted DiBiase Jr., Cody Rhodes and Manu versus CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne) was exciting. Everyone seemed to be over with crowd, especially Punk. …
I can’t believe WWE actually acknowledged that Kane’s father was Paul Bearer. That story line is best forgotten. Actually, you could say that about most of Kane’s story lines. It’s amazing that the Kane character is still over with fans after some of the preposterous angles he has been involved in. …
The Great Charli was hilarious. Charlie Haas had The Great Khali’s walk and mannerisms down pat. …
Beth Phoenix had the move of the night when she reversed Kelly Kelly’s rollup into the Glam Slam. …
Santino Marella had a good line when he said that if there was a Moolah-meter, Phoenix would be 22 years behind. I think it’s actually more like 27, but it was still funny. …
Why is Jamie Knoble getting so much screen time lately? The Knoble/William Regal/Layla angle is not holding my interest. …
Hopefully, Mickie James teaming with Knoble is a one-time thing and not the start of a romance angle between the two. That’s a big step down to go from John Cena to Knoble. …
How awful was that Dirt Sheet clip, in which John Morrison and The Miz masqueraded as the fathers of JTG and Shad Gaspard? TNA’s Prince Justice Brotherhood now has some competition for most groan-inducing “comedy.”
ECW:
I can see why Jack Swagger was regarded as the top prospect in developmental. He just might end up being a bigger star than Morrison, DiBiase, Rhodes or any of the other twentysomethings on the roster. …
Matt Striker said that Swagger looked like a cross between Gary Busey and Barry Windham. I was thinking Busey and Jani Lane, the former lead singer of hair metal band Warrant (“Cherry Pie”).
Jani Lane, of course, is no relation to Lenny Lane, Swagger’s opponent last night. I almost didn’t recognize Lenny, who, as Striker pointed out, now bears a resemblance to ’80s mid-carder Buck Zumhoffe. You might remember Lane from his WCW days when he was part of the Lenny and Lodi tag team. He also is a former WCW cruiserweight champion and one-time lackey of Chris Jericho. Speaking of Jericho lackeys, has anyone seen Ralphus lately? …
I thought the six-man main event (Mark Henry, Miz and Morrison versus Hardy, Bourne and Ricky Ortiz) was good. The fans were into all of them – even Ortiz – and Henry is doing a great job as a monster heel. …
The highlight of the show was the commentary by Striker and Todd Grisham. Both of them were entertaining, but for completely different reasons. Striker has quickly become the best color commentator in the business. He explains the holds and has a vast knowledge of wresting history as well as a quick wit. His best line of the night was when describing a wrestler’s resourcefulness: “If you run out of toilet paper, you do a handstand in the shower.”
Grisham, on the other hand, had a bad night. It almost was Adamle-like. Here is a sampling of some of the nonsensical things that came out of his mouth:
“Tommy Dreamer and Mike Knox are almost mirror images of each other.” Yeah, except for the fact that they look nothing alike and play totally different characters.
“Morrison looks like a scratch-off lottery ticket.” Like Striker, I have no idea what he was going for on that one.
“There’s a couple of kicks to the back of Morrison’s back.” To which Striker replied, “As opposed to the front of his back, which would be his chest.”
Comments
Wow, a West Hollywood Blonde sighting. When Lenny and Lodi are in town, someone is going down!
Posted by: jt | October 1, 2008 12:21 PM
Welcome back!!
Posted by: Gwen | October 1, 2008 12:28 PM
I completely understand why Triple H was his partner and they had a mini-DX reunion. Raw had a lot of work to do; promoting the PPV, hyping the move for Smackdown to the new network, and reminding folks that ECW would start one hour earlier. Unfortunately, because there was so much to do, everything suffered a little. While I enjoyed watching Michaels look like he was enjoying himself again, we all know that he loves everything he does. The lack of intensity in the go-home show was a little disappointing.
Morrison cracked me up last night. I think I respectfully disagree about Swagger, though. I don't think he's got more charisma than Morrison. Or it might be that his little smile is so gawd-awful annoying. I am intrigued by Swagger, however, in terms of seeing his capability to perform.
What I'm really looking forward to, however, is No Mercy in Portland and the subsequent RAW in Seattle. I'll be at both. Would you like news and notes from the live show?
Posted by: Mina | October 1, 2008 12:33 PM
A Buck Zumhoffe reference in the year 2008? I love it! Is Lenny gonna start carrying a boom-box to the ring? Any wrestlers on the roster bear a resemblance to Jake "The Milkman" Milliman? Anyone know what D.J. Petersen has been up to as of late?
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I believe Peterson is no longer with us.
Posted by: luhrm | October 1, 2008 12:50 PM
Ralphus was on TNA recently, or at least I thought he was.
I think Mickie teaming with Noble was to have her feud with Layla, giving her something to do until the title scene opens up for her again.
Posted by: Steveweiser | October 1, 2008 12:54 PM
The only reason the fans acknowledge Kane is because WWE feels the need to shove him down our throats every week. He isn't a great worker and he is a really stupid character. All of his story lines turn into massive embarrassments.
I thought there was too much talking about No Mercy and SD's move this week on ECW and not enough wrestling.
Posted by: Elevation | October 1, 2008 1:32 PM
Was it just me or did Khali actually show some personality by smiling when he saw The Great Charli? Is there a chance WWE will try to make him a face?
I can't wait for Charlie to come out and challenge Santino as the Haasy-Tonk Man for the IC Title.
Posted by: Adam | October 1, 2008 1:42 PM
I thought Matt Striker was the best colour commentator on any wrestling show today on his very first day at the ECW broadcasting booth. As for Todd Grisham, he's usually fine but I guess his mind is still preoccupied by the family emergency that caused him to miss last week's show. Jim Ross even said that Grisham has had a tough week so let's just give him a break.
I agree with you that HBK acting all goofy in DX-mode was rather out of place in the midst of his feud with Jericho. They could have still paired HBK & HHH without bringing up DX after all.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Honestly, I had forgotten about Grisham having a family emergency. You're right -- we should give him a pass this week.
Posted by: Din | October 1, 2008 1:54 PM
Can't agree with you more about the presence of DX diminishing the feud between Jericho and Michaels. From what I read, the decision to reform DX (again) was to get Triple H face time on RAW, in anticipation of the Smackdown debut on MyTV. I really don't see how HHH teaming with HBK will get people watching SmackDown, but it really did seem like a real mood changer with all the "intense" promos leading up to the ladder match. And on that note, I really thought for the first time during this feud, Jericho's promo was subpar; he seemed to stumble at the start, then came up with somewhat generic "I'm gonna hurt him" type stuff ,while trying to fight the noises from Cade's ladder getting picked up on mic.
As for Orton, as I've said before, he has made tremendous strides on mic, and seems very comfortable and confident in his promos. I agree that his promos have become my favorite part of the show. I can't wait until he's hooked up into a feud with someone, and the way things are going, it seems like he'd be equally effective against a heel or face.
Posted by: Glen | October 1, 2008 1:56 PM
Jericho mentioned in his book, 'A Lion's Tale', that the person they used as Ralphus started getting a big head & demanding more money. Just FYI.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Yes, I read the book, too. Ralphus was still around in WCW when I worked there, and the word was that his "fame" went to his head. He supposedly even had groupies.
Posted by: Landon | October 1, 2008 2:45 PM
Do you think there's a chance that Santino can break Honky Tonk Man's record of longest reign as I-C champ? If not, who will stop him?
Posted by: Mr. Eli | October 1, 2008 3:44 PM
You be nice to Todd Grisham! He's taken enough abuse from the Ultimate Warrior as it is, for goodness sakes...
Posted by: Dennis | October 1, 2008 3:55 PM
Striker's commentary style reminds me of Paul Heyman. I don't know if that's a good thing.
Posted by: Sean | October 1, 2008 4:18 PM
"I am betting that a few people watching thought Kevin Nash was going to show up...."
You won. I would have preferred Nash instead of a DX reunion. I don't like DX, never have, never will. Maybe it's my imagination, but the Raw product seems to go into the toilet every time they get together for any lengh of time.
Why is Kelly Kelly - the most attractive Diva - always taking the biggest bumps?
Posted by: Christopher | October 1, 2008 8:46 PM
My enthusiasm is contained . Just kidding Kev . Glad all is well and that your'e getting back to speed !
Posted by: the artist formerly known as jack in hebron | October 1, 2008 8:47 PM
WHAT??? no comment about the Cryme Tyme / Miz . Morrison match on raw??? i TOTALLY thought you would have geeked hard for that one Kevin......
Posted by: Matt | October 1, 2008 9:28 PM
Was it just me or when Michaels mentioned getting a real American to be his tag partner, was there any crowd reaction? I didn't hear any. There certainly was a pop when he referred to Austin and quite a reaction when he referred to Brett Hart.
Posted by: Bob Buscaglia | October 1, 2008 10:14 PM
Kevin, as usual you are spot on. One thing I disagree with you on is Jamie Noble's appearance. Any excuse to put him on tv is fine by me. The guy has gotten the arm bar over- the arm bar! I'm not thrilled by his storyline, but he plays his role with charm.
Posted by: Sean Hart | October 1, 2008 10:17 PM
Good call on the DX usage. I think it hurt the Michaels-Jericho story line. Unless you plan on bringing back the Outlaws, too, don't bother with DX anymore, WWE.
It's great to see Lenny Lane back making Duluth, Minn., proud.
Posted by: Jimmy Bellamy | October 1, 2008 11:14 PM
That 8 man tag match was the best thing on Raw in a long time! Cole also said on air that Rhodes had said somewhere that the tag team division stank until they came along and now the belts mean something. Hopefully these are all signs that the tag belts will be built back up to the level of the LOD, Hart Foundation, Rockers Etc. days. Hopefully the smackdown match this week will mean there is only one set of tag belts. Like I say, there hasn't been a tag match like that since the Rockers!
Posted by: Rob | October 2, 2008 4:55 AM
Kev wanted to get your thoughts on Orton.. Is it just me or does Randy's character latley remind you alot of Austin after he suffered the busted neck at Summer Slam. Stone Cold wasn't able to wrestle a full match but you knew he was gonna be on Raw every week and his impact ( or should i say stunner) was what i looked forward to the most every week. It seems like Orton's character is kind of on the same page. I find my self looking forward to his promos every week more and more...
Posted by: Gary | October 2, 2008 3:44 PM
I didn't catch ECW this week, but Raw left a lot to be desired. The reunion of DX was utterly predictable, and utterly pointless. Shawn has been great in his role as a man seeking retribution and revenge, yet was out there Monday running around and doing his pseudo-crotch chops like he didn't have a care in the world. Even Jericho's pre-match promo seemed off from previous weeks. The 8 man tag was entertaining but did very little for anyone involved, I wonder is Punk is enjoying his ride back down to the midcard. Haas was great (I'm sure there's a Stone Cold parody/stunner in his near future), Khali showed a touch of character and Santino was great as always.
WCW made the mistake of unmasking Mysterio (and pretty much every other luchadore), I pray WWE isn't planning to repeat that poor history.
Posted by: Joe Barber | October 2, 2008 3:51 PM
does anyone really believe the former johnny nitro, reincarnated as john morrison is a top flight, main event caliber performer. honestly i thought melina was the dominatrix of mnm.
Posted by: mjk | October 2, 2008 7:19 PM
"The only reason the fans acknowledge Kane is because WWE feels the need to shove him down our throats every week. He isn't a great worker and he is a really stupid character. All of his story lines turn into massive embarrassments."
You have no idea. If that were the case, they'd be giving him Cena-typed mixed reaction or even X-Pac heat.
Kane is genuinely over. At least, with the majority of people. When he chokeslammed and beat the face Bourne last week he got a good pop. When he chokeslammed the face Rey last week, he got a good pop.
You only have to look around the web and for example on YouTube to see how large Kane's fanbase is.
Furthermore, Kane as of late has been great in my opinion. His promos in the last month or so (especially the one where he wore his mask for a moment) were very good. He was also involved in the best matches in the last two weeks, though obviously a fair bit of that is to due with the other workers.
Posted by: David Worsley | October 3, 2008 12:01 AM
Why is Jamie Knoble getting so much screen time lately, well for one Vince likes him and he is a Road agent to
Posted by: Bryan | October 3, 2008 9:50 AM