I agree with you that the Raw show was pretty good overall. It had a good pace to it, and the matchups all seemed to click. I've never been a huge fan of CM Punk, but I've started liking him more over the last few weeks. His backstage interview the other week about having to bust his butt, and not being a 2nd generation wrestler, etc. was pretty good. Eliminating Regal in about 10 seconds at Survivor Series was pretty good, too. I'm actually looking forward to them having a match for the IC Belt. There's a good contrast in characters between the two.

That being said, why is CM Punk competing for a chance at the IC Belt not too long after being the Heavyweight Champ? Do you think the WWE is actually trying to re-establish the IC Belt as a worthy title again, and stepping stone to a world title shot like it was back when people like Macho Man and HBK had the belt?

Lastly, I LOVE Melina's new wrestling attire. Sheer top and sheer pants...... awesome. lol

Does anyone else agree, that Batista cant wrestle at all? He looks horrible in the ring. Now that Cena & Batista are both on RAW, and it looks as if Wrestlemania will be a Cena/Batista program, I again an shying away. I just cant watch Batista in the ring, it makes me cringe every time, and Cena doing his promo, trying his hardest to get the fans behind him was just embarasing. He was practically BEGGING for applause. Seriously, it is those 2 the reason I have stopped watching.

Edge, on Smackdown, thats another story, as HE is the reason I stay tuned!!

Man the Kennedy segment was weird? Off? strange? and, when did Kennedy start looking like Brett Farve.....?

I didn't see the entire show, as I was flipping between this and the Touchdown-fest on MNF, but I did catch the Cena-Jericho bit at the end and I disagree about the crowd being into Cena's beat down of Jericho. It looked to me like large numbers of the folks at ring-side (at least those in camera) were relatively indifferent to Cena's actions. Yes he got a pop when he would hold the belt up an scream, but I was suprised that foks weren't marking out more during the actual "action."

That was my take at least, did others think the same?

Hey Kevin

Quick thoughts i know everyone is setting up wrestlemania to be batista vs Cena but do you think there is a chance of jericho and orton being in the match i think a four way match would be good with these four make for an iterseting match as they all have different styles.

I liked Regal commenting on the Punk match, though there was the odd mistake. I liked how he made a challenger look stronger not weaker, wwe needs to do this more and make wrestlers seem better in the ring before matches, and not rush it, hence why the third generation stable will be far better than kozlov's rushed effort.

Also i am interested in this JBL & HBK angle especially how morrison got hit, could lead to a singles run for morrison, he needs it the only good thing with him being with Miz is the Miz (and his poor level of wrestling) makes Morrison look amazing (which he is anyway)

Kevin,

I thought I was the only one that noticed how upset Triple H was last night after losing his title. I guess DX merchandise, much like time, heals all wounds. It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out on Smackdown this Friday.

Also, I was thoroughly impressed with Melina's wrestling last night (and even more happy to see her return), but I felt bad b/c by that point, the crowd was dead for the match. Didn't she leave while in the midst of a feud with Beth Phoenix? Do you think we'll revisit that?

Cena's promo was a little repetitive. We get it, you're a man of the people, just hit Y2J already.

The crowd was totally dead tonight. They gave Cena and Kennedy Al Snow like pops when they came out.

I liked the focus on the IC title. Regal will be a great champion. I would love to see a prolonged feud between him and CM Punk. Those two can really bring it in the ring.

Did they honestly just re-sign Goldust?

Lance Cade, Burke, and Dykstra all get released, but Goldust is back in the WWE.

I liked the little joke by Regal about how high Patterson can sing. There's also a funny joke in Bret Hart's book about Patterson being scared to be in a strip club.

Overall, I thought it was a great show. They set up something that will likely take them to WrestleMania - Shane & Steph. They brought some prestige to the IC title - the tournament & Regal talking crap about Santino's reign. They also established that Batista can beat Randy Orton - that will likely set up a match at Armageddon.

I agree with you about the Cena promo. I was pumped when he was coming through the crowd, then it got dull for a few moments when he was putting all the fans over. It kicked into high gear when he & Jericho started arguing and the beat-down Jericho got was really intense.

Cena's shown glimpses of being this intense, but if he can keep it up he may be taken more seriously by all of his detractors. For now at least, he's got the fans on his side. Let's see if he can keep them there.

You're right Kev, Cena should have a bit of an edge, while injecting some humor (a times). HHH has managed to do it well over the years and so has Batista. With Cena being the campiest of the three, he will have to try a little harder. I think more of a MMA feel to Cena would work best. I will also make up for his often criticized wrestling style.

On another note, if anyone saw the recent Gangland TV show on the History Channel, they would have seen a expose’ on the "straight-edge" lifestyle. As a CM Punk mark, I was pretty intrigued by the documentary as I never knew what the lifestyle was all about. Nevertheless, all I have to say is that the WWE is missing a golden opportunity to build more of the "straight-edge" phenomenon into his character. A clean-living, hardcore, cool guy faction who has no-problem beating someone down could be of great and interesting opposition to Team Priceless (who could probably care less about friendship, loyalty and brotherhood).

I did find it amusing that they are holding a tournament to determine the #1 seed for the IC title, one day after the two world titles were won by wrestlers who hadn't stepped into a ring in months before that night. As much as I would love to think this will all lead to a return to importance for the IC title, it's pretty obvious this is all being done for the sake of selling their newest DVD. In about a month or so it will likely be back in it's customary role as the forgotten title
I was very impressed with Melina's work in the ring last night; I just hope she left that awful shriek she does behind. I think a program between Melina and Beth Phoenix for the women's title could be very entertaining.

Okay, I think I've kept silent for long enough and I can't hold it in anymore. Jerry Lawler has got to be the biggest male chauvinist pig on wrestling (and that's saying alot). If I have to listen to his continual sophomoric attempts at sexual humor through another diva's match, I may throw something at the television. Those women work hard every night and many of them are legitimately talented. They do not deserve to be reduced to sexual objects solely. In that match, Lawler said nothing concerning their wrestling ability and even added his assinine crudeness to Michael Cole's attempts at calling the match. Ugh! BTW, I'd just like to point out, Kevin, that Melina looked far better than Candice Michelle has ever looked, so I don't think giving Candice a pass for bad performances due to ring rust is warranted. Maybe she's just not a good wrestler. You've got to admit she was completely outclassed by every other woman in that ring last night.

Well yeah, I agree with Cena's character needing to maintain an edge, but you know the WWE creative team and my guess is that they will only do it for a while, and then it'll go back to the same. I'm just sayin'

I’ve been reading the feedback from various sites for Survivor Series, and the majority of it isn’t pretty. As a matter of fact it sounds like it was a real stinker. I haven’t ordered a WWE PPV since One Night Stand back in June, and haven’t felt like I’ve been missing anything.

With that being said, it looks like WWE may be turning the corner and could start being more interesting again. Last night’s Raw was the best I’ve seen in a long time, and there has been an upswing in the overall quality of the show since the Adamle resignation. It’s probably not possible for Raw to be as exciting as it used to be during the Attitude Era, but the past few episodes with Shane and Stephanie at the helm have been quite entertaining.

One of the biggest improvements has been the pacing of the show. Matches and segments have been kept short and sweet, which is far more appealing than watching a bad match or promo drag on for forever. Attention spans in this A.D.D. generation do not last long, and the days of people being willing to endure 15 minute promos and half hour matches on T.V. are over. It seems like WWE is starting to realize that, so here’s hoping this trend of improvement continues.

Someone needs to tell Lillian that there's a difference between "intercontinental champion for the very first time" and "first intercontinental champion."

The Kennedy segment was a long waste of time.

I wonder if the WWE will acknowledge that Dustin Rhodes and Cody Rhodes are related.

Melina's finisher looks rather anti-climatic after that impressive sunset flip thing. She should make that her new finisher now.

My issue with Cena was his use of cheap shots felt more like how a heel would act than a babyface. It was sickly similar to how Jericho beat up Michaels, which makes sense based on Chris' character, not Cena's.

It was great to see Melina back if her surprise return was spoiled. She definitely doesn't have any ring rust. I thought she wasn't due to return until 2009 so she was a welcome sight in more ways than one. She's long been my favorite Diva and her couple minutes in the ring was the most impressive I've ever seen from her. Although I do remember her on one occasion using an Indian Deathlock submission hold. If she incorporated that move with that variation of a Canadian Destroyer (I suppose we could call it a Mexican Destroyer) she and Beth Phoenix will have one great program.

"BTW, I'd just like to point out, Kevin, that Melina looked far better than Candice Michelle has ever looked, so I don't think giving Candice a pass for bad performances due to ring rust is warranted. Maybe she's just not a good wrestler. You've got to admit she was completely outclassed by every other woman in that ring last night."

Beth: First wrestled in 2001 on the indy circuit

Katie: First wrestled in 2000 on the indy circuit

Jillian: First wrestled in 1998 on the indy circuit

Melina: First wrestled in 2000 on the indy circuit

Mickie: First wrestled in 1999 on the indy circuit

Candice: First wrestled in 2005 in WWE

So, yeah, Candice likely would be the worst of the six. She's okay, though. She seemed to injure her leg for real at Survivor Series only to find out on Monday that she was just selling and was not hurt at all, which I thought was pretty cool.

Except for Jericho-Cena, I thought the show was a mess. We've seen that exact same Morrison/Michaels/etc. match before. The Shane-Stephanie showdown was entertaining but ended oddly. I don't know what the heck was up with that absurd Barack Obama segment. Kane is excited to fight Cena...why? And was there really a single person in that building, not employed by WWE, who cares about Pat Patterson anymore?

Kev:

Can you elaborate on the real life power struggle between Shane and Stephanie?
Also, did you ever finish Bret Hart's book?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: There is a perception that Shane McMahon at one time appeared to be the one who would take over the company whenever Vince stepped down, but that Stephanie and Triple H have since maneuvered themselves into that position.

I am still reading the book.

Rob the Barber, that was an expose on F.S.U. Most of those guys on that show are considered "hardline," a term surprisingly used not even once on the expose. Hardliners are people who take straight edge to the extreme, severely injuring others who don't hold their basic beliefs. They're all pretty idiotic and dangerous. You are right that the program was intriguing but it was definitely not an accurate representation of the general straight edge lifestyle.

Anyway I can rant all day about gangs and gang mentality, so all that being said, in the past CM Punk has, in fact, taken on a more hardline persona whenever he went heel. So, you'll probably see it surface at some point in the WWE.

I Think that it rocked it was probly one of the best raw episodes ive seen

ok the kennedy thing was a big waste of time

I have just got to say that Batista is terrible on the mick but that's just what i think...