If Flair ends up in a street fight or something like it with Randy Orton at some point, will that mean he's not un-retiring because that not actually a "wrestling match"? There are all kinds of potential loopholes to participate while still being "retired". The more Flair does, in my opinion, entertaining or not, keeps taking away from his sendoff.

Great post as always Kev. I'm quite suprised that you found so many good points in what I thought to be a rather lame show, aside from the 10-man tag match that MVP got the pin - completely agree with you on that one!

As for the McMahon-"Kroenke" confrontation, seeing the imposter walk out brought back horrible memories of the fake "match" between Rosie O'Donnell & Donald Trump prior to Wrestlemania 23. Painful stuff!

One last question - Any idea as to when Shawn Michaels will return to Raw? It's quality has gone quickly downhill since 'Mania. You would expect WWE to milk the quality of his match with Undertaker!

RESPONSE FROM KE: I believe Michaels is expected to return in the summer in time for SummerSlam.

McMahon being McMahon . 'Nuff said . Ugh .
By the way , nice one Kev regarding the XFL . Touche'.

So did they give Lawler Kobe Bryant's number?

McMahon childish? Nah never.

last night matches were good Flair cut another great promo but in the end still got beat down by orton and had yo be saved by batista because orton got in the majority of the offense. I was watching WWE on demand the other day and they had on WW3 and i was watching the Flair vs. henning match it went on for about 23 minutes and I enjoyed every minute of it and really lost track of time till it was over which brings mr to the piont why he is better then shawn he doesn't have to do all the elaborate moves like your boy and still have a outstanding match. loved the NBA game go nuggets

The opening segment was really, really bad and a waste of time. I flipped channels during it and came back to find it still on. I turned Raw off after watching it. Was that the best they could come up with?

If anyone else was that bad, wouldn't they get ripped backstage or "punished"?

It will be interesting to see where this Flair story line is going. …

Is it just me or did Flair look really beefed up last night? I'd say he's been really hitting the weights during his time off but I hope he didn't take any "vitamins" if you know what I mean...

Triple threat was the highlight of the show for me. I hate to admit that the right guy went over. Regal's exploder suplex is awesome though, and they tied in his attack on santina well.

It was pretty funny when mvp called "gimmick infringement" on cena.

If "Maurice" loves rock and roll music so much, why does her theme music lead me t o believe otherwise?

"But was it entertaining?"

No!!

Nobody really cares that a schedule mix-up pissed off poor wittle Vince. That bit did nobody any service. Even if called for it was still abhoringly lame and I tuned Raw out afterward. Vince, worry about the things you have control over and not belittling others whose transgressions are certainly no worse than your own (XFL really happened and it was Vince's fault).

I still suspect that punt to Vince's head a while back may have done some real damage!

Pompous idiot!!!!

Did you notice Kennedy clutching his hand after the match like he got hurt again?

I know WWE employees have to degrade themselves for Vince sometimes but John Cena of Wet Newbury, Massachusetts wearing a Lakers jersey?

Well, I guess its O.K. as long as he doesn't wear it at The Garden.

Note to Vince Mc Mahon, you've milked the WWE-Denver situation for all it was worth,now grow up and move on.

"Unfortunately for McMahon, he cannot script NBA games."

That's David Stern's job.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Nice!

When Santino made refernece to one of his stipulation ideas being a "Marella Original," I couldn't help thinking he was poking fun at last year's "Adamle Original" concepts. But if that were the case, I think he needed to then throw a zinger about Adamle because I'm not sure that was the joke.

WTF Quote of the Night: "Can you imagine that? Jeff Hardy in a ladder match!" - Jim Ross, hyping Extreme Rules PPV.

Overall I thought the show was a bust. The NBA stuff should have stopped after the first skit was over with. McMahon proved his point and there was no need to drag it out. The intro's for the main event took forever. I ended up changing the channel so I could catch the rest of the basketball game

RAW was yet again, an absolute joke last night. I seriously can't watch anymore. Aside from Kofi and MVP, NOONE on that show excites me anymore. I used to be a huge Orton mark, but his schitck has grown old. Kennedy? Really?? That bum has no business being involved in the main event picture. No worries though, I'm sure he'll fail another drug test soon enough and be fired...good riddance.

Kevin- are you going to the EWA show Saturday night?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Not sure yet about EWA show.

"Why did that warrant a DQ when there have been countless matches over the years in which wrestlers have put their opponents through the table and not been DQ’d?"

The rules are different for Divas. They are eliminated from battle royals when they are thrown between the ropes to the floor.

Sorry to have to say it but I will " Can Raw get any worse. No one cares about The Miz. Promo's and Interviews and Commericial's gave us 34 minutes of Wrestling Action..... I hope the writters can get it together because some parts of Raw were just unwatchable. I wonder if there is anyone out there that could write scripts for the WWE??????? Hint Hint Wink Wink.

C

“Personally, I thought the opening segment, in which Vince McMahon confronted a Kroenke impersonator, went a little long and made the WWE chairman come off as childish and petty.”

Yeah. Their new slogan should be “WWE: Being childish and petty is what we do best.”

Brian Kendrick being a mid-card comedy act is better then be in wish the best in future endeavors on wwe.com. not everyone can be push at the same time. keep that in mind. at least he is on tv. in a feud with the tag champs.

My problem is this: They opened with a dumb, ego-stroking sketch that had nothing to do with wrestling and wasn't remotely funny or entertaining. That segment was followed by...a women's match. Which didn't even pay off in pinfall.

What they should have done is say, "After a week's mainstream publicity, we might get a boost of new viewers tonight. So let's put on the best damn wrestling show we can, and see if we can't convert those viewers into fans." Ask yourself honestly: What part of last night's show would convince a first-time viewer to tune in next week?

The opening segment was a total waste of time. It was petty, childish, pointless, immature, and served no purpose whatsoever.

C'mon, Vince, that's what Twitter is for! ;-)

Anyone notice they had a big question mark as to who would be the final partner in the ten-man match, then after Kennedy was announced the pic changed to showing someone that damn sure looked more like Hardcore Holly than it did Kennedy. And I agree it did look like he got hurt again. Why put somebody who has been on the DL thru a 10 minute beatdown in his first match back is beyond me. I could write better booking, so I need Vince's cell number Kevin.

Why does Cody Rhodes always get pinned? I guess he is the lowest member on the totem pole in Legacy. The poor kid gets the crap kicked out of him every week

'Did you notice Kennedy clutching his hand after the match like he got hurt again?'

He has injured his wrist after landing heavily while taking Randy Orton's RKO. Don't know how serious it is though. The guy has no luck. It is a shame because he is talented and deserves a push.

In all the 5 on 5 match wasn't too bad, but could they please take it easy on Kennedy? He is a budding major star and they have him in for the longest duration between tags after a long injury absence - don't understand these needless bumps ..like when Mickey James is drop kicking into Maryse's surgically repaired knee...not too cool ....Hey Kev - did you see the Giant that knocked out Jose Canseco in mixed martial arts? He is 7 ft 2 and goes by the name of Hong Man Choi - and I'm already thinking...hmm to the WWE ? They could use another Giant, since Khali moves like Andre circa 1993 ..maybe call him "HANG MAN " with a finishing move like Lex Luger's "the Rack' ...if you see his pic ..he's 330 but looks like he could put on 100 lbs easily

Would have been a great RAW had I either A) Lived in Los Angeles or, B) Was a Lakers fan, at very least a basketball fan. Which after listening to the crowd last night, I don't feel like there is alot of cross pollination between WWE and NBA fans. I figure ever die hard Lakers fans was at home or a bar watching the game. WWE fans just wanted to see WWE action.I just hope that was for last night and last night only.
I think the only purpose for the Kelly Kelly/Maryse match was to give Kelly a little more edge to her character. I think it worked, she looked liked she meant business. By the end of the match her hair was all mussed up and she was out of breath....and.....huh!?!......Where was I?....Oh yeah Kelly Kelly is a good wrestler.....or something....

P.S Mickey James is the hottest looking Power Ranger I've ever seen!!!

Terrible show last night. The Denver debacle stuff was nonsense, especially to fans from overseas like myself who don't even know what the hell all that basketball crap had to do with a wrestling show. No fued was furthered last night and the show was a throwaway in my book.

It's frightening how far behind Smakdown Raw is! SD has been great recently and Raw has TOTALLY lost it's way. Please, more wrestling on the show! Less bad stand up! Things need to be shook up and soon, right now ECW holds more appeal to me than 'The A show'.

Of course the damn show was childish. The WWE is targetting the kids what with PG programming and making its top star look like a clean comic book hero. It is working for them as at least in India. The reputation of Raw during the attitude era was that of soft porn peddling, ultraviolent show. Now it has become very mainstream what with "Khali uncle" visiting, the divas keeping their clothes on and some really sanitized action with little or no bleeding (except in PPVs).

It has helped WWE in securing a really sweet TV deal with Ten Sports. Now they also have their website hosted by Sify hich is one of the biggest net portals here.

Hey Kevin What did you think when John Cena did MVP's "Ballin" on raw last night? when John Cena made his way to the ring for the 10 man tag team match and started doing his thing inside the ring he accidentally did MVP's "ballin" with the hands, and MVP came onto him to give a little friendly warning even though he looked little pissed. I thought it was interesting because wrestlers are a little sensitive when it comes to that kind of stuff (gimmick infringement)

RESPONSE FROM KE: I think it was a planned spot.

The basketball tie ins seemed to play well to the live crowd in Los Angeles. Perhaps they were meant as a thank you to the folks in southern California for buying tickets on short notice.

I actually thought Kennedy hurt Orton when he suplexed him on his shoulder near the end of the match.

Did anyone notice Orton take a wild, angry swing at him, then held his shoulder like it was separated?

It was clear that it was a botched spot.

What a mess of a main event.

Hmmm. Guess I'm the only one (here) who liked Raw. It really went by quickly for me. Maybe it's because I have no interest in basketball whatsoever. I also thought "Enos" did a pretty good job, all things considered. I may be biased on that one, as I know him better as Troy Stone, the SoCal Pro ring announcer.

Speaking of childish I laughed so hard when ric flair kept saying that randy orton 'had his way with him', that must have been backstage!

After his performance on Raw, do you think McMahon will put himself in a handicap match against the APA?

Hey Kevin,

I don't always read the comments, but when I do, it seems split... some think you are a complete heel, others think you are a baby face.. You wouldn't know if you were John Cena!!.... how would you rate yourself?
Heel? Babyface?

Personally, I like your insight, I also am a big Shawn Micheals fan and got bored with the Bret Hart vs. HBK hoopla in 1998. So I've never had a reason to Boo you. That and if you comment on an angle that I don't agree with you on, it doesn't make me mad enough to tell you off.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I guess if some like and some don't than I'm doing my job. I don't expect everyone to agree with me all the time. But to answer your question, I've always been a heel at heart.

I pretty much agree Kev. I thought for a split second Vince was going to eat crow a little on the XFL (I mean he let's Miz rip their movie division every week now), but he took the one possibly redeeming part of his promo and pushed it over the edge of absurdity. It's also annoying since he can't seem to pass up the chance for an "Enos" joke. "We're PG this, we're PG that" all the way until he has to make some dumb joke. I'm suprised HHH didn't make his return to jump in on that action and help them make peace since he made such a big deal that Vince loves roosters a couple years ago.

Otherwise it was awkward watching Flair all night. You keep watching and thinking "don't say he's in a match, don't say he's in a match."

I thought it was interesting to hear "ballin" from the crowd and not "you can't see meeeee" when MVP/Cena hit their respective moves together. I still agree that MVP would be better served to hold an edge to his character since he looked weak taking it from Kofi "All My Character Does Is Smile" Kingston. Seriously, he's usually so geeked out and smiling it's like watching Rocky Maivia before the Rocky sucks chants started.

Overall Raw is just sucking though. This is another example of Vince only outsmarting Vince. To most viewers it looks like a show that was written on a napkin. They should all hope no one tuned in after seeing all the media hype.

They sure are building a lot of intrigue for this ppv too. It's almost all retread matches with limited hype on how these matches are going to be so extreme that the feuds will end when someone loses. Oh, and there's a match with a widow in a pigpen with a transvestite....really? Even Judy Bagwell and David Arquette are at home thinking that's an embarassment.