I thought that this episode was good overall. Prinze was good, but I can't believe that he has gray coming in. I still picture him playing high school students.

Was there any difference etween Miz's new finisher and the reality check? It looked the same to me. I don't mind the name change with the new direction for his character, but I was just curious.

It seemed that a number of spots were missed during the show. Bourne and Miz seemed just a little out of sync and the ending of the Mickie James and Gail Kim match was horrible. I thought Kim was legitimately injured and that led to the missed kick.

I thought Raw was ok, FP Jr was the second best host, right after Shaq, I think the biggest difference in hosts is whether or not they are really fans of the WWE or if they are just there to pimp their own projects. That DX intro was so long, I had to change the channel, I liked DX as much as anybody back in the day, but DX on a PG show is going to be pretty tame and uninteresting. The Miz looked like a carrot, I almost had to adjust the color on my TV. OK, can we stop this Chavo/Hornswaggle wrestling program, I don't know if they are trying to push Horn or bury Chavo, but they should just get rid of Horn and let Chavo go back to wrestling people 1 on 1, not blindfolded, tux match, arm tied behind back and soforth.
I know I mentioned this in a previous post, but I wish Jerishow's music would be changed, if for no other reason than I think the fact they haven't made new music means Jerishow won't be around for long, which I hope is not the case. I thought Big Show's wrestling showed a marked improvement over the last several months. Instead of just punching and headbutting his opponent, he was doing actual moves. His teaming up with Jericho was the best thing that could happen to him, and it really brings out the cowardness in Jericho that makes him such a great heal. Another note on that same match, can we stop seeing Cena as a superhero strength human able to defeat all people, no matter how big and how many are in the ring. He must move the most merch, but really, it's as tired and old as HHH/Orton. I don't know if Bourne is just really good at selling his landings or if his neck is taking that much of a beating every week, but every time he wrestles, I cringe at least once in the match because of the way he lands, fun to watch though.
Don't know if anybody else saw it, but the fan holding the Michael Cole sign that said 'Vintage' on it made me laugh when they showed that while Michael was saying vintage. Probably not intended, but still funny.

KE

I DVR'd Raw and went back at the end of the Divas match. I think Gail Kim hit her head on the mat when she missed the cross body block.

I truly think she was out of it and didn't sell the DDT which was likely the finishing move of the match.

You could tell by how Mickie was looking at her to get up to execute the DDTthat something had gone awry.

This was the best Raw in awhile. I loved it from beginning to end. I figure FPJ would make a good host having being a former employee and huge fan. My only question is how many times do we have to see Chavo lose to Hornswoggle? Next wk they will probably wrestle in a cage. Happy to see that Legacy showed they were a team to reckon with heading into the ppv. Before the segment I thought it would end up with Legacy getting embarass like The Spirit Squad did years ago. Despite the screwups at the end of the match i thought that was the best divas match in WWE in a long time. "I popped for the takeoff on “24.” That’s the only non-wrestling show that I never miss. Come to think of it, Kiefer Sutherland would make a good Raw host. …" Im also a fan of 24. Its my favoriite non wrestling show of all time. Imagine if Keifer Sutherland made a cameo apperance after Santino recieved Sweet Chin Music.

Santino's "Your wife the werewolf killer" was the line of the night.

Boy did Mickie look upset. They needed more time for the match but the DDT was bad...

But the match had some very good spots.

At least HHH didn't say ouch..

I like The Miz better as "Calgary Kid"...lol! Anywho,I understand why The Miz change his attire but why does it have to look like Jericho's attire.
I really thought Gail Kim vs. Mickie James was going to be great but the final minute of the match was a complete disaster. Mickie James look so upset after the match. Mickie James need to step up her game again.
But last night's Raw was pretty good no complains.

I thought the show was awful, for the upteenth week in a row. I wasn't amused by the opening segment, which took forever, and was disappointed that no heel blasted Prinze for being a has-been movie star from the 1990s (perfect for Jericho, who could have compared him to an inactive wrestler)... Cena reverted back to his poop jokes again - I guess his fecalphelia just can't be suppressed... I love Gail Kim, but what a terrible ending - that James spin kick wouldn't have even looked devastating if it connected; the crowd was certainly dead during that match as well... Cena should take the Miz' lead and get some new ring attire. He, too, looks like a wannabe: either a wannabe wrestler or a wannabe Marky Mark... Chavo jobs to Hornswagglwe again - yawn. Why anybody in the audience cheers for that nonsense is beyond me... That was a lame finish in the MVP-Swagger match. I get that they don't want to give a real ending for free, but a nonsensical DQ for common maneuvers is just lame...
Jamie Noble is still with WWE?... Great stuff with Kingston and Carlito, defiitely the match of the night...I'm hoping Mayweather is booked as a heel host, but they can't possibly ignore the Big Show angle.

I watched in order to see if I would be proven wrong and DX would get beaten down. The bad news is that I have to eat my words; the good news is that my words have never tasted so good. Of course, Legacy didn't fully get the the upper hand on HHH until Shawn was down, but oh well.

I thought Raw was just plain awful.

The Santino skit was not even funny, and the crowd wasn't even laughing. I'm not sure if even Prinze was laughing (if he wasn't, he's a bad actor for an actor...)

Orton should've taken out Ken Jeong like that a few weeks ago...

I'm glad Michaels is back, but it's a bit sad to see him back as part of DX. Also, is it just me, or is this the first time they actually spell DX as "Degeneration X" rather than "D-Generation X"?

I thought the divas' match started out good, but was a bit disconnected between spots later on, and as you said, a botched ending... The crowd seemed dead throughout.

Cena whining about Orton whining doesn't count as whining?

The main event on Raw lately seems to be very predictable. Cena is in the main event. Cena is surrounded by heels. Cena gets beat up for a bit. Cena hulks up. Cena hits the FU. Cena gets the pin. Cena celebrates. Heels attack Cena. Cena no-sells heel attack and dominates all heels. Jericho jobs.

They should seriously reconsider what they're doing to Jericho... He's the best heel in the company and one half of the unified tag champs, not a bloody jobber.

Kevin,

I was at the show last night and actually got to low five some of the talent by the ramp including Freddie Prinze Jr. Me and my friends had signs that said Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy with arrows pointing down. I failed to make a Kevin Eck sign...maybe next time big guy.

Being there live really pointed out to me how much filler there is in the show. It seemed never ending.

The Kim/James match started off good for the audience. I was shocked to see two faces square off. Unfortunately towards the end, the match fell apart, the crowd lost interest and people went heads down to text message.

More could have been done with Freddie Prinze Jr in my opinion. After the opening segment, he was basically out of the picture the entire night.

Orton gets tremendous heat even in his hometown. It wasn't as mixed a reaction as I thought it would be.

I'm off to the Smackdown taping in a little bit here. I'm anxious to see how the pacing of that show compares to Raw. Don't get me wrong...we had a great time and all but there was quite a bit of rehashing that sorta took the wind out of the sails for the audience.

Rosa Mendes is ridiculously skinny in person. Not trying to hate but it doesn't look right.

I don't like watching Jericho job every week, he better not at SummerSlam.

Hey Kev is there a US title match booked for SS? If not then why is there a Kane vs. Kahli match? I guess we need to use the washroom sometime.

I thought Cena recovered a little to quickly after taking an rko...

Loved the D-X beat down, but totally agree with you about the blood.

Quick question Kev.
Do the live audience here the commentators commentating during matches or when there is a backstage segment on the titantron?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Audience does not hear the commentators. Backstage segments, yes.

Kevin,

The Kingston-Carlito Match on Raw!! WOW--- Enough Said. I honestly can't tell you the last match I saw on Raw that I could compare to Kingston-Carlito. Just Plain Awesome. I wish we could get a match like that everyweek and you had to love Orton with his hand out for the tag and pulling it back ( CLASSIC ) I hope the show continue's to roll it's seems last night could have been a new begining for Raw. I don't think anybody saw Ted and Cody coming in that fast but to answer your question " YES WERE READY" RAW has the talent needed for many awesome matches the only issue I see is the writing. It's like someone is missing the boat when it comes to storylines. Will this be the end of Cena and Orton at Summerslam. I'll bet ya a night of BYOB entertainment it's not!!!!

I watched the Gail Kim - Mickie James match again on my DVR because I noticed something was up. If you watch closely, it looked like Gail Kim jumped off the top rope for that cross-body, Mickie James moved out of the way, and, normally, Gail would have landed no problem, but in this case, I think she came down at an off angle and her face/head went right into the mat. I think she concussed herself, because after that she looks totally out of it. It looks like Mickie realized that just as she went for the DDT, and I think Mickie clamped down and stopped the move to protect Gail Kim. After that, it looks like she improvised. Her spin kick didn't even "connect" and she just ended it by knocking her over with a forearm. I wonder if the look on Mickie's face was because the ending of the match was supposed to be Gail Kim winning the belt, or maybe she was frustrated that Gail knocked herself silly - either way, it she had to end it. Kudos to Mickie for realizing Gail was legit injured and not making it worse. At least, that's my analysis.

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

Raw was HORRIBLE. That crap with Freddie Prinze Jr/DX and Santino was stupid and not funny at all. All this entertainment/comedy skit crap has ruined wrestling. I see why people like Bruno Sammartino don't want to have anything to do with this crap Vince has turned wrestling, excuse me, "sports entertainment" into. When I think back to the glory days of the 80s with the NWA, this garbage just disgusts me. It's no wonder why wrestling gets so disrespected and taken as a joke by sports and the media.

The DX mess is past old. You got two 40-plua year old men literally running around acting like Beavis & Butthead teenagers, doing an storyline that went out 10 years ago. It's pathetic and not remotely amusing.

And the Miz is GARBAGE. His character is about the most uncreativee, stupid persona ever. That's another thing that is so sad about these new WWE performers today, they don't know how to get over so they all are just loud, obnoxious, arrogant heels who try to be "cool". these bums are a disgrace to real heels who were BELIEVABLE and ORIGINAL like Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Rick Rude, Curt Hennig, Jake the Snake, Ted DiBiase, etc. It's just sad. I think I'm finally going to have to stop watching RAW after 16 years.

Randy Orton is SOOOO HOT!

You wrote: "Prinze immediately won me over by not...bringing along any obnoxious sidekicks."

He would have won over many, however, had he brought along Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Jericho jobs again??? I'm disgusted!!!

Miz and Kofi will make a good fued...as long as he keeps his mouth closed. I hope creative really books this were they both come out looking strong.

Must have fell asleep cause I'm drawing a blank after the DX beatdown.

Don't want to see Maywather at all. I am not a fan of anyone who stiffs another performer, especially when they are defenseless (ala Big Show's nose).

Speaking of stiff, is it me or does Bourne looks like he always taking some sick bumps???

two things ..Legacy needs a growth spurt ...those two guys look like they belong with the Spirit Squad ...Cody looks like a Cody...and Im sure the Million Dollar Man could still out wrestle "junior" - think the WWE should get their own video game and come up with some new main event matchups / 2nd So Kevin what do you think of Brett Favre's return - the Raven play the Vikings this year..you gonna be there ?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Brett Favre needs to go away and stay away. One of the most self-absorbed athletes I have ever seen. ... I won't be at that game.

I think the show was good and a lot of surprises. DX beatdown was very surprising because usually DX is booked as the one team that doesn't lose, so to see their return spoiled in a decisive way was good.
I think it would have been nice to see Cena stay down after the RKO just to make it seem like Cena doesn't have all the momentum into Summerslam. I think it made Orton's RKO look a little weak because Cena got up quickly and disposed of Jericho, who has been jobbing a lot, and then knocks Big Show out of the ring.

Kevin, I agree with you on the Mickie/Gail match...that had a very awkward vibe to it...the crowd wasn't into to it to begin with since it went on after the DX reunion...I wasn't sure at the end if Mickie was ticked that so many moves were botched or if she was ticked that Gail seemed to give up trying after the botch...Mickie had to force Gail to wave to the crowd...I half expected to see best wishes on Gail's future endeavors this morning

Also, either Freddie Prinze Jr was actually hurt, or he is a MUCH better actor than I ever gave him credit for

First and foremost, I am a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong. I said I wasn't going to hold my breath for Freddie Prinze Jr. to make for entertaining television. I was wrong. He talked about being a fan all his life and I got the feeling that he has been. Just the fact that he mentioned the old ice-cream bars was proof enough for me. He also get's big ups for taking a bump and not looking ridiculous doing it. I do however have a problem with his super hero like return later in the show. To me, all that said was "If Orton can't break Fred from Scobby-Doo in half how's he possibly gonna beat Cena?"
Loved the beat down on DX. I thought for sure after HHH got thrown out of the ring he'd return with his trusty sledge hammer, but he got beat down and he stayed down. Awesome! Eck, you mentioned about the bleeding. I thought for sure HHH was going to be after that cowboy boot (Dusty was probablly so proud) to the head Cody gave him.
What happened to Mickie and Gail Kim? It wasn't just the ending squence either that whole match was just off. I thought Jakie Gada was wrestling againthere for a minute.
Kev, couldn't resist the Russo bashing could ya? Good! Hopefully with all the reorganization that TNA is doing we'll be rid of him and his ridiculious booking soon.

I quite enjoyed the first 2/3's or so of RAW--decent opening segment (Prinze wasn't annoying, so I guess that's good for something), good matches, good DX/Legacy build...

...and then, the last bit was brutal. What in blazes happened to the James/Kim match? The ladies seemed to fall apart. I thought that Mickie looked frustrated only briefly, and then assumed the whole "challenger gave me a run for my money" look, a la Taker/Hardy from years back.

Then we get 5 seconds of MVP/Swagger, a Guerrero getting figuratively spit on again, and Super-Cena ruling the roost. *SIGH*

It is more of a variety show, as you suggest, but I fear that it's getting too far away from the people who should be in the spotlight. What appealed to me most about the show were the earlier matches; Kingston/Carlito is fresh, and even Miz/Bourne was decent. Those matches are akin to Smackdown's great weekly offerings. I was half asleep by the time the lumberjacks came out.

It looked like Gail Kim face planted into the mat pretty hard when she did the dive off the turnbuckle towards the end and seemed out of it when Mickie James tried to raise her hand after the match.

It was easily the best Raw in quite a while, although I don't think the show was as good as you did. It would have been a good show two weeks ago, but as the lead-in show to Summerslam, it did little to hype the PPV. The DX beatdown by Legacy was indeed basic booking, and it was exactly what was needed to sell that match. Even though the chances of Legacy going over Sunday are somewhere between nonexistent and infinitesimal, that short segment did more to make Legacy seem like a legit threat than nearly a year of being aligned with Orton. Kingston and Carlito had a really good match, it was a welcome change to see midcarders actually get time to tell a complete story in a match. Too bad that trend didn't last with the later midcard matches. MVP/Swagger should and could be a star making feud for both men, but so far it's spinning its wheels. RAW has no idea what to do with Evan Bourne, and the renewed push of the Miz means so much less than it would have if he had been allowed to pin Cena even once. Speaking of which, I think I may start an office pool on who gets to pin John Cena first, the Miz or Chris Jericho. I could have done without the Santino skits

I thought it was a mistake to give away the Divas title match so soon when I first heard it, and the match proved all my fears to be true. Instead of building to a quality and lengthy match between two of the best female workers in the business, they tried to cram 7 minutes worth of match action into a 3 minute match and it came off as clunky, and that was before the clusterfrick finish.

a couple of quick things first I thought mayweather was the face & Show was the heel at Wrestlemania. Secondly i think the last 5 min. of the Diva's match was nothing but botched moves. Finally it was nice to see DX get beast up even though in the end you know DX is gonna come out on top I wonder why it has taken so long for them to try and make Priceless look like a strong team before the got with orton the tag champs twice since then thieve been lackeys's and where have they been latelky not helping out their fearful leader. And finally finally I wrote months ago that the worse thing for Bourne was to got to Raw in another 6 months he could be brian Kindrick i think you should start a petition now to save Evan by putting him back on ECW you have the power Kev

RESPONSE FROM KE: Nayweather was supposed to be the face in the Mania angle, but fans booed him from the start, so WWE switched roles. Mayweather was clearly the heel at Mania, and Show clearly the face. If you'll remember, Mayweather needed outside interference and brass knuckles to win.

"Jericho jobs again? Really? …"
Well with Mayweather coming in next week, wouldn't be surprised if 'Jerishow' jobs to him and someone else

Santino is turning into a guilty comedic pleasure. Freddy oversold being attacked a little bit. Another good match between Kingston and Carlito. Not so much from James/Kim both did look frustrated after the match...and Swoggle/Chavo is more boring than an Orton/HHH match

Bourne should go back to ECW, not going to get anywhere on Raw jobbing every week...and he really takes some shots to the head, im scared he's gonna get seriously hurt.

Swagger/MVP couldve had more time, but DX needed to have a 10 minute ring entrance....nice that they made Legacy look relevant (too bad they'll be squashed at SFest)

And remember when Lumbjack matches actually had lumberjacks around the entire ring....

Was it just me, or did Gail Kim look legitimately shaken up at the end of the match? Did she take a nasty bump that I missed?

I went to the kitchen during the commercial break, and wondered by MVP and Swagger were on the screen when I returned. I can't believe there was actually a match in that short time.

The Legacy beatdown on DX was just what the doctor ordered to make Legacy a threat again. They were menacing and they didn't have a Super Trips or HBK to beat them back (unlike Super Cena post match). I wish that Legacy would get the win at "summerfest" but I know better but one can only hope. I am also looking forward to the Kingston/Miz feud. If done right, this could help elevate Kofi to the main event picture.

I felt so bad for Mickie. at first it though maybe one of them was injured, but it appears that one of them messed up towards the end. Any word on the guest manager for the Detroit show coming up? Hopefully not Kid Rock. I seen they didn't include him on the Wrestlemania 25 DVD. Hopefully he doesn't show up on the 31st! Great blog Kevin!

That is literally the first Diva's match i have watched in ages. I thought if anyone could pull off a decent match it would be those two, shame the way it went down. I think Gail looked genuinely out of it at the end though, so hard to blame them for the finish if she is legit injured. Mickie had a face like thunder though...which strangely made her look even more hot.

DX were looking a bit like they were just going through the motions, it is always nice to see them but it just felt a bit flat. So when Legacy turned up it shook the whole thing up and added some much needed heat to the program. I really hope they don't end up getting the spirit squad treatment though.

Also noticed the heavy focus on Mark Henry at the end. Looks like we will be getting Orton Vs Henry at some point, hopefully for the belt. I hope so as it would be fresh and i think the crowd are ready to get behind Sexual Chocolate. I don't want to see Cena as champ again for a while.

I hate what they are doing to Y2J, and the sad thing is the angle is obviously building to him jobbing to HHH as they feud for the tag belts!

The announcers tried to make the Cena-Orton match at SummerSlam not seem stale by saying that it was the first time they had faced each other in a singles match on pay-per-view in a year and a half. Nice try. …

Nice one kevin i was thinking the exact same thing this story line is so stale there is almost nothing they could do to make it seem fresh or interesting at this point....
we need some new challengers. they have a locker room filed with worty number one contenders but why not keep faing the same people over and over.....and over.....

From the divas match onward, this RAW was an ECW. From the opening segment to the DX return, this RAW was a RAW. All in all, RAW remains to be a SmackDown while SmackDown remains to be RAW.

Part of me doesn't want to call the Mickie James/Gail Kim bout an ECW match because I don't always mind botched spots when they're entertaining. Botched spots can be done in such a way that's very entertaining, whether it's because they're funny, stupid, silly, or whatever. What made this botched spot so enjoyable was the added facial expression of concern from Mickie James. There was just something intense about her whole reaction to that botched spot after the match. I would love to see Micki James as a heel.

The Kofi Kingston/Carlito match was a WrestleMania match. I felt like those two had me on a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. They have a brilliant chemistry together and this match was jumping like crazy. Carlito getting vocal added to the intensity; Kingston's fake-outs and uniqueness; Carlito's bad to the bone manner, etc. It was all just magic and very well done.

I was about to snap when it was revealed that the Miz would be entering a program with Kingston instead of drawing out these rollercoaster ride matches between Carlito/Kingston. I also do not approve of The Miz defeating a highflying talent like Evan Bourne. I don't think The Miz is in Evan Bourne's league quite frankly. Evan Bourne should look down his nose at the Miz. It goes without saying that I am very displeased with The Miz right now. The fact that it took Miz this long to garment himself like an actual wrestler is more of a reason to deprecate than anything. The Miz is on probation for me.

While I enjoyed Freddie Prinze Jr. overall, he came off as awkwardly gangster in his tonality and it just didn't sound right whenever he showed anger.

LOL @ HBK's first impulse always being Sweet Chin Music. I absolutely lose control everytime he does that. Ole' Triple H just couldn't stay down during the ambush. It's a good thing HBK is the other half of DX because HBK is known for pushing talent (sometimes even too much) and perhaps HHH didn't bounce back again because he was influenced by HBK.

Agreed! Jericho and Big Show losing when there the ones competing in the tag match was stupid. More importantly however, how come only one lumberjack jumped in the ring when Orton hit the RKO on Cena and it took that lumberjack forever to even get in the ring. Sounds like those lumberjacks were really awake. When they finally all hopped in the ring, they were all made to look like weaklings even working as a team against Jericho and Big Show (even Kingston who had just had the match of the evening), ultimately so Cena could look good. Stupid main event!

Kev, I am as big a wrestling fan that there is, but I've got to tell you, when Chavo headed down the hallway and the Blue and Gold stripes were shown, I got chills as the observant St. Louis crowd started their, "Lets Go Blues" chant! This is a very sports conscious city and even in the middle of a twice a year event, they still have their hometown heroes in mind. Also, the Main Event consisted of 3 guys who have lived in St. Louis at one time or another. Randy Orton is obvious, but Chris Jericho lived here for a while while his father, Ted Irvine played for the Blues in the 70's and Big Show Paul Wight is a proud graduate of my alma mater, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, which is just across the river from St. Louis. He was known as "Big Paullie" around campus, where he played one season of Division II basketball. Go Cougars!!!

I read somewhere that the heels announce to the crowd before a show the importance of booing them despite it being their home town. Do you happen to know if this is true Kevin?

RESPONSE FROM KE: Not true. What does happen all the time is that a heel will cut a promo on the crowd off the air in the hope that when the camera is on, the fans will boo.

I am not sure I understand the complaints about the main event. Cena, as the challenger, has to look strong heading into the PPV. Jericho and Big Show should be given the opportunity to look strong on Smackdown, hopefully not at the expense of Crime Tyme. I would agree, however, that it should have stopped after Orton's RKO after the match. I would have had Jericho and Big Show fend of the lumberjacks while Orton slithered away and ended the show with Orton standing on the top of the ramp holding the belt over his head with Cena still down on the canvas.

I'm calling it now:

Favre vs. Flair in a retirement match at WM26.

I think Legacy would do well to have a manager with them. I think a few people would to be honest. Just a random thought I've had lately, but the last real star they created was Lesnar and he had Heyman with him. I just think a lot of these guys are expected to generate heat when they don't know how or don't have any credibility yet. Anyway, I know it's a lost cause, but my mind wanders when the show is pretty average and that's what I was thinking.

At least now we know who puts this smile on Mark Henry's face: Macauley Culkin.

It might have made more sense if they had booked the main event tag team match like this:

Orton walks away from Cena. Jericho & Show work him over for a bit. Cryme Tyme interferes and helps Cena win the match. Show ends with Cena and Cryme Tyme (remember their short lived stable?) in the ring together.

Doing that gives Orton heel heat for walking away. Cena takes a beating, but wins with help. Cryme Tyme gets some spotlight.

I never did like DX.Never liked the New Age Outlaws either with their stupid 15 minute ring entrance.The crotch chops and the "suck it" were so adolescent and just plain not funny.I did kinda like Chyna and Waltman tho,their membership set up all kinds of neat tension but unfortunately that only could last so long.

I wish they would just go away,but it doesnt look like thats gonna happen.Bah.Monday night just gets stupider.

Watched RAW in India last night (they show it a few days late over here). During both the Carlito match and the main event there was only crowd noise and no commentary...the Carlito match especially sounded awesome not have Cole or King whittering over the matches. Was this the way it was broadcast on Monday night or was their commentary edited off over here?