In my opinion, John Cena would benefit from a better move set. The flying shoulder tackles and the fall-forward powerbomb or suplex or whatever the heck it is make the thirteen-year-old girls squeal, but they don't impress me much.

I'm guessing that the thing with Carlito was that he's also being punished in some way. I've drowned out the commentators by now, but I did catch the "Randy Savage" by the King.

"For the past few weeks, I've been assuming that Shawn Michaels' obsession with the Undertaker will lead to the WM match with Triple H. I figure Undertaker will blow off Michaels, who in turn will announce that he will win the Rumble and challenge Taker. Cut to the Rumble, when Triple H eliminates Shawn. Instant feud. "

That's from the comments from your look at WM26 last week. Glad to see great minds think alike.
-paul

Did anyone else notice that Jerry Lawler accidentally said "Randy Savage" instead of "Randy Orton" at one point during the show?

Was I seeing things when Big Show hoisted Jon Heder in his arms? Did Heder give Big Show a KISS on the cheek? If he did, at least it was his facial cheek and not McMahon's KMA club being rekindled. This PG rating is killing me.

I guess this is the official end to the tag team division in the WWE. I figured that DX-Jerishow stints with the titles and the title unification was a way of making the belts actually mean something again. It would be a great way of giving two young guys a rub if they were in an actual team and had a program with DX or Jerhshow for the Tag Team Championships. Randomly throwing two guys together and calling them a team is getting old. Just when there is a little promise with some good teams everyone "splits". Carlito- Primo ....for some reason done. Legacy...most likely splitting. MVP-Henry not really together much anymore. Maybe Cryme Time and The Harts are still doing ok , but two "real" teams are not a division.

If DX "breaks up" they need to rename the Unified Tag Team Championship the Two Guys Randomly Stuck Together For About Three Months Until They Find Another Random Pair Championship.
I hope they stay together just because that is a lot to fit on one belt.

They have been doing Sheamus vs HHH at house shows, and reports are that it's awful... so hopefully they nix it.

Those segments with Taker- Michaels, and Michaels - HHH were really great.
I don't know yet about the disclosure (i'm cheering for the outcome you guessed, Kev), but after last night's show at least we can be pretty sure that among the 3 final man left in the Royal Rumble will be Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Can't wait to see.

Is it possible that Sheamus was given the title so that all the really big names could be in the Royal Rumble?

I'm surprised you didn't really mention anything about the miz teaming with Big Show, I think he's getting a major push, he just changed his trunks a while back, gets new music and has been cutting excellent promos. I think he is finally becoming a star and I'm very happy to see that.
Also, Heder really hit Horny hard right off the bat, made me laugh with joy.
Even though Swagger has been losing lately, at least he's on TV, and I'm sort of interested to see what will happen with him heading to the rumble.
As for the Divas' match last night, IGN's Matt Fowler summed it up best:
"Of course, since I'm an a**hole who sits in front of his computer and casts aspersions on people I don't know in an industry I'm not a part of, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Diva match "no contact" dropkick from Eve and Alicia Fox. Basically Eve jumped up and Fox fell down and no one knows why. "
I didnt even know women could wrestle with more skill than what they show on the E until I watched Hamada, she is awesome.
This was a better than average show from Raw, I do hope that Legacy doesn't break up soon though, they are a great tag team to watch.

It's amazing when inspiration takes over. I can't see why it's so hard for every Raw to be like last night. It wasn't as hot as the Attitude days, but there were a lot of subtle elements that have been missing.

Vince's promo was great for being fused with reality, but not too inside that the new audience would be disinterested. The Undertaker's entrance kind of surprised me with the timing, which seems to never happen lately (usually you can tell "cue Sheamus" or "cue Randy"). He delivered a great promo on Vince too especially when he called him a coward. It won't be up for a Golden Globe, but it was passionate in a way that made me wonder how much he really meant.

The rest of the show was actually just fun. I wonder what sick revenge Vince has for Lawler's flub?

Kofi's "hot streak" was "vintage" Michael Cole. Yutz.

It's still funny to me that Sheamus is buried on the card. Second segment and a ghost after that.

Oh, and I thought they teased Orton tapping really well too. I caught myself wondering why they'd have him lose, then thinking that they'd just bury Masters for good and have him break the hold and then realizing he'd be getting to the ropes and they both could come out looking better. Pretty surprised though that Masters could retain a shred of integrity with his Masterlock not being broken. It could be nothing, but I thought it was a sign of at least a little faith in him. Better treatment than Swagger's getting.

Obviously Eve hasn't been using 'Eve' or Fox wouldn't have been knocked over by the, um, scent.

Can you see HBK turning heel now for a feud with HHH? You've said in the recent past that you couldn't see it happening (either their match would be face/face or HHH would turn), but I think there are plenty of signs pointing that direction of HBK turning on HHH.

I wonder if WWE is putting HBK/Taker and HHH/Sheamus on the drawing board because their real plans are for HBK/HHH and Taker/Sheamus. I could easily picture Sheamus facing Undertaker at WrestleMania since a high profile loss as such would boost his young career.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I still don't see Shawn turning heel.

"Michaels and Triple H were visibly angry when the person responsible for playing the music missed his cue during the in-ring conversation between the two. As Triple H was about to tell Michaels that he was going to stand in his way at the Rumble, Cena’s music was supposed to play before Triple H could complete his thought. When the music didn’t play at the appropriate time, Triple H tried to stall and it created an awkward moment. ..."

That's really the problem with super tightly scripted promo. It is my humble opinion that wrestlers should always have at least a few extra lines in mind so that they actually flow naturally, even when the interruption is right on cue.

If RAW was the only show WWE was airing, I would say they were losing the battle with TNA. They continue to be stale, continue to bring in awful hosts, continue to pander to the kids.
Maybe I am simply tired of seeing the same faces. I would much rather watch CM Punk, Christian, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler than most of the guys on RAW. It just seems as if the roster is so small that we keep getting the same matchups until they simply become boring. My suggestion would be at least a partial roster shake up every two months.

I think all this wm26 talk might be a bit premature. There is still elimination chamber to come, where both titles changed hands last year. Giving sheamus the belt is one thing but having him in a title match at mania is quite another, although sadly there is a chance they will do it anyway!

...I think [Miz is] getting a major push, he just changed his trunks a while back...

Posted by: Bret | January 19, 2010 10:13 PM

Thanks, Bret. That had me laughing for about five minutes.

'Maybe I am simply tired of seeing the same faces.'

So should WWE go down the TNA route and bring back old wrestlers from the 90's and push all the fantastic young talent out of the picture?

Hey Kev, was just wondering what you thought on the possibility of Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker triple threat match at Wrestlemania? And i know it doesn't seem to popular atm, but i wouldn't be too surprised to see Cena not get his re-match against Sheamus until the same time either. Also, is it just me, or does Sheamus seem to lack any persona or discernible in ring ability? love the blog, keep up the good work.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I'd rather see HBK-HHH one on one and Cena-Taker one on one.

I think my main problem was Raw is that I don't tune in to watch HHH, Cena, Michaels talking about the Royal Rumble. As much as I like them guys I want to see what Swagger, Miz, MVP, Evan Bourne can do. But apart from Miz's excellent promos these guys barely get any time on TV to really showcase what they can do. Apart that to when Cena, Orton, Batista and Edge were moving up the ranks. And heck I don't even mind Sheamus as WWE Champion because at least it's something different.

At least after the draft Smackdown was the place to see new talent like CM Punk, Morrison, Hart Dynasty, Jeff Hardy, Rey showcase their work. And this is still the case to a lesser extent.

All I say is this - wouldn't it be nice if someone fresh won the Royal Rumble? Last time that happened was Rey in 2006. Call me crazy but I feel way more invested in a 'Road to Wrestlemania' when the person has not already wrestled in loads of Wrestlemania main-events and won the Royal Rumble or always get to the final two (i.e. HBK, Cena and HHH).

When I first started watching wrestling I was amazed at seeing HHH, Austin and the Rock (last time I saw anything wrestling related was bit of Hogan and the LOD), and as time went on saw Angle, Benoit, Jericho, Eddie, Edge, Orton etc raise their game. But when I see the focus on Raw still being DX?! And I swear they never mention the prestige of being Unified Tag Team Champions (like JeriShow did) I have to wonder whether this year's Wrestle

I really don't want to see HHH/HBK at Mania. I would buy it if HBK/Taker goes on as scheduled. I think Orton defeats Shameful and Cena if he makes it to Mania with his issues will be in a three way with Orton and HHH or a fatal 4 way including Shameful with Orton getting more of a face or tweener reaction from fans and his actions (he was laid out this week by Shameful)I see Orton going in and getting the rub needed to retain at Mania but put he and HHH in a program going forward with HHH as the heel and Orton as the face. Wishful thinking I guess. Or Shamefule retains at Rumble but he, Orton and HHH do a 3 way and HHH cheats on Orton to get the Title. Then same as above Orton as a face and HHH as a heel. I guess that begs the question of wah thappens to HBK if he indeed goes to Mania and faces the Dead Man. HBK either wins or losses and we do not see him again until fall. Then as the HHH reign is well into it's 4th or 5th month he/HBK returns in time to fued for the DX breakup payoff. Kev your thoughts....

Eck,

Do you know why HHH was very negative about Heder from the start? Is there some bad blood there from a past work or real life incident?

RESPONSE FROM KE: My guess is that it was to establish him as a heel from the start. I don't know of any real-life issue.

It was really interesting to see the tension building between DX on this show. If WWE has any sense at all, it should definitely book the HBK/HHH match for Wrestlemania. If Hunter does end up wrestling Sheamus, he certainly won't get his defining Wrestlemania moment that has eluded him so many times in the past. I think Michaels is the only man capable of making that happen for Hunter at the moment. And as great as it was last year, I don't want to see HBK/Undertaker at 'mania again, simply because I don't think they could top their amazing performance from last year.

I'm a big fan of Jon Heder and his films, but, before the show, I wasn't too crazy about him guest hosting with Don Johnson. After it though, I thought they did a good job and Heder's Flame gimmick was actually pretty funny. I'm guessing I'm part of the minority who thinks that.

WWE is certainly doing a great job of making Jack Swagger look like a tool every week. I hope that this leads to him eliminating a big star in the Rumble match itself, which would help him get his momentum back, but I'm not holding my breath.

It was funny, and totally random, how Jerry Lawler called Randy Orton "Randy Savage" by mistake. His brain must have been switched off for that one.

I wrote on here last week that I don't usually watch the Divas matches, even though I should, but I did this week. It was probably a bad time to start watching again, as Eve botched the hell out of that dropkick. I'm guessing that one will end up in a Botchamania in the near future.

So, two more completely random guys from a U.S t.v show are set to host Raw next week. Wow. I can't wait. Whoever's in charge of recruiting these non-entities needs a kick up the rear-end.

Here we are, less than two weeks away from the Royal Rumble, and I'm still not sure who WWE will book to win it. Hopefully they'll leave me guessing until the pay-per-view itself.

True that Swagger is getting buried, but thats nothing compared to Evan Bourne. I'm guessing he'll be pinned by the Brooklyn Brawler next week.

TNA is now 1997 revisitied but WWE is the same every year with the same storylines, the same feuds. There is no special attraction, no characters/wrestlers/superstars or storylines to really get behind, no belts made important and this really shows itself on Raw more than Smackdown.

I really can't sit and watch it anymore on Monday nights. I will admit, anytime that Cena walks out from the curtain and hits the ramp, I am asleep by the time he hits the ring.

Am I the only one who thinkth Jack Thwagger thuckth? The guy has a legitimate physical presence, but he is god-awful on the mic, and he is often clumsy in the ring (there were some awkward moves in the brief over-the-top match with Santino last week). I would rather see someone like Evan Bourne get a push or further elevate the Miz over the likes of Swagger and Sheamus.

There is you comment of the week Kevin, Very funny one, classic:

If DX "breaks up" they need to rename the Unified Tag Team Championship the Two Guys Randomly Stuck Together For About Three Months Until They Find Another Random Pair Championship.
I hope they stay together just because that is a lot to fit on one belt.

Posted by: mat | January 19, 2010 9:20 PM

Regarding Lawler's Randy Savage slip up: maybe there were backstage talks of inducting Savage to the HOF and his name was fresh in Lawler's mind? They did release that dvd retrospective on Savage last year, so I don't think its out of the question.

I'd be very happy to see HBK vs HHH at wrestlemania this year, simply because of their history together, makes it a match deserving of being on the biggest stage.

I also believe that HBK and Taker could top their match from WM 25, the reason being the added intrigue of Michaels..Mr WrestleMania..pulling out all the stops to end the streak this time around, instead of Taker facing a new opponent you know he will beat.

Did you think the WWE were taking a dig at Ric Flair when Heder came out in his robe and was acting like a fool?

Vince's promo was great for being fused with reality, but not too inside that the new audience would be disinterested. The Undertaker's entrance kind of surprised me with the timing, which seems to never happen lately (usually you can tell "cue Sheamus" or "cue Randy"). He delivered a great promo on Vince too especially when he called him a coward. It won't be up for a Golden Globe, but it was passionate in a way that made me wonder how much he really meant.

If I remember correctly, after the whole Montreal screwjob, Taker cornered Vince back stage and told him to "make it right". One reason why he's the "conscience of the WWE".

The Michaels/HHH blowup was hilarious. It was obvious that they were mad at the cue being missed, but the timing with Cena's music was funny. It looked like they were just p----- that Cena was coming to the ring.

The Carlito joke was extremely lame. It's another example of comedy writers wanting to get their bits in.

While she bothced, at least Eve didn't just throw her hands in the air, and say F*** it, (likes others have) she kept on going and tried to finish the mtach the best way she knew how and tried not to seem to effected by it, and by the way I'm thiking that it was Alicia's fault too since she she just stood there at first and probably forgot Eve was going for a dropkick.

"However, if you look past the presence of actors Don Johnson and Jon “Napoleon Dynamite” Heder, there was some good stuff on the show. "

that is the problem, i was not able to get past the guest host and changed the channel. I really hope WWE picks up their game cuz this is getting tiring

I also thought that Heder in the feathered robe was a shot at Flair. Why they would do this, I don't know. Hell, it was even the same colours as his WM25 robe!! Wonder was HBK and Trips thought of that.

Why does Vince always waver between idolizing and mocking his stars?

I started watching WWE because of the Rock and Stone Cold and Mankind. They were incredible performers, charismatic and fun. The storylines changed all the time, but kept the characters - Stone Cold's feud with McMahon, Rock-Sock connection.

Today, it is HHH, HBK, Cena and Orton, over and over and over and over.

The tag team division has been totally neglected.

In the old AWA days, they started a feud and built it up, week after week, with blows and counterblows on TV and behind the scenes. It could last months.

They had something going with Orton/Legacy but blew that up. I loved Y2K/Big Show and they blew that up.

Sheamus is just a desperate grab to bring in a new bad guy.

I've already switched my veiwing to Smackdown. At least it is more interesting. Not as interesting when Edge/Vicky ran things, but better than WWE Monday Night Boring.

"Was there any particular reason that Carlito was dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite backstage? I know Heder was on the show and all, but I still didn’t get it".

Ha! I loved it! It was because it made no darned sense that I was so funny! To me, anyway!

Hey Kevin,

Been seeing a lot of ticked off wrestlers about something or another and it doesn't look worked at all.

HHH and Micheals definitely looked hot in the ring when Cena's promo was cut and I thought it had something to do with timing of something.

Last week Orton looked skyward up at Kingston, hit his finisher, then screamed at him "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" repeatedly. Didn't catch your comments on that if you made any at the time, but what was that all about? To me it seemed that Kingston didn't stay down long enough whil Orton was pumping up for the RKO?

Am I the only one who noticed that Cole announced Cena was entering the Royal Rumble earlier in the show? When Cena announced his entrance into the Rumble, I was thinking of how dumb Cena was made to look there.