we should be seeing kofi in any title mix but what do we see all the stale guys on the top. maybe ill have my own mid-card mania with all the guys we really want to see like kofi, christian, swagger, bourne, etc.

Did Big Show escape Cena's move by spitting in his face? Maryse seemed to be favoring her shoulder? Again, and I use the term loosely, she appeared like a "Dizzy Blonde" Is she succeptable to concussions? Will she be the female version of Christopher Nowinski?

I thought it looked like Batista bladed when he missed in the corner...It doesn't really make any sense why he would and especially since that is apparently taboo, but I swear it sure looked that way...I have seen various sites that share that opinion, but the motive is the one thing that doesn't make it seem plausible.

- Is saying "ass" cursing? really?....REALLY?

- They should really make the HHH- Sheamus match a no. 1 contender's match...that or the triple threat to make them more interesting

- I'm surprised Stone Cold didn't put a stunner on anyone? H'e sin good enough shape...

- The Chris Jericho-Austin interaction was good and brought back memories from the attitude age. Jericho referring to old times "knocking back stevewiesers" made me laugh.

- Where was the Miz?

- The ref in the Batista-Kingston match really annoyed me when he pulled out the white latex gloves to treat Batista. Can't they just wait till backstage? I'm sure he's strong enough to survive it, especially in comparison with Flair and Hogan getting busted so wildly on TNA.

- McCool's coordination looked very off as she kind of stuttered when she tried to kick Eve who came into the ring to fight her and Layla.

- Cena did not say a word on the mic the entire time he was out there. First time ever?

- Looks like the "WHAT!" chants are not going to go away for as long as Stone Cold keeps appearing every once in a while. For that I say: "SPEAR!"

It was nice when Batista got busted open because the ref tried to stop it. He was waving at Kofi to hold off and was trying to get Batista to stop, but he slapped his hand away and continued. I thought it was funny how the ref looked likke an idiot holding the towel trying to get to Batista but he wouldn't let him.

"The other problem I have with the “fake injury” angle is that there is a logic gap. How did Hart know that McMahon would invite him back to Raw after the accident and challenge him to the match?"

Umm Kev, you realize wrestling is fake right? How did Hart know? He as told by the writers duh.... jeeezz.....

At his peak, Austin was a bigger draw and sold more merchandise than Hogan did at his peak. ...

Different times. Hogan didn't have internet to help market his brand and sell merch. And Hogan's run at the top is way longer than Stone Cold's.

What is the origin of the "What?" chant, exactly? Obviously it began somehow with Austin, but how...and how did it become a taunt for heels?

I thought it was very interesting that, at least to my ears, Cena's pop was bigger than Austin's.

I don't think there's anything left for the Undertaken to achieve, leading into WrestleMania. If I were in Creative I'd keep him off TV entirely until the PPV. Focus in the meantime on building up Shawn Michaels' chances of winning.

It just seemed wrong for Vince not to get a Stunner last night.

Also, the written contract presumably didn't have anything written on it about a No Holds Barred match (being written and ready to sign before Bret suggested that stipulation). Yet according to the story, signing the contract obligates the signees to participate in a No Holds Barred match. Unless the contract just said "both of these parties agree to honor whatever televised verbal agreement they reach", then this makes no sense.

Raw was better than Impact this week, IMHO. I thought Impact was okay, but Raw just had the better matches this week. HHH and Orton put on a great show (better than I thought they would), as did HBK and Jericho. Cena and Show weren't bad either. Kingston and Batista did a good job, although I was disappointed that Kofi didn't get the win as a result of Cena distracting Batista as payback for earlier in the night.

On Impact, the only match that was really good was Styles vs. Hardy. Even that match wasn't as good as it could have been because AJ has cut down on high risk moves in favor of chops and working over the leg and other Flair-like stuff. There was a point where Styles teased a Fosbury Flop to the outside on Jeff and then put on the brakes. The idea was that he was a heel and he was saying "I know you fans want to see that, but since I don't care about you I'm not going to do it for you." Which is stupid; if TNA wants to attract new fans, they need to pull out all the stops every single week, make every match as entertaining as it can be. Having AJ intentionally wrestle in a less exciting way just makes it more likely that viewers will get bored and flip over to Raw.

Real weak Kev, real weak, what's next some lame a-- Tequila Slutria comment? There will NEVER come a day when ANY wrestling faction can call out the NFL on steroid and drug abuse, without the rest of the world shooting out a big WTF. C'mon your kidding right,get serious Merriman could have been busted (not saying he was) for taking too many Actifed's, not exactly comparable to say Vince,Hulk,or Jesse et all in the 70-80's or EVERYONE in the 90's. Give me a break with your sorry attempt at humor. How about prior to trashing a former Terp you check out your beloved Ravens, then rethink your sarcasm and bust his b---- for "saying" he would be on RAW and not being there, hell you had plenty of material with that alleged BS alone, why the below the belt roid hit? If someone were to take this tact on everyone, you yourself may be called into question. Sure he was suspended by the NFL, but how many people do you know that would be suspended if held to the NFL standards and not wrestling's so called wellness program,outside of just about everyone?
Not that I'm a big Merriman fan, I just think that frankly it's total BS that you would have the nerve to bust him out so sophomorically when your chosen sport was (& perhaps is) practically the flag bearer for steroids, not like you Kev, chalk it up to a bad joke?

Kevin , admittedly I'm far out of touch with wrestling anymore , especially with "Raw" . I only tuned in because of Stone Cold appearing , and at that I only watched a few minutes . I did however catch the end of the show . All I can say to that is , "C'mon Man !!" . Kevin , the happenings with Brett Hart were so predictiable and re-hashed ! Kev ,don't ever acccuse TNA of wearing stuff out . WWE does it too :)

I wonder if there are any serious repercussions for wrestlers who ignore a referee's attempt to treat an open wound?

RESPONSE FROM KE: My guess is that if you're Batista, not so much. If you're Jimmy Wang Yang, probably.

Bret Hart challeged Vince McMahon to a match at Wrestlemania which he accepted, then declined moments later. Vince wants the upper hand their last moment together to satisfy his ego. Vince didn't want a match against Bret because he would be at a disadvantage against the HOFer, and wouldn't want to be on his back their last in-ring moment. Vince is shamless and wouldn't think twice about kicking Bret when he's down. Bret knows that the only way Vince would accept the match is if Vince believes he has the advantage, therefore the fake injury. Bret used Vince's own spitefulness on him, hence "Vince screwed Vince."

. . .also, isn't Batista a Smackdown wrestler? I get him being there to confront Cena, but a match against Kofi? Oh well.

Another average RAW leading up to Mania.
I know Mania looks great on paper but I have a feeling we are headed for a major letdown.

It's not too much of a leap in logic to assume that if Vince is ducking Bret, Bret getting what appears to be a serious injury would suddenly make Vince eager to face him.

Of course it has to go that way for the storyline to work.

My cousin and I will be going to Raw in San Jose on Monday and we're looking forward to having a good time. The last Raw before WrestleMania should be solid as a "go home" show. I'm curious to see who gets over in the last appearances before the PPV and ahve a few thoughts on it:

* I expect Edge to beat Jericho for the title so I'm looking for Jericho to get over on Edge next week. If Edge gets over again, I see Jericho retaining.

* I figure Legacy and Sheamus will take care of Triple H and Randy Orton, setting up the pair to win their WM matches.

* I also figure Vince will get some revenge on the Hitman after what happened this wee, setting up a WM win for Bret.

Other than that, I'm not sure what they'll do with Michaels/Undertaker and Batista/Cena for this one, but I'm hoping to see the Money in the Bank participants get into something. Kane smacking Pete Rose around a bit more wouldn't be bad, either.

Damn u cole!
Why compare Austin w/ Hulk
Mid 80's Vs. Late 90's
evr thought of equating Billy graham w/ Hulk

Hey Kev, I think I can help with that logic gap in the Hart "fake injury" angle. Given the moral fiber of Mr. McMahon, Bret knew for sure that once he was injured Vince would jump at the opportunity to prove himself the braver man and return the challenge he originally accepted but then backed out of. And even if Vince didn't take the bait, what was Bret out? A limo door and some paper mache?

Vince saw blood in the water and went in for the kill, but when he bit down... all he got was a mouth full of plaster and chicken wire!

Not a bad little plan. IMO, it all could've been booked a little stronger, but I guess the WWE has its priorities in order and figures Bret will get a nice pop at Mania regardless. For a fan who grew up with the Hitman, the story was told before Bret even showed up on RAW anyway...

Great review and I hope to read ya again soon!

-Dwattz

C'mon Kev.

it was clear that Dave bladed.

I cannot explain why given the PG rating, but they even showed the replay.

The kick didn't do it. He raked his forehead as he fell. it was a classic job.

Maybe a competitive thing against TNA. Some blood is OK blood.

RESPONSE FROM KE: I saw Batista go to his forehead, but I'm not convinced that he bladed. What would have been the point of getting opened up in that match?

Part of me thinks Batista might have bladed during his match with Kofi Kingston. Batista's hand swiped quickly in front of his face a split-second after getting kicked by Kofi, and that could have been the spot to blade (just a tiny cut that could easily appear to have been accidental and wouldn't offend the PG audience). The important part of the spot (if we go with the extremely far-fetched theory that it was a work) was that Batista shooed away the referee when he came over with latex gloves & a towel to wipe away the blood: this would show that WWE won't get freaked out over small cuts anymore. This way, WWE would have a little wiggle room of tolerance when it comes to blood and tiny, incidental cuts wouldn't stop down any more matches.

Not a single Stone COld Stunner. Are you aerious? This almost makes me want to switch to TNA.

Hey Kev,was surprised to see Legacy pull Orton out of the ring,at first I thought they were protecting him against Sheamus,but then they continued attacking him outside the ring.Where do you think this ends up seeing that Orton is much better suited as a heel and other attempts at him being a babyface have not played over well at all.By the way ,Sheamus doesn't do much for me either way,kind of like a big annoying bug,not sure,maybe it's the accent,but haven't seen any real wrestling skills from him,unlike Orton who really can wrestle if he wants too.

Umm Kev, you realize wrestling is fake right? How did Hart know? He as told by the writers duh.... jeeezz.....

Posted by: itsfake | March 16, 2010 9:45 PM

Umm, you do realize that there's a difference between "fake" and "non-logical", right?

I don't see any logic gap in the bret hart story. mcmahon had brought him before to humiliate him, so why not bring him again to "show his respects" when he is even weaker. in my opinion it's very logical that bret hart had guessed mcmahon would have invited him.

Don't take this the wrong way, but i have the impression that you constantly bring up any flaw that involves hart, even if its a small little detail.

RESPONSE FROM KE: No, I'm not criticizing Hart. I'm criticizing the writing. I suppose Bret and Cena could have "guessed" how McMahon would react, but what if they guessed wrong? Just seems a little bit of a stretch to me, but it's not that big a deal.

How could they bleep Stone Cold if the show is "live"?

RESPONSE FROM KE: It's on a several-second delay

As much as I like Randy Orton, I just don't see the point in the triple threat match. I don't see why Dibiasi or Rhodes would go at one another. If it was for the number one contender or something along those lines, I can see why they would try to beat each other. Maybe you can shed some light?

Gutted! Not one single Stone Cold Stunner and only one backstage segment with the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. What was the point? We've had to put up with countless segments featuring racing drivers and other US "celebs" no-one has heard off and yet when Austin appears, we hardly see him. Poor!

Not really related to RAW, but just wanted to point out that Mick Foley has been making a few appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, most recently being on Monday's episode where he cut a pretty good/funny promo.

Austin's whole character was based on his a---whoopins, beer drinkin & cursing, so why should we censor him? The fact that WWE made their shows "PG" (sometimes it's more like PG-13) has made it less interesting. The Attitude Era was the best time in WWE. While there were some things that I can see them not wanting to repeat, why do they have to act as if it never even happened?

I wish SCSA wouldve been on more & gave a few stunners....especially to Vickie Guerrero.

Why is blood so bad? Doesn't everyone bleed now & then?

First off... Love your blog.

Secondly, I was "stunned" by Stone Cold's physique. He really looked like he could have competed -- he was in great shape. Although I was a little surprised that he was allowed to open and drink a beer on the "PG" show.

Thirdly, I'm hardly an Edge mark, but he does play a crazed lunatic pretty well. If you check out the close-up of him preparing to spear Jericho, he actually ended up pulling out some of his hair! I had to back up the show to make sure, but there were a few whisps of thin blonde hair floating away as he lost his mind. props to Mick Foley for setting the bar on the crazed lunatic "thing".

Oh, and I thought the "steveweiser" thing was hilarious since Jericho just got jailed last month on an alcohol related incident!

Lastly, I'm still on the fence about Batista's blading... I showed up at the end of the match when it really didn't provide anything to the show. The referee played his part with the "holy crap, now what do we do????" look. I'm not sure that was acting. But it did bleed pretty profusely for a few seconds, you could see it dripping onto the canvas just before Batista stood over Kofi. I wonder if the wellness policy is testing for HIV/AIDs as well?

I intially thought that he bladed as well, but looking at the replays at the end of the night, he had no tape around his fingers or wrists and in the moves immediately prior to him being cut, he didn't go to his trunks or toward the referee. I think that he just bled the hard way from Kofi's kick.

I have a feeling Triple H is going to turn heel and cost HBK the match (and career) at Mania. The announcers have suddenly been calling him "cerebral assassin" again. They haven't called him that in years.
Just a thought.

How about Batista went to his forehead with his hand because Kofi LEGIT kicked him in the face, and it HURT. There would be absolutely ZERO reason for Batista to blade in that match, and it has been banned. Why would Batista go behind managements back to blade in a match where he destroys Kofi for the win.

Plus when can you remember a wrestler blading after a kick? It's usually after a foreign object is used, not a kick. (Or if a previous wound exists, it could be after a punch.)

I have to stop reading wrestling websites on my lunch hour. I was looking forward to Wrestlemania and the following month ppv in Baltimore, but I'm barely watching RAW lately.... much less the other shows.... Okay, so Bret Hart only came back with a contract until 3/31st or 4/2010??? So that means after Wrestlemania, he's out of the picture 100%, correct? We know either Shawn Michaels or Undertaker will be out for some time, if not for good for Michaels (what a loss that would be) - Shawn has said in the past year, that he's wanted to retire 2-3 years, but Vince keeps "sweetening the deal" and he's got kids to put thru college, but you figure ultimately, he's going to. With Stephanie McMahon due with baby # 3 in August, Triple H is taking time off this summer --- and I could care less about some of the other ones, like Batista, Orton, Miz, etc. I'm noticing a lot of my "wrestling" friends are losing interest also... I hope WWE does something soon to perk my interest. Thoughts on this, Kevin?? Can you give me any hope to "stay tuned" --- Keep up the great blogs. If I don't watch anymore in the future, I'll just stay tuned to your blog :)

How was Austin was a bigger draw than Hogan? More PPV buys? If so, PPV was in it's infantcy when Hogan was at his peak. Bigger gates? If so, wrestling tickets were more expensive in Austin's era than 10 years earlier. Austin CLEARLY did not have more MSG sell-outs than Hogan, and he never drew 93,000+ like Hogan did with his match against Andre.

As far as Austin selling more merchandise than Hogan did at his peak, well that should be expected considering the WWF's merchandise/marketing in Hogan's peak not being half of what it was in Austin's. Not to mention Austin had a HUGE advantage Hogan didn't with the internet as well as cable TV. You add all those things from the 90s to the 80s and I bet Hogan would have far out-sold Austin.

The best part of the show was when Batista approached the kid in the John Cena shirt who was giving him the thumbs down. When Batista got close, the kid ducked behind the barrier. It was hilarious, even Batista chuckled.

I agree, my one disappointment from Monday night was not seeing a Stunner from Austin. It would have been a perfect time to get a cheap shot in on Vince, and Bret's attack was weak. The producers even started playing Hart's music before he got his money shot in with the cast!

One thing to add, as I was in attendance on Monday night, there was a dark match after Raw went off the air between Mysterio and Punk. If you thought Cena got a bigger pop than Austin, you should have heard how it went off for Rey. He sported the blue, white and gold Charger pants (a man after my own heart) and the crowd were lapping it up.

The match itself was probably the strongest of the night, with Rey teasing the 619 on multiple occasions only for it to be broken up by interference from the SES. Punk got in some strong offense too, coming close to landing a GTS twice only for Rey to wriggle out. The match finished with a clever spot, when Gallows climbed onto the apron, Rey got a fast-paced hurricanrana on Punk sending him towards Gallows, Punk drove his head into Gallows stomach, knocking him off the apron and leaving Punk hung up on the ropes. 619. 1-2-3.

Rey got to celebrate his win after the match by pulling a Mexican flag from the crowd, dancing with it, laying it on the ground and kissing it, and finally doing a traditional Mexican dance around it. This got some boos from the Americans in attendance, and a huge pop from the Mexican contingent. Personally, I think Rey deserved his moment, especially after he was injured for the last major San Diego event: One Night Stand in 2008.

Oh, and Kev, after watching the matches for this weeks Superstars (no spoilers, don't worry), I think I now understand your fascination with Rosa Mendes! Holy geez, she's hot!

Honestly, I was expecting more from Stone Cold's appearance. I would have LOVED to see him as a guest ref. during the McMahon/Hart match at Wrestlemania. Could you imagine? That would have been EPIC.

The match against Kofi/Batista was interesting, and it was odd to see how much Batista was bleeding from a small cut, but I don't think he used a blade to do it. A co-worker pointed out that Kofi has been screwing up in the ring lately... think about it.

kevin when referring to the 'gap in logic' on the mcmahon/hart angle where you query how hart would have known that mcmahon would invite him back for a match - well surely the logic is that whether mcmahon invited hart back on the show or not - he is more likely (given the coward type character mcmahon plays)to want to fight an injurd hart than a fit one?? is that not the logic?

RESPONSE FROM KE: I looked at it from the standpoint that Vince would just be happy that he embarrassed Bret, didn't give him what he wanted, and then he got injured, never to be heard from again.

". . .also, isn't Batista a Smackdown wrestler? I get him being there to confront Cena, but a match against Kofi? Oh well."

Like last year, WWE ignores brands completely during the Road to Wrestlemania. That, and that Batista is WWE Champion - currently Raw's main title.

I understand your 'logic gap' question in the Hart/McMahon segment. But there is one thing that comes into play when McMahon is put in a WWE storyline:- His ego. He needs to prove superiority and show great ego being the chairman and despite being a coward. The phrase about having a Wrestlemania moment that Cena throws at him before EC might still be turning round in his head. McMahon surely doesn't want to get trapped by matches which will end up ridiculising him like at WM23 agianst Trump. Nevetheless, he should now be hoping that his match against the Excellence of Execution won't end up like the match with the 'DXType HBK', which was also a No Holds Barred. I will still be in Hart sides as I do not like the aspect of the 'dog treatment' against him in the storyline despite that it make the clash more interesting. Now your other point about theGame v/s Sheamus, I agree completely. This match doesn't get much atttention or scope by my side either. Perhaps a Last Man Standing match or an Iron man stipulation could change it.

Batista almost certainly bladed. The kick from Kingston was to the side of his face and you cleary see him rake his forehead straight after. As for what the benefit was...apart from the nice visual i'm not so sure.

The 'leg not broken after all' reveal was done brilliantly, but they should have cut on Brett standing up, with Mcmahon scrambling out of the ring. His weak mic work killed the moment.

MitZi: The Miz was in Australia being awesome on TV here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smjl7bY4QdE

Why is blood so bad? Doesn't everyone bleed now & then?

Because they think the ickle children might develop blood-lust or something. Obviously assuming that the children have never had wounds from accidents around the home, and seen blood before (yeah, never fallen off a bike, never busted a lip open...).

I would think WWE would be hyping the fact that in two weeks HBK could be retired. The Undertaker didn't even make an appearance at Raw. With Shawn made to look weak in the past month or two and Austin thinking Taker will win, it seems HBK is a major underdog. However, the video package for their match is one of the best I've ever seen. If Shawn does retire anytime soon it will be a shame because he hasn't lost a step since the days of the Rockers.

As far as Austin goes I think he was under used. There were many skits with guest hosts in the past year that were not necessary and I think they didn't use Austin enough to interact with superstars who need a moment with "Stone Cold".

Batista needed to go over strong but why Kofi?????

I didn't find the ref putting on gloves and getting a towel bothersom but it looked like Batista did. I'm sure the refs have been given instructions to glove up if there is any blood at all. It looked like an improv from a hard way hit since it was at the end of the match.

The Cena fan backing down to Batista was awesome, I'm sure WWE thought so too. I'll bet we see that clip in a video package sometime soon.

Bret vs Vince story was well done. I assume the logic behind the stunt was Bret guessing Vince would invite him back to knock him down again.
.
The Legacy implosion match doesn't have much logic either. What incentive do Cody or Ted have to fight each other. They didn't on Raw. Hopefully there will be a twist so people will care.

Same goes to the HHH vs Shaemus match but the Celtic Warrior did do a great job on the mic.

An average Raw is better than a great Impact. To bad Impact wasn't even good.