Raw is Hasselhoff
If you tuned into Monday night’s episode of Raw, you saw babes in bathing suits running in slow motion, a talking car and a guy in a guy in a cheesy sparkle jacket. All of that could only mean one thing: “The Hoff” was in the house.
I didn’t have high expectations going in, but I have to say that David Hasselhoff was a fairly entertaining guest host. The former star of “Baywatch” and “Knight Rider” seemed to be enjoying himself, pronounced everyone’s name correctly and didn’t stumble over his lines. And like William Shatner, it’s obvious that he totally gets the whole self-parody thing.
The crowd in London was definitely into him, although that wasn’t a surprise; Hasselhoff is a phenomenon in Europe. He got over with me the instant I saw Gail Kim and the Bella twins jogging to the ring in slow motion.
The best part about Hasselhoff’s appearance was that he added some light-hearted humor to the program but did not get in the way.
Overall, there wasn’t anything spectacular or can’t-miss on the show, but there weren’t any bad segments either. The highlight – I mean besides the “Baywatch” parody with the divas – was a marquee main event between Randy Orton – who was named the No. 1 contender for Jack Swagger’s world heavyweight championship – and Batista – the No. 1 contender for John Cena’s WWE title. Not surprisingly, both Swagger and Cena got involved in the match.
Swagger, after getting pinned by Orton the past two weeks (the first time was in a tag match), finally got some heat back by attacking Orton during the match and delivering a gut-wrench powerbomb. Cena then hit the ring and laid out Batista with the STF.
Other thoughts on Monday’s show:
My prediction that Swagger would defend the title against Chris Jericho and Edge in a triple threat match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view on April 25 turned out to be wrong, as it was announced that Orton will get the shot. That probably means that Jericho and Edge will face each other at Extreme Rules. It now makes sense why Orton was getting the better of Swagger before Monday’s show. ...
It’s been years since Orton was a babyface and Batista a heel, so it was a little odd seeing them wrestle each other with their usual roles reversed. ...
Two weeks after saying goodbye – for the third time – Bret Hart was back on Raw. I’m not picking on Hart and I certainly don’t have a problem with him being part of the show, but his farewells are getting to be a running gag, just like when Jericho kept getting booted off Raw and returning a week later. ...
When David Hart Smith challenged The Miz to a match with the stipulation that The Hart Dynasty would get a title shot against WWE unified tag team champions The Miz and The Big Show at Extreme Rules if Smith won, and Hart would have to declare ShowMiz as the greatest tag team of all time next week on Raw if Smith lost, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Smith was going over. Nope. I’m assuming there will be an angle coming out of Hart’s appearance next week that leads to the tag match taking place at the pay-per-view after all. ...
The Miz had a great line when he told Hart that if they had faced each other in their respective primes, “I would have slapped a Sharpshooter on you faster than you could put a pair of cheap sunglasses on some ugly kid’s face.”
I liked the finish for Eve’s victory over Maryse for the WWE Divas title. As it appeared that Maryse was about to finish her off with the French Kiss DDT, the challenger rolled through and scored the three count with a bridge. Eve has worked hard to improve and it’s nice to see her rewarded with a title run. ...
It looks to me that David “A-List” Otunga has surpassed Daniel Bryan as WWE’s “chosen one” among the NXT rookies. Otunga wrestled Cena (in a follow-up to the angle last week in which Otunga double-crossed Cena in a tag team match) and also had a backstage segment with Batista. While such interactions on WWE’s “A” show are definitely a positive sign for him, WWE is making it clear that he still has dues to pay, as he was squashed by Cena and talked down to by Batista. He also was referred to as “D-List” by Hasselhoff of all people. ...
I’m glad that Kofi Kingston was booked to be competitive against Sheamus rather than getting squashed again. In fact, Kingston was taking it to him before Sheamus was disqualified for hitting Kingston with the monitor out of desperation. The booking made sense, as Kingston wasn’t needlessly buried further, while Sheamus came off looking more like a threat to Triple H for their upcoming street fight at Extreme Rules by brutally attacking Kingston after the match than he would if he had won. ...
Jerry Lawler wasn’t making sense when he was talking about Sheamus’ reign as WWE champion. He said that Sheamust lost the title without getting pinned. Actually, he was pinned in an Elimination Chamber match, although the guy who beat him – Triple H – didn’t go on to win the match. Lawler then said that at least Sheamus actually beat the champion (Cena) to win the title. Well, yeah, but that was on a fluke in a tables match. Lawler must have been too pre-occupied with the divas’ “Baywatch” match that took place later on the show. ...
Speaking of that match, I was disappointed that Rosa Mendes made her slow-mo entrance during a commercial break. Seeing all of the divas competing in one-piece bathing suits reminded me women’s wrestling in the 1970s, although The Fabulous Moolah and Leilani Kai never looked like that. ...
The Evan Bourne-Carlito match was good, although for some inexplicable reason Carlito raised his shoulder when the referee was making the three count on him. ...
It was announced that the cast of “MacGruber” is hosting the show next week. No clue.
Comments
The cast is Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe. Too bad Val Kilmer won't be there. It's a movie coming out soon based on an old SNL skit
Posted by: MitZi | April 13, 2010 7:59 PM
Apparently a bunch of WWE guys are actors in "MacGruber" so a little cross promotion, I'm sure its the biggest thing to hit theaters since "Hot Tub Time Machine".
And Lawler is just channelling his 85% of WWE fans, who have the attention span of a.......WHAT?!
Posted by: eee | April 13, 2010 8:06 PM
Kev you need to expand your horizons a bit...
MacGruber is a parody of MacGuyver from SNL. Do I also need to explain MacGuyver? I hope not...
In the trailer to MacGruber he's gathering up a team, and you see The Great Khali,Jericho and some other wrestlers training for a mission, it's pretty funny.
Posted by: G | April 13, 2010 9:07 PM
I think MacGruber is a movie where some wwe superstars make a cameo appearance (Jericho MVP et Mark Henry I think)
And Hasselhof is not really a phenomenom in Europe you know Kev, maybe in Germany and in England but here in France, I think people remember baywatch mostly for the babes and not really for him (yes we're french)
Posted by: johan | April 13, 2010 9:10 PM
Raw was pretty good.
WWE needs to give Orton a "Stone Cold" type run. A movie role of some type would do him good right now.
Cena could use some pointers from Orton on freshing his character without making a full change. BTW, is Darren Young Cena with brown make-up???
Posted by: rob the barber | April 13, 2010 9:30 PM
It was nice to see the tag titles getting some time on Raw with an actual team however a tag match would have been better. I like THD and I hope they keep them as a team. The WWE's recent fetish with breaking up teams in Rockers rerun style is getting old.
I think Otunga's Raw appearances are more to get people to plug NXT. He may be ok on the mic but he still looks stiff in the ring.
MacGrubber cast should be cool. Mostly SNL people. The movie comes out next month. Jericho, Big Show and Kane have parts in the movie so I'm sure Jericho will yet again be on Raw one last time.
Posted by: mat | April 13, 2010 9:46 PM
There is great redband trailer for MacGruber online. It has appearances by Chris Jericho, Kane, Big Show, MVP and The Great Khali.
Posted by: Alonzo | April 13, 2010 10:17 PM
McGruber is from Saturday Night Live and a rip off of McGuyver but the main character is always screwing up and dying He was in the budlight commercials for a while as well
I agree with you on your comment about miz having the line of the night Question for you, why is Smackdown not gonna move back to thursday night?
Posted by: Mark Nelson | April 13, 2010 10:25 PM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470023/
Look at the cast of MacGruber. It's pretty obvious why WWE would want to promote the film. Dalip Singh (Great Khali, Glenn Jacobs (Kane), and Mark Henry are all in it.
Posted by: Bob Buscaglia | April 13, 2010 10:30 PM
Although I also thought the Divas' Championship match was good, it was still only two minutes long. I checked.
Posted by: Marko50 | April 13, 2010 10:45 PM
Am I the only one that thinks it's ridiculous that the Raw guest host booked a PPV match for the Smackdown title? This is the biggest problem with the guest hosts: they can just do anything, without any rhyme or reason. There's been no explanation of their duties, so they just have them do anything. It would be one thing if they just booked matches for the episode they were hosting, but we've now seen guest hosts book matches for the following week, for PPVs, and for PPVs involving wrestlers not on the Raw roster. We've even see them decide who's going into the Hall of Fame, and apparently even Vince can't do anything about it. All because Donald Trump stuck him with the guest hosts. Is it too much to ask for a little logical consistency?
Posted by: Ken Raining | April 13, 2010 10:59 PM
I think Jerry Lawler needs to be replaced by Jim Ross or Josh Mathews. He was good Jerry Lawler good color commentator, but he is too much of creepy old perv to be decent commentator to on PG show. Does that guy have no shame WTF.
Posted by: daizan | April 14, 2010 12:03 AM
Hold it. Wait. Stop right there.
Am I the only one that saw John "You Can't Wrestle" Cena mat-wrestle Otunga last night? Why doesn't he do that more often?
Posted by: Loco | April 14, 2010 12:26 AM
Question. Sheamus hit Kingston in the head with the monitor. I know it was protected.. but since WWE outlawed all chairshots to the head.. isn't a monitor to the head essentially the same thing? It could still do a hella lot of damage and what not. I mean.. since they outlawed chairs to the head shouldn't they have outlawed all.. foreign objects to the head? Or is it just chairs that are outlawed but anything else can go? I'm confused now =[.
Posted by: cowboysmb3dw28 | April 14, 2010 2:02 AM
The idea that either the Hart Foundation or the British Bulldogs were the "best" tag team is absurd as far as I'm concerned. When Miz asked if Bret could name a team that was better than ShowMiz, I was absolutely dying for the crowd to break out in a chant of, "L-O-D! L-O-D!!"
Posted by: Stephen | April 14, 2010 2:06 AM
Ok enough is enough. Time to set the record straight. The only place "The hoff" was ever "over " on the continent of Europe is Germany. It is very important this distinction is made. A lot of dignity is at stake here!
Admittedly some kids watched knight rider and the rest of us did watch baywatch but that was not due to great acting or singing skills.
RESPONSE FROM KE: I am certainly not an expert on "The Hoff,"so I may very well be wrong, but in addition to being wildly popular in Germany, isn't he also popular in countries such as England, Switzerland and Austria?
Posted by: Sicco | April 14, 2010 2:13 AM
I cried a little when I saw Otunga, Cena, and Batista together.
Posted by: The Wellness Policy | April 14, 2010 2:40 AM
Question. Sheamus hit Kingston in the head with the monitor. I know it was protected.. but since WWE outlawed all chairshots to the head.. isn't a monitor to the head essentially the same thing? It could still do a hella lot of damage and what not. I mean.. since they outlawed chairs to the head shouldn't they have outlawed all.. foreign objects to the head? Or is it just chairs that are outlawed but anything else can go? I'm confused now =[.
Posted by: cowboysmb3dw28
They banned unprotected shots only. If it is protected they can still be used
Posted by: Angelique | April 14, 2010 3:02 AM
To support Kev here Hasselhoff is popular in the UK. There's a cult popularity to him inspired by his 80s and 90s fame. He has had a couple of reality shows over here as well and is currently filming another one for UK TV.
Posted by: Jon L | April 14, 2010 3:54 AM
I thought the Hoff was ok as a guest host. I'm not excited by the cast of MacGruber being next week's host.
I really don't like David Otunga. I don't think he's entertaining and I think they should be giving his time to someone like Wade Barrett.
Posted by: alex | April 14, 2010 8:06 AM
Im guessing next week Hart will say something like "the Miz and Big Show are the greatest tage team ever and thats why Macgruber approved a match for Extreme Rules vs the Hart Dynasty in a ---- match!"
Id like to see the Hart Dynasty get the belts and hold them for awhile. I like how Hart said tag teams use to be teams for years back in the day rather than a month or two now.
Posted by: HiMyNameIsMike | April 14, 2010 8:24 AM
I only know The Hoff from "America got Talent" (Where he always looks stoned), and I know he was in "Knight Rider". And I am from Danmark. You know where Morten Andersen and H.C. Andersen comes from.
Posted by: Martin from Denmark | April 14, 2010 9:11 AM
A simple protected shot to the head is being so seriously scrutunized here... but wat of the fireball incident from TNA?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKURT3X2i-c
How insane and absurd is that??? Totally disgusted wit the way that TNA is treating Jeff...
Posted by: Saaron | April 14, 2010 9:54 AM
Am I the only one that saw John "You Can't Wrestle" Cena mat-wrestle Otunga last night? Why doesn't he do that more often?
You weren't. It was...strange.
Posted by: Amy | April 14, 2010 10:42 AM
Kev, I also had an 80's flashback during the Diva's match. It looked like someone called up Moolah and had her bring in some of her girls. I wonder if any of them got paid?
Posted by: jt | April 14, 2010 11:35 AM
While it's true Swagger got some of his heat back he promptly lost it when Cena took him out. Swagger needs to stand triumphant over Orton before Extreme Rules.
You said the Divas reminded you of 70s era women wrestlers but not the Fabulous Moolah or Leilani Kai. But what about Debbie Combs?
I also noticed the Divas were wearing flesh tone tights a la Catherine Bach when she played Daisy Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard.
I was glad to see Kofi Kingston have his first competitive matchup in weeks. Perhaps he'll find his way into the Triple H-Sheamus feud. It'll be a better place for him than where he's been for the past few months.
RESPONSE FROM KE: I was more of a Velvet McIntyre man.
Posted by: Aaron Goldstein | April 14, 2010 12:33 PM
RESPONSE FROM KE: I am certainly not an expert on "The Hoff,"so I may very well be wrong, but in addition to being wildly popular in Germany, isn't he also popular in countries such as England, Switzerland and Austria?
Hey Kevin. Hasselhoff is seen as a joke, albeit a joke that the public are willing to "get" - it's still more laughing at him than with him. He's never had a successful music career in England and it did seem an odd choice for him to do the Raw show in the UK, given his standing (or lack thereof) in this country. It almost made me feel that a decision-maker somewhere had taken his German success (which is undeniable) and figured that hey, it's all Europe! Nope, the English aren't fans in anything beyond on "LOL loser" way.
Great blog as always!
Posted by: Halle | April 14, 2010 1:56 PM
K thanks Angelique.. I thought it was all chairshots to the head. Thanks for clearing it up!
Posted by: cowboysmb3dw28 | April 14, 2010 5:36 PM
Hey jt - Moolah took the ten count awhile ago. I always watch TNA first and follow it up with RAW but I'm never excited when the show is from England.
Posted by: Johnny Valentine was great | April 14, 2010 9:12 PM
@ Johnny Valentine
"Hey jt - Moolah took the ten count awhile ago."
lol, i already know that JV, thanks
Posted by: jt | April 14, 2010 11:11 PM
It took me a long time to warm to The Miz, but i'm now a convert.
He's either got the quickest wit in the company or the writers are giving him the rub because he consistently comes out with the best lines of the week.
I'm surprised by your take on Eve winning the title.
To me she's a subpar in-ring performer and her character has no personality at all.
The match itself showed but some of her limitations.
Her timing was dreadful, which made her moves seem horribly fake and the match disjointed.
I've never really been a fan of Maryse (although i can appreciate her talent, personality and verve) but the juxtaposition between the two should have been enough for those on high to realise why Eve should never hold that belt.
As for Sheamus, i actually think the guy has some real talent and will eventually get over but the constant jamming of him down our throats each week can only do him harm.
After his feud with Triple H ends i've no doubt he'll drop back to the midcard, at least for a while, and he'll forever be taunted by the whole 'undeserved push' stigma.
BTW Jerry Lawler's hysterical laughter at Hasselhoff's lame jokes were more forced than anything you'll hear at a 'Two and A Half Men' taping.
RESPONSE FROM KE: I thought Eve was horrible when she started but I think she's OK now. Is she a great worker? No, but I think it's obvious that she wants to be and she is working hard to get there. Trish Stratus wasn't any good at first either.
Posted by: John | April 16, 2010 3:13 AM
[i]"Trish Stratus wasn't any good at first either"[/i]
That's true, but the key difference was that Trish, through her time as valet for T&A, her 'feud' with the Dudley Boys, the rub she got from Lita and even her angle with Vince, had developed a personality and most importantly had gotten the fans to care about her.
That's something that Eve hasn't got.
As you well know, Eck, getting the fans to invest in your character is half the battle in this business and for whatever reason, Eve hasn't done that.
She might not be capable of it or the writers may have simply dropped the ball in not developing her character enough, but either way the fans don't seem to care which makes any improvement in the ring irrelevant.
Going back to Trish, the fans could obviously see she was coming off a low base in the ring but by that stage they'd invested in her character so were willing to at least give her time because they were just happy to see her getting some camera time.
I hope Eve makes for a great champion and that her in-ring works improves at the rate Trish's did but either way she's got her work cut out because she simply hasn't been developed enough and the fans just don't care, something which is hard to turn around when you've been in the company for two years.
Posted by: John | April 17, 2010 7:36 PM
Just heard on the radio that The Hoff is going to have a reality TV show, and the storyline will deal with his helping his children break into the music business. Hmmm, that sounds vaguely familiar. I wonder if they're going to call it "Hoff Knows Best."
Posted by: Mr. Sarcasm | May 7, 2010 11:55 AM