OK. I'll admit I didn't watch any NXT at all. Most likely, I still won't. So, who's the goof with the black jock strap over hsi face?

I, too, was surprised Truth was pinned in the 4 way. I was certain the title would change hands to add intrigue to the PPV to hype up the "champion only has a 25% chance of retaining his title" bit but figured Ryder would do the job.....or 0- for-Raw John Morrison ....

Did i miss something or was Chris Jericho not present during the Raw "Stand By Cena" moment against the NXT'ers AND not present on stage with the other Raw wrestlers.....ooops...SUPERSTARS...for the main event???? And all 7 NXT'ers were watching the demolition derby.... so clearly none of them were driving the limo.......and Jericho was Barrett's pro....and i have too much time on my hands....

why do we still have guest hosts when there is a gm

I think that while having bret as GM has been nice, they need to keep his time on the mic to a minimum, for some reason he is still calling his employers WWF, and seems to a bit tongue tied on the mic as well. his mic skills are terrible now, blame the stroke if you will for that, plus the time away from the industry.

Who was driving? Let the speculation begin. …

Two good possibilities: Either Chris Jericho, who is against Hart and is Barrett's mentor which could set up a whole new picture with Jericho being the leader, or Daniel Bryan, who might actually still be around.

The moment Hart was seen heading to the back with the other wrestlers all on stage (where was Big Show?) I knew the NXT rookies would ambush him before the show was over, but RAW did a good job waiting until the last moment to give the reveal.

I find it amusing that Striker sold a kick or two to the ribs afterward but Cena looked none the worse for wear a week later. You wouldn't have even known he took the beating he did.

I enjoyed the way things played out with the NXT angle for the most part, especially the setup with them trying to jump Cena again only for Lawler to get into the ring with him followed by others. At first I'm thinking "Regal? Santino? Okay..." but when people like Orton, Edge and even Sheamus hit the ring it was good stuff. I also thought the explanation Sheamus gave backstage was fitting.

I'd lay odds that Daniel Bryan will be back.

The reason Mark Feuerstein was guest hosting RAW is because Big Show made a guest appearance on "Royal Pains" which will be broadcast on Thursday.

BTW, "Royal Pains" is a good show. I'll take "Royal Pains" and "Burn Notice" over TNA Impact any Thursday.

Speaking of "Burn Notice", I hope Jeffrey Donovan guest hosts RAW at some point. Although he is north of 40 he is in excellent physical condition. Donovan has a black belt in karate and also has a boxing background. So if anyone could go legitimately toe to toe with a WWE Superstar it would be Donovan.

well your logic holes and the driver means that thier is most likly someone behind the curtain for the NXT invasion

though anyone think it was odd, that batista quit, then the next week the NXT have a beat down of Cena?

I thought the same thing at the end of the show. All seven NXT rookies were out of the limo. I was wondering who was driving the limo. maybe if it was Daniel Bryan or hey, maybe Michael Cole (who could have disappeared when the lights went out. anythings possible, he escaped last week too). I am looking forward to where this angle is going

Bret Hart was awesome in the ring as a wrestler, but he was always average at best on the mic. Now, as an authority figure, his mic work is sub-par and I felt it really dragged down the opening angle with Wade Barrett, who is phenomenal on the mic.
Morrison barely touched R-Truth with his finisher, which made it hard to swallow Truth being unable to kick out of Miz's pin. But, I guess that is in line with what WWE desires. They don't want anything that resembles violence in this G-rated show! Look what happened to Bryan Danielson. I sure hope we learn the real story behind his departure.
Kevin, I was also a big fan of Don Muraco. Down in Orlando, FL in the mid-70's, Muraco and Jerry Brisco were a face team for awhile in a bloody feud again The Hollywood Blondes (Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown if my memory is correct) managed by Sir Oliver Humperdink. When they wrestled, I did not care to be close to the ring, because blood would fly everywhere, mostly from Humperdink's head! Because of his teaming with Brisco, it took me a long time to accept Muraco as a heel, even though he turned out to be one of the best.

Did you notice when Bret told Wade he was fired (not) and he also said those 3 dreaded letters ending in F. Think that was written in the script or did Bret have a senior moment? I remember the classic match (Muraco-Morales).

I thought the overall follow up to the NXT angle was dissapointing. It seemed far too soon for them to be getting chased out of the building...especially the final shot of that segment which basically had Santino chasing them off on his own. After last weeks performance it took a lot of the air out of the NXT guys.

I'm not a Cena hater at all but he needs to stop doing promos like he is in an action movie. It is corny and destroys the realism of the angle.

I wasn't a great fan of Orton joining the pro's in the ring to fight the NXT guys either. Just didn't feel like an Orton move to me, especially as he was fighting alongside Edge, the guy that recently tried to put him on the shelf.

"I could be wrong about this, but I think all seven of the rookies were shown on camera while Hart was being terrorized in the limo. So that begs the question: Who was driving? Let the speculation begin. "…

I didn't see Jericho on the stage during the last match. He was Barrett's pro. Maybe he is aligned with the NXT group.

>>Muraco is one of my all-time favorite heels.

And he's not a Beach Bum.

Brett Hart said WWF again, is there a fine if that is said on that program??

Was that the same gold BMW that backed over Hart's leg in the Batista/Cena/Hart Storyline? They certainly smashed up alot of cars...why not just back that vehicle into a wall, I thought that would have been more effective.

This NXT invasion angle is easily the best thing WWE has produced all year, maybe even in the last few years. Yes there are a few logical flaws in it, but that doesn't matter, the action is too good. Long may it continue.

Worst. Follow-up. Ever.

Angle demolished within the first five minutes of RAW. Rookies swarm ring & destroy set, maul Cena, Punk et al for guaranteed contracts?

Huge independent star released so Otunga & Slater can get private dressing rooms & first-class travel?

Weak, WWE Creative. Way to kill the buzz.

Kevin,

Right on the money about the Magnificent Moraco. He had some great matches with Morales, Superfly Snuka (Superfly leap off the top of the cage!), Tito Santana, and Bob Backlund in the early '80's that brought me back to wrestling as an adult, after many years away. I hope Mr. Moraco is in good health and prosperity in his retirement!

Did anyone else notice that the gold BMW that backed into Bret Hart's limo door and "injured" his leg back during the build to WM 26 was one of the cars being smashed into by the NXT limo? Hope whoever owns that thing has good insurance.

one other piece of unfinished business from the NXT story line; no mention of how Michael Cole escaped the massacre. many of us thought he would be the "cult" leader of this group and Monday night completely ignored his involvement or, lack of. also, I totally agree with you about Don Muraco.

My biggest problem with the NXT angle is that I have a hard time believing that WWE would still run season 2 when season 1 had basically the worst possible (kayfabe) result. It's like conducting an experiment, creating a monster, then conducting the same experiment while the monster destroys your town. Why wouldn't the eliminated season 2 guys just join the NXT group? It's like they're feeding them members.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed all those guys running past Henry. What exactly was he supposed to be doing?

Most internet speculation is that there's somebody on the roster helping the NXT gang, with Jericho being a leading candidate. Personally, I don't think anyone short of Vince McMahon makes sense, because there's no reason for Bret Hart to not just fire Jericho. The reason Vince didn't just hire them all outright, of course, is that he's screwing with Hart.

I was also surprised that R-Truth took the pin, since the point of the match was to sell the Fatal 4-Way stip, and part of the logic with that is that the champ can loose the title without being pinned. But then I remembered that R-Truth was in his home town, and we know Vince loves to have guys looking up at the lights in front of their hometown fans.

What if Daniel Bryan was driving the limo (in storyline) and when he returns, Barrett's line about him showing remorse was just a ruse.

Would it have been just as effective to have Hart get in his limo to leave, and the driver start crashing into the cars with the reappearance of the NXT guys? At least there's not the logic hole of them getting in the building again.

"Muraco is one of my all-time favorite heels."

Me too!

I laughed so hard when Mark Henry was running backstage. One of the NXT guys slapped him on the back as he ran past him. On the replay you see Henry running up the ramp as the NXT guys are climbing the barrier into the audience. Best raw in a long time.

Kev- Do you see the NXT story line playing out as the NXT rookies working for Vince McMahon? It would make sense as this is his way at getting back at Hart and would follow up to the remark that he made that Bret would have tough decisions to make as GM and also further explain why he made Hart GM in the first place. Also by doing this, it could leave the door open for a Bryan Danielson return as him siding with Bret Hart and go against the NXT for getting rid of him. It would also give Bryan a huge push and a good angle with Wade Barrett that could elevate both "rookies". That is to say if Bryan does return in the somewhat near future.

"How funny was it when Mark Henry was chasing the NXT guys in the back, and about five of them were behind him and ran right past him? …"

That was one of the funniest things ever! Henry was just jogging beside them when he should have tried beating them up, then Barrett zooms by and takes the lead to win the race.

Like you i also think nxt angle is more a drama and it's far from reality due to several questions you mentioned above. If all are to be given contract then what's the use of several weeks of competition. Lets see where this angle goes at the fatal 4 way.

WWE should bring back War Games. This would be a great PPV match for NXT vs. The Pros, contracts on the line!

It looks orton is going to fight at fatal 4 way since his injury doesn't look that severe. But if he is replaced then who's gonna be his replacement?
Will it be the rock !
I'd read that he's signed a deal with the wwe for june and this might be a good reason for his comeback

As soon as I read your headline, I visualized the NXT S1 Grads performing a song from "Muppets Take Manhattan." Too funny!

hey kev did u realise or hear Bret Hart say WWF instead of WWE???? he is very weak on the mic tho.. thought Barret was good on the mic...also it was very funny and laughable when Henry was running ahead of the NXT guys....lol... and santino was the only one who ran all the way out...Great Blog btw...

My guess is that Daniel Bryan was driving the limo.

You're right--all seven NXT guys were on camera while Bret was in the limo, and I kept waiting for Danielson to get out once the spot was over. One can hope, right? Also, Gail Kim never entered the match at all. Well, at least she wasn't jobbed out AGAIN.

Who was driving is a non-issue. Who was driving the last time Hart was hurt in a limo accident?

I hope the creative team thought out who the driver would be before hand, becuase if they threw some random guy in there and left it without explanation, there's a major logical gap. Did anyone catch his face? I seem to recall there being a decent shot of the guy.

Santino being the one to chase the NXT guys out of the building was hilarious.

I like the way RAW is NXT ended. A little predictable? Sure. But they had to do it. The NXT guys could not be blown off so quickly, so they had to strike back. Good stuff.

I also liked that RAW took immediate action against the NXT guys. Whereas WCW took forever to protect themselves against the nWo. Or so it seemed. So the RAW guys don't look like dummies.

A few minor tweaks I would make. Put the guys in street clothes. I cannot imagine them rolling around in their wrestling getup. Or better yet, have them sneak in with security jackets and baseball caps, to try to blend in.

My guess is that this angle moves to those seven and the current class of NXTers taking over the Tuesday night show eventually.

Oh, and if Michael Cole is indeed the "hidden leader" of NXT (which I hope is not the case), having Daniel Bryan fired by the group then makes a lot of sense.

I think Mark Henry was a little confused as to who was chasing who, although I thought it was even funnier that the fearless leader for the WWE locker room leading the chase was...Santino

Plus did anyone else notice that Jerry Lawler fought for the first minute and then looked lost and confused in the corner for the rest of it...reminiscent of Santina in WM XXV Ms Wrestlemania (as he cringes typing that)

Kevin,
You didn't blink and miss it, except for the introductions, Gail Kim never entered the ring to fight. When is she going to get the push she deserves? She is a much better wrestler than this. It's a crying shame that she either has to job to some other diva, or has to act like a ring decoration.

As to the driver of the limo, maybe it was the "remorseful" Bryan Daniels.

Finally, when Daniels was administering his part of the beating to Cena, he kept shouting "You're not better than us". Who has he been talking to?

Kevin,
I enjoyed the Muraco/Morales segment. It reminded me of one of my fav wrestling memories which happen at the Omni in Atlanta when Muraco and Tommy Rich were the headliners. Muraco had put his hands on Gordon Solie the week before at a TV taping and Roddy Piper had sworn vengeance. Rich scored a quick pin after a ten minute match and disappeared when Roddy strolls to the ring. After some talking Muraco takes a swing, Piper ducks and lands one to Muraco's jaw. Murcao goes down and quarters fly everywhere. Piper leaves and Solie was never touched again.

So smashing up a limo with a 52 year old fromer wrestler in the back is accetable for PG telvision but what Daniel byran did was not

So far the WWE is following up with the NXT angle pretty well. Tying it to the ppv was a good call.

I knew R-Truth was going to lose. The announces kept talking about there being a 25% chance to retain, all night long. They seem to be selling the ppv upon the idea of unpredictability. The best way to sell this idea is to actually have a championship up for grabs in a fatal four-way and to have R-Truth lose.

If there's anyone from Burn Notice that should guest host Raw it should be Bruce friggin' Campbell.

It was pretty obvious that Bret Hart was going to be the focus of the rookie's attack. The segment with the limo seemed a bit much though. Who was driving the limo? For some reason I doubt much attention will be giving to that detail.

How long before we find out that Michael Cole is behind the NXT attacks. It seems kind of obvious. He escapes the first attack some how and then his sudden love for the Miz. I guessing the Miz is involved to in the invasion on the side of NXT. You know, the we never got any respect from the boys min the back routine. Let us see if I am right. Have a good day all.

I noticed and really liked the part about Mark Henry too. I was also wondering why nobody made the save last week when the NXT crew went nuts, but as my father always told me "the champ has no friends."

Though with Hart sending the locker room out to "guard" the main event and making a save earlier in the show, why didn't they run to make a save of the GM at the end???

However, the best part IMHO was Santino Morella laying a beatdown on Heath Slater in the first save. What a great way to bury that guy.

Finally, I think it would make sense for Bryan to come back as a face. #1 He looked awful playing the heel in the invasion. #2. It allows his program with Michael Cole to continue with Cole in the heel announcer role.

I remember Muraco's heel turn in Florida. He and the late, great Jack Brisco were ocasional tag team partners at the time and had similar builds and hair, etc. Gordon Solie would occasionally mis-identify Don as Jack and then apologize. After a month of this, Muraco "snapped" and used an electric razor on his head at Solie's desk, screaming "I'm not Jack Brisco!" over and over again. He went into the ring and squashed some jobber all the while Solie is doing his best "I'm disgusted" call of the match and then asked Don after the match what was up with his actions as Muraco kept screaming "I'm not Jack Brisco!" He and Brisco had a little program and then he went (as Hogan would say) up north although I think it was to Crockett in the Carolinas.

This episode demonstrated the inherent problem with trying to produce "family-friendly" programming from something that's inherently violent. As a consequence, you get boxed in a corner pretty quickly. Apparently, choking someone is off limits, but kidnapping, vehicular assault, and attacking someone with a pipe are acceptable. Clearly, Danielson was a sacrificial lamb to appease some entity that had issues with the entire angle. If TNA was smart, they should be throwing out the red carpet to sign him in 90 days.

As far as the show went, despite the ending (and the lack of logic in it), the rookies were made to look fairly week on this episode, first getting fired and then getting chased out of the arena by Santino Marella of all people. Overall, it was better than last week's debacle, but a pretty "blah" episode overall.

"I also liked that RAW took immediate action against the NXT guys. Whereas WCW took forever to protect themselves against the nWo. Or so it seemed. So the RAW guys don't look like dummies." -adam

Me too. I've seen several smarks complain that WWE killed the angle already by having the rooks look weak in their first two segments. But this isn't a traditional invasion angle, where you've got established guys from another company or territory; these guys are all green, and with nowhere else to go, so you had to have the pros and the company look strong, knowing NXT will be on top in the end. It's good booking.

John, good memory on the Muraco/Solie story. That angle got the newly-named WCW some good exposure, because Entertainment Tonight did a segment on it, accurately referring to Solie as the "Walter Cronkite of wrestling."
A few years earlier, during an interview Oliver Humperdink had put his hands on Gordon, a real no-no. He received a ton of hate mail. If I'm not mistaken, Humperdink was managing Muraco around the time Muraco manhandled Gordon, so they had likely talked about it being a great way for Muraco to get heat...which it did!
I'm sick of RAW's guest hosts, but I agree with loco- Bruce Campbell would likely be entertaining.

Kevin, as someone closer to than industry than most, can you shed some light on why WWE persist with weak no results like the one we saw in the Jericho/Bourne match?

It's obvious that the fans despise such a result yet the continue to do it.
I understand that it's sometimes hard to manage the delicate politics and balance the pushes of so many workers but it's a ridiculously cheap way to end a match and stinks of an inability or unwillingness to actually make a tough decision about who to put over, instead taking the easy way out and having a bet each way.

That aside, i think WWE dropped the ball with their follow up to the Cena attack last week.
The persistence of the NXT guys was nice but why did they have Cena come to the ring, without a scratch on him and only an obviously staged limp? Surely having him cutting a promo from hospital, even or having him come out in a wheelchair, face busted up etc. would have been a better option but not only would it have garnered more sympathy for Cena and more heat for the NXT guys, but it would have made the angle seem far more real.

Really...who's the goof with the black jock strap on his face?

What I learned from watching Raw the past two weeks:

It is OK to put someone in a car against their will and hold a destruction derby.

It is not OK to choke someone with a tie.

Ridiculous...

Kev,

Do you think Jericho is jobbing to people because he's starting to transition to things outside of WWE? I know he's hosting that show on ABC and he seems to be pretty busy with his band. Maybe he's preparing to take some time off before getting back into the swing of things.

I thought this week's episode was OK, although I really wish they would just bring back Danielson.

it hit me after reading! Daniel Bryan joins SES! now that would put him over as a heel, or, he turns on SES, and put him over as a face!. NXT is more perfect fit than ECW. all story lines combine eventually. I'm still waiting for the Christian push, for him losing title on last ECW!

"Me too. I've seen several smarks complain that WWE killed the angle already by having the rooks look weak in their first two segments. But this isn't a traditional invasion angle, where you've got established guys from another company or territory; these guys are all green, and with nowhere else to go, so you had to have the pros and the company look strong, knowing NXT will be on top in the end. It's good booking." -- Ken Raining

Exactly, Ken.

I thought the first night -- taking down the ring -- that they did some of the brash things that rookies would do. I hope they continue to come up with clever ways of invading the WWF (I'm with Bret on this one).

Also, when the lights went out in the arena, did they come back on -- storyline wise? I thought the reason the WWF (again, I side with Bret) Superstars weren't around was because the arena was blacked out.

Hey Kevin, have you seen this article? With John Cena backing Daniel Bryan, I wouldnt be surprised if he isnt back on TV real soon.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/3018631/John-Cena-says-Bryan-Danielson-firing-was-for-real.html

I'm really glad to have Brandon Silvestry back on tv.
His creative, unique, realistic style has been greatly missed since 'Senshi' left TNA.

I just wonder how long before influential WWE stars again start white anting him about his stiff style.

Not sure what to think of Alex Riley yet.
He's got an awesome look and seems quite competent in the ring but i've yet to see any 'it' factor.
Hopefully it comes through in later matches.

I was very excited to see Joe Hennig (i just can't go with his WWE name) and he didn't disappoint.
Looked very athletic, very fundamentally sound and very creative.
Not hard to see where he got those attributes from, is there.

As for Lucky Cannon, he looked slow and tentative in the ring, which stops the much needed fluidity, something needed to make a match look realistic.
I also hope he was holding back because if that's the extent of his moveset, the poor guy is going to get booed out of the arena when his face pop dies off.

I really don't understand how in Hitman and Wrestling with Shadows Bret goes on and on about how wrestlers shouldn't perform stunts and how they should only ever wrestle (I agree). He talked about the accident when a WWE limo slipped on ice at one of the TV spots (and Goldberg cut his arm open smashing the windows of the limo). He said he'd never do stunts again and that nobody should ever be forced to do stunts in case something like what happened to Owen happened again.

I rolled my eyes when he had that 'accident' early in the year when the car hit him in the parking lot but the 'drag limo' stunt was ridiculous. Bret is a hypocrite.

I used to think he had so much integrity. Now I just think he'll do anything for a paycheck. I just hope nothing like Owen happens again. God knows the Hart family has seen enough tragedy!

I am still having trouble getting over the first night Kane cut a heck of a promo about the Undertaker being in a vegetative state (over the top yes, but this is supposed to be a rather mentally unstable guy anyway). It was one of the better performances by a guy on the mic I have seen in some time.

He promises Hell, fury, and vengeance. He takes out many guys, including a fairly large Luke Gallows in the Royal Rumble match....only to be taken out by a fluke, gimmicky head scissors reversal from Rey Mysterio...who by the way is horrible on the mic. When he tries to intimidate people by saying, "6....1.....9....." to a guy that is about a foot and a half taller than him, I just laugh because his tone is terrible and he is about as threatening as a gnat.

In next week's show, Kane lays out every Fatal Four way competitor in the championship match, including a choke slam to the Big Show...but somehow Rey beats him the week before?

Why in the world is Rey Mysterio in contention for the "Heavyweight" title if he isn't even 200lbs?

Katy, consider the fact that Bret's complaints were made over 10 years ago. Lots of things may have change, WWE has even opened up its own movie studios in that time.

Unless you've been backstage for the past 15 years, keep an open mind to the possibility that the backstage stunts performed nowadays are far safer & more professional than the ones they did in the 1990s.

If WWE has made working conditions better and safer for the performers based on his criticisms, then would he still be a hypocrite?

Another Good Question Why are they in there Wrestling Gear and not Street Cloths?