Tonight's RAW contained eight matches, and needless to say, there were some surprises. Kennedy pins Lashley with a clean victory and Carlito beats the Champ!
Firstly, Carlito's Cabana is back, which should provide him with a nice push out of the mid-card and toward the top of the roster. Let's hope. We'll review the matches one by one here:
Divas Tag Match - The sole purpose of this match was to move Santino Marella in a new direction. It's been rumored lately that he'll be making a heel turn, which makes sense considering that WWE sees foreigners as more hatable wrestlers.
Santino Marella vs. Umaga - It was surprising not to see Jeff Hardy make an appearance in this match. He'll most likely be fighting Umaga at SummerSlam, so look for that feud to continue. Umaga is really starting to get some huge pops.
Cody Rhodes vs. Daivari - It wouldn't have surprised me at all to see Cody lose this match and moved to Smackdown. Afterall, he was just brought up from OVW and might want some more time before he has a full-time spot on the A show. But he seems to be over with the fans and I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of him. Also, he threw an absolutely awesome powerslam in this match.
Mr. Kennedy vs. Bobby Lashley - Match of the night. Firstly, it was great to see Lashley finally using his amateur wrestling background and throwing Kennedy around rather than just doing traditional powerhouse moves. Secondly, it was awesome to see WWE give Kennedy a clean win over Lashley, a man who has been pushed to the sky since earlier this year. I think WWE realizes that Kennedy has more potential between the two.
King Booker vs. Jerry Lawler - This match was fairly laughable. Lawlers offense amounted to punches and, at one point, an elbow drop. This whole "King" thing is just leading into a King Booker-Triple H match at SummerSlam.
Cryme Tyme vs. Two Guys - Not bad for a squash match. The auction of the guy's boots after the match went a little long, though. Is Cryme Tyme finally receiving their push? If you recall, several months ago they won a guaranteed title shot...SummerSlam?
Randy Orton vs. Sgt. Slaughter - Right now, WWE is just throwing legends at Orton for him to kill. I think they might have finally run out. Regardless, it's getting repetitve and I hope that they move on from it. It's almost assumed at this point that Orton will be winning the title from Cena at SummerSlam...I just hope he wins it clean.
John Cena vs. Carlito - It was cool to see a main event like this. Two very popular and over guys doing battle. It was also "cool" to see Carlito win this one. The fact that Cena didn't kick out of Carlito's finisher also makes him seem a little fallible, setting us up for a loss at SummerSlam?
Overall, tonight's RAW was an entertaining one. By the way, I'm sick of visiting (other) wrestling sites and reading about how stupid, crappy, and unwatchable WWE is. If people don't like the WWE product, then why are they watching it? And ordering the Pay-Per-Views??? WWE puts out a very entertaining product, and while we all wish they did things differently, they are doing what they think is best.
Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip
Monday, July 30, 2007
RAW Reaction: Kennedy/Carlito Get Big Wins
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Post-Judgment Day Champ Possibilities
INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Santino Marella vs. Chris Masters. Great...a guy we've never heard of against a guy who made his name by taking steroids. And apparently the man who can barely even apply a full-nelson (Chris Masters-Masterlock) is supposed to win...man that's exciting...
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (RAW): The Hardy Boyz! Fantastic. We have good champions in the tag-team division! The only problem is that 1. Nobody cares about the tag-team division anymore (sadly) and 2. They are "feuding" (not to sure) with Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. If they do have a match at Judgment Day, then it will be a great way for Jeff Hardy to show off his skills... while the others sit in the ring and watch.
CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Chavo Guerrero is not exciting anymore at all. I hated that he agreed to take part in the Rey Mysterio/Randy Orton feud about Eddie's death. It just seems wrong, and ever since I have hated watching his matches. He could even feud with Stone Cold, and I probably would not watch it.
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP: Benoit vs. MVP is the only feud that I am currently interested in. They are great wrestlers, and they put on a good show. If Benoit wins then great, if MVP wins then great.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: The Undertaker is dropping the belt to Batista in a cage apparently, because of his recent injury. And the new word out is that Batista will feud with Mark Henry. This is EXACTLY like the WWE Championship feud. You have a wrestler that WWE is tirelessly trying to push and a man who can't wrestle...which apparently is the combination for "success" in WWE's mind.
Although I am looking into the future with some of these matches because they haven't been named yet, think about the current feuds that are taking place. While I was thinking about posting this, I thought "nah...our readers hear enough of how bad some of the wrestlers are" but then it dawned on me that we can't say it enough. I was really getting into RAW and even Smackdown the past few weeks because they had great matches, but now it seems like each feud just sucks. WWE could have easily created a great card for the upcoming pay-per-view, but they totally ruined it. I understand that a lot of this may be from all of the injuries in wrestling, because that has taken its toll. But they can do better then John Cena vs. The Great Khali.
If you see any way at all that these feuds are good for wrestling...then please tell me.
By the way...as another follow up to Ben's last article, Mr. Kennedy and the Undertaker (the most exciting wrestlers currently in WWE) are injured. This is horrible, and it will delay the "Kennedy Era". But when he returns, Mr. Kennedy will be ready to take over the business.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
WWE European Tour Disappoints
I was surprised to hear this. Not only did I enjoy the international flavor and sets tailored to each location (a Ferrari in Italy; a double decker bus in England), it appeared that the fans did too. While watching the Santino Marella episode with Drew, we both commented on how intense the Milanese fans were. Between the packed house, rampant soccer chants, and a general knowledge of face/heel relationships, it was clear that the WWE was "over" in Europe. God, that was an awful pun. Despite my bad jokes, the fans were cognizant enough to start an audible "Fuck You Cena!" chant which is just about all I needed to hear. Due to the less than stellar numbers, the WWE is expected to lessen the amount of European tours it takes in the future. I believe this is a mistake. With the European base being as knowledgeable and engaged as they were, the building blocks are in place to extend the McMahon empire abroad.
Monday, April 23, 2007
As Usual...Predictions for Tonights RAW!
- I think HBK gets the win here only because Cena is coming off the victory in the handicap match last week. Edge will most likely interfere with the match somehow, as WWE wouldn't let Cena lose clean. Keep in mind that Orton has been sent home from the European tour for drunkenly destroying his hotel room! He definitely won't make an appearance. This match probably won't result in anything of substance, just like last week's handicap match. It's probably just there to further progress towards Backlash.
- I predict that Santino Marella will put his Intercontenental belt on the line to night...and retain it. Most likely with help from Bobby Lashley.
- Khali is back! I'm not a fan of his, but I still predict a squash match in favor of the Great Khali tonight.
- Mickie James and Melina will continue their feud heading into Backlash. Contrary to what some folks are saying online, I like this feud a lot. They're two good wrestlers (especially Mickie James) and Melina has a great gimmick.
- Apparently Mick Foley will be on RAW tonight...look for him to have a continued push for a leadership position on the show. I can see him being RAW GM.
- I think they're finally pushing Johnny Nitro again - another squash match for him tonight? Or maybe the seeds for a feud with Mick Foley? We'll see...
That's all I've got! Let me know if your predictions differ from mine. And of course, I will post a RAW response after the show and see which of my predictions happened to come true.
Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip
Monday, April 16, 2007
RAW Reaction: Cena Booed!
You know something is wrong when your audience is cheering your heels and booing your faces. I think that WWE has been getting the hint for a while and it will only get worse. It makes me seriously ponder who will come out of Backlash as the WWE champ. Will they continue to try to shove Cena down the unwilling throats of the WWE fans? Or will they put the belt on a wrestler that the crowd actually likes to watch? We’ll see, and you’ll get my predictions when we get closer to Backlash…
One thing to note: I seriously hope that if they are going to give Santino Marella an Intercontinental Title reign they don’t do a storyline in which he is fortunate to win all of his first several matches and then “miraculously becomes a fantastic wrestler!” That would be a fairly ridiculous storyline, but I can see it happening. Of course, they might have Santino lose the title before they leave Italy.
Drew Arnold, writing for The Irish Whip
