Pre-Show Notes:
I attempted to watch TNA Sacrifice last night. Not because I wanted to see new World Tag Team Champions crowned, but to see how crappy the PPV would be. It’s no secret TNA sucks right now. It’s hard to believe the same creative team that booked Lockdown last month booked the shit I watched at Sacrifice.

First of all, I don’t mind the semi-finals and finals of a tournament on a PPV. I enjoyed the King of the Ring when they would have about 3 matches and crown a new king. However, TNA went overboard and had 7 matches to crown new tag champions. I’m all about tag team wrestling but damn. What really pissed me off is all of the “random” teams didn’t make it past the first round. They all pretty much turned on each other. Why the hell even build that up if they’re not going to win? Most all of the guys who were feuding with each other got paired up, so it’s not like they spawned any new feuds off. LAX won the titles and I think that’s long overdue.

My next beef was the Ladder/Get Your Head Shaved/Battle Royal match with the Knockouts. First of all, if I was a girl and I had to choose between my hair and a title shot where I would get my ass kicked, I would gladly hop over the top rope and eliminate myself. However, with Gail Kim lasting until the final two and she having immunity, they run into a confusing clusterfuck. Angelina Love was forced to remain at ringside while Kim won the match. So, I guess to further their feud with Roxxi and to get them over as heel, Love & Velvet Sky helped Kim win the match. Why not have somebody else win immunity so it wouldn’t be a confusing ending? I’ll give Roxxi & Gail Kim some credit, they kicked ass in the first ladder match I’ve seen involving women. Roxxi got her head shaved and it looked like she was bleeding up top. The face Knockouts came to hold her hand while he locks were trimmed. See, they did this with Molly Holly & Victoria a few years back at it worked because the heel got her hair cut. This time, the barely-over-face got it cut and everybody hated it. The crowd crapped all over it with a nice & loud “Fire Russo” chant. If that doesn’t get somebody thinking, nothing will.

The World Heavyweight Championship was decent at best. They could have at least announced beforehand Kurt Angle wouldn’t be there. They could have put a semi-main eventer in the match instead of Kaz. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Kaz. However, he doesn’t really fit in with an over-the-hill Steiner and Samoa Joe. He and Joe could have kicked some ass but Steiner just f’ed it up. Maybe they could have gotten Kevin Nash or some over the hill main event guy in there. I feel bad for Adit and anybody else that has to cover that crap. Russo needs to go. The old guys need to go. Now, let’s get to RAW is Blogged!!!

RAW is Blogged:
We open this week with a recap from the burial of ECW last week by Triple H and Mr. Kennedy. That’s a great message to send to wrestling fans: ECW can be buried by two guys. Wait, RAW was buried by two guys a few weeks ago.

We’re live from Detroit, Michigan this week with the lights out. Lillian sang “God Save the Queen” for General Manager King William Regal. Regal talked about his country being disrespected and how he needed to set an example. He threatened to throw people out of the arena and unless they’re plants, if I was thrown out, I would knock his damn lights out. Mickie James came out, claiming it was her brother and his girlfriend who were being thrown out. Mickie was looking hot and Regal threatened to strip her of her title. This brought out the returning Super Cena, who got a decent reaction until his music was cut off. He ran his mouth and sucked up to the crowd a little by reading e-mails. He even mentioned stuff about Vince McMahon’s sex life that you couldn’t find on the internet. Who the hell would want to watch Vince have sex? He mentioned a “Fire Regal” chant and as I said earlier, they had a “Fire Russo” chant at TNA Sacrifice last night. I actually laughed at the “pooping in my mouth and calling it a sundae” line. Regal ended up making Cena against Randy Orton for the main event. If anybody gets involved in the match, they’ll be suspended. I wonder how long that will last. Cena went on to tell Regal he was in the good ol’ U S of A and if he kept making bad decisions, God wouldn’t even save him. He then proceeded to suck up to the Detroit crowd. He then got Lillian to break out some Aretha Franklin, singing “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” This was a decent opener, mainly because Cena hasn’t been there in so long it was about time he started building for his match against JBL.

After the break, Rowdy Roddy Piper made his way down to ringside for the World Tag Team Championship. Santino came down sporting a new t-shirt that I like. His tag partner Carlito came down next followed by the champs, Holly & Rhodes. They had a decent match but the crowd was somewhat dead. Cody got a DDT on Santino to retain the belts. Piper got in the ring to celebrate. Um, ok. I guess they won’t have a tag title match at Judgment Day.

After the commercial…..KENNEDY!!! He came out wearing that crappy jumpsuit but at least he got to do his own intro this time, in a way. They should never take that away from him. His opponent would be a very white, very overweight, very ugly Snitsky. Snitsky dominated early before Kennedy got the momentum for a little while. He hit the Mic Check for the win but I’m concerned with his involvement at Judgment Day. They really need to go back to how he acted on Smackdown. He did his own ring intro and if he won, he would announce himself as the winner.

Backstage, Santino Marella told Todd Grisham that he’s looking for Roddy Piper. Elsewhere, Mickie James thanks John Cena for sticking up for her. She invited him for drinks after the show and he accepted in an odd way. Cena, you can run over guys, have 5 moves, etc. but keep your ass away from my baby Mickie!!!

Melina was out first for her tag match with Beth Phoenix against Mickie James & Maria. I wonder if Mickie would be willing to give me a private dance when I turn 21 in October. Maria & Melina started off the contest. Melina ended up knocking Beth off the ring apron, which in turn made Beth walk out on her partner. Mickie picked up the win for her team in a quick match.

Honestly, the 3^rd text message poll concerning Shawn Michaels is pointless. The RAW fans think he did the right thing concerning his retiring of Ric Flair. The Smackdown fans think he was in the wrong. I mean, woopty damn do. For those keeping score at home, my Suns got eliminated a few weeks ago. So, I’m going with the New Orleans Hornets. I think Chris Paul is pretty awesome. And if they get eliminated, I guess I can pull for my dad’s favorite team, the Boston Celtics.

This just in: the RAW fans think that Shawn Michaels is telling the truth concerning his knee injury. Chris Jericho made his way down to “apologize” to Shawn Michaels. He wasn’t carrying his belt, which I guess means the IC title isn’t important enough to carry around. Ok, let’s look at something. While Jericho was talking, I noticed when they played footage of the injury and it was HBK’s right knee. Then, last week when he walked from the ring, he was favoring the left knee. Whenever he came out this week, he was favoring the left knee again. I mean, if you’re going to fake an injury, at least be consistent. HBK came out and told Jericho he wasn’t the one that needed to apologize. He admitted to faking the injury and not being hurt. Well duh. Jericho went from saying Michaels was faking to actually believing he was hurt. This prompted a Sweet Chin Music and then Michaels hopping out of the ring. The heel turn is slowly working for Michaels.

The returning Jeff Hardy made his way to the ring with a very loud ovation. Maybe, just maybe he can work back into Vince McMahon’s good graces and get a main-event push. When they panned out, I noticed a steel cage above the ring. Jeff wasn’t there to wrestle but to cut a promo. He said he didn’t want to be gone but he made a mistake & he paid for it. He said he had a lot of things to do, like become Intercon… General Manager King William Regal cut his mic off and Regal came out & said nobody wanted to hear him. He said he should be punished more and he brought out Umaga. Jeff dove outside to start things off and I miss the days when he would run the guardrails & hit somebody. A loud “Let’s go Hardy” chant could be heard during the match. Jeff hasn’t lost anything as he hit the Whisper in the Wind for the win. JR went nuts selling the victory. Maybe there’s something more to his return and he’ll actually get a push.

Cryme Tyme made their way down for a match against Cade & Murdoch. They had a decent match. After JTG botched a sunset flip, Murdoch sat on it and got the win. Cade looked pretty damn excited after the match, hugging Murdoch and everything. He got the mic and attributed their success to Murdoch’s singing. Murdoch got on the mic and started singing some Kenny Rogers. I know you young guys won’t know who that is. As soon as he turned around, Cade knocked the hell out of him with a right hand. Cade supposed to be getting a singles push and I guess it started tonight. I wonder where London & Kendrick are.

Backstage, Beth Phoenix told Melina she let her off easy. Then, she proceeded to beat the hell out of Melina. They also had a good interview with Randy Orton and his thoughts on his match against Triple H.

For those who missed it, LeBron James dunked over the “Big Ticket” Kevin Garnett. It was pretty sick. The Celtics have yet to win a road game during the playoffs. I guess that bodes well for a team that has home court advantage throughout.

Randy Orton made his way down with some new theme music that talked about having voices in your head. I’ll miss the…HEY…NOTHING YOU CAN SAY stuff he used to use. Cena came out and saluted. Why, I don’t know. I thought that Marine gimmick shit was over. It sounded like the guys were getting on Cena and the chicks & little kids were loving him. The dueling chant became clearer: “Let’s Go Cena” vs. “Let’s Go Orton.” Regal came out with JBL and made him the special guest referee. The ending came with JBL giving a crappy boot to Cena and a fast count to give the win to Orton. JBL & Orton started doubling teaming Cena which brought Triple H out. JBL & Cena spilled out to the floor and Triple H & Orton fought in the cage that was lowered by Regal. Triple H got the upper hand and took control of the skirmish.

I give this RAW:
3 out of 4 ring posts
Decent show considering it was the go-home show and they were pushing a lot to build for the event. If they had done this last week and continued it this week, the intrigue to buy the PPV would be better.

I’ll be back later this week with my Excess blog and picks for Judgment Day!

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. Kane +1
2. Triple H +1
3. The Undertaker -2
4. Randy Orton
5. William Regal +1
6. Matt Hardy -1
7. CM Punk
8. Shawn Michaels
9. Chris Jericho
10. Edge NEW

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Bad Blood ‘97
Hell in a Cell
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
Paul Heyman Shoots on Vince McMahon - http://youtube.com/watch?v=vswZ73WETpc

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network

Judgment Day - May 18 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
I’ve heard a lot about the cliffhanger angles from last week and how people didn’t like them & liked them and all that junk. I personally like them. I like RAW’s because it gives William Regal a legitimate role as the General Manager of RAW. People see the GM as an on-air role and insider know it’s just a figurehead. By taking RAW off the air, thus “ruining” the main event, it gives the impression that Regal is really in charge. As far as ECW is concerned, it was what was needed because Mike Adamle sucks. He knows he sucks and I feel that he’s not prepared. If they were going to make this move, they should have given him some time on Heat or just calling old matches backstage to get him experienced. To me, they just tossed him in the fire without getting him accustomed to calling matches. Now, tossing somebody in the fire works in sports or something else most of the time. But, a WWE Announcer is there to tell a story and call a match. It’s a totally different animal.

On that note, congrats to Jonathan Coachman who will now be working for ESPN. I can’t wait to see Coach on there!

With the stripping of the title from Undertaker, I honestly don’t know. It takes me back to the time when Undertaker and Kane both covered Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince grabbed the belt and hauled ass. It’s a good deal but if they’re going to give ‘Taker the belt back, why strip him? I know they’re trying to establish Vickie Guerrero as a dominant force as a GM and all. I just think they need to let Teddy Long run things for good. As far as crowning a new champion, I guess they’ll have a tournament of some kind. This could be a way to establish MVP as a legitimate contender by having him feud with Undertaker. This is why you need a draft. There are not very many contenders on Smackdown, unless we want to see the same ones over and over again. As much as I enjoy seeing Undertaker-Edge or Undertaker-Batista, I want somebody different. Now, let’s get on for what you’re here for. Then again, some of you probably don’t even read and just comment.

RAW is Blogged:
RAW comes to us live tonight from Toronto, Ontario, Canada…home of Smackdown star Edge and former WWE Diva Trish Stratus!

Due to last week’s overrun of RAW by General Manager William Regal, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon started off the show tonight! Before that though was a recap of William Regal’s rise to prominence over the past few weeks. I wonder who the new RAW GM will be. McMahon talked about Regal’s actions from last week. He called them innovative, daring, and visionary. He said he was there to endorse Regal as King and GM. YAY!

After all of that, Regal came down to some new theme music, which was totally better than King Booker’s music. He turned the lights on & off and said he would no longer tolerate being disrespected. KENNEDY!!! Mr. Kennedy said if Regal wanted respect, he needed to go one-on-one with him later in the night. Regal said he would by placing him in the main event against ECW Champion Kane, the WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison, Money in the Bank Winner CM Punk, Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely, and pretty much the entire ECW roster. Didn’t they just bury the RAW roster a few weeks ago?

Before he could get started, WWE Champion Triple H made his way to the ring with the non-spinning spinner belt. He said Regal needed to learn not to make mistakes and turning out the lights during and ending his match was a mistake. Triple H got put into the “Bury ECW” match for the main event.

ECW has their 100^th episode tomorrow night. I just can’t wait to see Colin Delaney! (Sarcasm intended.)

A Lumber-jill match for the Women’s Championship between Mickie James and Beth Phoenix was up next. This was a good match. Things broke down when Melina tried to hit Mickie with her boot. Mickie got the win via a rollup and Mickie’s run with the belt continues!

Backstage, Silly Willy Regal was talking with Chris Jericho about HBK’s knee “injury.” Regal announces a match between HBK & Y2J against The Miz & John Morrison. Yay! We get to bury the WWE Tag Team Champions!

Trish was shown backstage with Murdoch singing. Along with the returning, College Football Hall of Famer  Ron Simmons, who said, “DAMN!”

Paul Burchill was out next with Katie Lea for a handicap match against John Cutler, who was announced from Toronto. That can only mean one thing and that means he’s going to job. Before the match started, Silly Willy came out and said that JR’s mic was to be turned off and Mike Adamle would call the match. WTF!? Burchill won but the highlight of the match was listening to Adamle argue with King about whether it was or wasn’t a handicap match. Basically, Adamle sucks. To put him with Lawler on the spot, I presume, just highlights how bad he sucks. To top it all off, King said, “I won’t complain about your announcing. The line’s too long.” That was flippin’ hilarious, mainly because Adamle couldn’t even come back with something. They showed JR sitting at ringside with the same look I had on my face: the “What the f*ck is going on?” look.

Morrison and Miz were out next to get buried. Miz even got the “slow mo” entrance that Morrison uses. JR called them the best tag team in the company today. Well, since we haven’t seen London & Kendrick lately, that would be correct. The Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho was out next for the match while King was so glad to have JR back. Shawn Michaels came out next, with a small limp and some booing. JR mentioned the Montreal Screw Job and I wonder when Canadians will get over that. I’m just kidding, my Canadian readers! HBK was hopping around like he was really hurt. I’ve had hurt knees before and you can usually walk without a really bad limp a few days afterward, unless you’ve really f’ed it up. I have to admit, Miz has improved a hell of a lot since his days as the host of the Diva Search, when he was f’ing up his lines. HBK hit Sweet Chin Music, fell down, and Jericho hit the Lionsault to finish out the burial of the WWE Tag Team Champions.

Randy Orton was out next to face Mr. Money in the Bank CM Punk. As this match went on, I wondered why you would have your Money in the Bank winner against the #1 Contender for the WWE Championship. Before that question could be fully answered, Regal came out and turned off the lights, thus ending the match. Well, as much as I like that, too much can get on your nerves.

Backstage, Orton was looking for Mr. Regal to whine. Carlito was in the ring for the Cabana with Rowdy Roddy Piper. The segment was decent but not as good as Striker’s Classroom from last week’s ECW. Santino & Carlito were about to jump Piper before Cody Rhodes came out to get him some. He said he had some guys that wanted to meet the Hot Rod and Cryme Tyme came out. They cleared the ring and said it wasn’t about the, “money, money, yeah, yeah.” It was about that “rowdy, rowdy, yeah, yeah” and Piper proceeded to do a little dance. Glad they’re building up that tag title match at Judgment Day.

After they run down the card for the PPV, we have a JBL inside look at his stretch limousine as he rides to the ring to bury DH Smith. I’m so glad John Cena is there, building up his match in a few weeks. Wait, he isn’t! I know he’s filming a movie but damn, at least film a vignette or something.

They plugged the 100^th ECW show again. Funny, they keep plugging a show that has no good set matches on a network a lot of the country doesn’t get. Wait, wasn’t that December to Dismember?

Silly Willy rallies the troops from ECW to bury his champion and Mr. Kennedy. Must be great to work for a guy that wants you buried. JR & King talked about the abuse of power by the GMs, especially the abuse by Smackdown GM Vickie Guerrero. In case you missed it, she stripped Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Championship because of his use of his unnamed gogoplata or in her words, a chokehold. Good to see Edge sell his injuries. (Sarcasm intended).

The ECW Roster came out and after Morrison got off the turnbuckle, I swear I saw Tommy Dreamer call him a jackass. ECW Champion Kane came out by himself and what’s funny is Bam was just standing right there. I guess they put their differences aside for the common cause of the ECW brand. The funniest thing had to be when Stevie Richards gave a funny look to Mike Knox, who kicked his ass a few weeks ago. Mr. Kennedy came out first and apparently, he’ll never do his own intro again. Triple H was out last for the “Bury ECW” match. Elijah Burke started out things against Mr. Kennedy. It wasn’t a complete burial as ECW got the win before Triple H destroyed everybody with a chair. The lights went out and when they came back on, Orton hit the RKO.

I give this RAW:
3 out of 4 ring posts
Decent RAW that helped further Judgment Day more but it seemed more about the 100^th episode of ECW.

I have finals this week so I won’t be on the Blog Spot that much. You guys try to hold it down and be civil towards each other.

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. The Undertaker
2. Kane
3. Triple H
4. Randy Orton
5. Matt Hardy
6. William Regal +4
7. CM Punk -1
8. Shawn Michaels -1
9. Chris Jericho -1
10. MVP -1

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Summerslam ‘06
WWE Championship
Edge vs. John Cena

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
Austin & Booker T Fight in a Market - http://youtube.com/watch?v=4ZxqhCumGJs

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network

Judgment Day - May 18 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
Backlash is in the books!!! Matt Hardy went over and became the new United States Champion. HBK got a win over Batista and maybe a knee injury. Big Show, well, he beat Khali. Kane retained while Mike Adamle continued to make my ears bleed when it comes to commentary. Oh yeah, Mick Foley debuted as the new voice of Smackdown, which is much needed. The Divas tag match was a cluster-f*ck of course. The Undertaker retained on perhaps his final run with the title. And, we have a new WWE Champion…TRIPLE H!!! While I’m glad to see Trips with the belt, it kinda devalues Wrestlemania. Why not change the title there? It was a hell of a match but I thought Orton should have kept the title longer but that’s just me.

As far as King of the Ring is concerned, it’s too early to tell. We honestly don’t know if it will lead to a push or if it was just a time filler. William Regal is one of the best technical wrestlers in the company. I feel like he’s somewhat wasted in a General Manager role. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy his work as Commissioner Regal and as General Manager Regal. I just think he would be better utilized as a singles competitor especially when there aren’t that many mid-card heels right now. The Coach would be better suited for the role as General Manager. He’s awful doing the color commentary on Smackdown. Please don’t get me started on Mike Adamle. Anyway, it’s too early to judge why Regal won the KOTR. He could come out tonight and give himself an IC title shot. Or, he could come out and get shamed or something by the main event Superstars. Until something like that happens, don’t pass judgment on Regal winning the King of the Ring.

Another topic at hand is the possibility of turning CM Punk heel. People have pointed out, as well as myself, that Punk was getting booed last Monday night. Do I think they should turn him heel? Hell yeah! If anybody has seen Punk’s heel work from ROH, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I suggest you go look it up on YouTube. Punk is excellent as a heel. He has a natural heel charisma, like Edge or Randy Orton. When Punk won the ROH World Title, he turned heel and played the part excellent. I think if he’s turned heel, it will get him over faster. I thought he was already over beforehand but he wasn’t doing too much to get over as a face. They need to let him talk. With MVP, it was the reverse. He talked first and then got the ring work together. With Punk, he’s got the ring work down but he needs to talk to get over even more. Punk should be turned heel before he cashes in the Money in the Bank title shot. Get him over before you put him over.

Now, it’s time for RAW is Blogged!!!

RAW is Blogged:
We started off the night with a recap of Triple H’s win of the WWE Championship. I honestly hope they change the title belt back and Trips doesn’t eclipse Ric Flair’s 16 reigns.

Triple H made his way down to the ring with a great ovation from the East Rutherford, New Jersey crowd. You can download his ring tone at m.wwe.com for those of you that want it. I’ll stick to my Edge entrance ring tone. Triple H said he didn’t want to be a downer but the “Age of Orton” was officially dead! He got a nice “Triple H” chant. He talked about his comeback from his torn quad muscle. He was then interrupted by Randy Orton, who said he was a victim of his own success. Orton said he was cashing in his rematch clause at Judgment Day in 3 short weeks. Way to tell the creative team they’ve got work to do! Trips ended up clocking Orton with the mic, who then in turn said he couldn’t wait for Judgment Day. He challenged Triple H for later that night for the WWE Championship!

Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely will take on ECW Champion Kane tomorrow night on ECW.

Mickie James & Crew made their way down to the ring for a 12-Diva rematch from Backlash. Before this starts, if the faces win, they continue to devalue last night. I’m not saying the Divas match was really important, but why the hell have one team win and the other win the next night? Will they have a rubber match on ECW or Smackdown? Kelly Kelly got left in the ring to start the match. Melina had her hair pulled back, which looks good on most girls but not her. Kelly botched a DDT. Jillian looked awfully white for a “tanned” Diva. Needless to say, it was a pathetic match with the faces going over. So, the evens the count at 1 win a piece for each team. Ok, on Smackdown this Friday, they need the rubber match with Lillian or somebody as the special ref.

We’ll see King Regal have a coronation ceremony later. Apparently, he is getting a big push!

JBL made his way out to the ring. His opponent was Robbie of the Highlanders. I’m presuming this starts his job punishment for being featured on TNA Impact during Wrestlemania weekend. Sure enough, he destroys Robbie and then gets on the mic & challenges John Cena and the winner of the title match.

If any of you have noticed, the WWE is becoming like Nike with their logos everywhere. They’ve done it a few weeks but now, on the guardrails, they’ve got them at the 4 ring posts.

London & Kendrick made there way to the ring to take on the TNA team of Cade & Murdoch. I say that because they’re teasing a break up and every team in TNA is teasing dissension. They wrestled a quick match that wasn’t their best efforts. Murdoch got rolled up and couldn’t get still, so London & Kendrick got a 4 count. Murdoch got on the mic, then on the announcer’s table, and started singing “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. I personally like the song but I could have done without that. Cade got out of the ring and walked to the back. (See boys, that’s how you do a recap in a blog.)

They recapped HBK and his knee “injury” from last night. He was announced to be the guest on Jericho’s Highlight Reel.

Paul Burchill came out with his “sister” Katie. So, I guess the incest angle is still on. Super Crazy was in the ring, ready to get squashed. Katie changed it to a 2-on-1 handicap match. The crowd was dead for the win by the brother & sister.

They then had the coronation of King William Regal. If he starts acting like King Booker, I might have to hurl. In the middle of his promo…..KENNEDY!!! His music got a big reaction and he came out wearing what looked like a jumpsuit. Kennedy cut a face promo, talking about how he would have won the King of the Ring tournament. It’s like Kennedy flipped a switch and got back going like he was before he came to RAW. They ended up having a pull a part brawl which ended with Kennedy getting a busted lip. I’m glad Kennedy…KENNEDY is back!

Twist of Fate: The Matt & Jeff Hardy story is out on DVD tomorrow. Hell yeah!

The best talker in the business, Santino Marella, made his way down to the ring with Carlito. He’s come a long way from being a jobber for a while. Despite being hailed from Patterson, New Jersey for a while, Santino said he hated New Jersey and the Sopranos were fake. I actually loved the Sopranos. His opponent would be Cody Rhodes. They had a pretty good match. The crowd actually got behind this one more than London & Kendrick and Cade & Murdoch’s match. Cody Rhodes picked up the win, got on the mic to talk a little bit, and then got the Back Stabber from Carlito.

They showed Chris Jericho, who was dressed in a tux, walking to the ring for the Highlight Reel with Shawn Michaels.

The Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho made his way down for the Highlight Reel. They still have that belt don’t they? Tonight was the awards edition of the Highlight Reel and Jericho was ready to present the award for the Best Actor in the WWE. They showed a horribly acted clip of Morocco & Mr. Fuji trying to act. They then showed Heidenrich humping Michael Cole in the back off an episode of Smackdown. Sick. So much for targeting kids. The final clip was HBK “faking a knee injury” so he could beat Batista at Backlash. The winner of course was HBK who came out limping to the ring. Jericho did most of the talking before he walked out and left HBK in the ring. I guess they’re finally turning Jericho heel.

Backstage, Santino Marella thought Rowdy Roddy Piper as a WWE Diva. After that, they recapped the Fatal Four Way from Backlash.

Randy Orton came out for the WWE Championship match against Triple H. I think they’re giving it a lot of time or they have something else planned for tonight. They got the special introductions to go along with the match. There’s no possible way to recap this match until it was blacked out. I thought it was a tad odd that Triple H locked in the Crossface but I guess they’re over the Benoit stuff. Backstage, King William Regal came in and demanded the show be taken off the air because the people disrespected him. While a cool concept, I’m pissed I didn’t get to see the ending of the match!

I give this RAW:
4 out of 4 ring posts

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. The Undertaker
2. Kane +1
3. Triple H +2
4. Randy Orton -2
5. Matt Hardy +1
6. CM Punk -2
7. Shawn Michaels +2
8. Chris Jericho
9. MVP -2
10. William Regal NEW

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
One Night Stand ‘06
WWE Championship
Extreme Rules Match
John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
McMahon Reveals Himself as the Higher Power - http://youtube.com/watch?v=oREeOru8KtM

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network

Judgment Day - May 18 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

It’s time once again for my previews & predictions for this month’s WWE PPV: BACKLASH!!!

World Heavyweight Championship
The Undertaker © vs. Edge
The feud is rekindled from WrestleMania XXIV. There really hasn’t been a whole heap of buildup for this one. I mean, seeing Edge & Vickie get massages and eventually “have sex” isn’t the way to build a title match. People have said that Edge wasn’t very happy with the match at WrestleMania and felt it could be better. I personally thought they tore the house down at WrestleMania. Either way, the Undertaker is in line for a long title run, perhaps his last. I don’t see Edge getting the title back for a while. I’m just hoping for a Edge-Punk feud in the future. We already saw a seed planted for that in the future. The Undertaker will most likely retain. I don’t know if they’ll have any kind of outside interference or what. Last year, Undertaker & Batista tore the house down. I hope Edge & ‘Taker can tear it down this year.
My Projected Winner: The Undertaker

WWE Championship
Fatal Four Way Elimination Match
Randy Orton © vs. Triple H vs. John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
I’m never a big fan of multiple guy matches unless they’re built right. This one hasn’t been built that good in my opinion. They just tossed JBL into the match. Why? He announced on Smackdown, beat Chris Jericho, and beat up a midget. What the hell? Then again, Snitsky jobbed for a few straight weeks and then faced Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Championship. Either way, the “Age of Orton” just began so I don’t see him dropping the title. Triple H is due for a title run soon. John Cena is filming a movie so he can’t carry the belt. JBL is…JBL I guess. So, I’m giving the win to the Legend Killer, Randy Orton.
My Projected Winner: Randy Orton

ECW Championship
Kane © vs. Chavo Guerrero
Kane destroyed Chavo at WrestleMania XXIV, which I thought sucked. I mean, a 9-second match at WrestleMania? They could have easily done this on the following Tuesday. Bam Neely has entered the picture and it furthers my point that there’s nothing original in wrestling. If it’s not TNA parodying a bunch of gimmicks, it’s the WWE using names that sound like pro athlete names. First, it’s Kenny Dykstra, off of Lenny Dykstra. Now, it’s Bam Neely, off of Cam Neely. If you don’t know who those two are, look them up. Either way, I look for Kane to retain. Chavo is wasting time right now. As much as I liked Chavo in WCW with Pepe the Horse, he doesn’t need to be ECW Champion. Maybe they’ll throw Colin Delaney in there for a while. (Yes, I’m only kidding.)
My Projected Winner: Kane

United States Championship
MVP © vs. Matt Hardy
The leading candidate for Feud of the Year in my awards blog is finally rekindled! These two are magical. I could honestly watch this feud for another year or so. They haven’t screwed it up yet, even with MVP hurt and them doing a bunch of pointless contests. I hope this stretches out until One Night Stand or Night of Champions. I would love to see this end in a TLC match at One Night Stand with Hardy going over. MVP is being groomed for greatness and he’s improved dramatically since coming on in 2005. Prior to now, I thought he sucked. The people that have been reading my blogs since I’ve been writing, I’ve thought MVP was a waste of time. Now, he’s the freakin’ man. I hope MVP stays on Smackdown because if he goes to RAW, he’ll end up like Mr. Kennedy with a screwed up character. Give me MVP winning with The Playmaker.
My Projected Winner: MVP

Grudge Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Batista
Special Guest Referee: Chris Jericho
What the hell is Chris Jericho doing in this feud? He should have never been involved at all and should be doing something with somebody else. Meanwhile back at the ranch, this is a turning point for HBK. He’s slated to be heel for a feud with The Undertaker. I told Richard Gray this might be tough to do because some people might turn on Batista. Why? They’ll think “layoff of HBK, he was only doing his job.” There will be some point in this feud where HBK will be a full fledged heel. This started off as a great feud with their promos. I mean, those things were electric and I don’t consider Batista a great promo guy. The match could potentially steal the show. Any time Batista works with a great wrestler, he always delivers. I don’t think this will have the same passion as Flair-Michaels but it will be great, nonetheless. It’s the Batista Bomb against Sweet Chin Music. It’s Batista-Michaels at Backlash!
My Projected Winner: Shawn Michaels

Battle of the Titans
The Big Show vs. The Great Khali
This will certainly be interesting. Everybody knows my thoughts on The Great Khali. I don’t think, however, The Big Show can carry Khali like somebody like the Undertaker could do. They’ve basically made Khali into the wuss in the feud until that slam last week. I don’t know how it will play out but I think Show is the face in this. With that said, I’ll take the Big Show…I hope…in this one.
My Projected Winner: The Big Show

12-Diva Tag Team Match
Mickie James, Ashley, Michelle McCool, Cherry, Maria, and Kelly Kelly
Vs.
Beth Phoenix, Melina, Jillian Hall, Layla, Victoria, and Natalya Neidhart
Question. What’s the best way to get a bunch of people onto a PPV card for the hell of it? Simple! Have a 12-Diva tag team match! I really don’t have much of a preview for this one. I mean, most all of you know my thoughts on crap like this. Simple, I hate it! I won’t mind looking at the Divas. But, in the words of Ron Simmons…DAMN!
My Projected Winner: Mickie, Ashley, Michelle, Cherry, Maria, and Kelly

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

John McCain for President ‘08

Backlash - April 27 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
Tonight’s RAW will be 3-hours and the Shaman of Sexy just hopes he’s got enough pretzels and Sprite. It will be a long night. Maybe they’ll have another Diva Dance Off!!!

They’re doing a King of the Ring Tournament and I think it’s a decent idea, just at the wrong time. On the go-home show for Backlash? Why? I don’t see what this will do, except get them a nice rating. It just paints a clearer picture that the booking crew on RAW books these shows from week-to-week. Wrestling is meant to be done over a period of time, not each week. It’s like Monday Nitro all over again. Show me why I should tune in to see a story the following week. RAW fails to grasp this concept. Over on Smackdown, I want to see what Khali’s reaction will be to getting knocked out after giving Big Show gifts. Wait, I just said that? I want to see why things are done over the course of a few weeks leading up to a PPV. I don’t want a one-night tournament, unless it’s just after a PPV and different storylines will stem off of it. If they’re having trouble filling time, just have a few in-ring promos. You don’t have to have 2 hours and 45 minutes of wrestling, or whatever they think will pass for wrestling.

Back to the tournament, I don’t have a clue who will win. I hope they will be competing for something, like a title shot or a main event push. Other than that, it’s kind of a waste of time to have a tournament if you’re just fighting for the hell of it.

Word has it the stuff with Senators Obama, Clinton, and McCain will be pre-taped segments. I don’t usually inject my political beliefs in my blogs but I’m not a fan of Obama nor Clinton. I don’t think their socialistic views will work in this day in age. Come to think of it, they’ve never worked in the history of the world. Obama sounds like The Rock when he talks. Clinton is a sham. McCain is a fiery guy that I can relate to. Either way, I look forward to the pre-taped messages from the candidates.

Also, for those that missed it, Georges St. Pierre kicked the piss out of Matt Serra this past weekend at UFC 83. UFC 83 was one of the first events I watched in it’s entirety because of my boy Michael Bisping and even Rich Franklin. It was a kickass event and UFC continues to grow!

Well, I hope you’ve got plenty of popcorn or whatever your snack of choice is because….IT’S TIME FOR RAW IS BLOGGED!!! This blog is done as the show goes along. Why? Because I said so.

RAW is Blogged:
RAW started off with the first King of the Ring Tournament match with Chris Jericho taking on Montel Vontavious Porter…M…V…P!!! This is a feud I would love to see for a long time. They had a good match thanks to the hot crowd. Jericho got MVP to tap out to the Walls of Jericho and we’re off to a good start!

Next up, CM Punk was due to take on Matt Hardy. Well, this is certainly starting off to be a great night! It sounded like Hardy was getting a bigger reaction than Punk was. Needless to say, Punk picked up the win.

They did a video game simulation of Barack vs. Hillary from Smackdown vs. RAW 2008. Barack came out with Batista’s entrance and Hillary with Mickie James’ entrance. That was funny. JR & King talked about the Fatal-Four Way WWE Championship match being made into an elimination match. JBL cut a backstage pre-tape promo talking about his many accomplishments. Did you know he’s the CEO of a company he owns?

After all that, there was another King of the Ring Tournament match. Who the hell invited Khali? Well, I guess King Khali could fit but he freaking sucks. His opponent would be Finlay, who needs to switch back to his green/black boots. The match went to hell in a hand basket with Finlay getting the win by DQ. This brought out Big Show and Khali backed down like a wuss. I guess Khali is playing the guy that wants a conflict, but only if he can attack from behind.

The next KOTR First Round match was between William Regal and Hornswoggle. What the hell? Regal won in a retarded match. They started off the night great and then that crap?

Oh, oh, oh SHAWN! HBK came out next for a little interview time. It’s amazing how this feud has been mostly promos and it’s working so well. Well, except for Jericho getting involved as the special guest referee. It was a decent segment. They kind of reemphasized the past few weeks.

Next up, they showed the Hillary interview. I honestly wanted to hurl.

Carlito, with Santino, was out next to take on Hardcore Holly, who came down with Cody Rhodes. Apparently, Carlito and Santino want to be known as International Superstars. That’s not my first choice for names but I guess it will work. Carlito picked up the win and Santino got on the mic. He called Cody Rhodes Holly’s friend who is a boy, which makes him his boyfriend. Cody got on the mic and yapped before he hit Santino with the mic. They then cleared the ring. Wow! Haven’t heard from Cody in a while!

After the commercial break, the talked about the WWE Championship match before cutting to a pre-taped promo with Triple H. What’s funny is just last month, with JBL in the ring, Triple H said that himself, Cena, and Orton were the best 3 in the business. Now, he’s somehow trying to include JBL.

Next up was the first King of the Ring Semi-Final match between Chris Jericho and CM Punk. No Kennedy? These two had a pretty damn good match. The thing is, since Punk got a win over Jericho, couldn’t he get an IC title shot now? After the match, they plugged the Osama-Clinton-McCain stuff again.

Osama Obama’s video was next. I don’t like him. At all. And no, I’m not a racist for those that are ready to accuse me.

Next up was the other semi-final match between Finlay & Regal. Yeah, I proposed last year or sometime that these two join forces as a tag team. They had a decent match but it ended with Regal stretching the hell out of Finlay. Please, not King Regal.

My choice for president, John McCain, was up next. He used quotes from The Rock, Ric Flair, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and even Hulk Hogan. He referenced putting Osama bin Laden in front of the Undertaker! And that’s the bottom line because John McCain said so! I suggest he come back later on for the general election. WWE reaches millions on their programs and it would be a big help.

They ran down the Backlash card before Super Cena came on to run his mouth. In case you missed it, my Suns got ripped this past weekend. St. Pierre beat Serra at UFC 83. Cena’s punk ass still salutes. Afterwards, they showed the ring being set up for a “match” between Obama & Clinton. Could Khali like, come down and chokeslam them both?

The Democratic Smackdown stuff was next. “Hillary” and “Bill” came down to the ring by Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” theme music. They had a “Monica” chant going. “Hillary” cut a decent promo. “Obama” came out to The Rock’s theme music. “Obama” cut a funny promo. He was almost as good as The Rock. They tussled around for a little while before Umaga came down. This was better than Trump-Rosie. Umaga basically destroyed them. I hope Clinton beats Osama. Go McCain! Now, we’re heading into hour 3 and I’m out of Sprite. DAMN!

Maria’s music hit and she came out with Cherry, Kelly Kelly, Ashley, and Michelle McCool. They recapped Mickie James’ punishment win over Beth Phoenix for the Women’s Championship. Mickie came out in some tight pants and I nearly…well, you get the idea. Mickie got on the mic and cut a good promo. Glad to see her talk some. Beth’s music hit and she came out with the heel Divas. It looked like an old high school bitch staredown. Michelle McCool slapped Beth in the face before all hell broke loose.

Mr. Kennedy…KENNEDY will return next week on RAW.

The finals for the King of the Ring Tournament were next and this seems like such a given that Punk will win. It kind of reminds me when I was at December to Dismember and Lashley was the last one left. We were kind of “forced” to “cheer” for Lashley. I’m not knocking Punk but it was easy to see Jericho & Hardy were both over more than Punk. Well, William Regal won the match and becomes the King of the Ring. I honestly think that’s bullshit, not because I’m a Punk fan but because Regal is the damn GM. He beat Hornswoggle, a beat up Finlay, and Mr. Money in the Bank. What the hell? I’m guessing somebody might be the new GM and Regal could get an IC title push. Interesting to say the least.

The Hardy DVD will be available next week and I’ve already got a copy pre-ordered.

The 8-man tag match main event was next. Orton said he had nothing to say and his actions spoke louder than his words. He did go down the list of PPV’s that he’s won. Maybe Cena could come out and speak of the year-plus list of events that he won. JBL came out, followed by Chavo Guerrero. And then…you think you know me? Edge came out and for I guess, one night only, Rated RKO is back together! Triple H was out first for the faces, followed by John “Mixed Reaction” Cena. I was hoping for a remix of Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’” for the Brothers of Destruction but Kane came out to his regular entrance. I’m glad to see Kane get a title. Hell, the entrances will take longer than the match itself! Just one time, I would like to announcer, “And from Death Valley, weighing in at 305 pounds, he’s the World Heavyweight Champion…THE UNNNNNDEEEERRRRTAAAAAKKKEEEERRRRRRR!!!!” Being a former announcer, I would love to do that. Kane moved more fluent in the match than Super Cena. The ending kicked ass. Kane hit a chokeslam on Chavo. Edge then hit a spear on Kane for the win. Cena then hit an FU on Edge. Triple H got in and got a Clothesline from Hell from JBL. Orton slid in and hit an RKO on Cena. JBL and Orton were face-to-face before Undertaker came in and hit a double chokeslam! That was a kick ass ending!

I give this RAW:
4 out of 4 ring posts

All things considered, this show really delivered in my opinion.

I’ll be back later this week with my Excess previews and predictions for Backlash!

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. The Undertaker
2. Randy Orton
3. Kane
4. CM Punk
5. Triple H
6. Matt Hardy +2
7. MVP +2
8. Chris Jericho -1
9. Shawn Michaels +1
10. Batista NEW

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
One Night Stand ‘06
World Heavyweight Championship
Extreme Rules Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Sabu

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
DX Impersonates The Nation - http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qnk4_j_x9I0

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

Backlash - April 27 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
One topic of conversation that’s come up recently was the potential for there to be another Brand Draft. Now, after all, we have had some really crappy Drafts. The very first draft was good because it was the first one and they shook up the rosters well. Everything after that has sucked. I mean, I liked when Batista & John Cena changed shows as the major champions but let’s get real. Cena’s been shoved down our throats and Batista has been out of the title picture finally for a while. The last time we had a draft, I committed a whole blog on what I would do and how they should shake everything up. So, what the hell, why not do it again, only in a compressed form?

If you looked at the comment board last week, you saw my thoughts on what they should do but in case you didn’t, here we go:

The first they should do is the night after One Night Stand, have Vince come out and tell everybody they were going to shake things up, but this time they mean it. So the value of ONS wouldn’t be damaged, don’t announce anything until RAW. Vince would come out and strip all of the champions of their titles and that next week; there would be a brand draft. Prior to this, backstage they would have already worked out the roster changes to announce the next week. They could give the guys a heads up on where they would be going so they could work out their travel arrangements. Meanwhile in the arena, Vince would say something like, “you’ll have a week to impress our general managers and everybody will have a match!” This way, you could have matches but not have to advance too many storylines. You could have singles, tag, 6-man, and even 8-man matches so guys could get exposure. As far as the roster changes are concerned, here they are:

RAW:
Batista, Triple H, JBL, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, MVP, Big Show, Mr. Kennedy, DH Smith, Elijah Burke, Carlito, Mike Knox, Chuck Palumbo, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Paul Burchill, Val Venis, London & Kendrick, Miz & Morrison, Jesse & Festus, Cryme Tyme, Rhodes & Holly, Maria, Katie Lea, Ashley, Cherry, Eve, and Maryse

RAW would use the WWE, Intercontinental, and World Tag Team Championships.

SmackDown:
The Undertaker, Randy Orton, Edge, Umaga, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, Matt Hardy, The Great Khali, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella, Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Chavo Guerrero, Gregory Helms, Hawkins & Ryder, Wang Yang & Moore, Taylor & McIntyre, Deuce & Domino, Cade & Murdoch, The Highlanders, Beth Phoenix, Melina, Mickie James, Jillian, Victoria, and Michelle McCool

Smackdown would use the World Heavyweight, United States, WWE Tag Team, and Women’s Championships.

ECW:
Finlay, Hornswoggle, Big Daddy V, Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Jamie Noble, Balls Mahoney, Kenny Dykstra, Kane, Kevin Thorn, Snitsky, Nunzio, Matt Striker, Mark Henry, Super Crazy, Layla, Kelly Kelly, Lena, Torrie Wilson, and Candice.

ECW would of course use the ECW “World” Championship.

This is really a shakeup. I just hope they don’t let us down but I’m expecting them to. It’s all speculation until this point but this was just an idea they could use. Of course, I’d fire Khali, Flabby V, Mark Henry, and Snitsky if I had my way.

One thing I think I need to address is the WWE’s change in direction to target 6-10 year olds. Now, while this sounds like a good idea, even though most kids watch wrestling, if they’re going to do it they need to stick to it. Monday night, we had John Cena joking about Randy Orton beating guys off. While I didn’t find it funny, mainly because it was Cena, it was tasteless. Then on ECW, they had Morrison stumble right into talking about a Cleveland Steamer. While you shouldn’t look that up if you don’t know what it is, it’s pretty sick. Then on Friday Night Smackdown, Morrison made a funny joke towards Jimmy Wang Yang about his mustache being the reason he’s a virgin. While I found that bust-a-gut hilarious, if you’re targeting towards kids, you don’t need to say that. I grew up during the Attitude Era so I’ve seen a lot of “offensive” stuff in my day. But, in this day in age when the slightest thing will send somebody crying foul, they need to watch what they’re doing.

I’ll try to keep the 5-dollar foot long references to a minimum this week! Now, it’s time for RAW is Blogged!

RAW is Blogged:
JBL was shown backstage whining to Silly Willy Regal. Regal then made a match between JBL & Triple H. HBK started off RAW with a promo. He was cutting a good promo until…..WOOOOOOOOO!!! OMG!!! HE’S BACK!!! Wait, never mind, it was just Chris Jericho. Jericho came down and went back & forth with HBK. It reminds me of their feud leading up to Wrestlemania XIX that I really enjoyed. Jericho sounded a lot like myself when I’m arguing with people and proving a correct point. All of that lead to HBK hitting the Sweet Chin Music.  DAMN! What? No Batista? I warned Richard Gray when he told me about this storyline that the crowd would turn on Batista, despite them trying to have HBK be the heel. We’re what, 3 weeks into it and Batista is the one getting booed? Interesting!

After that, dare I say, the return of tag team wrestling continues! This time, we had the 2-0 London & Kendrick taking on Carlito & Santino. Funny sign I saw in the crowd, “John Cena: For Ages 5-12.” I thought that was pretty hilarious. Pretty good match from my perspective although I wish London & Kendrick had gone over. Paul London is sick. Carlito & Santino become the #1 Contender’s for the World Tag Team Championships. So, two guys who haven’t teamed together before last week for a number of weeks go over two guys who were WWE Tag Team Champions for 11 months? Very interesting. Funny moment afterwards when Santino called Hardcore Holly, “softcore.” WE WIN!

WHOA! We have a Women’s Championship match! Mickie James was the lovely lady taking on Beth Phoenix for the belt. Man, Mickie always looks good. Beth looked damn good too. I’m wondering why they’re switching the belt over. I mean, Beth goes over every week and she just up & gets beat? Oh well. They got the main event introductions, which always adds to the match. This was a pretty good match. I don’t think the Divas will overtake the Knockouts on the wrestling part but it was good. The roll up was good and Mickie’s emotion afterwards was great. Why can’t we get more stuff like that? The pop Mickie got for winning was great! Congrats Mickie! Now, drop the zero (Kenny) and get with a hero (me)! I mean, if Todd Grisham can get some action, why can’t I?

Backstage, Silly Willy Regal makes Jericho the special guest referee for the Michaels-Batista match at Backlash. We’re having a 3-way feud? That’s ok with me as long as we can get some MVP-Jericho action when the Hardy-MVP feud is over. Jericho also learns that he’ll be facing Oomanga later that night.

Yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo yo! It’s Cryme Tyme! Well, JTG anyway to take on Trevor Murdoch. I’m still waiting on Cryme Tyme to cash in their title shot they won at what, Cyber Sunday? JTG picks up the win and we have more dissension between Cade & Murdoch. Maybe they’ll magically fix their problems like London & Kendrick did.

Damn 5-dollar foot long commercial.

Next up, we’ve got Silly Willy taking on the WWE Champion, Randy Orton. Now, Regal gets a nice pop, mainly because of the English crowd. Nice “Let’s go Regal” chant. They had a pretty good match. I’m guessing Orton will be playing the part of DDP by hitting the RKO at any moment. I enjoyed that then and I’ll enjoy this now. Orton needs a nice run with the belt to solidify him being champion.

Up next was Chris Jericho against Oomanga for the Intercontinental Championship. They even got the main event type introductions! From all that I gather from this match, I’m guessing Jericho is shifting into heel mode. I think he’s a better heel. Needless to say, his win with the feet on the ropes wasn’t exactly something many faces do. They worked well together but I guess creative has nothing for Oomanga right now.

Since the King of the Ring Tournament is coming back, you know a few days before Backlash, will the winner get a title shot like in past KOR tournaments?

I guess the incest angle is still on with Paul Burchill and his “sister” Katie. Burchill defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a quick squash. So much for targeting kids, I guess.

The Snickers commercial with the medieval dudes singing is pretty funny. Although they didn’t air during RAW, the Bud Light commercial with the guy saying “Dude” are hilarious!

The main event for the evening was Triple H taking on John Bradshaw Layfield. I must admit, the comments last week with JBL going to being an announcer, beating up a leprechaun, then getting a title shot were pretty funny. Come on. Is there anybody out there that doesn’t think that sounds dumb? It just illustrates that it’s now what you know, but who you know! The attack from Randy Orton was something I was expecting. I’m just wondering where Cena was. I guess they didn’t want him getting booed by the English crowd! That’s one thing I can always count on from the Englishmen & women: booing Cena.

I give this RAW:
3 out of 4 ring posts
I think the King of the Ring tournament will be a nice touch during the 3-hour RAW. It being the go-home show for Backlash, I think it will be good. I’m looking forward to seeing the Undertaker-Batista this Friday.

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. The Undertaker +1
2. Randy Orton -1
3. Kane
4. CM Punk
5. Triple H +1
6. John Cena +1
7. Chris Jericho -2
8. Matt Hardy +2
9. MVP -1
10. Shawn Michaels -1

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Wrestlemania 22
World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
Stone Cold Beer Bashes the McMahons & The Rock - http://youtube.com/watch?v=iyD8O_zILy4

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

Backlash - April 27 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
Last week was probably the greatest wrestling moment I’ve ever been apart of. As I watched the segment, I tried to write what was going on but after thinking about it, I realized I was apart of wrestling history. This wasn’t a cheap funeral burying the memory of somebody. This wasn’t the return of Triple H. This wasn’t Vince McMahon being “blown up” at the end of RAW. This wasn’t some cheap sendoff they threw together at the last minute. This was Ric Flair’s Farewell. This was one of the greatest moments I’ve ever seen. They did the best job they could have done with this. The emotion that was shown overshadowed any emotional segment they’ve ever had. To see wrestlers crying touched my heart. This was truly an end of an era.

I wanted to write all of this last week but the blog was so long, I thought I’d include it this week. I’ve remembered Ric Flair since I was little and I always wanted to be him. I used to walk around, going “WOOOOOO!” and I almost got suspended from school for doing it to a teacher. Ric Flair was the guy I looked up to. His times in WCW in the late 90’s weren’t something great. When he returned to reform the Horsemen, I got chill bumps. When he came out after Survivor Series on RAW, I got even more chill bumps. Any time Flair talks, you know you’ll get something great. It’s not like some of these guys who cut a promo that’s good one time, then a few bad ones, then another good one. Flair always delivered in every aspect. To me, he’s the greatest of all time.

People have debated me on whether Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair was the greatest of all time. To me, it was cut & dry. Flair is a 16-time world champion. He earned every single one of them. He didn’t politick to get the belt. They put the belt on him because they knew he could make the money. Flair’s career lasted longer than Hogan’s and rightfully so. Flair was a better technician than Hogan. Honestly, it’s like comparing John Cena (Hogan) to Kurt Angle (Flair). Flair proved Sunday night he could still perform with the best of them. Yeah, Hogan had a lot of people behind him through Hulkamania but when it came to wrestling, promos, etc. Ric Flair is the man. To be the man, you’ve gotta beat the man…..WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

The Brothers of Destruction did a semi-reunion last week on Smackdown. One cool thing I wish would happen is if they won the WWE Tag Team Championships. I like seeing both of them having main titles and being on the same show, kind of. It’s like Matt & Jeff Hardy both holding singles titles, I like it.

Speaking of which, MVP and Matt Hardy had an excellent match last week on Smackdown. I saw a report of them “picking up where they left off” and I couldn’t agree more. I truly hope these two are the future of Smackdown whenever Undertaker retired and Batista steps to the side or goes to RAW. MVP and Matt Hardy just have a chemistry that works. They kind of remind me of Rock and Triple H. That may be a stretch but these two work really well together.

I don’t know how many of you watch it but this year’s Ultimate Fighter is a kickass show. I saw the premiere last week, along with UFC Fight Night, and I think this season will be the best yet. I encourage you to check it out. And now, it’s time for RAW is Blogged!!!

RAW is Blogged:
RAW started off with Silly Willy Regal introducing JBL as the new #1 Contender. My first thought was, WTF!? That was soon interrupted by Triple H, making his stake at the #1 Contender’s slot. He cracked a few jokes on Randy Orton and JBL. Regal then made a match pitting Triple H against JBL & Orton and if Triple H won, he would be placed in the match at Backlash. Oh yeah, like he’s going to lose. Decent way to start off RAW. I’m guessing John Cena will stick to filming his movie for the time being.

Val Venis jobbed to Oomanga. Funny to think Val is a former IC, World Tag Team, and European Champion.

They had a Divas Tag Team match with Melina & Jillian against Ashley & my fair lady, Mickie James. Mickie and Melina carried the match and Mickie ended up getting the win. Mickie’s got the Trish-finger-pointing down. Now, give her the belt. By the way, Michelle McCool won a pink chopper last week on Smackdown that wasn’t even pink. What the hell?

They recapped the farewell for Ric Flair from last week. That’s the fourth time I’ve seen it, not counting the times I watched it on YouTube.

By the way, we’ll see if anybody catches this, despite losing Saturday night to Kansas, Tyler Hansbrough is a fucking beast.

They plugged WrestleMania XXV from Houston, Texas. They’re promoting it a lot in advance!

After the break, we had a tag team match between London & Kendrick and Cade & Murdoch. Holy schnikeys! A tag team match! Pretty good match with these guys. Lawler kept referring to Trevor Murdoch’s tan. I don’t know why but he kept talking about it. London & Kendrick picked up their second win in a row, giving Cade & Murdoch their second loss in a row! I smell a push and a break up! London & Kendrick are the shit. Plain & simple.

Backstage, Randy Orton told JBL to stay out of his way. I’m thinking a Clothesline from Hell onto Orton to give Triple H the win!

Oh yeah, that Five-Dollar-Foot-Long Subway commercial still sucks.

They plugged ECW for tomorrow night and teased at CM Punk cashing it in to face Kane for the ECW title. Honestly, if that did happen, Punk would look like a complete douche bag.

After the commercial, it was time for the handicapped match between Triple H, Randy Orton, and JBL. They had a decent match. The finish came when Orton went for an RKO, got pushed into JBL, knocked him down, and turned back into a Pedigree for the win. Regal got into the ring to announce the Triple Threat match before John Cena interrupted. He came out and immediately sucked up to Triple H by talking about him going to Backlash. He ran his mouth some more and then tried to crack some crappy jokes about Randy Orton beating people. Use your imagination for that one. He then proposed a Fatal-4-Way for the title. Silly Willy said that he would offer the same deal for Cena: beat JBL & Triple H and he’s in. YAY! At least they’re making people earn their way in so to speak by making them win matches.

After the break, Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly made their way down for tag team action. HOLY CRAP! 2 tag matches on the same show, 2 weeks in a row! Dare I say they’re trying to establish a tag team division! Their opponents were Santino Marella & Carlito. Well, I guess there was no room for Cryme Tyme and this experiment with Santino & Carlito must continue. In an unusual sequence, Carlito got in the ring without being tagged in. However, Chad Patton caught it and made Carlito leave, which was the right move. However, Patton made Santino tag in, which in reality would have made Carlito the legal man. Therefore, Santino’s pin on Cody Rhodes is null and void. That means, the World Tag Team Champions are not 0-2 the past two weeks. Where the hell is Cryme Tyme?

Just when I thought Cryme Tyme had been left out, they’re having a WrestleMania clearance sale! They sold Rocky Johnson’s shaker of soul, which is good for white guys at weddings. Wait, I’m white but I’ve got rhythm. They also had Maria’s Playboy but it was no longer for sale. They had Kim Kardashian’s panties, which turned out to be allegedly Mae Young’s. Money money, yeah yeah! After that, they plugged the Great Khali & the Big Show, with both times Khali backing down. I guess he’s holding out for more money.

JBL came into Triple H’s dressing room running his mouth about their match against Cena. Triple H ignored him and called him an ass.

Maria came down with her stuff pushed up to face Beth Phoenix. I hope everybody knows what I mean when I say “stuff pushed up.” Maria put up a good fight. Beth got her into the modified Texas Cloverleaf. I miss Dean Malenko. She stood on her hair, got her legs, put her in the hold, and then went all the way back with it like a backbreaker. Looked damn good. Beth picked up the win. Honestly, anytime they want Beth Phoenix and Gina Carano can both kick my ass. Look Gina Carano up and you’ll see why.

I’ve noticed that the first ECW promo during RAW is BS. They plugged a contract signing between Kane & Chavo. Eww wee, when is the staredown or the photo op???

The Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel. Batista came out first, followed by Shawn Michaels. HBK got a mixed reaction and rightfully so. From the reports Richard Gray has posted, Michaels is slated to turn heel later on. This is the perfect type of feud to get him to being a heel, after years of being a face. The text message poll backfired with 65% saying HBK did the right thing. They showed Michaels’ missed moonsault onto the announcer’s table. Jericho jumped on Michaels, followed by a little flack by Batista, who said HBK is only sorry for people calling him out on his crap. HBK asked him if he was above all of this. I believe he is, according to reports. HBK said he had more at stake than Batista and he could have talked Flair out of the match. As I told Richard, my fear is the crowd would turn on Batista for getting on HBK, even though it’s a great idea. HBK challenged Big Dave to do something about it, he said he already had, and walked off. Backlash maybe?

Oh, did I mention how much I loathe that Five-Dollar-Foot-Long Subway commercial?

Back from commercial, Silly Willy had “just gotten off the phone” with Vickie Guerrero and it’s HBK against Batista at Backlash. He then announced a match between himself and Orton next week, “live” from London, England. Our main event was John Cena against JBL & Triple H for a spot in the match at Backlash. Quick, who will Cena pin in this one? My guess beforehand is JBL. They had a dueling “Let’s go Cena” and “Cena Sucks” chant. I enjoyed it. JBL didn’t want to tag in Triple H. I guess my prediction would come true. JBL dominated Cena most of the match…that is, until the end. Since JBL wouldn’t tag The Game in, when he came over, Triple H walked away. The finish came when Triple H and JBL were going at it, Orton hopped in to give an RKO to JBL, and Cena got the pin. Well, at least it’s a Fatal-4-Way.

I give this RAW:
3 out of 4 ring posts

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. Randy Orton +1
2. The Undertaker +1
3. Kane +1
4. CM Punk +1
5. Chris Jericho +5
6. Triple H
7. John Cena
8. MVP +1
9. Shawn Michaels NEW
10. Matt Hardy NEW

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Survivor Series 2005
Team Smackdown vs. Team RAW

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
Ric Flair Says Goodbye on RAW - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnzjoI1uAig

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

Backlash - April 27 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
Wrestlemania is in the books! I have to start off this blog with my experience last night.

At my school, Georgia Southern University, we have an Information Technology building. In there, there’s a big ass lab full of wall-to-wall computers. I went there thinking I could watch Wrestlemania through the web cast with the fast ass internet access in there. I registered and all that good stuff and the damn thing wouldn’t load! With all of the security things, I couldn’t watch the damn event. So I rushed home and got everything setup to watch the event. I watched the ending of the Free for All preview show and it was time for the 24^th edition of Wrestlemania! I would have rather been there but I know I’ll eventually get to a Wrestlemania someday. They did the usual promo beforehand about how this is the culmination and biggest event of the year. And then it was time!

The show started off with a flyover which always gives me chill bumps. John Legend then sung “America the Beautiful” which I didn’t see much of because I was switching between speeds for the web cast. I got everything worked out to see JBL beat Finlay in a damn slugfest. There was some hard hitting action but I felt like it was too rushed. Hornswoggle returned and got pummeled some by JBL. Yeah, that sends a great message to parents by having a grown man beat up a “kid.”

The Money in the Bank Ladder match stole the show in terms of spots. They did some insane spots that got me freaking excited. One sick spot was John Morrison doing a moonsault to the outside onto a ladder. Another sick spot was Shelton Benjamin flipping to the outside and breaking a ladder. My first thought was, damn, Edge did that last year and within a few months, had a World championship. Maybe Shelton can do the same. I marked out for Punk’s win. If you had seen me, you would have thought I was a little school girl and the Backstreet Boys were in town. The ending spot was kickass with Jericho hanging from the ladder. Now the question is, which title will Punk challenge for? Oh man, I’m getting excited just thinking of a potential Punk-Undertaker feud.

Hey Rock, thanks for taking time out of your BUSY schedule to show up for a few minutes. As much as I liked seeing you at the Hall of Fame ceremony, stay your ass in Hollywood! The match for Brand Supremacy between Batista & Umaga was a decent match, about what you would expect from these two with Batista picking up the win.

The match for the ECW Championship between Chavo Guerrero and my pick/winner of the battle royal KANE was crappy. I didn’t expect Kane to go over but damn if he didn’t do that! I mean, why in the hell destroy your ECW Champion? I’m all for giving the belt to Kane but they destroyed Chavo & the belt in less than 10 seconds. WTF!? Reminded me of the Finger Poke of Doom Incident when Hulk Hogan beat Kevin Nash.

The moment then came for the Ric Flair-Shawn Michaels match. I really wish this had been the main event. They were going to have Flair’s last match before Mayweather-Show and BunnyMania? That’s complete bullshit. I told Richard Gray it was only fitting for Charles Robinson to call the match. Robinson was with Flair back in WCW and he went through a cycle where he was “Little Naitch.” For the second time I’ve ever seen, Flair hit a move off the top rope, this time, a crossbody block! It was a classic Flair match with everything Flair does in a match. The chop battle these two had was freakin’ classic. The match was 20 minutes, which was a perfect length. The “coolest” spot was at the end before the last Sweet Chin Music, Michaels said, “I’m sorry. I love you.” To me, that showed how much respect Michaels has for Flair. One of the hardest but neatest things I’ve had the opportunity to watch. touched my heart to see Flair get out and celebrate with his family. I was very happy to be apart of this. This was the match of the night.

It was time for BunnyMania. Cue the crickets. For those keeping score at home, all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four, which is the first time that’s ever happened. UCLA looks pretty strong going into next weekend. This match was so boring the lights went out. Beth picked up the win, Snoop took out Santino, then “made out” with Maria.

They hyped up the WWE Championship match while they got the lights back on. One I guess “cool” spot was what looked like the Florida A&M March Band performing John Cena’s entrance theme. Not what I expected but it was still cool to see and better than Cena got some boos. I really hope they change that belt after Wrestlemania. I mean, it’s probably maxed out its potential in selling toy belts. It’s time to move on, please! They did the “really important match ring intros” before hand. This match was No DQ and that was evident from the start when Orton grabbed the belt from the referee and cold-clocked Triple H with it. Nobody wanted Cena to win. A cool spot was when Cena had the STFU on Orton and Triple H put the Crossface on Cena. I was surprised when Orton got the win. I’m guessing he and Triple H will feud over the summer, which is fine with me as long as Cena is nowhere near that title! This match was excellent though. The unexpected finish was great. Nobody could have seen that coming because most of us were expecting Triple H to go over clean, or at least I was.

They did Floyd “Money” Mayweather against The Big Show after the WWE Championship. Going into this, my exact thought was, “this will be a clusterfuck.” Look that word up if you don’t know what it means. During this match, the feed itself was a “clusterfuck.” ESPN News debuted in HD today, if case you were wondering. Mayweather KO’ed Big Show after he hit him with a set of brass knuckles.

Wrestlemania XXV will be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. They had a cool logo for next year.

The main was the World Heavyweight Championship match between Edge and The Undertaker. Kim Kardashian was the special “hostess.” She’s got a nice, natural rack and a very nice ass. I’m an ass man, what can I say. She announced the new attendance record, 74,635 people. They aired a kickass promo for the Undertaker-Edge match. While we were waiting on the match, the web cast feed continued to be an ass. Undertaker came out with a new/Ministry of Darkness ring jacket and I marked out. No druids? WTF!? You can’t tell me they couldn’t get some guys from Florida Championship Wrestling to dress as druids. That’s bullshit. Sometimes, I just wish Michael Cole would shut the hell up. You think you know him? Edge made his way down and I marked out some for him. The referee for our main event is Jim Korderas! Sorry, I was in UFC mode. This match was great. It really did look as though Edge would end the Undertaker’s undefeated streak. This match has so many near-falls, it was one of the best I’ve ever seen. I didn’t mind the ref bump that much with the arrival of Charles Robinson, sprinting to the ring! I could have sworn it was over until ‘Taker locked in his submission and won! This was the match of the night in my opinion. They need to come up with a name for it, maybe the “Rest in Peace?” This was a great Wrestlemania! I loved every minute of it! The Deadman is 16-0 at Wrestlemania!

This Wrestlemania was great. I’m very impressed with how they pulled it off. They had a few minor glitches but it was great. I wish Wrestlemania would come to Atlanta, even though I’m closer to Orlando. The Georgia Dome holds 70something,000 people and I’m sure they could pull off a great event. I’m still waiting on Wrestlemania to go to the Big Easy in New Orleans. Hell, they’ve done a Hollywood theme, why not a Mardi Gras one? This was a classic Wrestlemania that I will buy on DVD.

On a side note, I hope everybody likes the new logo. I’ve been writing “RAW is Blogged” since August of 2006 and I figured it was time for a fresh look to my logo. I incorporated the most recent RAW logo in there. The old one is cool but the new one is cool, too. If you like the old one better, let me know on the comment board. Another thing I’ve included is a “RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week. This will go along with the “Match of the Week” and the Power Rankings. I hope you guys enjoy some classic moments from wrestling. Now, it’s time for RAW is Blogged!!!

RAW is Blogged:
The RAW after Wrestlemania is always somewhat of a letdown. I can’t remember one that was great, unless it was the one when Goldberg debuted.

RAW started off with a package reminding us of last night’s events at Wrestlemania and the end of the Flair Era. It got me a little emotional because I didn’t want to see the end of Flair’s career. They plugged Flair’s Farewell Address. I’m glad they’re doing this because last night wasn’t enough in my opinion.

After the intro, they cued John Cena’s entrance, which was met with boos & cheers, but he didn’t come out. They then cued Triple H’s entrance and he didn’t come out. I figured somebody was slacking again but then Orton came out and revealed he was teasing everybody. He cut one of the best promos of his career, talking about how nobody gave him a chance but he still won. He went on before JBL came out. He rambled on about being the longest reigning champ in Smackdown history (ask Paul Heyman about that) and wanting another title shot. It occurred to me Orton might have been in the process of turning face. JBL left and Orton continued to yell at him until Matt Hardy came through the crowd and attacked Orton! He got in some decent shots in the crappy pull-a-part and Orton hit him with a stiff shot at the end. After the commercial break, Hardy demanded a match with Orton, which Regal said he would think about. I just hope he finishes his feud with MVP.

In the ring, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch were ready for action. I honestly figured they were about to get buried by a pissed off Umaga. YO YO YO YO, POP A 40 AND CHECK YOUR ROLEY, IT’S CRYME TYME! I marked out for the return of Cryme Tyme! I can believe they’re over more than the entire BunnyMania segment last night & other stars. I think their release was just Vince on a whim and he just let them go without really thinking about it. They wrestled a pretty good match and the finish was pretty cool. Maybe they’ll finally get to cash in that title shot they won a few months ago.

They plugged Flair’s Farewell Address along with what looked like highlights throughout the night of Flair’s career. Before the break, they showed Shawn Michaels walking backstage and JR said he was going to pour his heart out live tonight.

Shawn Michaels came out and cut what seemed to be an emotional promo. He said he was asked to do a job, to be the Showstopper and that’s what he did. Michaels said he has to carry that burden the rest of his life. I’m positive he was torn up inside from last night and now tonight. Backstage, they showed Silly Willy Regal “consoling” Shawn Michaels. Batista was also shown glaring at Michaels as he walked by. Michaels will be playing the part of the “good guy” who did the “right” thing and now everybody hates him for it.

After that, Paul London & Brian Kendrick were shown in the ring, whom I thought were broken up and about to job to somebody. Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly made their way down for a tag match. Wait a minute. 2 tag team matches on RAW? DAMN! Holly chopped the living shit out of Paul London. I wonder who London made mad. London & Kendrick both showed why they kicked major ass in ROH. Kendrick got the win to a big pop with a funky roll up over Cody Rhodes. After the match, they showed another “Flair’s Farewell” clip. This will help the kids who aren’t familiar with Flair get to know him a little better.

They showed the recap of Wrestlemania XXIV from last night. Cool package.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…..BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!! Chris Jericho made his way down for his match against my man & Mr. Money in the Bank, CM Punk! Punk came down with the briefcase that had his “logo” on it, much like others that have won the Money in the Bank Ladder match. They had a good dueling “C-M-PUNK” and “Let’s go Jericho” chants during the match. Punk and Jericho exchanged some stiff shots between each other. The crowd seemed to prefer Jericho over Punk and that was evident with the ending. Jericho hit the Codebreaker and got the win to a HUGE pop. Interesting the IC champ goes over the Money in the Bank winner. Maybe he’ll defend the title now. Cue another “Flair’s Farewell” clip, this time from the Royal Rumble from 1992 where he won the vacant WWE Championship. Yeah, I’ll probably watch my “Ric Flair & the Four Horsemen” DVD later on.

Back from commercial, they announced Santino Marella against Maria in a match. WTF? Big Show came out next after getting knocked out by Floyd “Money” Mayweather at WM24. Show said he wanted to congratulate Mayweather, his trainer, his number of bodyguards, his steel chair, and his brass knuckles. That was pretty hilarious. Show’s jaw looked “rough” and it looked like it had makeup on it. Show said he was out to talk about the Hall of Fame and said Flair called him the best big man he’s ever been in the ring with. Khali then came out and ruined the entire moment. They stood toe-to-toe and Show isn’t that much shorter than Khali, all this with a “You can’t wrestle” in the background. Khali eventually backed down and went to the back. Jeeze, as much as I like Show, I wish he didn’t have to mess with that waste of space known as The Not-So-Great Khali.

After the commercial, Santino was shown doing some squat thrusts and Maria walks up. Santino then makes a lot of dog jokes at Maria, who is back to being the innocent ditz she was before she posed for Playboy. Santino says his skills were wasted on playing with the WWE Divas while he should have been competing in the Money in the Bank and the Royal Battle. He made a lot of sexist jokes, that were somewhat funny and the crowd was laughing. Maria slapped him and he walked off, pissed.

Since Orton is still the champ, can we give him back his pyro? Matt Hardy came out with a sick look on his face and started beating the hell out of Orton. By the way, that new $5 foot long Subway commercial sucks. It’s been out a few days, or at least by my count, and I hate that damn thing. Matt Hardy put on one hell of a show and proved both Hardys can wrestle. With that said, I have to call them one of the top tag teams of my era. Orton hit the RKO out of nowhere for the win. We are officially in the “Era of Orton,” which I thought had started a few months ago. After this, they aired a pre-tape promo from Dusty Rhodes talking about Ric Flair.

Back from commercial, they showed Randy Orton out of breath backstage before JBL came up and checked out the title. Listen, if you’re a pro wrestler, you just had a match, and a few minutes later, you haven’t caught your breath, you need to get in shape. Maria was out for her match against Santino Marella. Cue the crickets…wait nevermind. Santino started on Maria before most of the Divas roster came down and kicked the shit out of Santino so Maria could get the win. Well, that was cool in a way.

The time came for Flair’s Farewell Address. In the back of my mind, I was thinking they might do a “swerve” but at the same time, I was hoping for a truly emotional experience. They showed a package concerning last night and then The Nature Boy came out! WOOOOOO! Flair got started and thanked everybody. I wasn’t as emotional as last night but it got the point across. He got finished but before he could walk out…TIME TO PLAY THE GAME! Triple H came out and said the people in Orlando weren’t the only ones that wanted to say thank you. Trips got a tad emotional as Flair was crying and thanked him. He event got down and bowed down to him. Triple H said he had run into a group of guys and his hand kept cramping into a 4. Enter parts of the Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, and James J. Dillon to thank Flair. I will definitely be watching my Horsemen DVD. Batista then came out next and by now, I was teary eyed. Ricky Steamboat came out next to Ultimo Dragon’s music to thank Flair. Harley Race was out next with Mickie James & Michelle McCool. Greg Valentine came out next to thank Flair. Another Horseman, Dean Malenko, was out next. Whoever thought of this deserves a big pat on the back and a raise. Chris Jericho was out next and I got to thinking, I hope they put this on the ‘Mania DVD. Cena then came out next to thank Flair. Flair’s family was out next as he lost it again. Michaels was out next and he looked somewhat distraught. Triple H lightened the mood with a comment about Michaels & Flair’s watches matching. He then called out anybody else that wanted to say thank you, which lead to the entire roster coming out. All that eventually leads to a “Thank you Ric” chant which lead to me just letting go like a little kid. This was so emotional. I saw Mickie James, CM Punk, Big Show, and Randy Orton all crying. Man, this was great to be apart of. I really hope they put this on the Wrestlemania DVD.

I give this RAW:
4 out of 4 ring posts

“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. Ric Flair
2. Randy Orton
3. The Undertaker +1
4. Kane NEW
5. CM Punk +1
6. Triple H -3
7. John Cena -2
8. Batista NEW
9. MVP -2
10. Chris Jericho -1

“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Unforgiven 2004
Intercontinental Championship
Ladder Match
Chris Jericho vs. Christian

“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
Chris Jericho Debuts: http://youtube.com/watch?v=p4O2mixuwYk

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

Backlash - April 27 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

The MVP of the Blog Spot is here with my previews and predictions for Wrestlemania XXIV!

It’s the granddaddy of them all! It’s the grandest stage of all! It’s the biggest event in sports entertainment! It’s the Wrestlemania 24!

This year’s Wrestlemania comes to us from The Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida! This is the first outdoor Wrestlemania IX since the one in Las Vegas, at Caesar’s Palace. Orlando campaigned to get Wrestlemania in their town because it’s one of the biggest moneymakers in sports. If I’m running a stadium and I want to make money, I think of two things: the Super Bowl and Wrestlemania. Sure, other events like the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the BCS National Championship game are big. However, the Super Bowl and ‘Mania are guaranteed big moneymakers. This being an outside event, there’s always the chance for inclement weather. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has assured us that there will be a show no matter what happens with the weather. I’ve seen a few articles talking about the gigantic tarp that will be atop the stadium and the huge pyro display that will be there. Needless to say, I will be buying this DVD when it comes out. I really wanted to go to Wrestlemania and I will one day. I couldn’t this year because I’ve got class the next day and my Monday professors aren’t exactly the most understanding when you miss class.

I for one am excited. This is one of the best cards that I’ve seen in a while. While I don’t agree with some of the people in the WWE Championship Match, this is one of the biggest Wrestlemania’s ever. I honestly don’t see how they can top themselves. They’ve got the title matches, Money in the Bank, and Ric Flair’s potentially last match. How can you top that? I know how. Put The Rock, Edge, Stone Cold, The Undertaker, Triple H, and John Cena in a Hell in a Cell for a title. Ok, that may be a stretch but this year’s Wrestlemania is huge. I think the build up has been good but as always, there’s room for improvement.

WWE.com 24-Man Tri-Brand Battle Royal
Winner Gets ECW Championship Shot
This is a big, um, deal. I don’t think it will be a big to do. I guess it’s too hard to build up a feud on ECW and have a match at Wrestlemania. I honestly don’t know how they’re going to do this. Maybe bring everybody out and let them fight? I know in WCW, they had a ladder match for a contract for a Cruiserweight Championship on a PPV event. I guess they were running out of ideas and decided on this. Personally, I don’t know who’s going to win this match. I look for it to maybe have somebody change shows to come over and run with the ECW title. The ECW title is just another belt. It’s gone from a prestigious title to being about the same as the US and IC belt. Who do I think will win? Kane. Kane deserves a run with some kind of belt. If Kane doesn’t win, I guess we can have Khali crap on the belt some more.
My Projected Winner: Kane

Belfast Brawl
Finlay vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
This feud has been good although I don’t like them doing a “kid” getting beat up after the Benoit stuff. Finlay is a solid worker and I wish he could get a run with some belt. JBL is slowly getting into the shape he needs to be in to compete. I still wish he was an announcer on Smackdown because I can’t stand listening to the Coach. This is a feud that needs to continue after Wrestlemania. You can’t build this up for a few weeks, then kill it off at ‘Mania. I think this one will be bloody and will venture all over the Citrus Bowl. I hope it’s like the Undertaker-Triple H match from Wrestlemania X-Seven back in Houston, Texas. Either way, I look for Finlay to go over in this one.
My Projected Winner: Finlay

ECW Championship
Chavo Guerrero © vs. Battle Royal Winner
As noted above, I think Kane will win the Battle Royal. I honestly don’t know how this will all play out. I don’t look for Chavo to drop the belt anytime soon. If it’s time for him to drop it, I hope it’s to Kane. This is hard to predict with the opponent unknown. We have hardly seen Chavo that much in the past few weeks. I don’t look for him to lose the belt.
My Projected Winner: Chavo Guerrero

RAW vs. Smackdown Supremacy Match
Smackdown’s Batista vs. RAW’s Umaga
This is a pretty interesting match. I hope they do this every year but I wish they would expand it to include a guy from ECW. I’ve heard reports that Umaga will be moving to Smackdown after Wrestlemania. This should give them some chance to move him over there. I think he could “lose” the match and then get “fired” by William Regal. Then, Smackdown would hire him. That’s one possibility. Either way, Oomanga is going to Smackdown. The build up for this one has been decent. You can’t do too much talking when one of the guys doesn’t do much mic work. I did enjoy him trying to talk into the mic this past Monday. I’m just glad Batista is nowhere near the World title picture. With that said, I’ve got Umaga in the Brand Supremacy match.
My Projected Winner: Umaga

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
#1 Contender’s Match: Any Championship
Mr. Kennedy vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison
I must say, Jeff Hardy has let me down. He had a main-event spot in his hands and basically threw it away. Hardy was suspended for his second Wellness Violation, this time for 60 days. He screwed up. Let’s move on. I don’t know who will win this match. Last year, Mr. Kennedy won and got hurt, so he couldn’t cash his in. He’s talked about if he wins it this time, he’s going to go out after the WWE Championship match and cash it in. Hopefully they’ll put the World Heavyweight Championship as the main event. Chris Jericho seems like the early favorite to win. He’s been in the mix enough to warrant another title shot. This could be MVP’s chance to break out. He’s come a long way and he’s growing to become a big-time player on the main event scene. I think he could be challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship this time next year. I doubt Carlito wins. I was hoping he would remain as a tag partner of Santino Marella. They don’t have tag teams never mind. Moving on, John Morrison might be a good choice but he’s not ready to make the leap to the main event scene. CM Punk is a good choice and he’s my choice. I think Punk is as ready as anybody to make the jump to main event status. I really want a feud between him and Edge. There’s nothing left for Punk to do on ECW. So let’s run it down real quick. Guys that won’t be winning: Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, John Morrison, and Mr. Kennedy. Guys that have a shot: Chris Jericho, MVP, and CM Punk. CM Punk is my pick to win the Money in the Bank Ladder match.
My Projected Winner: CM Punk

Playboy BunnyMania Match
Ashley Massaro & Maria vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina
In this day in age, when it comes to Divas being involved at Wrestlemania, chances are the chick that’s posing for Playboy will go over. It happens every year and I don’t think this year will be any different. While I enjoy seeing Maria in Playboy, I’d rather have a solid women’s feud for the title. Look at TNA. That’s one of the positive things they’ve got is a solid women’s division. They’ve got women that can wrestle. They’ve got hot women that can wrestle, except for Awesome Kong. Anyway, I think Beth & Melina will carry this match. Maria isn’t as good as the other ladies. Why they put Ashley in here instead of Mickie, I don’t know. I’m guessing it is cause of the whole Playboy thing. Funny thing, last year around this time, the women’s match was going to determine Melina’s future with the company. A year later, she’s back in the women’s match at Wrestlemania. As far as the action goes, I’m thinking Maria gets the pin with Ashley watching her back.
My Projected Winner: Ashley Massaro & Maria

No Holds Barred Match
The Big Show vs. Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr.
I honestly don’t know how they’ll do this match. If they were to go legit, I think Mayweather would get some good shots on in Big Show but Show would squash him like a bug. Mayweather will be bringing his posse, including 50 Cent. I hope Show gets some guys to come down to the ring with him. Show, if you by some chance read this, give me a holler bro and I’ll come down to the ring with you. As before, I don’t know how they’re going to do this. I know they’ve made the rules about “there must be a winner” and you can win by pinfall, submission, or knockout. Matt Sydal has been working with Mayweather a little, mainly because they’re the same size. Sydal was the shit in ROH. I think Big Show will go over, mainly because I don’t see them doing another celebrity-over-a-Superstar deal. Remember K-Fed and John Cena? Either way, this one will be interesting. They’ve pushed this one to be a big draw for Wrestlemania. Some of you may think it’s not a big deal but has anybody figured out yet who’s the heel and who’s the face?
My Projected Winner: The Big Show

WWE Championship
Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
This is probably the most interesting match. Cena was running with the title for over a year. He tore his pectoral muscle and had to forfeit the WWE Championship. There to pick up the pieces was Randy Orton. Orton defended his belt against Triple H and lost at No Mercy. Triple H then defended the belt against Umaga and successfully retained. Later on, Triple H defended the title against Orton, this time in a Last Man Standing match. Orton won the belt and ran with it for 5 months. Just when things started to settle down, a surprise entrant into the Royal Rumble emerged. John Cena returned as the 30^th man into the Rumble and would go on to win. Rather than wait for Wrestlemania, Cena opted to cash in his chance at No Way Out. With this going on, a new #1 Contender would be crowned in the RAW Elimination Chamber Match. At No Way Out, Randy Orton retained his WWE Championship when he got himself disqualified in his match with John Cena. Later in the night, Triple H would survive the Elimination Chamber match to go on to Wrestlemania to face Orton for the title. The next night on RAW, controversy emerged from No Way Out. Cena demanded a shot for the title but only if he won a match against Randy Orton, with Triple H as the special guest referee. Cena captured the win over Orton with an FU but would soon be put down by a Pedigree from Triple H. The main event was set for Wrestlemania. In a 3-way match for the WWE Championship, it would be Randy Orton defending his title against John Cena and Triple H. The weeks leading up, no man could capture momentum over the others. Each competitor had the chance to run RAW and gain an advantage over his opponents. No man proved successful as each fought to stay alive for the match at Wrestlemania. It’s a devious champion who will do anything to stay on top. It’s a champion who never lost his belt. It’s a former champion who hasn’t be on the mountaintop in so long, he wants to be champion again. It’s Randy Orton against John Cena against Triple H for the WWE Championship. I’ll take the King of Kings, Triple H!
My Projected Winner: Triple H

Damn, that was better build up than what they did themselves on RAW!!!

World Heavyweight Championship
Streak vs. Streak
Edge © vs. The Undertaker
Does it get any better than this? I’m a huge fan of both of these guys. The Undertaker is 15-0 at Wrestlemania. He has a streak that could never be broken. He’s unlike any other Superstar I’ve ever seen. Just when you think Undertaker will lose at ‘Mania, he wins. He won the World Heavyweight Championship last year at Wrestlemania. His run was cut short however due to a torn biceps muscle. The man who took his title was Edge. This has been building for months now. The Ultimate Opportunist comes in to defend his title. He too is undefeated at Wrestlemania. No, I don’t want to hear about last year’s Money in the Bank match. This is one of the biggest matches ever. The build could have been better but they’ve done a tremendous job. I want druids on Undertaker’s entrance. I remember against Orton at Wrestlemania 21, Undertaker “floated” to the ring. That was kickass, even though you could tell he was being pulled. The Undertaker is 15-0 at Wrestlemania. Edge is the World Heavyweight Champion. It’s the Tombstone Piledriver vs. the Spear. It’s the Phenom vs. the Rated R Superstar. It’s streak vs. streak. It’s for the World Heavyweight Championship. It’s Edge vs. The Undertaker. I’ll take the Undertaker in this one, going 16-0 at Wrestlemania!
My Projected Winner: The Undertaker

Career Threatening Match
Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
This is what I hope will be the main event. Throughout my entire life, Ric Flair has been the name most synonymous with wrestling. I can remember watching him at an early age and then later on in WCW. I can remember getting in trouble in school every time I went, “WOOOOOOO!” Now, the time is upon us that Flair may have to retire. I do think this could have been done a lot better. It just seems like Flair went against random people each month. This time around, he hand selected his opponent in Shawn Michaels. It’s fitting that this is happening the night after Flair gets inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. They’ve done a great job building this up. The promos have been electric. WOOOOOOO! The limited ring action has been great. I honestly wish they had started this a tad sooner. I can’t believe these two haven’t feuded earlier in the past. WOOOOOOO! Flair is a 16-time World champion. HBK is a 4-time World champion and the first-ever Grand Slam Champion. Flair is the Nature Boy. Michaels is the Heart Break Kid. Flair is the Dirtiest Player in the Game. Michaels is the Showstopper. This match has classic written all over it. I honestly think Flair has one classic match left in him. I think he wins this one and goes on to RAW to have his retirement stuff. I can’t see The Man losing on the grandest stage of them all. Remember when they had The Rock against Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Icon vs. Icon? Well, this is bigger than that. It’s the Figure Four Leg Lock vs. Sweet Chin Music. It’s the Nature Boy vs. the Heart Break Kid. It’s Flair vs. Michaels at Wrestlemania!
My Projected Winner: Ric Flair

RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW

John McCain for President ‘08

Wrestlemania 24 - March 30 - 8PM - Only on PPV!

Pre-Show Notes:
Wrestlemania is only a week away! With that said, last week’s RAW wasn’t as great as it should have been. I spent time thinking on why in the hell they would bury the rest of the roster. I see why they’re trying to get everybody to Wrestlemania safe, but bury the rest of the roster? They know they’ll need these guys after Wrestlemania. But, if you’re a casual fan, when one of these guys gets on there, won’t you just think, “oh, isn’t that the guy Cena & Orton buried?” My guess, like I said last week, was they were trying to get anybody who Cena hadn’t beat in there and let him destroy them. I do remember part of my list of guys he had left to pin and I know he has to get Rory, the other Highlander, in there. Other than that, I can’t remember who all was on that list. I just know that it was a ridiculous thing to do. Why not just get the resident jobbers, team them up, and let them try to inflict damage? Why throw your tag champions in there and let them get destroyed?

I’ll never understand why they do this stuff. However, the World Tag Team Champions, Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly, haven’t been on TV that much in the past few weeks. They were on TV last Monday in the “Cena-Orton Destruction of RAW” main event. Why in the hell do you have tag titles if they’re never defended and the teams that contend for them are getting destroyed by singles guys?

The time has come to move the tag division to a show and leave it. I’m suggesting Smackdown because they’ve got more teams and they can use ECW to bring teams along. Move the rest of the mid-card singles guys to RAW and unify the United States & Intercontinental Championships. Look at the IC & US belts. They’ve been defended a combined 3 times in the past few months. Why have these belts if they’re not going to be defended? I would rather have a guy defend his belt each week against somebody different than carry a belt & never defend it. Once again, what’s the point of having these belts if they don’t defend them & use them in feuds? The ECW title has been crapped on enough to make it just another secondary-belt. It’s like if they ever had a HEAT or Velocity Championship.

With that said, the Mayweather-Big Show angle has been horrid. I know it’s been booked by Shane McMahon and I’ve been a huge fan of Shane’s. I think the reason it’s tough to see who you cheer for is they keep switching these guys each week. One week, we’re supposed to boo Mayweather. The next week, we’re supposed to cheer him. What the hell? It’s the same thing with Big Show. He comes off as a face one week and the heel the next. Just last week, Chris Jericho was booked as a heel, with the belt shot and all, and Show was the face. Ryan Capuano, I hope I spelled that right, from the Wrestling Observer talked about how the angle was a complete cluster fuck. I have to agree because if I didn’t want Mayweather to get his shit kicked in, I would think I was supposed to be cheering for him.

Other than the stuff on RAW & ECW, I was wrapped up in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. I mean, March Madness is one of the best times of the year. March Madness, the World Series (if the Red Sox are in it), the Super Bowl (if the Colts are in it), the NBA Finals (if the Suns are in it), the Masters