By Luke Parks on March 10th, 2008
Pre-Show Notes:
Wrestlemania is just 3 weeks away and it’s not shaping up to be the “Granddaddy of them All” like it usually does. It’s sad to say that we’re in for just another WWE PPV but that’s what it feels like. Instead of building the event from a few months ago, they just started last month at No Way Out. I get that we’ve known about some of the matches but it’s not like they’ve been building for a while. Let’s look at the WWE Championship match.
This may be redundant but they could have done this better. Randy Orton didn’t beat John Cena for the title. He was given the title. Triple H beat him then he beat Triple H later on. They haven’t really mentioned that much. Have the announcer’s mention that Orton didn’t beat Cena. Have a Cena promo telling Orton he didn’t beat him and he’s coming for his title. They could have teased Triple H-Orton backstage at the Royal Rumble. For me, I’m somebody that picks up on the subtle things. In a movie, if something small happens and it turns out to affect the story later, I pick up on that. You know what I mean? How you’re watching something, you see something, and then later on you see it again, you’re like, “OHHHHHHHHH YEAHH!?” It’s kind of like that. If you know what I mean, good. If you don’t know what I mean, sorry I couldn’t explain it better!
Over on the Smackdown side, the Edge-Undertaker stuff should have been dynamic. I honestly haven’t seen Smackdown the past week or so I don’t really know what they’ve been doing. I don’t get the reasons why they’re doing a 3-on-1 match. They could have tried a Ryder-Hawkins series against Undertaker with Edge not wanting to get involved. They could have played the “respect” angle that Edge doesn’t respect what Undertaker’s done over the years at Wrestlemania. If they’ve done that, great! Like I said, I haven’t seen the stuff they’ve done except what I read in the spoilers and what I read in reports.
Moving on, I’m in agreement with Stone Cold Steve Austin about the mishandling of the Ric Flair Farewell Tour. I don’t mind having different guys “step up” and try to knock off Flair. It’s a good way to get guys noticed. However, I don’t like it when it’s just a random guy each month. They could have played the chance that Shawn Michaels would get involved earlier in the angle. I do like the fact they’re teasing a heel turn. Like this week, I’m hoping for a Sweet Chin Music to Flair. I see that it’s a respect thing between Michaels & Flair but I would really like it if a young heel could get involved. Take MVP or Kennedy. They both got involved but not to the extent I would have wanted them to. They get involved, they feud for a month, they lose, and Flair moves on.
Other than that, I’ll enjoy the Money in the Bank Ladder match as always. If it involves ladders, a briefcase or a title, and a bunch of guys, I’ll gladly watch the event. It’s enough of Wrestlemania, let’s get to the Wrestlemania Rematch RAW is Blogged!!!
RAW is Blogged:
Tonight’s RAW was one of those big, 3-hour editions with a slew of Wrestlemania rematches. There’s limited possibilities in what they can do unless they stretch a few things.
We started off RAW with the Nature Boy, Ric Flair! He came out and talked about his match at Wrestlemania with Shawn Michaels. They talked about giving it 100% and how they’ll steal Wrestlemania. If this was about 10 years ago, most definitely they would steal the show. Then again, they probably will steal it this year. HBK then puts in his services for Flair’s Steel Cage match against Edge & the Edgeheads this Friday on Smackdown. That brought out the WWE Champion, Randy Orton. He says he’s the GM this week and says that Triple H will face Kane. That was from Wrestlemania 15, if you’re keeping score at home. Orton then makes another match between Shawn Michaels and John Cena, from last year’s Wrestlemania. I guess they didn’t want JBL beating down Cena.
They hyped the ‘Mania 22 match between The Undertaker and Mark Henry from a few years back. I hope everybody will take note that I’m trying to keep a lot of my opinions out of the blog.
Back from commercial, it’s DRUID TIME!!! I had been hoping they would get involved during the Edge storyline. How about 50something druids lining the entrance way at Wrestlemania 24? That would be so sweet. The King of Spandex came out next and had a decent match with Undertaker. ‘Taker slapped on the choke submission and won the match, of course. He posed with the ‘Mania logo as we went to commercial.
Backstage, we see Money Mayweather getting dressed with his buddies. Triple H cut a pre-taped promo about living to become the WWE Champion. Yay!
Next up, it was Finlay against Mr. Kennedy, I’m guessing from the Money in the Bank Ladder match from last year. This match ended with Finlay destroying Kennedy with the shillelagh (hope I spelled that right). I’m guessing this is stemming from the anger with the attack on Hornswoggle.
Jeff Hardy took on Chris Jericho for the IC title in our next contest. I enjoyed the match. These two put on a great show a week or so ago. It took me back to the end of 2006 when the IC title was a hot potato. They had a great match and Jericho became the new Intercontinental Champion! Excellent match. Now, if they’ll feud for a while.
In this day in age when Iran is posing a threat to the United States, I’ve got mixed feelings about having the Iron Sheik waving the Iranian flag. I don’t have a problem with Volkoff. The U.S. Express was their opponents. I remember when Barry Windham was with the West Texas Rednecks in WCW. He could wrestle. Of course, you can’t forget about Mike “IRS” Rotunda. This is a big flashback to the past. Jillian came out, tried to sing, and was dealt with accordingly.
Next up was the WWE Hall of Fame inductee and it’s the Jack & Gerry Briscoe! Imagine that team against the ROH’s Jay & Mark Briscoe. Damn!
After the break, they hyped the “official” weigh-in for the match between Show & Mayweather at Wrestlemania. They then hyped the reviewed the match between Kane & Triple H at Wrestlemania 15. You know, before Kane went soft on us? They also hyped that John Legend will be singing “America the Beautiful” at Wrestlemania 24. This event does keep getting bigger.
The Game made his way out for his match against Kane, a rematch from Wrestlemania 15. I used to fear Kane when he had the mask and the one sleeve. They had a decent match. It must be nice to have a guy like Kane on the roster. He could be a dominant champion but he’s willing to let guys go over on him. Triple H picked up the win and he & Orton stared each other down afterwards.
After the break, John Cena cut a pre-taped promo. Even with the few suck-up statements to his competitors, it was damn good!
Melina came out next for a Divas match. In other notes, Colin Delaney snapped last week on ECW. Melina said they would have a WM pre-match, instead of a rematch. Maria looked damn good. Also, Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk for the ECW title. They won’t be having a match at Wrestlemania for the belt, despite the damn good show they could put on. Melina got the win. After that, they hyped up “Pretty Boy” Floyd “I can’t talk on a mic but I’m money” Mayweather. We took a tour of his house and his stuff. Damn, I might need to get involved in boxing and get that money! The weigh-in would be after the commercial break.
I’m not a fan of 50 Cent but I do like the beat in the “I Get Money” song. They did the little weigh with Mayweather coming in at 159 pounds and Show at 441.4. Show then called out his little posse, which consisted of every guy on the roster not involved at Wrestlemania. He cut a damn good promo. Mayweather got on the mic and after everything he said, the crowd popped with a “WHAT!?” Mayweather threw out some money and show picked it up and gave it to his guys. Mayweather sucks on the mic. Once again, at Wrestlemania 24, Mayweather will break Show’s jaw, in case you didn’t tune in last week and you missed this week. He’ll break Show’s jaw. Towards the end of the segment, Show picked up Mayweather and tossed him outside onto some of the WWE guys. This brought out a pull-apart that would pretty good. Shane O’Mac got pushed down and when he got up, he looked pissed. I don’t think Floyd’s posse were instructed how to do a proper pull-apart.
They aired an Orton pre-tape. This will help greatly with the build.
You think you know me? Edge along with the Edgeheads came out for his Wrestlemania Rematch against CM Punk. This was once again stemming from the MITB match from last year. These two had a pretty damn good match. The finish was cool. Punk went for the Go To Sleep, he ran after one of the E-Heads, then went after the other and Edge hit the spear for the win. Damn good. Put Punk on Smackdown and let these two feud!
Back from commercial, Silly Willy Regal was in the ring. He hyped the RAW-Smackdown match between Umaga & Batista. Word has it Umaga will be heading to Smackdown after Wrestlemania. Batista came out and they had a pull-a-part. Best thing so far in their build towards Wrestlemania.
Next up was the main event between John Cena and Shawn Michaels. HBK got a nice pop and Cena got his usual mixed reaction. Words can’t describe this match. They pulled out all of the stops. Orton tried to hit an RKO but Cena reversed it and hit an FU.
Triple H came on and announced that Orton & Cena would be tag partners next week against the entire RAW roster. DAMN!
I give this RAW:
3 out of 4 ring posts
The show was good but it was a little long. I’ll stick with a 2-hour show. Nitro is one of the reasons I don’t like 3 hour shows.
“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. Edge
2. Randy Orton
3. Triple H
4. The Undertaker
5. John Cena
6. CM Punk
7. Chavo Guerrero
8. Ric Flair +1
9. MVP +1
10. Chris Jericho NEW
“Wrestlemania” Match of the Week
Wrestlemania 21
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels
RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
ECW - Tuesdays at 10PM on SciFi
Friday Night Smackdown - Fridays at 8PM on the CW
Wrestlemania 24 - March 30 - 7PM - Only on PPV!
Tags: Big Show, Edge-Punk, Floyd Mayweather, John Cena, Randy Orton, Wrestlemania
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March 10th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
FIRST
March 10th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
LOL nice. So next week is two hrs of tag matches with Randy and Cena? As ya said Luke DAMN
March 10th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
so i’m really curious with how they’ll do the whole raw roster vs cena/orton thing, but if it does end up being one massive 2-hour long (or even an hour) gaunlet style match up……damn! that would definitely be something worth watching!
March 10th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
i bet its gonna be like all the wwe guys on one side and cena and orton alone on the other side.. or they can do a gauntlet u people say.
I thought this Raw as FANTASTIC! but they should not give Merryweather the mic!!
March 11th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Yeah, I agree with you Luke, Kane can definitely be a dominant champ its just that he’d rather put over other talent unlike Triple H who’d rather be in the spotlight all the time.
Can’t wait for the MITB match at WM, I would like Kane and Elijah Burke to be added but i’ve read that the WWE is planning to put Punk and Guerrero in it as they don’t feel confident that they can put a decent match. I’m hoping for Punk vs Guerrero in an Extreme Rules match for the ECW title. Oh well, no surprise when WWE disappoints the fans.
Great blog by the way!
March 11th, 2008 at 2:27 am
Raw was excellent in my opinion an floyd isnt really injured its just storyline. finlay jbl belfast brawl at wm24 sud b good. y2j new ic champ is great an this probably means jeff will win mitb an y2j get a nice push a ic champ he can carry that division.
hardyfan i want punk an matt hardy to get final spots in mitb not chavo cuz he is ecw champ no ponit of him beign init. an matt can continue his fued with mvp in mitb also matt is great in ladder mathces. lets hope matt returns this week or sumthink an qualfyies for mitb.
this week on ecw it sud be punk v chavo in a mitb qualfyier with punk winnning if there not going to do ecw title at wm24.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Did anyone else notice the poor reaction for hardy. whats up with that? whatd u think luke?
March 11th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I don’t know. Sometimes, it depends on the type of crowd you get. I do know Jeff Hardy has been suspended for a wellness violation, which tosses his chances of winning the MITB out the window.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Way to blow it Jeff. You finally get a boatload of momentum behind you and are finally getting the upper echelon push that you deserve and you go and fuck it up.
Jeff Hardy needs to study Rob Van Dam very carefully. Like Hardy, the decision makers were never fully sold on RVD. They finally give him a shot at being the champ and he goes and blows it. RVD gave them what they wanted, a legit reason to take him out of the picture. Now Jeff Hardy is precariously close to doing the same thing. Despite the fan support, there are many that are not sold on Hardy as a World Champ and now he is starting to give them legit reasons to keep him out of the picture.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am
OMG jeff hardy suspeneded for 60 days wtf why did he violate the wellness policy when he had a ton of momentum behind him an was prob going to mitb i expect him to have to earn his way back up after he returns.
Hes been taken out of mitb which sucks looks like matt hardy kane an punk will get final places but who will win it? kennedy y2j mvp? i say y2j is favourite.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
OMG! Luke said Cena did a good promo. I guess he really does call it like he sees it. Good job Luke.
I thought last nights show was pretty good. Not knowing why at the time but I was happy to see Hardy drop the title. At the time I thought they finally decided to get that belt off of him since they had him in the main event scene. Guess not. Either way, I’ll take Jericho as IC champ. At least they aren’t using him in ht emain event scene so maybe now it will be defended. This could be a good thing for that belt.
Good blog this week Luke.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Well as far Jeff Hardy winning the WWE belt by Summerslam those chances are over with now that he fucked up his own push. My question is why do these guys do dumb shit fuck up there pushes and then they never get back to the top like RVD & Kennedy and I bet that Hardy was going to win the MITB match too now. I think they just gonna let somebody win the match that doesn’t deserve it. I think the next best canadate to win MITB is probably Kennedy.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
RAW this week was kinda cheap, but then again when isn’t it? Richard mentioned last week that 30 minutes of wrestling in last week’s TNA Impact! and while this is a rarity for Impact! Raw is usually about 30 minutes of wrestling, but Raw went 3 hours and only about 34 minutes of wrestling and that’s counting that pathetic display of women’s wrestling.
However, the Jericho/Hardy match was good, as was the Edge/Punk match.
I don’t get the whole Sheik/Volkoff vs Windham/Rotundo “match.” What was the point?
March 11th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I am not trying to start crap, but for all the shit everybody has to say about Triple H “using his power”, he would never let the company down. He and The Undertaker are probably the two most dependable superstars the company has or will ever have.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Did anyone else notice that Rick Ross was part of Mayweather’s crew?
March 11th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
MB, I had to admit, I enjoyed his promo. It was better than his usual suck-up stuff. Out of the 3, his was the best with Orton’s coming in 2nd and Trips in 3rd. He told what happened, how he lost the belt, how he wanted the belt back, etc. It was damn good.
Why they did the U.S. Express vs. Volkoff/Sheik, I don’t know.
Didn’t notice Rick Ross in Mayweather’s crew but I do know Fiddy Cent and G-Unit will be with Mayweather at ‘Mania. There was legit heat between the posse and the Superstars last night. If I was Vince or Shane, I wouldn’t tolerate any of that bullshit.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Looks like the BotchMaster Jeff Hardy’s ability to screw up still extends to his out of ring existence.
Hopefully with Jeff’s suspension WWE will pull their heads out of their collective asses and start pushing the Right Hardy brother. You know - the one who can actually wrestle and actually has mic skills.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Am I missing something? I saw the entrance to the US Express vs Volkoff/Sheik, but I never saw a match. They did the Jillian thing and that was it. Did they actually have a match and I missed it or was that the actual match?
March 11th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
master bates there was no match lol they came out jillan sang they spun her round an the segment ended lol
ECW looks good to night. punk v big daddy v in a mitb qualfyier expect punk to win cuz the mitb needs more faces init. also ecw gm estrada will make a mojor announment regarding ecw an wm24 prob sumthink 2 do with ecw title match if it is i hope chavo will face kane burke an morrison in a 4 way.
an finally morrison an miz v dreamer an deleney extreme rules sud be good hope dreamer an deleney win lol
March 11th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
ok just making sure I didn’t miss something. Some of the comments make it sound like they had a match and I wouldn’t call it that unless they actually has a match. If spinning a girl around on your shoulders like that is a wrestling match then I’ve wrestled a lot of matches in my time.
And yeah, ECW looks like it could be good. Hopefully it is.
March 11th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Wow this completely throws my scenario out of the window.I do hope they don’t put MITB on Misterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Kennedy again after they screwed him last year with Edge.But i do see a Jericho-Kennedy feud in the works.That’d be awesome.Even though Y2J has IC belt he is still a contender for MITB in my books.The only face they have right now is Punk.My picks for MITB are Punk,Y2J,MVP,Kennedy,Benjamin in that order so far.Do you think Matt will get a shot.This situation with Jeff has thrown a lot of this stuff up in the air
March 11th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Dreamer/Delaney and Morrison/Miz are putting on a show.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
this wrestlemania was a lil dissapointing. i mean flair/HBK, almost certain hbk win. Batista/umaga, umaga has been jobbing to HHH while batista is looking great with his matches with taker, so it just feel a lil mismatched.
my opinion in why jeff screwed himself,
1- he needed to impress the management team and always did 110% in the ring. now his body can’t withstand hence the drug comes into mind.
2- he is just a loser that can’t abandon the drug.
just stating my opinion, no harsh feeling to hardy fans out there.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Damn! It sux that Jeff Hardy got suspended for 60 days. I was so looking forward to see him in MITB as Jeff was definitely give us some awesome moves again. This is gonna be a long 60 days for me. What are your thoughts?
Why Jeff? Why?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:33 am
All that I can say about Jeff Hardy is that he did it to himself. He had the WWE Championship around his waist within months and he screwed himself over. Great Job Jeff! See you in 2 Months.
ECW was the best I’ve seen in a LONG time. I like the Battle Royal for a shot at the ECW Title that same night at ‘Mania. I’m calling the winner right now: Rey Mysterio. I haven’t been on the site in a long time, so if he’s injured and out for a while and will miss ‘Mania, forgive my stupidity.
Kofi Kingston looked good in the ring as usual. This dude is going to be a big star. The crowd already loves this guy.
The Extreme Rules was probably the best on this show since The Paul Heyman Era, and one from the post-Heyman Era in that ECW Originals/New Breed Match. Anyway, the match was awesome. It had everything ECW fans wanted. Well, not everything, but it was a great match.
I didn’t like Khali squashing Steven Richards. They give him the buildup and he gets sqaushed.
The Punk/Big Daddy V match was somewhat predicatble. I thought it would end in a DQ finish.
Money looks like it’ll be the best one yet. Still haven’t found the match to challenge the one from WrestleMania 21.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I dnt get ecw till thursday in the uk but i sounds like a gd show.
So 10 wm matches 2 were added last night 24 man battle royal for a shot a chavo an the ecw championship match. Am calling matt hardy or kane to win
Now MITB 7 superstars if u read the spoilers are confirmed Kennedy Y2J Carlito MVP Shelton CM Punk and ??? i dnt want to spoil it for u but this week on SD ??? v ??? is touted as the final mitb qualifying match WTF wwe an on wwe.com if u click on mobile exclusive it says ?? v ?? is the fianl mitb qualfying match so only 7 stars thats a odd number to have isnt it so wwe really cant find a replacement for jeff so they have to go with 7 in mitb.
i really want/wanted matt hardy in the match. the “final mitb qualyfiyng match” this week on sd i hope in the end turns out that wwe are trying to fool us an wwe do sumthink like a last chance battle royal next week on one of the 3 shows were matt wins. or wwe cud do the 7 confirmed stars in mitb an announce a mystery oppent for the match as well to appear on the night of course it wud be matt hardy i cud imagine the look on mvps face matt returns as final oppnent in mitb.
other option is matt or kane will win battle royal an win ecw title at wm 24 but i want kane to do that thats y i want matt in mitb!!
March 12th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Hey Luke don’t stop putting in ur own comments about what happens about situations!!!! That’s the whole reason y I read ur blog; without ur comments, it’s just like watching the show by itself.
What is wrong wit the WM title match? U have the 3 top contenders in 1 match for the most precious prize in this business!!! What else could u ask for? Besides Hardy; but he screwed himself.
The only problem I have wit the recent Mania card is that gay Battle Royal!
It’s not needed!!! They should’ve stayed wit the plan of putting chavo and cm punk in the Money in the Bank.
Now were stuck wit only cm punk (bueno!!) and john morrison?
Now cm punk my not get another shot at the title; that Chavo doesn’t even deserve.
The Money in the Bank match has seriously gone downhill wit Morrison; if they add Matt Hardy, it might become decent.
I hope WWE proves me wrong!
What do you say?
March 12th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I won’t stop putting the comments in. I’ll try and limit them though.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Jeff time is over. Now it Matt time
March 12th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I’m hoping WWE use Hardy’s suspension for something good and restore the intercontinental title. First Y2J should hold it for a time, in a feud with Kennedy. That could be amazing, as they are both great on the mic and good in the ring. Kennedy should win the belt in the end,a nd then challenge the guy that’s holding the US title (MVP or maybe Hardy) for a title vs. title match. The WWE can unify them and put the one belt on Raw.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Well being on a ship here in Asia I found out that they play SD on mondays at 3am and Raw on Tuesdays at 3am so if I want to watch them I’ll have to lose some sleep so I’ll see if I can muster it up to watch them both mornings.
Morrison a let down in MITB, WTF? Morrison has great ability in the ring and will have a good showing in the MITB. His gimmick isn’t that electrifying right now but his in ring work is good stuff. His fued with Hardy was pretty damn good. I’m looking to see the corkscrew moonsault off the ladder or maybe the corkscrew neckbreaker. What Johnny needs to do is use that Redstar press like he does on SD vs Raw 2008.
I like the Battle royal idea. I think its different for WM and could add to the storyline for a few weeks. I mean with all the tops guys from each brand already taken who could actually win this and put on a good match. It would be amazing to see punk lose in the MITB, win the battle royal then win his title back from Chavo. But I think the WWE would say thats to much Punk for one show, so maybe Kofi will win.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I watch raw on tv and only read this blog for your opinions, so put them in!!
March 13th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Kinaj, the battle royal idea is a horrible one! The only good way this will work is with Punk; but WWE won’t do it cause there afraid to use Punk’s superior talent!
So this match is a horrible idea! It has know meaning except wanna be mid-carders fighting for a no-nothing ECW title!
They would b better off just having Chavo in the MITB match and skipping a ECW title match at Mania!
March 14th, 2008 at 4:29 am
on jeff hardy, sometimes personal demons take over lives. in this situation it happend on the worst possible time. he was lined up for the big push. hopefully the locker room leaders can push him in the right direction.
wrestlemania is looking pretty good. in looking for the mitb. or raw vs. smackdown. and world hvwt title to steal the show. hopefully flair vs. michaels can deliver also…. i also hope big stevie cool gets the win in the battle royale then beats chavo. he deserves it.
March 14th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I have to say im totally dissapointed by jeff hardy. going to see a raw house show in belfast next month and was really lookin 4ward to seein him live. keep ur opinions in the blog luke!
March 14th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
We all know the battle royal in the beginning is going to suck but if the E wants to make it a good match they can. Leave Burke, Kendrick, Richards, Kingston, and Kane in the last 5 spots and we could have a good showing.
Now that Jeff isn’t in the MITB I wonder who is going to fill his spot and do the insane spot that he would have.
I would like to see Umaga win at WM, I just saw clips of what he did in the elimination chamber and think he did an amazing job.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
They’ll probably put those guys in the ECW Championship Rumble/Match. It will be interesting to see over the next week or two.