By Luke Parks on August 26th, 2008
Pre-Show Notes:
I want to start off this week with some clarification about my comments concerning HBK & Jericho. I got a few e-mails concerning my “love” of the angle and violence against women. First off, I despise any violence against women in real life. I strongly dislike people who hit or abuse women. Jericho’s hit on HBK’s wife was “good” to get heat on him for that very reason: dislike of violence against women. I mean, if Jericho hit somebody’s wife, I’d want to kick his ass. That’s his job: get people where they want to kick your ass. This is an old-school wrestling feud and it’s the best thing going today. HBK’s ready to beat Jericho’s ass. It’s not some “oh, I don’t have an issue with you but we’ve got a match at Summerslam and did I mention we both won a world title and a Royal Rumble” feud. That’s shit I hate. This “I hate you. You hate me. Let’s fight” along with a few more tidbits is what I like.
Next up is the lack of original ideas spawning from the creative team these days. Now, last week I somewhat ripped the idea of the scramble match for a championship. Then on Friday Night Smackdown, they are using the same idea. I get that the creative team is headed up by the Billion Dollar Princess, Stephanie McMahon, but damn. I didn’t mind two Elimination Chamber matches at No Way Out, although I felt it drastically took away from the Royal Rumble match and the build up to Wrestlemania. But two scramble matches for the main titles? What’s next? Two Hell in a Cell matches on one card? Two TLC matches on one card? I get the idea here is to make money and make fans want to buy an event but two matches of the same kind on the same card doesn’t do it for me. Hell, the rules were somewhat complicated and they’ve changed them a little too. They had me thinking that whoever scored a pin would be the champ and have that count towards their career stats.
Some people say I’m too tough on the creative team but shit. You would think that they’re paid enough to come up with different storylines and different matches. What would be wrong with a singles match from one brand and maybe a triple threat or Fatal Four-Way from the other? Is it that hard to come up with wrestling storylines? I advocate for multi-man matches only when they’ve all got a legitimate beef and a new direction is needed. Let’s look at the RAW stars involved. Of course Punk is the champ. However, Cena lost at Summerslam and then buried the tag champs. JBL lost to Punk then buried Jamie Noble. Kane didn’t even have a match, yet he’s in the match. Batista won that dream match (sarcasm intended) against Cena at Summerslam and then buried Paul Burchill. What the f*ck? Hell, at least on Smackdown they got to compete in qualifying matches for a spot and their’s is LOADED with young talent. I think the whole scramble match deal is just a bad idea in general. It screams TNA! TNA! All that’s missing is a pole and then an overbooked finish. Maybe Adamle will add that pole stip in there this weekend. Hell, now they’re doing a scramble match for the ECW Championship. WHAT THE F*CK!?
Of course the news of John Cena being injured is a big deal. No matter how you feel about him, the guy’s a money maker. I hope everything works out and John is back in the ring quickly to do what he does best: entertain the people.
Now, let’s get to RAW is Blogged!!!
RAW is Blogged:
RAW gets kicked off from Wilkes-Barre, PA with World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk!
Match #1: CM Punk vs. JBL
These two opened the show with a pretty good match with a weak finish. The funny stuff came during the match when Michael Cole tried to clarify the rules multiple times for Jerry Lawler and the viewing audience. After a few missed tries, they noted that the rules are on WWE.com (or wrestlingnewsworld.com) for anybody that wants to see them. As noted before, they wrestled a tremendous match. The finish saw JBL try to use a chair before the referee pulled it away. Then Punk grabbed JBL and delivered the weakest GTS to date for the win.
Winner: CM Punk
Promo Segment: Mike Adamle
Adamle comes out to tell everybody that John Cena suffered a herniated disc at the hands of Batista during their match at Summerslam. Because of this, he won’t be able to compete at Unforgiven in the scramble match. Adamle says the will name a replacement by the end of the night. This is very unfortunate because Cena is a money maker for the company. I hope he heals fast and makes it back with his health squared away.
Meanwhile backstage, Kane said that what Batista did to John Cena was nothing compared to what he did to Rey Mysterio. I’m loving the sick, sadistic, old-school Kane.
Elsewhere, Mike Adamle caught up with Primo Colon. He said he was nothing like his jerk brother, Carlito. Shawn Michaels showed up looking for Chris Jericho. I wish they had kept him off another week but we can’t always get what we want.
Match #2: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix
I guess they’re trying to get Kelly over as a second face behind Mickie James. It’s not working to me. A wrestler must have some offense and at least execute that offense without being sloppy or hurting their opponent in the process. That failed this week as Kelly bloodied Beth’s nose. Santino was distracting Beth as Kelly got the roll-up for the win.
Winner: Kelly Kelly
Post match saw Beth destroy Santino. Freakin’ hilarious.
Match #3: Primo Colon vs. Charlie “Charlito” Haas
Why they did this is beyond me. I guess Charlie Haas is the company bitch for the rest of his career. Primo hit some basic moves including a clothesline followed by a dance. When did the Disco Inferno sign a contract? Haas attempted the Back Cracker/Stabber but Primo escaped and hit a crossbody for the win. Decent debut.
Winner: Primo Colon
In-Ring Segment: Shawn Michaels & Chris Jericho
HBK came down to the ring for an update on his career. He said his wife was tough and she would be ok. He talked about coming to Summerslam to tell everybody thank you and his wife was there to support him & she ended up getting punched in the face. He said he looked in her eyes and knew he wasn’t done yet. Jericho appeared on the screen and said he was at WWE Studios. They argued before they agreed on an Unsanctioned Match (similar to the one HBK & Triple H took part in a few years ago) at Unforgiven. This segment & feud has been top-notch. Everything is working and it’s the best thing going in WWE right now.
Match #4: Priceless Dream vs. Jerry Lawler & Hacksaw Jim Duggan
The thing that irks me about this is the long break they had in between the matches. Most fans might forget that Rhodes & DiBiase attacked Duggan and Lawler got involved. Rhodes & DiBiase worked over Lawler before Duggan got the hot tag and made a comeback. DiBiase hit a cobra clutch leg sweep for the win.
Winners: Priceless Dream
Post match saw Cody Rhodes vow to get their titles back. Cryme Tyme came out and said the reason they stole them was because they weren’t getting a title shot. Well, that makes sense. CT asked for a match at Unforgiven and PD accepted. They said they would get their belts back and it would be priceless. CT then told them that nothing was priceless. That it was all about the “money, money” and the crowd added the “yeah, yeah” before we went to commercial. Good segment.
Backstage, Todd Grisham talked with Batista about his match with Kane later in the night.
Match #5 - Intercontinental Championship: Santino Marella vs. Kofi Kingston
This was a fun match. Santino is such an interesting character and Kofi works well. The only thing is, if Santino continues to get over with his comedic heel gimmick, the fans might turn him face. Santino tried to leave before his mama Beth came and told him to get back in there and fight. She ended up tripping Kofi, who fell on Santino’s knee and Santino got the pin. They ended up kissing afterwards.
Winner: Santino Marella
They showed some footage from the Democratic National Convention. The Smackdown your Vote campaign is a very good tool. I’m glad they’re actually educating voters on the candidates’ stances rather than just registering them to vote.
Mike Adamle then announced that Rey Mysterio would take John Cena’s place in the championship scramble. This seems stupid considering how they wanted to be safe with Rey’s biceps muscle. They should have just left it as a 4-man scramble instead of naming Rey the replacement. Or, they could have had a qualifying match to fill the last spot.
Main Event: Kane vs. Batista
It’s the battle of the no-selling monsters! Kane worked Batista’s knee, which Batista over-sold somewhat the entire match. This match almost put me to sleep. It had been a long day and these two just fought in a slow, boring pace. Kane ended up attacking Batista’s knee with a chair.
Winner: Batista by DQ
Post match saw Batista go on a rampage with a chair before collapsing to end the show.
I give this RAW:
2 out of 4 ring posts
Wow. Michaels-Jericho is the best thing going today. Everything else is cannon-fodder. If you don’t know that word, look it up: fodder. They didn’t really progress anything as far as the scramble goes. Sure, the competitors had matches against each other but why not have them talk about the scramble and the chance to win the title? The Santino-Beth stuff is good. I wasn’t very pleased with this week’s show and if Smackdown continues, they’ll destroy RAW as far as storylines & action are concerned.
“RAW is Blogged” Power Rankings
1. CM Punk
2. Triple H
3. Mark Henry
4. Batista
5. The Undertaker
6. MVP
7. Santino Marella
8. Chris Jericho
9. Jeff Hardy NEW
10. Kane NEW
Honorable Mention:
Shelton Benjamin, JBL, Beth Phoenix, The Brian Kendrick
“RAW is Blogged” Match of the Week
Backlash 2000
WWE Championship
The Rock vs. Triple H
“RAW is Blogged” YouTube Clip of the Week
The Future Version of Team Xtreme - http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gxqq5K0johc
RAW - Mondays at 9PM on USA Network
Unforgiven - September 7 - 8PM - Only on PPV!
Tags: Championship Scramble, Match of the Week, Power Rankings, Unforgiven, YouTube Clip of the Week
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August 26th, 2008 at 11:31 am
The only worthwhile thing on Raw right now is the Michaels/Jericho feud. And I will say that this feud has been off the charts!
Jericho and Michaels are cutting what could be the greatest series of promos that we have ever seen.
Right now Raw is a thrown together afterthought of a show (although I am interested in seeing where they go with Kane). I am convinced that the writers on Raw are simply throwing shit at a dartboard and making the show on that.
What was the point of having King and Duggan fight Rhodes/DiBiase?! Why not have them work with Cryme Tyme directly to build the feud?
How many times do we need to see Punk open the show fighting the Flabby God himself JBL?
And I agree, right now Smackdown is far better than Raw and they seem to be going in opposite directions. Smackdown has better wrestling, better storylines and overall is just a better show.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Michaels-Jericho is the best thing going on raw. Followed by Glamarella. The rest was meh, although I laughed my ass off when Batista cut another homoerotic promo on John Cena.
Rey Mysterio? Really? I used to be a big fan, but I haven’t liked Mysterio since he put his mask back on and basically spit in the face of the luchador tradition.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
ok. wow horrible blog.. luke no disrespect and i dont want to start a fight but u talk, no complain alot about how cena no sells and is overbooked as a hero and goes over every1 and u point out that hes not intertaining to u and i know u like him as a person but u wrote that u hope he comes back asap to entertain?.. something u complain about him not doing. i dont get that.
and raw was decent. kelly kelly actualy had a very good match.
wat does unsanctioned match mean?
and i thhought the kane and batista match was awesome. 2 big man fighting it out till the last breath was awesome. both looked dominant and it was very entertaining. kane is the man
August 26th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Honestly, I think that I am going to stop watching RAW for a while.
I hate the direction that they are going with everything except Shawn Michaels and Y2J.
However, as Richard said in one of his “Richard Reacts”, why not add Y2J in the scramble and have HBK cost him the chance? Nothing on RAW makes sense anymore.
Nothing against Rey Mysterio but it would have been better to keep him off until a later date. The Kane angle was going somewhere good until they added the Mysterio mask.
Nothing is making sense and I just do not care for RAW anymore. Like Luke said, at least on Smackdown, they had qualifying matches and it is loaded with younger talent.
Hopefully, I will get MyNetworkTV and continuing to watch Smackdown! Hell, even ECW is better than RAW.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Main event was utterly horrible, Kane and Batista just can’t wrestle against each other, i can’t see much chemistry. I really liked the jericho/micheals segment, cryme tyme, rhodes/dibiase segment, and the glamarella stuff. Kane Promo was pretty good too… the rest of raw wasn’t that entertaining to me personally. It sucks about Cena though.
Why does punk have to open the show every week in a match? get a low card wrestler or a jobber to do the opening match, not the f’ing champ!
August 26th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Their were really only 2 things that didn’t work out for me in the show.
- Rey Mysterio just being placed in the match. I’m a big fan of his but damn please make him in the qualifying match at least.
- Their was no progress in terms of the main event. What happened to that? All we got are some matches with the contendors although surprisingly none on them cut a promo on their world title match.
On to Raw this week:
- CM Punk/JBL had quite a good match and it was enjoyable. I agree with Luke on the GTS. It looked really REALLY weak when it hit. What about the Anaconda Vise? He should use that again. Great match overall.
- It was surprising to here that Cena’s gonna be out. But this time I hope he doesn’t pull off a superman like last time and come back sooner than expected. I wish him the best though.
- Kane was awesome in his segment on Batista. His old school self is definetely one of the good things about Raw.
- Kelly Kelly vs Beth was a decent match and Kelly is showing more signs of improvement in the ring. I ending of the match was f**kin’ hilarious however. Santino never gets old! His comedic heel pussy character is one of the best things to happen since the Rock!
- Primos debut was decent but nothing to write home about. I hope they give him a better finisher. It seems that every new guys finisher is a crossbody nowadays. Or is that just me? It won’t be long till Charlie Haas is wished away in future endeavors. Really he has nothing going for him now.
- Words can’t describe the HBK/Y2J segment. It was so intense so filled with emotion. This is what storytelling should be about. I would have preferred this match to be saved to WM25 but oh well. Jericho is definetely good at getting heat. I actually began hating the guy yesterday. He’s definetely doing a great job and is up their with Edge Orton and JBL as a top heel. I CAN’T WAIT for their match. I’ll order Unforgiven for it if I have to. So yeah this was one heated segment.
- I didn’t really watch the Priceless Dream/ Duggan and King match because I knew what the result would be. I DID however watch Cryme Time when they appeared. This was a great segment and CT and the PD’s interaction was great. It’s kinda sad that these guys are the only 2 tag teams on Raw. But hey I look forward to their match and PD is finally going to be defending their gold against a REAL tag team on PPV.
- The IC title match was pretty good. Kofi dominated but Santino got a few good moves in showing he’s still a solid worker. Beths interference was expected and the way she tripped Kofi hitting Santino’s knee really looked like it hurt. These 2 had the funniest interactions. Hilarious stuff.
- I would agree that Kane vs Batista was slow. It didn’t really pick up but they both did a great job of selling their injuries. The match was a bit slow but it was still watchable and I still enjoyed it to some extent. Of course the ending was a no contest. None of them could look weak before their title match.
So the show was solid for me. It wasn’t the best Raw but it was still good. I give it an 8/10
One thing to say. 3 CHAMPIONSHIP SCRAMBLE MATCHES???? Your kidding right? I liked the concept at first but now with all the changes being made this match stipulation reeks with a TNA-esque feel. One I’d be fine with. 2 wouldn’t be so bad. but 3???!!?!?!?!?!?!?! We’ll just have to see what happens. Hopefully SD! and ECW are better.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Let’s face it, WWE SUCKS! Its not the same, Creatively. What did last night’s Raw solved besides HBK and Y2J being the best feud right now, NOTHING!
WWE is in serious trouble and they need to pull something out of their ass, Quick!
August 26th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
And I would have to agree with Billy the champ should main event the show not START the show.
I guess I’m the only one positive here because everyone else seems to be bashing the show. The kane angle makes no logical sense even though his character kicks ass. And well the title storytelling has been terrible. But come on guys was Raw really THAT bad?? I’m not being an ass but it didn’t come off that bad. But everyone to themselves I guess.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Simon, apparently you’ve never been on here when I’ve praised Cena for being able to entertain. I never said he couldn’t entertain. I said he was overbooked and didn’t sell stuff. There’s a distinct difference in being able to entertain and being able to sell/execute moves, etc. I guess those few lines of me praising Cena and stating the obvious made my blog “horrible.”
August 26th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Okay Luke just ignore that. If he doesn’t know what unsanctioned means then simply ignore. Plus the “logic” wasn’t even logic.
Like I said, if he doesn’t remember Triple H vs. HBK in an unsanctioned match at Summerslam 2002, then forget it.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
For all you Cena haters out there that constantly blog about his constant pushes don’t have to worry about him being in any title picture for a long time. But I was just reading if he has to get his neck fused together like Benoit, Edge, or Austin did then he’s going to miss some very significant time he might even miss WrestleMania 25 or even next year’s Summerslam.
As For Luke, I agree with you on WWE lack of creative direction. I think that they are getting out of hand with all these Championship Scramble matches. Unforgiven is looking alot like No Way Out did with it’s 2 Elimination Chamber matches earlier in the year.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Personally I wish instead of WWE doing 3 Championship Scramble matches at Unforgiven, they could of had HHH vs Undertaker for the WWE Title b/c to be honest I don’t see anyone from the Smackdown scramble match walking out with the gold but HHH. I think Punk may also retain the World Title as well in the Raw Scramble match. I think matt hardy might walk out as the new ECW Champion in the ECW Scramble match as well.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
If RAW were the only one doing the scramble then maybe I would accept it. However, with all three brands doing it, it is just massive overkill.
You could very easily add Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry in an Extreme Rulez match at Unforgiven.
Then a Triple Threat with Triple H vs. MVP vs Jeff Hardy or even a singles match between MVP vs. Triple H.
Then have RAW use the Scramble idea. I could easily go with those matches there. That way, you would have more matches on the card and make it look legit.
However, William above said it is looking like No Way Out. NWO turned out to be an enjoyable PPV in my opinion. I esp. was not happy with the buildup to NWO but was surprised with how good it turned out to be. So maybe, WWE will swerve us and actually have Unforgiven be a good PPV.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Woo fuckaloo, another episode of uncooked Raw. They’re seriously beginning to slip on basically everything, from matches to storylines to entertainment. This week was the newest in a series of piss-poor Raw, and I’m here to tell you why.
___________________________________
CM Punk vs. JBL. Seen it all before. They might as well have had a re-run of their SummerSlam encounter, because this was spot-for-spot the same damn match. I’m surprised there weren’t any “boring” chants, because this seriously warranted some.
* 1/2
Surprisingly few kids crying at the announcement of Cena’s injury by no-selling, which is another bad thing for Raw. Sounded like more cheers than boos for that, which basically isn’t good. It just took away the satisfaction from it. Anyway, Godspeed with your recovery Cena, can’t wait to see you back no-selling better than ever before.
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST LAUGHABLE. Having Kelly go over Beth Phoenix. What the fuck kind of bad acid have Raw’s Creative been drinking? She couldn’t even be a credible competitor against Nathan Jones. Ridiculous.
1/2 (only because there’s no lower score.)
The Charlito thing was surprisingly non-lame. Charlie did one hell of a damn good impression of the real Carlito, making his pre-taped box segment one of the most entertaining thing on Raw this yestermorrow. Carlito’s bro, Eddie “Primus” (or whatever) Colon looked pretty good in his debut match. Nothing hugely special, but I can see him being a great fit for Intercontinentaldom in the future. Maybe.
** 1/2
Jesus, the Jericho/HBK feud only gets better. It just seems so real, which is something WWE do not achieve often. But by having two of their best all-round guys in this feud creates magic. But what the heck is it with Chris Jericho’s “evil” facial expression? Looks like he’s got some dung under his nose or something. Or perhaps Snitsky was just in the room. I got chills, that’s how good the promo was.
DiBiase & CAWdy Rhodes just keep improving - they managed to pull a decent match out of the master of cheap pops - Hacksaw Jim Duggan! Nice to see the King in action too; he can wrestle pretty well for an “old” guy. Glad DiBiase & Rhodes were booked to win, because losing to Hacksaw and King would not help anyone at all. Funny post-match promo with Cryme Tyme.
** 1/2
The Intercontinental Championship match was the match of the night, actually. Kofi looked superb as usual, and Santino actually got in some offense. Though it wasn’t a fantastic match in any aspect of the word, it was the only diamond found in the vat of stool that was Monday’s Raw.
*** 1/2
Rey Mysterio instead of Cena? That’s not exactly a huge improvement, but it may be a pointer to the fact that the Rey Mysterio mask in Kane’s bag failure was just a swerve to fool us fans, which I accept. Raw has still got the worst Scrambled Eggs match, but it might potentially have a championship change. My money’s on Kane.
The main event was a bore. You could tell Batista didn’t bother to bring his “A-Game” and instead showed up with a D-Game attitude. Kane tried his best to carry Batista, but to no avail. The finish was also off-pissing. If Kane is supposed to become the old monster he was, he shouldn’t be put in situations to be beaten up by steroid users. Just me though.
_________________________________
Monday’s Raw was, with little to no exception, a waste of my time. No particularly good matches and only a handful of good segments. Raw needs to do something to avoid descending down to C-Show ranking.
5/10
August 26th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
HEY LUKE!!!!
Wanted you to know im still reading your blogs. I havent had much to say because youve been on a roll for a month or to. Keep up the GREAT WORK!
Oh and for you CENA fans… He is TERRIBLE in the ring! And i cant express my JOY that i wont see him in the wrestle untill summerslam. What a spectacular Wrestlemania we ll have.
See ya next year CENA.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
um i meant wrestling ring untill summerslam.
See ya next year CENA.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Creative sucks. RAW is the flagship show and its live, so that should mean that it gets the most attention. Hell my cat could have wrote this weeks RAW better.
Up til now the Jericho/Michaels feud has been excellent, because it had been played on anticipation, Michaels has returned to RAW too early. They should have slotted Jericho into the Scamble and have Michaels cost him the title.
JBL has improved in the ring but live TV (in my opinion) is not for him. Punk was a little slow tonight, I don’t know whether he was anticipating moves too much but I got bored. This wasn’t the Punk I fell in love with on ECW.
Finally we get Cryme Tyme Vs Rhodes and Dibiase. This match was horrible but the segment was good. Shad needs to understand that when his music hits he needs to shut up with the Money Money Yeah Yeah.
The best kind of music that they can come up with for Adamle is the RAW theme song?? They really need to sort him a character out. People are booing him, some are keeping quiet and some are cheering. Is he a heel? Is he a face? Is he in between? I’m all for a mixed reaction but this is ridiculous.
Bad news about Cena. I’m going to miss ripping him. Just a slight chuckle there, yes we may rip him to kingdom come but he is the biggest money maker in the sport today. Very few people come close to selling as much merchandise and drawing crowds as he does, he will be missed, until he comes back that is.
Kelly Kelly is beautiful, but she just can’t wrestle yet. She shouldn’t be going over the Queen. It didn’t hurt Beth’s credibility but it wasn’t necessary.
The best promos are those where one line is spoke, and its like you’ve heard a story. Also known as Undertaker and Kane promos. Kane is golden on the mic. The more mic work he does, the better. It would give him time to lose some weight and get back to the shape that he was back in late 2002.
The HBK/Jericho promo was good as well because it was real. Michaels shown emotion well and Jericho’s arrogance was fantastic. What’s happened to Lance Cade? Wasn’t he supposed to get a massive push? Hell instead of Mysterio, they should have put him into the Srcamble.
Kofi looks weak. Santino shouldn’t be Intercontinental Champion. The IC Title was getting good and then they turn it commical. I’m all for Glamarella but why further damage the IC Title?
For what it was, the main event was good. It was the perfect main event for what was a mediocre show.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
sucks to hear about Cena. don’t care for the character since he doesn’t rap anymore but i don’t wish injury on anyone.
i’m with everyone on the whole HBK/Jericho angle. Brilliant job. How is it that the same people who came up with that story are the same people that make the rest of RAWs garbage? Then again, when the angle first started it was convulated and a tad confusing. Jericho should have replaced Rey because where the hell has he been. He hasn’t done anything to get a title shot. Leave him off Unforgiven and then he fights Kane at the next PPV.
3 Scramble matches means there goes about 75 mins of the PPV. 60 mins for the matches, 15 for entrances. Plus, HBK/Jericho and RAW Tag Match. I hope the IC and Women’s are gonna be involved as well. That’ll be 7 matches.
I also hope Punk and HHH retain. Someone is gonna lose a title and I think it’s Mark Henry although I’d rather him lose 1-on-1.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I just read on another website that Cena can be back by Royal Rumble at the latest and could ven possibly be back by Survivor Series.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
The punk vs jbl was the match of the night. I don’t care what anyone says jbl can still put on a good match.The crowd was in it too. The crowd was pretty loud with duncan jerry match. A crowd has bigger effect on show than you think.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Because I’m an ass I’m going to call Luke out on Scamble not Scramble being in his Blog title this week, I didn’t see anybody else say anything yet, just thought I would, no hate though Luke.
I think the issue with Raw was, it just seemed like a filler episode since it was on Sci-Fi, not much happened and things were kept safe.
Jim Duggan is one hell of a hype man, he had the crowd going for him the whole time, so when people ask why does he still have a job, you can just say cause people will chant USA and yell HO anytime he’s in the ring, even if his career isn’t that outstanding.
Kane and Batista are bout about 300 pounds and they had a techincal match. I mean really if it was HBK and Jericho doing what those 2 did most of the match people would be wetting there pants over how old school and savy the match was. I mean Batista even tried an armbar from a leglock, whens the last time anybody has really tried that?
They traded off working on body parts rather than just clotheslining each other for 10 mins which was nice to see. Really do we need Kane doing a moonsault from the top and Batista doing a plancha over the ropes on to him for people to appriciate them working a different kinda match than we expected from these 2, even if it was slower than expected.
Kellys problem is how she uses her offense, you can see she doesn’t punch with a closed fist but uses forearms, but you can just forearm somebodys entire body, but she has been improving. But she can take bumps rather well give her that.
My boy Johnny C. went down, well guess that takes some arguement material away from me.
I’m down with 3 scramble matches, All the storylines are pushed together right now and this could be the way to hack things out. I didn’t see any complaints about MVP, Hardy, and Benjamin being in the SD scramble match, when they could continue to fued over the US title or crys of how the US title is looking weak now. Would be awesome to see MVP pick up a win.
And just think with having 3, we will be able to tear one apart on how bad is was compared to the other 2. ECWs isn’t going to be terrible since the Miz, Hardy, and Finaly can all work together. I’m pulling for the Miz in this one.
On the Raw side it looks like Punk could lose the title but I hope not, I’m just hopeing for the Batista, Kane, Rey hijinx to get out of control and Punk hits JBL with the GTS yet again.
I’ll not blame creative for everything, but will say what have they got to work with or what are they allowed to do now. The reason the HBK vs Jericho thing is good because it seems very real, and has people emotionally involved. Other than those guys the Raw roster just seems kinda small right now. Not using Noble or Regal seemed to leave a space on the show everybody felt. They have tried new things with people but the crowd hasn’t really reacted. I’m glad for The Brian Kendrick over on SD cause he is getting some response.
Team priceless just has Cryme Tyme to fued with(not that I’m opposed) other than that the tag division on Raw is dead. Its like Bob Holly is sulking about Cody turning his back on him. They could easliy just say Holly went looking for another younger partner that he could actually trust.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Well I’ll be an as kinaj, the word is cries not crys. Sorry, I’m a Reading/Language Arts teacher.
I liked all your comments though.
I just want to add something I forgot: I think the true reason RAW seems to be falling off while Smackdown improved was not only Edge being magnificent but also the fact of the upcoming network move. Right now Smackdown isn’t so much the B show but the B+ show while RAW is the A-. I’m sure things will quickly improve once the October 3rd passes. Atleast that’s what I think and hope.
BTW, watching ECW right now. Excellent so far. Matt Hardy and John Morrison could put on a 30 minute match and I wouldn’t be bored.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I just think SD has a deeper roster to work with right now, and it shows. Mr. Kennedy(who is probably going to be doomed as a what if guy) got hurt during his program with Shelton, but instead of Benjamin just falling to the way side he was inserted into another good fued with MVP and Hardy. Now look where hes at the SD main event. Not to knock on Mr. Unibrow, but Santino couldn’t fill a block like that and have it remain serious.
Even if you can’t stand him Kozlof is a different kinda squash man, and soon hes going to be put in matches that are not squashes(I hope).
Things even seem short on the womens side, its Mickie and Kelly as the top female faces of Raw against who Beth? Wheres Jillian even? Oh yeah Leyla but shes not really a wrestler and could probably do well as a valet. Hope my girl Melina gets better quickly and kicks all their asses. On SD we got Natalya, Victoria, Maryse(who is getting better, but fun to watch), McCool, Maria, hell even Eve and a rumor Candice Michelle(who needs to fix her hair before coming back to tv). They need to go ahead and bring Roucka(from OVW/FCW been there like 2 years it seems) up to Raw to help give some life to that scene.
I think all shows are moving in the right direction bringing new guys up but I don’t know how Primo Colon(at least this guy got a last name compared to Carlito) is compared to Scott “Colt Cabana” Goldman. Raw did have DH Smith but he got in trouble and last time I saw him was getting beat down by JBL then traded to SD. But Primo broke it down at the end of the match with the crossbody like every new guy has been using.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Good blog..So-So show !!! Jericho/ Michaels reminds me of the old days of wrestling. Batista / kane reminds me of the new days of wrestling (and thats not a good thing) here’s a question…. What is with the blog in a blog delivered in every blog by HK-47? Are we all allowed to do that?
August 27th, 2008 at 2:08 am
HM-It really did come off that bad. The only matches I actually watched was Punk/JBL (which was probably match of the night) and the two GlamMarella matches.
Given the consensus of opinion on the three Scrambles, I won’t give my opinion on it. I do think that Punk will be the only champ to retain. Matt will probably take the ECW title. And, like I said on Chris’ blog last Fri., Jeff will take the WWE belt.
kinaj, I’ll be excited when they bring Gail back to RAW to deepen the RAW Diva roster.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:43 am
i dont care what fueds happen from now till the end of the year, but jericho-michaels have the fued of the year rapped up already.
they’re the only reason im considering buying unforgiven, without that match i wouldnt pay 5 bucks to see scramble matches.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I don’t know about that one just yet. Edge going completely psycho during his feud with The Undertaker plunges the Edge/’Taker feud right in the top 2 with Jericho/HBK in front of it, but by a small margin anyway. I really love their Jericho/HBK feud. It’s really the only reason why I even watch RAW anymore because that feud is so good. Like someone said on this blog, they’re cutting what’s probably the best promos we’ve heard in a long time. I can’t wait for their match at Unforgiven.
Tag Title Match at Unforgiven?!!! That’s a shocker. But with these two teams and their interaction last night, I’d love to see where they take this feud.
3 Championship Scrambles are unecessary. At least if they were going to have 5 to 6 Men in a title match for every brand, at least don’t call it a Championship scramble. SmackDown could’ve had a normal 6 Pack Challenge and ECW could have a Fatal 4 Way. Why does their HAVE to be 3 Championship Scramble Matches? Having one is ok, two is meh, but THREE?? That’s just killing the credibility of the whole idea.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
As said on ECW by Teddy Long, anything Raw and SD can do, ECW can do it just as good or better. Its kinda sparking that whole which show is better than the other feel, which is nice sometimes. Atleast you know the matches can’t be total crap cause they’ve got some good performers and a dynamic in each match. And when stuff like this goes on the performers actually try to go above and beyond to make there match shine.
Raw-the whole Kane/Batista/Rey thing is going to be fore front here I think, but its going to be interesting to see whats up with Rey, since Kane said he almost killed him. This is going to be the most brawling of all of them I think. I think Punk can walk away with the belt here.
SD- Hardy/MVP/Benjamin fued going to carry this match. The Brian Kendrick is going to be a cool x factor in the match, and HHH will do a high knee to face and a pedigree somewhere in the match.
ECW- Hardy and Henry has been getting heated but Finaly/Miz/Hardy all have worked matches together well. Chavo can pretty much wrestle with anybody, and we’re not going to just get a 1 1/2 min match this time around. Its just to bad Morrison isn’t in the match or it would be bound to be even greater.
We haven’t even seen how this is going to work out yet so the idea has no credibility in the first place, if atleast 2 of the 3 matches look good, then I’d say its a win. Atleast its going to be a solid 80 mins of wrestling combined. If I could get 80 interesting mins of wrestling on each ppv, I know I’d be happy everytime.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:31 am
about teddy long saying ecw can do what raw and smackdown can do… maybe it will lead to another tri branded traditional survivor series match…
August 28th, 2008 at 8:23 am
kinaj - When you put it like that, then it actually makes it somewhat logical. However, knowing WWE as of late, they are not going to follow through with anything after Unforgiven regarding the three brands fighting amongst one another.
The only thing that honestly pisses me off was just naming the competitors for the RAW scramble.
Smackdown and ECW were great to watch b/c they both had the qualifying matches for their respective scramble. When you have those kind of matches then people start to invest more into the characters.
However, when you just name people who really haven’t earned it then nobody really cares what happens. Personally, if anything, I am looking forward to the ECW/Smackdown Scramble.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I am an avid wrestling fan, but for some reason I can’t make myself watch WWE. I use to catch ECW that came on after Eureka, but this is the reason I don’t. I am confused with how Raw is making decisions like you said Dutch Mantell. Since VR has taken over in TNA it hasn’t been that bad. Smackdown has the same booking as Raw? Well I always knew that the time would come when WWE ran out of things to do, and I guess this is it! They bought Gail, they fired Mick, they killed half of the original ECW talent, and now they are starting to look cheesy with their stupid gimmick matches. I would love to see a Hell in the Cell ladder match, oh wait no we will have two, no make that three of those on one ppv! I have just made myself dumber by writing this comment. Please someone just grab Freddie Prinze Jr. and shake his hand for making the WWE look like a kiddie organization. Hell forget the TV-PG rating lets make it TV-Y! That would make more sense than the crap most of you watch week to week! I apologise that I am a true wrestling fan, and not a follower of things that suck! Y2J is still the greatest wrestler since Bret! Now put that in your WWE bong and take another hit!
August 28th, 2008 at 10:53 am
You people are totally missing the point on this whole Cena injury. No matter how it may appear on the surface, this is not a good thing. Why? Because, due to the neck injury, when he comes back and gets shoved down our throats again - his move set will be even more limited and his wrestling even worse.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
“I have just made myself dumber by writing this comment”
as long as you said it Michael. why are u getting on Freddy Prinze? did he do a storyline you hate? although it sounds like you are just full of hate right now
August 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
If you think about it Raw couldn’t really have that many qualifiying matches because they don’t use what they got. I mean really William Regal vs John Cena, Batista vs Jamie Noble, Kane vs Charlie Haas, and JBL vs Jim Duggan for a spot in the scramble match is what we would have gotten on Raw. Of the listed above the only person who could have been an X Factor would be William Regal but it looks like the WWE isn’t that forgiving of him and his recent suspension like they have been with others in the past.
Really if you look at the matches I just listed, you can move around who would have faced who, but how many of them would have been worth watching, atleast the SD and ECW matches were interesting, and could have argued that somebody else could have gone over in the match. If those kinda matches had happened then we would be hearing people complain about that was a waste of TV time cause you knew who was going to be in the Raw Scramble anyway, so why did they even have the matches. Yeah you could have throw Kofi Kingston in there somewhere maybe, but he has been busy with Santino. Possibly Paul Burchill but he got squashed a few weeks ago, and looks to be done in his push. Looking at the Raw roster on WWE.com, most of the guys I havn’t seen in awhile, Palumbo, Snitskey, and Paul London to name a few.
If you want to make sense of it, Raw didn’t really need to have a set of qualifiying matches since the main event talent is so much above their mid card, unlike the other shows.
Look whos not in the SD match that could be considered for it baring injuries and such, Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Big Show, and The Great Khali. Hell even put Kozlov in there since The Brian Kendrick made it into the match, and he has been on a roll.
Over on ECW, Morrison could be in there easy, for old times sake Tommy Dreamer, even throw Evan Bourne in there since he has wins over Chavo in recent weeks.
And Tomas, Yes an even greater Cena once he recovers is on the way since he has had the most amazing year of any wrestler ever so far.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
The way I look at how RAW got selected was:
Batista vs. Paul Burchill
John Cena vs. Priceless Dream
JBL vs. Jamie Noble
Kane doing a promo.
From last weeks episode those were the matches that happened. Now, all they had to say is that these were qualifying matches and I probably would be a little more forgiving but at the same time as I said in previous post… Cena and JBL lost at Summerslam. If anybody is going by logic anymore, why would you reward someone with a championship opportunity when they have been losing as of late.
Now, with Cena out of the picture, they bring in Rey? Nothing against Rey, enjoyable to watch in person and on TV but why should he just be named as a substitute when obviously he hasn’t done much. I know that WWE is obviously planned out but try to include some form of logic into your scripts.
It is like saying “Hey Snitsky! Here is a WWE Title shot for losing so damn much.”
All I want is logic on RAW! At least on Smackdown and ECW, even though it is scripted they try and make it seem logical.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:28 am
If your looking for logic then your really in the wrong place, wrestling has never been a sure bet for logical happenings so I wouldn’t waste much time on wanting that. Lets put it this way,
we all know its fake so logic need not apply in the first place at all.
Want some logic watch a sport.
Rey can be brought in to the match due to the fact that he is a former WHC and already proven himself on the main event platform. Nobody else on Raw could do that right now. As I listed above who else could have filled that spot?
And like I said last week I think, you can have a great performance and lose but still show that you have what it takes to be the best just on that night you got beat.
And I think last weeks matches have nothing to do with who got selected. Adamle being the new guy just picked his top names, because being new to the entire biz actually just wants things done, the other more veteran GMs have a greater talent base to work with, more experience in the role and decided to have people earn it.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Oh, trust me, I realize that there is no logic in professional wrestling…excuse me…Sports Entertainment *cough*TNA*cough*
I am not saying that every single thing NEEDS to be completely logical. Wrestling is about suspending belief for an hour or two but there needs to be a said logic behind everything. Hell if there were logic in wrestling, then Triple H would have been dead from being dropped inside a car at Survivor Series 2000 or Undertaker literally being buried alive.
While I can agree with you about being be on a certain night that still doesn’t constitute just handing out championship opportunities.
Last week’s match had nothing to do with that, I realize that. I was just saying, in my opinion, that they could have been qualifying matches had they said so.
On that note, with Adamle trying to make a “name” in the business, that would make sense. I could see that. However, about 95% of wrestling fans wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. 95% are marks and people who have realized the backstage stuff that goes on. As much as I hate realizing shit, it is still good to try and go what is based off television. That is part of where my argument comes from.
August 29th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Did anybody hear that Mick Foley already signed with TNA?
Also, big ups for Gali Kim coming back to the WWE. I’m praying she doesn’t get sent to SmackDown when she can really display her talents versus Beth Phoenix and Mickie James.