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What a night of action this week’s Raw was. What better way to end a nice, family oriented evening of violence than with a mind-blowing act of kamikazism? (No, that’s not a word.)
In case you missed it, Jeff Hardy just keeps outdoing himself lately. Last week, he performed a Whisper in the Wind off the top of a steel cage to defeat Umaga – this week is was a suicidal dive from a light tower down to an already “unconcious” Randy Orton. What was that – 20, 25 feet? More? Hell, I was never good at that.
Who cares that the bottom of the box was full of some sort of padding, or that if one looked close enough you could see movement from the rivals right after the dive (most likely Orton had moved, repositioned and Hardy quickly moved on top of him). It was still a kick-ass conclusion to the show!
Just one question. Can a match that ended in disqualification still qualify on the record books for shortest match in WWE history? I think it would actually be tied at three seconds, but it was nice head play from Orton after pumping up that he wanted to be the third to claim both the WWE and IC championships at the same time.
Did I mention the kick-ass kamikaze dive off the light tower? Way cool.
Ok, back in the real world…
Last week’s episode of Raw, while ending on a high note, was also notable for bloopers and mistakes. This week’s show more than made up for it.
We, thankfully, get to see Ric Flair live to fight another day after showing those “dirtiest player in the game” colors to defeat William Regal. But, of course, that was predictable – as is the whole storyline for the moment. But I’m not complaining – I’m a Ric Flair advocate and I’m stickin’ with it! These may indeed be the last days of a legend, and I’m going to enjoy every match.
HBK made his way into the Royal Rumble by beating Trevor Murdoch, apparently adding a new move to his arsenal – an inverted Figure Four leg lock. Lately, it seems as though Shawn is using more submission holds than I remember in the past, and personally I think it’s great. We all love the celebrated vets of the ring, but after a while things can get predictable. We all know that when Shawn hits his flying forarm, he’s going to vault himself back up. The list of moves that tell us the end is near can get stale after time, so showing us a few surprises is great.
The King of Kings got put in a match with the King of Uglies after Snitsky demanded that he be allowed to make an impact – but instead the man felt the impact of a sledge after trying to decapitate Triple H with the steel steps sent Trips into a rage. Gotta love that evil, sadistic side, eh?
But who knew that projection screens could be so explosive? (You had to see it, but yeah, that was pretty pathetic.)
The night had it’s laughs as well, as Vince set Hornswoggle up in a “mini Royal Rumble” match against Mr. Kennedy, Batista, Mankind and Kane. Well, mini versions of them anyways. Hornswoggle put up the good fight and was winning the bout until Great Khali’s music hit – and it was the real deal. Luckily, Finlay was there to save the day once again – and the “deal” between he and Vince is sure to be revealed soon as Finlay was none too happy with the boss.
Oh, and a note to the production crew: Don’t set off tons and tons of pyrotechnics in an arena without testing the ventilation first! Smoke filled the place for the majority of the show after JBL had to redo his grand entrance that was interrupted last time by Jericho. Lots of mic time for JBL, basically gloating over his destruction of Y2J last week and talking to Chris’ kids about their daddy, the coward. I knew I missed this guy for some reason – what a heel!
Ladies locked up tonight as well in six-woman tag action, and one has to wonder who will ever manage to stop Beth Phoenix? They have made this woman unbeatable, even with the few shots that Mickie James got in tonight.
A great night of Raw action, but one that leaves me with questions. Until recently, I had no doubt that Orton would retain his title against Hardy at the Royal Rumble. Now, I’m not so sure. Hardy is WAY over with the crowds (even more now than before, if that’s possible) and has gotten a great push leading up to the PPV. I’m beginning to wonder.
Either way, the build-up to Royal Rumble has been great, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing some of these stories come to a head. Should be a great night, and if next week’s Raw continues the crescendo – it’ll certainly be an episode you don’t want to miss!
Don’t like my take? Let’s hear yours! Send me your e-mails to [email protected]… the best and worst of the bunch may be featured in the weekly editions of Sean OâMacâs Pullinâ No Punches. Remember, short ones are good, long ones may be cut, and keep the name of the column in mind when you come looking for answers!
