Hello everyone and welcome to my inaugural take of WWEâs flagship show, Monday Night Raw!
Now this edition of RAW is off of the heels of their âNo Way Outâ pay-per view. Well, the show kicks off with Vince McMahon âcrowingâ how he guaranteed history would be made the night before and teasing the second pay-per-view in a month, Cyber Sunday. Now when Triple H comes out, was anybody surprised? I mean we all knew when he returned to the picture that the âfather and son-in lawâ combination would dominate many shows to come. But I must say, with John Cena suddenly out of the picture, his presence could not come at a more crucial time with the company. The segment ends with Triple H being granted a WWE rematchâ¦wellâ¦sort of.
Speaking of WWE titles, the newly crowned Womenâs champion Beth Phoenix comes out to participate in a â6 Diva Tag Team Matchâ. Why did they introduce Beth first? I mean isnât she the new champion? As far as Candice Michelle goes, I donât really think she cared too much about losing her title the night before. She came out dancing to her âcrappy dance music themeâ as if nothing happened the night before. Would you be in a mood to dance if you lost your belt 24 hours earlier? And people wonder why that belt doesnât mean much more than a turnbuckle. As far as the match goes, I didnât really care for it either way. It didnât add or take away anything to the show in my opinion. I would love to see more of Mickie James and Beth Phoenix in the future however.
Now after the backstage bit with Vince McMahon, Steve Regal, and Jonathan Coachman, we move into Santino Marrella taking on Val Venus. Well, at least what we initially thought until Snitsky comes out to take his place. I liked this match as not only it furthered Snitsky as a monster, but it furthers the angle with Val Venus and Santino Marella, which you know will be won by Marella. I must say, itâs good to see Val Venus getting some ring time on Raw (even though he got squashed).
Next up is the segment where J.R. and The King interviews John Cena via satellite. I think in a weird way, this could be a gift to John Cena. Let me explain why. I think John Cena is very under-appreciated as a Superstar. This is a guy who has carried the flag and accepted all the responsibilities this past year as WWE champ, and gets booed regularly because people are tired of him. With him being injured, he technically was not beaten for the belt and gets 7 months up to a year to recover and we know what time away from the ring does. It creates more of a demand for you. Ask Chris Jericho. I think in the long run, this can be turned into a positive for John Cena. Just picture it a year from nowâ¦the capacity crowd chanting âCENAâ¦CENAâ¦CENA!â
Now the champion rematch weâve been waiting for. Wellâ¦almost rematch. Triple H taking on Randy Orton and Umaga. Now with Triple H suffering from hurt ribs and a monster like Umaga in the ring, did you really expect Triple H to get the belt back? I have to say I really enjoyed this injury angle as it set up Shawn Michael return later in the night. My only question is if Shawn Michaels was in the building, why didnât he come down to help Triple H? Uh-wellâ¦every story canât be perfectly written.
Now before we move on, I have to mention Jonathan Coachman chasing around and looking for Hornswoggle was a waste of time. Speaking of wasted time, Lillian Garcia performing her Spanish language track definitely falls into that category. Anybody tuning in late and seeing that must have been like âwhat the hellâs going on here?â Did they forget this was a wrestling show?
I really enjoyed the Jeff Hardy/Mr. Kennedy match. The crowd was really behind Hardy and Kennedy played the âclassic heelâ beating up on the crowdâs favorite wrestler. This was a âpay-per-viewâ type match that they could have used the previous night.
Now the end of the show with Shawn Michael returning was really good. Now, Vince had all of the wrestlers line up to âkiss the ringâ of Randy Orton and congratulate him on being the new WWE champ. The first wrestler was to be an injured Triple H. When Triple H failed to show, HBKâs music hit and Michaels appeared and walked calmly to the ring only to deliver a âsuperkickâ to the man who put him out of action. Now, while I think this is a great comeback for Shawn, I am not sure it is good to have Orton, the man who won your championship belt the night before, knocked out and look weak from an aging superstar. In my opinion, this could take steam out of Orton, but I could be wrong.
In all, I think this was a good show capping off with the return of Shawn Michaels. Now, we await one more returnâ¦.â Y2Jâ¦.Y2Jâ¦Y2J!â
