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Pro's from the Palace (#220) - My own viewpoint about Raw XV and more |
» Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
» On Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 2:25 AM EST
I know I didn’t watch Raw XV tonight, but I have seen the videos off WWE.com and I did read Adam Martin’s very thorough recap, and from that, I have some commentary that I’d like to share.
First, no disrespect to the town whatsoever, but why hold a Raw that is supposed to be this huge in a town like Bridgeport, Connecticut? I admit, I wasn’t sure where it was being held when this thing went down, but I figured it was either Chicago, St. Louis, or somewhere somewhat major. Bridgeport, Connecticut, a live crowd there for something that big I don’t think is a wise choice on WWE’s part. Maybe because its close to the world headquarters, I don’t know, but it was questionable from where I sit.
Please don’t email me saying that I’m ripping the town, because I’m not. I simply think that if you’re going to make something major, it needs to be done in a bigger market.
One comment that was mentioned was how Triple H was all over the show. And he was, I don’t doubt it, but let’s call it as we see it. How much of an impact has the current crop of superstars on Raw made during its entire inception. You can probably count it on one hand. Michaels, he’s there with Kennedy. Jericho, with the Orton segment.. Vince, obviously. Undertaker, sure. Kane, sure. But, when Undertaker and Kane have been on Smackdown for as long as they have been, who else is left? The one active superstar, ACTIVE CURRENTLY superstar who has had the most impact on Raw throughout the 15 years of its existence has been Triple H. From Hunter Hearst Helmsley to the McMahon-Helmsley era to DX to Evolution and up to now, tell me who else is there. I don’t see it. I thought it was the right move to have Triple H be involved as he was during the show, it was the right thing for business.
Speaking of Triple H, I guess the kiss with Stephanie was his official public display of his marriage to the billion dollar princess? I don’t know, but damn, she looks like she can kiss. As the Nature Boy would say, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Going back to Vince’s segment for a bit, Tammy “Sunny” Sytch absolutely looks amazing. From where she was back at Hardcore Homecoming where she escorted Terry Funk to the ring for the main event, up to last night, is absolutely nothing short of a miracle, and she deserves major credit for getting back in to tip top physical condition.
Mick Foley. Dude, I love ya. You’re funny as hell, and Ring of Honor needs you to find a new venue for them on Long Island. But, dude. Do me a favor, do the fans of WWE a favor? GET A HAIRCUT. Please!?!?
Kudos to WWE for putting the tag titles on Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly. Holly deserves a rub after the amount of physical torment he’s been through the past year and change, and his obvious tutoring of Cody Rhodes has been successful thus far, and I am happy to see them win the World Tag Team Championship. It was desperately in need of a change and a refreshing new direction, and this was very unpredictable in my train of thought, as I would’ve n ever picked this match to be a title change in a million years. Which makes it even more satisfying to a fan like me.
I wonder if there was some part of Hogan’s contract when he agreed to participate that somewhere it said that Jillian Hall was going to get her ass kicked. It’s kind of funny how Jillian is barely used recently, and now this week, she’s fodder for Trish and Lita. It’s obvious Hall’s gimmick was a mock of Brooke Hogan, and perhaps this was done to make Hogan’s “wound” with WWE heal a little quicker? Perhaps? I doubt it, I’m fishing here, but hey, it’s not a bad thing to consider?
The obvious major stunner here is Van Dam. Is he back full time? Is he back part time? Is this a one time deal? Only time will tell, but damnit, they need him, and if he’s smart, he’ll stay there, cause some havoc on all three brands, and who knows, maybe enough time has passed that he’ll sniff gold again. I gotta admit, if you were going to tell me before the show that Van Dam was going to appear, I would’ve told you you’re insane.
Attempted humor: Most of WWE’s t-shirts I like a lot. But, the one Trips wore for the McMahon portrait segment, is it me, or did someone throw up on it?
I’m REALLY shocked Cena didn’t find a way to appear on this show. Yes, he hasn’t had the major impact long term that some of the others that were featured, but he has been one of the major players in the short term, and I would’ve thought they’d figure out a way to bring him in.
I’m glad Mae Young was used. I’m sure it helped her heal with the passing of Moolah, but damn it was weird not seeing Moolah come out with Mae, like we have been seeing for years on end. Rest in peace Moolah.
Hornswoggle’s “present “ from the Game of the Godfather and the “Ho Train” was very cool. Hornswoggle has good facial expressions to tell the story, ala William Regal. His eyes buggin’ out of his head like they were was classic last night, and last weeks’ hiring of the APA was brilliant. I give WWE a lot of guts for pulling this off so soon after a nationally syndicated radio talk show host returned to the airwaves after using a context of that term. Yeah, it’s probably apples and oranges, but it IS something to consider.
Hogan’s segment with Khali shows how green Khali is as a sports entertainer. I’m not at all saying that Hogan is one scientific wizard between the ropes, but damn, that looked bowling shoe ugly to a fan who thinks he has a little more than a clue about what happens inside the ring. Note the word THINKS with that previous statement.
Surprised to see WWE use Marty Jannetty, but it fits with the tone of the evening.
The six man with Evolution was nice, as Edge and Orton together as a unit was powerful as hell, even though they got made to look like fools when they captained a survivor series team two years ago. Putting them in with Umaga against Flair, H, and Batista was nice. Very nice.
How in the hell did WWE find Al Snow, Bart Gunn, Doink the Clown, Repo Man, Steve Blackman, Pete Gas, Bob Backlund, Gangrel, The Goon, Skinner, I.R.S., Flash Funk, Scotty 2 Hotty, Jim Neidhart, Sgt. Slaughter and Gillberg for the legends battle royal is absolutely stunning. Another piece of insanity is how would they consider some of these guys to be legends at all? I did like the swerve taking IRS out of the winners circle and putting DiBiase in. The Million Dollar Man gimmick is still first rate, even this late in the game.
It’s also funny how Flash Funk was signed to a contract in WWE developmental (OVW) like two months ago, was released, and now brought back for the battle royale. Damn, talk about changing your mind 500 times over.
One thing they didn’t do, I was thinking, which could’ve helped the current product, was do a vignette on the ECW invasions of Raw that have transpired in the past. They’ve done a few, and damnit, it would’ve helped the Tuesday night waste of time hour that they have on Sci-Fi. I think they dropped the ball on that one.
Bischoff vs. Jericho in a war of words is one thing, but shouldn’t we be seeing Jericho compete? I know he can talk his way out of any mess, but he’s gotta know for sure if he can still hang with this current crop of talent, and he’s only been in a handful of matches leading up to Sunday. We all know there is no chance he’s winning the title, but damn, can’t we at least see how he looks, ring shape wise? And why couldn’t they reprise Bischoff getting his ass kicked by Austin another time? Damn, that was good television.
Reuniting Kane and Lita was just the right segment to bring the All American from Florida State for his patented phrase. How cool is that that one word and you get paid? And paid a good sum, I would bet. There’s other ways that can be portrayed, but I’ll stick with this one for the time being.
I think I got it all. Let’s touch on a few other things before I go.
I read a report how Test is dating Kelly Kelly, and calls Kelly “green” as a competitor in the ring. Duh, No kidding, doofus. Question. Does she have a job? Yes. Do you? No. Somehow, I think you oughta be worrying about that, and not commenting on what your girlfriend is doing in her position. But, damn, how does that freakshow always end up with the hot chicks?
I also read a report how WWE sent a contract to bring Tajiri back. I wish he would’ve accepted it, as Tajiri is a hell of a talent, and could compete in either weight class. He’d be a welcome addition to the roster.
It’s noted how WWE, and specifically, Vince, is obsessed with trying to bring in Bret Hart back to television in some role. I don’t understand why. It’s going to get me in trouble with the WV brass, but I don’t see what the need to bring him back for. He’s been gone so long that I doubt he’d get a major reaction from the usual crop of live audience participants. Of course, the smarks would lose their effing minds, but is that the crowd that WWE is trying to placate?
It appears Mark Henry may be headed to ECW to join with Shelton Benjamin as chasers of CM Punk and the ECW title. If that is the case, I feel bad for Punk. He’s gonna get squashed like a grape by someone who shouldn’t be holding a title. But, that’s just one man’s opinion.
The Truth, Ron Killings, was officially released from TNA. Surprised it took this long. I’m not saying anything else on TNA. At least, not here.
One last comment. I am going to compile some DVD reviews on my blog in the coming days, but I have to say, I picked up the NOAH Double Budokan DVD, featuring a match with the Briscoe Brothers vs. Kotaro Suzuki and Ricky Marvin. It ended in a 30 minute time limit draw, but it was possibly one of the best tag matches I have seen in a long, long time. I would recommend to anyone who likes tag wrestling to find this DVD and check this match out . I’ll come up with some more reviews at my blog in the coming days.
For now, it’s time to close this.
Here is the link for my blog.
Email links are there as well.
Thanks for reading.
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