WWE Raw Review - 10th March 2008

It was Wrestlemania Rewind this week with three rematches from Wrestlemania’s gone by. On top of this it was a three hour special so an extra hour for your money this week. Here are my thoughts on this week’s episode, as we get closer to Wrestlemania 24.

Good Points

Finlay’s development

After a not so good start to the feud Finlay did well to put over his character of being pushed over the edge and tormented by the current situation with JBL and Hornswoggle as he laid a beating to Kennedy getting himself disqualified in the process. This feud has the potential to be a very strong and hard hitting contest at Mania.

Strong card

The show had one of the strongest cards a Raw has had in some time. The fans got to see all the top stars from Raw and Smackdown in some matches which have been and some which still are marquee matches. The WWE really push Wrestlemania and the cards of Raw’s before it do tend to be the best of the year to try and entice people to buy the PPV.

Batista getting some time on Raw

After being pushed way down the stack on the Wrestlemania card it was good to see Batista getting some time on Raw to finally start developing his feud with Umaga. The only positive thing to come out of this feud for Batista will be the amount of Raw time he gets out of the feud so it’s good to see him making the most of it.

Jericho’s title win

Ok the Intercontinental Title may not mean anything any more but it was good to see Chris getting his first title since his return. The only problem is to make the title mean something he needs some talent to feud with and there is no good mid card talent out there at the moment. I think Raw should push Burchill as a fed for Jericho as it could have moments reminiscent of Jericho’s brilliant feud with the Regal many years ago.

Bad Points

Why three hours?

Yes having a three hour special makes a show different and seem special for the fans like having a PPV for free but I don’t think it works on TV. Raw is on an entertainment station not a sport station. People tune in expecting a fast paced entertaining TV show but I think having a three hour TV show next to entertainment TV shows which normally last no longer than an hour doesn’t work. Save the three hours for PPV or anniversary specials.

The State of Money in the Bank

With Hardy’s 60 day suspension for drug use this match is really thin on the ground and highlights the weakness of the mid card in WWE. After Hardy’s recent push he was my pick to win and the WWE could have done some interesting stuff with him but now I think it looks like it will be Kennedy getting the win or possibly MVP. On the Raw side I’m not sure who they can add to the match possibly Burchill, Santino Marella or Kane.

Mayweather / Big Show feud

For all the money they are spending on Mayweather they should have spent some time thinking of how to orchestrate a good feud. The reason Mike Tyson worked all those years ago was that he was a bad boy that the fans loved and that he embodied the attitude era. However the fans are indifferent to him and because Big Show isn’t a headlining star he can’t get Mayweather over. This feud had such a great beginning but over he last couple of weeks it has lost all of it’s intrigue and heat.

Overall

When I am eaving Raw looking forward to Finlay vs. JBL at Mania the most you know the WWE creative team aren’t building the headline matches well. The WWE need to sort out the Money in the Bank match quickly and then invest more time and thought in to the headlining matches.