WWE Raw Review - 6th April 2009

After a below standard Wrestlemania could the creative team restore my faith in good ship WWE.

Good Points

Wheels set in motion for Backlash

Vice was out on Raw to let Randy know that he would not be facing HHH one on one at Backlash but instead it would be a six man tag with HHH, vince and Shane McMahon going up against Legacy. However this then changed to a title match meaning if anyone on HHH side wins HHH keeps the belt but if anyone from Legacy wins Orton wins the belt. Vickie Guerrero also announced that it would be Edge vs. Cena in one on one competition for Backlash.

The return of the Animal

Batista made his return to raw last night a night after I predicted he would turn up. Batista came in to make the save for the McMahons and HHH after they were getting beaten down by legacy. This lead Vince to give his spot in the Backlash main event Batista. I smell a doublecross here, I think Batista will turn on HHH and the McMahons costing them the match at Backlash and helping Orton get the belt.

Tag match gets centre stage

After missing out on the main card at Wrestlemania The Colons and Miz & Morrison put on a superb match which would get anyone questioning why they lost their spot. I just hope the get a match on the main Backlash card.

Bad Points

HHH pushed to the side

After being victorious at mania I thought HHH would be given more ring and mic time but instead he had to take a backseat to his Father-in-Law Vince. I hope it gets back to normal next week letting HHH and Orton lead the feud.

All star mess

This was a weak creative idea and showed that creative team hadn’t put much thought in to what to do with these guys after mania. Seeing Steamboat on a one off was good but not any more and why have Edge and Big Show on the same team after they fought against each other last night.

Overall

A very decent raw with a great main event for Backlash pushed, build a couple of good things around it and it should be a good event.

WWE Raw Review - 30th March 2009

Normally in the build for Wrestlemania all the storyline development is finished a couple of weeks before Mania with the last week just being used to hype Mania so I had no doubt it would be the same this year.

Good Points

HBK earning the title of Mr. Wrestlemania

HBK did another great set with the Undertaker, we first saw him inside a hearse backstage and then he brought a casket to the ring with him to deliver a promo on The Undertaker. During his promo the lights went out and Undertaker was in the ring but HBK had disappeared only for him to emerge from Under the coffin to lay another attack on Taker. Can’t wait to see these two go at it at Mania.

The fighting McMahon family

I always thought Vince and Shane would come back to fight alongside HHH against Legacy but I didn’t expect it to happen until Mania. Instead the show ended with Vince and Shane walking down the ramp with HHH and having a scrap with Legacy which I thought was a nice way to end the show.

Bad Points

Cena not given a chance

After hardly being in the ring and on TV as of late I think it was wrong to have him lose to Big Show and to then get beaten up by Edge. We know the main storyline is between Edge and Big show but it doesn’t mean they need to write off Cena completely.

Jericho fighting a losing battle

Jericho continued to put in some good work in the ring and on the mic but it is all really for nothing. This week he fought Lawler who many thought would be his Wrestlemania opponent. Jericho beat him in the match but didn’t do one of usual attacks and his opponents for Mania were nowhere to be seen.

Overall

A couple of highlights but all in all as expected a thin shown with not much going on.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd March 2009

After the Raw picked up a bit last week I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer this week as are now under two weeks to Mania.

Good Points

Jericho proves a point

There is nothing like beating up an old respected man like Ric Flair to the point of making him bleed to cement yourself as a heel. Jericho is doing all he can to make his Wrestlemania match interesting but I fear now what could have been a major attraction if Rourke had gone through it with will now become a side attraction no matter what Jericho does. I just hope that Jericho gets the chance to continue his heel role in a better feud after Mania.

Orton’s turn to get one up

This week it was Orton’s turn to bash the living daylights out of HHH with the help of Legacy as the promise between the two not to touch each other before mania become a distant memory. This week they threw Steph in the mix as she came down to try and save HHH only to get knocked unconscious. I just think they either need to have someone fighting on HHH’s side or to get rid of Legacy for the last week to have an even battle before mania because I don’t think gang attacks do much to build characters.

Great video package

Really starting to look forward to Taker vs. HBK more than the two main events. Ok I don’t think Taker’s streak is any danger but the build up has been good with HBK this week doing a video package which saw at the graveyard burying Taker’s streak. The good thing with these two is that I know they can both deliver.

Bad Points

Poor build for Hardy feud continues

This week the build consisted of Jeff Hardy beating jobber to the stars Dolph Ziggler and then doing a ten second bit on the mic telling Matt that he hadn’t seen how extreme he can get yet. This could have been standout match but with the lack of these two being on the same show or doing anything meaningful when they have been together has spoiled it.

Cena on cruise control

Cena has been booked as a bit part player for Mania as this week he wasn’t in the arena due to an appearance on Jay Leno so all his segments were done through video as Edge and Big Show continue to tell the storyline for their match.

Overall

The show was made on the first and last segment, everything else expect the HBK bit was pretty much filler which isn’t good with Mania just round the corner.

WWE Raw Review - 16th March 2009

Due to being under the weather last week I wasn’t able to get any reviews online last week but normal service is resumed this week starting with my Raw review.

Good Points

HBK turns up the heat on the Undertaker

Raw kicked off with a tag match featuring the team of HBK and The Undertaker against JBL and Kozlov which really kicked off the Taker / HBK feud. HBK tagged himself in after Taker had done the hard work to get the win for the team only to be chased up the ramp by The Undertaker but as soon as his back was turned HBK reappeared to deliver his sweet chin music. Can’t wait to hear HBK’s explanation on Raw.

Triple H one step ahead

A one on one match was scheduled between Triple H and Cody Rhodes but as predicted Orton and Dibiase were quickly out to try and trap Triple H but Triple H being one step ahead got the cage to be lowered keeping Cody Rhodes in the ring and the others out so he could send his message to Orton.

Edge spears Big Show

After being made to look weak and stupid Edge finally got something back after closing the show by spearing the Big show who had come out to help him. I think this storyline is going to end with Vickie costing both Big Show and Edge the title after she realizes they have both been using her to get to the top.

Bad Points

Jericho storyline a waste of time

Ever since Rourke pulled out of the match at Mania this storyline has been a mess which has now lead to Jericho challenging Steamboat and Piper to a match. After what could have been a very interesting match I think this will turn in to one to be forgotten.

Dolph gets a random outing

After being on TV on a regular basis Dolph made a rare appearance losing in a throwaway match to Rey Mysterio. In the run up to mania all the segments should be building to Mania which this clearly didn’t.

Overall

Ok nothing special or much to get excited about, felt very much like WW were just treading water for a week.

WWE Raw Review - 2nd March 2009

After the segment with HHH and Orton we left Raw on last week excitement was in the air to see if HHH could finally get his hands on Orton and tonight we were also going to find out whether it would be Kozlov or HBK facing Taker at Mania.

Now normally you are accustomed to me doing my review which highlights the good points and bad points of Raw but for once I couldn’t find any good points about the show.

Same old every week

This week it was the turn of Jimmy Superfly Snuka to be on the receiving end of a beating from Jericho, wonder who it will be next week? Yawn! To top all of this off before that segment lawler started Raw in ring with a mic to announced the main event, having these segments back to back is only adding fuel to the rumour of Lawler vs. Jericho at Mania which would suck.

HBK to face Taker

Now I wanted to see this match at Mania but the way they got it was crazy. First last week you have Kozlov beating Taker on Smackdown and next he is losing to HBK on Raw giving away his streak on a free show. I think they may turn this in to a triple threat but one minute you turn Kozlov in to a monster next he is getting beaten clean.

Orton’s heat and character killed

In a nice little swerve announced he would face the winner of Edge vs John Cena for the World Heavyweight Title and not HHH. Only for this to be destroyed within a few minutes as HHH after a few words on the mic got him to change his mind making him look so weak in the process. Then to make things worse he added a clause saying neither were allowed to touch each other until mania but wait there is more Orton then tried to bait HHH in to hitting him and he couldn’t even do that as HHH wouldn’t bite. Whoever wrote this segment should be fired.

John Cena underused

This week Cena got no promo time and only came out for his title match at the end which ended weak by Edge getting himself disqualified. The show ended with Vickie Guererro announcing it would be Big Show vs. Edge at Mania and not Cena. I personally don’t want to see Show in a main event and I can only hope they turn it in to a three way.

Overall

Before this show I was pumped for Mania but this is a great example by the creative team of how to kill the hype, the storylines and the wrestlers all in one night.

WWE Raw Review - 23rd February 2009

No Way Out is now a distant memory as we start to only look forward to Wrestlemania. Although the creative team have more shows than for any other PPV to build it with they can’t afford to throwaway a two hour show so let’s see if the creative team used this week’s show wisely.

Good Points

Cena better as a challenger

I have always said Cena is a lot better when he is challenging for a belt. On Raw he went back to the Cena of five years ago that everyone loved as he poked fun at Big Show, Edge and Vickie Guerrero. Give Cena mic time and let him make fun of his opponents and he can get back some of those fans he has lost over the years.

HHH / Orton the hottest feud in WWE right now

This feud is going to transcend and engulf both brands. HHH showed his believable rage as he chased Orton and Legacy through out the backstage with his sledgehammer destroying things on his way until Orton finally escaped in a car. Orton is being a great heel by doing dastardly things and then running away instead of staying and fighting.

Jericho continues to build for Mania

With nobody still sure on who Jericho will be wrestling at Mania Jericho is doing a great job of hyping his involvement this week interrupting Steamboat after he was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee. Jericho left another legend lying cementing his position and his hate for the older breed of wrestlers.

Bad Points

Smackdown involvement

With the draft coming up in a month’s time and it continues to look pointless as this week Big Show and Chavo came to Raw. Big Show’s involvement was pointless as all he did was stand around during the Cena / Edge segment and then Chavo wrestled in the main event against Cena. To have a Smackdown guy in the main event and such a weak Smackdown guy it made the main event very poor to say the least and did little to build Cena.

CM Punk goes round in circles

After winning Money in the Bank last year at Mania CM Punk has qualified again. I thought it would make much more sense for him to have a single intercontinental title match at Mania to show how he has developed from last year’s MITB.

Overall

Both shows are now blending into one which I’m not sure at the moment if it is a good thing or not. I think they need to address who the champion of each show is as at the moment nobody is quite sure which belt belongs to which. There are al ot of great things happening at the moment but it could quite easily turn in to a mess so WWE need ot be careful.

WWE Raw Review - 16th February 2009

Afer a surprising and eventful No Way Out tonight was time to make sense of it all and see where we were going in the run up to Wrestlemania.

Good Points

Cena speaks

Finally Cena got some in ring mic time now that he isn’t the champion, go figure. Cena and Edge opened up the show with a great war of words which set the wheels in motion for their feud.

Great segment from Roddy

Jericho continued to build his Mania appearance and was then cut off by Piper who gave an emotional promo about the Hall of Famers to which Jericho retaliated by beating him down. WWE still look a bit uncertain on whether Rourke is going to be fighting at Mania but with or without him they are doing a great job of building the heat for Jericho.

Bad Points

Too much talking

It was like the WWE creative team wanted to set up the entire Mania card in one night. The little wrestling they had was poor and most of which had nothing to do with current feuds or build for Mania.

What’s the point of the Draft?

The Draft is next week but already we had Edge, Vickie Guerrero, HHH and Jamie Noble from Smackdown on the Raw show this week and throughout the year we have seen many stars show up on different brands. The Draft use to be major but now that anyone can turn up at any time on any show it has lost it’s appeal.

What was the point

After a heavily billed no holds barred match at No Way Out tonight Shane and Randy had coincidentally healed in order to main event Raw in a non sanctioned fight which set up a feud for Orton and HHH after Steph was on the receiving end of an RKO.

Overall

After the controversial booking of no Way Out WWE followed it up with a Raw that made matches that happened at No Way Out pointless and future shows like The Draft pointless. With the amount of weeks we have before Mania the WWE don’t need to rush what they are doing which they seem to be doing at the moment.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 9th February 2009

With one week to go before No Way Out it was time for the WWE to put the finishing touches to feuds and matches which they have only had a few weeks to build since the Rumble.

Good Points

The Return of Ric Flair

WWE did a great job of developing the Jericho vs. Mickey Rourke match for Mania with Ric Flair and Jericho having a war of words on the mic to kick off the show. Jericho delivered a great speech to Flair about how over the last year he has prostituted his name like the character Rourke plays in the Wrestler. Adding Flair to the mix adds a great new dimension to the storyline which I can’t wait to see unfold however I will go on to talk about this segment in a bad light later.

A great end

Shane McMahon delivered a great end to Raw as he did one of his famous Van Terminators on Ted DiBiase. It has been a while since we have seen Shane do something death defying like he use to do and hopefully this is just a taste of what is to come this weekend.

Bad Points

No Push for The Chamber

Again there was little mention of it but the booking team had a great idea of putting all the competitors from the chamber in to a six man tag of faces against heels. However it was ruined by giving it no build and having it in the middle of the show. A match like that should be the main event and should have ended in a no contest with everyone pairing off in to their feuds they have going so Cena with Jericho, Mike Knox with Rey and so on.

Bad points about the good points

WWE should have saved the Jericho and Flair segment until after No Way Out there was no point giving time to a feud Jericho will be involved in after No Way Out when he already has a match for No Way Out. The ending was great but during the whole show we had no Shane and only one segment with Stephanie so overall there was little to build the Orton / McMahon match.

Overall

I know you don’t want hype the PPV before the big one too much but if you cut out the little things they could have a solid build. I don’t think anyone cares about The Chamber match and I am unsure to which match they will have as the last match because I have a feeling they may put Orton / Shane last the way they are promoting it when it should always be a title fight that ends the night.

ts

WWE Raw Review - 2nd February 2009

Now with only two weeks to go until No Way Out the last PPV before Mania the storylines are really starting to hot up. What was going to happen between Shane McMahon and Randy Orton, what would Jericho have to say about Rourke and what would JBL do with his employee after not qualifying for the Elimination Chamber.

Good Points

Shane vs Orton signed for No Way Out

It was obvious these two were going to get it on at No Way Out but it was great to see it made official and that it would be in a no disqualification match. Shane got the upper hand originally as he beat on Legacy with a kendo stick only to be ambushed later in the evening by Legacy which ended with Shane having to protect his sister Steph and receiving an Orton punt to the ribs. I’m really loving the heat they are building in this storyline.

A fight for it all at No Way Out

JBL has offered HBK a chance out of his contract with him if HBK beats him at No Way Out but if JBL wins it means he owns HBK for life. I am looking forward to the non title matches more than the Elimination Chamber matches at No Way Out, this should be another excellent match.

Jericho doing a work / shoot

Jericho got on the mic this week to vent the feelings that many people have in real life about wrestlers who can’t step away from wrestling which tied in nicely with the film The Wrestler. It came across well as it felt real and this storyline will give the chance for hall of famers like Flair to come back in which should make or a great build to Mania.

Bad Points

No build for the Chamber matches

There was no storyline build for the Chamber this week. A couple of guys had matches and a couple of guys got put in the match but nobody came out and made a mention of the match. I think the Chamber matches are just going to turn in to throwaway matches which were just used to add something special to No Way Out.

Not much time for Cena

Again this week Cena had the main event but only had one segement before it which was backstage and to interrupt Jericho when he was talking about storyline that Cena is nothing to do with. I have never seen a fit champion get used this sparingly on a show ever.

Overall

If WWE just invested a little bit more time in Cena and the Chamber then it would have been an awesome show.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 26th January 2009

After what was in my opinion one of the best Rumble’s for some years we are now truly on the road to Wrestlemania. What was going to happen on the first Raw after the Rumble. Was Orton going to get fired and what as JBL going to do about HBK’s actions at the Rumble.

Good Points

Shane o Mac is back

Was brilliant to see Shane back on Raw to defend his dad’s honour and attack Randy Orton. It was as Shane had flipped and wanted to kill Orton for what he had one which made for some great television. It would be good if they could build a feud between these two for No Way Out which will set Orton up nicely for Mania.

Mickey Rourke going to Wrestlemania

After the staggering success of the film “The Wrestler” Mickey Rourke is going to make art imitate life or will it be art imitating art when he squares off against Chris Jericho at mania. This was a big announcement on Raw and is a great sideway move for Jericho to get him in a big fight but not involved in the championship.

Push for Kofi

After doing nothing since his tag team title run Kofi is going to be given another push as he gets involved his first main event at a PPV after winning the right to be in the Elimination Chamber match announced for No Way Out. Will be interesting to see how he does.

Bad Points

Randy Orton’s reasoning

The end of Shane beating up Orton made up for a dire start to Raw but boy did it start dire. Randy Orton gave his reasoning for beating up Vince as him suffering from IED Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Surely anyone in wrestling could use this as a defence or reasoning for doing anything. It would have made more sense for him to be non apologetic for his actions but just solely use some contractual reasons for not being able to fire him.

Cena way down the pecking order

After playing second fiddle to JBL and Michaels in the build up to his Rumble match, Cena this week was only used in one segment and that was his match which was used to further the JBL and HBK storyline.

Overall

An exciting episode of Raw which kept me enthralled from start to finish. A great way to start the road to Mania I just hope the shows can continue to get better and better on the run to Mania.

WWE Raw Review - 19th January 2009

With one week to go until the Royal Rumble and with Vince’s return to Raw tonights show looked on paper as if it was going to be a hot show but could WWE deliver.

Good Points

HBK Speaks

During the contract signing between Cena and JBL it was great to see HBK take the mic and verbalise his frustrations with his situation and with it has probably won back some of the fans sympathy. This should have been done a lot longer ago but at least it was done. I just hope that he doesn’t overshadow the match at the Rumble but I guess he will either cost Cena the title and go full on heel or do a swerve on JBL.

CM Punk new IC Champion

Was great to see a brilliant wrestling match to end the Regal / CM Punk series and to see Punk with a belt he truly deserves. I think he can elevate the Intercontinental title and it is a title he can be given a proper run with unlike the Heavyweight title. Hopefully this will bring an upturn in the Raw mid card.

Bad Points

Silly Storylines overshadow important ones

With it being one week to the Rumble the important storyline should be the title feud but no this week it was Jericho begging for his job back which he eventually got. Then it was Orton’s turn to come down to the ring to meet with Vince McMahon to demand an apology to which Vince didn’t take kindly to. So the upshot of this was Orton attacking McMahon to end a far fetched storyline and to end Vince’s first night back. If you are going to do silly things like this wait until after the Rumble.

No build for the Rumble match

There was no real build or mention of the rumble match on Raw. Nobody came out to deliver a promo saying that they could win the rumble and no one seemed to care about it which will only devalue the event.

Overall

Didn’t do what the show should have done which was to promote Cena/JBL and the Rumble match instead we were greeted by crazy booking.

WWE Raw Review - 19th January 2009

With one week to go until the Royal Rumble and with Vince’s return to Raw tonights show looked on paper as if it was going to be a hot show but could WWE deliver.

Good Points

HBK Speaks

During the contract signing between Cena and JBL it was great to see HBK take the mic and verbalise his frustrations with his situation and with it has probably won back some of the fans sympathy. This should have been done a lot longer ago but at least it was done. I just hope that he doesn’t overshadow the match at the Rumble but I guess he will either cost Cena the title and go full on heel or do a swerve on JBL.

CM Punk new IC Champion

Was great to see a brilliant wrestling match to end the Regal / CM Punk series and to see Punk with a belt he truly deserves. I think he can elevate the Intercontinental title and it is a title he can be given a proper run with unlike the Heavyweight title. Hopefully this will bring an upturn in the Raw mid card.

Bad Points

Silly Storylines overshadow important ones

With it being one week to Mania the important storyline should be the title feud but no this week it was Jericho begging for his job back which he eventually got. Then it was Orton’s turn to come down to the ring to meet with Vince McMahon to demand an apology to which Vince didn’t take kindly to. So the upshot of this was Orton attacking McMahon to end a far fetched storyline and to end Vince’s first night back. If you are going to do silly things like this wait until after the Rumble.

No build for the Rumble match

There was no real build or mention of the rumble match on Raw. Nobody came out to deliver a promo saying that they could win the rumble and no one seemed to care about it which will only devalue the event.

Overall

Didn’t do what the show should have done which was to promote Cena/JBL and the Rumble match instead we were greeted by crazy booking.

WWE Raw Review - Monday 12th January 2009

With two weeks before the Rumble it was time for WWE to go in to over drive pushing it’s only match on the card at the moment for the Royal Rumble whilst the return of Vince McMahon next week was left hanging over the heads of all on Raw.

Good Points

Cena HBK

They built the main event for Raw brilliantly through out the show with JBL telling HBK that tonight was his Wrestlemania and then some brilliant promos by Cena showing how much he respected HBK as every good guy should. These two then went on to put a brilliant main event to close out Raw with HBK getting the win in the non tile match leaving Cena laying in the ring for JBL to laud over.

Regal / CM Punk series

This week Regal managed to con the ref in to believing that CM Punk had hit him with a low blow to get him disqualified. Stephanie wasn’t having any of it though as she announced that there would be a third match which be no DQ next week. I just hope they finish off the series with a great match as they have built the storyline well they just now need the pay off of a great match.

Bad Points

Jericho is fired

The big shcker on Raw was Steph firing Jericho. This was done within the first half hour of the show when only after a few weeks of slight fallings out Steph fire her in the ring and then Jericho wasn’t seen for the rest of the show. I know this is just to set up a storyline for Vince’s return but it could have been handled so much better. Steph isn’t put across as an irrational character so it made no sense for her to fire Jericho for no reason.

Silly swerves

Raw saw the return of Ted DiBiase who looked to be returning to back up Madu and Sim in a scuffle with Orton and Cody Rhodes however Dibiase swerved them and then joined the team of Orton and Rhodes. DiBiase was put on the shelf in the storyline because he was kicked in the head by Orton so the swerve makes no sense. Swerves are great but there has to be a reason to them. Hopefully Dibiase will be given mic time next week and a decent reason in the storyline why he did what he did.

JBL not in action

In the run up to the Rumble we should be seeing square offs and coming togethers between JBL andd Cena but we haven’t seen any of it. The fans are more interested in what HBK is up to and what he is going to do rather than worrying about the two guys actually in the main event.

Overall

Quite simply a mess, the creative team needs to really refine it’s storylines and really think hard about which ones it should be pushing.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 9th January 2009

After missing the last couple of Smackdown’s I was looking forward to seeing what was going down on Friday nights.

Good Points

Good Push for HHH /. Big Show feud

It was great to see HHH wrestling three times on one show in Triple Jeopardy which Vickie Guererro had put him in. It also served well to intensify his feud with Big Show as after his first two matches he had to face Big Show in a last man standing match which he eventually lost but only after being beaten down in his matches before so it keeps both of them strong.

Good Wrestling show

With a rare Undertaker match on Smakcdown alongside HHH’s three outings and a tag title match which saw Carlito and Primo defending the belts it was a good night of action.

MVP just can’t get any luck

Love what they are doing with MVP at the moment it go that bad for him this week that during his VIP section with Mr, Kennedy as his guest his furniture was repossessed and he was then chased from the ring by the Boogeyman. This guy just can’t buy a break but MVP is playing the role well and there was even an MVP chant going throughout the segment so I must not be the only one.

Bad Points

Latest crazy Jeff Hardy storyline

Following the hotel incident before Survivor Series this week we had the storyline of Jeff being the victim of a hit and run accident which forced him to miss the show. Instead they showed alleged footage of the incident and a pre-recorded interview. When will the WWE ever realise that no one believes these stories no matter how much you want the fans to buy in to them.

Random matches

Was great to see Undertaker back but his match with Shelton Benjamin served no purpose. The tag title match developed nobody and the women’s match had more of a storyline than all of them put together which is saying some thing.

No Edge or Jeff in ring

With the Rumble only a few weeks away to have both Edge and Jeff not competing makes no sense. They are suppose to be pushing this feud not coming up with crazy creative ideas.

Overall

I know Smackdown is aimed at a younger audience to Raw but that doesn’t mean the WWE need to insult the fans intelligence.

WWE Raw Review - 5th January 2009

After taking a break from reviewing WWE and TNA over the Christmas break Monday saw me getting back in the swing as I watched my first show of 2009 WWE Raw. In usual style below are my good points and bad points of this week’s episode.

Good Points

Great storyline development for JBL and HBK

The show kicked off with a great video package recapping the history of the JBL / HBK partnership and then when the action got to the ring they continued to give it a push. HBK unwillingly bowed to JBL’s commands including having him not compete in the Rumble match. However he is still torn with doing the right thing as in the main event he was paired with John Cena against Jericho and Orton and did not do as JBL instructed him to do in taking Cena out he did the right thing and helped his team to get the victory.

Heels getting pushed

Orton is being put over as a bully by forcing members of the second generation to win matches in order to stay in the faction whilst Jericho is acting like the world is against him. The HBK storyline is good for Jericho at the moment as he gets to get on the mic and say how he was right last year for calling HBK a hypocrite but yet the fans still wont get behind him.

Vince is coming back

It was announced by Chris Jericho to Stephanie McMahon that her dad is coming to Raw. After Stephanie has been running Raw for some weeks now it will be interesting to see how impressed or disappointed her Dad will be and what they are going to do with Vince after the storyline stage collapse of last year.

Bad Points

Too many Heels

Because fans are turning on HBK now and because he is aligned with a heel it only leaves Cena left as a true face in the main event scene. Even in the lower card outside of CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston you are struggling to see a lot of faces. To add to this they were all beaten which doesn’t help.

Poor Continuity

At the moment we have two storylines that could be big on Raw but just seem to come and go those being the Rey Mysterio / Mike Knox story line and the Kane / Kelly Kelly storyline. Because these storylines are on and off they lose their intensity and viewer interest.

Overall

As the first show of the year it wasn’t too bad but can’t say I am really looking forward to a Royal Rumble headlined by Cena vs. JBL.

WWE Raw Review - 15th December 2008

After a really good Armageddon I was looking forward to see how WWE were going to end out 2008 over the next few weeks on Raw.

Good Points

Finally doing something with Kane

It may be a convoluted way to start a storyline but after presenting an award together last week at The Slammys Kane has now fallen for Kelly Kelly. To the point that he chased her backstage and kidnapped her while Kane tried to find out who Kelly Kelly’s boyfriend was. After many segments of kidnapping he went to the ring and destroyed The Miz so we are lead to believe that Kelly told Kane that The Miz was her boyfriend.

Orton back on top

It looks like Armageddon was just a blip as Orton was back on top after delivering a good promo and then laying the beat on Batista which ended up with him punting Batista in the head and getting disqualified in the main event but it was Orton who left celebrating as he got what he wanted done.

Good storyline development for Jericho

Since losing to Cena at Armageddon Jericho saw being put in a match with Duggan as being moved to the bottom of the pile so refused to wrestle him comparing it to if someone missed the winning hit in sport they don’t get dropped for the next game. I like where his character is going.

Bad Points

Wanted to see CM Punk in singles action

After winning number one contenders spot for the IC title and dropping the tag belts I was looking forward to seeing CM Punk return to singles action but again he was thrown back with Kofi against The Miz and Morrison.

Dolph Ziggler beats on Santa Claus

If they are going to get Dolph over thy need to give him some promo time and actually build him in to a proper storyline or else he is just going to turn in to another Burchill where he is used for a few weeks in random matches and then dropped in to obscurity again.

Overall

A solid outing with some good new storylines to keep the product fresh for the end of 2008.

WWE Raw Review - 1st December 2008

Recently Raw has been consistently good but not excellent. Now that all the big hitters like Cena, Orton, Batista, HBK, Jericho and JBL are all fit it will be interesting to see if the show quality improves with it as normally the more main event stars you have the better the show is.

Good Points

John Cena against the world

Chris Jericho did a great job on the show tonight. He started off with a great n ring promo which was set up reminiscent of Cena’s last week with Jericho walking through the crowd. Then then antagonist Chris Jericho managed to get under Orton’s skin telling him how Cena always upstaged him and managed to get hi on his side against a common enemy. The show ended with Jericho, Orton and Second generation stars laying the beat on Cena which was a good finish.

Stephanie takes control

No Shane tonight as Steph laid down her authority in control with some good backstage stuff and some good mic work which included a great line about Adamle. She also announced a huge three hour special of Raw next week which will see the return of the Slammys and some big cross brand matches.

Santino Marella

Again Santino provided us with some great slapstick comedy on Raw as he tried to emulate Melina’s ring entrance. This segment was also used to push a Melina / Beth Phoenix feud which should be interesting.

Bad Points

JBL / HBK deal storyline

The storyline idea between these two does not play out well on a wrestling show. Supposedly JBL has offered HBK a private deal that the fans don’t know about and JBL is waiting for HBK’s response. This storyline may have played out in a soap but in wrestling it ended up in a mess which saw HBK walking out of the ring to a chorus of boos.

Dolph Ziggler

After many weeks of backstage segments featuring Dolph he was thrown in the deep end with Batista. Dolph a) shouldn’t have been put in a match against a main event star right away and b) shouldn’t be in there with Batistaa who couldn’t help anyone have a good match and would just be interested in squashing him. I think a feud between Dolph and Santino would have been the best way to start.

Overall

A good show with lots going on. It’s still a case of the main storyline being executed well but the rest of the show flagging behind some what. WWE creative need to invest more time in the under card feuds.

WWE Raw Review - 24th November 2008

After a pretty average Survivor Series tonight it was the WWE’s turn to start the ball rolling for Armageddon. Who would win the right to face Cena and what other feuds were they going to build for the Undercard.

Good Points

Shane and Stephanie running the show

Was good to see these two attempting to run the show in the absence of a GM. They made some good matches and argued over the direction of the show which was a good little storyline. Not sure how long this will continue but to me it beats having a GM.

Cena vs. Jericho for Armageddon

I think this was the right choice of match to end the year with. They set it up nicely with a triple threat on Raw to find out who would face Cena between Batista, Randy Orton and Jericho. Although Batista got the shaft when he was champion it has set him up nicely for a feud with former Evolution team mate Randy Orton which will help Orton get back to the main event scene after months off.

Bad Points

JBL / HBK feud

Haven’t really got in to this one so far and the horrible direction on Raw isn’t helping. This week it was JBL alluding to a deal he was trying to strike with HBK which nobody in the audience knows about. They need to get HBK out of this tag pairing with Rey Mysterio and just let him get on with his feud properly.

Intercontinental Title tournament

This is something you have when a title is vacant not when you have a champion. I believe the tournament will run to Armageddon with the winner getting the shot at the PPV but by having a tournament it will give little or no time for a real storyline or feud to develop between Regal and his challenger.

Overall

Seen a lot worse outings than this. Did what it needed to do and with the Main Event scene looking stacked again it should hopefully be a good end of year in the WWE.

WWE Raw Review - 17th November 2008

After being away for a week and missing a whole weeks worth of programming I was out of the wrestling loop. Being out of the loop and it being the last Raw before Survivor Series I had some catching up to do.

Good Points

Freshening Up

It was good to see Stephanie McMahon on the show and an opening segment which was reminiscent of the late 90s where Stephanie came out to lead an open forum in the ring which lead to huge in ring melee in which HBK got the upper hand on JBL. Also the presentation of backstage segments was different with HBK’s backstage segment walking through the corridors with Rey where HBK addressed the camera and the fans at home whilst acting like an announcer announcing that his match was coming up after the break.

Push for Miz and Morrison

After appearing on the 800th Episode of Raw against DX this week they got an upset win over Rey Mysterio and HBK with HBK being the one getting pinned in the centre of the ring. It made no sense for HBK to be the one to take the fall but it was great to see the continuing rise of this tag team.

New faces

After a little bit off screen it is great to see Dolph Zigler doing his usual bit getting involved in backstage segments. It’s also good to see Mike Knox getting some TV time as he got a couple of segments in which he got to intimidate the injured Evan Borne as this also gave Evan a reason to still be on TV. Mike may be another Snitsky but great to see him getting a chance.

Bad Points

Structure

The structure of Raw needs changing as it is too formulaic at the moment. Now people are giving promos and backstage segments just before the commercial break and then having their match straight after. You need to build matches throughout the show and not just a few minutes before the match.

Not enough Cena

As the big thing about Survivor Series is Cena’s return I was expecting more mentions to it, more videos about it or even an appearance from the man himself. I think this could have been built a lot better but we will see what the fan reaction is like this Sunday.

Overall

A good outing of Raw but due to no Cena they couldn’t build the main event which a PPV should be all about. It will be interesting to see how the Survivor Series Tag matches pan out and what Cena does on his return.

WWE Raw Review - 3rd November 2008

This week were greeted with a three hour special episode of Raw to celebrate its 800th show. Now regular readers know I’m not usually a fan of three hour TV shows so I was curious to see if this show would change my mind.

Good Points

Return of Randy Orton

Was great to see the in ring return of Randy Orton, it wasn’t the most convincing or well crafted segments that lead to his in ring return but all that matters is that he’s back competing again as Raw needs more big stars at the moment.

Adamle Resigns

Glad to see the back of Adamle as GM. In a show which is all about feuds and characters trying to have a non biased one dimensional GM just doesn’t work. The GM needs to be a character just as much as the wrestlers.

Big Matches

Was great to see some big matches on Raw including a rare reuniting of the Hardy Boyz, Undertaker vs. JBL and the cage title match between Jericho and Batista. On top of this we had a rare performance from DX, now I usually say they should bury that gimmick and leave it buried but they had a great match with Miz and Morrison and although they won they did a lot to put over Miz and Morrison.

Bad Points

Title mess

Now I know they wanted to do something big for the 800th but having Jericho win his title back was terrible booking. Even CM Punk held the belt longer than Batista and he was a transitional champ. It made Cyber Sunday look pointless, made Batista look weak for dropping the belt clean on Raw and did nothing to build Jericho as he would have been a stronger champ if he had retained it at Cyber Sunday.

Shane and Steph

Now I normally love it when the McMahons are on TV but I didn’t think the segments with these two were up to the normal McMahon standards. Bring back Vince that’s what I say.

Overall

One of my favourite ever three hour shows. I still think it is too long for a casual fan but for a wrestling fan it was a great three hours of TV.