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 - 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 Armageddon 2008 Review

After a poor Survivor Series I was hoping WWE would end the year with a bang as they presented their last PPV of 2008 Armageddon. Armageddon has for me normally been a strong and enjoyable event with some memorable matches happening during the nine year history of this event but this year WWE wouldn’t have to do much to beat TNA’s last offering of the year.

Good Points

Jeff Hardy finally wins the gold

After six or so months working main event matches and to have Jeff Hardy come up short every time you either had to have the pay off of him finally winning the belt or remove him from the main event scene altogether and thankfully it was him winning the belt. This was a great moment to end 2008 with as many people believed that they were never going to give Jeff the belt because of his backstage problems and the booking over the last six months but it was a real history making and satisfying moment.

Cena / Jericho much better second time around

Now that these guys actually had a back story they had built up on Raw they put together a great match. Jericho was on top form and there were a lot of great spots. The only thing that spoiled the match was the ending, Jericho should not have tapped that quickly but besides from that I never expected Cena to drop the belt so it went as planned.

Great Midcard prospect

I would pay again to see CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio. After Mysterio had been lumbered with Kane for so long and being unable to do a lot of high flying offence it was great to see him and CM Punk put on a high paced high flying affair. The only thing with CM Punk is he is a little bit dangerous I think he may have broken Rey’s nose with his Go To Sleep finisher.

Bad Points

Match order

As soon as Cena vs. Jericho came out before the Smackdown main event I knew we were going to see Hardy win the belt as the only time McMahon puts the Smackdown as the main is if a face is going to win the title.

Smackdown title scene

After months of seeing HHH as champion on Smackdown we have now had two new champions in the space of the month. I’m not sure if the title was given to Edge as a way to get the belt to Hardy without him beating HHH or if Edge was still not ready physically for a title run. Now we have Hardy as champion and I don’t see him holding on the belt for too long so we can have three different champions in the space of months.

Orton’s push ended in a week

After being put over strong on Raw last week with a killer promo and a win to have him lose to Batista made no sense. He needs to be pushed as Raw’s top heel again and this isn’t helping.

Overall

Much better than Survivor Series or TNA’s last offering of the year and a nie history making moment to end the show off with.

WWE Raw Review - 8th December 2008

With one week to go to Armageddon, the return of the Slammys and a three hour show with some huge cross brand matches WWE were promising a lot with this week’s episode of Raw but the question was could they deliver.

Good Points

Push for Orton

The episode of Raw really pushed Orton for the first time in a long time. Orton cut a killer promo proclaiming “Tonight the legacy is born” and then went on to get to the win for his team over Batista and HHH. I see WWE sliding him back in to the main event scene by Royal Rumble as the new feud for Cena.

Good Ending

The ending to Raw had the feeling of the old days as Edge vs. Cena was interrupted by Jericho and HHH going after their respective opponents for Armageddon which has got me really pumped for the double main event.

Nice build for Cena / Jericho

Was great to see Cena mocking Jericho’s promo from last week and then to see their in ring altercation with Cena telling Jericho he was coming after him and not acting the heel like way Jericho did last week.

Bad Points

Why so many three hour shows

There seems to be a three hour episode every other month at the moment. Now used say once or twice a year you can build them as special but with the glut of them that we have had they are no longer special. Aside from that I don’t think you can expect the younger audience to keep with a show and entertained for three hours straight.

MVP pushed further down the heap

I wasn’t expecting to see him on Raw so it was a nice surprise but again he continued his storyline of losing every match as this week he lost to Charlie Haas. I think the WWE need to take him off TV for a while and bring him back fresh and start again.

Slammys

For me this just brought back to many bad memories of the cheesy mid 90s era of WWE. The awards instead of being done properly and meaning something were just used for storyline advancement which was too blatantly obvious for them to be taken seriously.

Overall

The show got me excited for Armageddon but a two hour episode minus the Slammys could have done exactly the same if booked right.

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 - 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.

WWE Raw Review - 27th October 2008

After a lacklustre Raw last week and a lacklustre Cyber Sunday I was hoping that tonight’s Raw the start of the road to Survivor Series would be the start of an upturn for the WWE.

Good Points

Adamle / Orton Feud

With Orton still not ready to compete yet they have built him a great storyline with Mike Adamle. Orton blames Adamle for getting him stunnered by Steve Austin at Cyber Sunday and has called for Shane and Stephanie McMahon to come to Raw next week to fire him or he will walk. Orton’s mic work was some of the most intense on Raw in recent weeks and I think has put everyone on notice for his upcoming in ring return.

A Great wrestling match

It was so good to see Rey Mysterio against Evan Bourne on Raw, with a couple of more good cruiserweights they could build a division to Rival WCW’s in the late 90s. Hopefully these two will get to go at it again soon.

Santino take another beating

Santino again provided the comedy for the evening continuing on his programme with the WWE legends from last night’s Cyber Sunday. As the legends came out to commentate on his match he threw some good lines at them on the mic and then once again took a beating at their hands but again it was great character development for Santino.

Bad Points

Not buying Batista as champ

I thought tonight proved why they should have kept the belt on Jericho as after Jericho delivered a solid in ring promo it was then left to Batista later on in the show to deliver a weak promo that lacked any kind of intensity. I’m already looking forward to Batista dropping the belt.

More change for change sake

After last night’s title change tonight we had the makeshift partnership of CM Punk and Kofi Kingston winning the tag belts from DiBiase and Rhodes. I thought the WWE were trying to build the second generation stable but this did nothing to help. I think it’s was done because they wanted to give a title to CM Punk and this was hat would have probably happened if CM Punk and Kofu had been voted in to the tag match at Cyber Sunday.

Overall

A big improvement lots going on and the show got back to feeling like an action packed two hours.

WWE Cyber Sunday 2008 Review

With a pretty tepid build up I wasn’t expecting much from Cyber Sunday. I do like the concept behind Cyber Sunday and enjoy the fact that we now have distinct events outside the big four like One Night Stand being a show of hardcore matches and this show having a card full of matches which fans get to vote on but I don’t think the WWE have really delivered on the potential of this event.

Good Points

Evan Bourne on PPV

It was great to see Evan winning the vote to challenge for the ECW title and then put on a brilliant match with Matt Hardy. This was my favourite match on the card and I hope it will be the start of a great push for Evan as I think he would make a good ECW champion or could revitalise a cruiserweight division on Raw or Smackown.

Santino is comedy gold

Santino did a great job with the Honky Tonk man and provided some great comedy moments in his match which saw Piper and Goldust get involved. Santino showed that it’s not about winning or losing it’s about entertaining.

Bad Points

Changing for change sakes

Putting Batista as champion for me just smacked of just making a change for change sake. Now things always need freshening up but that doesn’t mean you have to change the champion to do it. Just as Jericho had established himself as the champion to have him give it up made no sense.

Killing Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy as predicted got voted in to the title match against HHH but again he was made to lose clean. The fans love Jeff Hardy and he moves a lot of merchandise but the creative team aren’t ready to trust him with the ball and the Smackdown brand is getting very stale with HHH consistently winning clean against Hardy. To save Hardy’s position they should have had Kozlov coming down and costing him the match so then that would have built a good triple threat match for Survivor Series.

John Cena’s return

The event was used to push John Cena’s return at Survivor Series. Now it makes great sense to promote the next PPV whilst people are watching a PPV but to promote it so heavily that the show you have paid for looks like a commercial for the next PPV is wrong. The most important thing on the PPV should be making the show they are watching the best it can be and not promoting the next PPV. If a PPV is really good people will buy the next one regardless of promotion.

Overall

CM Punk was the main face of the promotion and WWE didn’t even use him and then put on a below standard show with very few highlights was very disappointing. Hopefully things will pick up for Survivor Series with all the promotion they are putting in to it.

WWE Raw Review - 20th October 2008

With one week left to go to Cyber Sunday it was time for the Raw brand to put the final parts in the storylines together for their matches at the PPV.

Good Points

Nice build for Main Event

The creative team did a good job of building Jericho vs. Batista with both getting mic time in the ring and then both of them participating in the evenings main event. Mike Adamle put them both in gauntlet matches which gave the fans a chance to see and predict who they thought would come out on top this Sunday. If you are judging by what happened on Raw you would have to make Batista the favourite this Sunday.

Great Santino Segment

Santino came to the ring to deliver a promo dressed as a mixture of all three of his possible opponents this Sunday at Cyber Sunday. I enjoy Santino’s comedic work so he had me in stitches and although I am no Jim Duggan fan it was good to have him involved in the segment.

Bad Points

The return of Snitsky

Just when you think the WWE have gotten rid of Snitsky as you haven’t seen him for ages he comes back only to be used to lose in a throwaway match. This week it was a loss to Rey Mysterio. So I except to be writing the same sort of comment in a couple of months time.

Cryme Time / 2nd Generation feud

I like this feud but what they did for it on Raw was shocking. Their match was thrown out before it even started as Manu got involved in a three on two beat down which last a couple of minutes and then that was it. Didn’t do anything to inspire or get me interested.

Overall

Not the most exciting Raw ever and really missed Randy Orton and Michaels who I thought would put in an appearance as they are involved in the voting for the main event at Cyber Sunday. Maybe this all a ploy by WWE to make their shows boring so that people crave John Cena’s return more.

WWE Raw Review - 13th October 2008

With Cyber Sunday getting ever closer it was going to be interesting to see what matches and storylines WWE were going to add and work on this week.

Good Points

Good Build for Batista vs. Jericho

They actually did a good job of developing the feud this week. Jericho and Batista were given the chance to pick opponents for each other to face on Raw so Jericho picked Michaels for Batista and Batista picked CM Punk for Jericho putting himself as the referee. I like the Cyber Sunday gimmick for this one with the fans being able to pick the referee as it keeps Michaels involved in the storyline as he is one of the options.

John Cena video

Another John Cena video again this week to keep his name around. I like them as they are doing a good job of trying to show John Cena’s passion for the sport and to win over his detractors although they have to be careful not to over do the videos too much.

Bad Points

Jackass Crew

Now I understand the idea behind getting outside celebrities involved in wrestling storylines to help generate a buzz but I think with Jackass that their popularity is on the decline so they have missed the boat with this one. Also the section they featured in was an absolute mess with everyman and his dog getting involved when it should have just been about developing their feud with Khali.

Poor storyline development

Besides the main event nothing else was really developed on the Raw side of the card for Cyber Sunday Mysterio tagged again with Matt Hardy, JBL wrestled against Charlie Haas and Cryme Time had a throwaway match against the Miz and Morrison.

Overall

As a two hour TV show I don’t think it would have entertained the casual fan. I know Cyber Sunday isn’t a big PPV in the WWE calendar but they still need to do more than what they are doing to hype it and get fans interested.

WWE Raw Review - 6th October 2008

After a good No Mercy it was time to get down to business again and the road towards Cyber Sunday. Would there be any fallout from Jericho and Michaels and what will Batista do now he is number one contender.

Good Points

Chris Jericho

Jericho gave a good in ring promo to kick the show off showing the world how Michaels has permanently disfigured him last night as his injury was well woven in to the storyline. He also put the wheels in motion for his feud with Batista as he was in the receiving end of Spine Buster from the Animal and then as acting GM tried to screw Batista out of his number one contenders spot in which he was unsuccessful.

John Cena videos

It’s been a while since was last saw Cena on our screens so WWE put out two well crafted video segments following his surgery and featuring positive comments about him from fellow wrestlers. Good to see them trying to keep his name out there.

Push for Ted Dibiase

The WWE are really pushing Ted junior as this week he got a singles win against former Intercontinental champion Kofi Kingston. Expect him to be the next Randy Orton within a year.Loss of intensity for Rey and Kane

Bad points

Not much going on

Besides the build for Jericho vs. Batista there really wasn’t much going on. We had a few throwaway matches featuring people that weren’t feuding with each other and a few backstage segments. The content really wasn’t enough to keep the viewer hooked for two hours.

No Heat

After last night’s dramatic end to their match I was expected the heat to be turned up even further on this feud but instead were put in a mix storyline match as Rey tagged with Matt Hardy to go against Kane and Mark Henry.

Overall

Another average Raw. Not enough exciting stuff happening backstage and not enough good matches in the ring. Without Orton being able to wrestle and Cena off the show Raw is really lacking at the moment.

WWE No Mercy Review

After a mixture of good and bad WWE programming as of late it was time for the first of to PPV’s in October for WWE that being No Mercy. The event was largely built around the ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title.

Good Points

The ladder match

Although it won’t get down as one of the best ladder matches of all time there were some good bumps in there and some great psychology. There was no way they were going to make Jericho give up the belt a month after he won the belt especially as the last holder before him CM Punk was always seen as a transitional champion.

Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy

This match did a lot to enhance Jeff Hardy although he came up on the losing side of the result again. The lat few minutes of this match really got the fans believing that Jeff could win this and it was only a sneak roll up manoeuvre that got HHH the win. However now it looks like HHH is going to go straight in to a feud with Kozlov so I’m not sure where it leaves Jeff.

Bad Points

It’s getting like TNA

There were some silly endings tonight which came straight out of the TNA book with Rey Mysterio beating Kane by dq after Kane gave him a chairshot when he flew out of the ring in to Kane and Big Show beat The Undertaker following referee stoppage due to Big Show knocking Undertaker unconscious.

Where do we go from here?

With Batista winning a number one contender match what will Michaels do now and now that Kozlov is set up in a feud with HHH what will happen to Hardy? Will Kane continue to feud with Rey Mysterio? It’s good to have a little bit up in the air after a PPV but I feel there are too many top names without storylines at the moment.

Too Many TV like moments

The PPV at times felt a bit like an episode of Raw or Smackdown with in ring promos and mic segemtns involving Orton, JBL, Cryme Time and others. I think at a PPV the only in ring stuff happening should be the matches or things with affect matches with everything else happening backstage.

Overall

The last two matches saved it if it wasn’t for them it would have been an absolute dud of a PPV.

WWE Raw Review - 29th August 2008

After last week’s 800th episode special of Raw I was looking forward to see what they were going to do with the last Raw before No Mercy. With two big Raw feuds on the PPV it would be interesting to see what they did to hook people to buy the PPV.

Good Points

Good development for JBL / Batista feud

This feud got some great TV time on Raw. To make up for not giving Batista a title push this year as of yet creative are trying to keep him strong and in the focus. Both JBL and Batista landed sucker blows on their No Mercy opponent blindsiding each other after their respective matches. This should be a brutal match at No Mercy.

Second Generation Stable

WWE are building this faction of DiBiase. Rhodes and Manu brilliantly as this week they were all able to compete in one match on the same team in a rare eight man tag on Raw. Not only did they get this but they got good backstage time as they tried to convince Kane to join their group.

Orton kept in the Spotlight

I like what the creative team are doing with this making Orton feud with Adamle as it keeps Orton on TV and it help builds Adamle. Just the question is at the moment when will Randy return to full ring action.

Bad Points

Poor build for main event

Besides the main event match Jericho didn’t get any TV time. When you are building for a PPV the best way to do is through backstage segments, promos and mic time but when the champion isn’t given any of that how is he suppose to get the feud to boiling point. To add to this ad make it worse instead of build Jericho Michaels they decided to bring HHH back and reform DX again for another one night special which overshadowed the actual feud they are suppose to be building.

Too much time for Santino

Now I love Santino, the boy cracks me up but when he is getting more time on the mic at backstage than your main event guys then there is a problem. Although I bet Santino isn’t complaining.

Overall

A decent outing nothing to jump and down about, can’t say I am excited about No Mercy but it is normally the events that you go in with low expectations that turn out to be the good ones.

WWE Raw Review - 8th September 2008

After a great ending to Unforgiven I was looking forward to seeing the first Raw under the reign of Jericho. What would happen to Batista? Would we see CM Punk or Michaels show up? All these questions had to be answered.

Solid start from Jericho

It was nothing flashy but Jericho did what he needed to do selling the beating that Michael gave him and acting like any good heel does by trying to squirm his way out of matches that Adamle had set up for him. Next week it will be Jericho vs. CM Punk in a steel cage for the title meaning that we may not see Punk in the main event scene for the next PPV as he gets his rematch early. When Michaels and CM Punk are back then we will see the real start to his reign I think.

Second Generation stars get a backbone

Over the last few weeks Orton has been the master manipulator backstage getting fellow second generation stars to his dirty work for him whilst taking all the credit for it. This week on Raw Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu had, had enough as Orton managed to get clear of the ring before an altercation could happen. Does this now mean they are pushing the group o second generation stars as faces now?

Bad Points

Push for Batista or lack of it

Just after you started to think they were going to push Batista they have now got him involved in a feud with JBL which is not what I would call a push. I’m no Batista fan but they have kept him hanging on down the card for some time now and really need to do something big with him.

Not enough going on

The three main storylines the show featured around weren’t ground breaking and there weren’t any what I would call major developments. The three storylines being, Jericho, Batista/JBL and the Second Generation storyline. Everything else was just filler.

Overall

Not much to get excited about or memorable from this episode. Was good to see Evan Bourne who most wrestling fans who follow the indy scene will know as Matt Sydal get a chance on Raw after some time spent on ECW. Was interesting to see him use the shooting star press in his match as I thought this move had been outlawed after Billy Kidman once messed it up a few weeks on the trot.

WWE Unforgiven Preview

WWE Divas Championship match
Maryse vs. Michelle McCool

Raw still has by far the superior Women’s division but with the Divas title now on Smackdown at least there seems to be some point to having women wrestle on Smackdown. I wouldn’t have a Divas title match on PPV instead of having a Women’s Title match though. Michelle McCool should retain here as her off screen relationship with The Undertaker has obviously given her power backstage by association with the Phenom.

Championship Scramble for the ECW Championship
Mark Henry (c) vs. Matt Hardy vs. The Miz vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Finlay

Regardless of what you think of the current state of ECW that is a strong match to put out. I remember when the new ECW brand first started and you had matches with the likes of Kevin Thorn and others but now you have a match where all guys have experience on either Raw or Smackdown. I want to see Matt Hardy win but with Mark Henry’s current push I could see him retaining and there is always a outside chance that they could give it to Finlay as he comes nearer to the end of his career it may be nice to see him as a champion. Saying all this though I’m going to go with a gut instinct and go with Matt Hardy on this one.

World Tag Team Championship
Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Cryme Time

For a tag match this has been built quite well over the last month on Raw with Cryme Time stealing the belts and then Rhodes and DiBiase attacking them to take them back. I for one am just glad they are doing something with Cryme Time at the moment as for weeks they were left with nothing. WWE at the moment are trying to mould DiBiase as the next star, the new Randy Orton if you will so I think this will be a successful title defence for the pairing.

Unsanctioned Match
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

This has had the best build up for a match at a PPV in some time. The rivalry is so heated and has been crafted so well that you could easily believe that it’s real. Nothing about it has been rushed and we were all expecting a great match at Unforgiven but now with Michaels injury on Raw no one is sure how this match will pan out. People were expecting great things from this match but now if it doesn’t deliver it could undo a lot of the good work already done in this feud and affect the future storyline and matches this pair could have. My prediction is a win for Shawn Michaels.

Championship Scramble for the WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs. The Brian Kendrik vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy

Expect Triple H to easily retain in this one but that isn’t the interesting thing to watch for in this one. This match is a gauge for where Kendrik and Benjamin are at and if they can fit in to the main event scene. MVP has been waiting for a main event push for sometime but with his recent backstage antics I’m not sure if the wait will go on or not. The match also sees Hardy’s return to main event so will be interesting to see what he brings.

Championship Scramble for the World Heavyweight Championship
CM Punk (c) vs. Batista vs. Kane vs. JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

This has the potential to be an interesting match as it has many different storylines going on and unlike the Smackdown scramble match each competitor has been pushed as a potential winner. This match will be used to develop the Kane / Mysterio feud but I don’t see either of them winning as Rey has just come back from injury so won’t be put in to a main event feud. The match gives CM Punk the chance to lose the title without losing believability as he doesn’t have to be involved in the deciding decision afterwards he can then continue a feud with JBL. Leaving Batista as the winner as he has now been a while without the belt and will be a babyface champion ready in waiting for Orton’s return. Don’t even be surprised to see Orton get involved somehow in this one.

Overall

With three scramble matches all only going twenty minutes and a Divas match which won’t go much over ten minutes it leaves a lot of PPV to fill which I think they were expecting Jericho and Michaels to fill but with his injury will that be possible. Having three identical gimmick style matches on a PPV doesn’t work in this day and age, that’s why Survivor Series is not done how it use to be any more. This event was going to be remembered for Jericho vs. Michaels but now everyone is unsure how it is going to go down but I hope even with an injury they can steal the show.

WWE Raw Review - 1st September 2008

With one week to go until Unforgiven I was excited to see what was going to happen on Raw although this week’s episode was a pre-record so wouldn’t have the normal live feeling which makes Raw stand out from it’s competitors.

Good Points

Returning Stars

Instead of the weeks of build that TNA does for it’s returning stars WWE surprised us this week with no build Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio made their returns to Raw. Randy still claiming to be injured and probably still is didn’t wrestle but came to give a damning promo on the current state of WWE and Rey Mysterio made a surprise entrance at the conclusion of the main event to attack Kane. In the long run I always think it is better to surprise people and not have big builds for returns as it adds to the spontaneity of the show and that feeling that anything can happen. To add to this we also saw the return of Candice Michelle.

Great psychology between HBK and Jericho

These two will be forever famed for their Wrestlemania match but the great thing with the feud this time round is they are getting to do a great and heated storyline to build up to their PPV match. I always think the champion should be pushed the most but am glad if they aren’t doing that, that this match is getting all the time and attention. The only problem on Raw was that Michaels tore his tricep which may have a huge impact on the quality of their match at Unforigiven.

Kane getting the push

Kane is being put over as a likely winner of the scramble match at Unforgven as he got three big segments on Raw and was the winner of the Battle Royal main event on Raw. Personally I don’t think he is right to be champion and I don’t think they will give the belt to him but it is good that they are making him believable as a possible title winner.

Bad Points

Batista pushed to the side

With being the main babyface of Raw and the main face of the advertising of Unforgiven I thought they would be giving Batista an actual storyline or feud to go in to the main event with as at the moment we have the JBL/Punk feud and the Kane/Mysterio feud with Batista just making up the numbers so it would seem. Saying this it probably means he will win the belt on Sunday.

Too much time given to ECW stars

This week we had an ECW Battle Royal, a tag match featuring Morrison and The Miz as well as backstage time for Teddy Long. If Raw are doing a crossover storyline with ECW then yes have their stars on the show but if not it makes no sense.

Overall

For a show that wasn’t live it was brilliant, lacked focus at times but worked brilliantly at getting done what was needed to be done. I am now looking forward to Unforgiven it’s just a shame about Shawn Michaels injury as I was really looking forward to his match with Jericho.

WWE SummerSlam Review

Back in the day SummerSlam was sold as the hottest event of the Summer however in recent years I think it has lost it’s magic and it’s importance. To me SummerSlam is now just another monthly PPV which was proved by a gimmick match with no title at stake being booked as the main and two horrible title matches which haven’t been hyped. So with this in mind here are my thoughts on the show.

Good Points

Development of Jericho / HBK feud

Now everyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that HBK isn’t going to retire and him coming out to announce his retirement was just a way to get even more heat on Jericho and to add to it they have brought HBK’s wife in the mix. As Jericho went to confront HBK he accidentally hit HBK’s wife instead which will goad HBK to change his mind to defend the honour of his wife. The way that have brought his wife back I think that she is going to end up turning on HBK to add even more spice to this feud which could be the feud of the year.

Batista vs John Cena

I thought these two for the suppose little wrestling talent they have put on a superb match which was really entertaining and left you wanting more. By not having JBL win the title they needed a heel to go against CM Punk and this match did good at turning Batista in to a heel as he did everything that good heel does in the match. The only problem is besides another feud with JBL where does this leave Cena?

Bad Points

Two worst title matches ever

A major PPV should revolve around the title matches but it was the two non title main event matches that stole the show. By putting both of the matches early in the card this event devalued the belts in my eyes as the championship match should always be the match people come to see and the match people go home talking about.

Hell in a Cell

Now if you watch the original Hell in a Cell between HBK and Undertaker you will see an impressive match with lots of psychology which kept you on the edge of your seat without any major spots. Then you had the spots in the Hell in a Cell between Undertaker and Mankind that will never be topped. So to do a good entertaining Hell in a Cell match is very hard. When these two had a brilliant story to tell they instead had a match that was geared round a couple of spots which compared to the Mankind match weren’t that impressive.

Overall

A PPV that will soon be forgotten about and that lacked substance. There are too many titles in the WWE right now which only goes toe devalue them and dilute them and they need to cut back on the number of title matches on a PPV. When my highlight of the night was a non wrestling section it kind of tells you all you need to know.

My SummerSlam Predictions

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

MVP is stuck going nowhere at the minute, at one point I thought they may give him a main event push but seem to be stalling with him here. This match does nothing for either guy really, I expect Hardy to get the win in his first major Smackdown feud and help propel him further up the card on Smackdown.

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy is going to be the new face of ECW so I expect him to win this one. To have him lose would ruin his position and with him winning Mark Henry can always have a rematch which would keep ECW moving nicely for the next month.

Kofi Kingston and Mickie James vs. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix

I know WWE are really starting to push Santino and Beth as a couple so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the titles changing here. Love the concept for the match by having singles titles on the line in a tag match. Mickie James has got stale as champ and I’m not sure if Kofi is ready for a title yet but it will be a bold move by the creative team to switch both titles in one night.

John Cena vs. Batista

Since coming back and winning the Rumble Cena really hasn’t done much he has lost at Mania and on PPV to JBL. He really needs a win to get it back on track but WWE seem to be really pushing Batista at the moment. With this in mind I would probably go with a Batista win.

CM Punk vs JBL

I love CM Punk but with the undercard that Raw has at the moment with John Cena and Batista both being seen as faces it makes sense for JBL to win the title here to set up a feud with either or. CM Punk is only a transitional champ and has held the title for longer than I expected him to.

Triple H vs. The Great Khali

Word is that Khali is soon to be done with wrestling and after being booked in a shocking match I don’t think they are going to have the belt taken off Triple H as well. With no title change here it then makes sense for this title to stay the same.

The Undertaker vs. Edge

Makes no sense for The Undertaker to lose although when people get built up in a match for not being able to lose they normally have them lose to build the other guy. If Edge wins it will be a screw job type finish but my money is still on an Undertaker win.

One more thing to look out for

When Randy Orton got injured WWE originally said SummerSlam as his return date and this week there have been many stories circulating about Orton getting injured which could be a cover story for the fact that he will be at SummerSlam. If he is to get involved anywhere it will either be in the John Cena / Batista match or Hell in a Cell.

WWE Raw Review - 11th August 2008

With this being the last Raw before SummerSlam I wa hoping the creative team were going to do something to get me interested in the Raw side of the card.

Good points

Nice build for CM Punk vs. JBL

These two should have been giver a larger chunk of the show but they did well with what they had. With JBL you are almost guaranteed a great build up if he is allowed to play his bully character. It was nice how they wove CM Punk’s straightedge character in t it with the liquior challenge and CM Punk throwing it back in JBL’s face.

Good build for Kofi/Mickie vs Santino/Beth

I’m really looking forward to this match. The concept is great they have Santino who is great on the mic and some guys who can really work. They promoted well on Raw with Santino challenging Mickie James to a atch winning it and then celebrating like he had won Gold at the Olympics.

Another solid outing for William Regal

Before his last suspension Regal wasn’t given much inring time but since his return he has been my winner of match of the night on all the Raw’s he has wrestled on. I just hope they get give him more mic time again soon as to build himself properly he needs both in ring time and mic time.

Bad Points

Kane’s bag containing Rey’s mask

In a terribly executed swerve we finally found out what Kane had been hiding in his bag which turned out to be Rey’s mask. With rumours that he may be departing soon I’m not surprised if WWE may want to kill his character off. The problem with this was its execution. A great swerve is one that you didn’t see coming but when you look back on it makes logical sense which this one didn’t. It just again smacked of last minute thinking by the creative team.

Poor build for Cena vs Batista

This match has been so poorly handled it’s untrue. This match should have been saved for Wrestlemania or if they were going to do it have it be for a heavyweight title and have a brilliant storyline to go with it. Try as they might this week on Raw they didn’t generate any interest to me as they both gave weak in ring promos to a mixed crowd response and went off air having lost the tag titles.

Lack of substance

For a Raw before one of the four biggest PPV’s of the year there wasn’t enough substance for me, not enough meaningful matches and not enough storyline development. With time given to Kelly Kelly, The Highlanders, Cryme Time, Jamie Noble, William Regal and Rhodes & DiBiase it broke up the hype for SummerSlam as they are not on the cardas and more time should have been given to the eight Raw stars that are on the card for SummerSlam.

Overall

A pretty boring episode of Raw which didn’t feature enough good non-wrestling segments. The only match on the Raw side I am really looking forward to is the mixed tag and that’s saying something.