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 2008 Review

After a better than average SummerSlam WWE were following this up with another gimmick PPV which seems to be WWE’s theme of the year with Night of the Champions, One Night Stand and Cyber Sunday still to come all surrounding around gimmick matches. The gimmick for Unforgiven was every Heavyweight title being defended in a scramble match. There was a shadow of doubt cast over the PPV when Michaels got injured on Raw the week before his big showdown with Chris Jericho so I wasn’t as hyped for this one as I usually am but as it was broadcast free in the UK I wasn’t complaining.

ECW Championship Scramble match

Was better than I was expecting this one and a nice little kick off to the PPV. As I predicted Matt Hardy got the win without Mark Henry being involved with keeps him strong and builds their feud nicely. By having this one first and by having Matt win it started to make you wonder if we were going to see Hardy clean sweep and see scenes reminiscent of WrestleMania 20.

World Tag Team Championship: Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Cryme Tyme by Cody Rhodes

It’s good to see the tag belts being defended again on PPV on a regular basis. The result of this match was never in doubt as Rhodes & DiBiase are getting a big push. Cryme Tyme need to be given more promo time and made to be thought of as believable contenders and not just a comedy act. Was good to see Manu come down the son of Afa the Wild Samoan to help Rhodes and DiBiase to add to the second generation wrestlers stable. Again my prediction was correct in this one.

Unsanctioned Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

After much doubt about Michaels injuries and if he would be able to put in a good performance here Michaels contributed to a match of the year contender here. The last ten minutes were just brilliant as Michaels beat Jericho to a pulp but played the character of being remorseful for what he had been forced to do. I thought the pay-off was a bit too quick and they should have waited longer before the fight but as events unfolded later it made a lot of sense. As predicted Michaels picked up the win.

WWE Championship Scramble

We already knew HHH was going to win this but as I said in my predictions this match as all about how the other guys got on in a main event. I think Kendrik, Benjamin and MVP all put in credible performances, nothing special mind. The match was good at keeping Jeff Hardy strong as they eventually build to another Hardy / HHH match at a PPV.

Divas Championship: Michelle McCool (c) vs. Maryse

Nothing much to get excited about here except another correct prediction by me.

World Heavyweight Championship Scramble

This match was built excellently during the PPV as CM Punk was set upon by Randy Orton and his new stable of second generation wrestlers before his match making him unable to compete and a space open in the scramble match. This also gave CM Punk the ability to lose his title whilst never being beaten for it keeping him strong for another push at the title and creates a strong feud with Orton when he returns. In a surprising move Jericho limped out to take CM Punk’s place and managed to steal a victory and World Heavyweight Championship. Kane and Rey can now go on in their feud which leaves JBL and Batista to build a feud. By giving Jericho the belt it keeps him strong and adds a new dimension to his feud with Michaels. Being the top feud it only makes sense for it now to revolve around the title. Am so happy to see Jericho as champion that I don’t care that I got this prediction wrong and missed out on a possible 100%.

Overall

The show on the whole was very predictable until the end which made the ending even more engaging. The show did what it had to do to build storylines and also had The Big Show turning heel on Undertaker in the most telegraphed storyline of the year that even someone who hadn’t seen wrestling before could have seen what was going to happen. I’m looking forward to the first Raw under the new reign of Jericho.

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 Smackdown Review - Friday 5th September 2008

With ir being the last Smackdown before Unforgiven and with some exciting storylines happening on Smackdown I was quite interested to see how tonight’s show was going to unfold.

Good Points

Structure

For one the champion HHH kicked off the show with an in ring promo about the main event this Sunday and the show ended with him in the main event. I think this is the first show that HHH has started and ended since he moved to Smackdown. I know HHH doesn’t need a push but your champion should always be the one you put the most time in to. Added to this there were a lot more promos and interviews on the show which was a good thing.

More great work by The Undertaker

Before the show started we saw a video package highlighting The Undertaker / Vickie storyline. Then early on in the show we had another awesome Undertaker promo which although not as good as last weeks was still the best promo of the night.

Good build for the Championship Scramble

We had a great push for The Brian Kendrik as he lead the beating on HHH in the first segment and then secured a big win over Jeff Hardy later in the show. Jeff Hardy although losing to Kendrik got a push of his own as he made the save for HHH early on and then at the end turned on him and left him lying in the ring after his main event and as the cameras stopped rolling.

Bad Points

Match Quality

There were some really good matches on Smackdown this week but the show was let down by the inclusion of a throwaway match that being Ryan Braddock vs. Super Crazy and by having two Diva matches. I’d prefer to see less matches than have these spoil to flow of the show.

Vickie Guerrero

Many people love Vickie but I think her promos need work as she is a great character but on the whole her promos go on far too long. When you’re in a programme with The Undertaker your promos need to be spot on which hers weren’t.

Overall

The bad points were only nit picks so again another great Smackdown, really liking what they are doing at the moment, roll on Unforgiven.

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 Smackdown Review - Friday 22nd August 2008

Fter Raw was a bit of a mess I hope the Smackdown brand could do a good job with their first show since the PPV. Would the Undertaker appear? Who will be HHH’s next challenger? And is it the last we have seen of Edge?

Good Points

The Undertaker speaks

Was great to see The Undertaker rock up at the end of Smackdown after being promoted heavily during the show. The two lines Undertaker delivered were awesome and showed everyone else that it’s not about how much mic time you have when you deliver like he does. After getting his revenge on Edge Undertaker also got the chance to get revenge on the family as he left them lying in the ring to end the show.

Use of Big Show

Big Show was overlooked for the qualifying matches to see who would be involved in the title match at Unforgiven. He played the angle well having words with Vickie and then clearing house during a ten man battle royal that he wasn’t even a part of. I just hope they put him in a programme with Taker as both don’t yet have a match for Unforgiven.

Nice Unforgiven Promo

Really like the promo vid for Unforgiven. A real push for Batista as he alludes to thing he has done in his life for which he will be unforgiven.

Bad Points

Copying Raw

Smackdown will have the same title match as Raw for Unforgiven that being the 5 man scramble. There were some interesting inclusions in the match with The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Jeff Hardy all getting a chance to take HHH’s belt. It doesn’t look as good as the Raw five man but am happy MVP is getting the push. The match was announced with little fanfare as if the fans already knew what the main event was going to be. If you truly want to build two brands then you need to act as if the fans only watch your show and not the other.

Use of Kenny Dykstra

Now I like Kenny I think he has some potential but he is being pushed in a stupid way. First they bring him back to be squashed in a title match by HHH with no build and then on this week’s Smackdown he had to interrupt HHH’s in ring promo just to get pedigree’d right away. It’s good to see him around the main segments but it is doing him no good in the long run.

Overall

More good than bad which is more that can be said for Raw. The one thing Smackdown needs to do is develop another strong mid card talent. Benjamin Kendrick and Hardy are good wrestlers but not the best on the mic. With it being a five man main event for Unforgiven I can only see Smackdown putting two matches worth seeing in to Unforgiven that being the five man and an Undertaker match as there is no other real talent or feud which you would pay to see.

WWE Raw Review - 18th August 2008

After an average SummerSlam I was still looking forward to Raw as coming out of the PPV there seemed to be some interesting directions they could take the storylines in the run up to Unforgiven.

Good Points

Build for Jericho

After not having much of a push since his return finally Jericho is getting pushed back to the top in his feud with Shawn Michaels. Jericho gave a great promo in the ring to start the show off where he blamed Michaels and the fans for him hitting Michaels wife. He also ended the show with a non tile victory over Cm Punk so is being pushed as the main draw.

New concept for title match at Unforgiven

The theme for Adamle’s tenure as GM on Raw has been coming up with new and different concepts for matches. This time in a TNA style idea they are having a scramble match for the title between five competitors which will have a twenty minute time limit with the last competitor to get a submission or pinfall victory being declared the champion. Although I’m not sure about the quality of the match it will be a way of getting the belt off Punk which doesn’t harm him.

Santino stealing the show

Santino marella along with Beth Phoenix are stealing the show in the undercard right now. Who cares that Santino can’t wrestle as his character skills and mic skills put even the main eventers to shame. If only he was a bigger guy who could wrestle, if he was he would be the new Rock which the WWE really needs.

Bad Points

Killing CM Punk

CM Punk’s credibility was killed on Raw as in his hometown he lost a non tile main event to Jericho who isn’t even a challenger for the title. I think now the sooner they got the belt off him the better as he will never be allowed to go over big on anyone and it is doing him no favours to continue to be the champion the way he is being booked.

Main event stars put in throwaway matches

The guys who main evented SummerSlam were all put in terrible matches as JBL beat Jamie Noble, John Cena beat DiBiase and Holly. Then to add to this Batista was allowed to run over Burchill. It’s great to see Burchill being booked against the main event stars but he shouldn’t just be used for this.

Kane off the backburner

After having nothing to do at SummerSlam they are pushing Kane again by putting him in the main event at Unforgiven, giving him promo time on Raw and then having him chokeslam Batista. They should have continued Batista’s heel push and have him as champion not have him feuding with a heel who is probably not going to be given the title.

Overall

If it wasn’t for Jericho and Santino the show would have sucked. When the two guys you tune in for aren’t the main eventers in the championship scene you know there’s a problem.