Yes, the 15th anniversary of Monday Night Raw was everything we thought it would be and more. It had intrigue, scandal, emotion and drama – and then the show started. Honestly, who in their right mind thought that having Stephanie McMahon kiss HHH to start the show was a good idea? Yeah, to those mouth breathers that think that spot somehow broke the fourth wall and we really were seeing something we were not supposed to see, I have two words for ya – âItâs a work.â If, in your heart of hearts, you truly believe that the kiss heard â~round the ring will add one, ONE, extra Armageddon buy, you probably believed HHH banged Katie Vickâs brains out. (He didnât, by the way.)
Its not that the segment was unentertaining. HHH was as good as he has ever been. So was Hornswaggle. No sarcasm. They were good. Vince, on the other hand, ran the gamut of emotions from A to A. Mr. McMahon has never been confused with a well-developed character with nuanced traits allowing the viewer to access an emotional core. Nope. Breaking news: McMahon is no DeNiro. But he is, however, Pacino. Monday night, his performance was quite Pacino-like. âScent of Some Womenâ starring Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Ho-Hah!
Anyway, this 3-hour self-pleasuring just rubbed me the wrong way. Granted, there were some excellent components. Jeff Hardy and Carlito had an amazing match. Iâm really glad Carlito is staying. He has a terrific future. Rob Van Dam again proved why not bringing him back is a mistake. save_us.rvd.
Otherwise, I cannot see how this episode will help the buy rate. Yeah, it popped a huge 4.1 number. Which would be cause for dancing in the streets if Austin, Foley, Goon, RVD, Skinner, DiBiase and Pete Gas were headlining the pay-per-view (Okay, maybe not Pete Gas.) But, Orton v. Jannetty is going to sell the casual fan? I can hear it now: âYa know, I was thinkinâ about not orderinâ that Armageddon Sunday night, what with it beinâ the holidays, and all. But, sweet Mary and Joseph, that Randy Orton Marty Jannetty confrontation has convinced me to phone my cable company or satellite provider immediately.â I seriously doubt it.
So, what was the WWEâs point? Was it to pop a big number for Raw during the all important sweeps period of…well, wait…it must have been to hot-shot angles to boost, however artificially, the buy rate for the upcoming…nope, couldnât have been that. The answer, it was an excuse for (hold page one) Vince McMahon to make himself the star of the show. Yawn. Been there. Not bought that.
I must admit that seeing the old guys back brought a nostalgic tear to my eye. (Although it could have been Bastion Boogerâs stench in Direct-TVâs new smell-o-vision service.) But there was just something missing. Maybe it was these Raw stars:
Brian Adams
Sherri Martel
Mike Awesome
Bam Bam Bigelow
Johnny Grunge
Chris Candido
Big Bossman
Crash Holly
Yokozuna
Road Warrior Hawk
Curt Hennig
Davey Boy Smith
Rick Rude
Eddie Guerrero
Chris Benoit
Owen Hart
