With the WWE having only one week until the Rumble, you would think the WWE would at least try to give us a better performance than they did on Monday. We had five matches, many which weren’t even up to par, with one of their problems wrestlers or a wrestler. It was a bland show (Smackdown had Kurt Angle kidnapping Joy Giovanni, now that’s entertainment. Kidnapping a worthless woman!) and nothing to get too excited about except for the Edge and Shawn Michaels match. It’s nice to see that J.R. gets his own day, but was it necessary for Yogi Bear and his sidekick to come out? Geez, I don’t see Triple H getting his own day in Connecticut since they all seem to be robots anyway (I just got done watching the Stepford Wives). It seems to be wreck after wreck for the WWE when it comes to their PPV records so far, but if Batista doesn’t win the Rumble, there may be a riot in the streets, complete with turned over cars and burning buildings.
Anyway, I don’t usually focus on one particular show, but after seeing Raw and not being able to see Smackdown, I decided to tell you want I thought of the WWE’s Premier Show. So, I’ve decided that I’m going to do something different this time, so sit back and enjoy The Widow’s Peak: Raw’s High Spots and Low Blows.
6-man Tag Match: I’m not a big fan of these matches, but the men involved made it so much more enjoyable. Edge is the best thing going for Raw right now, his character and look are really coming together; he’s just built better for a heel. Tyson Tomko, whom I’m usually bash, is what big men back in the 1980’s were like, not in the ring for long amounts of time, but still made an impact. I usually say nothing but good things about Shawn Michaels, but he has really started to get on my nerves, for reason even I don’t understand. I hope that Edge beats him at the Rumble, but that’s opening a whole new can of worms. As for Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Christian, it’s a shame they are thrown into meaningless tag matches, but I guess it’s better than nothing.
Muhammad Hassan vs. Val Venis: Why am I giving this match a high spot? Well, it’s because the WWE let us believe that Val (for the love of pete, give Sean Morley a better gimmick) could actually win and Hassan looked more comfortable in the ring that at New Year’s Revolution (probably because he didn’t have to face broken down Jerry Lawler). I like Hassan’s character but he needs to do less talking and more wrestling.
Regal and Tajiri Again: InVasion came and went, not as quickly as it should have and Regal and Tajiri were actually a pretty good team. It looks like the WWE is heading in that direction again when Regal interrupted Maria’s “interview” with Tajiri after he lost to Viscera. With Eugene gone, Regal needs another tag partner and who better than….TAJIRI! It should make for interesting TV if the WWE continues with it after the Rumble.
Little Diva Airtime: With Lita injured and out for several months and Trish “hurt”, the other two divas that can wrestle, wrestle each other at house shows. The little Christy segment with the shirt gun is all right to have, but other than that, the divas aren’t being used much, which is a good thing. I know that I always am a staunch supporter of the women’s division, but the WWE has turned it into nothing.
Coach in the Rumble: I’m giving this a hit for the simple reason that I want to see Coach get the living hell beat out of him at RR. Other than that, there is no reason why Coach, not even a wrestler, gets to the match.
Batista’s Turn: This is how the WWE should have handled Randy Orton and it looks like they are righting the wrong, although not to Randy. His mic work and facial expressions is what is making Batista into the breakout star of 2005 and he only gets better. Like Edge, he is really proving every critic wrong and let’s hope the WWE doesn’t drop the ball at WrestleMania or people will be rioting in the streets.
Christian’s Entrance: I like the song and the new tron, but “Don’t Close Your Eyes” sounds like it should be the entrance theme for Christy Hemme or Joy Giovanni. The other question I have to ask is: what’s up with the AJ Styles look Christian has been sporting recently? Someone watching TNA?
JOB Squad Returns: Val Venis? Where is Al Snow and his best friend Pepper when you need them. I’m begging the WWE to give Sean Morley a new character or put the poor man out of his misery.
Batista vs. La Resistance: It just comes to show how the WWE favors their tag division when Batista can defeat them in less than five minutes. It was a dumb move on the WWE’s part and the entire flag bit after the match sealed how La Resistance fate is that just, fate.
Maven vs. Kane vs. Snitsky: I don’t like Maven as much as one of you might love him, but having him lose to two broken and beaten men isn’t helping him out. I’m frankly tired of this Kane and Snitsky shit, it looks like Kane is a face who likes to stalk, rape and marry and woman then chokeslam another, some babyface he is. I really want Matt Hardy to come back and hopefully he can do something constructive. Maven’s lose is bad enough without management screwing you over every chance they get.
Jim Ross Day: It was all right until Triple H came out, but I don’t find it necessary to waste airtime with it. I will probably get flack for this, but I don’t care; the WWE could spend there time doing something constructive, but it obviously isn’t the case.
Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair: The match was okay until the interference and it ended like just about every Randy Orton match I’ve seen. Randy is getting the advantage, then Triple H interferes, but when you think that Randy is going to lose, he suddenly becomes “The Hulk” and wins. Why can’t the WWE just, oh I don’t know, send Flair back to, what did that sign say? Oh yes: ” Send Flair Back To The Home”, I think that says it all.
The Rumble is upon us and the end is near for Smackdown to produce a good product this Thursday. With all the problems with Kurt Angle “kidnapping” Joy, the Big Show’s “girlfriend”, hopefully that won’t overwhelm the show. I’m not really looking forward to the Rumble, although I will be watching it at a friend’s house, I hope to catch some sleep somewhere. Hopefully the WWE can get out of it’s rut it seems to be having with PPV’s and produce a well executed show for us devoted fans.
Many people ask me why I watch wrestling when it has become so boring and the answer is simple: that’s just who I am! Anyway, I hope you all like this departure for me, I’ve only done about a handful of columns like these. If you like this, I may start doing more, but we’ll see. As always you can reach me by email at hardyfan_2@hotmail.com. Until we meet again, good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
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