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WWE Raw Reax #1: "When Hornswoggle outshines you in a tag team, you know you are in trouble." Jan 7, 2008 - 11:02:09 PM
Brian and Russell Jaffe of Chicago, Ill. (9.5): Best match: Umaga vs Hardy. Worst Match: Diva match. If this is representative of what's to come from WWE in 2008, I'm looking forward to it. A great Raw where nearly every match just worked. I am loving the Michaels-Kennedy storyline, as they really seem to hate each other during matches. Charlie Haas has two new fans, as his mask character is hilarious. Carlito vs. Holly was pointless, but fun anyway. The Divas match was the real deal, completely pointless. Triple H and Regal had a damn fun match, and I'd like to see more encounters between them. Jericho vs. Snitsky & JBL went well because Snitsky kinda disappeared quickly, and JBL looked strong. Although Foley in the Rumble is nice, I think we all agree that the wrestling world needs more B.K. Jordan. The cage match was absolutely phenomenal, and solidified Umaga and Hardy as main eventers. I hope that WWE keeps this pace alive throughout the year, as it was an awesome show.
Andrew Chau of Vancouver, B.C. (9.0): Best match: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga. Worst match: Hornswoggle/Foley vs. The Highlanders. Hopefully, this will be the final gimmick episode of wrestling for awhile. With TNA's Gauntlet Ranking Impact, the Beat the Clock Smackdown, and the Raw Roulette, WWE and TNA is in the midst of a pissing contest where nobody wins and the fans lose. Granted, some of the stipulations have been good, such as the Hardy-Umaga cage match and the Diva Lingerie match, but many of the other matches today were failures. Haas and Murdoch had no chemistry together, Haas's new gimmick is horrible and the only reason they are paired is because Shelton Benjamin is on ECW and Lance Cade is injured. In my opinion, for the Carlito-Holly match, Carlito needed to win to build the feud and give team Carlito/Marella some credibility. What would have been a preferable outcome would be Carlito scoring the pinfall via Holly's Alabama Slam, and Holly getting outraged at Carlito using his own finisher against him, setting up a Royal Rumble match. The Hunter-Regal match up was frustrating for me to watch. Regal has absolutely no credibility, and this was a match that could have been used to build it up, with the end seeing Regal ruthlessly pounding on The Game with his brass knuckles. Triple H can then go on to next week saying that "Big Deal, he beat me with brass knuckles in a first blood match. Let see him pin me.". Hopefully, Triple H gets into the Royal Rumble somehow; I'm not his biggest fan, but if they place Regal in a match with Triple H at the Rumble after what happened today, I will be disappointed. Foley should really re-retire; he's really let himself get way out of shape. It's sad for me to say this after watching Foley at his prime but when Hornswoggle outshines you in a tag team, you know you are in trouble. Umaga-Hardy was very entertaining, but Umaga needs to get rid of his "debilitating nerve hold"; that move is a joke. Finally, I would like to say that although Hardy-Umaga was the most entertaining segment, props should be given to Y2J-JBL's brawl, Jeff Hardy's promo at the beginning of Raw, and Santino's segment with Hornswoggle.
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