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WWE Raw Reax #2: "To me, I felt the JBL "Hanging" felt too heavy-handed." Jan 8, 2008 - 1:38:09 PM
Matt Guerra of Bayonne, N.J. (7.0): Best match of the night was the main event cage match; the worst match was by far the women's match. Funny how the night before you see what a women's division can look like in TNA and then the next night Raw makes a mockery of their own. The gimmick matches helped the show a lot; some fell flat, although like Hornswoggle and the whole dress up like your opponent match. Kudos to Jeff Hardy, he looks like he belongs among the top of the card.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (8.5): Best Match: Hardy vs. Umaga. Worst Match: Women's. A possible idea for Lashley's return is that Kennedy clears out the ring at the Rumble, and calls for the mic and does his speal while the clock for the next opponent clicks down. Why not in the Garden? Lashley's music hits, Kennedy gets bug-eyed, chaos ensues. Not sure how Trips will be featured in the coming weeks. Used to be that wrestlers would tell the announcers their finishing move (Cole: "Raven tells me he calls that the Raven Effect"), now the announcers just tell us the finishing's move title. Foley in the WWE by the New York area? Maybe he'll be Catcus Jack? Dude Love? No? I was hestitant at first of Hardy vs. Orton, but the story is being nicely played out with Hardy doing everything to convince me that he can win through promos and in the ring. There were two moments in that match where I was surprised (the thrown chair and the finish) and made it a match to watch again. I find it great where I can hear the wrestlers berate each other (like Orton) thus adding to the match. A great match and makes me look forward toward's the PPV (cha-ching!). I guess I can deal with the Playboy hype with Maria, as long as it's doesn't turn into TNA (or "ANT" as I like to call them). To me, I felt the JBL "Hanging" felt too heavy-handed. I can understand why you want to take them out, but instances of hanging, burning, etc. feel a bit too much nowadays. To me, I am glad that WWE has gotten away from the crude factor that seemed to pervade it for 2002-2005 that made it difficult to watch. I hope that the Undertaker/Batista/Mysterio vs. the Edgeheads doesn't somehow turn into an Eddie Guerrero angle. I have never felt comfortable when wrestling angles involve a death of some sort. Guerrero vs. Punk seems to be in the works, and I am looking forward to MVP vs. Flair, because it seems that MVP will (gasp!) lose by DQ, instead of a countout. I heard that TNA's Final Resolution wasn't such a bad PPV (I didn't buy it), but WWE's shows seem to have more focus and discipline than TNA's shows recently. I am not looking forward to another month of Christian/Angle/Styles/Tomko storylines of "you betrayed me I'm angry make a desiscion" promos, but maybe they can get their act straight.
Kyle Dowling of Hamilton, Ontario. (3.0): Best Match: Cage Match. Worst Match: Take your pick. I didn't think WWE would be capable of ruining a show with every match being a gimmick match. It seems like they relied on odd stipulation matches that fans really didn't want to see and ones that didn't improve on the matches. Granted, there was a solid cage match which is why I graded the show with a 3.0. The last quarter hour didn't save the rest of the trainwreck. First, the roulette wheel should've been spun before every match on-screen. I was getting tired of hearing it was spun during the break or earlier today. That really takes away from the overall aspect of the roulette wheel. Second, matches like "McMahon's Choice," "Strange Bedfellows," "Trading Places"... they add nothing creative to a match. And somehow Holly knew to bring a Carlito wig with him when apparently the roulette wheel determined the stipulation. The show could've used a solid women's match like the house shows have been doing lately, and maybe capitalized on more on actual stipulations instead of throwaway ones. A submission match, a chain match, and Falls Count Anywhere match, a tables match... anything. Instead we get to see Charlie Haas and Murdoch team up, Hardcore Holly and Carlito dress like each other, and JBL and Snitsky (for some odd reason) team up to beat up Jericho. The show was awful for the most part, and I'm finished watching Raw after the Royal Rumble.
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