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David Zgurski of Lethbridge, Alberta (2.0): Best match: Cena-Kennedy. Worst match: WWE vs. "MMA." I have no idea what to think of today's debacle involving Vince's idea of "MMA." Doesn't he have enough MMA fans on the roster (The Undertaker, Batista, etc.) to help him understand what MMA is and how it should be presented? Without a marquee special attraction, WrestleMania is just another monthly PPV, and not a very good one this year since most of the results seem set in stone (i.e. Hardy winning MITB, Triple H winning the WWE Title, Undertaker continuing the streak, Batista beating Umaga, and Ric Flair retiring.) This year should have been the anointing of Jeff Hardy as World Champion; it would have made WM 24 extra special. I have no interest in losing $55 bucks just to watch business as usual.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (7.5): Best Match: Cena vs. Kennedy. Worst Match: The Epic Fight of Carlito vs. A Pigeon. Brandon Hill was entertaining. His music was bumpin. Mayweather's promos: And people thought Bobby Lashley was bad on the mic. Yikes. Strong moment during HBK/Flair vs. Cade/Murdoch: "Great way to see how Cade and Murdoch progressed." The double submit was a great finish. Like the fact that Raw will usually have a big three hour show. Too often wrestling shows are just filler until PPVs. Regal announcing and talking about Undertaker vs. Batista made the Umaga squash work. The Jericho-Hardy bit was good as they showed that last week's match was an important (and good) match, and it gave Hardy an edge. Worst moment of the night was when Carlito beat up a piegon. Seriously, so far these "WrestleMania Post Cards" ads have been stupid. I'm sure PETA and animal rights activists were happy to see that. Playboy bit was great! Usually these bits are boring and contrived, but the use of Santino was great once again, although Maria looks like a demon. Look out for her right hand. Jeesh. Is it wrong that I watch wrestling but I don't watch NASCAR? I guess it is. Nice little match with Carlito vs. Rhodes. The Finlay bit... just disappointing. Fans don't know what to make of it. On one hand, you've got evil daddy Vince, but on the other, the story is being played out that Finlay made a secret deal with the other McMachons and used his son (who didn't know at the time) to gain money and power. They've got to make this thing clearer because the emotional involvement is just not there. Finlay staying in the ring made him look weak. Cena was good in putting opponents over while offering interesting comments. I can see why wrestling companies look down on wrestling fans; all we seem to do is complain and whine. Nothing seemingly is ever good enough.
Leonard Tripodi, Kenilworth, N.J. (5.5): Best: Maria, Maria. Worst: Mayweather-Show angle. This edition of Raw was a mixed bag for me again. Maria gets top honors for both the Mania commercial spot with Carlito and the Playboy cover segment with Santino. She was more charismatic and feisty than ever before. I also enjoyed watching her attempt to be a tough girl, ruined only because she couldn't keep a straight face. Otherwise, she was smoking hot and over with the live crowd. Speaking of which, Santino played the jealous boyfriend to perfection and had some funny lines before Lawler slugged him. Maria broke character and laughed because of his delivery at least once during the segment. Carlito struggled but pounded that seagull to look strong (lol) Loved that commercial spot. Hope they do a few more like it. I completely lost interest with the Mayweather-Show angle. It's one thing to pay him an insurmountable figure to be on a wrestling PPV, but Mayweather repeatedly referring to himself as money doesn't do him any justice or win any points with the fans, many of whom are going to shell out their hard earned money for Mania. Show came back for this? Jericho-Hardy is intriguing, even though they are just two of the six men in the MITB. The other guys are just in there for minor spoils. Cena-Kennedy was predictable, but did absolutely nothing for Kennedy. And why does Michaels always have to be the heel in these big PPV matches? Didn't he also turn heel and job for Hogan? WWE fails when they over-think stuff like this. A simple Flair-Michaels retirement match at Mania is a spectacle in and of itself. The weekly triple threat triangle debacle that is Cena-Orton-Triple H is becoming tedious, but they seem to have just enough tension between them to build this straight to Mania. I have to agree with Caldwell about how the new entrance music sucks. Most of it lacks originality or attitude. Why does WWE have to mess with a good thing? The old themes were instantly recognizable and the live crowd responded strongly for the wrestlers. I really don't care much about a JBL-Finlay grudge match at Mania, nor did I feel bad about Hornswoggle getting a so-called beating in a dark hospital room. The whole segment seemed forced and awkward. It made me recall a better time when Steve Austin beat the crap out of Vince in the hospital bed. With a special three hour timeslot next week, WWE better put on a really strong show.
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