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WWE Raw Reax #3: "He's a cocky, insecure, immature, self-centered, chauvinist - who needs to be accepted. It's brilliant."
Mar 18, 2008 - 3:30:48 PM |
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Matt Guerra of Bayonne N.J. (5.0): Best match of the night was Flair vs. McMahon. Worst match of the night was by far the main event. Now let me ask you this, why wouldn't the entire Raw Roster come out for an entire Raw Roster match? That's all that is needed to be said about that. Chris Jericho's possible heel turn is all that has me intrigued by this lackluster Raw.
Chris Evans of New Canaan, Conn. (7.0): Best Match: C.M. Punk vs. Carlito. Worst Match: JBL vs. Colin Delaney. I don't think I've ever been this split on a Raw before. There was so much that I liked and so much that I didn't. First off, I loved the fact that we were treating to a fun street fight on a Monday night. But, what was the rationale behind it? Isn't Vince McMahon involved in the Finlay-JBL storyline? What happened? Going along with that, I loved the interaction between Shawn and Flair, but Flair screamed at Shawn "Vince has no chance in hell of beating me." Um, well, yes he did. Actually, Ric, he had you beaten until Shawn Michaels came out. This seemed like awkward booking to me - having the G.M. of Raw almost go over Ric Flair two weeks before WrestleMania. Next, I loved the fast-paced, frantic feel to the main event. It seemed fun and unconventional. It was a breath of fresh air... for the Raw main event. But, for Cade, Murdoch, Paul Burchill, Cody Rhodes, Val Venis, Rory McAllister, and Santino Marella, this was completely destructive. The match lasted somewhere around nine minutes. So, the message you want to send your audience is: Two men can defeated half of the mid-card in under ten minutes? How is that going to give your mid-card any kind of credibility? Paul Burchill just debuted, for God's sake. Cody Rhodes is a friggin' tag champ and Cade & Murdoch are former tag champs. It was just painful to watch. And, why would Triple H book this match? He's a face, isn't he? Why is he booking an extravagant match right out of Heel GM 101? Then he comes down and jumps them at the end? I don't get it. To be honest, after tonight's show, they have no clear cut choice for fans to cheer for (unless that's how they want it; then, I guess, kudos to them). Some side notes: Santino Marella is the MVP of this show. His character is phenomenal, his delivery is spot on. I laughed hard when he stole Jerry Lawler's Subway sandwich. It's the little things that help build character, and to be honest, Santino is one of the most fleshed out guys on this roster. He's a cocky, insecure, immature, self-centered, chauvinist - who needs to be accepted. It's brilliant. Is anyone else not looking forward to the Belfast Brawl? Sorry JBL, you're awesome, but this storyline has absolute zero possibility for an interesting outcome.
Pat Joseph of New York, N.Y. (5.5): Best Match: Flair vs. Vince street fight. Worst Match: Cena/Orton squashing the midcard with no payoff. On paper last night's Raw was a solid, fairly entertaining effort. I enjoyed the Big Show-Y2J exchange and match. I didn't mind the two squashes, and liked that they might be giving SOME character development to London/Kendrick. (Though I won't hold my breath.) And the Flair-Vince streetfight was fun, with a great spot to end it, and was probably the first time in this storyline that I thought Flair might lose. But in terms of building towards getting me to part with 50 bucks for WrestleMania this Raw, like every Raw since No Way Out, did absolutely nothing. What is the dynamic in the main event triple threat? They have done nothing towards building up a true face to root for or a heel to root against, or any kind of underlying conflict to build around. Instead, each show ends with one of the three men laying out the other two with his finisher and pointing towards the WrestleMania sign, which is then rendered meaningless the following week when the three men are able to stand in a room together and exchange good-natured wisecracks. Didn't Orton put Cena out of action and attack his father? Didn't he beat Triple H in a match to win the title? Doesn't Trips want revenge on Cena for eliminating him at the Rumble? Any of that could have been used to create some kind of conflict for this match, but instead we seem to be headed towards the most non- descript, heatless main event title match in WrestleMania history. Which, now that I think of it, applies for the entire WrestleMania card: a bunch of guys with no real conflict or background, thrown in matches together to compete on the "grandest stage of them all." No thanks.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.
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