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Mat La Vore of West Palm Beach, Fla. (6.0): Best Match: Main Event, Worst: Great Khali vs. Hardcore Holly. This was an odd show as far as trying to rate it goes. On one hand, it entertained me from start to finish, something Raw rarely does anymore. On the other hand, it did nothing to get me excited about WrestleMania. I can't remember the last time WrestleMania felt so underwhelming. It just feels like any other PPV. The Shawn Michaels-Ric Flair confrontation was strange. Both men played their roles well, and until the end when Michaels hit the "Old Yeller" bit, their exchange was really exciting. But that Old Yeller stuff, as well as the way in which Flair responded to it, really made him look like nothing but a washed up, pathetic old man. And that's not Ric Flair, and that's not what I, as a fan, should be feeling about him heading into WrestleMania. So while Raw was fun to watch tonight and I enjoyed all the skits and matches, it didn't accomplish its goal of getting me excited about WrestleMania.
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (6.5): Best Match: "Old Yeller" Promo. Worst Match: Holly vs. Khali. The strongest segment of the show was the 'Old Yeller' promo. Hands down the Flair vs. HBK match is the match that I would like to see. For the most part the storylines leading up to WrestleMania are finally hitting their stride at the right moment. You had two nicely produced video packages and a promo that was captivating. On the wrestling side, you had very much blah. I feel sorry for Khali, as he's the biggest robot I have ever seen. It's bad news when you can often predict every move Khali will make in a match (turn to camera, pose, toss to corner, kick, slam, turn to camera, pose, really boring nerve hold, turn to camera, pose, etc.) I would think that Mark Henry would get some love here. Predicting a Tyson/Holyfield run-in at Mania. Good opening and ending segments, as the feuds are nicely put in their place. Right choices to have Big Show slam Orton and have Flair win. I think that while this WrestleMania may not have the biggest star power or a Stone Cold vs. Rock, all the tangibles are in place for each match to potentially be a hit.
3/21 SMACKDOWN REAX
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (5.0): Best: VIP Lounge Worst: no Flair It's nine nights until WrestleMania, but Smackdown didn't help a whole lot to make it feel any more important than it did before the show began. The first half was laced with squash matches which served the purpose of putting over Batista, Big Show, and Edge. The Batista-Umaga story got the video game treatment, which was cool enough, but aside from the "bragging rights" why is this match happening? The only mic effort being made is by William Regal and that's not enough. No counter response from the Smackdown GM or Assitant GM? One was not on; the other was apparently too busy with the diva contest to care. Show gets three jobbers this time, but there's no real forward feel even with the inclusion of Jericho's mobile promo putting over Show's punch. The only squash match that accomplished the most was Edge's, with Edge doing a more than competent job of mocking Undertaker, right down to a really decent end sequence of cutthroat gesture, Tombstone piledriver, and finish pose. From the VIP Lounge on, Smackdown got a little better, but atill had weaknesses. Kane-Palumbo match served a backdrop to plug the battle royal,...but that I know of there are 24 men involved aside from the big guys. THe match itself suffered as Kane-Palumbo were randomly put together a few weeks ago, and it felt just as random here. Did Palumbo piss someone off during the Noble-Palumbo feud? Miz/Morrison vs. Jesse/Festus was a decent match, allowed enough time to be good, but the crowd was dead from the less than stellar effort from Smackdown. The champions match between MVP and Jericho - which I am looking forward to see as a very good match - was mentioned as being new from General Manager Vickie Guerrero's office. The announcement came from the announcers and not the Assistant GM who was in the building. The main event caught a flashpoint in the Edge-Taker feud, something it desperately needed. Taker got his bloodletting submission finisher in; Edge got in a conchairto. Chavo, unfortunately, got buried in the process, by both the match tonight and battle royal coming at WrestleMania. But the one most criminal thing was the one roster member most MIA: Ric Flair. According to WWE's site, he is a member of the Smackdown roster, and, take away the Maryse-Cherry filler promo earlier, could have addressed the issue of Shawn Michaels interfering in his match against Vince McMahon on Raw. What could have been a very respectable and respectful final storyline for Ric Flair as a wrestler is becoming a disaster of major proportions, and it's just not fair! Lip service received for induction into the Hall Of Fame and lip service given by Flair to another Hall Of Fame inductee does not storyline development make. I'm honestly contemplating not attending the viewing of WrestleMania because the build has been so bad.
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