WWE Raw Reax - January 12, 2008 edition

Sam Weiss of San Diego, Calif. (7.5): Best match: Main Event. Worst Match: "The Legacy" skits. Blizzards happen in Iowa in January and perhaps as a result the crowd was not as large and loud as in many other Raw venues, and this detracted a bit from the overall feel of the show. Fortunately the cash cows of Raw (Jericho, Cena) were able to get as much out of the crowd as they did. Yes, I dinged down the show over "The Legacy" segments. Here is the problem with what has happened to The Legacy: Orton looks good, his weenies look like, well, weenies. In particular Rhodes has a very flat character (and a flat affect to go with it) and DiBiase looks like an idiot for cozying up to Orton so soon after getting kicked in the head by Randy. Unless DiBiase rises up to challenge Orton soon, and Rhodes becomes more engaging, I'll be selling the "The Legacy." Much more engaging on this show was the work of the women who as usual aren't given enough time, but nevertheless rise above that limitation to deliver quite a bit within a couple of minutes. Kudos to Beth for returning more to the intense bully character, and kudos to Melina for selling well. I'm looking forward to their match at the Rumble. Which brings us to the main event - an excellent TV main event but one which leaves me with a troubling question: Why is the WWE pushing Shawn Michaels so much of late? This show was about Michaels more than anything else; it is not that Michaels isn't *worthy* of being the star of a Raw show, he certainly is. The problem comes about because after Michaels, Cena, and Jericho have absorbed all they can of the Raw allotted broadcast time there is little left over for anyone else, and thus we get a two-minute IC title match, a three-minute Mysterio vs. Miz match, and a three-minute women's non-match. Given that Michaels is in the twilight of his career, why spend so much time on him at the expense of others? Shouldn't Michaels be working with younger talent to get them over, rather than with JBL and Cena? Perhaps... perhaps, this is all leading up to Michaels's retirement angle?

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (9.0): Best Match: Cena vs. Michaels. Worst Match: Mysterio vs. Miz. It's been far too long since I've been able to say this but what a fantastic edition of Raw, from top-to-bottom this was a rewarding and entertaining show. The opening exchange between Jericho and Stephanie was a supremely well-built segment that slowly built tension and drama toward a surprising and yet satisfying conclusion. I absolutely loved it. It also brought together a series of fantastic possibilities regarding Jericho's future. Is he Smackdown bound? Or teaming with Vince to take down Stephanie? Maybe teaming with Shane? Excellent opening. Even another round of disastrous booking for the IC Title led to something rewarding, namely a logical story driven reason for a gimmick match - a jaw-dropping occurrence in modern day wrestling where gimmicks are thrown around so frequently with no rhyme or reason. The Legacy formation may not have been shocking but then I don't think it needed to be. I'll take a predictable group that fits together over a swerve for the sake of a swerve and I really like this Legacy group of Orton/Rhodes/DiBiase, who just fit. I must also say I enjoyed the women's segment again this week; the Melina-Beth angle has been good and this super-fan stuff is progressing nicely. Then of course we come to the best part of the show - Shawn Michaels, JBL, and John Cena. Together, these three men were outstanding this week. The series of JBL/Michaels segments leading into the main event were brilliantly played by both men. Despite having no interest in a feud between the two, I've been drawn completely into this angle, which is a credit to how good both men have been the past few weeks. Then, we come to the match itself. Awesome absolutely awesome. Again all three men were almost completely flawless throughout the match, all of them had carefully defined roles to play and they did it excellently. The main event was just brilliant, utterly compelling, and completely believable television. If this week's show was a sign of the quality to come heading into WrestleMania, I cannot wait.

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