Raw Thoughts - September 1

· Big reaction for the return of Randy Orton. I’m guessing partially because it’s his hometown, but it certainly isn’t for his theme music. That thing is horrible.
· What’s with the mood lighting? Is Orton now aligned with Kane?
· So was that a mini-spoiler, or something to put us off the scent? Orton confronting CM Punk could mean that Punk retains at least until Randy returns. Or it could be just a throwaway segment to remind us all that Orton exists.
· Cole has said Happy Labour Day three times in the opening fifteen minutes. I don’t even know what Labour Day is.
· JOHN CENA IS HERE!!! Except he isn’t, because it’s Charlie Haas doing a very passable Cena impression. His match with Kofi Kingston is short, and King and Cole laugh uproariously throughout. It’s funny, but not as much as they are making out.
· Good bit backstage with Orton firing up Rhodes and DiBiase – perhaps another tease. Remember the talk about a second/third generation faction with these three men and possibly others?
· So we have ECW superstars on Raw. The five men in the ECW scramble face off in a battle royal, but look at them. Finlay, Matt Hardy, Miz, Henry, Chavo. None of these men would be in the top 10 or so stars on Raw.
· Think about it (in no particular order) – Cena, Batista, Punk, JBL, Kane, Mysterio, Jericho, Michaels, Orton. At least nine way bigger than ECW.
· Six Diva tag action – but a very strange order in which they are introduced. Katie Lea and Jillian during the break, then babyface opponents Mickie and Kelly Squared. Next up was (back to heels) Beth, but the sextet (can’t believe King hasn’t thought of calling them a sextet before) is completed by Candice. I thought it was going to be Gail Kim.
· In seriousness, if Candice can continue her improvement before the first time she got injured, and you add her to Mickie, Katie Lea, Beth, Jillian Melina when fit again and Gail Kim when she debuts, that’s a pretty strong female roster. Kelly is improving, and over on Smackdown you have Nattie Neidhart and Victoria (don’t tell me Michelle is anything but awful, because she is, well, awful)
· The Honk-a-Meter may be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. Santino is chasing the Honky Donkey Man. Classic.
· Err, Cole, if Randy Orton being on Raw was rumoured all day to appear on Raw, how was it a “huge surprise”?
· A win for the Italian Karl Pilkington is followed by a lying down trumpet celebration. Santino’s going in the Hall of Fame. He has to!
· Interesting Battle Royal for the Raw brand. Rey coming back post-match gave it a jolt and was a treat for his fans. Batista and Punk were booked cleverly, with The Animal dominating but taking a kick couple of hits to be eliminated. It didn’t make him look weak, but it did give Punk a boost by being the one to oust the big man. Kane winning, like Henry winning earlier, makes good common sense. I’d also go so far as to suggest that these two will definitely not win their respective scrambles on Sunday.
· Finally, more awesomeness from Michaels and Jericho to finish. For your homework assignment, go away and find me an example of a better “go home” interview segment. I’ll be impressed if you can produce one.
· Leaves a lot of things up in the air for Sunday. Could be a really good Pay Per View, but if the scrambles don’t work, then proceedings are hinging hugely on Jericho and Michaels coming through.