Raw Thoughts

· I don’t profess to know either the American audience or the younger demographic. I thought that was the worst opening segment I have seen in many a year. I have no idea who either Jeremy Piven or Dr Ken are (although I have heard of Entourage) and between Piven’s smug attitude (should have been a heel GM) and the annoying little shit he had with him, I wanted to crawl into a hole.
· Cena burying Miz was completely unnecessary. Just telling the audience he is not very good is ridiculous. Just moronic. And then to cap off this most ludicrous of Raw openings, the all-knowing GM says that if Miz doesn’t beat Cena tonight, he is banned from “Summerfest”. Good save by Cena admittedly, but that was so embarrassing.
· At this point, what hook do you have to keep watching. A match which Cena noted that we saw last week and lasted two minutes, and have seen three times previous to that, and another Triple H Handicap match, this time with Rhodes and DiBiase. If I wasn’t working, I’d switch this show off.
· Hmm, did Swagger really need to dominate Bourne so badly, and completely negate the win last week.
· Too much Shaq in this Show to be coincidence – you’d think a match might be on down the line. When does the NBA season finish, because I’d surprised if they let Shaq do anything while he has to compete.
· Show given a US title match. Putting another belt on him to make him a champion and therefore a more mainstream commodity? Advertise on ESPN Shaq v US Champion Big Show?
· Decent divas match there. Beth, Mickie and Gail might well be the best three workers in the company, and Jillian is ok, without being spectacular. She is actually a very good bumper and seller.
· Decent enough handicap match, with the right result, and a setup for HBK’s return.
· I would dearly, dearly love HBK to return in time for Summerslam, and announce that he’ll team with Triple H to take on Legacy. They would then have a decent ten minutes or so again Orton’s duo, before Michaels turns round and Superkicks Triple H.
· Shawn v Hunter has been done before, but not for a long time, and never with Trips as babyface and Shawn as the heel.
· I think Primo v Carlito might have been a nice hook for Superstars. They could have a decent amount of time to wrestle, and it may have drawn a fan or two extra.
· Mind you, that said, the crowd were dead for this one.
· Didn’t seem worth breaking them up for a nothing feud that ends in this manner. I’m guessing the reason is to build Carlito up a bit, since he had a decent enough bout with Henry last week.
· I don’t think they’ve even mentioned Randy Orton yet, have they? Isn’t he the, erm.....what do call him.....oh yeah CHAMPION!
· Chavo, Hornswoggle blah blah. I’ll let them off this as the live crowd and kids lap it up. It’s inoffensive, really, I guess.
· Boring Show stuff to put him over as a monster Shaq has to conquer.
· Interesting Trips phone call – why did he get a phone plugged in the locker room and not use his mobile/cellphone? Obviously the intimation is that he is speaking to Shawn Michaels, and “I thought you didn’t do jobs” is another of those classic moments of Triple H (Or Shawn, for that matter) using insider terminology where others wouldn’t dare. I’m guessing we have a couple of weeks of Trips chasing Shawn, before he finally decides to come back. I just hope that, as I said before, Shawn swerves and has a lovely drawn out battle with his old pal.
· NICE!! Quality swerve by Piven and his pal, backing up Orton
· Very ordinary win for Cena in the end. Would have been a good opportunity to have a heel ending to one of these guest GMs.
· As annoying as he was throughout, Dr Ken trying to be friends with Cena and shouting “we did it” was pretty funny.
· Weak ending, when it had potential to be otherwise.
· Looking forward to seeing Sarge next week. Can’t have celebs every week.

Raw Thoughts - July 27

· Blimey, that Shaq is a big lad isn’t he?
· Shaq shows more charisma and ability to cut a promo in his first sentence than ZZ Top did all last week.
· Would Shaq O’Neal really book a “beat the Clock challenge?” Really? It’s one thing having guest hosts and pretending they are booking, but it’s quite another booking the same old concepts and attributing them to NBA stars.
· Loved the face off with Big Show. Made sense to do it, and Jericho was priceless refusing to fight Shaq when he hadn’t been challenged.
· Good opening seg. Don’t like the beat the clock idea, but Shaq was very at home on the mic, did some decent babyface schtick.
· Part of me wonders if Henry might win this. The way things have gone lately, it would make sense to have him face Orton at Summerslam while Trips and Cena sort themselves out. I’m not saying I want to see that, but that’s the corner they’ve booked themselves into.
· Massive flaw in the Beat the Clock format. Shouldn’t you put 10 men in the game, rather than five. You are simply telling everybody that Henry, Triple H, Cena, MVP and Swagger will win. You could book the same matches, but just say whomever wins get to post the time.
· Love the Ludvig Borga sign. There should be more obscure 90s wrestler signs.
· That was as good a Mark Henry match as I’ve seen in a long time.
· I’ll give them this about the beat the clock concept. We might be getting a fair amount of wrestling. That went nearly seven minutes, which despite not being an Iron Man match was longer than most Raw matches. We could end up with significantly more wrestling than usual this week.
· Better than average women’s match, probably because they gave Mickie, Gail and Beth plenty of time in the ring. Subtle annoyance from Mickie that Gail tagged herself in. Seems Gail v Mickie for Summerslam?
· I spoke too soon. Perhaps it’s not to be all predictable as to who wins. MVP draws with the returning Chris Masters, whose modified music made me think it was Goldust at first.
· Poor old Kendrick. He could be used as a talented jobber getting ten minute matches out of people, but nope, simply a comedy act getting beaten in seconds.
· I loved the attack on Triple H. Not because it might have put the kibosh on his chances, but it was unexpected and a bit different. I might have actually gone a little further and had DiBiase run away and not talk to Trips, with the camera only getting a sleeting glimpse, so you weren’t sure if it was him or not.
· Really enjoyed that Triple H v Cody Rhodes match. Not catch-as-catch-can classic but it was full of psychology. They injured the leg, and Cody continued to use LOGIC and follow it through. Triple H was chasing the win and clock, and the heels got the job done. That is really, really solid booking. Not writing, BOOKING.
· “How did you get some many ‘z’s?” is one of the greatest lines I’ve heard in ages. Santino was BACK this week.
· Actually popped a little bit when Bourne won. Not that I dislike Swagger, but because that was a legit shock, legit surprise and a really nice feelgood moment. I take back everything I said about the ‘stupid’ system of Beat the Clock, as it is actually proving rather effective thus far. This is a high quality Raw.
· Great Miz promo before the match, having a go at the crowd but linking to the match itself. He just has a great manner that makes you want to see him get his backside handed to him. Vince even got a little shot in Obama, which I’m sure he was delighted about.
· Actually, what I am I saying, of course it doesn’t absolve the Beat the Clock system. Why doesn’t Evan Bourne now have the fastest time? What kind of loopy system gives the opportunity for a man to beat Miz or Carltio to get a title shot, but beating Swagger doesn’t do anything for Bourne.
· I can’t believe I was actually hoping for a comprehensive Mark Henry win, but it would have preferable, at least so that someone different got a run at Orton. It would have done so much good. Someone fresh(ish) at the top, a new babyface promoted, and Orton could have beaten him clean and looked strong again, rather than Triple H and Cena’s bitch, which is all he has become.
· A just there main event, really, with the excuse of putting Shaq into that face-to-face situation with Show, with the hope for WWE that it’ll be on Sportscenter. Bit different from the face off with Mayweather, eh Paul?
· Plot holes abound and a frustrating booking trick for Summerslam, but otherwise an enjoyable Raw. Shaq was a very good guest host.