Raw Thoughts - March 23rd

· Should I point out the irony in Chris Jericho talking about this being real and not a movie as he walked round a corner to the second, pre-prepared camera waiting to track his every move? Great promo, though. I love Jericho’s tone when he does those promos, so calculated. It’s more menacing in a voice almost a whisper than it would be as a shout.
· The Jericho build to the legends match at Mania doesn’t quite resonate as it should. I think it’s because it’s a three-on-one contest and the heel is the one with odds stacked against him. Also, the brutal beating of Flair doesn’t quite feel like the setup to a big revenge hit because Flair isn’t wrestling.
· A vicious and bloody start to Raw. A ‘crimson mask’ from the Nature Boy, and an extreme rules match with plenty of chair shots and violence. Not helping the PG rating, there, Vince.
· Did I hear Ric Flair shout during the Money in the Bank tag match?
· And even more roughhousing, as Finlay (heel for a night but still with the diddly-dee music) smashes up some of his Mania opponents with a ladder. Quite a fun tag match, with an ending which the crowd really popped for.
· They’ve got there too early with Edge, Show and Vickie. There is nowhere to go with it now, and they’ve still got three more shows to fill. I felt this week’s was superfluous really, with little happening other than Show getting to leave Raw with the upper hand after Edge did last week.
· Rey and Regal was way too short. I see what it was leading to with JBL on commentary helping it out, but the match, between two guys who can do much better, was a non-event.
· Plenty will say it was ridiculous, but I thought the Santino/Mickie thing was hilarious. “I’m like a snake” They better find a way of getting him some mic time at Wrestlemania.
· I really liked the Shawn vignette. I love stuff like that, makes it have a really special feel. I like the fact that Michaels is getting the psychological upper hand over the usually-in-charge Undertaker. This is the match I’m looking forward to at Mania.
· Many will disagree with me, and suggest that it was bad taste, but I thought the final segment was tremendous. The characterisation was perfect. Orton is once again a vicious, despicable heel and Triple H actually showed some vulnerability. I loved the tension of Orton kissing Steph, and being just far enough away from Triple H that Hunter could just about touch him, but do nothing about it. There is enough tension now for people to pay money to see Triple H destroy Randy Orton.

Raw Thoughts - 16th March

aw T· It was great watching that Edge/Show/Vickie/Cena segment again to kick off Raw. Show’s face and the slap on the ass are just hilarious. I think I like that idea more now than I did last week.
· Michaels and Undertaker as a team to start off Raw, Cena v Edge with Vickie as ref, presumably to close. Wow, that’s a heck of a line up.
· Phenomenal work from Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.
· I loved the use of conventions and then the subversion of them, taking UT’s reach back in preparation for a Goozle as a precursor for a tag, and then his look back to the ring to set up for a Superkick.
· It’s a very nice build from these two. It’s really feeling like something special. The subtle looks between the two were quality, and I loved the attempted stomp by Taker after Michaels got the pin. Fantastic opening segment.
· Nice Edge and Vickie backstage seg, and a good old-fashioned set up for a stacking of the odds against the babyface in the main event of the show.
· At least they explained the Triple H and Orton situation to sufficient lengths that we aren’t all wondering why he isn’t locked up. It’s not the most watertight of explanations, but it’ll do. I can see a “No DQ” clause, or something similar, being added for the Mania match. I just hope that, after all this aggression by each man towards the other, they don’t end up doing a face off then locking up at the start of the match, as opposed to launching into one another and scrapping straight away.
· Nice stuff with Santino and Rosa, did you see it? Beth handed Santino the slammy, and he acted deferential, but then surreptitiously handed it to Rosa. That’s obviously the Glamourella hierarchy.
· Ah, a cage. That’ll likely be the extra stip for Mania, then. Not that I want to see that.
· Ridiculously call, though, by Cole. “Orton and DiBiase have no way in.” Can’t they climb over?
· Okay, they have to stop doing stuff to contradict me after I’ve typed it! Now they are trying to climb, but Trips is stopping them. I quite like that.
· I enjoyed that whole segment, once it got going. Nice setup to show Trips as smarter, not tougher, than Legacy. That works nicely. I’d assume DiBiase will be picked off in due course, leaving just the participants in the title match.
· I’m not crazy about the idea of JBL v Rey just for the hell of it. Rey is best to watch when putting on great, high-flying encounters with guys like Edge who can move and keep up. He has spent the last six months with Kane, Mike Knox, and now he may have to wrestle JBL. Poor Rey.
· Jericho – the Narcissist????? Is the legend he faces going to be Luger? J
· I think I’d have had Flair come out in the robe and then take off to reveal a suit. Just to play the moment.
· So it’s going to be, what? Steamboat, Piper and Snuka in a Handicap match? I’m not sure I really care for that. I think the WWE have been a bit unlucky, because they’ve set up for Jericho and Rourke, then Jericho and Hogan, and then Jericho and Flair. All have fallen through, and they are going to gamble on a payoff to hot feud with a not-so-hot match.
· Throwaway tag match building for the Money in the Bank match, but nice work on commentary by the whole team, talking up the hopes of the individuals involved. I would doubt that Kane, Henry or Finlay would win, but Christian, Punk, MVP, Kofi and Shelton are all possible. I may have to upgrade the McNichol Eliminator to be able to cope with the decision come Wrestlemania.
· Another nice piece of extra storytelling, having Stephanie be the explanation for why Triple H was able to call for the cage to be lowered........but if she was there and fit, why isn’t she GM
· A bit of a soft ending, really. A non-match with a little action after the bell, but token gestures really. To be fair, both this and the other title match are ready to be taken to Pay Per View, really. Because of the nature of PPVs coming thick and fast these days, build-ups are generally quicker, and actually they are probably ready to go right now. The next couple of weeks will be quite a challenge to create interesting TV, with little left to achieve.

Raw Thoughts: February 23

· Really looking forward to this Raw. Solid show last week, did really good numbers, and this is built well for whether Triple H will show up, whether Koslov will show up, the HBK/JBL match and any progress with Cena, Jericho and co.
· Decent enough opening segment, to set up event which were to come. I thought it ran out of steam a bit when Cena tried to get too jokey after having a serious moment.
· Good call to make Vickie temporary GM. I like the idea that wrestlers should jump between shows with more freedom at this time of year to build momentum towards Mania.
· Did you see Big Show cough when he came through Edge’s pyro smoke? Nice touch, that.
· Orton turns up with Legacy in a flash car. Is it just me or is this the first time in years that Raw actually feels like something big. Like in the old days when Austin/McMahon and the attitude era ruled. We’ve started the show with Cena, Edge and Show. Three big names. Then Orton turns up and you are thinking about whether Triple H will show up in pursuit. Jericho to come, HBK/JBL to come, in a situation to do with Undertaker. Money in the bank qualifier. This feels legitimately like a big show, pardon the pun.
· Yeah, show the sights of downtown Nashville. Maybe show the headquarters of TNA, and say it’s home to J-E-Double F, haha, J-A-Double R E-Double T.
· Why is Roberts doing the announcing? I can’t stand that guy. He doesn’t speak like a real human, it scares me.
· “Every person that has won Money in the Bank has become World Champion.” Says Cole. No they haven’t. Kennedy didn’t. He got injured, lost the briefcase to Edge, who won the title.
· John Morrison hits a shooting star press from the apron to the outside – and it’s during the advert?!? Someone in this equation is an idiot – either Morrison for doing it at that point, and agent for booking it at that point, or a production guy for going to an ad at the wrong point or not telling the wrestlers.
· Not a bad triple threat. I didn’t care for the contrived nature of some of the spots, and unless they are doing something with Miz and Morrison splitting, I don’t really see why Punk couldn’t have just got a one-on-one victory, but it was serviceable, and credit should be given for letting the match go for a while. Not the usual Raw three-minute wonder.
· Hey Shawn, well done, you beat JBL. Your reward is to try and get a half-decent match out of Vlad Koslov. All the best, sir.
· I thought the video package about last year’s Wrestlemania was a build to bringing Jericho out to talk about Flair again. Disappointed not to see Jericho so far.
· Pointless, that. Knox annihilates Noble. This doesn’t help the likes of Kane or Knox. It just makes Noble look a chump. You are expecting him to last seconds, so if someone took, say, four minutes to beat Noble, you’d think this guy was useless, even though he won. And we don’t need someone to get slaughtered every week, because we already have Santino.
· That should have been a great segment between Jericho and Steamboat. Ricky started slow and got better in his promo, and his message ended up very strong. However, the live crowd in Nashville didn’t seem to embrace him. I don’t know if the demographic wasn’t old enough or educated in wrestling enough to remember him, but his reaction didn’t seem to be at the level it should have been.
· That Cena v Chavo match (“Match”) was a farce. It is ludicrous to do stuff like that. It helps no-one. It doesn’t elevate Cena, it doesn’t roll the story along. It just makes Chavo look like an idiot.
· A great show has stagnated during the two hours, generally. Orton and Trips need to pull out a big final seg to grip for next week.
· Well.....not bad. I’m glad Trips didn’t get to Orton, because it makes for much better programming if he can’t catch up to his quarry, but must instead take several weeks chasing him down, culminating at the big one.
· That ending is going to get a lot of stick, I can feel it, but I don’t think it was that bad. The Shane stuff was ludicrous, and the only reason this will get so much flak is because it comes off of those mistakes. Hunter chasing maniacally and Orton begging off is fine. Heels are allowed to do this. Orton needs to get at Hunter at some point in the next two weeks, with some sort of three on one attack, maybe even bloodying The Game. Then you have a couple of weeks where he gets Cody then Ted, but Orton escapes. I certainly wouldn’t have them wrestle each other in any manner. It will heighten the tension far more.

Raw Thoughts - Feb 17

· Practical explanation to the Edge as champ issue, and nice to see that he and John Cena have the chemistry they had previously. Loved Edge’s arrogant promo which riled the crowd in attendance, and I always like it when Cena plays humble, and does the opposite of the thing he was bemoaning –is courteous and deferential, then says “I’ll beat you next time”. I think that makes the man all the better babyface. If he just gets in the ring, shouts at Edge and hits him with a Fattitude Udjustment (not a typo) he is no better than the heels.
· Shane challeneges Randy to an ‘unsanctioned fight’? Ugh. Please say it ain’t so.
· Not sure I like the quick naming of Cryme Tyme and CM Punk as “CTP”. Highly unlikely Cole and Lawler would come up with that so quickly without being told to. And is it the right kind of link-up? Cole even mentioned Punk as Straightedge during the match, so should the allegedly clean cut fella be linking up with the petty criminals?
· I don’t like the fact that they only ever use the weaker of Roddy Piper’s theme music s – they must have the other one because they don’t cut it out of old DVDs – but very happy to see the Rowdy one back.
· There you go, what did I just say about Cena? That’s why Cena was nice to Edge and played the sensible babyface, because Jericho was going to cut the rug from under Piper. From Lawler’s comments I expect him t get involved at some point too.
· Piper’s promo was tremendous. It will be well-received online, although might not go over brilliantly with the targeted younger audience who won’t know who Mr T and Adrian Adonis were.
· I typically watch Raw on my Sky+ (That’s like TiVo to those in the States) and type while I watch. Sometimes these thoughts and sometimes other work I do. Right now, as I type, I’ve paused it, because I just sat open mouthed watching Piper. I was captivated by it. Beautifully pitched, and it made me realise something else.
· Although he obviously did a dastardly thing in kicking Piper’s leg out from under him and so forth, there is a prospect of turning Jericho babyface with this. I’m not recommending this, because it’s basically Orton, Edge and Jericho as major heels in the company (with JBL not far behind but not able to back it up with interesting wrestling) and that’s it. Jericho would be a babyface too many unless one or two men were to make the opposite transition. However, it they wanted to bring Jericho back as a face, the set up is there for Jericho to lose to a legend or narrowly beat one at Mania, and then realise his ills.
· Let’s book Noble v Santino for Mania. Winner leaves town.
· If JBL is going to arrive in the main arena in a limo, wouldn’t it be best if they don’t show him WALKING backstage?
· Nice to see HBK back and a nice little set-up for Wrestlemania. Taker v JBL made sense until Shawn’s music played. I’m not saying I want to see it, but I know that they are real-life friends, so it isn’t completely unlikely. The only thing I’d say from a business point of view is that I don’t see anyone buying the show for Taker v JBL, whereas I do with Shawn v Taker. I also don’t see anyone buying JBL as being able to beat Undertaker. It’s slightly more likely that Shawn could beat him. And what a great match that could be.
· Rey is out next, and I feel I ought to say something about him that I didn’t really say enough at No Way Out. I thought Rey was amazing in the chamber match. Regulars will know that I’m not really a big Mysterio fan, that much of his work is too contrived. But he was superb in the chamber, and he deserves huge credit for that. I suspect he will be the star of the Money in the Bank, too.
· Ugh, horrible ending to the Divas title match. The three-diva run-in was awkward, and then the cameras basically missed the finish. Weak, weak ending, and I feel really sorry for Beth and Melina, who were doing fine, and have had a bunch of really good matches before now.
· Wow, what to say about that final segment? So much by way of good stuff, so much also ruined. Some things ruined by poor acting, some by poor execution.
· Firstly, the fight, I suppose, did it’s job. It was basically a set up for Orton to punt Shane, but I’m not sure he should have had Legacy’s help to take Shane out, but we’ll allow it for now.
· I’m not crazy about the neck brace and screaming family member thing, because it is a bit uncomfortable, but it is a reasonably accepted part of wrestling, so again let’s allow it. Steph’s acting is so poor, I’m afraid. All her facials are too forced and exaggerated. (And by the way, this is not part of the usual Internet bashing of Steph. All those who hide behind a forum avatar and slag her off for her writing or what she is like don’t know the ins and outs of how backstage works – neither do I, for that matter. Also, most people I’ve spoken to who actually KNOW Stephanie generally comment about how nice she is. They hint that she is pretty ruthless, but most like her.)
· The RKO? Perfect. That was unexpected, to me, and Stephanie took it very well indeed. It might well have ended the show, I think. Going off air on that would have been a good hook. Will Orton get punished next week? For dramatic effect you could even have had Steph coming to and whispering to those coming to her aid “he never made it”. Speculation would then be about who “he” is. Of course we’d all know it was The Game, but we can play along sometimes.
· So I wouldn’t have had Triple H come running down to send Legacy scattering. I certainly wouldn’t have had him shaking his head like he was have an epileptic fit. More ridiculous over-acting, and frankly I expect better from Triple H. It just made it all really cartoony. Less is more in those situations.
· I just feel that you could have got two weeks of endings out of this situation. End Raw on Orton smashing Steph and doing his IED reaction. Triple H could then do his gallant hero bit the following week, giving a huge babyface moment to send the evil heel cowering. Much better Trips makes Orton recoil than Shane.
· One final point – proof that Steph cannot be an effective babyface. If you have the footage, go and watch the RKO again. Tell me that isn’t a huge cheer.

Maybe I was a little harsh.....

Some things to clear up, I think.

Firstly I was a bit grouchy in my Raw review yesterday. I’d just got home after a four-and-a-half drive from Manchester and wasn’t in the best frame of mind for watching and appraising a show.

I think that I should give a bit more praise to Punk and Regal. I think my comments suggested that I didn’t enjoy the match. I did, but felt that it could have been even better. I thought the advertisement break and the commentary team vastly detracted from the match. Overall, though, this was a good effort and I’m pleased for Punk getting a moment in front of his home fans.

I’d love to see Regal get the chance to work with other younger or up-and-coming talent. I get the feeling he could get a lot of out of MVP, Ken Kennedy, Carlito and so forth.

As much as I like Punk, if he is not going to get back into the main-event picture (and I don’t see it, to be fair) I think he’s due a heel turn. He is a terrific heel, and I’d really like to see him get a chance to shine in a different light.

Next I’d like to say that the ending was probably a lot better than I first indicated. The more I think about it, the more shocking it was, and there are plenty of possibilities for development. Will Orton and Priceless be fired? If Steph and Vince supposed to be babyfaces they weren’t very sympathetic characters, and this may help Randy get over more.

I still like my idea of Shane McMahon being the brains behind the Legacy group. There are a few holes in the theory, such as why Shane would have waited for so long, what influence he has on the company and on Orton.

Another possibility with Orton is that he could win the Royal Rumble and jump to Smackdown. This would get him out of Steph’s hair and would logical in that manner, but then what happens to Rhodes and DiBiase?

My biggest problem from Raw really was that ending wasn’t a pre-PPV ending. It was a good one for making sure you tune in to next week’s show. Is Jericho still in trouble? Is Jericho working with Orton? Is Orton going to be fired? Will Vince be back? And so on and so forth. However, we should have been focussed on Cena, JBL and Shawn and the Rumble competitors, in my mind.

Perhaps the theory is that people love the Rumble so much that they’ll buy it come what may. Therefore after a good contract signing segment and the natural attraction of the Rumble match itself it may be assumed that people will be on board and need a little added incentive for Raw next week.

By the way, if the Rumble is amazing – brilliant rumble match, Christian return etc –then adding this to the exciting finish of last week may mean a monster Raw rating. They got a 3.9 apparently this week, so anything above 4 next week would be a great sign for WWE.

I’ll try to get a Rumble preview up tomorrow. It’ll come before I’ve had a chance to see Smackdown, but I’m off to London on Saturday for TNA and don’t know when I’ll be back on Sunday.

I will, of course, have the live blog going during the Rumble itself. Stay tuned.

Raw Thoughts - Jan 19

Sorry for the delay this week - I've been in Manchester with TNA for a couple of days. A great show in the MEN Arena, and looking forward to Wembley on Saturday. Will update you all of my trip in due course.

On with the Raw notes.....

· Ridiculous opening contest. Eliminating that many guys in no time whatsoever completely devalues the nature of trying to stay in the match on Sunday.
· The idea of it, I suppose, was to get over the idea that The Legacy will be working together to benefit Orton. I’ll give them that.
· While I’m moaning about short matches, Beth just squashed Kelly Kelly. It took about two minutes and was one-sided and decisive. The trouble is that a few weeks back Kelly Kelly was giving Beth a run for her money, and soon, when they decide KK will be number one contender, she’ll be able to compete again. Then they’ll wonder why no-one buys her chances.
· I like the irony of Orton verbally attacking Steph for getting the job because of her Dad, being General Manager because of her last name. Wouldn’t she be third generation, just like Randy?
· Michael Cole and King offer nothing in the way of insight or add to big match feels. Ad breaks don’t help, of course, but there was no flow as a viewer to that match because they kept waffling on about Layla looking pretty or listing a bunch of people who have won the IC title. If they’d just shut up about that and call the match, occasionally stopping to discuss strategy and so forth. Instead it’s just mindless prattle for much of the time. To be fair to both men, it is likely not their fault, as they will be simply calling in the style they are advised to do so.
· Decent match with Regal and Punk, but it’s frustrating because I know they could do better.
· That was a terrific Cena promo. When he is doing 80s jokes and making fun of Todd Grisham he comes across as an idiot, but when he speak passionately and with feeling he is phenomenal.
· JBL, in equal measures, lives up to his end of the bargain. As does HBK. This has actually turned into a very fine angle, and I suspect that it may spike the odd buy or two for Sunday. I like the fact that JBL didn’t put Michaels down, he talked him up and said that’s why he employs him.
· The one negative with this is that Michaels looks in it for the long haul. Normally I’d like that and encourage the long story arc, but I don’t want to see HBK v JBL at Wrestlemania. Think of who Michaels could face – Austin, Triple H, Taker, Mysterio would all be valid opponents and would contribute to awesome contests. I can’t see JBL/Michaels living up.
· I LOVED the Mike Knox reasoning for attacking Rey “I really don’t know.” That’s brilliant. The guy who is so crazy that he attacks for no reason is far scarier than the man who attacks because he doesn’t like little guys or thought Kelly Kelly loved him, for example. I’d have had Knox win though. Mysterio is over with the people with whom he needs to be over, so a loss to Knox doesn’t hurt him. The beating he got makes him look weak anyway, but think about what a big win would do for Knox, who actually seems to be a big guy with a bit of fascination behind his character, as opposed to Snitsky, who we were supposed to boo because he had bad teeth.
· More utter stupidity, having Cryme Tyme beat Mizorrison in short order. I am aware that CT were supposed to have stolen the victory.
· And how many people actually regularly visit WWE.com? Is it really “Well documented” that there is an online feud between the two teams? I’d suggest that “well documented” in this case simply means that Cole talks about it sometimes. Is Duggan supposed to be working for Cryme Tyme? Why did Shad say Hacksaw was on a ‘special assignment’? I have no idea, because I never follow WWE.com. And I can’t believe that a huge percentage of the viewing audience do either.
· Notice how they are advertising a Rumble win as a chance for a title shot at Mania, and not a main event opportunity.
· Sorry, but that was a terrible closing segment. You are supposed to be promoted the Royal Rumble, yet you end with a dull 20 minutes or so of Steph and Vince trying to humiliate Randy Orton and Chris Jericho, with Vince getting kicked in the head by Randy at the end.
· How many times will Vince Die?
· I have one idea – I mentioned in jest about Steph being third generation – but so is Shane. What if Shane was the one pulling the strings of The Legacy? What if the legacy they are talking about is him inheriting the company? What if he is getting back at his father – and soon his sister – so as to take over the company again?

Raw Thoughts January 6th

· I liked the cold open to Raw with Jericho and Orton in the ring. It had a lot of intrigue to it because you were unsure why these two were together in the ring, and they followed it up with a strongly delivered argument for why they were briefly aligned and why they were unhappy.
· Really strong opening. Sensible, well-pitched promos from each of the four men involved, and then a match created as a main event which I want to see. I want to see what happens, whether Michaels turns on Cena or not. Should keep people watching.
· Having Santino in a wrestling match only seems like such a waste. The point of the match was for Melina and Goldust to build interest in their match at The Rumble, I understand, but Santino could be given a couple of minutes pre-match to run down Melina, Goldust, Rosa Mendez or whomever.
· Terrific little promo from CM Punk. I liked the way promos are being pitched so far tonight. This one was very humble and actually spoken like a real person. I liked the back reference to King of the Ring, and to me this built to the match nicely.
· Disappointing IC title match, but I suppose they are just trying to build the intrigue up a bit. Perhaps a match where Regal can’t get DQ-ed unless he wants to relinquish the title might be fun. I assume it will be next week.
· I have a worry, which I hadn’t thought about until now. Do you think Shawn Michaels is going to face JBL at Wrestlemania? I sense the slow burn with HBK eventually getting fed up and Superkicking Layfield’s head off sparking a match between the two. Likely it would be billed as Texas’ own HBK v New York’s JBL, a former Texas resident who disappeared.
· As Mr Wrestlemania I had in mind HBK v Rey Mysterio or HBK v Undertaker. HBK v JBL doesn’t quite measure up.
· Interesting that Rey Mysterio pinning Mike Knox in a ten-man tag match constitutes Knox getting beaten on Raw, but Koslov losing triple threats or the like on Smackdown means nothing to his unbeaten record.
· I think the story of Orton and his Legacy stable is just too flimsy. They don’t pay it enough attention, and if we are supposed to be following who is in and out and so forth then it’s hard. And where is DiBiase?
· PANIC! Vince is back in two weeks. Should we expect a study into the ‘accident’?
· Really, really strong main event, but I thought marred slightly by the aftermath backstage with JBL. I would have liked it to have been focussed on the reactions of Cena and Shawn post match rather than watching Todd Grisham do an interview. Still, the tag match was great. A strong Raw overall.

Raw Thoughts - 24th November

· Really liked the opening to Raw, with Shane arriving in a Porsche (or maybe a Ferrari, I’m not good with cars) then running to the entrance.
· The Shane and Steph ever-so-slightly arguing is getting old already. I don’t mind the concept, it’s just that you know that this is going to be all McMahon for several weeks.
· Shane is a natural babyface, but Steph is just no convincing in that role. Or in any role.
· Cole says that Rey was “One of the sole survivors” – they aren’t going to do this are they? Not another phrase (Like ‘Unforgiven’ or ‘25th anniversary’) they can’t get right.
· What do you know, Rey took a move from Sonjay Dutt!
· I loved HBK’s crawl along the ropes to make a tag.
· JBL kicking Morrison to save HBK? I have no idea why, but I love it when stuff like that happens. Gives you something to think about.
· Did Kennedy say he was going to Cross the Line?? Can’t think where he got that phrase from.
· When Lillian was introducing the IC title scenario, and mentioned Regal, I’m sure she said ‘lime’ instead of ‘time’. I know Americans called us Brits ‘Limeys’ but come on......
· Excited by the triple threat, but seems a strange place on the show to put it.
· The advantageous Chris Jericho? No, Michael, one who takes advantage is not known as advantageous. Problems with your tenses again.
· Now I love William Regal, but his commentary was a little muddled. He talked at times about how great CM Punk was, and they would have a ‘feud for the ages’ but then said he’d destroy him.
· Err..............divas match – Candice’s music, and Melina’s video? Oops. Jerry Lawler covers, but Cole makes an even bigger ass of himself by pretending not to have seen the Melina graphic on the huge Titantron.
· Not sure what destroying Jericho like that achieved really. I’ll reserve judgement in case somewhere down the line it is explained, but Cena beating the hell out of Jericho hardly builds a title match fans would want to buy. That’s essentially two nights running that Cena has got the upper hand.
· We end with Kane looking on. Cena v Kane? Is that really going to assist a higher rating?
· Odd Raw. We tease McMahon sibling rivalry (again) and Cena dominance (again) deliver a lacklustre start to an IC title tourney which Punk is likely going to win anyway and see little of the stuff that has made interesting viewing. For example, short stuff from Marella and just one shot of Orton with Manu and Cody.