| The K Jay report 6/13. Focus on Raw.
This weeks report feature an in-depth look into RAW on a week that could have been show of the year.
To me this was a show of missed opportunities, let me show why :
Randy Orton being put in his place (curtain jerking for someone else's storyline) if you're looking to slap his ego down do it correctly, have him squashed 1-2-3 in the ring, make him miss Vengance or have him face someone mid-card, dont put him in with the best there is.
Charlie Haas : Public licks for a fuck-up OK. But make it more brutal (having worked international he could take a stiiff segment) and then we'll feel a little more apathy with him (I think that's what we were supposed to feel. Hmmm how will Jackie feel about Charlie seemingly in another love triangle.....
The wet match : Actually good to see a different breed of T&A match (I sound like a Sci-Fi promo). This was excellent not just for hot wet bird but for JR's commentary taking a little of the heat off King's usual learing comments. "By Gosh! This is better than the Oklahoma State Fair" wins quote of the week by a mile.
Trish walk of Fame segment : If I was in charge of WWE I would'nt have pushed that because I would'nt want to lose Trish from the roster.
D-X back : Sometime WWE pull a trigger too early, definitley not this time. Left too long and ultimatley after realizing this they put Shawn on the shelf. However when you spoil your own show both on your website and on the actual telecast before the segment (promoting Vengance press conference with a graphic containing HBK before the segment) you kill the twist. Ultimatly this could have been a stellar get together if (and this could have been so easily done) they'd have not made the mistakes spoiling it for mionths.
Hacksaw Vs Joe Rip : The less said about this the better.
Flair - Foley : Awesome, even Flair tripping over his diatribe added to this, if anything this is wasted in a non big-4 PPV when so much more is going on. I didn't enjoy Foley powdering-out to Flair but I think the way this segment was booked was to see if it was possible to get heel heat for Foley "before" North Carolina. Personally I'd rather see this as a Face-Vs-Face match as even tho these two are definatly on opposing ends of the spectrum as far as personalities go they are still two of the very best in the business.
Nitro, Carlitio & Shelton : This match-up for Vengance has so many admirable qualities and potential it is unbelievable, however in my eyes it is missing two crucial elements. Firstly I am less than impressed that it could'nt have been correctly built over a longer period seeing as none of these guys had anything to do with the ECW cross-over. Fair enough Nitro only just got here but other than last week Carlito has been on promo/heat duty. Secondly it needs major agent input, Shelton as amazing as he is does not know how to craft a match yet, he needs a fued with HBK/HHH with multiple house shows to show him different ways to build to his high-spots. Nitro very much the same, being a predominatly Tag-Team wrestler he tends to move too fast for a singles enviroment so far (still an awesome talent in the making tho'). Carlito should be ring general from these three as he definitly has a more intimate feel for crowd reaction and varying match pace, however I'm not sure he will be able to control the other two to bring this to bear. This match is gonna have amazing high-spots, it just needs to be timed properly so that the crowd does'nt a) get bored waiting for them, or b) is desensitized to them by them coming at the wrong points.
Main Event : Cena, love him or hate him, is currently WWE's MVP. Just remember when the whole damn crowd hates you as much as Hammerstien Ballroom did you are doing your job perfectly. As much as they would disagree ECW were paying props to a guys whose current gimmick is not doing anything different because doing that is getting him heat where he wants it and still selling (merchandising not body parts) to the kids and 16-25 female demo. Edge continues to look well at home at the top of the card and his short break from battling Cena week-on-week to team with Foley has made an Edge-Cena fued the perfect way to approach Summerslam.
Overall Raw this week suffered from something that hasn't happened in my mind for quite a while. For once the booking of the show was damn near perfect, however the talent did'nt seem to have the fizzle to put over what is essentially the best set of storylines to be simultaniously happening at once for over 5 years. Now is a real chance for superstars to be born in places on the card they've never been, it's time for a few of them to step up and hit the homer.
K Jay signing off |