RAW Rating / Review (Spoilers) - Vote and Discuss

Drunksader

So. RAW.

I watched it. And by that I mean the whole damn thing. Cover to cover. 2 hours and change. The Full Monty. And, and I just don't know what to say. Like, at all. But let's try to dissect possibly one of the worst RAWs of all time.

Opening: Um, how awkward was that? You've got Evolution talking about how they've got all the gold ... which is fine. But because they have the gold, they make all the rules? Er, ok, at this point I expected to see Bischoff come out an annoit them. But he didn't. What happened instead? The show ... started. Yeah. That sucked.

First Match: Battle of the Sexes II. No buildup whatsoever outside of Sunday night's match. Action was lame. Then Jericho breaks up the match AFTER Christian hits his finisher on Trish. What the? But then, the guys who call the shots on RAW, Evolution, came down the ramp to order a new match for Y2J. No, wait. That was Bischoff. But I thought Evolution was making the rules?

Foley. Comes out, looks in great shape, but I knew from the moment he started speaking and repeating himself that we were in for a night of drizzling sh*t. Then, it happened. Bischoff offers Foley a match. I started yelling at the TV, and from the reaction of the crowd, no one wanted him to wrestle. But Vince would push on, putting him in the ring against Orton ... for the IC Belt? I mean, who the f*ck through this crap together?

The rest of the show was forgettable. Jericho gets legitimately squashed by Kane, whose put into the match with him because he is "angry." Goldberg gets suspended for laying out La Resistance ... which he did because ... he's ... mad ... too? I have no idea.

But let's get to the gravy. RVD and HBK v. Evolution (sans Randy). This, by all accounts, should be a good match, with the faces fighting valiantly before falling to Evo. RVD comes out strong, (and ... holy sh*t ... Ida ... you weren't watching as my boy WORKED OVER HHH's arm, were you? What the? An RVD who shows some sort of depth in the ring???) gets isolated. HBK comes back in, makes the save. So far, so good. HBK v. Flair, nice.

Then HHH walked into the ring against HBK, and the world went to sh*t. Maybe it was because the ring was over-mic'd, and by stamping his foot with each punch gave his offense a reverberation effect, but outside of that, [b:post_uid0]how the hell did HBK flatten HHH ... with [i:post_uid0]EACH[/i:post_uid0] punch??[/b:post_uid0] How more pathetic can you get than having your World Champion flop around like he's Bluto after Popeye OD'd on the green stuff? I couldn't believe it.

But then sanity kicked in. Surely, I thought, HBK is getting in some emotional offense before being overwhelmed. And sure enough, RVD dives to the outside to take out Batista and Flair. The stage is set. HBK is tuning up the band, when Batista powerbombs the hell out of him. Referee shenanigans ensue, but HBK kicks out. Ok, so this will be two nights in a row that Batista, a guy getting pushed hard, can't put away a feisty, but still OLD, HBK? At that point you knew what was going to happen. Pedigree ... backdrop ... SCM ... miss! Counter! HHH spins around, eats another SCM, HBK wins. I'm still trying to figure it out. How the hell does HBK pretty much single-handedly beat Evolution, the guys who "hold all the gold" and "make all the rules"? HBK looked like Jesus was helping him in there, and the match sucked because of it. Everything was rushed - the cameras didn't even see HBK nip up twice in a row - and the result was crap. According to last night's match, HBK should be contending for the World Boxing Championship, because his hands are made of titanium.

Finally, the Foley incident. He has a rousing speech with HBK. He's walking through the hallway, the roster cheering him on. He's making matches for HBK and the Dudleyz. He gets into the ring ... then leaves. The arena. Orton spits in his face. He still leaves. The show ends 10 minutes early. And I have officially been robbed of 120 minutes of my life. Foley's tainted his entire legacy, and when he limps back into the ring for the match that you know is coming, regardless of the outcome, he's ruined his character.

Worst. RAW. Ever. And I've seen some bad ones.

Dr. Giganto

[quote:post_uid0="Drunksader"]HBK looked like Jesus was helping him in there[/quote:post_uid0]
thats what all the praying and stuff before the match is for :p

joebrian

I think JV gave mostly my opinion about RAW, the first hour was good, that Rico match was a waste, Kane and Jericho was unnecessary, and Foley walking out was lame booking. Drunksader, I think you were a bit harsh. Although, some good points when it came to continuity. Like Evolution making the rules and then doing nothing.... what the? But nothing beats the what the of Foley walking out. Man, so disappointed. I thought Foley winning the IC would be outstanding and Bischoff leaving would be different; or, at least Foley giving a valient effort and losing to come back in a month as Cactus. Who knows now....

Bouchie

The live crowd must have been pissed with that finish. Usually they get some extra stuff after the show ends; I wonder if they got anything this time. And what's the deal with the show ending so damn early? They could have at least gave us a crappy Storm/Val match to fill time.

Chair Shot Fan

Okay, so last night's ending...was...brilliant.

I've probably sorted through ten or more negative comments this morning in regards to RAW's ending last night & it seems as thoughI'm standing alone in saying so. Last night was a *good* show. Not great. Any show featuring John H...however you spell that last name...okay wait and what the hell is his gimmick? Can someone PLEASE explain that to me? But anyways, any show featuring him loses all rights to be called "great". Rico I can stand, mainly because of Miss Jackie. But he should be featured in the first hour of RAW if he has to be televised. Plain and simple.

So we're treated to a parade of champions to start things off. Flair & Batista as tag champions = absolutely retarded. I just hate to see legitimate teams lose out to a newly formed team (I say newly formed because outside of being stable mates, they haven't had as much experience as any of the other teams in the Turmoil match...ugh, even Hurricane & Rosey). Ah well. I guess I would've seen Orton lose to RVD, only to show up with Batista and grab the titles. But for the purpose of their reincarnated Four Horsemen angle, it works as scripted. Just please, please, please, don't get me started on Triple H winning the gold.

In between that and the end, there was good. Seeing WWE progress the Jericho face turn was a good thing. Seeing WWE take Goldberg off TV for a few weeks is a good thing - he will come back at Rumble and he will dismantle the competition - it's a guarantee. Seeing WWE have HBK remain the largest threat to Evolution was a good thing - and seeing him punk Triple H out after his unneeded title win...it was great.

And the finish...all the drama surrounding Foley's return started to make me wonder why they'd want to put him back into action so soon. The video package, all the "good wishes" backstage...I just can't tell you how great it was to see Foley just walk out. Can you imagine the effects of Foley winning that match? Sure, Orton is green, but having the IC Title on three different guys in two days would bring the prestige of the belt down five notches. Having Foley be sole GM? I can bear seeing Bischoff on TV that much, but not Foley. Not with all those cheap pops he spouts. And everyone that's a Foley fan should just be honest - if this is building up to one big last match, you know you'll all pay that pretty penny to see him don his smiley face t-shirt & flannel vest one more time. Foley walking out DID NOT tarnish his reputation. That's a load. It helped preserve it, possibly for one last genuine flare. And lastly, leaving that ten minute gap between when the show should end and when it did - TOTALLY misleading, which made it even more of a shock when it occurred.

So overall, brilliant. I'd anticipate the next RAW to be "in a state of shock"...I can only *hope* that they handle it all well.

You'd better put your clothes back on...before you start puttin pot holes in my lawn...

Bouchie

[quote:post_uid0]Any show featuring John H...however you spell that last name...okay wait and what the hell is his gimmick? Can someone PLEASE explain that to me? [/quote:post_uid0]

He's big. Oh.. and he has "potential".

BackLash

[quote:post_uid9][quote:post_uid9]Any show featuring John H...however you spell that last name...okay wait and what the hell is his gimmick? Can someone PLEASE explain that to me?[/quote:post_uid9]He's big. Oh.. and he has "potential".[/quote:post_uid9]

Yeah that and he has "Little Johnny". No one knows what Little Johnny is exactly but, it's been confirmed it's not a kid. Assumingly it's.......well never mind.

That said, this is not the worst Raw ever, but it certanly was the most depressing top to bottom.

[b:post_uid9]Mood Meter: Awaiting[/b:post_uid9] - Playing DBZ Budokai 2 five minutes before Raw.

- Raw is on and we have Evo-losers showing off gold they didn't desereve. I love Batista getting pushed, but having him and Flair cheat six other teams, that [b:post_uid9]were[/b:post_uid9] on the card, two of which teams were in a fued to get the stupid thing intrested by the fans, wasn't the way to do it. Trips=Selfish Basterd nuff said. The only one who deserved their leather was Randy Orton and he barily does. [b:post_uid9]Mood Meter: Semi-Awaiting, but cringing teeth[/b:post_uid9]

- I hate the what the WWE has done to this Trish/Jericho thing. Everyone hates him now.
Trish wouldn't forgive him and insulted him
He insulted Bishoff
He pushed down Christain and Vice Vesa
Kane beat the crap out of him
He is being booked improperly (more improperly than usual) and it's like him against the world. JR's seem to be the most biased ####### in the world. I HATED THIS!!!! [b:post_uid9]Mood Meter: Sad[/b:post_uid9]

Rico-Terriblle Gay Gimmick-John Hineright-Doggy Position yeah that was fun. [b:post_uid9]Mood Meter: Disgusted[/b:post_uid9]

Finally after a night of great hype the WWE takes it all away, by having Foley withdraw from the match between Randy Orton. That didn't bother me. What bothered me was Orton spitting in Foley's face. It's like a great feeling was painfully taken away. Fortunetly the live show fans were treated to RVD and HBK beating down Evolution, but it wouldn't bring that great feeling that night. [b:post_uid9]Mood Meter: Sad, Dissapointed, Insulted and yes Depressed[/b:post_uid9]

From a wrestling standpoint it was great, but it wasn't enough due to the foolish storylines. **sigh**