Raw Recap and the TRUE big news from Jan 4th

I haven’t watched TNA’s Impact from Monday night yet, and I won’t get a chance to before tomorrow night. So I can’t really discuss the “war” so to speak. But I can definitely comment on Raw, as well as what I feel was the biggest news of the night.

What I would like to make evident is that on Monday night, the combined wrestling rating was almost 5.0. That should be a major wake up call to the WWE. I really thought that the WWE have turned away many wrestling fans, and that the fans who watched TNA also watch WWE. This is obviously not completely true. And the WWE should keep that in mind as they prepare their Road to Wrestlemania. I don’t think the TNA product will draw many fans away from the WWE, but it should be kept in mind that there is a large section of the wrestling audience that is completely uninterested in what the WWE is offering. Even on a night that they bring out the Hitman.

Speaking of which, I wasn’t too amped for the Hitman’s return. Whenever we’ve seen him in any manner, he seemed uninterested, and knowing his health these days, I wasn’t expecting anything too stellar out of him, even with the knowledge of his 3 month contract leading past Wrestlemania. Yet, the minute the music hit (new version which sucked) I was in total mark mode. I think my eyes were watery when he did the trademark arms out the side pose in the ring. And he looked much better than expected. I think going back to the similar look he had during his heel run in 97 helped him out. The shorts and big leather jacket made him look more like the old Hitman than his DVD and other various appearances.

And the drama of Shawn Michaels going t face-to-face with him was ridiculously high. Sadly, it dropped quickly. I read a comment in the Raw thread about how they needed to have the 2 classic rivals shake hands, that way Shawn can move onto his DX related storyline, and help Vince be the singular rival in the Hitman’s sights. I think that is a terrifically accurate statement. There is and was no other reason to have the HBK/Bret call out without any hype.

The rest of the show failed to stand out. It didn’t suck, but it was average. And this was tragic due to the competition it faced. I know the ratings have since been released, and WWE did their best rating in several months, but I think they could have done so much more.

I think the Diva’s title should have been decided in either a Fatal Four Way or a Battle Royale, because a tournament over the next few weeks will be painful. The Bella’s showed their worth (not much). Maryse is quite the perfect heel diva right now, and her interaction with the Miz has been quite interesting. I’m glad the powers that be decided to continue their fling.

The US benefitted from some attention in the Fatal Four Way match for the #1 Contendership. And the right man won. In no way am I knocking anyone else in the match, but MVP hasn’t done much as a face on Raw since moving over. I am not saying he deserves it, as he’s been lame and sloppy in the ring, but giving him some of the spotlight is a good test. The WWE is in full swing to develop new stars, and MVP should be high on the list. He doesn’t have the youth on his side, so they might as well push him now and establish him. If his push succeeds, then it won’t be long until he’ll be in the right position to start putting over talent on a main event level. Also, MVP vs Miz is a much more interesting match than any heel vs heel combination, or Mark Henry vs Miz.

However if Evan Bourne was available…

On the topic of Air Bourne, I had no problem with his appearance on Raw. Matt Sydel was never meant to main event on Raw, and never will. He’s lucky, yet deserving, to be in the spot he is. Much like how the Miz benefitted from calling out Cena over the summer, Evan Bourne standing up to Sheamus helps him out. Airtime is airtime, and a loss against the champ is still better than the role Chavo Guerrero has been playing. Bourne is still high in the midcard roster. Sure, MVP and Henry are higher, but Bourne could have easily fit into that Fatal Four Way match and won credibly. Besides, I think his spot is on Tuesday nights and the WWE knows it. Might as well use him to make the new champ look unstoppable before moving him back to ECW and have him challenge Christian (perhaps).

Kofi vs Orton was a decent match. I think Kofi needed the win more, but the match was solid. The true storyline isn’t Kofi anymore, it’s the possible Legacy break up, which I am dreading. Ted DiBiase hasn’t shown me anything worth pushing yet, especially not against a guy like Orton in the main event.

The DX segment backstage was a pretty good one. I don’t hate Hornswaggle at all, and think he can and has been used quite well with DX. The Little People’s Court was lame, but all the other appearances have been interesting, with the most recent being quite entertaining.

Speaking of DX, their match with Jerishow was the true main event match of the show. They placed it at the half hour because the Hitman/Vince segment was the bigger storyline and barn burner, but the Tag Title match could have easily fit in the main event on any other night. I’ll miss Jericho on Monday’s, but if it means he gets in the main event World Title hunt on Fridays, I won’t be disappointed at all.

All in all, I enjoyed the program. But I wasn’t glued to the screen like I should have been. The Road to Wrestlemania is always a great time to be a fan of the WWE, especially the Royal Rumble. I expected more out of this edition of the show. But, perhaps if there was no TNA Impact on at the same time, I wouldn’t be as let down as I am. My expectations may have been too high in hopes of brewing competition.

I’m looking forward to catching Impact. I read the results, and there are a few matches I am quite interested in watching. I won’t judge the supposed mistakes that I’ve read about.

'Twas the Night Before...

I was tempted to do something tacky here. Taking the classic “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” melody, I was going to write a “’Twas the Night Before the War” in reference to TNA going head to head with WWE tomorrow night.

But I really am not trying to attempt anything other than express myself. I’m not a gimmicky writer, other than being tremendously arrogant in my expression. So instead I’ll just write what I think about the January 4^th.

I’m excited. I didn’t really care until this morning. I really have almost no respect for TNA in general. I used to enjoy the weekly PPV format, and they’ve had some good talents and good matches and good events since changing to a standard monthly PPV with weekly TV show format, but it feels like such a shitty copy of the WWE that it doesn’t ever keep me interested. Honestly, I’ve been letdown more in the 7 and half years by TNA than the WWE has in the last 25. I am not a fan of their product at all.

But every once in a while, TNA seems to do something that makes me want to tune in and give them another shot. Hulk Hogan is not one of these decisions. However, Eric Bischoff is.

The idea that TNA is letting someone new take a chance at the general management of the show is interesting. Just getting an ew voice in the mix is a great twist. I don’t know who is to blame for the past mistakes I feel TNA have made, but the remedy could be the simple addition of another member to the creative department. Make that someone who has shown success in leading a wrestling company to the #1 spot, and you’ve got my attention.

I didn’t really think anything much of it when it was originally announced. TNA’s failures have that effect on me. Even the few times I’ve turned in to watch a terrific show, like the Turning Point PPV in November, I’ve never been drawn to continue tuning in. For every solid move they make, they make a record amount of disastrous maneuvers to ruin any momentum TNA has in keeping me tuned in.

But I look over the 2009 year, and I see enough beneficial moments to cause me to look into watching my first ever Impact. I’ve never watched an entire episode of the Thursday night TNA program, but I think I’ll give Monday’s show a shot. I won’t watch it Monday night. Monday’s I always tune into WWE Raw through a live stream since I have eliminated all cable/satellite television from my home. But Tuesday evening, I’ll put a torrent search out to find the TNA Impact from Monday night, and I’ll view that. I’ll probably watch Tuesday’s ECW program first. Sorry TNA, you just can’t beat out the best hour of wrestling every week headlined by Captain Charisma, another guy you didn’t seem to know how to use.

But I’ll eventually watch the TNA program. I’ll look forward to watching Tara, Desmond Wolfe, Kurt Angle, the Motor City Machine Guns, The Pope, and Daffney… while everyone else will have a high echelon to reach in terms of proving why they are employed. No one else on the TNA seems to draw any interest from me.

But maybe having Hogan and Bischoff add to the creative meetings will find a new way to present the rest of the roster in a way I find more appealing. There are some talented guys, but they don’t seem like full performers to me. Too many spot monkeys, not enough charisma. I hope I’m proven wrong. In a truly ground breaking statement, a better TNA product means better wrestling for all wrestling fans.

But enough about TNA. The WWE is the reason I watch any wrestling. While not perfect, they seem to entertain me consistently. And this Monday night, they have Bret Hart returning. As a Canadian, and Montreal native, I must be excited right?

Not really. I’m curious, but not excited. Hitman can’t put on classic matches anymore. He never gave classic promos. So what will he bring to the table tomorrow night? I’m intrigued. I hope there’s a good storyline in the works. But honestly, I’m more interested in the build up to the Royal Rumble. Give me a next chapter of the Sheamus WWE Title reign. Will the Unified Tag Title return to Jerishow? Will DX continue to leave me wanting a Shawn Michaels singles push?

All in all, both companies have major work to do. For TNA, they need to establish themselves as a true alternative. I don’t mean they need to be a threat the way WCW was. But they need to be viable to take away a few fans from the WWE. Even if their ratings go up half a point, it will be a good start.

The WWE needs to kick it into high gear with only 3 months until Wrestlemania, during a month where boxing, UFC and TNA will all be fighting for big money buyrates. I said yesterday how the WWE needs Cena vs Undertaker to headline the show. Any other option is pathetic in comparison. And after last year’s 25^th Anniversary disaster, the WWE might have a hard time garnering interest from casual fans. In all media businesses, a sequel is largely affected by the original’s success. New Moon did better money than Twilight did because of how well Twilight was received. Before reviewers could tell the fans how poor the sequel was, everyone lined up to see New Moon anyways. The same works in reverse. Wrestlemania has always been a gold standard in the WWE Pay Per View year. But last year lots of fans were disappointed with the show. How many of those fans will be doubtful to buy the WWE’s March PPV because of the memory of feeling screwed in 2009? Especially if the names on the marquee are Sheamus vs HHH?

I’ll watch Wrestlemania no matter what they put out. Either I’m that stupid, or I wasn’t as disappointed as others last year. But they still need to keep Arizona in mind as they book their shows towards the “Road to Wrestlemania” Tomorrow night seems to be the first step on that Road. Will Bret Hart be the 2010 version of what Mike Tyson brought to the Road to Wrestlemania in 1998? I am curious. I am intrigued. But I’m not excited. Especially since I already know that the best star on Monday Nights will not be there.

Now that I think about it, maybe this is TNA’s big chance.

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 26

The more I think about it, the more I think the WWE is purposely fucking with us, the audience. I can see the tremendous change in how the WWE is delivering their product as of late, but this early challenge has me completely baffled. Wrestlemania is the biggest event of the WWE year, but never have they booked a match this early in advance. They’ve planted the seeds this early, they’ve hinted in off hand ways… but never have they come out and said Superstar A vs Superstar B at Wrestlemania nearly 4 months in advance.

I’m not complaining about this idea. With an event of this magnitude, I think some hype should start early. And I see the incredible logic of using this match to do it. The night of the Slammys, during the segment where they announce the match of the year, they suggest the rematch. It made lots of sense, and it caused a tremendous stir among all fans: IWC fans and non-IWC fans.

Yet, with all the genius involved and the logic used to deliver the message, why the hell am I not buying it?

In a strange turn of events, I think we are being played. It almost seems like they are making us think they are doing something really intelligent, in an attempt to draw our attention away from their actual goal. Knowing the WWE, the ultimate goal could be on the level of complete retardation, or Einstein genius.

When it comes to the Undertaker, Wrestlemania should be simple to book. His streak makes his match an automatic main event. Even when it’s against someone the likes of Mark Henry at WM 22, it still carries enough strength on the card to be called a main event. This is an ultimate tool that the WWE has decided to avoid using on too many occasions. With the streak on the line in a main event, that leaves both the WWE and World Title matches as other main events. Yet, for a strange reason, the WWE has often combined both elements to attempt to create an “ultimate main event”… and it doesn’t seem to work. Sure, Undertaker vs Edge at WM 24 was the show ender, but there were other choices that could have replaced this. That card was well stacked, with the Floyd Mayweather involvement, the Flair retirement match, and of course the 2 main event title defenses. Maybe they saw too many main event matches. I could understand that.

But after the immense success of HBK vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25, how could the WWE skip another massive streak threatening match?

Lately, we’ve seen the WWE take drastic measures to develop new stars. Primarily the Sheamus push is really causing earthquakes among fans. And now there are rumors of a HHH vs Sheamus WWE Title match in Arizona for the Granddaddy of them all. If this match rumor develops to be true, than the card needs a major match to sell the event. Sheamus may be a future star, but he’s not a draw yet.

Of course if HHH is facing off against Sheamus, then his tag team partner will be available as well. So Undertaker would be a logical opponent for him.

Except, Bret Hart has signed a 3 month contract set to expire past Wrestlemania 26. And something tells me this will lead to Wrestlemania involvement, and that also means to me that HBK will be involved in that as well. Last week’s Raw seemed indicate that the 2 wrestlers involved in the Wrestlemania 12 main event may cross paths.

So we come back to the proposed Undertaker vs HBK match. I don’t see it happening. I think we’re seeing a lot of smoke and mirrors to get us excited, but no one really knows what for? On one hand, the WWE has the smart fans guessing and predicting a variety of possibilities. This is a good way to hype up the small demographic who spend too much time on the internet discussion wrestling (myself included). All the while it creates a buzz to those logged off.

So what does that leave the Undertaker with? If HHH is against Sheamus, HBK is involved with Bret Hart… what other major Undertaker match could take place at Wrestlemania without involving a World or WWE Title??

HHH vs Sheamus

HBK vs Hitman

Undertaker vs John Cena

Now, we’re selling PPVs.