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.