Nothing like nostalgia to get me to enjoy professional wrestling on TV. Thanks "Raw" for reminding me why I enjoy wrestling so much. Last night's edition of "Raw" gave a nice little history lesson of the 'turns' that Shawn Michaels has made throughout his career.I don't think any are as memorable as his famous betrayal of his Rockers tag-team partner Marty Jannetty all those years ago. Probably because it represented HBK's coming-out party as a future main-eventer, Michaels' superkick to Jannetty's jaw on "The Barber Shop" was one of the greatest face-turned-heel moments in WWE history.
It is this sense of history that WWE needs to play up to help further storylines and deepen characters. Furthermore, I can't wait till HBK superkicks Cena's head off.
Taking a page out of...well...their own book, WWE seemed to carry on this 'revisiting history' theme throughout last night's "Raw" - especially before presenting the Shelton Benjamin VS. Jeff Hardy match. Considering that this was a "Money In The Bank" qualifying match, it made perfect sense to remind the viewing audience of both Hardy and Benjamin's history in ladder matches.
With Jeff Hardy going to the MITB match at WrestleMania 23 this year, expect a major O-fest...as if it wasn't going to be one already. My only concern, at this point, is the fact that this year's edition will consist of eight competitors instead of the normal six. Sounds kinda clusterfuckish to me, but here's hoping that Edge, CM Punk, King Booker, Jeff Hardy and the four other guys involved will put on a classic. Considering the competitors that have already been named, I don't think I should be that worried.Nice touch having the introduction to each superstar last night take place after they had both entered the ring. Similar to the announcement of competitors before a title match, this added a nice "this is pretty important" type feel to the event. The "Money In The Bank" match just may be the bout of the night come April 1st.
I was shocked though that WWE actually highlighted as opposed to avoided mentioning Benjamin's in-ring screw-up! They replayed, not once but twice, the part of the match where Benjamin attempted a springboard off the ropes and tripped! Weird how it almost resulted in a pinfall. Although Shelton got his shoulder up, the ref counted the three! A double fuck-up? And one the E didn't attempt to hide? Not sure what to make of it...but kudos to Hardy for quickly going for the cover so as to not make it seem like a spot was missed.
It only makes sense, however, that Hardy gets a rematch with Umaga for his Intercontinental title. Not that I think that he should win it back at this point...but this rematch NOT occuring wouldn't make logical sense. Doesn't pretty much EVERY champion have within his "contract" a rematch clause?
Either way, I think Umaga having the IC strap at this point is a good thing. WWE has definitely played up his character as a mighty, indestructible monster (stopped only once by the 'amazing' *cough* John Cena). In a Gregory Helms-like fashion, Umaga should hold on to the belt for a very LONG time.It would ONE, help build back the legitimacy and importance of this great title and TWO rebuild the unstoppableness of Umaga's character. THREE...whoever eventually beats Umaga for that title will have the push of a lifetime.
Speaking of which, I have to make a point at this...point. The 'push of a lifetime' that Helms WAS receiving as Cruiserweight Champion ended in the worst way possible. A 'chase' for the coveted (since it was held by one man for so long) belt was necessary to help push the eventual usurper of Helms' title. Having Chavo win it (for the fifth time) in a gauntlet match without anything even closely resembling a feud with Helms was simply stupid.
ONE, it does nothing to push Chavo (who seemingly can't get over if he flew a plane) and TWO ruins an excellent storyline about Helms' prowess in the division. Trust the E to destroy something they did such a good job of building.
Anyway, back to "Raw"...and Umaga. As much as I like the fact that he is IC champ...I hate the fact that he is involved in Vince McMahon's lame gimmick match at WrestleMania 23. ONE, it means that AGAIN, the Intercontinental Championship will NOT be defended at the biggest show of the year. And TWO, it makes it so obvious that he will lose. Who really believes that Donald Trump is having his head shaved bald after this hair match?
In addition, having Bobby Lashley (surprise, surprise) as Trump's representative and Umaga's opponent means that the ECW Championship will ALSO NOT be defended at WM23.
One word: boo! One question: Why is Bobby Lashley still getting such a big push? What has he really done to deserve it? (Okay, that was two questions).
And on the topic of 'deserving it', I think it is too early to have Jerry "The King" Lawler enter the WWE Hall of Fame. Isn't the Hall supposed to be reserved for those who are either retired (or semi-retired) or those who have passed on (with a great measure of success and accolades, of course).Now, I'm not disputing the fact that Lawler is a wrestling legend and has for decades made his mark (especially in the Memphis territory), but he still feels like a member of the full-time "Raw" roster to me. He still wrestles occasionally and obviously does the colour commentary every week. Retired, he is not. By that token, shouldn't Ric Flair be inducted into the Hall of Fame by now? What do you think? Who would you induct into the Hall at this point? (Some more questions, for ya).
Interesting that WWE is turning up the heat in the Women's Division. For a title that many argue shouldn't even exist, it'll be interesting to see how it is defended in a "Falls Count Anywhere" match next week on "Raw". If it were up to me, I'd have Melina keep the title (she's among the best female characters on TV right now) and exchange Ashley for Melina as this March's "Playboy" covergirl (she's hot as hell, y'all!).
Here are the standings for Tha O League in the WWE Fantasy Game after week 5. There's a real tight race for first right now between Tha O Show's own Brian Plunkett (Tha Hitman) and Big Daddy Donnie (Dan-e-o loves Cena - screw you guy!). We're halfway to the finish line O-sters! The battle continues...
1 Dan-e-o loves Cena - 1378 pts
2 Tha Hitman - 1377 pts
3 Team Boudreau - 1268 pts
4 Team_Rated_RKO - 1266 pts
5 Smashin' Masters 2K7 - 1232 pts
6 Goatbusters - 1216 pts
7 Methods Of Mayhem - 1190 pts
8 TheEndustry - 1179 pts
9 The O Noes! - 1175 pts
10 wrestling4life - 1167 pts
11 Sketch - 1155 pts
12 Kelly's Killers - 1121 pts
13 BigDaddyDonnie - 1105 pts
14 Rizo's Roster - 1093 pts
15 D-Generation Next - 1035 pts
16 Metal Gods - 1022 pts
17 Dan-e-o - 984 pts
18 The Kickassters - 976 pts
19 I love ThaOShow.Com - 957 pts
20 Rapsfan - 827 pts
21 JorJorBynks - 781 pts
22 Illinois' Finest - 593 pts
22 comments: on "History Lessons On "Raw""
Lawler works less in a calendar year than many guys already inducted... including Hulk Hogan.
If he's being inducted as a broadcaster - it's retarder. #1) cuz he's active and #2) cuz he's shit.
As a wrestler, promoter, booker etc ... he left his mark on this industry and earned his spot in the hall.
I still marked out when HBK superkicked Jannetty and threw him through the window.
Didn't someone here bring up the inring intro's? Might someone in the E be taking advice from O'sters?
Looks like Nitro and Melina are parting ways. i think it'll suit Nitro better to be on his own. Especially now with Melina carrying a belt around which'll only take away from his spotlight.
Piper, Hogan, Dusty, they all still get in the ring and are all in the Hall. Why can't Lawler be? He wrestles once in a blue moon (on tv) and announcing doesn't really count as being active does it?
I think Umaga is losing steam. He's been stopped by Cena, and now he's gonna mor than likely lose again, against another "champion". I think it's insulting that Lindsay gets called Blackberg here at Tha O. I mean come on, even Goldberg had a memorable line (Who's next), Lindsay's got nothing going.
Go figure with fantasy. Everyone knew Hardy and Keneddy are going in this week, and yet I took em both off of my roster!
BTW, Ashley looks like a man. And the boobs look even worse.
If Ashley's a man i'll be gay!
The race isn't going to be so tight at the end of this week; I hitched my cart to Edge and Orton, as I was sure that they were going to win the title after Cena gave Michaels an F-U. I was hoping so bad for that (even just the Cena heel turn). Neither happened; hopefully my other superstars will bail me out. Not likely though, as Donnie finally picked up on my "secret" ace in the hole.
the only lesson i got last night was realizing just how bad Orton is at memorizing and delivering his promos.
No range, he sresses each word, and he seems to be too nervous in his delivery.
If King is in, then JR should be right next to him.
It makes me mad when I think of all the angles / stories that could be propelled by their ENORMOUS library of tape...
instead, this company usually chooses to IGNORE history.
Thankfully last night, they used it to their advantage...
Speaking of history, it seems Test has become just that.
I definently think that Haas should have a singles push, and thought he was going to get one last year when RVD brought him back to wrestle Benjamin, and Haas kept asking during the match "did you forget about me dude?," that fued would have been money. But I am glad that they brought back the WGTT. Another thing though, what other major spots has Benjamin blown?
As far as Lawler, he is far from sucking. And the fistdrop from the top rope does suck now. But in his day it was the shit. I know Lawler dwells too too much on T&A, but let us remember who sits in the back on headsets and feeds Lawler and JR their stuff.
I CANNOT BELIEVE I DROPPED MICHAELS AND ADDED ORTON. WTF? Why in the hell did the match end that way? And what the hell was up with the rushed ass spot where Michaels threw the belt to Orton? That could have been big and led to a good freak out by Edge, but no.
Oh, and did anyone else expect or want to hear Trump introduce Lashley as Lindsay?
If Trump called him Lindsay I was going to die laughing. Literally.
yo Ben straight up are you for real name all the times shelton has screwed up in a match come on kid are you being racist or something its no way you can get away with this
Okay, just for all the Benjamin backers out there...
Let me play Devil's Advocate for a minute. Maybe he doesn't blow as many spots as people say. It doesn't matter. When the spotlight is on him is a big match, that's when he can least afford to blow spots, and every spot he's ever blown has come in matches like that. Remember his rematch against Carlito where he tripped while attempting a plancha? Carlito tried to sell it anyway, and it just looked bad. He then blew a similar spot in a Money In The Bank qualifying match last Monday. Speaking of Money In The Bank, he almost blew a spot in the first one. When he ran up that ladder and clotheslined Jericho off of another ladder, look closely. He tripped on the very last rung. Luckily he was close enough to the top so it didn't matter.
Melina and Nitro arent "splitting"... my sweet Maria got a nice stiff boot to the face from Melina, didnt she? I mean DAMN!
Benjamin has nailed more big spots than he has botched
Why would anyone complain about Torrie being at ringside? Dykstra spent enough time with the headlocks and chinlocks... I mean c'mon thats when you need cleavage on the screen the most... I appreciate good technical wrestling and I'm not knocking Dykstra's style, but your average viewer hates that... so therefore you need something on the camera to keep hands off remote controls... and those jugs can do that
Owen Hart should be inducted before Jerry Lawler... i just dont get it, ill get angry talking about it... everytime i talk about dykstra, the next thing to mind is Owen and i blame it all on "tha O show"
He blew a spot running up a ladder, and tripped on the last rung, and nailed a clothesline on Jericho. THAT BASTARD. How are you counting that? He ran up a ladder, and still pulled it off, I don't care if tripped, slipped, or threw up he nailed it, and that is one of the most memorable parts of the match. Name another guy in the E that could pull that off?
Every wrestler blows spots we all know that, but it's only certain ones that we single out. HHH has blown two pretty big ones, and they've both cost him considerable amounts of time, but those are apparently just mis-steps and shouldn't be considered blown spots I guess. How about Cena, and the 10gillion he's blown? There isn't a wrestler out there who hasn't blown several spots, and there definently isn't one who hasn't blown one when it counted. Remember Owen dropping Austin?
There is no reason that Benjamin should get heat like this from falling off of a top rope in the middle of match at break-neck speed.
There were other factors that led to him not getting a singles push. One, he wasn't over enough for the E's liking. Secondly, he fell into the same trap Carlito has recently been in, as he became content with his salary and started phoning it in.
Rule of thumb in the business-unless you are absolutely, 100 percent indispensible to the company, don't phone it in. Ever. Or, if you do phone it in now and again, don't make it a habit. Benjamin didn't learn that lesson, now he's paying for it. He'll spend the rest of his WWE career, or at least a large majority of it, as a tag team guy.
How does HHH blowing out his quads consitute as blown spots?
He fucked up didnt he? If Benjamin had injured himself would that not have been considered a blown spot?
pulling off a move and getting injured is not fuckin up. Blowing a spot and injuring yourself is fuckin up
How is it not fucking up? I guess you executed everything perfectly but the ring shifted under your leg thus causing you to get injured. I see now.
The first time he got injured, it was Jericho catapulting him if I'm correct. The second time he was pulling a slam on Orton and he got injured. How is that blowing the spot?
You are incorrect. The first time, he planted his foot and forgot to move it while clotheslining Jericho from behind while Jericho had Austin in the liontamer(wall of Jericho). The second was a screwup on a AA spinebuster on Orton or Edge I can't remember the guy, but on both times his legs didn't move in sync with his body, and the spot he was trying to perform. Much like Benjamin on monday night. His legs slipped, and H's didnt move. Different actions but both resulted in spots being missed and/or having a terrible result. I'm not taking anything away from H's abilities, but I'm just saying he didn't properly execute the moves he has 100X before on those 2 occasions as Benjamin didn't against JH.
It's the WWE political hall of fame. 20 bucks says The Big Show will be inducted before Owen Hart.
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