Tha Raw Report - Live From Toronto!

As of this writing, I have not yet seen the television broadcast of last night's "Raw". Of course, I was in the crowd as Toronto's Air Canada Centre hosted its umpteenth WWE event. Happy Birthday Brian! (I took my brother to the show as his gift this year).

Interesting thing about Brian. He's been a wrestling fan as long as I have (well over twenty years) but, as has been mentioned on Tha O Show before, has fallen off as of late.

That, however, did not prevent my bro from being able to pretty much know EVERYTHING that was going to occur in the ring last night.

For example, during the Randy Orton/Rob Van Dam bout, Brian remarked that "these two guys aren't really feuding are they? The booking for this match seems pretty random". He was right...this match, in all liklihood, represented Van Dam's last televised appearance in WWE. And honestly, it served no real purpose other than to perhaps put over Randy Orton who seems to be revisiting his "Legend Killer" persona.

First, Shawn Michaels, now RVD. Orton seems to have gotten back on the good side (or perhaps is simply the beneficiary of booking based on the fact that the rest of the company's top superstars are all injured!) of WWE creative. His 'putting guys out of commission' schtick is a clear indication that he is back in a position to regain a major title shortly...or so it would seem.

The Orton/RVD match, however, seemed slow and dull. The "Best Sign of the Night" award goes to some cat in the front row who held up "Another Headlock Randy?" several times during the bout...and with perfect timing! It's almost as if he booked the match himself. Each time Randy put Van Dam in the headlock, the fan was in perfect position to poke fun and young Orton.

Am I the only one to not have previously noticed that Randy is prone to using this rest spot move frequently? Either way, as Brian also noted, Van Dam totally made Orton look like a million bucks with the way he sold the RKO after the match ended. Awesome take! Kudos on his take of the DDT as well!

It was nice knowing you Rob Van Dam. Here's hoping TNA doesn't write your character into oblivion.

I'm not sure how it looked on TV, but I gotta say, I was PISSED that I didn't have ringside seats to last night's "Raw" as I did for Unforgiven. EVERY WWE Diva showed up for the "soak 'em silly" battle royal. Damn, did they ALL look sexy! Seriously, they ALL looked good. I didn't care what was going on...wet Divas = O's for Dan-e-o.

Honestly, is there a better way to utilize the female 'talent' on WWE's roster?

More importantly, Shane McMahon revealed one of the most interesting storyline twists in recent memory. WWE will be holding a tri-branded draft in two weeks on "Raw". Conspicuous by its absence over the past couple of 'seasons', the draft - if nothing else - provided intrigue to an audience growing tired of the 'same old, same old' of each WWE broadcast.

With ECW now joining "Raw" and "SmackDown!" in the draft, the possibilities for new storylines, angles and title switches are endless. Could CM Punk finally end up on a show where he can capture a coveted title? Then again, does the brand split really mean anything anyways? Considering the way things are currently going, Bobby Lashley could end up on "SmackDown!" in a couple of weeks and STILL headline "Raw".

So maybe the announcement wasn't so special after all. Nevertheless, WWE has made it clear that things need to be shaken up...as if we didn't all know this already. Props to the company though, for recognizing this and doing something about it. Now...all of our questions about who to program with Edge or John Cena will have new answers shortly.

It was definitely nice to see John Cena get his ass handed to him twice in one night (see the "Saturday Night's Main Event" section later in this article for more information - no spoilers though, I'm just not into that). However, as per usual, this spells bad news for Cena haters like myself. Of course, with Cena doing the job on free TV, the upcoming One Night Stand pay-per-view event is now primed to showcase another John Cena title retaining session.

The eight man tag match with The Hardyz and Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch facing Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Johnny Nitro and Kenny Dykstra was a highlight. A solid match - which is not always easy when you have so many competitors involved. I'm REALLY glad to see that The World's Greatest Tag Team will be featured in this Sunday's PPV. And in a ladder match, no less. Expect an excellent showing from these underappreciated superstars.

As for "Saturday Night's Main Event", (to quote my brother again), it ain't what it used to be. I've already revealed (I guess I'm a 'spoiler' after all) that Cena gets busted up. The Great Khali faces him in a one on one bout and actually squashes the champ! Think Cena's losing the title this Sunday? Not likely.

In other action, Finlay and Hornswoggle take on The Boogeyman and Lil' Boogeyman. Vince McMahon challenges Bobby Lashley in an Arm Wrestling Contest. Very strangely, there is a six-man tag featuring Umaga, Viscera and Kevin Thorn against Kane, Eugene (sporting his version of a Superman outfit) and Doink The Clown!

If you're thinking "what the?"...trust me, so am I. The best match, by far, is the tag team match featuring Edge and MVP VS. Batista and Chris Benoit.

On a side note, I must apologize to the world of "smarks" for Toronto's behaviour last night. Usually a heel-town (or at least a wrestling-savvy city), the crowd was quite markish last night.

Although I must admit that after the Handicap Match featuring Shane McMahon, The Great Khali, Umaga VS. Bobby Lashley and John Cena, tha T-dot wisened up. Although I'm certain that this did NOT make the air...after Cena and Lashley lost, Cena turned on Lashley in cheap-heel form and ended up getting 'dominated' by Blackberg suffering at the hands of a powerslam.

So actually, Cena got his ass handed to him three times! Either way, after "Raw" was off the air, Cena (in somewhat Hulk Hogan-like fashion) approached each side of the ring (without putting his hand to his ear) to garner a response from the audience still in attendance.

Boos to the right of him. Boos to the left of him. Boos from everywhere. We had redeemed ourselves. It was a proud moment for the city.

Finally, big props to indy wrestlers Tyson Dux and Ruffy Silverstein (the current LLW Champion) who appeared in dark matches for WWE last night. Before "SNME", Dux (sporting a new beard and mohawk look) took on Chuck Palumbo (if you're thinking..."he's still in the company?", you're not alone).

And Ruffy was in a "Raw" dark match tagging against The Highlanders. Needless to say, they both did the job. But it was good to see the local boys get some work on the big stage.

Actually...one more thing. In a highlight that is SURE to NOT make it on TV...Maria came out to address the crowd and host the "Kiss Cam" segment during a commercial break. As a particular couple (two girls!) were kissing, some dude pulled down the top of one of the chicks revealing a full fledged bare tit. An O indeed!

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