Check This Out...

5.06.2008

Tha Raw Report: Back In Tha T-Dot

Last night, "Raw" eminated from Toronto's Air Canada Centre and as per usual, Tha O Show was in attendance. Not together, however, as Big Daddy Donnie and I are playing up the heat we have on the independent circuit!

Speaking of which, the highlight of MY night was that I remained in character throughout the entire show. As a result, I managed to piss off every mark under the age of 12 that was in earshot of me. Every babyface they cheered, I booed. Every heel they booed, I cheered.

Even better, I absolutely insisted that everyone stand up and pay the proper respect to their king, William Regal. I did much the same when King Booker was in power and it seemed more fun then. But the aggravation I caused these kids made it all worth it last night.

I have to say, I love the way William Regal is playing his king character. Unlike previous kings (yes, perhaps Booker included), Regal is not a cartoon character. Clearly, he has yet to dawn a crown or cape. He is modern day suit-wearing royalty - not much different than his previous appearance - and he is no joke. That's just it. The difference is all in the attitude...and Regal's not taking anyone's shit anymore. I reiterate, I love it.

I told the Toronto crowd that they should respect King Regal or he'd turn the lights off again. They didn't listen.

I love the way that Regal literally heels on the ENTIRE "Raw" watching audience by purportedly bringing the show to a hault. This not only allows for him to generate feuds with virtually any competitor whose matches he interrupts but it's an incredible heat generator.

There is no better barometer than an arena filled with young marks. They HATE Regal! Having him as "king" on "Raw" is one of the best creative ideas the E - excuse me, Tha O Show...okay fine, DONNIE - has come up with in a while.

Of course, prior to "Raw", the Toronto audience got to take in matches for "Heat". Not much to speak of here except Kofi is definitely over and former Spirit Squad member, Nicky - now The Natural Nick Nemeth, hopefully has a promising future in his new not-so original gimmick.

Canadian Indy Superstar Phil Atlas worked, I mean, jobbed to Snitsky. It's unfortunate that this is all the audience got to see of him, but obviously he had a job to do: Put over someone who will never be over no matter what.

Inexplicably Highlander Robbie tagged with Charlie Haas to take on the never-going-anywhere tag team of Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Super Crazy in a losing cause.

Now before "Raw" started, Donnie remarked that he heard that there may have been a draft scheduled as members of other "rosters" were asked to show up on "Raw". Turns out the entire ECW "roster" was booked in the main event in one of those stupid punishment matches.

That being said, I hope there is NEVER another draft again. What sense would it make? Last night on "Raw", ECW's WWE Tag Team Champions (how much sense does that make?) took on Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels.

ALL of the "SmackDown!" Divas appeared for their Lumberjack Match (why did they drop the whole "Lumberjill" term?...or did they? I didn't see the broadcast).

CM Punk took on Randy Orton. And the aforementioned ECW roster worked the main.

Bottom line: there is no brand split anymore! Everyone appears on every show! Enough with trying to bullshit us into believing that WWE is like old school Major League Baseball. Interleague play is in full effect!

Anyway, to move away from that rant, I'm digging the Shawn Michaels injury angle IF it goes the way I think it will go. I know I'm writing out of chronological order here but screw the diva match and the Burchill squash. (Although I must shout out my hometown crowd for the chant "Let's Go Jobber!" clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!. I also liked that they brought in Mike Adamle for commentary. Kudos to WWE for utilizing the guy's real-life heat with fans.)

I HOPE the HBK injury is fake. As in, storyline-wise, Michaels is faking it and just doesn't want to get called out. You guys all know me and my desire to have "reality-based" storylines. It stands to reason that HBK used the injury angle to gain the advantage over Batista at Backlash.

Secondly, all fans know that when a wrestler is injured, he does what? Takes time off! So why would Michaels even be cleared to wrestle OR why would he agree to wrestle if his knee injury is so severe? Considering how Y2J is being positioned now, I don't see him as a heel.

Although a current "tweener", the Canadian Jericho, was clearly a babyface last night. WWE went so far as having him go over clean on Randy Orton in a post "Raw" match last night. Yes, Orton had already taken a pedigree (I'm sure the show went off air after his RKO to Triple H), but why else was the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship beat in a match for the not-so-coveted IC strap?

Because to Donnie's dismay, Y2J is over people. SO...I smell an HBK heel turn. I think it would be dope if Shawn and Chris go at it at Judgment Day only to have Y2J get screwed because he somehow begins to believe that Shawn is really hurt, lets his guard down, and Shawn superkicks him complete with a sly grin...similar to how he did Hogan a few years back.

Shawn is awesome either heel or face. But EVERYONE is better as a heel. I think it's Shawn's time again. He, by this point in his career storyline-wise, should be sick of having to answer to everyone about his actions. Be it, Batista, Chris Jericho or anyone else. Take that marks...prepare to start booing again.

I've coined a new term that I shall use in the following sentence. JBL is a great "put-overer". He puts over his heel qualities better than nearly everybody. And again, IF I get my way, he will have put over the FUTURE of the Hart Foundation last night.

By making clear to the audience - prior to squashing the kid - that the Canadian Bulldog, DH Smith is actually "Harry", Davey Boy Smith's son and Bret Hart's nephew AND claiming that the Hart Foundation is dead, I HOPE that Smith returns as part of a stable that includes all current Hart offspring on the roster.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to WWE. I paid my money for a ticket. Entered the arena to watch "Raw" live...and did NOT see John Cena one single time. Thank you ever so sincerely.

Pre "Raw" results:
Kofi Kingston def. The Natural Nick Nemeth
Hacksaw Jim Duggan & Super Crazy def. Charlie Haas & Highlander Robbie
Snitsky def. Phil Atlas
London & Spanky def. Cade & Murdoch

During "Raw" results:
Women's Champion Mickie James def. Beth Phoenix (Lumberjack Match)
Paul & Katie Lea Burchill def. John Cutler (Handicap Match)
Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho & Shawn Michaels def. WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz (Non-title)
CM Punk vs. Randy Orton (No Contest)
JBL def. DH Smith
ECW roster def. WWE Champion Triple H & Mr. Kennedy (Handicap Match)

Post "Raw" results:
Chris Jericho def. Randy Orton to retain the Intercontinental Championship


16 comments: on "Tha Raw Report: Back In Tha T-Dot"

Anonymous said...

Wow, dude, grow the fuck up. If you really have such a problem with this site, go elsewhere.

Big Daddy Donnie said...

Comment was deleted. No need for that kind of shit here.

As far as Raw goes... I was disappointed how quiet the live crowd seemed to be - and how typical they were with who they popped for and booed ...

I fast fowarded through my PVR version at home and found the crowd was really dead.

The show as a whole blew. Thank god I didn't pay for those tickets.

Dan-e-o said...

Hmmm...I didn't even read it.

No matter...there's no bigger pussy than a keyboard big shot.

I'm still waiting for the first person EVER to disrespect me to my face.

Christopher Casúr said...

That's becuase the kind of people who would man up and say something to your face are also the people who already respect you anyway.

However, I'm pretty sure Crazzy Steve will show you much disrespect when you and him lock up in an LLW ring.

By the way, O-sters, those of you who will be in or around the Hamilton area on May 31st, make sure that you check out LLW: Exodus! It's a dynamite supercard that is not to be missed!

Anonymous said...

I don't care what anybody else days - that Mike Adamle segment last night was hilarious. I realize he was probably reading directly from a script, but still . . . it was so over the top and INTENTIONALLY bad that I couldn't stop laughing. As soon as he said, "The Cutler did it," I knew the fix was in, and I loved it. I've always been a sucker for fucking with the crowd, whether its Primus not playing "Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver" live, The Melvins changing song tempos in mid-stride, or the WWE rubbing something in the fans'/smarks' faces.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. adamle is god.

Shammy_D said...

I actually enjoyed the show last night. I love the way Regal is working his gimmick right now and I loved the Cabana section, Hot Rod really landed it, especially the designated driver remark.

I know Cody is green as hell on the mic but he seems to be makin a genuine effort and the 'E' are settin him up for a singles run after they drop the titles to the Euro Superstars.

I didn notice how dead the crowd were, even for Jericho and Kennedy there wasn't much of a pop and they usually get a great reaction.

Dan-e-o said...

Damn! How could I forget about the Hot Rod?

Not sure what it sounded like on TV but most in my section gave the Hall Of Famer a standing O.

Anonymous said...

Without a doubt, Regal is the man as king. The heat he is getting is amazing. The O-ster's of the future will recall loathing Regal with every bone in there body.

Piper was funny as fuck. You can tell he had no script. Kinda made Carlito look bad on the mic though. His responses were lame ie: "Yeah...well we're the future tag champs..." Wack.

Cody does look like he's making an effort. I'm starting to get on his band wagon a little more, but he needs a finisher to be identified with.

When Adamle said "The Cutler did it" I cracked up. He's so awesomely bad. You think maybe this whole time he's been working us? Or that maybe he'll be a heel announcer? Regal seemed to align with him.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, and I think I saw Dan-e-o. It was like before Regal came out, at the very beginning, and they showed a section and I could have sworn it was Dan-e-o staring up at the Titantron.

Anonymous said...

I "O'd" big time when Piper mentioned that Santino needed to get a designated driver first.

Only place I can think of where that line would've gotten over more with the crowd would be right here in Tampa Bay.

Anonymous said...

@ skitlez

I think Adamle likely started off legit, but they're taking the negative feedback and working it into an angle. The good thing is, unless you really pay attention, you may not notice its an angle. Hopefully it will only be a short-term subterfuge while he brushes up on his wrestling knowledge, because even if you get the joke, it won't take too long to get irritating.

Anonymous said...

You should go back and watch the broadcast, dan. For me, it was one of the best shows of the year, top to bottom. I dont know what it was, but my eyes were glued to the screen for pretty much the whole show. Not sure how much different the broadcast is from the live product, but the show last nights show on tv was great.

I know your being hopeful with harry smith and jbl, but I think you're looking too far into it. Basically Smith is probably going to be jobber status for at least a few more years. It seems like the only reason they brought him up was for that steroid conspiracy/public image buffer. I think JBL just m mentioned the hart foundation to get semi-cheap heat in Canada. Also, nattie is working heel on smackdown, and they havnt even mentioned nattie and harry in the same sentence yet.

The "Rodney the piper" segment was classic. Can't believe they bagged on SantinO already for his dui. I think this is a sign that tino is liked backstage, as he received no punishment, and showed up on tv the next week. Cody actually showed a little charisma too for the first time. Just cant stand that lisp hes got.

Regal is gold. Y2J is in his element again it seems, I dont care what donnie says about that.

Good article, hope the show was fun live

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan-e-o! Gotta agree with everyone. The biggest O of the night for the O-sters would've been the Piper Segment.... Minus Cryme Tyme.

Good job though brother, Good Times!!!

-Hipster

Big Daddy Donnie said...

Santino did receive punishment. He was held off the Montreal house show.

What Hippy, you DIDN'T like hearin Cody Rhodes chant "Money - Money, YA YA"

Anonymous said...

Naw... you mean Rowdy Roddy YA YA.

I would've sided with Michael Hayes on this segment.... :D