RAW 10/16
RAW took place in Los Angeles on Sunday, and was taped to be shown on TV Monday night as the crew took off for a tour of Japan right after the show. The show was solid, with some of the new feuds getting more steam as well as some celebs in the crowd getting involved, which at times was pretty funny. You can't tell me that Kevin Federline getting heat was not one of the more memorable moments on RAW over the last year. Nothing like a no-talent that gets way too much pub getting jeered as much as any major wrestling heel. It was entertaining as well as original for the product, which the show lacks at lot of weeks.
The two major plot lines for the show was the push forward to the upcoming main event feud between DX and Randy Orton and Edge, and the other push was for the title bout that will happen at Cyber Sunday between John Cena, King Booker and the Big Show, which while we all know will have no formal ending, should be a solid match none the less. The main event of the show was a singles match between HHH and Randy Orton, which was a good match, and one that the two have been working at house shows for a few weeks already. These two had a long program when HHH was the heel and Orton the face after they gave Orton the title back two summers ago. Those matches were okay, but now with Michaels and Edge in the mix, these by all rights should be better. The offense was crisp, though I would have liked to have seen Orton get a bit more in, but trust me, that will come down the road.
The other solid match on the card was a fatal four-way intercontinental match with Jeff Hardy vs Shelton Benjamin vs Super Crazy vs Chris Masters. Hardy has done a nice job with the belt so far, and I think that if they keep it on him for a few months, it will make the belt mean a lot more than just its usual shifting back and forth from mid-card guy to mid-card guy. I know that for CS they are planning on having the fans pick Hardy's opponent, and I hope that they go with either Carlito or Benjamin, two guys that would give Hardy a very good match. Word is Carlito is the guy likely to get the shot.
Cryme Time made their debut, and you can see that they will have the tag belts within the next month or so. They are pushing the breakup of the Spirit Squad hard, with Kenny getting all mad at the end of the match and going after other members of the team. I can't believe how over Cryme Time is though, it really is amazing that a few comedic TV spots and they are cheered all over the place. Their interaction with Booker backstage was pretty good as well.
The K-Fed stuff with Nitro, Melina, and then Cena was also very well timed and funny. Everyone knew that in the end, that Mr. Spears would get the F-U, and I thought that the whole segment was well done, with that bit of PPV feel to it. You don't normally get celebs that are willing to take a main event move like Federline did, and I will give him total credit for going out there, knowing he would get booed, then taking the move. For as much as I think the guy is a joke, it takes some guts to do what he did, and for that, I will give him credit.
The segment with the two guys from "Jackass" was also pretty funny. Having Steve-O get beat down by Umaga was great. I know that the on-line freaks are all mad that Steve-O was laughing during the whole thing, but come on, if you've ever watched or seen the JA movies, you know that these guys take beatdowns for a living and keep coming back, so this was pretty well done. Give Umaga credit as well for handing out some pretty stiff shots as well.
That was about it for the highlights of the show. SmackDown was taped at the show as well, and you can see more of the same when it comes to celebs and what not Friday night, as well as the last match for Mystero for awhile and a title match between Booker and Batista. A solid two hours, and some good build for the 11/5 Cyber Sunday.
