Raw a Delight
From what looked like the bookers taking the past two pay per views off, we have had two amazing TV shows in Smack Down last week followed by Raw tonight. For once in a long time I can actually say a network program was filled with superstars top to bottom. The addition of stipulations for the upcoming one night stand pay per view and allusions to future rivalries made this show very intriguing for the fans. This is the way these shows should be as the fans deserve to see best each night and should not be bogged down with matches featuring Super Crazy, Jim Duggan and the rest of lower tier wrestlers.
Backstage saw Katie Lea Burchill challenge Mickie James to the women's tile. This would add yet another great competitor to the women's mix as we have seen good things out of Burchill the past few weeks with her brother. This once again though puts a another good female wrestler into the heel camp and leaves the face side bereft of quality grapples. We may see Melina still getting ready to become face soon as tonight she attacked Beth Phoenix after Phoenix made short work of Maria. This would be a great feud as Melina knows how to hold her own and we have seen what Phoenix is made of. Things are looking good for the women's division as more and more talented ladies keep joining the fold. Even those who where not great ring performers have raised their game due to this influx of talent.
In the role of great cross promotion it looks like we will see Santino will take on Jimmy Kimmel's cousin Sal. This came about due to Santino crashing Sal's birthday party which featured Roddy Piper. Santino tonight did one of his "great" impressions of Piper tonight and had Sal in the ring in order to make him apologize for smashing a cake in Santino's face. Of course Piper showed up and the joke was on Santino as he took the cake, literally, again. Now I usually am against lame crossovers in the entertainment world but this one can be fun. Santino has been the clown prince of Raw and this future match will only allow him to further his antics. Plus you know Piper will intervene and it's always good to see Hot Rod in the ring.
We've speculated on the future of William Regal on this sight and it seems the future may be wide open for him. Finally he and Kennedy met in match but it had a stipulation placed on it by Vince McMahon. Vinny Mac was upset due to the ratings drop when Regal is on the air, and as he stated he has no love of Kennedy. So he stated the loser would be fired. Regal tried all his tricks, including making the match no DQ in the middle of the match, thus invoking his GM powers. He tried to use his patented brass knuckles, but Kennedy countered with the Mic Check and won. This opens the door first to who will be GM, as we saw both Teddy Long and Ted DiBiase hanging around backstage. Also we can look for Regal to still bring his reign of terror as the King of the Ring. Look for him to seek revenge against Kennedy.
To keep the Shawn Michael's, Batista and Jericho story alive we saw Jericho face Batista tonight for the right to face HBK at One Night Stand in a stretcher match. The match itself was good and it saw Batista win. Had to figure this was coming as Batista right now is in limbo on Smack Down. I'm still not sure if this feud has any legs as they have tried to make this work since after Mania. They keep adding to the plot, but each new addition really does nothing to fan the flames. Also it should be interesting what they do with Jericho for the pay per view. Will they leave him out like they did with Batista at Judgment Day, or will he find himself in the match at One Night Stand? It looked like he would end up back with Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental title, but that looks like it may not be happening soon.
The reason why is Hardy will not face Jericho as he first has a match against Umaga. This will be a falls count anywhere and should be a great way for Hardy to return to pay per view action. This match against Umaga was great but ended in a count out so there is unfinished business here. It was good to see Umaga back in major action. I have stated my love for this guy in the past as he is a solid worker. You can place this guy into any situation and you know you will get a great result. I know there have been questions about his role and a response by Vince was they are working on something. I would love to see him get a major push on one of the brands this summer as he deserves to be rewarded for his efforts. Also it's great to see Jeff performing at a high level after the suspension. Hopefully he can put his demons behind him and keep clean so we all can enjoy another great title run by him.
For the main event we saw a major stipulation for One Night Stand, as John Cena and Triple H teamed up against Randy Orton and JBL. If Triple H and Cena won they would face each other in an extreme match of William Regal's choice. If Orton and JBL won they would get rematches from Judgement Day with the stipulation of their choices. The tag mix was excellent as we saw all the competitors run into the ring in order to help manipulate the match to their liking. It was finally Orton who missed his head kick on Triple H but knocked out Cena who was administering the STFU on JBL. This broke the hold and allowed JBL to get the pin. Of course the action did not stop there. JBL would close line Triple H and Orton then would RKO him. With both H and Cena out the matches were announced for One Night Stand. JBL announced a first blood match with Cena and Orton will face Triple H in a last man standing match. Look for both of these matches to be brawls with plenty of blood.
Backstage saw Katie Lea Burchill challenge Mickie James to the women's tile. This would add yet another great competitor to the women's mix as we have seen good things out of Burchill the past few weeks with her brother. This once again though puts a another good female wrestler into the heel camp and leaves the face side bereft of quality grapples. We may see Melina still getting ready to become face soon as tonight she attacked Beth Phoenix after Phoenix made short work of Maria. This would be a great feud as Melina knows how to hold her own and we have seen what Phoenix is made of. Things are looking good for the women's division as more and more talented ladies keep joining the fold. Even those who where not great ring performers have raised their game due to this influx of talent.
In the role of great cross promotion it looks like we will see Santino will take on Jimmy Kimmel's cousin Sal. This came about due to Santino crashing Sal's birthday party which featured Roddy Piper. Santino tonight did one of his "great" impressions of Piper tonight and had Sal in the ring in order to make him apologize for smashing a cake in Santino's face. Of course Piper showed up and the joke was on Santino as he took the cake, literally, again. Now I usually am against lame crossovers in the entertainment world but this one can be fun. Santino has been the clown prince of Raw and this future match will only allow him to further his antics. Plus you know Piper will intervene and it's always good to see Hot Rod in the ring.
We've speculated on the future of William Regal on this sight and it seems the future may be wide open for him. Finally he and Kennedy met in match but it had a stipulation placed on it by Vince McMahon. Vinny Mac was upset due to the ratings drop when Regal is on the air, and as he stated he has no love of Kennedy. So he stated the loser would be fired. Regal tried all his tricks, including making the match no DQ in the middle of the match, thus invoking his GM powers. He tried to use his patented brass knuckles, but Kennedy countered with the Mic Check and won. This opens the door first to who will be GM, as we saw both Teddy Long and Ted DiBiase hanging around backstage. Also we can look for Regal to still bring his reign of terror as the King of the Ring. Look for him to seek revenge against Kennedy.
To keep the Shawn Michael's, Batista and Jericho story alive we saw Jericho face Batista tonight for the right to face HBK at One Night Stand in a stretcher match. The match itself was good and it saw Batista win. Had to figure this was coming as Batista right now is in limbo on Smack Down. I'm still not sure if this feud has any legs as they have tried to make this work since after Mania. They keep adding to the plot, but each new addition really does nothing to fan the flames. Also it should be interesting what they do with Jericho for the pay per view. Will they leave him out like they did with Batista at Judgment Day, or will he find himself in the match at One Night Stand? It looked like he would end up back with Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental title, but that looks like it may not be happening soon.
The reason why is Hardy will not face Jericho as he first has a match against Umaga. This will be a falls count anywhere and should be a great way for Hardy to return to pay per view action. This match against Umaga was great but ended in a count out so there is unfinished business here. It was good to see Umaga back in major action. I have stated my love for this guy in the past as he is a solid worker. You can place this guy into any situation and you know you will get a great result. I know there have been questions about his role and a response by Vince was they are working on something. I would love to see him get a major push on one of the brands this summer as he deserves to be rewarded for his efforts. Also it's great to see Jeff performing at a high level after the suspension. Hopefully he can put his demons behind him and keep clean so we all can enjoy another great title run by him.
For the main event we saw a major stipulation for One Night Stand, as John Cena and Triple H teamed up against Randy Orton and JBL. If Triple H and Cena won they would face each other in an extreme match of William Regal's choice. If Orton and JBL won they would get rematches from Judgement Day with the stipulation of their choices. The tag mix was excellent as we saw all the competitors run into the ring in order to help manipulate the match to their liking. It was finally Orton who missed his head kick on Triple H but knocked out Cena who was administering the STFU on JBL. This broke the hold and allowed JBL to get the pin. Of course the action did not stop there. JBL would close line Triple H and Orton then would RKO him. With both H and Cena out the matches were announced for One Night Stand. JBL announced a first blood match with Cena and Orton will face Triple H in a last man standing match. Look for both of these matches to be brawls with plenty of blood.
