Random Tuesday Raw Thoughts

Random Tuesday Raw Thoughts

Man, is it just me or are they starting Tuesday earlier and earlier?

This is a wrasslin' post. That's called fair warning.

Watched Monday Night Raw at the Filthy Hippy's house last night. I really felt like they came off a solid show with a real clunker. To point of being bad, even. Definitely not the show I'd want leading into a pay per view.

In a comment in a previous post, Mr. Crockett said that just about any yokel could have put together last night's show, and I'm really kinda thinking any yokel did. I mean, except for Triple H and Batista, I don't feel like any particular angle got moved along at all in the Elimination Chamber match.

Although...I like the idea of jobbing Benoit to Batista, as much as it might have hurt my sensibilities initially. It builds Batista up, and it gives Benoit something to simmer over for a week, giving him someone else to gun for besides Triple H in the Chamber.

The pairing of Edge and Jericho didn't do a whole lot for me. If you're wanting to turn the screws on the Shawn Michaels/Edge feud, this was the time to do it, not in the twelve seconds during the big schmozz at the end of the show. It's simple. Have the ref go down in a bump. Make Edge unable to pin Jericho because of it. Michaels runs down to replace the ref, and let him cost Edge that win. I still don't know that it would work great, because none of the matches really meant anything.

I guess that's what bothers me more than anything. The matches didn't mean anything. We're just supposed to care because they're in the match. This whole competitions thing is a framework. Use it. Let the winners of the match get to come into the Elimination Chamber match after the person they beat in the match....

I won't comment on Randy Orton's win. I hate Randy Orton. I hate his push. I hate the fact that he's in the Main Event on Raw every week. I hate the fact that he gives the worst interviews of anybody in recent history, and yet he's given time to spew inanities every week. I do bring him up to bring this up: Is he wearing an earpiece? I kinda think he is, and it's why his right ear is facing away from the camera all the time. I got a glimpse when he rants and turns to face the camera. I think Randy's being fed lines. Wouldn't be the first time, but it makes it particularly bad when he stumbles when he speaks...he can't even say what he's being told to say.

Then you've got Mohammed Saddam Hassan's feud with J.R. and Jerry Lawler. I'll say this for Hassan and his squeaky little manager, they've managed to get a bigger consistent crowd reaction than anything else over the past few months in the WWE. Mr. Crockett pointed out that a Stone Cold return would be a satisfying payoff for the Hassan introduction (the crowd with the "What?" chants only stokes that particular fire.) Don't know if Steve's neck is up to it, but I agree it would at least be more interesting than feuding with the announce crew.

Why not feed Stevie Richards or Val Venis or one of the other Sunday Night Heat guys to Hassan to build him up? That's why they make jobbers. To feed to guys like Hassan. Let Jim Ross announce the show. Let Stevie Richards job. Talk about underutilized. They don't even let Stevie Richards job on Raw.

It's not a good way to start Hassan's tenure. I mean, where do you go if you don't whip the hell out of the announce crew, even if it's a legend like Jerry Lawler? It hurt Tazz, and I think it's going to hurt Hassan.

And what was with Coach's face/heel confusion last night? After he filled in for the "injured" Ross and Lawler, he didn't stay consistent with his character, the impetus of which was "I'm trying to replace Lawler and/or J.R." Do I cheer for good guys, do I cheer for bad guys? I don't care so long as you're consistent Coach, or at least smart in your inconsistency....

Not a lot else good on Monday Night Raw. I'm tired of Snitsky, who's just a misogynistic Psycho Sid. I'm tired of Eugene (he's jumped the shark, says the Hippy). I'm really tired of Maven. Give the boy a last name.. Even a made up one. Maven Jones. Maven Crazy (I like that one). Maven Stark. Maven Snitsky.

Ultimately, I guess I'm saying that last night's Raw was a bit of a turd. A step backward from last week's positive effort.

In closing, I'd like to comment on the couple of rumors I'd seen concerning Paul Heyman and the fact that the Raw writing crew balked at his coming to join their efforts from the Smackdown crew. The Raw crew, and the head writer (Brian Gewirtz, I think his name is), according to rumor, said no because Heyman would engender hostility between the Raw and Smackdown writing crews, and start competition between the two brands.

What the hell?

Why is that a bad thing?

I came to the sad realization that pro wrasslin' on the WWE scale of things hasn't been consistently good for four years now. WCW was dying when WWE started to falter. The Invasion angle opportunity was squandered, and badly. And with no competition, there's been very little reason for either brand to step up their game.

I say make competition between the brands. Even between the booking and writing crews. See who can make the better show. See if they can make anything better than what they've been putting out lately. See if they can draw a bigger audience than, well, guys like me who are going to watch regardless.

Guys, I'd settle for consistently mediocre. You haven't even been that for a while.

Get Heyman on a writing staff. Let him run a show. Let him engender as much hostility between brands as possible. Let them work to one-up each other every week. If only to make things interesting.

Or do the rumored Return of ECW show that's also been rumored. Give Heyman something to do. In my mind, he's the single best wrestling mind who's worked for the WWE in the past 5 years, and he's being wasted.

Anyway. This has been the wrasslin' post.