Other Raw Thoughts

THE MATCHES ...

Were actually decent for the most part. Don't get me wrong; they weren't all technically stellar, or high-flying or any of that. But every one of them pretty much was entertaining, and due to the draft, served a purpose. When was the last Raw about which that could be said? The only unfortunate blemish here was the (I believe) real-life injury sustained by Melina in the diva's tag team match ... although some excellent Diva action until then (again - when was the last time ...?).

THE ANNOUNCING ...

Was superb, especially considering every announcer worked with at least one or two different partners over the night. Lots of amusing jokes at the expense of Mike Adamle, but otherwise they all seemed at ease and comfortable, and the one clearly tense moment - JR's draft over to Smackdown - was essentially irrelevant due to JR's being a pro and doing his job despite his clear disappointment at the move.

THE ANGLES ...

Were intriguing. I have to admit I thought folks as brilliant as Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels could have come up with better than the ole "Shawn isn't really a good guy look at all the people he's turned on" trick, but these two are still good enough to make even that interesting. My one mixed review: the 'set falling on Vince, injuring him' angle. First the negative: CLEARLY bad taste. We are not one month removed from a stagehand at TNA being killed by a falling set at the Impact Zone; we are not quite twelve months removed from the "Vince is dead" kayfabe/shoot angle that was cut short by Chris Benoit. Vince should not be pressing such sensitive buttons so quickly - especially out of respect for the dead ring hand.

That said - Triple H's involvement, Vince calling him "Paul" (his real name), and the potential for mistakes to be learned from in a second go-round of an aborted angle (for starters, the whole Vince not supposedly being dead thing) might make this salvagable, and even quite entertaining, if the bad taste can be gotten past (which in wrestling, depends on how the angle is pulled off - if it IS quite entertaining, we will all 'dance, monkeys, dance' - however, the political incorrectness of this storyline will be amplified if not done right). Another plus - thus endeth the Vince McMania $1,000,000 giveaway which has unfortunately dominated far too much of my Raw viewing time the last 3 weeks. Although it's unfortunate that had to happen only after some of the most entertaining giveaway sketches ever - Khali yelling at the phone after he and Vince McMahon were assumed to be telemarketers and hung up on by one contestant was priceless - perfect timing and right on the money for his character.

So here's hoping for WWE to be finally getting it right - two weeks out of the last three, and for a few pay-per-views now, they've shown us they're capable of it. Hopefully between the draft and a very intriguing (though un-PC) angle, we're in for a treat as the summer heats up. *I* can't wait.