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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Raw thoughts and ITVR note

First the ITVR note - due to a prior commitment tomorrow night we will be broadcasting Thursday evening. Be sure and tune in then for us chewing over Raw thoughts in more depth than I'll be going into here, as well as Backlash predictions.

Meanwhile - some Raw thoughts to tide us over:

  • I enjoyed John Cena and Edge both last night - I find it interesting that John Cena's on the receiving end of the boo birds again despite the fact nothing has changed in his gimmick between his comeback (when he got some major pop going on) and now. But he delivered a decent promo and a decent match; Edge's interference at the end of the match and the 10-count which Cena didn't answer was effective in pushing the importance of the Last Man Standing stipulation in their match at Backlash.
  • Similarly WWE did a good job playing up the dynamics between the Legacy and the Shane McMahon-Triple H-Batista team throughout Raw. Some signs of Ted Dibiase Jr. doubting his leader Randy Orton, as well as some hints of dissention - as well as of things being smoothed over - on the face team. It will be interesting to see what's red herring and what's honest foreshadowing of heel and face turns to come - Ari and I will discuss that in more depth tomorrow - but the fact that I as a longtime wrestling fan can't tell if any turns are going to happen, and if so which ones, I think that's pretty impressive.
  • The Santina-Santino segment was comic gold, with Santino talking 'live' to his 'twin sister', where the tape ended up speeding up and he spoke of her love for Red Bull, etc. Good stuff. I can't wait to see the inevitable kiss between Santina and the Great Khali.
  • I'm glad the Raw announcers addressed the non-enforced draft situation I've complained about a couple of times, and I'm at least somewhat appeased that my suspicion was correct - it's mainly because Backlash will blur draft boundaries anyway. Hopefully they are back in full force come Monday, and brand lines are again crossed only in special circumstances. Otherwise there's really no reason to continue with the brand extension.
  • Lastly - I enjoyed Chris Jericho's promo, Rick Steamboat's responding promo, and I'm looking forward to their match at Backlash. A bit disappointed after the response/sendoff Steamboat got the other week that he's getting back in the ring, but this is hardly a Ric Flair return - he made no promises of not comign back, and he can still go. It should be an interesting, and passable, match.
We'll talk about all this and much more in depth on Thursday in our podcast right here In This Very Ring, folks. Be sure and tune in then. Be well.

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