Wwe Raw 1/26/2004

[NateDog]

Not sure how many wrestling fans exist on ENWorld but I had to start this thread about RAW because it's the first one in a long while that I was excited about after watching


High Points:

1. Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus/Christian
I think this plotline progressed very nicely with Jericho giving up a title shot to stop the Trish Stratus v Kane matchup. His reaction when Trish said they could be "really good friends" was priceless. I think that the Jericho/Christian tag team is not going to be around after next week.

2. Chris Benoit on RAW
I don't go to many of the rumor sites anymore, so this one caught me completely by surprise. I'm a big fan of Benoit, and while I'm not sure whether he'll beat Triple H or Shawn Michaels, I'm glad to see them shuffling the rosters a bit. Which leads me to ...

3. Undertaker
With the gong at the Rumble and the TitanTron display, it's rather obvious that The Phenom is coming back to deal with his brother soon (most likely at WrestleMania). Curious to see how dark he'll be when he puts in an appearance.

4. Goldberg/Lesnar
With Lesnar's interference in the Rumble match, and Goldbergs promise that Lesnar is next, it would seem that Goldberg is likely to jump to SmackDown in the near term. While Goldberg isn't a technical wrestling dream, I think he and Lesnar could have an entertaining match.

5. Mick Foley/Randy Orton
This part of the show was the most interesting for me as we got to see Foley tap into that darker part of his personality and give one of the best promos I've seen from him in a long time. Not sure when this feud will culminate, but count on everyone seeing a much darker side to Randy Orton after it's over. Unfortunately, to show this side I think Foley will end up taking one of the more impressive beatings we've seen in his career.


Low Points:

1. Theodore Long
I can't express how much I personally hate this gimmick. I know that it's the point and normally I can appreciate when someone does their job, but this gimmick needs to go away

2. Jackie Gayda (aka Miss Jackie)
I like T&A as much as the next guy, but I thought she had a future as a wrestler. With her actions tongiht (flashing Rob Conway) and the Playboy rumors, she seems to be throwing away her ability to be taken "seriously" as a wrestler.

3. Coach (aka Jonathan Coachman)
Jeebus, please go back to being a commentator on Sunday Night Heat. I don't want to see you in a match, I don't care if your Bischoff's boy, just do your commentating and get the heck off my TV.


Random thoughts:

I like Lita, but she needs to either wrestle taller women or wrestle some of the guys, because her size difference makes moves like the head scissors look like crap.

If Triple H is "our champion" then call it the RAW Championship, not the World Heavyweight Championship

Overall I give it a solid 4 out of 5.
http://raw.wwe.com/results/012604/results.html

 

[KenM]

I think with Benoit/ Goldberg going to different shows, they are getting ready to move some people from Raw to Smackdown and vice versa. They have been doing that on occasion to try and keep it fresh.

 

[NateDog]

I think with Benoit/ Goldberg going to different shows, they are getting ready to move some people from Raw to Smackdown and vice versa. They have been doing that on occasion to try and keep it fresh.

So, besides The Undertaker (probably), who else do you think they'll move?

Also, looking at the two rosters, I'm struck at how many more people are listed on the RAW roster and how there is a notable average size difference between the two. While this made sense when there was a unified champion, now that they are two separate programs, I think there should be a more diverse mix with perhaps the exception of the women (RAW) and cruiserweights (SmackDown)

RAW
http://raw.wwe.com/superstars.html

SmackDown
http://smackdown.wwe.com/superstars.html

 

[DMScott]

1. Chris Jericho/Trish Stratus/Christian

I'm not real happy with this plotline. I guess WWE are doing it to create some kind of high school soap opera for the younger crowd, but everybody in it is an entertaining wrestler so I'd prefer it if they were spending their time wrestling. I assume this is leading to a Jericho/Christian feud, which has the potential to give us some fantastic matches, but the route they're taking to get there isn't helping either of them. And the women's division isn't so full of talent that they can keep Trish out of the title picture for very long, especially since she's developed into one of the best workers among the women.

2. Chris Benoit on RAW
I don't go to many of the rumor sites anymore, so this one caught me completely by surprise. I'm a big fan of Benoit, and while I'm not sure whether he'll beat Triple H or Shawn Michaels

I fully expect Benoit is shifting to deliver a five-star main event match at WrestleMania in order to pad Triple-Hogan's resume. Be nice to see Benoit getting more of the spotlight and he guarantees a great match against anyone, but the whole thing smacks of backstage politics.

3. Undertaker
With the gong at the Rumble and the TitanTron display, it's rather obvious that The Phenom is coming back to deal with his brother soon (most likely at WrestleMania). Curious to see how dark he'll be when he puts in an appearance.

I kinda preferred biker-Undertaker, but the video makes it look like he's coming back as a zombie. I've never been a big fan of either him or Kane, but UT has been trying to deliver better matches the last couple of years, gotta give him credit.

4. Goldberg/Lesnar

This is another backstage politics-inspired match. Goldberg has to be seen as a monster to be credible, and HHH won't allow that, so Goldberg-HHH was pretty tepid. Goldberg-Lesnar will be fun if they keep it short, but the sort of guy Goldberg really needs to feud with on Smackdown is an Angle/Guerrero type who can cover Goldberg's shortcomings in a longer match and make Goldberg look like an unstoppable monster.

5. Mick Foley/Randy Orton
This part of the show was the most interesting for me as we got to see Foley tap into that darker part of his personality and give one of the best promos I've seen from him in a long time.

Foley showed why "old school" wrestling didn't require a steroid freak physique for success in that promo. But they've gone down this route before (i.e. when Foley decided Mankind couldn't beat Triple-Hogan, so he switched to Cactus Jack... and still got beat), no matter how hard Foley works at making it great the booking and the other guy's reaction are going to make or break the feud. Orton's a good young guy, but I dunno if he's ready for this kind of program yet.

 

[NateDog]

I'm not real happy with this plotline. I guess WWE are doing it to create some kind of high school soap opera for the younger crowd, but everybody in it is an entertaining wrestler so I'd prefer it if they were spending their time wrestling. I assume this is leading to a Jericho/Christian feud, which has the potential to give us some fantastic matches, but the route they're taking to get there isn't helping either of them. And the women's division isn't so full of talent that they can keep Trish out of the title picture for very long, especially since she's developed into one of the best workers among the women.

I understand what you're saying, I think other than the soap opera aspect, though, that it was probably done to accelerate Jericho's apparent face turn. The only thing I'm wondering about is how does this help Christian's career? I mean, he's already an established heel, short of him beating the crap out of Trish, I don't really see him getting more heat as a heel.

Also, isn't Jericho married in real life? I mean I've flipped trhough the Unscripted book and a quote about his wife is on the back cover.

Agreed on Trish's status as one of the best workers amongst the women.

I fully expect Benoit is shifting to deliver a five-star main event match at WrestleMania in order to pad Triple-Hogan's resume. Be nice to see Benoit getting more of the spotlight and he guarantees a great match against anyone, but the whole thing smacks of backstage politics.

I'd like to think that even with Triple H's stroke backstage, he (or theMcMahons) could see that the fans are tired of him as champion and that they would probably go nuts if Benoit won. I'm hoping for a Benoit win, though like you, I'm doubtful

I kinda preferred biker-Undertaker, but the video makes it look like he's coming back as a zombie. I've never been a big fan of either him or Kane, but UT has been trying to deliver better matches the last couple of years, gotta give him credit.

I like the biker Undertaker, but there was something cool about his original look that I think would be nice to see for this one feud, though not on a regular basis.

For the record, I don't like Kane without his mask. It's not the idea that bothers me, just the way it's been done.

This is another backstage politics-inspired match. Goldberg has to be seen as a monster to be credible, and HHH won't allow that, so Goldberg-HHH was pretty tepid. Goldberg-Lesnar will be fun if they keep it short, but the sort of guy Goldberg really needs to feud with on Smackdown is an Angle/Guerrero type who can cover Goldberg's shortcomings in a longer match and make Goldberg look like an unstoppable monster.

I think that the Goldberg must be seen as a monster thing is just as much Goldberg's fault as it is the bookers (both in WCW and WWE). Also, it's rumored that Goldberg is leaving after WrestleMania, so why it's probably politically motivated, it could also be the WWE wanting to get it's use out of him while they can.

Foley showed why "old school" wrestling didn't require a steroid freak physique for success in that promo. But they've gone down this route before (i.e. when Foley decided Mankind couldn't beat Triple-Hogan, so he switched to Cactus Jack... and still got beat), no matter how hard Foley works at making it great the booking and the other guy's reaction are going to make or break the feud. Orton's a good young guy, but I dunno if he's ready for this kind of program yet.

I too, don't feel Foley will win in this feud, but most of his career has been spent making other people look better by getting his butt kicked. I think they've been hinting at Orton's mean streak, but that this feud will highlight it, and hopefully lead to Orton breaking away from Evolution. Time will tell if he can pull it off.

 

[ASH]

I dont see how the Trish/Christian/Jericho angle is much different than the Miss Elizabeth/Hogan/Macho Man fued of the 80's. That was a huge angle that was very very popular.

 

[KenM]

I dont see how the Trish/Christian/Jericho angle is much different than the Miss Elizabeth/Hogan/Macho Man fued of the 80's. That was a huge angle that was very very popular.

I agree, they also did a the same type of storyline a few years ago with Angle/ Steaphine Mc./ HHH.

 

[AlphaOmega]

I agree, they also did a the same type of storyline a few years ago with Angle/ Steaphine Mc./ HHH.

nice to see some solid wrestling commentary... I've watched on and off, mostly on, since '96...

this is somewhat sidetrack from monday's events... but what I'll always remember about the whole Steph/HHH saga was when they renewed their vows and H turned... the look of scorn on Steph's face was priceless... demonic even...

 

[KenM]

I have a feeling Steph. and Shane will be at Wrestlemania.

 

[ASH]

Shane I would be happy to see at wrestlemaina.. But for somereason Steph just bugs the hell out of me..

I agree about that whole angle with the HHH and Steph marriage vows thing. I loved watching him verbally bash her... It was great. But I do not really like HHH.
I really love jericho, and christian though.. I dont know if its the fact that they can still do wrestleing moves with out tearing a vital muscle or something, or if its because their charisma extends beyond there tone of voice.. They are damn funny guys...

(thank god Christian cut his hair.. he looks so much better)