iggymcfly

Shit, when I said that HHH would be the face, I certainly didn't mean that the smarks on the net would be cheering for him. I just meant that if they do things right, they'll have an easier time making Trips a face with the casual mark than than they would with Orton. Oh, and if they EVER team HHH and HBK together after all the shit they've done, I would fucking flip out.

Getting good ratings isn't complicated at all. All you need is an important main event storyline or match that's (usually) related to the title chase. Battle Royal for the #1 contendership? That will keep people tuned in. Title match? That will do it too. Even if Kane had hospitalized Matt, abducted Lita, and started to molest her while Benoit was trying to hunt them down, it probably would have kept people tuned in. However, Bischoff wants to keep HHH and HBK from fighting? That's not exactly going to keep casual wrestling fans glued to their seats.

HHH will turn face and for one good reason. He'll be coming off a four or five month absence when he gets done with his movie, and fans will be happy to see him. Orton will still be established as a hated heel which is pretty much all he needs to be able to do. I say that when HHH leaves, Orton takes control of Evolution and possibly even wins the World Title. Then when HHH comes back, he tries to take back control of the stable. At this point, Evolution splits in half as Flair sides with the veteran HHH, while Batista sides with Orton. Then, all they need to do to cement the face/heel status is for Orton and Batista to beat the shit out of Flair for being a HHH loyalist. In fact, if Orton doesn't have the title, Orton and Batista vs. Flair and HHH could make a pretty good PPV match.

Shawn hasn't actually been pinned by HHH since Armageddon 2002; he doesn't have a reason to give up yet. I'm sure the HIAC will give a decisive winner and mark the end of the feud.

You know I didn't realize it until tonight, but if you look at the matches they've had against each other, it actually makes sense that they're tied and need to decide who wins the feud. One-on-one: HBK wins (Summerslam 2002) Elimination Chamber: HBK wins (Survivor Series 2002) One-on-one: HHH wins (Armageddon 2002) Elimination Chamber: HHH wins (Summerslam 2003) One-on-one: Draw (Raw-December 2003) One-on-one: Draw (Royal Rumble 2004) Triple Threat: Benoit wins (Wrestlemania 2004) Triple Threat: Benoit wins (Backlash 2004) Despite having 8 major matches against each other in their 22 month feud together, they're actually still tied 2-2.

Rosey and Hurricane should be disbanded, not pushed.

He also worked fine with Brock and Big Show, and outside of Brock, Show, and Kane, I can't even remember another big worker he's faced in the last three years. Do you even know what you're complaining about.

All they need there is a really good video package the Raw before the PPV. They can let the feud move forward naturally now, and let the whole gravity of the situation that the HIAC is supposed to resolve be clarified later on.

Angle may not carry total stiffs to great matches, but Shawn doesn't either nowadays. And Angle's taken Edge to ****1/2, which is about a star higher than I can remember anyone else doing in a singles match. And in the aforementioned Vengeance match, he took Brock and Big Show to heights they couldn't have dreamed of otherwise. Don't get me wrong. I love HBK in the ring too. He's the only one who can give Benoit a serious challenge as best wrestler on Raw, but he just doesn't deliver the same kind of consistently great performances that Angle did.

All you have to do is see how much better Benjamin looked in the ring on Smackdown to see that the Smackdown Six were better on the basis of pure wrestling. Even though people on here tend to underrate him, Kurt Angle could bring up the level of those around him like no one else on the roster (including Benoit). That being said, the Raw X are still very good in the ring, and probably better than the Smackdown Six in the promo department. I haven't been watching Raw enough lately to make a full statement on the ins and outs of it, but the basic facts that I see indicate that while Raw may be a better show right now, (due to Kane, Eugene, Bischoff etc.), the Smackdown Six were definitely superior in the ring. Oh, and the Brock/Taker feud was tight until they did that shitty ending where they tried to transfer all the heat to the Big Show. Of course, I liked the Vengeance Triple Threat Match with Angle, Brock, and Big Show better than the main event at Wrestlemania so what do I know.

I really like HHH and HBK and even I got sick of them tonight. They should have cut a couple of their segments and done something more to start the Benoit/Kane feud toward the end of the night.

YAY! BENOIT!!

I've got to say, a handicap match against GARRISON CADE and JOHNATHAN COACHMAN wouldn't be that bad anyway. Eugene shouldn't even need his surprise partner.

I thought Regal could act. What happened.

So, someone tell me again how HBK and HHH are tearing the show apart. The only thing that really "screwed up the show" was the announcer's table getting busted up and that was Tomko, not HHH and HBK.

So, uh... I thought Raw was good now.

The ratings are gonna be a little bit lower tonight. They need to have some reason to stay tuned beyond waiting for a Eugene match. Oh, and Victoria's dancing is weak as fuck.

I hope Kane coming out means they're finally working on the Benoit/Kane feud.

Actually, I just checked the replay. Jericho didn't hit anything but table. Tomko may not have taken the monitors out, but at least he aimed right.

I just want to say that the time to give RVD the belt was at the 2002 Royal Rumble. Everyone forgets this, but after a Smackdown where RVD got screwed out of the title, he came out and cut a great promo on Jericho. He did show real anger, and everyone was looking forward to a great match between him and Jericho at RR. Also, at the time, RVD had tons of momentum as he had the cleanest win over Austin in the previous six months, was tremendously over, and was a serious main eventer in every way possible. However, they inexplicably pulled the plug on the RVD/Jericho program in favor of a shitty Rock/Jericho program where Jericho lost even more credibility by cheating every way possible, while RVD went back after the Hardcore or IC Title when he was completely ready to be elevated. It was the perfect time for him to get a one month title reign. At Unforgiven meanwhile, RVD hadn't done anything significant in months, the World Title was just being established, and HHH was still fresh off a heel turn. The only reason that the HHH reign tanked as badly as it did was the shitty writing, and choices of face opponents. No one can look good going against Katie Vick-era Kane, oiling up with Scott Steiner, or trying to build Kevin Nash up as a main eventer straight off the injury list.

I only played ESPN once and I didn't like it, but the one thing that I'd really like to see fixed for Madden is every other damn interception getting run back for a touchdown. It kind of takes away from building drives when half the points are scored on interception returns.

Yeah, those stipulations are too complicated for Eugene's small mind. They're better off this way, as Bischoff can try to get Regal to screw Eugene over, only for Regal to get an attack of conscience and win the match with Eugene after all.

Well, I'm a Mavs fan although I have always kind of liked the Lakers. I think NoCalMike's got the gist of the series right. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a legitimately good basketball team, to the point that they could probably sweep through the East, and may pose a threat to the Lakers. However, when the Lakers feel threatened, they're just that little bit better that will allow them to win the series. After winning four in a row against the Spurs, and then winning Game 1 in Minnesota, I would have been surprised if they had come out and played well against the T-Wolves. The Wolves just had their best most intense game of the season, and the Lakers were kind of like "Well, it's good that San Antonio series is done. Now we can just cruise to a title." Now, that they saw that the Wolves can play, the Lakers are gonna win the series in 6, and then they'll beat the Pistons in 5 to win another title.

My question here is simple. Who do you think should be the person to become World Heavyweight Champion on Raw? If he can get a good program going with Benoit, I really think Kane should win the belt. Here's why. On Raw right now, three of the four credible main-event level heels are in Evolution. Since Orton and Batista wont challenge for the title under HHH, that leaves HHH and Kane as the only heels that can main event a PPV. While a face vs. face battle will work occasionally, the vast majority of PPV main events pit a face against a heel. Thus, for the main events to vary, either HHH or Kane should eventually gain the title. Now as we all know, HHH has had three lengthy reigns recently, and is the only heel to be World Champion since the belt was institued on Raw. Letting him regain the title would be a gigantic mistake. Now Kane on the other hand, despite some recent misuse can instantly be a dangerous, psychotic, monster heel. He would not take any prestige away from the World Title if he won it at the July PPV after two months of feuding with Benoit. In addition, Benoit would still have plenty of momentum at the top of the card coming off a dominant four month title reign in a year where he won the Royal Rumble from the #1 position and made HHH tap out in the main event of Wrestlemania. It just seems better to let a heel have the belt while the challenger and champion both have momentum than to let the title matches get repetitive or worse, let some midcard piece of trash like Bradshaw start main eventing PPVs. The only other good option I see for the title is to let HBK defeat HHH, and then turn heel on Benoit by cheating to win the title. However, since HBK is one of the two people that Benoit beat to win the title in the first place, and also one of the few who have been on top with the title, having him regain the title would seem more like a step back than a step forward. While I know the smarks love Benoit, and his title reign thus far has been surprisingly successful, I think that it would be a good idea for this feud to end it and Kane to gain the World Title.

It's true that Kane's not ready to win the title, but I think he's close enough that with a month and a half of buildup, he should be. The way I'd do it is to have him lose on a Matt Hardy run in at Bad Blood. Then, he could flip out the next week on Raw, and destroy Matt solidly enough that he doesn't appear outside of a hospital bed for at least a month. Then, Kane would get a somewhat cheap win at the July PPV to win the title, and if the feud was built right, Kane and Benoit could blow it off with a gimmick match at Summerslam. With HHH leaving to make his movie, there are actually more fresh options for the title chase right now, as Orton or Batista could step out of his shadow to main event, so given how well Benoit's been doing, I'd cut off Kane's reign at one month, (hey, it's still a lot better than 24 hours), and let Benoit get quick feuds with Benoit and Edge before losing the title to Randy Orton at Survivor Series. Then, we could have an interesting dynamic as Orton would supplant HHH as the leader of Evolution, and seeing how well Orton's been doing lately, the eventual Orton/HHH PPV match might be a really good draw after all.