Meltzer's comments on tonight's Raw

[Guest Army Eye]

From wrestlingobserver.com:

 

Make no mistake about it. Whatever last night lacked, tonight more than made up for in spades. Even before they did the ambulance angle, the verbal confrontation with Hulk Hogan and Rock was an incredible piece of work. I almost wish, unless they've got something thought of, that they had saved the second part of the angle for either directly after the match at Wrestlemania to keep it going. Either way, this was like the Vince-Austin thing in Philadelphia, an angle that turns things around. How long is anyone's guess, but Wrestlemania is a lock.

 

For those on the West Coast who haven't seen the show yet, people will be talking about this one 20 years from now.

 

It appeared there was a fight in the stands during the HHH vs. Kurt Angle match since you could see the crowd with its back to the ring, big, as in huge pops clearly not for anything going on, and the big booing spot, no doubt for the arrest. You have to give both guys credit for pulling out a match as good as they did with that working against them.

 

 

Very high praise from Meltzer.  And I'd say I agree.  It's a couple hours later and I'm still not thinking about anything except the NWO/Rock stuff.  Right after it all happened I felt like it was one of those moments you'd remember for years to come, like the original Hogan heel turn, Austin challenging McMahon to a match for the first time, HIAC 2, ECW reunion, etc.  

 

Everything was just done so well tonight.  Hogan and Rock were both so good on the mic.  It was Hogan's 'return' promo after not being in the WWF since 1993 (yes I know he talked a little last night) and he did not disappoint.  Rock did a great job building up the match, not just as a good guy vs. bad guy, but as a legend vs. legend match.  The new guard vs. the old guard.  All of a sudden Wrestlemania seems like a huge show.  Then the beatdown and ambulance angle, I felt the same magic that I did in '96-97 WCW.

 

One of the best things about tonight's angle, and what made the original NWO run so great, was that the crowd was just SO into it.  When was the last time we had a crowd that hot over anything?  When you can tell that the people are hanging on Rock and Hogan's every word, it's just a great thing to see.  Give a lot of credit to both men.  Two of the best ever at getting a crowd riled up.  Watch Hogan tonight and he knows exactly how long to milk the moment, before giving his "yes" to taking the match vs. Rock.

 

I have nothing negative to say in this post.  Not easy to do on a smark board, but tonight I'm all mark, baby.

[Guest Tony149]

I don't know if I would compare it to Vince-Austin from '98, but the nWo/Rock angle was very well done. It really helped that the crowd was into it. Hopefully the WWF is able to follow up with some better stuff to keep the angle from going stale.

[Guest Brian]

They're a threat. That's what we needed in the InVasion angle.

[Guest Human Fly]

Sometimes I can't understand Meltzer. I kind of expected him to say something about how the angle was "tasteless" or something like that. He sometimes seems to forget that wrestling is wrestling and is over the top. Glad he wasn't taking himself to seriously about tonight.

[Guest Some Guy]

It was more like Austin/Mike Tyson IMO.  A huge mark out moment that didn't lead to a 3 year feud, like Austin/Vince.

[Guest Army Eye]

I don't know if I would compare it to Vince-Austin from '98, but the nWo/Rock angle was very well done.

True, but we won't be able to have the perspective on this one until the angle is all said and done.  Vince/Austin definitely led to one of the best feuds ever, and I think it still holds my title for best Raw ever.

[Guest Downhome]

They're a threat. That's what we needed in the InVasion angle.

You are right about that...

 

...and just imagine if THIS was the Invasion angle the first time around. We have Hogan, Hall, Nash, DDP, Booker T, Flair, and all the rest of the WCW guys they signed...

 

...my God, it could have been magical!

[Guest Brian]

They could have had a split.

[Guest J*ingus]

Coulda shoulda woulda.  The InVasion sucked and died, let's move on.  

 

I absolutely loved the promo segment.  "WHAT!" "-chu gonna do?" was brilliant, I had no idea that Hogan could improvise like that.  "Andre the Giant, God rest his soul, was 700 pounds," and JR making fun of the lie.  Damn, it was so great that it wasn't until Hogan sloooooowly climbed out of & back in the ring that it's still, ya know, Hulk Hogan in there.  (On the other hand, it's oddly comforting to see Hall and Nash almost breaking Rock's neck with their sloppy-ass powerbombs.  I've missed these guys.)  

 

Wrestlemania is really loading up on the smark fantasy matches, isn't it?  Rock-Hogan, Flair-Taker, and probably Jericho-HHH and Austin-Whole Lot Of Interesting Possibilities.

[Guest goodolemr]

Actually Jingus, I thought Hall did the Razor's Edge fine. It was Nash who couldn't pull off his move correctly. Strange, considering the Jackknife would seem to be the easier of the two moves to pull off.

[Guest goodhelmet]

"Strange, considering the Jackknife would seem to be the easier of the two moves to pull off."

 

but you see, Nash hasn't changed his ways. He's still too lazy to even do his finisher right. It is not a powerbomb anymore. It's the lazy bomb.

[Guest El Satanico]

Damn i'd hate to see what would happen when WWF puts on a show that is good all the way through.

 

If a rather boring show with one pretty good part gets people to make a mess of their pants. A show that was good from beginning to end would send people into convulsions and foaming from the mouth.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Coulda shoulda woulda.  The InVasion sucked and died, let's move on.  

 

I absolutely loved the promo segment.  "WHAT!" "-chu gonna do?" was brilliant, I had no idea that Hogan could improvise like that.  "Andre the Giant, God rest his soul, was 700 pounds," and JR making fun of the lie.  Damn, it was so great that it wasn't until Hogan sloooooowly climbed out of & back in the ring that it's still, ya know, Hulk Hogan in there.  (On the other hand, it's oddly comforting to see Hall and Nash almost breaking Rock's neck with their sloppy-ass powerbombs.  I've missed these guys.)  

 

Wrestlemania is really loading up on the smark fantasy matches, isn't it?  Rock-Hogan, Flair-Taker, and probably Jericho-HHH and Austin-Whole Lot Of Interesting Possibilities.

I always thought Smarks wanted matches with great workrate?

[Guest benoitrules2000]

What the fuck is wrong with you people, that fucking confrontation between rock and hogan was the most insanely boring twenty minutes i'v ever sat through, I fucking hate the rock and hogan and your all a bunch of fucking hypocrites.

 

Your all the same bunch of people who have hated hogan for so long and now your all sucking his dick, you all hated meltzer now he's suddenly right about everything!

On top of this stupid segement which was only partly saved by the beatdown on rock, hhh has to ruin wrestlemania again. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wake me up when benoit returns.

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

--The beatdown was good, but then it dragged on and on and on and on and......you get the picture.

--not 1, but *2* 20-minute promos.

--the wrestling *sucked* (when there was any).  The only decent match was the main-event, and it was only average at best.

 

Overall, an underwhelming Raw, IMO.

[Guest Mad Dog]

Nash really needs a new finisher.  I mean it's stupid letting him use the power bomb when his knees are in such bad shape.  That's mostly why the move always looks like crap.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

What the fuck is wrong with you people, that fucking confrontation between rock and hogan was the most insanely boring twenty minutes i'v ever sat through, I fucking hate the rock and hogan and your all a bunch of fucking hypocrites.

 

Your all the same bunch of people who have hated hogan for so long and now your all sucking his dick, you all hated meltzer now he's suddenly right about everything!

On top of this stupid segement which was only partly saved by the beatdown on rock, hhh has to ruin wrestlemania again. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wake me up when benoit returns.

And you think a Benoit promo wouldn't bore people to death???

[Guest The Mighty Damaramu]

Hmm...I enjoyed it. The blowoff match will suck but the staredown was cool.

Nash is Nash.....what do you expect!?

[Guest EdBootyManTheDiscipleLeslie]

I thought HHH vs Angle was pretty damn good actually with some nice

near falls and a clean ending. The nWo segments were very entertaining

too. What do you guys want anyway? For every match on every TV

show to be ****? When did that ever happen? The most you can expect

on TV for the most part is a solid main event with a few entertaining

segments.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Is it too much to ask for wrestling on a wrestling show?

[Guest WWF4Life]

I enjoyed the confrontation between The Rock and Hogan immensely. It made for excellent TV. No offense to Benoitrules2000, but nobody will ever care as much for Benoit as they do these two guys. Benoit's an awesome wrestler no doubt, he just can't hold the attention of most WWF fans. It would be pretty brutal if Benoit ever had to complete a 20 minute solo promo...

[Guest Kinetic]

Is it too much to ask for wrestling on a wrestling show?

If that's really what you expected from the WWF, you would have stopped watching a long time ago.  The wrestling always, *always* takes a backseat on RAW and Smackdown (to a lesser degree, usually).  It's been like that for as long as I can remember.  So, to answer your question:  No, it's not too much to ask.  It's just pointless.

[Guest alexcc79]

I thought the Rock/Hogan promo was badass for one simple reason.  These are not two wrestlers, but two ambassadors to wrestling.  Austin is the business right now, but when the wwf is slow, Hogan and the Rock will be able to stay in the public eye, whereas Austin is a wrestler first.  Hogan and Rock is the kind of match that the entertainment shows will talk about because it is not just two wrestlers, but two celebrities.  That match WILL boost buyrate among non-diehard fans.

[Guest Army Eye]

I thought the Rock/Hogan promo was badass for one simple reason.  These are not two wrestlers, but two ambassadors to wrestling.  Austin is the business right now, but when the wwf is slow, Hogan and the Rock will be able to stay in the public eye, whereas Austin is a wrestler first.  Hogan and Rock is the kind of match that the entertainment shows will talk about because it is not just two wrestlers, but two celebrities.  That match WILL boost buyrate among non-diehard fans.

Yes, I think that's what they were thinking here, two guys who not only can have the crowd in the palm of their hand, but have mainstream appeal.

 

The eventual Austin/Hogan match should come at the end of the NWO angle, whenever that is, depending on how much 'legs' the angle has.  It should be the equivalent of WCW's Sting/Hogan.  Either at Summerslam or Survivor Series this year, or Wrestlemania 19.  That match would be another epic, the two biggest drawing wrestlers in WWF history.