The OAO Raw Homecoming Thread

[godthedog 0]

i haven't watched raw in a very long time, and haven't followed the boarding around it, so this may be a really stupid observation, but:

 

john cena has evolved into COMPLETELY ripping off the rock. his entrance is like EXACTLY the same. he does the same little things to get the crowd into it (not just the 5-knuckle shuffle). strangely, it kinda works, even though he doesn't have the rock's sense of timing.

 

i only caught the last 2 hours, but sweet jesus was this a boring ass show. soooooooooo muuuuuuuuuch wasted time, especially on intros and shit.

 

the austin/mcmahons segment is one of the most painful things i've ever seen from beginning to end. there was no drama, no suspense, no surprise, nothing funny. at all.

 

the flair/trips thing was fine. the beatdown went on a little too long, but it was a good idea.

 

ladder match was rushed, but good enough. hardy & edge really aren't capable of conveying any depth to a match, but they tried their damnedest, and it was entertaining.

 

the smackdown segment was a complete waste. you just DO NOT go through all the intros like that and cut the match off completely without giving us some kind of satisfying payoff (and the finale was not a payoff).

 

legends/conway segment was fucking useless. did nothing, was terribly written, terribly executed.

 

bischoff was on the show way too much. angle could've been included by the end in some way that DIDN'T involve a stupid "eric wants a no-DQ stip" story.

 

bra & panties match was fine. did what it was supposed to do, and at least it wasn't boring.

 

what really hurt the show, above and beyond any individual segment, was that they just didn't mete out the time properly. dragged in all the places that it shouldn't have, felt rushed in all the wrong places. just a piss poor, very unprofessional management of time that made the whole presentation feel very bush league and like they didn't know what they were doing. it astonishes me that this company can have such fantastic advertising and video departments, and still be so inept on basic presentation. if you're gonna put fucking posters all over new york next to posters of "the 4400" and "flightplan" and shit, you'd better make sure that your product looks as professional as those do. this did not.

[Darthtiki 0]

I'll admit two hours would have been sufficient. Also I would have changed segments around as well for pacing. Not the shittiest Raw ever, but not as great as it could have been.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I just watched the Austin/McMahon segment and damn Linda took the Stunner REALLY BAD what a bitch. I loved Shane and Steph looked hot.

[Guest Rrrsh]

Could someone ban Choken (I mean KNK) already from the WWE folder. He is such a bitch and just whines and compalins in EVERY SINGLE OAO. It ruins the whole thread.

 

Plus, we all know its Choken, and he was banned for a reason.

[Fökai 0]

Anyone else screwed by their PVR/DVR/Tivo/Capture Card?

[Guest JesusJuiced]

Jesus, I knew that Austin segment went long but 25 minutes?

 

That's 25 minutes without commercial whilst Angle/HBK had either 2 or 3 adverts in their half hour Ironman.

[Silence 0]

Jesus, I knew that Austin segment went long but 25 minutes?

 

That's 25 minutes without commercial whilst Angle/HBK had either 2 or 3 adverts in their half hour Ironman.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The Ironman also ended with a draw in what was supposed to be the "rubber" match between Angle and HBK. Bullshit on WWE's part. I know it didn't happen on a PPV, but still, "rubber" matches shouldn't end in draws just to surprisingly build for another match between them with a conclusive winner.

 

The Stone Cold/HHH segments went on way too long.

[Fökai 0]

The specific confrontation with Austin and Linda went nearly SIX minutes from theme music to stunner.

[2GOLD 0]

Shane's crazy ass entrance was the only positive of the whole Austin-McMahons angle. That and watching Linda totally screw up selling the stunner. Way to spin COMPLETELY out of the way Linda.

 

Stephaine looked hot but she still needs to shut up something bad. Her voice drags her down everytime. It's like seeing a smoking hot woman and then hearing a man's voice, it just kills it. Shill and loud is just as bad.

[Guest JesusJuiced]

Another good point about the segment... Shane actually sold a move.

 

Of course, now we're meant to believe one stunner is more devistating than falling 50 feet from the rafters.

[Guest Biggles]

First off they had organized a very poor show, they had a chance to introduce a bunch of new viewers to what the WWE is doing right now and try to show that in a favourable light, instead they showed what the WWE used to do.

 

Now at first that almost makes sense, show the people all the old names that they know in an attempt to make them watch the show. That probably worked. But now, next week when they tune in, expecting to see Hogan and Foley and Austin they are going to be hit with Cade and Murdoch as the tag champs, people they;ve never heard of, Shelton Benjiman, who they;ve never heard of and a whole bunch of other people, who they've never heard of.

 

The WWE should have used this as a mix of bringing in one or two big stars of yesteryear. Foley and Austin would be my choice because unlike Hogan they haven't been about in a while and would have made more impact. Then they should have showcased the new talent that viewers have never seen before. They already know who HBK, Kurt Angle, Edge, Matt Hardy, HHH and Ric Flair are. They brought out Masters and Carlito for a match which was good and they introduced Rob Conway which was also good, but it wasn;t enough.

 

First off people will be thinking, why the fuck is Ric Flair the IC champ and since when was he HHH's best friend, considering how big Orton and Batista are (two guy's new viewers also wont know) wouldn;t it have made sense to maybe show a quick video package or at least mention Evolution and tell the stroy of Evolution, it would have let new viewers see how the current storylines have come from and made them a little familiar with these guy's the have no clue about, one of which is the WHC!

 

In the tag match they didnt mention once that Flair beat Carlito to win the IC strap and that was the reasoning behind the match.

 

Considering John Cena is the WWE Champion he should have been out at the top of the show and introduced himself as the Raw Champion, saying something about how if you tune into Raw every week you'll see Johnm Cena this and John Cena that, making it known that he is the main player on Raw, that wasn't put across at all during the show.

 

There should have at least been one mid card match, or a tag match featuring Cade and Murdoch, but it's obvious the tag division doesn;t matter seeing as though there wasn't even a mention of the tag division.

 

The Homecoming was about beggining a new era and showing a potential new audience what the WWE is about today, and they completely 100% failed in doing that.

[chaosrage 0]

It really turned to shit after the ladder match, but the first half was amazing. A great iron man, a good ladder match (with a perfect ending), and a fun Austin segment is enough to make me forgive everything that happened afterwards.

[notJames 0]

For a show that was overhyped as a homecoming supershow, it fell way short of the mark. Too many old-timer segments when they really should be building on the guys that are actually going to wrestle week after week.

 

Not to nitpick any further than everyone else has, but during the Ironman match, after every pin, the guy should have immediately went for another pin. That didn't happen once, as far as I can remember. Just seems like logic would dictate doing that, especially considering how long the guy on the mat stayed down after the other one rolled off him. In fact, why roll off him? Is that a rule no one ever talks about? Just saying.

 

And the look on that little girl's face after HHH's "heel turn" was priceless. Is everyone in Dallas that naive? "Ohmigod! Triple H hit Flair! Why would he do that to his best friend? He's never done anything like that before!" Un-fucking-believable.

 

The rest of the show (apart from the ladder match) was utterly forgetable. And did anyone else get a lot of pixelation and interference during the show? Quite annoying. Not a good way to usher in a new era of the "same-old same-old". And not for nothing, but if they tease another RAW v. SD! feud and don't follow up... what am I saying? Of course this is what will happen. Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose.

[Guest MikeSC]

Angle went after HBK's ankle relentlessly. That was pretty much all he did. Just about every spot --- especially from the 15 minute mark until the end --- was targeted towards slapping on the anklelock. If he did anything that didn't attack the leg, he'd immediately target the ankle right afterwards.

 

HBK sought to keep away and hit him when he could. HBK did not look even remotely dominant, just as a "plucky" fighter who basically counter-punched. He got a fluke pin to break up Angle's pretty dominant ass-kicking for the last half of the match.

 

The story was as clear as the story in tons of other matches.

 

Shawn, for once, actually told a story and actually sold in the manner so many critics have bitched about him failing to do for a long while now. The match made perfect sense to me and I expressed the very simple story to you.

 

If you disagree, so be it. I don't care enough about it to worry.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

By your own account, Angle worked on his leg for 15 straight minutes and the "story" of the match was that HBK was still able to no sell all of that at least three separate times with nip ups and two different flash versions of SCM. The last one leading to what would have been the decisive fall had time not expired.

 

So, let's recap. . . Angle DOMINATES Michaels throughout the length of the match, consistently works over the ankle, and yet still looks like he would have lost if there had been just two seconds more in the time limit. Anyone but Shawn would be villified for that kind of bullshit, but HBK gets away with it because he's "plucky" or has "adrenaline bursts". It sure must be nice to be the only undersized guy in the company who can do that EVERY single match, and then be praised for telling a great story. I just don't get it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If anybody else had a quick one-shot KO spot like Michaels does (which, sadly, most guys do not), then it'd be perfectly acceptable.

 

Shawn sold the ankle the whole time. Actually re-watch the match.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Against my better judgment, I tuned in Raw. They failed to keep me. Like I said before, they pretty much hurt themselves featuring Austin, Hogan, etc so much, because now the returning fans/new viewers will expect to see them every week which they won't get.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

The HBK Vs. Angle Iron Man was probably the best of their 3 matches due to the fact that the match wasn't as fake-looking, poorly sold, or ridiculously contrived as WM 22, and also that it was a draw, since I don't think either man is superior.

[chaosrage 0]

Not to nitpick any further than everyone else has, but during the Ironman match, after every pin, the guy should have immediately went for another pin. That didn't happen once, as far as I can remember. Just seems like logic would dictate doing that, especially considering how long the guy on the mat stayed down after the other one rolled off him. In fact, why roll off him? Is that a rule no one ever talks about? Just saying.

 

Shawn's first pinfall came out of nowhere with the inside cradle. Right after both of Angle's two points, it went to commercial but when it came back Angle was still holding on to his ankle trying to make him submit. After Shawn pinned Angle with the SCM, he immediately slid outside the ring so Shawn couldn't pin him again.

[RedJed 0]

I won't go into a huge diabtribe but I thought the show was much better than what we would expect from any other Raw, and hell, this came off like a really strong ppv to be in terms of having two really good matches in the Ironman and ladder match. Each segment seemed to have purpose and they turned up things a little more to be more intense with some of the segments (I suppose playing to the "we're back on USA and are uncensored" thing). The HHH-Flair angle was GOLD if you ask me. The last 20-25 minutes was kind of off from the SD match angle to the end of the show, I would assume because they knew they were running late (from the Austin segment?) and they were rushing through everything there from the last 3 segments or so. But other than the Austin/McMahon segment, which started ok but then got totally stupid once Linda came around, the show as a whole was strong by my standards tonight, and I seemed to have a high standard for the show going into it.

 

So yeah, I felt like they did hit a home run here considering more than anything those two extremely strong matches.

[Fökai 0]

Like I said before, they pretty much hurt themselves featuring Austin, Hogan, etc so much, because now the returning fans/new viewers will expect to see them every week which they won't get.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Point taken.

 

Still, they can counter that with a hot angle to start off the show, which is what they'll probably do with Teddy Long showing up to RAW again. Coming off of that, the second segment can introduce the fans to Shelton or the tag champions. Everyone else worth a damn was featured tonight.

[humongous2002 0]

Different channel, same shitty RAW. Everything was going fine until Orton's gay ass song interrupted the Foley/Piper segment and everything went downhill after that. But most likely Raw homecoming will get high ratings and then we'll see the return of Austin versus the McMahons part XX.

[Guest Fook_Theta]

Shawn sold the ankle the whole time. Actually re-watch the match.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He sold it, then stopped, then sold, then stopped, then sold. He was never consistant at selling in his fucking career, although atleast in the past he would do alittle bit more with bobbling around on one leg. Watch it again and laugh as he switched legs at one point from the hurt one being 'hurt' to the ok one being 'hurt.' The entire room I was watching with erupted in laughter when Shawn got on his knees for an extended time. YOUR KNEE IS FUCKING ABOUT TO BE RIPPED OFF AT THE LIGAMENT DIPSHIT! Everyone knows the first rule of good wrestling is selling. You can make anything look decent with a good sell.

 

Should have ended the match for when he went for a sloppy Superkick Angle catches it in an Anglelock that he just cranks it on for, followed by the immediate 3rd fall. Then if they still wanted the technical 'draw' they could have had the time run out just as Shawn is tapping out. Angle knows he made HBK tap out so he just walks up the ramp not wanting to give HBK a chance at winning.

 

Slightly more sensible, but still pretty stupid.

[Guest Biggles]

Against my better judgment, I tuned in Raw. They failed to keep me. Like I said before, they pretty much hurt themselves featuring Austin, Hogan, etc so much, because now the returning fans/new viewers will expect to see them every week which they won't get.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Exactly, they were depending too much on what they were good at 5 years ago, instead they should have focussed on what it good now, they didn't do that.

 

Even if they had included even a little more of the lesser known current roster is would have made it better. The actuall wrestling matches, well the tag match, iron man match and ladder match were entertaining, I enjoyed them, it's just the booking and the handling of the whole event that really sucked, and it ruined the whole thing.

[cabbageboy 0]

I too wondered what was up with that opening segment. I mean your first segment on USA and you have RANDY ORTON of all people interrupt Piper and Foley? Aside from it being, you know, Randy Orton the guy isn't even on the show.

 

The Austin segment was fun up until the point where he interacted with Linda. I found that really bizarre, tasteless, and it soured me on the whole bit. They need to realize that stuff like Austin stunning Vince and Shane is hilarious, but Austin stunning a middle aged woman like Linda isn't amusing. It reminded me of when he stunned Stacy Keibler for no good reason.

[RedJed 0]

I thought the Orton appearance was one of the highlights of the show. Totally didnt see it coming and it builds to what might be a really interesting tag match there. Piper and Orton Jr actually against each other for nostalgia's sake is kind of cool.

[humongous2002 0]

Don't tell me Foley returned to Raw just so he could try to get Orton over as a heel again??

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Between the Iron Man and looking like a buffoon in the main event, they killed any chance of Angle being seen as a credible threat to Cena. And they are trying to get two more PPV main events out of this feud! Cena's been dead in the water since he left Smackdown, where like him or not, at least JBL had some credibility.

[Jericholic82 0]

I guess homecoming means a throwback to crash tv. 20 minute long austin-mcmahon segments (check), opening interview (check), "heel turn" (check), short main event (check) I felt like I was watching 1998 for a while (actually I loved how vince mentioned his first clip of austin and kept calling it february 1998, when it was clearly feb 1999-the saturday raw in skydome before the valentines day ppv)

 

I dont think the austin-mcmahon thing will lead anywhere, it was probably just on as a throwback to the old days on their return to USA.

 

and yea I also got plenty of pixilation and interference on my tv as well.

 

 

one question, how come now that Torrie is a heel, she is horrified to be in her underwear and bra? I mean before she was always so willing to take it off (and candace too) I guess there goes wwe logic: If youre not a complete slut, youre evil.

 

 

I did watch the raw special afterwards and it was pretty good, using basically the same top 10 moments as the RAW 10th anniversary show. The owen segment had me near tears.

[Guest *KNK*]

Don't tell me Foley returned to Raw just so he could try to get Orton over as a heel again??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

He returned for the $$$. Simple as that, Foley might have gotten creative control of his storylines but if they tell him "put Orton over again", Foley won't protest it when he sees his bank statement.

 

I was hoping Mick wouldn't be a hypocrite after spending months praising Samoa Joe and CM Punk as the future of the business and yet pass on TNA which offered him a good enough deal that it made Vince paranoid and apprently has returned to work Orton again as opposed to the other options he could've used, such as Punk.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I liked when only RAW superstars were standing in the ring and suddenly Batista entered the ring and he just fucking crushed Viscera with a big Spinebuster and he was Heel Batista for like 5 seconds. Then all RAW guys looked at him and he was standing there like "bring it on" and for a second everybody thought he could do it. They shouldn't have had Big Show kick Batista away like a ragdoll but have Batista whoop Show's ass, throw Angle out, Masters Spinebuster, Benjamin Batista Bomb and then Cena throws Batista out and they stare each other down to a huge pop.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

My thoughts:

 

- It was a decent show, they could have done better since most of the crap went on way too long.

 

- Marked out for most of the legends especially Dibiase

 

- Well, it was only a matter of time before Gonzo came back, but it was a nice 3 month break.

 

- Seeing how SD got fucked over, I hope they re-book the 6 man tag match for tonight's show.

 

- Totally excited about Austin / Hogan now that they're going to do it.