Raw Preview 4/30/07

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I like that Kennedy is upfront saying hes gonna save the MITB title shot for WM 24..BUT..you almost know at somepoint he's gonna lose it in a briefcase vs ??? match.

[theintensifier 0]

Taker had a reasonably good match with Khali at JD last year by bumping around like a freak for Khali's shitty offense. Cena is a better bumper and seller than Taker, and also times his comebacks better than Taker. I'd be surprised if the match isn't at least decent.

 

This sh*t could surpass Khali/Candido.

 

KOAB - That's what I'm talking about.

[slimm44 0]

Again the crowd was split for Cena, mostly women and children cheered him, until Khali came out, then everyone got behind Cena.

[cabbageboy 0]

I've noticed that with Cena. When he used to be on SD he was almost totally cheered because he was facing scrubs that nobody could possibly cheer (early Carlito, Bradshaw, Dupree). When he faces guys with actual credibility and fanbases (Angle, HHH, HBK, even Jericho) he gets dumped on. So now I guess the solution is not to just job him and get the belt off him, but have Cena face guys on Raw that nobody can possibly take seriously (Umaga, Khali).

 

As far as RVD jobbing, yeah I knew it was going to happen. Anyone jobbing to Umaga at this point is silly though, since as that one sign said last night on Raw "Umaga's 3 minutes are up." Umaga's character arc is something condusive to the typical Hogan fat jobber from the 80s or a typical UT feud in the 90s: Build up some monster heel, have him beat down Hogan or steal the urn, then Hogan/UT beats his ass and sends him packing. They build Umaga up as a monster, jobbed him to Cena and Lashley...now send him packing.

[Hawk 34 0]

Why the hell would you do that to one of the better workers in the company? If we went by your theory, Kane would have been discarded quite some time ago. Umaga is hardly damaged by losing to John Cena and Lashley. He's still a good big monster ass kicker. You still got some great matches left for Umaga beyond the McMahon program, it would be criminal to get rid of Umaga.

[RedJed 0]

I agree - Umaga is not anywhere near the point to just "let go" on - they need to sustain him as a credible heel upper card guy, since realistically, there isnt enough to go around.

 

Anyway, solid show last night. Booking has been very together as of late, and tie in with the fact that more pure wrestling is being pushed on these shows, and you get an overall enjoyable two hours.

 

Judging by last nights show, I would assume the Raw matches on Judgment Day would be Orton v. Edge rematch (or perhaps HBK v. Edge?), Carlito v. Flair, and Cena v. Umaga. That leaves Michaels in the cold but he could just as easy be the special ref for the WWE title match, or something.

 

Rest of that ppv would likely consist of three other SD matches (Taker/Batista HIAC, London/Kendrick v. D/D, Benoit v. MVP) and an ECW match (either RVD v. Vince or Burke v. Punk)

[cabbageboy 0]

Okay I found one more thing Umaga might be useful for once this Vince/ECW stuff blows over. He can tag with Khali as the New Colossal Connection.

 

I am dreading that possible Vince/RVD match if RVD doesn't sign. If you're Van Dam why even agree to this shit when it can only hurt your potential value elsewhere to be jobbed out and buried? Surely there's some minor surgery he could have that would let him ride out the next 2 months.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

You're really on RVD's nuts, aren't you?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

One comming thing I noticed while reading this thread at work: People realize the ECW PPV no longer exists, right?

 

Anyway, I thought that was a good show even with Khali being a bit of a let down. It was wrestling focused and despite a certain Khali mark's hate towards it, I thought Umaga vs RVD was pretty good especially considering I was expecting squash city. The sleeper hold was awesome, too. Sleeper rest holds = bad. Sleeper holds used an offensive maneuver while stuff is still happening (in this case Umaga fighting passing out and eventually breaking it) = good, classic wrestling. I thought the ending was cool despite the fact the physics didn't make sense - I attribute that to the spot being mistimed. The way RVD turned in the air, I assume he wasn't supposed to land completely - maybe near him while Umaga picked him up from the ground? That doesn't sound that plausible either, but it was "interesting", let's go with that. Orton vs Edge was good and I actually felt bad that Orton is in the doghouse after it ended. I think doing Khali vs Cena now is good too - get your worth, whatever it may be, out of this then stop using Khali in important angles. I didn't want to see him stinking up Mania 24 with Cena. The almost FU spot was pretty cool.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'm thinking they're going with Cena/Khali at JD because they've got, at least for the moment, Undertaker/Batista in a Hell in a Cell match as the main event, and can afford to put what is sure to be a sub-par match as the semi. It gives them the chance to hold off on Cena/Michaels III for a little longer.

[Exslade ZX 0]

One comming thing I noticed while reading this thread at work: People realize the ECW PPV no longer exists, right?

Personally, I still think it exists. (If you're referring to One Night Stand) in the same way that Backlash and Judgment day are both 3 brand PPVs, but Backlash still obviously seemed like a RAW PPV, with SD matches (even more signified by the red ropes...) and Judgment Day will be like a SD PPV with RAW matches. I think One night Stand, while it will have RAW and SD matches, will be focused on ECW/the ECW title...or at least it would have if Lashley hadn't gotten hurt. But I still think it will be that way.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

3.6

 

That is not a good number coming out of a PPV.