fazzle 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Just got home from the Raw tapings, I'll try to remember shit in order, but it might be a bit muddled up, seeing as how I just FINALLY finished driving. Pre-show/Heat matches Brian Kendrick beats "The Natural" Nick Nemeth (with nameless bodyguard) with a small package. Snitsky squashes Super Crazy DH Smith beats...someone whose name I can't remember. I seem to recall his last name being Owen. Don't remember the first. Charlie Haas jobs to Drew McIntyre after a Northern Lights suplex. Charlie's new(? maybe not new? I don't watch Heat) gimmick is him claiming to not want anything to do with being part of the Entertainment in WWE, just the Wrestling. Then halfway through the match he goes under the ring and comes out with a lucha mask on, doing full on comedy spots. Mildly amusing. Hardcore Holly over Trevor Murdoch with the Alabama Slam. And with that, it's time for Raw to begin! Video package opens the show talking about how Randy Orton is the greatest Raw superstar of 2007, and then Randy is in the ring, saying that his 2008 will be even better than his 2007, and will leave the year just how he enters it, as the WWE champion. Hardy interrupts, claims to have momentum on his side, and Orton comments that so did Jericho, HBK, and Cena. Orton promises to show Jeff how quickly momentum can change, goes to hit the RKO on him, but it gets countered into a Twist of Fate. Opening match is HBK vs. Ken Kennedy. Kennedy's mic is hanging above the ring the whole night, but he never gets to use it. Kennedy, however, does get to pin HBK *cleanly* after ducking the SCM and hitting a downward spiral for the win. Jeff backstage, when Matt Hardy comes up and says that he's planning on returning to action at the Rumble, and asks Jeff for the first WWE title shot after Jeff wins it. Umaga squashes Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a Royal Rumble Qualifying match. Vince interrupts a HHH interview to announce that if HHH loses against Flair in any way, he won't be allowed to enter the Rumble match, and then sometime later (not in the same segment) he tells Regal that he wants Regal to prove himself to him, and to administer some "tough love" to Hornswoggle in a match later. Beth Phoenix over Mickie and Melina in a triple threat Women's Championship match. Beth pins Melina with the fisherman's buster. JBL makes his grand Raw debut. And by "grand" I mean...really freaking long. And loud. And long. And really really really fucking loud. Easily the loudest pyro I've heard at a wrestling show. JBL comes out with full entrance, limo, balloons dropping from the ceiling, and just stands in the ring as the pyro shoots off at FOUR different times. Finally he talks about how he can buy whatever he wants, etc, until Jericho runs down and they have a pull-apart brawl. JBL yells at the refs backstage about how he came to Raw to save the show, and he gets treated like crap. Hornswoggle vs. Regal goes to a no-contest, apparently, as Regal has second thoughts and refuses to beat up Hornswoggle. Vince gives Regal the brass knux and demands that he hits Hornswoggle, but Regal doesn't. Vince then says that Regal isn't the man he thought he was, and to get out of his sight until he becomes that man again. Santino Marella defeats Jeff Hardy by CO after Randy Orton appears on the Tron and gives Matt Hardy the Kick O' Death, and Jeff runs backstage after him. Backstage moment where Flair tells HHH that no matter what happens in the main event, HHH will always be Flair's best friend, and that he doesn't want HHH to hold anything back. Flair beats HHH by DQ to eliminate HHH from the Rumble. Good back and forth match, with the crowd hating everything HHH did (after giving him good pops the whole rest of the night.) Flair eventually gets HHH in the Figure Four, and the crowd is eating up that HHH is about to tap, until Hunter eventually reaches the ropes. Then he IMMEDIATELY hits the Pedigree after getting up, in such a bullshit move. Regal runs down after this, and punches Flair in full view of the ref to get HHH intentionally DQed. Post-Show match is Jeff Hardy/Jericho over Orton/JBL when Jeff pins Orton with the Swanton. JBL never got into the match. Edit: Also mentioned during the commercial breaks, RAW ROULETTE returns next week! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisMWaters 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Why do I see McMahon having yet another WrestleMania match, this time against Triple H? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RedJed 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Why do I see McMahon having yet another WrestleMania match, this time against Triple H? Either that or HHH will win the elimination chamber. Otherwise, I give Hunter all the props in the world for making a point of trying to be as strong of a company guy right now as possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GCWPatrick 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Charlie Haas jobs to Drew McIntyre after a Northern Lights suplex. Charlie's new(? maybe not new? I don't watch Heat) gimmick is him claiming to not want anything to do with being part of the Entertainment in WWE, just the Wrestling. Then halfway through the match he goes under the ring and comes out with a lucha mask on, doing full on comedy spots. Mildly amusing. I'm having Blue Blazer flashbacks...this is a good thing(obviously excluding the final appearance of said gimmick). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Heh, I was just thinking "they need another Raw Roulette" after seeing clips of the wheel on the Raw DVD. Is it hypocritical of me to hate TNA's overbooking of gimmick matches but love a one night Roulette gimmick on Raw? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Heh, I was just thinking "they need another Raw Roulette" after seeing clips of the wheel on the Raw DVD. Is it hypocritical of me to hate TNA's overbooking of gimmick matches but love a one night Roulette gimmick on Raw? It would be only if two weeks after the Roulette night RAW featured FOUR Battle Royals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarvinisaLunatic 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 It can only be Raw Roulette if Bischoff comes back...or at least get Kahli's Bischoff look-a-like.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk 34 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Why do I see McMahon having yet another WrestleMania match, this time against Triple H? Either that or HHH will win the elimination chamber. Otherwise, I give Hunter all the props in the world for making a point of trying to be as strong of a company guy right now as possible. The idea of the EC match is for the last six men eliminated in the Rumble to be involved. Now, in a great sign of near TNA laziness, WWE is doing TWO "heel authority figure blocks the top face from the title shot and rumble but only for said face to get title shot by some measure" angles. It's the default angle for this time of the year and it's tiresome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Yeah I don't see HHH vs. Vince at all because even Vince knows that no one on earth would buy him having a shot at HHH. I'm sick of all the Vince bullshit in terms of him attempting to wrestle because at the end of the day he can't win any of these feuds, since that is quite literally he himself burying his own top talent. I don't think SD is doing this same sort of angle. Vicki is tormenting Batista to some extent but he isn't getting the WM title shot anyway, and I don't recall him being barred from the Rumble. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk 34 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 I think Edge will probably end up ducking UT as much as he can on the way to WM. It shouldn't be that at all. It should be Edge charging after UT wanting to end the streak. UT should be champion as well but WWE wouldn't do that. They couldn't possibly do something fresh for a change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Chaos 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Man, how did Kenendy bag a clean win over HBK? Michaels must be in a festive mood or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanks for the Fish 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 So instead of being a masked Mr. Wrestling, Charlie Hass becomes a masked Mr. Sports Entertainment? There is a Blue Blazer vibe to his gimmick - at least they're going something with him. Interesting in that it seems to be a shoot gimmick of sorts. Nick Nemeth is back? Considering he had a bodyguard on Heat, you have to assume it's more than playing jobber. I don't care about Snitsky or sSuper Crazy so I'll skip that Heat match. DH Smith is back, but with a slow burn push - I still think they should call up TJ Wilson and have a British Bulldogs v2.0 tag gimmick. Regal going babyface? If McMahon is going to have a match at WM it could be against Regal. I would have killed to see Regal pound on Horny if it lead to a Finlay/Regal program. Why isn't Regal wrestling anymore anyways? I thought HHH brought him over to elevate him - Maybe we're looking at a HHH vs Regal match at Royal Rumble since Regal cost HHH the Rumble spot. VKM could make the match because Regal's interference saved Flairs career sorta deal. I'd love to see Regal vs HHH because I think HHH would allow Regal to look strong and that would go a long way in estalishing Regal as an upper card player. Kennedy going over clean is interesting but necessary. I like the downward spiral finisher when there is the twisting motion rather than the straight back face plant type. At least umaga got a win, though Hacksaw Jim Duggan should retire already. The Hardy/Santino match finish is something relatively different. Sounds like a pretty solid offering. I don't know how many will be around to actualy watch it though. Hey maybe that's why HHH and HBK both did jobs on the show... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fazzle 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Regal going babyface? If McMahon is going to have a match at WM it could be against Regal. I would have killed to see Regal pound on Horny if it lead to a Finlay/Regal program. Why isn't Regal wrestling anymore anyways? I thought HHH brought him over to elevate him - Maybe we're looking at a HHH vs Regal match at Royal Rumble since Regal cost HHH the Rumble spot. VKM could make the match because Regal's interference saved Flairs career sorta deal. I'd love to see Regal vs HHH because I think HHH would allow Regal to look strong and that would go a long way in estalishing Regal as an upper card player. I got the feeling from watching it that it was more of a "Regal is doing this to prove his worth to Vince McMahon" Regal came out after the Pedigree, punched Flair in the head once, and walked away. I think the story is gonna be along the lines of getting HHH out of the Rumble is more important than retiring Flair, at least for this night. Now I'm trying to figure out how HHH will get back into the Rumble. He might just "randomly" spin a Royal Rumble Qualifying Match next week on the roulette wheel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike wanna be 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Dear lord, thank you for delivering to me that which I desired most: somebody punching an ally in the face to deliberately get the other guy disqualified. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fazzle 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Oh yeah, one other post-show note. After the Flair/HHH match, but before the tag match, Big Dick Johnson came out...and got punched in the nuts by JR. Weee. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Dear lord, thank you for delivering to me that which I desired most: somebody punching an ally in the face to deliberately get the other guy disqualified. No kidding. KANE of all people was the first person I recall seeing figure this strategy out at Survivor Series 98. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aero 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Dear lord, thank you for delivering to me that which I desired most: somebody punching an ally in the face to deliberately get the other guy disqualified. No kidding. KANE of all people was the first person I recall seeing figure this strategy out at Survivor Series 98. Goldust did it in 1997 when he casually punched Jesse James in the face during a match with dress-wearing Pillman. Edit: Come to think of it, it was actually an elbow drop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Epic Reine 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 HHH did it 2 years ago during the Road To Wrestlemania tournament on Raw. While he was fueding with the Big Show, he hit HBK with a chair to get Show disqualified. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scroby 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Heh, I was just thinking "they need another Raw Roulette" after seeing clips of the wheel on the Raw DVD. Is it hypocritical of me to hate TNA's overbooking of gimmick matches but love a one night Roulette gimmick on Raw? No because WWE only does the Raw Roulette every so often where TNA would be doing it every two months. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk 34 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 It won't be in Vegas but it is at the Connecticut casino. Have they ever done the RR outside of Vegas/casino? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. Al Giardello 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 It won't be in Vegas but it is at the Connecticut casino. Have they ever done the RR outside of Vegas/casino? I remember them doing it in Salt Lake City and few years back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scroby 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 It won't be in Vegas but it is at the Connecticut casino. Have they ever done the RR outside of Vegas/casino? I remember them doing it in Salt Lake City and few years back. Either the first or second Raw Roulette took place in Tacoma. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2007 Must have been the second because the whole concept originated from the fact they were in Vegas. Richards and Regal had to wrestle in a "Las Vegas Showgirls Match". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted December 31, 2007 Raw Roulette is nowhere near as random and bizarre as TNA. At least those shows are announced ahead of time and people know there will be crazy gimmick matches, and this is a fairly rare happening. TNA just books this shit on a weekly basis with no build or reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GCWPatrick 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 Glad the main came off better on TV than it did in the reports. My main mindset going in was that HHH made sure we knew he was going to win before the screwy finish and that HHH's Rumble slot was positioned as being more important to Vince and Regal than Flair's career. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrVenkman PhD 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 I liked that the Raw Roulette promo actually said "Spin the wheel, make the deal". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk 34 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 Maybe it was just the good chemistry and effort by both parts, but I really feel HHH/Flair could be a huge match for WM. Let Orton/Batista take over the WWE title since that is the secondary main event to Edge/UT anyways and Cena's likely to be involved in some manner if WWE gets what they want, so why have HHH get overshadowed there. It's not like Flair losing at WM would really put someone like Kennedy over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tekcop 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 I really think Flair's last match should be against HHH or Michaels. There story is right there for both, and there really isn't any rub from beating Flair anyway so there shouldn't be any of those complaints about young guys never being put over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 Man, Flair looked OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD during that backstage segment w/ HHH. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RepoMan 0 Report post Posted January 1, 2008 I liked that the Raw Roulette promo actually said "Spin the wheel, make the deal". They should book a Cheatum/Hornswogle match. I can't imagine anything I would mark out more for than a Cheatum apperance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
