WWE Raw - January 19, 2009

[DCH 0]

Awesome ending segment, even if it went really long. Vince took the stiffest punt from Orton since Cena's Dad. Mike Knox's "reason" for attacking Mysterio week after week was great.

 

I really like how CM Punk always celebrates winning any title like he has won the Super Bowl. Even with the Intercontinental Title, he made you believe his dream just came true. Jumping into the crowd, celebrating all over the place, hometown or not, he looked genuinely happy. The only downer was Michael Cole wondering if "CM Punk would achieve his lifelong dream of being IC Champion". Yea, I'm sure the former World Champion has just been frothing at the mouth wanting a shot at the IC gold. He's already won the top gold in ECW and RAW. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Doesn't this technically make him a Grandslam winner now, and not just a Triple Crown winner?

 

There cannot be another Grandslam Winner because there is no Third Tier title to win ala Cruiserweight title and Euro title and Hardcore title etc.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Stephanie and Orton were together all the time and this was a rouse?

 

That's the only explanation I can come up with now

 

for what reason? He has a chance for a title shot by winning the rumble. If this was in the summer, maybe. Maybe this leads to Austin/Orton.

 

Now there's an interesting set-up: Vince is forced to go to his mortal enemy to take power back.

 

If Orton faces Austin, who does Cena face? Especially if HBK/JBL is the title match, that leaves Cena with nothing to do.

 

If he were ready, I'd rush Batista back at the Rumble and have him pick up feuding with Cena there. You could keep him limited to interview segments and guest commentary, while rehearsing Cena/Batista II at house shows leading to Mania. Maybe have him squash someone in the midcard/upper card scene who could afford it. Like Mark Henry or Kane. Only if Batista were ready though.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Comparing the ECW title to the European and CW title sounds about right, so hooray Grand Slam Winner CM Punk. If you ignore the fact there's two midcard, two tag, and two world titles now, Jericho had them all beat once WCW's CW title lineage overtook the LHW title lineage, making him the only guy to hold all 5 titles.

 

These long overruns are killing me - I gotta catch the bus to work! I shut the TV off and left just as Orton was coming out so I missed the whole thing. I'll set the DVR to record the end of the Raw replay tomorrow afternoon.

 

The JBL/HBK angle is very good, so that was enjoyable, and Punk/Regal was fun stuff too. They obviously cut all other match times down to Sub-Impact times in an effort to try and fit the Vince thing in, and even then it didn't fit, but overall not a bad show (which I'm sure I would have enjoyed a lot more had I actually seen the ending).

 

That was also nice of WWE to put the Obama thing in the MLK opening considering a lot of the economic panic within WWE is based on the fact Vince feels things are going to get worse since the Republicans didn't win.

 

DCH: Do you want to try toning it down a bit?

[Scroby 0]

Awesome ending segment, even if it went really long. Vince took the stiffest punt from Orton since Cena's Dad. Mike Knox's "reason" for attacking Mysterio week after week was great.

 

I really like how CM Punk always celebrates winning any title like he has won the Super Bowl. Even with the Intercontinental Title, he made you believe his dream just came true. Jumping into the crowd, celebrating all over the place, hometown or not, he looked genuinely happy. The only downer was Michael Cole wondering if "CM Punk would achieve his lifelong dream of being IC Champion". Yea, I'm sure the former World Champion has just been frothing at the mouth wanting a shot at the IC gold. He's already won the top gold in ECW and RAW. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Doesn't this technically make him a Grandslam winner now, and not just a Triple Crown winner?

 

There cannot be another Grandslam Winner because there is no Third Tier title to win ala Cruiserweight title and Euro title and Hardcore title etc.

You don't consider the ECW title a title?

 

CM Punk: ECW Championship, World Championship, Raw Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion.

 

That's 4 Championships right there, I think all in a year's time. (?)

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Props to Jack Zio's sarcastic comment about how even in victory TSM was playing the Punk burial card.

 

Scroby: He won the ECW title more than a year ago (September 2007), but he held it until January 22, 2008 so in terms of holding gold, yes, at four different points in the past 365 days Punk held a different title.

[Scroby 0]

Ah, ok. For some reason I was thinking he won it early in 08.

[King Cucaracha 0]

I love how without fail when anyone gets new theme music, there's eight posts saying "Oh, this new song sucks!" Remember when everyone hated Voices?

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one liking the JBL/HBK storyline. So many people seem to be hung up on arguing "but Shawn Michaels is a main-eventer, how can he be broke and not *random midcarder*!?", even though they've already explained it multiple times. Another compelling storyline for Shawn. What with the Flair storyline, morphing into the Batista storyline, morphing into the Jericho storyline and now this, Shawn's been involved in some killer stuff in the past 12 months.

 

And yeah, ditto on the overrun, I missed the punt.

[dubq 0]

Awesome ending segment, even if it went really long. Vince took the stiffest punt from Orton since Cena's Dad. Mike Knox's "reason" for attacking Mysterio week after week was great.

 

I really like how CM Punk always celebrates winning any title like he has won the Super Bowl. Even with the Intercontinental Title, he made you believe his dream just came true. Jumping into the crowd, celebrating all over the place, hometown or not, he looked genuinely happy. The only downer was Michael Cole wondering if "CM Punk would achieve his lifelong dream of being IC Champion". Yea, I'm sure the former World Champion has just been frothing at the mouth wanting a shot at the IC gold. He's already won the top gold in ECW and RAW. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Doesn't this technically make him a Grandslam winner now, and not just a Triple Crown winner?

 

There cannot be another Grandslam Winner because there is no Third Tier title to win ala Cruiserweight title and Euro title and Hardcore title etc.

You don't consider the ECW title a title?

 

CM Punk: ECW Championship, World Championship, Raw Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion.

 

That's 4 Championships right there, I think all in a year's time. (?)

 

 

I don't think it matters either way. Wasn't "Grand Slam" a name used specifically for World, IC, Tag & Euro title holders?

[dubq 0]

Awesome ending segment, even if it went really long. Vince took the stiffest punt from Orton since Cena's Dad. Mike Knox's "reason" for attacking Mysterio week after week was great.

 

I really like how CM Punk always celebrates winning any title like he has won the Super Bowl. Even with the Intercontinental Title, he made you believe his dream just came true. Jumping into the crowd, celebrating all over the place, hometown or not, he looked genuinely happy. The only downer was Michael Cole wondering if "CM Punk would achieve his lifelong dream of being IC Champion". Yea, I'm sure the former World Champion has just been frothing at the mouth wanting a shot at the IC gold. He's already won the top gold in ECW and RAW. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Doesn't this technically make him a Grandslam winner now, and not just a Triple Crown winner?

 

So what? The IC Title was (and again recently with the DVD set) pushed as even more important than the World title in some wrestlers eyes. I don't think it's that much of a stretch for it to be a dream of Punk's to hold the IC Title, especially when the World Title he did win was only one that was created a few years ago.

[Wrestlefreak 0]

Awesome Raw! Orton's reaction after the punt was great. I really liked the fact that Jericho had a completely different attitude towards Vince. Orton was upfront and direct, while Jericho snivelled. I'm assuming Vince is out once again for a long time and Steph makes Orton's life a living hell.

 

The Goldust/Cody segment was cool. I'd like to see more interaction between those two.

 

Crowd was hot for Punk and lets hope he gets an extended IC run.

 

The JBL/HBK/Cena segment was really well done. This angle is very captivating. Shawn was brilliant!

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

The JBL/HBK/Cena segment was really well done. This angle is very captivating. Shawn was brilliant!

He was good on the mic, but I didn't understand that flapping attack thing he did. He went to grab Cena, stopped, wobbled and looked unsure then JBL jumped in. Looked like something went wrong somewhere.

[Exslade ZX 0]

Props to Jack Zio's sarcastic comment about how even in victory TSM was playing the Punk burial card.

 

Scroby: He won the ECW title more than a year ago (September 2007), but he held it until January 22, 2008 so in terms of holding gold, yes, at four different points in the past 365 days Punk held a different title.

Well if it helps any, I'm almost positive that after CM Punk won he shouted "That's 3!", while holding up 3 fingers...

 

Which I assumed was World, IC, and Tag. Forgot about the ECW title.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

You could dream to be IC champion as a kid and still have it be a lifelong dream even if you won a greater title. I mean now he joins the ranks of the IC greats who never held the bigger titles. I hope he drops it back to Regal, before winning it again in the feud blow-off.

 

I assume Orton is winning the RR as reason he can't be fired next week. I don't see the "Stephanie in cahoots with Orton" angle that others here are seeing. I still see this as HHH being revealed as Stephanie's husband coming out of this angle, it will sort of be like the "McMahon as owner" reveal from back in the day. If Randy is in cahoots with anybody I think it will be Shane McMahon and that fact won't be revealed until much later in the story. Shane vs HHH could get really personal as well, as Shane could go after HHH for trying to force Shane to the sidelines, trying to take control of what is his by his birthright.

 

With HHH's involvement, The Legacy adding Harry Smith would add further levels. HHH's knowledge and involvement in the MTL screwjob could be brought into the angle.

 

I don't know how big or small it oculd be kept, but there is enough second generation talent under contract to make it as big or as small as the creative wants it.

 

The battle royal to open the show was piss poor, though served it's purpose of putting over Orton's strength in numbers.

 

Kelly Kelly vs Beth was junk as well. Why doesn't the wwe drop the silliness of the "Kelly Kelly" name already and just call her Kelly?

 

The backstage segment eminating from the divas match was amusing though. Santino's "Pleeeeze, can we keep her?" was great. Rosa Mendez seems like she's a natrual, and didn't show any camera awareness at all. We all know where this is going, but it could be a fun undercard ride.

 

Punk vs Regal was what I think fans of the two have been waiting for. As I mentioned above, I hope it isn't the blow-off to the feud but that there will be more matches between the two in the future. Punk and Regal acknowledging that they didn't have to break holds or listen to the referee was a nice touch.

 

Cena/HBK/JBL was compelling, if somewhat too long. All played their parts well enough and added heat to the RR match and further storytelling to the angle. WWHBKD?

 

I like Knox, as folks here know(along with Kizarny) so I dug the interview segment and match as it shows that the wwe might have certain faith in Knox and more in store in his feud with Mysterio. I think Knox vs Batista could be an interesting feud down the line.

 

Cryme Tyme vs Miz/Morrison was embarrassingly short. I guess it could be sold as Miz and Morrison were expecting Duggan and were not ready to fight Cryme Tyme or something. The mic work leading up to the match was fun though. I don't thin I ever noticed how big JTG is, probably because he's always beside the massive Shad.

 

Melina vs Jillian - blech. Melina is losing her face appeal. She seems to be a secondary character in this feud with Santino, Beth and now Rosa overshadowing her.

 

Save the IC title match that was really good, the rest of the matches were varying levels of bad. Ringwork took an obvious backseat to storytelling this night.

 

 

[dubq 0]

Props to Jack Zio's sarcastic comment about how even in victory TSM was playing the Punk burial card.

 

Scroby: He won the ECW title more than a year ago (September 2007), but he held it until January 22, 2008 so in terms of holding gold, yes, at four different points in the past 365 days Punk held a different title.

Well if it helps any, I'm almost positive that after CM Punk won he shouted "That's 3!", while holding up 3 fingers...

 

Which I assumed was World, IC, and Tag. Forgot about the ECW title.

 

 

I thought he was reffering to finally scoring the three count on Regal to win the title.

[dubq 0]

You could dream to be IC champion as a kid and still have it be a lifelong dream even if you won a greater title. I mean now he joins the ranks of the IC greats who never held the bigger titles. I hope he drops it back to Regal, before winning it again in the feud blow-off.

 

I'd love them to dust off the old "Best of Seven" gimmick for these two.

[Promoter 0]

You know you might have something there about Shane being involved in this angle too. Shane Mcmahon brought up the point about Stephanie sleeping with wrestlers a while back when he was on raw.

 

Vince Mcmahon's mic work also hinted at Vince talking about what he did for the business with Orton's dad. We could see Stephanie/Shane Legacy vs. Vince's old guard ideas and Shane being his seed. HHH vs. Shane? Not a bad idea actually.

[King Cucaracha 0]

The JBL/HBK/Cena segment was really well done. This angle is very captivating. Shawn was brilliant!

He was good on the mic, but I didn't understand that flapping attack thing he did. He went to grab Cena, stopped, wobbled and looked unsure then JBL jumped in. Looked like something went wrong somewhere.

 

I think the point was that he went to attack Cena but had second thoughts, then with Cena distracted JBL popped him. Something like that.

 

Although he then went for SCM later, so maybe not.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

Props to Jack Zio's sarcastic comment about how even in victory TSM was playing the Punk burial card.

 

Scroby: He won the ECW title more than a year ago (September 2007), but he held it until January 22, 2008 so in terms of holding gold, yes, at four different points in the past 365 days Punk held a different title.

Well if it helps any, I'm almost positive that after CM Punk won he shouted "That's 3!", while holding up 3 fingers...

 

Which I assumed was World, IC, and Tag. Forgot about the ECW title.

 

 

I thought he was reffering to finally scoring the three count on Regal to win the title.

 

Or that's his 3rd different title he has won since moving to RAW......

[BruiserKC 0]

First of all, I went crazy when Orton punted Vince. There wasn't much else to put Orton over as a heel but they did it.

 

Next...why have Stephanie make Orton's life hell? Go the opposite direction...Orton wins the RR, and then he and Legacy pretty much take over the show. It'd be really nice to have them book it where the McMahons are on their heels and dealing with a group that just runs rampant all over.

[Atticus Chaos 0]

I think they may have been trying to get Orton over as a face- or a tweener, at least. They know people find it difficult to side with an egotistical billionaire under any circumstances, and Vince was encouraging Orton with that line about him being nothing without Vince. It must have been obvious to anyone who read that segment that Vince was going to come off looking like the bad guy. Orton came off as an anti hero and that hopefully was the intention because I doubt any storyline that relies on Vince looking sympathetic is going to work.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

One way they could get around this and not necessarily have Orton win the Rumble...Steph vows next week that while she won't fired Orton, she's going to keep him around so she can make his life a living hell. Then they basically have Legacy trying to take over RAW, vs Stephanie's group of faces, headed by John Cena. Or maybe she books Jericho against Orton, loser leaves RAW, or something like that.

[Papacita 0]

Glad to see I'm not the only one liking the JBL/HBK storyline. So many people seem to be hung up on arguing "but Shawn Michaels is a main-eventer, how can he be broke and not *random midcarder*!?", even though they've already explained it multiple times. Another compelling storyline for Shawn. What with the Flair storyline, morphing into the Batista storyline, morphing into the Jericho storyline and now this, Shawn's been involved in some killer stuff in the past 12 months.

I haven't really watched in a few months, but Shawn seems to be in enough good stuff (and stuff that's outside the box too) that it makes me wonder why his name is never tossed around when people discuss wrestlers who might be good bookers. I dunno how much freedom he's had in these storylines, but he seems to have a great mind when it comes to the creative side of things.

[CBright7831 0]

When Cena's dad took a kick there was one less than an hour later - Im still surprised that there is no animated gif of the punt to the head of Vince.

 

Especially when a video is out:

 

[The Flamboyance 0]

Whoa. Thanks for posting that. I didn't think the segment would be that crazy. That was some brutal stuff Vince took. Holy shit.

[theone 0]

I didnt notice last night that was johnny ace who came out and was telling randy to leave

[RedJed 0]

A little late posting thoughts, but that had to be one of the better go-home to the ppv type Raws in years, if you ask me. The ending segment was tremendous stuff all around, and most of the rest of the show was easily entertaining as hell. Punk/Regal was an awesome TV match highlighted by a sick ass head drop by Regal to Punk there that reminded me of 90s All Japan style. Hell, even the backstage segments were actually good and had a point to everything.

[Scroby 0]

The only thing I didn't like the ending of Raw was that I felt wrestlers should have came out as well and that Lawler and Cole should have got in the ring to check on Vince as well. Make it seem more serious. I'm not saying the entire roster, but maybe a few wrestlers.

[Old School 0]

The opening "Rumble" segment was kind of pointless. I suppose the point was to make "The Legacy" as a group, look strong because it showed that they would work as a group. However, the match was so rushed, it just ended up meaning nothing.

 

The Beth Phoenix squash of Kelly Kelly was pointless. I really do not understand why we need another crazy, stalker storyline either. Melina/Jillan later in the show was equally time-wasting. I have no desire to watch Beth/Melina at the Rumble either. Just stop.

 

Punk/Regal, after the weeks spent building up to it, should have been more. That is why I hate almost all TV matches. A misplaced commercial break really just kills the flow. The crowd helped a lot, as they were obviously hot, but seeing Punk win the IC title and celebrate the way he did, after being a former WWE Champ, was just weird.

 

The main-event promo with Cena, et al was awful. HBK: "I need the money!" Cena: "but you can still wrestle!" Then they both repeated what they said. Just dumb & awkward.

 

Knox/Mysterio don't care. Knox lost any heat he had when he was pinned clean by Mysterio in the 10-man clusterfuck a few weeks back.

 

Cryme Tyme/Mizorrison was basically another squash match. Leading to a match and probably a title change that I don't want to see either.

 

Jericho/McMahon's was dreadful, although I did get a kick out of Steph acknowledging the crowd chant and Jericho going through with it.

 

The "Punt" by RKO on McMahon was good although I wasn't a fan of his selling of it as "oh shit, what did I just do?" I would have rather he laughed.

 

Really weak RAW, especially as a go-home show to one of the biggest PPVs that the WWE has. If people just focus on Punk/Regal and the punt, they probably thought it was a "good" show. That would be ignoring the other hour & a half+ though.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Tell us what you really think.

 

On the subject of the new Priceless music: Knowing that I usually end up liking changed music I initially hate (I think Jeff Hardy's theme is great now), I tried to listen for aspects of it I would grow to like in the future... some exist, but I still miss the one they were using. The first version lacked energy, but this had a thumping "dunna-dunna dunna-dunna dunna-dunna PRICELESS" beat to it when it started that I now miss.

[Jericholic82 0]

I assume the new priceless song is a cut on the new volume 9 cd. I had my dvr set to 19 mins past the hour so I got to see the punt, but it cut off once they went to replays.