Monday Night Raw
Date: April 28, 2008
Location: IZOD Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 17,166
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re done with Backlash and the big story is that HHH won the Raw World Title from Randy Orton in the four way main event. That alone should be enough to make things interesting tonight but we also have Shawn Michaels defeating Batista after taking advantage of his own knee injury. That sounds like it could go somewhere, so let’s get to it.

Here is Backlash if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of HHH winning the Raw World Title in last night’s four way elimination match.

Here is HHH to get things going, complete with big shiny belt. HHH declares The Age Of Orton officially dead and now we pause because they are chanting his name. Eight months ago, he wasn’t sure if he was ever going to return to the ring and now he knows that The Game is back. Cue Randy Orton to interrupt and he isn’t overly pleased. Orton talks about how the odds were stacked against him last night but HHH brings up Orton being all confident before the match. Now he’s the victim? Orton: “The victim of my own success. I was so dominant they wouldn’t put me against anyone one on one.”

HHH thinks Orton liked the idea of hiding behind these multiman matches but Orton has already got the rematch set for Judgment Day in less than three weeks. HHH says he bragged too, but in his case, it was the truth. Orton gets in his face and is knocked out with a single shot, sending Orton to the floor. He’ll just have his rematch clause tonight instead. They got to the point pretty fast here.

Post break, the title match is on.

Mickie James/Maria/Ashley/Michelle McCool/Cherry/Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix/Melina/Jillian Hall/Natalya/Victoria/Layla

Backlash rematch and it’s a big brawl before the bell rings. We settle down for the opening bell and Beth decking Kelly from behind. Beth powers her straight into the corner and hands it off to Victoria. The spinning side slam is countered into a headscissors but Victoria takes her straight into the corner. Melina’s running/screaming hip attack in the corner gets two and Jillian comes in, only to miss her handspring elbow. Mickie comes in to clean house and gets a bridging rollup to pin Jillian.

Rating: D+. Well they made good time, but a twelve woman match where half of them don’t get in isn’t exactly a rampaging success. They didn’t have time to do anything here and this would have been better off as a two on two tag match instead. There is some talent in the division, but with only the Raw title to fight over, it leaves a lot of them without much to do save for appearances like this one.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Robbie McCallister

Rory is here with Robbie and the beating is on quickly. The Clothesline from JBL finishes at around a minute, which has me wondering if this was punishment for Robbie popping up in the crowd at Impact around Wrestlemania the previous month.

Post match JBL grabs a headset and blames John Cena for not winning the title last night. He wants the winner of tonight’s title match.

Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Trevor Murdoch/Lance Cade

Cade and London start things off with Cade hitting a high backdrop for an early two. Murdoch comes in to hammer away as the fans are dubbing this boring. London slips away and brings in Kendrick to pick up the pace, with Murdoch screaming at Cade. Murdoch comes in and is promptly rolled up for the pin.

Post match Murdoch grabs the mic, gets on the announcers’ table, and since I Got Friends In Low Places. Cade is adequately confused by the whole thing.

We look at Shawn Michaels tweaking his knee last night against Batista but rolling him up for the pin anyway.

Paul Burchill/Katie Lea Burchill vs. Super Crazy

Before the match, Katie thanks William Regal for making this a handicap match. Paul wastes no time in taking Crazy down, allowing Katie to hit a running boot to the face. Crazy avoids a charge in the corner though and kicks Paul down. The moonsault misses though and Katie’s missile dropkick sets up the curb stomp to give Paul the face pin. Short and to the point here.

Randy Orton is asked if he has second thoughts about using his rematch clause tonight. Orton: “No.”

And now, the official coronation of William Regal (thank goodness it isn’t one of those knockoffs). Regal, on the throne in the ring, says (in between some hardcore WHATing) he will now be General Manager AND King because he has earned both titles. You will have no choice but to respect and fear him, because he is your ruler, better and…..here’s Mr. Kennedy to interrupt.

Kennedy can’t congratulate Regal for the win because he wasn’t even in the tournament in the first place. He hits the catchphrase but Regal cuts him off and says get an appointment/make an apology. Kennedy teases an apology before switching to his catchphrase instead. Regal punches him down and referees have to make it up. Kennedy felt more like a star here and I was feeling the hype that he has had for so long here. This worked, and that’s kind of a rare thing for Kennedy these days.

Cody Rhodes vs. Santino Marella

Hardcore Holly and Carlito are here too. Before the match, Santino says he DOES NOT like the fake Italians on the Sopranos, which is set right here in New Jersey. Santino actually knocks him down and hammers away a bit to start before dodging a high crossbody. We hit the chinlock for a bit before a hard hiptoss (yes a hiptoss) of all things gets two. Rhodes fights up and hits a quick DDT for the pin.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, but the bigger problem continues to be how long these teams have been feuding. There are other teams around, but for some reason these two have to feud for the better part of ever. Rhodes and Holly have already beaten them, so why are we still stuck on this feud?

Post match Cody mocks Santino’s accent and gets taken down with the Backstabber.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel and Chris Jericho is in a tuxedo. Jericho is here to present an award for the Best Actor in Sports Entertainment. The nominees are:

Mr. Fuji and the Magnificent Muraco in Fuji General
Michael Cole in Deliverance Part II (as in the infamous Heidenreich segment, complete with banjo music)
Shawn Michaels pretending to have a knee injury at Backlash

Why yes, Shawn does win, so here he is to accept, limping all the way down the ramp. Jericho wants an acceptance speech, but Shawn insists that he is really hurt. That doesn’t go well with Jericho, who thinks Shawn goes from good to bad faster than anyone. Shawn would even try superkicking him with the bad leg if there was no podium between them. That doesn’t get anything from Shawn, so Jericho has Shawn’s music play before leaving. I think we might be coming back to this one.

Santino Marella bumps into a woman he finds attractive….but it’s really Roddy Piper. Santino brings up the Goonies music video but Piper has no time for this. There’s your bizarre cameo of the week.

We recap HHH winning the Raw World Title last night.

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Randy Orton

HHH is defending and we even get a weapons check to make it feel special. They fight over a lockup to start and go straight to the staredown. A shoulder puts HHH down and Orton grabs a headlock to grind away a bit. HHH is right back with a headlock of his own, followed by some aggressive arm cranking. Orton misses a charge into the post and the arm is suddenly in bad shape. The arm is sent into the barricade but Orton’s legs are fine enough to score with a kick on the way back in.

We take a break and come back with Orton hammering away (with the good arm) in the corner. A dropkick gives Orton two and we hit the chinlock. Orton grabs a suplex and gets in the circle stomp to keep things slow. The big knee drop gets two as JR says Orton isn’t looking to make a mistake. How does one exactly “look to make a mistake”?

Anyway they head outside with HHH being sent into the steps for two, meaning we’re right back to the chinlock. HHH fights up but charges into a boot, allowing Orton to load up a blocked RKO. The facebuster and a clothesline put Orton down but he’s right back with a powerslam for two of his own.

The backbreaker gives Orton two more, only to have HHH crotch him on top. There’s the superplex for a delayed HHH two but the Pedigree and RKO are both countered. HHH grabs the crossface….and we go to the back, where William Regal says he isn’t having this disrespect. The fans who booed him earlier don’t deserve to see this match so the feed is cut. JR and King keep doing commentary as the black screen takes us out.

Rating: B-. That was certainly a unique ending but the match itself wasn’t that great on the way there. HHH and Orton have some chemistry together, but I’ve yet to see them really get to that epic match. The good thing is that this should get rid of the rematch clause for now, but you can almost guarantee another match at the pay per view. Some people just can’t get to that next level and save for maybe once before, that would apply to these two as well.

Overall Rating: C. This was a weird show as the Regal stuff and main event were both good, along with what feels like the start of Shawn vs. Jericho, but everything else was fast or bad. Regal going insane works rather well though, and we could be in for quite the run from him going forward. That makes for quite the different stretch of two hours, though it feels like we’re getting something of a sequel to Backlash at Judgment Day. That’s an odd way to go, but Backlash was rather good so it might work out very well.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 14, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,363
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re over in England this week with less than two weeks to go before Backlash. The Raw World Title match at the pay per view is now a four way and that means we should be in for some build on the way in. Other than that, Batista and Shawn Michaels aren’t happy with each other and that likely won’t end well. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

William Regal is drinking tea in his office when JBL comes in. JBL doesn’t care where we are tonight or that Regal is wrestling in his home country. What he cares about is that Regal has become spineless, just like Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Why are John Cena and HHH in his title match at Backlash? Regal didn’t want a match as awful as Orton vs. JBL, which doesn’t work for JBL either. He wants out of here on a private plane, but Regal gives him a match with HHH instead (the fans approve).

Opening sequence.

Here is Shawn Michaels to get things going. He recaps the build up to and match with Ric Flair at Wrestlemania, where Shawn gave Flair his best, just as requested. That should have been closure and everyone is cool with it….except for Batista. Last week on Smackdown, we came to the realization that Batista’s problem is with Shawn himself (Shawn: “Shocking.”).

Back in 1998, doctors told him he would never wrestle again but he came back in 2002, proving them all wrong. He has done a lot of things in the past though and now he is tired of apologizing. At Backlash, Shawn is going to kick Batista’s teeth down his throat….but here is Ric Flair….’s music, as Chris Jericho comes out instead (the fans are NOT pleased). Jericho says Batista thinks Shawn is a phony, but Jericho knows that what Shawn loves the most is Shawn Michaels.

In reality, Shawn probably liked taking out Flair and probably wanted to send him through a barber shop window. Jericho thinks Batista is being irrational about Flair being gone, but he isn’t being irrational about Shawn. Maybe Shawn is the one who suggested the retirement stipulation in the first place. Then Shawn superkicks him silly and says he’ll admit this: that felt pretty good. This story is getting better, though that might be because it moved on from the Flair worship.

Carlito/Santino Marella vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

For a future title shot. Santino and London start things off with London taking over. Carlito comes in with London dragging him over to the corner so Kendrick can come in with the kicks. Carlito gets in a sitout spinebuster as we see Hardcore Holly and Carlito watching in the back. The villains take turns beating Kendrick down but he slips over and brings in London to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Kendrick misses a hard charge to the floor. London dropkicks Santino tot he floor but gets Backstabbed to give Carlito the pin.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what WWE sees in Marella and Carlito but it feels like they have fought Holly and Rhodes over and over again at this point. The division needs a lot more depth and it would seem that London and Kendrick could be quite the option. Instead, we get the low level team who might not exactly be the most inspiring choice. The division hasn’t been good for a long time now and the lows are getting even worse.

Post match Santino and Carlito promise to get the titles.

Women’s Title: Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James

Mickie is challenging and gets powered down without much trouble to start. Some forearms and kicks slow Beth down but she rams Mickie hard into the corner. A slingshot suplex sets up a dragon sleeper (that’s a unique sequence) but Mickie fights up again. This time Beth pulls her into a double arm chickenwing, with Mickie’s legs around her waist (ow).

Since that can’t last long, Mickie sends her into the corner and Beth is rocked. The MickieDT is cut off though but Mickie is fine enough to hit the top rope Thesz press for two (which JR calls a bulldog for some reason). The Glam Slam is loaded up but Mickie reverses into a cradle for the pin and the title out of nowhere.

Rating: C+. You really can see how much further along these two are in the ring as they had a much better match than almost any other women in the company could pull off. Mickie winning the title makes the England show feel bigger, but also Beth had carried the title for a long time and a change was needed. The fact that it took place in a good match made it even better.

Post match Mickie can’t believe she won, with Maria and Ashley coming out to celebrate with her. Mickie is so happy that she kisses Todd Grisham.

William Regal is warming up and suggests Mike Adamle let him get ready. Chris Jericho comes in to talk about Shawn Michaels vs. Batista, so Regal makes him guest referee. Jericho wants to wrestle, so he can face Umaga tonight.

JTG vs. Trevor Murdoch

Shad Gaspard and Lance Cade are here too. Earlier today, Cade gave Murdoch a pep talk, which didn’t seem to include getting dropkicked by JTG. A big boot drops JTG for two and we’re already off to the chinlock. Murdoch goes up for a high crossbody but JTG rolls through for the surprise pin.

Post match Cade pats Murdoch on the back and walks away without him.

Here is Randy Orton for a chat before his match. Orton talks about how the win at Backlash is only going to make him feel like a bigger star because we are living in his age.

William Regal vs. Randy Orton

Non-title. Regal neck bridges to avoid getting powered to the mat so they go with the test of strength instead. The fans are WAY behind Regal as Orton gets flipped into a bodyscissors. Orton’s headlock doesn’t get very far but his backbreaker has Regal writhing in pain.

We hit the chinlock and the fans still haven’t dropped the LET’S GO REGAL chants. Regal fights up and grabs a reverse fisherman’s suplex, sending Orton bailing to the floor. Back in and a running knee gives Regal two before he starts stomping on the leg. The referee won’t let him do it near the legs though, and the distraction is enough for Orton to grab the RKO for the pin.

Rating: C+. The intensity was there and the fans were way behind Regal, which makes Orton getting the win all the better for him. Orton is the top villain around at the moment and as Regal was always going to be incredibly popular here, it makes Regal feel like bigger threat. If nothing else, it is nice to see Regal being all intense and focused here, as you don’t get to see it very often.

Umaga is ready for Chris Jericho.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Umaga

Jericho is defending and gets knocked to the apron early on. Back up and Jericho dropkicks the knee before striking away as well as he can. That earns him an elbow to the face but Umaga isn’t quite interested in following up in a hurry. Jericho gets launched hard over the top for a crash to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Umaga knocking him out of the corner and the nerve hold going on. With that broken up, Jericho avoids a charge to send him outside, followed by the baseball slide through the ropes. Umaga takes Jericho’s head off with a clothesline but Jericho gets the knees up to block a sitdown splash.

Jericho tries a slam for no logical reason and is whipped hard into the apron to put him down again. The running hip attack misses though and Jericho scores with the missile dropkick to the back of the head. The Walls are blocked so Umaga Samoan drops him for two, only to miss the Samoan Spike. Umaga kicks him into the corner but misses the splash and hits the post. That’s enough for Jericho to roll him up (with feet on the ropes) to retain in a bit of a shifty move.

Rating: B-. This was a back and forth match and the two of them both looked good. Jericho had to cheat to beat Umaga but he survived so much from Umaga in the first place. That being said, Jericho has been needing a shakeup for the time being and maybe a heel turn is the right way to go. Good match here and the amount of time it got helped.

Jim Duggan vs. Paul Burchill

Katie Lea Burchill is here with Paul. Duggan gets jumped at the bell to start and the beating is on, with the fans not being pleased with Duggan getting mauled. Back up and Duggan slugs away but a corner clothesline sets up a curb stomp to give Paul the pin.

After plugging his DVD, HHH says he’s going to make JBL play the game.

Backlash rundown.

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. HHH

Joined in progress with HHH grabbing a headlock takeover to put them both on the mat. JBL powers up and drives him into the corner, meaning it’s time to go nose to nose (HHH might have an advantage). A neckbreaker gives HHH two and we hit the armbar. That’s broken up and JBL knocks him down again, setting up a full nelson of all things. HHH powers up and slugs away, setting up the facebuster. A running clothesline sends JBL to the floor and the brawl is on in the aisle…and here is Randy Orton to jump HHH for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Pretty basic match as JBL isn’t the person you want doing exciting stuff. This was just a way to get Orton out there for the fight with the two of them, which isn’t much of a surprise with the four way coming up. JBL just can’t back it up in the ring that well without a bunch of shenanigans so keeping it short here was as good of a call as they had.

Post match Orton unloads on HHH, who comes back with the spinebuster. The Pedigree is loaded up but JBL breaks it up with a big boot. Now the big double teaming is on, including the RKO to HHH. The Punt is loaded up but JBL cuts Orton off with the Clothesline From JBL (that looked good too). JBL poses with the title and hits another Clothesline on HHH before posing again to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. These British shows can be a bit all over the place when it comes to quality and this one was no exception. Maybe it was jet lag or maybe it was just not very interesting choices but the show wasn’t the most thrilling. Backlash has come together well enough already and I’m interested in seeing the show, but this wasn’t their best TV. The title change was fun and the Jericho stuff worked, though the rest wasn’t all that good. Get to Backlash already.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: April 7, 2008
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re officially out of Wrestlemania season and the build to Backlash has begun. We should be in for some big stuff going forward, apparently including JBL coming after Randy Orton’s Raw World Title. They are going to need something to go with that, and Shawn Michaels vs. Batista might be on the list as well. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is William Regal to get things going and he wastes no time in bringing out Randy Orton. Regal isn’t done and introduces Orton’s new #1 contender for Backlash: JBL. With Regal starting to hype up the match, here is HHH to interrupt. HHH isn’t clear on something and asks if Regal is out of his frickin mind.

He doesn’t understand how he is being left out of the title match, as Orton pinned John Cena at Wrestlemania. Also, how does JBL, who was a commentator for two years, get a title shot for beating up Hornswoggle? Regal makes a handicap match for tonight, with HHH having to beat JBL and Orton to get into the Backlash title match. They kept this to the point, but Orton vs. JBL is going to have to be changed due to reasons of bleck.

Umaga vs. Val Venis

Venis slugs away to start and avoids a charge into the corner. That’s about it for the offense though as Umaga runs him over and puts on the nerve hold. The Samoan drop plants Venis and it’s the running hip attack in the corner. Umaga nails the Samoan Spike for the fast pin.

Rating: D+. Total destruction here and that shouldn’t be a big surprise. Umaga needed a win to get him back on the right track after the pretty terrible Wrestlemania match against Batista. Venis is capable of making anyone look better, even if it is in near complete squash. This did what it needed to do and they did it in a hurry.

Mickie James/Ashley vs. Melina/Jillian Hall

Jillian kicks at Ashley to start but gets caught in a quick hurricanrana. Melina gets in a cheap shot to take over and a wheelbarrow slam/faceplant combination gets two. A missed charge in the corner lets Ashley get over for the tag to Mickie so house can be cleaned. Melina hits the double knees in the corner to cut James off though as everything breaks down. The Mickie DT finishes Melina to end a rather sloppy match.

We look back at Ric Flair having to retire and then his farewell.

Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

London and Kendrick jump them at the bell with Kendrick being sent outside fast. London is fine enough to hit a dropsault for two on Cade but a hard clothesline puts him down. Murdoch kicks away at London and Cade grabs a neck crank. With that broken up, London avoids a charge and it’s back to Kendrick to clean house. Cade clotheslines him down but a small package gives Kendrick the pin.

Rating: C. Just a quick match here with Kendrick and London continuing to get back on track. They needed to win a few matches after losing over and over so this is going to help boost them back up. It was a quick win, but that’s better than losing over and over. Now just get them into the title picture, as a handful of wins is enough to get them there.

Randy Orton tells JBL to stay out of his way out there.

HHH vs. Randy Orton/John Bradshaw Layfield

If HHH wins, he’s in the Backlash title match and William Regal is at ringside. Orton and JBL are already in the ring, which is quite the weird way to treat the pay per view main event. HHH and Orton punch each other to start with HHH having to fight out of the corner. JBL comes in and gets stared down by HHH, which makes him back off.

A headlock takeover takes JBL over and things slow down a bit (yes, during the JBL portion believe it or not). Some double teaming takes HHH down for a change and the Orton knee drop gets two. HHH fights out of the corner but walks into a powerslam for two more. JBL grabs the sleeper but HHH fights out, bringing Orton back in. The RKO is loaded up, only to have HHH reverse into the Pedigree for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one but the action worked well enough. What matters is getting HHH into the pay per view title match, as JBL vs. Orton was never going to happen. Other than that, you have the Cena factor and I’m sure he’ll be involved in something. For now though, it was a good way to go for a bit of a twist.

Post match Regal is about to announce the triple threat but John Cena comes out to interrupt. Cena talks about how he’s beaten HHH and JBL (it’s been awhile for the latter) and he beat Orton at Backlash last year. He wants it to be a four way but Regal says Cena has to beat HHH and JBL in a triple threat match tonight to get in.

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes vs. Carlito/Santino Marella

Non-title. Carlito works on Cody’s arm to start but Rhodes switches into a headlock. It’s quickly off to Holly to load up the Alabama Slam on Santino, with Carlito making a fast save. The referee isn’t counting Carlito’s illegal cover so Carlito drops a leg for two. Holly knocks him away so Santino comes back in, only to get kicked down. Cody comes back in to clean house, including crotching Santino on top. Carlito makes a save though and Santino’s saluting top rope elbow gets the pin.

Rating: D+. The fact that a team like Carlito and Santino are getting a clean win over the Tag Team Champions tells you what the titles mean right now. There is pretty much no one else available to fight for the titles and the division desperately needs some fresh blood. Granted that has been the case for a long time so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

Cryme Tyme has some Wrestlemania merchandise for us, including some of Rocky Johnson’s soul (as scraped off of him), a signed copy of Maria’s Playboy (they stop and look for a bit and then decide the item is no longer available) and finally, a pair of Kim Kardashian’s underwear. Actually it wasn’t her dressing room though, and it turns out they belong to Mae Young. This team can be funny, but they can also be cringe inducing.

JBL comes up to HHH to talk about an alliance tonight, but HHH has his headphones in.

Beth Phoenix vs. Maria

Non-title. Maria slaps her in the face to start and manages a kick to the head, only to be slammed into the ropes. Beth sends her ribs first into the post, setting up a Boston crab…with Beth bending Maria backwards into a backbreaker (that was cool). Maria is back up with an awkward knee to the ribs and a high crossbody. The reverse DDT gives Maria two but Beth hits a hot shot into the fisherman’s buster for the pin. What did Maria do to get this kind of losing streak with the Playboy deal?

It’s time for the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho bringing out Batista and Shawn Michaels. They all stood in this ring and cried over Ric Flair retiring and that is all because of Shawn. It was Flair who asked for Mr. Wrestlemania though and Jericho shows us Shawn missing the Asai moonsault onto the announcers’ table. Jericho brings up “I’m sorry, I love you” but Batista cuts them off and says everyone is calling out Shawn on what he did.

Batista hates what Shawn did but Shawn says Flair didn’t pick Batista because he didn’t have what it took. Shawn talks about the battles he has gone through over the years, which is what Batista says made trust him. Batista says Shawn did the wrong thing at Wrestlemania but Shawn is sick of being blamed. Batista glares at him and walks off.

Backstage, William Regal says that Vickie Guerrero has made Batista vs. Shawn Michaels for Backlash. Randy Orton complains about how his singles match has grown, so next week in England, Orton can face….Regal himself. Ok then.

John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/HHH

Again, no entrances for JBL and HHH. JBL kicks Cena in the head to start fast and grabs a DDT for a fast two. The slow beating continues but JBL won’t tag HHH in, despite his requests. A shoulder drops Cena for two as this is one sided so far. Cena gets thrown outside and a clothesline drops him again.

We hit the neck crank back inside as Randy Orton is now ringside to cheer the team on. Cena fights up and finally hits a clothesline to start the comeback and bring the fans back to live. HHH still won’t tag in as Cena hits the ProtoBomb but JBL breaks up the FU. Another big boot drops Cena again but HHH has finally had enough and brawls with JBL to the floor. Orton gets hit as well so he comes in and RKO’s JBL, allowing Cena to get the pin (HHH doesn’t seem to mind).

Rating: C. This was all about the build towards the Backlash main event, but HHH not wanting to keep Cena out of the match was a little strange. He already proved he can beat Orton and JBL on his own so why would he want to have Cena added in as a wild card? Even if he’s angry at JBL, it’s rather out of character for HHH to let his emotions get the better of himself like that.

Overall Rating: C-. Not their strongest show here as the build to the Backlash main event was different, but not exactly the most interesting way. Other than that, the biggest story is about avenging Ric Flair, because six months of “no, please don’t retire Ric Flair” just wasn’t enough. Batista apparently wishes Shawn had laid down for Flair at Wrestlemania and is willing to fight him over it, as Flair just can’t go away despite not being here. Not the greatest show here, but they’re still resetting things a bit after Wrestlemania.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 31, 2008
Location: Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are finally done with Wrestlemania and the big story on the Raw side is the retirement of Ric Flair. Shawn Michaels, who does in fact love him despite making apologies for it, superkicked Flair to end his career last night in a rather emotional moment. Other than that, Randy Orton is still Raw World Champion but we can worry about what he is doing at Backlash later. It’s the Raw after Wrestlemania so this should be different. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wrestlemania if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Ric Flair losing to Shawn Michaels in a big, emotional moment.

Here is John Cena…..’s music to get us going. There’s no Cena, so we get HHH…..’s music instead, but no HHH. Instead here is Randy Orton in person to get things going. Orton talks about how no one gave him a chance going into Wrestlemania and the question was all about who was going to pin him to win the title. No one ever wanted to give him any credit but now they have to show him respect. He lists off all of the people he has beaten and says we are now in the Age Of Orton.

Cue JBL of all people to say he deserves the next title shot. Orton’s entire title reign has been about luck while JBL beat up Finlay and Hornswoggle at Wrestlemania. Orton can’t beat him and never will be able to do so. JBL announces his candidacy for the title and leaves, with Orton being livid. Cue Matt Hardy through the crowd to go after Orton with referees breaking it up.

Post break Matt Hardy rants to William Regal about how he wants Orton in the ring tonight.

Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Cryme Tyme is back after being fired a few months ago. Cade hammers on Shad to start but a few shots break that up. JTG comes in for two off an Oklahoma roll but Cade blasts him with a clothesline. Cade drops Murdoch onto JTG for two more and the beating is on in the corner. Then Cade misses a charge into the corner and gets rolled up for the fast pin. Out of nowhere ending but the fans popped hard for Cryme Tyme’s return.

Video on Ric Flair’s career, which is still an awesome look back.

Here is a fairly somber Shawn Michaels for a chat. Shawn says he is a bit conflicted here, as he was asked to be Mr. Wrestlemania last night and he isn’t sure how he feels about that. He had a job to do last night and loved and respects Ric Flair to do anything less than his best. Now the greatest career in wrestling is over and he has to live with it. Shawn: “Lucky me.” And with that, he leaves.

Post break, William Regal tries to console Shawn, saying it had to be done and it should have been a long time ago. Regal leaves, and Batista is seen glaring at Shawn.

Brian Kendrick/Paul London vs. Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly

Non-title. Cody and Kendrick have a feeling out process to start with Kendrick going to the ropes to escape the wristlock. Holly comes in and actually gets forearmed back by London. That’s about the extent of the odd though as Holly unloads on him with chops in the corner. Everything breaks down and Cody bulldogs Kendrick down, with London making the save. Holly and London are sent outside, leaving Kendrick to grab an O’Connor roll for the pin.

Rating: C. I’m never wild on champions losing but Holly and Rhodes have no one to fight and London/Kendrick had a lot more miles left in them. Even if this is just a quick title program, it’s better than sitting around doing nothing or facing Cade and Murdoch again. Not exactly a classic but it did what it needed to do.

We look at the Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat series.

Wrestlemania highlight package.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk

Non-title. They go straight to the strikes with Jericho getting the better of it, setting up the front facelock. An exchange of rollups gets two each and Jericho clotheslines him down for two more. A backsplash (with Jericho grinning evily) sets up a chinlock with a knee in Punk’s back. As Lawler tries to remember the name Jean Claude Van Damme, Jericho misses the triangle dropkick but is fine enough to knock Punk off the apron.

Punk manages a neck snap across the top and the springboard clothesline hits Jericho in the back of the head. Punk’s dropkick misses but Jericho misses the Lionsault and bangs up his knee. Some kicks to the leg look to set up the GTS but Jericho reverses into the Walls attempt. With that not working, Jericho grabs the Codebreaker for the clean pin.

Rating: C+. That’s not a great start to Punk’s time as Mr. Money In The Bank but at least he has a get out of the midcard free card for later. Jericho is the Intercontinental Champion but still feels like he’s just kind of there. Granted just handing him the title because Jeff Hardy screwed up didn’t help things.

Ric Flair won the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Here is Big Show for a chat. Show congratulates Floyd Mayweather Jr. for needing a bunch of bodyguards, a steel chair and brass knuckles to remind the greatest fighter on the planet. For now though, Show is out here because of the Hall Of Fame. Ric Flair stood at the podium and said that despite facing Andre the Giant, Show was the greatest big man he ever faced. That meant the world to Show, who is going to go back to what he does best. He is going to make a promise….but gets cut off by Great Khali. We get the big showdown, Show tells him to get out of his face, and Khali does. Feels Backlashish.

Santino Marella is warming up before his anything goes match with Maria, who comes up and begs him to not go forward with the match. Santino mocks the Divas, saying they should be at home in the kitchen, making lunch and babies. He offers to let the match go in exchange for some other kind of release, earning a slap to the face. The match is on.

Matt Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Non-title. They go straight to the floor to start with Hardy getting the better of a brawl. Back in and Hardy sends him into the corner a few times before a neckbreaker gets two. We take a break and come back with Hardy fighting out of a chinlock so Orton slowly hammers away.

A belly to back superplex is broken up and Hardy’s moonsault press gets two. Hardy wins a slugout and grabs another neckbreaker. The middle rope legdrop doesn’t get to launch as Orton rolls outside, so Hardy dives onto him instead. There’s the Twist of Fate on the floor but it takes some time to get Orton back inside. So much time that Orton grabs the RKO back inside for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. Hardy may not be quite the biggest star in the world at this point but he can still wrestle a completely decent, if not better, match. It helps that he lost to the World Champion, which is hardly some career killer. Nice enough TV match here, with Hardy working hard and Orton getting a win to keep his momentum going.

Dusty Rhodes praises Ric Flair’s career.

JBL glares at Randy Orton.

Maria vs. Santino Marella

Anything goes. Santino shoves her down to start so here are mot of the Divas to beat him up (Victoria seems to be twisting his nipples). Maria adds the falling low blow headbutt and gets the pin.

Here is Ric Flair for his big farewell speech. Flair will never wrestle again but he is not sad about it. You should be happy that he got to have the greatest career of all time and lost to a great wrestler and better man. He has had more fun and loved all of us every day of his life. Flair thanks the fans and goes to leave, but here is HHH to interrupt (Flair is already in tears).

HHH says a lot of people want to say thank you, starting with himself of course. Now that being said, there are some other people backstage who want to say thank you. There was one group of guys in the back and since HHH was talking to them, his hand keeps creeping up into four fingers. Cue the Four Horsemen (Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham) and Flair is just done.

This is followed by Batista, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, Greg Valentine, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, John Cena (maybe not the best time for “Your time is up”), Flair’s family, and Shawn Michaels (with the camera catching a quick glare from Batista). HHH points out the matching watches Shawn and Flair have before just having the rest of the locker room come out.

After a long celebration and a lot of hugging, we get some bonus footage from after the show (brilliantly titles AFTER THE SHOW) with Undertaker coming to the ring. The wrestlers in the aisle part so he can walk by (that’s such a cool visual) and the ring clears out. Undertaker does the full entrance, including taking off the coat and hat, as Flair isn’t sure what is going on.

We get the hug and Undertaker drops to his knee for the pose to Flair in a great show of respect. Leave The Memories Alone plays and even Vince McMahon comes out for a hug of his own (despite starting all of this). Vince yanks Flair’s arm to hold it up for the posing before leaving the ring to Flair. The family gets back in and Flair gets to soak in a lot of cheering (and dropping the elbow/knee on his coat for old times’ sake) before walking up the aisle to his own music to end the show.

This was a very special moment and it felt like the kind of tribute that Flair deserved. Like him or not, Flair is one of the biggest names in modern wrestling and getting to see him getting this huge celebration was great. The amount of talent in the ring alone made this feel special, with the fact that they were there for one person making it even better. Awesome stuff and one of the best moments WWE has had in a long time.

Overall Rating: B. This was the post Wrestlemania Raw and while it didn’t have the big storyline moment, it did have the huge Flair tribute at the end and it felt like a special two hours. They can get to the bigger stuff next week, but for now we had a mixture of a deep breath after Wrestlemania and some stuff being set up for the future. Good show this week, with the Flair stuff more than carrying it to the next level.

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ECW On Sci Fi
Date: March 25, 2008
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s the final ECW before Wrestlemania and that means pretty much nothing around here. There is no title match set for Wrestlemania as it is going to be all about the battle royal. I’m not sure what that is going to leave us to do on this show but maybe they have one more week of nothing before things, at least hopefully, reset next week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Hardcore Holly/Cody Rhodes/Kofi Kingston/Kane/Tommy Dreamer/Jesse & Festus/Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore/Jim Duggan/Val Venis/Jamie Noble vs. Great Khali/Miz/Chuck Palumbo/Matt Striker/Mark Henry/Snitsky/Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch/Brian Kendrick/Deuce N Domino/Elijah Burke

Because THIS is a good idea. This is all twenty four entrants into the battle royal thrown into a tag match, which makes me wonder how many people the aprons can hold. Cody rolls Kendrick up for a fast two and then backslides him for the same. It’s quickly off to Noble vs. Palumbo, with the latter grabbing a belly to back suplex.

Yang comes in off some of that Jung Dragons chemistry but gets suplexed for his efforts. A middle rope hurricanrana gets Yang out of trouble and it’s time for a parade of dives. We take a break and come back with everything breaking down, as you might have expected. Kofi dives onto Deuce N Domino and Holly gets to hit an Alabama Slam. Khali and Kane have finally had enough of this and start wrecking people. With the two of them down, Henry feeds Dreamer into a big boot from Snitsky for the pin.

Rating: C. This is one of those matches that isn’t about the action itself but rather telling you what you might be seeing on Sunday. In that sense it worked out well enough, but my goodness the battle royal might as well have about three people. Chavo almost has to lose at this point as there is just nothing to his title reign and someone else can take the title to hopefully do something with it.

Post match everyone gets in the ring for the huge staredown.

Boxing personalities talk about Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Chavo Guerrero comes up to mock the injured Tommy Dreamer. A match is set for tonight, thanks to some insults to Colin Delaney (sure why not).

Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Feeling out process to start with Carlito slugging away as Taz says he has been hit in the face with a ladder in a match but never had a ladder match. Benjamin skins the cat but Carlito snaps his throat across the top for a crash to the floor. We hit the chinlock back inside and the fans do not seem impressed. Benjamin fights up but gets knocked back into the corner as this isn’t exactly burning up the mat.

Another chinlock goes on but this time Benjamin electric chairs his way to freedom. Carlito is back with a neckbreaker for two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Benjamin’s back. Benjamin finally makes the comeback and hits the overhead belly to belly. A neckbreaker gives Carlito two more but the Backstabber is countered into a buckle bomb. Paydirt is countered into a backbreaker to give Carlito two more but Benjamin catches him on top. A super Paydirt finishes Carlito off.

Rating: C-. These two were left out there to fill in as much time as they could and it didn’t exactly work. There were far too many chinlocks to get them through the match until Benjamin finally won in the end. This really didn’t work very well, but like everything else around here, none of that is going to matter by next week.

Video on the Raw World Title triple threat match.

Wrestlemania rundown.

The final inductee into the Hall of Fame Class: Gordon Solie.

Kelly Kelly/Stevie Richards vs. Mike Knox/Layla

The women actually wrestle to start with Kelly getting two. Knox gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Layla takes over for a bit. The men come in and Richards swings away until the women getting in a fight distracts him. Knox grabs a swinging Downward Spiral for the fast pin.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title and the battle royal participants are at ringside. Dreamer backdrops him to the apron and punches him out to the floor to start, with the unofficial lumberjacks sending Chavo back inside. Chavo sends him shoulder first into the post and we hit the front facelock. The fans think Chavo sucks, even as Dreamer fights up with a bulldog. Guerrero blocks something out of the corner so Dreamer settles for a neckbreaker. Dreamer gets crotched on top though and the frog splash gives Chavo the pin.

Rating: C-. And that’s another Chavo match these days, as they are still rather uninteresting with little going on that could make me care about the title. Dreamer making his comeback is always decent enough but there was only so much that can be done with a three minute match less than a week before Wrestlemania. Just get the title off of Chavo already because this reign is dragging down everything else.

Post match everyone gets inside and the fight is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. My goodness Wrestlemania needs to come and go already because this show is falling apart in a hurry. There is only so much that can be done when you have one important story and that one is in limbo due to the champion not having an opponent. Other than that, it is a bunch of people trying to fill in time and that is not going to work long, or even short, term.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 17, 2008
Location: Cajundome, Lafayette, Louisiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re still under special guest control as HHH is running things this week. This time around, that means John Cena and Randy Orton are going to be facing the entire roster, which probably isn’t going to go as described. At least it sounds different though and I’ll take that over more of the same. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, with special guest…..the Intercontinental Title! Last week he won the title for the record setting eighth time, breaking the record of seven, which he held too of course. As for a human guest, here is Big Show, who also set a record for most times seeing a clip of someone punching him in the face. We look at Show tossing Floyd Mayweather Jr. over the top and onto his entourage last week, which Show calls a real highlight.

Show talks about how everyone knows Jericho is better in the ring than Mayweather and outweighs him by 50lbs, but Jericho couldn’t last two minutes with Show either. Jericho doesn’t think much of that but Show calls him WWE’s version of Mayweather: small, loud and in over his head. The challenge is thrown out for a title match tonight and, after an insult to his singing, Jericho is in. They kept this quick and that’s a good thing for a simple announcement.

Earlier today, Vince McMahon listed off a bunch of his accomplishments, but thinks ending Ric Flair’s career tonight would be even better. That’s why tonight, it’s Vince vs. Flair.

CM Punk vs. Carlito

Carlito starts fast and sends him outside before hitting a basement dropkick in the corner. A kick to the head gives Carlito two and we hit the double arm crank. Punk fights up and tries the springboard clothesline, which is dropkicked out of the air instead. The GTS attempt is countered as well and Carlito gets two off a neckbreaker. Back up and Punk manages a kick to the face before catching a springboarding Carlito in the GTS for the pin.

Rating: C. This was, again, short and to the point, with Carlito taking over to start so Punk could make the comeback and win. That’s all you need to do at times as they gave the fans a popular star getting a victory. Perfectly watchable match that got two of the Money In The Bank stars in the ring before Wrestlemania.

Snoop Dogg is ready for Bunnymania and can’t bring himself to follow Santino Marella’s cue cards about how Maria shouldn’t have posed for Playboy.

Paul London and Brian Kendrick are in the ring when William Regal introduces their opponent, who will represent Raw at Wrestlemania.

Umaga vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

Umaga doesn’t waste time to start and hits a double Samoan drop. London gets hit with the running hip attack in the corner but Kendrick rolls away before another can hit. The Samoan Spike finishes London fast as Kendrick seemed to walk off. I’d like to believe London and Kendrick have more, but they’ve been treated as nothing for months now.

William Regal and HHH are in the back, with HHH saying Randy Orton and John Cena can’t walk out on each other tonight. If Cena walks out, he’s out of the Wrestlemania match and if Orton walks out, he’s stripped of the title and Cena and HHH can fight over it instead. Regal asks why HHH doesn’t just make himself champion, but HHH say she wants to earn it.

We look at HHH getting hurt last year and missing Wrestlemania as a result. Now he’s back and wants the title again.

We look at Vince McMahon receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. And yes, he thanked himself.

Shawn Michaels is in the back and Ric Flair wants to know why he’s here. Flair thinks Shawn is here because he doesn’t want Vince McMahon to end Flair’s career tonight. He doesn’t want Shawn getting involved tonight because Vince has NO CHANCE of winning.

We see Finlay’s promo from Smackdown, where he says there are no words for what he is going to do to JBL at Wrestlemania.

Here is JBL for a match, but first he says that Finlay isn’t here due to Hornswoggle dealing with complications. Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, he is going to do something for the Irish (who made him rich) so he has found the second toughest Irishman in WWE: Colin Delaney!

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Colin Delaney

Some clotheslines from JBL set up the Clothesline From JBL for the fast pin.

Post match JBL says at Wrestlemania, Irish need not apply.

We recap Vince McMahon ordering that Ric Flair has to retire the next time he loses a match.

Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

Street fight so they go straight to the floor with Flair hammering away. They take it into the crowd but Vince manages to get it back to ringside for a posting. There’s a monitor to Flair’s head and yes, he is bleeding believe it or not. Vince hammers away and takes him back inside for two as JR is getting more than a bit over the top.

A trashcan, kendo stick and chair shot get two each, with Shawn Michaels coming in to pull the referee out at two. Shawn is immediately ejected (Why?) so Vince grabs a table. That takes too long though and Flair gets in some low blows. Vince is put on the table instead and a top rope splash through it gives Flair the win to stay alive.

Rating: C-. This felt like the same kind of street fight you usually see in WWE and of course Flair wasn’t going to lose less than two weeks away from Wrestlemania. A lot of this whole story has been about Flair getting to do something one more time and that includes beating up Vince. The match wasn’t any good, but Vince getting beaten up is always worth a glance.

Video on John Cena returning from injury early for the chance to go to Wrestlemania.

Jared from Subway is here and he gives Jerry Lawler a sandwich and drink.

Maria/Candice Michelle vs. Jillian Hall/Victoria

Before the match, Maria’s Playboy cover is unveiled over the Titantron. Cue Santino Marella to join commentary as Jillian jumps Maria to start. An enziguri gets Maria out of trouble and Candice comes in to kick Victoria down for two. Jillian makes a save but misses a 450, allowing Candice to hit an Unprettier for the fast pin.

Post match Santino goes on a rant, throws the drink in Lawler’s face and steals the sandwich. Ok then.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is ready for Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Big Show

Jericho is defending and gets kicked in the face to start. Jericho manages a few shots of his own and knocks Show over the top, only to get swung into the barricade. Back in and Show misses a Vader Bomb, allowing Jericho to dropkick him down. The Lionsault gets two so Jericho uses the belt for the fast DQ.

Rating: D+. What was that? They barely did anything before the lame ending, which was about the only way they had out of something like this. That being said, was there no one else they could put out there against Show besides the new Intercontinental Champion? That’s kind of an out there way of thinking and I really don’t get why Jericho was necessary here.

Post match Big Show knocks Jericho silly with one right hand. Ah, that’s what that was.

Kim Kardashian reads a script about Wrestlemania and ignores Big Dick Johnson.

Video on Randy Orton.

John Cena comes in to see Randy Orton, with the latter saying they should take a dive against the roster. Cena says no chance so Orton tries threatening him. That just makes Cena bring up their history and we get the big RAH RAH speech. HHH pops in to say it’s elimination rules, but he’s pulling for them.

John Cena/Randy Orton vs. Raw Roster

This is billed as 17-2, though outside of Umaga and JBL, it’s a bunch of lower level guys. Cena hammers on Snitsky to start but gets clotheslined down as the Roster takes up two full sides of the apron. Santino Marella comes in and misses a headbutt, allowing Cena to roll him up for a quick elimination. Trevor Murdoch is in next for a neckbreaker but Cena grabs a very fast STFU for the tap.

Cena brings Orton in for the RKO to get rid of Lance Cade even faster but Umaga runs both of them over as we take a break. Back with JBL taking Orton down for two as Super Crazy was eliminated at some point during the commercial. Cody Rhodes comes in to stomp away and it’s off to Paul Burchill for more of the same. The Roster takes turns beating on Orton, with one coming in for a few stomps and then leaving.

Orton grabs the backbreaker on Robbie McCallister, allowing Cena to come in with the top rope Fameasser for the pin. The FU to DH Smith and the RKO to Burchill and Val Venis get rid of three in a row, followed by Cena tossing Rhodes into another RKO for another elimination. That’s enough for the rest of the Roster to come in and jump Cena and Orton for the DQ.

Rating: C. This wasn’t so much a match as much as it was an extended segment, with Cena and Orton either getting stomped or hitting a finisher. Other than Umaga and JBL, the Roster was comprised of a bunch of jobbers and Cena/Orton mowed down a good chunk of them without much trouble. It’s really nice to see something different than the same stuff we always see around and this was certainly unique compared to the usual stuff we see.

Post match Orton gets beaten down until Cena makes the save with a chair. Umaga takes Cena down but JBL grabs his own chair and hits Umaga by mistake, meaning the chase is on. With everyone else gone, HHH comes out to Pedigree both of them and hold up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Much like Smackdown, Raw has reached the point where Wrestlemania is set and there isn’t much left to do before we get there. That makes for some rather different shows, including this one, which didn’t add much to the card other than firming up what is already there. Wrestlemania is looking good though and we should be in for a pretty solid show if they deliver on what has been set up.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: February 11, 2008
Location: Frank Irwin Center, Austin, Texas
Attendance: 13,552
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for No Way Out and the second show in a double taping as the roster is are on an Asian tour. The pay per view card is all but set and I’m not sure what else we are going to see on this show that is going to make it that much better. HHH still won’t be here again this week though and that should drag things down a bit, though it could be interesting to see who picks up the slack. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Of note: a graphic says that the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will be airing on CNBC. As someone who was devastated when that took Raw’s place near my birthday every year, I can’t help but smile.

Vince McMahon vs. Hornswoggle

No DQ and Finlay is banned from ringside. Vince, who does look a bit intimidating in his fighting gear, shoves him down without much trouble to start. Even Vince is willing to have a heart though and he lets Hornswoggle get in a free slap. After a delay, Hornswoggle manages to do it, which is enough for Vince to pull out his belt. Cue Finlay to get in Vince’s way so Vince threatens to fire him. That’s a major threat to Finlay, who has a wife and kids of his own. Finlay goes to leave but then knocks Vince cold with the shillelagh. Hornswoggle goes to leave but drops a Tadpole Splash for the pin in a nice moment.

Rating: C. This was more or less an angle instead of a match as the only moves were a slap and a splash. The story has long since lost its luster and could use an endgame of some kind, but I’m not sure what that could be. I can’t picture Vince vs. Finlay being interesting so unless they want to pull a surprise trigger, this could be in search of a finish for a good while.

Post break Vince gets his head looked at until William Regal comes in to check on him. Tonight, Vince is going to fire Finlay.

Chris Jericho vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

Royal Rumble rematch. They fight over a lockup to start until JBL misses a big boot, allowing Jericho to slug away with forearms. Jericho kicks him in the ribs and rips at the face but it’s too early for the Walls. There’s a baseball slide to send JBL outside but he goes evil with a thumb to the eye. For some reason that doesn’t work on Jericho, who is back with a spinwheel kick for a breather.

We take a break and come back with JBL hitting a rather hard clothesline, setting up the sleeper. Jericho fights up and knocks him down, including a top rope clothesline for two. The middle dropkick gets the same and Jericho counters the fall away slam into a DDT for another near fall. Back up and Jericho charges into a boot in the corner, only to duck a clothesline and grab the Codebreaker for the pin.

Rating: C+. They kept this short enough that it didn’t overexpose JBL as being fairly boring in the ring. Jericho got the pin to probably wrap up the feud that was only so good in the first place. Other than that, it gives Jericho a boost going into the Elimination Chamber, where he is probably the third favorite for the match.

Post match, Umaga comes in and Samoan Spikes both of them.

Mike Adamle throws us to a video on John Cena vs. Randy Orton.

William Regal has a group of men ready to beat Finlay up and drag him to Vince for his firing. Vince has a better idea: a cage match with Hornswoggle next week!

Paul Burchill vs. Brian Kendrick

This is Burchill’s return after about two years away and his sister Katie Lea is with him. Before the match, the Burchill’s seem rather….fond of one another. Paul works on the arm to start as JR again plugs the dog show. Kendrick armdrags him into an armbar but a Katie distraction lets Paul take over. One heck of a stomp sets up a rolling cutter to finish Kendrick. Just a step above a squash, but Katie was more impressive than Paul.

John Cena vs. Mark Henry

Randy Orton is on commentary. Cena charges into the World’s Strongest Slam fifteen seconds in and Henry knocks him into the corner. Some rights and lefts don’t do much for Cena as Henry is right back with a full nelson. That’s broken up and Henry misses a charge into the corner, setting up a middle rope shoulder into the STFU to give Cena the fast tap.

Post match Cena tells Orton that he is 100% heading into No Way Out so Orton better be ready. Cena would never lie about an injury status.

Wrestlemania is coming, complete with Red Hot Chili Peppers theme.

Here is Mr. Kennedy to see if Ric Flair wants to forfeit their No Way Out match. Cue Flair, to tell Kennedy a story. Flair: “Before you were born….” Kennedy: “Oh here we go.” Flair talks about how he and his generation paved the road for people like Kennedy so he isn’t forfeiting. Sure Kennedy has a great future, but he wants to do once what Flair has done sixteen times. Flair is coming to No Way Out and goes to leave, but Kennedy kicks him in the bad leg and mocks the strut. This match is getting a far better build than I would have expected.

Melina vs. Maria

Jillian Hall and Santino Marella are here too, with the latte joining commentary. Maria starts fast with a scorpion kick but Melina knocks her right back down. Back up and Maria screams a lot before hitting a clothesline. Melina gets dropped throat first on the top and a bulldog makes it worse, but Jillian kisses Santino. That’s enough for Melina to grab a rollup for the cheap pin.

Post match, Santino begs forgiveness and talks about what happens to WWE women who do Playboy. Therefore, she has one week to decide between Playboy and him. Santino kisses her and leaves.

No Way Out rundown.

Video on HHH.

Candice Michelle is coming back.

Jeff Hardy vs. Shawn Michaels

Non-title and this should be good. Hardy starts fast with a backslide for two before sending him outside. The dive misses so Shawn slaps him in the face before they go back inside. A headlock takeover puts Shawn down and a belly to back suplex gives Hardy two as the fast start continues. Shawn fights up and elbows him into the corner for the chops, only to get headlock takeovered again.

Back up and Hardy gets sent over the top for some cat skinning, so Shawn hits a slightly harder than expected clothesline. Hardy is fine enough to mule kick Shawn to the floor for the baseball slide but Shawn powerslams him out of the air. We take a break and come back with Hardy favoring his back, as you might have expected. There’s a hard whip into the corner and Michaels drives some knees into the back to make it worse. The bow and arrow goes on Hardy until he elbows his way to freedom.

Back up and they slug it out until Shawn grabs a swinging neckbreaker for two. The half crab goes on to stay on Hardy’s back, sending Hardy to the rope. Hardy avoids a charge to send Shawn shoulder first into the post but Shawn is fine enough to knock him off the top. The elbow misses though and the Whisper in the Wind gives Hardy two as JR is getting WAY into this.

Shawn is back up with the forearm into the nipup and now the top rope elbow can connect. The superkick misses so Shawn goes for his weird reverse figure four, sending Hardy to the rope again. Another superkick misses and it’s the Twist of Fate into the Swanton to give Hardy the big win.

Rating: B+. That was a pay per view quality match that got the time and gave Hardy one of the biggest wins of his career. On top of that it was a completely clean finish, which you don’t see very often in a spot like this. Hardy is on a roll going into the Chamber, though he was on a roll going into the Royal Rumble match with Orton and that didn’t turn out so well for him. For now though, great match.

Overall Rating: B. This was another weird show, but the double taping thing probably explains a lot of the setup. We had a heck of a main event and another pretty good one in JBL vs. Jericho, plus the Vince stuff was short. No Way Out needs to get out of the way already so we can move on to Wrestlemania, but the go home show was an improvement over recent weeks.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: February 4, 2008
Location: Frank Irwin Center, Austin, Texas
Attendance: 13,552
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

So we are firmly into the build for No Way Out, which will feature John Cena challenging Randy Orton for the Raw World Title, plus an Elimination Chamber match for the Raw World Title shot at Wrestlemania. Thankfully we’re only getting the build toward one Elimination Chamber match, which should fill in most of this week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Randy Orton is in the ring to start things off and it looks like we’ve got a contract signing. Orton recaps the setup of his title match with John Cena at No Way Out, which is Cena’s Royal Rumble title shot. That’s not good enough for Orton though, which is why he wants a contract signed so Cena has no way out. Orton’s lawyers have already signed the contract and he has signed it, so get Cena out here to sign it too.

After a quick walk through the back, here is Cena to quite the ovation. Cena wastes no time in signing and Orton is rather pleased, because the match is on no matter what happens to Cena, including in his arm wrestling match with Mark Henry tonight. Cue Henry for a distraction so the RKO can lay Cena out. They certainly didn’t waste time here.

Post break, Henry and Orton deny planning anything in advance. Violence is promised for later tonight.

Kelly Kelly/Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix/Victoria

Kelly goes after Victoria to start and manages a backslide, which has commentary far too impressed. Mickie comes in to go after Beth but gets pulled off the top, which might be a knee injury. A guillotine works a bit better for Mickie but Beth powers her into the corner. Everything breaks down and Mickie hits a tornado DDT to finish Victoria.

Mickie wants the title.

William Regal tells Hornswoggle to get ready to join Vince McMahon’s special club. Regal: “I’m in it!”

Here is Shawn Michaels, with JR saying HHH isn’t here tonight due to a family emergency. Shawn talks about how close he got to winning the WWE Title last year at Wrestlemania but he doesn’t want to be second place. He is ready to go back this year so everyone in the Elimination Chamber is on notice. Shawn: “Friend, family and Umaga….whatever he is, he’s on notice too!”

Cue Chris Jericho to interrupt to say he respects Shawn and how much he loved their Wrestlemania match. But then Shawn suggested he is going to win the Elimination Chamber and that’s too far. Jericho has been inside the Chamber three times and knows what it takes to make it to the main event of Wrestlemania. Cue Jeff Hardy to interrupt to say that he’ll be going to the main event of Wrestlemania for the first time.

Now it’s JBL interrupting to say he gets what he wants. He has bought Umaga to get him to the main event of Wrestlemania….so here is Umaga to interrupt. After staring down the good guys, Umaga turns to JBL and backs him into the corner, which brings out Snitsky, to say the other five have had their chances. Fans: “BRUSH YOUR TEETH!”

Shawn doesn’t care for threats and mocks Snitsky’s teeth before hitting him in the face. The brawl is on and we probably have a six man for later. Indeed as William Regal comes out to make the six man tag. This took a long time to get to the point and was mainly there to get all six of the Elimination Chamber participants out there.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Super Crazy

Kennedy dropkicks the knee out to start and hammers away at the leg. The knee is twisted back and then around the post but Crazy uses the free leg to kick Kennedy in the head. That’s broken up and Kennedy grabs…kind of an inverted Figure Four for the fast tap. At least the hold was different than just a copy of Flair’s Figure Four.

Post match Kennedy shows us a clip of MVP taking out Ric Flair’s knee last week on Smackdown. Therefore, Kennedy is giving Flair a chance to come here next week and forfeit the No Way Out match and save his leg. They’re taking a different path to Kennedy vs. Flair and it’s more interesting than I would have thought.

Mike Adamle hypes up the Raw Elimination Chamber.

Video on the Chamber itself.

Carlito/Santino Marella vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick

Maria is here with Carlito and Marella. Kendrick dropkicks Carlito for a fast two but Marella low bridges him to the floor. London chases Marella around the ring, leaving Carlito to hit a Backstabber to finish Kendrick. Remember when London and Kendrick were one of the best teams in the company?

Vince McMahon is preparing for Hornswoggle to join his, ahem, special club. This involves a, quote, “Professional a** buffer” and “a** cream”. Vince: “Mr. McMahon’s a** in HD!”

Here’s Vince to humiliate Hornswoggle again. He talks about how you can’t reason with a child, so you have to discipline them. After ranting about children in the audience, Vince says you have to literally make them kiss your a**. Cue Hornswoggle, who Vince blames for the whole thing and it’s going to hurt Vince more than him.

Vince drops his pants and asks for a pardon of the tan lines. Hornswoggle goes to kiss it but Vince demands that he kiss it (that felt like a missed cue). Cue Finlay to ask what is wrong with Vince, who threatens a firing. Actually, Finlay can kiss it instead, but Hornswoggle gives it a bite. That doesn’t work for Vince, who makes himself vs. Hornswoggle next week, No DQ, and if Finlay interferes, he’s fired. This was WAY longer than any segment involving Vince not wearing pants should have been.

Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly vs. Trevor Murdoch/Lance Cade

Non-title. Holly elbows Murdoch down to start so it’s off to Cade to run Holly over right back. That doesn’t last long and Cody comes in with a top rope ax handle, setting up a bulldog. Everything breaks down and Cody DDTs Murdoch for the pin.

Post match Carlito and Santino Marella come out to challenge for the titles. Egads that’s a rough time for the belts.

No Way Out rundown.

Shawn Michaels/Jeff Hardy/Chris Jericho vs. John Bradshaw Layfield/Snitsky/Umaga

Shawn and Umaga start things off with Shawn’s chops having no effect. Umaga misses a sitdown splash so Jericho comes in and gets headbutted down without much trouble. It’s off to Snitsky to miss a big boot, allowing Jericho to triangle dropkick him out to the floor. Hardy comes in (big reaction for that) and gets slammed by Snitsky, allowing JBL to pound away.

A hard shoulder drops Hardy but Snitsky comes in and allows the tag off to Shawn. Something like an Indian Deathlock has Snitsky in trouble but everything breaks down. The good guys hit triple dives and we take a break with the fans sounding rather enthusiastic. Back with Jericho in trouble and getting caught in the wrong corner.

Umaga grabs a bearhug before hitting the Samoan drop for two. Jericho tries to fight out but gets kicked in the back to cut him right back down. An enziguri gives Jericho a breather though and the hot tag brings in Hardy to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Snitsky.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard, long form six man here with Hardy winning for the feel good moment. Hardy is going to be the fan favorite in the Chamber and giving him some momentum on the way there is the right thing to do. The fans wanted to see him do anything here and it’s not like Jericho and Shawn need to pin Snitsky. Basic six man formula here and it worked just fine.

And now, arm wrestling between John Cena and Mark Henry. As expected, Henry takes forever to start and gets in a cheap shot on Cena’s recently injured chest. They go, Henry is about to win, Cena is about to win, Randy Orton runs in to jump Cena. The RKO and AA are blocked and Orton runs, leaving Cena to AA Henry to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a weird show as they had two stories, with the Elimination Chamber stuff and John Cena vs. Randy Orton. That filled in part of the show, but there wasn’t much else to fill in time other than those two stories. Unfortunately the other big story was Vince/Hornswoggle and….yeah that was as Vince of a segment as you could have had. No Way Out is all but set and that has me wondering how bad things are going to go next week when they don’t have much to say. For now though, it was just an ok show without much to fill in the gaps between the big stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 28, 2008
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

The Royal Rumble has come and gone and that means it is time to start the Road To Wrestlemania. Randy Orton retained the Raw World Title over Jeff Hardy last night, but the big story is the return of John Cena, who is back months ahead of schedule and wont he Royal Rumble. That means Cena is going to be coming for Orton sooner than later so let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

Royal Rumble recap.

Here is John Cena to get things going. Cena is a bit more serious than usual and says he knows this town is always going to tell him the truth. He is here tonight to answer a question that has been on everyone’s mind: how could this be possible? Back in October he suffered a major injury….and we pause for a CENA SUCKS chant. Cena: “Right now, that’s music to my ears.” Cena was supposed to be out for a year and that meant no Wrestlemania.

Some things have changed around here and in a hospital bed, he made a decision that would change everything. Now he is back for one chance just to maybe get an opportunity to go to Wrestlemania. Maybe it was luck, but he stands before you the winner of the Royal Rumble and he is going to Wrestlemania. Unless of course the people here would like to see Wrestlemania…..tonight. That gets the fans’ attention so Cena throws out the challenge to Randy Orton for the title TONIGHT.

Cue Orton to list off the people he has beaten since winning the title, which is quite the impressive collection. Cena cuts him off and says yes, Orton has beaten them all, in addition to putting him on the shelf. That’s because Orton is smart, and that’s why he is going to take this match tonight. Orton is smart enough to think that there is no way Cena has healed in four months.

Cena says Orton is too smart to let Cena have eight more weeks to heal up and make it easier to whip Orton all over Disneyland (World. Get it right.). Orton isn’t buying it and says he only defends the title if people open their wallets and pay to see it, so no match tonight….but they can do it at No Way Out. Cena is in but says he wants some tonight, so he’ll get some. This was a weird way to go, but Cena being back boosts up any show so there was no other way to start things up.

Ashley Massaro/Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall/Beth Phoenix

Mickie and Jillian start things off with Mickie taking her down for a fast two. Beth comes in to mock Mickie for crying over last week’s loss before being sent….mostly into the post. A side slam plants Mickie so Jillian comes back in, only to get rolled up for two. Mickie neckbreakers her for two but gets dropped by Beth, setting up the fisherman’s suplex to give Beth the pin (Jillian was never in).

Post match Mickie is distraught again.

Vince McMahon and William Regal are in the back where Vince makes Cena vs. Orton for No Way Out. They need a Wrestlemania match though, with Regal saying they can have THAT match with the winner facing the winner of Cena vs. Orton at Wrestlemania. Vince: “Not THAT match.” Vince lets Regal go make it.

Here is William Regal to announce that the Elimination Chamber is back at No Way Out. After a video on the match, Regal explains the concept and announces Umaga, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, JBL, Jeff Hardy and HHH for the Chamber.

Mike Adamle announces what is coming tonight.

Cody Rhodes vs. Carlito

Hardcore Holly, Santino Marella and Maria are here too. Cody armdrags him into an armbar to start before winning a strike off in the corner. Another armdrag into an armbar doesn’t go so well but they roll with it anyway and it’s off to an arm crank to keep Carlito down. Carlito gets sent to the apron for a springboard punch to the face to send him outside. Back in and Cody gets distracted by Santino, allowing Carlito to grab a Backstabber for the pin.

Rating: D+. Not exactly good stuff here and the ending wasn’t quite inspired. At the same time, it isn’t a great sign that Carlito and Santino Marella seem to be the top challengers to the Tag Team Titles. If Rhodes and Holly as champions wasn’t enough proof, what other evidence do you need?

HHH and Shawn Michaels both want to get back into the title picture at No Way Out, but for tonight they need partners. As luck would have it, they both have their DX gear so it’s reunion time (and WWE Shop plug time).

D-Generation X vs. Snitsky/Umaga

After the usual pre-match chattering, HHH and Snitsky start things off. Hang on though as HHH grabs the mic and asks if anyone has a toothbrush, Tic Tacs, mints or ANYTHING before he has to fight Snitsky. HHH hits an early clothesline and slams his way out of trouble, meaning it’s off to Shawn. Umaga isn’t having that though and kicks Shawn off the top for the big crash. Back in and Snitsky takes us back to the 80s with the bearhug before choking in the corner. Umaga grabs his own bearhug and we take a break.

We come back with Shawn caught in the Tree of Woe and…Snitsky grabbing another bearhug. Shawn gets sent into the corner where he avoids the running Umaga attack. A DDT is enough for the tag off to HHH for the house cleaning but Umaga grabs a Samoa drop. Shawn superkicks Umaga in the back of the head and out to the floor for the dive, setting up the Pedigree to finish Snitsky.

Rating: C. Pretty paint by numbers tag match here with no drama about the result. It was more about whether HHH or Shawn would get the pin over Snitsky, as Umaga still has just enough star power to avoid taking a fall here. HHH and Shawn have much bigger deals to get to in the next few weeks and Umaga needs to be kept strong for the Chamber, leaving Snitsky getting pinned as the only way to go.

JBL comes up to Randy Orton, his partner in the main event, in the back and says they’re partners tonight but he’s taking the title at Wrestlemania. You know, assuming Orton wins at No Way Out. Orton likes the idea because he knows he can beat JBL.

Jeff Hardy is ready to get back to the title scene so he is ready to win the Elimination Chamber and go on to Wrestlemania.

Hornswoggle is in Vince McMahon’s office, where Vince berates him for being a loser.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Brian Kendrick

Kendrick charges into the ring to start and gets sent into the corner. The running boot misses but Kennedy is back up with a shoulder first ram into the buckle. Kendrick gets in a kick to the face but misses a charge, setting up the Mic Check to give Kennedy the pin.

Post match Kennedy says he wanted in the Elimination Chamber, but he’ll settle for retiring Ric Flair at No Way Out instead. Cue Flair for some WOOing.

Maria vs. Melina

Santino Marella is here with Maria. Melina takes her down early but Maria is back up with a kick to the ribs. There’s the Bronco Buster in the corner but Maria misses a charge, allowing Melina to forearm her in the back. Maria hits a gutbuster (belly buster according to JR) but misses a charge in the corner. Melina tries a rollup but only pulls Maria’s tights down, allowing Maria to sit down on her for the pin.

Post match Santino runs in and throws his shirt around Maria’s waist and rants about her wanting to be in Playboy.

Chris Jericho is ready to be serious instead of the goofy guy so he can go to Wrestlemania.

Mike Adamle gives us the No Way Out rundown.

Jeff Hardy/Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton/John Bradshaw Layfield

Jericho wastes no time in suplexing Orton down and elbowing him in the face. Double knees to the face drop Orton again and Hardy hits a very early Swanton for two, with JBL pulling Orton out. We take a break and come back with Hardy hitting a running forearm to drop Orton, who pulls him into the corner by the throat.

Orton takes him down again and works on an armbar until Hardy fights up and hits a swinging sleeper drop. It’s back to Jericho to try the Walls but he has to stop and dropkick Orton off the apron. The Lionsault gets two on JBL as everything breaks down. The Walls go on JBL again but Orton makes the save with the RKO to give JBL the pin.

Rating: C+. Pretty standard main event tag match here with the villains stealing the pin and giving JBL some momentum heading into the Chamber. It isn’t like he has any real chance to win so boosting him up even slightly in a match like this isn’t going to hurt. It makes more sense than Orton getting the pin so at least they thought about this one.

Post match here is John Cena to lay out Orton to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t the strongest show coming out of the Royal Rumble and a lot of that is due to the lack of Jeff Hardy energy. That story was carrying the show for a good while and now that Hardy has lost, most of it is gone. Cena being back is the big deal of course, but moving the match to No Way Out in less than three weeks feels rushed to say the least. Pretty disappointing show here and that’s never fun to see.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: January 21, 2008
Location: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and that means we should be in for some final pushes. There is some drama to this one as HHH has to earn his way back into the match by beating someone tonight. That is a problem though as Vince McMahon hasn’t said who HHH is facing. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with the traditional Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. video, as per his holiday.

We look back at Jeff Hardy jumping off a really high tower onto Randy Orton last week.

Opening sequence.

And hey we’re officially in HD.

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Kennedy

The fans are WAY behind Shawn, even as Kennedy armdrags him into an armbar to start. Back up and Shawn sweeps the leg and grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s reversed into a battle over a backslide but Kennedy neckbreakers him onto the knee and cranks away. Shawn fights up and hits a swinging neckbreaker for the needed breather, meaning the comeback is on. There’s the forearm into a nip up and Shawn drops the top rope elbow. The threat of Sweet Chin Music sends Kennedy outside though, leaving Shawn to dive on him as we take a break.

Back with Shawn being sent hard into the corner and a running boot to the head gives Kennedy two. The Mic Check is blocked but Kennedy rams him into the corner and takes it up top. Shawn knocks him off but another elbow hits raised knees, which thankfully hurts his knee, as it should. Back up and the threat of Sweet Chin Music drops Kennedy, allowing Shawn to try his leglock. Kennedy blocks that too, but Shawn is right back up with Sweet Chin Music for the pin.

Rating: C+. The idea of Kennedy hiding from Sweet Chin Music for the whole match and then managing to escape the other finisher, only to get superkicked was a good way to go. It’s a different way to go and they made it work well here. This needs to be the end of the story though as there isn’t much else left for them to do.

Randy Orton is annoyed at Vince McMahon for wanting him to shake Jeff Hardy’s handshake. Vince tells him to get over it before saying it could give Orton a competitive advantage at the Royal Rumble. That has Orton thinking.

Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James

Non-title. Mickie loses a test of strength to start and has to counter a powerbomb. A Thesz press works a bit better for Mickie but Beth powers out of the hurricanrana from the corner. A rollup gives Mickie two and she grabs something like a choke to slow Beth down. Back up and Beth knocks her to the floor for a crash, followed by a chinlock to keep Mickie in trouble. That’s broken up as well and Mickie hurricanranas her out of the corner. Beth powers up though and drops her on the top rope before pulling it into the fisherman’s buster for the pin.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to do much but the bigger problem is that Mickie is one of the few women who could give Beth a real run for her money. The division isn’t exactly deep with talent at this point and if Mickie isn’t going to take the title, they are going to have to build someone else up in a hurry. I’m just not sure who that is going to be.

HHH makes fun of Vince McMahon’s age before saying he doesn’t care who he is facing tonight because he is going to the Royal Rumble. That is a guaran-censored-tee.

Brian Kendrick and Cody Rhodes are fired up about being in the Royal Rumble when Hardcore Holly comes in. This turns into a discussion of MySpace and Holly is lost.

Video on Randy Orton, eventually focusing on his feud with Jeff Hardy.

Hornswoggle/Finlay vs. Highlanders

Rory takes Finlay into the corner to start but he knocks Robbie off the apron without much effort. For some reason Rory goes after Hornswoggle, meaning Finlay blasts him with a clothesline. The Tadpole Splash is good enough to give Hornswoggle the fast pin.

Video on JBL vs. Chris Jericho.

Here is a more serious Jericho for a chat. Jericho talks about how he could come out here and rant and rave about how he wants JBL tonight, but that won’t work. Last week, Jericho was watching Raw with his children when JBL called him a coward. His son asked if he was a coward and for the first time, Jericho saw doubt in his son’s eyes.

JBL didn’t make a mistake when he choked Jericho and hurt his throat, but only when he didn’t finish the job. Jericho is still here and he isn’t coming to the Royal Rumble for a shot, but to hurt JBL. This was serious Jericho and it worked really well. Do this kind of thing more often, at least when it’s needed.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Vince McMahon yells at Jeff Hardy over last week’s mega Swanton and tells him to never risk himself like that. Now go shake Randy Orton’s hand. Hardy promises to give everyone something to talk about.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: Brian Kendrick vs. Umaga

William Regal pops up on screen to introduce Umaga. Kendrick avoids a charge to start and strikes away but gets hit with an uppercut to cut that off fast. The running Tree of Woe headbutt misses though and Kendrick goes for some running shots to the face. This goes as well as you would expect as Umaga hits the pop up Samoan drop. The Samoan Spike sends Umaga to the Rumble fast.

Mickie James cries to Maria about losing to Beth Phoenix again. Ashley Massaro comes in and wants to talk to Maria about something she heard at the Playboy Mansion. Cue Santino Marella who doesn’t like Playboy and accidentally suggests Maria is a cow.

We look at Vince McMahon on the Celebrity Apprentice.

Video on Jeff Hardy on his way to the World Title match against Randy Orton.

Carlito vs. Hardcore Holly

Santino Marella and Maria are here with Carlito so Holly has Cody Rhodes with him. They fight over a hiptoss to start until a full nelson slam plants Carlito for an early two. Carlito takes him down as well and we hit the chinlock, only to have Holly fight up for a suplex. That earns him another takedown but Hardy is back up again and wins a slugout. Santino’s distraction breaks up the Alabama Slam though and Carlito hits the Backstabber for the pin.

Rating: C-. Another match with no time to get anywhere and that isn’t a big disappointment. You can only get so much out of these two fighting for any length of time and it isn’t like there was much of a point to this one. Nothing to see with the match, but at least Holly didn’t have a wig on.

HHH won the 2002 Royal Rumble.

Royal Rumble Qualifying Match: HHH vs. ???

William Regal comes out to say HHH has to beat three opponents in an over the top rope gauntlet match. First up is Snitsky, who forearms away to take over but HHH slips out of a powerslam. A running clothesline knocks Snitsky out so Regal sends out Mark Henry as the second opponent. Henry runs him over and goes for the elimination but it’s far too early for that. The splash misses for Henry in the corner so HHH tries and fails at a slam. Now the splash connects but he misses a charge, meaning Regal himself is the third opponent. Regal can’t get him out so HHH punches him in the face and hits the spinebuster. The easy elimination sends HHH on to the Rumble.

Rating: D. What else was this going to be? It was HHH winning three straight short over the top challenges against two monsters and a lackey in a suit. You can’t get much out of that and that is about as far as they got here. HHH was always going to be in the Rumble and they didn’t bother with anything overly flashy here, which was about as good as this was going to get.

Another video on Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy.

Here is Vince McMahon to oversee a handshake between Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. Vince knows how big of a match this is going to be and has them stand face to face. Orton talks about how he was relieved when he found out he would be facing Hardy. Now though, he admits he underestimated Hardy, though Orton is leaving with the title.

Hardy doesn’t care about gaining Orton’s respect and says he has been doing these things for himself and his brother Matt. He’ll do anything to become WWE Champion and doesn’t respect Orton. Hardy goes outside and shakes hands with JR, the King, Lilian Garcia and a bunch of fans. Back in and Hardy shakes Orton’s hand, only to naturally pull him into the Twist of Fate to end the show. The handshake stuff was good and going to the fans was clever, but was this ever going to end with anything but a Twist of Fate?

Overall Rating: C-. There wasn’t much to be done here and I think they knew that coming in. With the World Title match having been set for weeks now and the Rumble not needing much more work, there wasn’t a lot that had to be done here. The Rumble should be a good show and I’m curious to see where things go after that.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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