Review/Monday Night Raw 1/14/07

Show opens up with a Jeff Hardy/Randy Orton microphone confrontation. Boy, don’t you miss the days where Stone Cold and The Rock would be the main eventers with the microphone confrontation? Although Jeff Hardy has surprised me with his vocal improvement.

Ashley, Maria and Mickie James vs. Jillian, Melina and Beth Phoenix
Or what I like to call, a pee break. Seriously, I haven’t watched an entire women’s match since Trish retired.

Next up a backstage segment between Vince, Snitsky and Regal. Some bad humor between Vince and Regal. Why is Regal even the G.M anymore with Vince calling the shots?

HBK wonders why he has to qualify to enter the Rumble. Good point.

Shawn Michaels vs. Trevor Murdoch
Quick match that has Shawn going over with an inverted figure four leg lock. I love when veterans change up their move list, especially when it actually finishes a match. Triple H take notes!

Mr. Kennedy shows up with a pre recorded promo basically saying he is done with HBK. But since he has just a pinch of respect he will face him next week on Raw. These guys have great chemistry in the ring so the more they fight the happier I’ll be. Maybe Lashley comes back next week?

I hate Hornswoggle. It was a fun joke on Vince in the beginning but as of right now nobody pays a ticket or turns on the television to watch him.

HHH vs. Snitsky
HHH and Snitsky have a decent back and forth match which ends with a DQ. That was probably the best match of Snitsky’s career. I know it’s not saying much, but it’s something. Triple H snaps after the match and beats up Snitsky and tries to go backstage when Vince shows up on the mini screen telling him he’s an angry young man. HHH destroys the screen with his sledgehammer as amazing spark effects fly out. Who’s producing this show? George Lucas!

HHH and Vince meet backstage and Vince says HHH is out of control, so he’s putting him back in the rumble………………………….IF he wins next weeks match. Who is that against? We’ll find out next week. I hope it’s against HBK. That would be sweet
JBL celebration time! He cuts a promo basically calling Y2J a coward. A yella bastard! Ok I made up that last part but when it comes down to it JBL is probably one of the top three heels in wrestling promo wise. The other two I would have to say are Kennedy and Edge. I would have thrown Christian Cage in there as well, be he’s a face now…I think.

Whoever thought using all those fireworks was a good idea should be fired. You could barely see anything with all the smoke in the arena. Horrible idea. With WWE’s production values you would think they would realize that. It doesn’t even add any heat to JBL. Just makes his exit really pretty.

Actually maybe the smoke was a good idea. I didn’t want to have clear vision of the midget match. Sure it was funny for a bit, but this thing went like 8 minutes while HBK vs. Murdoch went like 4. Give me a break. Khali comes out but Hornswoggle is saved by Finlay!! Hooray.

Vince and Finlay show their Irish anger and keep mentioning a deal. Hopefully the deal involves the murder of Hornswoggle.

Ric Flair vs. William Regal
Match was nothing special but the ending was fun. That’s why you pull the tights while the ref is counting on the opposite side Regal!! Well I wanted more legit wins for Flair so I guess I got my wish. Sure it only took two minutes, but a win is a win.

IC Title Match/ Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
Nice touch having Jeff Hardy come out last since he is the defending champion of this match. And it’s over with a kick to the balls. I kind of figured it would be some screw job ending just because it started so late. And why give away a ppv match for free on T.V anyway.

But I loved the end of the show. Jeff Hardy was doing insane stuff for the midcard and tag division, why not do it for the main event when it really matters. Did you notice J.R and King were silent during the entire aftermath of the jump? Makes the situation seem real serious. Last time I can remember WWE using that strategy was when they worked the Shawn Michaels injury with Owen Hart in 96. They are building Hardy perfectly though, he is getting more over every week.

The show was ok. All it really accomplished was the further pushing of the JBL/Y2J and World Title storylines which is looking like the selling points of The Rumble.

An Extra Boost.

www.411mania.com is reporting that Big Show is either very close to signing a new deal, or has done so already. They also say that Bobby Lashley is ready to come back anyday now from his shoulder surgery and The Rock has been asked to induct his father into the Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend.

After Vince McMahon and Donald Trump's hair got Wrestlemania a huge buyrate last year, it is good to see that WWE will be getting these extra boosts going into the big night.

My guess is Bobby Lashley will want revenge after Mr. Kennedy sidelined him for a couple of months. That could set up Lashley vs Kennedy for Wrestlemania. No idea who would or should win that one.

As for Big Show I'm praying they don't put him against The Great Khali. But I've been watching wrestling for a long time. This is Vince's wet dream. Little side note, The Big Show is the only wrestler in history to own the WCW, WWE, and ECW World Heavyweight Championships.

All three should be great additions to Wrestlemania.

Start Spreading The News...

Don’t have time to search the web for that ever so important wrestling gossip? Don’t worry I’ll do it for you, plus give you my two cents on the topics.

Ron Killings has been telling people that he will be accepting the offer given to him by WWE, which is an $80,000 downside guarantee. He hasn't signed and is seeing if AAA will match the deal.

*The last time we saw Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings in the WWE was as K-Kwik while tagging with The Road Dogg. Remember their rap song Gettin Rowdy! Wow, that was what eight years ago? Ron Killings for a bit main evented TNA shows and could be a very nice hand for WWE, especially at that bargain price if that number is true. What’s the worst that could happen?

The reason Ric Flair and HHH had the DQ finish on Raw is because Vince McMahon doesn't want Flair going over any money players at this point. Ric Flair's wife and children (Ashleigh, Reid and Tiffany) were at ringside for the match, but WWE made the call not to show them at all. Many feel the reason was because the match and finish were more of designed angle for HHH, despite it being part of the Flair retirement storyline.

*I can understand the logic but it annoys me. This Ric Flair storyline that Stone Cold came up with can be compelling television. But if it’s only going to involve DQ and interference endings...why bother. This storyline, to me, is supposed to solidify the legacy of Ric Flair by giving him weeks of quality matches and wins. To make up for losing to Kenny Dykstra three times in a row or getting murdered by Umaga and Rated RKO. Have Flair win some matches, look good, and retire with some dignity.

Mick Foley is expecting to make 2008 his last year and to fully retire. Foley knows due to back and knee injuries that his time is limited.

*I am on the fence about Foley wrestling today. It’s kind of annoying the pattern he has been on. On television for two weeks, off television. Comes back two months later same routine. I think he would be better off just staying on Raw full time for the year. My idea would be for him to go on ECW. ECW never really replaced the big name that Chris Benoit was supposed to provide, and I think he would fit well on there. Maybe a mentor storyline to C.M Punk and turn on him setting up an ECW main event for Wrestlemania?

Harris is leaving TNA. He turned down TNA's contract offer and hasn't been happy with the company for awhile now. He had a farewell dinner with several TNA workers on Tuesday after the Impact taping.

*Chris Harris leaving TNA would have been big news when America’s Most Wanted was at their peak (including their feud against one another), but Harris has died down over the last year or so. WWE probably has interest in Harris considering Vince’s obsession with big guys. Chris Harris being 6’4 and 235lbs of muscle should help his chances of employment. I’m not sure how Vince looks at TNA talent, from the sign and release of Monty Brown is doesn’t look too good. Hopefully Harris knows what he’s doing.

WWE Mobile is reporting what seems to be a storyline involving Playboy. According to the report, Ashley was at the Playboy Mansion on New Year's Eve and was asked by Hugh Hefner who the next WWE Diva to pose for Playboy should be. Before Ashley could answer, Santino Marella showed up and said that the only people who will see Maria naked are "former intercontinental champions who were plucked from the crowd in Italy and beated the Umaga."

*Anything that gets Santino more TV time is fine with me. He is gold on the mic.

WWE.com has a trailer up for the upcoming Steve Austin DVD. The DVD will have 20 full matches including WCW and ECW footage.

*I can’t wait for this DVD. Austin being one of my top 5 favorite wrestlers of all time (wait for the article) this should be sweet.

Randy Orton is getting some praise in the locker room these days. The basics are that he isn't taking any flack from HHH or Shawn Michaels. While the crew was in Iraq, Umaga was getting new tights made. Apparently he selected some colors that the seamstress said he couldn't use because, "They were HHH's colors." Umaga insisted and had the tights made. Michaels apparently threw a fit when he saw this and Randy Orton stood up for Umaga. Right now Orton has the feeling that he is untouchable, like Shawn Michaels used to have, which is why he feels he can stand up to HHH and Shawn, which has earned him the respect. There is still the feeling that HHH buries people when he has the chance, unless it is Cena. Many feel that HHH is responsible for Booker T leaving the promotion due to the booking of their Summerslam match. Booker was actually in talks with TNA before Summerslam, and what really set his leaving in motion was the suspension.

*A part of me hates Orton because he seems like an asshole behind the scenes. The other part of me loves that he is a thorn in the side of Shawn Michaels and Triple H. I look at it as karma since the klique put the boys through hell in the mid 90’s. Payback is a bitch, a RKO bitch! I don’t know about Orton being untouchable though. Cena yes, Orton…possibly.

Marijuana testing is considered "non-existent" at this point. They are testing once a year, with a fine of $1,000 for a failed test.

*Guess RVD will be back any day now.