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By Shane McKinley, PWTorch Specialist

Jericho and HBK Trading Logic For PPV Buys

Nothing quite like Jericho holding the championship like a cherished baby. Jericho goes over big with fans. Why? Because in his promo with JBL he goes the extra mile with talking about various companies related to Wall Street. There are wrestlers who will phone it in and rely on their charisma to pull them through, and then there are wrestlers who understand that promos are a craft and that the more you put into a promo, the more rewards it will bring. The big news of the night is that it will be a ladder match at No Mercy with Jericho and HBK. Nice thing about WWE is that they actually protect their gimmick matches, unlike TNA which throws them out there for throwaway feuds.

I guess submission matches or iron man matches are a thing of the past. I understand that a ladder match will convince fans to buy No Mercy more than an old school match, but as a fan I have already been well satisfied with the brutality aspect of the feud between Y2J and HBK. Michaels has already proven that he is more brutal than Jericho in their last PPV match, but what is still left up in the air is who is the better wrestler. That is why I would have liked to have seen a submission or an iron man match. Also, the main focus on Jericho's character is that he wins by the slimmest of margins. Perhaps the luckiest champion out there now. So I do not know why the character of Michaels would ask for a ladder match for the championship with Jericho when ladder matches are ripe for interferences. Ladder matches are more of blind chance and being lucky than good. As it stands right now it looks like Jericho will win that ladder match once again by a slim chance, and if fans have to hear Michael Cole talk about how damn lucky Jericho is, this will make people puke.

"Bad Mic" Mike Adalme Strikes Again

Pretty blunt tactic of trying to keep viewers tuned in with promises that Mike Adalme will name a number one contender after the Mysterio-Kane match. Raw needs something to keep fans tuned, but Adalme is not convincing as the right man for the job if he did not already have a plan in place before Raw even started, or would have to listen to other wrestler's opinions to make a idea. Pushover. Fans are shown an awkward bit with Adalme talking to K2. Watch that open hand, Mike. Pervert. People might as well call him the wind-up toy, because it is nearly 2009 and Adalme is still not convincing in whatever role WWE gives him.

C.M. Punk Is Slipping Through The Cracks

Punk is not looking too hot on Raw nowadays. Not only was he taken out of the championship scramble, but he lost to Jericho in the cage match. When Randy Orton sauntered out to the ring, Punk was nowhere to be found. Fans had that naive hope that perhaps WWE was building an Orton-Punk feud, but as it looks right now this feud will be picked up down the road. If Batista is locked up with JBL, Kane is fighting Rey Mysterio, and HBK is duking it out with Jericho, how is CM Punk going to work in? A lot was given into his title reign, but Punk had to drop the belt due to the sexiness of Jericho-Michaels (and that ridiculous Scramble match took place). The only possible solution would be for Punk to work his way into the number one contender match with JBL and Batista (providing speed with these two lugs).

Batista Is My Hero, The 2nd Generation (T2G) Are Chumpy

Better use of Santino this time around. Maybe that honk-o-meter is gone. Batista gives a fiery promo and actually outstaged Randy Orton, who did not have a good night. Orton recently has been a nice shot in the arm Raw needs, as you are not quite sure what he is going to do. Not sure how to react if every Raw is going to feature Orton talking about how the Age of Orton will appear shortly, but he cannot be bothered to give people a actual date of his return (after all, this is wrestling). Orton once again stares at the 2nd Generation and his night was over.

Speaking about the 2nd Generation they downright looked like chumps tonight. I understand that they won their match, but obviously Jim Hass was the bigger story. Do not know quite why we are mocking Jim Ross. Perhaps just a way to get merchandise out there? At least the pillow underneath Charlie's shirt was red, as Charlie was wearing a red jersey. That actually impressed me a little. But the 2nd Generation has something missing. The very first thing is that they carry themselves to be this hotshot group but the plain fact is that they have not beaten anybody credible. They seemed more relieved than proud when they win their matches. Manu-Rhodes-Dibase did not even beat on Charlie after the match to get the crowd booing them. T2G needs to gain credibility. Wrestlers typically hold a grudge against somebody who in a sense is mocking them and making them look bad. T2G did nothing of the sort. They got the win, but it was quickly forgotten.

The Masks People Wear, Rey Is A Bird, And The Evan Bourne Project

Opening shot of Kane wearing his mask had me freaked out for a minute, as I thought WWE was suddenly showing bondage and S & M stuff on Raw. After all, TNA's No Surrender had softcore porn on it. Kane has got that promo going. Scary music? Check. Point finger at people? Check. Red lighting? Check. Bwahahaha, Evan Bourne. Awkward. Rey is trying out a new eagle taunt, where he flaps his arms like a bird. Evan Bourne is now pulling double duty on Raw and ECW these days.

Christian's "Unprettier" Is Now Called The "Candy Wrapper," Bad Announcing

So it looks like Candice Michelle will face Beth Phoenix at No Mercy. These are really the only two women that are on the radar in WWE. Everybody else in the women's division is largely faceless.WWE should warn people when they bring out Jillian screeching one of her songs. Not really the best way to lead into a commercial break. Eagles vs. Cowboys or Jillian singing horribly? Another good one was when JBL sat down and Cole was unsure that they would be back. Cole's favorite word is "injured," and thanks to him, I am starting to feel that every wrestler is so fragile and cannot possibly stand. Pointing out a previous injury is fine, but nearly every time wears people down.

The Smackdown Video Editing, Layla, Metallica, Dolph Lundgren, And The Invisible Lance Cade

If you did not watch the last Smackdown, the video recap would have you believing that Triple H was pushing Jeff Hardy to achieve his dreams. You are just one second away! Ugh. Bit odd to see Kozlov in the main event picture, but we will see where it goes. Dolph Ziggler might be called Doll Sligger. He looks manufactured. I am a Metallica mark, so "All Nightmare Long" for the PPV is a good choice. Paul Burchill is back, and he has got a leather jacket! Yeah! If you missed Cole talking about how Burchill played rugby, you missed out! It is really bad when fans who watch Raw can quote Cole's background on wrestlers in their sleep: "He played center in Rugby and that is why he is called The Ripper because of his speed blah blah blah." I was wincing the entire time Layla spoke. Bad Acting 101. William Regal comes out and says, "It is not Noble you wanted, it is nobility." Did you write that on a napkin? And finally, I have no idea what Lance Cade is doing with Chris Jericho. No clue whatsoever where he is going or what he is actually doing. He gets picked on by Batista for some reason.

RAW'S FINAL VERDICT: In The Middle Of Absurdity

There were some things that just fell flat and did not go over well with fans. The opening steel cage was very good but one has to wonder where the former world champion Punk will end up. Liked the Red Cross bit. Mysterio vs. Kane started to pick up at the end. The Adalme bits were strung out and awkward as hell. A good portion of tonight was not too bad, but not really stand out either. A lot of things were drawn out.

LEAVING YOU WITH MY ABSURD THOUGHT: I went to www.tnawrestling.com and I could not find any sort of apology or recount of the boobie blunder at No Surrender. But they sure used a lot of exclamation points! To make things seem more exicting than they actually are! Yeah! Ladder match (despite lame finish) was the highlight of the night. Problem was that many of the matches are weak with buildup and screamed "holdovers until next PPV." Loads of run-ins. Jeff Jarrett coming out was so predictable and unwelcomed that it was insulting. I would rather not spend $30 on something that I have no confidence in. But we should give more credit to a company that named itself TNA.

My email is mckinley.torch@gmail.com.

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