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WWE Raw Reax #2: "The major flaw of this show was the real lack of hype for Survivor Series" Nov 3, 2009 - 10:58:03 AM
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (3.0): Best: Kofi promo; Kingston/MVP/Henry vs. Legacy. Worst: everything else. Really??!! What the hell happened? This was a train wreck almost from start to finish. Ozzy and Sharon pretty much blew everything they were supposed to do, even with assistance in the opening segment. And, again, someone outside of the Guest GM books the show with the Guest GM as the mouthpiece. Maybe the Guest Host gimmick should die if WWE can't trust who they book. And what is this--still--with Lawler and the Trapezoid muscle? It's Trapezius! DX would give them way too much credit later on after a constant mistake like this. If Jamie Noble were on the chopping block, he did a mighty fine job respecting "the time honored tradition." That said, that ringside powerbomb to the floor looked as brutal as the Brother Ray uranage on Chris Sabin last Thursday. At least WWE went about it the right way on handling the follow-up. WWE also handled the follow-up better with Kingston-Orton. It's still a weak explanation when Legacy didn't finish the job at the PPV that it's Kingston's fault Orton lost. But Kingston's line about leaving the mirror on the destroyed car undamaged so Randy could truly see who is to blame made up for it. The "Raw's Got Talent" segment was a complete waste of time. Does Chris Masters not get the joke that's being played on him? The Michaels-Cena-Triple H build has been a living nightmare to watch. What's driving this story isn't the title, but a little person. This is the same person who is co-dependently obsessed with Chavo Guerrero. What was the point of turning the "even with odds the odds are even" title-at-stake promo into a gay joke? That was just stupid and disrespectful. Like with Miz and Morrison some time ago, I really only wanted to hear one of DX at a time. What I got instead was this noise of idle chatter and more unnecessary use of insider terms by Triple H. Took a huge chunk out of the main event, and out of my enjoyment.
Justin Shook of Columbia, S.C., USC student (7.0): Best Match: Cena vs. Y2J vs. Big Show. Worst Match: Divas Match. The opening segment just wasn't good. The crowd seemed into Ozzy, which was good to see. Sharon was decent on the mic, while Ozzy came off as totally uninformed. There were several screw-ups on the mic, but still it wasn't that much worse then what we've already seen from guest hosts in the past. What really frustrated me was DX. Why do they get to make the matches every week? Maybe they should have announced that DX was guest-hosting Raw tonight, as it came off like Ozzy and Sharon were just there to promote their book and enjoy the free food in the back. They got better later, but this opener just didn't vibe with me. Then we get an unpromoted, unadvertised U.S. Title match! Oh great! Why is it being made out like Evan Bourne beating The Miz is an "upset?" Did The Miz get elevated that much, or did Bourne just get pushed that far down the totem poll? WWE needs to put a real effort into making ALL the titles relevant again. Sheamus squashed some no-body, oh wait wasn't that Jamie Noble? Former Cruiserweight champ? Well I guess that doesn't matter. That aside, the powerbomb on the outside was nasty looking. The pre-match promo by Kofi before facing Randy Orton was a great touch that the WWE needs to do more often. Kofi-Orton was good while it lasted, but you knew that wasn't going more then a few minutes. The six-man tag match that followed was fine. WWE needs to learn to build up tension between two guys for a few weeks, and then finally let them go at it instead of letting them get physical a week after their rivalry just started. That buildup to the fight is what makes rivalries matter in the eyes of the fans. Instant payoff does nothing to elevate stars or make matches feel special. Overall, this show was filled with the usual issues Raw has had for months now. However, it did have its bright spots like Jericho over Cena, good elevation of Kofi and Sheamus, and Cole getting trashed by everyone! The major flaw of this show was the real lack of hype for Survivor Series. This is one of the "Big Four" and should be treated as such. I am praying that next week we get the rubber match between Cena and HBK.
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