TAKE PWTORCH
WITH YOU! Get our iPhone App (FREE!): Click Here Or enter "PWTorch.com" on your Blackberry or other Smart Phone browser for mobile-version of PWTorch.
MITCHELL'S TAKE
VIP - MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 2/25: Stream of About As Good A Raw As I've Ever Seen Feb 25, 2008 - 11:23:36 PM
Twenty million bucks, huh? And here I thought only boxing promoters lied...
We start with Raw GM William Regal in the ring introducing Triple H, John Cena, and WWE Champion Randy Orton for their photo opportunity. The cold open with the close-up camera angle was pretty cool.
John Cena thanks his opponents for coming up. He has a problem with one of them, though. He walks up to, gasp, Triple H. He points out that Triple H could have DQed him and cost him his WrestleMania match. He didn't like the congratulatory Pedigree, though.
Triple H said he wanted him at WrestleMania because it was the right thing.
Cena points out he made Triple H tap in their one match. That pisses off Triple H. Randy Orton points out it's Triple H's turn, uh, that he's still the WWE Champion, that both of them have giving him their best show, and he still has the title. Says Orton: "The Champ is here!' Ouch. He adds, "There's not a damn thing either of you can do about it."
A nod, then Triple H and Cena both punch Orton and toss him out of the ring. They fight each other and lose track of Orton. He leaves both lying in the ring with the RKO. Whoops, I was wrong about whose turn it was, well - this week.
This was a good segment. WWE trusted star-power and basic booking to carry the day.
Regal makes a Cena/Game vs. Mr. Kennedy/Randy Orton main event for tonight. Ken Kennedy tells Orton he's winning the Money in the Bank, then tearing a muscle, uh, then winning Orton's belt. Despite Kennedy's threat, Orton says he's still walking out the champion. What's that got to do with what Kennedy threatened?
Maria comes out in a bunny shirt. Santino Morella & Carlito face Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly. "Opposites attract," Jim Ross says of the tag team champions. Uh oh. Young Rhodes takes a beating. His more experienced partner, Hardcore Holly, Alabama Slams Morella for the victory. Morella is annoyed at Jerry Lawler for attempting to call Maria over to discuss the Playboy shoot.
A big Floyd Mayweather-Big Show video airs; then we get highlights of the WrestleMania press conference in Los Angeles. Hey, isn't WrestleMania in Florida? Isn't Raw in Phoenix? Not much to the highlights except Mayweather didn't get booed in them...
By the way, I heard Ric Flair was hanging out with Shaq and Grant Hill in Phoenix today, and he called out the G-Man.
"I hear To Be The Man, You Got To Beat The Man. Looks like I beat The Man."
-Mike Gminski - who, with help from his teammate Kenny Dennard, beat Ric Flair for the 2007 Prime-Time with the Packman Co-Host of The Year Award."
Anybody who knows me knows who I voted for, but Happy Birthday anyway Champ.
Whatever Happened to Chris Jericho meets cute with William Regal, and then asks to be in the Money in the Bank. His qualifier is with Jeff Hardy. The interesting thing is, someone's losing.
Chris Jericho faces Jeff Hardy in a MITB Qualifier. The crowd likes Hardy. It's nice to see Hardy wrestle someone his own size for a change. Y2J chant. He gets the Walls of Jericho. Hardy gets to the ropes. Jericho is frustrated at his inability to finish Hardy off. Hardy hits a face-first suplex but misses the Swanton. Hardy kicks out of the Lionsault. Good match, big heat. Jericho pins Hardy with a roll-up, which means Jeff Hardy loses. Well, he did eliminate Jericho in the Chamber so I guess Even Steven Rules apply.
Mr. McMahon is going to apologize to his dead son, Hornswoggle
The rest of this article is available exclusively to PWTorch VIP Members as part of this week's new PWTorch Newsletter. The 16-page print newsletter is also published online at PWTorch.com's member's website each week featuring the VIP-exclusive Newswire, Wade Keller's cover story, Torch Talk interviews, other exclusive staff columns, Keller's VIP-exclusive PPV and TV reports with match star ratings, Wade Keller's End Notes, and more. VIP membership also includes:
-The Daily Keller Hotline and over 30 other VIP Audio Shows per month.
-Eight complete PWTorch Newsletter back issues from "Five Years Ago This Week" and "Ten Years Ago This Week" posted online for the first time ever, joining hundreds of other previously posted PWTorch Newsletter back issues dating back to the early 1990s through the early 2000s.
-Access to the PWTorch VIP Forum with daily interaction with the PWTorch staff and other well-informed PWTorch VIP members.
-Access to the PWTorch Appendix with a wide variety of reference articles and collections.
-Access to hundreds of previous audio updates, audio shows, and Torch Talk interview audio files.
-An ad-free version of the PWTorch.com Main Listing.
-VIP Email Express reports PPVs and TV shows by Wade Keller and VIP-exclusive Roundtables reviews PPVs and TV shows, plus occasional "Breaking News" emails for the biggest stories during the year.
For VIP subscription pricing info and to learn how to get Four-Days-Free of VIP membership, click here.
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
INCREDIBLE BENEFITS! Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business...
Compare the value of four or five months of PWTorch VIP content to the price of just one PPV. Can you cut 25 cents a day from your budget to make room for PWTorch VIP?
AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?