Raw Report
Date: 09/17/07 from Nashville, TN.
The Big News: Randy Orton got his revenge on John Cena’s father.
Conclusive Finishes: 4 of 6.Show Analysis:
The show began with a particularly good opening package on Randy Orton vs. John Cena. John Cena then came out. He said that he felt great, and was proud of his father. He added that Orton is stupid to want a rematch with him, and that everything he did last night will be legal in a last man standing match. This was a good promo, but it would have been better if he just made those points explicitly rather than a cute series of sarcastic thank yous. Coach then came out, and made Randy Orton vs. John Cena Sr. for Raw. He said that Cena’s father agreed to the match so that Cena wouldn’t be stripped of the title. This was a strong opening.
Jeff Hardy defeated Shelton Benjamin to retain the Intercontinental Title. Shelton hit a northern lights suplex early, and Jeff came back with a pescado. Shelton went after Jeff’s head for most of the match. Jeff hit the whisper in the wind and the swanton to score the pin. This was a good match. Vince McMahon was angry in his limousine, while Hornswaggle was acting crazy. Vince told Coach to take care of Hornswaggle.
John Cena tried to talk his father out of the match. Elsewhere, Santino wanted to impress Maria. Jillian suggested a country duet, but nothing came of that. Vince and Coach chatted backstage, while Irish music played in the background. They went to Vince’s office, which was decorated with all sorts of Irish paraphernalia. Vince and Coach tried to catch Hornswaggle, but Hornswaggle escaped.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Daivari in a capture the flag match. Duggan represented the United States and Daivari represented Iran. This was a pretty random match, but it was fine. They just climbed back and forth until eventually Duggan got the American flag. They did more diva search stuff this week. It will be interesting to see the reaction to these women at the end. When they did live segments, I hated them, but I did pay attention. Now that they have cut away packages, I treat them instinctively like commercials. Seriously, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about any of these women, so I wonder if fans will know who any of the women are by the end of the search.
Cody Rhodes wanted to face Randy Orton rather than Cena’s father. Coach declined that offer. Cena threatened bad things if Coach didn’t call off the match, but Coach wasn’t concerned. Coach announced Cena vs. a mystery opponent. He said that if Cena won, the match between Orton and his father wouldn’t take place.
Vince McMahon came to the ring. He said that he decided to welcome Hornswaggle into the family. Hornswaggle came out and pranced around. Vince then turned on Hornswaggle and said that he would be putting Hornswaggle up for adoption so he wouldn’t get any of the inheritance. Vince should have just consulted a wills attorney.
Anyway, Vince had a new mother and father for Hornswaggle. He attacked his new parents and they ran off. Vince said that Hornswaggle is a disgrace to him and ordered him out of his ring and his life. Hornswaggle was sad and left. That brought out HHH, who made fun of Vince with a long series of jokes. Overall the monologue was pretty funny.
HHH defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a handicap match. HHH cleared the ring of the rednecks, but Carlito came out and distracted HHH to even the odds. Cade and Murdoch worked him over briefly. HHH came back, beat them both up, and pinned Cade with a spine buster. Carlito came in for 3 on 1, but Brian Kendrick and Paul London made the save. HHH then beat them up like a pair of geeks and laid them out.
This nonsense is so odd to me. HHH is by all accounts a smart guy. He has to know that he can get over just fine without burying people. I mean, I remember years ago him talking about how Ultimate Warrior buried him unnecessarily at WrestleMania XII when a little bit less of a one sided match would have been better for all parties involved.
And HHH is aware of his legacy too, and presumably doesn’t want to be remembered as a guy that married into the family and got to the top by burying everyone around him. Then there’s an issue of the morale of the roster, which can’t be pleased with segments like these that makes them look like total jokes for no good reason.
In short, this type of segment benefits nobody. HHH gets over no better than he would if he decisively beat Lance Cade in a one on one match. And he looks like a selfish creep both to observers of the business as well as to his fellow workers. In short, if he thinks this type of crap is good for his career he’s woefully mistaken. As for the tag titles, they might as well just dissolve them. After a segment like this, they do more harm in devaluing the meaning of championships than anything else.
Candice Michelle and Mickie James beat Jillian Hall and Melina. Mickie hit a huracanrana and clothesline on Melina. Candice scored clotheslines, a drop kick, a northern lights suplex and the unprettier on Melina for the pin. After the match, Beth Phoenix shoved Candice. The announcers were putting over how big Beth is, but she didn’t look all that much larger than Candice. Coach told Vince he thought Vince scarred Hornswaggle for life. Vince was pleased and got into his limo, but Hornswaggle was in the trunk. Hornswaggle proceeded to open the trunk from the inside while the car was driving away so he could waive to Coach.
John Cena beat Santino via disqualification. Cena was amused by Santino as Coach’s pick for this match. The match ended quickly when Randy Orton ran in. Orton handcuffed Cena to the bottom rope. Coach said that Cena needed to win his match via pinfall or submission, so the match with Orton against Cena’s father would be on. I disliked this development because it went so far into the heel GM just blatantly making up the rules as he goes along that it undermined basic logic. I mean, why didn’t he just announce at the beginning of the show that last night Cena had to win via pinfall or submission to retain his title and that thus Orton is now champion? It’s the exact same non-logic, and presumably would be more desirable to Coach.
Randy Orton beat John Cena Sr. via disqualification. Orton was working over Cena’s dad, when Cody Rhodes came out to make the save. Orton threw him into the steps. Orton then gave Cena’s dad the RKO. Cena ripped off the bottom turnbuckle and came into the ring too late. This was a strong final segment, and Jim Ross in particular did a really good job selling this angle. It didn’t help that as they were going off the air, the crowd decided to loudly chant “you can’t wrestle” at Cena.
Final Thoughts:
This show was good. It advanced the Cena-Orton storyline well, and had some entertaining stuff underneath as well.
The Big News: Randy Orton got his revenge on John Cena’s father.
Conclusive Finishes: 4 of 6.Show Analysis:
The show began with a particularly good opening package on Randy Orton vs. John Cena. John Cena then came out. He said that he felt great, and was proud of his father. He added that Orton is stupid to want a rematch with him, and that everything he did last night will be legal in a last man standing match. This was a good promo, but it would have been better if he just made those points explicitly rather than a cute series of sarcastic thank yous. Coach then came out, and made Randy Orton vs. John Cena Sr. for Raw. He said that Cena’s father agreed to the match so that Cena wouldn’t be stripped of the title. This was a strong opening.
Jeff Hardy defeated Shelton Benjamin to retain the Intercontinental Title. Shelton hit a northern lights suplex early, and Jeff came back with a pescado. Shelton went after Jeff’s head for most of the match. Jeff hit the whisper in the wind and the swanton to score the pin. This was a good match. Vince McMahon was angry in his limousine, while Hornswaggle was acting crazy. Vince told Coach to take care of Hornswaggle.
John Cena tried to talk his father out of the match. Elsewhere, Santino wanted to impress Maria. Jillian suggested a country duet, but nothing came of that. Vince and Coach chatted backstage, while Irish music played in the background. They went to Vince’s office, which was decorated with all sorts of Irish paraphernalia. Vince and Coach tried to catch Hornswaggle, but Hornswaggle escaped.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan beat Daivari in a capture the flag match. Duggan represented the United States and Daivari represented Iran. This was a pretty random match, but it was fine. They just climbed back and forth until eventually Duggan got the American flag. They did more diva search stuff this week. It will be interesting to see the reaction to these women at the end. When they did live segments, I hated them, but I did pay attention. Now that they have cut away packages, I treat them instinctively like commercials. Seriously, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about any of these women, so I wonder if fans will know who any of the women are by the end of the search.
Cody Rhodes wanted to face Randy Orton rather than Cena’s father. Coach declined that offer. Cena threatened bad things if Coach didn’t call off the match, but Coach wasn’t concerned. Coach announced Cena vs. a mystery opponent. He said that if Cena won, the match between Orton and his father wouldn’t take place.
Vince McMahon came to the ring. He said that he decided to welcome Hornswaggle into the family. Hornswaggle came out and pranced around. Vince then turned on Hornswaggle and said that he would be putting Hornswaggle up for adoption so he wouldn’t get any of the inheritance. Vince should have just consulted a wills attorney.
Anyway, Vince had a new mother and father for Hornswaggle. He attacked his new parents and they ran off. Vince said that Hornswaggle is a disgrace to him and ordered him out of his ring and his life. Hornswaggle was sad and left. That brought out HHH, who made fun of Vince with a long series of jokes. Overall the monologue was pretty funny.
HHH defeated Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a handicap match. HHH cleared the ring of the rednecks, but Carlito came out and distracted HHH to even the odds. Cade and Murdoch worked him over briefly. HHH came back, beat them both up, and pinned Cade with a spine buster. Carlito came in for 3 on 1, but Brian Kendrick and Paul London made the save. HHH then beat them up like a pair of geeks and laid them out.
This nonsense is so odd to me. HHH is by all accounts a smart guy. He has to know that he can get over just fine without burying people. I mean, I remember years ago him talking about how Ultimate Warrior buried him unnecessarily at WrestleMania XII when a little bit less of a one sided match would have been better for all parties involved.
And HHH is aware of his legacy too, and presumably doesn’t want to be remembered as a guy that married into the family and got to the top by burying everyone around him. Then there’s an issue of the morale of the roster, which can’t be pleased with segments like these that makes them look like total jokes for no good reason.
In short, this type of segment benefits nobody. HHH gets over no better than he would if he decisively beat Lance Cade in a one on one match. And he looks like a selfish creep both to observers of the business as well as to his fellow workers. In short, if he thinks this type of crap is good for his career he’s woefully mistaken. As for the tag titles, they might as well just dissolve them. After a segment like this, they do more harm in devaluing the meaning of championships than anything else.
Candice Michelle and Mickie James beat Jillian Hall and Melina. Mickie hit a huracanrana and clothesline on Melina. Candice scored clotheslines, a drop kick, a northern lights suplex and the unprettier on Melina for the pin. After the match, Beth Phoenix shoved Candice. The announcers were putting over how big Beth is, but she didn’t look all that much larger than Candice. Coach told Vince he thought Vince scarred Hornswaggle for life. Vince was pleased and got into his limo, but Hornswaggle was in the trunk. Hornswaggle proceeded to open the trunk from the inside while the car was driving away so he could waive to Coach.
John Cena beat Santino via disqualification. Cena was amused by Santino as Coach’s pick for this match. The match ended quickly when Randy Orton ran in. Orton handcuffed Cena to the bottom rope. Coach said that Cena needed to win his match via pinfall or submission, so the match with Orton against Cena’s father would be on. I disliked this development because it went so far into the heel GM just blatantly making up the rules as he goes along that it undermined basic logic. I mean, why didn’t he just announce at the beginning of the show that last night Cena had to win via pinfall or submission to retain his title and that thus Orton is now champion? It’s the exact same non-logic, and presumably would be more desirable to Coach.
Randy Orton beat John Cena Sr. via disqualification. Orton was working over Cena’s dad, when Cody Rhodes came out to make the save. Orton threw him into the steps. Orton then gave Cena’s dad the RKO. Cena ripped off the bottom turnbuckle and came into the ring too late. This was a strong final segment, and Jim Ross in particular did a really good job selling this angle. It didn’t help that as they were going off the air, the crowd decided to loudly chant “you can’t wrestle” at Cena.
Final Thoughts:
This show was good. It advanced the Cena-Orton storyline well, and had some entertaining stuff underneath as well.
posted by Todd Martin at 11:44 PM
6 Comments:
HHH cleared the ring of the rednecks, but Carlito came out and distracted HHH to even the odds.
I can't stop laughing at this. Todd Martin - unintentional comic genious.
no offense Todd, but I thought this episode was awful. The show seemed really slow and boring until the end. Even the end didn't do it for me. Cena came across completly unbelieveable at the end. As he was handcuffed watching his father beaing beaten he just stood there looking slightly upset. He should've been screaming the whole time, yelling at Orton that when he was free, that Orton was a dead man, etc. Would've been a more believeable segment.
Usually your reactions to Raw tend to be more negative than mine, but this time it is the other way around. I thought this episode was TERRIBLE. The Vince/Hornswaggle stuff was embarassingly bad and served absolutely no purpose. The HHH burial of 5 talented mid-carders was totally inexplicible; does that even succeed in putting HHH over even more than he already is? To me, it makes him look like a gigantic jerk, both in storyline and in real life. He's obviously trying to be like Stone Cold, who used to attack everyone regardless of whether they were a face or a heel, but the HHH character has never been like that before. He was really just trying to stroke his own ego there.
RAW makes me sad.
I do seem to be in the minority this week as far as liking the show more. I think a lot of people didn't care for the HHH stuff and that made them dislike the show more, and I can understand that. I did think the Orton/Cena stuff was effective, so to me that made the show.
I agree, the Orton-Cena material makes for entertaining, old-school wrestling TV.
But HHH and much to much of Vince make the program nearly impossible to watch, much less enjoy.
- Matt in Anchorage
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