"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

After being drafted by SmackDown! and then thrown... I mean traded back, Triple H returns to RAW and the less than warm reception the locker room gave him as he went to joing SmackDown! Also tonight, the newest members of the RAW roster, Shelton Benjamin, Nidia, Rhyno, Tajiri, Edge and SmackDown! traded, Chuck Palumbo and A-Train will all be in the house.

Booker T, the Dudley Boyz, Rico and Miss Jackie will not however as all five are now SmackDown! Superstars, traded for by new GM Kurt Angle. René Duprée, Mark Jindrak, RVD, Theodore Long and Spike Dudley will also be missing tonight—all were drafted by SmackDown! last week. See the first official RAW of the new era in just under 15 minutes on Spike TV!


http://raw.wwe.com/superstars/edge/images/edge1.jpg
A NEW DAY FOR RAW
March 29, 2004

The first night for the post-draft lottery RAW comes to you tonight from Cincinnati. How will the RAW locker room react after the wild events of last week? Many Superstars expressed great happiness when Triple H was drafted by SmackDown! Now that he's back, how will they react? Or more importantly, how will The Game react after he was serenaded by the sounds of "na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey... goodbye" last week?

WWE.com has just learned of a huge World Tag Team Championship match scheduled for RAW. New champions Ric Flair and Batista of Evolution will defend their titles against World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit and the "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. With just weeks before Benoit and HBK are set to battle in the main event at the Backlash pay-per-view, can these two Superstars co-exist as a functioning team? If so, we could be looking at new World Tag Team Champions. If not, expect Evolution to run all over these two top names on RAW. What will happen? Tune in to RAW on Spike TV at 9/8 CT to find out.

Chris Jericho has been burned bad by former love interest Trish Stratus. Tonight on RAW, Y2J will be face to face with Trish for the first time since WrestleMania when the former Women's Champion is a guest on the Highlight Reel.

All of this and more on RAW at 9/8 CT on Spike TV!

[Mr. Pedro]

Man, Coach just totally over-sold the green mist.

[EightOh]

You know, I haven't really watched RAW (or wrestling in general) on a remotely consistent basis in four or five years, but I just totally marked out. :D

[TheEvilClown]

OMG HHH Jobbed to Shelton? THERE IS A GOD

[The Dork Knight]

When Coach got sprayed with the mist, I swear, I was waiting for him to yell out..

WHEN? WHEN WILL THE HURTING STOP?!?!

I'm suprised Tajiri did'nt do the job against Kane. Maybe the RAW writing team will give him a decent push.

Was that main event a dream? :D

- The Dork Knight

[TheEvilClown]

:Pinches himself OW No It was not a Dream :D

[Robin2099]

You know it's funny. As I was watching Shelton walk to the ring and get stopped by everywrestler I thought to myself "Great. There going to wheel Shelton out there and make hes going to look like an even bigger joke when he looses to HHH after getting all the pep talks." Then I thought to myself "Boy, if Shelton beats HHH that could help make him a solid mid-carder and go straight into a feud with Randy Orton for the IC title." Then Shelton actually won and I almost passed out. And, he had a decent match too boot. Now, as long as HHH doesn't squash him in five seconds next week I might have to stop my HHH bashing.

[Andy Mancini]

I read somewhere after Lesnar and Goldberg left that the WWE will try to elevate a selected few midcarders to main-event status. Who would have thought that it would have been Christian, Bradshaw, and Shelton Benjamin? I'm not complaining, as all three (even Bradshaw) deserve it, but still.

[sag_2002]

Thoughts on RAW:

-Foley/Orton III is gonna be cool.

-Player of the night award goes to Coach for his great selling of the GREEN MIST.

-Ok, when Shawn and Benoit got the pin, who didn't see the Dusty Finish coming?

-HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit... again. This, I think, is a mistake. They already shot their wad at Wrestlemania, there's really no point in rehashing the same type of match between the same three wrestlers on two consecutive PPV's. But, to each his own.

-Nice little Highlight Reel, as Jericho resurrects the Steph jokes on Trish.

-Kane-Tajiri was good for what there was of it.

-Nice little main event, and it's good to see HHH put his fellow men over recently. At this point, I wouldn't exactly mind if Trips did win back the title at Backlash.

Not quite as memorable as last week's, but entertaining. B+ rating for me this week.

[TnAdct1]

Thoughts on RAW:

-Player of the night award goes to Coach for his great selling of the GREEN MIST.
With Coach selling it a little TOO much.


-HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit... again. This, I think, is a mistake. They already shot their wad at Wrestlemania, there's really no point in rehashing the same type of match between the same three wrestlers on two consecutive PPV's. But, to each his own.
That's what happen when HHH has way too much control of the booking power.


-Nice little Highlight Reel, as Jericho resurrects the Steph jokes on Trish.
That's one thing I loved about the face-Jericho: the way he based the female heel with all the **** jokes.


-Nice little main event, and it's good to see HHH put his fellow men over recently. At this point, I wouldn't exactly mind if Trips did win back the title at Backlash.
From what I read at rspw, Shelton getting over HHH is somewhat a punishment for HHH for him having to mess up the planned booking of Raw and Smackdown. Originally, HHH was meant to go to Smackdown and feud with Eddie Guerero (sp?). However, because of HHH's ego and him wanting to stay on Raw, it was changed so that instead Booker T is the one who goes to Smackdown and become a major heel for that brand.

[Spike Mcdougal]

Seems they still have the rights to "Never Gonna Stop"

WHY OH WHY do they need another Triple Threat? Why cant he just have a rematch on Raw? And it seems that Benoit and Michaels are developing a friendly rivalry which would make the match at Backlash more enjoyable but that aint gonna happen now is it!?!

I only hope that they let Mick Foley go out on top in the match style that made him.

[scy1990]

A- Raw in my opinion...Coach is a waste of air time...

My favorite part was definatly the HBK/Benoit tag match. I knew that there would be some sort of catch, but it was still awesome seeing them set asside their differences....

Highlight Reel was just so freakin' funny...

[Robin2099]

[QUOTE=sag_2002]Thoughts on RAW:



-HHH vs. HBK vs. Benoit... again. This, I think, is a mistake. They already shot their wad at Wrestlemania, there's really no point in rehashing the same type of match between the same three wrestlers on two consecutive PPV's. But, to each his own.>>>>You'r not the only one who's thougth about that fact, as the current rumour(even though they started talking about this around Wrestlemania) is that there going to make it a ladder match in order to make the match bigger. I would of just preferred a Beniot/Michaels ladder match myself though.

[Tapout]

Very happy with last night's Raw.

I dislike seeing Lance Storm get crapped on as much as anyone, but if it's for a higher purpose like putting Rhyno over I can live with it.

There were two possibilities when Coach got misted: Bischoff would laugh at him, or Bischoff would get pissed and feed Tajiri to Kane. I knew Tajiri wasn't going to come out and do what Taker did to Kane at WM, but I feared Kane would come out and no-sell three or four moves and proceed with the complete squash. Not only did Kane sell for Tajiri, but Tajiri actually got the win, even if it was a Cactus/Vader style C.O. win. Works for me.

The Highlight Reel would have been good, but I already saw it a few years ago.

Either someone is fed up with HHH, or the man himself is trying to get those of us that despise him and his ego off of his back. For the first time in a long time I've got nothing bad to say about him. He taps out to Benoit at WMXX and now loses more-or-less cleanly to Shelton Benjamin? Not bad. I guess he's just preparing us for his next 15 month title reign starting at Backlash.

I don't dislike Randy Orton, but if they pulled Foley out of retirement just to make this guy look good I'm going to be disappointed. And because the match is for the title I think Foley's gonna lose cause he's not gonna be around to defend it.

A for Raw. Would be A+, but the copout in the tag match would have got on my nerves even had I not seen it coming.

[Kyl416]

Seems they still have the rights to "Never Gonna Stop"
They don't. That's why they edited the replay of Edge's return to use "On the Edge" from WWF The Music Volume 4

[Tapout]

They don't. That's why they edited the replay of Edge's return to use "On the Edge" from WWF The Music Volume 4
Then why was it playing after he speared Kane?

[PaQ]

RAW Thoughts:

Nice opening with Evolution. Thought they were going to turn on HHH then, guess not. It was great to see Foley come out, and it looks like finally the fued will be over at Backlash. I love Foley's line "but he proved himself at Wrestlemania. He proved that in a 3-on-2 situation, he’s capable of beating a Hollywood actor and a guy who writes children’s books." Great stuff.

Nice "initiation" for Tajiri.. good stuff, and glad to see Coach get spit on.

Nidia was definitely rusty, but good to see her on RAW. She'll be able to wrestle, which is her strength.

Edge/Kane at Backlash.. pretty quick to make a match, seems like just one of those to have both of them have a match type of match.. I don't feel anything for it.

Ok.. I don't get what they're doing with Bischoff. Looked like he was becoming a pretty good face GM, then WWE has Edge spear him last week, and now Eric is doing his best to appease the game. I'm confused with what they're doing to Eric.

And another final match, with regards to the triple threat again.. I hope they add the ladder stipulations that's been rumored.

So Lance is a heel now? Ok.. well he better get respected.. Short match between he and Rhyno.. two guys I hope that RAW pushes.

That was the weirdest tag title match. It would've been so cool for Benoit/HBK to win. Too bad Johnny "Nitro" said Flair wasn't legal. I heard J.R. said Johnny's middle name is Monday.. Funny.

Nice to see Y2J back with a vengeance.. Nice to bring back that filthy, rotten... insult.

Tajiri/Kane.. interesting match.. Nice to see Edge come out with the spear.

Shelton friggin won.. That's crazy wow. I'm so impressed HHH let it go like that. Definitely made an impact did Shelton.. Good stuff.

Good RAW, some surprises, like Shelton winning. I give it a B.

[gddiehl]

I enjoyed Raw.
The match Iloved was seeing Shelton beat HHH.

[Kyl416]

Then why was it playing after he speared Kane?Damn, I missed that part. I guess they either renewed their rights to the song over the weekend or they only could use it live and not in any replays.

BTW, I have some bad news for viewers in the NYC area. WLNY/55 cancelled WWE The Bottom Line. For those of you who don't know, that's the syndicated show that covers the happenings on the Raw Brand.

[The Penguin]

In of the saddest things ever, here I am on Friday early evening posting my thoughts on RAW. If there’s one thing I hate it’s a lack of sleep combine with big tests. :yawn::evil:

The rewinding of Triple H ripping the RAW shirt, ‘putting it back on’ so to speak was great.

I must admit I was rather under whelmed with the new RAW opening. It had some new footage, but it just didn’t seem that cool.

With his sore throat, Orton sounded a lot more like his dad. It was almost uncanny.

So Foley-Orton street fight for the Intercontinental Title? I expected Mick to win the one-on-one battle, but I can’t believe they want to the put the I-C Belt on a “children’s book author.” That does not make sense.

I liked La Résistance and Garrison Cade trying to bring Tajiri into the RAW fold with their little dare. Looking back I can’t think of anyone better than Coach to get the honor. His reaction and everything was just great.

Nidia’s real wrestling debut actually went pretty well. A few times though I felt like her new breasts just got in the way. I admit she looked great last week when she changed shows, but it just seemed like an unnecessary move for her.

Surprising I find that Molly still looks pretty good bald. It feels weird to say that, but her hotness remains. :shrug:
http://raw.wwe.com/superstars/molly/images/molly2.jpg

If you’re Triple H and you want to get even more heat than you already have—beat up The Hurricane. People love that guy. I was just happy it happened before JR, King and Lilian acted like they didn’t know who Hurricane was going to face. They always know!

Thank goodness Lance Storm realized what a joke he was becoming. SmackDown! would have been a fresh start for him so it just throws me that they left him on RAW and then have him get squashed by Rhyno. Storm should have beat the heck out of Val Venis.

Tajiri’s interaction with Bischoff and Coach after the ‘incident’ was great work. The guy really does speak English pretty well and by breaking him off from his two ‘mute’ henchmen we’re given the opportunity to see that.

Johnny Nitro is a much better name for young John Hennigan than “Spade.” I can only assume there was some kind of problem with using Johnny Blaze. That name was the best.

The Tag Team Championship match was really good. It’s amazing for as old as he is how Flair is able to still go. I was not the least bit happy with the original decision—I get tired of them putting the Tag Titles on two competitors for the Heavyweight Title just to get more story out of it. I was pleased by the end we got a DQ.

Shelton’s interaction with both Bischoff and Austin in the office was great stuff. This is when I like Stone Cold. He didn’t make anyone look bad or take away someone’s heat, he just helped Shelton Benjamin.

Trish still has the evil sexiness™ but WWE or Jericho decided to start making it as close to Stephanie McMahon vs. Jericho as they could. The whole monologue about what kind of garden tool Trish is was just annoying. Seeing as how I had to listen to it four years ago. :rolleyes:

Getting Kane back into the ring after losing to Tajiri was the way to go. The Big Red Machine shouldn’t be losing to smaller guys all that much. The Edge attack to save the Japanese Buzzsaw was predictable, but still cool.

I liked Shelton Benjamin talking to Benoit and then being greeted down the hallway by various RAW Superstars cheering him on. It’s amazing how easy it seemed to build up the former Golden Gopher.

I hope SmackDown! Rebound! does not become a regular feature. I’m planning to treat SD! like it happens when I go home every few weeks (except for the talkbacks of course) so I would hate for them to go and tell me what happened. Hopefully it was just to call attention to what Superstars ended up on the blue crew.

I can’t say enough good things about the main event match. Shelton Benjamin is obviously going to do more than just fine by himself and I guess Triple H can’t be all bad huh? :)



Ok.. I don't get what they're doing with Bischoff. Looked like he was becoming a pretty good face GM, then WWE has Edge spear him last week, and now Eric is doing his best to appease the game. I'm confused with what they're doing to Eric.
And I don't get this whole Bischoff face turn you keep talking about. He played less of a heel to Heyman last week and has stood up to Triple H a few times, but even the heel authority figures can be pushed too far. I fail to see where they were making him a good guy.

[Spike Mcdougal]

Trish still has the evil sexiness™

What's with the "Trademark" after sexiness


but WWE or Jericho decided to start making it as close to Stephanie McMahon vs. Jericho as they could. The whole monologue about what kind of garden tool Trish is was just annoying. Seeing as how I had to listen to it four years ago.

Well I still like it

Yeah that's how I am

[Tapout]

Johnny Nitro is a much better name for young John Hennigan than “Spade.” I can only assume there was some kind of problem with using Johnny Blaze. That name was the best.
Am I the only one that gets it that he's going to change his name every week? I could understand thinking that there was some problem with Blaze, but I thought it was obvious after he made a big deal out of telling Lillian Garcia that "Johnny Spade now wants to be known as Johnny Nitro." Nitro's not gonna be around for too much longer.

[The Dork Knight]

Here are some new names for Johnny Nitro...

Johnny Thunder
Johnny Worldwide
Johnny Saturday Night
Johnny Starrcade
Johnny Slamboree
Johnny Bash At The Beach
Johnny World War 3
Johnny AWA

- The Dork Knight

[sag_2002]

Here are some new names for Johnny Nitro...

Johnny Thunder
Johnny Worldwide
Johnny Saturday Night
Johnny Starrcade
Johnny Slamboree
Johnny Bash At The Beach
Johnny World War 3
Johnny AWA

- The Dork Knight

:D Good one, Dork Knight.

[Char Aznable]

I hope they do find something good in Shelton Benjamin that he'll be one of those top stars like Edge or Chrisitian.

THE NEXT RAW IS LIVE FROM MY TOWN OF HOUSTON! I'LL BE AT RAW THIS WEEK AND HOPE TO SEE SOME GREAT STUFF!:D

I'm pissed off that WWE released my favorite, sexy diva Terri! Damn you WWE, I hope she made the Divas 2004 magazine!:mad:

[The Penguin]

What's with the "Trademark" after sexinessI'm at least pretending I made up "evil sexiness" and just thought it would be funny and clever to make it "evil sexiness™" :D



Am I the only one that gets it that he's going to change his name every week? I could understand thinking that there was some problem with Blaze, but I thought it was obvious after he made a big deal out of telling Lillian Garcia that "Johnny Spade now wants to be known as Johnny Nitro." Nitro's not gonna be around for too much longer.That's a high possibility. If he does it one more time then I will definately buy into it.

[Kyl416]

Then why was it playing after he speared Kane?It's official, WWE is licensed only to use it live. Yesterday during the Bottom Line when they replayed the scene they replaced it with "On The Edge" from Volume 4 once again.

[The Penguin]

It's official, WWE is licensed only to use it live. Yesterday during the Bottom Line when they replayed the scene they replaced it with "On The Edge" from Volume 4 once again.Well they should just give up and use something else then. It's not worth it when you can't have that consistency.

[Tapout]

Well they should just give up and use something else then. It's not worth it when you can't have that consistency.
Agreed. They should either drop it completely or get the same deal they have with Rikishi's music. I think they can use that on TV whenever they want, but they can't sell it on things like videogames and soundtracks.

[Kyl416]

Agreed. They should either drop it completely or get the same deal they have with Rikishi's music. I think they can use that on TV whenever they want, but they can't sell it on things like videogames and soundtracks.The thing is that Edge's Music is a hit song by Rob Zombie, Rikishi's music is just some production music.