"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Well the Showdown in the desert happened and I still haven't watched it. I'm just about caught up on WWE though so I guess I'll see you all then. :sad:


http://raw.wwe.com/superstars/dinsmore_e/images/neweugene.jpg
BISCHOFF EXERTS HIS AUTHORITY;
ANNOUNCES FIVE HUGE MATCHES
May 10, 2004

General Manager Eric Bischoff has already announced several blockbuster matches for Monday Night RAW, airing live at 9/8 CT on Spike TV. Undoubtedly, the RAW brand has not seen a lineup this loaded since the Backlash pay-per-view.

When the members of Evolution complained vehemently after a six-man tag team match that kicked off the May 3 episode of RAW, Bischoff immediately signed three matches for this coming Monday. First, Triple H will try to beat Shelton Benjamin, finally, as the former World Heavyweight Champion will go one on one with the youngster from Orangeburg, S.C. -- who has quite a winning streak going, particularly over the members of Evolution, including consecutive wins over The Game himself. Be sure to tune in exactly at 9/8 CT, as the Triple H/Benjamin match will kick off the show. Also, Batista will try to exact revenge when he takes on Tajiri, who sprayed the green mist in the eyes of the powerhouse.

Bischoff also announced that the Intercontinental Championship will be on the line, as Randy Orton will defend against the man who pinned him in the six-man tag match, Edge. This match will mark the first time the Intercontinental Championship has been defended on RAW since February.

After announcing those three huge matches, Bischoff dropped another bombshell: Chris Jericho will be able to get his hands on Christian without the threat of outside interference. That's because Trish Stratus and "problem solver" Tyson Tomko will literally be blocked from the ring by a 15-foot-high steel cage! That's right -- Y2J and Christian battle in a Steel Cage Match this Monday on RAW!

And there's more: Eugene will make his anxiously anticipated in-ring debut as he tangles with Rob Conway of La Resistance. The American turncoat, who recently relocated to Quebec, is coming off a huge win over The Hurricane, which Conway said was a preview of what's in store for Eugene. However, Eugene appeared to be a quick study -- indeed, he seemed to have uncanny strength, and he took to the mat like a fish to water -- during a training session with William Regal.

To reiterate, five HUGE matches have already been announced for RAW:
Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin
Batista vs. Tajiri
Randy Orton vs. Edge for the Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Christian in a Steel Cage Match
Eugene Dinsmore vs. Rob Conway

Plus, what will Matt Hardy and Lita have in store for Kane, and vice versa? What will Shawn Michaels have to say after Triple H cost him the World Heavyweight Championship?

All this and more on Monday Night RAW, 9/8 CT on Spike TV.

[Mr. Pedro]

Alright. Time to get crackin'.

Shelton v.s Trips was good while it lasted. HBK runs in after about 2 mintunes to give HHH a beatdown. Bischoff suspends HBK? Ha, that won't stop him. History has taught us that suspensions only encourage more run-ins by the suspended party. If this is building up to a PPV match, then it's a good place to start.

Tajiri v.s Batista was better than I expected. It was nice to see Tajiri get some offense in. Batista wins with one of the 2 moves he knows how to do, a spinebuster. That would be okay if it weren't for the fact that two-thirds of the WWE roster use the spinebuster on a regular basis. Nice beatdown at the end, but I don't know where Tajiri will go from here.

The 6-women tag match was short and sweet, so no complaints about that one. Gail makes Victoria tap again. Yay!

Orton v.s Edge was also better than I expected. A few too many restholds in this one. The thing is, Randy and Edge are two guys that need to be carried a little in order to work a great match. You put then against each other and the result is less that desirable. Predictable finish with Orton going over since he's still gonna be pushed to the moon.

Eugene appears to be good in the ring. Interesting little storyline with Bischoff and Regal working against him. Oh, he beat the French guy BTW.

Good main event cage match between Chris Jericho and Christian. Jericho wins this one (by submission, in a cage match?) which will hopefully lead to a victory in next weeks 20-man battle royale and a spot in the world-title scene.

This week's RAW gets an A.

[CerebralSocko]

RAW was alright, although I felt that some of the matches kinda dragged. My thoughts on the matches:

-Trips vs. Benjamin was good, but I didn't particularly care for the HBK run-in -- not because the run-in was bad, because it did make sense for HBK to want revenge -- but because the match ended right there. Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin is one of those match ups that I wouldn't mind seeing again and again.
-Batista vs. Tajiri dragged. Good offense on Tajiri's part, and some of Batista's moves did seem painful. But the match felt rather short paced, since Batista had "grounded" most of Tajiri's offenses.
-The beatdown at the end of the match was cool, although like Mr Pedo, I'm not too sure where Tajiri will go from here either. Perhaps a long term feud with Batista?
-The Stacy promo felt kinda cheesy when she advertised for the Divas DVD, but since its main purpose was to set up the 6 women tag, it was cool.
-I noticed that Victoria has stopped using the "Bret Hart" routine during her entrance, where she allows a random kid to kiss her. She dropped it ever since the chubby kid refused to give her a kiss a few weeks ago. Hrmm... if I were that kid, I'd probably watch out for the mass of homicidal young WWE fans that might be on the look out for him. >_>
-Nice to see Jazz again; I don't think I've seen her since the draft.
-Gail made Vickie tap out again? Interesting, very interesting.
-Don't tell me Kane proposed to Lita... >_<
-Randy Orton vs. Edge was another match that kinda dragged along, but the last 10 minutes of it really picked up. Gotta love Flair here, too.
-Rob Conway vs. Eugene was... WOW. Eugene has more fan than I'd originally assumed, and I couldn't be more surprised. Or happier.
-Loved the "Let's Go Eugene!" chant, and the crowd's reaction every move he did. Great moves on Eugene's part, too. This guy was definitely one of the bigger stars of the night.
-Eugene has officially become one of the top reasons why I watch RAW.
-I also like Eugene's theme.
-I assume the Willie/Easy E angle is going to make a face out of Regal, which is sweet. Can't wait to see Bischoff's wrath on him next week.
-20 Men Battle Royal next week? Awesome.
-I'm intrigued to see how Trips will react to the news of the Battle Royal next week, knowing that he most likely assumed Bischoff was offering him a one-on-one match with Benoit and not a mini Royal Rumble with 19 other men. :D
-Christian vs. Jericho was pretty good. Again, for some reason, the match dragged on in the beginning, but once Christian started to bleed, things began to pick up.
-Nice dive from the top of the cage by Jericho.
-Whoa, is that the old Liontamer he did on Trish and Christian? Certainly looked like it.
-Nice way to end the show. Overall, I give RAW four stars.

[Patrick Bateman]

-Whoa, is that the old Liontamer he did on Trish and Christian? Certainly looked like it.
Yep, and I couldn't have been happier. I hate that he started using a plain old Boston crab. The old style Lion Tamer/Walls of Jericho looks far more effective as a finisher.

[TheEvilClown]

Ok Lets see here


HHH vs. Shelton-Nice match to start off although it only lasted 2 Min. Did anybody Actually win this match? It offically a no contest when the bell doesn't ring and the ring announcer didn't announce the winner. Anyway HBK is Suspended to set up HBK vs. HHH HITC at Bad Blood

Tajiri v.s Batista was ok I Guess it looks like Tajiri choked on his own Mist.


I am no Teen keen on Womens matches but it was nice to see Jazz back.

If Kane asked Lita to Marry Him I think I am going to puke.

Randy Orton vs. Edge-Pretty Decent Match I knew Orton will pick up the win. I think its about time though that Orton to lose that title. Hopefully to Shelton.

Eugene debuted and is now 1-0 on Raw. Interesting Bischoff and Regal trying to make Eugene lose. Regal could turn face for this angle.

Main Event was good. I Do hope Jericho wins that 20 man battle Royal I rather see Jericho vs. Benoit then HHH vs. Benoit. Besides With HHH facing HBK at Bad Blood I doubt he will win the Battle Royal!

[Tapout]

Stupid frickin' ISP. I had a whole reply typed out but I got disconnected and lost it. I ain't doin' that again.

Raw was good.

[sag_2002]

Another winning RAW this week.

*The opener was good for the time it got before Shawn came in, and it helped set up the HiTC match nicely (Michaels being suspended).

*Tajiri/Batista was ok. I was kinda hoping Tajiri would win, but ah well.

*Nice to see Jazz back in action. Gail pins Victoria in the women's tag, which I guess solidifies her as the #1 contender.

*The Kane/Lita/Matt thing is getting creepier by the second.

*Orton/Edge was pretty good. I was expecting Randy to win this one, and he did. I think Orton should hold on to that title until Bad Blood.

*Eugene was great, as usual, and I loved the look Regal had when Eugene actually won that match.

*The 20-Man Battle Royal next week should be good. I'm hoping Jericho wins this one.

*Well, if he does win next week's #1 Contenders match, he'll definately be looking at this week's main event as the momentum-builder. And nice way to end the match, with Jericho busting out the old-school Liontamer.

Overall, another fun performance from the RAW boys. Thumbs up and 4 stars for this week.

[The Penguin]

After finally catching up on all my WWE on tape I must say I was pretty happy with RAW this week. It wasn’t the best ever or anything, but I enjoyed watching it.

I guess we’ve seen Triple H take on Shelton Benjamin enough times I was okay with HBK looking for revenge. Bischoff sure didn’t let him finish the job though.

Batista went crazy on Tajiri after what was an alright match. The Japanese Buzzsaw might not be the same after this.

I would comment on how useless Stacy has been lately, but Lawler annoyed me so much that I kind of forgot about it. I thought Gail Kim might use the fact that she came in second to Torrie in the Divas cover vote, but making the Women’s Champ tap is a good point too.

“Orton is a lucky man.” Indeed he is, but it was a great match Flair helped him come out of. Edge looked great and I think the time off really did him some good. There were times when I thought he was actually going to win the thing.

The women’s match wasn’t too bad, but there was a reason Victoria carried the match for her team. Maybe if Nidia had some more experience and Stacy could actually wrestle she wouldn’t have tapped to Gail Kim for the second week in a row.

At first I thought Trish was going to take an evil sexiness™ hit by asking Lita how she was doing, but the joke turned out to be pretty evil.

Speaking of pretty evil, what on earth is Kane up to? The Big Red Machine is not all there and hopefully Lita and Matt come out of it okay.

I really enjoyed watching Eugene beat Rob Conway. The thing about Eugene is he is all about having fun and the fans seems to really respond to that and have fun right along with him. William Regal didn’t look like he was having much fun though.

I love battle royals!! :cool: Kudos to RAW for choosing a different way to name the top contender for the World Title and to also start to hype their PPV a little bit before the previous one takes place.

The Benoit tribute video was very nicely done and the song fit it well. And while I like the song I can’t for the live of me remember the title or who sings it. Does anyone else know?

I enjoyed the steel cage match a lot more once the referees kicked Tomko out. I swear he must be the most worthless debut of the last six months; I just get nothing from this guy. Anyway I was pretty happy with the match and it should provide a fitting end to this chapter of the Jericho-Christian feud so both men have the chance to move on to new opponents.