"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Six days before the Royal Rumble, Edge and John Cena will find themselves in the ring facing off, except they will have partners by their side.

With Rob Van Dam, Big Show, Kane, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chris Masters, Carlito, Trevor Murdoch, Shelton Benjamin, Viscera and Chavo Guerrero all entered into the Royal Rumble, RAW has 4 spots remaining and six days to fill them. What will the remaining Superstars do to gain one of the last spots?


http://www.wwe.com/content/media/touts/feature/29062/2001404Pick a Partner
January 23, 2006

Last week on RAW, WWE Champion Edge attacked John Cena just when it looked like Cena was going to beat the Master Lock Challenge. Later on RAW, Cena returned the favor when he attacked Edge after the Rated R Superstar's successful title defense against Ric Flair in a brutal TLC Match. Tonight on RAW, they will be in tag team action. WWE Champion Edge and a partner of his choice will face John Cena and a partner of his choice. Who will they choose as their partner? Find out on RAW.

Kane, who destroyed Carlito last week on RAW, will look to punish him again tonight.

WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus and Ashley will take on the team of Candice and Victoria. Will Mickie be able to stay out of Trish's business this week? Find out on RAW.

Also, Shawn Michaels will take on Shelton Benjamin. Will Shelton's momma continue to assist her son and keep him on the winning track?

For all this and more, watch Monday Night RAW tonight on USA (9/8 CT).

[SirLemming]

"You can want Ric Flair all you want!" Ha. It's hard to come up with stuff off the cuff, isn't it?

[VCXZX]

that was an uber-lame opening segment. Only funny part was Lita choking.

Anybody know what was in the 1st Unlimited segment? I forgot about it till just now.

[Kasumi]

Shelton's atlethecism is unrivaled. He did not climb to the top rope. HE JUMPED ALL THE WAY UP THERE AND SUPLEXED HBK!!! Goodness. That match was awesome. Shelton even used a Chick Kick! A CHICK KICK people :D. I hope I wasn't the only one who had a Gold Rush Tournament flashback there.

AND NO! DON'T DO IT TRIPS! YOU'RE TOO COOL FOR THEM!

Coach is from Wichita, KS? Why do I feel slightly ashamed but at the same time very amused?

MOST. RANDOM. DEBUT. EVAR! But I like Coach better than King and am very amused he's in the Rumble.

[DarkHawk]

Worse debut ever......

[VCXZX]

HBK/Benjamin was good. But not great. The SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT FINISH hurt this match. Benjamin crying afterwards also hurt this match.

But that was one hell of a weird-ass promo by Vince. Like most Vince promos, this should be a read between the lines promo as Vince is mad at someone most likely.

The Spirit Squad was UBER-Lame. One of the worst gimmicks in a long time. And something that as so bad, the crowd literally died.

You know Joey Styles is getting fed lines when he says he's looking forward to JBL/Boogeyman.

What a predictable set of partners. I'm going to call it right now. Edge will win this Sunday. Bank on it.

[PTurkey]

Shelton is currazy. Jumping to the top rope for a superplex? Woah. Excellent match. Give that momma's boy a belt.

WTF... The Coach is the coach of an all-male cheerleader squad :confused: ? That's a terrible gimmick for a stable.
And no hot, oversexed female cheerleader? I'm shocked WWE didn't put one there. Very shocked. But I do suppose it'd draw more heat.

No Gregory Helms in the Rumble? :mad:

[Djm912]

Shelton(who absolutedly owned, OWNED, PWNED Shawn) didn't win.....:mad:
But the Spirit Squad got on Raw! ROFFLE!!!:D
Super Cena got the win in Flair Country....:mad:
But Joey Styles had some good lines.:D

All in all, pretty even Raw for me, since I missed the first half.

[zmanjz]

Shelton(who absolutedly owned, OWNED, PWNED Shawn) didn't win.....:mad:
But the Spirit Squad got on Raw! ROFFLE!!!:D
Super Cena got the win in Flair Country....:mad:
But Joey Styles had some good lines.:D

All in all, pretty even Raw for me, since I missed the first half.

Heh, Cena got the win in Flair Country :D :evil:

[hobbyfan]

1. Why a DQ finish in the opener? Carlito busted out some fresh offense, including that springboard senton, which was good, as he's going to need it. Kurt Angle must've been ROTFLHAO seeing Carlito do his bit with the chair.

2. Ashley must've gotten a crash course on crossbody blocks from Ricky Steamboat, who also hails from Charlotte. That looked sweet on Victoria, and Ashley got the win right back from last week.

3. HBK-Benjamin was THE match of the night by far.:D :D :D Can do without the Mama's boy chants, though.

4. Coach shouldn't be in the Rumble, but he's one of Vince's trained pets. The Spirit Squad has got to go already. Lawler goes over Greg Helms at New Year's Revolution, then jobs via leverage violation to that poser Coach? WTF?:mad:

This is how I book it. A 2nd ref comes down post-match and tells ref Mickey Henson what happened. The decision is overturned, and Lawler is declared the winner.

5. Again, 4 men do not a battle royal make, but leave it to ol' cucumber beak to spoil Big Show's moment of glory. Unfortunately, HHH has put the cart before the horse this time, because he's SO NOT winning the Rumble.

6. Flair should've been the one to get the fall in front of the homies. Edge was hardly in it, probably because his pec injury's not 100% healed. Masters ends up jobbing by default. Decent, but rushed.:sad:

[SirLemming]

The Spirit Squad was UBER-Lame. One of the worst gimmicks in a long time. And something that as so bad, the crowd literally died.
Literally? Good Lord!!

[EinBebop]

WWE Fantasy Points (Top 5)
1. Big Show (32) (What was I thinking not switching to him when they confirmed him for the Rumble?)
2. John Cena (27)
3. Edge (26)
4. Shawn Michaels (18)
4. Kane (18)
4. Ric Flair (18)
4. Trish Stratus (18)
4. Lita (18)

[Hyper Shadow X]

The Shawn vs Shelton match was good.

[zmanjz]

6. Flair should've been the one to get the fall in front of the homies. Edge was hardly in it, probably because his pec injury's not 100% healed. Masters ends up jobbing by default. Decent, but rushed.:sad:

My guess is that the original plan had Cena doing alot more upfront with Flair taking the match at the end, but when the crowd demanded Flair early, and they had to change the plan, and then when the crowd started to chant for Cena to pull off the rescue (at a point where they were short on time) the match ended like it did.

At least Flair didn't have to job in front of a home town crowd.

[Jay]

The best part of raw was the benjamin/HBK match and thats the only good thing about raw. I dont know where to start on what was worst lets see almost all the promos were pathetic. I dont know if its me or what but everytime there is a womens match i get scare as hell because im afraid someone will get hurt or miss a move and get really embarrassed. But the worst part of raw was the coach/king match and the debut of the sprirt squad it doesnt even matter what the name of the group is they are just lame. Vince is losing his touch every single raw.

[VCXZX]

For those of you wondering whose careers were ruined last night as part of the Spirit Squad, here are the identities of those wrestlers courtsey of Dave Meltzer:


Ken Doane from OVW, far too much potential for this gimmick
Mike Mondo from OVW
Nick Mitchell from the last Tough Enough
Johnny Jeter from OVW
Nick Nemeth, formerly Chavo Guerrero's caddy


Yeah, Doane and Johnny Jeter are definately wasted here. They show much more than this gimmick will require them to use. Typical WWE booking.

I really shudder what they will do to CM Punk when he debuts.

[Redi]

Wow......that was a horrible show.

HBK/Shelton would have been great if he didn't have that gimmick....and that match was the only bright spot of the evening.

[Spike Mcdougal]

I really shudder what they will do to CM Punk when he debuts.

Do you really want to know?

[Andy Mancini]

I really shudder what they will do to CM Punk when he debuts.
They won't change anything but his name. Punk is way too popular with the IWC for the WWE to let that happen. Yes, I know they claim that we don't matter, but we do in this instance. They can "ruin" (I understand what you all mean, but it's still rather harsh) careers of guys like Jeter and Doane, as the average fan has no idea who they are. People know who CM Punk is. Hell, he was even in TNA. There is no way that they will turn off an entire section of their audience like that.

EDIT: And please don't bring up the "deaf gimmick" that was floating around a few months back. It's just a weak rumor at this point, nothing more.

[MGFanJay]

Punk was in TNA before they were any kind of a threat to Vince, so his exposure even via that national stage was limited. I believe he was planned to be in this group, and turned it down. Their careers haven't been ruined YET by this. Luckily, they all look the same, and they can take time off, grow their hair out, and be repackaged if need be. I'm getting a Mean Street Posse 2006 vibe from them, so I'm not going to crap all over this gimmick just yet.

[Zyzzybalubah]

You know, with gimmicks like the Spirit Squad, I think they're just intentionally wanting RD Reynolds to post about that and have enough stuff for his site in the future. :)

[Spike Mcdougal]

http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/mrmcmahon

Take a guess wHo numBer one will be? No really taKe a guess?

[The Penguin]

Very late with RAW comments this week. I'll try to keep them shorter, but we all know how that usually goes...

I liked Edge citing the other "transitional" champions as he was proclaiming he would not be one. I don't know if it's geography, but Cena's boos have gone done since Angle moved and he lost the belt. And Cena's "review" was just spoilers. If he had "given away" the ending we wouldn't have to go see it. ;)

Carlito did the whole "anger Kane" thing with that chair and that has never worked out very well for anyone.

I enjoyed watching Big Show refuse Edge & Lita. He almost seemed tempted. Probably was afraid he'd catch something.

God, Mickie was freaking out before the match took place. Trish did not seem pleased her stretching was interrupted (that woman really likes to be ready to go). Mickie has clearly lost it with her attack on Ashley after the match was over.

Shelton isn't a mama's boy, he's just Momma's boy and I think this is really starting to work. When the Vince threat I knew he wouldn't beat HBK. Nice seeing a "replay" of the Gold Rush tournament spot. The one that connected was cooler, but the block was still good.

"Why are you doing this?" I agree with Shawn. The whole thing is just random. I suppose "Evil Vince" doesn't need a real reason, but it's all just so predictable and is falling short of the mark.

Neither Coach nor King deserve to be in the Rumble. With the roster as big as it is now, there are still guys left out of the match and WWF used to have to go out and get extra people to fill up the 30 spots. King I could almost go with, but Coach will always be an announcer who wrestles and not the other way around. Regardless of talent, I respect "Dangerous" Danny Davis more as a wrestler than I do the Coach. Any of the three men that Big Show would beat down moments later deserve a spot more than an announcer does. Most notably Gregory Helms. :mad:

The main event was equal parts "Ric Flair in Charlotte!" and "The guys in the Championship match meet early!" It was an okay match and it's always kinda nice to hear people pop for the Nature Boy in his hometown.


I'm getting a Mean Street Posse 2006 vibe from them, so I'm not going to crap all over this gimmick just yet.That's pretty much how I felt too when I saw them. I loved Pete Gas, Rodney and Joey Abs, but I'll have to see if I can get behind Nick Nemeth and company.



http://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/mrmcmahon

Take a guess wHo numBer one will be? No really taKe a guess?Hmm, I dunno. I found it sad that they screwed with the Rumble soley to do that. Couldn't they just show Shawn pick #1 and Vinnie Mac act fake surprised?

[EinBebop]

Take a guess wHo numBer one will be? No really taKe a guess?We wrestling fans with memories recall that Shawn should not only NOT be upset by this, he should be happy, as just two years ago he REQUESTED the #1 spot.

[and2]

HBK/Shelton was overrated before it even started.


Pretty average Raw.

[Spike Mcdougal]

We wrestling fans with memories recall that Shawn should not only NOT be upset by this, he should be happy, as just two years ago he REQUESTED the #1 spot.

Yeah I remember. But that was different, this is Vince trying to stack the deck against him which by the way I agree with Penguin's comment and furthermore they should have just announced it on the show instead of making it obviously announcing it on WWE.com, this is just like Heyman doing the same thing to Benoit two years ago.........








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