"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[bigddan11]

http://www.wwe.com/content/media/images/Headers/1363934
http://www.wwe.com/content/media/touts/feature/29062/3087020 (http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/preview/)

Hulk Hogan returns to RAW after the fiasco at Saturday Night's Main Event, and one question is on everyone's mind: will the Hulkster be able to get some revenge? Meanwhile two important matches have been announced: Carlito and Shelton Benjamin will face-off in a #1 contender's rematch, and The Highlanders will face the Spirit Squad in a tag team championship match. Finally, who will be the second Diva eliminated? All this and more will unfold on RAW.

The talkback hadn't been started even though the show had, but Penguin will resume the talkback next week.

[VCXZX]

Don't tell me they're making the Stephanie/HHH couple as an angle.

Best part of the lame opening was the fan yelling "Ummmaaagggaaaa" before Coach was going to reveal HBK"s opponent. http://67.18.37.14/html/emoticons/laugh.gif http://67.18.37.14/html/emoticons/laugh.gif

Saved a crappy opening.

I'm surprised and relived the Squad won. I guess they need some heat back after the weeks of them being humiliated by D-X.

Another great Foley promo. I love his "YEAH!!!"

[bigddan11]

How bad is it hearing JR talk about the undefeated Highlanders? For pete's sake, they've only had 3 matches. Most tag teams are undefeated after 3 matches. I honestly thought they'd have the Spirit Squad lose this week since the rumor is they'll be breaking up the Spirit Squad, but maybe that's the plans for after Summer Slam.

Foley's promos are always great. They are usually true and straight to the point, just like Edge's have become.

Meanwhile, the main match-up for tommorow's ECW has been announced, but it's from WWE.com:

http://www.wwe.com/content/media/touts/feature/29062/3092232 (http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/shows/ecwonscifi/preview/)

Ironically they show the advertisement for this match during the next commercial break. Tonight's main event looks like it should be good: Johnny Nitro & Edge (w/ Lita & Melina) vs. Ric Flair & John Cena. Right off Flair and Cena look like they'll be at a disadvantage with 2 divas to contend with as well.

[JShaggy]

Well, it's official: Daddy's Little Girl now has a little girl of her own.

Her name is Aurora Rose (if I heard it correctly).


Tonight's main event looks like it should be good: Johnny Nitro & Edge (w/ Lita & Melina) vs. Ric Flair & John Cena. Right off Flair and Cena look like they'll be at a disadvantage with 2 divas to contend with as well.
Seriously, it's more like a 4-on-2 match rather than a 2-on-2. I feel sorry for Cena and Flair.

[/sarcasm :evil:]

[VCXZX]

Aurora Rose McMahon.

Prediction: She becomes the Women's champ at age 20.

[SirLemming]

Slightly botched finish to Shelton/Carlito, although it was still a good match. In the replay it's quite obvious: Carlito moonsaulted and Shelton put his leg up, but the moonsault went too far, so then Shelton put his leg down again and then quickly did a second low-blow attempt.

Best part of the lame opening was the fan yelling "Ummmaaagggaaaa" before Coach was going to reveal HBK"s opponent. http://67.18.37.14/html/emoticons/laugh.gif http://67.18.37.14/html/emoticons/laugh.gif

I heard that too. That was awesome.

I actually liked the opening segment, but I've complained about other talking segments that I didn't find funny, so I can't really argue that one. But they do get extra points for having to throw it together quickly.

[bigddan11]

I'm sensing a tie breaker match next week between Benjamin and carlito now. They've both won matches in this saga by questionable means, and I'm betting they'll have the match at Summerslam for the championship.

Hulkster is up next huh. It may be time to catch a quick nap.

[SirLemming]

JR just called Randy Orton "the Matthew McConaughey, the pretty boy, of the WWE". Uh... somethin' you wanna tell us, JR?

[JShaggy]

Aurora Rose McMahon.

Prediction: She becomes the Women's champ at age 20.
Correction: (http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/itsagirl) Aurora Rose LeVesque, though I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck the McMahon name in her as some sort of angle.

[bigddan11]

Correction: (http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/itsagirl) Aurora Rose LeVesque, though I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck the McMahon name in her as some sort of angle.

I thought Triple H and Stephaie were married, or was the staged divorce a few years ago real? If so, why isn't it Aurora Rose Helmsley?

[SirLemming]

I thought Triple H and Stephaie were married, or was the staged divorce a few years ago real? If so, why isn't it Aurora Rose Helmsley? HHH's name is Paul Michael Levesque.

[bigddan11]

HHH's name is Paul Michael Levesque.

I see. I thought Triple H was one of the few wrestlers that used his real name. I've been mistaken all this time.

[VCXZX]

HHH and Stephanie are married real-life. That's why we';ve had all those wink-wink references to HHH being the father of Stephanie's child.

Also, JR and the King are rapidly approaching Joe Buck/Tim Mccarver status. And that's not a good thing.

Finally, Umaga gave Michaels the Samoan Spike. And he saved the show. Not to mention getting revenge after Michaels made fun of Osama and Umaga weeks ago. The Squad not only got squashed by Michaels, but got scared off by Umaga.

[SirLemming]

I never thought I'd say this, but John Cena needs to go back to rapping. What a long, pointless, unfunny promo. Half of his jokes were said earlier in the show; the other half were stupid. I'm remembering why I dislike this guy so much.



Umaga's move to Shawn Michaels was fantastic.

[James Bester]

Does anyone else hate the Diva Search theme as much as I do?

[SirLemming]

Does anyone else hate the Diva Search theme as much as I do?
Absolutely.

On the plus side, The Miz seems to have been neutered.

[James Bester]

Amazing, an actual decent wrestling main event on RAW. How long has it been?

All I'll say is that this was a whole lot better than the last few weeks. The tag team title match was okay(The Spirit Squad may have a horrible gimmick, but atleast they can wrestle), the Shelton vs. Carlito match was great(I'm glad that Shelton is still being pushed and not sent down to HEAT), and DX wasn't overplayed like it actually is. Not to mention Cena actually cut a decent promo. And like I said, I'm glad the main event was actually a WRESTLING match.

But the Hogan stuff sucked. It was the worst segment of the night. I hated how Lawler and JR overhyped his appearance so much. It's like they worship the ground he walks on. He already buried HBK at Summerslam, and now he does it to Orton this year. Who's next?

Sure, RAW has some major improvements to make and we had to deal with that diva search crap, but that was an improvement from what we've gotten since DX reformed. Atleast it wasn't unwatchable like it's been lately.

[VCXZX]

A shame that the Diva I voted for was eliminated. http://67.18.37.14/html/emoticons/sad.gif

cena's speech on RAW was awful. I was expecting him to go to Smackdown after burying RAW.

Main event wa s abit disappointing with Cena applying that crappy move on Nitro.

Well besides Umaga destroying HBK, pretty much a medicore show.

[Condiment King]

Typical unfunny opening this time with Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels vs The Coach was a waste of time. At least the DX/McMahons feud was minimal this week because of the lack of the McMahons and HHH being there. Of course, the Spirit Squad gets involved and gets hit by Shawn Michaels and knocked out of the ring by Umaga. I guess they looked too good earlier when they beat the Highlanders to retain their tag titles.

As for the actual Squad/Highlanders match, it was pretty good. Its laughable that the Highlanders are already being touted as mighty undefeated contenders. Its a testament to how much of a dearth WWE tag team divisions are with the brand extension. I wouldn't be surprised if a title change was held off until Summerslam.

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were particularly unbearable in the commentary booth tonight. Ross bringing up all these off-the-wall topical things, Ross overhyped Hogan to DEATH, Lawler adding nothing of substance. Jerry Lawler tossing in Randy Orton after a little shove further cements Ross and Lawler as two faces doing commentary. It just doesn't work for me. There's no flow. This is not like Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan even if both of these personalities have become legendary with time. Gorilla and Bobby told a story and complemented the action nicely, whereas Ross and Lawler tend to just go with the flow or force something completely. I'm becoming less and less of a fan.

Good Foley promo, but I still contend that he tries a little too hard with them. Flair's rebuttal wasn't much better, but for completely different reasons. As he's gotten older, his...style of mic work has either gotten worse or tired. I'm not sure. I like the fact that Edge and Johnny Nitro got involved in this feud, and are being touted as Foley's friends. It gives a rub to them, particularly Nitro.

It was weird seeing Carlito "defend" his #1 contendership against Shelton Benjamin and then lose it in equally questionable fashion. I'm expecting yet another rematch next week, probably leading to yet another triple threat match at Summerslam for the Intercontinental Championship. As talented as these guys are, its really stale to see them wrestle again and again with little promo time in between to hype up anything. Plus, there's only three guys even going for this belt, and it changed hands recently to boot, going to Nitro at Vengeance.

Hogan is so unbearable. He's such a glory hound. Randy Orton isn't the best person on the mic to begin with, but the segment was worse because Hogan cut him off with his awkward timing. Then, of course, Randy Orton had to WAY oversell for Hulk. And you know Randy isn't going to get put over with Hogan like he did with Mick Foley at Summerslam.

Flair/Cena vs Edge/Nitro was okay with John Cena being the most annoying part of it. Of course, Johnny Nitro takes the loss from Cena rather easily, furthering Cena's feud with Edge.

[bigddan11]

The best comment of the night from the announcers came with the cheap shot at A-Rod, but I agree that this weeks show was better than last week. The Umaga squash was predictable with HHH being gone, and Cena making Nitro tap was predictable. There were 2 decent matches with Cena & Flair vs. Nitro & Edge and Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin, but RAW still has a long way to go to get back to its glory days. I will say when Vnce is away, it clearly appears that the writers do play, and we gt a decent show as the result.

[Hyper Shadow X]

aN ok show tonight.

[JabarR]

I smell a Lita/Melina feud coming our way.

[halinar]

So, exactly when will the ECW belt be challenged by someone in ECW??

[SirLemming]

So, exactly when will the ECW belt be challenged by someone in ECW??
Yeah, I mean, they may not have much of a roster, but come on! It doesn't even have to be a title match every week if they don't want it to be... It's just insane. The desperation couldn't be more obvious.

[bigddan11]

Yeah, I mean, they may not have much of a roster, but come on! It doesn't even have to be a title match every week if they don't want it to be... It's just insane. The desperation couldn't be more obvious.

I think they're just trying to portray the idea that the ECW Champion is a fighting champion. The ECW title has been on the line more times in the last few weeks that the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship, and whatever they call the TNA Championship combined in the last month, and if they continue this pace, then it could easily become the last few months.

I heard they don't plan on continuing the Fake Kane story even though Kane returns, but I guess we'll find out tonight and as he returns to RAW in the next few weeks if that is indeed factual. I'm personally hoping they bring us a Kane & Undertaker vs. Big Show & The Great Kahli (if he can get healthy enough in time) or Fake Kane at Summer Slam. They have said all 3 brands will be involved after all.

[SirLemming]

I want them to continue the Fake Kane storyline, if only because their abrupt non-ending to it was one of the most badly thought-out storyline moments in recent WWE history.

[Jude Santos]

I heard they don't plan on continuing the Fake Kane story even though Kae returns, but I guess we'll find out tonight and as he returns to RAW in the next few weeks if that is indeed factual.

I do believe the rumor is false, as days after rumors started going around that the angle got nixed, Jim Ross stated in his Ross Report that it's not the last time we'be seeing the fake Kane

[The Penguin]

Hey folks, I’ve been enjoying my time off of work and being back home. I had some time though, so live via 56k from South Dakota comes my thoughts on RAW…

I suppose DX openings are already starting to become commonplace, but I thought this was a good one. Congratulations are in order for the McMahon family and the show certainly started off on a different note as a result. Coach didn’t seem to have a lot of power to wield over HBK.

It’s amazing how refreshing I find it to just see the Spirit Squad in the ring and wrestling a basic tag team match. I was relieved when they won. Because I don’t want to see them broken up and I also didn’t want to see the Highlanders with the Tag Titles after a less than a month on the main roster. Some undefeated streak that was.

“What has become of Ric Flair?” indeed. Mick made some great points in his promo, “Yeaaaah.”

And Flair didn’t really answer that question when he showed up in the ring after the commercial. I fail to see how something he did to Terry Funk 15 years ago means anything to his problems today. Mick’s associates with the pretty girls did their best to take it to the Nature Boy.

Carlito vs. Benjamin was another good battle between the two men. The finish was flurry of action. Even with all-heel management, I don’t see this being the end of who the number one contender is.

I swear, WWE must have to build more time in whenever Hulk Hogan is in front of a crowd. They just will not be quiet. I don’t know that I would either if I was in the arena with Hulk Hogan, but as a TV viewer, I want the show to keep moving. And move it did once Orton got out there. The Legend Killer didn’t want any of Hogan, but I bet now he wants some of Jerry Lawler.

The SummerSlam spot was fun, I hope we see more and different ones.

In a longer match, Mickie could have wrestled circles around Candice, but I think the models are getting better all the time. Never thought I’d see Candice Michelle doing a flying cross-body.

When Coach first said HBK was going to have a match, I was with a few members of the crowd thinking it would be Umaga. In a way I guess it was. Michaels handled the Spirit Squad, but was no match for the Samoan Bulldozer.

I *loved* Cena’s promo with Maria! (outside of the poop joke of course) It feels like it’s been a while since he just cut loose like that and it was funny for the most part. :)

:sad: My dear, sweet Maryse is gone after I decided that she was the one I wanted. I’d really like to know who the heck everyone is voting for. Erica was painful to watch last Friday.

The main event was fantastic break from McMahon-DX while furthering the stories of the other big feuds on RAW. Not a bad match either.

[bigddan11]

For those who haven't heard, the Main Event for RAW next week has been announced as: HBK vs. Umaga!

http://www.wwe.com/content/media/touts/feature/29062/3103584 (http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/preview/)

[hobbyfan]

Congratulations to HHH & Stephanie. At least maybe we'll see pics of their baby girl before we see TomKat's kid.:D

The first four matches all end with some sort of screwjob finish. Vince must've been worried more about the baby, and his crackhead writers couldn't do anything right.

HBK-Coach was great for the opening talking head seg, and the match was a total squashola until the Space Cadets & Umaga got involved. Remember, peeps, HBK handed Umaga his 1st loss (DQ) just a few months ago, so don't be surprised if this is another screwjob.

Hmmm, a little friction between Edge & Nyquil? Maybe Lita & Melina can feud over the #1 contender for the women's title?

Great promo by Cena, who kept the dumb blonde jokes to a minimum. Has to work on the STFU to make it credible, though.

The Space Cadets are lucky they're not on Smackdown. Teddy Long would've stripped them of the tag titles a long time ago, mostly for not defending. The Highlanders will get them back and soon.

Why would Mickie James need a leverage violation to pin Candice? Because the writers are lazy idiots.

Nyquil/Carlito/Benjamin: The sequel---at Summerslam. Count on it.

Maryse decided to wear red stockings and was eliminated. Her loss.

[RedNinja84]

The highlights of the night were Mick Foley's promo and Carlito/Benjamin. The rest of it was pretty boring. The main events each week are getting worse and worse, I guess that's due to lack of talent. Congrats to Trips and Steph on their new baby girl. Does anybody else find that half of the wrestlers in the Summerslam promo are out with injuries and probally won't be there?