"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

RAW is already underway, but as we head towards WrestleMania, every minute counts!


http://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/wwe.jpghttp://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/raw.jpgPhenom's decision?
February 5, 2007

This week, Raw emanates from the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Phenom to render a decision
As first reported by WWE Mobile Alerts, 2007 Royal Rumble winner Undertaker will open Raw this week by revealing which champion he will face at WrestleMania 23. At exactly 9/8 CT, The Phenom will render his grim decision live on Raw.

Last week, moments after Shawn Michaels and WWE Champion John Cena became the World Tag Team Champions, Undertaker rose up through the floor to stare down The Champ. Does the Phenom have his eyes on the WWE Championship?

On the same page?
Speaking of Cena & HBK, are the new World Tag Team Champions really a cohesive unit? Just moments after winning the titles last week on Raw, it appeared as though Michaels may have been thinking about delivering Sweet Chin Music to his new partner. Is Michaels looking to take out Cena?

Trumped
Mr. McMahon was not pleased when Donald Trump won the WWE fans’ adoration by having buckets of his money dumped into the American Airlines Center. Will Mr. McMahon try to top the Donald? What does the future hold for these two rival billionaires?

First time ever
For the first time ever, Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy will go one-on-one with the legendary Nature Boy, Ric Flair in non-title action. If Flair can somehow pull out a victory over Hardy, he will earn the right to challenge for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 23.

Women's gold at stake
WWE Women's Champion Mickie James will be in action tonight, defending her title against red-hot challenger Melina. Will Melina ride the paparazzi to her first ever Women's Championship? Or will Mickie remain the cornerstone of the competitive Raw division?

Find out this and more on Raw this Monday night at 9/8 CT on the USA Network.

[VCXZX]

Opening segment was great. I liked Taker signaling he wants batista at Mania. It should be noted Batista got some boos when he stared down Taker and then when he got chokeslammed, the place erupted. And thus the heel turn begins.

[SirLemming]

JR: Brought to you by... Fruity! Fruity! Fruity, fruity, oh God they're so fruity, Skittles!
*pause*
LAWLER: You really love those fruity Skittles, don't you?
JR: *shamed silence*

[Red]

Opening segment was great. I liked Taker signaling he wants batista at Mania. It should be noted Batista got some boos when he stared down Taker and then when he got chokeslammed, the place erupted. And thus the heel turn begins.

Actually I think of the three entrances, Batista got the biggest pop. But no matter what, fans will love The Undertaker more than Batista, no doubt about it.

------------

Sweet promo by Flair. I kinda hope he's not turning heel before our eyes though, I like him as a face.

[VCXZX]

That was the segment of the year. An AMAZING SHOOT by Flair. I think this is supposed to lead to a heel turn by Flair. I hope they don't screw this Grumpy old Flair gimmick up.

[Hyper Shadow X]

I really enjoyed the opening of the show.

[VCXZX]

decent main event with a predictable finish. I'm curious as to who the face is going to be in this Edge/Orton tilt. That could make it 3 mania matches with faces against faces and heels against heels. Cool ending with staredowns galore.

Overall, an above-average RAW.

[Ahiru-kun]

It was kinda anti-climatic how Taker chose Batista. I really thought they were going to surprise us.

Flair sure told Carlito.

Orton and Edge were too concentrated on making sure HBK lost and it cost them. Now who will be the face and heel going into their WrestleMania match? I say Orton since I heard some RKO chants.

[Frank Castle]

I really wanted Orton to win. Orton's due for a title reign.

[Mr.Kurtz]

Football is over (not that I really cared anyway)

college basketball is in the mid-season doldrums.

Time for the hype-tastic, simulated fighting, overacting and whoreing yourself to the fans for any kind of reaction that is pro-wrestling. When it's done right it's better than any sport.

wwe begins the annual road to wrestlemania and I'm surprised to see old favs like Taker and HBK in the main event. Taker and Batista have a lot of potential angles but Shawn and Cena could fall flat without some surprises. If they could add edge to the mix somehow it might spruce it up.

Best promo of this show goes to Flair. Could this be his last wrestlemaina? Hopefully they put him in a down and dirty one on one feud with Carlito or Hardy and not in to a gimmick match he has no business being in like Money in the Bank.

The one thing pulling the show down, as is often the case, is Vince. The awful hairdo known as Donald Trump is as exciting as curdled milk and Vince is only slightly better. If stone cold and the Hulkster both came on and put Donny and Vinny in a limo that was on fire and pushed them off the top of titan towers, it still wouldn't be entertaining.

[The Penguin]

Should I be in bed right now? Probably.

I was very happy to see Undertaker indicate that he would be staying on SmackDown! The Dead Man has been there so long regardless of his regularity that I really didn’t want to see him lost to RAW which is funny because I don’t always care for Taker and his light work schedule.

I thought it was pathetic that Shawn Michaels was hovering around waiting for Undertaker’s decision so he could ‘take the spot’. I don’t care what place he was in the Rumble, I thought it was sad. For some reason, Orton and Edge did not elicit the same feeling. Well Edge kinda did.

Bobby Lashley is the best champion in the ring?! :rolleyes: It’s been a while since I’ve heard such an outlandish statement. Maybe Mr. McMahon really has lost it.

I liked the finish of the six-man tag match, it showed that Haas and Benjamin are still a strong team. I don’t think the tights were really necessary, but The World’s Greatest Tag Team got the victory.

Oh boy, Donald Trump on RAW. I must make a special effort to tune in. :shrug: Is that supposed to interest me?

Ric Flair’s interview with Maria made the Nature Boy sound more excited about his match than he did about his match with Jeff Hardy which he seemed to have to around too.

Umaga sure has been downgraded hasn’t he? The Samoan Bulldozer got his “defeated challenger punching bag” match last week against Val Venis and this week he does Vince’s bidding to beat up Balls. Not a good sign.

I liked the conversation that Cena had with Michaels in the back. I just loved the way the Champ talked down to HBK after he tried to talk down to him.

The one-two punch of Crazy vs. Nitro and Mickie vs. Melina was nicely done. I liked the continuity of the matches following each and the men and the women just switching in and out of the ring status. I still don’t see what Super Crazy is doing being on RAW and beating the likes of Johnny Nitro, but whatever.

During the Kenny-Lashley match JR was either wrong or just not clear. The honor of just youngest champion would go to René Duprée who first became a World Tag Team Champion when he was 19. If JR meant Heavyweight Champion, then he would be right on with 20-year-old Kenny.

He didn’t beat Jeff Hardy earlier in the night, but Flair’s rant at Carlito was spectacular! It felt like the Nature Boy meant every word and based on his recent performances, Carlito was just the guy to go off on too. He has been pretty pathetic lately.

I was rather displeased to see HBK win the match. I’m finding I’m just a bit tired of Michaels, whenever he has been in the Mania main event lately it’s like he interjects himself into what is really going on and that just come across as arrogance and having a sense of entitlement. If the ‘real’ Shawn Michaels isn’t like that anyomore, I’d rather not see it in the TV version.

[VCXZX]

I was thinking this, this morning that perhaps the Flair promo was a message to PUNK. Punk is constantly in the doghouse for various uncalled for things and his latest act was making out with Maria which upset many people. Yes, making out gets you in trouble. What a company.

Anyway, yeah that could be a subliminal right there, you know with carlito and Torrie more concerned about each other and leaving than the match. Something to ponder.

[New Noise]

RAW was great last night. One of the best in a while. I enjoyed every match, except Umaga/Mahoney... Mahoney shouldn't be jobbing!

[The Myst]

Bobby Lashley is the best champion in the ring?! :rolleyes: It’s been a while since I’ve heard such an outlandish statement. Maybe Mr. McMahon really has lost it.

At least he's better than Cena. Though Batista is the best. All in my opinion of course.

[RedNinja84]

Good Raw, though everyone knew HBK would win. By the way, did any one else see the fan with X division belt?

[Fifi Fanatic]

Good Raw, though everyone knew HBK would win. By the way, did any one else see the fan with X division belt?

Yep. I noticed that. Nice belt. Maybe next time WWE comes around here I'll dust off my old nWo belt for all the world to see. :D

First of all, Ric Flair has still got it! That was just gold when he cut loose on Carlito. If this is indeed Flair's final Wrestlemania as has been said here; then I sure hope it's one hell of a farewell. Wooooooo!

Cena vs HBK? It looks that way unless some swerve is in the works. The crowd is obviously gonna pull for Cena. Same story with The Undertaker. Perhaps my prediction of upcoming heel turns was on the mark after all.

Now c'mon, Vince! Even a whole arena full of marks wasn't buying that anyone who survived The Bingo Hall could ever be squashed by one of your cartoon characters! That's right, give all of us old ECW guys just one more reason to hate you, Vincent!

Match of the night was the six-man tag. WGTT is apparently getting a push again. Stay tuned....

Overall, an improved Raw for the most part....

[hobbyfan]

No one made note of this, but it looked like Shad might be injured legit, as he was checking his left knee as he came down the ramp. Small wonder, then, that he wasn't a factor in the 6-man.

If Ric Flair is turning heel---and he's the one asking to let it happen, I hear--then Carlito's about to be taken to school. What, then, does that do to DX when Hunter comes back?

Or does Evolution reform?

No Ron Simmons this week. Meh.

7 matches on the card. Must've felt like Friday instead of Monday.

Vince is officially insane and needs to go away. It's time the kids stepped in and got him out of there before he embarasses the company into bankruptcy.

[Frank Castle]

Or does Evolution reform?

Dude, Evolution reforming would be the highlight of the year for me. Evolution is so much better than DX.

[Jin Kazama]

Bobby Lashley is the best champion in the ring?! :rolleyes: It’s been a while since I’ve heard such an outlandish statement. Maybe Mr. McMahon really has lost it.

Be it if it says more about Lashley or less about the ECW Roster, but there's a reason no one came out to challenge Lashely. He's dominated anyone he's been against. Hell, I think he sold more for Kenny last night than I've seen him do since he feuded with Finlay.

Good Raw last night. Which is nice, because it's been a black hole of suck for the past few.

[SirLemming]

Be it if it says more about Lashley or less about the ECW Roster, but there's a reason no one came out to challenge Lashely.

My first thought was "nobody's challenging him because this isn't even his federation", but I guess I should've known better...

[Tapout]

Vince is officially insane and needs to go away. It's time the kids stepped in and got him out of there before he embarasses the company into bankruptcy.Shane maybe. From everything I read, Stephanie is every bit as crazy and narrow minded running Smackdown as Vince is running the big picture.

[EinBebop]

No Ron Simmons this week. Meh.Meh? I believe you meant to say, "Damn!"
Vince is officially insane and needs to go away. It's time the kids stepped in and got him out of there before he embarasses the company into bankruptcy.Would you believe that the preview blurb for this week on Comcast was, "What will Vince's response be to Donald Trump?"

It's official. They have no clue.

[Anthony C.]

OK I need to bring up a point: AM I the only one embarrassed to see how Ric Flair is portrayed on Raw these days? Its almost as bad as he was depicted during the NWO era WCW (almost). It sucks seeing Ric Flair, arguably the greatest wrestler who ever lived, looked upon as a old man needing to stay near the top of the card and a man who is target to get beat up by Team Rated RKO. I remember a time when Ric Flair was "The Man" and to see him like this is kind of sad.

[The Penguin]

At least he's better than Cena. Though Batista is the best. All in my opinion of course.Lashley isn't better than Cena when you look at everything a Champion needs to be. Hulk Hogan was not the best wrestler in the company even in 1988, but he had the charisma and energy to carry the entire WWF brand. Cena has those qualities too. Lashley is as charismatically challenged as they come. If ECW were a seperate, touring brand, there is no way they would have taken the risk of making him the champion. They would have sucked it up and put it on RVD because he can draw. No one goes to a show just to see Bobby Lashley, they did for Hulk Hogan and they do for Cena and Batista.