"WWE RAW" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Vince McMahon is very much alive, and tonight, he returns to RAW!

Mr. McMahon strikes back
August 6, 2007

This Monday night, live on Raw at 9/8 CT on USA Network, Mr. McMahon strikes back.

Also, when Raw went off the air last week, an infuriated WWE Champion John Cena was wiping apple and spit off his face and staring lasers into Carlito, who thanks to Randy Orton, got a pinfall victory over The Champ. The Caribbean Superstar, who had argued that he deserved to be the No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship, now seems to have further ammunition to his claim.

Tonight, Cena will be a guest of the Carlito's Cabana, and knowing the history between these two Superstars, fireworks are practically guaranteed.

Speaking of fireworks, there were plenty between the two kings of WWE, Jerry "The King" Lawler and King Booker last week. Their match on Raw settled nothing in the debate over who should be considered the real king in WWE, as Booker was disqualified. Tonight, Lawler and Booker will meet in the ring again and try to settle their conflict once and for all.

Another Superstar who made a powerful statement was Mr. Kennedy, who also wants to be recognized as the No. 1 contender to the WWE Championship. Kennedy did the nearly-impossible – put Bobby Lashley on the sidelines with a shoulder injury. How much will the loudmouth from Green Bay, Wis., boast about his latest conquest? And what is Lashley’s condition?

You can find out the answers to these questions and more by tuning in to Raw on Monday night at 9/8 CT on USA Network.

[Sigma]

Apparently something BIG is going to happen tonight as there are lights, ladders, and a production truck outside the HSBC Center. It's also rumored Ken Kennedy will play an important role in tonight's RAW.

This is the first time I have been excited to watch RAW in many months. I pray that Kennedy finally gets the push he deserves.

[RedNinja84]

Looks like Regal is GM again, that's a good role for him.

[VCXZX]

A perfect ending to a great battle royal. A great celebration and the return of the great "happy" entrance music for Regal.

Its going to be very fun to see Commissioner Regal again.

[Mr. Pedro]

Aside from a battle royal finish that's seemingly been done to death (Edge from earlier this year immediately comes to mind), we'll finally get to see William Regal in a role he's tailor-made for.

As for the explanation for Vince's limo, I suppose ego-stroking is as much as an answer as we're bound to get. Good thing I'm used to eye-rolling, as Vince's rantings will no doubt continue throughout the evening.

*I mark for random Mike (IRS) Rotundo sightings O_O*

[Jaguar]

IRS.

That gave me a good laugh.

[email2003]

LOL! Cena's making lame ass jokes and the crowd chanting, "CENA SUCKS!" Your losing them John!

"I've Cena nuff!"

[RedNinja84]

I have to admit I'm impressed with Cody Rhodes. He has a mix of his father's moves and some old school moves too, like the Barry Windham flying lariat.

[VCXZX]

Orton almost saying "WWF" gave me a chuckle.

Seeing more McMahons won't give me a chuckle at all. More like shivers and shuddering.

[Damien]

I thought I heard Orton slip. Heh.

Did i miss something? Didn't Lawler win last week? Why the rematch, and since each King has won one, why not have a tie-breaker before one crowns the other?

[SirLemming]

BEST COMMERCIAL BREAK EVER.



The show started out strong with McMahon's surreal return and a good battle royal with a hilarious and satisfying victory. This "Freedom of Speech" thing is bizarre, but interesting.

John Cena slowed things to a grinding halt.


Aww, I was waiting for Hacksaw to say "I've got my American flag (American flag)... I've got my two-by-four (two-by-four)..."

[Jaguar]

What on--?

Was than an UMAGA FACE TURN?

I'm at a loss for words.

EDIT: Illegitimate child angle? Weak sauce. =/ Rest of the night was pretty good, though.

[VCXZX]

The dating game segment was pretty darn funny. at Ron Simmons rhyming "Damn" at Regal's deadpan remarks of Duggan etc. at santino being a jerk. fun stuff.

The cliffhanger at the end wasn't fun stuff though.

Overall, a middle-of-the road raw leaning towards decent.

[PTurkey]

NBC Universal makes Maury, right? I demand a Maury-RAW crossover.

"Vince McMahon, you are NOT the father!"
*Vince Dances*

UUUUUUUUUUMAGA is a face! I don't know how they'll pull it off since he can't talk, but AWESOME.

I likea the way this Santino Marella speaks. This guy, he's a-so funny. And I likea the heel turn too. The Dating Game was the best segment of the night.

And how come Regal can't pronounce names properly? Madison Square Gardens? Youmanga?

[SonGoku V3]

There was so much unintentional comedy on this show that I can't even seriously rate this.


Total crap.

[Ahiru-kun]

The finish to the battle Royal was predictable, but I can't say I'm not happy with the outcome.

Teaming with Cena may finally cement Umaga's face turn.

I guess McMahon does that every time he leaves the arena. That's paranoia for you.

I'm betting Mr. Kennedy will turn out to be this long lost son.

[The Penguin]

I thought Vince would have returned to shorter version of famous ’do, not sure I did the parted look on Vinnie Mac. Interesting that they chose to talk about his demise, but I think him doing it as a test is a nice, fairly clean way out. With the level of paranoia the boss seemed to have at the time, it’s not really a surprise. I don’t know how ‘Federal Investigator’ Daniel Beck would feel about it though.

When the battle royal came back from commercial I was so angry to see Regal was no longer in the ring. After Val Venis went out the best choices were Umaga with someone else officially making the GM decisions and Hacksaw. In the final three I was actually pulling for Sandman. I laughed when he seemed to win and cheered when Regal revealed himself. The man who was once commissioner of the entire WWF is back in charge!

Well, at least it wasn’t both Highlanders getting pwn3d by Snitsky. Rory sure didn’t last long though.

This won’t be the first time WWE has taken real stories are a negative against them and made it part of their TV show like they did when the PTC wouldn’t leave them alone. With the wrestling world more ‘real’ than it was 15 years ago, even Congressional inquiries are fair game. The best part was Vince finding out he was being audited by the IRS and then Irwin R. Schyster looking down from his newspaper.

So, Lilian is putting out another album, huh? I have yet to see one of albums in a store anywhere, although they apparently exist. Jillian just really tough with Mickie—never miss with a crazy woman’s singing.

I’m enjoying John Cena’s angry comedic energy; it seems to suit him. Carlito didn’t know what to do when The Champ basically took the Cabana away from him.

With Mr. McMahon confiding in William Regal like he was clergy, it seems Vince wants to put his family back together rather than tear them apart. The McMahon family has gone both ways, but a united front still always feels like a nice change of pace.

And according to Lilian Garcia, King Booker will now crown Jerry Lawler in MSG. “The winner will crown the loser”?! I like to think I’ve really tried to give Lilian a chance that last couple years and then she makes me miss The Fink more than I usually do. There is just no excuse for that with as long as she has been doing this now. No excuse.

To the actual match itself, while I understand them advancing the King Booker character, I am also a little surprised they are going to do that to Jerry Lawler. It may not go exactly as planned, but I have tough time with them hurting The King like that.

Well Coach did a great job putting together a set for William Regal’s Dating Game. I loved the entire segment, from Hacksaw taking off his wedding ring and his 2x4 wearing a tie to Simmons coming up with words that sounded like “Damn!” to Santino being “in lots of pain.” I don’t know if he was faking or if Marella was dropping the ball, but he sure didn’t seem like he needed it when he was trying to get Maria to go with him. Of course as soon as Umaga showed up, Santino decided to “SCRAM!”

I’ve warned before that without out Armando Alejandro Estrada, Umaga is one wrong move away from snapping on his temporary handlers and Randy Orton and Carlito certainly found that out tonight. Cena shouldn’t trust him either. The Samoan Bulldozer needs the cocky Cuban to control him.

I loved how Vince’s walk to the limo was erriely similar to his slow walk the last time. It actually made me nervous that something was going to happen. Everything was happening the same, even the two guys sitting outside the door McMahon went out. Coach stopping him for the new about another McMahon was certainly not what I expected though. Hmmmm…

[hobbyfan]

What worked:

1. Regal as GM. It's been 6 years since his run as commish. He certainly didn't waste any time jumping into the waters, did he now?

2. Regal hosting the WWE Dating Game. Hilarious. Chuck Barris would be proud of him.

3. Carlito's Cabana. John Cena pwned Carlito this week. Would've been the best part of the show save for the Dating Game. Cena interviewing himself? Priceless. Why didn't the Rock do that? Or did he?

4. Vince returns, cracks on the government, and finds out there's a love child out there somewhere. Oh, the drama. It's something new, but as long as the old man is kept in smaller doses from this point......!

5. King Booker to be crowned by Jerry Lawler next week. That won't be all, as I think HHH will return to a hero's welcome and set up Summerslam.

What didn't work:

Coach as Regal's assistant. That's going to get old real fast. One of those two will end up a face ere long.

[Fifi Fanatic]

Vincent KENNEDY McMahon? One guess who the "son" will be....

And shades of Bob Backlund! A random appearance by Irwin R. Shyster! :anime:

Well, this week provided two good examples of how things sometime go with a character. Umaga is getting popular, so the logical thing to do is turn him face. On the other end, nobody likes Santino Marella, so the logical thing to do is turn him heel. Hmmmm...... by that logic, shouldn't Cena have turned heel ages ago? XD

Anyway, fairly decent Raw for the most part. The Dating Game segment was a hoot.

[The Penguin]

Well, this week provided two good examples of how things sometime go with a character. Umaga is getting popular, so the logical thing to do is turn him face. On the other end, nobody likes Santino Marella, so the logical thing to do is turn him heel. Hmmmm...... by that logic, shouldn't Cena have turned heel ages ago? XD

I like John Cena, but the answer here is obvious, teenage boys and girls don't buy Santino Marella t-shirts.