Overall, I enjoyed the show WWE put on for their Homecoming on USA. I haven’t been able to say that in some time and Vince McMahon put so much focus on this show, you would have sworn it was a PPV. Yes, there were some bloopers – but they didn’t take away from the overall good feeling of the broadcast.
The show kicked off with Mick Foley introducing “Rowdy” Roddy Piper for the Piper’s Pit. I might be in the minority but I felt Piper leading the crowd into a Foley chant was out of character and somewhat goofy. I didn’t mind the props so much because it seemed fitting, considering how sick and crazy Mick’s bumps are from a character that was considered sick, crazy and unpredictable. I thought inserting the Ortons into this segment was something I wasn’t going to predict, and thought it brought up good points between Piper and “Cowboy” Bob Orton. It should make for a interesting storyline once Randy Orton and Undertaker are finally done. The ultimate legend for Orton to kill though would be his own father, that would be a great storyline if his Dad can still “go.”
Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels gave us a solid 30 minute Ironman Match played out perfectly in storyline form and in the actual storytelling on the mat. I loved the aspect that the Legends were watching these future legends wrestle, it added another dimension that they were giving a show for their pioneers as well. I wish they had done this one match with no commercial breaks but you have to pay the sponsors. However, with the special WWE.com broadcast during the commercials, you could basically not miss a beat. I wish they would keep that feature because it makes you feel like you are with the live crowd and it adds more excitement that you can’t even get up to refill your drink because you can keep watching on the Internet. Some of the timing with that feature was off, sometimes you’d go a few minutes without anything – so once they nail the timing of future broadcasts, it could be a solid smooth feature. This would also provide WWE with another positive press release on their hits and innovative technology in sports entertainment. I wish this hadn’t ended in a draw and the announcers to my recollection never touched on the fact that this match was to be the number one contender against the WWE champion. I assume this will lead to a Triple Threat match up, I thought for sure Vince was going to march down to the ring and not let his first match end in a draw, and go to Sudden Death.
The Vince McMahon and Family/”Stone Cold” Steve Austin long segment was fun for what it was: a walk down memory lane and to prove that some things won’t ever change. I thought poor Shane McMahon got the most shortchanged, I marked out for him being back since it’s been quite sometime since I heard “Hear Comes the Money” and he got no microphone time while Stephanie McMahon and even Linda got mic time. I know Stephanie has been doing the blonde bit for a few months behind the scenes but it still hasn’t grown on me. However, despite the overdone boob job, she looks fantastic. She hasn’t been in front of the cameras in months, it’s hard to say if she is going to put herself back on the canvas in a storyline form. Linda McMahon, who I feel resembles a human version of Daisy Duck and Steve Austin’s timing on the Stunner was way off and I wish WWE had kept a non-close up on that knowing Linda isn’t a trained bump machine.
The showstealing match of the night was Matt Hardy and Edge in the Loser Leaves RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match. I felt completely engaged the entire time and all parties did a great job with it with some innovative spots. The crowd was with them the entire time and Lita’s role was appropriate by wrapping her body around his arms in a crucifix while his arms were entwined within the ropes as Edge got his suitcase down. If Matt Hardy will not die, what would be appropriate is having him go Loose Cannon like never before, showing up in the crowd, the balconies, just being unpredictable. I’m not interested in feeling sympathetic for Matt for long, I want to see him be angry and intense.
The pre-match Trish Stratus/Ashley flirty segment was fun for what it was, I know I did’t mind it. Mae Young and the Legends added in was funny, more so that Ted DiBiase was offering her money to put her clothes back on and she wanted to come back to collect the money.
The storyline of the night is Triple H and Ric Flair’s that started following their match against Chris Masters and Carlito. The match itself wasn’t very strong, but it was fun for what it’s worth and knowing it was going to somehow lead to a Triple H heel turn on Flair. That was the reddest I’ve seen Flair’s hair in a long long time and that was pretty brutal beating that I was surprised that USA was going to air. I assume that Triple H’s ‘you should have known better!’ was in reference to 1)Ric Flair holding a belt and Triple H not, making The Game look bad and 2)the time that Flair and Shawn Michaels helped each other out while Triple H was gone, I believe against Carlito and/or Chris Masters. I’m excited about this storyline and hopefully WWE will draw this one out for a good payoff at Wrestlemania.
The Legends segment worked with Rob Conway (aka Buff Bagwell wannabe), with Dusty Rhodes leading the mic work. I am glad to see the past history of wrestling acknowledged, though the stuffed Frankie with KoKo B. Ware was disturbing. The Bras and Panties match, Ashley should be careful when she starts tugging on people’s undergarments but no one complains, really.
It’s interesting that of all people Kurt Angle mentions seeing of Smackdown’s roster, Ken Kennedy’s name is the name that’s dropped. WWE must have a lot of high hopes for Mr. Kennedy. The complete burial of Smackdown on RAW was pretty brutal and I felt anyone who had hoped of getting the bonus brand match were really screwed. I can only hope storyline wise it leads to the firing of Eric Bischoff for turning the lights out. I don’t know what the Smackdown roster has done to have such disrespect because they too have families to feed and want to put on a good show.
In possibly the shortest Hulk Hogan interview segment ever, Hogan wants Steve Austin in a match (so much for one last time, two times ago), but there’s no telling if it will happen or if this is Hogan’s way of testing Austin. The ONLY way I’d want to see this happen is if Austin has the liberty to shoot on Hogan and reenact his ECW mocking of him. I would be highly disappointed if Austin jobbed to Hogan at Wrestlemania. So if that is to be the outcome, I hope it doesn’t happen. Austin doesn’t need to prove anything and beat or lose to Hogan, it’s just a way for everyone to get a huge payday.
Since there was no real idea that Bischoff would defeat John Cena in any way, I didn’t care much for this match since Bischoff didn’t get a direct beat down from Cena. Cena has possibly the weakest reign of a WWE champion in recent memory. The big brawl was a good idea and it was something I expected to happen once Smackdown got screwed. I have always wanted the two shows to really compete, to invade each other and give the midcarders something to do to add to their creditability for each show. I hope we will see more mingling of the brands to inject a ECW type feeling into the brand again. A good way to start, is to cross feud the tag team rosters on both shows – giving the tag team division a strong presence on both show and that’s putting it in perspective. Thanks for reading and always feel free to drop me a line at Bam@4sternstaging.com.
