The four things that fans will remember most from RAW: Bob Holly has a personality as Carlito, Ashley needs to eat some meals, Regal’s head bleeding and what a spot by Jeff Hardy! I thought RAW was fun, the energy of the crowd was good and the roulette wheel is a good tool to use. I feel encouraged going into the Royal Rumble will be a solid show.
Seeing Haas reminding me of Hurricane meets Los Conquistadors of Edge and Christian fame, made me laugh. They need to do something with him because he is a good athlete. It’s too bad they don’t have the faith in him to wrestle as a serious athlete but with the way life is, we all need to have more laughter in our programming. Other than that, nothing really stands out from the tag match, of course it’s used to build the feud between Kennedy and Shawn Michaels even further.
Bob Holly as Carlito was funnier than Carlito as Bob Holly, and it was great seeing Holly in a different light. It’s too bad he didn’t get to try to cut a promo Carlito style because that would have been hysterical to say, “that’s not cool” or “now THAT, was cool.” Maybe Holly can impersonate Santino next week, that would also be hilarious. All of this between Rhodes/Holly/Carlito/Santino has limited booking life at the moment but it’s entertaining.
Ashley’s back, being pushed as a top baby face again with a not-so-flattering haircut and looking frightfully skinny. I realize she was on Survivor but it’s now time to feed that girl some meals. I don’t honestly understand why they are pushing her above Mickie, unless Mickie can finally turn on someone. All of a sudden, I miss Candice even more.
Regal and Triple H in a First Blood match was undoubtedly going to be great since Regal is one of the most underrated wrestlers in wrestling today and can work as well as any regularly active wrestler on RAW today. I thought it was done appropriately without undermining Regal’s ability and of course there was no doubt that Triple H would win.
With more brutality, the JBL practically hanging Jericho with a cable like a bull rope was brutal to watch and it seemed like it lasted forever. It’s definitely going to give JBL even more heat and hopefully the Royal Rumble payoff will be huge.
Finally, ending RAW with the amazing Jeff Hardy’s Whisper in the Wind from the top of the cage spot, onto solid-worker who is getting no payoff, Umaga, was a great way to close out the show. I think if WWE decides to put Hardy over Orton that fans would find it not only believable but would welcome the change. I’d also like to see Umaga get the IC belt from Hardy because he’s proven time and time again he can deliver solid matches. I think if WWE banks on Hardy that they will get one hell of a return for their investment.
Always remember, for things to change, you have to make movement. Thanks for reading, for all your support in 2007 and for all the feedback, feel free to contact me anytime at Bam@4sternstaging.com.
