The Raw Report (01/15/07): Rated-RKO vs. HBK
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Monday, January 15, 2007 at 8:57 PM EST





Ladies and gentlemen, my sincerest apologies for not having a Raw report up last week. I’ll be straight with you, I am almost as big a college football fan as I am a wrestling fan. Many months ago, I asked for January 8th off so I could watch the national title game (missing it would’ve been like skipping Wrestlemania). We had someone lined up to do the Raw recap in my place, but that person (for whatever reason) did not do it.

Now, I did get a chance to watch last week’s show on tape, and I’ve gotten many emails from folks who were ready and raring to read me tear the show a new one. So, for those of you who don’t care what I have to say, scroll on down to this week’s recap. For those that are interested in my quick review of the 1-8 Raw, here it goes…

All in all…it was one of the worst episodes of Raw that I’ve ever seen. Sans for a one-year wrestling hiatus, I’ve seen every episode of Raw. So, in 13 years watching Monday Night Raw, last week’s show may have been the very worst one I’ve ever seen. There were two positives on the show in the decent Kenny vs. Hardy match and the very well performed segment by Rated-RKO (and HBK). Everything else was garbage. We’ll start with the Great Khali’s debut. I can appreciate that Khali is a gigantic human being…he’s big enough to draw money. However, he’s the worst wrestler in the WWE. He brings nothing to the table other than his size. He cannot wrestle and cannot talk. The fans realize this and give him no reaction. He’s the kind of guy who makes diehards like myself not want to care about wrestling. Yet, he beats John Cena. Strike One. To a much lesser extent, I want to address the women’s championship storyline, which I feel was really undercut by last week’s show. Why does Victoria need Melina? Victoria mowed thru the entire women’s division and now she needs Melina’s help? Why? Strike Two.

Rosie vs. Donald…Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse than Great Khali being put in a prominent position on the WWE’s flagship show, the WWE presented the worst piece of television I’ve seen since Triple H dressed up like Kane and humped a dummy in a coffin. Making fun of Rosie is fine with me…doing a parody of Donald Trump is fine with me, as well. I cannot for the life of me, though, figure out the logic behind letting a fake Rosie and Donald wrestle a match. Every week I point out how so many matches should get more time to give the wrestling fans something to go with all the sports entertainment and then Rosie and Donald go out and have a match twice as long as most of the matches I clamor to be given more time. The only saving grace was that the live fans shit all over it…and rightfully so. This is yet another wake up call to Vince McMahon that he’s out of touch with his audience. Strike Three.

Thus, I give the 1-8 Raw a rating of 0.5/10…and close by saying that last week’s show made me ashamed to be a wrestling fan. Only a handful of moments in wrestling history have made me feel that way, and the combo of Khali on Raw and Donald-Rosie has cast a dark cloud over the early part of 2007.



The Raw Report (01/15/07)

A short tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. was shown…

The show opened with WWE Champion John Cena coming to the ring, where the Coach was waiting for him with a contract waiting to be signed. Coach said it may be the last time that Cena was ever introduced as the champion, for at the Royal Rumble, the champ would be facing Umaga. Umaga proceeded to come to the ring, accompanied by Armando Estrada. The crowd started a loud “Cena” chant. Coach said he knew Cena wanted to get all this over with, but he needs to know that the match would be no ordinary match. He gave match-making power to Estrada, who decided that Umaga-Cena II would be a Last Man Standing match. Estrada said there would be no way that Cena would win and retain the title. AAE signed the contract. The crowd again chanted for Cena. The champ signed the contract, but first pondered the thought that he may not be crazy enough to sign a contract for a Last Man Standing match against a monster. Turns out he was crazy enough…and also full of surprises, as he jumped Umaga and fought him to the outside. Cena blasted Umaga with the steel steps and put AAE thru a table (in the ring) with the FU. (CMV1 note- solid segment and a nice stipulation added to the rematch b/t Cena and Umaga. The gimmick stacks the odds against the champion storyline wise, and also is likely to up the quality of the match)


Match 1: Johnny Nitro and Melina vs. Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and Maria
-Hardy and Nitro started us off, while the crowd chanted for Hardy. Nitro took early control with a series of European uppercuts and a spinning elbow drop. Hardy came back and went for the Twist of Fate, but Nitro countered and pushed Jeff into Maria. Maria and Melina had to wrestle each other. Melina got a wrestling lesson, as Maria dominated her with a series of quick offensive moves and a bulldog out of the corner. Nitro interfered and allowed Melina to take control, though. Melina wrapped Maria up in the ropes before dragging her to the center of the ring and applying a Camel Clutch. Maria came back with a back breaker counter into a head scissor. Melina tagged Nitro, who tried to wrestle Maria. Maria stomped Nitro’s foot, as Jeff came flying into the ring. Hardy connected on a flurry of offense, highlighted by the Whisper in the Wind. He went to the top for the Swanton, but Melina prevented it. Maria pushed Melina away, allowing Hardy to regroup and hit the Swanton Bomb for the win. Hardy and Maria at 4:01. (CMV1 rating- ľ *) (CMV1 note- solid action while it lasted. Interesting that Hardy continues to get the upper hand on Nitro)


Backstage, Vince McMahon ignored the Coach and asked for Donald Trump on the phone. The person on the other end of the line said that Donald was eating dinner. Vince said the matter was urgent.


Edge and Randy Orton came to the top of the ramp, each with a mic in hand. DX’s music started to play, but it was cut short with the sound of a heart monitor flatlining. Orton said that was the sound of the death of DX. The Legend Killer demanded the flatline be replayed, as the crowd chanted “You Suck.” Orton said that the point of Rated-RKO was to take out DX for good, and tonight they’d get the opportunity. He said nobody could stop them from ending DX once and for all. Orton said Trips couldn’t help. Compared to what they were going to do to HBK, Triple H got off easy. Edge said that HBK’s TV debut happened right here in Cajun Country. In a fitting end, HBK’s last TV match would take place in Cajun Country here tonight. He said that there might be some guys in the back that might want to do the right thing and help HBK tonight. Orton and Edge disappeared to the back and dragged out Hacksaw Jim Duggan, citing that Duggan and Michaels had been friends for years. The crowd chanted “USA.” Edge said that if you help HBK, you’ll suffer the same fate as Duggan. Rated-RKO proceeded to set-up and drill Hacksaw with a conchairto.


Lashley vs. Test vs. RVD tomorrow night on ECW…


Match 2: Ric Flair vs. Kenny Dykstra
-(CMV1 note- prior to the match, JR and King showed clips of Kenny beating Flair at NYR with a low blow, and Flair costing Kenny his match the next night with a low blow). A lock-up started us off, with Flair taking control with a series of chips. Naitch used a headlock takedown to ground the 20-year old, but Kenny came back with a dropkick to the knee. Dykstra then worked over Flair’s injured limb before giving him a slightly delayed vertical suplex. Kenny went back to work on the knee and locked on the Figure Four. Flair got to the ropes to break the hold. Kenny tried to re-apply the hold, but Flair pushed him out of the ring. Flair came back with a series of chops and punches, followed by a back drop and another series of chops and punches. Kenny tried to regain some momentum, but Flair caught him with a back elbow. Flair went to the top, but Kenny caught up to him. The Nature Boy countered, though, pushing Kenny away and then coming off the top with an elbow smash. The two proceeded to trade near falls, with each grabbing the ropes for leverage, but both kicked out. The finish came when Flair reversed a cheap pin attempt and defeated Kenny with his feet on the ropes. Flair defeated Dykstra at 3:34. (CMV1 rating- ľ *). (CMV1 note- nice action, but way too short to rate highly. I suppose these two will keep wrestling until something better opens up for the youngster)


Backstage, Todd Grisham caught up with HBK. Todd informed HBK what happened to Duggan earlier tonight. HBK said he had no intention of asking Duggan for help. Michaels said that he planned on dealing with Rated-RKO alone. Flair came up and told him that he had his back tonight, whether he needed him or not.


Further backstage, McMahon still hadn’t gotten a call back from Trump. Coach asked what was so urgent. Vince read a letter from “Donald.” The letter said that the skit last week was poorly produced, lame, and not up to the WWE’s standards. It also called the skit a poor attempt at comedic satire and said that the WWE fans would rather watch the wrestling stars do compelling things in the ring. Vince said if Donald wanted compelling TV, he’d give him compelling TV. (CMV1 note- well, that’s one way to address last week’s fiasco, clearly making Vince the heel and Donald the face in their rumored upcoming TV-rivalry)

A video promo hyping Wrestlemania 23 was shown…it’s 76 days away, baby!

Vince McMahon came to the ring. He addressed the Rosie-Donald skit and even showed footage from it. Vince called the segment “brilliant” and showed a slow-motion recap of the finish. Anyhow, he said that he and Donald share a lot of similarities, but while Donald asks his audience what they want and gives it to them, Vince tells us what we want and expects us to like it. McMahon addressed Miss USA, the person who started the whole Donald-Rosie thing in the first place. Torrie Wilson, dressed as Miss USA, came to the ring. She looked uncomfortable as McMahon barked orders at her to smile and hurry up. Torrie read off a cue card that she was “Miss USA” and she’d been a “very bad girl.” She asked what she could do to make it up to America’s favorite billionaire, Mr. McMahon. Carlito came to the rescue and made his way to the ring with a determined look. McMahon was not happy and asked him what he was doing. Carlito said he knew McMahon was the boss, but he said that despite what he might think, Vince isn’t cool and the Rosie-Donald thing was really bad…in fact, it sucked. CCC said that the people don’t want to see stupid skits or hear McMahon talk; they want to see people fight. Vince, looking pissed off as ever, said he’d give Carlito a fight…against the Great Khali. Khali came to the ring, no sold Carlito’s offense, ignored the crowd’s chants for CCC, and destroyed him with ease. Vince said that was cool. (CMV1 note- of course, let’s answer the cry for a better TV show with part of the reason the show needs to be better. I can’t wait for Hulk Hogan to come in and bury that big, no talent hack)


Match 3: Women’s Champion Mickie James vs. Victoria
-(CMV1 note- title was on the line). Victoria pulled Mickie’s hair to gain first strike points, but Mickie came back with a hair pull of her own. The challenger rolled to the outside and urged the ref to watch the hair. James pulled her ass-first back over the top rope and spanked her a few times. Victoria sent Mickie out of the ring in retaliation and followed up with a baseball slide. Back in the ring, Victoria threw Mickie across the ring by the hair. Mickie came back with a quick roll-up, but Victoria pulled her into an uncomfortable looking split and began working over her leg. James came back again with a flurry of clotheslines and a hurricanrana for a near fall. She went for her DDT finisher, but Victoria countered into a tilt-a-whirl side slam. Victoria tried to set-up for the Widow’s Peak, but an awkward sequence followed. The finish came soon after, when Mickie dropped her with the Chick Kick for the win. Mickie retained at 3:20. (CMV1 rating- ľ *) (CMV1 note- good action outside of that one botched sequence, but again too short to amount o anything…a recurring theme).

JR and King showed clips from the opening segment…

Highlights of the Masterlock Challenge from the Tribute to the Troops showed were shown. On that show, JBL interfered and helped one of the troops break the Masterlock. Chris Masters cut a promo in the ring, saying that he would win the Royal Rumble. He said no one could break the Masterlock and had a signed document nullifying what happened in Iraq. Thus, a Masterlock challenge was issued. Ron Simmons accepted the challenge. Simmons looked like he was about to break the hold, but Super Crazy came in out of nowhere and interfered. Crazy connected with a spinning DDT and a moonsault. Simmons gave us a “Damn” to end the segment. JR and King hyped that the Masterlock had been broken. Later, we found out that the Masterlock had been deemed “still unbroken” due to outside interference.

The Wrestlemania Recall featured the Money in the Bank ladder match from Wrestlemania 22…

Backstage, Flair had been laid out by Rated-RKO (presumably)…


Match 4: JTG (w/ Shad) vs. Shelton Benjamin (w/ Charlie Haas)
-Shelton struck first with a knee-lift and a clothesline. He tried for a vertical suplex, but JTG countered and hit a diving cross body block. Shelton then countered a leap frog attempt into a shoulder breaker. Benjamin followed with an armbreaker and an armbar. Shelton proceeded to ram him into the turnbuckle, shoulder-first. Haas taunted JTG from the outside. JTG fought back with a diving back elbow and a dropkick. He scored with a second dropkick and went for an airplane spin, but Shelton countered and blasted him with a roundhouse kick. Meanwhile, Shad took off one of the turnbuckle covers. As Haas tended to it, Shad interfered and allowed JTG to roll-up Shelton for the win. JTG defeated Benjamin at 2:37. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *) (CMV1 note- entertaining while it lasted, but of course, it was too short)


Backstage, HBK said it may be the end of DX tonight, but if it was, he was taking as many people down with him as he could. He then superkicked the interviewer, Todd Grisham. HBK vs. Rated-RKO up next…


Match 5: World Tag Champions Rated-RKO vs. Shawn Michaels
-(CMV1 note- prior to the match, Triple H talked about his injury, the surgery, and the recovery process…Orton and Edge mocked DX’s usual schtick and demanded every DX sign, as ordered by Vince McMahon, be confiscated and brought to the ring. Security complied with the order and brought several DX signs into the ring. This seriously cut into the match-time, which is irritating). HBK came to the ring with an infuriated look and bull rushed the tag champs, quickly cleaning house and isolating Orton. He backdropped the Legend Killer and clotheslined him to the outside. Then, he turned his attention to Edge. Michaels blasted Edge with a series of chops and stomps in the corner. Orton settled himself in the heel corner. The crowd chanted “HBK,” as Edge got his boot up to finally give the tag champs some offense. HBK came back with a swinging neckbreaker, though, and followed with a running right-handed shot to Orton (knocking him off the apron). Nonetheless, Edge caught HBK with a quick shot and tagged Orton. Randy went for a dropkick, but HBK dodged it and mounted him for several grounded punches. Edge got involved and pulled down the top rope, sending HBK careening to the outside. The Rated-R Superstar followed with a hard clothesline and tossed HBK back in the ring. Orton and Edge took turns beating the hell out of Michaels from there, busting HBK open. Randy made a cover, but HBK kicked out. Orton continued the onslaught with his patented backbreaker for another near fall. The offensive barrage continued for the tag champs. Orton taunted the crowd, asking them where was Triple H. Michaels tried to fight back, trading blows with Orton and eventually gaining a small measure of control. However, Orton tossed him hard into the turnbuckle sending HBK heels-over-head into the corner. Michaels instinctively came back with a hard clothesline. Edge got the tag and geared up for the spear, but he missed and struck Orton. HBK came back with a flying forearm, an inverted atomic drop, and a clothesline on Edge. Michaels then connected with the flying elbow drop. The crowd chanted “HBK,” as the Showstopper geared up for Sweet Chin Music. Orton ran in and prevented the super kick, but HBK caught him with a Lou Thesz press. Edge used the distraction to recover and drill Michaels with a spear! With HBK down, Edge went to the outside and retrieved two steel chairs. The ref called for the bell before anything really happened. Edge set-up HBK for the conchairto, but Michaels countered and escaped the predicament. Shawn promptly gave both of them a low blow and grabbed a sledgehammer from under the ring. He blasted Edge in the mid-section and struck Orton in the jaw (w/ the sledge). HBK then set-up Orton for a conchairto. Edge had a chance to interfere, but ran for the hills. Michaels caught Orton with a conchairto! HBK and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest at around 12-minutes. (CMV1 rating- ** ˝) (CMV1 note- perfectly acceptable main-event and nice to see a babyface make a logical comeback against two guys with cheap shots, steel chairs, and sledgehammers. Who knows where this is headed, but put me down as one who’s hoping that HBK wins the Rumble and faces Cena at Mania 23)



All in all…Tonight’s show was certainly a much better show than last week’s, but that’s like comparing dog shit to an apple. The wrestling tonight was short, sans for the main-event. The segments were pretty good, though, outside of the McMahon thing. Vince McMahon is a tired act. He can poke fun at it all he wants, but he really is out of touch with his audience. The holdovers from the Attitude era like the wrestling aspect…even the casual fans. On the bright side, the Rumble PPV is shaping up to be pretty good and at the very least a step-up from last year’s pathetic event. I still don’t think the hangover has worn off from last week’s Raw, but this week’s show was a step in the right direction. Thus, I’ll give it a 5/10 and call it a night …





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