The Raw Report (02/15/07): 8-Man Interpromotional Tag Team Match
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 8:15 PM EST





The spoiler report was quite detailed, so (reader be warned) this is more review than recap…


The Raw Report (02/15/07)

The show opened with Vince McMahon introducing Donald Trump. Trump came to the ring with Torrie and Ashley. He and Vince shook hands. VKM told the ladies to take a hike. McMahon hyped the fact that Trump had done a lot for wrestling, including hosting Mania 4 and 5. Vince said Trump should feel intimidated, but Trump said he certainly wasn’t. McMahon discussed the Rosie skit, “Fan Appreciation Night,” and Donald’s money storm. Eventually, Trump got around to challenging Vince to a Mania match. Vince wasn’t up for that, per doctors orders. However, he did counter with an offer for each of them to have a wrestler represent them. Trump upped the ante, putting his hair-do against Vince’s hair-do on the line. Thus, it’ll be Trump’s representative against Vince’s representative in a hair vs. hair match at Wrestlemania. (CMV1 note- Trump carried himself fairly well, and the segment got over well with the crowd. Should be interesting to see who each man picks, as the two performers could get strong rubs from being a part of this publicity stunt of a feud)


Wrestlemania 23 is 45 days away!!!


Match 1: Johnny Nitro and Melina vs. Women’s Champion Mickie James and Super Crazy
-The ladies tried to get it on before the match even started. Once the match started, it was Crazy locking up with Nitro. As Melina pulled Mickie’s legs and caused her to smash her face into the apron, Nitro gained momentum over Crazy with a hangman over the top rope. Nitro scored a near fall after shoving Crazy into Mickie as she climbed back to the apron. Melina tried to fight Crazy, but Mickie came in and cleaned her clock. Eventually, Mickie and Crazy used a double baseball slide to completely gain control over the heel duo. The finish came when Nitro pushed Crazy into the ring post on the outside, while Melina countered Mickie’s offense and pinned her following a hair pull into a neckbreaker over knee. Nitro and Melina picked up the win at 4:21. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- okay action, but short and nothing to write home about. It did give reason, though, for Melina to face Mickie again for the Women’s belt)


Highlights of the triple threat match to determine John Cena’s Wrestlemania opponent and the subsequent post-match material hyping the No Way Out main-event were shown…


Match 2: Great Khali vs. Eugene
-Khali won easily. (CMV1 rating- n/a). (CMV1 note- please, WWE, do not put Khali in the Trump-Vince match. What happened to turning Eugene heel? Nick Dinsmore is good and he’s done world’s more with this gimmick than anyone could’ve ever expected…why not reward him with a good character?)


Backstage, Maria tried to interview HBK, but he was on the phone. HBK took a break from his convo to hype DX’s new DVD. It was Trips on the phone. Michaels turned his attention toward Maria. He recalled his previous four Mania main-events, hyped his 5th, his NWO main-event tag, and tonight’s 8-man tag. He said that everyone better get ready because Mr. Wrestlemania has arrived.


Further backstage, Ric Flair was interviewed after footage of his backstage rant on Carlito was shown. Before Flair could respond to that footage, Carlito stepped into the frame and asked for an apology. Flair further questioned Carlito’s passion and heart. Carlito challenged him to a match tonight. Flair accepted…


Match 3: Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Masters
-(CMV1 note- if Masters won he became #1 contender to the IC title). Hardy used his high-risk offense to take control early on. Masters came back with a powerbomb for the match’s first near fall. The crowd was solidly behind Hardy. Hardy made a comeback fueled by a jawbreaker and a mulekick. Masters eventually put Jeff in the Masterlock as Hardy tried to set-up for the Whisper in the Wind. Hardy used the ropes to break the hold. The finish came when Masters tried to suplex Jeff from the apron into the ring. Hardy countered into a roll-up for the win. Hardy defeated Masters at 3:54. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- solid stuff while it lasted).


Jerry Lawler introduced the cancer-ass-kicker, Roddy Piper. Piper said it was nice to be home. He hyped Portland, Oregon and then introduced the first inductee into the 2007 Hall of Fame…Dusty Rhodes. A video package was shown in his honor. After Dusty made his entrance, the crowd chanted his name and gave him a great ovation. Rhodes said he was humbled to be there in the presence of the Rowdy one. He gave one of his vintage, rhyming promos, but Umaga (w/ Armando Alejandro Estrada) interrupted. Dusty attacked the Samoan Bulldozer, but his offense was short-lived. Umaga destroyed the future Hall-of-Famer. Piper tried to come to Dusty’s aid w/ a chair, but Umaga no sold it and further decimated the American Dream with the Samoan Spike. (CMV1 note- it’s nice to see Rhodes is getting inducted. For you younger readers, I strongly urge you to pick up the Dusty Rhodes DVD and learn about him…he’s a true NWA legend)


The Wrestlemania “All Grown Up” video was shown…


Match 4: Carlito (w/ Torrie) vs. Ric Flair
-Basic back and forth action started us off, with Carlito gaining the first pair near falls after a back drop and a standing dropkick. CCC took control from there, but Flair came back with a series of chops. Flair dodged a dropkick and took CCC to the mat with a back elbow smash. The finish came when Flair blocked Carlito’s attempt at the Back Cracker and rolled him up for the win. Flair got the win at 3:22. After the match, Carlito and Flair shook hands, but CCC walked off with a disgusted look. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- short, solid action…too short…still an interesting angle, though)


The New and Improved DX DVD is coming out next Tuesday…


Backstage, Melina wondered who was more important than her, as she gets a Women’s title match next week.


Further backstage, Ashley introduced a video “sneak peek” of her Playboy cover shoot…Ron Simmons came into the frame, took a look at Ashley, and gave us a “Damn!”


Even further backstage, Orton and Edge approached MVP and Kennedy. Orton welcomed them to the “A” show. MVP said that whatever show he was on was the “A” show. Kennedy told Orton not to be so condescending. Edge told them to settle down, as their match tonight was b/t the “haves” and the “have nots” (Mania main-eventers vs. non- Mania main-eventers). The Rated-R Superstar went over what they’d need to do to get into the Mania main-events.


Match 5: WWE Champion John Cena, Shawn Michaels, World Champion Batista, and Undertaker vs. Edge, Randy Orton, MVP, and Mr. Kennedy
-Orton and Cena started it off. Cena scored with a Fisherman suplex to get the first near fall. He followed with a jumping hip toss. Eventually, Taker and Kennedy renewed their rivalry, with Taker working over Kennedy’s arm and connecting with the Old School clothesline and a Flatliner. The heels took control once HBK tagged in, making him the face-in-peril. Michaels came back with an enziguiri on Edge. Batista got the tag and cleaned house. He dominated Edge before giving out a plethora of spinebusters. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but I guess that was to be expected. Back from the break, Batista tagged Cena, who dominated Edge with a Prototype spinning back drop and a Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena went for the FU, but Orton saved his partner. The Legend Killer came in and regained control for the non-Mania main-eventers. After MVP and Kennedy worked over Cena’s back, Orton tagged in and connected on a quick dropkick. Cena tried to get back into the match, but Orton drilled him with a hard clothesline. Edge got the tag and further worked over Cena, but the two eventually took each other down simultaneously with the double clothesline. Taker eventually got the hot tag and beat the hell out of all the heels. The Deadman tried to double chokeslam MVP and Orton. They countered, but he caught them with a double clothesline anyway. HBK tagged himself in and hit the top rope elbow drop on Orton. All hell broke loose when everyone got in the ring and started to fight. Meanwhile, HBK geared up for Sweet Chin Music. Orton ducked the superkick and shoved HBK into Taker, sending the Royal Rumble winner out of the ring. The finish came when HBK ducked an Orton clothesline and gave the Legend Killer the super kick for the win. After the match, Taker chokeslammed HBK and Batista caught Cena with the sit-out powerbomb. HBK, Cena, Taker, and Batista won the 8-man tag at 16:37. (CMV1 rating- ** ¾) (CMV1 note- it was a solid main-event, but it was pretty basic overall. Nice post-match stuff to give the No Way Out main-event some added hype, though)




All in all…This was a show stuck in neutral heading toward Mania 23. The only storyline that was advanced for Mania was Donald vs.Vince, though I think we all knew that’s where we were heading (minus the hair part). Everything else on the show just seemed there…nothing was bad, per say, but nothing stood out either. The wrestling, sans for the main-event, was back to being really short and uneventful. I’ll give tonight’s show a 5/10 and call it a night …


Be sure to check out Snowman’s first SD PPV review this Sunday…




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