Raw Review: 2/2/09

Hey peoples, this is my first raw review. Dont expect a play by play as i'm not gonna get into all that, i'm assuming everyone probably watched the show anyways so i dont think its necessary to go into all that detail. But ill do my best to review each segment and give my opinion to the best of my ability!!

Opening Segment:

Shane Mcmahon comes out and announces that he will face Randy Orton in a no holds barred match at No Way Out. Not too suprising there as they need to keep Orton busy till mania. Orton cuts a good heel promo, claiming he told Cody and Ted not to fight back against Shane last week. Nice touch as it wasnt believable that Shane beat up the 3 of them. The Legacy then try and ambush Shane who was expecting just that as he had a kendo stick waiting for them. Decent segment and the match should be pretty good at NWO as Shane always delivers in big matches and Orton is the best heel in the business right now in my opinion. Should be very interesting.

CM Punk and Mickie James vs William Regal and Layla:

First off id like to say i dont really enjoy mixed tag matches, i dont really enjoy the divas in general as most of them are talentless. I long for the days of Moolah vs Richter lol. Usually i'll just end up giving a quick "this chick fought this chick and this chick won" type review of the divas just to let everyone know lol. Mickie James however i think has lots of talent, along with Beth Pheonix but really everyone else isnt that good in comparison. This match was just to give Regal and Punk somethin to do. They say they'll face next week wich is cool. These 2 could have a nice series of very physical matches wich is good for the IC title. Regal hits the knee for the win as Punk is getting back in the ring. But i predict that Punk will end this feud still IC champion in the long run.

Rhodes and Dibiase vs Cryme Tyme:

I like Cryme Tyme but WWE seems reluctant to pull the trigger on them for some reason. In my opinion they're running the risk of Cryme Tyme going somewhat stale before they pull that trigger. DQ finish with a beatdown of Shad afterwards. Nice double team DDT. Just a quick throwaway match to show the relentlessness of the Legacy and to further draw heat to Rhodes and Dibiase.

They're still teasing the Jericho/Rourke angle so we'll see what happens. Some people think Jericho deserves a bigger match but to those people i say who do u thinks name will be most out there in the media, whos name will get the most publicity if this does happen. Chris Jericho thats who. Remember folks its a show not a competition and I think Jericho is a perfect candidate to pull this off in a big way.

Jericho's in the ring after commercial. Jericho has been as good as he ever has been the last 9 months or so. Hes been simply awesome. As he rants about ric flair and legends of the past hes interuppted by John Cena. As i said in my introduction blog i'm not a cena hater at all, i believe he has more then earned his spot and works harder then probably anyone in the business today. He goes on to cut a pretty good promo on jericho to build toward their match at the end of the night. Is all this Ric Flair talk building towards something? Guess we'll have to wait and see huh.

Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio vs Kane and Mike Knox:

Kofi going over Kane last week was a pleasant suprise. Not that i like watching Kane lose all the time because i think its rediculous but it gives Kofi a chance to really prove himself at NWO. I actually think Mike Knox has a whole lot of potential to at least be a viable upper mid card heel for a while. I know most people just see another worthless hoss but i dont. I liked his answer a couple weeks ago that he didnt know why he attacked Rey, it leaves the door open for a very unpredictable type character if they use him correctly. Good spot to tease future dissention between kofi and rey with rey not being there for the tag. Kane pins Rey after catchin him in mid-air with a chokeslam, very good looking spot. Kane and Knox looked very good as a team actually. Very good tag match with a very hot crowd.

The Legacy gang attack Shane in the back knocking down steph as well and beating up some random security too. Randy goes to boot steph in the head before shane dives in the way at the last moment taking the kick to the ribs instead. Awesome little backstage segment and this angle is coming along quite nicely.

Candice Michelle vs Beth Pheonix:

Candice has gotta be the biggest waste of time or at least shes right up there. She should go back to doing softcore porn at least then she was slightly interesting to watch. At least with the divas now u get Santino too, the guy is hilarious. Trish Stratus recently said she might be up for doing a match at WrestleMania, now Trish vs Beth is a Diva match i would love to see. Beth puts the match away hitting her finisher.

Flair on Raw next week. Could he do one more match. Maybe with Rourke in his corner, hmm we'll have to wait and see but somethings definitely brewing there and i like it.

Next out is JBL to do his evaluation on Shawn Michaels. This storyline has been very well executed in my opinion by two "old school" performers. Everything Shawn does is gold anyways so its not suprising. I cant see this not ending at wrestlemania, although i guess theres a chance it could end sooner so Shawn can face Taker at mania but in my opinion the Shawn vs JBL blowoff might as well happen at Mania now with all the build and time they've put into it. LOL, i guess i should've waited till the end of the segment to write all that as they've decided to have the match at NWO, this pretty much confirms that Shawn will wrestle Taker at Mania now, wich is a good way to go too because the match will be an instant classic for sure. NWO is definitely shaping up to be a solid PPV!!! Solid promo and a great way to continue building sympathy for HBK.

Kane apparently got in contact with his Brother the Undertaker as a trade off with Stephanie to get himself in the elimination chamber match. That fits ok, Kanes always good and will fit well in the chamber match. Taker vs Orton next week should be very interesting.

John Cena vs Chris Jericho:

Main event time. I thought these two had one of the best matches of last year at Survivor Series where they told a tremendous story throughout the match of selling the return of Cena and his neck injury. Wether u like Cena or not the crowd is always superhot for his segments and matches (either positive or negative its always there). This time around the match is taking place just to build toward the Elimination Chamber with both men being involved. I guess they've gone with "the attitude adjuster" as the new name for cenas finisher. I have to say thats kinda corny but i understand the name change. As a parent myself its kinda hard to tell my 3 and a half year old the name of the move is the FU. Nice lil match with Cena countering Jericho into the STF for the win. Good but forgettable main event to end the show.

Overall a very solid raw with a lot of build up towards No Way Out. A hot crowd all night as well wich is always a good thing. Next week, Ric Flair and Taker vs Orton, should be very interesting.
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~~Nocturnal the Nightmare~~