Raw Review 2/9/09

Hello everyone and welcome to the February 9th edition of the slingshot suplex raw report. A much anticipated Raw this week with it being the last Raw before No Way Out, undertaker vs randy orton announced, and of course, the return of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair to WWE tv.

And they dont keep us waiting long as Ric Flair opens the show to a great response. He doesnt get very far before Jericho interrupts him to tremendous heat from the crowd. The crowd is eating this segment up. Just simply 2 of the best on the mic of all time working their magic here, going back and forth. Flair eventually nails Jericho and struts around the ring..can never get sick of seeing that lol. They obviously plant the seeds for a possible match between the two at Mania, even though Flair said he wouldnt wrestle again. They could always have it an unsanctioned match of some sort being more of a fight then an actual match, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all progresses. All in all a great beginning to Raw this week.

A recap of what happened last week with Randy Orton and Shane Mcmahon, including that awesome backstage segment where Shane took the kick for Stephanie. I actually love how this is progressing, its a great way to keep Orton busy till mania and the match at NWO should be very good.

Beth Phoenix & Jillian Hall vs Melina & Kelly Kelly:

Diva tag action up next. Hopefully short and sweet. They announce Melina will defend the title against Beth next week. I'm praying Beth wins so that Trish can hopefully return and face Beth at WrestleMania. Trish has been hinting that she wouldnt mind wrestling at the big show this year so lets all hope and pray thats the case. Rosa trips up Melina on the ropes leading to Beth hitting her finisher for the win. Thankfully a short match and now we can move on.

They recap WrestleMania 3 next and its quite simply the best Mania of all time and will always be in my eyes. The huge crowd of 93,000 people, one of the best matches of all time with Steamboat vs Savage, and what is still the most epic main event of all time with Hogan vs Andre. Simply the best event in wrestling history.

JBL and Shawn Michaels are in the back. JBL reminds Shawn that at least until Sunday he is still his employee. Sais he set up a match between Shawn and the worlds strongest jobber, er man, Mark Henry later tonight.

The Legacy makes their way out to the stage next as Orton reminds everyone that he won the royal rumble and he has a choice on who he faces at Mania. I honestly cant see him not facing John Cena but i guess WWE could swerve us and have him choose Smackdowns champion if it ends up being Triple H. Actually that would make sense considering Triple H is a member of the Mcmahon family. I'm hoping for Orton vs Cena but i'm just saying that scenario would make sense if it did happen. I dont think either champion will lose at NWO though. But that just popped in my head so i figured i would throw it out there as a possability.

Dibiase and Rhodes vs Cryme Time:

Next we get a rematch of last week where Dibiase and Rhodes got DQ'ed and beat down Shad afterwards. During the match a disclaimer telling viewers where to find the Westminster dog show is shown. Thank god USA finally smartened up and stopped delaying Raw for this worthless piece of shit show. Nothing against dogs and dog lovers but seriously lol. Short match with Rhodes hitting JTG with his new finisher which i guess has been dubbed "crossroads". Basic tag match with the right team going over here.

Just like to mention that i've never seen the show "Burn Notice"...but it stars the immortal Bruce Campbell and thats a good thing. Long Live Ash, keep kicking some deadite ass wooo. (Yes i'm a horror geek lol)

Kane, Mike Knox, Chris Jericho vs John Cena, Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio:

6 man tag action next featuring all the members of the Raw elimination chamber match. Jericho comes out still selling the punch from Flair, showing why he is one of the best of his time. Cena comes out to a huge pop from the crowd. I'm sure there were a few boos in there but the cheers certainly drowned them out. Love him or not nobody can deny the electricity in the building when he enters the arena. They come back from break with Kofi and Kane in the ring. I hope Kofi and Knox realize how big of an opportunity they have this sunday to impress everyone and prove they belong near the top of the card. Great spot to end the match with Jericho catching Kofi in mid air with the codebreaker for the win. Great 6 man tag with lots of energy, a hot crowd and a great finish. Everyone was on top of their game here.

Steph is in the back talking to someone on the phone. Her dad maybe, or Shane, or...Triple H. Hmm, the more i think about it the more they might be leading toward a Triple H involment in this whole deal. When she said "we all have alot going on this weekend, was it Triple H on the other line saying that he has the chamber match to worry about, I dont know, maybe i'm reading to much into the whole thing but i guess we'll have to see how it all goes down. But if something ends up happening to Steph either later tonight or this sunday look for Triple H to get involved, especially if he wins the title Sunday. I honestly cant think who would face Cena at Mania if this is the case but it all just seems to make sense to me the more i think about it. What might happen at NWO is getting more and more interesting by the minute.

Shawn Michaels vs Mark Henry:

JBL makes his way out and sits at ringside as the match gets underway. Shawn goes after Henry like a wildman eventually pulling a chair out. Henry takes it away but gets it superkicked into his face disqualifying Shawn. JBL quickly gets on the mic to remind Shawn that if he were to get DQ'd or counted out at NWO that he will forever belong to him. He then goes on to tell Shawn to bring his wife to NWO to witness the match. Obviously Shawn is going over at NWO, but the build for this match has been superb.

CM Punk (c) vs William Regal:

Intercontinental Championship rematch up next. Why the champion comes out first i'll never know. Should be a very physical match as most of Regal's matches are. Very short match with Punk putting Regal away with the GTS. Seriously if u blinked you missed this match. But now Punk can move on from Regal and will probably end up in the Money in the Bank match.

While theres a commercial i would just like to elaborate on the whole possability of Orton vs Triple H. at Mania scenario i've been touching on. I honestly never saw this as a possible match until some of the subtle hints dropped on tonights show. I'm not necessarily predicting this outcome but i can now see it as something that could happen. Two things are keeping me from presenting this as a fullout prediction. 1. I cant possably think of who John Cena would face for the title if it wasnt Orton. Undertaker will probably be busy with Shawn, and even if not i cant see him facing Cena due to the fact that Taker's not losing at Mania and him vs Cena would mean that he would win the title at Mania 3 years in a row, and if Edge isnt champion after this sunday he would probably end up feuding with Big Show which is being heavily teased. Jericho and JBl have been done and really nobody else is built up enough right now to face Cena for the belt so i'm baffled. 2. I think Orton will win whatever belt he challenges for at Mania and if they went with him vs Triple H. it would mean that the WWE championship would have to change hands at 5 straight PPV's. Its actually a very good thing that WWE has me wondering whats gonna happen and it should all be cleared up this sunday for sure.

Randy Orton vs Undertaker:

Its main event time and the crowd is buzzing even before the gong hits. Taker enters to a huge pop as always. Who wouldnt pop for that entrance, perhaps the best entrance ever in this business. Solid match going on until The rest of Legacy interfere and end the match via DQ. Legacy continues to beat down the deadman until Shane hits the ring and saves the day. Orton bails out and is left to watch Rhodes get chokeslammed, and then Shane hit Dibiase with the dropkick across the ring with Dibiase holding the garbage can. Always a tremendous spot to see and a great way to end the show.

Overall a very good raw. Dropping some subtle hints towards what could happen, i mean they showed Steph talking on the phone for a reason and i suppose it couldve just been Vince but something tells me otherwise. No Way Out will bring a tremendous amount of answers in that regard. Good start with the Jericho/Flair interaction. Tremendous 6 man tag, and a solid closing to end this weeks Raw.