Raw celebrated its 800th episode tonight and it followed the typical script for celebratory episodes, some good matches, some bad and some things we could do with out. Some of the big news was Mike Adamle resigning as GM as he felt he was undermined by Stephanie and Shane McMahon. Tired of having his decisions questioned he decided it was best to leave his post. This look to set up a sibling rivalry as Steph was a bit upset with Shane making major decisions, like having the Champ take on Cena at Survivor series, without letting her know. This begs the question if both will have their faction of wrestlers who will face each other to see what McMahon will take full control of the show.
The main event of Jericho against Batista in a steel cage was a bit weak as it lacked decent pace. The only real standout moment was Jericho using a rig from the cage cables as weapon to weaken Batista so he could climb out of the cage. The win would go to Jericho as Batista’s reign was very short. This sets up Jericho and Cena, but you have to figure Batista will be upset by being pushed aside again. He may find himself back in the mix, but there has been talk he wants a major push and may not like being the third guy in this mix.
The DX reunion was great as both Triple H and HBK had some good gags on each other and their opponents Miz and Morrison. They backed it up with the action in the ring with a solid match. Triple H would gt the pin over Miz, after the Hollywood elite team would lose focus mocking DX. A point of interest was Morrison landing sweet chin music on H, but theMiz failing to get the pedigree on H. This may show the pecking order of theese two as the WWE expects big things of Morrison, but are sill not sold on the Miz.
Randy Orton returned to action tonight against CM Punk but was not able to get the win due to interference from the Priceless crew of Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu. Orton looked good, sporting his new tattooed arms and should find himself in a major program soon. The question is will it be Punk since Orton had a beef with him during Punk’s title reign. Punk right now shares the tag belts with Kofi Kingston, but that can’t last to long as they want more out of him and a feud with Orton would be the right fit.
William Regal now finds himself as the number one contender for the Intercontinental belt as he won a battle royal featuring the top mid card guys on the roster. Regal as done well to keep himself on TV with his feud with Jamie Noble and now a title shot against Santino. It looked pretty bad for him after he was suspended under the wellness program after wining The King of the Ring. Instead he is reestablishing himself and may get decent mid card work here on out. This battle royal also featured DiBiase turning on his Priceless mates by knocking both Rhodes and Manu out of the ring. Could this be spelling trouble for this group.
The rest to feh night was either decent filler of just bad matches. The Undertaker made quick work of JBL, with some help from HBK. Michaels would thow JBL back in the ring once he was counted out so the Undertaker could finish him off with a tombstone. Mark Henry and Kane used brute force to defet Myserio and Kingston. But the Great Khali would come out after the match and help the little guys by taking out Kane and setting Henry up for a 619 by Mysterio. It looks like they are trying a Khali as the good guy routine to finallly get him over, too bad it will fail as this guy just doesn’t have the in ring ability to make matches interesting. And in all these special cross over shows the Hardy’s were reunited and defeated MVP and the Brian Kendrik. As always the Hardy’s looked good, but the result shows how much both Kendrik and MVP have fallen out of favor.
While these were the decent matches, the terrible featured Charlie “the Hit Man” Haas losing to Vladamir Kozlov in a quick mach. A horrible Divas tag match that featured May Young taking on all the heels. Noble effort bringing in a legend, but when you can’ walk, let alone look like you are throwing punches, the gimmick tends to be a bit dull. Thankfully this one ended fast and we were spare the terrible attempt at humor. Despite these terrible matches Raw showed tonight why it has made 800 episodes and looks set for 800 more. The WWE knows how to put on a spectacle and can keep the crowd entertained. This is the reason why they are the only solid wrestling promotion out there today and have been able to outlast any challenges to their throne.
