WWE RAW Review : " Cena vs Umaga ? What corner of Hell ...? "

[SUPERECWFAN1]

You can tell when a roster is thin when you get the type of matches that make you as a fan roll your eyes. Its not bad enough that ECW tomorrow night has Big Show vs Undertaker , now you have Umaga vs John Cena. What corner of a dark hell are we watching ?

Onto RAW:

The Good:

DX comes out with a Public Service annoucement. Showing how they have ran pretty damn wild over Vince & Shane McMahon the past month. Their pretty much for DX.

After teasing the fans with some great mic fun. I loved HHH rippin Shawn withe the Miz comment and Shawn screwing up something. It makes for fun TV as we see the Shane & Vince team come out and its a quickly made Main Event for tonight. What.....no faith in Umaga vs John Cena ?

Carlito vs Shelton Benjimen was pretty damn good for a TV match. I loved how it flowed and could swing in eithor direction. In the end Carlito cheats to win as he shows how cool he is. Fans laugh and love it since it fits Carlito Cool's character to cheat to win. He gets to face the growing mid-card heel Johnny Nitro for the IC Title.

Backstage we see Trish & Carlito share some time. Now that as usual is Cool.

Backstage Estrada does a promo as usual. Umaga says nothing as usual and people wonder why Estrada is getting over. Anyone who can do Cuban " Ric Flair " and stretch his name....EEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSRRRRRRRAAADDDDDAAAA is cool!!!

In ring we see that its gonna be a Women's tag match as Trish Stratus teams with Torrie Wilson vs Victoria and Mickie James. As a twist Candace is special referee and she helps the good ladies win. Trish seems to be back after a few weeks of being rusty.

Foley cuts an awesome promo as usual as he blasts Ric Flair. He doesn't wanna wrestle Flair and that Ric should accept it. So he mocks Ric and its a quick timed promo. Too bad that TV demands cut it short so we can watch Umaga vs Cena.

The Highlanders make thier 1st appearance for me personally. Thier decent but the lack of tag teams on WWE programming is having an effect as they have to wrestle 2 jobbers here in a squash. Fans seem to laugh at the 2 funny guys. " I'M ROBBIE! " is pretty funny to see.

The 2 want a shot at the Spirit Squad for the Tag Team gold. Of course they later run into DX backstage who tell them that Vince loves to see guys make themselves at home , needs to be screamed at because he's deaf in his left ear and loves someone to smack him on the ass since he's a strong American and is cool with his sexuality.

Matt Striker comes out and has a school lesson ahead for John Cena. He details that Cena is on his way down and that Edge is ahead of poor Cena. He comes out as Striker puts down Cena as John grabs the mic and the ruler. I'm happy that Striker bails because Matt Striker is the type of heel they need to build.

Umaga comes out as he puts Cena thru the chalkboard. Cena's agravated me with his Super-Cena act the past few months so him being like nails over a chalkboard fits. The teen girls cheer for Cena as usual as he rallies and looks stronger than Umaga.

Thank GOD for Edge. Who saves us this piss poor match and all. Him and Lita get involved as they cost Cena the match as usual. Because hell...John can't be made to look weak . At this rate I think Cena would need a nuke to be taken down legit.

Backstage Vince goes apeshit on the Highlanders. They scream at him as he orders them out angry. To end the sketch both men as they walk out...slap Vince on his ass. Funny...

Randy Orton makes short work of Eugene as we see what happened with Brooke and Hulk Hogan. Randy wants Brooke and presents her with a rose as the Hulkster is less than happy. Then he RKO's Hulk later outside by the car as poor Brooke does a dumber blond act than possible. I believe your dad was struck lightening idiot.

Randy hypes her CD and plugs that he hopes this doesn't hurt the potential relationship they can possibly have. Its so funny and all , and pretty much hurts Brooke as a solo artist going on TV if wrestling storyline logic continues. That all hot females will defy thier fathers and hook up with the bad boy.

Mick is back with yet another awesome promo as he puts over Ric Flair's " Tuesday night ECW " performance. He says Ric went hardcore as he calls him a loser. Ric later comes out and admits he got an ass kicking but accepts it and claims it likely won't be his last.

Johnny Nitro comes out and interupts Ric as he cuts on Flair saying Mick doesn't care about him anymore. Its really a clash of Flair vs a new 2k6 version of himself ala Nitro. The 2 start a small impromptu match as Melina hurts her ankle as Nitro bails to help her to back. Flair issues the challenge to Mick Foley....HARDCORE RULES , anytime or place. I'd say put it in ECW.

The Main Event starts as DX comes out among the usual pops. The 2 have a chemistry I suppose to get fans into 2 , 40ish guys actin like children.

Damn is Shawn Micheals just someone who past 40 can put on these good , fantastic matches ? Look at the job he's doing with Shane out there. Its amazing Micheals is doing this on a bad knee considering he put off knee surgery again to work this storyline with Hunter.

Micheals can still high fly though. He just paces himself better as we see. I loved that back flip outta the ring onto Shane. This good match gets cut short as Vince's evil plan to have the DX team get beatup by the Spirit Squad goes well at 1st. Then we watch as Hunter grabs the mighty miljonor ( Sledgehammer) gets his Thor powers back and bails out Shawn as they lay an ass whuppin down on the SS .

Show ends as DX give Vince & Shane the " SUCK IT " chops.
The Bad


We see what happened to poor Lillian Garcia last week. Charlie Haas and Viscera leave poor Lillian laying. Of course when asked and instead of capitalizing on this angle with Haas and showcasing those good mic skills....they don't answer as a team.

The Diva Challenge contestants come out as thier all looking slutty as usual. I feel for Amy who sadly didn't have big enough breasts to win this for Vince . At this point I really doubt the voting and I have to wonder why they'd hire Beth Phoenix and others to fire them for the usual hot lookin piece of ass who can't work .


Overall" ***1/2 oUTTA 5. We saw 2 good matches with Benjimen/Cool and Shawn Micheals/Shane before it ended. Good mic promos by Flair,Foley and Striker. Decent show. ;)

[Legato]

To Vince and Shane-O

Do us all a favor and kick DX ass, I dont care how you do it but their unbeatable streak needs to be stoped. It was funny during the attitude era but now it has gotten really old.

BTW I cant believe that Im actually rooting for you guys but this DX thing has became so ridiculous that it has got me to the point whare I would rather see you guys win and end this DX crap so that HHH could become the badass heel again.

Even if you have to bring Khali from Smackdown to do it, since Spirit Squad isn't doing squat, I just want to see DX get their ass kicked in the same manner Cena got his kicked by Umaga..


Have A Nice Day!

[DWEarhart]

Yeah. What the one up above me said.

DX needs to get a whooping, and now. I rooted when the Spirit Squad pulled a Little Bastard and came out from under the ring. I really thought tonight was the night.

The Highlanders were funny.

Cena going through the chalkboard...nice.

[Legato]

Cena going through the chalkboard...nice.

At first I was kinda split between Umaga and Cena. I hate both of the wrestlers so it was hard for me to choose who I want to see get their ass kicked but when Cena went through the chalkboard I was cheering for Umaga during that whole match..

Yeah I hate Cena that much to whare I consider Umaga the lesser of two evils since Umaga has Estrada.

[DWEarhart]

At first I was kinda split between Umaga and Cena. I hate both of the wrestlers so it was hard for me to choose who I want to see get their ass kicked but when Cena went through the chalkboard I was cheering for Umaga during that whole match..

Yeah I hate Cena that much to whare I consider Umaga the lesser of two evils since Umaga has Estrada.

Estrada has the potential of becoming the best heel manager since Jimmy Hart. WWE needs to spread him out. Hell, even have him manage some jobbers, that way he can fire them afterwards.

Umaga served his purpose. Now it's time to bring Kane back, and put a whoopin' on him.

[Legato]

Estrada has the potential of becoming the best heel manager since Jimmy Hart. WWE needs to spread him out. Hell, even have him manage some jobbers, that way he can fire them afterwards.

Umaga served his purpose. Now it's time to bring Kane back, and put a whoopin' on him.

Id like Estrada to manage The Highlanders, whenever they turn heel. Now that Estrada is over with the crowd he could just easily get The Highlanders to be over aswell.

[Sabrinaset]

(Dumb blonde voice) I'm not so sure about Estrrrrrrada. Can an anti-semite really get over with the crowd? He's always saying "Jew want to know what?" or "Jew will NOT win against Umaga!" I have NO idea what he has against the Jews. What have they ever done to him?

[Legato]

(Dumb blonde voice) I'm not so sure about Estrrrrrrada. Can an anti-semite really get over with the crowd? He's always saying "Jew want to know what?" or "Jew will NOT win against Umaga!" I have NO idea what he has against the Jews. What have they ever done to him?

Nice Maria impersonation. :D

[DWEarhart]

Estrada and Carlito would be cool, but since Shelton Benjamin's been in a bit of a slump, I'd say stick Estrada with him.

Estrada would be the mouthpiece, and Benjamin could do what he does best, and just wrestle.

[marshal99]

Estrada and Carlito would be cool, but since Shelton Benjamin's been in a bit of a slump, I'd say stick Estrada with him.

Estrada would be the mouthpiece, and Benjamin could do what he does best, and just wrestle.

Damn shame about Benjamin , the Mama Benjamin thing was suppose to get him over but all it did was got Mama Benjamin over , not benjamin himself.

[Legato]

Heres the lovely Candice Michelle

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6606/002jo4.jpg

[DWEarhart]

Damn shame about Benjamin , the Mama Benjamin thing was suppose to get him over but all it did was got Mama Benjamin over , not benjamin himself.

I long for the day when I can see an unhindered Shelton Benjamin take on Jerry Lynn.

[SnowTrooper]

The whole D-X, McMahon, Spirit Squad thing got really old about 3 weeks ago. Its the same thing every time. The Spirit Squad is sent by Vince to beat up D-X but wait they end up getting whooped, Big suprise right? I think that they need to end this feud as quick as possible because its really boring and predictable.

I thought the best match of the night was Cena vs Umaga. I thought it was about time they gave Umaga a challenge instead of a no-name jobber. I dont know why everybody hates John Cena, I like his entrance and his finishers and I think hes the only likable main eventer on RAW besides Triple H.

RAW has gotten really boring, Ive actually taken more of a liking to Smackdown. They got the best Heels and Faces on the whole WWE roster and arent doing bad storylines. Lashley is a Beast. Peace out.

[Super Sonic]

...poor, poor Shelton Benjamin, he's not even part of a story, he's just randomly put in a #1 Contender's match, who really expected him to win?

[Shade]

I thought the Cena/Umaga match was strong, and worked sensibly. The guy really can't win (figuratively). He works a solid match and puts over the newer talent and folks still complain he's to invincable. Yes Cena is booked as being able to take all punishment, and now we see Edge taking him out MENTALLY as a counter to that and folks still want to whine that Cena doesn't look weak enough. Whatever.

[Dennis K]

Reform the Corporation to combat DX.

[marshal99]

Reform the Corporation to combat DX.

God NO ! Next thing you know , you have the returning ministry of darkness , nation of domination , Disciples of Apocalypse & the Oddities .

[Duy]

I thought the Cena/Umaga match was strong, and worked sensibly. The guy really can't win (figuratively). He works a solid match and puts over the newer talent and folks still complain he's to invincable. Yes Cena is booked as being able to take all punishment, and now we see Edge taking him out MENTALLY as a counter to that and folks still want to whine that Cena doesn't look weak enough. Whatever.
It's not that, not for me at least. It's that 1) Edge is being booked to look like he has absolutely NO chance at beating John Cena. It's been booked that way since after NYR and it's pretty much being booked that way now. Aside from winning the WWE title twice in controversial fashions, Cena has always, ALWAYS come out looking stronger, whether he's FUing Lita after the live sex celebration, beating up Edge in a hotel room after he got speared - when really, if it were any other face, the angle would end right after the spear for the night - or even not letting Edge get in a decent run-in in his match against Umaga, the Edge/Cena feud is just a little bit less one-sided than the DX/McMahons feud. And 2) For me, I was completely willing to let Super Cena go just so he can get Umaga off my television. And now he (and by he, I mean the bookers) picks this time to job.


Really, I don't blame John Cena, the person. The dude's wrestling the way he's told to wrestle, acting the way he's told to act, and doing the stuff he's told to be doing. But I've never seen an invincible push like this since Steve Austin and even then I didn't like it.

[Legato]

It's not that, not for me at least. It's that 1) Edge is being booked to look like he has absolutely NO chance at beating John Cena. It's been booked that way since after NYR and it's pretty much being booked that way now. Aside from winning the WWE title twice in controversial fashions, Cena has always, ALWAYS come out looking stronger, whether he's FUing Lita after the live sex celebration, beating up Edge in a hotel room after he got speared - when really, if it were any other face, the angle would end right after the spear for the night - or even not letting Edge get in a decent run-in in his match against Umaga, the Edge/Cena feud is just a little bit less one-sided than the DX/McMahons feud. And 2) For me, I was completely willing to let Super Cena go just so he can get Umaga off my television. And now he (and by he, I mean the bookers) picks this time to job.


Really, I don't blame John Cena, the person. The dude's wrestling the way he's told to wrestle, acting the way he's told to act, and doing the stuff he's told to be doing. But I've never seen an invincible push like this since Steve Austin and even then I didn't like it.

Same here.

It's more the way Cena's been booked than the person himself. Making him into this unstoppable wrestler is making the other wrestlers look bad in comparison. Edge has what it takes to be a strong champion when booked right but in this feud with Cena he's being made to look like a wimp.

[Shade]

Same here.

It's more the way Cena's been booked than the person himself. Making him into this unstoppable wrestler is making the other wrestlers look bad in comparison. Edge has what it takes to be a strong champion when booked right but in this feud with Cena he's being made to look like a wimp.

I don't get this at all. He's being made to look like a HEEL not a wimp. He's gotten the best of Cena on more than one occasion. He's frustrating Cena at every turn. Cena is being booked as physically unbeatable, and Edge is being booked as recognizing that and beating him MENTALLY. That's part of the game as well.

Edge still has the belt and we have no idea how long that will run, but right now I think they are doing an awesome job of booking him as a clever and coniving heel. Yes Cena attacking Edge in the hotel makes him look like he just wants to kick ass and that's cool, but it also makes it look like Edge is in his head and has Cena off focus. Edge has him guessing and unfocused in and out of the ring.

I think these two work really well together and in the last few years it's one of the few fueds that has been booked well and allowed time to breathe.

[tricksterpup]

God NO ! Next thing you know , you have the returning ministry of darkness , nation of domination , Disciples of Apocalypse & the Oddities .
I always wanted to see them return or atleast the Undertaker with a new crowd of followers.

[Ekko]

I don't get this at all. He's being made to look like a HEEL not a wimp. He's gotten the best of Cena on more than one occasion. He's frustrating Cena at every turn. Cena is being booked as physically unbeatable, and Edge is being booked as recognizing that and beating him MENTALLY. That's part of the game as well.

Edge still has the belt and we have no idea how long that will run, but right now I think they are doing an awesome job of booking him as a clever and coniving heel. Yes Cena attacking Edge in the hotel makes him look like he just wants to kick ass and that's cool, but it also makes it look like Edge is in his head and has Cena off focus. Edge has him guessing and unfocused in and out of the ring.

I think these two work really well together and in the last few years it's one of the few fueds that has been booked well and allowed time to breathe.

I'm with you. I remember I used to be pretty indifferent to Cena at first, but over the last few months I've found myself rooting for him just because I feel he gets a little to much venom spewed his way. He's not the first wrestler to be booked as dominant, and he won't be the last. Moreover, he's young, strong, and athletic, so I don't mind him being portrayed as uber.

[Dennis K]

God NO ! Next thing you know , you have the returning nation of domination

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/88/170px-Nation.jpg
You say that like it's a bad thing

[titanfan]

Estrada has the potential of becoming the best heel manager since Jimmy Hart. WWE needs to spread him out. Hell, even have him manage some jobbers, that way he can fire them afterwards.


Agreed. Remember when heel managers used to manager more than one wrestler at a time? Nowadays it's a rarity in the WWE.

I thought Cena-Umaga was actually a decent match.

So Flair accidently injures Foley's friend, Melina, and is that supposed to be what is going to get Foley in a match against Flair? Seems like a lame explanation if that's how it ends up.

The Shelton-Carlito match was fantastic. Shelton's Mama may be down for the count, but he is one person who needs a new manager. Or maybe a big push. RAW is seriously lacking main event heels right now. The fact that Umaga is considered the biggest heel after Edge might be a problem.

I guess Candice gets to feud with Mickie for the next few weeks, at least until Beth is able to come back.

[Dennis K]

The Shelton-Carlito match was fantastic. Shelton's Mama may be down for the count, but he is one person who needs a new manager. Or maybe a big push.


Here is where a wrestler has to help themselves. Look at recent history and guys like Jericho, Austin, and the Rock. They had charisma, they were good on the mic, and so they helped "push" themselves. To expect management to do it alone is kind of silly.

[titanfan]

They had charisma, they were good on the mic, and so they helped "push" themselves. To expect management to do it alone is kind of silly.

You have a point--but--if you were Shelton, what do you do other than giving great matches? He gets no mic time, doesn't have a gimmick, etc.

At this point, his best strategy may be to get caught in a scandal or accidently knock out Todd Grisham while making his way to the ring.

[CDB]

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/8/88/170px-Nation.jpg
You say that like it's a bad thing


Seconde a Nation of Domination reunion.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

You have a point--but--if you were Shelton, what do you do other than giving great matches? He gets no mic time, doesn't have a gimmick, etc.

At this point, his best strategy may be to get caught in a scandal or accidently knock out Todd Grisham while making his way to the ring.


It worked for Charlie Haas. Who accidently knocked Lillian off the apron and managed to get a small bit of TV time. :p

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The CW Network is pushing the 9/22 Smackdown show as the Season Premiere on the new merged network. I'm sure the WWE will load the show with big names and all.

Tim Duncan of the San Antiono Spurs was in attendance at RAW.

Big Show vs Undertaker is expected to Main Event tonights ECW. ( If Taker and Show get Extreme as Flair and have tons of bloodshed...it could work.)

WWE has sadly acknowlodged Bob Orton Sr.'s passing on WWE.Com today. Theres a big article up detailing it and has comments from Randy Orton.

Maria broke her thumb at a live event in Abilene , Texas on Sunday.


Credit:

www.pwinsider.com
www.411mania.com

[Super Sonic]

Big Show vs Undertaker is expected to Main Event tonights ECW. ( If Taker and Show get Extreme as Flair and have tons of bloodshed...it could work.)


I'm all for this match, whether it's "Extreme Rules" or not, it's a way of getting more viewers, and that can only be a good thing.

[Jared]

Is Foley actually a friend of Melina's in real life? Because I can't see why else they'd used that for an angle, even with Foley as a heel, he doesn't seem like the type of charcter that would be hanging out with Nitro and his girl.

How the hell did Maria manage to break her thumb? Does she actually wrestle at house shows?

I really thought tonight should have been the night for the McMahons to get a win too. If Shane plus the Spirit Squad can't successfully beat down the *two* members of DX, it's kinda pointless. And WTF with Shane being booked like he could really wrestle? I mean, yeah, he's had matches before, but I hate when guys who aren't wrestlers have to be suddenly be treated as legit threats to main guys like Shawn. He should never had had the upperhand in that match for any signifigant length of time, unless it came by a low blow or outside interference.

I don't care enough to vote or even pay attention to the Diva Search segments, but I think I want the black girl, Layla, to win. The others aren't really distinguishable from divas they already have.

[DWEarhart]

There is no focus on stables in the WWE right now, and The Spirit Squad is a bad joke. I still can't tell any of them apart. WWE is barely making an effort with ordinary tag teams, and the current roster is spread out so thin, if you blow on the roster sheet too hard, it'll shred.

As it was noted before, who's the second heel behind Edge? I can't think of anyone. Everyone else is mid or bottom card at best. If Umaga is going to get a slight push, he definitely stepped up his attitude on Monday, but he would be absolutely nowhere without Estrada. Send Shelton Benjamin to Estrada to be the mouthpiece, let Shelton wrestle.

Cena took one for the team on Raw. You really can't blame him for being pushed, but being treated like the second coming of Hogan, that's too much for me. Some people accept it, others, like myself, don't, and I personally enjoy watching him get the crap knocked out of him. I enjoy it even more when it's Edge doing it.

Hogan at least had heightened charisma; the man still can't wrestle worth lick, and never could. It was all personality.

Austin's push came when he already had the fans in the palm of his hand, WWE just rode with it, and his mic skills were some of the best. He was always a better heel than a face. The Rock too had some of the best promo skills around, but I still didn't like him. But after a while their jargon got old.

And Orton RKO'ing Hogan on the trunk of the car is still one of the damn funniest things I've seen all week.

[Super Sonic]

Foley adores Melina in real life, read some of his old Foley is Blog on WWE.com for evidence, lol.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Let's see:

Mickie James was finally back in action on Raw and was looking better than ever. They teased a Candice face turn as she slapped her and I guess that will be built upon next week.

Flair comes out after the Foley taunts and Melina, Foley's favorite Diva these days, responds but the fans didn't care. Nitro got on the mic and the fans REALLY didn't care. So he gets slapped around like the jobber IC Champion that he is and Flair/Foley continue their groundwork to Summerslam.

Michaels vs Shane again and it seems like the Spirit Squad was finally gonna put a overdue beatdown on the revamped DX but of course that didn't happen. As DX continued their "Cena-like" overcoming the odds comeback at the end of the match. BORING.

Shelton and Carlito once again mix it up. Carlito hit a couple of spots as Shelton pretty much controls the match as he always does against Carlito but is "outcheated" in the end. Isn't it fascinating? A nobody like Umaga can get pushed over Cena but Shelton, the guy that has outperformed Michaels in two straight matches and the one who "has HHH's number", is held back? Amazing. Simply amazing.

Cena vs Umaga was where I honestly thought Umaga's undefeated streak was gonna end since Cena has RARELY lost on television since turning face leading up to Survivor Series '03. Umaga dominates, Cena works the small comeback routine, and Edge shows up to give the distraction for a Umaga victory. "I don't wanna take anything away from Umaga but Edge cost Cena the match, in my opion"- Jim Ross, 5 seconds after Umaga wins. Great way to put over the monster heel that gets no reaction, folks. BTW, Matt Striker should be the IC Champion right now. He has mic skills, good heel heat, and is fun to wach in a heel capacity. PUSH THIS GUY!

The Highlanders were in full character tonight and some fans liked it. Apparently they are gonna win the tag titles off the splitting Spirit Squad in due time.

Pretty mediocre Raw but Shelton/Carlito, Mickie/Victoria vs Trish/Torrie, and Matt Striker makes this a 6.5/10.

[Super Sonic]

Has Matt Striker wrestled on RAW yet?

That's how under-used this great talent is.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

In a few tag matches and that's it. The guy is more over than Umaga, Khali, and Chris Masters with 1/4 of the push. He needs a chance...soon.

[Super Sonic]

Another ROH talent not used properly by WWE, at least CM Punk is gonna be doin' good stuff.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Flair comes out after the Foley taunts and Melina, Foley's favorite Diva these days, responds but the fans didn't care. Nitro got on the mic and the fans REALLY didn't care. So he gets slapped around like the jobber IC Champion that he is and Flair/Foley continue their groundwork to Summerslam.

I think Nitro has something poor Shelton really needed and still sadly can't get. He has a character and entrance where fans will watch. I saw them Woooing Flair against Nitro here. The match sparked the crowd but ended. Odds are Flair will work a match against Nitro next week. This will be a good indication on where Johnny Nitro is as a mid-card talent. If he gets massive heel heat , he'll odds are be looked at as " build " for Smackdown/Raw's depleted Main Event scene. HBK leaves soon and HHH could be taking family time off. You need Main Event heels for RAW or ECW ( Nitro in ECW would be funny and I can see him there or Smackdown once he gets really over)

Shelton and Carlito once again mix it up. Carlito hit a couple of spots as Shelton pretty much controls the match as he always does against Carlito but is "outcheated" in the end. Isn't it fascinating? A nobody like Umaga can get pushed over Cena but Shelton, the guy that has outperformed Michaels in two straight matches and the one who "has HHH's number", is held back? Amazing. Simply amazing.

Lets correct that. Micheals is on a bad knee and has been for months and he's out there busting ass , putting on great matches with the McMahons and Spirit Squad ! If he is even going slower he has a perfect reason.

Shelton's " Mama" gimmick didn't help him and only got Thea Vidale over . Once she was pulled too soon , Benjimen floundered. The best heel heat they could have ever gave Benjimen never happened. They dropped the ball with her dissapearing. Shelton could have been the 1# heel on the roster had he laid out his " mom " in the middle of the ring. Instead they let her go and Benjimen's push ended once he really didn't establish a character.

Benjimen's an A+ talent but he should reteam with Charlie Haas. Because both men still haven't established characters to lure fans to them and Haas can't get the oppertunity to where he and Viscera just laid out Lillian.

Cena vs Umaga was where I honestly thought Umaga's undefeated streak was gonna end since Cena has RARELY lost on television since turning face leading up to Survivor Series '03. Umaga dominates, Cena works the small comeback routine, and Edge shows up to give the distraction for a Umaga victory. "I don't wanna take anything away from Umaga but Edge cost Cena the match, in my opion"- Jim Ross, 5 seconds after Umaga wins. Great way to put over the monster heel that gets no reaction, folks. BTW, Matt Striker should be the IC Champion right now. He has mic skills, good heel heat, and is fun to wach in a heel capacity. PUSH THIS GUY!

Odds are Matt Striker will face Carlito in a IC Title program following Summerslam. The 2 have had small skirmishes and them facing each other in a IC fued will really drive home the RAW mid-card for now with Striker/Nitro/Cool/Benjimen . ( Unless they plug Haas/Shelton back up)

[Wild Card]

Let's see they added crowd noise to the Cena-Edge replay becuse Cena didn't get that kind of pop on SNME. So there for a mintune Todd Grisham forgot which show he was on. Smackdown is the Diva Search contest show and RAW is the results show. Who is going to be relase to make way for the "winner" My guess is Victoria. As far as the McMahon-DX feud goes Let's quote Chris Jericho "Wrestling use to be about the Champion and not the Owner."
One these days somebody going to job to Triple H's magic sledgehammer. In witch I mean the hammer going get the pinfall.

[Jerry Lewis]

Let's see they added crowd noise to the Cena-Edge replay becuse Cena didn't get that kind of pop on SNME. So there for a mintune Todd Grisham forgot which show he was on. Smackdown is the Diva Search contest show and RAW is the results show. Who is going to be relase to make way for the "winner" My guess is Victoria. As far as the McMahon-DX feud goes Let's quote Chris Jericho "Wrestling use to be about the Champion and not the Owner."
One these days somebody going to job to Triple H's magic sledgehammer. In witch I mean the hammer going get the pinfall.
Yeah, kiddo.

Good Raw.

I enjoyed DX, Carlito/Shelton, and Edge screwing Cena.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

Another ROH talent not used properly by WWE, at least CM Punk is gonna be doin' good stuff.


wrong guy, you're thinking of the little dude with the uni-brow matt stryker real name: brian woehrman, he was in ROH. the guy on RAW is matt striker real name:matt kaye.

you need to work on your ROHbotics, i suggest studying under professor leslie leeIII:D but i agree striker should be used more, unfortunately i think he may be too small for vince to push.

anyways i agree 100% with shade on both his posts, cena drops his title to RVD(who basicly threw it away like an idiot, proving all his critics right) then loses to umaga and gets outsmarted by edge in the same non-mainevent match but people still complain he didn't look weak enough.

damn shame i miss umagas 1st non-squash match on RAW.

and no, nitro is not a 2k6 ric flair, far from it imo. and i'm not 1 of those people who put flair up on a pedastal.

[Super Sonic]

...I wondered why they looked so different, but I chalked it up to WWE changing his image...damn, I felt smart.



...I AINT NO ROHBOT!


Bzz

[lboinyamouf4sho]

...I wondered why they looked so different, but I chalked it up to WWE changing his image...damn, I felt smart.



...I AINT NO ROHBOT!


Bzz

when i 1st saw him i wasn't sure, they're close to the same size so thought "did he just pluck his uni-brow??" but after seeing him up close i could tell it wasn't him. when i read the article about matt striker getting fired from his job as a teacher i automaticly thought it was the dude from ROH too.

i never cared too much for stryker though, i dig chad collyer/malenko though.

[Super Sonic]

Chad Collyer is teh sheeznit, I've seen about 3 matches with him, they were al pretty damn good. Trained by Malenko, what else'd you expect? =P

[Erik Lehnsherr]

I think Nitro has something poor Shelton really needed and still sadly can't get. He has a character and entrance where fans will watch. I saw them Woooing Flair against Nitro here. The match sparked the crowd but ended. Odds are Flair will work a match against Nitro next week. This will be a good indication on where Johnny Nitro is as a mid-card talent. If he gets massive heel heat , he'll odds are be looked at as " build " for Smackdown/Raw's depleted Main Event scene. HBK leaves soon and HHH could be taking family time off. You need Main Event heels for RAW or ECW ( Nitro in ECW would be funny and I can see him there or Smackdown once he gets really over)



Lets correct that. Micheals is on a bad knee and has been for months and he's out there busting ass , putting on great matches with the McMahons and Spirit Squad ! If he is even going slower he has a perfect reason.

Shelton's " Mama" gimmick didn't help him and only got Thea Vidale over . Once she was pulled too soon , Benjimen floundered. The best heel heat they could have ever gave Benjimen never happened. They dropped the ball with her dissapearing. Shelton could have been the 1# heel on the roster had he laid out his " mom " in the middle of the ring. Instead they let her go and Benjimen's push ended once he really didn't establish a character.

Benjimen's an A+ talent but he should reteam with Charlie Haas. Because both men still haven't established characters to lure fans to them and Haas can't get the oppertunity to where he and Viscera just laid out Lillian.



Odds are Matt Striker will face Carlito in a IC Title program following Summerslam. The 2 have had small skirmishes and them facing each other in a IC fued will really drive home the RAW mid-card for now with Striker/Nitro/Cool/Benjimen . ( Unless they plug Haas/Shelton back up)

Shelton was cheered against the top face of Raw just last week. Nitro has never been in any position nor will he ever be in a position where fans will cheer for him. You know why? Melina is the star. She's who the fans respond to. Nitro hasn't gotten ONE reaction except that one time Melina introduced him to Trish. That's it. Shelton was ON FIRE after the first Shawn Michaels match and had the crowd behind him on wrestling skills alone before he was buried for the unover Chris Masters and improving Carlito. Shelton vs Cena I on Dec 26, 2005 was without question a match with unrivalled crowd reaction that exposed one thing to the IWC and causal fans at large. That the male fans cheer for good wrestlers against Cena and the female/children fans cheer for Cena, no matter how lackluster he is. Benjamin could be used in a variety of efficent ways. He's a guy that has had HHH's number since the day he got there and was that ever used in a storyline? Of course not. No matter how many times he steals the show at PPVs, he gets held back for lesser talent like a Johnny Nitro. Nitro has proven two things since coming to the main roster last year on Smackdown and now on Raw: He's a Melina errand boy and a jobber to the stars. Carlito is going over nice and clean at Summerslam and after that, I doubt we'll here from Nitro for awhile.

Shawn Micahels has been busting his ass? Shawn Michaels has been doing repetitive formula matches for 3 years straight now with a high spot thrown in at times. He also works that horrible Cena-esque comeback style where he forgets to sell at the end of matches after he magically "nips up".

Shelton wasn't over with the Momma's Boy gimmick? Interesting because they were chanting that crap at him pretty loudly and energetically at Backlash '06 during the Winner Takes All match against RVD.

Put Benjamin back in a tag team after all of the great single work he's done? I'll pass. He's already carried a tag divison on his back two years ago. Doesn't need to go back to that in the least. He needs to get 1/4 of the opportunities that Orton, Khali, Henry, or the Spirit Squad have gotten. It's the least they can do for a guy that has outworked the Raw roster all year long.

Hopefully they don't screw over Matt Striker as well.

[Super Sonic]

Shelton Benjamin, MVP of two Wrestlemania's in a row.

[titanfan]

Who is going to be relase to make way for the "winner" My guess is Victoria.

I believe she recently signed a new contract--so I hope not. She's supposedly getting a new storyline and gimmick sometime this year.

If they do fire anyone, it would probably be Beth Phoenix--fans have already forgotten about her. Chances are they won't fire anyone though--because Stacy is officially off the roster this month and Trish is leaving at the end of August. We'll know who the WWE is going to want to push as the next "star" of the WWE women's division because that's who Trish is going to have to put over on her way out.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Shelton Benjamin, MVP of two Wrestlemania's in a row.

All hail Air Benjamin!

[titanfan]

Double Post. Ignore.

[Duy]

Mickie should get the push. Victoria too. Those two could probably put on some awesome matches.

Anyone else notice Kelly Kelly using the Stacy Keibler ring entrance?

[Thanos_6383]

Hmmmmm.Kane vs Umaga.Interesting.

[DWEarhart]

All hail Air Benjamin!

That's Mr. Benjamin.

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Shelton_Benjamin_002.jpg

[DWEarhart]

But, we can go AIR...

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/Shelton_Benjamin_001.jpg

[SUPERECWFAN1]

[QUOTE] Shelton was cheered against the top face of Raw just last week. Nitro has never been in any position nor will he ever be in a position where fans will cheer for him. You know why? Melina is the star. She's who the fans respond to. Nitro hasn't gotten ONE reaction except that one time Melina introduced him to Trish. That's it.

And thus far Nitro is getting booked into a program with Carlito , who is thier top mid-card face. Which shows what the WWE sees in Johnny Nitro and what they seemingly can't do with Shelton Benjimen. Nitro gets heat...Melina maybe most of the reason but he has heel heat. Benjimen's heel heat faded the moment Mama Benjimen was sent packing sad to say.

Shelton was ON FIRE after the first Shawn Michaels match and had the crowd behind him on wrestling skills alone before he was buried for the unover Chris Masters and improving Carlito. Shelton vs Cena I on Dec 26, 2005 was without question a match with unrivalled crowd reaction that exposed one thing to the IWC and causal fans at large. That the male fans cheer for good wrestlers against Cena and the female/children fans cheer for Cena, no matter how lackluster he is.

If I remember in early 2005 , Shelton's IC Push saw him going over everyone with really not much fanfare. The Christian fued was his best one because Christian was a solid enough heel that some in the company moved up at the time. The Jericho fued...didn't help Benjimen at all and Y2J was pulled from that program.

At that point they really saw that Benjimen as a face wasn't going anywhere. Plus lets be honest...it wasn't Benjimen that exposed John Cena . It was Kurt Angle who he fueded with on 3 straight PPV's and had hardcore fans realize that Cena couldn't walk in the ring with him hardly. Benjimen was the icing on the cake...but Kurt's the guy who sadly exposed Cena on TV and PPV.

Benjamin could be used in a variety of efficent ways. He's a guy that has had HHH's number since the day he got there and was that ever used in a storyline? Of course not.

Had his face turned worked as they wanted , odds are they would have done something with him against HHH. It didn't.

No matter how many times he steals the show at PPVs, he gets held back for lesser talent like a Johnny Nitro. Nitro has proven two things since coming to the main roster last year on Smackdown and now on Raw: He's a Melina errand boy and a jobber to the stars. Carlito is going over nice and clean at Summerslam and after that, I doubt we'll here from Nitro for awhile.

I doubt it since Nitro/Carlito/Striker/Benjimen are the RAW Mid-card as of now. They odds are will cycle these 4 around at times. But they really need a mid-card face to go along with Carlito. So maybe we'll see Matt Hardy or someone brought down like Ric Flair to work the mid-card awhile.

Shawn Micahels has been busting his ass? Shawn Michaels has been doing repetitive formula matches for 3 years straight now with a high spot thrown in at times. He also works that horrible Cena-esque comeback style where he forgets to sell at the end of matches after he magically "nips up".

Don't know about his formala but his work has really been good. Its no secret that HBK's the guy who can make anyone look good. See Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon this past year in matches ? HBK ...he's someone who draws fans in. Micheals is doing his work on a knee that needs surgery and he put it off to work this storyline. For that he gets credit. ( plus how many ass kickings did he take before HHH teamed with him ?)

Shelton wasn't over with the Momma's Boy gimmick? Interesting because they were chanting that crap at him pretty loudly and energetically at Backlash '06 during the Winner Takes All match against RVD.

Shelton wasn't over after the Mama gimmick. After it....Mama left way earlier and his reactions went way down hill. In fact at House Shows fans would chant " We Want Mama " at him and he'd try and say he sent her home since he's a man and all. Fans weren't happy. Thea Vidale got over sadly and the best heel heat with the angle they coulda done was screwed because they sent Vidale home. Shelton should have laid her out...he would have been the evil s.o.b and 1# heel odds are.

Put Benjamin back in a tag team after all of the great single work he's done? I'll pass. He's already carried a tag divison on his back two years ago. Doesn't need to go back to that in the least. He needs to get 1/4 of the
opportunities that Orton, Khali, Henry, or the Spirit Squad have gotten. It's the least they can do for a guy that has outworked the Raw roster all year long.

So the solution is watching him job because hell...thats a step back ? He's had 2 singles pushes thus far and both have fizzled out. The WWE is the type of place that unless ya get a character and get over...no matter how talented , you get cut or sent to another brand.

Hopefully they don't screw over Matt Striker as well.

Matt Striker's getting heel heat for his character pretty much. Thats one up on poor Shelton here.

[SnowTrooper]

Hmmmmm.Kane vs Umaga.Interesting.
Im still waiting for that match. I figured that Edge would give John Cena a reason to lose to Umaga. But Kane vs Umaga would really show how big of a push WWE would give Umaga.

[DWEarhart]

Im still waiting for that match. I figured that Edge would give John Cena a reason to lose to Umaga. But Kane vs Umaga would really show how big of a push WWE would give Umaga.

True, but supposedly they want to give Kane one last push before he retires. He's been loyal, kept his mouth shut when he could have complained, and has done his job. They want to send him out in some sort of limelight.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

[QUOTE=Erik Lehnsherr]


Plus lets be honest...it wasn't Benjimen that exposed John Cena . It was Kurt Angle who he fueded with on 3 straight PPV's and had hardcore fans realize that Cena couldn't walk in the ring with him hardly. Benjimen was the icing on the cake...but Kurt's the guy who sadly exposed Cena on TV and PPV.





only thing xposed was that the fans can be pricks. this wasn't angle and cena's 1st fued you know, in 2003 they did some great stuff, particularly the match at no mercy. cena carried his own just fine.

[darkwolf]

Air Benjamin, would be a great gimmick for Shelton on ... DX

[SnowTrooper]

True, but supposedly they want to give Kane one last push before he retires. He's been loyal, kept his mouth shut when he could have complained, and has done his job. They want to send him out in some sort of limelight.
I read that they were going to give him a WWE Title run and even Mark Calaway(Undertaker) wanted him to break his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, but they probably wont let that happen. I hope Kane goes out in a blaze of glory before he retires.

[Super Sonic]

I read that they were going to give him a WWE Title run and even Mark Calaway(Undertaker) wanted him to break his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, but they probably wont let that happen. I hope Kane goes out in a blaze of glory before he retires.

I heard it was WWE and 'Taker who wanted Kane to take the streak, but Kane opted out.

[DWEarhart]

I heard it was WWE and 'Taker who wanted Kane to take the streak, but Kane opted out.

That's what I heard as well. I've always thought that if and when Undertaker decides to call it quits, his last match should be a loss at Wrestlemania. I'd prefer he went out undefeated though.

[SnowTrooper]

That's what I heard as well. I've always thought that if and when Undertaker decides to call it quits, his last match should be a loss at Wrestlemania. I'd prefer he went out undefeated though.
Id want that too. It would really leave a mark on the WWE and immortalize The Undertaker as one of the best wrestlers of all time.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

[QUOTE=Erik Lehnsherr]

And thus far Nitro is getting booked into a program with Carlito , who is thier top mid-card face. Which shows what the WWE sees in Johnny Nitro and what they seemingly can't do with Shelton Benjimen. Nitro gets heat...Melina maybe most of the reason but he has heel heat. Benjimen's heel heat faded the moment Mama Benjimen was sent packing sad to say.



If I remember in early 2005 , Shelton's IC Push saw him going over everyone with really not much fanfare. The Christian fued was his best one because Christian was a solid enough heel that some in the company moved up at the time. The Jericho fued...didn't help Benjimen at all and Y2J was pulled from that program.

At that point they really saw that Benjimen as a face wasn't going anywhere. Plus lets be honest...it wasn't Benjimen that exposed John Cena . It was Kurt Angle who he fueded with on 3 straight PPV's and had hardcore fans realize that Cena couldn't walk in the ring with him hardly. Benjimen was the icing on the cake...but Kurt's the guy who sadly exposed Cena on TV and PPV.



Had his face turned worked as they wanted , odds are they would have done something with him against HHH. It didn't.



I doubt it since Nitro/Carlito/Striker/Benjimen are the RAW Mid-card as of now. They odds are will cycle these 4 around at times. But they really need a mid-card face to go along with Carlito. So maybe we'll see Matt Hardy or someone brought down like Ric Flair to work the mid-card awhile.



Don't know about his formala but his work has really been good. Its no secret that HBK's the guy who can make anyone look good. See Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon this past year in matches ? HBK ...he's someone who draws fans in. Micheals is doing his work on a knee that needs surgery and he put it off to work this storyline. For that he gets credit. ( plus how many ass kickings did he take before HHH teamed with him ?)



Shelton wasn't over after the Mama gimmick. After it....Mama left way earlier and his reactions went way down hill. In fact at House Shows fans would chant " We Want Mama " at him and he'd try and say he sent her home since he's a man and all. Fans weren't happy. Thea Vidale got over sadly and the best heel heat with the angle they coulda done was screwed because they sent Vidale home. Shelton should have laid her out...he would have been the evil s.o.b and 1# heel odds are.



So the solution is watching him job because hell...thats a step back ? He's had 2 singles pushes thus far and both have fizzled out. The WWE is the type of place that unless ya get a character and get over...no matter how talented , you get cut or sent to another brand.



Matt Striker's getting heel heat for his character pretty much. Thats one up on poor Shelton here.

Shawn Michaels and Kane are the top midcard faces. Not Carlito. Carlito hasn't done anything since the Backlash win over Masters. And Nitro gets NO REACTION. I have no idea what you are watching but the guy hasn't gotten any reaction since stepping foot on Raw. Melina did the night after Vengeance though. Shelton's too good to get booed on a nightly basis. He got pops against RVD at Backlash '06 mixed in with the "Mama Boy" chants and outpopped everyone during the Money in the Bank match.

The Jericho feud ended with Jericho putting over Benjamin during a backstage promo the next Raw. That in turn led to the Benjamin/Hassan stuff where Benjamin was getting huge "Let's go Shelton" chants every show. Even outpopped Jericho during both of their tag matches against Hassan/Daviari.

Angle vs Cena at Unforgiven had fans still cheering for Cena. Angle vs Cena vs Michaels at Taboo Tuesday had my hometown fans cheering for Angle over Cena and Michaels. At Survivor Series, it was duel chants with "Cena SUCKS" and boos thrown in against Cena all match long. Other than Angle though, Cena wasn't getting booed against anyone until he faced Shelton in that Beat the Clock match where the male fans supported Shelton and little girls supported Cena in a WM enviroment-type crowd. Something not even RVD could get against Cena outside of his NY ballroom favored crowd at One Night Stand. Where fans were more opt to boo RVD, they cheered Shelton BIG TIME over Cena without second thought. Male fans at least.

Shelton's face run had no way of working with the booking he was getting by last year. So it's more the lackluster bookers and writers fault than anyone I will delegate blame on.

And make no mistake about it, Nitro will be the way of Chris Masters after he loses that belt to Carlito. It's all about Melina when it comes to the writers on that duo. She's who Foley puts over and who the fans want to see more of, not little Nitro.

As for Shawn Michaels? His fans have built a reputation on the IWC of him being able to make others look good. Which in turn is suspect since his opponents never get half the credit he does. His formula matches may be impressive to these Cena entrenched fans but not to me. He's no Randy Savage or Ricky Steamboat by a long shot. Everytime Shawn wrestles, I cringe. He always forget to sell at the end during his superman comebacks and always loses unclean. He's a walking punchline. His fans should be embarassed to see him as lackluster as he is.

Matt Striker is getting heel heat above Nitro, Carlito, and Benjamin during all of their heel runs. That's more than all of them put together but then again, Benjamin doesn't go out of his way to get heel heat. He's not booked in situations of that accord.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

do these female/child cena supporters go to WWE shows alone or do they go with thier boyfriends/husbands/fathers who are booing cena??

[Duy]

The problem with Benjamin is that, although he can carry any match and make it watchable, he can't carry a feud. It's a similar problem to what Chris Benoit used to have until... like... 2003.

[SnowTrooper]

do these female/child cena supporters go to WWE shows alone or do they go with thier boyfriends/husbands/fathers who are booing cena??
Men dont like Cena because they hate people that act ghetto(Im no exception but I like Cena). Kids like that because thats what is in these days and I only think that women cheer him because they find him sexy. If you cheered for Scotty 2 Hotty and Grand Master Sexay then you should cheer for John Cena, hes just a more realistic version of those two.

[Super Sonic]

I cheered for 2 Cool, but I was 11 so, nyeh! =P

Plus, I like Cena, the person, not Super-Cena, but that's not John's fault, he does what he's told.

As for Shelton, put him in DX!!!! That'd finally get the poor guy over, even if he turns on 'em or something.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

[QUOTE=SUPERECWFAN1]

Shawn Michaels and Kane are the top midcard faces. Not Carlito. Carlito hasn't done anything since the Backlash win over Masters. And Nitro gets NO REACTION. I have no idea what you are watching but the guy hasn't gotten any reaction since stepping foot on Raw. Melina did the night after Vengeance though. Shelton's too good to get booed on a nightly basis. He got pops against RVD at Backlash '06 mixed in with the "Mama Boy" chants and outpopped everyone during the Money in the Bank match.

Shawn Micheals is upper-mid card at the moment. He's booked in a way that if needed he can Main Event a PPV. Kane is mid-card. He could be Upper-Mid card at times and mid-card if needed . So I agree with Kane being a midcard guy but no...Shawn isn't and hasn't been a midcarder for years.

I'm watching a show and watching a guy get booed. It could be for Melina doing it all or not. But as of right now , Nitro is doing his job and its part of the reason he became IC Champion at Vengence. They saw someone who could grow as a heel and had a character in Johnny Nitro and pushed him. Now Nitro vs Carlito will be a good match at Summerslam where it will have a lot of heat.

The Jericho feud ended with Jericho putting over Benjamin during a backstage promo the next Raw. That in turn led to the Benjamin/Hassan stuff where Benjamin was getting huge "Let's go Shelton" chants every show. Even outpopped Jericho during both of their tag matches against Hassan/Daviari.

All I remember is the abrupt end of the Jericho/Benjimen program. And the fact that fans weren't getting attracted to Benjimen. Then they moved Shelton into the Carlito Cool program and Carlito got face reactions during a PPV. At this point I could see why the trigger was pulled on that IC push.

Angle vs Cena at Unforgiven had fans still cheering for Cena. Angle vs Cena vs Michaels at Taboo Tuesday had my hometown fans cheering for Angle over Cena and Michaels. At Survivor Series, it was duel chants with "Cena SUCKS" and boos thrown in against Cena all match long. Other than Angle though, Cena wasn't getting booed against anyone until he faced Shelton in that Beat the Clock match where the male fans supported Shelton and little girls supported Cena in a WM enviroment-type crowd.

Kurt Angle was his main program for 2 to 3 months on RAW. All we saw was situations where Cena would somehow beat Angle on RAW or do something. John when he cut hard promos got pops in those situations but fans pretty much turned on him with the Angle program.

Something not even RVD could get against Cena outside of his NY ballroom favored crowd at One Night Stand. Where fans were more opt to boo RVD, they cheered Shelton BIG TIME over Cena without second thought. Male fans at least.

Its been pretty cut and dried for Rob Van Dam. The non-WWE fans would cheer him in matches against John Cena. But Cena is a WWE guy and was booked as the underdog to RVD and ECW ect ect....( plus the matches were on WWE PPV's and WWE cards ) so Rob's not getting his type of fans in those big places.

The suspension came along at the right time as Big Show is becoming a very good heel for New ECW and Rob's name gets chanted as fans wanna see him beat Big Show.

Also I had no clue Benjimen and Cena had faced each other the past few months.

Shelton's face run had no way of working with the booking he was getting by last year. So it's more the lackluster bookers and writers fault than anyone I will delegate blame on.

It was Benjimen. He had a push from GOD where he was beating the entire mid-card ! He beat Snitskey who stomped Kane in a program to this point and was pretty much getting Chris Jericho in a program to get him more over.

But Shelton's character wasn't there and fans had a rough time latching on. The writers handed him the ball to be a 7 month IC Champion and beat the entire mid-card . Blaming them is hard since he wasn't cutting it as a face and they had to think how to use him and came upon the Mother Benjimen angle. ( which really clicked with fans but they dropped the ball on it. Now blame the writers for this...I agree with)

And make no mistake about it, Nitro will be the way of Chris Masters after he loses that belt to Carlito. It's all about Melina when it comes to the writers on that duo. She's who Foley puts over and who the fans want to see more of, not little Nitro.

Masters was boring and couldn't cut a promo. Nitro is flashy , doesn't do stupied posedowns and has a hot entrance. Nitro is everything Chris Masters isn't. This is why he got the IC Title. They don't hand mid-card pushes to people for the hell of it and even with Melina , they are using it to goad Flair.

Mick needs someone since Edge/Lita is tied up with Cena now. How many times did he mention how hot Lita was ect ect ? It works here...Edge is in a program RAW wise so Mick's moved to the next hot Diva heel and its Melina .

As for Shawn Michaels? His fans have built a reputation on the IWC of him being able to make others look good. Which in turn is suspect since his opponents never get half the credit he does. His formula matches may be impressive to these Cena entrenched fans but not to me. He's no Randy Savage or Ricky Steamboat by a long shot. Everytime Shawn wrestles, I cringe. He always forget to sell at the end during his superman comebacks and always loses unclean. He's a walking punchline. His fans should be embarassed to see him as lackluster as he is.

Micheals isn't a superman and doesn't make Superman comebacks ala a Hogan. He is just a guy that is pretty much the greatest sports enertainer in history. He can bring fans into his matches and make them click. The cip up is him sucking up his last energy.

Savage was a great worker early in his career. He was an awesome worker all the way into the late 80's. But his age and body took a toll and once he past 40 , he wasn't the same. Other than the DDP/Savage fued in the 90's , theres really nothing else he did that worked.

Steamboat now....he could have gave Shawn a run for his money. Steamboat really to me , had he not f-cked up his back and retired , could have been up there . Both had legendary matches on PPV's and both could bring the level of the guy they worked with. But Steamboat's career ended in 1994 and Micheals began on his way to becoming The Main Event , the Showstoppa.

Its hard to deny that Shawn isn't over-rated. The man has had classics with nearly every superstar. Austin , Undertaker, Hogan , Hart...ect ect. Its hard to not give him the credit. He's that good .

Matt Striker is getting heel heat above Nitro, Carlito, and Benjamin during all of their heel runs. That's more than all of them put together but then again, Benjamin doesn't go out of his way to get heel heat. He's not booked in situations of that accord.

Matt's got a character with Carlito and Nitro. Benjimen needs something to click with fans . This is why those men are getting pushed and have clicked on TV with the fanbase. If Shelton Benjimen's gonna make it on RAW or Smackdown , he's gonna need a character.

[Legato]

Not like Im defending Cena or anything but I find it kinda odd that most people seem to be hating John's Super-Cena angle yet Hogan was doing the exact same thing in the 80's and he hardly got any complaints about that like Cena's getting now.

[SnowTrooper]

Not like Im defending Cena or anything but I find it kinda odd that most people seem to be hating John's Super-Cena angle yet Hogan was doing the exact same thing in the 80's and he hardly got any complaints about that like Cena's getting now.
Well Hogan was the first guy to do that, it was a part of his character, he was Hulking up. How can a white rapper hulk up? That dosent make any sense. Invincible wrestlers are only cool with Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker.

[Duy]

Not like Im defending Cena or anything but I find it kinda odd that most people seem to be hating John's Super-Cena angle yet Hogan was doing the exact same thing in the 80's and he hardly got any complaints about that like Cena's getting now.
I was quite honestly never - and I do mean EVER - a Hulk Hogan fan.

Though that doesn't help my case, because I was an Ultimate Warrior fan and he got the monster push too. But aside from him - from Hogan to Austin to Goldberg to Cena - I really don't like Super pushes.

[Super Sonic]

I still don't get why people liked Hogan, when it was Rock v Hogan, I wanted the Rock to cripple him!!!!! O.O

[DWEarhart]

Not like Im defending Cena or anything but I find it kinda odd that most people seem to be hating John's Super-Cena angle yet Hogan was doing the exact same thing in the 80's and he hardly got any complaints about that like Cena's getting now.

Things were different back then, a different social attitude. The majority of society still trusted the government, and believed in heroes. Hogan was in the right place at the right time, with the charisma to pull it off.

Hogan could go that extra mile, Cena just seems to be coloring by numbers, and is practically being shoved down our throats in a time when the populace is sick of being told what to do and what to believe by a legislature they do not confide in.

When you look at it, even with Stone Cold, and The Rock, the world's problems reflect in the attitudes of the fans, which many times has determined who they cheer for.

WWF fans turned on Bret Hart, practically in the blink of an eye, and he never did anyting except show up for work.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

I was quite honestly never - and I do mean EVER - a Hulk Hogan fan.

Though that doesn't help my case, because I was an Ultimate Warrior fan and he got the monster push too. But aside from him - from Hogan to Austin to Goldberg to Cena - I really don't like Super pushes.


i never liked hogan or warrior(or too cool, although i thought brian christopher was a decent wrestler) the only time i ever cheered warrior was against hogan. i liked cena when he was coming up and turned heel, once i like a wrestler i tend to stick with them even if i prefer them when being booked differently. cena can wrestle he proved it with his matches in 03-04 he's just booked in the babyface comeback role in all his matches. people can make all the xcuses for cena being over they want, be it women & children, lesbians and cross dressers or whoever is cheering for him, the fact is when given the midcard push he made the most of it where others dropped the ball, and that's why he got pushed to the top, and while on top buisness has been relatively good. would i like to see cena booked diffently absolutely. i don't get the love for batista who never really put on good matches.

[DWEarhart]

i don't get the love for batista who never really put on good matches.

I've often wondered that myself, and that's because I like the guy. I've liked him ever since he was in Evolution.

For whatever reason the fans generated towards him, and I think it just has to come down with the look, because that's all he's ever had. He can barely wrestle, couldn't cut a promo to save a drowning orphan, but he has that look.

That's how the Missing Link got over when he dropped Akbar as his manager, and the guy didn't even speak english.

[Super Sonic]

wrong guy, you're thinking of the little dude with the uni-brow matt stryker real name: brian woehrman, he was in ROH. the guy on RAW is matt striker real name:matt kaye.

you need to work on your ROHbotics, i suggest studying under professor leslie leeIII:D but i agree striker should be used more, unfortunately i think he may be too small for vince to push.

anyways i agree 100% with shade on both his posts, cena drops his title to RVD(who basicly threw it away like an idiot, proving all his critics right) then loses to umaga and gets outsmarted by edge in the same non-mainevent match but people still complain he didn't look weak enough.

damn shame i miss umagas 1st non-squash match on RAW.

and no, nitro is not a 2k6 ric flair, far from it imo. and i'm not 1 of those people who put flair up on a pedastal.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I just found out Matt Striker (Kaye) did wrestle for ROH once!!! (And appeared twice, two consecutive nights)

Cutting a promo on the Embassy, and beating Mike Kruel the next night, he signed for WWE two weeks later.
I win. =P