Linda's Thoughts - Summer Slam and Raw

Posted by Linda Robin on 08/17/04 at 9:13 PM

So where do I begin? In the past two days there is so much to write about. Let me start with Summer Slam and then go right to Raw. Yeah WWE and its fans have definitely made me want to talk about what went on Sunday and last night. So first here’s my thoughts on Summer Slam.

The show didn’t come off like I hoped it would. When I think of Summer Slam I think about spectacular matches, and long matches. But for the most part the matches seemed to average about 15 minutes each except for the last two matches. Heat got things going with Rob Van Dam taking on Renee Dupree. I liked this one and I think it was a great way to get the fans going since RVD is such a fan favorite. Now Summer Slam’s opening match with The Dudley’s vs. Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman and Paul London kicked off the show perfectly. This match was done so well that it didn’t matter that it was short because so much was done in the time allotted to them. I loved this one, two things impressed me. Paul London again is looking damn good out there and Spike the domineering brother did a hell of a giving orders and playing the big bully role. How great it is to see Spike showcased as a heel. It’s working very well and I look forward to watching him on Smackdown this week to see if he’s going after Rey Mysterio or Scotty.

Matt Hardy even with his serious knee injury came off very well against Kane. This was definitely a short match but I was very happy with both men. They kept the pace going and even though Lita didn’t turn on Matt, and Shawn Michaels didn’t show up I was very content with what I saw. When Randy Orton and John Cena made contact backstage during an Orton promo I could definitely feel electricity between these two and who knows maybe it’s going to be Cena vs. Orton at Wrestlemania. But whatever happens this is definitely a future feud. Now as far as Cena vs. Booker T goes, I didn’t like the match at all. Talk about quick and an ending that just kind of happened. This was the worst match at least for me. And I was totally confused. I guess I missed them announce that this best of 5 series is going to take place on other shows. I thought it would be completed on Sunday. I’m sticking with Booker to remain champion but honestly I’m lost by all of this. Okay are you all aware that in November because of elections WWE is going to hold an election to bring in someone to watch over both shows? I guess that’s why the little banter between Eric Bischoff and Theodore Long the other night. Bisch’s comments about Long not lasting because Smackdown has had so many GM’s made me think that this was a set up for the election in a few months.

Now I liked the IC title match with Chris Jericho, Batista and Edge. I liked it so much that this was one match that should have been a hell of a lot longer. Jericho again showed his very best in the ring, Edge worked hard but I noticed at times Batista screwed up. They were not major screw ups but his timing just isn’t there all the time. But I still enjoyed watching all three of these guys and I just wish this would have been given a lot more time. Welcome back to pay per views Kurt Angle. I found his match with Eddie way more exciting then their Wrestlemania match. This was my second favorite match of the night. And like the others it was short but considering Kurt came back from a injury and just wrestled the one match with Charlie Haas and Eddie has been out for weeks with that hamstring injury, I really didn’t expect this to go on longer than it did. I thought Eddie was totally outstanding and these two have terrific chemistry.

Triple H and Eugene gave us a very good Raw match. There were some great moves, nice humor but why didn’t Hunter beat the crap out of Eugene? I couldn’t understand why Hunter didn’t go ballistic on Eugene and why was giving Eugene a pedigree enough for Hunter. As I said a very good Raw match but definitely not what we were promised and not a pay per view quality match. Diva Dodge Ball was next. It was even worse than I ever imagined it would be. I won’t even waste my time on it except to say where was Carmella? And that answer will come when I talk about Raw. Undertaker and JBL was one of the two matches that was given more time than the others and probably shouldn’t have been granted that extra time. I’m going say right now this was the first match that JBL showed me anything. He put a lot into this more so than Taker. This was not a horrible match but one that definitely should have been much shorter. And now it’s time to talk about the Bizzaro World. Okay let me say this. I didn’t care that the fans booed the hell out of Edge the home town guy, infact I expected that to happen. I also expected Jericho to be their favorite and get the big pops. Eugene getting booed and the fans chanting Eugene sucks didn’t surprise me either because the last time Eugene showed up in Canada he got the same thing. And Hunter and Randy Orton getting cheers again was no surprise. However the one thing I had a problem with was the reaction during the JBL/Taker match. This crowd for the most part bugged the hell out of me. The majority could have cared less about this match which was fine but watching them do the wave over and over again was one the most obnoxious thing that I have ever seen. I didn’t even care that they were chanting Spanish table for a while it was the wave that pissed me off and pissed so many other fans off as well. Now I went to one site and a fan that was there was very unhappy that Bizarro World was being used. In fact he was burning and his reason why the fans did what they did during the Taker/JBL match was, that JBL should never have been the champion and Taker never shows up so the fans wanted to make their feeling known. Well all I know is that it was very distracting and just plain annoying.
That’s enough of that, the match of the night without a doubt was Chris Benoit taking on Randy Orton for the World Title. Could you ask for a better main event? I don’t think so. Benoit took so many major bumps, Randy showed he deserves to be on top and Randy winning was the way to go. And having Benoit come back to shake Randy’s hand and Randy reciprocating was just awesome. Benoit was a super champion and I know he will get another run. This match made me very glad that I ordered the show. But I will say Summer Slam with the exception of the main event was nothing more than Raw and Smackdown merged together.

As for Raw, first I found the London Ontario fans to be much better than the fans the night before. This was a very good group. The opening with Randy Orton coming out to talk about his victory and put down the crowd was done very well. He’s so smooth on the mic. Again WWE put together a very good video that showed Randy and his accomplishments, I was very pleased with that. Then add Benoit to this announcing that he gets a title shot that night against Randy just got things going so much better. It was a great way to start the show. The first match was Rhyno vs. Sylvan Grenier. I was okay because finally after Rhyno’s win he and Tajiri can now go for the Tag Team Titles at next months pay per view Unforgiven. I’m just tired of WWE screwing around with these two guys. They can make the tag team division a hell of a lot more exciting than it is now. I am just sick of the WWE playing games with them week after week. They should have been in a match at Summer Slam going after those titles. But at least next month I see them winning so that’s something.

I enjoyed the diva heels, Trish, Jazz, Gail and Molly throwing Lita a wedding shower. Trish came off very well as did all of the heels. The presents were a riot, this was a short segment but one that definitely worked. I also got a kick out of hearing Kane reading off the invitation to his wedding with Lita next week. He’s so full of crap and that’s what makes it funny. I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to see a lot of Gail Kim taking on Victoria. I had to let one of my dogs out and I just couldn’t follow the match all the way through. I did see Stevie Richards come out to help Victoria, and my one question is how stupid does Vince think we are that Victoria and the fans don’t know it’s Stevie? Enough already with the women’s clothing.
So Kane was gunning for the IC title last night. Well I don’t know about you but I new he wouldn’t win but I liked this match and watching bride to be Lita come out kind of added a little to things, not much but a little. I just found it weird that Matt Hardy ran out gave Kane the twist of fate and disappeared. I’m waiting for Kane to beat Hardy up so that can be the reason Hardy will be gone for a while. Watching Lita with Kane I’m really starting to think she will turn heel and join Kane. I’m very suspicious about innocent Lita.
Okay so Carmella was a no show at Summer Slam, supposedly she had other commitments. But she wasn’t going to get away with it. Last night the girls were asked if they had to vote off one who would it be and each girl picked Carmella. I found this so interesting in many ways. First, were the girls told to say Carmella for punishment? To pay her back for missing the show the night before? And by doing this will it make the fans think twice about ever voting for her again? Also some of them had some good points about Carmie not putting any effort into this contest, not showing enthusiasm and the best one of all was that she makes fun of the wrestlers. I will be very surprised if Carmella is on after next week. This was the first time the girls came of basically “normal” they weren’t stuck in a moronic segment. So I had no problem with the contestants last night.

Talk about a quickie, Jericho vs. Batista was just that. A decent match but more importantly after Jericho was getting attacked by Flair and Batista, Edge ran to the ring but then retreated back to the ramp just watching and smiling as Jericho was getting beaten up. Edge’s heel turn is coming slowly but it’s definitely coming. Now Hunter shows up and gives a nervous Randy Orton a pep talk a major pep talk about the title and its importance and how Orton again will win over Benoit. As I’m watching this Hunter is coming off very insincere, I’m feeling a turn on Orton especially as Hunter says Evolution is the solution and they will handle it. And then Hunter has that wicked smile and tells Randy that Evolution will come out after Randy’s win to celebrate. So I’m saying oh yeah he’s turning on Orton, but in the back of my mind I feel it’s too soon for that. So it’s time for the main event and it’s just a beaut. Again Benoit kills himself out there and Randy is just dynamite as well. It’s another excellent match and this time Randy is getting help out there. Evolution comes out and with their interference Randy is able to get the win. Now Hunter and Flair come into the ring, Batista remains out and it is taking care of Benoit. I see Hunter and Flair hugging and congratulating Randy. It’s all so emotional and so real to me I’m buying into this like you wouldn’t believe. Batista enters the ring and lifts Randy on his shoulders. And the members again are just so happy for Randy, Hunter gives Randy the thumbs up and says “you’re the man” and then all of a sudden Hunter’s smile becomes a frown and the thumbs are down and Randy knows he’s a dead man. Batista then falls back with Randy oh his shoulders and the members beat the living hell out of Randy. Now I didn’t expect this at all that’s how naïve I was. I was truly surprised and I liked what I was seeing. Now I know a lot and I mean a lot of fans are saying this happened way to soon there was no build up. And while I see that, this all makes me think that it will not be Hunter vs. Randy at Wrestlemania. Because to start all of this now I just can’t see it going on for seven months. I really don’t know how this is going to play out, but I have to admit I’m into this.

So I enjoyed Raw very much especially the ending. I’m happy that they showed an ad with Shawn Michaels returning soon. And did you notice no Eugene? Not even a mention of Eugene. Also no diva contest during the first hour. That’s what happens when the ratings sink like they did last week. I want to see if a now show Eugene and less time with contestants changes things in a positive way for the ratings. So now I’m looking forward to Smackdown and Impact. I just read that John Heindenreich will be on TV this week. Oh I can’t wait. I want to know if Taker is going to be on, I’ll tell you if he’s not it’s getting totally out of hand. And I’m hoping on Impact that AJ Styles and my guys Michael Shane and Kazarian show up. I’ll be back to talk about both shows on Friday. By the way not counting the Booker/Cena match I got all my picks right except for Hunter and the Diva Wannabes. I still can’t believe they won.

Email lvaccarp@hotmail.com

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