- 30,184
- 1,991
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2000
Last week's Raw had it's ups and downs. The positives started with the furthering of Priceless with Orton being put over very strongly. Orton isquickly becoming one of the strongest performers in the WWE. You always knew he had the talent and he was always given the push, but it always seemed thatmaybe he wasn't 100% committed. Maybe it was his marriage and birth of his first child, but Orton really seems to have gotten his act together. Sure,he's still a little drab in the ring, but the overall package from look, to personality, to mic skills, to talent, everything is clicking right now. Ilove the way they are very gradually building Priceless instead of shoving them down our throats. It just goes once again to show how well long term bookingworks compared to booking on the fly each week. The end result will be a very strong stable with a elite talent leader.
I also like the interplay between Orton, Cena, and Batista. There are so many different ways they can go. Both Batista vs Orton and Batista vs Cena are stillfresh. And we haven't see Orton vs Cena in quite some time, so if they build it right, that would be a great match people would want to see. I suspect itwill all eventually build to Cena vs Batista at WrestleMania with a Batista heel turn involved. It should be a good four months of buildup.
I absolutely loved how Jericho came out and declared that he was above wrestling Jim Duggan. Jericho was in perfect character, and I like the way he is usingthe "Wrestler of the Year" award almost as a championship. Of course, Stephanie shot him down, but it was still great last week.
The Miz and Morrison beat Punk and Kofi. These four seem to have great chemistry together. I have no problem seeing them go again.
Now the bad.
First off, the Kane/Kelly Kelly angle is just awful. Kelly Kelly is a TURRRRIBLE actress. Watching her feign emotions certainly didn't help things. Butreally, do we need to see ANOTHER Kane love saga? Ugh. Make it stop. Actually, just make Kane stop in general. He sucks in every possible way.
Sim Snuka? I don't know about this one. First off, who the hell came up with the name Sim? Second, is he really joining Priceless? I hope not. Myideal storyline is they are about to induct him in, but it is a setup, and Dibiase Jr. returns to lay him out. Snuka has just jobbed too much as Duece to betaken seriously.
Mysterio and Mike Knox? I have not been a fan of Mysterio since his cruiserweight days in WCW. Constantly watching him take on giants week after week in theWWE is just so unrealistic. There is no reason Mysterio can't be involved in feuds with guys like Jericho, Punk, and HBK. We don't need to see himfight Kane, Big Show, and Mike Knox. Plus, Knox is awful.
So Stephanie announced last week that over these next two weeks, the number one contender for John Cena's World Title at the Royal Rumble would bedetermined. There will be four qualifying matches tonight, all eight men being former champions. And then the four winners will face each other in a fatalfourway next week to determine the number one contender.
Randy Orton vs Batista
I thought they announced on ECW or Smackdown that Batista would be out of action for an undetermined amount of time due to the punt he received from Orton lastweek. I am thinking they are going to stick with this story and since Batista will be unable to compete, Orton will receive a bye. I am also guessing thatBatista will remain out of sight, out of mind until the Rumble, where he will make a "surprise" return to win the thing.
Chris Jericho vs CM Punk
This match could go either way, but it should be excellent if they are given time. I will lean toward Chris Jericho just because he is the bigger star, andPunk is already the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
Rey Mysterio Jr vs JBL
JBL needs to stop wrestling ASAP. He is a shell of his former self. I'm going to go with Mysterio in this one for reasons that I will get to in the nextmatch.
Shawn Michaels vs Kane
The same comments for JBL apply to Kane. Although Kane was never really any good. Anyway, I think that HBK will win this match. Then, JBL having alreadylost, will come out and take HBK's spot in the fatal fourway next week.
So next week's fatal fourway will be Orton vs Jericho vs Mysterio vs JBL. And my pick is Randy Orton to win and go onto The Royal Rumble to face (and loseto) John Cena for the World Title.
See you guys tonight.