I liked the opening message from Degeneration-X, but I'm a sucker for that
kind of "stick it to tha man!" schtick. Just think of how many asses the
word "ass" has put in seats all across North America.
The DX presidential speech, and the Steve Austin confrontation was pretty
damn good, about time Stone Cold started in on Shawn. Good move by Michaels
to keep his mouth shut too, because as good as he is on the mic, I don't
think he can match the intensity and sharpness of an Austin interview.
Cactus Jack vs. Chainsaw Charlie, the match: I dug the brawling, it
definitely needed blood to match any of their IWA or ECW matches but it
was pretty punishing nonetheless. The Titantron dive into the dumpster
was great, and I thought the ref counting three in the dumpster would
have been a good finish.
Cactus Jack vs. Chainsaw Charlie, the angle: This was one of the most well
played out angles on Raw in its history, period. The bump itself was
awesome and the live crowd really went nuts for it. I didn't figure on
the greatness of the post-match angle though. And I would be remiss if
I didn't give a nod to ECW, the culmination of their influence was this
angle. It immediately brought to mind the ECW angle where Tommy Dreamer
caned Sandman and "blinded" him. Sunny was awesome selling the whole
deal, Flash Funk looked great getting all pissed with the New Age Outlaws,
*very* nice touch having Savio Vega restraining him and then helping Funk
and Jack into the ambulance. Great job by Road Dog, looking guilty as hell
and scared to death surrounded by the whole lockerroom. Even though I
knew the whole thing was a work from the get go I found myself getting
sucked in, it was very compelling TV. And not only did the angle set
up the NOA as the most hated heels, it gave subtle pushes to the guys who
were featured most prominently in the melee and set up all the matches for
hour two, making them all the more interesting. Which makes it such a shame
that they blew all the great work in the second hour. Jim Ross uttered an
all time classic Ross-ism, "THERE'S PEOPLE IN THERE! THERE'S PEOPLE IN THERE!"
Owen Hart vs. Billy Gunn was good enough, and the interest built in the
angle really helped to keep focus on the match, and I was all ready to
give it the big pow wow until they killed all credibility with the post-match
DX run-in. Let me make my case: 15 minutes earlier you had the whole lockerroom
just wanting to beat the crap out of the NAO. It was stretching things enough
by having the NAO actually make it to the ring unscathed, but then the match
dissolved into a double team on Owen Hart which should have been reason enough
for the enraged lockerroom to empty. And then DX do a run in and still no one
wants to save Owen...AND THEN they tease throwing him to his DEATH and then
only the officials make the save. Was it just me or did this not make any
sense in light of the strong dumpster angle?
Marc Mero vs. Mosh (notice how much the Headbangers were on camera during the
dumpster angle?) was a bad match, plain and simple. I got a kick out of
Goldusts' costume of the week, as I usually do. I kinda wish he'd warn the
same outfit that Marylin Manson did at the MTV awards. Well, wish is probably
too strong a word.
The Tiger Ali Singh promo was a joke. This guy is so untalented it makes me
sick he's getting a push. Why? I mean, Tiger Ali is no rookie by any means,
and he still looks like he's wrestling his first match everytime he gets in
the ring. Mix that with the fact that he has no charisma and I fail to see the
logic. Total cheese.
Faarooq vs. Chainz was another boring big man match with another typical gang
feud finish.
Hey, the best possible upshoot of the whole dumpster angle is that maybe
Flash Funk will get a decent sized push. Lord knows he certainly deserves it
more than Tiger Ali and most of the other superstars. But, the tag match
pitting him and Bradshaw vs. Windham and Jarrett wasn't anything to write
home about. Notice the way Jim Ross says "NWA" all the time, emphasizing it
so it sounds like he's saying "NWO"? Maybe if they say it enough...nah, but
the rumour (and that's all it is at this point) of Flair coming in under
this angle is definitely KING-SIZED!
Wink Collins? Geez, I was gonna praise this angle if Kane actually got to
plant him but they wussied out. Vader cleaning house with a fire extinguisher
was pretty cool though.
Hey, there was really no actual match between Road Dog and Steve Austin, quel
surprise! And then they really, I think, put the nail in the coffin of one of
the WWF's best angles ever by having Cactus Jack and Terry Funk come down the
rampway, IVs in hand, which didn't fly at all. The whole deal was obviously
meant to build heat for IYH, but I think it would have been much better to
have everyone wait until Sunday to see Funk & Jack, but I can see the risk in
that not boosting buyrates, but the payoff woulda been better, from a wrestling
angle (and not money) point of view. It just seemed corny, afterall. But still,
the first hour was so strong that this has to be considered one of the best
Raws ever. Now just what was I saying about Raw last week...?
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