RAW 10.23.2006 - News & Notes

I can't believe that it's been 700 Raws already. It seems like only yesterday that I turned Raw on & saw Rob Bartlett .

It looks like Kevin Federline's appearance last week had a lot of media coverage. He even was awarded with having the 'Best Week Ever' by VH1.

Kevin Federline's mic skills remind me of those of Pete Rose @ Wrestlemania - 'What About It !?'

It was nice to see Ron Simmons again, but can someone explain what the point was?

Kevin Federline's slap on Cena looked like it didn't even connect. He also should have broken up the pin when Cena pinned Nitro.

The S. Squad v. Cryme Tyme? Triple H v. Orton? Didn't I see this last week?

What happened to Kenny taking on Flair by himself?

Flair taking on one of the S. Squad and coming out with 3 out-of-shape 'legends' ? Didn't I see that too already? Dusty Rhodes should have come out in his polka dot ring gear.

I don't care how horrible the announcer tried to make the match sound. I want to see that Chamber of Horrors match from Halloween Havoc '91.

It was so obvious that Eugene was going to nail Estrada in the balls with that t-shirt cannon. Estrada's facial expression was priceless though.

Again with DX doing mock ads for their merchandise?

I like that Bischoff is back on TV, but can't they find a good angle for him other than selling his book?

For being Raw #700, this week's show fell a little short. Perhaps they could have held off the 3-hour season premiere until tonight.

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WWE RAW Family Reunion 10.9.2006 - News & Notes

I like the new RAW logo, theme, and video. The set could have used a makeover as well though.

I liked that had all 3 announce teams at ringside. Michael Cole was a bit annoying when he kept saying "You don't have the wrong channel. This is WWE Raw". It was almost as if the audience would think that they were really watching Smackdown.

John Cena should stop trying to be funny and clever. He was stepping over Booker & Big Show's lines.

Now that Kane is off of RAW he'll obviously resufaced somewhere down the road on Smackdown or ECW.

Teddy Long's face would look good on the Dolla Dolla Bill.

I hope King doesn't actually think that those are tattoos on Umaga's face.

After an initial push the WWE seems to be determined to make the Highlanders look weak.

That segment with DX giving apologies was dumb. I'm a little tired of all of those little commercials they do to the camera trying to sell merchandise.

Normally I dislike the 'Vince Like Cock' jokes, but some of them were mildly amusing since they incorporated the University of South Carolina Gamecocks' mascot into the jokes.

I would have had the RAW match be Benoit's debut instead of @ No Mercy.

Something has to be done about Shelton Benjamin. Either bring Mama back or reteam him with Charlie Haas.

There is no way that Rey can hurricanrana 2 people at the same time.

I was hoping that Mae & Moolah would work an angle, but I'm sure that they will somehow get invloved with tommorrow night's Strip Poker game on ECW on SciFi.

Melina is actually a pretty good wrestler. Well, at least better than most of RAW's other women.

I don't think I've ever seen a female lumberjack (or lumerjill) match.

I would have debuted Cryme Tyme on tonight's RAW, but I guess we'll have to wait until next week.

As reported the Cyber Sunday PPV's main event will be a 3-way match between all 3 brands' World Champions. I'm actually looking forward to it, but I have no clue as to how they are going to book it.

As I suspected it looks like Flair will be defeating the entire Spirit Squad one-by-one.

It was nice seeing Double A, Ted DiBiase, and I.R.S. again. I can't say the same about Roddy Piper though. Double A looks to be the only one remotely close to his weight from his active wrestling days. I was a little suprised that they didn't reference I.R.S. being Mike Rotundo. If they did I must have missed it.

It looks like Edge & Orton will be joining forces against DX. I think that this feud will be pretty good. All 4 guys have the capability of delivering a great match.

I wonder if Lita is still going to be leaving the WWE soon.

The STFU that Cena had on Big Show looked horrible. He wasn't even pulling back Show's neck.

Undertaker wrestled 2 nights in a row! I predict we won't see him until Survivor Series at the earliest.

I was surprised that Masters and Carlito weren't on the show. Same thing goes for Sabu, Sandman, Dreamer, & C.M. Punk. There were also reports that Austin and Hogan may appear. They didn't though. I was also surprised that Bischoff wasn't on. Not even in a little taped piece from the back like they had last week. It was too bad that Kennedy was only on for about 15 seconds. Just enough time for Undertaker to kick him in the face and chase him backstage.

Overall I thought this was the best RAW in a long time. Maybe it was because I wasn't seeing the same recycled matches like normal. They really need to do something to put more variety in the matches. Maybe reshuffle the rosters or combine brands.

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WWE No Mercy Results [Updated]

Gregory Helms v. Matt Hardy
As I suspected this match was not for Helms' title. Therefore, he lost. Ending came after a Twist Of Fate.
Me: 1/1
David: 0/1

MVP debuts v. Mystery Opponent
The mystery opponent was some jobber. I think his name was Marty Gardner or something. His face looked like a middle-aged Jamie Kennedy. MVP's wrestling outfit looks ridiculous. He looked like a blue Power Ranger in short shorts. After months of build-up for this guy I think his debut was a complete flop. He got no reaction from the crowd and the crowd seemed genuinely bored. He won after some sort of twisting neckbreaker move. It was the kind of move that looked like the jobber did the move on himself.
Me: 2/2
David: 1/2

Tag Team Championships
London & Kendrick v. KC James & Idol Stevens
I was a lot more impressed with James & Stevens than I have been after seeing them on Smackdown. A lot of the spots looked really rehearsed though. A solid match. Kendrick & London won after Kendrick hit James with that flipping DDT and London hit him with a lionsault-type move.
Me: 3/3
David: 1/3

Falls Count Anywhere
Rey v. Chavo
A good match. That's saying a lot since I rarely like a Rey match. Most of the match was in the crowd and in the aisles. Rey hit Chavo with a splash off of a railing and got the pin. Rey's jump came up a little short and didn't hit Chavo real well. When Chavo fell back he was kinda propped up against the wall so the two of them had to adjust themselves before the ref could count to 3. After the match Rey went to attack Chavo some more, but Vicki covered him up and strated screaming @ Rey.
Me: 4/4
David: 2/4

Undertaker v. Ken Kennedy
When Undertaker was announced some old woman came out. It took me a little while to realize that it was the Undertaker. 'Taker spent a lot of the match working on Kennedy's arm and shoulder. Ending came when Kennedy tried to hit Undertaker with the belt. 'Taker managed to get the belt away from him and after some hesitation and warnings from the ref he hit Kennedy with it to get DQ'd. After the match he attacked Kennedy some more and beat up the ref.
Me: 4/5
David: 3/5

Fatal 4-Way for The World Title
Booker T (c) v. Lashley v. Batista v. Finlay
Not as much action as one would expect in a match between 4 people. Although all 4 men were able to be in the ring at the same time it seemed like they were taking turns with 2 wrestlers fighting and then the other 2 would wrestle a bit. This would go back and forth. Ending came when Batista went nuts and gave all 3 other men spinebusters. He then hit Finlay with a Batista Bomb and then was speared by Lashley. Booker T then crawled over and covered Finlay for the pin.
Me: 5/6
David: 3/6

Total: I almost picked the matches perfectly with 5/6 right as David picked 3/6. I win. I can't remember ever seeing Undertaker get DQ'd as a face. It's probably never happened before. I think they may have been trying to make it look like he had snapped, but it didn't come off very well. I should have gotten a perfect score. Oh Well.

Backstage during the PPV Regal was shown. He saw Vito jumping rope in a dress. After an exchange of words Regal turned around to leave and walked right into a foodservice cart carrying bowls of ketchup and mustard. He fell onto the cart and was a complete mess. Later on Regal was shown getting out of the shower carrying a towel and there was semi-clear shot of Regal's package. Vito was standing there toweling off and Regal then went into the hallway exposing his bare ass for a good 15 seconds. He ran into Teddy Long and Teddy Long told Regal that he would have to wrestle tonight. The opponent wasn't announced, but I assumed that it would be against Vito. It turned out that it was against the returning Chris Benoit. Benoit won the match with the crossface. The match was actually pretty good. I thought this was pretty lame way to bring Benoit back though.

Update: I neglected to mention in my initial posting that there was also a segment featuring The Miz. Teddy Long appeared in the ring with a giant gift box and said that it was a birthday present for Miz. Miz then came out and Long introduced 2006 Diva Search winner Layla. Layla then came out from the back sporting her new giant breast implants. She then brought a chair into the ring and had Miz sit on it. She then stripped down to her bra and panties and blindfolded Miz. Miz thought she was going to give him a lapdance, but instead the gift box raised up and the fat male stripped dubbed Big Dick Johnson was underneath. He then gave Miz a lapdance. After enjoying it for a little bit Miz was able to tell that it wasn't Layla and started freaking out. As Miz left Layla and Big Dick strated dancing and grinding on each other.

Also, WWE.com has posted an apology in regards to William Regal nudity at the PPV.

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2006 PWI 500 - My Thoughts

A little while back I wrote a couple of columns reflecting on some older versions of the PWI 500. Now that the 2006 edition of the PWI 500 has been released I thought that I would go through it and see if I agree.

#1 John Cena - He's one of my least favorite wrestlers. He's all hype and not much ability, but he's arguably the top guy in the business. While I personally don't agree that he should be the top guy I can't really deny it either.

#4 Samoa Joe - I've only seen him wrestle a few times on TV and I wasn't all that impressed, but from everything I've heard this guy is going to be a major star.

#7 Brock Lesnar - He's has about 3 matches since leaving WWE two and a half years ago. There is no way that he should be this high.

#21 Triple H - His stock has fallen a little bit since Cena joined RAW, but he should be higher than this.

#23 Batista - I'm a bit surprised that he isn't higher. Like Cena he is all gimmick. He's spent a lot of the year sidelined though.

#24 Ric Flair - This ranking is obviously based on his legacy rather than his current status. He can still carry a match though.

#27 Carlito - This list must have been put together before Carlito started getting buried on RAW

#29 Chris Benoit - I'm a little surprised that Benoit is this high considering the fact that he's been off TV since May.

#35 CM Punk - A pretty high ranking for someone who's only been on national TV for a month or two.

#41 Mark Henry - Eventhough he was pushed as a top-level guy there is no way that he can actually be considered one. He's a sloppy midcard jobber at best.

#44 Big Show - A World Champion this low?

#51 Bobby Lashley - I am a little surprised that a guy on the brink of being a main-eventer is this low.

#59 Undertaker - I am totally shocked that he's this low. He does only wrestle once a month, but that's more than Lesnar has.

#72 Johnny Nitro - The only thing preventing this guy from being higher is his lackluster mic skills.

#90 Matt Hardy - He continues to be way over with the fans. I'm surprised he's not higher for that reason alone.

#99 Umaga - This says a lot of what he and Estrada did for an outdated gimmick.

#134 Nicky of the S. Squad - This is way higher than I would have put him judging by what I've seen of him on TV.

#144 Khali - This is way too high for someone who is nothing more than size and not much ability.

#147 Johnny of the S. Squad - This guy is super talented. Too talented to be this low.

#153 Gregory Helms - Imagine how much lower he would be if he was still the Hurricane.

#164 Eugene - This guy might be one of the most talented guys in the WWE right now. He's trained a whole bunch of guys. He's only this low because of his gimmick.

#204 Ken Kennedy - I'd put this guy higher. It's too bad he got de-pushed. When he first started out he looked like he would be a huge star. I'm not so sure now.

#228 Kid Kash - I've always been a fan of this guy. I would personally put him higher.

#259 Boogeyman - This guys is mostly gimmick as far as I am concerned. I don't think I've ever seen him wrestle a 'real' match.

#266 Mick Foley - He only wrestled twice in the last year and I'm probably overestimating that number. He shouldn't even be on the list.

#322 Simon Dean - This is one of the most underrated guys in the business now. The whole fitness guru gimmick killed his career. Killed it.

#381 Rene Dupree - There is no reason that a guy with his ability should be so low. Perhaps it's because he's been sidelined for a while up until a few weeks ago.

#421 Teddy Hart - I have heard a lot of good things about him. If they are any indication of the future, this guy will jump a lot of spots once he makes the big time.

#492 Brian Christopher - There is no reason that a guy with this much name recognition should be this low. For all I know he could be fat and sloppy by now though.

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WWE No Mercy Predictions

It's once again time for Wrestleblogger predictions. This time around it's Smackdown's annual October PPV, No Mercy. I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to this PPV as much as I usually look forward to PPVs. As usual I am joined by David. We are both trying to get back to our winning ways since we tied at the last PPV.

On to the picks...

Fatal 4-Way for The World Title
Booker T (c) v. Lashley v. Batista v. Finlay
I Say: As I've done in the past with matches with 4 or more participants I will first eliminate who I know will not win. Out goes Finlay. He's never going to be a heavyweight champion in WWE. That leaves Booker, Batista, & Lashley. The reason that the original matches (Booker v. Lashley & Batista v. Finlay) were combined into one was because WWE felt that Lashley didn't have enough drawing power when it comes to PPV main events. Therefore I can eliminate him as well. If the WWE doesn't think he will draw in a main-event there is no reason that they would put the belt on him. That leaves Booker & Batista. I've read that the reason Batista was put into a feud with Finlay was because Batista wasn't as over as he once was and perhaps having him squash Finlay would help. I suppose that putting the belt back on Batista would help get him back over, but I can't see it happening here. I've got to eliminate Batista as well and pick Booker to retain. By the way, what happened to the stipulation from not too long ago that said that if Batista didn't defeat Booker that he wouldn't get another title shot?
David Says: It seems natural that that Booker and Finley will work against Batista and Lashley. Naturally with the title on the line alliances will break down. The best thing to do is start figuring out who WON'T win. It WON'T be Finley. It probably wont be Lashley. He's neither paid his dues nor has the feel of a heavyweght champ. King Booker has had the title for awhile now and Batista has always given the aura of the champ in waiting. My heart wants to see King Booker retain but my brain says go with Batista. Batista will be the new/old champ.

Undertaker v. Ken Kennedy
I Say: I'm not sure if this match is for Kennedy's US Title. Even if it is I don't see 'Taker picking up the strap. He rarely wrestles and putting a belt on him in pointless. He may get one last World Title run before he retires, but that's the only belt he'll ever have. I really want to see Kennedy win, but it seems like every time he looks like he is starting to get pushed it always stalls out. I think that 'Taker will win. I'm looking for a Kennedy DQ.
David Says: For years internet smarts have claimed that the Undertaker was in the twilight of his career and planned to put over young talent. Meanwhile he's continued to steamroll over everyone in his path. HOWEVER, Undertaker as U.S. champ seems highly unlikely particularly since Undertaker is working a very light schedule. Mr. Kennedy will win but I just can't see him getting a clean pin. Perhaps he will park a Mack truck on Undertakers chest.

Falls Count Anywhere
Rey v. Chavo
I Say: I really have no interest in this feud. I usually fast-forward through Rey/Chavo segments so for all I know this feud could be winding down. Either way I can't see Chavo following-up his Summerslam win with another victory. I'm going with Rey I expect Vicky to get involved somehow. Perhaps she'll turn heel and join Rey. Hopefully then the feud will be over. By 'over' I mean finished and not popular with the crowd.
David Says: This is a feud I know nothing about so I'm going with Mysterio with no commentary.

MVP debuts v. Mystery Opponent
I Say: I always want to pick the mystery opponent to win and I usually do. I'm also usually wrong though. Judging by MVP's Deion Sanders-type ego I am guessing that he's a heel and therefore the mystery opponent will be a face. I think that it will be someone from the stable of babyface jobbers - Scotty 2 Hotty or Funaki. I'm hoping it will be Jimmy Wang Yang though. It would be a creative twist if after all of the phony hype and build-up surrounding MVP that he would struggle and lose. I don't see the WWE going that route though. I have to pick MVP to pick up his first Smackdown victory.
David Says: Mystery opponents always lose and why hype up a newcomer just to job him in his first match. The mysterious 'J' seems to think that someday mystery opponent will win. It just won't be this Sunday.

Gregory Helms v. Matt Hardy
I Say: To be honest I didn't even know that this match was on the card and I'm not even sure if this match is for Helms' Cruiserweight Title, but I'll assume it's not. There are a few givens when it comes to wrestling. Things such as if you want a title shot just attack the champion no matter if you’re a mid-carder or a curtain jerker. Another given is that the champion always loses non-title matches. I'll go with that one and pick Hardy to win.
David Says: Gregory Helms?

Tag Team Championships
London & Kendrick (c) v. K.C. James & Idol Stevens
I Say: James and Stevens are still a bit too new for me to see them picking up the tag titles. Maybe @ Survivor Series or another event down the road, but not here at No Mercy. I always think that London and Kendrick will lose the belts and I'm always wrong. I'll pick them to win. It could come by DQ so James & Stevens don't look too bad though.
David Says: I don't even know who KC James and Idol Stevens are so I'll go with them because what the hey.

Summary
I picked Booker, Undertaker, Rey, MVP, Hardy, and London & Kendrick.
David Picked Batista, Kennedy, Rey, MVP, Helms, and James & Stevens.

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RAW 10.2.2006 - News & Notes

I was expecting the surprise that they advertised for last week that seemed to be cancelled when the power went out. It didn't happen though. Or if it did I didn't notice.

It looks like they replaced Angle with Edge in the Power Is Back video.

The whole storyline with DX was really lame. Especially that western music and tumbleweed. Once again, DX is getting too much airtime. They aren't even in a feud.

Still no McMahons.

How many title shots is Jeff Hardy going to get?

Now that Joey Mercury is on his way back I would have had him cost Nitro the IC title leading into a feud.


Is Snitsky a babyface now?

Cena did his own stunts in his movie!?!? Did he shit fudge and piss gold too?

How many Orton/Carlito matches are we going to have to see? I have nothing against either of them, but how about some variety?

That whole Spirit Squad/costume angle was stupid.

I think that this was the first time that I've seen Nicky wrestle in a singles match.

I've said it before, Mickie is the next Womens Champ.

Yes Shawn, Eric Bischoff was right. DX was nothing more than a ripoff of the nWo. I still liked DX better though.

I hope they keep Bischoff on TV longer.

The Edge/Cena cage match was longer than I expected.

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