Catching Up Again (Ugh)

Sorry, folks. Been busy yet again the last few weeks. I have some interesting writing projects coming up, so please stay tuned. Hopefully it won't me another f'ng month to update this blog again:

World Wrestling Insanity columns:
The Ultimate Video Game MovieIron Shiek Claims CNN Misquoted Him
Canadian Bulldog's Real-time Raw Coverage (not bad if I say so myself for a first "real-time" Raw attempt)

Club WWI: As though you didn't have enough reasons to become a club member.... this month I interviewed the one, the only HULLLLLLLLLK HOGAN!!! Well, kinda. Also I reviewed XPW: Season One, one of the most confusing wrestling DVD's out there.

DVD's: I recently bought TNA's Year One DVD. Although it's one of their slicker ones to date, it's still a biased, and at times confusing piece of documentary. Let's put it this way: if you've been following the TNA story since 2002, you're not going to learn anything new. If you haven't, you're not getting the full story by watching this. WWE releases have some bias, absolutely, but they don't really ignore key parts of their history (well, unless you count Chris Benoit, I suppose). So very little reference to their NWA roots, not to mention Jerry Jarrett. I mean, Double J Senior did kind of start the company - just saying....

I've also seen XPW (and reviewed it on Club WWI) and The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class, which will be reviewed on World Wrestling Insanity fairly soon. I'm not in any great rush to see the Mysterio, Cena and Michaels ones, so maybe I'm learning to pick and choose what I buy in my old age...

FitnessBlog: 16 workouts during November, and all of them lengthy ones, as opposed to my previous 20-minute jaunts. Feeling a lot better, physically and have lost almost 10 pounds since mid-summer. So, not bad.

Raw's 15th Anniversary: What's not to love? Was easily the best wrestling show (pay-per-view or otherwise) I've seen all year. Not sure if that's more the general state of the game right now or what, but a pretty damn great show from start to finish.

Review: No Country For Old Men: Actually, I'm not going to bother reviewing it. Just don't see it -- trust me on this one, folks. It's not worth it. Yeah, I know - Cohn Brothers and all that. But Fargo this ain't. Just trust me. Lamest. Ending. Ever.

The Office Line Of The Night: Oh, wait, that's right -- no new episodes in the last month because of the fucking writers' strike. Damnit!



Okay, back at ya soon -- or most likely, mid-January. So, uh, happy holidays?

The Jericode Is Cracked

Granted, this was the worst-kept secret ever (EVER!!!), and the build couldn't have been any more predictable, but it was still worth seeing. Jericho seemed legitimately happy to be back, and even if the novelty doesn't last much past Mania, it's great to have him back.

My only complaint? Why on earth did they show him clotheslining the torch guy beforehand? I mean, no one was surprised that he would show up.... but still.... his first appearance on camera should have been on the stage. They did the same thing with Eric Bischoff's debut in 2002, showing him backstage right before they debuted him. Not a huge thing, but something I think they could have constructed a little better. The torch guy could have just disappeared, leading to Y2J's entrance video, ya know?

Catching Up With Canadian Bulldog (Part Deux)

Apologies to the 17 people a day who read this thing for taking, what, two weeks to update it. Things have been busy in the Bulldog's life, what can I say? Here are some updates:

October FitnessBlog: 15 workouts, which is pretty pathetic, though I WAS out of the country for almost a week. I had something of a revelation late last month, though, and have changed my routine a bit.

For the past two years, I have made sure (almost always) to shoot for 4 workouts a week but honestly, a lot of them were half-assed and I got nothing done. A lot of it had to do with timing. Some nights, I'm just getting home at 9 p.m., and other mornings it's a quick effort at 6 a.m. before I leave for work.

I talked to the staff at my gym and they are really pushing the idea that you should do the same nine exercises (different types of nautilus machines) for 20 minutes, 3 times a week, in addition to 5-10 minutes of warming up (which I usually do via some sort of exercycle or stair-climbing machine). I think I can manage three times a week, but a little more intense of a workout. So the overall numbers will slip, I guess, but so long as I stick to this routine, it should be better in the long run.


Reaching Me: Honestly, I rarely check my "Bulldog" emails anymore. Partly it's because my Hotmail address has been infused with dozens and dozens of new spam messages every week (and yes, I am on the maximum spam filter) and partly it's because I just don't have time. I would say if anyone needs to reach me urgently, the place I check most frequently is the World Wrestling Insanity message boards. If you haven't already signed up - I'd definitely encourage it. Otherwise, if you're my "real-life" friends... well, you know where to reach me anyways. But the Hotmail address, use at your own caution.

Breaking News:

WWE Retroactively Suspends Angle For Wellness Violation
The Honky Tonk Man "Sick And Tired" Of Being Typecast

At The Movies: You have to see "Bee Movie". You just absolutely have to. Not only is it a good "kid's movie", but it's one with a lot of appeal for adults as well, particularly if you're into the Seinfeld-esque humor. I haven't enjoyed a kid's movie so much since probably "Toy Story". Also saw "Eastern Promises" the other week, which was alright, and violent enough to keep me happy, but definitely not something I'd rush to go out and see....

Catching Up With Canadian Bulldog

Sorry for the longer-than-normal delay in updates... just been hella busy lately with real life. So where do we start?

September FitnessBlog: I worked out a total of 18 times last month, which seems to be pretty much the average these days. But here's something cool -- my gym has recently changed ownership, and as part of the changes (read: an eventual grab for higher fees) they have a kind of "cycle" program where you cycle through 9 different machines as part of some proven system to help you lose weight, age better, feel better, etc. I've only done the whole loop twice so far, but I think I'm going to stick with it for a while...

Latest "Breaking News": Vince McMahon Chosen As Next James Bond

Latest Audio: Up on Club WWI right now, James Guttman and I talked for almost an HOUR about all things wrestling, including John Cena, who will take his place this weekend at No Mercy, why WWE is having trouble getting new fans, Hornswoggle, save_us.222, Damien Demento, Bubby Bulldog, the Canadian Target Hockey Stores and MUCH more!

Misc. television: If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and watch this week's Rick Mercer Report. I'm not a regular viewer, but I may very well become one, based solely on his comedy bit with embattled media baron Conrad Black.

And just to add a bit of hype, next week's True Wrestling Story is guaranteed to shock and surprise you! Tune in next Tuesday.... if, uh, I get enough time this weekend to work on it.

Happy 2nd Birthday, WWI!

Not to sound TOO self-serving, but I just wanted to wish World Wrestling Insanity a happy second birthday/anniversary/whatever. As someone who's been almost since the start, I have to tip my hat to James Guttman at constantly working on the site and keeping it fresh.

Again, I know this sounds like something of an infomercial, but I check the site daily, and not because I feel obligated to, but because I honestly like the way it's taken shape, and the unique "voice" we now have on the Web.

And while we're playing "Mutual Admiration Society" (tm Gorilla Monsoon), I thought I'd just mention that I was also mentioned in rather glowing terms on WWI's message board today by JG himself:

Of course, I have to point out the Canadian Bulldog too. CB makes me laugh every week whether it's through his column, audio, or email. Like ZAH, I searched him out and was amazed at how funny he was. His style was unlike anything I had read before online and it didn't overdo it like many others. He was a natural and I was really happy when he agreed to join us.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean, S-M-A-R-T!

Yeah, so I totally called Hornswaggle as the McBastard. (This was after I proclaimed it to be Mick Foley, mind you...) Though, in truth, it was The Big Rybowski's arguments that won me over. I posted my thoughts on the WWI forums early on Monday, and was proud to say it played out pretty much as I'd figured it would.

Look, JG was even kind enough to mention this fact in today's Raw Insanity:

Canadian Bulldog was talking about this today on the Insanity Forum. He brought up the fact that Hornswoggle could be the McBastard and then play the role of Vince's Mini-Me. It seemed very plausible, but my concern was that it was much ado about nothing. Why not just have Vinnie get his midget in a box as a gift? It would still give him the mini-me gimmick without losing a potentially good payoff and a chance to elevate a wrestler.

Though one small, niggling little thing: When Stephanie first said that the bastard was a wrestler, didn't she say that it would be somebody around the ring? If so, Hornswaggle wasn't there that night. So I figured they'd say "Oh, he was at ringside alright... UNDER THE RING!" Would have been a nice little bit of continuity.

My pick for the bastard is.....

I've thought quite a bit about this since reading the Raw spoilers on Sunday, and you have to think that whoever this is, this is going to be a big deal. Vince & Co. will have to be able to trust this person to keep their nose clean, so to speak, and they'll have to have something of a track record in carrying the ball.

While Triple H makes a lot of sense on those counts, I don't think it will be him. I'm thinking (and last night reinforced it) that they're eventually going to make public that he and Steph are "still" married, so I'd think that nixes him.

Then I heard the "things are looking up" comment. The natural tendency would be to think of someone tall (Great Khali?) or someone that's in heaven (Eddie?), but I can't come up with any satisfactory candidates on the active roster, at least ones who aren't named "Kennedy".

So how about instead of literally looking up, how about someone who has always "looked up" to Vince McMahon? Looked up to him like a father, perhaps?

Someone like... Mick Foley.

I'm partial to this idea because, other than possibly Rowdy Roddy Piper, Foley is my all-time favorite, but I also think it makes a ton of sense. He's still on the Raw roster (at least according to wwe's own website and the show's opening sequence), he can further the storyline in some really creative ways, and WWE can count on the guy not to screw up. Plus, it eventually furthers the idea of a Foley-Cena feud, which Foley hinted at in his latest book.

Best of all, I'm guessing not a lot of people would expect it, which you've got to think is what WWE wants at this point.

So will Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy also be Mr. McMahon's Bastard Child? Thoughts?

"Bulldog Under Attack"

That was the headline I noticed in the "Canadian Bulldog's Pound" section of the World Wrestling Insanity forums Sunday night. This was a post from someone who had heard my audios criticizing certain websites of their reporting in the Benoit and drug-related coverage.

My position has been simple: this is not about even debating the facts in this case. I'm not qualified to report on what Benoit may or may not have done to his body, what was "acceptable" versus "unacceptable", and who should be shouldering the blame. While I'm a reporter when I'm not wearing the "Bulldog" hat, I'm not a reporter when I write wrestling parody, and I've never pretended to be anything but.

But there are people who consider themselves wrestling media (one site in particular) and the way they've infused "fact" with "opinion" should be appalling to anyone involved with journalism. People read these websites in search of news, but someone's personal agenda. Again, I'm not saying the wellness program WWE has in place isn't flawed; that's not even my point. As I mentioned in one of my audios, if, say, a prominent news anchor was to talk about the scandal of the day, and then mumble "Yeah, bullshit" under his or her breath, it would be akin to poor reporting and conflict of interest. But in the wrestling media, it seems to be a perfectly acceptable practice.

Complete and Utter SummerSlam

Tonight, please join me on World Wrestling Insanity because, for the first time ever (EVER!!!), I will be providing the site with LIVE coverage of SummerSlam.

R.I.P. Crush

Another wrestler dies before his time, and one can only imagine what the implications for the business are going to be....

For my money, Crush was one of the best agile men in the early 90's, along with Vader and Bam Bam Bigelow (how sad is it that two of them have passed on?). But unlike those other two, Crush was much faster and carried himself well in the ring.

I'd heard about "Brian Adams" beforehand in the Apter mags, but it was only when he debuted as the newest member of Demolition that I saw what all the hype was about. That said, he was clearly misused in that team, and WWF set out to right that wrong by giving him a decent singles push.

I'm assuming it was legal troubles that curbed that run because the next time we saw him, he had gone from happy-go-lucky Kona Crush to evil Japanese sympathizer Crush to edgy ex-con Crush with tattoos on his head. Personally, I enjoyed that last gimmick the most and wished they would have run with that for a while, instead of rushing him into the Nation of Domination.

While his nWo and Kronik runs didn't do a lot for me, there are a still a lot of good memories. Particularly I'll remember his angle with Evil Doink, his Intercontinental title match with Shawn Michaels (in which I was SURE he was going to win; instead it ended up being the introduction of Diesel), and the bout with Randy Savage at WrestleMania XX, back when falls count anywhere matches weren't a part of WWF lore.

Rest In Peace, Brian. Shakka brah!

Benoit

It's taken me two days to actually write this, and I'm still not sure I'm going to have a lot to say besides the glaringly obvious.

Chris Benoit, the wrestler, was fantastic, and I still maintain that there will be few better. Will I watch his matches ever again? Definitely. Will I think less of him each time I watch said matches? I have no idea.

As much as it saddens me that Chris Benoit is no longer with us, what's more maddening is what he did in his final hours. It's beyond my comprehension to understand what would lead someone to kill people, let alone your wife and child.

Hearing how he smothered to his son Daniel really hurt, in part because it is just such a fucked-up concept and in part because my own son is almost the same age. I saw my son last night, gave him a big hug, and just thanked my lucky stars that I have such a wonderful child. Not that the two events are in any way inter-related, I'm just saying this is what I've been going through.

And this is not to say Nancy's death isn't just as dreadful; it is. As "Woman", she was one of my first wrestling "crushes" way back when, along with Miss Elizabeth (how sad is that that both of them died so young?) and certainly she was a great manager and performer. Again, I have no idea how someone can do something like this.

Wrestling is no doubt going to be the target of this tragedy and its drug policies. Is that fair? I'm certainly not the one to say that it is or isn't, but in my opinion, I can't see how this situation should be on Vince McMahon's hands.

Even if their drug policy is a sham (debatable), how many other steroid junkies and abusive personalities are there/were there in WWE that never did anything this horrible? Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, The British Bulldogs -- all of these people have admitted to steroid use, and yet, I've never heard murder among any terrible things their "roid rage" may have triggered. I'm not saying their drug policies shouldn't be closely examined (there's no downside in giving it more scrutiny); I just wonder how you can blame steroids or pain pills on what is allegedly pre-meditated murder.

And to me, it all comes back to the wrestlers. They've lost yet another friend, another leader and, in the ring at least, champion. How many more tragedies are they going to have to endure?

R.I.P. Chris, Nancy and Daniel Benoit. Regardless of what I think of Chris, I still pray and hope they have peace in their lives.


(By the way, I wrote a separate piece on whether the media is sensationalizing this tragedy over the WWI message boards. Another reason to join up if you haven't already! And yes, I realize the irony in that last statement.)

I can't believe it....

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=20000


I'll have more to say later. I'm just in shock. I can't believe it.

Vengeance Thoughts

I REALLY liked how everything tied into the common "Night of Champions" theme, and bringing in everyone from Rick Martel to Magnum T.A. was a nice touch. Strangely enough, WWE just put out its "Champions" magazine special and didn't see fit to plug it even once. Still, A for effort -- they're going to have do something every month to distinguish the tri-branded PPV's if they want support for them.

The Hardy Boyz vs. Cade and Murdoch was another in an excellent series between these guys, and while I imagine this was the last one (being that, you know, Matt doesn't even wrestle on Raw), I hope that's not the case. The theme of Matt and Jeff breaking the rules was a new twist on their matches, and it definitely worked. More and more, I'm starting to see Matt as the next Bret Hart (particularly in his match against William Regal the other week); he just needs the right opportunity now.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang was a nice little give-and-take contest. Nothing overly fancy, but it still worked, and JBL's excellent commentary really helped keep the bout in perspective. Although tying the WWE Cruiserweight title to Brian Pillman in WCW DOES seem like a bit of a stretch.

I missed the ring introductions for the ECW Title Match (popcorn run), so I missed exactly what happened with Benoit. You can imagine my disappointment when I saw Johnny Fucking Nitro in there instead. Still, hopefully the "personal issue" with Benoit isn't anything too serious. The match itself was pretty terrible; at least give me a heated contest, given how much Taz had put over the title beforehand. Or have Nitro cheat to win, giving him a bit of an edge until he loses the belt to Benoit. By the way, am I the only one who sees the irony in someone named "Nitro" holding the ECW title? Probably not.

Santino Morella vs. Umaga never really had any chance to develop, though you've got to love the fans cheering for Umaga to go back and squash the guy afterwards.

MVP vs. Ric Flair was perfectly acceptable, and for the record, I'm in the camp of letting Flair do his thing out there for as long as he's willing to. Even at his age, he's still capable of giving the rub to guys like MVP. No, it wasn't a terrific match, but it's still another match MVP can point to on his way up.

Deuce and Domino vs., as JBL called them, The Coffin Dodgers, was quite awful, but at least it was unexpected. I guess. And while I'm all for kayfabing certain things, even in this day and age, would it have really hurt anyone to acknowledge that you had, for the first time ever, father and son fighting each other on PPV? Offhand, I can't even think of another time that's happened (though it probably has). Still, Snuka can't even take a leapfrog anymore, maybe he should go back to the nursing home, brudda.

Edge vs. Batista was easily match of the night for me, and unlike their first two encounters, this one kept things really interesting. Particularly after Teddy Long re-started the match, you started to think Batista had a shot. The false finishes were great, and of course, Edge outsmarted Big Dave to keep his belt in the end. Earlier today, I'd predicted on The W message board that Flair would turn on Batista. Maybe it will be the other way around now? Just a thought....

Candice vs. Melina was the very definition of "meh". Neither of these ladies can touch what Trish (or even Mickie or Lita or Victoria) can do in the ring and it shows, even IF Candice has stepped up her game in recent months.

I was falling asleep towards the end of the Cena Squashes Everyone Else main event, not because it was boring, but because I was getting legitimately tired (I have no idea how I'm typing this now, in fact). Don't get wrong - I love Booker, Foley is one of my all-time faves, and Cena never seems to get his just due from people online. But they were really going through the motions here.

My biggest problem was that I'm once again wondering where they go from here. You could have Orton pin Foley instead, leading to an interesting SummerSlam program. Now, I'm not sure where they're going to go.

Overall, I went 7 for 9 tonight in my predictions (I picked Benoit to win the ECW Title and Orton to win the World title), so it wasn't like it was a shocking event, but could have used a little more enthusiasm.

Lyrics

Earlier today, I recorded a new song on my audio show "Complete and Utter Bulldog" (see Club WWI for full details). Here, then, are the lyrics to my tribute to Mr. McMahon:


Goodbye, Vinnie Mac
Though I never knew you at all
I had your DVD
And LJN wrestling doll

Watched you on the shows
When you'd, shout out with glee
How anything can happen, in
WWE

And it seems to me like you lived your life,
Like an asshole in the wind
Never caring 'bout your workers
Once they got pinned

And I wanted to work for you
But you never did!
You went and hired Viscera
And Crush and Sycho Sid

Goodbye, Vinnie Mac
Your ideas they always hit the mark
At least till "Austin"
Then they kind of jumped the shark

You screwed up "Katie Vick"
And then, "Billy and Chuck"
It led us to believe
That you didn't give a fuck

And it seems to be like you lived your life
Like an asshole in the wind
Never caring 'bout your workers
Once they got pinned

And I wanted to work for you
But you never did!
Instead you hired Viscera
And Crush and Sycho Sid

R.I.P. Sensational Sherri

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=19881


Wow, kind of puts the whole "Vince dies" thing in perspective, doesn't it? Hopefully, they won't sacrifice a proper tribute to Sherri next week simply because it conflicts with the ficticious tribute they'll no doubt be doing for Vince.

Anyways... I saw a shoot interview tape featuring Sherri about two years ago (thanks to kind of a trade I did with Derek Burgan), and her perspective on the business was quite interesting; even her rough times didn't come across as being her all that bitter. In several biographies (Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair), I've read about how she was an exceptional worker and in many ways a pioneer for the current crop of "WWE Divas". Even as a manager, she was infinitely more interesting at ringside than, say, Mr. Fuji.

And then on top of that, you had her honored a year, year and a half ago at the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and she seemed so happy to be there and a part of the business once again.

49 is so young to go; condolences to her entire family.

Best Raw Ever, Worst Ending Ever

Sorry to double up on the "EVER"s, but it was appropriate here.

Honestly, this had to be the best Raw in recent memory, if not of all time (the ECW-WCW double-turn one comes pretty damn close, though, in my eyes, as does the first Austin vs. McMahon match). You had a number of really good matches (Edge-Cena and Carlito-Punk stealing the show, though), you had a decent battle royale that wasn't overly telegraphed, you had every match meaning something, you had some interesting trades (though Raw, predictably, made out like the proverbial bandit), you had SHNITSKY getting over, of all people, you had the prerecorded comments from Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Steve Austin and BRET FUCKING HART (how long is it till he return to PPV now?), you had the live comments from Mick Foley and Rowdy Roddy Piper, you had Krystal.... I mean, what wasn't to love?

Oh, that's right, the ending of the show. Is that a Sopranos tie-in or something (I haven't watched or heard about the final episode, but everyone was saying today it sucked major ass)? Are they actually writing off Mr. McMahon? Or will he end up unscathed in a few months time?

Anyways, it was a dumb, dumb ending, but didn't really affect my love for this show.

DVD Review - "The Most Powerful Families In Wrestling"

WWE has done some incredible things with its insanely huge wrestling video library. This unfortunately, isn't one of them.

Don't get me wrong -- I wasn't expecting this to be of the same quality of some of their biographies (think the ones on Benoit, McMahon, Piper, Road Warriors, Piper, etc.), but I was expecting more than recycled clips from other DVD's, which is what 60 to 70 % of this seemed to be. Not cool.

Speaking of which, Carlito may have been the worst possible host for this thing. Sure, he's a second-generation wrestler and a popular guy, but could not make this thing interesting. He was clearly reading lines from a script, which doesn't suit his character at all. Oddly enough, the section on him and his father has some more candid interviews with Carlito and that part works fine.

Basically, the concept is that they look at wrestling families and what made them important. The usual WWE DVD crew (Eric Bischoff, Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Road Warrior Animal, Brooklyn Brawler, Mean Gene, Gerry Brisco, etc.) comment at various points. The one thing I like is that they use clips from Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Rikishi, and of all people, Christian, and identify them as "former WWE superstars". Weird.

Some of the families have an important history in wrestling (think the Harts, the Funks, the Ortons, the Anoai's, the Von Erichs, the Guerreros, the Rougeaus, and yes, even the McMahons), but when you get to the Snuka family (Jimmy and his son, Deuce of Deuce and Domino fame) and the Lawlers (Jerry and Brian Christopher), you know they're kind of stretching for material.

One part that IS kind of interesting is how they out "fake" families in wrestling, including the Koloffs, the Bushwhackers, the Andersons, Edge & Christian, etc. Nice that they can poke fun at themselves.

The match selection is marginal at best, and to be perfectly honest, I haven't even watched the entire way through. There really aren't a lot of matches I hadn't either seen before or was all that interesting in seeing. Why not Bret vs. Owen Hart, or something that was at least a highly-regarded match, instead of the Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels' Knights, which sucked ass?

Overall, I can't really recommend this, and its honestly one of the more disappointing showings in recent memory.

Saturday Night's Main Event SPOILERS

Read all about right here (thanks mystery guest contributor!!!)

Jeff Jarrett's Wife Loses Battle With Cancer

http://www.pwbts.com/messages/9175.htm

Not much to add, other than to say this is obviously very sad news. I had read somewhere these were the "personal reasons" under which Jeff had taken time off for some time ago. Condolences to the entire Jarrett family...

Judgment Day Thoughts

So without my PPV posse in tow, I headed to the theatre last night to check this one out. However, I did win a prize in the post-show trivia contest: A WWE "One Night Stand" kit, which consisted of a leather pouch with the WWE logo on it (guaranteeing that I will never ACTUALLY use it during a real one-night stand), toothpaste, a comb, mouthwash, etc. I remember the days when you just won DVD's.... not to mention that One Night Stand is in two weeks from now, not tonight.

Anyways, the show was pretty decent, and has to make them feel good about unifying the three brands every month on PPV. Not a lot of time-filler here, and most of the matches got a decent amount of time to tell their story.

Ric Flair vs. Carlito: Obviously, they're still punishing Carlito for his pre-WM comments, but at least Flair was made to look like a legend in one of the cities he starred in decades ago. And the match was actually a good effort on the part of both guys.

Bobby Lashley vs. Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Umaga: Meh, but it was kept really short. I suppose the idea is for Lashley to face Vince now at Not ECW One Night Stand. So from that standpoint, it worked. Just sucks to be Umaga right now, is all.

CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke: This one was surprisingly good, and I'm glad WWE gave so much PPV time to let this one develop. A lot of false finishes there, and yet the right guy definitely won. Now, its just a matter of dissolving ECW and letting Punk go to SmackDown (Burke, too, for that matter).

The Hardyz vs. Cade and Murdoch: I am quickly becoming a Cade and Murdoch fan, and not because of this ultra-lame "respect" angle. They're actually developing into a nice old-school team. Would have liked to see them win, though, so they could have done the blowoff match at the next PPV (and they may still if they do a decent angle tonight on Raw).

Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton: This was more an angle than it was a bonafide match, but it was played out really well. Hell, if Orton is the only credible heel they have left on Raw, might as well make him look like a total dick. And having Shawn Michaels' wife run out was a nice touch.... but it would have made MORE sense had the event been even remotely near where they live, you know?

Batista vs. Edge: I would have rather seen this one end inconclusively, rather than Edge getting a clean pinfall (or at least through Sexual Chocolate-ference), but both these guys put on a decent show. Hell, looking at Batista's last few PPV appearances, he's on quite the streak of being in "better than expected" matches. Oh, and yes -- I did hear Edge saying "EVER!!!" in the pre-match promo. Another point for the Bulldog....

Chris Benoit vs. MVP: Another in a series of fantastic matches between these guys. This was the very definition of Benoit putting young talent over, especially losing in two straight falls. Yet JBL continued to put Benoit over on the mike, which leads me to believe that either he's going to turn heel soon (which is actually overdue) or MVP's turning face. Regardless, though, GREAT match.

John Cena vs. Great Khali: I read some of the message board comments this morning, mostly from people who just saw the result and crapped all over it. But it was a GOOD match. Not in the traditional sense of, say, Benoit-MVP, but for what it was, both guys did their jobs really well. It reminded me of a Hulk Hogan match from the 80's, actually, the way Cena was against overwhelming odds and still came through in the clutch. Also, Khali did NOT suck out there, especially with that one roundhouse kick he delivered. Yeah, so he tapped out at the end. So what? It wasn't like many people were expecting him to win the match, was it? It may have been nicer had Khali won by countout, setting up a rematch (another old Hogan formula), but then you would have all crapped over the rematch. It does look like we're going to have Cena-Orton at SummerSlam ("Two years too late"), but that's more a function of injuries more than anything else.