~Last week on Raw, there was loads of Backlash hype, "Hillary Clinton" and "Barack Obama" got destroyed by Umaga and Raw General Manager William Regal won the King of the Ring Tournament.
-The brand spanking new WWE champion, Triple H, comes down to the ring and announces that the "Age of Orton" is over.
-The former champ, Randy Orton, cuts HHH's celebration short and comes down to the ring. Orton tells the new champ that he is going to use his rematch clause at WWE's next PPV, Judgment Day. Eventually, Orton changes his mind and says he wants his rematch that night.
-WWE Women's Champion, Mickie James, Maria, Ashley, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly & Cherry beat Beth Phoenix, Victoria, Natalya, Melina, Jillian & Layla in a Backlash rematch.
-JBL runs over Robbie McAllister aka the guy who got caught at the TNA show in March. JBL calls out John Cena after the match.
-Paul London & Brian Kendrick defeat Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.
-Paul Birchill & Katie Lea beat Super Crazy in a 2-on-1 intergender handicap.
-Raw GM William Regal is officially coronated as King of the Ring after winning the tournament on Raw last week. He says that since he is Raw GM and King of the Ring, he is now the most powerful man in WWE.
-The Highlight Reel is up next and host, Chris Jericho, presents Shawn Michaels with the "Best Actor in Sports Entertainment" award for his "performance" at Backlash.
-Triple H and Randy Orton have their WWE Title rematch but halfway through the match, Raw GM William Regal goes to the production crew and says he felt disrespected by the WWE fans during his coronation, so he tells them to take the show off the air. So the show suddenly ends without a conclusion to the HHH/Orton match.
I thought that ending was just crazy. It was a good cliffhanger and I'm actually excited to see how this plays out next week.
Poor, poor Robbie McAllister.
I really wish Randy Orton was still WWE champion. This isn't because I think HHH sucks as champ but I was really getting into the whole "Age of Orton" thing and I felt like as soon as it was introduced, the "Age of Orton" ended and he lost the belt.
I'm a big fan of Kennedy and I have high hopes for his feud with William Regal. I'm also still pretty skeptical of having William Regal as King of the Ring but he is a solid talent so maybe he'll grow on me.
(Pics from WWE.com) ~This week's episode of Raw is a "special" 3 hour edition featuring the return of the King of the Ring Tournament and a "special" appearance from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.
-The show starts with WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho, getting a win over WWE United States Champion, MVP, in a KOTR first round match.
-"Mr. Money in the Bank" CM Punk beats Matt Hardy in a KOTR first round match.
-JBL says he's gonna win the WWE title at Backlash in his match against WWE Champion, Randy Orton, Triple H and John Cena.
-The Great Khali gets disqualified from his KOTR first round match and that allows Finlay to advance in the tournament.
-Raw General Manager, William Regal, gets the final spot in the KOTR semifinals after beating Hornswoggle.
It's announced that the semifinal matches will be Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk and Finlay vs. William Regal.
-Shawn Michaels and Batista have a quick little staredown before their match at Backlash this Sunday.
-Hillary Clinton appears in a pre-recorded message, calling herself "Hill-Rod" [ha ha] and says she can "take a hit for the American people".
-Carlito beats WWE World Tag Team Champion, Hardcore Holly in a non-tournament match.
-Hardcore Holly and his tag partner, Cody Rhodes, beat down Carlito and Santino Marella after the match.
Triple H says he's gonna leave Backlash with the WWE Title around his waist.
-CM Punk beats Chris Jericho in a KOTR semifinal match.
-Barack Obama speaks next and he asks the crowd if they "smell what Barack is cooking?" [ha ha].
-William Regal defeats Finlay to earn the final spot in the KOTR finals.
-John McCain talks to the crowd now and says he's "the man" and that it'll be "game over" come November [ha ha].
-John Cena says the WWE title is going to be going home with him after Backlash.
-"Barack Obama" and "Hillary Clinton" have a match but...
-Umaga, who must be a Republican, comes down to the ring and beats them both down.
-A celebration ceremony in honor of Mickie James winning the WWE Women's Title last week is crashed by Beth Phoenix, the former champion, and a bunch of other haters.
-Everybody starts kung-fu fighting.
-William freakin' Regal defeats CM Punk to win the 2008 King of the Ring Tournament.
-WWE Champion, Randy Orton, Edge, JBL & Chavo Guerrero beat John Cena, Triple H, Kane and World Heavyweight Champion, The Undertaker in an eight man tag team match to close out the show.
Man, I was feelin' that tournament after the first two matches. I think Jericho, Punk, Hardy and MVP are all solid picks for the KOTR. Finlay, ok. But The Great Khali? Hornswoggle? and why William Regal? What about Shelton Benjamin, I know he's not doing anything. Umaga, maybe? I would have put Big Show in the tournament way before Khali. Aside from that, I thought the matches were overall, pretty solid but having William Regal win just ruined it for me because winners of the King of the Ring usually go on to become WWE champion. To me, it makes no sense to put the WWE title on Raw GM William Regal. On the flipside, like I said the matches were all pretty good.
Eventhough I'm not happy that Regal won the tournament, he does use a brutal looking submission finisher called the "Regal Stretch".
The Great Khali had a "oh sh...." look on his face when the Big Show came out, which was awesome to see.
WWE simulated a match between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. I thought it was pretty funny.
I am probably in the minority, but I actually enjoyed the promos by the Presidental candidates and it's a pleasant surprise to know that they were even willing to appear on WWE television.
I thought the whole Clinton vs. Obama segment was pretty funny to me. The Bill Clinton lookalike stole the show, in my opinion.
~The show starts with JBL getting in Raw General Manager, William Regal's face and lets him know that he is pissed that his one-on-one match with WWE champion, Randy Orton at Backlash has been changed to a four-way match including Triple H and John Cena. Regal's not having it, tells JBL to deal with it and announces that he'll have a match with Triple H later that night.
-Shawn Michaels comes out and talks about his feud with Batista, who is still pissed that Michaels retired Ric Flair at Wrestlemania. WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho randomly decides to come out and pester Michaels.
-Things don't end well for Jericho.
-It's announced that the King of the Ring tournament will be making its return next week's special 3 hour edition of Raw. YES!
-Carlito & Santino Marella defeat Brian Kendrick & Paul London and become the new #1 contenders for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. YES!
-Mickie James beats Beth Phoenix to win the WWE Women's Title. YES!
-GM Regal announces that Chris Jericho will be the special guest referee for the Shawn Michaels vs. Batista match at Backlash.
-JTG beats Trevor Murdoch.
-WWE Champion, Randy Orton, defeats GM William Regal in a non-title match.
-Chris Jericho cheats to successfully defends his title against Umaga by putting his feet on the ropes to get the pin.
-Paul Burchill bumrushes Hacksaw Jim Duggan and steps on the back of his head, slamming his face into the ring mat.
-Triple H and JBL were trying to have a match, until Randy Orton runs into the ring and messes everything up. Orton and JBL beat down HHH.
-Then, JBL changes his mind, lays out everybody and poses with the WWE title.
The King of the Ring is an eight man single-elimination tournament. It was originally an annual WWE tradition but for some reason they stopped holding the tournament as frequently. The last time they held the KotR was in 2006 and it was won by Booker T (who was in WWE at the time). I've always been a big fan of the King of the Ring and I can't wait to see who's in it.
Carlito hit an awesome backstabber on Paul London. London sold it like it was death.
WOW! Mickie James winning the Women's Title came out of n-o-w-h-e-r-e. Even the announcers sold it like her win was the biggest shocker in the world. James is a solid wrestler and I think it's great that she's getting another run with the title especially after she was completely forgotten at Wrestlemania in favor of "Bunnymania".
The Age of Orton continues!!! I am digging the sudden finishes in Orton's matches lately. He'll be getting completely handled and then out of nowhere he'll hit the RKO and picks up the win. I think it's great.
Umaga got some promo time. I don't know what he said but it sounded like he meant business.
Poor Hacksaw Jim Duggan, I think it's time you pull a "Ric Flair" and retire.
4/7 WWE Raw Results (Pics from WWE.com) ~This episode of Raw starts with the brand's General Manager, William Regal, already in the ring. He announces that Raw's main event for the next WWE PPV event, Backlash, will be WWE Champion, Randy Orton, defending his belt against JBL. Aww hell no.
-Both opponents come down to the ring and JBL tries to play nice.
-Triple H doesn't like Regal's announcement, he decides to come down to the ring and throws his name in the hat for a title shot. GM Regal tells HHH that if he wants to be in the main event at Bashlash, he'll have to beat JBL & Randy Orton in a 2-on-1 handicap match. So, if HHH wins the match, the WWE title match at Backlash will be Randy Orton vs. JBL vs. HHH.
-Umaga demolishes Val Venis.
-Mickie James (!) & Ashley beat Melina & Jillian.
-Brian Kendrick & Paul London continue to rack up wins. This week, they beat Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch.
-Triple H defeats Randy Orton & JBL and as a result is added to the WWE title match at Backlash.
-However, John Cena doesn't seem to happy with this and he comes down to the ring. Cena says he holds victories over HHH, Orton and JBL, so he also wants a title shot. GM Regal says Cena can be added to the match if he can beat JBL & Triple H in a 2-on-1 handicap match.
-Santino Marella & Carlito pick up a surprising win over the WWE Tag Team Champions, Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes in a non-title match. Damn, didn't they also lose last week?
-Cryme Tyme have a Wrestlemania clearance sale
-WWE Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix beats Maria in a non-title match.
-Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel segment takes place next and the guests will be Shawn Michaels and Batista. When the two come face to face, Batista once again whines about Michaels ending Ric Flair's career at Wrestlemania. Jericho plays the instigator. Eventually, Michaels punks out Batista and tells him if he really is mad about it, he needs to do something about it. Batista says he already did.
-GM Regal announces backstage that Batista will have a match with Shawn Michaels at Backlash.
-Randy Orton tells GM Regal that he needs to be treated with more respect. Regal gets mad, for some reason, and tells Orton that he will have a match with him next week. Ok.
-John Cena beats JBL & HHH and is added to the WWE title match at Backlash. So it's gonna be Randy Orton vs. JBL vs. Triple H vs. John Cena.
It's a week later and I still think the "Age of Orton" is a cool name.
Come on! Another multi-man WWE title match?
Umaga just killed Val Venis with his Samoan spike finisher. I've also been a fan of the whole unstable, unstoppable, wild monster gimmick and I think Umaga plays that role extremely well. Hopefully, he gets a bigger role soon.
It was good seeing Mickie James back on Raw. She's one of the better female wrestlers on the WWE roster but she's been kind of lost in the shuffle due to Bunnymania and Maria posing for Playboy.
I'm still bothered by how WWE really expects fans to forget that Brian Kendrick walked out on Paul London a few weeks back. Just who did Paul London piss off, because week after week, he just gets completely handled in the ring, then his partner looks like superman and picks up the win. Also, notice how Raw's ring announcer, Lillian Garcia, accidently announces Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch as the winners of the match.
The Batista/Shawn Michaels match will be interesting because Michaels is a great wrestler, Batista is so-so at best, so I guess their match would end up somewhere in between. Since Michaels made Ric Flair look good in their match, I'm expecting him to make Batista look like pure gold in their match.
~The show starts with CM Punk winning a really solid, back and forth match against WWE Tag Team Champion, The Miz.
-Colin Delaney, fresh off that April Fools joke last week, asks ECW General Manager, Armando Estrada for another chance to earn an ECW contract. Estrada says he'll get a contract if he can beat his friend, Tommy Dreamer, but if Dreamer loses, then Dreamer is fired.
-ECW Champion, Kane, and Chavo Guerrero have a contract signing for the ECW title match at Backlash. Chavo says at Backlash, he's gonna have someone watching his back.
-Out comes this dude in a suit and he starts beating on Kane. Chavo and the dude in the suit lay out Kane.
-Elijah Burke beats Nunzio.
-Kofi Kingston remains undefeated with a win over Domino.
-LAYLA EL makes an appearance and tells Eve Torres that if she sees her again, there are gonna be problems. That's right!
-Tommy Dreamer looks out for number one and keeps his job with a win over Colin Delaney. Delaney remains without an ECW contract.
WWE ran a commercial inviting Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton to have a wrestling match on Raw. Ha ha.
Kofi Kingston really isn't that bad and I find him to be solid in the ring, but he's just winning just to win and there seems to be no purpose. Hopefully he gets something significant to do soon.
Layla El sighting
It's ok Tommy Dreamer. If I were you, I also would have beat my friend senseless instead of losing my job.
The guy in the suit that attacked Kane is a guy named Justin LaRouche, he's supposedly been in the WWE developmental system for a while. This is the first time I've ever heard of the guy.
Wednesday Wrestler Spotlight
~This week's Wednesday Wrestler Spotlight is on this guy: TNA's Petey Williams
I'm gonna be honest. There's only one reason why I look forward to matches with Petey Williams in them and it's because of this:
And that reason is the Canadian Destroyer, the greatest wrestling move EVER~!
I never get tired of seeing it.
You know what? I think I might just fill my entire spotlight on Petey Williams with clips of the Canadian Destroyer.
That's not too bad of an idea, what else can I say about Petey Williams?
I know he's Canadian and he has a finishing move called the Canadian Destroyer.
