(Pics from WWE.com)
~Monday night was the 3-hour Raw Wrestlemania Rewind Night, where every match was supposed to be a rematch from a past Wrestlemania event, or something like that, I’ll get into that a little later. Here’s what went down:
-The show starts with Ric Flair coming out and calls out Shawn Michaels. When the “Heartbreak Kid” gets to the ring, Flair tells him that still wants a match with Michaels at Wrestlemania 24 because he wants to wrestle against the best, and Michaels is one of the best. HBK officially agrees to the match and vows that the match will steal the show [personally, my pick is the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but Flair/HBK will come pretty close]. Michaels also announces that he’ll be Flair’s partner on Friday Night Smackdown against Edge, Zach Ryder and Curt Hawkins in a steel cage handicap match.
-The love-fest between HBK and Flair is broken up by WWE Champion, Randy Orton, who is also the night’s acting general manager of Raw. He announces that he’s going to use his power as GM to have Triple H face Kane in a match (from Wrestlemania 15) and John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (the main event from last year, Wrestlemania 23).
-Just like in their match at Wrestlemania 22, Undertaker defeats Mark Henry in a casket match after rolling him in the casket and shutting the lid close.
-Before the match between Finlay and Mr. Kennedy starts, JBL appears on the big screen, accepts Finlay’s challenge for Wrestlemania and then talks trash about Finlay’s son, Hornswoggle. Finlay gets angry and gets himself disqualified in his match with Kennedy. After the match, Finlay continues beating on him. I don’t remember this match on a Wrestlemania event.
-Chris Jericho pins Jeff Hardy to become the new Intercontinental Champion in a rare title switch on Raw. I don’t remember this match ever being on a Wrestlemania either.
-There were some shenanigans that happened in the next segment involving Jillian singing a horrible rendition of “Born in the U.S.A.”, but let’s skip that.
-Triple H wins his match against Kane.
-Melina beats Playboy cover girl, Maria, with some help from Maria’s ex-boyfriend, Santino Marella.
-The “official” weigh-in for the match between Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show at Wrestlemania 24 takes place and a boatload of craziness occurs.
-World Heavyweight Champion, Edge, beats CM Punk, just because.
-The real Raw GM, William Regal, gets in the ring and talks about the Raw vs. Smackdown match at Wrestlemania between Umaga (Raw) and Batista (Smackdown). Umaga comes down to the ring and then Batista follows a little after and the two begin to brawl.
-John Cena and Shawn Michaels were having a pretty good match until Randy Orton came down and attacked Cena causing the match to end in a no-contest. Cena eventually manages to turn the tables and lays Orton.
-Triple H is then shown backstage and reminds everyone that next week, he is in charge as Raw GM. He announces that he’s gonna have Randy Orton and John Cena team up against the whole Raw roster. I wonder how that’s going to turn out.
That promo from Ric Flair was just, wow. He made me believe that he would just die if he didn’t get that match with Shawn Michaels. I don’t know if Flair/HBK is gonna steal the show at ‘Mania (I’ve got my “money”, pun intended, on the Money in the Bank ladder match) but I think their match will be a close second.
WWE has been airing promos getting analysis from prominent figures in Boxing about the Mayweather vs. Big Show match. I think it’s a good touch. They all were probably coached on their responses but I think it adds a little more credibility to their match.
Although I have no idea whether it’s gonna be a wrestling match or a boxing match, I am looking forward to the Mayweather/Big Show match at Wrestlemania. The near brawl between Mayweather’s “posse” and the WWE wrestlers was insane.
What the hell? Why oh why did Finlay have to destroy Kennedy? I know WWE is trying to sell Finlay’s frustration but can’t they have put in someone that doesn’t have some sort of role at Wrestlemania (Kennedy is in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match). Besides that, Finlay completely handled Kennedy.
Jeff Hardy took a crazy fall outside the ring. Even I felt that. That'll be my lasting memory of him for the next two months, more on that in the next section.
WWE Star Suspended for Next 60 Days
According to a report on WWE.com, the now former Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy, has been suspended for 60 days due to violating their Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy.
There is no word on what exactly it was that got Hardy suspended but he has a history of substance abuse.
Hardy's first offense occured in last July and was suspended for 30 days. If he were to pick up a third offense, the policy calls for an automatic termination.
In April 2003, Hardy was fired from the WWE for allegedly refusing to seek help for an existing substance abuse problem. He would eventually return to the WWE in August 2006.
This explains why Hardy lost his belt to Chris Jericho on Raw and he'll definately miss Wrestlemania. Boy, does this guy never learn. Lately, Hardy has been playing a pretty big role on Raw and it seemed like he was maybe just a few months away from being a consistent main eventer.
Just this past January, Hardy headlined the Royal Rumble, one of WWE's major PPVs of the year, in a match against WWE Champion, Randy Orton. Hardy lost the match and many fans were crying foul because they thought he should have won the match and the title. I guess WWE dodged the bullet there.
I'd be surprised if Hardy ever gets a chance to be a major player in the WWE after this.
