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LOOKING AT A "WILL THERE BE ANYTHING LEFT OF JEFF HARDY BY THE TIME THE RUMBLE GETS HERE" EDITION OF RAW

By Dave Scherer on 2008-01-15 12:03:04

Jeff Hardy has easily been the highlight of Raw in 2008.  In addition to his improvement behind the microphone and his ability to step up to the top role, the guy has been the most compelling thing on the show on a weekly basis.  And, that was before he did two of the most insane spots you will ever see.

Last week, he saved Raw with his great match and Whisper In The Wind off of the top of the cage.  This week, the show was pretty much beyond salvation by the time he had his match but he still managed to leave us with one of the most amazing moments that Raw has ever seen as he did his Swanton Bomb from somewhere just south of the moon.  As soon as he backdropped Randy Orton into the padding (and for the record I am 100% in favor of them using said padding) it was just a matter of "how high will he go".  As it turned out, the answer was "pretty damn high!"  It was almost poetic watching him flip through the air and land in the box.  It was truly a visual that will stay in my memory for a long time to come.  The way that they sold it after the fact was compelling TV as well.

As I said above, there was a lot on the show that I either didn't care for or that bored me in a big way (see JBL and his neverending promo).  There were also a few moments mixed in that were very well done.  Overall though, I came out of the show thinking that the only part of the Royal Rumble that really had me excited was the WWE Title match.  Now, I just hope that Hardy can make it until the 27th.

The Angles: 

  • The Randy Orton-Jeff Hardy face off was cool.  Adding the IC belt stip was different and added some heat to storyline, at least until Orton showed the world he didn't care at all about a secondary title.  As mentioned about, the post match stuff was fantastic.
  • The whole Vince-Horny angle has just gotten ridiculously creepy.  It seems like Vince takes a lot of pleasure in bullying the little guy, whether he's in-character or not.  It has gotten to the point that I have stopped even trying to figure out what the point of the segments are because there just isn't any.  Even if you liked the Battle Royal segment, there wasn't any logic to it at all.  That is my problem with this whole scenario, it just doesn't make sense and doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
  • Since they reportedly have a new set coming next week anyway, I loved that they had the H destroy the TitanTron.  It was cool to see it go out with a bang.  It's just a shame that the tron is a screen rather than an actual monitor because seeing that smash would have been a site to see.  It also probably would have been as dangerous as hell. 
  • On the other hand, the backstage bit with Vince and H was just really forced.  It is exactly what is wrong with the whole "we make movies" deal.  Given their history, that exchange would have never happened between those two.  But there they are, obviously reading lines in a totally unrealistic fashion.
  • For the second week in a row, JBL took about 90 minutes to do what should have been done in 2.  His promo was painful to listen to and ridiculously long.  I was nodding off by the end of it.  And all the pyro?  We get that he's Vince's boy and all but it's like putting perfume on a pig.  Four rounds of explosives later and he is still boring old JBL.  It's a shame too because was never this dull on Smackdown.  I don't know what has happened to him but he should try and neuter it immediately.  Doing your job in slow motion is never a good thing.
  • The main event wasn't a match but it sure did set up two cool spots.  It was easily the best part of the show and Jeff is just totally insane.

The Matches:  

  • The opener wasn't bad for a ladies match.  It wasn't good either, but it wasn't as awful as it could have been.  One thing that was abundantly clear here was that the only face that can hang with Beth Phoenix is Mickie James.  Maria and Ashley?  Uh, no.  I am downright scared to think that Maria will get the Mania Women's Title match just because she's willing to strip nekkid for Playboy.  That match better be kept to about three minutes.
  • Shawn Michaels vs. Trevor Murdoch was a good TV match.  With Triple H already out (at least at this point), I didn't think there was any way we wouldn't see Shawn in the Rumble so there wasn't much drama to it.  Boy, Murdoch has lost a lot of weight.  He now needs to add some muscle tone because it's fine to not have any when your gimmick is to be dumpy but when it's not, you need to buff up a bit (and by that I mean normal gym work, nothing more).
  • Triple H vs. Snitsky?  Well, like the fans in attendance, the big guy bored me and when he was in charge, I was falling asleep.  Snitsky is just so dull that every time he comes onto my TV, I feel my eyes closing.  The fans feel the same way because they never react to him but Vince likes him and keeps pushing him.  
  • Until Finlay came out and attacked Khali, the mini Rumble didn't make much sense to me.  Vince wants to scare Horny by making him think he will have to fight a bunch of big guys (which he has to do at the Rumble by the way).  Then, he sends out midgets for a joke.  Then, Khali comes out and the joke's over.  I won't even try and make sense of this segment.  Then. Finlay came out and that particular part of it was pretty cool.  But, in the end it sure did make the actual Rumble seem insignificant.  I don't get how it entices anyone to buy the PPV when we just see five midgets do the match.
  • Then, after wasting so much time, they gave us an afterthought match with Ric Flair and William Regal.  I think I sneezed and it was over that quick.

What To Make Sure And Watch If You DVR'd The Show: 

  • I would watch the end, obviously.  Also, Finlay making the save for Horny was cool.  I would say the Triple H-Titantron bit was worth a look see but now that you know about it, it probably wouldn't be that effective.  Other than that, enjoy the 85 or so minutes I just saved you.

Rhetorical And Unanswered Questions:

  • Damn, wasn't that Whisper In The Wind from the top last week just as amazing the second time around?
  • Did Jeff Hardy really refer to himself in the third person?
  • Did the opening segment, ever so briefly, mean that Randy Orton is the only other guy in WWE who actually wants the IC Title?
  • How funny was JR in talking about Ashley's "unique" ring attire?
  • Was that his way of saying "she looks like a fetish model" or what?
  • Did you really believe that Willie Regal would be able to end Ric Flair's career?
  • If Triple H has the power we know he has, why couldn't he get out of doing a match with Snitsky?
  • Wasn't Shawn Michaels right on the money when he said there is no reason for him to have to qualify for The Royal Rumble?
  • Is anyone else hoping that the same Ken Kennedy who showed up last time does the same next week for his match against Michaels?
  • When JR said we have "seen Ric Flair in the last few weeks...." did he forget that it's been more like every few weeks?
  • Why would Horny believe Vince when he said that he is proud of him, or when he told him anything for that matter?
  • Is anyone, and I mean ANYONE, looking forward to seeing Snitsky in HD?
  • Did it shock you that HHH got the Pedigree in on Big Gene after all?
  • And hell, can't even his biggest critic admit that he deserved to do so against that big slug?
  • Did JR purposely mispronounce Terrell Owens' first name?
  • And, will TO cry about it when he finds out?
  • How funny was it that the fans kept popping the balloons while JBL was talking?
  • And, wasn't that a lot more interesting that the babble that JBL was spewing?
  • When JBL said that Jericho should have never come back, wasn't it like the pot calling the kettle black?
  • But, was Jericho also thinking, "The guy's right?"
  • How can JBL be somewhat entertaining as an announcer and so boring doing promos?
  • Jeez, how much freakin' pyro do they need to set off for the guy before they realize that no one cares about him?
  • Wasn't the worst part of JBL's pyro that we couldn't see Lilian announce the next match?
  • Didn't you just know that the real Khali would come out when his music played?
  • Did you notice how many of his lines Vinnie Mac muffed on the show?
  • Ok, they made us sit through all the crap on this show, Ric Flair and Willie Regal finally hit the ring and then they have the balls to GO TO A COMMERCIAL?
  • And, with Hardy-Orton still waiting no less?
  • Did we really need a video recap of the events that led up to a match that hadn't even started by 11 p.m.?
  • When Orton got himself DQ'd, didn't it just prove that no one wants the IC belt?
  • When they said they were happy that Jeff wasn't going to jump on Orton from the stage, were JR and Lawler the only two people in the world that didn't know Jeff was going to do some insane spot?
  • If the refs really wanted to stop him, why didn't they just move Orton?

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