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LOOKING AT A "STARTING STRONGLY AND ENDING STRONGLY IN HD" EDITION OF RAW

First off, this needs to be said.  WWE in HD, wow.  It was downright awesome.  Any fears that the company had about going to HD should have been alleviated last night when they took one look at how great the picture was.  Sure, some of the guys may have looked a little older but that is something I would trade in a second to get the stunning picture quality that the show delivered.  HD is the wave of the present and now WWE is back on the cutting edge.

As for the show, it started and ended with great segments.  Shawn Michaels and Ken Kennedy had a great match to get things going.  Jeff Hardy kept his amazing roll of momentum going with a great promo segment to end the show.  Hardy has been the MVP of WWE this year.  I never thought he could be as good as he is as an overall character but damn, he showed me otherwise.  My prediction is that Hardy's presence will, at least, stem the recent trend of buyrate drops from the previous year.  

In between those segments was a lot of push for Sunday's PPV, which is exactly what they should have done.  They did all they could to hype the Rumble.  Now, it's up to the paying fans to decide if it was enough.

The Angles:

• Vince wants Randy Orton to shake hands with Jeff Hardy, even if he doesn't mean it.  And, he tells Randy that on national TV.  OK, whatever.  Then, he told Jeff a similar tale, which made as little sense as what he told Orton.  I know they feel that the fans have to ignore the fact that we are watching these skits on TV and give them poetic license but that is hard to do when they are illogical.  Why Vince would want them to shake hands, I don't know and they really didn't do a good job of telling me.  Usually, he's ruthless and loves it when people want to tear each other apart.  I think he just wanted a lot of HD TV time.  But, at least they ended up have the great segment at the end so it was worth it.  Also, you have to give Orton credit for being the foil that allowed Jeff to do his part so well.
• Chris Jericho dropped his cute, smart ass persona and was serious this week, invoking his son's disappointment in him for being a coward.  He delivered the promo very well but I couldn't help thinking about what Buck Woodward said on the No Name Show last week, that Jericho is at his best when he is borderline smarmy and people won't buy him in a serious role.  Given his new look, I don't know that I buy him trying to act like a tough guy and the audience didn't either.
• Santino Marella isn't going to be happy when he finds out that Maria will be posing naked folks.  They started that storyline last night and it should be a lot of fun once he starts voicing his outrage at her giving it all away to the masses.  His line about the cow was good stuff.

The Matches:

• Shawn Michaels obviously knew he was going out in a special match, being in WWE's first ever live HD bout.  As is almost always the case where he is concerned when put in such a position, he went out there and kicked major ass.  That is just what he does.  He and Ken Kennedy had a really good match, breaking in the new era for WWE in grand fashion.  Those two showed that wrestling can air in HD and look really, really good.  In fact, I think an added benefit of HD is that guys will have to work more snugly, which will makes things more realistic.  That is a very good thing.  
• The Glamazon pretty much laid Mickie James out, adding to WWE's longstanding history of people being embarrassed in their home town/state.  Mickie deserves better and hopefully her crying to Maria is the start of a a strong angle for her, where she will actually be able to show how good she is.
• Finlay and Horny squashed The Highlanders.  Damn, it sucks to be them right now.  Those guys get abused on a weekly basis now.  I guess it beats not having a job at all.
• Brian Kendrick beating Umaga to get into the Rumble would have made for a great story.  But, they weren't into telling that story last night.  He got some offense in but in the end, he was left looking at the lights.  The match itself was fun while it lasted and had a lot of sizzle to it.
• Carlito beating Hardcore Holly was a nice TV match which added a bit of drama to their spots in the Rumble.  It got over the "ever man for himself" vibe that will come into play at the PPV.
• Snitsky? Mark Henry?  William Regal?  Did anyone think HHH would lose to them?  Especially when he didn't have another match set up for him at the Rumble?  Nah, me either.  Trips is in.  He will draw 1 or 2 probably.

What to watch if you DVR'd the show:

• Definitely the beginning and the end.  If you have HD, watch it all.  In fact, you can watch it all no matter what.  There isn't anything bad on the show.

Rhetorical and Unanswered Questions:

• Damn, if you didn't see the opening of the show in HD did you want to go out and get it, like yesterday?
• Then again, if you didn't, doesn't that mean you didn't know what you were missing?
• Why would Vince McMahon make two guys that hate each other shake hands?
• I mean, did he really think that it would go smoothly?
• If you were WWE, would you send a forty plus year old guy as the first guy your fans ever saw in HD?
• But seriously, given the way that Shawn can work without calling spots that could be seen on TV, didn't it make perfect sense to send him out there?
• Did you notice the nasty red mark on Michaels' chest at the end of the match?
• And, did it look even more pronounced in HD?
• Did you notice how old Vince looked old in HD?
• And, how big his nose is?
• Was Orton channeling the rest of us when he wondered why Vince would want him to go out and shake Jeff's hand?
• Why would Vince think anyone would buy the fake reasons that Randy Orton would give Jeff for shaking hands when he just told a national TV audience why he was doing it?
• Did they send Mickie James out there for her 900th match against Beth Phoenix because they knew she would get the hometown pop?
• Did we really need to see that close up of HHH in HD?
• Boy, did you notice how old Bob Holly looked next to Brian Kendrick and Cody Rhodes in HD?
• Isn't it time for the Joblanders to brush up their resume when they can't even beat Finlay in what was basically a handicap match?
• Did Vince think that Hardy wasn't watching Raw earlier when he gave the speech to Orton about shaking hands?
• Why is it that Maria isn't a ditz when she is talking to a down-in-the-dumps friend?
• Didn't you just know that they would plug Vinnie Mac's appearance on Donald Trump's show?
• When Jerry Lawler put on the 3D glasses, was I the only one wondering if he was looking for dates?
• Wow, did Carlito really get a win on WWE TV?
• Did it shock anyone that HHH would have to beat three guys to get in the Rumble?
• Would it shock those of you without HD if I told you that Snitsky does indeed look even worse in in the more defined setting?
• Regal as the third opponent to H, really?
• Did you hear the fans boo because they didn't buy it for a second?
• Why would Lawler have to "enjoy Mr. McMahon in HD" when he can just look at the freakin' guy in person?
• If Vince wanted to see Orton and Jeff shake hands so badly, why didn't he stay out at ringside to watch it?

 

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