The WWE Monday Night Raw
guest host concept has not been a priority the last few months. It either hasn't
existed or has been poorly executed.
Much of this has to do with WWE wanting to
faze it out, after what has been a very smart and successful business
decision.
As a fan of the guest host concept, I will
miss it once it leaves for good.
Monday, I was reminded why I love the guest
host concept.
I didn't have high hopes going in for
Florence Henderson (pictured above), better known as Carol Brady, but she had great material to
work with and really hit a home run.
Let's review:
Florence
Henderson:
1. Brady Bunch squares. REACT: Very
well-written segment setting up the match later.
2. Canned laughter segment. REACT: Awesome
segment with Santino Marella getting the canned laughter and William Regal
getting no canned laughter.
3. Florence slaps Regal over "The Patridge
Family" comment. REACT: Wow. One of the announcers saying later that this was
40-plus years of pent-up frustration was hilarious.
4. Gilligan? REACT: One of the announcers
asked if he was the new general manager. That was funny.
5. Guest ring announcer. REACT: Florence
was superb here. "America's Favorite Mom" didn't butcher any of the eight
names.
6. Announcers Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler
discuss their "Brady Bunch" favorites. REACT: Understandable. The "Where's
Alice?" line was funny.
7. "Feeling groovy." REACT: Florence was
funny here.
8. The Santino Bunch beats The Regal Bunch.
REACT: Awesome match concept. Florence wearing Regal's jacket was humorous. I was stunned to see Doink the Clown involved, and
him being in the ring at the same time as The Great Khali was funny. Nice use of
the squirt gun, too.
9. "He's no Mike Brady." REACT: Florence
kissing Khali was a surprise. Florence really went all out.
The angles:
1. John Cena and Sheamus. REACT: Cena
warning Sheamus was a good way to start the show. I do wonder if Cena got some
extra cabbage for his "Lucky Charms" plug.
2. GM shines. REACT: Good to see the
mystery GM put a 90-day suspension threat into the main event of Cena vs. the
Nexus 6. The GM also gave Eve a title shot against Alicia Fox for
Sunday.
3. Wade Barrett thanks Chris Jericho, who
is proud of Barrett. REACT: Strange. Almost makes me think Jericho is involved
with the Nexus 7.
4. Nexus 6 beats down Yoshi Tatsu. REACT: A
little strange, but he said he was Cena's friend.
5. Ted DiBiase (with Maryse) said he and
the briefcase are the "most powerful couple." John Morrison comes out and
translates Maryse's French. REACT: Funny, I thought Triple H and Stephanie
McMahon held that "title." All kidding aside, a strong promo by DiBiase. I
thought Morrison's "the French don't take showers" comment was funny. High marks
for this segment and fresh feud.
6. Nexus 6 beats down John Morrison. REACT:
Better executed than the Tatsu beatdown.
7. The Miz promo. REACT: Very well done. I
was hoping he would mention LeBron James (like the announcer did, saying
Cleveland's Miz was upset about it), but it wasn't the right time.
8. GM interrupts The Miz's "Awesome" talk.
REACT: Funny.
9. "What" chants. REACT: Fans still think
the GM is Stone Cold Steve Austin.
10. "Just when you think you have the
answers, I change the questions. REACT: Another GM tease, this time with it
being Rowdy Roddy Piper.
11. Summerslam 1995 clip with Razor Ramon.
REACT: Wow.
12. 2009 Extreme Rules clip with Jeff
Hardy. REACT: Double wow.
13. Edge thanks Chris Jericho. REACT:
Strong "the fun truly begins" promo.
14. Nexus 6 beats down Evan Bourne. REACT:
Fine, but is anyone going to be healthy for Sunday?
15. Sheamus runs off to look for Cena.
REACT: Very funny, but this weakened his credibility.
The other
matches:
1. Divas Champion Alicia Fox beats Gail
Kim. REACT: Very smart to have Alicia win here, as she needed a "W." Commentator
Jerry Lawler made good points when he said Alicia was more confident, arrogant
and had better moves. I thought her ax-kick finish was poorly executed. On the
bright side, Eve got some microphone time at ringside. She was well-spoken, and
I think she is a lock to win Sunday.
2. The Usos/Tamina beat The Hart
Dynasty/Natalya. REACT: Tyson Kidd executed some great moves. Strong match, with
a pretty strong finish.
3. Edge beats Randy Orton. REACT: Awesome
match on paper. Back-and-forth match really picked up at the end, with Jericho
and Bourne running in. Orton's RKO on Bourne as Bourne was coming off the rope
for his Shooting Star Press was one of the best live television moves I've ever
seen. This ending really pushed Sunday's match.
4. United States Champion The Miz and Mark
Henry is a no-contest. REACT: Strong ladder push here also, with Henry taking an
impressive push into the GM tower and taking garbage all over him.
5. Nexus 6 beats Cena. REACT: Right team
won here. I thought Cena should have tried harder to prevent tags and taunt
Nexus 6 more to try to get them to run into the ring. Barrett had a strong boot
move. Justin Gabriel's finish remains the best Nexus finisher. Cena was sure cut
open, and the use of chairs surprised me. I was glad to see Sheamus help out,
but it smells like a swerve.
Raw
analysis:
Awesome show. Great build and
push heading into Sunday's PPV. Florence Henderson was awesome. There was little
negativity.
Raw grade:
A.
THURSDAY'S TNA
WRESTLING SHOW
All I will say, since it was
taped Monday, is to watch it. REACT: Why? Kevin Nash and ECW, for
starters.
LATEST HEADLINES AND
MY REACTS
WWE
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
to likely have a DVD and an autobiography. REACT: He would be a good
read.
The Playboy Cyber Club to feature
four-year-old photos of Diva Maryse. REACT: It will be interesting to see the
reaction (depush, etc.) to this.
Jerry Lawler suing Cory Maclin for rights
to Memphis Wrestling video tape library. REACT: Interesting lawsuit. It looks
like Lawler has the edge.
WWE reportedly owns rights to Bryan
Danielson's American Dragon gimmick. REACT: I would think the Bryan Danielson
name would have more name value now.
The Manchester Evening News reports
Shane McMahon is with group that gave a multi-million dollar investment boost to
the UK's International Sports Management. REACT: As this
group represents sports stars, I'm not sure McMahon's
intentions.
"Satan's Prison" Elimination Chamber DVD.
REACT: Title doesn't sound "PG" to me.
TNA Wrestling
Mick Foley reportedly at Monday's tapings.
REACT: Foley being a part of the ECW invasion story line interests me. That is,
assuming that angle ever goes somewhere.
Dixie Carter holds talent meeting Monday.
She stresses the need to tighten up in-ring work and said wrestlers are spoiled
with a pre-taped and later edited show. REACT: As you know, I hate non-live
televised shows, but such is life. Sounds like a smart motivational push by
Dixie to me, even if sources said the wrestlers were upset with her
comments.
Impact on July 8 does a 1.14 rating, its
highest mark in awhile. This while up against LeBron James. REACT: Improvement
is good.
Lucha Libre Wrestling on
Friday
An ad aired during Raw for Mexican
wrestling. It debuts at 10 p.m. Friday on MTV2. REACT: I may have to DVR the
first show.
Also
Jimmy Hart reportedly working with Chicago
independent wrestlers to get them a cable television deal. REACT: Hart is a
mastermind for the business, and this might work.
