Category: RAW Bytes

So Wrestlemania 24 saw Shawn Michaels defeating Ric Flair in what ended up being Flair’s “retirement” match. The night after on RAW, Ric Flair got a glowing tribute when they brought back the old Horsemen – Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, JJ Dillion, even Tully Blanchard – as well as some other folks who weren’t under contract with TNA and he got to cut a big speech, he teared up, he expressed his gratitude, and most people figured he’d be back sooner than later.

Then he went to TNA, had a couple bad matches, and never wrestled again… so much for the happy retirement.

Not much else worth noting here. Jericho beats CM Punk the night after he won MITB, there’s a Santino Marella vs. Maria Kanellis match that’s not worth watching, and a couple promos here and there. That’s all I can recall.

Yeah… stuff happens on this show.

It’s probably not the most elaborate thing, but this was one of those shows where stuff happens and none of it stuck. This was the night after the Battle Of The Billionaires and Vince got his head shaved… which makes him wear a fedora that led him to winning the ECW title over Bobby Lashley at the next PPV. Also Shawn and Cena were tag champs and had a match at Mania that Cena won to boos, and then Shawn turned on Cena and they lost the belts to the Hardys in a battle royal…

Yeah, that’s all I got. Sorry.

So what a difference a year makes. John Cena went from beloved champion to hated fellow in roundabout fashion. And when HHH is unable to sway the crowd into cheering for the chosen one, we’ve got a situation that would continue on for DECADES.

In any event, there’s a nice opening segment with Cena, Hunter, and Edge; some nice barbs here and there about perfect Mania streaks not being in the main event and such. This exchange results in a handicap match with HHH and Edge teaming up against Cena and McSon-In-Law wins, of course.

In other news, the Spirit Squad (a male cheerleader group that you’re supposed to hate in 2006, but would’ve been babyfaces in 2020) beat KANE and the FUCKING BIG SHOW for the Tag-Team titles in a big upset. Chavo Guerrero “quits” after losing a match against Shelton Benjamin – but he’d eventually show up on Smackdown to fuck with Rey Mysterio… that’s loads of fun right there. Shane and Vince challenged Shawn Michaels and GOD to a match… no, not a wrestler named GOD, but the actual Almighty himself… but not Lashley… this is so fucking stupid.

There’s actually some fun stuff on here and after a couple dull years, we have a good RAW after Mania. Things are supposed to be looking up because this is when things are supposed to get really, really good in WWE.

I sure hope so.

So… Batista beat McSon-In-Law for the World title.

Despite this, he and McSon-In-Law would headline TWO MORE PPVs in 2005 before Batista was eventually shipped off to Smackdown. This is evident when the guy starting the show is NOT your new World Champion, but rather McSon-In-Law. In fact, the only time your NEW WORLD CHAMPION shows up on TV is in a main event match with Randy Orton that ends up going nowhere. In fact, I barely remember the match.

Yeah, this was another show where nothing of note happened and everything was quickly forgotten in a blur. There’s a thing with Steve Austin in it, there’s a pretty entertaining Edge vs. CB match in there, and a really short Trish Stratus match with whatsherface… but that’s about it and I’ve had to struggle with this knowledge.

A meh outing… not feeling these shows.

So… the night before this show was Wrestlemania 20… featuring a main event World title match that we don’t talk about anymore… because it features someone of dubious reputation and stuff.

But honestly, this was a nothing show. There was a really good segment between McSon-In-Law and [REDACTED] to open the show, a bunch of nothing happening stuff in between that would’ve meant more if I were watching these weekly, and a solid tag-team main between [REDACTED] and HBK going over Evolution.

I say “We Don’t Talk About This One” in the title bar because it’s the night after Mania 20 and the night [REDACTED] won the title in an emotional end to the show that I can’t watch anymore, but the truth is there’s nothing to talk about and that’s why we don’t talk about this one.

Maybe next year’s show will be better.

Yep.

Oh, yes, kids. We’re diving into the McSon-In-Law years for this one.

Wrestlemania XIX was an interesting little thing. It saw Stone Cold Steve Austin have his last match ever, it saw Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon beat the shit out of each other, Chris Jericho pretty much resuscitating Shawn Michaels’ career, and Brock Lesnar defeating Kurt Angle to win back the WWE Championship that he was screwed out of months prior.

Oh… and McSon-In-Law retained his Big Gold Belt by pinning Booker T, who had been laying in the ring for five years after getting hit with a Pedigree…

I don’t want to watch this show… but I must… or not… fuck it, let’s do it…

Continue reading “RAW After Mania (March 31st, 2003) – Austin out. Goldberg In. Yaaaooohh wait…”

So three notable things happened on this show… let’s blow through them quickly.

The show opened with Hollywood Hogan getting a three-minute ovation without getting a word in. I’m not sure if that worked for him, but he’ll take it. With Canada openly embracing Hogan, the Rock shows up to encourage him to ditch the nWo colors and Hogan does just that… and that’s all it takes, brother. Nash and Hall aren’t too happy and they haz match after. Point is, this would kick of the Hulk Hogan nostalgia run where he’d get a brief run with the Undisputed title (because that works for him, brutha) and then losing a whole bunch to a lot of guys before going away because that didn’t work for him, brutha.

The other piece of significant business was that this was the show that introduced the world to a young beefcake who manhandled the Hardys after a match of sorts. It’s not a big deal, but this individual would make a name for himself not only in WWE, but in the UFC world as well. You might’ve heard of the guy; his name is Brock Lesnar.

On a lesser scale, the last piece of business was the announcement that the WWF would have a brand extension, where the big o’ WWF roster would be split into RAW Superstars and Smackdown Superstars. It all began here.

So a significant show in some ways, but as a viewing experience, it’s alright for the most part.

Oy… it’s that show.

Wrestlemania X-Seven has been touted as one of (if not THE) greatest Wrestlemania card of all time. It had top to bottom great matches, all the big stars, some exciting moments, and was the first stadium show in a good long while… and then Steve Austin turned heel in the main event and that began the downward spiral of the McMahon sports entertainment empire.

Continue reading “RAW After Mania (April 2nd, 2001): It All Started Here”

Yep.

Wrestlemania 2000 (their branding, not mine) was a peculiar little show and not a particularly good one. It was perhaps most notable for its main event; a four-corners elimination match for the WWF Championship with a McMahon in every corner that saw reigning WWF Champion HHH become the first heel (bad guy) to walk out of ‘Mania with the championship. To send the crowd home happy, Rock Rockbottomed Steph and gave her a People’s Elbow.

Continue reading “RAW After Mania (April 3rd, 2000)- After A Bad Mania”

It’s been a good long while since we did these and after the past couple months, I needed a break from anything wrestling-related. Fortunately, a lot of these were in the can and ready to go. So the plan going forward is to continue these until the 2012 edition, which is the final two-hour edition of RAW and the end of our journey. I’m not sitting through 3-hour RAWs again.

Anyway, on with the show…

Continue reading “RAW After Mania (March 29th, 1999) – A Thing That Happened”