Falls Count Anywhere

11-29-07

...where they might confuse me with Bilbo Baggins...

ECW
OK, so I didn’t get to see much wrestling this Thanksgiving. I watched a little bit of ECW on Tuesday after I arrived in Perris, CA and I think that Kenny Dykstra is perfect for ECW where he can work with guys like CM Punk. The two of them had a fine little match. I’m not a big Dykstra fan, but I do like Punk and I have to say that the two worked very well together. I’m hoping they feud a bit on TV while tying whatever the main event for ECW on PPV coils around it.

The secondary feud supporting the primary feud is something they used to do in Old Skool ECW very well and the WWE has done it when they’ve had Paul E. or one of his adepts booking.

They also had Shelton Benjamin debut, which is exactly what he needs. He should be put in with Punk and have an athletic feud over the belt as the only way to rebuilt such a great athlete. I’m glad they recognize that he needs something to make him a star again.

The Layla/Kelly Kelly stuff was awful, but at least Layla is still hot. They had them do a food fight, which is never a good idea…unless you’re on Springer’s Thanksgiving Family episode.

RAW
This week I got to see almost all of RAW. I was sleepy, so I missed some of the end, but what I saw was good and at times great. I have to say that I wasn’t expecting anything nearly as well done as what they gave us for the Flair retirement run, but I am glad to be wrong.

Look at that plumage!

They opened with HHH and Jeff Hardy taking on Umaga and Snitsky. Interesting match, though not all that great. The match was fine, but I didn’t see any reasoning for the way things went. I really love the spinning Sidewalk Slam that Umaga does. Jeff Hardy takes it better than anyone to the point where it looks like he’s been just crushed. I thought that Snitsky was better than normal, and Umaga’s always been a decent worker. HHH gave Umaga the Pedigree and Hardy hit the Swanton for the pin.

They then announced that it would be Hardy vs. HHH at Armageddon. Interesting turn and the two of them did a promo later where H announced that he wouldn’t be Hardy’s friend at the match but his competitor and there was never a partner that HHH didn’t turn on. Great stuff from H. Hardy needs the win because he’s so over right now.

Ric Flair was shown arriving at the arena in a limo and looked kinda worried. After a commercial, Flair came to the ring and gave a talk saying that he knows he can’t wrestle forever. He was very emotional and on a dime he switched to crazy Flair and said he’d never retire. The crowd was into it, but they didn’t give him the giant reaction he gets at times in the Carolinas.

Vince came out and said he could wrestle forever…as long as he wins. One loss and he retires. Randy Orton came out and said that he’d be the one to retire Flair and that they’d do it tonight. Good stuff. They went with a smart angle and I can see the road is going to be interesting.

I’m worried about Cody Rhodes. They’re not really pushing him, and that’s fine, but they put him in a match with Hardcore Holly, Jim Duggan and SuperCrazy against the Highlanders and Cade and Murdoch, and he had nothing to do with the finish. The match was Short and Holly won with the Alabama Slam. I think that move is much better without the spinning.

Kennedy cut a promo on Shawn Michaels mentioning that Shawn ‘lost his smile’ back in 1997 and that Kennedy was gonna beat him. Kennedy’s such a great talent. They really need to build him to Main Event again. I really want to see him as Champ sometime.

Chris Jericho came out and did a promo that was a lot of fun. He mocked Randy Orton, callin’ him dumb, and even used the Cookie Monster as a way to get folks chanting ‘Me Want Title Match’. Santino came out to give him a hard time and Jericho mocked him heavily, saying that he didn’t know his name. Santino isn’t much in the ring, but the guy is a great annoying heel.

Santino attacked Lawler and then had the match with Jericho where he got beat on as Jericho’s introduction back to the ring. Chris’ new finisher is called the Code Breaker and it looks a little like the Go2Sleep. Strong segment.

A legend on his own terms...

They showed Flair with Barry Windham and Arn Anderson backstage. It’s always good to see those guys again. Michaels and Flair talked with Michaels saying that he’s not ready for wrestling without Flair in it.

I was dozing for a bit, not the wrestling's fault at all, but I did see a bit of Kennedy vs. Brian Kendrick which was basically a squash. I woke up to find that Mickie James was taking on Melina. It was a basic match and Mickie hit the Implant DDT for the win. I love Melina, but they sure are burying her but good. They had Beth Phoenix come out and jaw with Mickie, who won the Number One Contendership slot with her win. I wasn’t completely depressed by the match.

We got Ric Flair getting applause as he made his way to the ring and I fell asleep again right after that. I woke up to find the match between Flair and Orton starting. They did a really strong back and forth match with Flair looking really good. The time off when things with the WWE were in the air seems to have done him good, as did the new direction they’re taking him. Flair used the Figure Four which got everyone off of their seats. Orton managed to get out and hit an RKO, but Flair grabbed the ropes. Jericho came out and that gave Flair a little bit of time to give Orton a Low Blow and then roll him up to get the pin and keep his career alive.

If that’s what they’re gonna do with Flair every week, I wanna see it go all the way to Mania.

That’s all for this week! More on Monday!

Chris Garcia