WWE Raw
February 5, 2007

The road to Wrestlemania 23 continues. Tonight, The Undertaker makes
a decision regarding which champion he faces! Will he pick WWE
Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Batista, or ECW
Champion Bobby Lashley? The seemingly obvious answer is Batista.

Without any opening music, we head straight to the arena where the
music of The Undertaker is playing. The Undertaker takes his sweet
time getting to the ring, as usual. Before he can say anything, he
is joined by John Cena. It is worth mentioning that Cena is carrying
his WWE title belt, but not the World Tag title belt he won last
week with Shawn Michaels. With nothing said yet, Bobby Lashley joins
the party. They need to do some work packaging Lashley, as his
entrance music and video are pretty generic. And finally, Batista
comes out too, dressed in his wrestling attire and not one of those
pimping suits he is known for.

All three champions stand before The Undertaker, eagerly awaiting
his decision. He takes a moment to stare each champ in the eyes. It
is a bit refreshing that no words have been said yet, this entire
segment has been built around actions. And no words need to be said,
as Undertaker stops in front of Batista and makes the "cutting your
throat" gesture. Batista responds by holding up his championship
belt, and we have our Wrestlemania main event! This brings out Shawn
Michaels, big mouth and all. HBK once again tosses his name in to
face Cena at Wrestlemania. This brings out Randy "Suckbag" Orton,
and he wants to face Cena too, but he's not asking, he's demanding.
To complete the puzzle, Edge joins the fiesta. Jim Ross says "these
are interesting times." Well said, Jim. Edge believes he doesn't
need to ask permission for a title match, and he wants a piece of
Cena as well. It is time for some match making, as Vince McMahon
joins and challenges Cena too. I'm just kidding about that last
part, I'm just trying to see if anyone is actually reading this.

Vince points out that no one is challenging Bobby Lashley, and
claims it is because Lashley is the "best champion." Vince is
waiting for someone from Raw to make a challenge, and Lashley will
defend the ECW title belt tonight. Vince then makes a triple threat
match between Orton, Edge, and HBK to determine who faces Cena at
Wrestlemania! That is a hell of a main event. The crowd disperses,
except for Taker and Batista. They stare each other down, before
Taker catches Batista off guard with a chokeslam! This was a good
opening segment, and the lack of dialogue through the first part of
it was different, refreshing, and creative.

After the break, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler speculate over the
opening segment.

Carlito (with Torrie Wilson) and Cryme Tyme vs. Chris Masters and
the World's Greatest Tag Team
Raw is mid-card! Last week, TWGTT gave Cryme Tyme their first loss.
A three on three brawl starts the match, before it settles into JTG
and Shelton Benjamin as the legal men. JTG gets Lou Thesz press in,
and corners Benjamin. Benjamin fights back, and tags in Haas. JTG
fights back, but gets caught in a belly to belly suplex. Haas gets a
near fall in, and tags in Masters. Masters goes straight for the
upper back area on JTG, already preparing him for the Master Lock.
Tag is made to Haas, and JTG is the established face in peril before
the match even hits the two minute mark. Tag is made to Carlito, who
cleans house on the dastardly heels. Carlito hits a double
springboard elbow on the WGTT, but almost gets caught in the Master
Lock. Shad saves Carlito from Masters, and Carlito is left alone
with Charlie Haas. Carlito gets a roll up, but Benjamin gets a
blockbuster, and allows Haas to cover Carlito for the victory at
3:02. Everyone played their parts well, but this was too short to
amount to anything worthwhile, ½*.
Winners: Chris Masters and the World's Greatest Tag Team

After the break, we are treated to a look back at Donald Trump
dumping money on the fans last week during Vince's "Fan Appreciation
Night." We then join Vince hanging out with The Coach backstage.
They are joined by Kenny Dykstra, who wants to face Lashley for the
ECW title tonight and Vince approves. The former leader of a group
of male cheerleaders might be the next to represent Extreme
Championship Wrestling? Kenny leaves, and Coach hands Vince a letter
from Donald Trump. Vince reads it out loud, and we discover that
Trump will be appearing on Raw in person next week. Trump has a
business proposal that will change Vince's life forever. Coach wants
to have security ban Trump from the building, but Vince loves the
idea of having two billionaires in a WWE ring for the first time
ever, and hints that he wants Trump to join the "Kiss My Ass" club.
What great use of Trump.

Elsewhere, Maria is standing by with Ric Flair. Flair puts over the
Undertaker/Batista match. He also puts over the triple threat match
tonight, which is strange considering two of the participants have
repeatedly tried to kill him these past few months. But tonight,
Flair wants to beat Jeff Hardy for a chance to wrestle him for the
Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania.

Somewhere else, Melina is hanging out with Candice Michelle, who is
all happy about how her ads ran several times during the Super Bowl
last night. Nitro comes in and promises to protect her from Super
Crazy. This could be Melina's night.

After a break, we have Balls Mahoney in the ring. Coach comes out
and introduces the ECW original. Coach announces that Vince will be
taking care of the ECW originals tomorrow night on ECW. But tonight,
Balls must face Umaga!

Umaga vs. Balls Mahoney
Balls and Umaga exchange shots, with Umaga getting the upper hand.
Umaga chokes Mahoney on the ropes and drapes him over the apron.
Umaga climbs the turnbuckle and leaps off on Mahoney. Umaga hits a
Samoan drop. Mahoney is placed sitting in the corner, and gets the
running ass shot to the head. Umaga then hits the Samoan Spike and
gets the win at 1:53. Great, they make a jobber out of an ECW
original right as they are starting an angle where the ECW originals
rebel against Vince? Sounds sadly typical, DUD. This match put me in
a really bad mood.
Winner: Umaga

The WWE Rewind takes a look back on a cat fight between Mickie James
and Melina, which also included Super Crazy backing up Mickie.

Johnny Nitro (with Melina) vs. Super Crazy (with Mickie James)
Nitro dominates early with some kicks, punches, and an uppercut.
Nitro hits a neck breaker and tries to get a cover at the 35 second
mark. Nitro whips, Crazy, but he leaps off the turnbuckle into a
roll up. Nitro regains control and slams Crazy for another cover
attempt. This goes straight into a rest hold. Super Crazy escapes,
but Nitro gets a sunset flip roll-up, but Super Crazy hits a
surprise drop kick. Melina makes a distraction, and Nitro gets
another roll up for a close near fall. Super Crazy meanwhile gets a
back breaker and scoop slam in and heads to the top rope. Nitro
knocks Crazy down and goes for a back superplex. Crazy knocks him
down and gets a moonsault! This is enough to get Super Crazy the win
at 3:01! This was another good match that was too short to really
get going, but both men looked good and got some fun spots in, *1/4.
I really like the Super Crazy push.
Winner: Super Crazy

WWE Women's Championship:
Mickie James © (with Super Crazy) vs. Melina (with Johnny Nitro)
Melina tackles Mickie to start things off. They exchange shots and
go straight for the hair. They separate as a nice "Mickie" chant can
be heard from the crowd. They exchange hammerlocks before Melina
goes for the leg. They separate again, and the match restarts.
Melina gets some nice kicks in, but Mickie comes back with
a "modified" monkey flip. Melina runs into the arms of Nitro for
comfort, tricking Mickie into walking into a neck breaker. Melina
kicks Mickie right in the face and gets a near fall. Melina
continues her assault, using Mickie's hair to assist her submission
holds. Mickie gets in a snapmare, and then plants Melina face first
onto the mat. Melina is still in this, as the two divas return to
exchanging shots. Mickie repeatedly slams Melina head first to the
mat. Super Crazy stops Nitro from interfering, giving Mickie a
chance to get another near fall in. Melina rakes the eyes, but
Mickie gets another kick in. Melina tosses Mickie to ringside.
Mickie goes for a sunset flip off the top, but Melina counters into
a cover. The ref sees Melina pulling on the ropes for leverage, and
Mickie reverses the momentum for a cover and the win at 4:40! This
was an action packed affair that did not let up for a single second,
though a couple spots looked botched, *3/4.
Winner and still Women's Champion: Mickie James

Backstage, John Cena visits Shawn Michaels, who is suspicious that
Cena is trying to be insincere. Cena reminds him that they are still
the World Tag Team champs. The point of this segment is lost on me.

Raw is on Thursday next week. That is bad timing for Donald Trump's
in person debut, if you ask me.

Jeff Hardy vs. Ric Flair
If Flair wins this match, he will get a shot at Hardy's
Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania 23. The stipulation
should add some intrigue to this. They tie up and Hardy quickly
knocks Flair down, but applauds him. How very respectful. Flair
shoves Hardy, and gets slapped across the face. Flair chops Hardy
into the corner. Hardy fights back, but Flair begins centering his
attacks on the supposedly injured knee of Hardy. Flair twists the
knee, as he is likely readying Hardy for the figure four. Flair gets
tired of this, and resorts to stomping on the knee. Flair corners
Hardy and twists the knee into the ropes. This is broken, and Flair
gets a chop in. Hardy falls forward, and Flair continues twisting
the knee, but Hardy leaps up on his good knee and hits an enziguri.
Hardy gets a modified jaw breaker in and then a back body drop.
Hardy "fights through the pain" to continue the offense, and gets
the Whisp of the Wind in. Hardy follows up with the Twist of Fate,
but climbs up top instead of going for the cover. Hardy misses the
swanton bomb, and appears to be dead. Flair goes back to killing
Hardy's knee and shows off for the crowd. Flair goes for the Figure
Four, but Hardy surprises Flair with a roll up and gets the surprise
win at 5:46! This was an enjoyable little match, **. This means no
title shot for Flair.
Winner: Jeff Hardy

After the match, Hardy and Flair embrace. How classy.

Backstage, Todd Grisham is standing by with Batista. He asks Batista
for comments on what happened earlier with The Undertaker. Batista
is not too worried, but promises payback for the chokeslam and
promises to retain the title at Wrestlemania. Batista doesn't have a
problem teaming with Undertaker at No Way Out either. I don't know
why people don't give Batista crap for his lack of interview skills.

ECW World Championship:
Bobby Lashley © vs. Kenny Dykstra
Lillian Garcia does in ring introductions to keep up the illusion
that this is a main event match. Lashley targets the leg right away,
but Kenny escapes into the ropes. They tie up and push each other
into the corner. They break, and Lashley shoves Kenny and then
punches him so hard he falls right over the top rope. Lashley drags
Kenny back into the ring and shoulder thrusts him into the corner.
Lashley tries to slam Kenny, but Kenny holds onto the ropes for dear
life. Lashley dumps Kenny over the ropes again and pursues him, but
Kenny gets a drop kick in on the entrance ramp. Kenny presses
Lashley's head into the steel ramp and throws him back into the
ring. Kenny gets some token offense in, as Lashley sells the attack
from ringside. Kenny gets a cover in, but it's not even close. Kenny
gets a jumping elbow in, and tries a cover. That doesn't work, so
it's rest hold time, in the form of a side headlock. Kenny needs to
stop studying Randy Orton matches. Lashley fights out, but it turns
into a standing sleeper by Kenny. Kenny escapes a back suplex
reversal, but gets grounded with a clothesline. Kenny soon gets a
boot into Lashley's face, but suffers a T-bone suplex! Kenny comes
back, drop kicking Lashley to ringside. We head to a commercial
break, with Kenny retaining the advantage.

After the break, the match continues with Kenny and Lashley resting
in a front headlock. The crowd is taking a nap, and Kenny is still
in control. Lashley manages to escape, but Kenny remains in control
with some punches and goes back to the rest hold. There is
a "boring" chant, but it ends as Lashley regains momentum and hits a
series of impact moves on Kenny, including a stalled vertical
suplex. Lashley goes for the spear, but Kenny gets a boot up. It
doesn't matter, Lashley gets his military press slam in for the win
at 10:05! This match had its moments, but it was too rest heavy, ½*.
Winner and still ECW World Champion: Bobby Lashley

Backstage, Orton and Edge are having a lover's quarrel. They won't
be working as a team tonight as they both want to face Cena at
Wrestlemania, but they agree that they don't want Shawn Michaels to
win it either.

Elsewhere, Carlito and Torrie are on their way to party, but they
bump into Flair. Flair is disgusted that Carlito is going to party
even though he lost his match and won't be staying to see how the
triple threat match turns out. Flair then goes old man crazy on
Carlito, telling him off for not taking the business seriously.
Flair accuses Carlito of having no passion or guts. Flair is
disgusted that Carlito is "taking his spot." This was quite the
passionate promo by Flair, perhaps he will be turning heel after
all.

The WWE Slam of the Week takes a look back on Cena and HBK winning
the World Tag Team Championship from Rated RKO last week. Yes, it
was very exciting. I can't help but predict that Cena and HBK will
drop the titles on their first defense, hopefully to Haas and
Benjamin.

#1 Contender match:
Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels is still using the DX music. How about that, he is a
one man stable now. The match starts quickly, with Orton and Edge
double teaming HBK. Edge gets a hard Irish whip on HBK into the
turnbuckles, leaving him and Orton standing tall. HBK ducks a double
clothesline and hits a flying double clothesline himself. HBK knocks
down Edge and throws Orton through the ropes. HBK hits a scoop slam
on Edge, and heads to the top rope. Orton knocks him down. The
unload HBK from the ring, and now Orton and Edge have no choice but
to wrestle each other. They talk trash as we head to a commercial
break.

After the break, there is a bizarre situation where all three men
were strangling each other. Orton gets dumped over the ropes to the
floor, leaving Edge and HBK alone. Orton tries to reenter, but gets
kicked into the announce table. HBK and Edge continue to duke it out
uninterrupted. Edge takes control with a kick to the head and soon
goes for the cover. Edge gets a scoop slam in and heads to the top
rope. HBK follows Edge to the top and goes for the superplex. Edge
knocks him down, but HBK quickly knocks Edge off his feet. Orton is
back, gets an inverted neck breaker in on Shawn Michaels, and gets a
near fall. Orton stomps away on HBK. Orton is at his best in triple
threat matches, since he doesn't get many chances for rest holds.
Orton hits a couple of uppercuts and drop kick into a cover attempt.
Orton hits a couple more uppercuts, but gets surprised by a
backslide cover attempt. Orton kicks out and hits the RKO. Edge
interrupts the cover attempt. Edge and Orton get into a slapping
contest, but Edge offers a hand shake. Orton accepts, but as soon as
they let go they unleash into a brawl. Orton goes for the RKO, but
Edge reverses and soon misses a spear and hits the turnbuckle. Edge
comes back with a flying crossbody, and the mid-air collision with
Orton puts both of them down. Forgotten, Shawn Michaels is back up
and climbs to the top. HBK gets the elbow drop on Edge, but can't
capitalize. HBK signals the Sweet Chin Music, as both Orton and Edge
try to stand up. Edge ducks the super kick, but Orton blocks it.
Edge goes to spear HBK, but HBK dodges and Orton is speared! This is
enough to get HBK the victory at 12:25 to get the title shot against
Cena at Wrestlemania! This was a solid main event, though the
Edge/Orton battle did not click the way I hoped it would. Still, the
finish was perfect to set up the Orton/Edge feud, while keeping
everyone involved strong, **3/4.
Winner: Shawn Michaels

After the match, John Cena enters the ring for a stare down with
Shawn Michaels. For some reason, Batista comes back out. He is
joined by The Undertaker. Taker stands nose to nose with Batista,
but they both turn their heads to HBK and Cena in the ring. Before
they can concentrate on each other at Wrestlemania, they have to go
through Cena and HBK at No Way Out.

Final Thoughts: This was a good Raw. Most everything clicked and
Wrestlemania is shaping up to be quite a good event. I really hated
the burial of Balls Mahoney, and the ECW title match was boring as
hell, but there ends my complaints. Overall, I felt the actual
wrestling was better than last week, as Mickie/Melina and
Hardy/Flair were both strong efforts and the main event was very
solid. I was also very happy to see Flair unleash his fury on
Carlito, as this could be the beginning of a great new character for
Flair, as the veteran who is disgusted with the younger guys.

Thumbs up.