Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw was the first to take place in Baltimore in three years. The show had some good storyline advancement, but the serious moments were nearly derailed by ludicrous attempts at comedy.
Chris Jericho’s work tonight was an excellent summary of WWE booking. His opening soliloquy against D-Generation X was inspired, especially when he pointed out their lack of success as a tag team. Since Shawn Michaels and Triple H have been joined at the hip lately, it’s easy to forget that they have only been a real tag team for three years. Jericho and Big Show work really well together, and they have made the tag team belts relevant again with their subtle, focused promo style.
All the heat Jericho generated in the beginning of the evening was derailed by a segment with guest host Verne Troyer. Troyer shook hands with Big Show, but ignored Jericho’s presence. When Jericho stormed off after the snub, he came off as a petulant child instead of a credible heel.
Randy Orton's savage beatdown of Kofi Kingston was the highlight of the evening. Orton’s work is hit or miss, but he was firing on all cylinders tonight. His DDT from the top turnbuckle was a terrifying mixture of quickness and brutality. Kingston’s head bounced off the canvas with a sickening thud. Orton put the cherry on the cake by staring at Kingston as the physicians helped him out of the ring. He resembled a Hitchcock villain.
Elsewhere on Raw:
• Maryse and Jillian Hall defeated Melina and Gail Kim
• Sheamus destroyed Santino Marella: Sheamus’ monster push continues unabated. He’s being thrown into the main even scene too early. The crowd isn’t buying it.
• Mark Henry defeated The Miz
• Triple H defeated Chris Jericho
Next week, Chris Jericho takes on D-Generation X in a handicap match.
Comments