WWEv Weekly 2008 - RAW, ECW, iMPACT!, SmackDown: WEEK 6

Texas turmoil
February 4, 2008

It's often said that everything is bigger in Texas. That adage will certainly hold true when Raw sweeps into the state's capital of Austin Monday night.

The tremors from John Cena's surprise return at Royal Rumble are still being felt. After shaking things up last week by striking the first blow against Randy Orton, the former WWE Champion shows no signs of relenting. For Orton, the man responsible for putting Cena on the shelf, the idea of his WWE Championship run being jeopardized must be unsettling. Can Cena's ferocity really be deterred until the two face off in a title match at No Way Out? And just how far is Orton willing to go to hang on to his most prized possession?

There's also the matter of Jeff Hardy, who made it perfectly clear he has no intention of turning tail and running after having come so close to WWE gold. Just how he will make his presence felt is yet to be seen, especially since he will be one of six competitors in the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out. And how will the rest of the Superstars involved in the Chamber - Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, JBL and Umaga - seek to get an advantage with an opportunity to face the WWE Champion at WrestleMania at stake?

And with another frustratingly close loss to Women's Champion Beth Phoenix, Mickie James appears to be at her boiling point. What will it take for the Diva to finally score a victory over The Glamazon? And is she prepared to do whatever it takes?

To find out the answers to these questions, tune in to Raw live 9/8 CT on the USA Network.

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Party crasher
February 5, 2008

CM Punk's fire has been relit. After defeating Elijah Burke, Punk got a bit of revenge, crashing Chavo Guerrero's Championship Fiesta on ECW. After smacking Chavo over the head with a mariachi guitar, the Straightedge Superstar grabbed Chavo's newly-won ECW Championship and boldly stood over him. (Read more…) Punk has ECW gold set in his eyes again, but what will it take for him to reclaim it? (WATCH)

Colin Delaney returned to the ECW ring for a sixth time, this time being defeated in a Handicap Match by WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison. After his latest beatdown, ECW Original Tommy Dreamer came to help Delaney out of the ring. Has the youngster finally caught a break - and a found an ally - in Dreamer? (WATCH)

Also on Tuesday night, Shelton Benjamin took a giant Kane boot to the face, then walked away from the ring, with Kane winning by count-out. Has ECW's Gold Standard finally found his match in the Land of the Extreme? Is Kane finally someone who can "stop him now"?

Find out the answers to all of these questions and more on the next ECW on Sci Fi, broadcast in HDTV, Tuesday at 10/9 CT. Also, be sure to catch ECW in its entirety every week on WWE.com, available from Wednesday to the following Monday afternoon.

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PREVIEW FOR THURSDAY'S "IMPACT!" ON SPIKE TV – THE FINAL COUNTDOWN TO AGAINST ALL ODDS
By Bill Banks

Next week, TNA Wrestling returns to SpikeTV with two hours of Total Nonstop Action with the final countdown to the February 10 "Against All Odds" Pay-Per-View event!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roJLxbGP_Aw

The below is a preview of what you will see on the huge broadcast:

- Will there be a reunion between Christian Cage and Tomko? This past week, Cage helped Tomko beat reigning TNA World Champion Kurt Angle - and Cage said after that "Tomko wants to do what's best for Tomko...well so do I!". TNAwrestling.com has learned that Cage was telling people after the broadcast that based on what happened, he hopes Tomko will join him this Thursday night in the ring so that they can possibly solve their issues. The question is, will Tomko agree to hear Cage out?

- Speaking of Christian Cage, "The Instant C_lassic" will face off against the maniacal Judas Mesias this Thursday night!

- In addition, sources say that TNA Management Director Jim Cornette will once again attempt to present Samoa Joe his new TNA contract for signing!

- Also this Thursday night, the X Division Championship will be on the line as Johnny Devine defends against Homicide of the Latin American Xchange. What if Homicide wins the X gold this Thursday? Instead of Lethal and the Machineguns stopping Team 3D and Devine's mission to destroy the X Division, will it be Homicide putting an end to Devine's title reign before the Pay-Per-View?

- Plus, in a battle of two of the planet's most talented high-flying superstars, it will be "The Phenomenal" AJ S_tyles taking on New Japan's Tiger Mask!

- Kaz will battle his nemesis Black Reign in a pole match with Reign's pet rat Misty up for grabs to whoever wins the bout.

- In a non-title TNA Knockouts match, Women's Champion Awesome Kong will face Traci Brooks!

- The Rock N' Rave Infection will face Shark Boy and Curry Man in tag team action

All this and much more this Thursday night on "iMPACT!", including news and updates on the "Against All Odds" Pay-Per-View from Greenville, South Carolina, just says before the epic event!

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Rumble fallout
February 8, 2008

In a Royal Rumble rematch between United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter and Ric Flair, the "Nature Boy" once again emerged victorious, keeping his career alive. However, the win did not come without cost. After Flair won by disqualification, MVP proceeded to repeatedly bash Flair's leg against the ring post, capped off by ramming it against the steel ring stairs. After the brutal assault, the refs had to help Flair walk away from the ring. Later, viewers got a glimpse of Flair in the locker room as he writhed in serious pain from his injury. Stay tuned to WWE.com and SmackDown for an update on Flair's condition, as he prepares to face Mr. Kennedy at No Way Out.

The Rumble also took its toll on SmackDown GM Vickie Guerrero, who was injured while trying to help Edge avoid a Mysterio 619. With an ailing Guerrero absent from SmackDown, the WWE Chairman placed Assistant GM Theodore Long in charge. Long didn't waste any time getting down to business by announcing that six SmackDown Superstars will face off in an Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out. Long then dropped the bombshell that there will be a title rematch between World Heavyweight Champion Edge and Rey Mysterio at No Way Out. The Master of the 619 came very close to dethroning Edge at Royal Rumble. Then, in tag team action on last week's SmackDown, Mysterio & CM Punk defeated Edge & new ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero. Is the ultimate underdog on course to finally end the reign of the Ultimate Opportunist? How will Edge respond to the outcome and Long's announcement?

Last week, the Brothers of Destruction - Undertaker and Kane - teamed up for the first time in six months to defeat behemoths Big Daddy V and Mark Henry. For the second week in a row, Undertaker used a new submission move to draw the blood of his foe. How many men will The Phenom leave in his path to No Way Out?

Michelle McCool literally brought the "smack down" to SmackDown when she slapped Chuck Palumbo in the face, following his "stupid apology" for injuring her the week before in what he claimed was an accident. Palumbo devilishly warned, "Jamie Noble is going to pay the price for you smacking me." Will Palumbo collect on the next SmackDown?

Jesse let the SmackDown fans know that Festus is a brand new man, feeling better than ever - thanks to doctors curing his personality issues. He says next week, the duo will be back, bigger and better than ever.

With Guerrero set to return from her injury this Friday, what will the GM have to say about her assistant's match making? Find out Friday at 8/7 CT on The CW Network.

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On a side note, your's truly will not be at the SmackDown/ECW tapings this week.

It wasn't that bad of a women's match, but anyway I see HBK facing Umaga.

Edit: I guess not.

A freakin arm wrestling contest with Cena and Henry? Is this a joke? I cant think of anything more boring. And having Cena win with his arm is gonna be absolutely ridiculous.SeriousThreat

That's a good point, and now the 6-man is now and ofcourse the Cena match is the last thing even though JR said this is the Main Event, and it isn't.

This really makes me sad. :(

[QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]A freakin arm wrestling contest with Cena and Henry? Is this a joke? I cant think of anything more boring. And having Cena win with his arm is gonna be absolutely ridiculous.wwe4ever_in05

That's a good point, and now the 6-man is now and ofcourse the Cena match is the last thing even though JR said this is the Main Event, and it isn't.

This really makes me sad. :(

Arm wrestling = end up Orton coming out, getting beat down by Cena, then Cena FU'ing Henry to show his might super power.

Arm wrestling = end up Orton coming out, getting beat down by Cena, then Cena FU'ing Henry to show his might super power.

mrgab

EDIT: That was, seriously, like every other wrestling arm-wrestling segment ever.

Arm wrestling = end up Orton coming out, getting beat down by Cena, then Cena FU'ing Henry to show his might super power.

mrgab

Wow that was so mucha surprise.... Top 20 worse Raw finishings.

Wow. Good call.

First time i've watched Cena since his return and his act is already putting me to sleep. How unpredictable. Cena booking at its finest.

Well, that's two straight weeks of what I'd call misses. Considering that these are Post-Rumble Raws, setting up a PPV with two Elimination Chambers and a big time title match that need selling, the first two Raw's on the "Road to Wrestlemania" and the first two Raw's with the return of the biggest star in wrestling right now, with his return being a kinda big part of the misses, I'd call these two weeks really huge misses by the WWE.

On the other hand, did you hear all those boos for John Cena? They have got to turn him heel.

Really hated every part of this RAW. I really thought that they had a great chance of having a good tag match between Londricks and Tino-Lito but that match ended up being just about 2 minutes....

RAW=phail

Really hated every part of this RAW. I really thought that they had a great chance of having a good tag match between Londricks and Tino-Lito but that match ended up being just about 2 minutes....

RAW=phail

-The_Chris-

What I hate is how they are trying to push this "Is Cena's arm fully healed?" storyline. He ran through everyone in the ring at the Royal Rumble as soon as he came in and then won the damn thing. He even stood toe to toe with Triple H and then eliminated him. I don't think there is anything wrong with his arm. (kayfabe-wise, obviously)

They especially better stop this after he F-U'd Mark Henry, or maybe that's the whole reason why they did that.

What I hate is how they are trying to push this "Is Cena's arm fully healed?" storyline. He ran through everyone in the ring at the Royal Rumble as soon as he came in and then won the damn thing. He even stood toe to toe with Triple H and then eliminated him. I don't think there is anything wrong with his arm. (kayfabe-wise, obviously)

They especially better stop this after he F-U'd Mark Henry, or maybe that's the whole reason why they did that.

Rage11

I like where your coming from, and yes Cena is getting this storyline done to him for the reason that WWE has nothing better to do until, Cena get the WWE Championship back, Which is stupid to gim him the WWE Championship, because WWE should of given Jeff Hardy the Championship at the Rumble but, with cena faceing Orton at No Way Out there is no reason else to push Jeff Hardy.

WWE better also have something great in store for ECW tonight, even though that is a long shot for ECW to be great. IMO

For the love of God, please tell me I heard wrong and the object of the match isn't trying to push the other guy into the Gulf of Mexico.

For the love of God, please tell me I heard wrong and the object of the match isn't trying to push the other guy into the Gulf of Mexico.

bulletproofcow

[QUOTE="bulletproofcow"]

For the love of God, please tell me I heard wrong and the object of the match isn't trying to push the other guy into the Gulf of Mexico.

trick_man01

That match is not going to be good unless someone get thrown and it was for the Championship.wwe4ever_in05

[QUOTE="wwe4ever_in05"]That match is not going to be good unless someone get thrown and it was for the Championship.Chicago_Nut

Yes that is true I just could think of anything else to say. :P

But, this match sucked from what I saw of it, the only good part was that Punk won.

wow kelly kelly was half decent of course i havent seen ECW in ages but the womens match which seems to comprised of strippers whove yet to learn how to wrestle except for victoria(why is she on ecw?) was the best match of the show since the morrison match wasnt bad but horribly prediactable which was the fatal downfall of it

and wow gulf of mexico match was worse than it should of been thanks to a bad camera man.

and cena is back and raw is unwatchable how nice to see they are screwing up the road the wrestlemania its not often they do that.

What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.SeriousThreat

wow kelly kelly was half decent of course i havent seen ECW in ages but the womens match which seems to comprised of strippers whove yet to learn how to wrestle except for victoria(why is she on ecw?) was the best match of the show since the morrison match wasnt bad but horribly prediactable which was the fatal downfall of it

and wow gulf of mexico match was worse than it should of been thanks to a bad camera man.

and cena is back and raw is unwatchable how nice to see they are screwing up the road the wrestlemania its not often they do that.

kayne2000

The raeson I was thinking of was because Kenny Dykestra is hurt and Victoria was also on Raw and she one of the last great Women wrestlers from when Trish, Lita, and Molly Holly were still wrestling.

But I think Cena is to blame for throwing Edge into the water, and The Rock too. IMO

[QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.trick_man01

[QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.trick_man01

I didn't see the match, did Punk try to hit Chavo with his car?

Punk got thrown into a car and broke someone glass window, and Chavo got the same thing. Well he got backdrop onto the car. That match was a disaster and the only thing good came out of it was Punk winning. I hope their match at NWO is better than this.

Kelly Kelly have improve quite a bit, and Layla needs help real bad. She can't do squat!

They need to put Kofi Kingston into a rivalry with a known name. I don't want to see him wrestle jobbers. I know it's a way to establish him but c'mon, he need to get into a rivalry with someone. Elijah Burke or Kevin Thorn could be a nice start.

Wow, I just learned that I might even meet some of the wrestlers tonite. *for those who dont know or are too lazy to read page one, I'm going to the Smackdown ECW taping tonite.*LEGOslayer

Provide us with some feedback and spoiler tonight! Have fun!

There was a slight error made by WWE during the arm wrestling segment on RAW. The arm wrestling table was set up sideways. The elbows of the table are supposed to go into the rings with the hand grip off to one side (the left for right handed grapplers). The higher pad is the one that is touched for the win. Check out video of it here.

Source: 411mania.com

[QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.Chicago_Nut

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

There was a slight error made by WWE during the arm wrestling segment on RAW. The arm wrestling table was set up sideways. The elbows of the table are supposed to go into the rings with the hand grip off to one side (the left for right handed grapplers). The higher pad is the one that is touched for the win. Check out video of it here.

Source: 411mania.com

Link256

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.SeriousThreat

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

*POSTED SPOILERS FROM THE SHOW*

ill post pics later if i can

[QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.tman93

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

[QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.Sports-Fan

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

[QUOTE="Sports-Fan"][QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.tman93

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

He;s still booed a lot, and last weeks show was the only one that went up, and that was by .3. This week it kept at athe average .(3.5-3.6) Cena isn't really rasing the ratings much, although I'm not buying the Cena is RAWs biggest problem thing.

[QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="Sports-Fan"][QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.WWEMAN101

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

He;s still booed a lot, and last weeks show was the only one that went up, and that was by .3. This week it kept at athe average .(3.5-3.6) Cena isn't really rasing the ratings much, although I'm not buying the Cena is RAWs biggest problem thing.

[QUOTE="WWEMAN101"][QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="Sports-Fan"][QUOTE="tman93"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]

[QUOTE="Chicago_Nut"][QUOTE="trick_man01"][QUOTE="SeriousThreat"]What... the... F? A "gulf of mexico" match? Worse than TNA.tman93

Not all problems, but in all honesty, and not blind hate... he is arguably Raws biggest problem. Hes just as, if not staler then when he left.

He;s still booed a lot, and last weeks show was the only one that went up, and that was by .3. This week it kept at athe average .(3.5-3.6) Cena isn't really rasing the ratings much, although I'm not buying the Cena is RAWs biggest problem thing.