Reactions to Raw

Last night's Raw came on the heels of the news of the WWE suspensions. Faced with potential disaster and fallout, the WWE obviously had to scramble just a bit in terms of how it would work this show and upcoming shows. Two things stood out:1) the Vince McMahon illegitimate child storyline; and 2) how they handled 3 wrestlers who are rumored to be suspended, as far as their Raw status.

1) Vince's paternity suit/child - Many wrestling rumor sites and fans all were in agreement that Mr. Kennedy would most likely be the son of Vince McMahon. It made sense due to his last name being Vince's middle name. It also made sense because it could make for some great storylines. However, on last night's Raw they threw us for a loop, with a lawyer appearing on behalf of the woman suing Vince. He claimed DNA tests say Kennedy is not the son and the clue he left us with was "things are starting to look up". That immediately made me think Great Khali or other taller wrestlers, like Snitsky, Kane or Undertaker even. I wouldn't discount Randy Orton, or perhaps someone who wasn't standing around the ring like Stephanie said. WWE may have quickly changed up the story too based on the fact Mr. Kennedy was among the names on the rumored suspension list. Either way it was a pleasant surprise to see so many thrown for this loop and not know what to expect.

2) Three suspended wresters - Almost half of the rumored names of suspended wrestlers are on the Raw roster. Last night, 3 of those rumored names seemed to be worked out of the show through injury angles. Umaga was completely decimated by Triple H in classic Game fashion. That is only interesting in the fact that Umaga is usually the one dominating. Second, we saw Sandman beat up an already injured Santino Marella (also rumored as suspended) with his Singapore Cane. Finally, we saw John Cena attack GM William Regal and put him in the STFU, causing Vince to replace Regal with Coach as temporary GM. Two other names mentioned as rumored suspended wrestlers, Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy both made appearances (Orton via sattelite).

I think another approach could have been taken in WWE fashion, and that is to actually have Vince suspend the wrestlers on the show. He could have been angry and on the warpath based on his family being present to confront him. The stress gets to him and the 3 names mentioned; Marella, Umaga and Regal happen to do something that sets Vince off. He suspends them on the spot, along with a few extra guys who don't wrestle as much, just to make it more interesting, if they weren't actually suspended. It would be part truth, part mockery which is often what WWE is famous for, making fun of itself and its critics.