Raw Revelations: Shaq vs. Big Show
Last night on USA, NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal presided as guest host for WWE Raw. It definitely was the most entertaining and exciting celebrity guest host to fill in on the show so far. As the night kicked off, Shaq was introduced by WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler. Shaq proceeded to walk down to the ring, greeting fans, and tore up a Kobe Bryant poster in the process. Great stuff to start off the show, but it got better. Chris Jericho came out to try to tell Shaq his place as host, but Shaq wasn't having it. The insults began as Shaq called Jericho "Christina". Soon thereafter, Big Show was introduced and arrived to get in Shaq's face. He even jabbed at Shaq saying that he couldn't hit two free throws in a row. Shaq called out Show for a match, but Show backed down saying he didn't want the NBA breathing down his neck. Instead, Shaq booked a match with the tag champs in action against Cryme Tyme, then appointed himself the special guest enforcer.
That tag match was non-title and came later in the night, but it saw a classic Shaq vs. Big Show confrontation on WWE Raw. Show started to annihilate both members of Cryme Tyme in the ring, stomping on them repeatedly, and eventually the ref disqualified him as he was not legal to be in the ring. Soon, Show turned his attention to Shaq, taunting him to get in the ring. The big guy obliged, tearing off his ref uniform shirt and climbing into the ring. Show and Shaq shoved each other a bit, then Show grabbed Shaq around the throat for a chokeslam. Shaq fought back and did the same to Show, so both men had each other's throats. Soon, Cryme Tyme was back in the ring to kick Big Show and break it up. From there, Shaq did a running shoulder block style move to knock Show to the mat and out of the ring. The fans went wild. (See Shaq & Show on YouTube video here)
Other cool stuff from last night included yet another great promo from the Miz, dissing the hometown fans, saying the Wizards lose to any opponents, so the Cavs won't need Shaq to beat them. From there, Miz lost to Cena in a Beat the Clock challenge match, which made Cena the #1 contender for Randy Orton's WWE Title at Summerslam. It was a great match though as Miz tried to outsmart Cena throughout it with various ploys, yet Cena still won. Orton got in the ring to hoist up his title as Cena left the ring. We've got plenty of time leading up to Summerslam to make this interesting. By the way, the only other winner in Beat the Clock was Mark Henry with a time of 6:49 to open the tournament. Jack Swagger lost to Evan Bourne by a surprise pin, Triple H couldn't make his pin before the clock ran out, and MVP had to face a sneaky, returning Chris Masters. Masters prevented MVP from getting back in the ring with a Masterlock. MVP-Masters could make for a great feud, and it was a surprise to see Masters back. I had heard rumors he would be, but still nice to see the Masterpiece, and I'm sure WWE welcomes his talents as a heel on Raw.
About Beat the Clock though; why not include everyone who was in the matches in the challenge? (Carlito, Bourne, Rhodes, Miz, Masters) I mean after all Evan Bourne may have won his match in a quicker time than anyone in the field. Is there a reason the winners should not be included? It's almost as if they are being called "jobbers" by being excluded from it. Strange.
Typical divas match with six divas in action. Maryse was nowhere to be found though, and Gail Kim made a strange blind tag on Mickie to come in and get the win. Wondering if this might be the start of a Gail Kim-Mickie James program for the Divas title? I'd still like to see Kelly Kelly win the divas title as she seems like a good representative, but she may have taken that Torrie Wilson role, hot blonde diva who never gets a title.
The Santino Marella bit with Shaq and Cryme Tyme was definitely better than anything Santino did with ZZ Top last week. Santino was playing Scrabble with Shaq until Cryme Tyme entered. As they started up a "Money, Money" chant, Santino came over with his hat on sideways and started to bust a freestyle rap which included Dikembe Mutombo and Angelina Jolie in it. Not too bad either, although Shaq & Cryme Tyme quickly dismissed him from the scene...
As for Hornswoggle-Chavo, please let's hope that's the last we've seen of that. Chavo is one talented guy, and Hornswoggle is a longtime novelty act. Horney was great when he would sneak out from under the ring to play a part in matches, some surprising comic relief. But now, he's beaten Chavo in 4 matches. Last night's blindfold match had the feel of some sort of circus clown antics you'd see from Ringling Brothers. Add in to that, Hornswoggle falling flat on his back after a dunk attempt on a small hoop backstage. Not sure if that was the plan. Please WWE, no more circus antics...
That tag match was non-title and came later in the night, but it saw a classic Shaq vs. Big Show confrontation on WWE Raw. Show started to annihilate both members of Cryme Tyme in the ring, stomping on them repeatedly, and eventually the ref disqualified him as he was not legal to be in the ring. Soon, Show turned his attention to Shaq, taunting him to get in the ring. The big guy obliged, tearing off his ref uniform shirt and climbing into the ring. Show and Shaq shoved each other a bit, then Show grabbed Shaq around the throat for a chokeslam. Shaq fought back and did the same to Show, so both men had each other's throats. Soon, Cryme Tyme was back in the ring to kick Big Show and break it up. From there, Shaq did a running shoulder block style move to knock Show to the mat and out of the ring. The fans went wild. (See Shaq & Show on YouTube video here)
Other cool stuff from last night included yet another great promo from the Miz, dissing the hometown fans, saying the Wizards lose to any opponents, so the Cavs won't need Shaq to beat them. From there, Miz lost to Cena in a Beat the Clock challenge match, which made Cena the #1 contender for Randy Orton's WWE Title at Summerslam. It was a great match though as Miz tried to outsmart Cena throughout it with various ploys, yet Cena still won. Orton got in the ring to hoist up his title as Cena left the ring. We've got plenty of time leading up to Summerslam to make this interesting. By the way, the only other winner in Beat the Clock was Mark Henry with a time of 6:49 to open the tournament. Jack Swagger lost to Evan Bourne by a surprise pin, Triple H couldn't make his pin before the clock ran out, and MVP had to face a sneaky, returning Chris Masters. Masters prevented MVP from getting back in the ring with a Masterlock. MVP-Masters could make for a great feud, and it was a surprise to see Masters back. I had heard rumors he would be, but still nice to see the Masterpiece, and I'm sure WWE welcomes his talents as a heel on Raw.
About Beat the Clock though; why not include everyone who was in the matches in the challenge? (Carlito, Bourne, Rhodes, Miz, Masters) I mean after all Evan Bourne may have won his match in a quicker time than anyone in the field. Is there a reason the winners should not be included? It's almost as if they are being called "jobbers" by being excluded from it. Strange.
Typical divas match with six divas in action. Maryse was nowhere to be found though, and Gail Kim made a strange blind tag on Mickie to come in and get the win. Wondering if this might be the start of a Gail Kim-Mickie James program for the Divas title? I'd still like to see Kelly Kelly win the divas title as she seems like a good representative, but she may have taken that Torrie Wilson role, hot blonde diva who never gets a title.
The Santino Marella bit with Shaq and Cryme Tyme was definitely better than anything Santino did with ZZ Top last week. Santino was playing Scrabble with Shaq until Cryme Tyme entered. As they started up a "Money, Money" chant, Santino came over with his hat on sideways and started to bust a freestyle rap which included Dikembe Mutombo and Angelina Jolie in it. Not too bad either, although Shaq & Cryme Tyme quickly dismissed him from the scene...
As for Hornswoggle-Chavo, please let's hope that's the last we've seen of that. Chavo is one talented guy, and Hornswoggle is a longtime novelty act. Horney was great when he would sneak out from under the ring to play a part in matches, some surprising comic relief. But now, he's beaten Chavo in 4 matches. Last night's blindfold match had the feel of some sort of circus clown antics you'd see from Ringling Brothers. Add in to that, Hornswoggle falling flat on his back after a dunk attempt on a small hoop backstage. Not sure if that was the plan. Please WWE, no more circus antics...
Labels: Big Show, Chris Jericho, Commentary, Cryme Tyme, Hornswaggle, Hornswoggle, Shaq vs Big Show, Shaq WWE, Shaquille O'Neal, Summerslam, WWE Raw News
2 Comments:
This was the best show Raw has had in weeks, and I'm glad it was Shaq who brought it together, or so it seems at least. Man, he and Show grabbing each other at the neck, standing face to face,... loved that!
Totally agree Mitch...Shaq's appearance definitely livened things up, and it would have been great if his feud with Show continued to WM26...doubt it with his NBA contract with the Cavs though! Let's hope Jeremy Piven's hosting on next week's show is close to as good as Shaq's!
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