Timing Is Everything, Part Two…And Other Thoughts From Last Night’s RAW

Just want to get this out of the way right now:  I hate lumberjack matches.  They are pointless wastes of time and are often executed in a terrible fashion.

A few weeks back, I praised Batista and Mark Henry, among others, for their timing in pulling off difficult manuevers.  Last night was an example of how important this timing is and how infrequently things go off without a hitch.

1.  Batista attempted to spear Randy Orton at the end of the lumberjack match, but the referee got in the way.  Orton had to slow up his “boot to the head” , Batista hit him with all the force of a 2 mph fender bender and everyone ended up looking foolish.

2.  Shawn Michaels was supposed to blindsided by Manu.  However, he didn’t even react in the slightest when he was hit by the punch.  It’s not like HBK to not “sell” for guys.  Therefore, I have to assume that the punch was unexpected.

This critique is really more for the fans than the wrestlers.  I just want to point out what intricate choreography often gets taken for granted.

We only notice when it doesn’t work.

Other thoughts from last night’s show:

- It sure was good to see Victoria again.  I really feel she would be the most credible threat, physicality-wise, to Beth Phoenix’s title reign.  Too bad she’s allowing herself to job to those who are much less accomplished.

- The Santino Rap…how the heck does this guy keep topping himself?  Hysterical.

- Extremely disappointing to see how Cryme Tyme is once again being relegated to an unimportant position.  Their push lasted all over about two weeks.  Someone is dropping the ball here.

- Why does poor Kofi Kingston always find himself in the middle whenever someone gets ambushed in the hallway?  He has the worst luck, doesn’t he? (sarcasm)

- Granted, I much prefer the happier, wise-cracking HBK to the miserable s.o.b we had to sit through for months.  However, Michaels seems to be overcompensating with his antics now.  Exercise a bit more moderation, Shawn.  You’ll get better results.

- I wish CM Punk had better mic skills.  He might still be the champion today if he possessed half the charisma of Chris Jericho.

- Heck of a debut for Manu.  Batista is not the smoothest performer to be in the ring with.

- Finally….Boy , that “My country is superior to America” attitude designed to generate cheap heat from the fans just never gets old, does it, William Regal?  Oh, wait…that’s right…it’s more tired than 16 year old dog.

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