Pre-Show Notes:
I thought Survivor Series was an excellent PPV last night. It's probably the PPV of the year. I know some people will disagree because there wasn't any crappy finishes and stuff actually made sense. Here in the real world, it was a great event. The show shouldn't have started off with the ECW title match but it was good to see Punk retain. What was funny was Melina screwing up here entrance, laughing about it, and doing it again. Major props to her for being a champ about it. The thing is, there were too many people in the Divas match that really didn't fit. I know they used the weeks leading up to the match to get a few different Diva feuds going but it felt crowded. Maybe if they had left out Maria and Jillian, it would have been better.

The crowd didn't care too much about the tag title match for one reason: when you bury your tag champs, nobody is going to care. They put the #1 Contender's Match on WWE.com and I know that's to drive traffic to the site, but it would have been better on RAW or even Smackdown. The Traditional Elimination match was good. It was better than last year's debacle where Team Rated RKO all got eliminated quick. The Khaliflower-Hornswoggle match was a comedy bit as expected. I was really hoping Shaq would have gotten involved, since he hasn't been doing much this season. I guess Finlay has turned face after that match.

The HBK-Orton match was strong. They tried some mat wrestling at the start. While casual fans didn't care too much for it, I enjoyed it. Some people didn't care too much for it but it was great. I really liked the ending where HBK almost used the Sweet Chin Music and the Orton hit the RKO to get the win. Afterwards, HBK hit the Sweet Chin Music and Orton's reaction was great. Perfect finish. If they just keep doing stuff like this, the product will be on the upswing and I won't criticize it as much. Moving on the Hell in a Cell match was great. Plenty of blood and ass kicking. The finish was perfect, too. I knew Edge was coming back but I couldn't figure out how. I thought of him sawing his way into the cage, but that wouldn't be safe for anybody involved. I thought he might pull the Kane approach and come out & rip the door off. The way he was dressed as a camera man was a little redundant but it was effective. The beat down he put on the Undertaker drew him major heat and was a perfect comeback. Something to add to it would be Edge beating on Batista some. I'm guessing that Edge will get the belt soon, then feud with Undertaker until Wrestlemania. I wouldn't mind a 3-way feud between Batista, Edge, and Undertaker until Wrestlemania. Either way, Survivor Series was a great event! Finally, there was something good to talk about in the world of wrestling. See, if there's good stuff, I'll talk about it. If it's bad, why sugarcoat things? Now, it's time for RAW is BLOGGED!!!

RAW started off with a guy running with a torch and my immediate reaction was, "WTF?" HBK came to the ring and wanted to say that the better man won the match. He wanted Orton to come down so he could shake his hand. Orton came on the screen in what looked like a pre-taped segment. His face looked bad and he said he wasn't going to come down. They yacked back and to before…KENNEDY!!! They had an interesting segment with Kennedy calling HBK a "loser" because he's lost so many times in the WWE Championship. Kennedy is like HBK was during the Attitude Era. It was a decent segment and makes the think they're going in a different direction.

After the commercial and as I was counting down to the return of Jericho, it was Santino Marella against The King. This was a decent match and if Santino is the next Rock, he shouldn't be messing with Legends to get over. And no, his commentary during the match wasn't as good as The Rock's. Yes, it was funny but not that funny. King got the pin and then got an RKO. Orton came out to give us an update on his torch runner. Just a thought, to make the bit a little better, why not have the runner in an HBK shirt? It's just a thought.

So, Carlito has been demoted to fighting Hornswoggle? Now, if you think that's cool, you need some help. Carlito is a great talent and he's feuding with Hornswoggle? Jeeze.

Before the countdown clock was supposed to end, Jeff Hardy came out for Hardy-Umaga 27. During the whole match, I was waiting for Jericho to return. 9:45 came, the time he was supposed to return, and Umaga kept beating Hardy down. We went to a commercial break and I was like a kid on Christmas Eve, ready to open my presents. I mean, this was driving me crazy! The match was a good one for both men. I didn't see the Snitsky run-in. I hope he doesn't do much because he's not over with the crowd. Triple H came down to make the save as a "big brother" I guess. It was a good segment. Afterwards, the SAVE_US stuff aired and it got me thinking that it would be at 10:45 instead of 9:45. Either way, I wouldn't be disappointed and I was ready to mark out.

The segment between Triple H and Todd Grisham was pretty funny. My guess with Triple H being a nice guy, he's trying to get everybody on his side. After all, he came in and buried a bunch of people when he returned. Either way, the segment was funny.

My problem with the Rhodes-Holly deal is, how about they let Holly on the mic and let him explain a few things? JR explained some of it, but maybe if the people knew what it was about, they would get behind it. I like it but I'm just one person. Cody finally got a win but it was over quickly with an RKO from Randy Orton. I actually enjoyed Orton's random appearances. It was like one time when Undertaker and Kane would come out, destroy whoever was in the ring, and demand a title shot. Is it me or did that "torch" look like a stick with some paper on top?

They did a Randy Orton tribute video that wasn't that special. They had a backstage segment with Finlay and Vince. Somebody should tell them that Belfast is in Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland is different from Ireland. Kind of like South Korea is different from North Korea. Anyways, they talked a little about last night. Nothing too much to this segment but Finlay got to talk! Before the commercial, they showed Mickie and Maria walking to the ring. Honestly, I'll give up just about anything for Mickie. I mean, she's dropdead gorgeous. Maria looks good but Mickie is nice & thick.

Judging from the commercial, Ric Flair is on his way back to RAW. To do what, I don't know. Jillian Hall and Melina made their way out to the ring for the tag match. Melina got the entrance down tonight without slipping. JR made a funny comment about how he couldn't get that entrance down in his backyard. Jillian talked to John Secada, might want to check that spelling on that name. John acted like he couldn't hear Jillian and couldn't follow the segment. Jillian then did a bad Gloria Estefan impression and she kept on rambling. What I couldn't figure out was where Mickie and Maria were. Melina looked like she was breaking character and couldn't figure out where the others were. The match was decent but what you would expect from a Divas match. I'm guessing Jillian and Lillian are going to rekindle their feud. One thing I'm interested in is why Mickie James is kissing people before she kicks the hell out of them. If I have to get kicked to get a kiss from here, I'll be glad to get kicked in the head or the nuts or wherever. Before they went to commercial, they showed Carlito on his way to the ring for the match against Hornswoggle. SAVE_US anyone?

Hornswoggle came out before Carlito. I really wish they would announce him from the "Land of the Enchanted" or something funny. I guess Carlito is going to get crappy stuff before he leaves. The match was pure comedy and I enjoyed it. You know, right now, Hornswoggle is in the running for being one of my award winners for "Superstar of the Year." I mean, his work is classic. His facial expressions are great. His acting is great. His in-ring stuff is great. This was a good comedy bit. Yeah, nothing like jobbing to a midget, eh Carlito. Before the commercial, they showed the torch runner and I was thinking if Jericho didn't come back soon, I might pull what little hair I have out of my head.

The torch passing crap was up and Orton came down to the ring as the crowd chanted "Y2J." They showed the little guy coming towards the arena and he had this look on his face like he was about to die. Then, all of a sudden, some guy clotheslined the runner. He got in camera view and had a familiar pose. Then, the SAVE_US stuff started airing. Like I had hoped, they aired most all of the videos. The SAVE_US_229 came up on the screen. The code came on the screen. It was broken down to reveal SAVE_US.Y2J. The countdown was on! The countdown reached zero and some pyro went off. Then, JERICHO came on the screen followed by the blasting of "BREAK THE WALL DOWN!!!" HE WAS BACK!!! Jericho stood on the stage for a while and soaked in the return. The audience seemed half shocked and half crazy. Jericho cut a promo and said he would be coming for the WWE Championship. It was a great return, although not as great as his debut mainly because most all of us knew about it. What a great two days! Edge returns and Survivor Series blows us away. The next night, Jericho makes his long awaited return. Now, the WWE will NEVER…E..E..EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!!!

I give this RAW:
4 out of 4 ring posts

On a side note, since it's Thanksgiving this week, there will be no Excess. I hope my critics can last until next Monday before they send me hate mail & comments. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

"RAW is Blogged" Match of the Week
Wrestlemania 19
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels

You can e-mail me at lukeparks@hotmail.com. If you send me spam, I will knock your block off. Just kidding, but seriously, I will.

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