Let me get the negative things about RAW out of the way right now. The ending of the show was underwhelming.
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Okay, now that you've had a chance to digest that, here's what worked. Everything else. Seriously, this was the best RAW I've seen in a while, since I came back to watching every week early in 2008, maybe since the Two Man Power Trip vs. Chrises Squared all the way back in 2001. No joke. Vince McMahon took the challenge from TNA and said "Fuck you Hogan, I'm gonna show you how I made my bones in this business". It's so true, even if TNA put on a subpar show (and judging from hour one and parts when I flipped back to it, they did... more on that later), it was a good thing that they ran opposed to RAW for the sheer reason that Vince raised his game for the first time in a long time.
I mean, the Unified Tag Team Title match was awesome, how about that, a MOTY contender right off the bat in the first show of the year. Kofi/Orton dragged in the middle, but the finish was awesome. Michael Cole actually did his job and SOLD a concurrent angle without sounding cheesy or schmaltzy with the Legacy breakup tease. They honored Dr. Death in earnest. Evan Bourne sold like a motherfucking Champ for Sheamus, making the fledgling WWE Champion look even more badass. The Miz came out looking like a bona fide future main eventer. But all of that, as awesome as it was, paled in comparison to the first 15 minutes of RAW.
Maybe it's the old-school Hitman mark in me, but seeing Bret Hart back in a WWE ring gave me goosebumps. Seeing him confront Shawn Michaels sent chills up my spine. Seeing them bury the hatchet in the middle of the ring though? That's great television, no matter what the backdrop. I have hated on HBK over the years for various reasons, but I will stand up here and give the man his respect. Same with Hitman, whom I've regarded as a stubborn ass over this whole Montreal thing over the years. They both deserve my propers, because it took a lot of gumption, a lot of swallowing of pride and a lot of bigness on both their parts to bury the hatchet. Even if it was all just a work and they still hate each other, they deserve respect for being ultimately professional, putting aside their differences and giving the fans in the arena that night what they wanted, the fans at home what they wanted. Wrestling history was made tonight, legit.
As for TNA, well, the first hour was almost complete horseshit. I admit, them getting Jeff Hardy to appear on the show is a huge coup, and I thought the skirmish he had with Homicide was very well done, although it only works if Hardy sticks around. The Steel Asylum match, aside from being the most unsafe match I've seen since the Inferno match, being ended on a DQ was complete and utter nonsense. The Knockouts Title match was too short and way Russofied. Scott Hall looked bloated at least and drunk at worst. My wife, who doesn't know Samoa Joe from Joe E. Legend, said that TNA looks so unprofessional, and they did nothing to fix that from what I've seen. HOWEVER, flicking back and forth, I did see some good stuff from Joe and Abyss and from Angle and Styles. I will reserve full judgment for the event until I've seen all three hours in complete context. Trust me, I want TNA to do well, but as long as they still have the shitty production values, as long as they still have Mike Tenay calling PBP for them and as long as Vince Russo is still on the writing staff and holding any influence, it's not going to happen, people.
If tonight seemed like an indicator, TNA is going to have a tough fight to make this battle in to a full-blown war. I mean, unless I missed a shitload of primo content while watching RAW, I'm not expecting much. However, you never know, and stranger things have happened, especially when McMahon's hubris is involved.
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