My Top 10 Favorite Raw Moments

Well folks, tonight's the night. This has been built up for quite a while and I admit that I'm actually looking forward to watching RAW tonight. I'm sure this is one the WWE will be going all out for, and many surprise appearances will be in store. WWE.com has been counting down RAW's greatest moments of the last 15 years. I'd like to share my favorites with you…

10. Intercontinental Title Battle Royal

This was the 20 Man Battle Royal for the vacant Intercontinental Title from 1993. While Bobby Heenan's Bastion Booger jokes would have been reason enough to rank this #10, this would be the shot in the arm of the singles career of Razor Ramon (aka Scott Hall.) He and Rick Martel would co-win this and meet next week for the title with Razor coming out on top. That win was the first of several Intercontinental Title reigns for "Da Bad Guy," and while Scott Hall is nothing short of sad nowadays, he was one of WWE's major players in the early years of the Raw era.

9. ECW Invades (Part 1)

This may not seem like that big of a deal now with ECW as a 3rd Brand, but tuning into Raw during the attitude era and seeing Paul Heyman was a pretty big deal at the time. ECW was invited to show up and give WWE fans a taste of extreme, as ECW stars wrestled each other in 3 matches of the Raw telecast. It was pretty surreal seeing The BWO, Little Guido, Taz, Mikey Whipreck, Tommy Dreamer, and D-Von Dudley on Monday night programming. The highlight of this, of course, was Sabu appearing and jumping off of the RAW letters in the entrance way onto Team Taz. I, for one, was very excited to find out that this angle will be a featured as of the 15th Anniversary Best of Raw DVD coming out later this month.

8. Edge's Birthday

One of my favorite backstage segments EVER… Edge, Christian, Kurt Angle, and Triple H sitting around in a locker room celebrating Edge's birthday. What made this so awesome? Theme music played via kazoo by Christian with Edge covering the vocals. This continued on for a few more weeks with the Canadian duo paying homage to Chris Benoit and Crash Holly using this method. For this initial segment, however, these four played off of each other perfectly, and was one of the early stages of developing Edge & Christian's personalities.

7. Replay of Hart/Smith from In Your House

My memory isn't kicking as to when this actually occurred, but it was sometime between the night after and two weeks after the December 95 In Your House Pay Per View. It was pretty awesome of them to do this, as they aired the WWE Championship Match between Bret Hart and The British Bulldog in its entirety. It doesn't hurt that the match was pretty damn good, too.

6. Mike Awesome wins Hardcore Title

The Hardcore Title, held by Rhyno, was under 24/7 Rules at the time. Rhyno is shown walking backstage when all of a sudden he gets blindsided by Mike Awesome who promptly pins him to win the Hardcore Title. Why was this so important? Mike Awesome was a member of the WCW roster. This Again, my memory isn't the best but I think he laid Rhyno out with a chair then put him through a table. Regardless, this is what kicked off the WCW Invasion, and while that failed in the end, this moment was at least pretty intriguing.

5. DX Parodies The Nation

One of the all time classics. Jason Sensation playing Owen Hart, Triple H as the Crock, and X Pac as Mizark Henry were all very humorous. While this opened up a can of worms to let them think they could recreate the awesomeness of this by doing impersonations of the Corporation and more recently The McMahons again, this was something that I remembered and people were talking about for a very long time.

4. ECW Invades (Part 2)

This almost would have ranked higher on my list had it not turned into "The Alliance" by the end of the show, but the night that Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam debuted on Raw was pretty sweet. Kane & Chris Jericho were facing Lance Storm and Mike Awesome of WCW when they attacked. Members of the Raw roster (The Dudleys, Tazz, Justin Credible, Rhyno, and Raven) came to make the save, only to realize that they were all former ECW wrestlers and lay the boots to Jericho & Kane while Paul Heyman reveals it all as an ECW Invasion. For me, this was one of the most unbelievable moments I had witnessed in wrestling. They were sitting on a gold mine with this, but somehow they managed to screw things up royally. Just like they did again in 2006...

3. Lita & Trish Main Event Raw

These last 3 are kind of feel good moments for me. Lita and Trish Stratus had countless battles between one another and at this point were capable of putting together a pretty kick ass match. The bookers had a pretty good feeling that they would and let them go out there and close out the show in December 2004. The feel good moment stemming from this is the faith in these two to run with the ball. They delivered, and while Lita fucked up her neck in the process, she beat Trish to regain the Womens Title. While Lita winning the title initally from Stephanie McMahon in the Main Event of Raw in 2000 felt pretty good too, this felt a little more special headlining the show considering there was no one in the match named McMahon.

2. Eddie Guererro Tribute

While his death was a tragedy, the Raw where they paid tribute to Eddie was a special night. Seeing Raw stars vs Smackdown stars was a treat, as was Chris Benoit going over cleanly on Triple H. The match that stood out, however, was Shawn Michaels vs Rey Mysterio. They had a great match, and Shawn did the selfless thing by putting Rey over clean. To me, that win helped legitimize Mysterio as being able to hang with Main Eventers on his way to winning The Royal Rumble and eventually the World Title.

1. Mick Foley wins World Title

This was the ultimate feel good moment, as nobody saw it coming, or at least until they posted it on Wwe/f.com and Eric Bischoff blurted it out on Nitro. Foley had already gotten screwed over by the Rock at Survivor Series and Rock Bottom, and got screwed one more time this night by Shane McMahon in a match against Triple H. Frustrated, Foley did the only thing he could... hold Shane McMahon hostage in order to get one more rematch with Rock later that night. After some help from DX, the unthinkable happened, and Mrs. Foley's baby boy was the WWE Champion. Contrary to what Bischoff believed, it did in fact put some asses in seats, and some viewers on the TV.

A lot has happened in the last 15 years, but Monday Night Raw is still around, and will most likely be around another 15 years from now. I'm looking forward to seeing what they end up doing for this, to see will become of the Evolution Reunion, to see if Carlito will win the Intercontinental Title as part of the agreement for him to stick around, to see the return of Sunny, to see what will most likely be the second coming of the Gimmick Battle Royal… WWE can easily bounce back from Thursday's ratings loss with a good number here. There's enough hype surrounding Raw tonight. Here's to hoping they deliver, and here's to hoping for one more feel good moment for Monday Night RAW...

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Beth Phoenix – Bringing Legitimacy to Women’s Wrestling

My idea of an entertaining wrestling match is a well-called bout based on a decent storyline with two or more athletically inclined individuals who have spent the time in the gym with the iron to maintain a healthy physique, featuring athleticism to move explosively, gracefully, and powerfully. It does not matter to me if they are men or women as long as I am engaged by physicality (maneuvers, bumps, and mobility) of the bout and the drama of the storyline.

However, for decades, I have thought that Women’s Wrestling in the WWE was lacking in these qualities, often changing the channel or taking a bathroom break when the Women’s matches came on Raw. After all, the WWE Women’s wrestlers have been marketed as little more than eye candy, historically.

What comes to mind as examples of this eye candy filler featured on the weekly programming?

Melina may be in excellent shape, but if I see her enter the ring with the full split under the bottom rope one more time, I’m going to vomit.

Candice Michelle may be shifting to a more athletic style now that she holds the belt, but I am having trouble forgetting all of her dancing in a circle like a stripper for the first year she was in WWE. My memory’s already too tainted.

These women are not the kind of stars I look forward to seeing on a WWE broadcast. I do not want to see fitness models. I can get that on ESPN2 a couple times a year and be happy. I do not want to see soft core porn. I can get that on Showtime.

Sure, Trish Stratus, at the end of her career, was very athletic, but her credibility was lost early on when she had the make-out sessions with Vince McMahon. Her televised matches were meant more to draw ratings from the 35 to 40-year olds who weren’t getting laid than to feature an athletic wrestling encounter.

Lita was an excellent wrestler, of course. Her time spent in Mexico and the Indy’s made her an outstanding wrestler. It’s too bad her career was shortened by her injuries, relationship problems, and that ridiculous boob job she got before she retired. In the end, a marred legacy.

Certainly, Chyna was a phenomenal athlete, combining plenty of gymnastic-style acrobatics along with her power. I will recognize that there have certainly been a handful of good female athletes in the WWE Women’s Ranks. But all three of these women I just mentioned are out of the business, now. The crop of truly athletic female wrestlers is all but dried up on our TV sets.

Until Now. Enter Beth Phoenix.

Beth Phoenix, whose real name is Elizabeth Carolan née Kocanski, grew up less than an hour from where I grew up. She’s from Elmira, New York. As a teenager, I had to drive past that town on the way to get to the nearest mall.

What the community of wrestling fans may not realize is that Beth Pheonix is truly an accomplished wrestler. She’s not just 5 minutes of eye candy like Maria Kanellis. Beth Phoenix is a true athlete. In fact, as the Iron Sheik would say, Beth phoenix is a shooter.

According to her wiki, she was the first female member of the Notre Dame High School varsity wrestling team. Her legitimate wrestling experience does not stop there. She went on to become the North-East freestyle women's champion (72 kg weight class) in 1999. She was the 1999 women's champion (72 kg weight class) at the New York State Fair Tournament and was named the most outstanding wrestler that same year in the Brockport Freestyle Tournament.

Beth Phoenix dreamed of becoming a wrestler, and she belongs inside the ring.

Her resume makes her one of the most qualified members of the entire WWE roster.

I am a strength and conditioning coach, and I can honestly say that amateur wrestling is one of the most physically intense sports, requiring some of the highest levels of conditioning in order to excel. As a practitioner of many different styles of strength training and conditioning protocols, I respect any wrestler who has risen to be champion at any level.

My hat is off to Beth Phoenix and I wish her the best with her career. I hope this article increases the awareness of just how impressive Beth Phoenix’ athletic background is.

Image sources:
Walking to Ring
Wrestling Team

-Napalm Jedd-


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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

We Want Wrestling! This chant has become ever more present and popular among today's wrestling fan.

Thanks to Vince McMahon, D-Generation X and many others, an actual in-ring product has been all but missing from WWE "Raw".

The straw that broke the camel's back was the abysmal Rosie VS. The Donald Skit that occured on the January 8 episode of "Raw".

At TNA's Final Resolution, the Voodoo Kin Mafia (who the majority of wrestling fans I talk to still refer to as the New Age Outlaws) claimed victory in their war against McMahon because of the way the "Raw" skit was received. Little did they know that a few minutes later, they would be receiving the same chant.

Former WWE Diva Search winner and current TNA Knockout Christy Hemme confronted VKM in the ring, leading a much needed movement in the world of professional wrestling, that has unfortunately been spearheaded by the wrong leader. Hemme began to talk about how women receive no respect in professional wrestling, an all too true fact. However the fact is, Hemme has never done anything to earn it.

However on WWE's "Raw" roster, there is a woman who has done more than enough to earn her respect.She is a former 2 time WWE Women's Champion and former PWI Woman of the Year. However, when the prominent women of wrestling are named, she is often left out. Her name is Victoria, and she has arguably been the most consistent in-ring performer on any brand of Sports Entertainment for the past five years.

Victoria's matches with the likes of Trish Stratus and Molly Holly revolutionized the role of women in professional wrestling. Her unique athleticism enables her to perform both military presses and backflips.

Victoria is the epitome of toughness. The WWE had enough confidence in Victoria to let her compete in cage matches and street fights. Victoria has done most of it with a knee brace on, because she opted not to have surgery on an injured knee.

Her first major run had it's legs cut out from under it, when Victoria was turned babyface at the height of her popularity. While normally this would make sense, the WWE decided to change the psycho character fans grew to love to a generic dancing character. Still Victoria was producing weekly in the ring.

Victoria has been forced to step back and give Diva Search winners time to shine. Both Christy Hemme and Candice Michelle have been featured at Wrestlemania's over Victoria. When Victoria attacked Candice, Christy, and Maria, her actions were met with applause by the audience.

Together with Lita, Molly, Jazz, and Trish, Victoria established a new place for women in wrestling, and elevated the Women's championship to a place where models with limited wrestling knowledge and ability could not compete. Fans wanted to see the four star matches that Victoria and Trish could deliver over the T&A of the new divas.

Still, most of the credit for the limited respect today's wrestling women do get goes to Trish and Lita. However, with both women recently retiring, Victoria has had the opportunity to step back into the ring with the new class of female, and to be quite frank, she looks more beautiful than she ever has.

Showing shades of her past "psycho bitch" character, Victoria has been one of the more entertaining aspects of "Raw" since November. She has consistently delivered solid performances against various women on the current roster, which is quite a feat.

Victoria and Mickie James, if done right, has the potential to be the next great rivalry in the world of women's wrestling. These two women have the potential to go to WrestleMania 23 and deliver the greatest women's wrestling matches ever, and one of the all time classics for any sex, provided that the WWE keeps their story going.

Victoria has been an often-overlooked aspect of the WWE in a number of ways. However, if WWE fans are clamoring for great wrestling, they need look no further than the fiesty raw diva with red streaks in her hair. If Playboy is looking for a best-selling issue, they need look no further as well.

Victoria has gone on record to say that she would love to pose for the magazine and I will go on record as to say in my opinion she has the most attractive body of any WWE diva, ever. That's quite a statement.

Maybe someday Christy, Candice, and Maria will do something to earn the respect that women in professional wrestling are clamoring for.

However, Victoria has not only been a featured Diva over the course of the past five years. She has won the first women's steel cage match. She has had incredible matches with a variety of women and men. She has been one of the most entertaining and consistent performers in professional wrestling. She's tough, she's innovative, and she's beautiful.

If we want wrestling and if we are going to begin giving women in wrestling their proper respect, then we need look no further than the master of the Widow's Peak.

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From the Vault: Matt Hardy Has No Soul

7/26/06: While the Liver Enzymes and WWE's Wellness policy has been the downfall of many a superstar over the past few weeks, let me go ahead and guess as to the REAL reason Matt Hardy is being taken off the road. Staph Infection? Bleh...

How about this...

Matt Hardy is still reeling from the effects of having NO SOUL...

It wasn't too long ago that Matt was out with an injury, and the love of his life Amy "Lita" Dumas shacked up with Adam "Edge" Copeland. The incident not only got Matt fired, it got him so unstable that the dude was pointing guns at his website visitors. What kind of weird ass family do Version 1 and the Charismatic Enigma come from anyways?

In a way, it breathed new life into Matt's career. He was the hottest free agent in wrestling.

Doors were opened and the red carpet was laid out. What did Matt do? He went back to dirty money.

Monday Night Raw, Summer of 05, Matt Hardy returns. After months of We Want Matt chants, he's here in the ring, and we aren't sure why we chanted it in the first place. Well, let's start him off with what he's worst at. Let's get that North Carolina twang on the microphone. What do you have to say Matt?

Matt Hardy: Wrestling is fake. Yeah, I went out to an injury during some bullshit sorta based on real life like story that Kane was raping my girlfriend, but in real life, she was always my girlfriend. She didn't really have sex without a rubber with Kane. Strangely enough, she did later start boning Edge though. So you can forget all that fake bullshit wrestling stuff. This is real, and I'm mad. I'm so mad, I hope Edge dies in a car accident.

(Crickets chirp)

Matt Hardy: So forget about all the pretend wrestling stuff. What's not gonna be fake is me kicking Edge's ass in a WWE ring for the next three months...

The audience has already essentially had enough of the return of Matt Hardy. But wait, Edge and Matt were both in the TLC's and shit. They can probably have good matches.

So Matt Hardy spends the rest of his summer working about as close as you can work with a former close friend who porked the love of his life. Everytime they work together, he must watch them kiss at the top of the ramp. He then proceeds to get his ass fake whooped by the person he hates more than anything in the world.

What for? Dirty money!

So now Matt is not having babies with Lita. He is watching her kiss his old friend and getting his ass handed to him weekly. But wait til you see where it goes pleads Hardy...

Edge vs. Matt Hardy. After a few weeks, Edge and Hardy have forgotten that they want to kill each other, and are instead just wrestling some matches. Hardy loses, and just leaves. He goes to Smackdown after basically conceeding that Edge is the better man, and he deserves to be porking Lita. I thought you wouldn't die Matt? Looks like you rolled over and died right there.

Well, here we go. A new lease on life. You didn't go to TNA. You decided to get fake beat up by your real life worst enemy all summer long, but you are on Smackdown now. Everyone knows you are finally going to be a big star.

Guess what: They killed off Muhammed Hassan, you are up a rung of the ladder.

Christian quit: Another rung.

Eddie died: Two rungs.

At this rate, you are going to be the champ by Wrestlemania.

Batista is hurt: Climb on Matt.

Yet somehow, even when Smackdown looked at it's bleakest, Matt Hardy was wrestling on Velocity. Was it the writing teams fault? The McMahon's fault? Who knows, and who cares.

Whether Matt Hardy gets the WWE Attitude residual pop for the rest of his life, Matt Hardy will never really be big money in professional wrestling.

Matt Hardy made his bed when he decided to return to Vince's dollars, and a year later, Edge is the WWE Heavyweight Champion and Matt Hardy is jobbing to the Cruiserweight Champion.

TNA would have probably put the freaking belt on him, as we see they have no foresight, and seem to mark as hard as their Orlando crowd.

Matt, I hope for you, that Ashley Massaro has sex with King Booker or Edge while you are gone, because that's about the only shot at main eventing you will ever have.

Lashley, Khali, and Crazy might have crazy enzymes. Kid Kash might have a bad attitude. But you sir, you have dirty money and no soul! More on This Story...