I've been monitoring RAW over the weeks, with varying degrees of satisfaction. Some things have kept me glued to the screen on a weekly basis, while some are just a waste of time. The guest hosts have ranged from the rediculous to the sublime - my personal fave was the god that is William Shatner, he really stepped it up and gave us some good entertainment in my opinion! The women's division has really turned into what I now call the 'bathroom break' part of the show. This is time-wasting filler material of the lowest standard. Sorry, they are pretty, hard-working girls, but they are a joke in the ring. What has happened to Gail Kim, who was amazing to watch in the TNA Knockouts division? She really needs some better people to work with.

Anyway, the Royal Rumble was a fairly interesting PPV, and I left myself wondering why the WWE started to force a semi-babyface turn for Randy Orton, by pitting him against Sheamus. Whatever they are doing, it is starting to work as his face pops are getting louder by the week. Here's me thinking they were going to pull the trigger on Ted Dibiase, especially since his Dad was announced for the Hall of Fame, and the seeds they planted months ago. Strange how things turn
around so quickly.

The Rumble match itself was fairly well done, with the two obvious stand-out points being the elmination of HBK and the return of Edge. To be honest I think many people half-expected this Edge return, as the WWE are continuing to persue this formula of stars returning at the Rumble from a long injury absence, to go on to win the match. It was done first with HHH's first quad injury, then Cena last year. Half of me is satisfied with this, as it adds some fresh angles and excitement leading up to Mania, but as soon as Edge returned I knew what the end result would be. I also noticed Edge was on a lighter workrate - I hope Vince hasn't forced him back too early for the sake of his health? From there it was clear to see where this storyline was going - right through to the recent Elimination Chamber PPV, with Jericho winning the title, setting up the revenge angle match with Edge.

I was very intrigued to see how this would interact with the HBK/Taker storyline, as I was glad to see they didnt turn this into a HBK/HHH feud following the break-up of DX (unofficially I guess) and with Shawn eliminating Hunter at the Rumble. It shows that they are sensible enough to add some maturity and substance to the long positive relationship between the two characters, avoiding the mistake of suddenly dropping everything for another feud between the two -
it would have made no sense for two veteran's characters to act in this way and I'm glad the writers did what they did. This led of course to the expectancy of HBK somehow involving himself with the Undertaker at the Elimination Chamber PPV. It was excellently done to set up the two matches perfectly for Mania.

The confrontation on RAW between HBK and Taker was very well done - it was to the point and well executed. If you wanted to know how they were going to top last year's match, the added stipulation of Shawn's career certainly adds the extra hype, and it has me VERY excited for this one! Oh, and can I just say that on Monday's RAW (Feb 22nd), the production crew produced what I consider to be one of the greatest promo video packages I have ever seen, recapping the build-up to this story, one of the best WWE has produced for a long time. It was awesome in every way and I hope they use it again or expand on it to hype up the match. If its one thing the WWE does well, it is this, so BIG props to the backstage team!

So, we have what I think will be two top-rate matches for the 'Grandaddy of em all', along with the Money in the Bank ladder match. I'm glad the rumours about Vince dropping this match were proven to be false. I'm also glad we already have Christian in the match (who I think deserves a prominent spot on the RAW roster), and hope that we can get some good athletes and new faces added to this match. i would love to see Evan Bourne and Yoshi added to the match along with
more experienced wrestlers such as John Morrison, Matt Hardy and Shelton Benjamin. The only thing is last year's match wasn't really that innovative, but tried to better the same type of spots used the previous year, so I'm hoping they can add something a bit more unique this time around - the inclusion of tables perhaps, even though I know that means it comestoo close to a TLC match.

The Legacy storyline, as I menioned before, has kinda been turned upside down, with Rhodes and Dibiase coming out as the heels. I've heard repeated rumours that this will lead to a triple threat match their their fathers in each of their corner's. I really quite like this idea, and if they are introduced early enough to the storyline, we could be in for some very memorable promos from these Hall of Famers.

It also looks like we will get HHH v Sheamus, purely to try and keep Sheamus' push going, although I can't see this happening after Mania - this wont be a show-stealer that's for sure. Same goes for the long-rumoured CM Punk V Rey Mysterio, hair V mask match, like we can't see where this one will go!

Notice I haven't mentioned the Cena/Batista Bret/Vince feud/s. I've left this one until last because I honestly don't know where this one is going. I've heard horror stories where Vince wants this to be some kind of tag match with Bret as the winner of the WWE title ....if this happens, the title will lose ALL credibility! No offense to Bret, but to have someone with his level of health and limited ability in the ring win the title is just rediculous. I know Bret V
Vince is going to happen in some way, but the car accident angle was obviously included to cover up and protect Bret's in-ring performance. It's just a question of if they continue to tie this up with the building Cena/Batista feud or keep the two seperate. This angle with Bret and Vince started out okay, but has just gotten worse over time. The dull predictable storyline played out each week is something we have seen so many times before with Vince, that it loses all steam going into the final match. Vince has drawn out this screwjob angle to death, with Cena now added to the mix in the same way - does anybody care anymore??!! Hell, most of the PG-13 target market cannot even remember the screwjob itself or are too young to even really know who Bret Hart is! Remember that truly awful Donald Trump storyline? I'm getting similar vibes with this.

When I fist saw the Cena/Batista angle kicking off, I had many doubts, but I am actually pleasantly surprised how this is building up. The story is playing to the strengths of both guys, physically and verbally. Cena is reliable and natural on the microphone, and is good at adding the emotional intensity to a storyline, whereas big Dave is more naturally reserved, which is exactly how its playing out. Dave is playing the vicious predatory heel very well, used in short but intense violent bursts. I do like the way the title was put on Batista, cheating Cena out of it by the inclusion of Vince, so it seems to me these two feuds aren't fully decided yet. I do have a nagging feeling Steve Austin will have a part to play in this set-up when he guest-hosts RAW in March.

Things are looking good on the whole for Wrestlemania, the only bummer for me is I won't be able to see it live as I will be flying on a red-eye flight, so this will be the first Mania I have missed in 7 years. As Ron Simmons would say, DAAMMMNN!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time guys and gals!