RAW 2/8/10

Raw has been getting better and better ever since the Jan. 4th battle. It seems now that Vince McMahon feels slightly threatened by the underdogs that are TNA and Ring of Honor, he's getting all the boys in the back to bring in their A-Game. John Cena, the face of the company, has been bringing the emotion and overzealousness that brought him to the top. Randy Orton has been showing off his deceptiveness to his proteges, DiBiase and Rhodes. Sheamus represents the hopeful spirit of all the new talent in the business and an overall freshness to the product. Degeneration-X, of course, are doing their thing, but with a little more maturity now that they're older and realizing their time is almost up. The list goes on with the greats in the business, and WWE is reminding us, the fans, why they are the best at what they do: entertain and excite.

This certainly isn't the wrestling war we were used to when WCW and ECW were around. For a good period, "the other two" knew what they were doing until they lost focus and lost their companies. I can say now, and i'm sure others would agree, that WWE would never think about incorporating TNA and ROH in as another "Invasion" angle. It just isn't the same anymore, as much as we want it to be.

However, I can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia now that Elimination Chamber is just around the corner. Even though I don't agree with the specialty match-based PPV titles, I'm excited about the one coming in 2 weeks; it's the sort of excitement I had when I was a little kid and my favorite larger-than-life characters were getting ready to pound on each other for the biggest prize in the sport. It feels almost as if it was Hogan, Savage, Andre, the Warrior, Michaels, and Hart all coming into a War Games match and doing it like they did in the Old Skool.

All in all, i'm getting all riled up again. Maybe it's because the dream match we never imagined might happen at Wrestlemania 26. Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon - is finally, after almost 13 years, going to happen. There are parts of me saying that Hart is not in the best shape of his life and that Mr. McMahon is not the age he used to be when he could spill ounces of blood on the canvas. Then again, these two entertainers have been able to surprise me before. I have hope that they can do it again.

Speaking of Michaels, Mr. Wrestlemania - HBK, is at a crossroads in his career that is really offering some genuine drama. Shawn Michaels has always been able to put a great performance at extremely dramatic situations. Take for instance the Ric Flair retirement match at WM24, or the Montreal Screw Job and Iron Man match with Bret, or even the ladder matches with Razor Ramon. I've always seen HBK as the most dramatic in the WWE. I can't possibly compare him to any great actors because he has elements and characteristics of all the greats. He has the charm of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. He can have the seriousness of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. He can muster up the emotion of a Mel "Braveheart" Gibson and even the comedy stylings of a whacky Jim Carrey and cynicism of Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.

Overall, i'm happy with the direction WWE has been going. They're coming up with some new ideas and producing better quality television. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they have NXT in store for us.