#was like ‘wow whats the gimmick here?’ and then BAM

[hms-tardimpala]

Catching up on Raw 30/9/24

I can dig Jey Uso, but I'm decidedly not a fan of the yeet gimmick.

Oh, Bron Breakker face turn? Either way, this was a nice display of fair play. I liked that.

Is it just because I'm not a native english speaker and I don't hear it right, or is Xavier Woods' name really pronounced "Axavier"?

I'm really looking forward to Raw going to Netflix, if that will put an end to commercial breaks in the middle of matches. Hate that.

Oh nooooo I'm so sorry, Rey! And Xavier looked so sorry he pulled the mask off too 🥺 I'm all for Xavier winning some matches, but not like that. It's like he can do nothing right lately, poor dear.

I'm Shayna Baszler scowling at Sonia's hand on her shoulder. No-unauthorized-contact-butch energy. I think she's my favorite in the PFC.

"This referee understandably distracted" no??? The pretense that referees have never seen a wrestling is the thing that annoys me in kayfabe. It's so frustrating!

The Braun/Bronson monster movie clip is goofy as fuck but once again I love it, it's spot on. Wrestling is supposed to be fun!

So I've already watched the Punk and McIntyre promo and blogged about it, so I won't say much more (or...), but man. The cage coming down! Such drama!

"To get to saturday, we have to make it through tonight" very stressed Raw manager Adam Pearce taking it one day at a time, good for him 😆

I'm happy they repainted the cage, I didn't like the red one.

Nice to see Punk can climb the cage a little.

Oh he looks so fucking good tonight. Oh my.

Now Drew doesn't do it for me physically most of the time, but the tux and hair are gorgeous.

I won't say again what I've said this morning. The promos are very good. I'm eating this up. What I will reiterate is that this feud achieved two things: 1) it gave me confidence in CM Punk after his return to WWE, 2) it got me to like Drew McIntyre.

"Wade, there is nowhere else to go here" yep I agree 100%, Joe. They built this story and escalated the feud in such a way that it cannot end anywhere but in a Hell in a Cell. There are no bridges left, they've all been burned, no more discussion possible.

R-Truth is a ray of sunshine in Raw, it is indeed good to have him back 🥰

They don't have to do much to make me hate the Judgment Day, I really hate the constant interference in matches. I hate cheating.

I want an intergender match between Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, even though it'll never happen.

Ugh American Made. Do we have to? 😓

Cool english-japanese Damage CTRL address. I like how politely they went about it "We are challenging you to a title match." bam wham thank you ma'am.

Oh Xavier. What are you doing Xavier. I'm with you anyway, but what.

Happy to see the Awesome Truth in the ring! But what is Karrion Kross doing...

WHAT THE FUCK MIZ. HOW DARE YOU. I HATE THIS BASTARD.

Someone hug R-Truth please 😢🥺

Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman understood the assignmen, wow. I hope that guy in the front row is okay though.

"Not, not Pearce!" Yes Pearce!

What a huge fun mess! The ring collapsing was expected, but this is just so much fun.

Aww Bronson lost, too bad. But Seth is back, and I'm willing to see more of him.

[hermionecentric]

the gloriana set (derogatory)

around chapter 50 im like, where has the story gone? why has every character turned into a caricature of themselves? nothing is happening at this point except drawn out, cartoonish behaviour and pure nonsensical drama. ok cool neville is here but forcing him to talk about his sex life when he's obviously uncomfortable seems extreme and wrong. is this supposed to be a display of friendship? am i the only one who thinks it's not cool.

also what started off as ok cool hermione establishing her independence and individuality, has sourly turned into hermione acting like a rabid chihuahua without a shred of self awareness. and not in a cute way. by giving the story a focal point of "situations where men displayed an undercurrent of controlling, patronising, manipulative behaviour get taught a lesson by the narrative" to "the only thing holding the narrative and it's characters together are displays of controlling, patronising, manipulative behaviour." oh btw let me just toss in an attempted sa and then never mention it again because my sidekicks have taken up an uncomfortably large portion of the story. also these cheap gimmicks will not provide anything to the story, the story doesn't exist anymore because all you're reading is what should be ooc crack one-shots that have deviated so far from the original premise, you don't even know what you're reading anymore.

but sure, fuck it let's just destroy all these characters we spent 50 chapters creating. fuck why not turn ron into a horrid, possessive, stupid, spitting and drooling caricature of a dog on a leash as a friend? i feel like on one hand ok cool you've accomplished a lot in terms of character progression... but know when to stop. i miss hermione and her loop. i miss malfoy having depth. you're really going to mention draco's love is an obsession and then show me exactly how it is and then want me to accept it as the new driving power in the narrative? like. HER LOOP ISN'T EVEN MENTIONED ANYMORE!!! you had so many opportunities.... where are they gone? theo's character is probably the only part of this im still invested in. ginny has 0 personality, blaise is taking up way too much space, the flashback was terribly written, and the prank on astoria is like 10 chapters late of me even caring about it.

to take all this extra shit out, bringing it back to basics of shit: there's a curse on hogwarts (wow malfoy blood...), astoria (get punkd sucka), hermione's plan for after hogwarts (just like hermione's pov, im just trying to get through this story one day at a time), hermione and ginny's friendship taking a back seat to their boytroubles, the aspect of boytroubles at all honestly..., hermione and draco get together and don't immediately solve all the sexual tension they both have with each other AND theo (let's be honest). this is debt of time level painstakingly boring middle material. just waiting tens of thousands of words to get to a story that could've been told better and more succintly if the author had any sense of tension, payoff, build-up, and character loyalty and didn't just fuck around in the mud.

why is everyday like bam wake up bam something happens bam something happens bam she sleeps 7 hours, girl im exhausted even reading about your day let alone wanting to imagine it in even more detail.

im going to hold out hope that maybe it turns around.... but honestly im so sick of these assholes.

at least i always have the first 25 chapters to reread that i can still enjoy. if anyone can tell me otherwise to any of the above i welcome it. i desperately wish i was wrong.

[noellcfms]

chicago’s very own noelle washington has been spotted on madison avenue driving a mclaren 720s , welcome ! your resemblance to normani kordei is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty-fourth birthday bash  . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re deceitful, but being benevolent might help you . i think being a gemini explains that .  3 things that would paint  a better picture of you would be sunset picnics , fruit smoothies , and the smell of vanilla . ( cis female + she/her ) +  (  elle , 20 , she/her , cst )

my name is elle! i was here like a month ago then i left to vibe and clear my brain but i’m back and better than ever! this is my absolute BABIE noelle, most of you will remember her, and those who don’t i am so sorry this fake bitch has to enter your life, enough about me let’s talk about noelle!

* --- biography

noelle washington was born into an extremely strict Christian family, the middle child of three children. her family did everything by the bible. her dad was an extremely famous tv preacher, and her mom was a lawyer turned preacher’s wife. perfect family dynamic, no gimmicks, just wholesome family love.

her and her siblings went to church everyday, noelle grew up believing the things that her family told her.

family was very fervent in their beliefs and noelle kinda just had to stick behind them because they were family? ya know?

noelle grew up with her housewife mother! who was constantly cooking and cleaning and taking care of household tasks, so noelle followed in her footsteps

she developed a love for cooking and baking, and it became a passion to her. her parents were proud! they raised such a positive child

but she wanted more, she had bigger aspirations than being good at cooking for somebody else one day

middle child vibes are your parents forgetting that you even go to gymnastics in the first place, but that’s what she did! and she was great!

but her parents wanted her to focus on the cooking thing so she did, went on chopped junior and she won!!!! would later go on to win an actual episode of chopped but that’s different tea

ANYWAYS from that her family was offered a reality tv show because wow what wholesome family activities! and their children are so talented!! wait noelle who again? yeah she was...ignored per usual love that for her

she continued to practice gymnastics and she was heckin good at it i’m proud of my bb, she went on to by the youngest female to win three gold medals a talented queen i know

her family finally wanted to put her on their show because she was bringing in views everyone wanted to know how she was so well behaved and obedient and performed on the level that she did

she was a really good student! was valedictorian, student council president, and a bunch of other extracurriculars that would make her family proud of her

honestly she was jus tryna get into a good college ngl...as far away from her family as she could get

BUT THE WORLD DEMANDED NOELLE and so her family delivered for her, finally she graduated and phew she couldn’t wait to get as far away as possible from them

she ended up going to Stanford for...law....and although her family could pay her way and she was offered a full ride...she didn’t want to have to depend on her family for anything SIS DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO CALL HOME

she went to Stanford and worked a normal job...and everyone was so shocked! to see Noelle Washington working a normal job and being you know a fucking human but despite the gawking she continued to do so

she graduated college with her law degree and as valedictorian so she was like cool i appeased my parents time to move back...and she moved back!

she was like ‘guys i don’t wanna be a lawyer i wanna...open a bakery’ and so she did

you can catch her there literally anytime in the morning because she might own the place but she also you know works there because it’s hers....fun times!

she’s just began releasing her music! and her vc is normani

but this america’s sweetheart bitch has a secret

everything i told you was the truth! but i mean one version of the truth here’s the side of noelle nobody gets to see

* --- second biography?

noelle’s family seemed perfect one the outside but her father was a serial cheater, and her mother was a borderline alcoholic

they didn’t love her or her siblings so they often all fell to the wayside unless it was maintaining appearances in public, then it was all smiles, and how they lived by the word, a bunch of bs

noelle stopped believing in what her family force fed her early on...but she kept that shit to herself

the cooking and cleaning and literally every other responsibility fell upon noelle and her siblings, she sorta despised her parents, but still craved their validation, it was a really messed up cycle

all of her achievements are true tho! she got valedictorian, student council president, youngest person to win three gold medals, etc etc

her family really did get their own reality tv show, and put on extreme appearances for the cameras...and noelle was pushed to the wayside because middle child vibes again

she did go to Stanford for law...but let’s get into the main portion of her double life

she didn’t work a normal job! she wasn’t a waitress or a cook or even a dishwasher nope she did none of that shit

she became a stripper! but she couldn’t show everyone her face obviously...so she developed a plan!

she would go on stage in a really extravagant masquerade mask...like to the point where nothing was recognizable but her eyes

and that shit worked! she was a hit! an icon! people loved her...she made mad bank

well one day an agent approached her and was like...do you want to do porn? and this extra ass bitch said more money? hell yeah

the one condition she did have was obviously she kept the mask, but she could change it during scenes, like different colors and shit love that for her

it was amazing that this bitch managed to graduate with all the hours that she was pulling...lowkey would be proud when annoying frat boys that called her a ‘prude’ would talk about how much they wanted to fuck her

ANYWAYS she took her work with her when she moved back to new york mostly her work in the adult entertainment industry...but she continues to do porn and that’s where a big majority of her money comes from

that’s her secret lmaoooo she hasn’t told her family or even her friends because you know appearances

so when she’s not at the bakery during the day she’s usually filming a scene...and when she’s not around at night she’s stripping

* --- personality

PUBLIC LIFE

extremely sweet

literally doesn’t have a mean bone in her body...but not nice to the point where anyone’s suspicious...just nice enough to teeter that line a little bit

fun loving young girl, or at least she tries to be, she tends to let her emotions get the best of her tbh, but despite that she’s gentle and kind and would never hurt a fly if she could help it

she always gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, believing the best in everyone and always looking for the good, you could tell her a million and one bad things about someone and she’d still only care about the one positive aspect

noelle has the biggest heart, and often thinks she’s mislabeled as naive, although in reality she truly is and is often easily lead on

not gonna lie, noelle apologizes for just about everything, even if it isn’t her fault, bam there’s another apology coming out of her mouth

she’s sorta of the mom friend in a way? like she can barely take care of herself, but she literally tries to take care of every single person there is to ever exist

is resilient and to this day there isn’t a problem that she hasn’t overcome, even if she did have a little help from alcoholic beverages

lowkey a hopeless romantic??? like she’s the kind of girl who falls in love with strangers, or sees people in coffee shops and then envisions their wedding, she’s hopeless

SECRET LIFE

extremely outspoken

will fight for what she wants deadass she’ll punch you don’t play with her she doesn’t take shit from anybody

extremely comfortable with herself and her body and just embraces who she is i love that for her

she talks mad shit ngl but she’ll back that up with a punch dw

judgmental but like lowkey not about your looks or clothes or anything but she will talk about how you act and carry yourself since that’s important to her

ngl lowkey has this whole ass superiority complex

hella sociable, she loves meeting new people

sexual!1!1!1!

if you can’t tell she do be having anger issues

* --- wanted connections

don’t feel limited by this list, italics means i’m open to more than one

best friend / ride or die

roommates

basically her son

bad influences around each other

pr romance

little brother

step siblings / ex step siblings

pals

childhood & high school friends

awkward situation

frenemies

bad terms

FIRST LOVE THAT ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED HER

big heartbreak ex-fiance OR alternatively an annulled vegas marriage

will they ? have they ?

exes, on bad terms

exes, on good terms

skinny love

high school sweetheart

friends with benefits

one night stand

industry friends

* --- second biography?

noelle’s family seemed perfect one the outside but her father was a serial cheater, and her mother was a borderline alcoholic

they didn’t love her or her siblings so they often all fell to the wayside unless it was maintaining appearances in public, then it was all smiles, and how they lived by the word, a bunch of bs

noelle stopped believing in what her family force fed her early on...but she kept that shit to herself

the cooking and cleaning and literally every other responsibility fell upon noelle and her siblings, she sorta despised her parents, but still craved their validation, it was a really messed up cycle

all of her achievements are true tho! she got valedictorian, student council president, youngest person to win three gold medals, etc etc

her family really did get their own reality tv show, and put on extreme appearances for the cameras...and noelle was pushed to the wayside because middle child vibes again

she did go to Stanford for law...but let’s get into the main portion of her double life

she didn’t work a normal job! she wasn’t a waitress or a cook or even a dishwasher nope she did none of that shit

she became a stripper! but she couldn’t show everyone her face obviously...so she developed a plan!

she would go on stage in a really extravagant masquerade mask...like to the point where nothing was recognizable but her eyes

and that shit worked! she was a hit! an icon! people loved her...she made mad bank

well one day an agent approached her and was like...do you want to do porn? and this extra ass bitch said more money? hell yeah

the one condition she did have was obviously she kept the mask, but she could change it during scenes, like different colors and shit love that for her

it was amazing that this bitch managed to graduate with all the hours that she was pulling...lowkey would be proud when annoying frat boys that called her a ‘prude’ would talk about how much they wanted to fuck her

ANYWAYS she took her work with her when she moved back to new york mostly her work in the adult entertainment industry...but she continues to strip and that’s where a big majority of her money comes from

that’s her secret lmaoooo she hasn’t told her family or even her friends because you know appearances

so when she’s not at the bakery during the day she’s usually filming a scene...and when she’s not around at night she’s stripping

* --- personality

PUBLIC LIFE

extremely sweet

literally doesn’t have a mean bone in her body...but not nice to the point where anyone’s suspicious...just nice enough to teeter that line a little bit

fun loving young girl, or at least she tries to be, she tends to let her emotions get the best of her tbh, but despite that she’s gentle and kind and would never hurt a fly if she could help it

she always gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, believing the best in everyone and always looking for the good, you could tell her a million and one bad things about someone and she’d still only care about the one positive aspect

noelle has the biggest heart, and often thinks she’s mislabeled as naive, although in reality she truly is and is often easily lead on

not gonna lie, noelle apologizes for just about everything, even if it isn’t her fault, bam there’s another apology coming out of her mouth

she’s sorta of the mom friend in a way? like she can barely take care of herself, but she literally tries to take care of every single person there is to ever exist

is resilient and to this day there isn’t a problem that she hasn’t overcome, even if she did have a little help from alcoholic beverages

lowkey a hopeless romantic??? like she’s the kind of girl who falls in love with strangers, or sees people in coffee shops and then envisions their wedding, she’s hopeless

SECRET LIFE

extremely outspoken

will fight for what she wants deadass she’ll punch you don’t play with her she doesn’t take shit from anybody

extremely comfortable with herself and her body and just embraces who she is i love that for her

she talks mad shit ngl but she’ll back that up with a punch dw

judgmental but like lowkey not about your looks or clothes or anything but she will talk about how you act and carry yourself since that’s important to her

ngl lowkey has this whole ass superiority complex

hella sociable, she loves meeting new people

sexual!1!1!1!

if you can’t tell she do be having anger issues

* --- headcanons

...i’m gonna update this as soon as possible but i wanna plot already soooooooo

* --- wanted connections

don’t feel limited by this list, italics means i’m open to more than one

best friend / ride or die

roommates

basically her son

bad influences around each other

pr romance

little brother

step siblings / ex step siblings

pals

childhood & high school friends

awkward situation

frenemies

bad terms

FIRST LOVE THAT ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED HER

big heartbreak ex-fiance OR alternatively an annulled vegas marriage

will they ? have they ?

exes, on bad terms

exes, on good terms

skinny love

high school sweetheart

friends with benefits

one night stand

industry friends

[supererkz]

Let’s GunPla with Erkz! (Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type.GBFT)

Hahahaha, wow. Okay. So, last year, around June/July or thereabouts, I went to a local anime convention because a bunch of my friends were going and we don’t get the chance to meet up that often. To my utter surprise, there was a GunPla booth. The gunpla was horribly overpriced, the selection variety was nothing to write home about, but in a place where apparently no-one likes Gundam that much, seeing that made me want to support them. So I paid like... quadruple the regular price for the only kit that I kinda liked, brought the box home, put it on a shelf and left it there for it to collect dust. Fast forward to today, 10ish months later, and I’m home for the Easter weekend with nothing to do. “WHY NOT BUILD THAT ONE GUNPLA?” I asked myself, and grabbed my tools and opened the box. 

Tools: ☆ 1x Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type.GBFT ☆ Craft Knife ☆ Nippers ☆ Sandpaper ☆ Bamboo Mat ☆ Markers ☆ Manual You know, the usual tools.

LET’S BUILDING!

Section 1 - Body

So, technically, the body only took two steps to build. Those two steps probably took like... two hours. Why, I hear you not asking because you know I’m going to tell you anyway?

Seals.

These first two steps involved putting ten seals on the various parts. Ten seals. In the first two steps. Now, I’m not going to start ranting about seals now. I’ll save that for later, because it’s one of my biggest complaints with this kit.

So I’ll talk about the materials instead.

The blue is a very nice navy that looks dark enough to almost be black at a first glance and it’s great. The white however, is a very strange, pearlescent white. I don’t quite understand why it’s not grey or flat white, but it’s... interesting I guess. Maybe they were going for a polished bone-like finish?

Also so far, aside from the popped collar bits and the two things hanging off the front, this torso is a very standard build. 

Section 2 - Head

At this point I remembered that I should panel line as I go along because I probably won’t have the motivation to do that when I’m done. Also that skull, that tiny molded skull and crossbones on the top of the head is probably one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen. It is so tiny yet so detailed and I love it.

Section 3 - Arm

Ah yes, the manual calls these ‘Arm’ again for whatever reason. Nothing special here really.

Section 4 - Right Arm

A very standard gundam arm albeit with one little gimmick. That flat, white piece on the lower are is on a hinge and can open. Neat. Also I really like the use of color contrast on this kit so far.

Section 5 - Left Arm

Yes. That is a picture of the body. Building the left arm is a mirrored version of the right arm. This is also the final step of the left arm section, so I’m not cheating. ‘3′

So far so good.

Section 7 - Right Leg

I skipped section 6 because it’s literally just popping a ball joint into the red part of the foot. It’s also just called ‘Leg’ like the shoulders are called ‘Arm’.

Anyway, it’s a leg. A neat little tidbit is that the yellow part on the leg is a molded piece that’s inserted from inside the leg. It’s nice. The black part above it? A seal. Not so nice.

Section 9 - Waist

Skipped section 8 because the left leg is, again, a mirrored version of the opposite limb. The waist is... well, a waist. The sideskirts are nice in that they’re held on with hinging polycaps instead of ball joints, but that’s about it.

And here he is, limbs all snapped together. Very lanky in my opinion, but the next few parts will fix that.

Section Whatever - Shoulders

Oh hey, this section was actually called Shoulders. Even though they are more like pauldrons or something. It’s neat, I guess. You make two of these.

And bam. Aside from weapons, he’s pretty much done.

So yeah. Crossbone done. It comes with a stupid amount of weapons and it is 5am and I do not ever plan to build more than the PEACOCK BLASTER (Crossbow) and the MURAMASA BLASTER (Christmas Tree Sword).

In the end, it is a very nice looking kit. However...

It’s rant time.

Notice how I didn’t really keep a count of seals or anything like I normally do? Well that’s because of this:

LOOK AT THIS MONSTROSITY OF A SEAL SHEET.

The numbers go up to 49, but there are multiples of quite a few of those seals so the number is probably 60+

60+ Seals. And it’s not like they’re just flat seals or anything? Oh no, these are the types of seals that you have to fold around edges and corners.

This kit comes with FOURTEEN runners. There is a runner in every single one of those colors except green.

Just mold the damned pieces, Bandai!

The absolute worst part, is that on top of being time consuming, there are times where you have to stick some seals on top of other seals. I can’t even. I have no idea what whoever designed this kit was thinking. I guess it’s a retool of sorts but come on. I literally stopped building this kit multiple times out of frustration with the seals and went to watch anime or something. In terms of aggregate build time, this thing took roughly 10 or more hours to build. I stopped counting because it is 5am.

All because of the damned seals.

And we haven’t even gotten onto the articulation yet. By itself, the kit is fine. But with the “Full Cloth” unit equipped, it’s articulation drops to laughable levels. They’re attached with balljoints, so you’d think they’d have some degree of free motion, right? Nope, they just rotate like clock hands. And moving anything makes them bump into other limbs. It is kind of infuriating to do anything with.

Ranting aside, I really do like how it looks. It is a really appealing kit. And the christmas tree sword is amazingly silly.

6/10 welcome to seal hell, with your guide - Bandai!

[placetobenation]

*** Scott & JT’s Vintage Vault Refresh reviews are a chronological look back at WWE PPV and TV history that began with a review of WrestleMania I. The PICs have revisited these events and refreshed all of their fun facts that provide insight into the match, competitors and state of the company as well as their overviews of the match action and opinions and thoughts on the outcomes. In addition, Jeff Jarvis assists in compiling historical information and the Fun Facts in each of the reviews. Also, be sure to leave feedback on the reviews at our Facebook page. Enjoy! ***

Monday Night Raw #109

May 1, 1995 (Taped April 24, 1995) Civic Auditorium Omaha, NE Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jerry Lawler

1) Allied Powers defeat George Anderson & Ron Hagan when British Bulldog pinned Anderson with the powerslam at 2:41

Scott: Wow we’ve watered down the jobber pool to these faceless guys? After a flat, lumbering opener at WrestleMania XI, the Allied Powers are trying to get themselves into the tag title picture. Davey Boy goes with the flow on any creative plans, but you know Lex Luger can’t be thrilled about being in a mid-card tag team, instead of turning heel and feuding with Diesel. I’m sure at this point that would have been better for him. I guess last week’s live show garnered record ratings. And there’s the Duckman references and we are barely five minutes into the match. This was a squash, but the other news we find out is that the Intercontinental Title was hung up due to a controversial Jeff Jarrett/Bob Holly match. Grade: DUD

JT: Welcome to this week’s episode of Raw where we are coming at you via videotape, still in Omaha and still with Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler in the booth. We are closing in on the inaugural In Your House so we have a lot of business to take care of tonight. We kick things off with a lengthy recap of the Bam Bam Bigelow/Diesel match and fall out and the opening things up in the arena is the fairly new team of Lex Luger and Davey Boy Smith, the Allied Powers, battling George Anderson and Ron Hagan. The Power picked up a big win at WrestleMania and are seemingly being positioned as future top contenders to our Tag Team Champions, Owen Hart & Yokozuna. Vince notes that least week’s Raw had record setting viewership, so good on them, as despite the cool product it seems the TV audience has strengthen a bit. Jerry Lawler is still trying to get Bret Hart to sign a contract for a match and Vince reveals that the Hitman will be here to confront the King tonight. Vince also tells us that 1-2-3 Kid has an injured neck and is out of action and as part of that, Bob Holly replaced him in an IC Title match with Jeff Jarrett over the weekend. The match had a controversial ending and as a result the title was held up. Luger & Davey make really quick work of their opponents and pick up another win as they continue to build momentum week-to-week. Grade: DUD

*** We head back to yesterday’s Action Zone where we had a controversial finish to the Intercontinental Title match between Jeff Jarrett and Bob Holly. Both men picked up tainted falls but Holly ended up leaving with the strap. After some confusion and referee debates, Jack Tunney decreed the title is vacated and the two would face off in a rematch for the gold on this weekend’s Action Zone. ***

2) Bob Holly defeats Butler Stevens with a high cross body at 2:48

Scott: What kind of throwaway name is Butler Stevens? We’ve been told that the Intercontinental Title is vacant after yesterday’s shenanigans with Jeff Jarrett and Bob Holly. They will wrestle this coming Sunday on Action Zone to decide who the champ is. I love how these jobbers get ribbed by Vince & Lawler, that apparently Stevens is a pest control guy. This is another throwaway trash match. Grade: DUD

JT: Back to the ring, our would-be IC Champion Bob Holly jogs to the ring for a match with Butler Stevens and his Gor-Tex tights. Random commentary tonight as Lawler is discussing the day jobs of these jobbers. In our last match, we had a fie science major and now Stevens is in pest control. Vince and King also talk about the issues between Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett and their upcoming showdown at In Your House. Holly nabs the win and is prepped for his huge match this Sunday as he looks to defeat Double J and officially nab the IC title. Grade: DUD

*** Todd Pettengill is on the scene with this week’s In Your House report. The show comes to us live in two weeks time on Mother’s Day and what a perfect gift for Mom it would be. And it only costs $14.95! Here are the matches discussed:

Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett & Roadie Diesel vs. Psycho Sid – WWF Title Bret Hart vs. Hakushi

Oh, the WWF is also giving away a house! Yes, that is right. Get your entries submitted today for a chance to win a wonderful vacation home in Orlando, FL. It all goes down in two weeks so call your cable company today! ***

3) Mantaur defeats Sonny Rogers with a powerslam at 2:25

Scott: This guy was still with the WWF at this point? This gimmick is as idiotic as Doink is at this point. The WWF needs to get rid of these terrible gimmicks that would have worked in 1987. Seeing Cornette manage this guy was like when Bobby Heenan managed the Missing Link. That made no sense either. Vince & Lawler are starting get some chemistry, which Vince hasn’t had with anyone since Savage left back in November. Vince says Todd & Stephanie will be doing Mania from the house being given away on May 14. I wonder why Vince didn’t do this back in the late 80s when he really had money. Mantaur wins. Grade: DUD

JT: The hits keep on coming as Mantaur charges to the ring alongside Jim Cornette for a showdown with Sonny Rogers. This mid card is really mired with a lot of useless bodies. I mean, this guy is big, can work a bit and has Cornette to talk to him but why not give him a basic roughhouse gimmick and push him a bit? Instead he looks like a goof and has zero credibility when he is basically a buffalo. Vince and King talk about Bam Bam Bigelow and the Corporation, saying Sid cajoled the troops into backing him against Bammer. It is also cool that Todd and Stephanie will be hosting Mania from the Orlando house this weekend. That is a neat touch and a good last hard sell. Mantaur wins and continues going absolutely nowhere fast. Grade: DUD

*** The suddenly red hot Psycho Sid heads to the ring alongside Ted DiBiase for his match with Razor Ramon. Ramon is out next but as he poses in front of his pyrotechnics, Sid steps through the spraying fireworks and levels Ramon. Sid continues to beat Ramon down and drop him with a pair of powerbombs, ending the match before it even starts. Diesel would eventually make the save. ***

4) Adam Bomb defeats Dave Sigfrid with a top rope clothesline at 3:41

Scott: Before this match, some thoughts on the segment that just happened. It’s great to see Razor Ramon back on Raw, and facing one of my favorite guilty pleasure guys in history, even with his thimble of ability. I was curious if Sid could actually beat Diesel at In Your House. Sid joining the Corporation does help them also. The match never gets going, as Sid jumps the Bad Guy and powerbombs him twice. Diesel runs in and Sid runs away. I have to say, I don’t like this Sid running away from a fight. The NWA Sid would have gone nose to nose with Diesel and DiBiase should have moved to get Sid out of the ring. Instead Sid runs away like a cowardly WWF heel. That’s totally neutering his character.

Now back to the ring. This is probably one of the worst Raws in a while in terms of in-ring action. The one match everybody wanted to see ends in a no-contest mess, and the rest is unwatchable squashes. It is announced that Adam Bomb will face Mabel at IYH. I don’t like the prospect of that. I wanted one of those Adam Bomb footballs. Grade: DUD

JT: Coming off a pretty hot segment with Pyscho Sid and Razor Ramon, we head to the ring where Adam Bomb hits the ring for a match with Dave Sigfrid. Vince notes that Bomb will face Mabel at IYH, Mabel’s first big match as a heel singles star. Back to that previous segment, they are doing a nice job establish Sid as a monster heel. He has run roughshod over everyone since attacking Shawn Michaels the night after WrestleMania and his tear has been reminiscent of his 1992 run of terror. Here he backed off from Diesel but he certainly has to be in the champion’s head heading into Syracuse. Vince and King talk about Bomb’s chances with Mabel in two weeks and also chat about Bret Hart. Bomb mows through Sigfrid and picks up a TV win as he rolls toward his clash with Mabel. Grade: DUD

*** Ray Rougeau is backstage and tries to chat with Razor Ramon, but he is being attended to by officials and Diesel, still hurting too much to talk. Rougeau says somebody has to stop Sid. We then check out a quick vignette of the soon-to-be debuting Hunter Hearst-Helmsley. ***

5) Men on a Mission defeat Bill Duke & Kevin Krueger when Mabel pins Duke with a belly-to-belly suplex at 4:37

Scott:Wow this episode is getting worse and worse. MOM are now full blown heels as they are wearing more black and Mabel has skull & crossbones on his boots. The episode is loaded with all the top flight guys except Shawn Michaels (who’s injured) but the actual matches this week are complete crap. At least the jobbers all got paid, it’s like the old NWA Saturday Night episodes when we would have 11 or 12 matches and all the jobbers got paid to work about four minutes. Vince is awful, expecting MOM to get disqualified for “poor sportsmanship”. So pitiful and milktoasty. Grade: DUD

JT: Time for our final match of the evening as Men on a Mission hit the ring for tag team action. Both Mabel and Mo have cleaned up their look a bit, ditching all the hair dye and sporting jet black hair and darker overall tones in their costumes. Vince plugs King Ralph, this Thursday’s USA Movie special. That is a classic! Set your VCRs now! Vince now clarifies that the Mabel vs. Bomb match at IYH will be a King of the Ring qualifier, so there you go. The commentary really focuses on the size and power of Mabel here, rebuilding him as a threat. We kind of have more than one Mo here here as MOM Mo tussles with Krueger, who has a haircut like Mo of the Three Stooges. MOM mess around a bit but dominate this one, grabbing the win after a Mabel belly-to-belly. The big man is prepped for Syracuse where a coveted KOTR spot will be on the line. Grade: DUD

*** Bret Hart heads to ringside to confront Jerry Lawler about his open challenge. Hart calls Lawler a liar and says he has a commitment to wrestle Hakushi at In Your House and that is what he is going to do in Syracuse. Lawler says Hart is spineless and ducking him. Hart tells him to shut up and says he will also accept King’s challenge and will wrestle him that same night after he defeats Hakushi. ***

Final Analysis

Scott:These matches are becoming worse and worse. Sure we have some great personalities and characters but the workrate in this company right now is pretty much Bret, Shawn, and maybe one or two others. The main event workers are utter crap. Diesel needs Bret and Shawn to move him along, otherwise we are in trouble. The prospect of this Diesel/Sid match being good is very low. The crowd was hot, but I certainly think it was doctored up a bit. With Backlund vanquished Bret Hart seems to be floating around and just having mini feuds with Jerry Lawler lingering in the distance. We still have tag team division issues and other than Razor not any credible challengers for Jarrett’s IC Title. This episode falls a bit flat as we move towards this new PPV concept. Final Grade: D+

JT: This was a very odd episode of Raw. There was some good storyline stuff in here and lots of energy throughout but man the in ring action was dog shit. A big part of that was the marquee match not happening, but that trade off was OK as the attack by Sid was really well done. They have built him up nicely as the top heel and threat to Diesel and their match at IYH has some good heat on it as of now. I will also say the crowd audio was clearly sweetened up this week and it was a bit distracting. The roar was blaring and you could see most fans just sitting around. They did pop for certain stuff, especially Bret Hart, but overall it was a bit overbearing. Also, while the card is strong up top, the middle and bottom is as weak as ever, filled with miscreants that have no chance to ever elevate up. They certainly have some talent, it just needs to be better deployed week to week. Some house cleaning and repackaging wouldn’t hurt either. Until next week! Final Grade: C-