The Road to Wrestlemania has officially begun. I waited until after Raw to write this column, because there is a lot that I want to talk about and comment on. First and foremost, for those that ordered the Rumble, what did you think? Overall, not that impressed as I was waiting for the return of Christian the entire night and was sadly disappointed. However, my prediction was right, Randy Orton came out on top and walked away the 2009 Royal Rumble winner.

The rest of the ppv seemed to me, just like any other Raw or Smackdown extended by an extra hour. Aside from the Rumble match itself, I’d have to say the Woman’s title match between Melina and Beth was the best of the night. Now, I was also very impressed with Matt Hardy turning on Jeff and I loved the reaction he recieved, but the match itself was nothing new.

Now, when it came to Monday Night Raw, I was very very impressed. It seemed that where the ppv itself may have lagged, the WWE really stepped it up and gave the fans a very solid wrestling show last night. Starting right off the bat with Orton and his Legacy with his team of lawyers and therapist, you knew this night was going to be rowdy. What I also liked was the explanation we got for why Orton did what he did. See, where IED is indeed a real condition you have to wonder if it was something he suffered from in the past. See, it works out well.

We also got word that the Elimination Chamber will be returning at No Way Out. I’m excited. What I’m even more excited about though is the fact that Kofi Kingston will be in that match! That’s right, Kingston went over Kane last night to earn a spot in the Chamber. I’ll admit I marked out a bit because I never thought the WWE would have Kingston go over Kane and earn a shot at the title. In addition to this, we have Rey Mysterio, John Cena, and Chris Jericho involved thus far. Looks to me like this could be shaping up for a solid match.

The issue between HBK and JBL seems to be heating up full throttle as Michaels couldn’t seal the deal and beat Cena last night. I wonder where this is going to lead. I personally think the time is right for HBK to finally take a stand and turn on JBL all the way. Settong up a “be all end all” match at No Way Out. I’d still love to see HBK vs. Taker at Wrestlemania, so hopefully he puts JBL behind him soon.

The women again did an amzing job last night, and to see Rosa Mendez get involved again has me wondering where they go from here. I’d like to see a big time match at Wrestlemania, and hopefully we see mickie James involved as well.

Raw, as it began, ended with Randy Orton. Only this time he was faced with Stephanie Mcmahon…and a returning Shane McMahon. I LOVED the interaction between everyone in this segment, and to see the entire roster empty out and stand up to Orton was a nice touch. I miss seeing Shane in this role, and although there were spots clearly over-acted, it was nice to see Shane exude that raw emotion he had againt Orton.

Overall, I’m impressed with the intial build to Wrestlemania. I’m not 100% sure how I feel about a Jericho/Rourke match, but hey we’ve seen worse (remember Kevin Federline!)

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