STW - Raw is Federline 01.01.07 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

The first WWE event of 2007 was Monday Night Raw, January 1, televised live from the American Airlines Arena in Miami before an estimated 15,000. The American Airlines Arena had previously hosted Royal Rumble 2006 and the next show would be Survivor Series 2007, but we’re here for good old fashioned USA Network TV tonight.

Because this isn’t just any episode of Raw. This is RAW...is...FEDERLINE. Or specifically, this is the Monday Night Raw where John Cena headlines against Britney Spears’ then-freeloading husband, Kevin Federline.

If you don’t know who wins...please keep listening. And if you do...well, you know we have questions.

News and Notes

NOTE: PWTorch Articles Unless Otherwise Noted

Claudio Castagnoli, who was fired by WWE before he even started, spoke out on his Myspace page about his U.S. residency status. Castagnoli said he has a permanent residency card and a Social Security Number, which allows him to work legally in the States. The main point of contention that led to his firing was reportedly the status of his worker visa. He said, “There was and is nothing wrong with my visa or residential status,” then he criticized reports that said otherwise…

Do you recall why a worker visa might have gotten Cesaro fired before he even had a chance to start?

Torch Report:

WWE.com reported that New Japan and WWE officials met at WWE’s offices last Thursday. From the article: “During the brief, cordial meeting, both sides discussed possible business ventures in the future between WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling—the largest wrestling promotion in Japan.”

This boils down to John Laurinaitis having connections with the New Japan office and Simon Inoki following up on his meeting with Laurinaitis that occurred several months ago. There had been two previous face–to–face meetings between the two sides. One was at WWE’s offices and the other was at an NWA show this summer in California. Earlier this year, TNA and New Japan had a working agreement that included PPV appearances by Hiroshi Tanahashi, Minoru, and Jushin Liger. That relationship has all but dissolved. There were several instances of miscommunication, and after the headaches of dealing with international travel issues with the World X Cup, TNA has stopped working with international promotions for PPVs or TV tapings for the time being. This has opened the door for WWE and New Japan to continue informal talks. Both sides talk over the phone several times per week, although it’s usually just comparing notes and not discussing a formal working agreement. Simon Inoki, who is the NJPW president, not Antonio Inoki, is trying to establish the company’s brand name overseas. They went to Italy, which is a crazy hotbed for wrestling right now, in 2005 and working with WWE would give them the TV audience they desire to promote the brand, wrestlers, and product lines. WWE has international TV in virtually every country with TV capability. New Japan would not only be reaching the U.S. and Canada, but over 125 other countries

What was the vision here for NJPW and WWE in 2007? Was it considered to do some type of angle on TV in America?

Observers say Shawn Michaels appears to be long overdue for time off, as the grueling schedule has caught up to him physically. The long overseas flights are particularly tough on his lower back. He does not take any pain pills, so while he’s not masking injuries and causing more harm, he doesn’t enjoy many pain free days, either, to help him get through the grind. Backstage at Raw on Monday, he appeared to be moving fine, so his on–air limp during the Edge and Orton promo was for show. The injury to Hunter puts additional pressure on Michaels to continue performing full time as WWE is short on top acts with experience…

The second run of Shawn Michaels seems almost like a gift you weren’t expecting. But, are you starting to worry here that time is running out on Shawn?

To give you an idea of how much times have changed…

John Cena’s Subway commercial with Jared Fogle aired during the Sunday slate of NFL games during the first week of January…

Let’s just move on..

WWE took its first public shot at Kurt Angle after he left the company three months ago. In the most recent WWE Magazine, Angle is awarded the “Good Riddance” award. From the article: “What’s the best way to re–invent yourself? Walk out at the peak of your career! Worked wonders for Lex Luger and Randy Savage”…

Was there resentment toward Kurt for leaving in late 2006? Or was the resentment for when he showed up to TNA?

The Wrestling Obsever reports that NBC Universal asked Vince McMahon to incorporate Donald Trump into TV storylines to help publicize the new season of “The Apprentice.” It could culminate in a McMahon vs. Trump angle on TV or PPV in upcoming weeks…

Is this why we got the Battle of the Billionaires?

Numbers and Stats: HispanicBusiness.com ran an article on Smackdown being the highest rated English–language show watched by Hispanics. For the week of December 11–17, Smackdown from December 16 drew a 4.9 rating among Spanish–speaking viewers. The show was viewed in 574,000 Hispanic households, representing 1.0 million viewers. NBC’s Sunday Night Football game came in second with a 4.5 rating, followed by House, Medium, and Family Guy…

It’s a big deal for you to be outperforming football in the Hispanic demographic. Why did Smackdown connect with that demo, do you think? Rey/Eddie? The style of wrestling?

The week before tonight’s Raw featured an interview with Sylvester Stallone about his newest, and last, Rocky movie. It also included some build for the Federline/Cena match.

Sylvester Stallone then appeared on camera and Jerry Lawler set up an interview. Stallone talked about the Christian values behind the movie and the Rocky character. He said the movie is the final good–bye to the Rocky character. He talked about working with Hulk Hogan on the Rocky III set and Lawler asked who would win a boxer vs. wrestler fight between Rocky and Hogan. Stallone said Hogan would win easily. He said wrestlers are powerful and fast that he has nothing but respect for wrestlers. Lawler asked Stallone about celebrities trying to wrestle, with an example being Kevin Federline wrestling John Cena on New Year’s. Stallone said Cena would beat Federline easily and it’s a death wish for any celebrity to get in the ring…

Was it just a happy coincidence that Stallone was going to co-promote his Rocky movie a week before a big wrestler/actor match?

K-Fed’s First Run

Although today’s focus is on the January 1, 2007 episode of Raw, KFed had appeared on Raw twice previously in October, 2006, incurring the wrath of John Cena. Federline appeared on October 16 to promote his new rap album. Cena interrupted and FU’d KFed.

But KFed would appear at Cyber Sunday 2006 and cost John Cena the World Heavyweight Championship in a match against King Booker.

You’ve told us on the show before that K-Fed ended up being a surprisingly easy guy to work with. Can you talk about that? Did that influence the decision to keep bringing him back?

K-Fed Lyrics

(Popozao, the first single off of his Playing with Fire album)

(Please sing this, Bruce)

Toy yoyo thang on me, baby

Toy yoyo thang on me

Toy yoyo thang on me, baby

Toy yoyo thang on me

That genius I do shout, I'm just singing Popozão

That genius I do shout, I'm just singing Popozão

In Portuguese it means “bring your ass”

On the floor, and move it real fast

I want to see a kitty with a little bit of titty –

Want to know, where I go, when I’m in the city?

Girl, don’t you worry about all the dough

Because a cat is coming straight out of the "NO"

Ready to rock those shows on the Wario

Bring that Brazil booty on the floor

Can we get him hired on the creative team now, please?

KFED Draws Ratings

The Jan. 1 Raw featuring the long–hyped match between John Cena and Kevin Federline helped Raw draw its highest rating since Aug. 21. WWE.com published an article touting the ratings as the highest since summer. The 3.9 rating was the first rating above 3.8 since Aug. 21 when Raw drew a 4.1 rating. The first and last quarter hours were the high points of the show. The first quarter usually is the lowest or near the lowest of the show, so opening with Cena vs. Federline made a difference, as fans tuned in larger numbers early in the show and returned for the main event.

Over the last five weeks (Nov. 13—Dec. 11), Raw has averaged a 3.7 rating. The previous five weeks, it also averaged 3.7. The five weeks before that, it averaged 3.6. Smackdown the last five weeks (Nov. 17— Dec. 15) averaged a 2.7, which is flat with the previous five weeks. The five weeks before that averaged 2.5.

That’s got to be a good sign that this experiment, somehow, worked...right?

KFED Gets Media Attention

WWE generated considerable mainstream attention for last week’s Kevin Federline’s victory in the opening match on Raw and him taking an FU from Cena to close the show.

A basic recap—Federline is a loser in music and relationships, but a winner in the ring—made the AP wires and the story was reported on local TV websites in most markets. The Washington Post ran a column on Federline’s appearance on Raw. Some websites presented their match as a legitimate contest different from the “staged” conflict in October where Cena gave Federline the FU.

The website monstersandcritics.com quoted the end of Federline’s promo on Raw hyping his match against Cena where he explained why he believed he could beat Cena. The website said Federline “took part in some staged WWE fights this autumn” and he was “body slammed in a staged fight against Cena in October.” They listed Cena’s height and weight as 6’11” and 240 pounds. Allheadlinenews.com took the same story and reprinted Cena’s incorrect height. Teenpeople.com printed excerpts from the Post story and correctly printed his height at 6’1”.

6’11”! Are you rolling your eyes or laughing when you hear about stuff like this?

Here are some excerpts from other mainstream articles.

•MTV.com: “Kevin Federline may have been an undisputed loser on the Billboard albums chart and at the concert box office in 2006, but Britney Spears’s soon–to–be–ex–husband started off 2007 with a bottle of champagne and a cigar in the winner’s circle on Monday night, prevailing in his first official match as a wrestler. In the opening contest of WWE’s Monday Night Raw program, Federline pinned champ John Cena for a three count.” At the end of the article was a blurb promoting the New Year’s Revolution PPV featuring Cena vs. Umaga.

Is this the type of hype or PR you were looking for? Coverage followed by a mention of the upcoming PPV?

•MSNBC.com: “Kevin Federline, the soon–to–be ex–husband of singer Britney Spears, started the new year off with a new career—and perhaps a few new aches and pains.”

•ABCNews.com had a detailed article incorporating history with the basics of the match: “Like the cockroach, he just won’t go away... Clad in an oversized black–and–silver boxing robe and booed mercilessly by a crowd of more than 15,000 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Federline—who embodies what late wrestling legend Classie Freddie Blassie called ‘a pencil–necked geek’—insisted on being introduced as a ‘celebrated recording artist, dancer par excellence, and an entertainment mogul’... Though his encounters with Cena may not have been as memorable at Mr. T’s WrestleMania moments, Federline seemed to relish the jeers he generated playing the heel.”

•Earvolution compared the Federline match to Andy Kauffman vs. Jerry Lawler and wrote: “Reminiscent of Andy Kaufman’s legendary match against Memphis wrestling legend Jerry Lawler, Federline sought to expand his “entertainment” credentials beyond rapping, dancing, and freeloading. After his stalling tactics served only to irritate the champ, America’s Most Hated received help from WWE Superstars Johnny Nitro and Umaga and got the pin after the Samoan Bulldozer knocked Cena unconscious with the WWE belt. As tends to happen in the world of wrestling, Cena got the last laugh: ending the night by laying out Federline with his FU slam. Federline’s ‘wrestling’ skills left a lot to be desired, but his innate ability to play a heel showed a natural skill for the performance art of professional wrestling. Quite possibly, Federline has found his calling.”

Say what you want about him...but K-Fed was the perfect heel, right?

The Event Itself

(1) Kevin Federline (w/Johnny Nitro) beat WWE champion John Cena in 6:00 in a non–title match. They protected Federline from doing anything that would get him hurt or look completely foolish. His pre–match stalling worked to get the crowd hot to create a big fight atmosphere. Smartly laid out. See “Big Story” for match details. (1/2*)

THE BIG STORY

Kevin Federline beat John Cena to start the show, but Cena got the final word with another FU on Federline at the end of the show. The heavily–promoted singles match between Federline and Cena was changed to a No DQ match by Federline before he walked to the ring. He then brought his trainer, Johnny Nitro, to ringside for the match. Federline stalled for several minutes and added a mouthpiece, boxing gloves, and headgear to his ensemble for the match. Federline found himself in position for the FU after a few wrestling holds, but #1 contender Umaga ran into the ring and attacked Cena. He laid him out with a title belt shot to the face, then Federline draped an arm over Cena for the tainted win. Federline gloated backstage, then The Coach booked a four–on–one handicap match with Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada & Nitro & himself against Cena in the main event.

I love this booking. You start out the show with the main event and then you build off of that main event for the rest of the night.

Why start the show with this match vs. end the show with this match? Is it because of the screwy finish - and this allows for Cena to get his retribution before the end of the show?

(2) Cryme Tyme (Shad & J.T.G.) & The Highlanders (Robbie & Rory) beat Cade & Murdoch & Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas in 4:00. Prior to the match, they showed members of the Miami Heat basketball team ringside. Cryme Tyme walked over to Shaquille O’Neal and hugged him. They apparently stole his wallet, though, as Shaq looked for his wallet as he sat back down. At 3:00, chaos broke out in the match. It went into battle royale style with wrestlers being cleared to the outside over the top rope. J.T.G. interfered from the outside with a snapshot neck breaker on Murdoch, allowing Shad to make the cover for the win. Inconsequential match from the tag division. (1/2*)

Cryme Tyme was getting a lot of screen time during this period. The Miami Heat thing seems like a rub, too. Were there ever big plans for Shad and JTG?

(3) Intercontinental champion Jeff Hardy beat Rob Conway in 0:20 in a non–title match. Jeff Hardy came out unannounced for a match. Rob Conway suddenly walked out and said he’s turning the page over and starting 2007 by winning. He said he would beat Hardy or quit Raw. After Conway entered the ring with confidence, Hardy quickly caught him in the corner with a sunset flip pin for the win. Conway was shocked, but his shock turned into polite applause when Vince McMahon made a surprise appearance and approached Conway in the ring. McMahon said his New Year’s resolutions are to stop being nice and to stop letting people take advantage of him. He said Donald Trump stole a certain catchphrase of his, but he recognizes that Trump has his own problems with Rosie O’Donnell, who he called Yokozuna when they flashed a not–so–flattering picture of her on the Titantron. He then looked at Conway and said, “I’m not going to let you quit, Rob Conway. You’re! Firrreed!” He then strutted away. (1/4*)

Why did the Conman, Rob Conway, not last longer in WWE? His music was the best, btw (Just look at me…)

At the top of the second hour, Triple H and Shawn Michaels walked out to discuss Team RKO’s beating on them two weeks ago. HBK interrupted Hunter’s Michael Buffer intro and said he can’t go on without acknowledging what Orton and Edge did to them. He then went into an odd shoot promo that killed the crowd. He said they have faced everyone put in front of them. “Good, bad, talented, no–talent,” he said. “The ones I like best are the ’futures’ of WWE or the ’stars of tomorrow.’ My favorite of all time is ’the greatest in–ring performer of his generation.’ I am still waiting to face that guy.” HBK then said all of those guys are either no longer in WWE or they’re jerking the curtain someplace while DX stands the test of time. He addressed Team RKO and said they showed they have a set, but at the PPV, DX would shove their set down their throats. Hunter took the mic and grabbed the audience after saying he was disappointed because he expected a fight, but Orton and Edge didn’t show up. “Double yeast infection is what I heard,” he said. He then said DX is like Frosted Mini Wheats. He said they have a sweet side that is entertaining and fun. He then said, “There’s the other side. There’s the side where the two most ruthless bastards to ever step foot inside this ring live. Edge, Orton, welcome to the other side. We are gonna beat your ass on Sunday. He are gonna tear flesh, we are gonna break bones, we are gonna make you bleed. We are going to leave you lying in a broken, twisted, bloody heap in the middle of this ring.” Hunter screamed into the camera then threw down the mic. Effective promo delivering intensity and passion for the PPV hard–sell.

What did you think about this promo? It seemed off, to me. And the crowd didn’t seem interested in it.

Also, did anyone else visualize the Kliq burying young talent while Michaels talked about his disdain for the future stars of the business?

(4) Melina beat Maria in 3:00. The match was set up earlier in the show when Maria tried to interview Federline after he beat Cena and during his post–match celebration with several ladies. Melina cut Maria off and slapped her hard across the face after calling her a b––––. Victoria joined Ross and Lawler on commentary and hinted that she would be adding a new name to her checklist. Maria and Melina rolled around the mat early on. At 3:00, Melina avoided a dropkick and went for a pin. It wasn’t executed with Maria’s shoulders down, so they reset the pin and Melina scored the pin with a bridge to win. Afterward, Victoria approached Melina as if she were going to add Melina to her list, but they exchanged knowing glances and Victoria suddenly grabbed Lillian Garcia. She set up Lillian for the Widow’s Peak in the ring, but Women’s champion Mickie James hit the ring and prevented the move. Mickie chased Victoria from the ring to set up their title match at the PPV. Sloppy, not–good match. (1/4*)

Can we call this growing pains on the road to the eventual Women’s Revolution?

(5) Kenny Dykstra & Chris Masters beat Ric Flair & Carlito (w/Torrie Wilson) in 11:00. Prior to the match, Kenny said he would add Ric Flair’s career to the death list after James Brown, President Gerald Ford, and Sadaam Hussein. The heels isolated Carlito for several minutes after a mid–match commercial. Masters put Carlito in the Masterlock, but Flair broke it up with a chopblock out of nowhere. Carlito managed to tag in Flair a few seconds later and Flair punched away at Dykstra, then set up a figure–four. Masters interfered, then Carlito brawled with Masters to the back. Kenny went for a figure–four, but Flair kicked him off. Kenny then surprised Flair with a pin using the ropes for leverage to beat Flair again. Afterward, Flair demanded that Kenny return to the ring to do the fight right. Suddenly, Edge appeared on the apron and distracted Flair, allowing Randy Orton to hit an RKO from behind. Edge gave Flair the conchairto and DX didn’t make the save. Ross said he was informed that DX left the building after their promo at the top of the second hour because they didn’t think Edge and Orton were in the building. (*1/2)

Kenny Dykstra looks like Logan Paul went back in time to become a pro wrestler. Any fun memories of Kenny here?

Serious question. If you’re trying to get someone over, why give them a goofy ass last name like Dykstra or McGillicutty?

Do you feel like the Rated RKO/DX angle is getting a good build here?

(6) Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada & The Coach & Johnny Nitro beat WWE champion via DQ in 6:00. Quick, effective, and what it needed to be selling a PPV, with some good crowd reactions at the end for Cena’s FU on Nitro, then Federline. (*1/2)

Wade Keller wrote…

Prior to the main event match, Federline re–appeared and gloated about his victory. He then joined Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on commentary. After the heels walked out, Cena walked straight into the ring and went after Umaga. Cena fought off attacks from all sides, then he gave Nitro the FU. He set up Umaga for the FU, but Armando distracted Cena with a chair. Cena retrieved the chair and smashed it over Umaga’s head, prompting a DQ. He then hit Umaga a second time and he fell backward out of the ring. Cena then bolted to the outside and grabbed Federline. He tossed him into the ring and gave him the FU, much to the delight of the crowd. Cena then stared down Umaga and Armando as they retreated up the entrance ramp. Ross hammered home the key points on the Cena–Umaga main event at the New Year’s Revolution PPV in six days to close the show.

Give us your thoughts on the main event? Did it make you want to buy the pay per view show?

This was the go-home show for New Year’s Revolution 2007. While that’s a different show for a different day, that was the event where Triple H reinjured his quad and ended up out of action for months. It forced the WWE to move Shawn Michaels into the main event with John Cena. But before those plans could be set, Cena defeated Umaga at New Year’s event for his first pinfall loss.

Any chance you would have saved Umaga until Mania for Cena if you would have known Hunter was going to be out?

Sean Radican at the Torch had this to say about the show:

This show did a good job of promoting the PPV this Sunday. The Cena–Federline match was entertaining while it lasted, but it wasn’t hard to figure out someone was going to interfere once the match was announced as being a no–DQ match. I’ve seen a lot of transparent booking lately, so it would be nice if creative changed things up a bit every so often so that certain scenarios like the one presented in the Cena–Federline no–DQ match actually had some suspense to them… The DX promo for their match this Sunday against Orton and Edge was good until the Frosted Mini Wheats comment by Hunter. I was left thinking that I like all of the Frosted Mini Wheat because the frosted side of the Frosted Mini Wheat makes the whole thing taste good. Perhaps a better analogy of DX from Hunter would have been better…

Overall...what were your thoughts about Kevin Federline on Monday Night Raw?

Fan Questions

The Man of the 90s asks...Was there hope that you could get Britney involved prior to the separation?

Luke asks.. Any good Shaq stories? He was ringside with his champion Miami Heat team, and he also made an appearance backstage on Raw in 1998, being leered at by Vince for not having a backstage pass. Is he as cool as he seems?

Ray asks. Was there anyone, ANYONE in creative who thought that this a dumb idea?

John didn’t like the show...he said What was the payoff in having Kevin beat John Cena? It made John Cena look weak and nobody cares about Kevin.

It just made me change the channel as it completely took me out of the moment.

Dallas Sooner asks..is having to use celebrities an indictment to the product being put on the air by the promotion? I’m not talking about WrestleMania 1 that was revolutionary however we’ve see way too many instances when “borderline celebrities see above were given real roles in the ring

Dustin asks...any consideration to approving JR’s request of a night off so he could see Boise St beat Oklahoma with a Statue of Liberty play in the Fiesta Bowl or was it a hard “no”?

UmarKhan asks...why didn’t Kevin Federline ever return to WWE. Reports always said that he was very popular backstage any truth to that?

Jomo has an interesting question...On this episode and a few other times during this time period Vince ditched the tailored suits for those flowing, more casual, Hawaii shirts. Was this done on purpose?

Dick Byrne asks...I think it’s very fair to say Kevin Federline was surprisingly entertaining as a guest celeb. Are there any celebs WWE never had but in your opinion would have been fantastic?

Pineapple Jack asks How would Jim Cornette have booked John Cena vs Kevin Federline?

King Buka asks...Bruce, what is your favourite Kevin Federline song?

Blah Blah Blase asks..without talking numbers, how do contracts work when signing celebrities for long term appearances with multiple bookings?

P-Diddy asks...What was John’s initial response when he found out Kevin was going over? 

Ken Omega Broom Manufacturer asks...How was Federline to work with, and did he understand how big of a deal this was from a wrestling perspective?

Mark asks...Why did Rob Conway's tenure end?

Frank the Tank asks...How would Jerry Jarrett sound singing Hit Me Baby One More time by Federline's ex, Britney Spears? 

Francis asks...Was there really any plans with Rated RKO in this era?