[2008-01-07-WWE-Raw] Jeff Hardy vs Umaga

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[donsem43]

This is pretty much your standard modern WWE cage match. What does make it stand out is Randy Orton comes down to ringside and does an awesome job heeling it up. He is just constantly trash talking Hardy and telling Umaga what to do. He even ends up throwing chairs into cage. Orton's is really the only reason to watch this.

[EnviousStupid]

I was thoroughly impressed by how well this was structured building up to its climax. Jeff is manhandled pretty easily to begin with, but the goal for Umaga & Randy at ringside isn't merely to win, but to inflict as much pain and damage on the challenger before his world title match at the Rumble. As such, they introduce chairs into the cage match, and even put themselves in high-risk situations, like with Umaga walking along the top rope that gives Hardy his chances to win. It's great seeing a heel's own dirty tactics get turned upside-down, as those chairs become the equalizer for Jeff, as he just tosses them at Umaga's head. Randy deserves just as much credit for his acting and facials on ringside, having my full attention during the periods when Umaga and Jeff were lying on the mat. It's as great a main event & angle you'll find for an episode of Raw, that has unfortunately become something of a lost art in today's landscape.