Two
weeks away until SummerSlam and we're finally getting somewhere
storyline-wise. It's been a slow build up, with Lesnar/Triple H
getting the only real hype over the rest (although that's not saying
a whole lot), but gradually we've seen something of an improvement
all round.
Daniel
Bryan has finally been booked in a match against Kane (which I'm not
too happy about to be honest), The Jericho/Ziggler feud has been
developing nicely, Sheamus and Del Rio did something different at
least, and finally, the WWE title picture has a bit more of a hype
around it.
The hype
has been better other years, but at least creative have stepped it up
just a little bit.
AJ,
Punk, Cena & Big Show
I like
AJ, I really do. But since becoming GM of Raw, my interest in her as
gone down dramatically. Maybe at this stage her character is a bit of
an overkill, or maybe it's just the fact that I like people a lot
less once they become an authority figure. I'm not quite sure yet.
The
start to the show was fine. It was your typical talk, interruption,
talk, interruption, talk, interruption, match announcement kind of
segment so I don't know if there's anything that much else to say on
that point.
The only
talking point here concerns CM Punk, who's slow transition to turning
heel has been a good watch. It was good to see him embrace the fans
when he was on the ramp as it shows he still considers himself a good
guy. Too many times we've seen wrestlers turn on the fans before the
fans turn on them. Also, it was good to see him apologise to AJ, only
to get back onto the topic of him being the most important man in the
WWE.
There's
a certain innocence and arrogance about him that just comes across
really well. At this stage, he's neither a face, heel, or even a
tweener for that matter. He seems to be in between of all those three
things (which isn't really possible to you know, be in between three things, but you know what I
mean).
CM Punk
vs. Rey Mysterio
A fun
match here to following the opening segment. Two years on and these
two still have great chemistry together. They've had better bouts,
but for a TV match this was perfectly fine.
Sheamus
& Alberto Del Rio
I'm a
very cynical fan these days. Like, really cynical. Anything done out
of the ordinary and I jump straight to pointing out its flaws. This
was the case here last night as Sheamus 'borrowed' Del Rio's car.
Now, if
this was done 10 years ago I would have been perfectly happy with
this scenario. I mean, we've seen stuff like this before, whether its
Triple H driving out of the arena with Cactus Jack trapped in a cage or Steve Austin pouring cement into Vince's car.
These
days though, I'm just not like that. Seeing Sheamus steal Del Rio's
car made me point out so many things that I'm sure people were saying
as well. Why didn't Del Rio ring the cops? Why does he care if one of
his many, many cars gets messed up? How did Sheamus not get in
serious trouble when he got back? These are all things that I said as
the show went on. As I said, I'm just really cynical, but in a
justifiable way.
In a
hypocritical way, I can put up with Santino talking to his hand or a
mentally unstable lady running an entire show, but this, I just
couldn’t take.
Damien
Sandow & Brodus Clay
Hate
Brodus Clay, really fond of Damien Sandow. You might think I'd want
Sandow to compete with someone else, but whatever my thoughts on
Brodus, he's a good opponent for him.
They're
both complete opposites character wise, and I think that's what makes
this feud so good.
The
beatdown on Brodus was particularly good this week, as it really made
Sandow like a viscous bastard. He may not be the best wrestler on the
roster, but his intensity is immense.
Kelly
Kelly vs. Eve
Well, it
was good while it lasted. I'll say what I said last week, except
replace the words 'Randy Orton' with 'Kelly Kelly'. Welcome back,
Kelly Kelly. I didn't miss you at all.
Good to
see Eve in action though. She's awesome. And really hot. Mostly
really hot.
Brock
Lesnar, Shawn Michaels & Triple H
Not the
explosive segment I was hoping for, but not the worst segment either.
As much as I love the guy, I just don't really see the point in him
playing a part in this match. It worked for WrestleMania XXVIII, but
for this, I just find it unnecessary.
I was
expecting a beatdown on HBK at the hands of Brock Lesnar, but the
smile to Triple H in a way to say “I'll wait until SummerSlam to
beat the crap out of you” was good enough for me. Or maybe the
smile meant “I am looking forward to going out of drinks with you
later on” or “that top looks good on you”, I don't know, but
I'm guessing it was the first one.
The best
moment of this segment however was Lesnar saying he'll see HBK before
SummerSlam. I don't know what he means exactly, but it should make
for some good television. I'm hoping for Lesnar to break into HBK's
ranch and attack him there, in a way to really get some heat going
into SummerSlam. I'll question Sheamus stealing Del Rio's car, but I
wouldn't question that. Hypocrisy FTW!
Dolph
Ziggler vs. Alex Riley
When I
saw Alex Riley in the ring my first though was that he was going to
get squashed, but in fact, he ended up getting the win.
Jericho
was great on commentary here and played a really good part in how
this match played out. Out of all the feuds at the moment, this has
actually been my favourite one to watch. It's been an absolute joy to
watch.
Daniel
Bryan vs. John Cena
Around
this time two years ago Daniel Bryan was wrongly fired for a segment
involving John Cena. Fast forward to today, and he's just after
competing in the main event of Raw against that very man. Justice, I
guess.
This was
a solid main event here that had both men looking strong. Bryan may
have one of the worst win/loss records on the roster this year, but
he's still looked like a fighting competitor throughout.
The show
finished with the same way it opened – Punk, Cena and Big Show all
in the ring. Punk's promo at the commentary booth was the type of
standard you'd expect from him, but unfortunately didn't end with the
focus on Punk once again.
I think
they should have gone with that outcome instead of Big Show knocking
out both men, but maybe they're going somewhere with this. We'll see.
Overall,
this was a pretty good episode of Raw. It had two good matches and
the filler in between wasn't too much to complain about. 3 hours
though... still a drag.
Stray
Observations:
- Why does the Raw opener close with the World Heavyweight champion?
- I think I know why the Big Show annoys me so much these days - His hat. His hat annoys the hell out of me.
- “I don't think there's been a superstar more popular than Rey Mysterio.” Jerry Lawler clearly overlooking the popularity of such people as Steve Austin, The Rock and Hulk Hogan.
- “Good move there by Rey” said Jerry Lawler as Mysterio went crashing into the ring post.
- Why do GM's always leave their office after talking to a wrestler? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
- I guess a Mother Theresa comparison is better than a Kobe Bryant one.
- Hey Cole, this wasn't the first time Bryan and Cena have ever faced off against each other. Remember the highly anticipated match from Velocity back in 2003? God, show some consistency!
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