Like a
lot of people, I was quite looking forward to this week's Raw,
particularly to find out what CM Punk was going to say. What I forgot
though was... the episode was going to be 3 hours long.
I don't
know how I forgot about it. Maybe I was just so used to the usual
2-hour routine that it slipped my mind, but anyway, it was something
that took away some of that excitement.
To be
fair, I think us people over here in Europe Land have it harder than
you Americano's (or wherever you are in that North American region).
We either have the option of waiting up until 1am (previously 2am) to
watch Raw or wait until Thursday to watch the replay. Me, I just
stick to watching the replay the day after on YouTube.
What I'm
getting at here is that these 3 hour shows will really be a drag for
us, whether it's because we have to wait up in the early hours of the
night to watch it or we have to sit in our bedrooms for the next 3
hours watching the shows on a small monitor.
I have
to sit in my cold bedroom (great Summer, eh?) after a hard days work
to watch a show that will drag for me even without the ads. The only
thing that would make it any sadder was if I were to watch it all in
my underwear, which I'm not going to do... I only do that on the
weekends.
Basically,
this is an announcement that my enjoyment for this 3-hour show may
vary from time to time. It was fine yesterday to be honest, but after
a few weeks I may get a little bit agitated and damn right cynical
about whatever they put on my small screen.
Anyway,
enough about my blabbering, onto the action... or just me talking
about the action, whatever.
CM
Punk's Not So Much Pipe Bomb
Don't
let the heading fool you, I really enjoyed this opening segment. I
was hoping for a pipe bomb from the man himself, but nonetheless I
was impressed with his promo here.
It
appears that they're going to go with a slow CM Punk heel turn here,
which I like. WWE actually do fantastic jobs on turning people heel
in a slow and believable manner. Not many times will you see them go
straight out with a sudden heel turn that doesn't make that much
sense.
Here,
the slow transition from face to heel was evident here. He made some
very good points concerning his actions, and did so in a manner that
wasn't very heelish. Yet, it is also clear that the WWE title is
clearly getting to his head. It was a mix of face and heel Punk here,
and I thought they did a great job of keeping it balanced.
Alberto
Del Rio vs. Santino Marella
This
would have been a 2 minute match if this was on the 2-hour format,
but I guess they wanted to stretch out here, which was fine, I guess.
The
match was nothing special though, and also something we've seen many
times before with Del Rio. In many ways I'm looking forward to him
not competing until SummerSlam, because we can at least go another
three weeks without him doing these types of matches.
Damien
Sandow vs. Brodus Clay
Finally,
something for the two of these. I don't know how much attention this
feud will get, or how long it'll go on for, but I'm looking forward
to it nonetheless.
It
should be good to see Sandow truly sink his teeth in this storyline,
as Brodus Clay is the perfect man for him to berate. It's a clash of
two different personalities, and it should make for some entertaining
segments. Key word – should.
Sheamus
vs. Daniel Bryan
If
there's anything good to be taken out of Raw going 3 hours, then it's
the idea of us getting longer matches. This was the case here on Raw
has Sheamus and Bryan fought back and forth in a lengthy battle that
was a really good watch.
These
two men simply just work so well together. They can work so many
different matches together and always seem to get the best out of one
another.
Definitely
the highlight of the night for me.
Daniel
Bryan's Psychiatric Evaluation
Daniel
Bryan really has been WWE's break-out star this year. The guy has
simply come into his own, with his in-ring work and mic work both
being top notch.
His
psychiatric evaluation was totally silly, but a total joy watch as
well. Everything from his mannerisms to his delivery are just
perfect. It's almost scary to think that I now look forward to his
talking segments as much as I do his matches. That's how entertaining
he is to watch.
I said
his match with Sheamus was the highlight of the match, and well, so
was this.
The AW
Situation
Very
reminiscent of the Daniel Tosh incident, isn’t it? Anyway, first
off, AW is a complete idiot for saying that. Like, seriously, a
complete and utter idiot? How did he not know that such a comment
would spark a reaction?
Forget
about the kids, because that comment would just fly right over there
heads anyway, even if the world 'rape' was said. What I'm scratching
my head over is why he said it in the first place.
In my
opinion, the guy doesn't deserves to get fired. Yes, what he said was
out of order, and really, really stupid. But, he does seem to be very
sorry for what he said, and like Daniel Tosh, just thought that his
comment would be funny. It wasn't. At all. The guys an idiot. But I
say that we just move on.
Randy
Orton vs. Heath Salter
Good to
see Heath still being used, even with Raw 1000 out of the way. He may
still be losing, but he's still hanging in there at least.
Randy,
welcome back. I didn't miss you at all.
Chris
Jericho & Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler & The Miz
Another
good, lengthy match here. Everyone got there fair share of offence
in, and the Ziggler/Jericho storyline is developing quite well.
I think
it's fair to say that Jericho is a full fledged face now. It's funny
how one of the guy that smashed Punk over the head with a Jack
Daniels bottle is so incredibly over right now. I guess it's just a
testimony to what a legend Jericho truly is in wrestling. The guy can
make you hate him, but you'll still truly love him at the end of the
day.
Big Show
vs. John Cena
A bad
match made decent thanks to the fans enthusiasm and excitement
throughout this match. I was expecting a Cena win myself, but after
Punk interfered I think it was pretty clear that a Triple Threat
match was going to be announced.
Big Show
has been pretty good on the mic as of late, but I still don't like
the idea of him being in the WWE championship match. He still just
doesn't seem to fit in with the storyline involving Punk and Cena.
Yes, he has a history with the both of them and has been a factor in
the WWE title picture for a while (especially last week), but in the
end, I still would have been happier with a singles match between CM
Punk and John Cena.
Overall,
this was an enjoyable episode of Raw. It dragged for a lot of parts
throughout, but had some lengthy matches, a hot crowd and golden
Daniel Bryan segments.
I don't
know how Raw will cope with the 3-hour time slot in the future, but
for now, I'll just enjoy the show until it becomes a complete mess to
watch.
Stray
Observations:
- The Raw theme has grown on me already.
- #NoHolds, #FallsCount and #StreetFight? If they wanted to be that precise about the match type they wanted, they should have just gone with #NoDQ, NoDQ, and #NoDQ as the options.
- Speaking of themes, the SummerSlam one does not go with the theme of the PPV at all.
- Ink blots
- Kane is the worst Anger Management therapist ever.
- “Let me ask you Punk, have you ever heard an ovation quite like this for John Cena?” Wow, King, you sure showed him.
- Seriously though, Punk ripping into Jerry Lawler was brilliant. Simply brilliant.
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