Hits:
RAW started off with a HOT tag team match with Orton and Sheamus taking on Kane & Daniel Bryan. It's unusual for RAW to kick off with a match, let alone a tag team match, but in this instance, the match did just what it was supposed to do:
A) Get the crowd amped up and set the tone for the rest of the show.
B) Continued the build of the feuds between Orton/Kane and Sheamus/Bryan
Orton/Kane is going to be nothing more than a brawl, but Sheamus/Bryan is very intriguing. After tonight and what AJ did, no telling how this match is going to go this Sunday. Bryan getting the pinfall gives him loads of momentum as the Champion heading into Mania, but it also begs the questions: What role will AJ play? Already I'm excited for WrestleMania. Good start.
Triple H vs Undertaker - Hell in a Cell Video Package:
In my opinion, the promo last week between HHH, Undertaker, and HBK sucked out a good portion of life from this feud and the video package brought it all back.
THIS is one of the main things WWE has been missing: Great video packages that tie in every aspect of a feud. This Video Package alone got me hyped for this Hell in a Cell match more than the promos Triple H, Taker and HBK have been cutting for the past few weeks. After this promo, I wasn't upset that we didn't see HHH/HBK/Taker in another promo. The video package summed up everything perfectly. Once again: Great job WWE.
Chris Jericho/CM Punk Confrontation:
I've loved this feud since the first face to face meeting between Punk and Jericho. I am happy to say that I'm more excited for THIS match than Rock vs Cena and Undertaker vs Triple H. Yeah, I said that. We're talking about "Greatest match of All-time" potential between these two guys. Jericho took it to that next level and made this feud more personal. This feud needed that extra boost and now they have it.
Ever since Punk changed his character this past Summer, he's OWNED pretty much everybody in terms of mic skills. Now, he's come across somebody who has OWNED him. No longer is Punk the sarcastic, laid back character anymore: He's now serious. It was a smart idea to keep Jericho and Punk apart until WrestleMania. No need for these guys to touch each other with so much on the line. Make us want to see this match and tonight did just that.
The promo Jericho cut on Punk, basically going in on his family, Punk snapping and (kayfabe) re-injuring Christian, showed us a side of Punk we haven't seen before. Then, the interview Punk cut later on that night; you could tell in his voice that he can't wait to tear Jericho apart. WWE has done a masterful job building this feud. I can't wait to see this match. Can. not. wait.
Cody Rhodes:
I said it once, I'll say it again: This man is the best thing going on right now. Cody Rhodes has quietly become one of the best heels in the WWE, has brought prestige back to the Intercontinental Championship, and is one major feud away from Main Event status. This feud with Big Show just might be it. Rhodes' mic work during this feud and embarrassing Big Show with all these WrestleMania video packages have been perfect. They've built Cody Rhodes into a great heel. His promo tonight on Big Show was the final shot fired against the Big Show. Another great job at building up a major feud.
Another good job making these two not get physical. WWE is making us want to see Show finally get his hands on Cody this Sunday. I'm still up in the air as to who gets the win. The way they're building it, you'd think Big Show is gonna walk out the winner, but of course, Cody Rhodes is the future. Hard to tell.
The Rock vs John Cena:
The final showdown between Rock and Cena and it didn't disappoint. These guys went back and forth in a heated war of the words. Cena, for once, made me interested in what he had to say. He was selling the fact that he needed to win more than The Rock. The figures he was throwing out was true. Cena has been in the business longer, but this is an era where wrestlers' bodies went through much less than those of the Attitude Era, but that's beside the point.
These two sold the fact of how big this match is, what it means to them, and throwing personal jabs at each other. It's really nothing we haven't heard before, but tonight it felt more personal. Maybe because it was the last RAW before WrestleMania. I've already made a post about where I stand with these two, so I'm not going to go there again. And once again, there was no physical altercation. WWE wants to milk this cow for everything its worth and not give a single thing away before WrestleMania. This is smart business.
The verbal exchange and the staredown made this a great moment. The only thing bad about it was the way it cut away. It was rather soon and abrupt. But even if these two had a poor promo, it still wouldn't change my mind that WrestleMania is a must order ppv!
Misses:
Team Teddy vs Team Johnny:
Tonight was their last chance to make this feud actually important and mean something, and they failed....miserably.
First of all, you have a Captain vs Captain match with Otunga and Santino which was good, no complaints there. Then, you have Miz run out and drop Santino like a bad habit and FINALLY Miz gets added onto WrestleMania. It really took Miz all this time to get added to Team Johnny? Why did they prolong this for so long if they were just going to end up adding him to the team in the first place? It makes absolutely no sense.
But wait...there's more.
Christian gets "re-injured" and taken out of the match and replaced with Drew McIntyre? Really? I don't mind Drew because he has history with Teddy, but if they weren't so sure that Christian was 100% ready to come back and compete, why waste a spot on him and actually build up Drew McIntyre an add him to the team earlier? The build for this match was so poor and tonight was just abysmal.
Then, here's the kicker: Booker T. of all people at the last minute gets added to Team Teddy after some nonsense brawl (if you can call it that) and takes out Mark Henry. I'm not upset that Booker got added, it was the way they went about it.
Their one chance to make this match important, and they tanked on it. Big Time. In a 4 Hour WrestleMania show, I would like to hope that this 12 Man Tag Team Match gets enough time to mean something.
The Divas:
Goodness....where do I start?
It's been a while since Eve came out and got Heat. Tonight, she came out and got crickets. This Divas tag team match Sunday is an absolute joke. I still don't understand why they couldn't turn Beth Phoenix face and feud with Eve. It absolutely boggles the mind.
Add to that, where was Maria Menounous? You would think that she would at least make one appearance with Kelly Kelly tonight to further this feud for Mania. Also, Kelly Kelly beat Eve.....why does Kelly Kelly need a partner again?
Brodus Clay:
Also, Brodus Clay. I like Brodus Clay, but if he wasn't going to be a part of WrestleMania, why was he on RAW tonight? There was no internal conflict that involved him. I would've preferred another Member of Team Teddy vs Member of Team Johnny Match instead.
Once again, it boggles the mind.
Overall, the only good parts of RAW were the opening tag team match, the Hell in a Cell video package, Punk going crazy, Cody Rhodes' promo and The Rock/Cena exchange. Everything else was horrible. Ok, not horrible, but barely not worth mentioning. Also, the crowd was bad.
But this has NOT swayed me from ordering WrestleMania this Sunday. You better believe I'm still going to make sure I catch it on Sunday. It's sure to be a great show despite that mediocre Go-Home show they had tonight.
Feel free to Comment.
By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
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