WWE Monday Night RAW Review! (5/28/12)

After a week long hiatus, the RAW Review is back! For those who missed my RAW Review, I have a job so I'm not going to be posting at the rate I was before. Just a little heads up. For those who don't care, I could care less what you think.

Time for the RAW Review!

After a LONG recap from RAW last week, we kick off RAW with the Big Show coming out and cutting promo saying how nobody in the WWE is in his league. He rips on the people for not caring about him when he got fired, ripping on John Cena and his absolutely horrendous "Loser" fiasco on RAW 2 weeks ago. He went on and on about Cena and how he knocked him out and how he'll do the same at No Way Out. At this point, he just began to ramble on.

Show's promo started out well, but he just began to ramble on and recycle what he said last week. Nothing new or interesting. There needs to be more sizzle to this feud. Let's hope they add that soon in the next few weeks.

20 minutes of my life that I wish I had back.

Alberto Del Rio vs Santino Marella


Santino goes for the Cobra, Del Rio dodges and makes him tap out in the cross armbar. Short and sweet. Del Rio wins and is being built up to look strong heading into No Way Out.

It's not everyday that the United States Champion gets squashed in under 30 seconds. Hmph...





Backstage Segment:


After we see a shot of Eve in all her sexiness, Big Show throws Alex Riley into a wall. I hope they build up Show this way. Let him really bully around the entire locker room and cap it off with that showdown with John Cena at No Way Out. There has to be a payoff and I hope in some form that Show ends up winning to solidify this new heel turn.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (c) vs Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger


A rematch from the AWESOME Tag Team Title match these four men had at Over the Limit.

I didn't expect it to be as good as their match at Over the Limit, but it was still solid nontheless with a good deal of back and forth action. Truth gets the win for him and Kofi by pinning Jack Swagger.

But what's more important about this is what happened AFTER the match. Dolph Ziggler yelled at Swagger and left in the ring saying "I'm better than this." Dolph Ziggler is finally beginning to split from Vickie and Swagger. Hmm...it'll be interesting to see where this goes. I've been waiting to see Dolph break away from Vickie and see what he can really do.





Backstage Segment:


Big Show attempted to bully around Santino, but was stopped by......Brodus Clay? o_O

This is the most interesting Clay has been since his debut as the Funkasaurus. He challenged the Big Show and we have what could be an interesting showdown later on between these two.

I'm actually excited for this.

In-ring Segment:


Big Johnny comes down and does his usual shtick talking about John Cena and the people. Then he goes on to make the match between Cena and Show at No Way Out a Steel Cage match!

Johnny somehow got into talking about WWE '13 and People Power and reveals a pretty cool looking cover of WWE '13 with John Laurinatis on the cover. I see the little WWE Attitude Logo in the top right of the cover. Hmm....

Enter CM Punk.

Punk comes out, rains on Johnny's parade and reveals a GREAT cover featuring CM Punk, which is probably going to be the actual cover. Laurinatis then wishes Punk good luck on his match with Daniel Bryan and leaves.

Talk about a plug.

Oh and by the way, Sin Cara returns to SmackDown this Friday Night. He's been gone so long, I doubt people even remember who he is. Not like he made a HUGE splash when he debuted anyway.

CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan


Every time these two step in the ring, they put on a great match and this was no different. Obviously, this wasn't their classic from Over the Limit, but it was a great match. These two do what they do best and put on a great technical wrestling match. A lot of submission holds and almost little brawling. They really put on a great match here and they were given a lot of time to work with.

Now, here's where things get a tad interesting. The whole match, AJ Lee was at ringside cheering on Punk wearing a CM Punk T-shirt. Thanks to AJ's interference, Bryan was able to drive Punk into an exposed turnbuckle and pinned him for the win!

But wait, there's more.

Kane comes out of nowhere and beats Daniel Bryan down with a steel chair and follows it up with a chokeslam. He turns to go after Punk, but AJ slides Punk a chair to use as a defense and he uses it to send Kane out of the ring.

This is an interesting angle indeed. AJ inadvertently costs Punk his match, Bryan now can challenge for the WWE Championship again and to top it all off, Kane is somehow going to get involved!

I love this actually. Kane getting involved adds another layer to this feud and I think No Way Out will finally be the night where the big payoff with AJ goes down. This angle is setting things up very nicely. Best feud going on right now.

Christian vs The Miz


A great match followed by another solid match? I'm cool with that.

Cody Rhodes was on commentary during this match and this wasn't too bad of a match either. Miz showed some great intensity which is what's missing from his character. There was a lot of back and forth action between the two and Christian wins the match with a frogsplash.

I'm really saying all this because the thought of a Miz/Christian feud is absolutely genius. Both men can wrestle and can provide some entertaining promo battles. Once Christian is done with Rhodes, I'd love to see him and Miz feud for that title.

A staredown ensues between Rhodes and Christian afterwards.

Aftermath:


Back from the commercial and Miz is STILL in the ring talking about what he's done and how he's not getting treated the way he deserves. Orton comes out and gives him an RKO.

But wait, Dolph Ziggler is looking on from the background. Ziggler wants to the "The Man" like Randy Orton is. It's like Ric Flair used to say, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man." I think Dolph Ziggler's time has finally arrived.





Sheamus vs David Otunga


Sheamus puts the beatdown on Otunga, allowing almost no offense whatsoever. He shuts down Otunga with the White Noise and Brogue Kick combination. Wonder what happens to Otunga now as life is all sunshine and butterflies for the World Heavyweight Champion.

Big Show vs Brodus Clay


Brodus Clay....in the Main Event. How about that? But this actually an interesting showdown. The newfound Big Show Monster vs the Undefeated Brodus Clay.

Match starts with Show cutting a promo on Clay comparing to Doink, except the fact that Doink had talent. They both charge each other and Show hits a BIG spear really taking Brodus Clay down. He then proceeds to beat on Clay while Naomi and Cameron watch on from the ring.

R-Truth and Kofi try to help, but Show catches a leaping Kofi in mid-air and throws him into the oncoming R-Truth! And then, Show tears apart the announce, starts beating on Brodus Clay with pieces from the announce table, throws Truth around and sends Kofi through the Security Wall! He finally finishes it up by knocking out Brodus Clay.

This ending was REALLY, well done. We haven't seen an aggressive, violent Big Show since the ECW Reboot in 2006. He left carnage and destruction in his path and left the fans in shock and awe. This is the perfect booking for Show's new heel turn. The people he used to call his friends, he DESTROYED.

But still, Cena will probably still beat the Big Show. This ending all but solidified that. Who's going to stop the rampaging Monster? Take a wild guess. Bingo. John Cena. I like John Cena. I really do, but Big Show needs this win or else what he did on RAW and everything up until No Way Out will be a complete waste of time and effort. But I'll save that and more for when the pay-per-view approaches closer and closer.



Overall, it was a solid RAW. Some interesting angles were set up for No Way Out and it's going to be great seeing how most of these are developed over the next few weeks, especially Ziggler/Orton and Punk/Bryan/AJ/Kane. And a RAW without Cena. The kiddies must be so disappointed.



Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WWE Over The Limit Reaction

People Power Battle Royal


Over the Limit kicked off with a battle royal with a number of superstars from both rosters including Miz, Alex Riley, Tyson Kidd, Yoshi Tatsu, David Otunga, and a returning Christian! The winner of the battle royal could choose to face the US Champion Santino, or the IC Champion Cody Rhodes.

It was almost automatic who was going to win, but I digress.

The battle royal was short and fast paced. A quick shout out to Tyson Kidd who had a damn good showing with some cool spots attached to his performance.

The last three were Christian, Miz, & Otunga. Miz gets rid of Otunga and after a few moments, Christian eliminates The Miz and chooses to go after Santino's US Title later tonight.






Over the Limit intro


After the battle royal, a video re-capping the feud between Cena & Laurinatis is played.....followed by the intro. Huh?

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs Dolph Ziggler & Jack Swagger


Amazing tag team match. Just like I said it would be. From start to finish, all this match was great wrestling and storytelling. We need more of this.

This match stayed at a great pace and never lagged on. Kofi and Ziggler had two of the greatest spots in the match. Both men got the hot tag, Ziggler hops over the ropes and Kofi springs off the ropes and launches halfway across the ring to take him down. And then, Ziggler charges into a flying trouble in paradise.

The Tag Team Champs retain, but I don't think this is the last we've seen of these two teams. If it means more matches like THIS one, then I'm all for this feud going on for a little bit longer.

Great performance from all four men and even the crowd was hot for it.

Divas Championship Match
Layla (c) vs Beth Phoenix


Honestly....

Probably the best Divas match I've seen in quite a while. This match had a great story told in it as well. Beth kept working on the knee of Layla, trying to weaken it and do all sorts of damage to it only to set up Layla's comeback and eventual win. Both Divas showed that they can put on a great match, if given the time compared to the minute or so they get on TV.

Nothing more to be said. One spot that can actually be mentioned is Beth countering a top rope DDT in the crossface Chickenwing. Solid match, although the finish was a little bit out of nowhere. Seemed anti-climactic.

Fatal 4 Way match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (c) vs Randy Orton vs Alberto Del Rio vs Chris Jericho


Another great match.

Fatal 4 Way started out with Orton and Sheamus taking out Del Rio and Jericho leading to them having a showdown. The action was pretty fast paced and all over the place. Great spots and some even better wrestling thrown in there.

The end of the match was absolutely well done. There were so many spots, finishers, near falls, and close calls. I myself, and the fans were loving every second of it.

Sheamus gets the win by pinning Del Rio.

This pay-per-view is pretty damn good so far.

Brodus Clay/Miz Dance Contest and Match


I prefer to not comment on this. Let's move on.

Brodus Clay WAS entertaining, but now, he's tiresome and annoying. Miz has fallen so far and it really bothers me.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Cody Rhodes (c) vs Christian


Oh yeah, Christian changed his mind and decided to challenge Cody Rhodes for the IC Title instead.

Meh. Not great like the last 3 title matches, but it was still solid. Some great back and forth wrestling and it ends with Christian winning the IC Title!

I like this move, because not only does it give Christian relevance upon his return, but it also sets up (maybe) a feud with Cody Rhodes and Christian which I would Love, or maybe Christian could feud with some other mid-card talent superstars and help them out.

Either way, that belt is going to look good on Christian though.

WWE Championship Match
CM Punk (c) vs Daniel Bryan


Here we go...

GREAT match. It was really everything I expected and even more. Punk and Bryan used a lot of great chain wrestling and a series of submissions, counters, and reversals. Even through all the chain wrestling, they got a few high-flying spots and brawling moments as well. It was a great match. The pace was slow and methodical. DUH! This is what wrestling is all about: setting a good pace, telling a story, and finishing strong. Punk and Bryan blew me away with this match.

BUT...

That finish was poorly done. Bryan caught Punk in the YES! Lock, but Punk rolls him over. The ref counts Bryan's shoulders down and Punk taps AFTER the 3 count.

I see what they were going for. Punk was supposed to tap as the ref counted down to 3 for it to be a controversial finish, but he did it well after the referee had counted the fall. I say Punk screwed that one up.

Nonetheless, I think this feud is going to continue.

Amazing match, but a bad finish.

And....where was AJ? I should've known they weren't gonna pull the trigger on her turn yet.

Ryback vs Hunico & Camacho


Ryback squashed them both. Nothing further to say here.

John Cena vs John Laurinatis


*Sigh* where do I start?

For starters, I'm not going to totally dump on this match. It was entertaining. It wasn't entertaining to the point where I was laughing, but the stuff John Cena was doing was very well done. He was trying too much to be like Rock, but I digress.

The comedy stuff went on a little too long. After Cena dumped garbage on Laurinatis, the boss came back with an unexpected elbow and started coming in with some offense. He didn't have much offense as Cena quickly came back and started beating on Johnny again.

Johnny crawls away into the crowd, backstage and into the arms of the Big Show! Did I call it, or did I call it?!?!

Show drags Johnny back to the ring and just as Cena is about to drop him with the AA, Show clocks in the face with the WMD. Laurinatis pins Cena for the win!

This match seemed eerily similar to St. Valentine's Day Massacre when Austin beat on Mr. McMahon for about 15 minutes and Big Show interfered. Only difference is that Austin won and Cena lost.

There are TONS of people complaining about this already, but what did you expect? People knew it was either gonna be Brock Lesnar, or Big Show. The way that match was going, something was bound to happen eventually.

I understand WWE has really lacked in the shock value the past few years, but people let's be real, no way was this "predictable." If you thought Show was going to interfere from the jump, you're a damn liar. A LOT of people were saying and sticking to Brock Lesnar. And also, Big Show was so convincing on RAW last week, you almost had to rule him out and put him on the back-burner at least, but nobody had Show as the primary candidate to step in.

Then again, WWE set themselves up for this when they added all those stipulations on RAW last Monday. They took away any sort of shock factor because you just knew that somebody was bound to interfere.

I'm looking forward to another Cena/Show feud. The last time they had a feud, Big Show chokeslammed the man through a spotlight.





Overall, the show wasn't spectacular, but it was pretty damn good. The five title matches were amazing. Great action and wrestling from bell to bell. I could've done without Brodus Clay and Ryback, but that's neither here nor there. Out of the last 3 poor Over the Limit pay-per-views, they finally hit the nail on the head and put together a solid show.


Tomorrow's RAW should be most intriguing.




Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WWE Over The Limit Prediction Vlog!

Just like the title says, below is a vlog with my predictions for Over the Limit. This might be something I do for every ppv. I'm not too sure yet. But watch and hopefully enjoy.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Monday Night RAW Review!! (5/7/12)

After a recap of last week's RAW where Johnny Ace, Lord Tensai and his manager beat the hell out of John Cena, it's time for Monday Night RAW and we're just two weeks away from WWE Over the Limit!

RAW kicks off with John Laurinatis cutting a nice little promo on John Cena. Boy, he really put over this match with Cena at Over the Limit. He talked about him being in a position of power, losing his temper, Cena making fun of him, and that being the driving force for his attack. He says a man in power should be respected. All that stuff a corporate guy would say. I felt like he went a little overboard showing his Japan wrestling stuff, but he didn't talk and talk about it, so it was good to me.

He was going good until he was interrupted by CM Punk. Big Johnny and CM Punk have had problems with each other since late October/early November, which really reinforces the fact that this John Cena/John Laurinatis match really came out of nowhere, but I digress.

Punk cut his usually rant on Big Johnny saying the same things he's been saying about Johnny since Day One. Let me just say, the insults he threw out were so......elementary, but hey, it's the PG Era, so I can't get too mad about that. But still, "you're stupid, you're ugly, and you don't have any friends." Really? That's what an anti-authority guy says to the Big Boss Man?

Nonetheless, Big Johnny makes CM Punk vs Lord Tensai for later on tonight.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Cody Rhodes (c) vs Big Show 


WHOA! A Championship Match?!?! On RAW?!?! Two weeks in a row?!?! How about that?

After throwing Cody Rhodes around for a few minutes, Rhodes grabs his belt and leaves and Show wins by count-out. I knew it was too good to be true to have a good Championship match.

Eve then comes out looking like a new generation Stephanie McMahon. She forces Show to apologize for making fun of John Laurinatis' voice.......and he did. What Era are we in where superstars apologize these days? The old Big Show never would've done that. Sheesh, I know it's PG, but at least give the good guys some sort of backbone.

Dolph Ziggler vs Kofi Kingston


A solid match. These two are great athletes so that's what you expect from these guys.

Ziggler gets the win after some interference from Jack Swagger. Maybe this will lead to a tag team feud that's been foreshadowed since before WrestleMania: Kofi/Truth vs Ziggler/Swagger. Let's just see where this goes.

On a side note: That Little Jimmy medallion/necklace that Truth was wearing looked pretty cool.

John Cena Interview


Time for a John Cena interview.......oh joy. And it's via satellite! Oh, the irony!

First of all, why was the camera so close up in Cena's face? I was seeing too much of him then I wanted to.

Nonetheless, Cena cuts the usually goody-goody promo. This is one problem I have with Cena. His promos lack depth, he's not speaking from the heart and he sounded he was reading off cue cards at certain points.

I will give him this, towards the end, the promo turned pretty good when he said he was gonna kick Johnny's ass. It was short, and he pretty much said what he had to. No harm, no foul.

Layla vs Maxine


Before I start, for those that don't know about Maxine, she's a developmental star from FCW, wrestled a bit on NTX and is actually pretty good in the ring. I recommend checking out some videos on her if you haven't.....I mean if you're interested that is.

Nonetheless, Layla wins with a rollup (I think) inside of a minute. Oh by the way, Layla will defend the Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix at Over the Limit.

Not that most people care because the Divas Division has long since been butchered, but that's a rant for another time I suppose.

Chris Jericho & Alberto Del Rio vs Sheamus & Randy Orton


Solid tag team match with these four superstars. Nothing spectacular, but it was good enough to give the crowd something to cheer for. A little interesting fact is that both men had some pretty good chemistry to put  on a good performance.

So, Sheamus accidentally kicks Orton in the face, Jericho comes back hits Sheamus with the codebreaker. Jericho just pinned the World Champion, then grabbed the belt and said "This is mine!" And then after the match, Sheamus tried to help Orton, but got an RKO for it! I think we all know where this might go: Fatal 4 Way for the World Heavyweight Championship. Interesting. Very interesting.... But wait.....there's more.....

Segment in Big Johnny's office


I knew it! What did I tell you?!?!

So Big Johnny was talking to Eve and then Jericho, Del Rio, and Orton barge in and say they want a shot at Sheamus. Everybody fights and Big Johnny makes the World Championship match at Over the Limit a Fatal 4 Way match. We haven't had one of these in a LONG time. Can't wait to see it!

Brodus Clay vs The Miz


How far has The Miz fallen where has to job to Brodus Clay?

Brodus Clay has gone from an entertaining part of the show to a new generation Barney the Dinosaur.

Getting to the match, I think this was the longest match Brodus has ever had......how about that? The crowd was dead, the match was slow, and Miz loses after like 3 or 4 moves.

No little kids dancing in the ring this time? Thank God.

Latest on the "condition" of WWE COO Triple H


Just looking at the recap of the footage.... Brock is a Gangsta.

So, Triple H will be on RAW next week and he's doing fine. That's what they wanted to tell us. Splendid.
Somebody inform WWE that Triple H was part of the Money Team with Mayweather on Saturday WITHOUT the cast on.

Meh....

But wait, back in the arena......it's Paul Heyman! PAUL HEYMAN!

Paul Heyman is back to represent Brock Lesnar, or at least speak on his behalf for tonight anyway. And he has NOT lost a beat. Heyman can still cut a damn good promo. Too bad these PG fans can't appreciate his greatness. They were quiet when he came out.

Paul Heyman read a few things off Brock Lesnar's contract and pretty told the fans that Brock had quit the WWE.

Things should get interesting in the next few weeks. Let's see how long this lasts. On another note, I hope Heyman sticks around for a while, we need a manager with good mic skills for a change. I'd like to see the team of Heyman/Lesnar back together for old times sake.

CM Punk vs Lord Tensai & Daniel Bryan


Meh. For a main event, it was pretty dry and un-entertaining. Punk seemingly got beat up in the entire match and ends with Lord Tensai getting the pin. I see they really are putting some time into Tensai with two wins over Cena and Punk already.

But after the match, Daniel Bryan locks Punk in the YES! Lock and stands in the ring shouting YES! YES! YES! as RAW goes off the air. Obviously, this adds some more heat to their feud for Over the Limit.


Overall, I really don't know what to say about this RAW. It had some strong points, but the bad mostly outweighed the good in this RAW. No Lesnar, no HHH, Cena was via satellite, and we had an apology. I give this RAW a C- and this is me being very, very generous.

I expect a much better RAW next week. Why? Because it's the final RAW before Over the Limit. Any RAW before a pay-per-view should at least be halfway decent. At least, that's how things worked back in the day. But I need to keep telling myself that we are not back in the day anymore.

*Sigh*


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete