Last night at the Elimination Chamber, C.M. Punk made it out of the extreme chaos of the sadistic steel with his WWE Title intact. However, one other man was neither pinned or made to submit in that match: Chris Jericho. What implications will this have for the Championship picture going forward? Also last night, John Cena finally put away Kane in a match so violent, it was only over when the Big Red Machine was taken away in an ambulance. As John Cena looks ahead to The Rock, The Undertaker keeps his gaze on Triple H. WrestleMania's on the horizon! Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
Cena didn't exactly refuse that kiss with Eve, did he?
Yeah, the cameraman's officially ignored in WWE.
Eve heel turn. Ok, then...
Cole saying that Lawler's a Hall of Famer gave me a sinking feeling, because you know some day he'll end up in there too.
Action soap opera!
I think at least part of the audience is booing that this angle's still going on.
A Diva using her body to get ahead in the company? Insane.
At least we're going to the Rock feud now.
Yikes. Cena berating a woman?
WOW. Someone's going to catch fire for this. This guy does work with B A Star and Make-A-Wish. I'm not saying I want "poopy" Cena (I actually like some of this "edge"), but I don't know how well it will work out for the company.
I think at least maybe this is going to get better reactions for Ryder?
I think Taker's after vengeance.
PUNK VS. BRYAN! It's happening, people. If you ROH/"pure wrestling" fans want WWE to give us more where they came from, I strongly recommend tuning in tomorrow.
I half hoped this match would be the World Title match at WrestleMania, but I imagine Henry's not going to be able to work at the level required given his injuries recently.
Is Henry a Raw guy now? Not that WWE keeps score.
I wish they would have noted that Sheamus Brogue Kicked Henry on the night he was suspended.
Signs for/about Brodus Clay, Daniel Bryan, C.M. Punk, and Sheamus. I like it.
NICE. Big win for Sheamus on the way to Mania. I was a bit worried there that Henry was going to get the win. Glad the younger, fresher main eventer's being put in a strong position over the guy who's career is winding down. All due respect to Henry (who's been great this past year or so) of course.
Why do I get the feeling Theodore Long's going to be the one hitting the bricks?
That makes sense as a way for Jericho to earn his way into the title match instead of just complaining until he gets it.
If Cena gets boots to his ass by Rock next week, what does that say about Kane (who couldn't beat him after all that mental and physical abuse)? Leave it unsettled until Mania.
Ooh. This will be a good mix.
Maybe we should do Tag Team Turmoil for the titles at Mania?
If we get Big Show or Khali vs. Punk at Mania, I swear...
The crowd's into Kofi's signature offense. If Punk and Bryan can make it to the top of the company, I don't see why he can't.
Good for Kofi to get the win there.
Didn't Kofi used to have some other guy as his partner? Whatever happened to him?
Take your bets on the next HoFer.
Rich wrestling history here indeed.
I wish they wouldn't have started with his catchphrase. He was more of a punchline then than a serious competitor.
Yeah, that was a good deal before the JBL gimmick.
The Acolytes/APA was some fun stuff. They didn't take any crap.
Jericho really does look like Bon Jovi these days...
That was actually a pretty clever way to have Jericho out of the match without "losing the match".
Hey, heels can lie and boast.
I really like David Otunga's theme song.
Laurinaitis as Otunga's manager could work out pretty well.
Ooh, I like this! Theodore Long's giving Zeke his seal of approval.
See, when they actually talk about the performers, it's good.
Oh shi- didn't see that one happening. CLEAN win, too.
I like Otunga, but beating a former ECW and IC Champion? That seems a little soon.
Metallica's going to love that royalties check.
I think Taker's going to have a different look.
I guess that's a little different. I wasn't
Hahahaha. In the '90s, people had lighters when Taker came out. Now people have cell phones and cameras.
"What" chants can get kind of old. Especially in a time like this.
This is kind of weird. It's like Taker's this relic of a time gone by just passing through.
It's especially odd that Taker doesn't have his trademark hair.
I guess Taker "allowed the lights to come back on" for a bit there.
This is WAY different from past Taker confrontations.
I can't be the only one who sees this as kind of devaluing the current and future guys.
I was half hoping he'd ask if it was bad for business when HHH came in and fought with C.M. Punk, Miz, and R-Truth.
Someone not intimidated by The Undertaker, who has the position of power over him. I can't think of anyone who's been able to do that going into WrestleMania. Michaels played mind games, but he didn't blow off the opportunity of the match.
OOOOOOHHHH. That's cutting to the bone.
Well, that's one way to end it for sure.
Pretty cool hearing Metallica in conjunction with Taker. It's really fitting.
That Rock DVD will be pretty badass.
Submission-based heel makes injured fan favorite tap in under a minute. Great way to get heat and build to Mania. Santino could be moving up in the world based on the reactions he's getting. I don't think I'd mind. He's worked pretty hard to get those reactions, consistently embracing his role.
Well, you can't say the Divas didn't get a match this week.
THIS is the Cena we need for this angle. I can definitely see the frustration about Rock. He's tapped into something a lot of people feel/felt.
They've done a mostly good job blending kayfabe and reality in this angle. Looking forward to next week.
Punk on commentary can always be fun.
I like Ziggler's look tonight. This is the kind of effort that separates performers from the pack of good wrestlers who can't get a spot.
Punk also makes good points about Jericho, though I can't blame the guy for wanting to go out and prove to the world that wrestlers aren't steroid freaks, etc..
Another Jonah Hill comedy. Hopefully his career's the next to be Michael Cera'd into oblivion.
Lots of bandages out there. That can happen when you go out and do a bunch of big bumps.
Sorry, Miz.
The crowd's really into this.
Finisher fest!
The crowd's crazy levels of into Santino.
Again, when you go for crazy stunts, people can get seriously hurt.
And that's why you don't go up top in a battle royal.
Are you $^#%@ serious? More injuries? Tone down the big bumps.
There's a 2/3 chance the WWE Title match will be pretty cool. There's a 1/3 chance I'll throw my computer.
THANK YOU CODY RHODES!!!!!
And of course, Big Show's unphased.
Punk/Jericho it is. Looking forward to it if they don't try to kill each other with crazy BS.
That's all for Raw. I'll be back for Smackdown tomorrow, and a news post will be up later tonight. Thanks for reading!
Chuck, what the heck was the deal at the end of that main event on Raw? I didn't get a chance to see much, but I saw when Show threw Ziggler. I noticed Ziggler hit that announce table extremely hard and Barrett was writhing in pain; which all looked legitimate.
ReplyDeleteI think having something as big as a No. 1 contender for a major championship being decided in a battle royal is pretty idiotic. It was a big reason and risk for what happened out there. I would prefer maybe like an elimination match, which would have had more time if they minimized other segments, like the Eve segment.
I personally think it was the nature of the beast having a battle royal and that injuries happen with matches like this. That being said, it didn't like how it all went down. What do you think?
It was a legitimate hard bump: Ziggler made it out ok, thank goodness. Barrett dislocated his elbow. I harped on this a lot today, but it's getting scary with the injuries.
ReplyDeleteI try to stay mostly objective, but I really think they're going down the wrong path with the big gimmick matches and such. Since business isn't as high as it used to be, it seems like they're trying to compensate by having more things like Ambulance matches, cages, Chambers, Cell matches, and so on. People are kicking out of finishers more, too. It's gotten to where fans expect crazy bumps, big moves, and carnage, so they have to keep upping the ante.
Things like Chambers, cells, etc. used to be saved for when a feud had been built up enough to where there was "no other way to settle things". It was a big deal when they did one of them. Now, they go to them fairly frequently to grab people's attention, and it waters down what those things mean. Ditto for top title matches.
I kind of see what you mean about battle royal matches (especially the injury part), but I don't think an elimination match would necessarily be the answer. They would have to give it a good amount of time for people to not "only last a couple of minutes". Those can end up chaotic, too. In a battle royal, they don't have to have 9 people get pinned or made to submit (which can devalue them to some level).
I'll judge the stuff with Eve by where it leads.
Yeah, that elimination match was just an example of the many matches I'd prefer over a battle royal. To be more specific, I don't like how probably the biggest No. 1 contender's match of the year to face the WWE Champion at the biggest promotion of the year is decided by throwing someone over the top rope. I think a more legitimate and "talent-exploited" way would be better. On top of that, look what happened to Barrett. I just don't like the match in general, and for it to be the main match in so much being on the line, it is even worse.
ReplyDeleteWith Eve, it seems like that segment lasted a bit too long, and it was an example of what could have been cut out. I understand every second of those two hours is busy, but the fact that the match was a battle royal just decreases the legitimacy and shows that if some segments were cut shorter and made more efficient, a better and more representative match would have been made time for. You get what I mean there?
I can certainly see that point. I personally would have wanted Jericho to complain his way into a title match or something of the sort, or goad Punk into it or something. Something to where there's more story of why they're facing off then than Jericho winning a match. They could have easily played off of the fact that he wasn't pinned or made to submit on Sunday. I'm guessing they wanted him to earn it more (even though he did "get lucky" with the Rhodes/Show situation, he beat top contenders to get to the title match). Maybe they felt that they didn't have time for another big promo segment, since they also had to do the stuff with Cena, HHH, Taker, etc..
ReplyDeleteAnd they could argue that with presumably an increased audience after the PPV, they wanted to get a lot of important people on camera. After the beating everyone took on Sunday, I think having the night off from competing for at least some of the Chamber participants would have been appreciated. It kind of negates how badly they got hurt and how dangerous the match was if they're able to compete again the next day.
I think they could have done the battle royal without going that crazy with the elimination bumps. Show could have just his Barrett with the WMD or something. Just kind of playing devil's advocate and looking at "if they HAD to do" that kind of match.
I see what you're saying about length. That show was an example of why you don't throw too much onto one episode. They could have just announced the battle royal for next week (instead of making it for yesterday in the first place) and given other things due time. Of course, hindsight's 20/20 and even with their decades of TV experience, things are going to go longer or shorter than planned.
Apparently the segment with HHH and Taker went 8-9 minutes longer than they were allotted (though as tenured and respected as those two are, I doubt there'll be any kind of repercussions). That's why the Divas match got cut shorter and they didn't show Cena's entrance to call out Rock on camera. I guess they could have cut the Divas match entirely, but they probably viewed that as kind of a break from the other big segments and happenings. They try to maneuver things so it's more like a roller-coaster ride with something like pauses to come down a bit before they ramp things back up for bigger segments. The crowd can get burned out if you just go full-throttle with everything.
Yeah, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. On one hand, being live, unlike Smackdown, you really face that trade-off of segments being a bit too long or too short. Something seemingly insignificant, like an entrance, can take up way too much time. It can take time away from a more important segment, like a main event. That can have a huge effect on storylines, so it's something to watch out for. I definitely don't think Eve Torres needed two segments and like 15 minutes of air-time to basically say "you took it out of context" and "I'm sorry".
ReplyDeleteI am excited Otunga is getting more of a push now. Two straight wins over Ezekiel Jackson shows Management sees something in him. Given, they should have given him more to work with to silence they naysayers who think he's not as skilled in the ring, but it still shows a lot. He is getting better in the ring, and I'm glad John and Management see something in him.
I really like that Laurinitus/Otunga pairing. I think having a manager can be hit or miss, but with the power Laurinitus has and the intangibles Otunga has, it really has potential. With these two big wins, do you see Otunga getting to a U.S. or I.C. Title any time soon? I know you said you don't see it happening a little bit back, but now have you changed your tune?
A lot of times they use entrances to set the stage for other things, so they can be kind of important. There are a lot of philosophies about what should take precedent, since they see everything to some degree including matches as ways to move stories along. Some TV matches are more important than others of course, but they generally aren't the end of stories.
ReplyDeleteThe crowd seemed to be really into the segments, and it MIGHT end up being important that it got that much time in hindsight. I'm guessing the goal is to get more fans in Ryder's corner, but maybe Eve latches on to someone else?
I'm kind of hesitant on saying Otunga's getting to that level, since as I harp on there are so many people on the shows. As with seemingly everyone else, they're stop/start with Ezekiel. It definitely means SOMETHING that they had Otunga beat him twice, but he's not as big of a deal as he was when he was holding a championship.
While I do see Otunga continuing to be focused on, I really doubt they'd push him ahead of Cody Rhodes at this point given how long they've been behind Rhodes and how far he's made it. With Swagger holding the U.S. Title, that would be a weird match-up since they're both heels. So, from a story perspective, I think it's still a ways off (but more likely than not, I think he'll eventually get to at least the U.S. Title). I guess we could end up with some kind of multi-man match where he gets the win, but I don't see him feuding for the title yet.
At this point I'm actually not sure where the titles are as far as the hierarchy, since there are so many feuds going on that don't involve titles. And with the brand split being less meaningful, that REALLY muddies the waters.
I like the combination, too, as long as it doesn't become too much about Laurinaitis long-term. Otunga might end up in some kind of faction given the segment they had on Sunday. That could go either way: he could get "the rub" from working with Henry, Christian, Del Rio, or whomever, or he could be seen as the 4th wheel who doesn't fit in with 3 former WWE/World Champions.
As for Laurinaitis taking a liking to him, I think that's just an on-screen thing. I don't think he has any say in who gets pushed. He does more in the hiring/firing department, and is sometimes the bearer of bad news for management deciding to cut someone. As such, he gets a LOT of flak from some fans for some of the company's pick-ups.